Chef Evelyn Garcia is a Houston native, born to parents from Mexico and El Salvador, and is the chef and co-owner of byKin HTX. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, she spent 10 years in New York City developing her skills, passion and drive for Southeast Asian food and culture. With strong family ties and love for her hometown, she decided to move back to Houston and open byKin HTX, a Southeast Asian inspired concept.

During Hispanic Heritage Month, Garcia shares a bit of her story, some of her inspirations, and cooking tips. Additionally, she will be a guest chef in a Central Market virtual cooking class on Thursday, Oct. 6 from 6-7:30 p.m. During the live online class, chef Garcia will walk guests on how to make some of her favorite dishes. Tickets are $10. To register for the cooking class and to shop the ingredients for the dishes, click here.

What, who inspired you to get into cooking? 

I grew up in a household where almost every meal was cooked by my parents or my grandmother. My grandparents on my father’s side were cheesemakers in El Salvador. So I feel like the credit would have to go to my family that always surrounded me with great scratch made meals.

What are some of the first dishes you learned to make? 

Tortillas were definitely the first thing I learned how to make from my mother and grandmother. Mine still don’t taste as good as theirs, though.

Cooking in the kitchen with family is a good place to learn life lessons. Do you remember any words of wisdom, lessons from your time cooking with your family?  

I think the biggest take away is to spend time with your loved ones. Food and cooking make it easy to gather for those important to you, so don’t take it for granted.

Your parents are Mexican and Salvadoran. What did you learn from the cuisines from the two cultures and how do you integrate them into your personal style of cooking, which focuses on Southeast Asian flavors?

Growing up in Houston in a multicultural home definitely inspires my cooking. Although the dishes are very different, I grew up eating a fusion of the two, and, to me, it became very natural to combine flavors and techniques. And while I dug into Southeast Asian cooking, I found a lot of similarities with what I grew up eating and, in a way, found comfort cooking with those flavors and ingredients.

Hispanic Heritage month gives us an opportunity to experience the culture, and a good way to do that is through food. In what ways do you feel you tell the story of your culture through food?

I believe my food to be a constant conversation of my personal cultural history and experiences. It’s always evolving as I grow older, but I always find myself pulling inspiration from a place of my family’s cooking.

Which dishes do you feel convey that expression?

I feel that curry and mole really convey that for me. They’re stews that tie my love for Latino and southeast Asian cuisines.

You were Chopped Champion in 2014 and a finalist on Top Chef. What did you learn about yourself from those two experiences, and how did you insert those lessons into your cooking?

Competitive cooking is very different from how we cook every day. What I learned through those experiences is to trust my instincts and execute to the best of my abilities. In cooking you sometimes find yourself doubting your every move, but with experience you learn to trust your instincts and yourself.

You’ve spent time in two great culinary cities in the U.S., NYC and Houston. How are the culinary scenes in those two cities similar?

I’m very grateful to have lived in both these amazing cities, and what I find similar is the melding of flavors that could only happen in these cities because of the multicultural communities. That is the best part I get to experience as a chef.

I read that as a kid you had a pretty eclectic palate, getting pho and bubble teas on Sundays. What advice would you give to kids who may want to cultivate a passion for all things culinary? 

Explore! Don’t be afraid to try new things, you never know what will become a new favorite or inspire your career.

You make a line of spice rubs and condiments. What inspired the flavors for these products and what can people expect?

My product line is inspired by flavor combinations I enjoy eating and cooking with. From my Texas style barbecue sauce with hints of Chinese five spice to our coffee rub that is made with Salvadorian coffee.

As a chef, any words of advice for home cooks?

Don’t be afraid to try new flavors and ingredients, and don’t forget to have fun. You can taste it in the food, I promise.