In 2006, Luis Chávez left his native Venezuela to embark on a journey that took him first to Peru and then to the Big Apple, where he went from being a bar employee to having his own restaurant in Manhattan.
Like his dishes, chef José Luis is a Latin American mix: he was born in Venezuela to a Peruvian father and a Colombian mother.
This mix of cultures and culinary traditions helps you create unique flavors in the kitchen of your Mission Ceviche restaurant.
But the road has not been easy, he says, since he had to start in New York from scratch like many immigrants.
“In 2006 I am leaving my homeland, which is Mérida, Venezuela, to study in Peru, to study cooking and once again take advantage of and get to know my country because my father is Peruvian,” he said.
“Of course, since I end up in Lima, I do a three-year culinary career and I meet my wife, which is the reason why I am here in the United States,” he said.
Despite having a career in gastronomy, he had to work in fast food restaurants and as a bartender in restaurants in the City, waiting for his opportunity.
“I worked in a bar on weekends and the kitchen was right next to the bar. And so I started. One day the cook didn’t come, I went in to help,” she said.
“The next day I stayed and after six months I ended up being the executive chef of the restaurant,” he recalled.
Achieve your dream of opening your own restaurant in Manhattan
After several years of working in different restaurants, in 2015 he began to realize his dream of having his own restaurant.
“We were in the south of France. They sent me to be part of the opening team of a project and there I met my current partner. He came out with the idea of doing something together, a restaurant.”
That dream became Mission Ceviche, a restaurant that is part of the Michelin guide list.
There you can explore different mixes and seasonings of Peruvian food and reinterpret your traditional ceviche.
When asked if there is any recipe for success, this Latin American chef points out a single virtue: patience.
“I believe that patience is very important, not until now, but every day I ask the Higher Power to give me serenity and to continue learning with humility, with judgment, with respect,” he concluded.
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2023-09-25 16:53:00
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