Meet Oscar Padilla | Restaurant Owner | Culinary Director

We had the good fortune of connecting with Oscar Padilla and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Oscar, what do you think makes you most happy? Why?
Food makes me very happy, it is something that combines love and family, I learned that from my grandparents and sitting at the table with my family to eat brings back all those beautiful memories.

My happiness is surrounded by food, especially if it is something cooked on a wood fire or better still covered in sugar, that is absolute happiness.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I consider myself a cooking artist, traveling to discover new flavors and ingredients is one of my greatest passions. I was born in Los Angeles California but I was raised by my grandmother in Mexico City, that combination of two worlds created in me that curiosity to combine flavors and colors, California is known for its Pop Art cuisine and Mexico is recognized for its gastronomic culture and traditions, What better combination to create art in a delicious dish.

I am currently one of the champions in Chopped by FoodNetwork, that fills me with pride and knowing that I can share my Latin American heritage is very important to me and I showed it in this competition. This adventure was incredible, I lived for a while in New York so coming back to compete there was incredible, the chefs that competed were very talented and hard to beat, but being able to return home with the winner’s trophy is one of the greatest achievements. great of my career.

During my career I have been able to work with many Latin American chefs and I have learned that our flavors and traditions have no borders and come together in one word LATINO.
Being Latino and being able to share this world of flavors, colors, music and passion is what motivates me to continue learning. We have just opened The Gaucho Parrilla which is an Argentine influenced wood fire concept where the ingredients are sourced locally & flavors inspired across South America & Mexico.
This project would not have been possible without the support of my wife Norma and my children Emilio and Miranda, their have been a great motivation and support for me, of course it has not been easy to get to this point in my career but I have always been hungry for success and the unconditional love of my family. It has helped make my dreams come true, I think that giving my children that example of improvement and being able to inspire the next generations of young chefs is something that I want to leave as a legacy.

I want to share the wood fire kitchen with the rest of the world, that is my next goal in my career, it is something that I carry in my blood and it is an inheritance from my family, smoke and fire are my essence, EVERYTHING STARTS WITH FIRE.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Without a doubt, I would take him to Mexico City, living the experience of eating one of the best cuisines in the world would be priceless, I would take him to visit some Taquerias and Cantinas where they make very spicy Molcajete Salsa and the Margaritas and Micheladas are delicious, later to eat Barbacoa and Birria accompanied by Tortillas made by hand with blue corn and of course a very cold beer.

We would visit the Zocalo in the center of the city and enjoy its colors and majestic monuments such as the Bellas Artes palace and Chapultepec park which is the central park of Mexico City, then continue eating but now street food, roasted corn, tamales, pozole and spicy tamarind candies.

I would also take him to the Xochimilco canals and sail in a boat surrounded by beautiful landscapes and where you can find other boats where they sell delicious Quesadillas and also a lot, but a lot of Tequila in addition to singing with the Marichis during the tour, later I would take him to eat at Pujol one One of the most important international restaurants where traditional food is combined with modern international cuisine resulting in an unforgettable experience, the Mole Madre is something that changes your life.

Finally, I would take him to my grandmother’s house to celebrate a great party singing, laughing and eating accompanied by Mezcal, Guacamole and why not more Tacos!
Creo que sería un viaje que nunca olvidaría.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Of course my grandmother, she planted in me the love for food, family and traditions. Gloria is currently 90 years old and is a great example of self-improvement for me, she is my mentor in the kitchen and every step I take I dedicate to her and my entire family, who have supported and accompanied me throughout my career.

This great woman has cooked for 4 generations starting with her brothers, her children, her grandchildren and now her great grandchildren, she doesn’t stop even cooking wood fire for thousands of people in the mountains of Aspen, she is incredible.

Website: https://www.chefoscarpadilla.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chefoscarpadilla/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chefoscarpadilla/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chefoscarpadilla?mibextid=ZbWKwL

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/gaucho-parrilla-arvada-2

Other: TIK TOK https://www.tiktok.com/@chefoscarpadilla?lang=en

Image Credits
Heritage Fire by Cochon555