Chef Diego Garcia: I Had Nothing to Fall Back On

Walk-In Talk Podcast

Chef Diego Garcia recounts leaving Mexico at 14 to return alone to New York, where he became homeless, slept in the subway, and worked odd jobs while trying to survive without telling his parents. He

Key takeaways

Diego left Mexico at 14 because he had no school or stable life there, despite his mother's reluctance.
He slept in the New York City subway, cleaned himself up in restaurant bathrooms, and saved money by helping people carry groceries.

Main topics

Childhood poverty in Puebla and work in street markets
Homelessness and survival in New York City as a teenager

Notable quotes

I knew that I didn't have anything to fall back on.

Conclusion

The episode offers a grounded, human portrait of resilience in the culinary world,

Transcript preview

Speaker 2 (0:00) Chef Diego Garcia was born in Queens to Mexican immigrant parents. When his father was deported, his family returned to Mexico and Diego spent much of his childhood in Puebla, surrounded by food in a way most of us will never experience. On one side of the family were markets, farms, fruits and vegetables. On the other side was barbacoa. By 11 or 12 years old, Diego was helping his father and grandfather process goats and cook barbacoa underground. Then at 14 years old, he came back to New York, alone. His parents couldn't come with him. He wasn't going to school. He barely spoke English. He worked nights, washed dishes, and eventually found his way into the kitchen of a French restaurant near the World Trade Center. But there was another part of that story. For a period of time, Diego had nowhere to live. He slept in the New York City subway. He worked two jobs. He waited until his coworkers left so he can clean himself up in restaurant bathrooms. Some nights, he'd sit in Union Square and watch people heading home, knowing he didn't have a home to go to. and his parents back in Mexico didn't know. Eventually, he saved enough money, rented a room, and never slept on the street again. What followed was a career built almost entirely inside kitchens. French technique, Italian cooking, seafood, Nordic influences, Mexican tradition, New York, California, Long Island, and eventually, here in Tampa. But today, the most important thing Diego carried out of those years wasn't technique. It was an understanding of what it feels like to struggle. and a decision that if he ever had the opportunity to lead people, he would do it differently. Chef, you're 14 years old, you're back in New York without your parents, and eventually you're sleeping in the subway. When Speaker 1 (1:35) you think about that kid Speaker 2 (1:36) today, how did he keep going? Speaker 1 (1:38) I think what kept me going was pure necessity. I didn't have any money at all. I didn't have anybody to depend on. And that made it easier for me to keep on going forward. You know, I knew that I didn't have anything to fall back on. So that to me was a huge, it was like a huge push for me because that kept me moving because I know what was already behind me. So I wanted to find out where can I get if I kept on going. You're a teenager, young teenager, Speaker 2 (2:12) barely speaking English, no parents. Did you even understand how vulnerable you really were? Speaker 1 (2:21) I don't think that I understood how vulnerable I was because I was too focused on trying to grow up. But I did understand that it was hard. I understand that it wasn't right. But I guess I just kept on going one day at a time and just trying to get there and just try to let time do its thing. Speaker 2 (2:46) But whose choice was this? Speaker 1 (2:49) It was my choice to come to the U.S. by myself. It was purely my choice and my mom didn't want to let me. But back home, there wasn't anything for me. I wasn't going to school. I wasn't getting any education. I was working in the streets, selling bananas and fruits in the streets. I had to buy my own shoes. You know, there was one time where I had to buy a pair of Crocs and I wore that pair of Crocs for probably three years. And that pair of Crocs had a huge hole in the sole. So I would cut out cardboard and like soles and put them inside there. So all of that just really got to me. And when I was older, I was like, you know what? I already have papers. I'm an American citizen. So I'm working here in Mexico for nothing. So might as well go to the United States and work for something. That's not easy for a mother. Speaker 2 (3:43) Forget it not being easy for you. You made the choice, right? So there's a bed, you sleep in it. Your mother in another country, far away. Were you communicating with her? I Speaker 1 (3:55) would call her. I would call her every week. But it wasn't easy for her, no. She felt bad for it for a long time. She always carried that inside of her. She was very protective of us. but she understood that she didn't have anything to give me in Mexico. So it was either that or I could go back to the U.S. and make a life for myself. And she understood that, and she had to carry that weight. Speaker 2 (4:25) How come Speaker 1 (4:26) you were compelled to not tell them you were homeless, that you were sleeping in Subways? That moment of my life, I didn't feel like telling anybody because it was something that I felt like I needed to figure out myself. Speaker 1 (4:40) I didn't want to have anybody help me. And I didn't mean it in a bad way, but we have this history in our family or in our Mexican culture that somebody helps you or gives you something. And then later on, they throw it in your face or they say, I did this for you. I did this for that. And I want all my struggle and all my hard work to be. to be valuable. I didn't want somebody to