Francisco Perez Biography

 

Francisco “Paco” Perez is the founder of Aqui es Texcoco, Inc. and Authentic Mexican Cuisine, LLC. Aqui es Texcoco is Paco’s first restaurant located in Chula Vista, CA. The restaurant specializes in traditional Mexican Style Lamb Barbecue [Barbacoa de Borrego] and uses the authentic recipe from the city of Texcoco, in the state of Mexico. This method requires digging a pit in the ground, filling it with fire and adding the marinated lamb to slow cook.

 

Paco was born in Jalisco, a state in Mexico, into a family that specialized in traditional Barbacoa dishes, where he learned and perfected the elaborate techniques. Paco began his culinary journey at twelve years old and his grandmother and father helped broaden his influences (they were of Spanish origin, while his mother was Mexican). Later on, when he was a teenager, the family moved to the border town of Tijuana, Mexico. By 1990, they opened their first Barbacoa restaurant.

After finishing his undergraduate education at the University of Baja California as an Industrial Engineer, he worked in Madrid, Spain for 7 years, while he traveled Europe and Asia being exposed to different types of food. However, Paco always wanted to follow in his family’s tradition of food, so in 2008 he decided to return to Tijuana and open his first restaurant in Chula Vista, California. With his natural engineering skills and problem-solving methods, Paco designed, from scratch, stainless steel ovens for his restaurant that successfully resemble the traditional underground cooking method of Barbacoa.

 

In 2011 Chef Marcela Valldolid visited Aqui es Texcoco and mentioned her pleaseant food experience to the San Diego Union Tribune. She described the “uniqueness of Mexican cuisine and culture”. This article brought the attention of musician, writer, and blogger Bill Esparza and the Travel Channel.

 

In 2012, Aqui es Texcoco was featured in the second episode of the second season of Bizarre Foods America, as an example of unique and notable food in San Diego. At the time, Paco designed an underground pit which was featured on the show, impressing Zimmern with the engineering behind the design.

 

 

Paco’s approach to authentic Mexican food and his extraordinary way of cooking lamb has brought him to the attention of more TV shows. Catch Paco on such shows as BBQ Crawl with Danielle “Diva Q” Dimovsky, Taco Trip with Chef Aarón Sánchez and Man Fire Food with Chef Roger Mooking.

 

In 2014, Paco, along with Gregorio Segura, opened his second Aqui es Texcoco location in the City of Commerce, California.

For Paco Perez, life is about adhering to the traditions of Mexican cuisine while bringing it to the United States. The year 2015 will mark an expansion of Aqui es Texcoco in the world of television, exposing a larger audience to true Mexican food.