Nico de Leon
Lasita | Los Angeles
April 2024
After a long day of skating as a kid, Nico de Leon loved to prepare snacks for his friends, and he soon saw cooking as a way to express himself. He enrolled in a few culinary classes at community college until one of his teachers encouraged him to go to culinary school. In 2011, after graduating from Le Cordon Bleu Pasadena, he joined the opening team at the Hotel Bel-Air, working for Chef Wolfgang Puck. But after losing his mother, de Leon felt the need to leave Los Angeles. He headed to San Francisco and found a job at Rising Stars alum Jason Fox’s Commonwealth. Under Chef Ian Muntzert, de Leon was energized by the mission of microseasonality, the hardworking atmosphere, and the focus on innovation.
While in San Francisco, de Leon struck up a friendship with Chef Chad Valencia. In 2013, when Valencia moved to L.A. to start his Filipino pop-up LASA, de Leon felt drawn to the concept—and the opportunity to see his own culture represented on the plate—and joined as his sous, booking it down the I-5 to make it in time for service. In 2016, de Leon moved back to L.A. and joined LASA full-time as the executive sous chef before eventually taking over as chef de cuisine under Valencia once the pop-up moved to a permanent space. When the pandemic hit, however, Valencia stepped away from the business. De Leon and General Manager Chase Valencia, Chad’s brother, took over the space and changed the concept from LASA to Lasita, a more casual Filipino rotisserie restaurant. As executive chef at Lasita, which opened in 2021, de Leon places a focus on cooperation between the front and back of house and has created a menu that embraces the freedom and fluidity of Los Angeles cuisine while celebrating Filipino formats and flavors.
