Chef Renda Ruiz keeps things jumping at The James 710

Published 6:40 am Wednesday, April 12, 2023

James 710 Chef Renda Ruiz has always had a knack for cooking, she said. Her first memories in the kitchen are of the comfort food her grandmother dished up and served.

“She made the best broccoli and cheese and mac and cheese,” Ruis said.

Born in New Orleans, Ruis moved to Central America and Honduras at age 5 and lived there until she was 15.

“We had a very big household, sometimes 10 or 15 people for dinner.That’s when I started taking on cooking duties. I was probably 13 and learning how to cook black beans and fry plantains.”

Here’s how she describes a plantain: “Imagine if a potato and a banana get married and have a child,” she said. “That’s your plantain, a starchy banana. The ripe ones are very sweet and the green ones are more like a chip.”

In April 2021, Ruiz helped open the James 710, located at 710 Dr. Michael DeBakey Drive. (James is the name of owner Ben Herrera’s grandfather.)

“The process started months before we opened, coming up with ideas about what we wanted on the menu. Then as a team, we tasted everything together, perfecting each dish and deciding which would stay and which would go,” she said.

James 710 patrons will see Ruiz’s influence throughout the menu. That includes the tacos with just-the-right-amount of heat and sweet in sauces used for the Baja, shrimp, yellowfin tuna and Monterrey tacos. Her favorite taco is the Monterey-style with brisket guajillo chili sauce, diced red onion, cotija cheese, cilantro and lime on a corn or flour taco.

The three best selling menu items at the James 710 are Crispy Brussels Sprouts with bacon vinaigrette, caramelized onions, lardons and Fuji apple; the Mahi Mahi Kabob with marinated, grilled pineapple, sweet pepper and red onion served with caribbean rice, bibb lettuce, jicama slaw, pico de Gallo, roasted salsa and three flour tortillas; and the pan-seared, corn-meal crusted Wild Idaho Rainbow Trout with creamy polenta, corn maque choux, Green Goddess and chili oil.

Ruis has been professionally cooking for eight years. She had her eyes on a formal education and decided against the culinary school route after a conversation with David Sorrells.

“He told me to get in good kitchens and learn,” she said. She was 27 and Calla was her first cooking gig, actually it was a stagiaire, which means trainee or intern in French. Sorrells is no longer there, but he left an impression on Ruis. She took his advice.

Her time in Central America is not the only influence on Ruiz’s food love. She travels, and Italy is one of her favorite dining destinations because the food is simple, but of the highest quality and the freshest possible ingredients.

“If I have to name the best meal I’ve ever eaten, I have to say it was in Rome. I had steak tartare and a pasta dish with clams, such integrity with ingredients, not complex, just the best cheese, best olive oil, best of everything available.”

Ruiz’s daughter Vesper is 9 and “super picky,” she said. As long as  her mother keeps bringing on the chicken nuggets and french fries, she’s a happy camper.