Chef

Balo Ortiz

Discipline: Chef

Portrait of Balo Ortiz

i. Biography

Mexican cooking here is framed through origin, not ornament: Balo Ortiz uses Mexico as a working reference point, and Chiribita Tacos in Madrid as the format where that reference becomes direct food built for sharing. The stall’s appeal is plain on purpose—freshness, vivid flavor, and the ease of something handed across a table.

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The Climb

Early roles in Santa Monica and Madrid show the craft moving across different rooms without losing discipline. Balo Ortiz worked as chef at Onda in Santa Monica, Los Angeles, and as chef de cocina at StreetXO in Madrid, Spain, positions that point to technical range, pace, and comfort with bold flavor. The work splits between the structure of Chiribita Tacos and the immediate register of Chiribita Tacos, but the through line stays the same—tight execution, clear flavor, and a kitchen language shaped by movement between cities rather than by one fixed setting.

Today

Directness is the operating rule at Chiribita Tacos. The stall is built around fresh food and the practical pleasure of sharing, with flavors that read clearly and avoid clutter. In Madrid, Balo Ortiz keeps the format compact and accessible: handheld food, immediate aroma and color, and a sense of home translated into a street-level setting.

Career - Executive Chef — UniverXO, Madrid, Spain (since Jan 2024) - chef — Chiribita Tacos, Madrid, Spain - chef — Onda, Santa Monica, Los Angeles - chef de cocina — StreetXO, Madrid, Spain

Signature

Chiribita Tacos is the signature, and it functions as a concise statement of method. The work is compact, energetic, and designed to land fast, with the emphasis on flavor and convivial eating rather than display. As a signature, it points to a chef who treats immediacy as a craft choice and uses the street-taco format to make that choice legible.

In Their Words “I want Chiribita @chiribitatacos to taste like home, like a pure, like a real Mexico.” The line is useful because it states the brief without embellishment: taste as a carrier of place, and place as something that can be worked into a daily format. Read plainly, it positions Chiribita Tacos as an expression of Mexico made for Madrid, with identity carried through flavor rather than explanation.

FAQ What is Balo Ortiz's current role? Balo Ortiz is Executive Chef at UniverXO, since Jan 2024. Where did Balo Ortiz work before? Earlier in their career, Balo Ortiz worked at Onda and StreetXO.