If you’ve heard Daniela Soto-Innes’ name, you know she’s the spitting image, or at least a good representation, of what people refer to as a “force of nature”: she’s effortless, very charismatic, with few filters in the language and in a vision of leadership that has reconfigured the plot of the fine dining, that fragile structure that for so long has been supported by white linen tablecloths and an almost military discipline in the kitchen, with which a generation of diners no longer feels comfortable and which a generation of chefs wants to redefine.
I think when someone says refined cuisine, your eyes go to a white tablecloth, to a very severe seriousness, to something very monotonous that we want, and I say want because I’m not alone, to be redefined. Breaking with an idea of what’s good,” comments Daniela.
Since he was at Cosme, and in subsequent projects such as Atla and Elio, his notions of Mexican cuisine and what a restaurant should be began to lean towards something more informal: more comfortable, less formal, less stuffy spaces, with music and flavors in higher decibels, with content and quality, but without bombast.
It is therefore no surprise that this chef, already crowned once as the best in the world, organized a party in New York – the city from which she greets – to announce her new project in Mexico, the country she welcomes and where she had it makes sense to open a restaurant, because security is worth it but not inconsistency.
an expected return
“Every time I’m in Mexico it’s like being at home. I’ve been a nomad since I left when I was 12 and I’ve always brought with me memories of my childhood, of cooking”, says Daniela, enthusiastic about an episode that literally takes her to greener and less paved lands.
“After being in New York, which was the biggest challenge I ever had, starting with no money and not knowing anyone, I obviously wanted to go back to Mexico. There is nothing like being at home,” she assures.
So, between bubbles, tequila shots, caviar tacos and oysters, Daniela summoned her new partners and closest collaborators to announce that her new project, Rubra, is about to open in Punta Mita.
“The restaurant is inside a hotel, but we wanted to break a bit with the expectations of this type of place. I’ve always wanted to have this fun restaurant, where the drinks are just as important as the food,” she says.
Looking to the future, Rubra is also the project that Daniela has created as she pleases, which she thought of right from the name (inspired by the red plumeria also known as May flower and which abounds in Punta Mita) to the color of the walls, the design of the floors or the vats for cooling the wine. “I think when opportunities are offered to you, you have to go all-or-nothing,” says Daniela.
Rubra is a project that has made it all her own, but in which she doesn’t go alone: she arrives with a group of accomplices, a entourage of talented people, with whom he identifies and finds points of influence.
People she admires, who speak her language and who, like at home, are mostly women entrepreneurs. “To bring everyone together, everyone, everyone, is very nice. Sometimes we don’t talk enough about the people who do all of this work to make the restaurant possible and incredible, so that it’s not just one person’s space, but a place of collaboration.” A party, wherever you can see.
