i. Biography
Corn defines the work at Molino Chido in Aurora, Colorado: maíz handled through nixtamal, worked into masa, pressed into tortillas, and used as the structure for food meant to be folded and eaten immediately. In Michael Diaz de Leon’s kitchen, as co-owner and executive chef, the tortilla is not a background carrier. It is the grain, aroma, and architecture of the plate. Mexico City–inspired street food gives the restaurant its point of reference, while the menu brings flavors and techniques experienced around the world into tacos, quesadillas, and burritos. The craft stays grounded in format: hand food, masa work, fillings built for direct eating, and combinations that keep origin visible without treating it as fixed.
The Route
Formal training at El Paso Community College gave Michael Diaz de Leon an entry into professional kitchen discipline before his work moved through stations requiring precision and repetition. The Chef de cuisine role at Taft Diaz in El Paso, Texas, placed that training inside the pressure of service and kitchen leadership. Sous-chef work at Old Major in Denver, Colorado, until 2020, added another register of responsibility: execution during service, support of kitchen structure, and the stamina required between prep and pass. From 2020, sandwich-making at a local grocery store put the craft into a more direct daily form, where consistency and immediacy matter as much as refinement. The current role at Molino Chido, where Michael Diaz de Leon has been chef since 2025, gathers those registers into a masa-centered project: formal training, restaurant leadership, neighborhood food work, and a menu built around tortillas, tacos, quesadillas, and burritos.
Current Practice
At Molino Chido in Aurora, the cooking is described through Mexico City–inspired street food, with global flavors and techniques applied to tacos, quesadillas, and burritos. Under Michael Diaz de Leon, as co-owner and executive chef, the form stays accessible while the fillings carry the range: familiar hand-held structures with layered seasoning and technique inside. The tortilla program carries the restaurant’s main discipline. Molino Chido makes in-house nixtamalized tortillas from Ute tribe maíz from Bow & Arrow Brand, producing 1,000 tortillas daily. The volume it marks a repeated practice: nixtamal, masa, pressing, cooking, and service as a daily production cycle. The signatures show how the menu uses the taco as structure rather than novelty. Pavo tacos with Yucatecan recado negro and a jammy ajitama-style egg place a dark, seasoned paste and a Japanese egg preparation inside the same format. Al pastor meat boosted by tamari, and curry-potato flautas with mole masala, follow the same method: borrowed technique and pantry references held inside Mexican street-food forms. The work is not presented as fusion for display. It reads as a working pantry shaped by heritage, travel, technique, and the practical demands of food served by hand. Michael Diaz de Leon described the next chapter plainly: “See ya soon—I’ll be cooking tacos @molino_chido, making pizzas at my house, and drinking a glass or two of wine.”
Signature
Signature dishes include Al pastor meat boosted by tamari, Curry-potato flautas with mole masala, and Molino Chido’s in-house nixtamalized tortillas.
Credentials
Michael Diaz de Leon has received San Pellegrino StarChefs Game Changer Award (2022). Michael's honors include Michelin One Star for BRUTØ (2023) and Best Chef: Mountain Region finalist (2023).
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Michael
What is Michael Diaz de Leon's present role?
Michael Diaz de Leon is co-owner and executive chef.
Where did Michael Diaz de Leon train or study?
Michael Diaz de Leon trained at El Paso Community College.
What recognition has Michael Diaz de Leon received?
Michelin One Star for BRUTØ (2023).
