PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEPHANIE ARSENAULT DEANNA SANDOVAL 

Styling by Deanna Sandoval, Logan Mitchell, and Katie Stokes

Every recipe has a reason behind it; some are passed on through family traditions, others begin with whatever happens to be in the fridge, and some are simply dishes that someone loves enough to make again and again.

Those reasons are at the heart of Cook the Cover, where local San Diego home cooks share their recipes and the stories that go with them.

This year’s test kitchen brought together returning chef Rocío Siso-Gurriarán of MIHO, Ashley McBrady of MAKE Cafe, and Eduardo Cortes of Alchemy – Choose Thy Poison to recreate three recipes. Each chef was invited to select one recipe that spoke to them, and the resulting group of dishes is a mix that all of us can add to our repertoire.

For Siso-Gurriarán, food has always been tied to family and gathering. She grew up in Galicia, Spain, in a winemaking family, where meals, wine, and time around the table shaped everyday life. Before becoming a chef, Siso-Gurriarán studied art history at the Universidad de Salamanca, then she rose from unpaid intern to sous chef at Casa Marcelo, a Michelin-starred restaurant in Santiago de Compostela. After moving to San Diego in 2001, she worked at Tapenade, Cavaillon, The Smoking Goat, and Nine-Ten. She joined MIHO during its Gastrotruck days, helping it grow into a catering and events operation. In 2021, she returned as MIHO’s culinary visionary, leading menu development, sourcing, and the culinary team.

Her recipe selection for Cook the Cover, Bayshore Court Baked Shrimp, fit naturally with her appreciation for fresh ingredients and food that doesn’t need to be complicated to feel special. She added a touch of Spanish influence, then baked the shrimp in scallop shells. “This variety of scallop is not harvestable anymore, so the shells are kind of precious,” she said. Nestled into mounds of rock salt to keep them steady, the shells became an elegant vessel for serving.

McBrady’s love of food began with her family’s sourdough bread business, where she saw firsthand how thoughtfully made food could bring people together. That early connection inspired her to study food science in Portland before building a career in restaurant kitchens, where she gained expertise in cooking, menu development, operations, and leadership. Today, as executive chef of MAKE Cafe in Normal Heights, she brings those experiences together through ingredient-driven cooking and meaningful relationships with local producers.

The café is part of MAKE Projects, a San Diego nonprofit that provides paid job training. Participants gain experience on a farm, in the kitchen, and in café roles, all while building skills in communication, teamwork, and hospitality. McBrady chose Not Your Nonna’s Meatballs!, a playful spin on a familiar comfort food. “If you’ve never had fish meatballs,” she said, “you’ll love them.”

Made with locally sourced ground opah and served up family-style, the dish reflected her personal approach to cooking: welcoming, communal, and unafraid to find something new in familiar flavors.

Chef Cortes didn’t have to think long about his selection: Crispy Mashed Potato Tacos. “They’re a staple that is so simple but so delicious, and I feel like it’s one of those things that anyone can do,” Cortes said.

Originally from Mexico City, Cortes already knew and loved potato tacos as a humble, satisfying food found in homes and on the street. A lifelong home cook, he entered the professional food world through Barracruda, the Mexican seafood pop-up he operated before opening Alchemy – Choose Thy Poison. Located in Logan Heights near Barrio Logan, Alchemy showcases Cortes’s experimental approach to cooking, shaped by memories of Mexico City and his interest in looking at familiar dishes in new ways.

His recipe choice embodies his cooking philosophy. The dish is approachable, comforting, and rooted in tradition while still leaving room for personality, and Cortes added plenty of his own.

This year’s Cook the Cover recipes show that some of the most meaningful dishes are often the most familiar. Each recipe offers a story about the person who submitted it, and each chef brought inspiration from their background to the table. At the end of the day, all three found something worth celebrating in dishes meant to be cooked, shared, and enjoyed.

Cook the Cover recipes are edited for clarity and published to reflect the original submissions.

Want to get into the minds of these three chefs? This roundup of tips from the test kitchen is sure to inspire new techniques, help you learn to adapt a dish for the ingredients you have on hand, and add familiar flavors that make any recipe your own.

read it here » Tips from the 2026 Cook the Cover Test Kitchen