Sunday Funday: Flavors of home

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- At one El Paso restaurant, a chef is serving up the memories, traditions and flavors that shaped his culinary journey.

One plate at a time.

"Just ask anybody who's moved away from el paso, and they will tell you that the thing they miss the most is the food," Starlite Gastropub Executive Chef and Co-Owner, Chef Raul Gonzalez, told ABC-7's Olivia Vara during the interveiw.

Food has a way of bringing people together through similar cultures, values and tastes. 

At restaurants like Sazón by Chef Rulis, he shares his appreciation for the Borderland's cuisine and cultural influences.

"The rest of Mexico doesn't use flour tortillas. They use corn tortillas. And so, that's been fascinating, that happened here. Chiles Toreados, which we all love. One of those questions was, if it's Mexican, how come there's soy sauce in it? And it all, you know, pointed back to the Chinese building the railroads. And so they have a big influence on Southwest cuisine that people don't even realize," said Chef Rulis.

His first connection to food began with his mother. 

"A lot of the recipes that we use of hers here are that comfort food, you know, like the Meat Loaf, you know, her, her Potato Poblano soup. You know, her rice. You know, those are things, that people, they tasted, and it brings back memories, the Calabacitas. And so, I think food creates the best memories of all," he said.

Today, Chef Rulis carries those memories into his restaurant.

"With my mother, you know, her memory is alive, you know, through her recipes, through her food, and, and it's very special," said Chef Rulis.

Check out what chef Rulis is cooking on his social media pages, here.

if you’d like to submit a story for your next Sunday Funday moment, send an email to olivia.vara@kvia.com.