Fidel Caballero
Corima | New York
February 2025
In college, Fidel Caballero’s academic intentions were derailed by the culinary school across the hall. Caballero dropped out of his industrial design program, enrolled in culinary school, and never looked back. He got hooked on the punk-rock lifestyle of the kitchen while working as a dishwasher. Caballero started on the line at a local Italian spot in El Paso, Texas and hopped around to a few different restaurants, dipping his toe into the world of fine dining, before opening a food truck where he was slinging late-night food outside of dive bars and punk shows with his friends.
At 26, Caballero left Texas and moved to Shanghai, China, immersing himself in Chinese culture and learning about Asian ingredients and techniques while working in kitchens. He briefly moved back to the United States before relocating to the Basque Country, where—for the next year—he worked under acclaimed Chef Martín Berasategui. Caballero’s next stop was New York. Starting as a line cook at Chef Jeremiah Stone and Rising Stars alum Fabián von Hauske’s Contra, he worked the meat and fish stations, developed a deep understanding of microseasonality, and forged essential relationships with local farmers. There, Caballero worked his way up to sous chef, eventually running the day-to-day operations of the kitchen.
In 2020, Caballero left and started his pop-up, taking it to spots around New York, Mexico City, and Paris before finding a permanent space for his concept. In January 2024, he opened his restaurant, Corima, where Mexican flavors and local ingredients are championed through innovative, globally inspired techniques. Caballero is digging deep into the roots of Mexican cuisine while challenging preconceived notions of price, presentation, and format with dishes like his corn husk-cured kampachi with tamarillo, new onions, fermented husk cherries, dashi gelée, green beans, and corn husk powder.
