Today we’d like to introduce you to Julio Mendez
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Everything started in my home country El Salvador. Cooking with wood in a red clay stove with my mother and grandma. It was something I found intriguing and joyful.
My life has taken many turns, one of them is immigrating to the US in order to follow a safer environment. It was a difficult decision but as mother said back then “it was the right safe thing to do.” Learning a new language, getting to absorb a new culture was extremely challenging. Time was the only factor that helped me thrive in the new unknown place, which now I call home. After finishing High School I wanted to pursue a career in electrical engineering. Math, science, and robotics, were some areas that were for easy for me, therefore, I wanted to pursue an engineering degree.
After finishing my first year in college, I started to see some students in chef coats. The spark I had when cooking with my mother and grandma came back! But I wondered if changing my career was a good decision to make. It was quite a difficult
decision. Thinking if cooking or being a chef was good for me. However, deep inside I felt it was the right choice. Cooking for me is art, it’s math, it’s science. It’s all those subjects I liked back in school but now I get to use them and plate them.
I graduated from Houston Community College with a culinary degree. As soon as graduated, I landed a job with one of the most successful chefs in Houston. Chef Hugo Ortega. Working as his Sous Chef in the his most recent restaurant concept URBE. Working at URBE is how I got to learn Mexican cuisine and that is how I started to understand the world of cooking.
Between the years of working at URBE, I had the pleasure to visit Mexico City and Guadalajara. Getting involved with Mexican culture, ingredients, and everything that Chef Hugo and the staff kept talking about. During my time in Guadalajara, I took pastry classes at La Postreria with Chef Jesus Escalera. This is how I started to develop my skills on pastries and desserts. After coming back from the Mexico trips. I started to network with other chefs within the same company. I met Pastry Chef Roxy from Xochi in Downtown. Chef Roxy graduated from Chef Amaury Guichon Pastry Academy in Las Vegas. She taught me how to work with chocolate and understand flavors in the pastry world. The best part was flying with her to Las Vegas to meet Chef Amaury Guichon and Chef Michel in person. Their mentality and commitment to their craft is absolutely amazing! I aspire to have their level of creativity and skills one day.
Almost 3 years later, I left URBE to pursue my career in different kitchens. I landed a job at JUN with Chef Evelyn Garcia and Chef Henry Lu. JUN is a concept that combines Latino and Asian ingredients. The most intriguing for me was how Chef Evelyn was adding touches of Salvadorian and Mexican flavors to her dishes. I didn’t know back then that her dad was Salvadorian and her mom is Mexican. It made me think about my future. I would love one day to represent my roots and my flavors of El Salvador, the way she is doing it.
During this same time working at JUN, I applied for Old Ways New Hands program with Chef Richard Sandoval. I had the pleasure to be part of the first cohort of this new program. I traveled to Cabo Mexico, getting to learn the business behind hotels and his many successful restaurants he has around the world. Meeting all the other 4 members and getting to known their background and their Latino representation. An incredible experience!
A year later and now, I’m still working at JUN as their Sous Chef. At the same time with the help of both Chefs Evelyn and Henry. I’m starting my own small catering and pop up wine dinners with my business partner and friend Chef Ricardo Moreno also Salvadoran and a graduate from Houston Community College. Our beginning is just starting and I do hope for a future fine dining restaurant using Salvadorian/Mexican ingredients. Let’s see where the fire takes us!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Absolutely not! But each challenge I conquered I grow stronger and keeps my spirit high!
Coming to the U.S. was challenging, learning a new language, a new culture, a new environment. Now, Houston is my second home and love this amazing multicultural city.
Changing my career from engineering to now cooking with flames was also another challenge. As many immigrants that come to the U.S. looking for a better life or help their families is quite difficult to make a “selfish” decision. Many immigrants make decisions not just for themselves, but also for their families. However, in my part, my mother has been always my biggest supporter. She told me, “anything you want to do, don’t do it because you have to, do it because you love to do it. Do it because it brings you joy and happiness.”
And I’m extremely grateful for those words, because cooking is my biggest passion and joy!
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Currently I’m working at JUN with Chef Evelyn Garcia and Chef Henry Lu as their sous chef. My career and training has been mostly Mexican cuisine. However, at this new restaurant. I’m learning and cooking a fusion of Mexican Salvadorian cuisine with Asian influence.
I’m known for my happy attitude while working. I think it is important to have the best work environment and even better when you have a certain person that brings that great energy into the work place. I also love pastries, growing up my mother and grandma used to bake so many delicious sweet breads; from quesadillas de arroz to salporas and cemitas filled with pineapple jam. This influence of eating pan dulce con café every morning, made me wonder how to make pastries and breads which I now bake and create.
There has been many proud moment in my life. Graduating from culinary school, working as an executive chef, creating new dishes inspired on my roots and my culture. Now I can say my proudest at the moment is being selected in cohort program called Old Ways New Hands with Chef Richard Sandoval. From many applicants around the U.S. only five where selected. I flew to Cabo San Lucas in Mexico to understand the behind scenes of Chef Richard’s empire. As well as creating a dish that represented my Salvadorian roots. It’s quite wonderful how an immigrant is now flying thru at the world trying to inspire more people as well as representing where it comes from.
How do you think about happiness?
My happiness comes from that kid that used to watch cooking shows and now he gets to be part of the show. Working with flames, unique ingredients, and the diverse culture in the kitchen staff. We all come from different places from the world but we all have something in common and it’s the love for cooking.
Cooking is what makes me happy. I like to be part of dish creations, the smile and face change of a person when the food is amazingly good. The joy that bring people together when cooking. The math and science behind a dessert or chocolate bonbon. We might called technique but for me is more than that! It just fulfills my soul when cooking. Of course there are always rough moments, specially when the service is at its peak. Nonetheless, for me, service should always ends with a good smile.
It makes me happy that I have fulfill dreams that at some point in life were way too high to reach.
It makes me happy that the little kid that used to make tamales with her mom, it’s now cooking in professional kitchens.
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