Sustainability becomes concrete in Sheyla Alvarado's menu: minimal waste, worker benefits, and a menu where no more beef is featured. “Beef consumption is deeply rooted in the area, so communicating that to our customers was not easy.” But the chef wanted to undertake her own revolution.
The Chef
If sustainability is a term that so many, chefs and non-chefs alike, fill their mouths with, there are those who, on the other hand, without much lip service or self-congratulation, not only embody this term to perfection, but honor it by restoring its deepest meaning. Such is the case with the cuisine of Sheyla Alvarado, chef of Lunario restaurant, recently awarded the Sustainable Restaurant Award at Latin America's 50 Best Restaurants 2024. “Lunario is located in an agricultural area, so it is impossible to ignore nature and the effects of climate change," the chef tells The World's 50 Best herself. Alvarado's restaurant is located within the La Lomita winery-also certified organic-just 4 kilometers from Finca la Carrodilla (the farm, the restaurant's lifeblood to which it supplies more than 90 percent of the vegetables on the menu).
![Sheyla Alvarado chef](/upload/multimedia/Sheyla-Alvarado-chef.jpg)
Dairy products, lamb and goat meat, honey and olive oil are also produced on the same property, while for abalones and lobsters Sheyla relies on small local fishermen from the Pacific coast just 10 miles away. “The restaurant has gone hand in hand with Finca La Carrodilla from the beginning. Our products form the basis of our menu, and given our proximity to the sea, it's about appreciating what the region offers us. Even our compost is produced on the farm, so all organic matter from the restaurant goes back to the soil in the orchard or vineyard. We like to think that our guests take home a unique experience that can only be had in the Valle de Guadalupe. Time has taught us that sustainability is a long and perhaps endless learning journey, requiring us to step back, humble ourselves, and let nature speak to us. This bumpy path has taken us through unexpected paths and obstacles that, more than once, made us think about giving up,” confides the chef, whose resume includes restaurants such as Cosme in New York, Sud 777 in Mexico City and Mirazur in Menton.
![Lunario esterni](/upload/multimedia/Lunario-esterni.jpg)
![Lunario](/upload/multimedia/Lunario.jpg)
For Chef Alvarado, however, it has not been easy to get to the point of realizing her dreams and celebrating the values she believes in, but tenacity, talent, and determination have never made her give up. While, in fact, since opening in 2019 the reviews have been rave reviews, it has not been at all easy to come up with a tasting menu in an area like the Guadalupe Valley, where, normally, dinner at the restaurant is designed for crowded family celebrations. The biggest obstacle Sheyla faced in keeping true to her identity, however, she encountered last year when she eliminated beef from the menu to bring the supply radius from 1,000 to 50 km.
![Lunario dish](/upload/multimedia/Lunario-dish.jpg)
"Beef consumption is deeply rooted in the area, so communicating this to our customers was not easy. Making customers feel like they are having a full experience without taking protein was difficult at first." Sustainability and caring for the places where she lives for the chef originally from Sonora-a vast state separated from the Lower California Peninsula-doesn't just go through the kitchen, but embraces, in the round, the community where the restaurant is located. “For me, sustainability is a journey that involves many people making daily decisions to generate a positive impact and support the growth of our community.
![Sheyla Alvarado3](/upload/multimedia/Sheyla-Alvarado3.jpg)
It's about the employees, the suppliers, and our local environment-they are a key part of the restaurant's success. The bitter moments, the unintentional mistakes, the missteps, and the well-intentioned but misdirected efforts-these are the things that, one day, turn into a wonderfully seasoned cheese, a dish that doesn't rely on protein, or the amazement of a diner tasting a melon picked at the perfect moment. This is what Lunario represents. Congratulations to the whole team, garden, farm, kitchen, administration and service, for making this possible. This award belongs to all of them,", said Alvarado, after receiving the Sustainable Restaurant Award. Sheyla's message is not only aimed at co-workers and colleagues, but to raise awareness for each of us: "Regardless of where you live, you can always do something to support the environment. But that only happens if you take an interest and take responsibility."
![Sheyla Alvarado](/upload/multimedia/Sheyla-Alvarado.jpg)