ESCONDIDO

Fernando Ruiz, chef and owner of Escondido, slated to open this fall, is a star who started cooking in the Santa Fe kitchens of Rio Chama, La Boca, and Santacafé. Then came TV cooking competitions like Guy’s Grocery Games and Chopped: Beat Bobby Flay, which he aced. But Ruiz doesn’t have the air of a smug TV personality; he leads with the humility of a man who has a second lease on life.

Before Ruiz, who grew up in Phoenix, had his run of TV cooking show wins, he did time for trafficking drugs and guns and worked in prison kitchens. After his release, he studied at the Scottsdale Culinary Institute in Arizona. Old affiliations with unsavory characters would have given him valid reasons for keeping out of the public eye. But thanks to the everlasting encouragement of his wife, Michelle Romero, Ruiz went on to win on every Food Network show in which he appeared. Never mind his sketchy past. “All the people I grew up with—they’re all dead or doing life in prison,” says Ruiz.

It has been a bumpy road to Escondido, but thanks to

Ruiz’s partnership with Vince Kadlubek—cofounder of Meow Wolf, the immersive art and entertainment showcase started in Santa Fe and now expanded to Las Vegas and Denver—there’s every reason to believe that the restaurant will rule.

Ruiz is planning a menu that draws upon the influences of his hometown, Guyamas, Mexico, on the Sea of Cortez. Seafood will be a focal point. Think fresh fish and cockles delivering bright and crisp notes countered with hot platters slathered in complex, comforting, and tradesecret sauces.

And because his grandfather owns a cattle ranch in Sonora, expect top-notch carne asada. “I want to do tacos, ceviches, and moles with a little twist here and there.” Mexican spirits like tequila, mezcal, bacanora, and sotol will also be featured at Escondido.

There’s plenty to look forward to. It’s an auspicious start for a new Santa Fe restaurant, and for a future in which Ruiz will be able to control his destiny and reap the rewards of his success.