The 13-episode show, which is not a culinary competition and is a sample of the variety of the region’s gastronomy, can be seen on the ViX platform.
The tour took the chef and his production team to more than 52 restaurants, some located on the West Coast and others on the opposite side of the United States.
Each episode was recorded in a different city. We ran all over the United States. On the West Coast we went to San Diego, Long Beach and Los Angeles. In Texas, we were in Dallas and Houston. We were in New York, New Jersey and Philadelphia, detailed chef Jess in an interview with DIARIO LAS AMRICAS.
We also went to Atlanta, Georgia, and Charlotte and Raleigh in North Carolina. Then we went down to Miami. In each city we visited at least four restaurants, a total of about 52 or more. They showed us the food and the house specialties, he added.
If it was exciting to try the delights of each menu, it was also interesting to discover the stories that gave rise to those restaurants.
They told us their entrepreneurship stories from the beginning, which are success stories, and everything it cost them. The vast majority are families that came and started from very low, whether it was the dad, the grandma, or even that young person who started the business because he started learning about cooking. Many started by washing dishes and then applied the knowledge they inherited from the family. We were in Peruvian, Mexican, many Colombian, Central American, and Venezuelan restaurants. A little bit of everything, a great variety, he said.
The focus of the program is the food, the recipes and everything they show us. But it’s not just about cooking, it’s also about how they got here. Many are Michelin star winners or have more than one restaurant. There are those who already have up to seven, but they all started the same.
The stories of these restaurateurs resonate a lot with yours, which is why we show them on camera.
The chef, who is one of the faces of the Univision morning show Despierta América, had achieved a dream when in 2012 he opened Ikura Sushi, a project that a few years later he had to put on pause.
I had my restaurant for six years in Miami. When I opened it it was simply an accumulation of my experience as a worker. I started as a dishwasher at an IHOP. I went to waiter. Then I jumped into the kitchen because it was where they paid me the best. And in those five years I learned a lot about the business. Then I worked as a food salesman for companies and learned everything that was necessary to open a restaurant, he recalled.
So I used all that experience to open my restaurant. And with very little, with a small loan from the bank and what I had accumulated, I was able to open my business with about 10 or 12 tables. I was also an immigrant and I was illegal. I also had to learn the language. So all of this was what really stood out in each of these businesses. And that’s why my desire (to tell the stories) and, perhaps, my connection with each of these people.
But, when he was hired in 2017 to be part of the show Despierta Amrica and face family events, he had to reorganize his priorities.
When I started Despierta América, I started getting up early and a lot of things accumulated. My second girl was born. My mother got sick too, may she rest in peace. She helped us a lot with the girls. So, all that piled up on me. And I made the decision to sell the restaurant and continue with this opportunity (on television). Obviously I miss it and would like to have my own restaurant again, he continued.
As to whether he ever envisioned himself as a TV star chef, he commented:
Yes, it was something I had dreamed of, but I didn’t imagine it would happen so quickly. What helped me make the decision (to venture into television) was that I thought that, with this platform and the position I could gain in television, it would be a complement to the restaurant. I didn’t think one of the two things was going to burn. I had a lot of things on my plate, including the birth of my daughter.
The exposure he has gained through the program has opened other doors for the Venezuelan who specializes in Nikkei cuisine, a fusion of Peruvian and Japanese cuisine.
At Despierta Amrica they have given me many opportunities. Thanks to my bosses and the team, because I don’t just cook. In fact, I am part of the team that does the sports, exercise, and entertainment segment. He also participated in Mira Quin Baila.
The ingredient that cannot be missing in your dishes is spicy or citrus flavors.
As my cuisine is very raw, raw fish, fresh seafood, as it is Nikkei cuisine, it goes very well with spicy or citrus.
Regarding why he prefers to prepare that fusion and not Venezuelan dishes, he argued:
In the years I was working as a restaurant consultant, most of my clients were Japanese. And after having worked in a hot kitchen, which is quite stressful and demanding, I realized how Asians cooked, which is a much more passive, more delicate cuisine, taking their time, respecting all the processes and the temperatures of the fish. . And I loved that.
In addition, that meal also gave me the opportunity to be a little more creative when decorating the dishes, to be more detailed. So, all that enveloped me and made me lean towards that side.
Likewise, he does not give up on having a restaurant again, but this time it would have a different name and with a more expanded gastronomic offer.
I have all my energy that this year I can have a restaurant again. If I get the right people and the right place, that’s my main project. Furthermore, being able to release a second season of Qu Delicia Sera would be wonderful. Those are the two most important projects for me, he revealed.
It would have a different name, but more or less the same cuisine, with some changes. Maybe not only Peruvian-Japanese, but more Latin-Asian, to give a little more space to Latin and also involve a little Korean.
