Chef and restaurateur Enrique Silva began his culinary career as a child in Sonora, Mexico observing and aiding in the preparation of three meals a day for the family of ten. Growing up in his mother’s kitchen, Silva learned early on how to use his palate, how to marry flavors and essences, and the basic foundations of traditional northern Mexican cuisine.
After graduating from college with a degree in agricultural engineering, Silva journeyed to Los Cabos and the Baja Peninsula where he worked selling premium cuts of beef to local hotels and restaurants, and later was hired on as head waiter at Hotel Palmilla where he met master chef Larry Nicola of Los Angeles in 1990. Nicola infused the eager Silva with his vast knowledge of oils and vinegars, the importance of fresh ingredients and herbs, and the fundamentals of providing guests with top-notch service.
Always eager to expand his horizons, Silva journeyed to Girdwood, Alaska in 1994, then reunited with Larry Nicola in Los Angeles in 1995, working as manager of Nicola’s LA Nicola, and in 1996 Silva returned to Los Cabos and opened Tequila Restaurant, the first restaurant in the area to devote its menu to organic produce and fusion cuisine, melding Mediterranean, Mexican and Asian flavors. Silva continued his culinary explorations, studying in Thailand, Indonesia, Provence, Paris, Barcelona, Napa Valley, New York, Oaxaca, Puebla, and other spots around the world sampling cuisine and learning new cooking techniques.
Silva developed close relationships with local fishermen and organic farmers, began importing his own wines, and eventually starting his own organic farm within a mile of Tequila where he takes advantage of his Agricultural Engineering degree to produce nearly all produce used at Tequila as well as other restaurants in the area.
The farm, Huerta Los Tamarindos, is planted with innumerable varieties of herbs, heirloom tomatoes, vegetables and flowers. Huerta Los Tamarindos is also home to a farm-to-table cooking school based out of a restored historic home which opened in 2010; Los Tamarindos Restaurant opened in 2011. Here Silva takes the culinary knowledge he has gained during his gastronomical career and shares it with small groups of students. Silva’s style is eclectic, drawing on thebest of many different cooking styles, but it always marries the best of flavors, ingredients and techniques to produce dishes that surprise with their simplicity, bursting with sumptuous and natural flavors. In 2012, in addition to herbs and vegetables, Silva also began harvesting tamarinds, figs, papayas, olives, citrus fruit, guavas and avocados. The cooking school sells handcrafted tomato sauce and soup, sundried tomatoes, mango preserves and more.
Silva’s expertise and flair has been noted in several major media outlets, including the San Francisco Chronicle, Conde Nast Traveler, Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times, Bon Appetit, and famed chef Rick Bayless’ television show Mexico One Plate at a Time. Since 2013 Silva has been a consultant for the luxury resort Diamante Cabo San Lucas, which he is helping develop their own crops of organic herbs, vegetables, and 40 different varieties of fruit.]]>
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