CMExecutive Chef Juan Gonzalez
interview+photography Jorge Perezchica
Born in Durango, Mexico and raised in the Coachella Valley, Juan Gonzalez is carving out his own flavorful path at TQLAS Agave Bar & Grill. With roots deeply embedded in the community, Chef Juan’s passion for food and artistry shines through in every dish he creates. From his humble beginnings as a culinary arts student at the local College of the Desert program to now leading the kitchen as an executive chef, his journey has been one of dedication, family, and the pursuit of culinary excellence.
Having grown up in the Coachella Valley for over three decades, Chef Juan’s connection to the region runs deep. He fondly recalls attending middle school, high school, and eventually COD, where his culinary education took flight. Initially drawn to the world of art, with dreams of becoming a sculptor and artist, it was a serendipitous moment in a French class that steered him towards the culinary arts. A homework assignment to translate and prepare a recipe sparked a newfound love for cooking, and with the encouragement of friends and family, Chef Juan decided to explore the world of gastronomy.
The opportunity to become the executive chef at TQLAS Agave Bar & Grill came as a natural progression in Chef Juan’s career. The restaurant had recently changed ownership, and the new proprietors, Zayd and his parents Farouk and Salima Nurani, recognized Chef Juan’s talent and offered him the chance to showcase his culinary prowess. Impressed by his sample dishes, a medley of traditional Mexican flavors crafted with his personal touch, they entrusted Chef Juan with the task of transforming the menu while preserving the beloved dishes that had become customer favorites.
For Chef Juan, the restaurant industry is not only about the culinary creations but also the camaraderie and sense of family that develops among the kitchen staff. He cherishes the moments when a group of individuals comes together, forming bonds that transcend the workspace and creating an atmosphere that feels like home. It is this harmony and shared passion that resonates in every dish, providing a truly memorable dining experience for patrons.
Coachella Magazine: Can you first introduce yourself?
Juan Gonzalez: My name is Juan Gonzalez. I was a culinary arts student here at a local COD (College of the Desert) program. Amazing program.
CM: Are you currently the executive chef here at TQLAS Agave Bar & Grill restaurant?
JG: Yes, I am. This is actually my first job as an executive chef. Before that, I’ve been under other chefs. You kind of learn all that you can from previous jobs and it’s kind of interesting when you’re like the one running things — a little different.
CM: Did you grow up here in the Coachella Valley?
JG: I did actually I’ve been here for about 34 years now. We came to live here when I was 10 years old. I actually went to middle school, high school. Like I said, COD. I feel like this is my home.
CM: Where were you born?
JG: I was born in Durango, Mexico, but we moved to Sinaloa. So I don’t remember anything about Durango because I was like two years old when we moved.
CM: How did your journey into the culinary world begin and what led you to pursue it as a career?
JG: I went to culinary school and I have worked at a few restaurants here in the valley. My parents are actually in the business. My dad’s an amazing cook. So is my mom. I actually wanted to go into the art department. I wanted to be a sculptor and artist. But then I started cooking a little bit and everybody told me like, “Hey, you should pursue this, see what happens.” So, I actually started taking classes. My parents started teaching me how to cook a little bit. I was like, “You know what? This is kind of fun. I do like it.” I went through COD (College of the Desert) for the whole program. I have a dual major in culinary arts and art.
It was kind of funny. I started cooking because of my French class. In high school, we had a homework assignment where you had to translate a recipe from French to English, and then if you wanted to, you could have extra credit if you would actually make the thing that was on your recipe. Mine was banana nut bread and I mean, like I said, I’ve never cooked anything before. So I brought it into class and everybody said it was like, really good banana nut bread. I was like, “Okay, maybe I should do this.” So it was completely unrelated to cooking.
CM: Did you always specialize in Mexican cuisine or do you explore other foods?
JG: I do. The restaurant is owned by an Indian family. So when we first started, they told me, “Hey, is there a way that we can have a little bit of Indian food in here?” I was like, “Yeah, absolutely.” We could do tikka masala tacos. And then there’s the potato tacos that are with peas and carrots curry and cumin. That’s the main flavor of them, but they’re not Mexican food at all. They’re just like Indian items. I love Indian food. I love Italian food. It’s just not like one thing. I like eating a lot of different things. Those are my main three where I feel really comfortable. But I’ve started going in a little bit of Korean food and Chinese food, but I’m barely getting started. I can’t say, I can make anything quite as well in those two.
CM: So, let’s talk about the new ownership, the menu, and when you came on board.
JG: They (the owners) had already known they were gonna buy it (TQLAS) before October (2022). This was probably like a month or two before opening. So, in September, they actually started talking to me about it. They came to me and told me, “Do you want to come and make us some food sample?” I was like, “Well, I don’t know what you want me to make you.” They were just like, “Whatever you want, make anything that you feel is like — your signature dish kind of thing.” So I said, “Oh sure, no problem.” I made them mole, I made them fajitas, I made them salads and made them a couple other things. I made them those things. The whole family Zayd (owner), Farouk and Salima Nurani (owner’s parents) was tasting them, and everybody for the most part was like, okay, “This is good.” They said, “Come back next week, give us some more samples.”
And then after the second time, I brought them completely different items and they said, “This is what we’re gonna do. We’re gonna buy a Mexican restaurant.” I’ve known them for like 15 years already. I worked with them at Grill-A-Burger and so they knew me. So they called me, “Are you interested in a job?” And I was like, “Absolutely.” And they asked me, “So this is what you would want to serve at the restaurant?” I said, “Yeah, absolutely. Exactly the same things that I made for you. That’s what I would serve at the restaurant.”
