WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — For Ezequiel Martinez, creating dishes at Wildflowers New York Bistro in Plains Township is the American dream. His co-workers call him chef, and that's been his dream since he was a child living in Mexico City.
"I came over for a better life; that's why I came here," Martinez said.
But his first job at Wildflowers wasn't over the stovetop.
"My first job was with dishes, so I go to the restaurant, and I love to cook," he added.
The chef says cooking helped with the homesickness, pushing him to take any job that let him stay in the kitchen.
"When you don't like to cook, you don't learn nothing. But when you love to cook, like me, it takes like a week," Martinez explained.
Martinez worked day in and day out to perfect every recipe on the menu. That drive is felt by his co-workers.
"I look at his face when he's cooking his food, and it's like he's so excited all the time. Like it's definitely his passion," said Mike Blackmon, a bartender at Wildflowers.
Martinez wants to share that passion in a special way with all his customers. It's not just a meal but a full dining experience.
"The customers like lobster, like seafood, like pastas because they like to eat something fancy," he said.
Chef pampers the guests and their tastebuds with the flavors of high-class dining, which he says is the best part of his job.