{"id":12043,"date":"2024-02-08T08:50:17","date_gmt":"2024-02-08T14:50:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/?p=12043"},"modified":"2024-03-07T11:37:46","modified_gmt":"2024-03-07T17:37:46","slug":"chef-spotlight-chef-colin-nunez-villa-harlequin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2024\/02\/08\/chef-spotlight-chef-colin-nunez-villa-harlequin\/","title":{"rendered":"CHEF SPOTLIGHT-Chef Colin Nunez Villa Harlequin"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Colin Nunez<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Villa Harlequin executive chef Colin Nunez says he remembers his mother dressing him up as a chef for career day at his elementary school when he was 8.<\/p>\n

But it wasn\u2019t until he was an adult living on his own that he actually thought about a career as a chef.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI realized I really liked cooking, and I was decent at it\u201d he says. \u201cI started trying to get my foot in the door of the industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

While working as a butcher in the meat department at Sam\u2019s, he attended Sowela for a few semesters. \u201cIt just wasn\u2019t doing much for me,\u201d he says. He left Sowela, but continued learning. He says he learned a great deal from Food Network cooking shows, in particular Alton Brown\u2019s Good Eats.<\/p>\n

He got a major foot in that proverbial door when a good friend got him a position at Restaurant Calla as a line cook in 2015, when the restaurant had only been open a month or so. He worked there under chef David Sorrells, who, says Nunez, \u201ctaught me more about cooking and the restaurant industry than anyone else could have.\u201d In fact, Nunez says, Sorrells is \u201ca big reason I\u2019ve stuck with (cooking) this long.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also credits his daughter, Hannah, and his girlfriend, Ashley, for his longevity in the business. And he also thanks Villa Harlequin owners Mike and Brenda Sperandeo for their help. \u201cThey\u2019ve been the best people I\u2019ve ever worked for,\u201d he says. Nunez had worked his way up to a position as sous chef when Calla closed. It eventually reopened, but \u201cit was much different than it had been,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

He worked at 1910 for a while, then was offered a position as sous chef at Villa Harlequin, shortly after the Villa merged with Harlequin. \u201cThey needed more people to keep up with all the new business they were getting,\u201d he says.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When Villa Harlequin executive chef Amanda Cusey left in October of 2022, Nunez replaced her as head chef.<\/p>\n

Nunez says he loves being able to please people with his skills and creativity in the kitchen.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love the feeling I get when I hand someone food I\u2019ve cooked and watch them truly enjoy it. I love being able to tell by the expression on their face that they\u2019re not just saying they like it to be polite, they really do like it.\u201d<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s not just the satisfaction of pleasing those he cooks for that keeps him going. He loves the intensity of a busy restaurant kitchen.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love it when it\u2019s busy and I focus only on the pan in front of me. It\u2019s cathartic, and it\u2019s rewarding when everything goes smoothly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nunez says that his inspiration and guide when deciding on menu items and specials is availability. \u201cI also take inspiration from food I\u2019ve had in the past.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also sources ingredients locally whenever he can.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a few friends at Helen Street Bakehouse, so it makes sense to get bread for sandwiches from them. Sometimes I get fresh pasta from Pasta Lab for weekend specials. I want the restaurant industry in Lake Charles to be able to work with each other rather than just compete.\u201d<\/p>\n

