HOW DO YOU DJABLO?

As a music student in his twenties, my dad played guitar during dinner service at a French Restaurant called “Terrace in the Sky” in Morningside Heights. It was at this very restaurant that he met my mother, who teamed up with him to play violin and guitar duets.

After hours the head chef, Dusan Bernic, a Yugoslav-born refugee and owner of the restaurant invited my dad into the kitchen to learn arts and mysteries of food preparation. He taught my dad the restaurant’s signature Beef Wellington with caviar lined pastry,  and revealed the most delicious cuts of meat were the cheap cuts on the ends. 

Pairing these skills with his experience as the 13th of 14 siblings, my dad started to experiment with stretching a dollar to entertain his loved ones. Over family holidays, he started to develop signature dishes and flavors that joined his Southeast Asian roots and his newly acquired techniques.

We love the idea of how our stories can be told through our cooking, and those stories are a part of the recipe that makes us special and extraordinary. In addition to sharing ideas and recipes using Djablo Sauce, we can’t wait to share the stories behind our dishes.