Chef Paxx Caraballo Moll of Jungle Bao Bao

For Paxx Caraballo Moll, restaurant life means more than creating incredible and tasty food. It’s about running a kitchen of inclusivity for LGBTQ cooks, and they are proud to have fostered a safe work environment where others can be themselves while doing what they love. 

Originally from Mayagüez, a mid-sized city on the west side of Puerto Rico, Moll is an openly trans, queer chef whose culinary career started long before their transition. They first started cooking 20 years ago when Chef Roberto Treviño gave them a chance at DragonFly in Old San Juan. Unfortunately, DragonFly closed in 2017, but Moll took everything they learned and moved forward.

Today, they lead the kitchen as head chef at San Juan’s Jungle Bao Bao inside the acclaimed bar, Jungle Bird. With a focus on inventive, ever-changing fare, they are passionate about creating food fusions that reflect their multifaceted life experience. In 2019, Moll was named one of Food & Wine Magazine’s “Best New Chefs,” and they were also the first openly trans chef to cook at the James Beard House in New York.  

Moll took some time to chat more about their culinary passion with OFM, as well as Puerto Rican cuisine and why inclusivity is important in the kitchen. 

Have you always had a passion for cooking?
I would definitely say so. I think it was my grandmother that instilled that into me. We would do a lot of cooking together, and it is something that I never saw myself doing professionally, but it grew into that. 

You are the head chef of San Juan’s Jungle Bao Bao. Can you tell us more about the restaurant and how it came to be?
We are inside this tropical bar called Jungle Bird, and we named our kitchen Jungle Bao Bao, which I believe means jungle baby. I have been here for the last three years; it will be four this December, and I had this Bao bun shop, but after Hurricane Maria, I decided that it was not best to be at the place we were at before. Since we are really good friends with the owners of Jungle Bird, they invited us to come over and rent this space and kitchen.

What makes Jungle Bao Bao unique and worth checking out?
Definitely the food, of course [laughs]. Also, the kids that have worked with us are very diverse, and I would say 99 percent of the kids that have worked here were part of the LGBTQ community, which is very important to me.

Why is running a supportive, inclusive kitchen a top priority of yours?
I never thought I was going to do that, but I think it came to be from the bullying and disrespect that people like myself have experienced in other kitchens. I always told myself that if I ever had the chance to be a leader, then I could change the way things work. You don’t have to have a horrible day when doing the thing you love the most. We spend more time at our jobs than our house, so let’s make it a pleasant and safe environment where you can have fun, and your voice will also be heard. That is very important for me. 

Has your trans experience ever had a negative impact on your culinary career?
To be honest, I don’t know, but things have been much slower for me. I have had to work twice as hard.

Do you feel like the culinary community is becoming more open and accepting of trans and queer people in the kitchen?
I don’t know if it has become more accepting and inclusive, but they are definitely more open to it because we are everywhere. People are coming out, and they don’t really care about the consequences. Like, this is me, and we are here. We are very talented, and you are going to have to respect us. Eventually, acceptance always comes when people see that we are not some strange, weird thing. 

What are some of your absolute favorite dishes to cook?
I was raised vegan/vegetarian, so we have this dish here that I can never ever take out of the menu. We have taken the eggplant and named it Crack Eggplant. It is basically a 48-hour-plus pickled eggplant that we dredge in a little bit of cornstarch, and we deep fry that. We then smother it with a little bit of butter, hot sauce, and in this case, sambal and honey, and it is really good because you get this sticky, crunchy, creamy explosion. It’s sweet; it’s spicy; it’s very lovely. For me, it is a very fun dish to cook. I also love, and I am not a vegan or vegetarian, but I love to cook with fish. I love to make fresh ceviche, and we have so much nice fruit and veggies available year-round, so it is really nice to play with that. 

Where do you usually draw inspiration for your dishes? What influences you?
I would say that we make Puerto Rican food that is influenced by the Caribbean and Latin America, but I also do love Asian flavors. Our house is called Asian Rican, so we like to play with that.

What is a Puerto Rican dish you would encourage everyone to try?
I have so many favorite things, but I am really into pasteles, which are traditionally served around Christmas. They are basically our version of a tamale, but instead of making it with corn, you can use taro or yautia. It is basically root veggies with some kind of meat or vegetarian filling, and it is very, very nice. For me, it’s my absolute favorite, and it’s funny because we have an ongoing fight in Puerto Rico whether you should add ketchup to it. It is very passionate, and people are going to hate me for this, but I do love ketchup on my pasteles, and I am not ashamed to admit that (laughs).

What does it take to run a kitchen in Puerto Rico?
Wow. I would say, you have to leave your fears and doubts at the door. They will come from time to time, especially when you don’t have any help or any investors, so you have to run it with your gut and your heart, but always try to look on the positive side. You will overcome the hardships you will get every day. Just come with an open heart, and you will come stronger every day.

In 2019, you were named one of Food & Wine‘s “Best New Chefs.” How meaningful was that to you?
It was mind-blowing! From someone who used to read the magazine as a kid and loves the magazine, but you never thought you would see yourself represented. Our class was the most diverse class in the history of “Best New Chefs,” which started in 1988. I was 10. So, I would say that it feels really good to be part of that history, and I am definitely proud. I think about it with a lot of love and a lot of pride. 

And you were the first trans person to earn the title?
Yes. It is a landmark. A milestone.

Why are you passionate about creating food fusions that reflect your multifaceted life experience?
It’s fun, and I am always thinking about food. It is fun for me to watch the whole process of thinking about something, writing about it, and then turning it into a reality. That drives me. I just want to create something new every day whenever I have the opportunity. I like learning stuff, and it is something that makes me really happy when I am cooking. 

Do you see yourself staying in Puerto Rico or would you like to move to a more inclusive and diverse area in the world?
I think COVID changed the world, so to be honest, I don’t know. Anything could happen. 

What are some future goals you would like to accomplish as a chef?
I would definitely love to open my own restaurant, and our food at Jungle Bao Bao is really good, so it would be nice to sell it more in mainstream markets someday. 

Before we wrap up, are there any other upcoming projects or anything else you would like to mention or plug?
Upcoming projects, I want to keep that secret for now, but I do want to give a shout out to all my culinary sons and daughters, as well as all the hard-working cooks and chefs in Puerto Rico. 

Stay up-to-date and connect with Paxx by following them on Instagram.

Photos provided by Paxx Caraballo Moll