Meet James Tahhan, Miami’s Hottest Chef

Not many chefs have their own restaurant, host an Emmy-award winning television morning show, and are getting ready to launch their first cookbook at the mere age of 26, but James Tahhan isn’t like many chefs. Born in Venezuela to Arabic-Armenian parents, Tahhan was playing with knives instead of toys when he was only six years old. Yet when it came time to choose a career path, Tahhan opted for chemistry instead of culinary. “I thought a wanted to be a dentist,” he laughs. “How different would life have been?”

For starters, he wouldn’t have traveled the world or have Michelin starred toques and friends Gaston Acurio, Quique Dacosta, and the Roca Brothers on speed dial, much less quoted in his upcoming book The Homemade Chef  (out in September). Though Tahhan himself isn’t a homemade cook (he swapped beakers and test tubes for measuring cups and attended Le Cordon Blue for proper training), he believes cooking to be something anyone can do.

“This book is all about getting people to cook more at home by showing how easy it can be to make amazing dishes that are delicious and nutritious,” he says. Coming from a family that cooked breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day, it pains Tahhan to “see that we’re losing that as a society, so we need to get back to it.” [pagebreak]

Again, while most chefs would want to be attracting diners to fill seats at their restaurant, he’s more interested in sharing knowledge and flavors, something he does every morning on Telemundo’s Un Nuevo Dia, be it by demystifying current fads, showing millions of viewers how to make the most complex of dishes simple, and DIY vinaigrette that will be both better tasting and good for you than anything store bought.

“That’s actually how I landed the gig,” he says of the vinaigrette that changed his life. “Someone told me to come in for an audition to be the network chef when I was running my catering company but I didn’t realize what that meant,” so he showed up empty handed without any equipment and had to make due with what they had, which was mustard, vinegar, oil, and some carrots. “Most people don’t realize that’s all you need for a vinaigrette.” The rest, as they say, is television history.

Besides watching him in action every morning, you can actually taste Tahhan’s culinary prowess at his restaurant, Sabores by Chef James. Disclaimer: yes, it’s in a Best Western. Yes, the décor is borderline Best Western tacky/cliché. But don’t for a second let any of that fool you because Tahhan is cooking some of the best Latin American food in Miami. [pagebreak]

Think octopus empanadas with red chimichurri; short ribs with malanga puree that have been braised in ancho chile and Mexican beer; Cuban style pork belly doused in orange and cumin and served alongside a sweet potato puree; or a bevvy of tacos from al pastor to carne asada and chipotle shrimp (pro tip: Sunday brunch features unlimited tacos and margaritas). 

“The goal when we opened this was to show people what real Latin American food is,” he says of he and Telemundo star and business partner Raul Gonzalez’s venture. “People think it’s rice and beans and shredded meat, and really it’s this hidden treasure that nobody has pushed. We wanted to change that.”

To do that, Tahhan traveled all of Latin American in order to embrace and understand the real root for the cuisine. Up next: Sabores by James might be crossing the Atlantic and introducing Latin American cuisine to the Middle East. “They want to take Sabores to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and maybe Sitai.” Not even the sky, it seems, is the limit for Tahhan who is only just beginning his career.