Ten Chefs You Need To Know In Santa Fe

Amy's Baking Company Hires Joe Arpaio's PR Firm To Change Public's Perception

by Tina Nguyen

How good is Rose, Moser & Allyn? They represent the highly controversial Maricopa County Sherrif Joe Arpaio, the law enforcement official so divisive that someone recently tried to blow him up with a package bomb.

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WATCH: The Sussman Brothers Ride Horses And Crash Tea Parties On Truckers In The Wild

by Tina Nguyen

God forbid that Max and Eli Sussman, the pride of Brooklyn, ever betray their hipster roots by doing such WASPy things as equestrian activities and gossiping with ladies over tea.

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"That kid who you see, a militia member, at one point looks in the camera and says, 'This is the taste of freedom.' Which is both dismaying and heartbreaking and beautiful at the same time."

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WATCH: Jay Rayner Takes Down Locavorism In Snarky New Book Trailer

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The Top 10 Chefs You Need To Know In Santa Fe, New Mexico

by Tina Nguyen 3:03 pm, November 28th

New York may be a culinary mecca, but it’s not the be-all and end-all of food talent. As such, we’ve taken it upon ourselves to highlight celebrity, notable, or otherwise up-and-coming chefs you should know about across the country.

Okay, okay, we’ll freely admit that we had New Mexico on our minds after a few too many Breaking Bad marathons, but we’ll fast-forward through the obligatory “real cooks > meth cooks” joke, because we were highly impressed by the caliber of chefs we found in the Land of Enchantment. The capital of this culinary state, of course, is Santa Fe. The epicenter of the Southwest Cuisine movement, the city’s attracted chefs from around the country (and even the world) to offer up their own variations on the region’s cuisine. The results: one of the most competitive restaurant scenes we’ve seen in a small city yet.

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1.Mark Miller, Coyote Cafe

Any discussion of Santa Fe cuisine must begin, rightfully, with Mark Miller and the Coyote Cafe. Decades ago, he introduced New Mexico's native chiles to the world through his cuisine and turned Santa Fe into an official food destination. Though Miller is now retired and his Coyote Cafes are franchised nationwide, his influence not only remains present in the cuisine of the chefs who followed him, but also paved the way for other culinary movements to flourish. [Coyote Cafe]

2.Brian Knox, Aqua Santa

Take, for instance, Brian Knox at Aqua Santa. He's a staunch advocate of the Slow Food movement, a worshipper of Chez Panisse, and a regional virtuoso in New American/Mediterranean cuisine, making everything from scratch (if he can.) He's actually one of many chefs who specifically moved to Santa Fe to break into the restaurant scene Miller fostered: "There are numerous incredible restaurants, and a great selection of really talented chefs," he said of the city to the Santa Fe Reporter. "On the other hand it’s really challenging because there are so many restaurants. There are too many seats in the market."

3.Eric DiStefano, Multiple Locations

Though he's the current chef at the Coyote Cafe, Eric DiStefano's talent could not be restrained by simply maintaining Mark Miller's flagship. He not only updated the Southwest menu with Asian and French influences, he also opened a second restaurant, Geronimo, focusing on his own signature style. He's even expanded to Dallas recently, collaborating with Dallas restaurateurs for a restaurant and bar in Texas, and has enough of a name cachet to freak out foodies throughout the Southwest.

[Geronimo, Coyote Cafe]

4.Martin Rios, Restaurant Martin

Funny story about Geronimo: Martin Rios, a former Iron Chef America contestant and a mainstay of the Santa Fe dining scene, used to run the kitchen there before he abdicated it to DiStefano, citing the need to "look for [his] future." He soon found it in his self-named restaurant, a slightly more casual take on the high-end progressive American cuisine he'd been serving throughout his career, and quickly became showered in accolades (including, notably, a semifinalist nomination for the James Beard Best Chef Southwest Award in 2011.) Hooray for following your heart!

