Testimonials

I first met Daniel working alongside Liam Kimball during dinner pop-ups at Tuerta. It was not long after that I discovered his passion and love for local food. As the former manager of the Downtown Growers’ Market I slowly discovered that Daniel’s talents were popping up among many of our vendors and ranged beyond delicious one-off menus and meals. His talents range from formulating a hot sauce recipe for a local farm utilizing their own produce, menu and restaurant planning for a local jam company turned ice cream shop, as well as working with and teaching butcher skills, sausage making and the like to local ranchers. Daniel’s love and passion for local food matches the hard work and dedication New Mexico farmers bring to the table every day. What he creates with their products showcases local food in a light that is refreshing, new, familiar but most importantly of all, delicious.

 

Danielle Schlobohm

Associate Director

DowntownABQ MainStreet and Arts & Cultural District


Photo by Leah Garcia (yellowaspenphtography.com)

Recommendation for Chef Daniel Garcia


I cannot recommend Daniel Garcia highly enough, as a chef (of course) and as someone who is so very easy to work with.


I contacted him, on the recommendation of the managers of Sarabande Bed and Breakfast (NW Albuquerque), a few months before my destination 80th birthday dinner on November 20 (2021) at the Bed and Breakfast. We spoke on the phone and communicated via e-mail over several weeks, to consider the dinner menu and other details. He was always full of excellent ideas and even sent photos of sample dishes. He also listened to my ideas and suggestions, which made him a perfect partner.


The five- course dinner, preceded by wine, a lovely non-alcoholic watermelon punch and delicious hors d’oeuvres, featured both vegetarian and meat dishes. Nothing was run-of-the-mill: each beautifully presented course offered us unusual and delightful combinations of tastes, which drew oohs and ahs from my guests, including my personal chef daughter and my amateur chef cousin. The final two courses were served family style, which we all loved. Additionally, Daniel was able, almost at the last minute, to serve a last-minute guest who is a pescatarian, a beautiful piece of roasted halibut. The grand finale was an exquisite, two story, lemon-lavender cake, layered with local raspberry jam and decorated with lovely fresh flowers. 


Our experiences did not end with the heavenly dinner. Daniel had lovely little individual menus printed up and decorated the table with beautiful placements, created by (Leah Garcia). In other words, not even the smallest detail was overlooked.


My guests and I were/are thrilled to have had Daniel as the chef for my very, very special birthday dinner. It was also so easy to “do business” with him, I could not have asked for a better partner in this endeavor.


KAREN C. HODGES

Phoenix, Arizona 

We have had the pleasure of working with Daniel for the last several years in various different capacities. He was our main point of contact when we started selling whole hogs to Los Poblanos, where he was then managing the kitchen operations for the nicest restaurant in New Mexico. To this day that is the only restaurant account we regularly supply to, in no small part because of the incredible level of professionalism, flexibility, and commitment to sourcing quality local ingredients that Daniel brought to the table and the relationship we were able to build there. As our business continued to grow and evolve we found ourselves struggling to vertically integrate our process and learn whole animal butchery. Again, Daniel voluntarily stepped up to help us through the sharp part of the learning curve, showing up at the shop to help us and teach us how to effectively and efficiently turn whole carcasses into usable, high value cuts. He taught us how to tie butcher knots, link sausage, butchery techniques, and so much more that we still use every day, and did it all in a totally collaborative spirit, exploring and sharing and suggesting and iterating with us along the way. We've been able to create an awesome symbiotic relationship by helping provide Daniel with USDA inspected local meat in exchange for his aid and tutelage, keeping our costs down and keeping his costs down at the same time. He has featured our products at pop up dinners and family gatherings alike, helping grow our brand while also bringing high quality, locally sourced meat to people in our community. We are blessed and honored to be able to call Daniel a friend and a colleague. He is cut from a different cloth, and is at the top of my list of people to call with any issues we run into in running our food business

 - Zach Withers of Polk's Folly Farm

Chef Daniel has been working with our farm for the past 6 years in many different capacities. We have worked with him when he was running the kitchen at a local farm to table restaurant, as a farm crew member, for pop-up dinners, and as a chef-consultant. Chef Daniel has shown his  professionalism, attention to detail, as well as his passion for supporting the local agricultural community since the first day our farm started working with him. His work has enhanced our farm as well as the community that we are apart of here in the Middle Rio Grande Valley. We are grateful for Daniel’s dedication to the craft and recommend him to anyone who is interested in the highest quality New Mexico cuisine. 

-Elan of Silver Leaf Farms

October 2022

Thank you for supporting OffCenter Arts.


Daniel, Liam, and the whole team, 

Thank you so much for all the ways you helped make our Harvest Dinner a success. I hope you know how fun and easy you are to work with, but the level of care you put into this at every step really made it wonderful. I can't thank you enough! Everyone had such a fantastic time and left feeling well fed and well loved.

Thank you 

Mika (Executive Director at OffCenter Community Art Studio)


Dear Daniel,

I was one of the fortunate guests at Carole's birthday party - fortunate to have her as a friend, fortunate to enjoy a wonderful group of people, and fortunate to eat your glorious food.

I wanted to just take a moment to let you know how very much I appreciated not only its deliciousness, but your creativity and the beauty of your presentation.

I adored the hush puppies - the meats, the side dishes and churros. They were all memorable.

Thank you for bringing so much heart to the party. You are indeed a talent.


With every good wish,

Wendy


"We were bursting with joy all day and weekend. The ceremony and reception moved along seamlessly for us. I know behind the scenes Daniel and his team were adapting to the wind, and the microphone, and the toasts going long- etc. The toasts after dinner ended up working a lot better and y’all moved the cakes in without anyone taking notice. We had many of our friends tell us they had the best meal of their lives! The was such a lovely fall equinox meal and embodied everything we care about- creativity, regionalism, community, joy. You made wedding planning a fun and creative experience for us- like putting together an art performance or installation in a way. Now I want to find an excuse to throw another party with you and your teams. Also, thank you for making the clean up so easy on us! Both Sally and Susan’s places were totally back to normal by Monday. "

-Hollis S.

September 2023