 Chicanos do things differently. My grandfather was a big part of the Chicano movement back in the 60s. We eat differently. We don't have barbecues. We have got nasales. The way I cook, that's at the front of my mind every time I make a decision. I started as a dishwasher six, seven years ago. I started cooking professionally. My very first mentor as a cook was Alvin Kailan of Egg Slut. When I first met Ted, like I saw that twinkle in his eye that I want this more than anything and you can't say no. From there I've worked with James Beard nominated chefs. I was nominated for the God's 30 under 30. I work hard to build my way up to open a mountain restaurant very soon. Ted's food is like, I'm going to punch you in the face and you're going to love it. His turkey posole, everyone talks about it. It's like, yo man, like this is made by a Mexican-American dude and it's unapologetic. It's like super good. I was around 15, almost 16 years old. I was living with my mother and my stepfather and around the same time both their businesses that they worked at were closing. To myself I said, I should probably start working and there was a restaurant close to my house. They had this help wanted signed out and so I popped in and dropped off an application. Finally I was like, it's been like three weeks. I walked by after school one day and I just took his sign out of the grass and I walked in and he was like shocked and I handed it to him. I said, listen man, you don't need this sign anymore. I told you I'll help you and he hired me on the spy. I tried to go to culinary school when I was younger but it was really expensive. A mentorship is what takes people like me who start as a dishwasher and brings us to a place where we're being able to be creative and we're developing our own philosophies and styles of cooking. When I met him, actually I went to eat at his truck. He was out on my side of town which is like south, south, southeast LA. Like wow, what are you guys doing over here? Because I'm from this neighborhood and I was like, so am I dude, that's crazy. He's not only like a product of the 562 which is where we're from he's also like a hustler, he's a G. And that's how I've always been. He taught me how to crack an egg. He taught me how to cook an egg. He taught me how to set up my station. We spent time at Asian markets, I learned new ingredients and he'd show me how to cook and how to make it in this industry that's a very cutthroat. It was hard for him in the beginning. Some of the dishes that he came up with were horrendous to say the least but he has just come so far and I'm just so excited to be here with him. Chicano's one thing that we do have is community. My grandmother, very hospitable. If the neighbor was sick we would take them food. I grew up in that culture so I consider myself a servant of people. I just want to replicate that. As a chef I'm known for the dishes of my youth, a huge pot of pozole, tamales. I like to take those items and pair them with the trends that are going on now. My stuff is all about soul and really comes back to the grandma's kitchen. The biggest sacrifice I've made to be able to continue to cook is really time. I don't see my family often. It's okay if a little cheese comes off because when it melts it'll get like crispy and it's going to taste delicious. Usually when I wake up and leave for work they're asleep and then when I get home late at night they're asleep and I'm very blessed to have a family that's understanding and they understand that what I'm doing is building something and it's not going to be like this forever. My goal personally is to make sure my family's taken care of. I feel like I put myself in a position at young age I didn't like show up to class all the time. I don't want my kids to have to cook. You know if they want to cook great let's cook. Let's open a place together, let's be together. It feels really good to know that I'm actually on the path to pursue my dream and I'm finally for the first time in my life at a point where I can say pretty, pretty strongly we're going to get there. We're going to get there. I feel it. My family, we're going to get there. They always say it's the journey, right? It's the pursuit and I agree with that.