The Casianos, do you know it?  Two hours before having had Rodrigo on the phone, we didn’t either. We are going to tell you everything, but before that, we must introduce you to Rodrigo. And at only 29 years old, we can only say that his career path is as complex as it is brilliant…

He was destined to be a mechanical engineer. After having crossed the path of a restaurant during a job, he made a detour towards a certificate in culinary arts in Mexico. With this formality taken care of, he joined the “trattoria”, just launched by Fiesta Americana in Acapulco. He stayed only for a short while because he wanted to complete his education with two additional diplomas: oenology and restaurant management. It was in 1998 that he enrolled at the Institut, in the culinary arts & restaurant management program. The pedagogical team was correct : Rodrigo had the weight of a manager and they advised him to go in this direction. And it was done…

His two internships, at the CRILLON (F&B, of course) and at the RITZ, in an environment including international staff, confirmed this reorientation. After references such as these, it isn’t surprising that his third internship, at the FOUR SEASONS in New York, ended up in a full time job. Because of the 9/11 context, he was unfortunately laid  off and he returned to Mexico. No matter, Rodrigo, during this period was approached by Nestle to take a job as marketing manager in “customer service”. You have already figured it out, he won’t stay long… after one year, he was bored in his office ! Rodrigo doubles as a Samaritan and a globe trotter.  As he hadn’t seen France in the last two years so he came back to help  Eric MARTY, an alumni, develop and structure his restaurant “le Versailles”. Is everyone following ? Because it isn’t over yet. 

Having received his B.A., Rodrigo returned to Mexico where he immediately joined “China Grill” as the restaurant’s manager. Not for very long. Just long enough to be hired by the F&B director of  “Las Ventanas del Paradiso” in Los Cabos, “ one of the world’s most beautiful hotels in one of the world’s most beautiful places” according to Rodrigo – editorial note: after having visited the site, we agree with him. This is where he met the chef and sous- chef who are both named CASIANO.  It only took one year for Rodrigo and his buddies to set up their own business and launch CASIANOS in March 2006, after one month of a soft opening, destined to assure the promotion. More than just a place, CASIANOS is a concept. It is based on the principal of spontaneous cooking. Every evening, the team proposes to the dining room’s 37 seats to choose among a list of ingredients. The chefs and their inspiration do the rest…And if certain customers don’t have the taste for risk, the tasting menu is made for them ! Rodrigo seems to be convinced by this new situation because he hasn’t evoked any new projects. Oh, excuse me, there is the opening of a second restaurant with 120 seats around the end of January which will propose a more traditional fare. 

To sum up, we can notice that Rodrigo has a certain aptitude for new trends and “ keeping a window open on the network”, especially that of the Institut. As he said, “Everything that comes from someplace else has value” and “the Paul Bocuse name has an international value”. If he had only one piece of advice to offer to the students, it would be “to know more, to want more. Don’t content yourself with a grade, look to find that which distinguishes you from the others or will in the future”.  A word to the wise…