785: El Califa de León, The First-Ever Taqueria to Receive a Michelin Star, Doesn’t Think Michelin Is Its Legacy

About this episode

José Andrés Hernández discusses the legacy and expansion of El Califa de León, the first taqueria to receive a Michelin star.

El Califa de León is a family-run Mexico City taqueria that’s been in business for over half a century. It was opened by butcher Juan Hernández González in 1968, who created the now-legendary gaonera tenderloin taco. In 2024, it became the first-ever taqueria to receive a Michelin star, sparking a global surge of recognition that has paved the way for expansion outside of Mexico, led by the new generation. Today on the show, José Andrés Hernández stopped by the studio to talk about being the CEO of El Califa de León’s US-based operating company Authentic Taco Holdings and bringing the family business to New York City and beyond. Also on the show, Clayton jumps in with Matt for Three Things to discuss what’s exciting us in the world of food and culture. We discuss: An exciting new restaurant is opening in the Hudson Valley, Andiamo, from chef Ciarán McGoldrick. Also: It’s Colson Whitehead season and we re-read the incredible Sag Harbor, with a shoutout to Bellvale Farms ice cream. Lastly, check out our recent episode traveling with Whole Foods buyers to Spain. It’s a good one. Subscribe to This Is TASTE: ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad…

People in this episode

Hosts: Matt Rodbard, Aliza Abarbanel

Guest: José Andrés Hernández

Topics covered

• Michelin star
• taqueria
• family business
• food culture
• restaurant expansion
• New York City dining

Keywords

• El Califa de León
• Michelin star
• taqueria
• food culture
• New York City
• restaurant
• family business
• taco
• Hudson Valley

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: El Califa de León, Authentic Taco Holdings, Whole Foods

Books & works: Sag Harbor

Places: Mexico City, New York City, Hudson Valley

More episodes of This Is TASTE

• 791: Solid Wiggles Doesn't Call It a Jell-O Shot · June 13, 2026 · 1h 10m
• 790: Brendan Chareoncharutkun Built Uncle’s Thai Food. Curry Fans Are Following. · June 12, 2026 · 1h 35m
• 789: Mythical Kitchen's Josh Scherer Is Food Media's Unlikely Intellectual Empath · June 10, 2026 · 1h 4m
• 788: Everybody Has an Opinion About Dean's with Jess Shadbolt · June 8, 2026 · 1h 15m
• 787: The Food Writer to Romance Novel Pipeline with Eliza Dumais & Julia Turshen · June 5, 2026 · 1h 23m
• 786: TASTE Travels: Colorado · June 3, 2026 · 1h 13m