Is he a culinary spawn of hell? A rockstar of gastronomy? Chef Adrián Herrera(@elchefherrera), from Fonda San Francisco and Restaurante-Manicomio Chef Herrera, can be that and more. They say there is a subtle line between madness and genius, a division that this chef from Monterrey uses as a rope to jump over. To understand him, or at least try, we subjected him to our Gourmet Questionnaire. What did he answer? Discover it at your own risk: 1) What food reminds you of your childhood? The one from the Veracruz Huasteca and from Tampico, since my parents are from there and I spent a lot of time traveling to Tampico and to the family ranches. 2) What dish do you cook best? Sauces: pipianes, moles, adobos, dressings, vinaigrettes, etc. 3) What was your first impression of a chef? Much work and experience behind. 4) Beer, wine, or liquor? Liquor. Whisky, Rum. 5) How do you order your eggs? As best suits the place where I order them. 6) What’s your ideal cooking playlist? Many: jazz, heavy metal, vallenato, mambo, classical guitar, jarocho and huasteco sones, classic rock from the 80s and 70s, etc. It depends on the mood. 7) Culinary guilty pleasure? Chocolate custard. 8) What do you taste like? Spicy, mineral, and spicy. 9) Do you prefer it spicy or not spicy? Spicy, but just a little. 10) What’s your favorite taco? Barbacoa tacos made from tongue and cheek with tree chili sauce, chopped cilantro, onion, and lime. 12) ‘Room service’? Porn fantasy: a voluptuous coastal mulatto enters with a plate of a hotdog, takes off the bun…. 13) Favorite munchies? Jícama, mango, melon, and/or watermelon with Miguelito. 14) To dip or not to dip? I have never understood the obsession with this irrelevant phenomenon, nor have I questioned it. 15) Favorite restaurant in Mexico? Yamato, in Monterrey. 16) Favorite restaurant in the world? I hardly travel outside of Mexico and cannot comment on what I do not know. 17)What’s your favorite street food stand? Grilled corn with mayonnaise, chili, and salt. 18) What’s the strangest thing you’ve done in a kitchen? Alchemically create a succubus. 19) What superpower would you like to have? To have the ability to give my enemies brain tumors and watch them die slowly and painfully. 20) What do you collect? Nothing. 21) Noodle soup with or without offal? With. 22) Eat to live or live to eat? Neither. 23) How many calories do you think a mango has? I don’t know and I don’t care. 24) Champagne, when? Why champagne and not a quality sparkling wine, like Cava? To accompany my pipián negro and whenever I feel like it; it's just a wine. 25) How do you take your coffee? Black with a touch of brown sugar. 27) What does hunger generate in you? It triggers a creative process; it’s when I come up with the best recipes, as intuition and other hidden, visceral forces come into play. 28) Visually, what’s the most beautiful food? Whatever looks most appealing to you at any given moment; everyone reacts differently to the aesthetics of dishes; it cannot be generalized. 29) What would be on the last supper of your life? A bottle of serum. Knowing it’s your last supper would cause me terrible anxiety and I don’t think I would feel hungry; I would be vomiting and thinking about how to survive, not what to eat.

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