Meet Romain And Magali Azria

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Romain And Magali Azria. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Romain and Magali below.

Hi Romain and Magali, so excited to talk about all sorts of important topics with you today. The first one we want to jump into is about being the only one in the room – for some that’s being the only person of color or the only non-native English speaker or the only non-MBA, etc Can you talk to us about how you have managed to be successful even when you were the only one in the room that looked like you?

As French natives, opening a Tacos restaurant in California was a challenge, as we don’t have the Hispanic knowledge that characterizes this South American specialty.
We are developing a new concept called “Gourmetacos”: we are using flour tortillas but are not offering any of the South American recipes. Instead, we are proposing recopies from France, Italy, Korea, Morocco, USA,…
So some customers were declining our offer when they realized there is not Carne Asada, beans or Guacamole, which can be frustrating, but the ones who gave us a try usually loved it, and are returning customers. Mexican natives are even so enthusiastic about how we are subliming their tortillas, and we now have 5 stars on google, so our tenacity is family rewarded!

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

We are owners of a restaurant named “Gourmetacos “. And are offering a new concept: tacos with anything but South American recipies. We are cooking every order on demand, are only using fresh products, organic as much as possible, for a reasonable price point: Menu combo starts at $12)

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Obviously The most important quality is your passion for cooking and service,It is different to love to cook for six person then peel potatoes for 15 servings…so have to be passionate.
Second, to make a difference you always need to do an extra step to satisfy your customers:free drink times to times, remember their favorite dishes,…
Also You’ll have to stay very clean, organized and rigorous: follow the sanitary rules in place and making sure you never forget anything in term of grocery shopping, packaging, cleaning products,…

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?

We would love to open more places that it is very hard to find one taking care of your business as you are doing when it is your own… we would need somebody with an amazing sense welcoming and listening, and always ready to go behind what the customer is asking. The cooking part is obviously the most important. As a chef, it is always challenging to be sure that your successor will have the same way of cooking then you, even with some detailed recipes.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Gourmetacos
• Facebook: Gourmetacos PEARBLOSSOM
• Yelp: Gourmetacos

Image Credits

All our pictures:)