Gala Chef Q & A: JBF Award Winner Aarón Sánchez

JBF Award Winner Aarón Sánchez, Mestizo, Leawood, KS

What’s your go-to guilty-pleasure food?

Fried chicken.

What’s your favorite movie, and why?

Rocky, because it’s all about the underdog.

Describe the last great meal you ate.

My last great meal was at chef John Besh’s restaurant August in New Orleans. We had just about everything on the menu, but the real standouts were the potato gnocchi, the seafood, and all the meat dishes.

What’s the dish you’re most proud of?

The grilled mahi-mahi tacos at Mestizo.

What’s your earliest food memory?

Making tortillas with my mom when I was 12.

What do you eat for breakfast?

Eggs Benedict. My favorite is with Swiss chard and smoked bacon.

What’s your favorite healthy food?

Quinoa salad.

What was your first job in the culinary world?

Peeling shrimp for chef Paul Prudhomme in New Orleans.

What movie are you ashamed to admit you love?

Anything with Steven Seagal.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

Cook for the customer, not for yourself.