Age: 37

Role: Chef-owner, Taco Maria

Bio: Growing up, Salgado worked in his family’s restaurant, La Siesta, in Orange. Following a brief detour into the video game industry, he was pulled back into cuisine. After culinary school, he worked as a pastry chef for two Michelin-ranked restaurants, Coi in San Francisco and Commis in Oakland. Salgado moved back to Orange County to launch a taco truck, Taco Maria, and in 2013 transitioned to a brick-and-mortar restaurant at South Coast Collection.

Why he is an influencer: This year, Salgado was nominated for “Best Chef: West” by the James Beard Foundation, one of the restaurant industry’s highest accolades. In 2015, Food & Wine magazine named Salgado one of the 10 best new chefs in the country. Register restaurant critic Brad Johnson named him Chef of the Year for 2015, and Taco Maria is No. 5 on the Los Angeles Times food critic Jonathan Gold’s 101 Best Restaurants list for 2016.

Biggest challenge: “I want to remain a student with an open, beginner’s mind.”

Thoughts on the state of Mexican Food in Southern California: “Mexican cuisine in SoCal is the best outside of Mexico. While we may cook in a different dialect here, we are accelerating the exchange of ideas across the border, connecting to our heritage, and also benefiting from Mexico’s own culinary revolution to define a cuisine that is uniquely Mexican-American.”

Inspiration: “I am inspired by people and their stories – by the exulted moments they share with friends, family, and lovers over good food and drink.”

Can’t live without: “If you told me today that I was allergic to tortillas, tomorrow I would be gone.”

What’s next: Salgado says he is “making progress on a very cool project to launch in early 2017.”

Contact the writer: 714-796-7979 or phodgins@scng.com