[Restaurant Martin]

5.James Campbell Caruso, La Boca and Taberna La Boca

No city is complete without a tapas bar, and luckily Santa Fe has two run by a chef who actually cares about authentic Spanish flavor profiles. (James Campbell Caruso also happens to be an acclaimed, experienced chef who's been nominated for a James Beard Award five times, but that's obviously tangential.) [La Boca]

6.Joseph Wrede, Tomme

Twelve years ago, Joseph Wrede was named one of Food & Wine's Best New Chefs for his work in Taos at Joseph's Table. (We personally like him because his earliest food memory was "Snails and 7-Up." Winning.) Last year, however, he left his legendary restaurant to move to Santa Fe and take over the historic Palace Restaurant and Saloon, then moved to smaller but vibrant Tomme. [Tomme] (Updated)

7.Charles Dale, Formerly of the Terra at the Encantado Resort Back in Aspen in 1995, Charles Dale was one of Food & Wine's Best New Chefs, thanks to years training in the world's best kitchens and close mentoring from Daniel Boulud and Jacques Pepin. Years later, he moved to Santa Fe when he was tapped to run the restaurant in the newly-opened Encantado Resort, and brought his modern-rustic style with him -- as well as his cool stories about the days of being a jetsetting chef in the 80's. UPDATE: Sadly, Dale left the Terra in September (this press release from the Four Seasons announcing his replacement confirms it), disappearing into the Santa Fe deserts, where we've lost track of him. Anyone know where he is? He sounds too cool to have disappear.
[Terra at Encantado Resort]

8.Katharine Kagel, Cafe Pasqual's One of the original chefs behind the early Santa Fe Boom in the 80's, Katharine Kagel and her pan-Pacific culinary background somehow translated into the creation of the city's signature Mexican restaurants. Don't ask us how that mashup happened, but it works -- much like how her restaurant happens to be the hub of the city's food bank and an art museum. (And the food, obviously, is top-notch.) [Cafe Pasqual's]

9.Nelli Maltezos, Trattoria Nostrani For a chef of one of New Mexico's best restaurants -- heck, it made Gourmet's list back in 2006 -- Nelli Maltezos keeps a low profile. All we know is that she was one of Charlie Trotter's former assistant sous chefs, she became a partner of provocative restaurateur Eric Stapleman in Manhattan during the 90's, then moved with him to Santa Fe to open the award-winning Rocaicia, then Nostrani. And to be honest, we don't mind -- it allows her to focus on the cooking, and that's always a good thing.
[Trattoria Nostrani]

10.Xavier Grenet, Ristra A prime example of how Santa Fe's restaurant scene blends the Southwest with the rest of the world, Grenet's background allows him to cook a sort of elegant, French-inspired menu of regional cuisine. And it's a starred background, too: Originally from Paris, Grenet was the head chef of Joel Robuchon's Jamin, which boasted three Michelin stars under his leadership. The fact that he's now in New Mexico, blowing people's minds every night with "one of the splashiest desserts in Santa Fe" only attests to how freakishly good the restaurant scene is, if it can attract this caliber of talent.
[Ristra]

One thought on “The Top 10 Chefs You Need To Know In Santa Fe, New Mexico”

Zane on December 1, 2012 at 5:15 am said:

Wow—much appreciate the Santa Fe chef love. You’ve got a few errors, however. Charles Dale is no longer at Terra at Encantado (which is also misspelled in the article and the tag), and Joseph Wrede has moved to Tomme. The Palace is now helmed by talented young chef, Ryan Gabel. PS, James Cambell Caruso has a new joint called “Taberna.”

There a ton of other great new and established chefs launching some fabulous projects out here, so we look forward to some more press. Thanks, again.

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Amy's Baking Company Hires Joe Arpaio's PR Firm To Change Public's Perception

WATCH: The Sussman Brothers Ride Horses And Crash Tea Parties On Truckers In The Wild

WATCH: Why Is Anthony Bourdain At A Fake KFC In Libya?

WATCH: Jay Rayner Takes Down Locavorism In Snarky New Book Trailer

The Top 10 Chefs You Need To Know In Santa Fe, New Mexico

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