Winning a Michelin star brought some new challenges to Gilberto Cetina’s life.
But it also saved Mercado La Paloma, arguably L.A.’s best food hall and a 30-year-old institution in the heart of South Central L.A. that pays homage to Mexico’s legendary open-air markets.
The head chef and proprietor of a tiny seafood kingdom called Holbox and a Mayan food temple known as Chichen Itza, Cetina recently admitted that the success can be overwhelming.
“It has been kind of crazy,” Cetina said, wiping his face and smiling. “I went from managing a small team to almost 100 employees.”
Today, most of Cetina’s army of highly skilled line cooks, bussers, servers, washers, meal prep specialists, and shuckers, who crack open fresh clams and oysters like they’re dealing playing cards, can be seen gliding around, dealing with the non-stop crowds at Holbox, a seafood counter where octopus simmers in its own ink and wild bluefin glistens behind glass like precious art.