Photo credit to Dave Meall
Padrón peppers are very hard to come by in the United States. These kinds of peppers are a variety that can only be found in the municipality of Padrón in northwestern Spain and are best known for their intense flavor that many describe as addictive. Chef Raymond Li took a big leap last August when he partnered with Tinez Farms to produce possibly the first US-grown Padrón peppers in Miami. Today, this unique and rare variety of peppers is ready for harvest, and Chef Raymond is getting ready to introduce new and interesting dishes featuring them at Kaori Miami.
Chef Raymond Li is best known for his modern Asian cuisine, which is a unique fusion of his rich heritage, having Chinese, Colombian, and Cuban blood running through his veins. The Miami, Florida-born and raised chef graduated from Le Cordon Bleu in 2013. After finishing his degree, he did not waste any time at all and pursued some of the country’s impressive kitchens, from The Ritz Carlton to Zuma and Matador Room by Jean-Georges at The Edition Hotel under the supervision of Chef Jeremy Ford.
Over time, amazing opportunities started to open up for him, including a three-month stint at Benu, which has three Michelin stars and ranks number 47 on the World’s 50 Best lists, located in San Francisco. While there, Chef Raymond Li worked alongside Chef Corey Lee and hustled to learn everything he could from him. Some months later, he flew to Paris, France, to work at L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon in Saint Germain for a month.
By the end of 2017, he returned to Miami and worked relentlessly to help develop the kitchens of One Door East and Valentinos in Ft. Lauderdale. He bid Valentino’s farewell in February 2018 and became a sous chef in a humble Chinese restaurant in Wynwood called Palmar. It was there that he started to find his niche and was hired as executive chef after a few months.
It was during his time as executive chef at Palmar that the restaurant was named one of Bon Appetit’s 50 Best New Restaurants in the U.S. Sometime later, Chef Raymond Li received the honor of getting a 4-star rating with the Miami Herald, the highest given to any chef. For a season in his career, he acted as a corporate chef for El Cielo Hospitality Group. He left the company when he established his own family business, Lis Dim Sum.
Chef Raymond established the family pop up restaurant together with his father Raymond Li Sr. at the height of the pandemic. With hard work, creativity, and leveraging the power of social media & the help of the local press, they were able to offer authentic Chinese cuisine to their clients, from noodles to dumplings and other Asian favorites.
Diversifying into growing Padrón peppers with Tinez Farms is proving to be a strategic move for Chef Raymond as he taps into the farm’s well-known ability to grow natural products that are both clean and healthy. The family-owned farm is a testament to the hard work of its owners, husband and wife Ruben and Jessica Martinez. Working hand in hand with Chef Raymond to make Padrón peppers an accessible commodity in the country brings a lot of promises to their partnership.
