Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Derek Rugsaken. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Derek , appreciate you joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

When I moved back to New Mexico with my family in 2015 I started to notice the connections between Southeast Asian food and the food of Mexico and Latin America. From the raw ingredients to the spices to the techniques, I found it uncanny how these cultures worlds apart share so many of the same approaches to building flavor. The deeper I looked, the more I realized that the historical basis for this is deep and complex, reaching back centuries to ancient trade routes and shared foodways. A perfect example can be found in the humble chile pepper, which was born in Mexico but made its way to Asia and is now synonymous with many Asian cuisines. I started doing small popups and special events to share my ideas and the marriage of these flavors, which proved very successful and blossomed into a podcast and a private catering business.

In Southeast by Southwest I see a conversation between cultures that is so ripe but not very deeply explored. In continuing to develop this project I hope to continue eating, traveling and learning so that I can bring my exciting discoveries back to share with the Land of Enchantment.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I provide high-quality, heritage recipe Thai food for private and special events. From a recent trip to Thailand I came to realize that even in the homeland, globalization is starting to erode the heritage recipes and flavors I knew growing up with my father, a first-generation immigrant. I am working hard to preserve these flavors and recipes, making everything I can from scratch using traditional ingredients. Additionally, for those interested, I incorporate local New Mexican ingredients and techniques to bring this cultural conversation to the dinner table.

What sets me apart is an emphasis on original flavor and recipes, which I can emphasize in private events without having to focus on quantity as a restaurant does. As such, each event is special and catered to the unique needs of the client.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

During COVID we lived in a small mountain town in New Mexico. Of course and pandemic had far-reaching implications for the restaurant industry. At this time we started doing take-out popups for the local community which became wildly popular, providing community members with a rotating menu of Thai and East Asian specialties. Through these popups I was able to continue creatively developing my menu of offerings while providing our neighbors with new and unexpected flavors.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Social media has been a boon for Southeast by Southwest from the start, allowing me to share my food and ideas with a wider foodie audience. I have very much used social media as a tool for audience engagement, posting interactively, tagging other businesses and restaurants and maintaining a positive, consistent presence online. Through socials I’ve had the good fortune of connecting with heroes of mine including Butcher Box and Edible New Mexico, through which my recipes have been featured. For building a strong online presence, I suggest cultivating an online persona that is relatable, engaging and focused. Followers tend to appreciate beautiful images with a good personal story attached, they want to feel connected to you!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @southeastbysouthwest
• Facebook: @southeastbysouthwest
• Other: To book events, contact me at [email protected]

Image Credits
None required, photo taken by me