Josef Centeno

Josef Centeno is an American chef, restaurateur and cookbook author who specializes in Tex-Mex cuisine. He was nominated for a James Beard award for Best Chef in February 2020.

Early life and education Centeno grew up in a Mexican American family in San Antonio, Texas. He grew up eating his grandmother's Tex-Mex cooking, which he described as, "all from scratch and very simple—it’s what you would call farm-to-table, because they had a little garden and a little produce stand." Centeno's father worked as a butcher in the family grocery store and his great-grandfather, Joe Centeno Sr., founded Centeno Supermarkets, the first chain of independent Latino groceries in the US.

Centeno graduated from San Antonio Academy, Central Catholic Marianist High School and the Culinary Institute of America. In June 2019 his restaurant Orsa & Winston, a Japanese- and Italian-inspired restaurant, earned a Michelin star.

During the 2020 coronavirus pandemic Centeno was one of the first chefs to shut down his restaurants entirely, telling his employees told "to file for unemployment [right then], because by [the following] week, it was going to be a shitshow.” Orsa & Winston and Bar Ama have both reopened after the coronavirus lockdowns.

Cookbooks Centeno's first cookbook, Baco: Vivid Recipes from the Heart of Los Angeles (2017), co-written with his life partner and former LA Times food editor Betty Hallock, focussed on the cuisine of Los Angeles. Food & Wine said it was "about being an Angeleno and an American who breaks boundaries and celebrates multicultural flavors."

Centeno's second cookbook Amá: a modern Tex-Mex kitchen ( 2019), also co-written with Hallock, was published by Chronicle Books. and Eater one of the best cookbooks of fall of 2019. The Los Angeles Times named Orsa & Winston their restaurant of the year in July 2021, citing Centeno's response to the coronavirus pandemic as part of their decision. He holds a Michelin star for Orsa & Winston.

Reception The Wall Street Journal called his restaurants Bar Amá and Amácita "the country’s most thoughtful Tex-Mex." Bloomberg named Bar Ama's queso one of the best in the world.