After incomes international acclaim and two Michelin stars in San Francisco, native Texan Val Cantú is returning to the Lone Star State. The celebrated chef is ready to steer Estella, a brand new vacation spot restaurant on the Canyon Ranch Austin wellness resort in Spicewood — simply 90 minutes north of San Antonio.
Canyon Ranch opened in 1979 in Tucson, Arizona, and plans to open its Austin-area outpost in September 2026. The small chain additionally has a resort in Lenox, Massachusetts, and spas in Fort Price and Las Vegas, Nevada.
The unique Canyon Ranch may be very extremely regarded, incomes its personal Michelin award of three keys — the very best rating a resort can get — and the chain lauds the wellness advantages of each trendy science and “historical knowledge.”
“Estella might be mild, vibrant, contemporary, and clear,” mentioned Cantú within the launch. “It’s a distilled model of what I do this might be targeted on seasonality, sourcing, and the form of scrumptious meals that makes you’re feeling good after you eat it.”
Canyon Ranch operates among the nation’s most acclaimed spas. Fb Canyon Ranch
Cantú is growing the menu with expertise from advantageous eating and his private Texas heritage; he was raised in Brownwood, about 150 miles northwest of Austin, the place his father owned a Mexican restaurant. After a stint at Uchi in Austin, he immersed himself in Mexican delicacies at Mexico Metropolis’s world-famous Pujol.
Tortillas are an essential a part of what’s to return at Estella.
“After I’m making tortillas, I really feel linked at a root degree,” mentioned Cantú. “It jogs my memory of creating tortillas with my grandmother and my dad.”
Canyon Ranch CEO Mark Rivers emphasised Cantú’s well-balanced method: “Chef Val brings a uncommon mixture of technical mastery, cultural authenticity, and emotional intelligence to his cooking. His method aligns completely with how we take into consideration wellness as intentional, considerate, and rooted in actual life.”
If Estella is something like Californios, presentation might be an enormous issue.Picture courtesy of Californios
Though the discharge doesn’t share how a lot Estella may have in widespread with Californios, it is easy to think about that the inventive plating and schooling in regards to the indigenous cultures of Mesoamerica will carry over.
“It is a homecoming for me,” Cantú mentioned. “Cooking within the Hill Nation permits me to return to the flavors, substances, and traditions that first formed who I’m.”
