DINING Chef Alberto Morales and chef Onil Chibas
Dynamic DUO
CHEFS ONIL CHIBAS AND ALBERTO MORALES ARE BEHIND DELUXE 1717
Deluxe 1717’s Casual Friday seating setup
ocal restaurants fell victim to pandemic pivots, but fine dining establishments took it particularly hard. Menus often didn’t translate well to takeout or delivery, so some of these restaurants folded immediately. Others closed indefinitely as they rejiggered operations and tried to maintain the interest of furloughed staff. A bright spot for local gourmands is the 1700 block of Washington Boulevard in Pasadena. It’s transforming from a row of sleepy storefronts into a lively and engaging strip for local foodies. There’s chef Ali Haider’s Sapori di 786 Degrees with his kaleidoscopically creative takes on Napolitano pizza. There’s the local butcher shop Garni Meats. Just east is the artisanal ice cream mastery of Bloomfield Creamery. The latest twist is Casual Fridays at Deluxe 1717. It’s the brainchild of chef Onil Chibas and his long-time collaborator, chef Alberto Morales. They’ve devised a formula for success in the pandemic by changing their gourmet menu weekly for dining on the newly built-out patio. It’s a fascinating partnership between chefs from totally different backgrounds. Twenty years ago, Morales was living in Cochamba, Bolivia. “I was an accountant working at Suzuki,” Morales says. In fact, he was among the top executives at his branch of the firm. “But the economic situation was never good in my country. I was making $200 a month.” So, he moved in with an aunt in Montebello. “My plan was to be here for two years and make some money. Morales recalls his introduction to cooking. “I was eating pizza, tacos and burgers every day. I wanted to cook but did not know where to start. I called my mom and asked her how to make rice. She yelled at me.” His aunt’s friend left a promotional brochure for the Le Cordon Bleu culinary program. “I saw the uniforms (of the students) and said, ‘This is interesting.’” Morales started training at Le Cordon Bleu in 2005. There he met Chibas, who had recently settled in Pasadena with his husband, John Orders. Chibas nurtured culinary interests and ambitions as he languished in the entertainment business, working in animation and marketing at Disney. After the 15-month program concluded, Morales joined Joachim Splichal’s Patina Group, first at the Hollywood Bowl and then moving with chef Steven Rojas to Walt Disney Concert Hall. Chibas partnered with Carole Grogan and founded Elements Kitchen in a small storefront on Fair Oaks and Dayton in Pasadena. The space was meant to be a casual carryout stop, but the first customer wanted to dine onsite and a few tables were activated. A year and a half later, Morales moved to Altadena and, on a day off from Patina, he came across Elements Kitchen, renewed his friendship with Chibas and soon joined the team. “There were probably three tables, one outside for decoration and two inside,” Morales says. The food’s popularity demanded expansion on the sidewalk, and the city occasionally challenged the operation. “It all happened so quickly,” Chibas notes. Chibas opened Elements as a fine dining concept on the plaza of Playhouse Square, and Morales moved to supervise that kitchen there. An apprentice, Alfredo Chavez, took over the café and its popular brunch service. continued on page 28
Photos by Luis Chavez
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BY FRIER MCCOLLISTER
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