Twelve Days of Chefmas: Roy Riedl

While we love showing you delicious food 24/7, we also think it's important that you know who is behind the food you're eating. So, our "Twelve Days of Chefmas" series will introduce you to a dozen noteworthy chefs from across the state. You can see our full lineup of Chefs here. That being said: 

🎶 On the tenth day of "Chefmas," CT Eats Out brings to you.... Chef and Owner Roy Riedl of Mercado Food Truck and Catering in Glastonbury, CT 🎶

How You Got Started In The Kitchen:

I always had a passion and interest in cooking, but was steered towards taking the “safe path”. After college and a stint in sales, I decided to leave the corporate world behind and pursue culinary school. Being 24 and fresh to a kitchen was a late start, but was one of the best decisions I had ever made in my life.

Favorite Ingredient To Work With:

I have to go with a basic and say a high quality olive oil. Our style is simplistic premium ingredients prepared fresh with minimum sauces. Salsa Verde is a staple on our truck, and the amazing olive oil takes it to the next level.

Favorite Menu Item:

The menu on our truck changes all the time based on seasonality, but Duck Fat Potatoes always are on there. The egg is from a farm 2 miles down the road from our house. Not only is anything cooked in duck fat a winner in my book, but to grow relationships with other local small businesses over a dish that we serve is pretty amazing.

Duck Fat Potatoes via Mercado

Funniest Kitchen Story:

My wife and I met at Barcelona in West Hartford, where we both worked a few years back. We had kind of a love/ hate relationship from the start (I loved her and she hated me). She made it pretty well known and public, and all our work friends believed she hated me. One day over a few glasses of wine, we had to confess our love to our GM. And eventually I would have to hide an engagement ring in the safe at the restaurant. So it all came full circle and is something we still laugh about today.

Favorite Holiday Dish To Eat or Cook:

My mother makes a rib roast every year for the holidays. She makes a gravy recipe that was taught to her by my grandmother. It is a dish that I look forward to every year and it always brings me back to my childhood and seeing my mom and grandma cooking together on the holidays. It’s nice to have the tables turned and have someone cook for me.

Restaurant in CT You're Dying To Try:

My wife and I have been dying to get out to Millwrights and try some Chefy, BBQ Goodness from “The Chef & The Bear”. Tyler and Jamie are as about as good as it gets in their respected culinary worlds and I can only expect that their creative collaborations are mind blowing!

Social Media:

You can follow Chef Roy on Twitter @mercadoeats, Instagram @mercadoeats and on Facebook /mercadofoods