San Diego Chef to Begin Cooking, Selling Meals From Home Kitchen

For Diana Tapiz the best way to bring her community together is through a delicious home-cooked meal.

“Food is community, food brings people together,” said Diana Tapiz, owner of Tres Fuegos Cocina. “We may not speak the same language but through a bowl of food we understand each other.”

Tapiz has been cooking since she was a little girl, following her mother's recipes and dreaming of one day owning her own restaurant.

“My mother always wanted to own a restaurant,” said Tapiz. “She would talk about food trucks, she would talk about a restaurant selling birria so with this little permit is like a big step to that big picture.”

A year ago she tried to make that dream happen. But when the costs started mounting she realized it was too much for her to handle on her own.

“I wasn't ready for the growth I was having at the time and I had to choose between my family and my business and I will never choose my business over my family,” said Tapiz.

Today she’s giving that dream another shot, at a smaller scale but in the comfort of her own home. 

Last month when San Diego approved the ordinance that allows people to turn their home kitchens into a business, Tapiz was one of the first to apply.

Ordinance Sets Table for San Diego County Chefs to Sell Meals Prepared at Home

“It took me just filling in the application, going to the county and I received a call within two weeks and they were in my home checking everything out,” said Tapiz.

Now that she’s been approved, she’s ready to start cooking.

“I'm building my website, I'm going to try out the website and see how I'm going to figure out my schedule,” said Tapiz.

Tapiz is looking to have her grand opening on April 25. She says she is bringing back some of her famous dishes like her Birria Ramen.

Like the traditional Mexican stew, she says the return of her business will also be hot and fresh.