Why San Antonio Is Texas's Most Underrated Food City With Enrique Lozano Ep. 217

Enrique Lozano is a Chopped champion, James Beard nominee for Best Chef Texas, and executive chef at Aguazul in San Antonio, with roots at Benny Frank's in El Paso and Mija opening soon in San Elizario.He'd been trying to get on Chopped for over a decade before the call finally came, right after his James Beard nomination. His strategy once he got there: cook exactly what he already knew, nothing more ambitious, nothing borrowed. It won him ten thousand dollars and, once the embargo lifted a year later, a wave of business he hadn't planned for.Why he thinks contestants lose on cooking competition shows by trying dishes they've never made before, instead of doing what they already do wellWhat actually separates Beat Bobby Flay from Chopped once the cameras are off, and why one felt like being treated like a rock starWhy he doesn't strain his ramen tonkotsu broth anymore, and the tare trick a friend talked him into tryingAndré Natera and Enrique Lozano cover what it actually takes to build a 100% sustainable restaurant from the ground up at Mija, why a 200-item menu at Aguazul isn't chaos but cross-utilization, San Antonio's quiet run of Michelin recognition, the deep well of chef talent coming out of El Paso, two restaurant closures and the identical tax mistake behind both of them, who actually showed up when things fell apart and who didn't, and whether music belongs in a kitchen at all.It ends where every episode ends, with the Mount Rushmore, and the one addition to his tonkotsu broth that isn't a spice.GuestInstagram: Chef Enrique LozanoLinksLead Like a Chef App → https://studio.com/apps/andre/leadlikeachefGet the Books → https://chefspsa.com/booksShop Chef's PSA Merch → https://shop.chefspsa.com/Get Episodes Early on Substack → https://chefspsa.substack.com/Follow Chef's PSA on Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/chefspsa/