Chef jose's current plant-based obsessions
Chef Jose Fuster is our GM and Chef at della bowls, as well as the Culinary Director at The Doral Yard. He's worked with (and lived on) plant-based foods at various points in his life.
He also has broad experience working with all kinds of cuisines from various countries, in both his personal life, growing up in a multicultural family, as well as professionally.
"I come to della bowls with a long history of restaurant experience, including growing up in my family's restaurant, Rinconcito Peruano, where I would help out. I've also worked at American Harvest and Big Easy (Grove Bay Group), GLAM vegan, and DIRT Eat Clean. I love working with quality ingredients, bold flavors, healthy preparations, and fresh, from-scratch cooking, so della bowls was a natural next step for me!"
We're the lucky winners at della bowls, where Jose ended up and he translates all of this passion and experience into creative, delicious food for all of us on the daily! However, one always needs new inspiration. Here's what Chef Jose is currently obsessed with:
Kelp Noodles
Jose lived and taught cooking classes in Thailand for nine months in 2016. He also checked out the local markets and took cooking classes as a student, learning as much as he could about the local cuisine.
"When I was in Thailand for nine months in 2016, I ate kelp noodles almost every day. This dish was a staple at breakfast—it was kind of like their version of yogurt and granola. It had an almond butter and orange sauce, fresh herbs, radish and it was cold and refreshing. Eating it every day, I just ended up loving it."
Currently, Jose loves making this plant-based, gluten-free recipe at home, which is inspired by his time in Thailand.
Plant-Based Hearts of Palm Cakes
"I created a version of this "crab" cake recipe with hearts of palm at the first SEED Food & Wine Festival, a plant-based food festival here in Miami, when I was working at GLAM vegan."
"It was one of our new dishes and I was very happy with it. At the time, I was vegan and it was a great dish for me to eat, especially to get the carbs and energy I needed."
"It's a simple recipe to make and has a long shelf life. It's also very dynamic--you can change the sauce, put it in a wrap, eat it alone, eat the cakes with a salad."
Jose grew up eating a very similar dish: "My grandmother was born in Thailand and her parents were from Japan and Vietnam. She ate a lot of hearts of palm in her home. Living with her when I was young, she would introduce a lot of things she grew up with and I gravitated to all of her lessons about food and the kitchen. She used to make heart-of-palm cakes often."
Sumac
"There’s a spice I grew up eating that perhaps not many people in Miami are familiar with called sumac. Growing up I would eat papadum." Papadum is a seasoned flatbread people in many countries like India and Sri Lanka eat.
"There are a lot of Middle Eastern and Indian influences in Thailand and so my grandmother grew up eating papadum. She would make ensalada rusa--the Peruvian version --with blanched potatoes, beets, carrots, corn and mixed with a little mayo and lemon juice. We would serve it onto chopped up spinach and butter lettuce and then put all of that into a papadum shaped like an ice cream cone and sprinkle sumac into it."
Say hello to Chef Jose next time you are at della bowls and keep an eye on our menu to see where Jose's inspiration takes us!
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