One of the most well-known faces on Argentine television, Narda Lepes started cooking in 1992. With an array of award-winning TV series under her belt for El Gourmet and Fox, the mother of one has also penned six books and is set to open her first restaurant in 16 years, Narda Comedor, in Belgrano, Buenos Aires, in October 2017.
When Chef Wes Avila first started Guerrilla Tacos in 2012 he wasn’t setting out to do something different—he was setting out to do something good. He had gone to culinary schools in California and France, had cooked alongside some of the most recognized chefs in the world—Walter Manske at L’Auberge, Gary Menes at Le Comptoir, Alain Ducasse at Le Centre de Le Formacion—but he had still not found his own style. Then, one day while driving through his home city in Pico Rivera of East LA, the idea hit him like a stick slamming into a pinata. Tacos. The perfect medium. They were approachable and unpretentious, but could be made into the small and perfected fine-dining meals he had studied and loved. Tacos. He could make them with locally sourced ingredients and experiment with unique recipes and not have to worry about serving them with all the pretense of a fine dining establishment. Tacos, it was the way he would bring gourmet to the street and do something good.
Grace Ramirez is the tenacious chef, author, and TV personality born in Venezuela and raised in Miami. She is the author of the cookbook, La Latina: A Cook's Journey Through Latin America.
Rodolfo Guzmán is a native Chilean and former professional water skier. He has cooked in restaurants around the world, including Mugaritz in the Basque region of Spain. He opened Boragó in Santiago, Chile in 2006.