Our Gang

Chef Diana Dávila's relationship to food started long before it was ever framed as a career. It lives in memory and muscle. Helping her abuelita Cruz make flour tortillas at six years old, prepping pigs' feet for cueritos as a kid, working in her family's taquería by twelve. Those moments weren't training in the formal sense, but they built the foundation for everything that followed. Over time, that foundation sharpened in professional kitchens, including at Boka, where she credits Giuseppe Tentori with refining her understanding of clean flavors, composition, and hospitality. Still, the throughline has remained the same. Food as memory, as connection, as something that holds both history and possibility at once.

Her work is driven by a constant push forward, but it is grounded in reflection. She describes what makes her who she is as a balance of creative instinct and a deep respect for the past, using both to shape what comes next through food, art, and relationships. That perspective carries into how she moves day to day. When she is not working, she is still building, whether that looks like spending time with family, managing the rhythms of home, reading about the universe, or mapping out her next creative idea. There is no real separation between life and work, only different expressions of the same energy. In the kitchen, her tools are straightforward but essential. A knife, a spoon, a Vitamix. The fundamentals, executed with precision and intention.

There is also a sense of joy that anchors everything. The standard she holds herself to is not framed around pressure or perfection, but presence. Be happy, be engaged, recognize that life is beautiful even in the middle of the work. That outlook extends into how she thinks about the experience she creates for others. Whether it is a dish, a gathering, or a full room, the goal is simple. People should feel something. They should enjoy it. She speaks about food with both pride and care, referring to her dishes as if they were her children, each one carrying its own identity. Outside of the kitchen, that same energy shows up in the way she imagines her ideal environment. Surrounded by friends and family, music playing, near water, a fire going, something cooking. It is less about spectacle and more about feeling. At its core, Chef Diana's work is about creating those moments, rooted in culture, driven by creativity, and built to be shared.

Gustavo Ocampo didn't come up through a traditional pipeline, and he's the first to tell you that. He got into kitchens because his parents told him to get a job. That first role was at a golf course when he was still in high school, cooking straightforward American food, learning by doing, and getting pulled into banquets as people started to notice he could handle more. What stuck wasn't the job itself, it was the idea that every move needed to be a step forward. When someone told him he couldn't become a chef without a degree, he took that personally, went to school, and kept moving anyway. Since then, his path has been anything but linear. Construction, asphalt work, and eventually farming and ranching, where he and his father built out a six-acre property in Kankakee from the ground up. That stretch, working alone, handling animals, and figuring things out in real time, shaped how he operates more than anything that happens on a line.

In the kitchen, that background shows up as composure under pressure. Gustavo gravitates toward the controlled chaos of service, where dozens of things are happening at once but the expectation is still precision. No shortcuts, no excuses, just doing things the right way because that is the standard. His approach to tools reflects that mindset. He values specificity, whether it is a well-made knife from a local maker or a set of tweezers that serve a single purpose, but he will tell you the most important tool is his ability to think clearly when everything is moving. His food preferences track with who he is. Straightforward, rooted, and satisfying. Right now he leans toward dishes like carnitas with fermented adobo, chiles, and handmade tortillas, flavors that feel familiar and complete without needing to be overworked.

Outside of work, Gustavo keeps things simple. He rides his bike when the weather allows, listens to corridos, and spends time checking out Chicago's growing bakery scene when he can, even if his schedule rarely lines up. He reads cookbooks, watches how other people approach food, and stays curious without overcomplicating it. He is not chasing fine dining for the sake of it. He would rather have a well-made sandwich than an expensive tasting menu. That same clarity shows up in how he sees the work. Hospitality is about creating an experience, not just serving food, and he is clear that respect runs both ways. At the center of it all is a straightforward motivation. Be around good food, be around good people, and do the work the right way every time.

Yari Morales, known to most as Yadi, approaches the bar with the mindset of someone who is constantly building on momentum. She started in restaurants at 17 while still in school, initially on a different track, but made a deliberate shift once she realized the medical field was not where she wanted to be. Since around 2021, she has committed to hospitality full-time, growing into her role as bar manager with a perspective that blends creativity with intention. She describes herself as ambitious in a way that is forward-looking rather than fixed, someone who reaches a milestone and immediately starts thinking about what comes next. That drive is balanced by a strong sense of empathy. She pays close attention to the people around her, absorbing energy, feedback, and reactions, and translating that into how she shows up and what she creates. Behind the bar, that means drinks that are not only reflective of her own palate but also shaped by the people she is serving, with an emphasis on making others feel comfortable and considered.

Her approach is both technical and intuitive. She values precision, relying on tools like a scale to ensure consistency, while also leaning into more tactile elements like blending and texture. Outside of work, she is intentional about staying inspired. She spends time going to the movies, trying new restaurants and coffee shops, and being around friends, all of which feed directly back into her work. For Yadi, inspiration is not separate from her day-to-day life, it is embedded in it. What ultimately defines her is her ability to find joy in small moments and carry that into everything she does. Whether she is refining a drink, taking in a new space, or spending time with people she cares about, there is a clear throughline of curiosity and care that shapes both her process and her presence.

Kev moves through the room with a kind of momentum that feels intentional. At 28, first-generation with roots in Durango and El Salvador, he grew up as the oldest of four, figuring things out in real time for himself and his family. That sense of responsibility shows up in how he works, but it is balanced by something else entirely. He is deeply shaped by music and pop culture, pulling inspiration from artists like Lady Gaga and David Bowie, people who built identities on their own terms and carried that through the mainstream. He operates with a similar instinct. Restless in a productive way, always looking for what is next, whether that is in his career or just in how he moves through a day. There is a clear need for both connection and distance. He thrives in social environments, but just as intentionally carves out time alone to reset, whether that is biking through the city, working out, or staying in with his cat, Chloe.

His path into hospitality came after years in a call center, where the work was steady but impersonal. Doing that through COVID clarified something for him. He missed people, not just interacting with them, but actually engaging. Restaurants offered that back. He started as a busser, quickly realizing he was better suited to the front, and worked his way into a role where he now wears multiple hats as a front manager, host, and event coordinator. For Kev, the job is less about tasks and more about energy. He sees people as the core tool of the work, both the team and the guests, and credits that dynamic with pushing him to show up even when he is not at his best. That feedback loop, giving energy and receiving it back, is what keeps him invested.

There is a strong sense of self-awareness in how he approaches both life and work. He knows what fuels him and what drains him. He is not interested in staying stagnant, whether physically, mentally, or emotionally, and that shows up in the way he evolves within his role. At the same time, there is a groundedness in what he values. Simple things done well. A side of black beans he stands behind without hesitation. A fish taco that delivers every time. The throughline is consistency paired with personality. Kev is someone who brings both, not by forcing it, but by leaning into who he already is.