Joshua Gil

Joshua Gil of Mitla, Modern Oaxacan Cuisine

Oct 29-30

5 course individually plated menu, fifty five dollars/ Bar bites $5 /cocktails $12/wine pairing, or by the glass or $20 corkage

BAR BITES $5
Chorizo and Oaxaca Cheese Croquettes
Mole Drummets
Cemita – Cecina
Tostada de Chapulines

5 course Menu – fifty five dollars

SOPA DE GUIAS | Squash vines / chepil / sweetcorn / zuchinni stems / blossoms /chochoyote / chinicuil sauce
TLAYUDA | Tlayuda / white beans / mole coloradito / avocado leaves / cacti / shrimp
BARBACOA DE GUAJOLOTE | Braised turkey / Hoja Santa / Black Beans / Poleo / Bean masa tortillas
AMARILLO DE VENADO | Venison / Yellow Mole / Pitiona / Squash Chochoyote / Pitiona tortilla
NIÑO ENVUELTO | Guava Sponge Cake / Cacao / Oaxacan Chocolate / Goat Milk Caramel

All guest checks include a service charge of 18%. While additional gratuities are appreciated, they are neither required nor expected. Substitutions politely declined.  Vegetarian options are not available during this chef’s brief tenure. Substitutions politely declined.

Chef Joshua Gil

A self-taught chef, Joshua Gil garnered his knowledge of cooking from books and people. As a child, Gil helped his mother prepare huge feasts every Saturday of traditional Mexican dishes such as Tamales, Enchiladas and Carne Asada. He absorbed the essence of Chinese, Vietnamese and Japanese cooking by learning from friends of
those cultures.

The first real cookbook he received was Chez Panisse, where he learned about love and appreciation for ingredients and where they come from.  Other strong influences include Adria’s El Bulli, Escoffier’s Le Guide Culinaire and Savarin’s Physiology of Taste. Chef Joshua Gil was first recognized for his unique culinary skills at the Hotel Laguna in Orange County, California where he served as the Chef-de-Cuisine, and oversaw menus for the property’s two restaurants as well as spearheading banquets and weddings.

In 2005, Joshua arrived at Joe’s Restaurant in Venice where their reinterpretations of French-California Cuisine finally earned Chef Joshua Gil 1 Michelin Star in 2007. Gil’s attitude toward food is that it should be light, fun and innovative. By experimenting with textures and temperatures, Gil took the bold flavors of New Spanish Cuisine and served them up Venice, CA style, always full of surprises. But, to be closer to his son, he took the job as Chef d’Cuisine at the Jonathan Club.

But, Joshua Gil’s visions couldn’t be confined to the traditional kitchens he had beenworking in, so, it has been rumored that he’s associated with a certain underground supper club. There, Chef Joshua Gil has been free to abandon the rules and just cook. He continues to pursue the endless possibilities of flavor, texture, and temperature.

Mitla

Mitla, is a new Oaxacan concept from Bricia Lopez, of Los Angeles’ first Oaxacan family, La Guelaguetza. Mitla merges the traditions of her mother’s Oaxacan kitchen, with the contemporary techniques and culinary freedom of Chef Joshua Gil. This is Los Angeles’ first contemporary Oaxacan restaurant, and the first in the US. Los Angeles is home to
the third most important center of Oaxacan cookery in the world, only surpassed by Oaxaca and Mexico City. Mitla will open sometime in the Fall of 2010.