.” Whatever the scale, everybody wanted to be part of it, and claim to have gone through the Antonio’s experience. “The main challenge I have encountered is to manage expectations. I do this by simply doing my best and somehow I manage to surpass it. Even from the beginning, I was not after winning awards; it was about being able to offer my best to my guests. Then, when I do get recognition, I share it with the people I work with.
Escalante has been called many things—brilliant, hardworking, a rock star—and has gotten worthwhile media coverage and plaques for that. But one thing not many has called him out for is his savvy. He knows where he is best at and he remains there. “It’s not like Asia in the ‘80s and early ‘90s when you had to go to a hotel to enjoy good food,” he observes of the current generation. Even with thethat have come , he has remained true to his roots.
She only took her craft seriously when she had her son. “It was a wake-up call because I became responsible for another person’s life. Before that, I viewed my profession as a hobby. This made me do a life check, got my act together, and started concentrating on my catering in earnest.”