When you can join Rafael
Start times are local to San Antonio, TX.
- Taco Masterclass: Salsas, Tortillas & Al PastorStarts 11 AM, 3 hours
- Run the Line at a Family Mexican RestaurantStarts 2 PM, 6 hours
What Rafael hosts
Taco Masterclass: Salsas, Tortillas & Al Pastor
Make three salsas, press tortillas from fresh masa and build al pastor tacos in a family kitchen.
- Length
- 3 hours
- Group
- 2–8 guests
- Price
- $110
Run the Line at a Family Mexican Restaurant
Hand-press tortillas, work the dinner rush and hear how three generations built the business.
- Length
- 6 hours
- Group
- 1–2 guests
- Price
- $140
About Rafael
Rafael Ortega grew up in his family's restaurant, which his grandparents opened as a six-table lunch counter. He washed dishes there as a kid, then left to cook in restaurant kitchens in Houston, working his way from prep cook to sous chef.
He came home to take over the business and has run it for ten years. The restaurant now seats 120 and still makes every tortilla by hand from fresh masa. His days start with deliveries and prep, move through the dinner rush on the line and end with the numbers: food costs, labor and supplier orders.
Rafael hosts because he wants people to understand what it takes to keep a family business going across generations, and because he thinks everyone should learn to press a proper tortilla at least once.
What you’ll learn from Rafael
- How to mix, press and cook tortillas by hand
- How a kitchen preps and sets the line for a busy service
- How a restaurant manages food costs, suppliers and staffing
- What changes, and what stays, when a family business passes to a new generation
