Latino Restaurant Association Looks to 2024
The Latino Restaurant Association, a national trade organization for Mexican/Latin restau- rants, has expanded recently from its base in Los Angeles and now has offices in Houston and New York. In this interview, CEO Lilly Rocha explains the organization’s successes in 2023 and plans for next year.
el Restaurante: What has been the LRA’s most successful program in 2023?
Lilly Rocha: The Business Bootcamp. It’s made up of six classes including how to create a business plan, how to make a marketing plan and how to handle permit applications — basically everything that is important for a restaurant owner to know. They don’t build upon each other so people can drop in on any class, and all are offered in English and Spanish. We’ve been able to, from surveys we conduct after the bootcamp, make everything better each time.
ER: You also have the Dine Latino program that encourages people to dine at Latino restaurants during a given week. Has that also been a success?
Rocha: Yes, that is our second most popular program. Between 150 to 200 restaurants in Los Angeles have participated. We don’t charge our restaurants, so they can join in without having to reach into their pockets.
ER: How does the LRA promote Dine Latino?
Rocha: Each restaurant that signs up gets a media kit that includes the Dine Latino logo and Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok graphics they can use. We do a lot of social media, and we hire a public relations professional to help us. That has helped us get on TV. We do live demos during the week, and have a kickoff event where we invite the media and six or seven participating restaurants. This year we were at Casa Vega [in Los Angeles], out on the patio with all the media. Next year we plan to expand Dine Latino to New York.
ER: Beside expanding Dine Latino, what are your plans for 2024?
Rocha: We would like to expand our educational options because we feel that’s what people need most. Often people open a restaurant, but don’t know what they’re doing. We can help develop the skills they need.
To learn more about the LRA, visit latinorestaurantassociation.org.
BIG NEWS FROM el Restaurante: NEW DIGITAL FORMAT COMING IN 2024!
For 27 years, el Restaurante’s print magazine has been the go-to source — and the ONLY one — for comprehensive, easy-to-access information about Mexican and Latin foodservice trends. We designed the publication specifically with owners/operators/chefs of Hispanic restaurants in mind, then introduced a companion website and enewsletter when digital content was a new and very small part of the publishing industry.
But things are changing...and so are we.
Today, with smartphones and ipads and laptops in the hands and homes of most every consumer, digital content is quickly overtaking print as the preferred source of information. With the world of digital content exploding — and print and postage costs skyrocketing — we’re going all in and going all digital in 2024.
What does that mean for el Restaurante readers?
It means you will get all of el Restaurante’s award-winning content, including several exciting new features that are only possible digitally, delivered directly to your device. But we need your email to ensure that you receive it! We’ll send an email with links to 3 versions of each issue, all in an easy-to-read, easy-to-access digital format. And you’ll be able to access any or all of them, any time, 24/7!
- The same beautifully designed magazine available as a flipbook that you can read and even download to your device
- A web-optimized version, with every article featured in a special section of our website for convenient, scrollable reading
- A Spanish-only version in the same web-optimized format
Join us on our new digital journey!
To subscribe, scan the code or visit bit.ly/Subscribe/Restaurante.
Meet the Winners of the 2023 Sassiest Salsa Contest
el Restaurante is happy to announce the winning recipes from our 2023 Sassiest Salsa Contest, sponsored by Sammic, a manufacturer of restaurant food prep equipment including blenders for salsa.
1st Place: PICKLED JICAMA VERDE
James Lane and his winning salsa
by James Lane, One World Catering, Bloomington, Indiana
2nd Place: SALSA MACHA
by Angel Miranda, Flying Taco Mexican Grill, Towanda, Pennsylvania
3rd Place: SALSA DE NOPAL
by Christopher Morrill, Taco Shop, El Paso, Texas
The winning recipes were selected by Corporate Chef Enrique Fleischmann at Sammic; Chef Dudley Nieto, Culinary Director at Fat Rosie’s Taco and Tequila Bar, with 5 locations in suburban Chicago; and Chef Herve Guillard, Director of Education at the Institute of Culinary Education in Los Angeles.
“I found this sauce to be the most original, risky, and with a very sophisticated and elegant flavor result,” Fleischmann says when asked how he chose Lane’s Pickled Jicama Verde as the #1 salsa.
