EAT/DRINK
the Creativity, Skill and Latin Flare with Chef Jimmy Martinez WRITTEN BY: PRISCILLA NG PHOTOGRAPHED BY: BRIANNA MOSS
Jimmy Martinez is a culinary genius known for his creativity and skill in cooking French-Asian cuisines. He started off at Pine Creek Cookhouse in Aspen, Colorado, then moved back to California and worked at Dolce for six years. After that, he developed the renowned menu at Mastro’s Steakhouse, became the executive chef at BOA Steakhouse, and spent some time cooking at the exclusive members-only club, 41 Ocean. He has recently opened up his own restaurant, Pour Vida Latin Flavor, located in Anaheim, and has plans to open up another called Albatross. Martinez first became interested in the culinary field when he was a young boy. His stepfather had taken him out for his birthday to a truffle tasting. It was a six course meal and when the chef came out, Martinez said to himself, “I want to be in that guy’s shoes.” After attending Le Cordon Bleu, Martinez’s first gig was with Pine Creek Cookhouse. In Aspen, he eventually moved into the role of Chef. He recalls how he “got to run it for a little bit and ended up working there for a season. After just coming out of culinary school, this first job really taught me a lot.”
After working in other high-end and renowned restaurants for over a dozen years, Martinez decided that it was about time he started his own restaurant. Over a year ago, he opened Pour Vida Latin Flavor. “Even though our name says ‘Latin Flavor,’ I never cook Mexican. I cook very French-Asian,” he says. Martinez enjoys the clean flavor profiles of Asian cuisines, like sashimi, for example. To him, Mexican food is too greasy and heavy, so the only Latin influence in his food is the tortilla. When asked about his best-selling dish, he answered, “To name only one popular dish [at Pour Vida], that’s crazy. I have one for every category.” For vegetarians, he has the Brussels sprout taco with a soy ginger glaze on top of a house made spinach tortilla. For meat eaters, there’s a delicious pineapple skirt steak taco. His top salad option is a kale and endive salad with cranberry vinegar, bleu cheese crumbles and candied pumpkin seeds—“People also flip out at the tempura oyster that I make.”
“I have so many restaurant concepts in my head. Like right now, the big thing is poke, but I’m doing it with an added flare. To stay in the business, you have to think ten years into the future and focus on the long run.” —CHEF JIMMY MARTINEZ,
Founder of Pour Vida Latin Flavor
In a couple of months, he’ll be opening a new place called Albatross, which will be located inside The Camp in Costa Mesa. The concept revolves around fresh seafood and a variation of the poke bowl on a more high-end level.
Follow That Chef: Some of Martinez’s favorite restaurants in Los Angeles and Orange County are Bestia, Kitayama, Dakara Sushi, Tsujita, Bay Cities, Barrel & Ashes, and In N Out.
POUR VIDA LATIN FLAVOR 185 W Center Street Promenade Anaheim, CA, 92805 657.208.3889 www.pourvidalatinflavor.com 48 | LOCALE MAGAZINE