Chuy Valencia

Chef, Chilam Balam
Chicago, Illinois

Like most twenty-four-year-olds, chef Chuy Valencia is a

scattered whirlwind of energy, impulsive (he got a skull tattooed

on his neck the day that I cooked with him) and ever-so-slightly

distracted. (“Shit,” he says when my photographer and I arrive; he

forgot we were coming.) Unlike most twenty-four-year-olds,

Valencia is the chef and part-owner of a restaurant, Chilam Balam

in Chicago. When he gets behind the stove, he is as focused,

knowledgeable, and driven as chefs twice his age.

When I first walk into his kitchen, Valencia is busy making a

guajillo chili sauce, a sauce he takes pride in.

“Bitter’s an underappreciated flavor,” he explains to me as he

gathers cinnamon sticks, dried Mexican oregano leaves, and whole

black peppercorns onto a metal plate. He then takes a blowtorch

and sprays them all with fire until they light up and fill the air

with a charry, outdoorsy smell. He blends the mixture in a blender

with chicken stock, strains it, and adds it to a guajillo chili puree.

When the sauce is done, he tastes it and adjusts it with sugar.

(“It’s a little rough,” he says when he first tries it.) To showcase it

for me, he grills up a chili-marinated flank steak and pours the

sauce on top. He also makes a fast ceviche with Hawaiian blue