Mexican Food

Gabe Erales, winner of Top Chef Season 18, hails from El Paso, Texas. He is passionate about preserving Mexican corn and culture, and infuses that passion into his cooking. His cooking philosophy focuses on locality through strong relationships with local farmers. Erales also seeks honesty in his roots by sourcing unique varieties of landrace corn, chiles, and other ingredients from different regions of Mexico. Married with four children, Erales recently launched his scholarship program, Niños de Maíz, with the Culinary Institute of America.

Luis Robles is a chef based in Los Angeles, born and raised in East Los Angeles to Mexican immigrants. He began by washing dishes in 1998 and has since worked with chefs across the country and abroad. Robles has held chef positions at The Disneyland Hotel, Patina Restaurant Group, Bon Appétit, and Wolfgang Puck Catering. He has cooked for special events such as the Food & Wine Festival, the 2010 Winter Olympics and the annual Governor’s Ball at the Academy Awards. In 2016, he was a presenter at the MAD Symposium.

As an Associate Professor of Culinary Arts at Los Angeles Trade-Technical College, Robles teaches whole animal butchery and oversees a restaurant open to the public. He is inspired by the resilience of his students at the inner-city community college. Teaching future generations of cooks the skills for culinary success is his passion.