Jeremy Cuevas – La Cocina Cuevas
Named for a restaurant in California run by Jeremy’s grandmother, La Cocina Cuevas is exactly what you wouldn’t expect to find in rural Fingal. A Cali-Mex restaurant, bursting with freshness and flavour, located on a traditional Irish farm. Now that’s fusion!
Jeremy too is one of a kind. Born in the USA he has always had a fascination with food and recalls his grandfather teasing him for always being in the kitchen. That had no effect whatsoever and Jeremy shadowed his grandmother learning everything from the subtleties of different types of chillis to selecting the best flour for perfect tortillas. He loved everything to do with food and the kitchen as well as the time honoured rituals of big family meals.
His first experience of restaurant work was as a lowly bus boy, clearing tables which he reckons did him no harm at all. When it came to college he took a completely different tack, opting to use a scholarship to study law at University of the Pacific which he really didn’t enjoy. Jeremy looked to a university advisor for help and struck gold as it was none other than the respected food historian Ken Albala who guided him towards a degree in Food History.
Restaurant work was still his first love and he began working in professional kitchens while doing an Associated Degree in Food Science. He was an avid on-the-job student coming in early before his shift to learn about baking. Chefs and bosses responded to his enthusiasm, and he absorbed all they could teach him.
From there, Jeremy’s career took off and he began working in some very prestigious restaurants including the one Michelin star Artichoke in Buckinghamshire England where he worked his way up to Chef de Parti and learned about flora and fauna in the Chilterns, hiking the hills and foraging. At Adam Byatt’s Trinity in Clapham (another Michelin starred eatery) he learned to butcher whole animals and fillet fish expertly. A couple of years working in a variety of restaurants gave him experience on the business side, learning about costing and creating food and beverage menus which has been hugely beneficial to him. He gained experience as a head chef and helped set up restaurants from scratch before moved into chef recruitment and even some forensic accounting.
London was where he met his partner Laura who persuaded him to ‘give Ireland a try’ for 6 months. Nine years later, they are still here. The young couple moved into a farmhouse near The Naul which Laura’s grandmother had lived in, and the kernel of a business idea based on Cali-Mex food began to grow. La Cocina Cuevas took a while to evolve, beginning with a food truck which they brought to festivals and events. It was hugely successful but Jeremy needed more stability and they took a chance on basing it at the farm.
A big sign proclaiming “Mexican Food Here” brought a little passing trade at first but within a week so many cars were stopping that parking was becoming an issue. That was just before Covid and the lockdown restrictions – fortuitously the business model meant they didn’t have to pivot, just manage it differently.
Disbelieving Gardaí thought people were winding them up, saying they were on the way to the Mexican takeaway. One patrol car even followed a family right into the yard and the silver lining from that experience means local stations are still dropping by for takeaways.
Today La Cocina Cuevas offers both takeaway and eat-in options. Cleverly converted calf sheds have become a series of miniature private dining rooms each with a definitive theme.
It’s Cal-Mex food which Jeremy explains is a fusion of traditional Mexican cooking and lighter more modern California cuisine. It’s certainly finger-licking good!
Visit La Cocina Cuevas (click here)
