Adrian Ortega couldn’t help himself. 

When guests visit his Oro Valley home, he feels compelled to feed them. 

On a Thursday in March, he did just that, putting on a three-course cooking class for a reporter. 

On May 4, he will be hosting an elevated dining experience at his home, including a four-course, plant-based dinner and crystal and sound healing meditation with Healing Energy and Flow. 

Ortega hosts similarly limited seated dinners with various members of the community. 

For Ortega, 35, food is the connection between people, loved ones and future friends, thrown into a pot and intentionally plated to serve.

“My identity is what you’re tasting, my identity is what you’re experiencing with the food,” he said.

Born in Douglas, Ortega was exposed to the art of cooking as a child through his mother’s and grandmother’s recipes. From then on, he understood the importance of food and the role it plays in the lives of many.

“Since I was little, I knew this was my path, and I used to know that this was something I wanted to do,” he said.

With tears in his eyes, Ortega reminisced on his love for his mother and the stories she told him about his grandmother who passed away when his mother was about 13 years old.

“I think those stories really shaped me into the kind of artist that I became, because those stories showed me how much love she had for what she did to provide delicious food for her family,” he said. 

“I feel like because my mom had such a tragic loss so young, I think the connection between her and her mom almost made me want to create that for her,” Ortega said as he realized that in that moment his entire motive for cooking was to please his mom and gift her the foods his grandmother once created.

Chef Ador

Ortega is an elevated, fine dining personal chef who emphasizes the importance of the balance of the masculine and feminine within cooking. He often hosts private dinner parties in his clients’ homes that range from three- to five-course meals.

His services also include a five-course meal with five gourmet cocktails, a signature menu that includes soup, salads, appetizers, entrees and desserts. He explains that he is currently working to “switch things up” with the menu. 

Additionally, he hosts cooking classes at clients’ homes where he teaches how to create sauces, salsas, vinaigrettes, salad, hummus and gourmet elixirs. Ortega loves playing with flavor and teaching new techniques to those learning how to cook. 

“You won’t see me following a recipe to make a sauce,” he said. “If I do follow a recipe to make a sauce, I’ll just see what it has, and then I’ll try to make it myself.” 

Ador Cuisine stands for Adrian Ortega, representing the love and passion has for what he does, as well as representing a physical door that, “you open up to something new,” he said.

Chef Ador’s culinary persona, expresses the the yin and yang, the masculine and feminine, that he says is vital to cooking. 

“Ador has a dual meaning, love and a door that takes you to a different perspective or experience you haven’t had,” he said.

“The feminine energy is the ideas, it’s the flavors, it’s the creativity of combining this with that; it’s the look,” he said. “The masculine part is executing it, writing it down in the menu and presenting it.” 

For Ortega, the yin and yang is a healing and metamorphic process that has allowed him to push boundaries within the competitive world of culinary. This persona became an outlet for confidence in his life that he shares with those with who experience the cuisine.

“As a chef, and as an artist, I definitely try to  keep what I do as authentic to me as possible,” he added. “I try to create my own things. I try to be as original as I can to myself.” 

With every bite and every spice dancing on your tongue, his food concocts a transformative experience that allows you to eat with intention. It is a play on all senses. 

With Mexican roots, he has mastered his style of Mexican specialties, however Ortega flourishes in fusion dishes.

Beginnings

Ortega began his culinary career in Iowa at a fine-dining Mediterranean restaurant in 2010. It was in 2013 where he moved to Arizona and began his journey at the Miraval Resort in 2014. For six years he worked his way up to becoming a culinary instructor, teaching culinary classes, as well fine dining experiences.

Those experiences included uniquely tailored dinners for high-end clientele who rented out villas at the resort, that entailed a five-course meal that allowed Ortega the freedom to create his own menus and dishes.

Additionally, Ortega helped open the Life In Balance Kitchen at the resort where he became one of the first chefs to teach classes and host the “Just Cook for Me” dinner experiences.

It was there that he was exposed to the elegance of fine dining that allowed him to blossom as a chef. The restaurant offers plant-based and dairy free dinners, offering clean-eating options. 

In 2019, Ortega launched his private cheffing business, which opened doors that allowed him to dive deeper into his creative side.

Along the way, he encountered two business mentors, Nicole Esposito-Romanoski, owner of Sangha of Yoga Tucson studio at the Oro Valley Market Place and Veronica Hirsch, founder of Colibri Connections, who helped guide him through his journey.

“I think that keeps me authentic in my own work and I’m not trying to be like someone else,” he said.

Ortega has cooked for people of different backgrounds, from business groups to specialty weddings, retreats to intimate dinners for two, which has allowed him a better understanding of the way food connects people. 

Ortega thrives in authenticity, creating dishes that express a part of him.

Dinner

On that March Thursday, Ortega was in the kitchen of his Oro Valley home, slicing and plating homemade focaccia topped with handcrafted pesto and chopped pistachios and garnished with sunflower and radish sprouts that he drizzled with honey. 

The faint citrus tang of lemon juice and zest with the buttery essence of roasted garlic brought out the aromatics of the fresh basil and the earthiness of the pecans.

The bread, soft yet crisp, held firm its toppings. There was a sweetness from the marriage of the savory pesto and the sweet honey. The crunch from the chopped pistachio and micro greens allowed this appetizer to fully satisfy and leave you wanting another bite.

In his kitchen, Ortega tossed and sauteed oyster mushrooms with garlic, tarragon and oregano. 

On a wooden plate he painted a thick tapestry of mushroom onion sauce that he topped with that pesto and the sauteed oyster mushrooms. He garnished the entree with radish sprouts, orange zest, truffle and olive oil. 

This plate was a savory spectacle that was not only pleasing to the eye, but in all its uniqueness, was a fun and colorful play on texture.

If you are sensitive to consistency, this plate might unease you, however, if you are willing to test your boundaries, the fleshy oyster mushrooms, slippery mushroom sauce and thick pesto might just surprise you. 

Ortega then finished off dinner with a special orange cheesecake made with fruit from his orange tree and a touch of bee pollen.

The tang from the orange and pili nuts tingled your tongue, while the agave soothed it as the mousse-like cheesecake dissolved in your mouth. Light and airy, the dish felt as if you were strolling through a pleasant garden. 

There was a bitterness of the dark chocolate drizzle that waltzed with the coconut ganache, while the candied orange strips, pistachios and dried cherries created a fun crunch that paired perfectly with the softness of the base. 

“When it comes to cooking, it’s all about flavor and learning how to build flavor,” Ortega said. 

To register for the Healing Energy Flow Elevated Dinner Experience, contact Susie , the host at 520-451-4544 or visit healingtouchandenergyflow.com. 

To experience a private dinner with Chef Ador, visit adorcuisine.com.

Arizona Sonoran News is a news service of the University of Arizona School of Journalism.