Plattsburgh
Love
The Essential Ingredient is Grandma’s Spanish Kitchen owner Josue Chanduvi talks about sharing his culture with the North Country through food. By Cara Chapman Photos by Kayla Breen Josue Chanduvi, owner and chef at Grandma’s Spanish Kitchen, will not share the secret recipes for his restaurant’s housemade hot sauces and dressing. But he named the one essential for Peruvian and Cuban kitchens, from which much of his menu originates. “Love, that’s it,” he told North Country Foodie during a Q&A. “I’m serious — it sounds corny. “A vegetable is a vegetable is a vegetable until you put it
in the right hands.” Chanduvi also currently operates Grandma’s Sewing and Alteration Shop, located at 1 Oak St. downtown. Both businesses were inspired by Chanduvi’s own grandmother, the late Lucia LaCruz. He described her as a woman who believed every day was a miracle. “She always believed that love could conquer all, that if you believed in yourself that you could accomplish anything,” Chanduvi said. And he has taken that outlook with him in his business ventures.
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A vegetable is a vegetable is a vegetable until you put it in the right hands. - Josue Chanduvi
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NCF: How did Grandma’s Spanish Kitchen come about? JC: Grandma’s Spanish Kitchen came about because of my grandmother. She was a big influence in my life, and my mom. Food was a big influence in my life before I opened the restaurant. It’s kind of what brought everybody together. And also, growing up here in the North Country. We have so many farms available to us and this place is home to me. I felt like my community would support me like they have for the other businesses. I felt it would be something I could share with people. NCF: If you had to pick one or two, what would you describe as your signature dishes? JC: Well, ceviche, for one. It’s just a staple dish of Peru. It’s very fresh, it’s very different. The other one, lomo saltado. Lomo saltado is a Peruvian dish inspired by the oriental influence that we have in our country in Peru. It’s very thin-cut beef that’s sauteed with other types of vegetables, it goes on top of French fries, a bed of rice and a dash of cilantro. It’s so good. The profile of the flavor is different, the meat’s extremely tender.
