Big Bend People: Young chefs return to WT roots

Joe Rodriguez, left, and Alex Acosta in front of Reata. Avalanche photo

We sat down with Alex and Joe for a freewheeling question-and-answer session. They

provided insights into food, life and the inner workings of a fine restaurant.

Q: Tell us about yourselves, where you’re from.

Alex: I’m originally from Marfa, believe it or not. Graduated in 2002 and went off to see the world. A little stint in Dallas and then in Colorado. In high school, I actually worked in Cibola Creek Ranch.

Joe: Originally I’m from El Paso, went to school at Mountain View High School.

Q: Did you always want to be a chef?

Alex: No, I didn’t think I was going to be a chef when I was in high school. I thought I was going to be a big sports star; I was all-district and all-state in football. Turned out I was really good at home ec.

Joe: Shortly after high school I decided to go to culinary school; cooking was something I always liked doing, I helped my mom cook, my grandma always showed me how to do things.

Q: When did you first decide that food might be your future?

Joe: After high school, I went to Culinary School in Austin. I guess I knew even in high school that cooking would be in my future.

Alex: I was working out at Cibola, waiting tables, washing dishes, whatever I could to make a few dollars. The chef saw something in me and I started cooking with him. His name was Ty Hunt. He’s in Indiana now and has his own catering service.

Q: Alex, what did Ty Hunt see in you?

Alex: I have no clue, to tell you the truth. Maybe it was my work ethic, which I got from my mom, Siria. That first job was so different, so interesting, from washing dishes to plating to cooking. After awhile, I was doing breakfast by myself. I cooked for the likes of Julia Roberts, Bruce Willis, Mick Jagger. At such a young age, I was awestruck. I pretty much burned Julia Roberts’ eggs. To this day, it’s still kind of hard for me to think: “I met Julia Roberts.”

Q: So what was next?

Alex: It kind of dawned on me that I might want to go to [Austin’s] Culinary School. I saw the price tag on it ($50,000) and just about had a heart attack. So I packed up my things and moved to Dallas, thinking I’d live with my brother, save some money, learn a little. And then head to Austin. Meanwhile, Ty had left Cibola and headed to Duncan Hot Springs, Colo., for a real good job. He offered me a job as sous chef, which was the first time I had the title chef next to my name. I spent two years at this ranch resort between Durango and Telluride. That’s when I really decided I was going to the Culinary School no matter what it took. So I nickel and dimed it for two years, saved some money, applied and got in.

Q: What was Culinary School like?

Alex: I moved to Austin and got a job working at Papadeaux as a bartender, server and cook, and slept sometimes; school was pretty much 9-5 every day; and then I worked whenever I could.

It’s a two-year program. You learn the basics, the stripped-down basics. Everyone thinks that in the Culinary School, you’re going to learn to light things on fire, and you really don’t. You learn to chop and cut, and you have concentrations on the different genres and the basics of each. Sauces, meat cuts, soups and salads. It was a world class culinary school.

Joe: Same for me. It taught me the basics, the techniques, the terms, how to act in the kitchen, even leadership.

Q: So, you got out of the Culinary School? What did you do?

Joe: I got out of Culinary School in 2004. After, I had my externship at [a fine-dining restaurant in El Paso]. We prepared lots of food with Asian and Latin influences. I worked there for almost a year; then met my wife and got married and went to San Antonio, where I found a job at a new restaurant that was opening up in three days.

Worked there for awhile and our kid came along, so we had to find a job with insurance; bounced around for a bit — at a hospital for awhile, a little sandwich shop, finally at a place in Boerne just outside of San Antonio at a place called Texas Grill, where I learned most of what I can do as far as post-Culinary School. It’s a fine-dining place. Learned so much from that chef, Tom Stevens; he is the best I’ve worked with. He influenced my technique, cuisine fusion, taught me how to a lot of different dishes and flavors.

Alex: I wanted to come home for awhile and get back to my roots. I applied at Lajitas before the changeover. I loved the job and was excited but two weeks later, the changeover happened and they really couldn’t fit me in.

I was lucky enough to run into Joe Duncan; he had taken over [Marfa’s] Paisano a few years back and he was trying to get the grill up and running. I told him what I was doing and needed [a job]. He said, “Just come work in the kitchen for awhile, show us what you’ve got.”

And then he offered me the job of executive chef at Paisano — age 22. I stayed there for about year and a half. Our menu was dominated by fusion; I come from a predominantly Hispanic background; I love mixing cultures. So I’ll take, say, enchiladas and fuse it, maybe with a fruit. For instance, I did a mix with a fruit. I did a blackberry chipotle enchilada soup. I took some of my flavor and added something from the rest of the world.

But then my head got too big. I looked around and actually landed a roundabout chef’s job at the Hawaiian Village Hilton. The only thing was that I was always working and had absolutely no social life. I had moved there with my fianc/, Mandi.

Q: How’d you get back to West Texas?

Alex: [By a indirect path.] I got this wild hair to join the Navy. Joined on a reserve program called “National Call to Service” a couple of years ago. I was active for 15 months — Iraq, Afghanistan, all over. And now my reserve time is once a month. It helps me pay back some of my Culinary School costs.

[After active duty], I came back to Marfa for awhile. And then in August I heard the Reata was looking for someone. I talked to [general manager] Jim Ruth one day, and the next day I was on the floor.

Joe: I wanted a change of pace, tired of the real big city, wanted to move back toward West Texas. Closer to my parents, who are still in El Paso. I’d never spent any time [in Alpine] until I talked to Jim. I had a great interview with Jim.

Q: How do you like it here?

Alex: I love being back home and I think the Reata is a great platform. There’s a structure, but you can still be incredibly creative.

We do legendary western cuisine but we also bring our customers some different things; in fact, we had fresh oysters on the half-shell a while back. I hope to bring some of the Hawaiian tastes I’ve learned to the area. We always want to keep the local favorites but give customers surprises occasionally.

Eventually, I want to open my own place. Don’t know when or if it would be local or somewhere else. I can see myself staying here with Reata for a long time. Which is good because I have so many ties in this area.

Joe: Love it. A great place to live and work.

Q: What kind of place would you open?

Alex: A family-style bistro, real homestyle. I love portions, love getting my big ole plate of food in a great atmosphere with a bit of wine or a Lone Star or Shiner beer. But keep people guessing on what I’d do next. Maybe even some Indian and Mediterranean and Japanese. I’m big on meat, even game — venison and backstrap.

Joe: I like simple, straightforward food with good flavors. But I also like to try new things all the time to keep it interesting. And it’s always fun to experiment and see what we can come up with.

Eventually want to have my own place, not sure where yet. My place would be a mix of everything. I love traditional Mexican food. And I love experimenting with Asian and Mediterranean food. And I’ve started working with Indian food. I just got back from El Paso where I stopped at an Indian food store and bought new spices and other stuff.