Chef Donnie Masterton: Turning San Miguel De Allende Into One Of México’s Favorite Food Cities

By Susan Knight York

There are many reasons why Chef Donnie Masterton is at the top of his game, leading San Miguel de Allende into the ranks of one of México’s favorite food cities. Eighteen years ago, nobody was booking flights to San Miguel just to eat, but a funny thing finally happened when artists arrived, writers, weekenders from México City and others travelers who were captivated by San Miguel’s mix of visual beauty and creative energy that felt somewhat inseparable from everyday life.

It isn’t about opening a single, great restaurant, it was about raising the standard across the board; something Chef Donnie Masterton began doing long before anyone else saw where San Miguel de Allende was actually headed.

When I came in 2013, I could count on one hand the number of restaurants I ate at. I went from over 8,000 restaurants in Chicago down to about 275. There were a few really good restaurants like The Restaurant and Hansen’s, a scattering of hotel dining rooms like Matilda and even some good street food, but far too many restaurants played it safe, and San Miguel was still searching for its culinary identity. Before 2012, food events would come and go, but nothing had truly shifted the city’s culinary direction. In many ways, San Miguel’s rise as a food destination can be traced back to a simple 2012 pop-up hosted by Chef Donnie Masterton and Tacolicious founder, Joe Hargrave; it was a first.

Casa Dragones, a small batch, handcrafted luxury tequila brand with its spiritual home in San Miguel, was rated by Wine Enthusiast at 96/100; the magazine’s highest tequila rating. Then, in 2013, Conde Nast Traveler named San Miguel #1 city in the world, and that changed everything. That same year, Chef Donnie Masterton, along with Angela Lewis Serrano, started a popular food festival, Sabores San Miguel. There were two major food festivals by 2015, becoming one of the most talked-about food cities in México. Even Andy’s, the infamous taco cart on Insurgents and Hidalgo, was written up by the Wall Street Journal in 2014. Chef Matteo Salas also arrived on the scene to head up the kitchens at Aperi, offering San Miguel’s first and only Chefs table.

In 2016, La Doña owner, Billy Mervin, opened Mercado Centro, offering a choice of 27 restaurants all in the same place. The food scene was officially booming by then and when it came time to expand, Chef Donnie Masterton defined fast food San Miguel style, by opening Birdie’s Burgers and Taco Lab in the new Doce 18 – a food, fashion and design center - followed by El Vergel Bistro and Market, Café Casa Blanca, Fatima 7 and Bar at the R.

Before all of these restaurants opened, Chef Donnie Masterton launched his signature restaurant 18 years ago, The Restaurant, and in 2026 he took over Barrica de Fuego within Viñedos de Los Senderos. San Miguel is just starting to see all the positive changes now.

Chef Donnie Masterton has collaborated with a list of chefs that reads like the who’s who of culinary elite: Enrique Olvera, Eduardo García, Elena Reygadas, Alejandro Ruiz, Roberto Solís, Rene Redzepi, Christian Herrera, Drew Deckman, Matteo Salas, Javier Plascencia and Jeremiah Tower - a few of over 75 chefs he’s teamed up with over the years. Being a chef at Outstanding in the Field and Coachella and a judge on Top Chef fine-tuned him into a superstar chef with a big, international following.

If you’re looking for the single thread that runs through the kitchens in San Miguel, Chef Donnie Masterton is it. Chef Masterton has been the Maestro to just about every chef, front of the house and waiter in town, many who came through The Restaurant. “From the very beginning, my goal has been to create a space where people feel safe, supported and excited to learn. To see how so many lives have been impacted positively is something I’m incredibly grateful for,” Donnie recently said.

Front of the House wine wizard, Jorge Corona, is now the General Manager at Bocaciega, having worked at most of Chef Masterton's restaurants during his long career. Chef Masterton has mentored chefs like J.J. Castaneda, Gabriel Ordoñez, Magda Elisa Pablos, a trio of chefs at Pismo Baja: Chucho Vázquez, Joe Elbaca and Gibrán Delgadillo and many other chefs who have gone on to successful culinary ventures of their own. If you’re admiring the photographs in this article, send all your love and admiration to San Miguel’s best: Nicolas De Panam, Juan Carlos Sedano, Sean Reagan (Jerry Rife was on vacation) and Gunther Maier who all took the challenge and did some reality shots on how they see Donnie as a chef. The results are a series of beautifully revealing images that capture the intensity, creativity and presence behind the man who helped build culinary San Miguel.

What makes San Miguel different from many other food cities is that the chef community here still feels personal, part of a larger conversation constantly pushing the city forward. The strongest culinary communities are built by chefs willing to share knowledge, create opportunities, and invest in others. That has been central to Chef Masterton’s role in San Miguel from the very beginning.

Chef Donnie Masterton’s next chapter is Let the Kids Cook, the culinary organization he launched this year - a project that helps young people who have the passion but not the means. It will provide educational and career grants supporting culinary schools, hospitality programs and professional training.

Let the Kids Cook will also provide mentorship and intern programs; a rite of passage that’s important to Chef Masterton since Chef Patrick Clark took him under his wing when he was just 19 – first at Metro in Manhattan’s Upper East Side, then Bice in Beverly Hills, the Hay-Adams Hotel in Washington D.C. where, during the Clinton era, Chef Clark was offered the position of White House Chef but turned it down because, as he joked, the salary wasn’t enough for a family of five and then at Tavern on the Green in New York City where Chef Donnie Masterton was Chef de Cuisine.

Chef Patrick Clark passed away in 1998, but his influence on Chef Masterton has stayed with him every day; a beautiful tribute to the man who opened doors and changed the course of his life, both personally and professionally.   

Let the Kids Cook is currently partnering with UTSMA through scholarships, mentorships, internships and real-world opportunities. Under the direction of President, Jenny Reichert, who at 36, is one of the youngest female professionals to head up an NGO in San Miguel; part of a new generation of nonprofit leadership. She recently said, “My priority this year is to help build the foundation we need for lasting impact. That means creating clear goals, strong partnerships and sustainable systems that allow us to support students in meaningful ways.”

Chef Masterton has been the architect of San Miguel’s culinary scene for nearly two decades, so Let the Kids Cook is how the story continues. Stay tuned… it will undoubtedly become another much-loved chapter in Chef Donnie Masterton’s remarkable story.

Susan Knight YorkWriter/ Food Photographer

Published in México in: Food and Travel México, This Magazine, México Desconocido and International Living

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