PHOTO CREDIT: JULIA ROSE PHOTO
Monica “Mika” Leon, has been cooking since she was old enough to hold a whisk; with her mother and grandparents all in the restaurant industry, becoming a Chef was in her blood! Since 2015, Leon has been the chef and owner of Caja Caliente, known for having the best taco in all of South Florida. With all the success and love from her followers, Leon is sharing her secrets on her new website! Collecting recipes and reinventing new ones, Leon decided it was finally time to share her passion for food with the world!
After months of cooking until 3 a.m. and writing down notes on every sticky note she could find, the website is launching on Monday, October 26! At www.mikaleon.com, visitors can subscribe to Leon’s page and never miss what’s next. Find delicious creations like vegan picadillo, healthy pumpkin muffins, curry chicken salad, flourless chocolate cake and more. RUN, don’t walk! Leon, has appeared on various tv shows like Beat Bobby Flay and Guy’s Grocery Games on the Food Network, where she showcased her talents as a chef. During quarantine she created a Cooking Instagram Live named “Casa Caliente” to connect and also remain creative during the pandemic, the response was beautiful and overwhelmingly positive!
“When I started to see people making my dishes and replicating my recipes in their homes it brought this overwhelming feeling of joy and it made me feel alive again. I started to see customers, friends and strangers really get into the kitchen and it just made me fall in love with recipe development and my art all over again. With so many of us now at home and cooking a lot more I saw that there was a demand for it, “ said Chef Mika Leon.
Merging her passion for food, cooking, and her family, Leon founded Caja Caliente and started her restaurant via food truck in April of 2016. The first Caja Caliente truck was a tiny truck serving up tacos on a 2-foot grill located in Wynwood. She slowly expanded to opening right next door in a larger truck with an outdoor seating setup ready to serve the masses. Leon brought her Cuban tacos and fan favorites dishes to Coral Gables in brick and mortar fashion in 2019, quickly becoming a local favorite serving up lunch, happy hour, dinner and late-night bites. In September of 2020, Leon decided it was time to move Caja Caliente’s food truck from Wynwood to Miami Design District.
Of course we would love to have the chef bring her food truck to where we conduct the Little Havana Food & Cultural Tour but now we are visiting her at the Design District Food & Art Tour
“Expect to see a lot more cooking tutorials and videos in the future. I will be adding a lot more reels to my social platforms and really breaking down the technique behind the recipes.” said Chef Mika Leon “My goal is not only to teach everyone watching and reading some amazing recipes but to also bring us all together in the process,” said Chef Mika Leon.
Since blowing up as an in-garage caterer at the age 20, Monica “Mika” Leon started her blog Mikabites in 2013 showing off her skills. In 2016, she opened her food truck, Caja Caliente in Wynwood and then the brick-and-mortar location in Coral Gables in 2019. Not only has Leon grown as a business but a chef too! Leon has been on Beat Bobby Flay and Guy’s Grocery Games, featured on Miami Herald, Telemundo, etc. With her new website, fans can get a little taste of the life of Mika. Follow Mika on Instagram @mikabites and Caja Caliente @cajacaliente. www.mikaleon.com
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