Sample Menus | Bios
Executive Chef Jeff Martinez was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, a place that still influences his cooking to his day. "The food at El Chile reminds me of growing up in San Antonio authentically Mexican, but not afraid to be Tex-Mex when it works." Between San Antonio and El Chile, Jeff spent an unforgettable summer cooking at a fishing lodge in Alaska, and later worked as a private chef in Maine. But it was his time at Jeffrey's Restaurant in Austin that really honed his cooking skills and decided his current fate. "Man, I did everything at Jeffrey's," he laughs. "Garde manger, pastries, grilling, sautéing; you name it, I did it." Working at Jeffrey?s is also where Jeff met Carlos Rivero and Kristine Kittrell, his current partners at El Chile. After cooking in all corners of the country and (every station at Jeffrey's), Jeff feels confident saying his favorite things to eat are finger foods like cookies, cupcakes, and empanadas. Jeff lives in Austin, loves to mingle, and is a Sagittarius. He is left-handed.
Kristine Kittrell was a traveler before she was a cook. Originally from Canada, she ate her first real taco in Puerta Vallarta on a family vacation in 1985. After college, she migrated to the Caribbean for two years before leaving to visit parts of the Mediterranean, Mexico, and South Asia, digesting the culinary culture at every stop. After moving to Austin in 1997, she began working at Jeffrey's Restaurant, where she met Jeff Martinez and Carlos Rivero, her future partners at El Chile. Despite her travels and her diplomas from the University of Western Ontario, the Texas Culinary Academy, and the Chiang Mai Thai Cookery School, Kristine believes her five years at Jeffrey's were the best education of her life. "I learned how to turn an idea, a whim, really, into a beautiful plate of food that I could serve 200 times a night," she said. "Then I learned that if you're going to make 200 plates a night, you better be doing it with people you love and trust. I learned I wanted to work with Jeff and Carlos." Kristine left Jeffrey's in 2003 to found El Chile Café y Cantina. She is left-handed.
Aaron Bandy, catering manager, was born in El Paso, Texas, but moved to Austin at a young age and has never left. Although he earned a degree in communications from the University of Texas at Austin, he always felt that working with food was his passion. As an event coordinator for UT, Aaron worked as a bartender and server in many venues around town, and has also worked as a personal chef for a family in Austin. Last year, Aaron designed and prepared all the food for the Zachary Scott Theatre's production of Omnium Gatherum. "It was a wonderful experience," he said, "and it introduced me to so many influential people and places in the food community, including that humble little house on the east side that is El Chile Café." Aaron lives with his dog, Mona, in South Austin and likes to hike, jog, and eat. He is right-handed.