Lane, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in San Antonio, loves highlighting unique ingredients from different global cuisines in his cooking, which led to his love of jicama.
Lane says his Pickled Jicama Verde salsa would be great on carnitas, black bean vegetarian tacos, or an upgraded version of avocado toast. “A tostada with sliced avocado, black beans, queso fresco, an over-easy egg and this salsa as garnish also would make for a great breakfast dish,” he adds.
“Sammic has been thrilled to be involved in this innovation and we have had a great time tasting, and learning how these chefs are pushing culinary boundaries,” says Neal Pearlman, Sammic’s sales director for North America. “Sammic is a manufacturer that sells extensively into Mexican restaurants and to customers who make Mexican, Tex/Mex and other Latin foods. As an innovative leader in this food equipment space, we want to inspire and reward innovation from end user chefs. We look forward to learning more in the years to come.”
Click here for Lane’s salsa recipe.
HRA Announces Winners of 2023 HISPANIC TOP CHEF COMPETITION
Chef Carolina Zubiate
Peruvian-born Chef Carolina Zubiate was named 1st Place Winner of the Hispanic Restaurant Association’s (HRA’s) 2023 Hispanic Top Chef Competition held Oct. 12-14 at the Colorado State University Spur campus in Denver. Seven chefs selected from around the U.S. and Mexico participated in a trivia contest about culinary topics, designed a menu in 30 minutes, and prepared a 4-course meal in three hours during the three days of intense competition.
Zubiata — who offers private dinners and events featuring her unique take on Peruvian fusion cuisine and works for Chef/Owner Penelope Wong of Yuan Wonton dumpling truck in Denver — won a trip for
two to Mexico City and a food tour led by HRA Director Fernando Stovell. After moving to the United States at the age of 13 with her family, food was the way she held onto her culture. Today, Zubiata offers private dinners and events to give diners a chance to experience her unique take on Peruvian fusion cuisine. Each dish tells a passionate story of a time in her life, and some of her favorite people along the way.
The 2nd Place Award went to Venezuelan-born Certified Executive Chef Eva Barrios, who currently serves as head chef at JOEY Restaurants’ JOEY Uptown location in Houston. A graduate of the American Culinary Federation apprenticeship program, Barrios started her culinary career twenty-one years ago in Houston, Texas, working for two Master Chefs at the Houston Country Club. She volunteers as an ACF-certified evaluator, site evaluator, and certification commission member, and also was president of the Austin Chapter of the ACF, was the Regional Certification Chair of the Texas Chefs Association and the coordinator for two ACF apprenticeship programs.
The 3rd Place Award winner was Rafael Zamora, the Chef de Cuisine at La Fonda who was born in Sonora, Mexico and grew up in San Diego. Zamora earned a culinary degree from Johnson and Wales University and has held executive chef positions in many locations across eight states. His repertoire encompasses Mexican, American, French, Italian, and Asian cuisines.
Booth Sales and Attendee Registration Now Open for 2024 Antojo Industry Expo
Companies can now reserve booth space at and restaurant personnel can now register to attend the 2nd Annual ANTOJO INDUSTRY TRADE EXPO — the largest business growth event in the United States for the Latino foodservice and retail industries. The Expo will be held on October 13-14, 2024, at the Long Beach Convention Center in Long Beach, California.
“Based off the feedback from our inaugural event, we anticipate the 2024 Expo will be considerably larger and better,” Eric Jurado, event producer, says.
Exhibitors will enjoy direct access to Latino foodservice and retail buyers from restaurants, food trucks, grocery stores, and other businesses that serve the Latino community, and have the opportunity to showcase their products and services to decision-makers. Exhibitors and attendees will have the opportunity to network with leaders in the Latino food and beverage industry and to attend seminars and workshops about the latest trends and innovations in the industry.
The event is endorsed and supported by the Latino Restaurant Association and Latino Food Industry Association.
To reserve your booth space or to register to attend the event, visit https://antojoindustry.com/.
Click to return to the Table of Contents
Don't miss a thing! Subscribe to el Restaurante's digital publications for free by clicking here.