Juan andres
Rodriguez palazuelos

Art Director & Sous Chef

 

Photo by John Robson.| Colorado

 
 
 

It all started when...

Born in San Diego, 18th of may 1980. Lived in a small town called El Sauzal de Rodriguez – Baja California, a place where there was nothing in-between my family, me, and nature all around us. I grew in a small town with goodness, and kindness, a place were people where genuinely happy; I am the youngest of 4, son of a culinary passionate mom, and a photographer dad, and since I remember I have asked the Why’s of life. My story has had so many cultural changes, it is hard to say where home is… So home became my heart since a very early age. I grew in a ranch with a passion to art, nature and to help. Since I remember I have been an observer of nature and life. Always trying to make this world a more peaceful and balanced world for everyone. I was the mediator in my family struggles which helped me overthink situations, to connect dots and find solutions to problems. As I grew with this natural curiosity and willingness to find emotional happiness in my surrounding, I choose my career path to be Medicine. Once I started this path, It took me almost two years to realized that the allopathic (western) approach was not what my heart resonated with. I knew there was a mystical and magical life out there, but I did not know where, so my search continued. I moved to study my degree in Science in Communication, with minor in Marketing, Design and Photography. I can not ignore it but I was a total nerd, completely devoted to educate myself and absorb all the knowledge I could. I found new ways to stream my emotional curiosity, my thoughts, my feelings and the way I see life. I discover graphics, words, pictures, ideas and my mind was always high in creativity. It had become my new Me. For now I had just realize the importance of communicating, and I had the grasp of how humans process information, and I started to apply my emotional understanding and view of life into every adventure I was part of.

During this years of growth, I had a hard time adapting, as I got to see a side of life I did not agree with; the greed side of humans. I could not understand why we could just not be honest, good, and kind to each other. My heart was broken with society and I knew I needed to do something; the willingness to help came back to life. I set a new goal for me: that If I was ever going to be a business owner I was going to do it in such a different manner than the one I had to live. So I kept moving, and searching for that feeling of peace and community, for that feeling of humans being good, and honest, keeping their word and not letting themselves be consumed by greed… not until I was around 32 years old, it all suddenly changed. I gather the strength and decided to be fully happy no matter what. Enough waiting it was time to Act, and Happiness became my new compass in life. This new compass came to clarify the path of my existence in the years to come. I quit my Job, took my savings and starting to apply my views of life. I decided to give all the reins of life to my old fellow heart, no questions ask. Before I knew my universe of life had change drastically, I left everything behind and started to live. My first stop was moving to Colombia to meet Juli, an amazing woman who became my best friend, partner in life, my lover, and together we decided to adventure and grow alongside.

We both have the same search in life. To be happy. During our adventures we have had the chance to join our passions an we have been evolving together, we both want to help Humanity and Nature into finding a balance. We started a new adventure in a small city in Northern Colorado; Fort Collins. A place that at some point was an agricultural city, and now is struggling to keep it that identity alive. We started a Catering company, where I found an artistic passion in the Culinary Arts, we bought a home, and we are making community. I am keeping my promise to apply all the knowledge we have gathered in our past, and absorbing the new one arriving. We do not want to be anywhere else, and we want to share our story because we all deserve to be happy, we all deserve to wake up and smile, to be excited about the coming day. We all deserve to be ourselves in life, and to help everyone reach that amazing grace in life, a place where fear cannot grow.

Now, in a short story you know how a became to be. Where I go from here, only time will tell, but for now let’s enjoy the amazing present of life itself, let's all find our true self, let's all work to be the better version of today so we can apply it tomorrow, and, lets do it with respect, equality, humbleness, compassion and love. 

Let’s Think, Feel and Act on our dreams.