Edgar Torres
Vecino | Detroit, MI
July 2025
Edgar Torres decided to become a chef because of his grandmother. During his childhood in Mexico City, he loved to watch the way her food brought their family together. After attending culinary school in Cancún, he had a few brief stints, opening a trattoria and cooking on a cruise ship, before he got his first serious cooking gig.
Torres moved to Dubai to work for luxury hotel group Oberoi, where he learned about managing inventory and systems. Once his contract ended, he moved back and forth between New York and Mexico until landing in Chicago at Chef Grant Achatz’s Alinea. There, he learned what it meant to push—both beyond the perceived limitations of what food can be and beyond what one can accomplish. Torres stepped up to the plate, working his way from commis to chef de cuisine, and carving out a niche for what he thought was the terminus of his career. That is, until he met Vecino’s owners, Luke Wietrzynski and Adriana Wietrzynski-Jimenez, and they brought him onboard.
At the helm of the Midtown Detroit restaurant, Torres is hard at work, improving alongside his staff, and teaching cooks and diners alike about heritage Mexican cuisine through dishes like sikil pak with hoja santa oil and crudité. At the center of it all, Torres has cultivated a culture of mentorship and patience with his staff, using curiosity as a vehicle for education and leadership in the kitchen.
