Today we’d like to introduce you to Ricardo Heredia
Hi Ricardo, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Barrio Bird began in 2023 as a MEHKO, with myself and my daughters Maya and Ixchel. We began cooking out of our home in Barrio Logan San Diego and quickly gained a following of loyal customers. While we are making moves for a brick and mortar our pop ups, off site catering and drop offs in Los Angeles and San Diego are holding it down. We have big news coming and plan locations in East LA and South Side Tucson. What we do is cook Fried Chicken the way we like it. I have been a Chef for 25 years and have been trying to master fried chicken since I was nine. Developed with my daughter Ixchel, we use a few combined techniques to get our signature crunch. Chingona is our signature sando, dipped in Chile Oil and topped with Kewpie Mayo and Poblano Cheese Sauce. We also believe in utilizing the whole Bird, so we are frying our potatoes in Chicken fat, using skin for Chicken Chicharron and thigh meat for Chicken Albondigas and Breakfast Sausage. We want Barrio Bird to embody not just the food we love but Art and Culture of who we are as Chicanos in America today.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Ultimately it was a smooth process. There are life lessons both my girls and I learned along the way for sure. But MEHKO is built to alleviate the cost burden of opening a restaurant while creating and tightening our systems. This was the easy part. Learning to work as a better team, communicating on a different level and holding each other accountable and embracing mistakes can always be a struggle. One that we have gladly accepted.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Currently I am head of Culinary Operations for a large Restaurant Group in San Diego. I like to think I am known for my Creativity and Adaptability. I am most proud of my girls; I love seeing them become stronger and more independent. We also just Welcomed our little Baby Bird Camila to the Fam. What sets me apart from others is my journey. All of our journeys are unique and mine is a bit different. All Chefs can connect to food moments and memories. I grew up with my sisters in and out of many Foster Homes. Most unspeakable but some hold fond food memories. An Amish family and their expertise in baking, I remember my first pig in a blanket, the first time I cooked and egg at 5 and a whole chicken at 9. The joy I extracted from these food moments still fuel and drive me forward.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
To sum it up, I grew up too fast. Not many Christmases or Birthday celebrations, my sisters and I had to fend for ourselves most of our young lives with absent parents. I was street smart, very tough and defiant of authority. I was that kid in 1st grade who wouldn’t stand and questioned the Pledge of Allegiance. I had a passion for drawing and painting, was a class clown and Hip Hop was life. At 14 I was blessed into a gang and my only aspirations were to never be poor again by any means necessary,
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.barriobird.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/barriobirdsd/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100079962656379
Image Credits
Maya Heredia
