It’s not uncommon for a person to keep a hidden treasure a secret all to themselves. But in the case of Clandestino, I will gladly forgo my insider status and share this super cool underground supper club with the readers of this blog. Chef Efrain Cuevas is the mastermind behind the operation, so instead of fumbling words to explain what Clandestino is, read the mini-interview below.

smeeze: What is Clandestino and why was it created?
Efrain: Clandestino is a community dining project, a series of traveling dinner parties focused on sustainability, slow food practices, and community. It’s based on the underground supper club called The Ghetto Gourmet, which I worked with in Oakland, CA. It was created to provide an alternative to the fine dining restaurant that was accessible to anyone, not pretentious, and way more fun. Anyone could come and cook, eat, and help out in the kitchen. Clandestino is my interpretation of the original supper club, but tailored for diners and foodies in the city of Chicago.

smeeze: What was your inspiration to become a chef?
Efrain: Cooking started out as a hobby while I was in college, then later became an obsession. While I was working as a civil engineer in California, I was turned off by the whole engineering field and the corporate culture. I decided to turn my passion for food into my life’s work, and I knew I wanted to do this as soon as possible.

smeeze: Is there a certain appeal to keeping the supper club underground versus open to the public?
Efrain: There is definitely an appeal to the underground nature of the supper club, but once the word gets out, and it always does, then things have to be adjusted. I still keep the locations secret and reveal them a couple days before the event, but since I am also trying to grow my business, I have to make the experience more accessible to the general public.

smeeze: And lastly, random but not useless, Cubs or Sox fan?
Efrain: Sox! Although I’m currently a northsider, I lived in Bridgeport and Pilsen my first year in Chicago and loved it. Plus I can BBQ in the parking lot at the Sox games. Can’t do that at Wrigley.