Chef Gabe Erales plates with pride at Bacalar in Austin

Words by Nicole Letts

Executive Chef Gabe Erales cooks from the heart. The mechanical engineer turned chef of Bacalar in Austin, Texas is bringing his Yucatan heritage to the masses. There, he focuses on a cuisine rich with global influences while giving back to farmers and artisans in Mexico. Below, he shares more about his dedication to his roots and his craft.

Tell me about your journey to become a chef. I come from a big Mexican family who immigrated to the US from Mexico, specifically Yucatan. My parents moved to El Paso, and that is where I was born. My parents have always strongly influenced my cooking, and I had all these different diasporas of cooking in my life. They were also big believers in education. It was always ingrained in me that I had to go to college and get a degree. I worked in restaurants while I was going to school at the University of Texas. I graduated with an engineering degree. 

You were an engineer?! 

Yes, I have both a bachelor's and a master's in mechanical engineering. Out of college, I was working for General Motors as an automotive engineer in Detroit, and then I was working on a project in Oklahoma City and was getting my master's there. I also worked in the semiconductor industry for years as an equipment engineer for Samsung doing microchip technology. All along I was really missing my creative side and being in that grind of the kitchen.

How are you trying to use ingredients and techniques that represent your heritage?I am a proponent of nixtamalization, which sounds like a complex chemistry laboratory word, but people have been using this technique since pre-Hispanic era. It is the process in which limestone, a common stone in the southern part of Texas and Mexico, is put into water with corn. The corn then has a chemical reaction with the limestone’s calcium hydroxide making it easier to digest because it softens the corn, making it easier for your body to absorb. Nixtamalization allows corn to turn itself into a superfood through the release of niacin and vitamin B. 

So how is that helping the farmer?
At a large-scale manufacturing level, all corn tortillas are made from corn, but not all corn is from a good source. Since these smaller communities [in Mexico] do not grow commercially, there is a surplus of corn there that would typically just be sold for pennies on the dollar to the local community. We partner with Tamoa, an organization that comes in and purchases these products. They reinvest the money back into the community for their systems, their farming techniques, and their practices. Once you have a freshly made tortilla made from an ear of beautiful non-GMO heirloom corn, you will never look at tortillas the same ever again. 

Is it more expensive for you to get those types of ingredients?
It is more expensive, but we are committed to creating a space that is tied to tradition, techniques, and ingredients. Could we make our own version of it with local ingredients? Yes. Do we do it sometimes? Yes. But there are some things that cannot be replicated without the ingredients we bring from the Yucatan. There is a dish called Negro. It is a paste that is completely black, and it is made from burnt chilies, burnt spices, and burnt tortillas that then get cooked in a braise. Some of the ingredients that go into this paste cannot be found here. We bring them from the Yucatan to incorporate into our recipes because it provides that connection back to the tradition and the flavors. 

To me there is a trend to really push people out of their comfort zone of what they think of as traditional Mexican or Latin American cuisine.
Absolutely. One of the cool things about Bacalar, and one of the challenges of Bacalar, is that we are focused on such a diverse region that a lot of the dishes come from a Mayan influence or the other global influences global influences that impacted the region such as Lebanese food or Caribbean food. People sit down and read these descriptions and these ingredients, and they think, “I never had this in Oaxaca. I never had this in Mexico City or Baja.” I think it can be an educational experience. 

I would be remiss not to mention your Top Chef season 18 win. How has the show impacted your career?
I was able to find my cooking voice, and that is what made me successful. When I watched, I noticed chefs try to cook for the judges instead of cooking for themselves. When you have a true cooking voice, you are more successful. I just went there and did what I felt my personal perspective on cooking was which was honoring where I came from. It worked out for me. 

To me that's good advice for the home cook too.
Sharing food with people is such an intimate thing. Some of the best meals I have had have been in other people's homes that have shared a piece of their life or their family with me. That makes everlasting impressions much more than if you were to go out for a group dinner in a restaurant. Having someone's grandmother, father, aunt, or uncle cook something that has been in their lineage of home cooking for years, it feels like a big warm hug. That is special.