It's A Flavorful Life

He’s a top Latino chef; the star of award-winning Food Network shows; and one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world, according to People.

He has cooked for celebrities like Hugh Jackman, Mike Myers and the Obamas. Yet, when asked about being at the pinnacle of his career, Chef Aarón Sánchez says simply: “I don’t think I’m there yet.”

His response comes during a break in filming the 10th season of the Fox series “MasterChef” in Los Angeles – the longevity of which is, in itself, no small feat for network television. 

Perhaps his humility is the result of his tough-love upbringing by a single mother who was too busy making a living to baby her twin sons – and who left an abusive marriage to strike out on her own and wow the culinary world with authentic Mexican gastronomy. Perhaps it’s the result of a cut-throat industry that is notoriously tough on its leaders. Whatever the reason, Chef Sánchez clearly believes he has much more work to do.

A third-generation chef and cookbook author, Chef Sánchez, 43, says his passion is to show the world that Mexico is a culinary superpower akin to France, its food is never dull and it goes far beyond tortilla chips and frozen margaritas. Instead, as he writes in his new memoir, “Where I Come From: Life Lessons from a Latino Chef,” out this month, color defines both the country’s culture and its food – as do “flavors layered with wildly complex blends of spices and ingredients and techniques that take days to develop, so that every dish pops and dances on the palate.”

As co-owner of Johnny Sánchez, a hip Mexican eatery in New Orleans, where he is based half the year, he cooks not just because it runs in his blood but because “food is the purest reflection of the Mexican people,” symbolizing meaningful connections to family and culture.

Growing up in El Paso, Texas, Chef Sánchez watched his mother run a small catering business in addition to her day job as a social worker. Filled with fire for her craft, Zarela Martinez quickly grew a loyal client base and soon realized she needed a bigger stage. Being discovered by culinary legend Paul Prudhomme, whom she met after splurging on a meal in his New Orleans restaurant, proved extremely fortuitous: The chef not only opened doors that launched her career in New York City but later served as Chef Sánchez’s first mentor.

With Chef Sánchez and his brother, Rodrigo, in tow, Martinez left El Paso for New York City in a van filled with her greatest culinary hits. In 1987, by the time the boys were 11, she had already opened a restaurant to critical acclaim, creating regional Mexican dishes for an audience previously acquainted only with Taco Bell and burrito joints. Just as her son would do after her, she revolutionized and honored Latin food in a way that wasn’t commodified, incorporating top-quality ingredients and paying attention to nuance and technique.

“Because there was so little understanding of the cuisine, my mom realized she possessed something powerful that she could share with the world,” says Chef Sánchez.

During the school year, he and his brother lived with their mother in New York, where every day was a new culinary adventure, from tea at The Plaza to feasting on Russian fare in Brighton Beach. In the summer, the duo trekked back to El Paso to visit their father, spending weekends at markets across the border in Mexico.

“I loved the colors, I loved watching people barter and buy produce – fresh and dried chilies, tomatoes and tomatillos, onions and avocados by the basketful – and I’d wonder about what they were going home to cook,” he writes. 

Family fiestas involved homemade chorizo and braised meats on the grill, chunks of slow-cooked goat and beef served with pickled vegetables, and his Tia Nini’s famous chili con queso. Watching his grandmother make tacos and enchiladas first sparked Chef Sánchez’s interest in cooking.

“It was hard not to imagine that what she was doing with those sauces simmering away on the stovetop was anything less than magic. I watched her work and absorbed the aromas, asked a million questions and sampled everything.”

However, growing up without regularly seeing his father and dealing with a revolving door of authority figures took its toll on Chef Sánchez. When his father died during double bypass surgery, his teen angst boiled over into rebellion.

As his grades and attitude plummeted, his mother found the closest thing to an intervention: sending him to a wilderness camp for juvenile delinquents 3,000 miles away for a month. When he fell back into old habits, she called Chef Prudhomme, her old mentor in New Orleans, and sent her son to work in his kitchen for the summer.

Finally, something clicked. At K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen, Chef Sánchez received not only a culinary crash course under the personal mentorship of one of the country’s best chefs but felt like he finally belonged somewhere.

“I learned the things a kitchen can provide, in discipline, structure and mentoring,” he writes. “To have consistency and be held accountable doesn’t just keep you out of trouble; it gives you self-worth. Strong mentoring, finding someone who can nurture you, see the best elements in you, have faith in your ability and believe in you, can be life-changing.”

For Chef Sánchez, cooking didn’t just put food on the table. It gave him purpose. That’s why he started the Aarón Sánchez Scholarship Fund, partnering with the International Culinary Center in New York to enable aspiring Latino chefs to attend culinary school on a full scholarship.

“Right now, we have six kids in the program, and we’re about to get three more scholarships,” Chef Sánchez says. “It’s great for them to know there won’t be barriers for them to excel in leadership positions in the kitchen.”

He’s also optimistic about the next generation of chefs, having just finished shooting the seventh season of “MasterChef Junior.”

“It was an absolute joy to see so many cool kids from all over the country embracing food as their calling, which we’re really proud of,” he says. “Anything that gets kids away from the damn iPad and video games and into the kitchen makes me extremely happy about the future.”

Chef Sánchez was only 25 when he opened his first restaurant, Paladar, in New York, but he got his big break when asked to make appearances on the Food Network. He agreed, merely thinking of the opportunity as a chance to gain publicity for his restaurant.

Soon, the TV roles began to pile up, and he started becoming a household name via shows like “Iron Chef: America,” “Heat Seekers,” “Taco Trip,” “Chopped” and “Guilty Pleasures.”

For Chef Sánchez, who won a James Beard Award in 2012 for “Chopped,” TV became a vehicle to bring respect to Latinos who have served as the backbone of the food and service industry – but in largely invisible, thankless roles.

But, as the Food Network gigs took off and he spent more time away from his family, the long hours took their toll – ultimately costing him his brief marriage to singer-songwriter Ife Mora, with whom he has a 10-year-old son, Yuma. Fortunately, Chef Sánchez spends time with him half the year in Los Angeles, where his ex-wife resides and where “MasterChef” films.

“Chefs have a notoriously difficult time keeping relationships. So many of us wind up divorced, depressed, detached from the outside world,” says Chef Sánchez, who has battled depression and anxiety for most of his life but only began publicly sharing his struggles recently. 

“Losing Anthony Bourdain in 2018 was another massive wake-up call,” he writes. “Maybe in his passing, he pointed out the most important thing we should be paying attention to: one another. Because that’s the soul and spirit of the hospitality industry. After all, how can we take care of our guests if we don’t first take care of each other?”

In the meantime, he’s making time for self-care, finding solace in practicing Buddhism and always cooking to his favorite rock tunes.

But the hard work never stops: Next year, Chef Sánchez is opening a Mexican gastropub in New Orleans. It’s yet another way for the dedicated chef to share his cuisine, culture and calling with the world. O