Meet the chef

A smiling woman wearing a Donald Duck apron in a restaurant with diners in the background.

CO-FOUNDER + EXECUTIVE CHEF

Chef Fernanda Reyes

From a family restaurant in Durango to international culinary competitions and TACO NACO KC, Chef Fernanda Reyes has spent more than 20 years learning, cooking and sharing the flavors of México.

Her approach is grounded in tradition, shaped by experience and always moving forward.

Two women having a conversation in a commercial kitchen; the woman on the left wears a pink and white striped shirt, an apron with colorful polka dots, and black gloves, holding a spoon; the woman on the right wears a black cap, glasses, and a black t-shirt with a blue graphic, listening attentively.

A NEW CHAPTER

Bringing It All To Kansas City

Chef Fernanda co-founded TACO NACO KC to share a broader expression of Mexican cooking with Kansas City.

Her menu reaches beyond familiar Tex-Mex combinations to explore regional preparations, slow-cooked guisados, stone-ground corn, chiles, moles, fresh salsas and dishes shaped by memory and experience.

Some flavors feel familiar. Others invite guests to try something new.

Every dish starts from the same place: respect for the food.

Two women preparing a chef-forward dish in a professional kitchen, with trays of sushi rolls and ingredients on the stainless steel counter.

LEADING THE NEXT GENERATION

Always Teaching.
Always Learning.

Chef Fernanda remains hands-on in TACO NACO KC’s kitchens.

She develops dishes, trains cooks, protects standards and encourages her team to understand the purpose behind each preparation. Her leadership is direct, energetic and rooted in the belief that people grow when they are given knowledge, expectations and opportunity.

Her journey is still unfolding: in the confidence of her team, the evolution of the menu and every guest discovering a new flavor.

A young Chef Fernanda Reyes as a little girl with a woman cooking on a traditional open stove with a large frying pan filled with beans or grains.

WHERE IT STARTED

Raised Around The Kitchen

Chef Fernanda’s culinary story began at age ten in her family’s restaurant in Santiago Papasquiaro, Durango, México.

She learned by watching, tasting and doing. Recipes were passed down through practice. Mistakes became lessons. Food brought people together.

Those early years gave her more than a love of cooking. They taught her to respect ingredients, understand technique and stay curious about why food tastes the way it does.

The kitchen became her first classroom—and she never stopped learning.

A young Chef Fernanda Reyes in a red HEB expo chef uniform and black hat is smiling and biting into a hot chili pepper, with a busy kitchen in the background.

LEARNING THE CRAFT

México Was Her Classroom

Chef Fernanda studied Gastronomy at the Instituto Culinario de México, Campus Monterrey, before continuing her education in business administration and food-and-beverage nutrition.

Her professional training took her through kitchens across México, where she encountered the country’s extraordinary range of ingredients, techniques and regional traditions.

That experience continues to shape her cooking today. Not as one fixed definition of Mexican food, but as a cuisine that is regional, personal and always alive.

Group of young chefs of Team Mexico in white uniforms and chef hats being photographed outside by media cameras featuring a young Chef Fernanda Reyes at an international culinary competition

FROM MÉXICO TO THE WORLD

Experience Without Borders

Chef Fernanda carried her Mexican foundation into kitchens and competitions beyond México.

While working in Dublin, Ireland, she gained experience with French, Italian and Spanish cuisines. Each taught her something different about technique, balance and restraint, and strengthened her appreciation for the food of her own country.

Wherever she cooked, México remained at the center.

Two people, a woman and a man dressed as a chef, holding large raw steaks on skewers and smiling. The woman is wearing sunglasses and has her tongue out, while the chef is wearing a tall white hat and white chef coat, both outdoors with greenery in the background.

HER APPROACH

Made Fresh.
Made Today.

Chef Fernanda believes that good cooking begins with good ingredients and disciplined preparation.

Salsas, marinades, guisados and other kitchen staples are prepared with care. Traditional methods provide the foundation. Creativity gives each dish its own point of view.

Her cooking is guided by four principles:

Honor The Roots
Understand the traditions behind the food before changing them.

Stay Curious
Keep tasting, questioning and learning.

Teach Through Action
Help the next cook understand not only what to do, but why it matters.

Cook With Purpose
Make every ingredient and every step count.

Chef Fernanda Reyes in a white cap and red apron smiling at a food counter at Taco Naco restaurant with other workers visible in the background.

Always Cooking,
Always Becoming

Today, Chef Fernanda continues to cook, teach and lead at TACO NACO KC. Her food is rooted in Mexico, shaped by experience and made to be shared.

For her, cooking is never finished. There is always more to learn, and always another taco to make.

INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION

From Competitor To Judge

Bronze Medal

2008 IKA Culinary Olympics · Germany

Chef Fernanda represented México on an international culinary stage and earned a Bronze Medal at the 2008 IKA Culinary Olympics.

Silver Medal

2010 Culinary World Cup · Luxembourg

Two years later, she earned a Silver Medal at the 2010 Culinary World Cup.

OFFICIAL JUDGE, Grill Master H-E-B

Sociedad Mexicana de Parrilleros

Years after competing internationally, Chef Fernanda was selected to serve on the official judging committee for Grill Master H-E-B, one of Latin America’s major grilling competitions.

As a judge, she evaluates competitors across flavor, texture, cooking technique and presentation using standardized competition criteria.

Being invited to compete is an achievement. Being trusted to evaluate other culinary professionals is a different kind of honor.

Decorative illustration with cacti, flowers, vegetables, and the words 'Vive la travesía de los sabores' and 'México' in colorful letters, promoting traveling through Mexican flavors.

MEXICAN GASTRONOMY ABROAD

Sello M

Under Chef Fernanda’s culinary leadership, TACO NACO KC received Sello M, an official distinction recognizing restaurants committed to promoting authentic Mexican gastronomy outside México.

The recognition reflects the recipes, ingredients, techniques and culinary knowledge behind the food served at TACO NACO KC.

For Chef Fernanda and her team, it is a meaningful acknowledgment of the Mexican traditions they share in Kansas City every day.

LEARN ABOUT SELLO M

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

  • Chef Fernanda Reyes is a Mexican chef, co-founder and executive chef of TACO NACO KC, a Mexican-owned and women-led taquería with three locations in the Kansas City area.

  • Chef Fernanda is from Santiago Papasquiaro in Durango, México. She began working in her family’s restaurant at approximately ten years old.

  • Chef Fernanda studied Gastronomy at the Instituto Culinario de México, Campus Monterrey. She later continued her education in business administration and food-and-beverage nutrition.

  • Chef Fernanda has more than 20 years of culinary experience in México, Europe and the United States.

  • Chef Fernanda earned a Bronze Medal at the 2008 IKA Culinary Olympics in Germany and a Silver Medal at the 2010 Culinary World Cup in Luxembourg.

  • Yes. Chef Fernanda has served on the official judging committee for Grill Master H-E-B, evaluating competition entries for flavor, texture, cooking technique and presentation.

  • Chef Fernanda is the co-founder, owner and executive chef of TACO NACO KC, an award-winning Kansas City taquería serving chef-made tacos and regional Mexican food.

  • Chef Fernanda specializes in Mexican cuisine. Her cooking combines regional Mexican recipes, traditional techniques, fresh ingredients and a modern creative perspective.

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