Chef-Led Mentorship Brings Latin Entrepreneurs to Tequila
Chef Richard Sandoval recently led a cohort of Latin entrepreneurs on a three-day immersive retreat to Tequila, Mexico, as part of his Old Ways, New Hands mentorship program. The experience, hosted at Casa Salles hotel in partnership with El Tequileño tequila, blended business education with on-the-ground learning in Mexico's agave heartland.
Participants received one-on-one mentorship from Sandoval alongside workshops on brand building, digital marketing, and operations management. The retreat also included a distillery tour and tasting among the agave fields.
Broader Push for Latin Founder Support
Old Ways, New Hands is Sandoval's goal accelerator program designed to support the next generation of Latin chefs, creators, and restaurateurs across beverages, restaurants, and food trucks. The program offers business and culinary skill-building, drawing on Sandoval's experience operating 60+ locations across 4 continents and 13 countries.
Sandoval, the award-winning chef and hospitality operator, positions the initiative as a way to preserve and amplify Latin culture while equipping emerging entrepreneurs with practical tools for scaling their ventures.
Why It Matters
Mentor-driven founder programs remain rare in Latin food entrepreneurship. For independent operators and emerging multi-unit concepts, Sandoval's retreat model—pairing strategy workshops with cultural immersion and supplier relationships—offers a replicable template for how established hospitality leaders can build pipeline talent while strengthening their own ecosystem relationships.
---
For more insights and trends in the food and beverage sector, check out more articles in The Food & Beverage Magazine family of publications.
Written by FBM Publications Editors
