Chef Ren, The Brujo

Hi there! Welcome to Brujo Bites! I’m Ren, a first generation Cuban American, and self-taught Chef. If you don’t speak Spanish a Brujo is a magician. This is where I’ll be sharing my Culinary Alchemy + Savory Sorcery with you like a fiery witch doctor standing, delirious and inspired, over an intoxicating symphony of aromas and concoctions. I want to cast a spell over you until you love cooking as much as I do. But most importantly, this is a place for hearing memorable and entertaining stories featuring the great friends that shared them and celebrating the food that brought these experiences to life!

I’m from a place where food is love. A place where if you fell down and scraped your knee, the solution was a kiss from Mom and bowl of vanilla bean ice cream. Did you get dumped by the love of your life? Here, have a slice of flan. You got an A on your report card? We’re having vaca frita! You’re going in for surgery? Sit down for a huge plate of arroz con pollo and maduros! Good food made with pride and passion was the medicine that cured whatever ailed ya!

For as long as I can remember there were steaming pots and pans swirling around in frantic movement and releasing phenomenal aromas all around me. Before I was of school age I would spend my days, along with my little brother and cousins, at my grandparent’s house while my parents were at work. My Abuela would wake up at dawn to prepare breakfast for my Abuelo, my cousins, my brother and myself. Once breakfast concluded, Abuela would wash up and immediately begin preparations for lunch. I would gaze in wonder as she would glide through her tiny kitchen with seeming ease, cooking amazing food for five kids all day, every day. I came to believe that taking simple ingredients and transforming them through the art of cooking to create a magnificent meal is one of the closest things to real magic. She taught me that feeling passionate about not only the food you’re making, but for the people for whom you’re cooking it, nourishes not only the body but also the soul.

That same passion has lived in me my whole life. Settling down in front of the tv with my favorite toys to binge watch cartoons on a Saturday morning would not have been the same, though still pretty awesome, if I hadn’t had a gigantic bowl of my favorite cereal with milk. I used to skip school with my friends just to go get the best Cuban sandwich in Westchester, world-famous fritas in Little Havana or hot dogs at the iconic Arbetter’s. A first date was always at a fantastic restaurant getting sushi, steak or fondue. Getting a slice at Pucci’s after clubbing all night on South Beach, or getting a Big Boy Country Breakfast as the sun rises over Miami at The Chuck Wagon was a rite of passage. Most of my favorite moments in life took place while sitting around a table over a meal with people I love and admire.

Growing up I could never really figure out what I wanted to do with my life. I knew that it had to be something that was artistic and would allow me to exercise my imagination and creativity, while also allowing me to pay the bills. As a teen and young man I was the singer in a punk band, an amateur photographer, an illustrator and painter, a poet and a ton of other jobs that I could never quite turn into a career. Up to this point my only experiences with cooking had been making food for myself, my family and my friends. Then I landed a job as a mercenary catering chef and found that I was not only thoroughly engaged with what I was doing, but was actually having a blast! I voraciously ate up every tip, trick and tidbit about cooking and maneuvering in the kitchen that the chef would share. I was eager to jump in and try new things, even if it sometimes led to disaster.

My very first real cooking job led very quickly, to becoming the first kitchen I was ever in charge of. The guy they had hired initially was a mobbed up friend of one of the owners. He had other priorities and seemed to care about cooking about as much as a lobster cares about a ham sandwich. I just kept my head down and used that kitchen as my personal culinary school. I got a hold of some old cookbooks and began working my way through them. I watched every cooking show on air and subscribed to every culinary magazine available. I became addicted to making people happy with my food. I would watch their faces light up when they took that first bite, then excitedly force their friend to try it and watch them light up as well. I had guests bring me to tears when they thanked me for making their occasion truly special. I relished every opportunity to make my food better. I have treasured every new friendship I developed while discussing my passion. I have basked in the praise of those who have experienced what I have to offer, and have taken every criticism as a chance to learn and grow.

Then, after 22 years of working 16 hours days, nights, holidays and weekends honing my craft, getting to know people and teaching young cooks the ins and outs of the culinary business, Covid hit and it all came to a screeching halt. I suddenly found myself with nothing to do…and I did it! I mean, I’ve been having fun spending time with my wife and daughter, doing things I was unable to do with them due to the demands of my career (though not as much as I’d have liked since we were on lockdown and couldn’t leave the house). I soon found myself growing restless and desperate. I was wracking my brain trying to figure what would come next. How would I provide for my family? How would I be able to continue bringing joy into people’s lives by doing what I love? Should I jump off a bridge and end the madness? Then I looked at my daughter and thought about what kind of a person I wanted to be in her eyes. Would I give in to despair and give up, or would I get back up, brush myself off and embrace my destiny? We all go through trials and tribulations, but what defines us is what we do in the face of that adversity. Like Rocky once said, “It’s not how hard you can hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done!” PREACH!!

So rather than allow myself to be destroyed by my circumstances, I decided to build something. And not just anything, but something I can share with the world and let everyone know that no matter how bad things can get, we are not alone. We are all in this together and I am here to tell you that you have it in you to build something, too. It might not be today, it might not be tomorrow or the next day but, everything is going to be alright. I hope you’ll join me on this adventure, secure in the knowledge that where there’s life, there’s hope.

What you’ll find here are my creative and deliriously scrumptious recipes, hunger-inducing photos and frank and entertaining stories about my journey through this thing called life. You’ll also find practical tips and tricks used by professional chefs that will arm you with the knowledge to blow your friends and family away with your newly found skills as a culinary alchemist. My hope is that you’ll have as much fun making these recipes and reading these stories, as I’m having sharing them with you all. Let’s get cookin’ and make some magic together!

Ren, “El Brujo”

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