Chuck Bulnes is a native Houstonian with more than thirty years in the restaurant industry. He has worked both in front of the house and in the kitchen with some of Houston’s best restaurateurs, including: Tony Vallone (Grotto and La Griglia), Vincent Mandola (Ninos), Jorge Snider (Las Alamedas), Noel Henneberry (Charlie T’s and Brennan’s), Ninfa Lorenzo (Ninfa’s), Charlie Watkins (Sierra and Blue Agave), Scooter Chilacci (Mariner Restaurant and Big Mouth Frog) and John Moore (Palazzo’s). He has been a part owner and operator of Joyce’s Oyster Resort, Texas Tamale Company and Berryhill Fish Tacos.

“The one thing I learned for these guys is that you have to be involved everyday, and involved in everything,” state Bulnes. “To have a successful restaurant, you have to observe the moral of your staff, are they stressed? What is their attitude? You also have to see, touch and taste the food. Are the customers having a good time? Or they stressed? And you have to like this business, like being around people sixteen-hours-a-day, motivating your staff and being their champion. And you have to walk the walk if you expect your staff to do what you ask them to do. And you have to have fun – it isn’t worth it if you don’t have fun!

LJ Wiley, Marcus Aurelius of the kitchen, he is. Aurelius, lauded for his capacity "to write down what was in his heart just as it was, not obscured by any consciousness of the presence of listeners or striving after effect," is an inspiration to LJ Wiley – in his life and in his craft – and it shows.

With the ever-pressing priority of offering people a higher level of awareness through sustenance, Wiley has thrown his heart and soul into every culinary role he’s ever had, each a stepping stone on his journey to finding a way to enlighten people with illuminating information and incredible flavors.

Wiley developed a strong foundation from the start, working at Smith & Wollensky, Brennan’s and Bank. In 2005, he ventured to New York City to work for Jean Georges Vongerichten at Spice Market, and to attend the French Culinary Institute (FCI). Realizing quickly that he was learning far more in the kitchens of New York’s elite, Wiley sacrificed formal classroom training to devote more time to his teachers at Spice Market and high-end giants like Morimoto, Perry Street, Alto and Gordon Ramsay.

In 2007, Wiley trekked to Macau, China with his New York mentor, Stanley Wong, to open three restaurants in the Venetian Hotel & Casino. Before leaving Macau, he also assisted in opening a fine-dining steakhouse in the Hotel Grand Lisboa, along side Don Alfonso Restaurant and L’Atelier de [Joel] Robuchon. Returning to Houston in April of 2008, Wiley took a sous chef position at Cullen’s Grille, adding many of his gastronomic inventions to the menu while structuring the administration of the kitchen.

Now co-owner of and executive chef at Yelapa Playa Mexicana, Wiley’s creations are often described as Aurelius himself was depicted – unendingly moving and inspiring. With micro-seasonal menu changes, locally-sourced product and a borderless style, he leads the Yelapa concept, teaching young cooks variations on global themes while dazzling patrons with an unusual Pacific Coast Mexican style.

With a bachelor’s degree in philosophy, there’s quite a bit of contemplation and meditation in Wiley’s daily routine at Yelapa. When asking about his passion, and why he became a chef, he’ll mention words like enlightenment and intimacy.  “There’s a web of energy around us,” he says, explaining that food plays an often forgotten fundamental role in life. “We’re all connected, and it’s critical that people understand that.  I want to give people some understanding about what they’re putting into their bodies.  I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase “you are what you eat,” and when you start to understand what you’re putting into your body, you’ll start to realize your place in that web. Where the food is coming from, how it’s prepared, what’s put into it… it all has an effect on us.”

Wiley, like Aurelius, will certainly be recognized for his capacity to bring to the table what was in his heart – just as it was – not obscured by any consciousness of the presence of patrons or striving after effect. And he will run his restaurant, and all of his future endeavors – for he is truly an entrepreneur at the core – by the words of Aurelius, “Accept the things to which fate binds you, and love the people with whom fate brings you together, but do so with all your heart.”