Alex Martinez of V&E Restaurant Group: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Became a Chef

An Interview With Vicky Colas

Administrative work is part of the job. As an Executive Chef, you are not only creating dishes but you are also responsible for the entire kitchen. You are going to be doing a lot of math, food costs, budgets, and other administrative work that actually has nothing to do with being creative with food.

As part of our series about the lessons from influential ‘TasteMakers’, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Chef Alex Martinez.

Born and raised in a Puerto Rican household in New York City, there was always something cooking in Chef Alex Martinez’s childhood home. At the age of 13, his passion for cooking was sparked by paying close attention to his mother and grandmother’s talent in the kitchen.

He would later bring his culinary talent to Miami where he fine tuned his culinary skills working under chefs like American cook and food writer Sheila Lukins and James Beard award-winner Michael Schwartz, prior to opening his own restaurant Bamboo Noah’s, a fast casual concept. The restaurant became known for its Asian and Mediterranean-inspired fresh foods and flavorful sauces.

Since 2009, Chef Alex has worked as the Research and Development Corporate Chef for Vida & Estilo Restaurant Group, overseeing new openings and daily operations for restaurants in both Miami and Las Vegas including Café Americano.

Chef Alex has become a fixture of the Miami food scene, appearing on NBC 6 and Telemundo 23 Despierta America, while also being featured in several local magazines and newspapers showcasing the group’s exciting cuisine.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to ‘get to know’ you a bit. Can you share with our readers a story about what inspired you to become a restauranteur or chef?

My culinary introduction and inspiration to become a chef was sparked at an early age by my grandmother. I remember sitting in her kitchen as a young kid and just watching her cook — I could feel her passion for the craft. My grandmother was not a professional chef but she made some dishes better than some chefs that I have met throughout my career.

Do you have a specific type of food that you focus on? What was it that first drew you to cooking that type of food? Can you share a story about that with us?

I love talking about my job and what I do at V&E Restaurant Group which translates to life and style. I have worked there for the last 13 years growing from cook to sous chef and then chef.

As a Research and Development Corporate Chef, I get to experience and work with a variety of cuisines including American, Italian, Cuban, Mexican and sushi.

About specific food that I am particularly drawn to, I will have to say Asian food in general. I love Japanese, Chinese, Thai, all the flavors and all the possibilities you have with them, the ingredients and the fact that you can endlessly create dishes and play with them.

Can you share the funniest or most interesting story that happened to you since you became a chef or restauranteur? What was the lesson or take away you took out of that story?

One of the funniest things I have ever seen during my time as a chef was about 15 years ago. We had just made a big batch of fresh marinara sauce — 50 gallons perhaps. We had placed it in the cooler to bring the temperature down and one of our cooks fell into the marinara. She was very petite, about 4 feet tall, and somehow she lost her balance inside of the walk-in and fell head first inside of the marinara. When she came out of the walk-in cooler, it looked like a scene from a horror movie because she was completely drenched in marinara sauce. Out of respect, nobody laughed of course but in reality it was so funny that to this day, I can picture that exact moment in my head and laugh.

The take away from this story is when working in a kitchen, you must always be aware of your surroundings in an effort to avoid accidents.

Can you tell us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your journey? How did you overcome this obstacle?

When beginning this journey, the most challenging times that I have faced have been from the transition from cook to sous chef and ultimately to chef. I was very indecisive as I had a musical career and was cooking in between touring with my band. It was really hard for me to decide which dream to pursue, that of being a professional chef or musician.

Eventually things happened in my life, which pushed me towards becoming a chef and to this day I know I made the right decision. I still love music but I am happy that I pursued my culinary career.

In your experience, what is the key to creating a dish that customers are crazy about?

In my experience, the key to creating a dish that everyone will love has a lot to do with planning and how well thought out it is. Making sure you touch all of the important elements like the sweetness, acidity, seasoning, and texture, is what will help create a perfect dish. The ultimate goal is to create that perfect bite so when the guest tries it, they will be able to distinguish all of the elements you have incorporated into the dish.

