Getting back to our roots
Our roots run deep and our genetic profile has been written by the histories of our ancestors. Our DNA acts as an unfinished book, filled with experiences passed from generation to generation.
This is why the wheat, the fruit trees, the aromas of the kitchens of the women of my family, working in the garden, kneading bread dough by hand, making cheese, taking care of the animals and creating new businesses all call to me.
All of these traditions and knowledge are what I try to transmit through my cooking.
My name is Luis Moyano Molina. I’m originally from Madrid, the son of María de las Mercedes from Medina del Campo in Castilla and Manolo from Córdoba in Andalucía. My cuisine is influenced by the flavors of Castilla, Andalucía and Murcia, and has been enriched by my own life experiences.
Who doesn’t dream of their mother’s or grandmother’s cooking? When I make certain recipes, all of those wonderful childhood memories are present in the kitchen.
Jerónimo Molina was my maternal great-grandfather. He emigrated to Blanca in Murcia because of the Great Depression of 1876-1896. He eventually settled in Medina del Campo in Castilla and expanded the family businesses from the cultivation and sale of fruit to include a variety of food-related businesses.
The women in my family who have been most influential and have truly given me a love of cooking belong to this branch of the family.
We are descendants of the Moors that lived in Blanca (Murcia). The whole family was involved in the production and sale of foodstuffs. By 1431, our ancestor Abrahim el Cachopo was selling wheat at the Almudí (grain market) in Murcia.
Now I live in Portland. My hope is to for people here to enjoy the flavors and traditions of my home.
My great-grandfather Jerónimo Molina with an advertisement for his business
First store and warehouse
My great-grandfather Jerónimo Molina with my great-grandmother Enriqueta and my grandmother Carmen
My grandfather Jesús Molina with my grandmother Carmen Molina and advertisement for their business
My father Manuel Moyano and my mother Mercedes Molina
Five Generations of the Molina women of my family: my great-grandmother Enriqueta, my grandmother Carmen, my mother Mercedes, my sister Ana and my nieces Lu lan and Martina
My grandmother Josefa´s kitchen in Córdoba, Spain
Photos of the family house and its surroundings
J.MOLINA 