Victor Toriz

The Path

Training at UVEG gave Victor Toriz a formal base before the work of kitchens in both Los Angeles and Mexico pushed his range. At Bestia in Los Angeles, California, United States, he worked as line cook / cook, an early role that helped define the discipline of his professional practice. He then moved to Here’s Looking at You in Los Angeles, California, United States as cook, before taking on the same title at Arca in Tulum, Quintana Roo, Mexico, carrying one kitchen’s methods into another very different setting. Progression through the brigade continued at Emilia in Mexico City, Mexico, where Victor Toriz served as Chef de cocina, before he became Head Chef at Gaba in Mexico City, Mexico (from 2023). He is today executive chef of Flores, where the work remains identified with the same rootedness and precision that have marked that rise.

The Work Today

The dishes most closely associated with Victor Toriz at Flores in San Francisco are built around direct recognition: carnitas tacos, a huitlacoche quesadilla, and churros. Their strength lies in how little they try to prove. Each one lands with restraint and care, carrying the warmth of tradition without losing polish. Traditional Mexican cooking is the stated specialty, but the method is less reenactment than refinement. The 2023 Gaba menu was described in terms of composition—concise, careful, ingredient-led, technical, and flavor-driven. Taken together, those details point to a chef focused on how a dish is constructed as much as on what it communicates.

Signature

Victor's signature dishes include Carnitas tacos, Huitlacoche quesadilla, and Churros.

In Their Words “I started cooking professionally at Bestia with my mentor Ori Menache, the best chef I have ever known and now a friend.”

Acclaim

The 2023 Chef de cuisine role at Gaba remains the central point in Victor Toriz’s public profile because it clarifies the terms of his cooking: Mexican references handled through ingredient, technique, flavor, texture, and combination. It frames him as a chef working inside a tradition while still shaping it with discipline and curiosity. Recognition around the work is less about a single dish than about consistency. At Flores in San Francisco, the identified signature dishes—carnitas tacos, huitlacoche quesadilla, and churros—carry forward the same balance of familiarity and finesse that runs from UVEG to Bestia, Here’s Looking at You, Arca, Emilia, Gaba, and Flores.