LONG BEACH, Calif. — A chef from Long Beach has returned to the city after touring the world and working in Afghanistan, and she’s building her menu at Rose Park Roasters from everything she learned abroad. Her worldly menu is definitely not something to miss.

Chef Melissa Ortiz’s first love was traveling, but her real passion is food. In pursuit of both, Ortiz served in the military in several international posts, and most recently took a job as the head chef of the U.S. Embassy in Kabul. There she cooked for local and U.S. dignitaries. She simultaneously managed a staff of 57 while trying to navigate an entirely new culture.

“The camaraderie that I built with them was like, 'hey, just because we’re Americans doesn’t mean we’re enemies. I want you guys to know that I have your back.' It was very difficult in the beginning. As a female, leading a team of 57 — their culture, their religion is completely different — so women aren’t looked upon as leaders.”

Ortiz said she was able to overcome the cultural differences and gain their trust and respect, and together they cooked and served dignitaries from around the world. She left Kabul just ahead of the dramatic U.S. withdrawal earlier in 2021, but not before the culture could make an impression on her cooking.

“So what I’m making right now is a clam and bean dish with a shrimp chorizo. Typically chorizo is made with pork, and the reason why I wanted to switch it to a seafood dish is because spending time overseas," said Ortiz, "I was surrounded by a lot of Muslim people who don’t eat pork. So it was a challenge for me to come back and not utilize pork in my menu at all.”

In fact, at Rose Park Roasters, there are no land animals on the menu, only seafood (being right next to the port of Long Beach helps), which comes as a direct reflection of Ortiz’s time abroad. Instead, her menu is infused with lots of vegetables, garlic, onions, ginger – all the flavors widely available to her during her stays abroad.

“Afghanistan is a poor country, meat is a luxury, so they eat lots of vegetables instead,” she said.

It all leads to a creative menu that has an international spin on Long Beach seafood classics, turning Rose Park Roasters from a swanky neighborhood coffee bar, to cozy local restaurant with a fine dining twist. 

Nathan Tourtellotte, the owner of Rose Park Roasters, and himself a military veteran, was all too happy to have Ortiz take over and build the menu as she pleased. He says he trusted her from the start to infuse something special into her dishes.  

“I knew that her level of creativity and execution was something that, given the right context, would be able to thrive and bring something to Long Beach that certainly has never existed here,” said Tourtellotte.

After her job in Afghanistan ended, Ortiz could have chosen any city to showcase her culinary skills – but she only wanted to return the supportive community of Long Beach.

“It’s a real community here, when you open something people come out to support it. I’ve traveled everywhere, but there’s nothing like Long Beach," she said.