The kitchen is Soleil Ramirez’s happy place. One of her earliest childhood memories is using a fork and plastic knife to cook with her grandmother.
Ramirez will showcase her cooking skills and Venezuelan roots in an episode of the TV show, “Chopped,” a cooking competition where four chefs prepare a three-course meal each round. The winner receives $10,000, but special competitions or tournaments feature larger cash prizes. Ramirez’s episode airs tonight, March 4, at 7 p.m. central standard time on the Food Network.
“We had a lot of fun all together,” Ramirez said of her time on the show. “That was something I didn’t expect.”
Ramirez started taking cooking classes at 12, went to culinary school, completed internships and landed jobs at French and Venezuelan restaurants. At the same time, the political and economic situation in her home country of Venezuela grew more unstable.
Ramirez fled Venezuela in 2016 because of political persecution. Making food that reminded her of home brought back fond memories, and inspired her to stay true to her roots.
“It’s a way I can feel closer to a place I cannot come back to,” she said.
She opened the restaurant, Crasqui, in St. Paul in August 2023, inspired by her Venezuelan roots and the thing she misses most about her home country – the ocean. The menu is influenced by Venezuelan, French and Spanish cuisine.
Sahan Journal spoke to Ramirez about her career, filming “Chopped,” and how she handled the pressure and represented her community. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
What inspired you to become a chef, and how did your Venezuelan roots influence your culinary journey?
I was raised in my grandma’s house. Since I was little, food for me was when all my cousins and all my uncles were together. Food always was family. It was equal to just have fun with my cousins and play and be close to all of them. We always cook together. Everything came from there.
Being in another country and being so far away from who I am, from the place I was born and raised, you always miss things. The palette has memory. Being a political refugee, I don’t know if I will ever come back to my country. That’s very hard to live with. All my food is based on memories, it’s based in a place I miss in my country. Everything in my menus and everything I do always has a backstory as a way I can keep connecting with my country.
How did you come across this opportunity, and how did you feel being cast on the show?
I didn’t apply for anything. When I received the first email, I thought it was a scam. They sent me three or four emails, to all my restaurants and my private email. Then they messaged me on my Instagram account, so when they started to be a little more persistent, I was like, “Okay, I think this is real.”
In my first interview I had with them, I actually apologized for my delay in response. I said, “I’m so sorry, but I really thought you were scammers because I never applied for anything.” That was a funny way to start a relationship with the show. The selection took six months. You need to go through a lot of interviews.
I couldn’t even believe it when I was confirmed to be on the show. I’m a girl from another country who has been in the United States for almost nine years, and I’m doing something that no one else is doing in Minnesota. So just to be considered for a show this big, because everybody knows what “Chopped” is, I couldn’t believe it. I was very happy, but at the same time, in awe. I was happy to know that all the hard work I put in was getting noticed.
How did you handle the pressure?
I always say that everything in life happens for a reason. I was actually created as a chef in a very high volume and high demand at restaurants with 300-400 seats. You get kind of used to the amount of pressure you get when you need to cook for 400 people in three hours.
I’ve always been very focused on what I’m cooking or whatever I’m doing. But kitchen, food and service and the hospitality industry have been in my blood for a long time. You learn through the years how to manage yourself.
I think I did a pretty good job controlling myself on the show. They have so many cameras around you and so many things around you. I’m very proud of how I handled myself with that amount of pressure. There’s also a lot of things you can’t control, and when they give you the ingredients, you gotta run and they don’t give you time to think about it.
What are some key ingredients that define your cooking?
I like to put a lot of effort and treat the ingredients with a lot of respect. I don’t like to overcomplicate things. I believe in simple food but with very high techniques, and very high respect for the ingredients.
My food is very colorful. I’m Latin, you know? I’m very detailed when I pick the ingredients that I’m going to use for a dish. I believe that you always need a principal actor for that story. I like fresh flavors.
In all my menus, I always try to stay true to myself. I love food; there’s nothing I don’t like. I think I brought a refreshing style for the competition.
Knowing that your community is cheering for you here, how did that support influence your mindset and confidence going into the competition?
I was very happy to have the opportunity to represent not just Venezuela, but also the food scene in Minnesota. I’ve had the opportunity to work with many great chefs in Minnesota. I’ve worked with Jonathan Hunt at Al Vento; he’s a great chef. I’ve worked under Jack Riebel at The Lexington for almost four years. He’ll probably be my biggest mentor forever. I still hear him in the back of my head, telling me things. He passed away a couple years ago. He’s still with me all the time, I can feel it.
I was very happy to represent Venezuela because sometimes we need something positive to talk about. Venezuela has a lot of bad news to share all the time. To do something to lift my country up and its people, and show representation – that makes my heart full.
But I also feel like a lot of people around the United States don’t know how much the food scene has grown in the last couple of years. It’s amazing to look back and see how many Latin restaurants that have opened around the same time, during the pandemic or the year after.
What advice would you give to aspiring chefs, especially those who want to bring their culture into their food?
A lot of people are going to tell you, “Don’t do it.” They’re going to tell you, “You need to adapt.” It’s been one of my biggest battles.
When I opened a Venezuelan restaurant, what I presented was not Venezuelan traditional food. A lot of people told me, “Are you sure that you need to do this, like this, because your food is not spicy or it’s not like the rest of the Latin food?” But my food has other types of influences, so why do I need to do it like everybody else? That is not who I am.
I knew from the beginning it was going to take longer, because I couldn’t tell you that we serve food or cocktails like another restaurant or bar. If you believe in what you’re doing and it’s true to yourself, it doesn’t matter what other people tell you. It’s going to be hard, but if you believe in yourself, keep going. And more so if you’re a girl, because we’re often at a disadvantage. I wasn’t raised in a culture like that, but when I moved here, I felt a difference.
Win or lose, what’s next for you and your career?
Being in “Chopped,” it felt like an awakening. First of all, the show was filmed in Brooklyn, New York, and that’s where my grandpa is from. I’m part of that community, too. My situation was hard. I have so much debt, because last year we didn’t make money for the restaurant. We were very slow the entire year. After “Chopped,” it was an opportunity to remind myself about what I’m doing, and it’s getting somewhere.
I also have all the dates lined up for monthly dinners that will raise funds for immigrants. The events are called Cena En Tre Panas, which translates to dinner among friends in English. This will be from immigrants to immigrants. The dinners will have one different local Latin chef a month with one menu, and in partnership with one nonprofit. I really want these dinners to create a big impact in the community. It’s going to happen throughout the year. We have eight dates.
The idea is to attack different fronts for immigrants. Yes, they need food, but also mental health for children. It’s not just what we can do to help the most, it’s also about creating an impact for everyone.
Every single experience is going to be different. We’re also offering a space for the nonprofits to explain what they do and how they do it. Some nonprofits confirmed include OpenArms of Minnesota and the Neighborhood House. The money that is left over after paying the employees and the chef, all goes to the nonprofit partnered in the dinner event. The tickets for the first dinner will be live next week, $135 per person.
