Established in the middle of the global COVID-19 pandemic, Ploo was born out of necessity --out of a need to understand and rediscover Mexican food culture and to fulfill our need for creative expression and providing sustenance. Founders Pablo Rojas and Roxanna Mejia come from very different culinary regions in Mexico. The dichotomy found in Central Mexican Cuisine and the Mexican Northern Kitchen is best embodied in our creative team and translated to your plate.

We aim to recognize the often-unseen contributions that other food cultures have had on what today is known as "Mexican Food". What would be of a salsa without Europe's onion? What would be of Mole without Asia's spices? How do we redefine the cuisine of a conquered nation and explore its conflicts while also honoring our Pre Hispanic roots and traditions? We hope to find more questions than answers. 

Born in a district of Mexico City known for its street food and deep indigenous culinary traditions, Pablo’s first connection to food stems from the closest bond one can have with their grandmother. Tagging along her weekly cooking classes to further advance the financial success of family-owned business selling food to local carpenters and toy makers, Pablo will apply these learned skills many years later at a local culinary school in the RGV. Pablo’s love for symmetry, architecture, and astrophysics comes alive when placed under the school of “Make It Nice.” To see a world where everything has intention, where every detail matters, Pablo holds his Nomad school close to where he keeps his passion.

- Michelin * The Nomad Hotel
- Michelin *** Per Se
- Founder of delivery service Gastronomy Gastronomy Underground
-James Beard Foundation Greens Initiative Collaborator

Roxy was born in Brownsville, Texas; the southernmost tip of the country, bordering Matamoros, Mexico. When Roxanna’s childhood wasn’t spent exploring the open landscape of Matamoros, or inventing makeshift muddy explosives in her grandma’s backyard, it was spent alongside her father, Isidro, either fishing at the mouth of the Rio Grande River or enjoying cemitas de nuez in her favorite Mexican bakery. After an impulsive debate over wild yeast at Culinary School, she applies to restaurants across the country and selects Bouchon Bakery two months later. It is through the Thomas Keller Restaurant Group she becomes aware what she mysteriously felt for many years not only had a name, but was an entire culture, a philosophy of movement—to move with “A sense of Urgency.”

- Michelin *** Per Se, NYC

- TAK Room, NYC

- Bouchon Bakery, NYC

- Founder of delivery service Gastronomy Underground

- James Beard Foundation Greens Initiative Collaborator