From dishwasher to top chef

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I have eaten at far more taco trucks and pupuserias than I care to admit. So when a colleague suggested that I check out some of L.A.’s finest restaurants for a possible story (I’m an immigration reporter), it sounded pretty good to me.

It would be the ultimate immigrant success story: dishwashers who work their way up the restaurant ladder and become bosses in the kitchen. Once I got on the phone, finding the story was easy -- at sushi joints, French bistros, Asian-fusion restaurants.

At one of the spots, Pane e Vino on Beverly Boulevard, I watched executive chef Victor Caro run the kitchen at the end of the lunch rush. Caro’s motto is: Never forget where you came from. So when he had a break, he stopped to help out with the dishes. At another, Pacific Grille downtown, I watched executive chef Manny Diaz prepare miso black cod with udon noodles, crab spring rolls with smoked mozzarella and saffron shrimp risotto. And of course, since it was lunch time, I just had to taste some of Diaz’s creations. Maybe it’s time to stop writing about immigration and start writing about food.

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-- Anna Gorman

Video of Manny Diaz by Tim French / Los Angeles Times.