Today we’d like to introduce you to Iliana De La Vega.
Hi Iliana, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I was born in Mexico city, from a Oaxacan family, my mom was a chemist but also an amazing cook, my Dad love to eat great food and loved to travel for it, so sometimes was abroad or in a whim he decided to have something and we drove for it, even several hours, it could be fancy or something out of a street vendor. I started six different careers, never finished one, I wanted to study cooking, there was not a culinary school in Mexico at the time, so I am self-taught. I have been married for 35 years and have two amazing daughters. I started teaching cooking at my home to friends, and then friends of friends, it was fun, challenging, lots of work but I learned so much as well! Eventually we moved to Oaxaca and open a restaurant there, we did great! until 2006 when we have to closed it, we move to the USA, and soon after I was asked to join the Culinary Institute of America, Along with my husband we had a food truck for almost two years, and eventually we open the brick and mortar restaurant El Naranjo, which in 2019 moved to South Lamar location, and we are still there. I also have a lovely Frenchie named Lola!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Our life it has been a long road and full of challenges and struggles. First we had to close our beloved El Naranjo in Oaxaca, move to a different country (grateful to the USA), but it is a strong change in one’s life. Work at The CIA was great, nothing to complain, but my dream was to have a restaurant again, then we started on Rainey St before the area became the “area” so first there was a lot of construction, then bars and we were a restaurant among mostly bars, what made us survive was when the Hotel Van Zandt opened, as many people started going back to the area, then the Fairmont, etc. We were doing very well. Then have to start all over again in a new location, and we were getting close to the good months of the year in March 2020, and we have to close because of the pandemic, and it all started again, and goes on and on… This last year has been difficult specially for the hospitality industry. We learned resilience, we have to start again several times, and the challenge now is the most difficult one we have experienced.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a Mexican-born chef, I have dedicated my professional life to the study and dissemination of the Mexican gastronomy, as an educator, a restaurateur, and culinary consultant. I am happily married after 35 years, and we have two daughters Ana and Isabel. My husband Ernesto Torrealba and I opened our first restaurant in Oaxaca Mexico and called it El Naranjo, we got international recognition for our cuisine and my cooking classes, and all was going great, but there was a social unrest and the economy collapsed, and we left Oaxaca. We move to the USA, and eventually located in Austin TX, I got the offer to work at The Culinary Institute of America as their Mexican Specialist, and it was a great as I travel to Mexico to interview Cooks, chefs, farmers, etc. to be able to document their stories, works or recipes. While working at The CIA I taught classes to professionals and enthusiasts on Mexican cuisine, and also created the Latin American curriculum for graduate students. I still dreamed of having a restaurant again, and on 2012 our dreams came true and we opened El Naranjo Austin on Rainey St, we were very successful but the cost of being downtown were also increasing so we decided to close and retire. An opportunity to a new location was presented to us, and we took it and open the 3rd El Naranjo now in South Lamar Blvd. Since day 1 of our restaurant life in the US, we have been nixtamalized our corn to make the perfect tortillas, we were the first restaurant in Austin and one of the few on the USA., now many others are following. I can’t stand still so for over a couple of years had a radio show: Platicando y Cocinando en Español, with the goal of supporting and improving the lifestyle and health of the Spanish-speaking population of Austin. Along with one of my daughters Isabel, we do culinary tours to different locations to Mexico. I do consulting for restaurants, hotels and also to several universities. In 2014 The Mexican Government gave me the prestigious Ohtli award in recognition of her work in Mexican Gastronomy and with the Hispanic population. The Ohtli is the greatest award given by the Mexican Government to citizens living abroad. I have been a James Beard semifinalist for best Southwest Chef 2019 and semifinalist for the best Texas Chef 2020.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
The love and passion for what I do, I really love to Mexican cuisine, and also resilience, we, my husband Ernesto Torrealba and I have worked together since we opened our first restaurant in Oaxaca in 1997, and we have passed through very challenging periods and we have been able to find ways out and reinventing ourselves all the time!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.elnaranjorestaurant.com www.mexicanculinarytraditions.com
- Instagram: @elnaranjoaustin
- Facebook: @elnaranjoATX
Image Credits
John Barkley
