Latin Kitchen & Grill Master

Carlos Reyes

Austin, TX

Carlos grew up in the mercados of Mexico City where his father ran a taco stand and his aunt operated a mole stall that took three days to prep. He cooked his way through culinary school in Oaxaca, spent a year grilling whole animals at an asado restaurant in Buenos Aires, and then moved to Austin where he fell hard for Tex-Mex and Central Texas barbecue. His cooking philosophy is simple: big flavours, live fire, and fresh salsas on everything. At pragma.kitchen he covers Mexican, Latin American, and Tex-Mex recipes as well as anything that benefits from a grill or a cast-iron skillet at screaming heat. He makes his own tortillas daily and considers a lime squeezer the most important tool in any kitchen.

"If your cutting board doesn't smell like lime and cilantro, you're not cooking hard enough."