"I think as a chef you go through different phases of what you want to cook. I never wanted to identify myself as a Latina chef that could cook only Mexican food. I always wanted to learn multiple cuisines."
"Maria Isabel, which opened on March 3 at 500 Presidio Ave. in Presidio Heights, is San Francisco's newest Mexican restaurant. The restaurant explores the tropical and coastal flavors of Guerrero, as well as the earthier and heartier cuisine of Sinaloa, where her father grew up."
"It's also one of the few, if not the only, restaurants in the city with a chocolate program, featuring single-origin cacao from Oaxaca and Chiapas, and a spirits program that features the cousins of mezcal and tequila - raicilla and bacanora, both from the agave plant, sotol from the dasylirion plant, and a Mayan spirit called pox."
Laura Ozyilmaz, a Mexico-born chef, initially pursued culinary training in diverse global cuisines rather than Mexican food. She gained experience at prestigious Michelin-starred establishments including Mugaritz in Spain, Eleven Madison Park in New York, and Saison in San Francisco, mastering fine dining techniques. Her travels with husband and business partner Sayat Ozyilmaz revealed culinary similarities across cultures. Despite her earlier reluctance to be identified solely as a Mexican chef, Laura now opens Maria Isabel in San Francisco's Presidio Heights, named after her sister and mother. The restaurant showcases tropical coastal flavors from Guerrero and heartier cuisine from Sinaloa, featuring a distinctive chocolate program with single-origin cacao and specialty spirits including raicilla, bacanora, sotol, and pox.
Read at SFGATE
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]