Today we’d like to introduce you to Felix Florez II.
Felix, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I was born in McAllen, TX and toured with my Mom through the Texas countryside, tasting everything along the way. The flavors of each kitchen we passed through were bountiful and featured vegetables, usually grown close by the owners’ themselves, local livestock from nearby ranches, and scratch made creams, sauces, and cheeses. From the moment I was able, I found my way into the food service industry becoming a waiter at a local restaurant. Purchasing my first restaurant, a fine French bistro, at the age of 19 on Bee Cave Road in Austin, TX, I insisted on spending months in each and every position before taking over from the original owners.
While there, I fell in love at first sight with my wife, Jeanette, who was working four doors down from the bistro. We were soon wed and our family grew quickly.
After 9/11, a cultural backlash against the French, due to the foreign power’s opposition to invading Iraq, forced me to close the doors of my restaurant. I picked up my family and moved to Houston for fresh opportunities. Setting to work at the finest restaurants in Houston, I became a sommelier at Brennan’s of Houston, cultivating a supreme wine program to compliment the French-creole flavors of one of Houston’s most beloved culinary institutions. While there, I couldn’t help but notice that the high-quality ingredients being utilized in the kitchen were produced all over the nation, but few were from Texas.
Recognizing this opportunity, I formulated a plan: to bring the expressive flavors of Texas’ grand livestock to Houston restaurants.
I drove all over the nation, finding a unique selection of heritage breed hogs and decided to raise them humanely, in a free and open setting, allowing them to enjoy the land and to partake in a natural diet. As Black Hill Ranch was born, restaurants quickly realized the quality and expressive flavors of the meat I was able to offer. My business boomed and I leveraged the opportunity to take my business to a national level.
Unknowingly, I had stumbled upon the farm to table movement right at its’ inception and was helping to propel it into the spotlight in the Houston culinary community.
My family helps out in all aspects of my businesses. I’ve been fortunate to become a partner in two local Houston restaurants, Ritual and Blood Bros. BBQ, and look forward to expanding my presence in Houston’s hospitality industry. I’ve had the fortune to begin the Ranch 2 Kitchen Network, True Texas Honey, Jefferson Co. Rice Company, and a custom knife business.
I humbly count my many blessings and march forward with a simple hope to bring the flavors of Texas to tables across our great nation.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The biggest struggle has always been money, I started this with no money and to this day profits get put back into the company. Margins are very low too, so we can compete with commodity products.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Black Hill Ranch story. Tell us more about the business.
I can’t remember if I was watching a case of frozen Berkshire shanks being unpacked in a restaurant kitchen, or if I was skinning a wild boar on my family’s ranch, but I decided during one of those moments that my family and I were going to make a difference in the culinary world. I started raising pigs when I was a sommelier at Brennan’s in Houston. I got tired of watching chef’s order products from out of state. Whenever someone would open a meat product, it would always either be from Sonoma, or New Zealand, or Colorado. It was really irritating, there was no reason it should be that way.
I started Black Hill Ranch in 2010 with two acres in Cypress and a handful of pigs. Now we raise the finest breeds and sell the best quality meats that Texas has to offer. We now have a ten acre ranch and a network of small independent growers who raise pigs following our strict all-natural protocol. We now process 20 to 30 pigs a week for delivery to restaurants in Houston, Austin, New Orleans and Miami, and are adding new accounts regularly.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Luck is not much of a factor, what impacts my life and business is my commitment and dedication to working every day for my family.
Contact Info:
- Address: 13410 West Rd, Suite D, Houston, TX 77041
- Website: http://www.blackhillmeats.com/
- Phone: 713-937-1255
- Email: info@blackhillmeats.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blackhillmeats/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/black.hillmeats/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/blackhillmeats
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