How many couples can say their first date included two different restaurants? Even from the start, it was all about the food.
We met in a bakery in Playa del Carmen in 2016, and our romance blossomed quickly. By 2017 we’d moved to El Cuyo, Yucatan and found our first place together. By 2018, we’d opened El Chile Gordo, and its á la carte menu was a roaring success. El Chile Gordo was making waves.
Then in March 2020, due to COVID, El Cuyo closed its doors to tourists, and we were left with little choice but to close ours too. When we reopened 9 months later, it was with a totally different concept.
The Single Table Concept
Oscar had always dreamt of a restaurant where strangers shared a table and dined together. So, in the middle of a pandemic – when most people wanted to keep their distance – that is exactly what we decided to do. Crazily, it worked.
People frequently ask if we’d ever return to a standard restaurant format. The answer? Definitely not!
We love showcasing the variety of Mexican gastronomy, chatting with our guests, and explaining the dishes. Plus, seeing strangers create memories and bond over good food is exactly what Mexican cooking is all about.
A New Chapter
After five successful years in El Cuyo, we decided it was time to shake things up. We were ready for a new challenge.
We moved to the beautiful walled city of Campeche – a UNESCO World Heritage Site – where we’ve transformed a colonial era house into the perfect ‘chef’s table’ dining venue.
Here Oscar has a traditional outdoor smokehouse, plus the dedicated open plan kitchen-dining area at the heart of the house – where you sit just inches from the stovetop, watching the magic unfold.
We’re really looking forward to this next chapter in the El Chile Gordo story.
Oscar & Cathy’s Back Story
Oscar, originally from Veracruz, developed a passion for cooking at a young age, learning traditional recipes from his mother and aunts. Despite his love for food, he pursued a career in graphic design, before moving to Quintana Roo and finding success as an artisan. He took two years out to travel across the American continent in a jeep and on his return to Mexico, he met Cathy.
Cathy, hailing from ‘cold and wet’ Yorkshire in the UK, worked across Europe in tourism before deciding she wanted to choose where she lived. She became an English teacher and took a year-long post in Playa del Carmen. She was busy planning solo travels through Central and South America when she met Oscar. The rest, as they say, is history…
To find out more about the El Chile Gordo Experience, click here