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Hector Baez earned dozens of gold medals as an Olympic
boxer.
Today, because of a quirk of fate and America's 1980
boycott of the Moscow Olympics, he is a gold-medal chef, caterer to
the stars and the owner of Chef's Kitchen in the Falls area.
Chef Hector Baez (left) was Argentina's national amateur boxing champ
for five consecutive years and captain of the country's Olympic box
Born in Argentina, Baez began boxing at the age of 13.
Just three years later, he had become his country's national champion,
a title he held for more than five years. In 1978 he became the Latin
American champion and in 1979 he went to the Pan Am Games.
Hector Baez is a gold-medal chef who caters to celebrities and movie
stars from his Chef's Kitchen restaurant
"In 1980 we were ready to go to the Olympics and
I had great hopes," said Baez, who was captain of Argentina's
Olympic boxing team. "But, when the U.S. boycotted the games in
Moscow for political reasons, so did Argentina. I guess God had a
different plan for my life."
Baez left Argentina to begin an odyssey that
eventually would bring him to Miami. He traveled throughout the world,
especially the Caribbean, until he met his wife and decided to settle
down.
"We moved to Texas to attend the University of
Austin," he said.
His wife earned her master's degree in computers,
while Baez graduated and gained a position in the prestigious Culinary
Institute of America.
"I always loved food and cooking, so a career as
a chef seemed the natural thing to do," he said. "I grew up
watching my grandparents run a small restaurant. My grandmother was
Italian and very protective of her recipes. I was the only person
allowed in her kitchen. After they passed away, my parents took over
the restaurant and I had my first experience as a professional
cook."
After graduating with honors from the Culinary
Institute of America (CIA), Baez worked with many of the nation's top
chefs, including Daniel Balou at Le Cirque and Charles Palmer at
Aureole.
He and his wife moved to Miami in 1995 and Baez began
cooking for the Grand Bay Hotel.
"But I guess every chef dreams of someday having
their own restaurant, so I started doing catering on the side,"
he explained. "One day, I was catering someone's party and a
representative from Burdines was there and asked if I could cater the
film crew while they shot a commercial at Parrot Jungle. We did, and
while we were there another film company saw us, liked the food and
asked us to cater their next shoot. Before I knew it, I had enough
business to do it full-time and open this restaurant."
Baez continues to do a lot of work for Burdines. In
addition to feeding the film crews, he also supplies the food used in
the photos of the stores' home-delivery magazines to showcase their
Five-Star Kitchen products.
He has catered to celebrities such as Madonna, Placido
Domingo and the late Gianni Versace, as well as such famous
photographers as Steven Meizel and Herb Ritts. He also caters local
bar mitzvahs, quinces, weddings and holiday parties.
"But, don't think you have to wait for a special
occasion to enjoy great food," he said. "I believe that
great food should be savored every day and that it should be
affordable, too. That's what I try to provide in my restaurant."
Chef's Kitchen is located in the warehouse district of
the Falls. The tables and chairs are a simple, chrome café-style and
the décor consists of steel shelves stacked with chef's tools, pots,
pans, cookbooks and wine bottles.
"I think it's interesting for people to see all
the things we use in our business," said Baeza. "And I read
cook books the way other people read novels. So, I put them out so
that my guests can read them too."
Chef's Kitchen also is unusual in that the menu
changes every day.
"People ask me what kind of food we serve;
Italian, French or Vietnamese?" he said. "But I believe that
a chef should be able to cook anything. That's why we serve something
new every day."
Baez, who has extensive experience in Caribbean,
Tex-Mex, Vietnamese, French, California, Italian, Southern and many
other cuisines, says he retains a strong loyalty to Argentinean beef.
"It's hormone-free, has less fat and more flavor
than American beef because it is grass-fed instead of grain-fed,"
he explained.
As a boxer, Baez traveled all over the world to fight
and said he was fortunate to experience many different cultures.
"That international flavor and excitement is
something I try to convey in my cooking," said Baeza.
"Cooking is not about recipes. It is about putting your heart
into what you do. If you cook with your heart, it will come through in
the food."
Chef's Kitchen, at 8765 SW 132 Street, is open
Monday-Friday from 11 am to 8 pm for lunch and dinner. For more
information please call 305-259-9000.
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