Congratulations to Chef Maria ‘Coco’ Mondragon!

A sincere THANK YOU to Chef Maria Coco Mondragon for her dedication and commitment to Mayahuel for almost 7 years as she leaves at the end of the year to further her career.

Coco is one of the hardest-working professionals I’ve ever met. She managed the Mayahuel kitchen with grace, making a demanding job look easy. Her willingness to embrace challenges and insist on excellence in all she did was truly inspiring.

Coco, it has been..

Imagine moving to a different country, where you don’t know anybody. Everything and everyone seems ‘foreign’. You feel alone, wondering what your co-workers and neighbors will be like – what, if anything, you will share in common. From finding a place to live to learning how to navigate in the city and commute, every aspect of your life is suddenly strange and unfamiliar.

Luis Adame, an IT Consultant from Torreón Coahuila, México, was offered an opportunity to work in the..

Chef Coco Mondragon cannot remember a time when the cooking of great food was not a central part of her life. As a young girl growing up in San José de Gracia, Jalisco, she spent hours in the kitchen basking in the aromas of her Grandmother’s cooking – feeling the love that went into every dish.

In fact, Coco’s Grandmother and Uncle perfected recipes together and the family benefitted from their passion. Using what was available seasonally in their home town, they created..

Written for Señor Ernesto Delgado

Two ‘expladores’ and their gracious guide travelled to the Napa Valley recently. We wanted to experience the valley where Ernesto Delgado grew up – from his perspective.

Señor Delgado is known as an innovative and creative entrepreneur. His sense of design spills over into every aspect of each of his businesses – it lives in the architecture, food, drinks and art. Some of this inspiration came from Napa, where Ernesto spent hours riding his..

Written for Señor Ernesto Delgado

We’ve all been to a restaurant where the food is exquisite, the décor is gorgeous, and there’s a long wait for a reservation.

All that is worthless if the service is terrible.

An outstanding dining experience requires trust. The host has the responsibility to initially earn that trust – they are the first person you encounter in the restaurant. After that, every person with whom the guest comes into contact can either reinforce that trust..

Written for Señor Ernesto Delgado

Mayahuel is celebrating its fifth year in business.

For any restaurant, this is a milestone. For Señor Ernesto Delgado, it’s confirmation that his vision to create a place where the beauty and passion of the Mexican culture could be celebrated was something Sacramento would embrace.

Mayahuel was two full years in planning and building before Ernesto opened the doors for the first time. He encountered challenges and setbacks that would have..