Chef Jose Rojas of Louies Modern was eating organic before the term became in vogue. Though the name says modern, Rojas has a way of taking food from his childhood home and adding a twist to create innovative fare.

Growing up in Mexico City, Rojas describes having an abundance of fresh, local and organic fruits and vegetables, along with grass-fed meats and poultry. He comes from a family that cooked daily (his grandmother used to take him with her to pick out live chickens), whipping up meals bursting with flavor, taking advantage of local ingredients readily available such as cilantro, peppers, tomatillos and the like. He often frequented fondas, small restaurants with shelves full of fruits and vegetables, selecting produce that would later be made into delicious juices and colorful plates. He’d go as often as four times a week, recalling the chicken stock made in the fondas as being so rich and full with natural flavor that seasoning wasn’t needed.

When Rojas moved to the US 16 years ago, everything was different; he had to adapt to the changes in quality, being unfamiliar with the hormones and chemicals used to grow food. “You have to season it more to make up for those tastes,” he says. Cooking became more complicated—a challenge.

Formerly a Latin and ballroom dancer, once in the US his goals shifted. He had an opportunity in the restaurant industry and began his career as the manager of the late Steak and Ale restaurant, and from there moved on to Country Pancake House. He applied the firm work ethic instilled in him by his father: “When I set a goal in my mind, I do it,” says Rojas.

A few years later he met Chef Francis “Fran” Casciato of Libby’s Café + Bar. “Amazing guy and an amazing chef,” says Rojas. “He  encouraged me to become a better chef.” Rojas was offered a part-time position to help prep in the kitchen at Libby’s. Not wanting to pass on the opportunity, he accepted, and between working two jobs, put in up to 90 hours a week for two years. Then, he heard Louies Modern was opening and was hired as a manager and promoted to sous chef soon after.

Today, Rojas eyes every single plate that hits the table. “I’m there from the first plate going out until the very last,” he says. He watches the guests’ reaction to the first bite: “If they put the fork down, I know there’s something wrong and I fix it.” A perfect example of Rojas’ twist is the vegan carpaccio, a dish that makes even die-hard carnivores swoon. Rojas takes the look of traditional beef carpaccio and mirrors it with a vibrant platter of hearts of palm, beet, sunchoke, fennel, radish and cucumber, finished with a chili lime vinaigrette. Another inventive dish is found in the honey agave chicken, an homage to his childhood eating farm-fresh organic chickens. The plate is livened up with a double-beet spaetzle, baby kale, a splash of citrus and a touch of creamy, yet subtle goat cheese. Everything at Louies Modern is home-made just like Rojas’ family recipes.

A mentor at heart, when Rojas sees a passion in someone, he grooms them, helping them achieve their best. It’s a chance he had himself and, as such, passes that same opportunity along. Fittingly, Rojas thrives in an atmosphere like Louies Modern, a family operation owned by the Tableseide restaurant group that also includes Muse, Banyan Cafe, Libby’s Café + Bar, The Francis, Oak & Stone and Lbar. Working in collaboration, the Tableseide team and Rojas create plates that represent the freedom of the chef’s ideas, inspired by his family’s daily cooking and appealing to a broad range of palates, influenced by where he came from and what he’s learned along the way.