Taleo Mexican Grill, 3309 Michelson Drive Irvine, CA 92612, (949) 553-9002 

The People of Taléo

On The Floor – Our Staff

Our staff is extraordinary. When interviewing, we look for experience, but hire for chemistry. With team-based service, everyone must work well together and anticipate each others’ needs in addition to those of our guests. It’s a lot of work, and a lot of fun. We hope you sense that when you visit Taléo.

Through a random sampling of about 10% of our staff (kitchen, bartender, server and greeter) our high opinion was confirmed. In that group, all had college experience, half are graduates and the other half are currently enrolled in college courses. One is an optometrist. Half of the group have aspirations for a restaurant or food industry career, someone wants to be an EMT, another an event planner, the others are undecided.

Almost all are California native; one from Mexico; one from Ohio. These seven people collectively speak seven different languages! We have a poker fanatic, a DJ, surfers, rock climbers and dancers. When asked what he liked the most on the Taléo menu, one associate thoughtfully wrote down every item on the menu. In this small group are 55 years of restaurant experience, approximately 8 years per person. That is an extraordinary statistic – they could work anywhere; they choose to work here delivering the best food and the best service to you.

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Management Profiles

Nic Villarreal President and CEO

“Growing up, I had no idea that what I experienced at our family table was anything special. I remember Sundays. I’d wake up to the smells of barbacoa and the sounds of lids bouncing on bubbling pots of spiced pinto beans. We’d all go to church, come home, and the ten of us would jam around a breakfast table eating simply the best home-style Mexican food. Family recipes handed down for who knows how long. Techniques that were so second nature they couldn’t be taught. With Taléo, I’d like to bring a little of that to our guests. A family sensibility, real traditional Mexican cooking that doesn’t cut corners, and a warm atmosphere where you know you are appreciated. That was really my personal goal in opening this restaurant.”

Nic Villarreal, President and CEO, started in restaurants as a busboy and server when he was 18. Just three years later he opened his first restaurant, Via Real Gourmet Mexican. While he sold the restaurant a few years later, it remains open today, a popular landmark dining establishment with the menu relatively unchanged.

After twenty years of learning from both large, established chain restaurants and smaller, independent eateries, Nic felt he earned what he calls a “masters degree in restaurateuring” and was ready to try his original concept with more flare and richness. The idea of Taléo was born. With the support of a few local investors, the restaurant is open today. While Taléo upholds tradition, it also celebrates a modern approach to the presentation of Mexican food and to the management of the restaurant staff.

Nic is on the Board of Directors for Latino Health Access. LHA assists in improving the quality of life and health of uninsured, under-served people through quality preventive services and educational programs, emphasizing full participation in decisions affecting health. To learn more, visit LHA's website.

Jose Acevedo, Manager-Research & Development

“I've often told the story of how I would search for recipes, turn pages and pages in cook books, study and experiment in the kitchen, just to have Jose walk in and say, ‘Oh no, this is how it’s done.’ And he was always right,” said Nic when recalling his reasons for making Jose Acevedo Taléo’s Kitchen Manager. “He intuitively knows what he is doing. And his confidence is unshakeable.”

Jose came to Taléo after 17 years in major chain restaurants. His career started off as a chef at Villarey de Mendosa Hotel in Michoacan, Mexico. But his love for cooking and all things culinary started long before. “I remember watching my mother cook,” he said, “the most beautiful dishes and always so simple. She is my inspiration.” He started cooking at six years old and remembers stirring pots of beans and helping his mother with mole. Many of Jose’s family recipes have found their way to the Taléo menu: the frijoles charros, the nopalitos, puree de papas, the carnitas, and beef ribs. “I’m so happy when people like my food. It makes me work harder to make the food even better.”

Jose grew up in Mexico City, the son of a very accomplished butcher. At 12 years old, he started working in his father’s butcher shop. His father had the best carnitas in the city and passed the technique on to Jose. What makes carnitas difficult to execute is timing the introduction of the sugar-salt-water-herb solution to the hot oil in which the pork is cooked. When done properly, the carnitas will have a tender, moist interior and be a crispy, carmelized, deep golden brown on the exterior—something Jose gets right every time. His other specialty includes slow roasting beef ribs, the meat used in Taléo’s enchiladas.

Jose summed up his approach to cooking: “My mother and grandmother showed me how simple dishes are always the most flavorful. They really taught me that simple is best. Let the food speak for itself.”