Chef Art Luna from Lenchita’s in Pacoima Shares his Culinary Expertise at LAMC

Chef Art Luna from Lenchita’s in Pacoima Shares his Culinary Expertise at LAMC 

When Art Luna was growing up in Pacoima, he used to walk from Sharp Elementary School directly to Lenchita’s on Van Nuys Boulevard at the end of each school day. He would be greeted by the chatter of diners of all ages, the aromas of traditional Mexican recipes – and by his family members, who have owned the bustling restaurant since 1977.

“Those were some of my earliest memories,” said Luna fondly about Lenchita’s, which was founded by his maternal abuelita (grandmother), Angelita Renteria. The restaurant, which Renteria named after one of her daughters, is known for its handmade corn tortillas and popular Mexican dishes, including carne asada, huevos rancheros, chiles rellenos and albondigas soup. 

“I remember asking my friends, ‘So, what restaurant does your family have?’ I thought everybody had a restaurant,” Luna said with a laugh, recalling his friends’ confused faces.

“I used to run amok there when I was a kid,” he added, describing it as a home away from home. 

Today that once rambunctious young boy from Lenchita’s is known as “Chef Luna.” He still lives nearby, in Sylmar, and like the old days, his mornings begin at school – but now it’s at Los Angeles Mission College, where he has been a culinary instructor for 20 years. 

For Luna, the biggest highlights of teaching are getting to introduce students to the basics of cooking, and witnessing – and guiding – the metamorphosis from novice to confident cook.

“I tell them, ‘You’re allowed to make mistakes here … so just have fun,” he said. “As they grow and then start to feel more confident in what they’re doing, that’s something I always enjoy.”

After teaching his classes, Luna heads to Pacoima – back to his familiar childhood stomping ground. But these days, Luna devotes more of his time and expertise next door to the restaurant, at his family’s new business endeavor: Lenchita’s Commercial Kitchen. It has five complete kitchens – with sinks, a freezer and other equipment and facilities required to adhere to regulations – which he rents out to catering companies or other businesses that need a safe and sanitary location to prepare a variety of meals.

The idea for the commercial kitchen came at the height of the pandemic when Lenchita’s, like so many restaurants, was struggling to stay afloat financially. His family turned to him for suggestions – Luna was the first member of his family to attend college and the first to receive formal culinary training, he explained. Because his family owned both the restaurant and the adjoining unused space next door, he knew it was the perfect opportunity to expand the family business into a new arena.

It took nearly three years to launch Lenchita’s Commercial Kitchen, recounted Luna, adding that the business is slowly starting to turn a profit. He hopes it can serve as a springboard for entrepreneurs who hope to someday establish their own brick-and-mortar restaurants.

 “We want to help people try out their dreams here,” said Luna. “I feel we’re filling a void that will help them [eventually] take that next step.”

A Reluctant Chef

Looking back, Luna said he never could have envisioned his current career trajectory.

When he was a teenager, Luna worked alongside his family at Lenchita’s – bussing tables and helping his uncles prepare ingredients and cut meats in the kitchen – but he wasn’t interested in learning how to cook back then, and he definitely wasn’t thinking about becoming a chef.

Despite his lack of early culinary ambitions, Luna does vividly recall one very special food memory from his youth at Lenchita’s – watching his grandmother make him corn tortillas. 

“I remember my grandmother literally making me a tortilla by hand, and it was nice and warm,” he said. “She put a little salt on it and squeezed it and said, ‘Here you go.’ It was the best.”

After graduating from San Fernando High School – and still undecided about a career path – he enrolled at LAMC, where he met one of the chefs, who recruited him to work in the kitchen. 

“When I met Chef Rudy Garcia, that’s when my whole career really started,” said Luna. Under his tutelage, he learned the fundamentals of cooking. After that, he knew he wanted to become a chef.

Luna attended Johnson & Wales University in Miami for his culinary training. Venturing out of state expanded not only his cooking expertise, it also broadened his previously limited palate. He became a classically trained chef and dabbled in a variety of international cuisines as well as local regional cooking, including Southern-style recipes, like fried chicken and collard greens.

“It was a culture shock for me,” he said, adding that he was even surprised by everyday staples. 

“My whole life, I was used to eating pinto beans and Mexican rice, but over [in Miami] they ate white rice and black beans. I thought, ‘Wow this is different’ – and I loved it,” said Luna. He also enjoyed getting to meet and “break bread” with people from many different parts of the world.

“That’s what I teach in my classes at Mission College,” he continued. “I tell my students to meet people and network – and to taste as many different types of foods as possible.”

Luna has also utilized Lenchita’s Commercial Kitchen to help train some of his students for cooking competitions – two of them won culinary scholarships totaling a combined $230,000.

“I feel really happy that they won,” he said. “Scholarships really help change lives.”

Food and Wine Festival

Luna, who relishes creating his own unique “twists” on classic recipes in his downtime at the commercial kitchen, will get to do just that for the upcoming San Fernando Valley Food and Wine Festival at LAMC on Saturday, April 27 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. The theme of this year’s festival will be “A Taste of Mexico City” and Luna will offer his version of Mexican-style pizza.

Although Luna doesn’t create new recipes for Lenchita’s, he still enjoys the Mexican comfort dishes they serve daily. While the plated meals “might not be Instagram-ready,” said Luna, to him – and to the loyal customers who for years have frequented his family’s restaurant – “They taste like home.”