Chef ernest cervantes biography of william

At first glance, Ernest Servantes appears to be holding court in the back of his Seguin smokehouse. Bright red suspenders pop against the serape flag printed on his T-shirt, his hands are folded just below the bold white font declaring him “Texican,” and the fedora perched on his head falls just above his black-rimmed glasses.

You’d never guess he’s been up all night cooking, only just now enjoying a brief period of sold-out silence before heading to a catering.

And there’s no rest for his two massive custom-made offset smokers, slowly infusing meat with layers of sweet mesquite in preparation for Sunday brunch service.

These two hardworking beauties are named after his two grandmothers, Melia and Belia. 

“They’re my inspiration to cook. So whenever I want to give up, I’m staring at these pits, and I see their names,” says Servantes, “I know they have my back, and I can’t fail.”

Servantes opened the Burnt Bean Co.

in downtown Seguin in October, after a