be like, oh, you're this because I gave you this, or you got into the place that you are now because of me. And a lot of people wanted to do that. And I feel like everybody saw me as a project, you know, like, oh, poor kid, he doesn't have his parents, let's help him out. And they wanted to be the good people. And that didn't reflect what some of their actions of slandering people. I just decided to roll it with myself and I didn't tell my parents because I didn't want my mother to be worried about me or to stop me or to tell my uncles that were in New York. Speaker 2 (5:46) You know, now that you're bringing it up like that, I completely understand. Because a second ago, I'm looking at it from, you know, I'm a father. I am a father. And I'm looking at that and I'm thinking, I would absolutely want to know if my son was in that situation. Of Speaker 1 (6:01) course. Speaker 2 (6:02) And how can I help? But I also know what you just said is so real. Yeah. John, I know you know that too. Like that's, that's a legitimate path that you took. And that's a conundrum scenario. Like there's no, there's no good way. Speaker 1 (6:22) Yeah, I mean, there's only one way to go with it, you know. And I had seen it before in my family with other people that some of my family have help or other people have help and I've seen how much it has affected them. When somebody throws it in your face or says, I gave you this, you know, I helped you out. And then you're just in the middle or you're without nothing, you know, and somebody else is taking the credit for you. Speaker 2 (6:51) There's some things to pontificate on here. There's some things that you would really want to think about. Because, you know, I think I agree with you. But on the other side, maybe not. I don't know. Because that is a giant, glaring object of pride. Pride is good to a degree. And then pride will get you killed as well. Right? And you are walking on the tightrope of that. Yeah. Especially as a teenager, 14, whatever, you just, you were just overwhelmed with your, you know, first wave of testosterone. Right. So you're just like, you know, I am, I am going to do what I am going to do. That's a hell of a position to be in. Speaker 1 (7:36) Yeah. You know, I was very proudful. I was very prideful when I was a kid. Um, when I was 14, I thought that I can eat the world in my hands. Um, I thought that it was already. old enough to make decisions and go about my life and do whatever I wanted because I had the opportunity to be here without my parents, right? But now as an older man, I look back and I see like, wow, that was crazy. Everything that I did was really crazy. Like being homeless in the subway, being in Union Square at 3 a.m., being in parks. It was it was sad and it wasn't fun, but also. A lot of it has helped me shape who I am right now and view things differently. Well, it's clear. Like, you know, Speaker 2 (8:19) we had a good long conversation on our prep call. And, you know, you carry a very quiet confidence. And it was one of the things that I was, you know, you hit a check mark on the box for that. You're telling me this story. And it is a hardship story, but you didn't let it become your story. That wasn't what defined you. You said, hey, no, I mean, you know, for the next 15, 20 years, whatever, you're going to make something of yourself. So if you pick up from subway life, living on the street, what are you doing for work? And how did you get off the street? Speaker 1 (9:00) So when I was there, I already had worked in a restaurant as a dishwasher. Speaker 1 (9:08) I started to work at this place called Soto 13. It was a French place. They used to make their pizzas in there. They had a cool brick oven there. The chef name was Patricia Bega. And the guy who hired me was Eddie. They were both great. And I was learning there a lot. But one day he came up to me and he was like, you know what, Diego, I'm going to pull you to the side. I have to fire you. And I was like. Why? You know, I really like working there. I learned how to make tiramisu and a lot of cool stuff. And he was like, I have to let you go because you're too young. You're 15 and we can have you here full time or even part time. We need your parents to send a letter. And that was very sad for me because I was like, oh, finally, I have a cool job. So after I left that job, I went back to Queens to. Speaker 2 (10:04) Support for Walk & Talk Media comes from Metro Food Service Solutions. Trusted by kitchens that need storage and workflow that actually does the job. Learn more at Metro.com. Speaker 1 (10:16) So where I used to stay around or hang out around the day, there was this park in Elmhurst. There was a McCourt's there and I had a couple of friends there. So I used to go back there and there was a lot of markets. So I saw the old ladies that were carrying all their groceries back home and, you know, just carrying their stuff. So I offered to help them and they would tip me either $40, $30 and I would save a lot of that money. Speaker 1 (10:40) I tried to apply in a lot of restaurants, but they wouldn't hire me. So the only way that I can get back into a restaurant was getting a fake ID and getting a fake social with a higher age. So that's what I did. I got a fake ID and then I went to apply for a job and I got hired as an illegal immigrant. But I was an American citizen. You know, that's what I had to do. And when I got my job, I saved my money for, you know, the... They give you one week. And one week after, I really asked, like, can you really pay me the first week? I really need the money. And they were super nice. They paid me the first week. And they were like, you know, we're going to help you. I think that they saw my struggle.