Valley Chef Gives Mexican Flair To Dishes From Around The World

PHOENIX, AZ — Chef Jorge Gomez infuses European, Asian and American dishes at his three Valley restaurants with a dash of Mexican culture all year long. He also strives to teach his employees, restaurant patrons and his children about Mexican culture throughout the year, not just during Hispanic Heritage Month, which ends Friday, Oct 15.

Gomez, 40, was born and raised in Mexico and moved to the United States around 17 years ago.

A classically trained chef who spent time studying in Spain and Italy, Gomez is now the chef at multiple Valley restaurants. Humble Pie, which has locations in Scottsdale and Glendale, opened a few years ago and Humble Bistro opened in March.

As a young child, Gomez lived with his grandparents for several years and gleaned his love of cooking from them. He remembers going to the market with his grandpa to pick up the ingredients for the day's meals and everyone gathering in the kitchen to eat and spend time together.

"Food is such a comfort and such a connection," Gomez said.

Gomez learned from his grandparents why they grind chiles a certain way and why they put baking soda in their salsa and why they make the masa for tamales a certain way.

"You develop relationships in the kitchen to have a better understanding of who you are," Gomez said.

And in his restaurants in the Valley Gomez serves foods like jalapeño hummus, Chicken alfredo with pickled jalapeños in the sauce, tops his salads with queso fresco and pepitas and puts pickled jalapeños on his pizzas.

Gomez loves explaining the history and inspiration of his dishes to his tables and to his servers.

“For me it’s an emotion and I’m trying to pass it to you,” Gomez said of his dishes. “I’m showing you who I am.”

The chef enjoys cooking dishes from home for his kitchen staff whenever he has the chance, and teaching them the history behind the dishes. Many of his workers are Mexican and long for a taste of home, while others are from a generation born in the United States and might feel disconnected from their Mexican roots.

That's why it's important for him to keep alive celebrations like Independence Day and Dia de los Muertos for his children, who were born in the United States. It's important for them to know that Cinco de Mayo isn't about drinking Corona and is only truly celebrated in the Puebla area of Mexico, Gomez said.

For him, celebrating Mexican heritage isn't about wearing a soccer jersey or putting up a flag.

“What makes you who you are is to actually learn and understand the culture behind the path that so many have taken before us and the path that is ahead of us,” Gomez said.

He's made sure that his children know how to speak Spanish since they were born here and his wife is from the Midwest.

It's also important for people of Mexican heritage to know the resilience of their people, and that hard work can pay off, like it did for Gomez.

“It’s about who you have inside your heart,” he said.