Adrian de la Torre, owner/chef of Poblanos Mexican Cuisine on Chattanooga’s North Shore, was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, during a turbulent time in the city’s history. After a difficult childhood and broken home, he moved to Atlanta, and it’s there that he found his calling.
Adrian de la Torre is owner and chef of Poblanos Mexican Cuisine.Most of the job opportunities at that time were in the restaurant industry, so he worked on his resume and soon found a job washing dishes at Marietta Diner. That didn’t last for long, however. He had an inborn talent that was noticed by the chef, and soon he found himself being trained by some of the best in the city, climbing the ranks from dishwasher to prep cook to sous chef and finally to executive chef at Farm to Fork in Ringgold, Georgia. The food served there was mostly American fare, except for one day a week when the special of the day was Mexican.
“It soon became the most-popular day of the week,” he says.
Here he talks about all the great cooks in his family, how he differentiates Poblanos from other Mexican restaurants and the trip to America that changed his life.
Q: What are your fondest memories of food in Guadalajara?