Making the switch from working in commercial kitchens to being a private chef required Arroyo Grande-based Dominique Benavidez to face a gritty truth about the industry, especially if she wanted to carve out a happier life for herself.

"In all honesty, I feel like a lot of the time, restaurants have a very bad use of drugs and alcohol, and I was headed down that direction," she said. "I'm really grateful for COVID because it taught me that I had a problem, and in order for me not to go back to that, I had to make some changes."

• Photos Courtesy Of Dominique Benavidez
• ASIAN INFLUENCE Benavidez loves cooking elevated versions of the Latin American food she grew up eating but also favors Asian-style fare like this grilled curry marinated shrimp with puffed rice paper and micro greens.

The bittersweet confrontation paved the way for something more pleasantly "sweet and sour"—Benavidez's very own private chef business Agridulce.

"Agridulce means 'sweet and sour,'" she said with a laugh. "I didn't want to go back to what I know, which is restaurants. I wanted to branch out on my own. My business coach and I came up with that name because of my personality. Sometimes I'm sweet; sometimes I'm sour."

After spending eight years in San Luis Obispo County as a chef for restaurants like Lido at Dolphin Bay, Oyster Loft, and Mason Bar, Benavidez tapped into the cuisine she grew up eating as the foundation for Agridulce. Ethnically Mexican, she was raised in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, and those influences along with a love of Asian cuisine pervade Benavidez's menus.

Her sold-out Latin-style brunch on Jan. 21 at Kindred Oak Farm in Paso Robles features pork chilaquiles, arepas, conchas, and horchata. The event treats diners to elevated versions of the humble homestyle fare she enjoyed as a child.

"We were really poor and the only thing that we ever were able to make was arepas," Benavidez said. "Arepas are made with corn flour and a corn broth; you form them into patties and fry them. Then, you can fill them with whatever you want. In this case, I'm doing chile colorado, which is beef in a red sauce."

• Photos Courtesy Of Dominique Benavidez
• EVOLVING DREAMS Le Cordon Bleu-trained Dominique Benavidez worked in the restaurant industry for years all over San Luis Obispo before becoming a private chef. She now hopes to add a small to-go pickup store to her business Agridulce.

Last summer, Benavidez plated arepita de langostas—lobster with diablo sauce, pickled onions, and cilantro lime aioli—at a backyard dinner event in Kindred Oak Farm. She showcased her passion for Asian food at the same event with a Thai prawn taco filled with grilled curried prawns, fried rice paper, and Thai chilies. Other creations include churro tacos, candied orange and caramel flan, and jackfruit tinga empanadas that come with habanero and mango salsa.

Benavidez's fascination with Asian cuisine was reflected in her first private chef dinner. She made duck ramen and shrimp spring rolls for two couples in SLO, and took a leaf out of her favorite chef's, David Chang, recipe book when it came to dessert.

"I got it from [his restaurant] Momofuku and he does this cereal milk panna cotta," she said. "I put Fruity Pebbles in milk and soaked them for one or two days and made a panna cotta out of that."

A graduate of Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Los Angeles, Benavidez does more than private dinners. She's "all over the place" from San Miguel to Santa Maria, with her food featuring in pop-ups, rehearsal dinners, and birthdays. She's also a resident chef at Kindred Oak Farm, and that partnership helped Benavidez build a strong client base.

• Photos Courtesy Of Dominique Benavidez
• SWEET AND PLAYFUL Her first private dinner for Agridulce included a panna cotta made with Fruity Pebbles-infused milk, and Benavidez keeps it creative with new versions like this matcha panna cotta with lime zest, whipped cream, and strawberries.

Old fans of Benavidez's cooking and those curious to taste it now have her Valentine's Day dinner to look forward to. Eighteen people quick and lucky enough to grab tickets can enjoy a three-course dinner at Black Market Cheese Co. that will feature lobster tails with scallop stuffing, hanger steak with risotto, and a miso caramel ice cream with chocolate cake and nori flakes made by Benavidez and Kelpful's Jules Marsh.

Then on March 3, Benavidez will team up with Symbiosis Wines to create a five-course Latin American dinner paired with local wines. There's no end in sight for Benavidez and her three-person team at Agridulce, and she has ambitions for the business to soar further.

"I want to start a small to-go pickup spot down here in Arroyo Grande," she said. "That's my main focus right now and I'm hoping to start one next year."

Until then, Benavidez juggles her private events with mastering the dish she envisioned when she opened Agridulce. It's also the one she enjoys eating the most: aguachile.

"It's a chili water base with raw shrimp and cucumbers and onions. It's one dish I want to perfect!" she said with a laugh. "I think perfecting the flavors make it difficult because you want to keep it traditional but also you want to modernize it to showcase my talents and flavor profile." Δ

Staff Writer Bulbul Rajagopal hopes to grab aguachile to-go from Agridulce's future pickup store. Send patience to [email protected].