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Salsa 17 chef shares stuffed peppers

With a mother and grandmother who ran restaurants, it's not surprising that Jose L. Luna would find his way into the business.

After 30-odd years of work in hotel and country club kitchens around the suburbs, Luna recently landed at his first free-standing restaurant, Salsa 17 in downtown Arlington Heights.

Luna grew up in Jalisco, Mexico and came to Chicago in the early 1980s to attend culinary school and learn the fundamentals of international cooking. He joined the American Culinary Federation, became a certified executive chef through the group and is a member the American Academy of Chefs. In 1993 he won the Chef of the Year award from the ACF Chicago chapter and in 1994, he was part of the Vision USA culinary team that took a gold medal in Seoul, Korea.

During time at with hotel banquets ice sculpting became a specialty and he participated in international ice carving competitions. He regularly travels to explore other cuisines, and recently visited Belfast in Northern Ireland for a culinary exchange between Chicago and Irish chefs. When he's not globe-trotting or firing up the burners in Arlington Heights, he's at home in Aurora with his wife, Nancy. The couple has children Pedro, 25, Mica 22, and Alejandro, 20, and an American bulldog, Lolita

Can you recall an early food memory? How did that shape the chef you are today? Rubbing the dried ears of corn together to get kernels. My mother would cook them all night on the stove on low. In the morning we would start the wood fire, grind the corn and make fresh tortillas every day. It taught me, that fresh is always best!

You've grown up in restaurants. How is Salsa 17 like the restaurants of your youth? It reminds me of my abuelita's (grandma's) restaurant in that she used many different type of peppers, to create unique and different flavors.

Any mentors along the way? My career has been in hotels and country clubs. This is my first free standing restaurant. Believe it or not, the mentors have been the students I have worked with over the years. Their enthusiasm and desire to learn taught me so much.

What is your culinary philosophy? My philosophy has always been to use the freshest ingredients possible, to enhance the flavors of food. Food trends come and go. As a chef your philosophies can change. The current trend is healthy living and healthy cooking. With that said, we try to use less butter, less fats and always use fresh ingredients.

What is your role at Salsa 17? Currently I am the executive chef/general manager. My day begins at Salsa around 10:30 a.m. and ends between 9 and 11 p.m. I oversee the preparation of the food, check with purveyors for new and freshest products, help the front-of-the-house managers to ensure the guests are taken care of.

Do you do ice carving anymore? I really enjoyed ice carving back in the day. I started doing it because ice sculptures were so expensive to purchase, by carving my own I saved the company money. Then the enjoyment came in. Competing and doing things for my kids' schools when they were little. I now only do it for special occasions. The appeal is to create a piece of art, out of ice.

What is your favorite ingredient and how do you like to use it? Peppers, any kind of peppers, in everything, especially in moles.

What three ingredients should no home cook be without? A good olive oil, it's healthy with no bad fats; peppers that will enhance the flavors of anything, and fresh chopped garlic. With these three ingredients you can add almost anything to them and create a wonderful dish.

What was the last meal you cooked at home? Believe it or not, pasta. My youngest son loves pasta with fresh tomatoes and pesto.

What do you do in your free time? Free time is not a common word in the restaurant industry. With the little I have, I enjoy jogging, working on our home and I recently got a motorcycle, so my wife and I have been trying to go for Sunday rides.

Tell us about this recipe: Chiles Enogadas. This is a traditional holiday recipe. The tip is to season your meat to taste. Another tip is that you can use any type of meat. I chose veal because that is what is in the traditional dish. However, pork and beef will work too, just remember to grind them well. You can also use this as a vegetarian dish too. Simply stuff with your favorite veggies. I enjoy Chiles Enogadas with a nice white sangria!

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Chiles Enogadas

  Chef Jose Luna practices lessons learned at this familyÂ’s restaurant in Jalisco, Mexico in the kitchen at Salsa 17 in Arlington Heights. GEORGE LECLAIRE/gleclaire@dailyherald.com
  Chef Jose Luna pours a walnut-infused sauce over peppers stuffed with ground veal and dried fruit. GEORGE LECLAIRE/gleclaire@dailyherald.com
  A chile pepper roasts GEORGE LECLAIRE/gleclaire@dailyherald.com