Linares has shown his skills on Chopped and BBC America’s Chef on the Run among several shows. He creates pop-up restaurants and is a regular at the New Jersey Food and Wine Festival. If you want to get up close and personal, check out his social media accounts where he posts videos on everything from how to peel a plantain to how to make a summer fruit salad.
After struggling with his own weight and seeing family members poor health due to poor diet Linares began to rethink nutrition. When he learned that over 12% of Latinos live with diabetes Linares was motivated to help in any way he could. He pitched the American Diabetes Association the idea of a cookbook of healthy Latin foods. The result was his first book, “Sabores de Cuba: Diabetes Friendly Traditional and Nuevo Cubano Cuisine”, was published in 2016. The 100 recipes featured are Linares’ own take on comida tipica that can help your health instead of harming it. He is even a spokesperson for the American Diabetic Association, Healthfirst and AARP.
With his mantra, “Cuban inspired, passion infused,” there’s no doubt Linares is on a mission. We spoke with Ronaldo about his cooking, why health is wealth and how he plans to change the world one social media post at a time.
‘LLERO: Why did you decide to pursue cooking professionally?
Ronaldo: I was born in the kitchen. My mom and dad are chefs. They had a restaurant in Colombia when we lived there. I find a comfort in food I can’t explain. The joy that I get from seeing people consuming my art is unexplainable. I worked at restaurants about 10 years before taking over my family’s restaurant. I’ve done pop up restaurants and dinners to keep myself sharp.
‘LL: You were a sergeant in the Marines and a food services specialist who fed thousands of people a day. How did that help you find your cooking style?
Ronaldo: I started experimenting to see what would work. I was traveling around the country and learning these techniques but also adding my own flavor, my own style. I was mixing Mexican with Cuban and different countries. It’s the same food with different touches. That’s how I did it. I found it and owned it, learned not to be apologetic for it. It’s my food and this is my take on it. There’s nothing authentic about any cuisine except the first time it was made. Food is an interpretation of the person who made it. If you are using or respecting the flavors of the dish then it’s authentic.
Food is an interpretation of the person who made it. If you are using or respecting the flavors of the dish then it’s authentic. I found it and owned it, learned not to be apologetic for it.
‘LL: Do people think you can’t make Latino food healthy?
Ronaldo: I get resistance to it all the time. La gente que no saben…they’re absolutely wrong. You should learn about your ancestors. Frying and all that—it’s an American thing. If you look at Peru and Colombia and Puerto Rico there’s a lot of cooking on wood, roasting, brazing that creates natural flavors. And the peoples overall health is better. Once you educate people and they try it, their minds change. I come in and tell it how it is. Dieticians give you the numbers. But parents ask me, ‘How can we get kids to eat healthy?’ Well, that starts with you dad, and you mom. If they see you [their parents] eating better, it becomes a lifelong habit.
‘LL: What attracted you to healthy cooking?
Ronaldo: We [my four brothers and parents] came to the U.S. from Colombia when I was nine years old. When we moved here my parents were working all the time. We’d go to school and then I’d come home and make rice with ham and sazon. I’d always go to Burger King. We assimilated to American life, eating fast food all that stuff. Personally, I got so fat as a kid. So I started exercising. At that age I was doing it for the girls. Time passed, and my eating became a bad habit that continued to adulthood. Eating good now helps me maintain my lifestyle. I share it because educating people is important.
‘LL: You are a chef who takes his own health pretty seriously—you’re a former MMA fighter and Crossfit trainer. Why is it so important?
Ronaldo: Exercise is medicine. I do it so I can do the rest of my life – the restaurant, my family, everything else — consistently. If you’re not physically fit, not mentally and emotionally fit it’s tough.
‘LL: What’s your advice to someone who wants to become a chef?
Ronaldo: Know what you’re getting yourself into. Know how that feels inside and out. Work at a restaurant and spend Friday and Saturday creating your recipes and craft your vision. Oh and know your social media game.
‘LL: Speaking of social media, you’ve become an influencer thanks to everything you share online. Why do it instead of being a traditional chef who runs a restaurant?
Ronaldo: It’s the competitive nature in me. I love to push myself. And I know I can help so many people out. It could motivate and inspire people to create their own voice in life. I use what I do as a vessel to drink from and succeed. [Social media] has allowed me to connect and succeed. It shows me what works and what doesn’t work. You maneuver on a constant basis. It’s marketing yourself, your brand and your voice.
Ronaldo: First – I want to have a TV show. Second, I want to grow my voice within the Latino community about our foods and our ways of healthy eating. Third I want to create my dream restaurant.
‘LL: What’s your recipe for success?
Ronaldo: Ingredient 1: Love—you have to have love for this or whatever you do. Ingredient 2: Passion—for thriving, for the food, the people, your team. Ingredient 3: the equipment—have the proper support system around you whether that’s your wife, your kids, your parents, your staff. Underlying that, be relentless; be obsessed. It keeps you focused.
‘LL: What inspires you to do all of this?
Ronaldo: I’m a husband and a father. I have two kids — 4 yr old Liam Logan, newborn Zane Caleb. They always make you look at life as a journey. You look to do more, but to do it with less hours put in. You need that challenge.