Family roots, respected kitchens, and a taco shop built with intention.

With a deep family history of cooking, Gabriel Sanudo began his culinary journey working in his family's restaurant in Mexico City and later at a second location in Cancun. His grandmother, Julieta, was the matriarchal chef of the family and the inspiring force behind both the family restaurants and his love of food.

After moving from Cancun back to Mexico City, Gabriel went from cooking traditional Mexican food to honing his chef skills and learning conventional Japanese fare at his cousin's restaurant, Mukyu.

Gabriel emigrated to the United States with his family at 20 years old. He started at the snack bar at Meridian Hills Country Club and moved up the ranks to become head chef. After eight years there, he left to focus on slow food and small local restaurants, working at Black Market on Mass Ave in 2018 and later as chef of Milktooth while he and Esteban brought Julieta to life. Julieta opened in July 2023.

Growing up in northern Indiana, Esteban Rosas was raised on traditional Mexican food and everything made by hand by his mother, Yolanda, who also works at Julieta.

Esteban graduated from culinary school at the Art Institute of Indianapolis in 2013 and started at Cerulean, a modern farm-to-table restaurant in downtown Indianapolis. After a year as sous chef, he moved into a new sous chef position at Rook with Chef Carlos Salazar.

In 2018, he became the chef of Black Market restaurant on Mass Ave until COVID forced its closure in late 2020. While planning Julieta with Gabriel, Esteban worked as chef of Milktooth until the taco shop opened in July 2023.