Contrary to expectations, executive chef Richard Sandoval more closely resembles a tennis pro than an owner/co-owner of more than 25 restaurants and four in the metro area. He is so lean and well toned that it’s hard to grasp he spends almost his entire life eating and cooking. For many foodies, he is really one lucky guy. That’s been the case for Sandoval’s entire life. A native of Mexico City, Sandoval reminisces about his childhood hours spent with his grandmother, sitting on the counter in her kitchen while she cooked and joining with the family at large get-togethers. “Our culture revolved around food,” he said. “On weekends, the family gathered around platters of food.”
His father owned several restaurants — Madeiras in Acapulo and Villa Fiore in Mexico City — and it bolstered the young Sandoval’s interest in cooking. Between his grandmother’s from-scratch cooking and his father’s restaurant business, he says, by the age of 11 or 12 he had already begun to develop a palate and an understanding of fine cooking. “I had a head start,” he said. “At a young age I was exposed to [good] chefs.”
| IF YOU GO |
| El Centre D.F. |
| » Where: 1819 14th St., NW |
| » Info: 202-328-3131 |
| » Hours: Dinner nightly, 5 to 11 p.m.; Late night, 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. Sunday to Thursday, 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. Friday and Saturday; Brunch, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday |
At the age of 14, Sandoval moved to Acapulco with his father to become more involved in and exposed to the restaurant business. “I thought I’d be a tennis player, playing in the United States and in Europe,” he said. “But I realized that that was not a career, and I kept coming back to food.” Realizing that cooking was his real passion in life, he enrolled in the Culinary Institute of America.
After graduation, Sandoval began his cooking, returning to Acapulco to run his father’s restaurant and later moving to New York City to open two restaurants there with a friend. Sandoval then returned to his passion, preparing and presenting traditional Mexcian food and modernizing it for diners, a concept unique to Sandoval at the time, which until the late 1990s was still unseen in Manhattan.
His first enterprise, Maya in New York, was soon followed by his second, Tamayo in Denver, both of which began his modern Mexican cooking for which he is known. “I took my grandmother’s old recipes and modernized them,” he explained. “At that time the public didn’t understand real Mexican food.” Nevertheless, Sandoval’s New York restaurants, Maya and Pampano are the only two Mexican restaurants to have earned two stars by the New York Times.
Shortly after that, Sandoval partnered with opera star Placido Domingo to open the first of several joint enterprises. From there, Sandoval traveled the globe, opening Mexican and Latino restaurants from Denver and Las Vegas to Dubai and Qatar.
How does he keep track of it all? “I have a team of dedicated people,” he said. “I still cook and oversee all the menu changes. Food is what made me well known….I’ll show up at a restaurant and we taste 15 dishes. We may end up with four.”
What do his parents think of his frenetic, food-focused pace? “My parents think I’m crazy,” he said
Q&A
What is your comfort food?
Queso fundido, next to carnitas. I always go back to it. At my grandmother’s, we had homemade flour tortillas, melted cheese, and pico de gallo.
What are your must-have ingredients?
Chiles and cilantro
What’s in your fridge?
You’ll always find tortillas, avocados, chiles, cilantro and beans.
What has been your luckiest moment?
When Ruth Reichl gave me two stars. Everything went berserk, and we went from 40 to 250 patrons a night.
Which chef do you admire most in the world?
Chef Nobu Matsuhisa at Nobu (in New York and elsewhere) — inspired with his style of cuisine. He has built a restaurant into and empire.
Recipe
Tortilla Soup
Serves 10
You can find the guajillo paste and crema fresca in an Hispanic market.
2 to 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoons chopped yellow onion
? cup minced garlic
1/8 cup chopped celery
1 1/3 pounds Roma tomatoes, chopped
2 teaspoons sea salt
4 cups whole milk
1 1/3 cup water
1/3 cup guajillo paste
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/3 teaspoon cumin seed
4 teaspoons chopped fresh cilantro for garnish
1/3 cup fried tortilla chips for garnish
crema fresca for garnish
Heat the oil in a large saucepan, and saut? the onions, garlic, and celery until translucent. Add the tomatoes and salt, and cook for another 7 minute, stirring constantly. Add the milk, water, guajillo paste, bay leaf, oregano, and cumin seed.
Meanwhile, fry the tortilla chips. Add all except some for garnish for the finished soup. Cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes. Add some of the cilantro, reserving some for garnish. Remove the bay leaf, and blend until well processed. Set aside to cool. To serve, ladle into individual bowls, and garnish with the remaining chips, cilantro, and a dollop of crema fresca.
