Interview Series Chef Extraordinaire - Francisco Sixtos
Chef Francisco Sixtos, is a native of Jalisco, México. He delved into the culinary world from the outset at the renowned chef Cristian Morales's signature restaurant in Cancun. His travels across Europe and collaborations in Michelin-starred establishments throughout his career gave him extensive culinary knowledge and a unique style. Upon returning to México, he led Lumière in Cancun, a French specialty restaurant. Today, Francisco is the Executive Chef at Grand Velas Los Cabos.
by Mayté Rodríguez Cedillo and Fernando Favela · Chef Extraordinaire · BajaTraveler.com
Your cuisine feels deeply personal. If you had to distill your culinary identity into one essential idea, what would it be—and how has it evolved over time?
For many years, I thought becoming a better chef meant learning more techniques, creating more beautiful plates, or finding increasingly exclusive ingredients. Experience taught me something much simpler: none of that matters if the food does not taste extraordinary.
Today, technique and creativity are still important to me, but they are tools. Flavor is the purpose. I want guests to remember how something tasted, not only how it looked.
Baja California offers a striking sense of place. How do you translate the landscape—sea, desert, and vineyard—into a coherent culinary language?
Baja gives you the language naturally. You just have to listen to the territory.
We are surrounded by an extraordinary sea, but also by desert, farms, orchards, vineyards, and small producers. I try to bring those worlds together without forcing them. Seafood can meet something grown only a few kilometers away; acidity, smoke, herbs, chiles, and fermentation can connect the ocean with the landscape.
My responsibility is not to reproduce Baja literally on a plate. It is to capture its character.
Every great chef develops an almost obsessive relationship with certain ingredients. Which ones define your kitchen, and why are they indispensable?
Seafood is fundamental to my cooking. Scallops, abalone, sea urchin, local fish, and shellfish allow me to express Baja in a very direct way.
But I am equally attached to Mexican ingredients such as corn, chiles, avocado, herbs, and citrus. I like creating a conversation between what comes from the Baja sea and the flavors that connect me to México.
I am also obsessive about acidity. For me, acidity can completely change the energy and balance of a dish.
Technique gives you control; intuition gives food personality.
I believe you need to master technique enough to eventually stop thinking about it. When you reach that point, you can cook more freely.
When developing a dish, I ask myself very simple questions: Does it taste good? Does every element have a reason to be there? If I remove something, does the dish become better?
Sometimes creativity is not about adding another element. It is about having the confidence to remove one.
I don’t see food and wine as two separate experiences. For me, the goal is what I call 1 + 1 = 3.
The dish brings something, the wine brings something, but when the pairing is right, together they create a third experience that neither could achieve alone.
That means thinking about acidity, fat, temperature, texture, intensity, and even the progression of the menu. The wine should not simply accompany the food. There should be a conversation between the plate and the glass.
From your perspective, how is Valle de Guadalupe positioned today within the international food and wine landscape?
Valle de Guadalupe has developed a very recognizable identity. What makes it interesting Internationally is that it doesn’t need to imitate Napa, Bordeaux, or any other wine region.
It has its own landscape, climate, products, wines, and personality.
I believe its greatest opportunity is to continue strengthening that identity. The more Baja understands and protects what makes it different, the more relevant it will become Internationally.
Luxury today is not excess. It is attention.
It is having an exceptional ingredient at the right moment, being served by someone who understands what is happening at the table, drinking the right wine, and feeling that every detail has been considered without making the experience feel forced.
True luxury can sometimes be something incredibly simple, but executed perfectly.
Sustainability is often discussed, but rarely understood in depth. What meaningful practices—often unseen by the guest—truly shape your approach?
For me, sustainability begins with relationships.
Knowing where an ingredient comes from, understanding its season, respecting responsible fishing practices, working closely with farms and producers, and using products intelligently are more meaningful than simply putting the word “sustainable” on a menu.
Many of the most important decisions happen before the guest arrives: choosing suppliers, adapting the menu to availability, reducing waste, using the whole product whenever possible, and respecting seasonality.
Sustainability should be part of the way a kitchen operates, not part of its marketing.
Which global influences have shaped your vision, and how do you reinterpret them while preserving a strong sense of place?
France gave me structure and technique. Spain taught me to think differently about creativity and storytelling. New York showed me that inspiration can come from everywhere. Japan deeply influenced the way I understand discipline, simplicity, precision, and respect for ingredients.
But when I cook in Baja, I don’t want to reproduce France, Spain, New York, or Japan.
I take what those experiences taught me and apply it to the ingredients and identity of the place where I am cooking.
Travel gives you vocabulary. Your territory gives you a voice.
Beyond trends, what kind of legacy do you hope to build—and how do you envision the future of Baja’s cuisine on the global stage?
I would like to be part of a generation that helped Baja develop a culinary identity strong enough to be recognized anywhere in the world.
Not because we copied what was happening elsewhere, but because we understood what we had here.
Personally, I hope my legacy is connected to flavor, discipline, and the people I have worked with. Awards are important and recognition can open doors, but eventually the most meaningful legacy is what you leave in other people.
I want the cooks who have passed through my kitchen to become better than me. That would mean we did something right.
BajaTraveler® Signature Closing
1. A wine that never fails to move you (red, white, or sparkling)
Sparkling
2. One Baja ingredient you can’t live without
Garra de Leon Scallop
3. A restaurant anywhere in the world that recently inspired you
Addison
4. Sea or land—where do you find more inspiration?
Sea
5. A perfect pairing—simple, yet unforgettable
Fresh seafood, acidity, and a beautiful glass of white wine
6. A guilty pleasure
A really good burger
7. The first dish or memory that defined your palate
The food of my childhood in Jalisco. Those flavors are still somewhere behind everything I cook today.
8. If you weren’t a chef, what would you be…
Musician
9. A culinary destination you consider essential today
Japan
10. In one word: what is Baja to you?
FREEDOM