If pressed to name a favorite ingredient to work with, Nunez says that poblano peppers could be called his go-to.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn so many recipes, I sub them for bell peppers, and I love it.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While that young boy who dressed as a chef for career day did indeed end up behind the kitchen doors of one of the most popular restaurants in the area, Nunez says the profession isn\u2019t for everyone, and it involves much more than a love of cooking.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can love cooking in your home,\u201d he says. \u201cDon\u2019t get into cooking professionally just because you love cooking. Do it because you love a difficult, high-intensity, rewarding job where you have to work as a team with others.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a job for someone, like him, who \u201chates the thought of sitting at a desk for eight hours a day.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Villa Harlequin executive chef Colin Nunez says he remembers his mother dressing him up as a chef for career day at his elementary school when he was 8. But it wasn\u2019t until he was an adult living on his own that he actually thought about a career as a chef.\u00a0 \u201cI realized I really liked [&hellip<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12044,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[4,51],"yoast_head":"\nCHEF SPOTLIGHT-Chef Colin Nunez Villa Harlequin - BestOfSwla<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2024\/02\/08\/chef-spotlight-chef-colin-nunez-villa-harlequin\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"CHEF SPOTLIGHT-Chef Colin Nunez Villa Harlequin - BestOfSwla\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Villa Harlequin executive chef Colin Nunez says he remembers his mother dressing him up as a chef for career day at his elementary school when he was 8. But it wasn\u2019t until he was an adult living on his own that he actually thought about a career as a chef.\u00a0 \u201cI realized I really liked [&hellip\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2024\/02\/08\/chef-spotlight-chef-colin-nunez-villa-harlequin\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"BestOfSwla\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bestofswla\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bestofswla\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-02-08T14:50:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-03-07T17:37:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Colin-Nunez-e1705542485441.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"691\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"391\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2024\/02\/08\/chef-spotlight-chef-colin-nunez-villa-harlequin\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2024\/02\/08\/chef-spotlight-chef-colin-nunez-villa-harlequin\/\",\"name\":\"CHEF SPOTLIGHT-Chef Colin Nunez Villa Harlequin - BestOfSwla\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2024\/02\/08\/chef-spotlight-chef-colin-nunez-villa-harlequin\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2024\/02\/08\/chef-spotlight-chef-colin-nunez-villa-harlequin\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Colin-Nunez-e1705542485441.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-02-08T14:50:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-03-07T17:37:46+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1ae53712bfaf619609a7e481e68536d1\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2024\/02\/08\/chef-spotlight-chef-colin-nunez-villa-harlequin\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2024\/02\/08\/chef-spotlight-chef-colin-nunez-villa-harlequin\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2024\/02\/08\/chef-spotlight-chef-colin-nunez-villa-harlequin\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Colin-Nunez-e1705542485441.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Colin-Nunez-e1705542485441.jpg\",\"width\":691,\"height\":391,\"caption\":\"Colin Nunez\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2024\/02\/08\/chef-spotlight-chef-colin-nunez-villa-harlequin\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"CHEF SPOTLIGHT-Chef Colin Nunez Villa Harlequin\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/\",\"name\":\"BestOfSwla\",\"description\":\"Powered by Lagniappe Magazine\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1ae53712bfaf619609a7e481e68536d1\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/da91dccb9a62c46bfbdac3f0a839acd1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/da91dccb9a62c46bfbdac3f0a839acd1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bestofswla\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/author\/admin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"CHEF SPOTLIGHT-Chef Colin Nunez Villa Harlequin - BestOfSwla","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2024\/02\/08\/chef-spotlight-chef-colin-nunez-villa-harlequin\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"CHEF SPOTLIGHT-Chef Colin Nunez Villa Harlequin - BestOfSwla","og_description":"Villa Harlequin executive chef Colin Nunez says he remembers his mother dressing him up as a chef for career day at his elementary school when he was 8. But it wasn\u2019t until he was an adult living on his own that he actually thought about a career as a chef.\u00a0 \u201cI realized I really liked [&hellip","og_url":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2024\/02\/08\/chef-spotlight-chef-colin-nunez-villa-harlequin\/","og_site_name":"BestOfSwla","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bestofswla","article_author":"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bestofswla","article_published_time":"2024-02-08T14:50:17+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-03-07T17:37:46+00:00","og_image":[{"width":691,"height":391,"url":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Colin-Nunez-e1705542485441.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2024\/02\/08\/chef-spotlight-chef-colin-nunez-villa-harlequin\/","url":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2024\/02\/08\/chef-spotlight-chef-colin-nunez-villa-harlequin\/","name":"CHEF SPOTLIGHT-Chef Colin Nunez Villa Harlequin - BestOfSwla","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2024\/02\/08\/chef-spotlight-chef-colin-nunez-villa-harlequin\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2024\/02\/08\/chef-spotlight-chef-colin-nunez-villa-harlequin\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Colin-Nunez-e1705542485441.jpg","datePublished":"2024-02-08T14:50:17+00:00","dateModified":"2024-03-07T17:37:46+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1ae53712bfaf619609a7e481e68536d1"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2024\/02\/08\/chef-spotlight-chef-colin-nunez-villa-harlequin\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2024\/02\/08\/chef-spotlight-chef-colin-nunez-villa-harlequin\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2024\/02\/08\/chef-spotlight-chef-colin-nunez-villa-harlequin\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Colin-Nunez-e1705542485441.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Colin-Nunez-e1705542485441.jpg","width":691,"height":391,"caption":"Colin Nunez"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2024\/02\/08\/chef-spotlight-chef-colin-nunez-villa-harlequin\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"CHEF SPOTLIGHT-Chef Colin Nunez Villa Harlequin"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/","name":"BestOfSwla","description":"Powered by Lagniappe Magazine","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1ae53712bfaf619609a7e481e68536d1","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/da91dccb9a62c46bfbdac3f0a839acd1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/da91dccb9a62c46bfbdac3f0a839acd1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bestofswla"],"url":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12043"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12043"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12043\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12047,"href":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12043\/revisions\/12047"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12044"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12043"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12043"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12043"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}