Johnny Curiel

Chef Johnny Curiel grew up in Guadalajara, where his father owned a campestre-style restaurant that cooked whole goats, lambs, and chickens over live fire. He knew from a young age that he wanted to be a chef and began working as a dishwasher in his early teens. When he turned 18, he traveled across Mexico, from Mexico City and Oaxaca to Veracruz and small towns in the highlands of Jalisco, learning from street food vendors and working with banquet companies that catered meals for thousands of guests.

Curiel could have remained in Mexico working for his father, like his elder brother, but he felt compelled to leave and build something of his own.

“I didn't want to work for my family,” he says. “I never wanted to be a shadow of my father. I really wanted to represent Mexico and Mexican food in the United States.”

In 2014, Curiel joined chef Richard Sandoval’s team as a sous chef and was quickly promoted to chef de cuisine, working at Sandoval’s Mexican restaurants in Colorado and traveling for openings and events. Over three years with Sandoval, Curiel gained a deep understanding of restaurant operations and credits him with reinforcing his commitment to cooking Mexican food. “I wouldn't be able to do the food that I do today if it wasn't for Richard,” he says.

Following his time with Sandoval, Curiel began working with chef Troy Guard in 2017 at several of Denver’s most prominent kitchens, including Guard + Grace, Los Chingones, and Mr. Tuna.

“The reason that I use kanpachi in most of my restaurants now is because of Troy,” Curiel says. “I used to have to break down four kanpachis every day, so I fell in love with the fish. Today it’s my go-to.”

Curiel’s next move was as a consulting chef for Mexican restaurants, working on concepts in Charlotte, Minnesota, and Cincinnati while living a nomadic lifestyle and relocating every six months. “I was learning so much,” he recalls. “I still love doing pop-up dinners and residencies because I love learning, and that will never stop.”

Back in Denver, Curiel opened his first solo restaurant, Alma Fonda Fina, in December 2023 with his wife, Kasie. Less than two years later, the Curiels operate four Mexican restaurants in Colorado, with a new 16-seat tasting menu chef’s counter, Maíze, set to open soon. Alma Fonda Fina and Mezcaleria Alma each hold a Michelin star and sit next door to one another in Denver’s Lower Highlands neighborhood. Curiel also oversees Alteño, located on the ground floor of the Clayton Hotel and Members Club, and Cozobi Fonda Fina in Boulder. For someone who had never worked in a Michelin-starred restaurant before opening his own, Curiel has carved a distinct path.

Even as his responsibilities continue to grow, Curiel still travels to Mexico approximately 10 times each year, both to visit his family, who live in Jalisco, and to eat across different cities and regions. “I want to see what else is in Mexico,” Curiel says. “I want to continue to learn and develop myself as a Mexican chef.”