On fire

MIKA LEON, Caja Caliente

WORK • Thursday Routine

MIKA LEON • chef, restaurateur, and content creator • Caja Caliente
Neighborhood you live in: Coconut Grove

It’s Thursday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
No Thursday is the same, except for the fact that I'm juggling a million things at once. I start my days going to Caja Caliente, a Cuban restaurant I own in Coral Gables, and making sure everything is set up for the day and that there are no fires to put out. I also create recipe videos and work with brands to develop content. If it's a filming day, I spend the morning preparing my kitchen and mise en place before my social media manager and I start shooting, usually around 11:30 a.m. I typically shoot around five to six recipe videos a day. I’ll wrap up around 5 p.m. and then it’s on to emails and calls until 8 p.m. 

What’s on the agenda for today? 
Working from home, getting myself organized for the next few weeks, and taking a few Zoom meetings. I’ll get recipes ready for client approvals and go through creative briefs with my manager. Then, I’ll plan outfits for upcoming shoots and business trips I have coming up. I’ll also send producers photos, releases, ingredient lists, and other necessary documents before taping. I’m writing down talking points and things I’ll need to avoid forgetting. If I have any downtime today, I’ll go for a walk around my neighborhood to unplug. 

Any bar or restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
I plan my weekends around food — lots of it. My go-to happy hour spot is Bar Taco in Coconut Grove on Friday after work. They have the best mezcal margarita I’ve had in Miami. Saturday morning after class at Mimi Yoga, I check out the Coconut Grove Farmers’ Market and then walk over to Grove Grover for all my cooking essentials. They have the best locally made bread, olive oils, beans and tinned fish. On Sundays, I like to walk over to Sadelle’s for bagels to go with a soft scramble I’ll make at home. On an ideal night, dinner is at Edan Bistro, my favorite Miami restaurant at the moment. The basque cheesecake is a must. 

How about a little leisure or culture?
I recently attended the Miami Open and enjoyed some local favorites like Omakai, Dos Croquetas, and Cheeseburger Baby. When I'm not working, I love being outdoors, and that’s usually spending time on Key Biscayne or Kennedy Park, where you can get the best lemonade slushy from the A.C.’s Icees truck. (Make sure to bring cash.)

Any weekend getaways? 
My recent weekend getaways have been to Colombia: Cartagena is always a good time and has the best island hopping (my favorite is Baru). While in Cartagena, I always go to La Cevicheria for fresh fish and Erre de Ramón Freixa for dinner. 

What was your last great vacation? 
I would definitely say Japan. I spent two weeks in Tokyo and Kyoto. Nothing compares to the food and culture over there. While in Tokyo, I really enjoyed the teamLab Planets exhibition, knife shopping on Kappabashi Street, and thrifting in the Shibuya area.