Chef Ruben Hernandez & Diana Rivero
From the small mountain town of Mier y Teran Oaxaca, Ruben has over 10 years of experience in the culinary industry. Starting out as a dish washer, he grew into a line cook and eventually sous chef. Working in French, America and Mexican cuisine.
Diana takes commitment to quality to a whole new level. Her dedication to community, culture and cuisine are unsurpassed. Diana comes from a family of entrepreneurs and has built up over 15 years of business experience.
Born and raised in the small mountain town of Mier y Teran, Oaxaca Ruben began nixtamalizing corn at the age of 7.
" We have a town Molino, you stand in line to get your corn ground into Masa"
The small indigenous farming community still grows their own corn and forages for anything they can't grow themselves.
"Growing up we used a wood burning stove, mom would make tortillas by hand every morning"
La Reyna del Sur became a way to pay homage to his mother and the women in his community.
Mier y Teran continues to be an indigenous farming community . We source our ingredients from our family farm or from other members of the community to make sure we are getting some of the freshest ingredients adding to the complex flavor pallet of our dishes while supporting largely women run households.
Denver, Colorado
growing
When Chef Ruben moved to Denver, he connect himself with Chef Jose Avila. He worked with him providing inspiration and hard work while helping him start the now closed food truck X’tabi Yucatecco.
Ruben shared his laid the groundwork and authenticity in helping build Denver’s first every hoya in Westwood neighborhood of Denver. Just as Ruben did back in Oaxcana he prepared amazingly traditional barbacoa cooked under the earth.
After working in the service industry in some of the best restaurants in Denver ranging from American, French and Mexican, we respect the process of keeping with tradition no matter what style of cuisine.
We lovingly devote our Cocina to the traditions we grew up with. The smells that awoke our senses, and the flavors that make our souls rise.
Denver, Colorado
flourishing
2016
Ruben saw a missing space for traditional Oaxacan food so he set out to begin his own solo venture. Ruben and Diana purchased an airstream style trailer and started to turn his ideas into reality in 2022. After working in the service industry for over ten years in some of the best restaurants in Denver ranging from American, French and Mexican. We lovingly devote our Cocina to the traditions we grew up with, the smells that awoke our senses, and the flavors that make our souls rise.
Working in the Denver food scene for a combined 15 years, we teamed up to bring the traditional flavors of Oaxaca to the city that we love. All of our dishes are cooked with love, recreating the dishes we grew up with and cook with ingredients that have been used for generations.