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Herrera’s squash blossom quesadilla (pictured on the right). Photo courtesy of HellbenderHerrera was born and raised in Los Angeles to a Jalisco-born mother and a father from Mexico City who immigrated to the U.S. in the 1980s. Her career started more than a decade ago at the fine-dining meccas of Spago and Providence. After working her way up in those kitchens, she was hired at David Chang’s Majordomo in L.A.’s Chinatown.

In 2018, she moved to New York to work at Ko, and she’s been in New York ever since. And it was here where she finally began to reference the food she grew up with in her professional work, eventually landing at the now-shuttered Xilonen and later at Sobre Masa. Working closely with other Mexican chefs helped Herrera find her own voice and style of cooking that she’s since brought to Hellbender, which opened in February: technique driven, ingredient forward, approachable, soulful, refined Mexican American cuisine.

We spoke with Herrera about her journey to Hellbender, her love of heritage grains, and how she’s applied her fine dining background and Mexican heritage to the food she cooks today as an executive chef and partner.

The post At Hellbender, Chef Yara Herrera Cooks on Her Own Terms appeared first on Resy | Right This Way.