i. Biography
DJ Flores has been chef and owner of Milpa in Las Vegas since 2021, and the restaurant’s work reaches back into earlier kitchen discipline: line shifts, pastry shifts, and time in some of the city’s most visible dining rooms. The throughline is masa. A revived masa business, carried through the uncertainty of the pandemic, became the basis for a more exacting and more personal reading of Mexican food in Spring Valley.
The Path
Kitchen work is where timing, repetition, and pressure are learned first, and DJ Flores moved through that environment at Mesa Grill, Border Grill, and Dos Caminos at The Venetian in Las Vegas, NV before taking on chef roles at Jaleo (from 2010) and Joël Robuchon. In Las Vegas, NV, DJ also worked in the pastry and bakery department at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, NV (from 2013), then went abroad as a stagiaire at Quintonil in Mexico City, Mexico (from 2015), and returned to kitchen staff at The Bazaar before rising to executive sous chef at Chica. Those stops add up to a career built through accumulation rather than a single formal path: savory kitchens, pastry and bakery work, fine dining, and larger restaurant systems. In Flores’ case, each room appears to have sharpened the same central question of how dough, corn, and masa can carry a menu instead of sitting beside it. Today, DJ is chef of Milpa (since 2021) and chef of Nocturno (since 2025).
The Work Today
Since 2021, Flores has led Milpa in Spring Valley as chef and owner. He opened the restaurant during the pandemic after reviving his masa business, building the project around in-house-made, stone-ground masas and tortillas made with heirloom corn. The work is defined by process as much as by service: milling, forming, and griddling sit at the center of the restaurant’s identity. His mission is stated plainly: “Our mission is to bring a better alternative to Mexican cuisine with sourcing better ingredients from farms and using the highest quality heirloom corn for our in house-made, stone-ground masas and tortillas.” That position shows up in butternut squash tetelas with fried eggs, mushrooms, cauliflower, and salsa macha, a signature that keeps masa at the center while giving the plate room for vegetables, eggs, and heat. It is a direct read on the kitchen’s logic: careful, structured, and built to make the masa do the heavy lifting.
Signature
DJ Flores is known for butternut squash tetelas with fried eggs.
In Their Words “Our mission is to bring a better alternative to Mexican cuisine with sourcing better ingredients from farms and using the highest quality heirloom corn for our in house-made, stone-ground masas and tortillas.”
Acclaim
DJ's honors include StarChefs Las Vegas Rising Stars Award (2026).
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of DJ
What is DJ Flores's current role?
As of 2026, DJ Flores is Chef and Owner.
Where did DJ Flores work before?
DJ Flores's earlier career included Mesa Grill, Border Grill, and Dos Caminos at The Venetian.
What recognition has DJ Flores received?
StarChefs Las Vegas Rising Stars Award (2026).
