Yoel Cruz
Executive Chef

It might seem natural that, as a native of Mexico, Chef Yoel Cruz's first New York job was at Arizona 206, the adventurous Southwestern restaurant that was the first non-white tablecloth establishment ever to earn three stars from the New York Times. However, at eighteen years old, Yoel knew nothing about cooking and had taken a job as a dishwasher to make some money while visiting New York. "I come from a large family," he explains, "and my mother is a very good cook. She wanted to teach me, but I wasn't interested. I was planning to be a mechanic." However, dishwashers often learn to prepare vegetables and make salads and one new skill led to another. After two months, Yoel was working the grill station and discovering that he loved to cook. "I loved everything about it: the pace, the creativity, the teamwork, the food. This was what I wanted to do." Now, when Chef Cruz goes back to Mexico to visit his mother, they exchange recipes and techniques. "I taught her how to make the tortillla soup I learned here, and she taught me how she makes her tamales. She makes wonderful tamales and I have put my version of them on the menu at NORTH SQUARE."

After three years at Arizona 206, it was time to move on. "For awhile I moved around a lot. I wanted to learn everything," Yoel explains. "When I had learned the menu in one restaurant, I wanted to go someplace else and learn something new. I am always learning."

Yoel's curiosity took him to La Goulue, one of the most authentically French restaurants in New York. From there he moved on to learn Italian cuisine, at Brasserie Café, Universal Grill and Mary's Restaurant, before returning to Southwestern cuisine as Sous Chef at Tapika. In addition he worked short stints at many other top restaurants in New York and Florida, filling in when extra staff or temporary help were needed, and learning from such chefs as Alfred Portale and Andy d'Amico. In the process, he developed a reputation for one of the best and most dependable techniques in the city. To reveal the details would be indiscrete, but Yoel tells of more than one occasion when famous chefs have tried to lure him away from their friends' kitchens, in one case following him into a bathroom, for greater secrecy. But fame is not one of Yoel's priorities and that is why, in 2001, he decided to become Sous Chef for his friend John McGrath at NORTH SQUARE (then named C3) rather than working in a high profile kitchen. "I liked the teamwork here," he explains.

When McGrath left NORTH SQUARE, Yoel took over as Executive Chef. After twelve years of learning from others, he was ready take charge, and his eclectic background suits the exuberant New American style for which NORTH SQUARE has made its name. It was a smooth transition because Yoel was already actively contributing to the house style. Top quality seasonal ingredients remain a priority as Yoel develops relationships with small upstate farmers and shops at the Farmers' Market. "With great ingredients, you don't need to put too many different things on the plate or make it stand up high," he says. "I learned to cook in the United States, and I've done a lot of French and Italian cooking. My cooking shows those influences and my own background. It's very New York."