Personally, what is the ‘perfect meal for you’?

I am a simple guy, so the perfect meal for me would be a nice dry aged steak with a fully loaded baked potato.

Where does your inspiration for creating come from? Is there something that you turn to for a daily creativity boost?

My inspiration for creating dishes comes from my past experiences and things that I have tried and tasted before. I recently took a long trip to Italy and came back with so much drive and inspiration to create new dishes for V&E Restaurant Group.

My everyday creativity comes from my memories. I think about “wow” flavors that have stuck in my head over the years and then I try to replicate that dish.

Are you working on any new or exciting projects now? What impact do you think this will have?

As a Research & Development Chef at V&E Restaurant Group, there are always new projects on the horizon. We are currently working on a new and elevated diner concept that will focus on some of the traditional diner classics with a fun modern twist. We know there are not many diners in South Florida — let alone anything like the one we are creating — so we are very excited to bring this fresh concept to the Miami culinary scene.

What advice would you give to other chefs or restauranteurs to thrive and avoid burnout?

The best advice I could give to other chefs that will help them continue to thrive and avoid burnout would be to travel! It is easy to get stuck when you are constantly seeing and doing the same things every day. Traveling really helps you see things from a new perspective and pushes you to try new things and expand your horizons. All of which ignites creativity and keeps your vision fresh.

Thank you for all that. Now we are ready for the main question of the interview. What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Started as a Restauranteur or Chef” and why? Please share a story or an example for each.

1. Some people do it for passion, others just for money. The people that you work with may not always care as much as you do and that is something you will need to accept as a fact. When I first started out, I expected everybody to have as much passion and love for the food we were making and the establishment we were working for as I did and it’s not like that.
2. Administrative work is part of the job. As an Executive Chef, you are not only creating dishes but you are also responsible for the entire kitchen. You are going to be doing a lot of math, food costs, budgets, and other administrative work that actually has nothing to do with being creative with food.
3. No such thing as 9am — 5pm! . You have to spend long and thankless hours in the kitchen. There are days when you will work 18 hours straight and walk out and nobody says anything to you. No one is going to pat you on the back so you have to make sure that your heart is truly in it.
4. You are only as good as your weakest link. People will base their judgement of your food on the total experience and not just what they receive on their plate. This is so important because if someone has a bad encounter in the front of the house or from their overall service, your food may also suffer critiques because of it.
5. You are never really in charge. The general manager is in charge of the whole restaurant including the kitchen. When I was a young chef, I felt I was the master of the whole domain. I learned later on in my career that I am not in charge, but the general manager is so, I had to loosen my grip on things I can not control.

What’s the one dish people have to try if they visit your establishment?

At Cafe Americano, you must try the Philly Cheese Steak, I love the way we do it! At Mercato, our tableside service for our Cacio e Pepe that we make inside of a parmesan wheel is fantastic. For our Mexican concepts, I would say you have to try the Aguachiles, which is traditional shrimp marinated in lime juice and yes they are deliciously hot. The Barsecco burger is one of my favorites because this is my tribute to an In N’ Out burger that we don’t have in Miami but whenever I feel like I want something close to it I go for that burger. At Havana 1957, my go to choice is the Masitas de Puerco; fried pork chunks, it is simply delicious.

You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

If I could inspire a movement, it would be to educate people on eating good, quality food. It’s important to know what a fresh and nutritious meal looks like so you can pay attention to what you are putting into your body. For example, there is parmesan cheese that is properly made and aged for 24 months in Parma, Italy but there is also “parmesan” cheese in America made by cranking machines and wrapped in plastic. It’s not about nutrition, it’s about the best quality product you can get. Additionally, I admire chefs that give back like Chef Jose Andres or Chef Michelle Bernstein.

Thank you so much for these insights. This was very inspirational!