The menu was the same, but the recipes were all my recipes. So like from day one when they took over October 1st, the food was just all my recipes but the menu was the same. Now we’ve been slowly changing it.
CM: Is the menu more traditional or modern Mexican?
JG: I feel like it’s a little bit more traditional. Some of the things are, you know, pretty traditional, like the Chille Relleno, the Chile Verde, the Mole, it’s pretty authentic, pretty traditional carnitas. And then the Conchita Pibil, those are kind like our signature dishes for the restaurant. And I mean the rellenos, we make ’em just like how we used to make ’em at home, like a lot. That’s what I always tell people. The recipes that I use here at the restaurant are things that we’ve been cooking at home all my life. There’s only a few items that I never had growing up at home — that would be like, the Salmon Pastor.
It’s a combination of both because you can’t have something that’s purely traditional, that’s not gonna appeal to everyone. So with the mole for example, there’s different types of moles. There’s some that are spicier, there’s some that are sweeter. So our mole is not too spicy and it’s not too sweet, but somewhere in the middle. You want to try to accommodate as many taste as possible.
CM: How would you describe yourself in three words?
JG: Three words. Wow. oh, it’s hard. Things that are descriptive of me would be: Art, Dedication and Family. And to me, art is also cooking and a whole bunch of other things.
CM: What was the biggest challenge for you, as far as creating the new menu?
JG: The timeframe, because we were literally jumping in like a week from when they bought it (TQLAS) and I took over. Then jumping in and having everything changed from one day to the next. But I have helped open restaurants before where you start and there’s no restaurant, there’s no menu, there’s nothing. And you have months where you start building the recipes, and then you start sending the menu out to get printed. And so you have quite a bit of time for that.
But for this, we were just like — I came in, made a whole bunch of sauces, made everything ready so that when we opened the next day, we have everything ready. But that’s why I told him (the owner), “Just keep the menu how it is, don’t change the items, I’m just gonna change the recipes with brand new everything.” And I’ve done both.
CM: What’s something that you would recommend to someone who’s never eaten here before?
JG: I always tell people, you either should go for the Mole or the Chile Relleno. Those are my kind of favorite things.
CM: What advice do you have for anyone who’s interested in becoming a chef?
JG: I would say just find a good culinary program. And just, you know, practice cooking what you want, learn the specific region or country, whatever you want. And then just read, absolutely read about not just the recipe, read about the ingredients. Read about the culture that made those ingredients, what the dishes are made of. There’s a lot of food in Mexico that a lot of people are like, “Oh, this is like a hundred percent Mexican.” And like, “This is our national dish” kind of thing. But then you start reading about where it came from, and I mean Mexico was influenced by the French, by the Spanish a little bit and by the Middle East.
One example: flan. Everybody feels like that’s a Mexican thing. And I’m like, “Yes, it is now. But originally came from crème brûlée — from the French. They (Mexico) changed the ingredients because they were like, okay, “We can’t have that, but we’re gonna make it as close to it as we can.” And that’s food, that’s culture. That’s what happens.
I don’t know if there’s a restaurant here in the valley that serves what’s now called like Mexican sushi, which has cooked fish instead of it being raw. And that’s something that I saw a couple years ago when I went to Mexico and I was like, “That’s kind of cool.” Because it started in another country, another part of the world. It was brought to the US. People came from Mexico and they were like, “We saw that, we liked it.” So you take it back to Mexico and then it becomes something else. It kind of morphs — again (because) ingredients might not be available to you.
To me, the funny part is, now it’s come back to the US and it’s becoming something and it’s gonna become a thing in the future. It goes back and forth across borders, across cultures and you just see it evolving. It becomes its own little thing. And to me, that’s kind of cool.
I’ve seen that with a couple dishes already from the US goes to Mexico, it becomes something else. It comes back. I mean, there’s no such thing as “burritos” in Mexico. Like 20 years ago, that was not a thing — that was an American thing. But again, people come to the US, they see something, they take it back and then, like now, there’s burritos in Mexico and it’s a very common thing. But 20-some years ago, you’d go to a restaurant and you’d be like, “Hey, can I have a burrito?” They’d be like, “I don’t know what that is.” But just learn as much as you can about different foods and regions.
CM: How do you challenge yourself to stay creative and in the cutting edge of the food industry?
JG: I like to go and find out new things and there are almost no dishes that I won’t eat. You can’t be like, “Oh I don’t want to eat that or that kind of thing.” I was always taught just because I don’t like something personally doesn’t mean other people don’t. You gotta learn how to cook things and that’s what it should be. My personal taste is my personal taste, but I’m trying to cook for as many people as possible.
CM: What do you love most about the restaurant industry?
JG: When you work at a certain place and it’s a really good spot, everybody gets along. You become this other family that you go to and literally, it’s like you become more than friends. To me, that’s really nice when that happens. I’ve worked at two other places where that kind of happens and then certain people start leaving, you’re like, “Oh, It’s never gonna be the same.” So, I think this is really nice here, because I feel we have that. It’s kind of hard to get, you can’t make it happen, but when it happens, it’s kind of nice. I like my co-workers.
WEB: TQLAS BAR & GRILL
ADDRESS: Old Town La Quinta, 78015 Main St, Suite109, La Quinta, CA
HOURS: SUN-THURS 12pm-9pm / FRI-SAT 12pm-10pm
PHONE: 760-625-1140