Eduardo Baeza

Restaurateur & Chef

While this feature usually focuses on a single chef, Eduardo Baeza's story cannot be told without also including that of Alberto Mestre. After traveling separate but parallel paths, the two men have combined their individual visions and talents to create a truly unique dining experience in San Diego's Candelas restaurant. The eatery offers both traditional and nouveau Mexican cuisine presented French style in a sophisticated setting, complemented by an extensive selection of fine wines. However, a diner should completely erase all images that come to mind when connecting the words "traditional" and "Mexican cuisine" before entering Candelas; the dishes that come out of Chef Eduardo’s kitchen are not ordered by numbers on a menu, nor do they include the obligatory rice and beans. But to understand the menu of Candelas, one must first understand the two men behind it.

Early Years

Eduardo Baeza was born in Mexico City, where he started his culinary career at the age of eighteen. He began in one of most exquisite and recognized restaurants of the city, El Renaissance, where he was tutored by Chef Regis Lacome who, Eduardo says, taught him the discipline needed to run a kitchen as well as a very innovative style of French cuisine. If Eduardo’s education at El Renaissance was his undergraduate studies, then his post-graduate work began in 1990 at Maxim’s restaurant in Hotel Presidente, arguably the best French restaurant in the city. Here his education continued under Director Jane-Ives Ferrer, a noted celebrity of French cuisine in Mexico. A few years later he added another layer to his culinary knowledge by studying fine Mexican Cuisine. In 1996, Eduardo got his first Executive Chef position with the opening of Restaurante Vina Gourmet. Here he gained notoriety for his culinary inventiveness and was praised by critics in publications nationally. He was able to capitalize on his reputation by expanding his career to include both teaching at an accredited culinary school (Theory of Mexican Cuisine) as well as operating as a special events consultant to various restaurants in the city, directing the organization and preparation of banquets for show business celebrities and important politicians. So, one component to the Candelas team is a very creative and experienced chef with a background in French style cooking, with a special expertise in Mexican cuisine.

About the time that Eduardo was becoming a rising star in the Mexican culinary community, Alberto Mestre was seriously considering leaving the same city after some ten years in the restaurant business. Alberto, a professional singer turned restaurateur, was finding it increasingly difficult to run a business and live a peaceful life, with an increasing crime faction that seemed to be taking over the city; the situation was becoming both frustrating and dangerous for this outspoken businessman. While Alberto did not want to go into the details, his decision to leave his beloved country was made with the help of a hail storm of real bullets!

Alberto chose San Diego to continue his entrepreneurial career because he felt that it was a city still in the process of developing its own culinary and artistic culture, with a lot more growth potential for the region in general. But his ambitions of opening his own eatery were purposely put on hold for three years while he managed a local Italian restaurant, La Strada's, in order to gain a working knowledge of the restaurant business in the United States. It was during this period that his vision and business plan for an altogether new type of dining venue was formed.

Coming from a large metropolitan city in the heart of Mexico, Alberto was incredulous at the simplistic dishes that passed as "authentic" Mexican fare in this country. In fact, he had never been exposed to this strange Tex-Mex border food in his life until he came to the United States. He immediately recognized a niche opportunity to provide an altogether new group of culinary tastes to the discerning diners of his adopted city; a Mexican cuisine that had everything to do with style, presentation, and experimentation using ingredients from his homeland but nothing to do with the chips 'n' salsa fare of Southern California. For Alberto, San Diego's embryonic culinary culture meant that he did not have to break into an established gastronomic society – but this was a two-edged sword. It made the task of turning his dream into reality that much harder to create, since there was no existing talent pool to build on. He had to make the bricks, so to speak, before he could construct the building that he required to house his culinary vision.

Meanwhile, Eduardo’s reputation had reached Alberto through contacts that he still maintained in Mexico City. Thinking that Eduardo’s style might be a good fit, he made a telephone call to the chef to explain his idea. They spent the next two hours exchanging thoughts on the project and the challenges connected to it. The two men have been united ever since in a single purpose that has taken some years of struggle to achieve.

Current Projects

Both Alberto and Eduardo are resolutely passionate about what they do and it shows in every detail of the restaurant. Eduardo designed his own kingdom, the kitchen, and continues to be in charge of everything related to it. He plans the menus for both the main restaurant and that of the attached lounge, which continue to evolve, with new dishes on a regular basis. Alberto planned the rest of the building, which is a multiple room venue, each with its own purpose. Besides the main dining room, there is the Royal Room (small private parties), the Brick Room (banquets) and Lounge (music, music, music).

Like the restaurant itself, Lounge Candelas is something very special and a pet project of Alberto’s that harkens back to his band days in Mexico. It complements the notion of enjoying a world-class meal, being treated like royalty while doing so, and having the option of listening and dancing to music in a lounge to cap the evening. While the Lounge is a part of the entire Candelas experience, the room has clearly taken on its own identity in recent years, yet still manages to exist in harmony with the restaurant. Lounge Candelas' mission is to introduce open-minded patrons to the underground spirit of a vastly under-appreciated music culture, and to educate them about an alternative musical direction along the way. Considering the restaurant strives to dazzle its customers with extraordinary food and service, it makes a great deal of sense to do the same musically.

Success did not come easy to this now very popular San Diego night spot. Alberto remembers the early days, when patrons walked out because the menu did not contain expected Tex-Mex offerings. As a businessman he did not enjoy watching paying customers leave the building; but he also was determined not to compromise his standards just to please what he felt was the uninformed customer. That may sound like the opposite of good customer service, but as Alberto explained, this was his and Eduardo’s “show” not a venue serving up a collection of foods that they did not believe represented the real flavors of Mexico. As Alberto put it, "To be satisfied with what you are doing you must believe it, we believed passionately in the concept of Candelas."

Recognition

Eduardo has developed his signature cuisine that has characterized the restaurant for more than six successful years. It is a fusion of French style interpreted with an unusual delicacy of rich spices and flavors with a vigorous Mexican touch. The unique result has generated critical acclaim in published reviews throughout the region. Now that his dream is accomplished, Alberto is already looking for more challenges, with another Candelas project that may find him and Alberto in Florence, Italy to bring a bit of the real Mexico to the Mediterranean.

For this article and in honor of Cinco de Mayo, Eduardo has provided Melissa's with a three-course meal that could serve as the centerpiece for any celebration. Our suggestion is to invite a few friends over on May 5th for a dinner party, telling them that you are just going to serve "a few Mexican dishes". Then stand back and enjoy as their expectations are exceeded with every mouthful!