Famous chef closes restaurant due to crime in Mexico

Claudia Albertina Ruiz Sántiz, of Tzotzil origin and born in San Juan Chamula, Chiapasis a famous chef considered among the 50 best in the world in 2021but now he faces a difficult decision to close his restaurant due to the high crime rate in Mexico.

The fierce violence that plagues several cities in the country reached Chiapas, a state where the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) fights a bloody battle once morest the Sinaloa Cartelin the face of collusion or inability of the authorities.

Chef Claudia Ruiz was recognized in 2021 on the prestigious list The World’s 50 Best as a young promise in international gastronomy.

In the same year, the magazine Forbes He considered her among the 100 most powerful women in Mexico and is part of Slow Foodan international movement that opposes the standardization of taste in gastronomy.

And the chef’s fame reached the screens, well Netflix invited her to participate in the series Iron chef: Mexicowhose first episode launched in September 2022.

However, following seven years of fulfilling his dreams, having your own restaurant offering traditional food with seasonal productsOn April 1, 2024, the famous chef will close the doors of her restaurant due to crime in Mexico, and March 31 is the last day she will provide service there.

What is the famous chef’s restaurant?

The restaurant is called Claudia Sántiz Restaurant and is located in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, which is now collapsing due to the presence of criminal groups in Chiapas, what caused the cancellation of reservations in the last week of March, during the Easter holiday period.

Related news: Mexico, world leader in “Criminal Markets”

“Unfortunately the state is going through a bad time, tourism has gone down, We have not been able to get up.

“We can no longer sustain the restaurant“In the week they began to cancel reservations, our space is aimed at national and foreign tourism.”

Criminal war drowns Chiapas

The day the Mayan Train derailedMonday, March 25, when the Easter holidays, in Chiapas a confrontation between criminal groups on the Tuxtla Gutiérrez-Ocozocoautla highway sectionin the images you can see burning and burned vans, the videos went viral on social networks, and caused tourists to cancel their visit.

To understand better: Who is “Güero Pulseras”, criminal leader of the Sinaloa Cartel in Chiapas?

However, the chef explains that the challenges she faced when operating the place were several, but three of them are: being a woman, being indigenous and young.

When making the space known to the places they offered to tourism, he explains that, when he said who the owner was, they preferred not to make any deal, so they also goes through discrimination and racism.

The chef said that although faced the Covid-19 pandemicbut The crisis of crime, violence and insecurity that Chiapas is experiencing exceeds all the previous difficulties.