8 minute read
‘We Should Be Limitless’
For Chef Rodrigo Ochoa, Anything Is Possible When Cultures Come Together
By Jake Ten Pas
By the age of 18, MAC’s new executive chef had cooked more kinds of cuisine than most people will in their entire life.
Like the crisp tostones (fried plantains) favored in his native Colombia, Rodrigo Ochoa is a vessel for a variety of flavors ranging from Asian to European to Latin American. His resume reads like stamps in a dog-eared passport, and he delights in stringing together far-ranging itineraries for those diners lucky enough to tag along on his travels.
One such passenger has been Culinary & Events Director Erik Anderson, who says he was immediately taken with Ochoa’s encyclopedic knowledge, eloquence, openness to prioritizing member preferences, and of course, the caliber of his cuisine.
“We think Rodrigo is the right chef for this moment in MAC’s culinary evolution,” Anderson says. “He opens up the possibilities for the range of dining directions the club can offer while elevating the quality to compete with the best restaurants in the region. Members can have a truly Portland experience without leaving the club.”
On Thursday, Oct. 9, Ochoa unveils his latest mode of tastebud transportation in MAC’s new Chef’s Table series, allowing him to demonstrate — across a baker’s dozen installments — the astounding range of his expertise. The first night’s theme, My Roots, serves as an introduction to his culinary and personal background, laying the foundation for the journey ahead. Before the series concludes, members will have circumnavigated the globe and even caught a glimpse of the future.
First Chapter: His Roots
“I always wanted to be a chef since I was little,” Ochoa says. His grandma told him that he used to sleep on the open oven door, and assisting his uncles with cooking in preparation for family feasts was a regular occurrence.
Even a brutal burn from a frying pan full of oil at one year old couldn’t keep him out of the kitchen.
These days, tattoos cover the scars the doctors couldn’t heal, but long before Ochoa got his first one inked, he was helping support his family by working with food. At the age of 12, he and his mom — who had moved to Miami for a fresh start — began selling simple Colombian staples out of their home kitchen to South Beach valets.
That enterprise got Ochoa his first real job, washing dishes in a Cuban restaurant. From there, he moved into food prep, and then to the pastry station. He delivered pizzas on the side and bounced from kitchen to kitchen, picking up experience at a high-end Chinese restaurant and French steakhouse.
Ochoa earned a scholarship to MiamiDade Culinary School, and by age 18, he’d been hired by Chef Laurent Tourondel as a sous chef at the art-forward, historic Betsy Hotel. That was when things really began to take off.
“We opened five restaurants within the hotel,” Ochoa says. These included a “very
French steakhouse,” to which the new showrunners “added a sushi program to make it very modern and a lot of the Latin-/Japanese-forward flavors.” Then there was an Italian pizzeria and pasta shop, where everything was made in-house using imported Italian flour. A Japanese pastry shop also featured Italian gelatos; a dessert-forward cafe poured Panther Coffee, the rough equivalent to South Florida’s Stumptown; and the roof space catered to gigantic banquets.
All in all, it was a huge opportunity for a young chef, and one that would serve as a runway for the multi-concept plan Ochoa is now developing for MAC. “This is the only place in Portland where I’ll be able to use all the experiences from my past jobs,” he says. Prior to coming to MAC, Ochoa and his wife had been discussing returning to Colombia due to a lack of the kind of opportunities that he felt made the most ambitious use of his skill set.
“We should be limitless,” he says of both himself and this club’s dining program. “We should be able to create all these experiences based on what the member wants.”
Second Chapter: From Tokyo to Seoul
After surveying his own formative years in the first Chef’s Table dinner, the next three see Ochoa paying tribute to the beloved cuisines that shaped the next phase of his career. A Night in Tokyo formally introduces MAC to Ochoa’s sushi prowess, while Wagyu Express delivers Japanese, Australian, and American versions of the exceptionally marbled beef. Then Seoul flows into Korean fare with barbecue, the traditional spicy soup jjamppong, and the street-food pancakes hotteok.
While working as the chef de cuisine at the Betsy, he recalls thinking, “I’m young, and I have so much road left I want to explore.” He asked around about the best Japanese restaurant in Miami, discovered Zuma, put himself out there, and was offered a sous chef position. His friends questioned his sanity in walking away from better pay and more control in his then current position, but as he saw it, this was the best way to advance his culinary education and expertise.
“I just wanted to work there and learn. I’d downsize my apartment. I wouldn’t go out as much. I didn’t care. I’ve never been a party person,” he says. “If I want to do something, I want to do it the best. I don’t consider myself the best, but anything that I’m doing, why can’t I just go above and beyond for everything?”
Zuma had farms in Japan and grew its own soybeans to make miso, as well as crafting its own sake. “They had the best systems in place I’ve ever seen,” Ochoa says, and he was taking notes. Through faithfully following his coworkers leads with an intense work ethic, he learned quickly and was promoted. But shortly after, he was on the move again, opening his own restaurant, Mundos or “Worlds” en español, in North Carolina. “It was mixing everyone’s worlds together,” he explains, describing his attitude as, “Let’s work together. Let’s be one and diversify everything.”
After that, he returned to Miami, taking the executive chef position at Komodo, one of the most popular spots in the city. But Portlanders might be most familiar with Ochoa through Janken, the Asian fusion restaurant he opened here in 2022. As Eater noted at the time, the new frontiers he explored in the former Blue Hour space made every meal feel like a celebration.
Ochoa says this exemplifies his perspective that food can be many things to many people, from therapy after a breakup to an expression of triumph over beating cancer or celebration for landing a new job. At MAC, he’s already earned a reputation among members and staff alike for his personal touch in visiting tables, talking to diners, and finding out what brings them out and makes for not just a great meal, but an excellent all-around feeling.
“He told us he’s found what he thinks is the best burrata in the whole country, so he’s buying it from New Jersey,” says Food & Beverage Committee Chair Amanda Harvey. “He’s got such great background and culinary expertise, and he takes the aspects of MAC dining that people already really love and just make them better. I think it will be a real upgrade.”
That’s what Ochoa likes to hear. “For me, the root of what has always intrigued me has been the smile of someone stemming from such an experience,” he adds.
Third Chapter: Future Days
The Chef’s Table series is currently scheduled out through December 2026, and the early concentration on Asian flavors quickly gives way to a globetrotting sensibility. Themes include Contemporary Steakhouse, Latin America, Local Market, a Trip to Italy, and perhaps most intriguing, The Future of MAC.
“We just want to cater every experience to the members. Everything we bring in will be amazing” Ochoa says. His ambitions extend to potentially bottling sauces and housemade pastas for sale in Mporium, exposing the club to the infinite possibilities of sake, and encouraging diners to order communally and pass dishes, and the overall experience, around. “Why don’t we have things that we can all share?” he asks.
Ochoa envisions 1891 becoming a very modern steakhouse, and delivering more family-friendly flavors at the Sunset Bistro and Sports Pub. “It will all be chef-driven, well-presented, fresh, high-quality products. You’ll be able to come in seven days a week and have a completely different meal every time if you want.”
“Long term, I suspect members are going to see Rodrigo as a gift that keeps on giving,” Anderson speculates. “He has incredibly high standards, both based on his own commitment to personal excellence and his desire to provide the best experience for members across a multitude of cuisines.”
Every night, Ochoa goes to sleep thinking, “How can I be better as a human being, partner to my wife, father for my five dogs, leader, and chef.”
“I feel very fortunate to be who I am at this moment in time, representing MAC and serving this community. My biggest thing here at the club is to be able to bring people, and cultures, together.”
