For Chef Walter Melo, food begins with memory. The Mexico City native first learnt to cook by watching his mother transform humble ingredients, and more than 23 years later, that early influence still shapes his work as Head Chef at Rodeo Drive, Ibn Battuta Gate. His career has taken him through kitchens in Mexico, the United States and the UAE, from private dining for celebrities and dignitaries to overseeing 155 culinary staff across two countries.
At Rodeo Drive, he brings those experiences together through American comfort food with a Latin streak, producing 90 per cent of the menu in-house and using fermentation and slow cooking to develop its distinctive flavours. Zenith spoke to Melo about the lessons he carried from each country, the deceptively difficult art of guacamole and the guest reactions that continue to inspire him.
You’ve cooked in Mexico, the US and the UAE. What’s one lesson each country has taught you about food?
Mexico taught me that food is emotion before it is technique. Every dish carries a story, a memory, a connection to family. The United States taught me discipline and consistency, how to deliver a great plate not once, but every single time, at scale. The UAE has taught me the power of diversity on a single menu. Guests here come from every corner of the world, and they expect both authenticity and innovation in the same bite.
What’s an ingredient you’ll never compromise on, no matter how difficult or expensive it is to source?
Avocado (Mexican), You can’t get the same flavour and level of fat in other avocados, and keeping that quality makes a big difference, and we care in the same way in all the aspects of our food in RD.
Your menu brings together American comfort food and Latin flavours. Was there a dish that took the longest to get exactly right?
Most of our productions are a bit complex in the execution, we produce 90% of the items we serve and we have ingredients that sometimes take weeks to be done, we use lacto-fermentation and slow cooking techniques to give our food our signature taste.
You’ve worked in everything from celebrity private dining to overseeing large kitchen operations. Which experience challenged you the most?
In the kitchen everyday is a new challenge, we need to keep our motivation and focus to satisfy our guests expectations and that is the hardest part of this job, not all the people have the same taste and especially here, the same culture. Having this in mind we need to always strive to always provide food with the best quality and consistency.
What’s one food trend you hope disappears soon?
Food that is designed purely for a photograph rather than for the guest to actually enjoy eating. Presentation matters, but it should never come at the cost of flavour or comfort.
What’s a dish people constantly underestimate because it looks simple?
Guacamole, from choosing the best ripe avocados to the right consistency not just smashed, etc.
When you visit another restaurant, what catches your attention before you even take the first bite?
The energy of the room and how the team moves. You can tell a lot about the food before it arrives just by watching how a kitchen and a service team communicate under pressure.
If someone only had one chance to eat your food, which dish would you insist they order and why?
Our black garlic-truffle-parmesan wings is one example, they are full of flavor and out of the ordinary.
Your mother sparked your love of cooking. Is there a lesson from her that still influences every service today?
She taught me that cooking for someone else is a way to give them love and I still believe that, It’s what mothers do for their families and I like to think I do the same to every guest that visits RD.
After more than two decades in professional kitchens, what still excites you enough to make you want to create something new?
The guest’s reaction. After all these years, there is still nothing like watching someone taste a new dish for the first time and seeing that moment of genuine surprise or delight. That reaction is what keeps me creating.
Rapid Fire
- One ingredient you can’t live without? Avocado
- One ingredient you never want to see again? None, I like all
- Sweet or savoury? Sweet tooth
- Home cooking or fine dining? Home
- Your guilty pleasure meal? Cold pizza
- A chef you’d love to cook with? Matsuhisa Nobu
- A city every food lover should visit? Mexico City
- One word your team would use to describe you? Kind
- If you weren’t a chef, what would you be? Pilot
- One word to describe Rodeo Drive. Wild
Finish the sentence:
The best compliment a guest can give me is, your food reminds me of my childhood, or a flavour I used to taste in my mom / grandmother’s food.
