Michael Diaz de Leon Returns to Denver to Launch New Nomadic Restaurant Concept

"I've been having a lot of fun rediscovering my love for food and hospitality and what that looks like," says chef Michael Diaz de Leon, who was the executive chef of Brutø when it earned its first Michelin star last September.

The following month, though, he announced that he was leaving that position. "I find myself in a place of starvation for exploration, growth and connection with the world," he said at the time.

That's exactly what he's found in the months since. And now, he says, "I'm excited to be back in Denver."

At 10 a.m. on Friday, July 26, tickets will go on sale via Resy for the official launch of Diaz de Leon's new focus: Pinchi Umami. Every Tuesday in August, the chef and his team will serve a prix fixe five-course menu at Noisette priced at $111, with an optional $82 wine pairing.

It's his second pop-up in Denver, following the Cena Uno series at Hop Alley in March and April. This edition is Cena Dos.

"The accolades [Michelin stars and James Beard awards] are great and all, but that's not why I do what I do," Diaz de Leon notes. "After I left Brutø, I took the opportunity to think about what it is to be a chef and have a restaurant in today's world."

Pinchi Umami, which Diaz de Leon describes as a nomadic restaurant, is the result. "Instead of being rooted in one place or in the confines of four walls, we're breaking down barriers and borders," he says. "A lot of people are so set on having a brick-and-mortar, but the team and I sat down and talked about how hospitality doesn't have to be in one place. I think we've created something really beautiful."

He originally launched the brand in 2020, which is what led to him taking the role at Brutø. So introducing this next chapter back in Denver is like "coming full circle."
Most recently, Diaz de Leon and his team took over an existing restaurant in Marfa, Texas, for two weeks. Before that, he was "in Uruguay cooking with gauchos in the middle of a field," he says. He's currently plotting more pop-ups all over the world for the next six months to a year. "We're doing activations globally — Pinchi Umami is going to be a global brand. ... The location will vary, but the Pinchi Umami experience will be the same," he notes, adding that he plans to take the "Michelin mindset" and "bring it to the people who can't afford it."

Even though Pinchi Umami will be on the move, "Denver is my home, it's where I'm rooted, it's where my family lives," Diaz de Leon says, so local diners can expect more Pinchi Umami pop-ups in the Mile High a few times a year.

For this upcoming series at Noisette, the menu will "really speak to Colorado purveyors and producers," he says. "We'll be going to the farmers' markets every week and touching base with purveyors here to create a menu based off 90 percent Colorado produce and products."

"I'm really excited to be able to tackle hospitality in a different way," Diaz de Leon says. "We're lucky to be at the forefront of that change — figuring out what it means to be a restaurant in 2024."
Since the pandemic, collaboration has become a central part of the dining scene in Denver and beyond, and Pinchi Umami takes that collaborative effort to a new level. "When you have a brick-and-mortar, you get so stuck in your ways. Not having a restaurant forces you to create connections with people you never thought about," Diaz de Leon says. "I'm talking to people overseas right now who share the same values as us. ... It's so humbling to be able to go to different communities and different regions and have this connection to a global community."

This venture is also "more sustainable for my family and myself" than the demanding schedule at a traditional restaurant, he notes. "I'm super happy to have landed in this place. I'm so happy that it happened the way it did. I still get to create and cook — everything I did at a restaurant." But now it's on his own terms, and in a way that keeps him satisfied when he thinks about why he does what he does.

"The reason that we cook is to create beautiful food with good flavors and to enjoy each other's company at the table; we just want to elicit joy and curiosity through our brand," Diaz de Leon concludes. "And I'm very excited to continue to grow as a chef and a human."

Pinchi Umami will pop up at Noisette, 3254 Navajo Street, on August 6, 13, 20 and 27. For tickets, visit resy.com after 10 a.m. on Friday, July 26. For more information, follow @pinchi_umami on Instagram.