When Eddie Coronado was 17, he had no idea what he wanted to be.
After taking a job as a bus boy and dishwasher at Palms Restaurant in Green Valley to help pay for his school lunches, a little bit of luck steered him down the culinary path.
“The chef was short-staffed one day, so he asked if I could help him do some prep,” says Coronado, now the executive chef at Blanco Tacos + Tequila, 2905 E. Skyline Drive. “I started doing prep and I liked that.”
When he was 20 in 2000, Coronado became a father and knew that he needed to have a career to support his daughter. He started working for Fox Restaurant Concepts as a line cook at Bistro Zin.
“I thought that being a chef was a great way to go,” he said. “I devoted a lot of time into cooking and developing more love for the craft.”
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Coronado learned on the job and worked his way up to become an executive chef for the restaurant group. His ascent included stops at Wildflower American Cuisine and North Italia. He became the executive chef at Blanco Tacos + Tequila in 2007.
“It was definitely difficult,” he said. “There was a lot of reading and food network and food magazines and learning the lingo.”
While Fox Restaurant Group sets the menu for the Italian eatery, Coronado said he and his fellow chefs are involved. The happy hour buffalo chicken was one of the recipes he wanted to get onto the menu.
“That’s one of my favorite dishes,” he said.
Coronado also has developed a large social-media following. He posts pictures of his meals and some recipes on his Instagram account (@ecsince80), which has more than 35,000 followers.
“I just started posting all my lunches,” he said. “I started getting a few followers here and there. Before I knew it, there were more and more people starting to follow me, and it was kind of crazy.”
He also said his daughter, now 15, and his 12-year-old son send pictures of his food to their friends.
“She loves the fact that I can make whatever she wants,” he said.
Coronado said his current goal is to train chefs to become executive chefs for the company. However, long-term he would like to open up a small food business, like a deli or taco cart.
“Being a chef is kind of high stress, and I love it right now,” he said. “When I’m in my late 50s, I may not want that kind of stress.”
Coronado took some time to answer a few questions for us:
What is your favorite kitchen utensil?
“Chef knife. A lot of people have a bunch of different knives, but the only knife you really need is a 10-inch chef knife.”
What is your idea of a romantic date?
“I think something fun would be going downtown and trying different restaurants. You have appetizers at one restaurant, take a little stroll and have entrees at another restaurant, and then dessert at another restaurant. Then watch a show or something.”
What is one unique ingredient you can’t cook without?
“I always put garlic powder in everything. I don’t like buying garlic and crushing garlic. I always have salt, pepper and garlic powder.”
Justin Sayers is a Tucson freelance writer.