San Francisco's Californios restaurant, built on the labor of its 40-person staff, became the first Mexican establishment globally to earn three Michelin stars, a recognition that arrives amidst ongoing federal immigration operations leading to deaths of Mexican and Colombian men. Chef Val Cantú noted his team now carries "a little bit more confidence." This achievement in luxury dining stands against the backdrop of state violence targeting the very immigrant workers Cantú calls the "backbone of all these dish pits and kitchens."
The Commodification of Culture
The Michelin star system, established in the 1920s by French brothers Andre and Edouard Michelin, now rates over 40,000 restaurants worldwide. This system transforms culinary skill and cultural heritage into a tiered commodity, serving a global market for high-end dining. Californios, which opened in 2015, quickly secured its first star, then a second in 2018, before receiving its third in June of this year. The restaurant's initial $57 four-course tasting menu faced immediate "pushback," according to Cantú. Food writer Gustavo Arellano described this reaction as rooted in a "classist" myth that Mexican food "should be cheap because Mexicans, all of us are supposedly working class that cannot afford higher-end stuff." This myth exposes the inherent class bias embedded in the valuation of cultural labor.
Labor's Invisible Hand
Cantú himself acknowledged the critical role of immigrant labor, stating they are "the backbone of all these dish pits and kitchens." He added that "the culinary world is like a huge supporter of immigrants and the need for immigrants and the need to treat people with respect." Yet, the economic system that rewards a restaurant with three stars simultaneously relies on the exploitation of these same workers, many of whom face precarious conditions. Californios sources white corn and beans from a Santa Rosa farm and caviar from a Sacramento sturgeon farm, integrating into a supply chain that supports its elevated price point. The restaurant's success, and the "swagger" Cantú observed in his staff, is built upon the collective effort of these workers.
The State and Symbolic Gestures
Despite the celebration of Mexican cuisine, Cantú stated he could not ignore headlines about federal immigration operations, including recent deaths of a Mexican man in Houston and a Colombian man in Maine earlier this month. These state actions directly contradict the "respect" Cantú advocates for immigrants. Arellano suggested that Mexican cuisine's popularity "helps humanize the immigration debate," leading some to exempt specific Mexican restaurant owners from anti-immigrant rhetoric. However, this symbolic appreciation does not challenge the state's apparatus of immigration enforcement or the underlying economic conditions that drive migration and exploit labor. Cantú's belief that most diners in a "blue state" share his sentiment offers a liberal solution that manages contradictions without addressing the structural violence inherent in the system. The "alta California" cuisine movement, which Cantú's restaurant spearheads, represents a commodification of Mexican cultural identity, transforming it into a luxury product for a privileged class. This process, while validating a cuisine, also risks obscuring the material conditions of the workers who produce it and the systemic forces that devalue their labor.