i. Biography
Rodolfo Castellanos is the chef and founder of Origen in Oaxaca, Mexico, a role he began in 2011. From Oaxaca, he built a restaurant that became one of the major exponents of the new Oaxacan cuisine, a distinction that points to both discipline and intent. At Origen, Castellanos has made the restaurant a focused expression of a region’s changing identity, shaped by memory, technique, and a clear point of view.
The Climb
Training at the Culinary Institute of Mexico in Puebla gave Rodolfo Castellanos an early framework for the work that followed. That education later led to the founding of Origen in 2011, where he serves as chef today. The restaurant grew from a deliberate choice to work from Oaxaca and with Oaxaca, allowing the region’s character to set the terms of the kitchen. From the beginning, Origen carried the demands of ambition and the discipline needed to sustain it. Castellanos’s work there helped establish the restaurant as a meaningful voice in the conversation around new Oaxacan cuisine, a movement that looks forward while staying rooted in the flavors, rhythms, and sensibilities of its home. Rather than chasing novelty for its own sake, his approach has been defined by coherence: a restaurant that feels grounded, intentional, and closely tied to the city and state that shaped it.
Today
Today, the restaurant’s signature work is its place in new Oaxacan cuisine. That is where Origen’s significance lives: in the way it stands as both a restaurant and a statement, one that reflects the contemporary direction of Oaxacan cooking without losing sight of the traditions that make the region so resonant. Under Castellanos, the dining room and kitchen together form an ongoing conversation with Oaxaca itself, translating local identity into a language of restraint, refinement, and confidence. The result is a restaurant whose importance extends beyond the plate. Origen’s standing as one of the major exponents of the new Oaxacan cuisine underscores Castellanos’s role not simply as a chef, but as a builder of culinary meaning in Oaxaca, Mexico. Since 2011, he has remained at the center of that project, guiding a restaurant that continues to represent the new with clarity and conviction.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Rodolfo
What is Rodolfo Castellanos's current role?
As of 2026, Rodolfo Castellanos is Chef and Founder.
Where did Rodolfo Castellanos train or study?
Rodolfo Castellanos trained at Culinary Institute of Mexico in Puebla.
What recognition has Rodolfo Castellanos received?
Winner of the first season of Top Chef Mexico (2016).
