Chef Lester Almanzar

Small private dinner party in Winston Salem.

I hate cooking for myself. But this dinner was delicious.

What a trip. 1,100 miles driven around different regions. All were incredible on their own merit. I’m leaving a chunk of my heart here in this beautiful country. Until next time 🇫🇷

I’m humbled and thankful to have had the opportunity to visit, see great friends and enjoy the delicious wine and food.

Let’s go class action 🤪

This is too funny...

Pizza dump

The weather didn’t stop us from serving our loyal pizza nerds last night. It also allowed for some family time. Pictured is my daughter in the trailer getting a lesson on pizza making. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of and sharing the same family values!

Where to start? Those that follow me know that I’ve just had a challenging holiday weekend, to say the least. My heart goes out to all the families who missed their holiday gatherings all over this country. My biggest losses were financial at worst; but there’s losses that a lot of families won’t ever recover; a last goodbye to a dying loved one, grandparents eager to meet new grandchildren, grandchildren who waited an entire year to see their grandparents; siblings, parents, children, humans…so much grief was in the atmosphere over this weekend. So much despair, and yet, so much warmth, caring and compassion, despite the circumstances. It humbled me. It was a reminder that despite how difficult things are for us; there’s always someone who’s having it worse, and is carrying a smile while doing so.
It’s ironic that it also happened during the holidays, which I’ve never been a fan of. I always felt that the true spirit had become lost, in favor of frivolous gifting and grandstanding. This year, despite all my travel woes, I experienced the real spirit of this holiday, perhaps for the first time in years.

What’s up with the picture of the wine bottle and the sippy cup?
Well, it’s to remind us that no matter how sh*tty things get, there’s always something to be done, a grind to get back to and a life to live, so be sure to enjoy it with a good glass of wine. Here’s to a sh*tty 2022 and let’s hope for a 2023 to remember!

Much, much love,

Les

We don’t make tacos, but we still represent down here in Raleigh with

I confess, when I woke up on Saturday, cooking was the last thing my heart desired. I even stated this quite strongly to my friend as we prepared to leave the house. Then a conversation about wine and a certain big box store, something took over me. And I wanted to cook. It was like I was flooded with the want to create. To work on dishes with true critics, my friends. And so I played around a bit.
Pictured are charred leeks with chicken jus and hazelnuts. This dish is in diapers, I’m still adding components to find the balance I’m looking for.
The second, probably looks familiar. This version, I think is a breakthrough, and so will probably be short lived.
Salmon mi-cuit with citrus cream and herb oil

The metallic sound made by the peel as it gently slides from under the pizza, along with the crackling fire burning in the background, takes my mind out of this world, and transports me to a time where people first learned to use fire, both to cook, as well as for metallurgy. I digress though, as the most important thing, was that humans sat around a fire to keep warm, safe, and in community. The cooking element adds to the sense of community and sharing, first around a fire, and later around a table.
To watch fire transform food in front of your very eyes is humbling, to say the least. It’s mesmerizing, alluring, hypnotizing; so much so that I often have to snap out of the daydream so I don’t burn the pizza.

I’ve been lucky enough to always find the one guy with the cool set up that will always let me cook pizzas with them. It’s a skill I acquired years ago and really love. Stretching dough is almost therapeutic.
Aaron and I have found that we work best when he’s building pies and I’m feeding the beast with pizzas and wooden logs. Together we’ve been making some really nice pies, and here’s a sample of them. Thank you for the opportunity to learn, enjoy great pizzas (usually with beer) and geek out about pizza in general. Much love ❤️.

Trying to remember the rest of this meal, as there had been copious amounts of Prosecco ingested. Definitely memorable dinner where plans were gestated for the near future. This is grilled octopus. Very simple yet well executed, as was the rest of the meal.

It's now easier to send Chef Lester Almanzar a message.

Private dinner

Private dinner menu planning