Meet chef de cuisine Javier

How long have you been working with Luna Red and its parent company, Blue Mango?

I’ve been with Blue Mango Management (the locally owned restaurant group of Luna Red, Novo, and Robin’s) for 10 years officially in February!

Wow! That’s a long time to be with one company. Tell us more about what that has been like.

I first started at Novo, then later on worked at Luna. When I first joined Luna Red, I started as a line cook, then was promoted to head line cook. When former Executive Chef Shaun left, he promoted me to sous chef. I was working both Luna and Novo at the same time until I got that promotion. I was at Novo for close to two years. Then I went to Fiero to manage our commissary kitchen at the end of 2018. I did that for almost 2 years. Right when I had my son in October 2020, they shut down the commissary kitchen because of Covid. After that, I just spent alot of time with my family until Robin called me back to work in June 2021 at Luna Red. It was really nice to be able to spend time with my family during that time. Since then, I’ve been promoted to Chef De Cuisine!

Side note: Javi is considered Chef John’s right hand person - we’re so fortunate to have him!

What’s your favorite part about working here?

The atmosphere and people, it’s like my second home. This is a challenging job but I do love working here.

What’s your favorite dish here?

The birria is so tasty, I actually reworked the birria recipe to how it’s prepared now. 

What’s your favorite dish to make? 

I like to make the paellas because the process is interesting. 

What do you like to do with your time off?

Spend time with my kids at home, go to amusement parks, and parks in general. Other than that, I’m a soccer dad.

How old are you kids?

My oldest girl is 15, then one is 9, 7, and my son is 3.

How long have you been in SLO? 

I’ve been here for 18 years. I moved here in January 2006 from Mexico. 

What part of mexico are you from?

Zacatecas, Mexico

I hear you prepare all the chef special tacos…

Yes! I prepare the chef tacos right now (our current special is a mix of vegetables: zucchini, sun dried tomatoes, onions, all roasted in garlic oil, seasoned and then topped with a coconut jalapeno sauce) and the marinade of the chicken.  Best selling chef special taco is the chicken tinga which I make in an adobo sauce with chili peppers, etc.