Valle de Guadalupe, Baja California, Mexico

Name: Drew M. Deckman
Age: 46
Nationality: American
Country of Residence: Mexico

1. Your Restaurant/Business: Deckman’s en el Mogor – when the family bought the ranch in late 1940’s it was the only word on the old maps, so they kept the name.

2. About Your Kitchen: Our kitchen is entirely outdoors – centered in the heart of our ranch and vineyard.  Everything we do is wood-fired, only using wood from trees on our property.

3. Your Favorite Chef Works Item: : All the Urban Collection aprons are spot on, however my current favorites are the denim aprons.  I’m wearing the Memphis Bib Apron.

4. First Job: At 15 I was a dishwasher at a pizzeria in Peachtree City, Georgia, USA.

5. Your Favorite Cookbook: The New Making of a Cook: The Art, Techniques And Science of Good Cooking by Madeleine Kamman. Hands down.

6. Your Awards: I am most proud of a Michelin Star at Restaurant Vitus in Germany and the Rising-Star Chef Award in Berlin 2003. I am now involved with numerous organizations promoting sustainability.

7. Your Cooking Inspiration: Our farm, the farmers market, the weather, everything is inspiration for us. Ever heard of farm-to-table? Well, we bring the table to the farm. Seriously, I work in hiking boots!

8. Your Specialty Dish: Oysters in whichever form possible.

9. Favorite Dish To Eat: Kumiai oysters from the Pacific Ocean with a dry white wine or Champagne.

10. Weirdest Thing You Ever Ate: I had Bird’s Nest in Shanghai. It’s Sparrow saliva and mud mixed together.  I think that counts, but I also had Jelly Fish which was pretty weird too.

11. Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: Mint Chocolate Chip, it’s boring I know.

12. Favorite Drink: A Negroni cocktail made of one part gin, one part vermouth rosso and one part Campari garnished with orange peel.

13. Favorite Wine: Red: Mogor Badan’s Estate Blend (we make it here on the property). White: Unoaked Chardonnay from Lechuza Vineyard.

14. Who Would You Most Like To Cook For: It would be an honor to cook for the respected American chef, Alice Waters again.  I cooked for Alice, her daughter Fanny and friend on her 70th birthday and we became good friends after that dinner.

15. Who Would You Least Like To Cook For: Myself – I’m too hard on myself.

16. Favorite Things To Do When Not Cooking: I love learning about the wineries in Mexico, helping my friends with wine production and understanding the science behind it all – this has changed all my life.  Spending time with my beautiful wife, Paulina and my new baby daughter, Matilda whom I love dearly means everything.

17. Your latest project: We are working on opening a mollusk based restaurant at the Casa de Pierdra winery…among other things.

18. Favorite City and Why: Lyon in France for the unlimited gastronomic possibilities that are there, the variety and quality is unbeatable.

19. Your Greatest Indulgence: Fresh Chanterelle mushrooms or Sea Urchin.

20. Your All Time Best Culinary Tip: Taste it, taste it again and taste it one more time.

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