PEOPLE/FEATURE/FOOD
What food is best served with Montejo?
I go back to what I like to cook at home
and that beer that I’m serving with
every meal. Montejo is best served with
foods that have soul, are comforting
and nurture a good time. It's a beer that
I know will please any of my guests.
INTERVIEW:
MONTEJO
Ruiz
Eddie
By Kenneth Isom Barnes
James Beard Foundation for including me,
I will forever be honored. It is not everyday
that a chef like myself gets to work with
multiple Michelin-starred chefs like Pierre
Gagnaire or Heinz Beck. Even crazier, it’s
not everyday that a chef like myself gets to
compete against such acclaimed chefs.
I was paired with multiple James Beard
award-winning chef Jimmy Schmidt.
Together we spend a week in La Quinta
developing the next iconic dish for the
Waldorf Astoria. Up against four other
duos of highly-celebrated chefs, we
presented our final dish and research
at the Waldorf Astoria New York a few
months back. The competition brought
out the best in each team. And the
world of food is better because of it.
Though Jimmy and I did not win, we
all learned a lot from the experience
and best of all I met a few people who
I added to my list of inspiration.
www.mexico.is
You have one of the best rated restuarants
in Southern California. How
did the restaurant come together?
To be honest it’s still coming together, even
moving into year three. The restaurant
industry takes a special kind of person. I
am lucky that I have two people who I can
count on to make it happen—my partners
Robin Chopra and Travis Hoffacker. Some
of what we have accomplished has been on
account of luck while the other things have
come from our dedication to the craft, long
hours, sacrifice and the inability to settle.
What is the style of food offered?
We have been defined as a Mexican
Restaurant, Latin gastro pub and Pan Latin
restaurant. Personally, I don't believe we
fit into any of these categories. What we
are working hard to create is a new style
of cuisine influenced by Latin America,
our upbringing and our formal French
training. What we offer at Corazon Y Miel
is a new style of cuisine that we call Alta
California. The only way to understand
it is to come out and try it for yourself.
How did the partnership with Montejo come about?
I’ve always been a huge fan of Montejo
and when this opportunity arose, I was
happy to participate. 5