Valle de Guadalupe with Chef Anastacia Quinones Pittman

CHEF ANASTACIA QUIÑONES PITTMAN

Seasoned culinary innovator, Anastacia Quiñones Pittman, is the Executive Chef at José restaurant. A first-generation Mexican-American and native Texan, Chef AQ, as she is known, brings over 17 years of acclaimed culinary experience to produce regionally inspired dishes from Jalisco, Oaxaca, Mexico City and beyond. She was named Best Chef of the Year 2018 for Eater Dallas, also took top title at Dallas Observer Iron Fork 2018 and was featured in the Tacos of Texas docu-series. Chef AQ is now at home in the Guadalajaran inspired José, which is the result of a collaboration between WoodHouse and Jose Noe Suro, of world renowned Ceramica Suro. 

After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America in 2005, Chef AQ worked in the prestigious kitchen Jardiniére in San Francisco under the tutelage of chef and co-owner, Traci Des Jardins. Through her own personal quest for culinary knowledge, Chef AQ has developed skills true to Mexican cuisine that focus on local, seasonal ingredients transformed into beautifully plated designs that will create memorable dining experiences. A firm believer in modern Mexican, she has channeled her passion for creativity to build and layer complex flavors into every bite at José. As the executive chef of José, Chef AQ oversees the restaurant’s seasonal menu development and brings a fresh twist to many of José’s popular favorites. She focuses on developing her own signature dishes such as her Tacos de Tacha and her Aguachiles, which can change weekly and sometime daily, depending on the season and inspiration.  Her Aguachiles and her Tacos de Tacha have been featured in numerous publication such as Texas Monthly, D Magazine and other nationally recognized online and print publications.  She is also extremely proud her aged mole negro that she began on January 3, 2019.  Each new batch is added to the original batch, further developing the depth and flavor which complements different proteins such as roasted chicken and duck confit.  

In the early days of the pandemic, she helped lead the effort to feed frontline workers in hospitals by providing over 120,000 meals over 6 months.  Her team would come in at 3am daily to begin prepping and bagging tacos and box lunches so nurses, doctors and support staff could quickly return to the frontlines of the hospital and clinics. At the peak, her team was producing 5,000 tacos and an additional 1,500 box lunches that were delivered to as many 6 hospitals per week.

Most recently, she was recognized as a Semi-Finalist for Best Chef, Texas by the James Beard Foundation.  Twenty chefs from around the state of Texas were recognized and she is proud to be considered.