In his own words, Chef Jordy Lavandero "always loves to make waves, break rules. I don't want to be a standard guy, I want to diversify." This motto has driven his career, taking him from his native Mexico to the kitchen of Cello in New York, before those of Arzak and El Bulli in Spain. His return to New York is in the form of an international tapas restaurant in the East Village, Secretes, inspired by his Italian mother, his travels, and his exposure to multicultural life in Mexico.

Lavandero is no stranger to the entrepreneurial life: in Mexico City he owned and ran a company that manufactured tortilla chips and cheese for nachos for seven years. After briefly living in Cancun, he moved to Laredo, Texas, where he worked for one of Mexico's largest forwarding company. At that point, Lavandero decided to focus on what he really liked and had always done for his family and friends: cooking. He applied to ICE, but first took an English course to make sure he could follow the classes at the maximum of his potential.

After school, Lavandero worked at Commune, Mercer Kitchen, and Vong. It is then that he met Arianne Daguin of D'Artagnan, who became a great influence. He felt ready for Europe and had been learning French, but his efforts to secure a placement in France were unsuccessful. Daguin said she'd make a few phone calls, which Lavandero thought was kind but expected her to forget. "Suddenly one day, she calls and says 'you're all set, you're leaving in 20 days," he recalls. Once the surprise vanished, he packed his bags and moved to the south of France, from where Daguin later arranged for him to go to Juan Mari Arzak's eponymous restaurant in Spain. There he met trend-setting chefs Ferran Adria, Martin Barasategui, Sergio Ariola, and Philippe Urraca, among others.

In January 2002, Lavandero returned to New York. "My mind was freaking out with recipes, with concepts," he says. "Like a painter, I needed to immediately transcribe my impressions. I was drawing all my recipes, all my dishes." He became a private chef in the Hamptons, and then worked at a private club in the Bahamas. This life continued for a couple of years, until he decided to open Secretes in spring of 2005. In addition to his globetrotting life, Lavandero had another reason for picking tapas: "When I worked in other restaurants, I saw a lot of food left on plates, and I saw a lot of hungry people around. So I don't want to see any waste in my food." Secretes is located at 513 East 6th Street in Manhattan.

2005