Meet Chef Luis Gomez
Executive Chef Luis Gomez brings 28 Years of culinary experience and success to the Auburn Alehouse. He was born and raised in Zacatecas, Mexico one of 8 children.
His father was in law enforcement and worked on the family ranch. His mother owned a little restaurant. That’s where his passion for food and cooking began. “She first taught me to cook when I was 6 years old,” he remembers. “I would stick my fingers in clay pots over the open fire.” Luis grew up around food and it ignited a passion.
As he grew older Luis often worked on the ranch with his father, but his drive remained in the kitchen and his dream was to work and own his own bigger and fancier restaurant.
In June of 1979 Luis came to the states to visit his older brother who lived in Salinas California and during his two week stay he discovered he loved the culture and the language, and he also saw an opportunity to pursue his dream of becoming a Chef.
As soon as Luis gained his citizenship he moved to Palo Alto, and attended Canada College while working at MacArthur Park Restaurant. He then went on to attend the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco.
Upon graduating in 1986, He ran the kitchen at many fine northern California restaurants before meeting and joining Brewmaster Brian Ford and partnering in the Alehouse. He was the chef at MacArthur Park in Palo Alto, Buck’s in Woodside, Café Marimba in Burlingame and Cadillac Bar and Grill in San Francisco. His move toward the foothills began in 1999 with a five-year stint at Sacramento’s Rio City Café and then Cafe Villa De Oro in Sutter Creek.
“My background has always been fine dining,” he said. “So, I liked the idea of food that would complement Brian’s beer, and wanted to serve high-end dishes in addition to sandwiches and burgers.”
Chef Gomez takes every advantage of local farmers’ markets and relies on locally grown produce to have the freshest ingredients possible for his dishes at the Alehouse.