Alberto Hernandez
Frasca Food & Wine and Pizzeria Locale | Boulder
April 2017
Alberto Hernandez grew up watching his mother cook in his childhood home in Atotonilco de Tula, Mexico—a small town in Hildalgo State about 50 miles north of Mexico City. And from his family’s kitchen, Hernandez went on to cook all over the world. Out of high school, he studied gastronomy at Universidad Claustro del Sor Juana in Mexico City. After graduation, he moved to the Yucatan peninsula to help launch a pastry program and teach culinary courses at Colegio de Gastronomía del Sureste, SCP.
In 2012, Hernandez traveled to Bergamo, Italy, to work at Ristorante San Martino Treviglio. It was his first Michelin-starred experience and in-depth instruction on Italian cuisine. Continuing his European tour, Hernandez left for Biarritz in France’s Basque country to stage and learn the details of French pastry. He then hopped the border to Spain for a brief stint at Martín Berasategui.
Next, Hernandez moved to Washington, D.C., for a pastry chef and sous chef role at Mike Isabella’s high-volume Kapnos and G by Mike Isabella. While working in the group, Hernandez fell in love with his future wife Halie, and together they decamped for San Francisco. Back in the realm of conceptual, modern dining, Hernandez worked for Chef Dominique Crenn and Pastry Chef Juan Contreras at Atelier Crenn. Wanting a break from city life, the couple moved to Boulder, where Hernandez now runs the pastry program at James Beard Award-winning Frasca Food & Wine (and it’s adjoining Pizzeria Locale), bringing global influence and fine technique to a storied American institution
