Fernando Ruiz, having held tenure at Santa Fe, NM restaurant icons such as Santa Café, La Boca, Rio Chama Steakhouse and at Chama Land and Cattle Co. in Chama, NM, and becoming three-time Food Network champion of Guys Grocery Games, Chopped and Beat Bobby Flay, Chef Ruiz is ramping up to open his new restaurant, Escondido, in the summer of 2024, in Midtown Santa Fe!

Escondido will be offering a fusion of flavors from the Coastal, Central, and Northern Mexico regions. A star offering being the veal-stuffed Chile En Nogada, which is the dish Chef Ruiz beat Bobby Flay in 2019!

Amongst Chef Ruiz’s aspirations in the culinary world is his commitment to making a positive impact through food and community initiatives by launching the Entrepreneurial Institute of Northern New Mexico (EINMM), a re-entry program that uses culinary arts and hospitality to help incarcerated and previously incarcerated individuals reintegrate into society.