Manny Barella left his home in Monterrey, Mexico, about 14 years ago to pursue his dream of becoming a chef. He’s lived in more than a dozen cities across the country, and worked in some of the top kitchens like Napa, California’s Michelin-rated Solage Resort, and Sea Island Resort in Sea Island, Georgia. 

That journey was also full of ups and downs. As for the highs, Barella has secured his name as one of Denver’s most recognizable chefs, competing on Top Chef in 2024 and opening Riot BBQ in southwest Denver, which took over for the Michelin-recommended AJ’s BBQ after its owner failed to pay taxes for his employees. 

But the lows were just as impactful. There have been multiple days where Barella says all he can think about is being at home in Monterrey with his mother and friends, sharing one of his favorite desserts, carlota de límon. 

“It’s not easy,” Barella said about being an immigrant chef. “Not just the sad parts of the story, but about the challenges we overcome on the way here.” 

Barella is one of 17 immigrant chefs representing 10 different countries featured in a recent cookbook published by Cocina Libre, a storytelling initiative created by Denver University professor Dr. Julia Roncoroni. Cocina Libre, which translates loosely to “free kitchen,” is an organization that provides cooking classes, community workshops, and keynote addresses for people to engage with Denver’s immigrant culinary culture. 

Roncoroni started Cocina Libre in 2024 with an idea to create a cookbook and a documentary about the experiences of immigrant chefs in Denver. Since then, the organization has sold more than 850 copies of its cookbook, held 19 public events, and engaged thousands of Denverites in public events highlighting the culture of immigrant chefs in the Mile High City. Cocina Libre’s books have also become best-sellers on Amazon and are available at local bookstores like Tattered Cover. 

Cocina Libre published its second cookbook, titled “Sazón & Liberation,” in September, and held a book launch party at the Mile High Spirits Tasting Room on Lawrence Street. More than 100 people attended the launch, including all 17 chefs featured in the book. 

“We made it happen because the community showed up,” Rincoroni said. 

“Immigrant chefs and cooks consistently persevere”

“Sazón & Liberation” was published at a time when immigrant labor was being exploited in Denver and across the U.S., chef Erasmo Caisano wrote in the book’s foreword. “Even as immigrants are being portrayed in negative lights, the flavors and presentations are being commodified and celebrated,” he wrote. 

According to research from the Colorado Fiscal Institute published earlier this year, immigrants make up 11.5% of Colorado’s workforce and 15% of the state’s business owners. Immigrants also create more than $42 billion for the state’s GDP, or about 10% of the state’s overall GDP. 

“When immigrants move to Colorado, they drive economic growth,” the CFI report explains. “This expansion doesn’t take away jobs from U.S.-born residents; rather, it creates more opportunities by bringing in new consumers, workers, and business owners.”

Even so, immigrants in Colorado still face significant challenges ranging from employer wage theft to discrimination. CFI estimates that more than $700 million in wages are stolen by employers each year, with industries that rely on immigrant labor, like hospitality and construction, being the worst offenders. 

Moreover, some employers use the threat of deportation to withhold wages from immigrant employees. This threat has become more ominous as President Donald Trump’s administration seeks to deport as many as 11 million immigrants from the U.S. by the end of his term. Immigration arrests in the Denver metro area have quadrupled under Trump, according to data from the Deportation Data Project, with nearly 30,000 arrests happening as of late July. 

The federal government is also putting pressure on employers that hire immigrants. In April, Immigration and Customs Enforcement levied $8 million in fines against Denver-area businesses that illegally hired immigrant workers. 

The Trump administration’s efforts caused Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser to issue a warning to employers in August that retaliating against immigrant workers for filing wage theft complaints or because of their immigration status is illegal. 

“Immigrant chefs and cooks consistently persevere in the face of systems that diminish their humanity–systems marked by racism, unfair labor practices, and erasure of culture,” Casiano wrote. “Yet, despite these challenges, they bring forth beauty, flavor, and joy through their craft. Their food serves as a living form of storytelling, one that resists silence and endured through the shifting tides of history.” 

Building a legacy

Despite the difficulties of coming to the U.S., chef Byron Gomez says immigrants who are already here have a responsibility to help those who come after them. 

Gomez, who is the owner and partner of Michelin-star-winning Brutǿ in downtown Denver, said he has been using his platform to lobby Congress to pass the Dignity Act, legislation that would provide undocumented immigrants a pathway towards citizenship without fear of arrest or deportation. 

“I have a responsibility to use my platform not just to cook, but to create a legacy,” Gomez said. “The worst thing that could happen is one day I wake up and say, ‘I woulda, coulda, shoulda, did something.’”

Barella shares Gomez’s sentiments. 

“If we can make it easier for the next generation of cooks and chefs to make it to the U.S., that’s how you build a legacy,” he said.