Community Highlights: Meet Yara Herrera of Hellbender

Today we’d like to introduce you to Yara Herrera

Hi Yara , it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
As a high school student in California, I had plans to become a social worker. But, while taking a culinary arts class for credit, I became smitten by her teacher’s stories about restaurants and decided to pursue a career in hospitality instead. I enrolled in culinary trade school while also working full-time. After graduating I landed a job at Katsuya under Chef David Lespron, working the prep station and learning to adjust to the ebbs and flows of a professional kitchen. After three years at Katsuya I moved to Wolfgang Puck’s Spago in Beverly Hills before joining the team at Providence in 2016.

Eager to take the next step in my career, I left to help open Chef David Chang’s Majordomo. At this time of my life I started to feel disillusioned with the industry, and David encouraged me to keep at it and offered her a job at Momofuku Ko in New York.. When the pandemic hit in 2020 and the restaurant closed, I pivoted and accepted my first chef de cuisine role at Xilonen in Brooklyn. I took this opportunity to fully tap into and explore her heritage, embracing the concept’s vegan and Mexican menu.

When the restaurant closed its doors, I began popping up around the city cooking what I loved the most, eventually finding my way to doing a pop-up at Rolo’s. There, I connected with Howard Kalachnikoff and Rafiq Salim, who later approached me about working together and running our own concept. In February 2024, we opened Hellbender, a Mexican-American bar and restaurant, in Ridgewood. Here at Hellbender I highlight Mexican products, bringing attention to native heirloom corn varietals and other traditional ingredients through a menu that is both familiar and unexpected.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I wish I could say it’s been a smooth road but it’s not. A career in the food industry requires a lot of hard work, a lot of hours committed to the craft, and the reward is more internal than external. When we first opened Hellbender, we sought out to be a cocktail bar with a small snacks menu; very early into opening we realized the concept wasn’t working, less than 6 months in we renovated the dining room, and turned Hellbender into a full service-restaurant. We didn’t have the luxury of closing down for multiple days, we have to train staff and change the menu all while still being open. It was a tough time for me personally, I felt like I was trying to rebuild my identity again.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Hellbender ?
Hellbender is my first chef/partner project. It is a Mexican-American restaurant located in Ridgewood, Queens. We prioritize using native heirloom corn and other Mexican ingredients. At Hellbender you can find classics like guacamole and chips, as well fun-creative takes on classic dishes, like fried Oaxaca cheese, breaded in corn flakes and paired with a “green marinara” which is really a tomatillo salsa with extra oregano!

Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
Support heirloom native corn and come to Hellbender!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.hellbendernyc.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hellbendernyc/

Image Credits
@adamfriedlander
@starchefs