Maiz de la Vida

Maíz de la Vida — Spanish for 'Corn of Life' — is the Nashville project of Chef Julio Hernandez, a 2023 James Beard Emerging Chef Award recipient and 2025 Best Chef Southeast nominee who grew up in Tlaxcala, Mexico. Hernandez sources heirloom Mexican corn varieties and uses traditional nixtamalization to make masa for his tortillas, blending native Mexican techniques with Southern influences he calls 'Tenn-Mex,' served at his brick-and-mortar in The Gulch.