Candace Ochoa

The Path

Training at The Art Institute of California gave Candace Ochoa the technical base that carried into José Andrés’ restaurant group. In 2011, she was Line Cook at The Bazaar by José Andrés at SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills, then moved in 2012 to Sous Chef at The Bazaar by José Andrés at SLS Hotel in South Beach. The sequence places her inside a kitchen culture where precision and invention were not separate disciplines, but part of the same brief. At Bazaar Meat by José Andrés in Las Vegas, Ochoa advanced from Executive Sous Chef from 2018–2021 to Executive Chef from 2021. Read in order, those titles mark a practical apprenticeship made visible: broader responsibility, same kitchen, deeper command of the work.

The Work Today

Since 2021, Ochoa has led the Las Vegas kitchen as Executive Chef with an emphasis on clean flavor and exact handling. The work is legible in the way she frames dishes: texture, temperature, acidity, and restraint are the terms that matter. The result is a style that avoids excess and keeps the plate readable. Salmon Tartare is one of the dishes she names most directly. Ochoa points to the house made nori chips, fresh Salmon, and dill as the structure of the plate, describing them as a balanced set rather than a crowded one. The dish reads as controlled and specific, built to register with calm precision. Gazpacho shows the same approach in a quieter register. Ochoa calls it underrated because it is a cold soup, then identifies the blend of tomatoes, sherry vinegar, onion, garlic, and green peppers that gives it weight. Her description stays on the level of composition and finish: a silky, full bodied taste that she treats as the point, not the garnish.

Signature

Candace's signature dishes include Salmon Tartare, Classic Tartare, Parker House rolls, Gazpacho, and Wood and Fire.

In Their Words “The Gazpacho. It’s underrated mostly because it's a cold soup. I feel it is a great blend of tomatoes, sherry vinegar, onion, garlic and green peppers. Its silky full bodied taste is perfection.” “I've always enjoyed our Salmon Tartare – the house made nori chips, the fresh Salmon and dill is just the perfect blend of flavors!”

Acclaim

The recognition around Ochoa’s work tracks with responsibility earned across the José Andrés group, culminating in her becoming Executive Chef at Bazaar Meat by Jose Andres in Las Vegas in 2021. That progression reflects a kitchen career built by steady advancement rather than shortcuts. Guest response also sits in the same frame of balance and recall. Salmon Tartare remains the dish she points to for its house made nori chips, fresh Salmon, and dill, a combination she presents as measured rather than showy.