David Ruiz, executive chef of the Greater Kansas City area’s Overland Park Convention Center (OPCC), has made quite a mark during his first year and a half leading the facility by upgrading the venue’s cuisine quality, spearheading sustainability efforts and giving back by mentoring the area’s next generation of culinary professionals.
Ruiz, a graduate of the California Culinary Academy, has also achieved many personal accomplishments during his approximately 20 years as a culinary professional, including being recognized in 2024 as the International Fresh Produce Association’s Fine Dining Chef of the Year; winning the James Beard Blended Burger Contest in 2018; winning Food Network’s “It’s CompliPlated” contest in 2022; and making featured appearances on television shows such as Chopped and Guy Fieri’s Family Road Trip.
Other culinary accolades include winning the Libbey #FuelYourFire Plating Competition, being a featured chef at the American Culinary Federation National Conference, being selected as one of Kansas City’s chefs in the Cook for Courage charitable cook-off for the Child Protection Center, and being named a finalist in Aramark’s Culinary Excellence competition, placing him among the top culinary talent across the catering giant’s global portfolio.
Ruiz was also named a 2025 Meetings Trendsetter by Meetings Today.
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Golden State Beginnings
Ruiz grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, with his grandmother owning a small working farm in Gilroy, California—the “Garlic Capital of the World.” Both of his grandmothers—of Mexican descent on his father’s side and Jewish on his mother’s side—were phenomenal cooks, he offered.
His paternal grandmother made fresh tortillas and grew many of the ingredients for her cuisine, including avocados.
[More Top Chefs and Recipes: meetingstoday.com/top-chefs]
“It formed this culinary bond between us, and I’m sure that’s what helped shape why I became a chef,” Ruiz said.
His professional journey, which took him to award-winning restaurants in Aspen, Colorado; San Jose, California; Yosemite National Park; and Albuquerque, New Mexico, began quite modestly in that quintessential California fast-food chain, In-N-Out Burger.
“I actually started working at In-N-Out Burger when I was 15,” he said. “I was already really into food, and one summer I needed some extra cash, so I started working there—my first intro to a restaurant. Their systems are so efficient—it’s the best fast food out there. But then I got accepted into culinary school in my junior year of high school, and then, literally 22 days after graduating high school, I started culinary school.”
Perhaps fascinated by the systems at In-N-Out Burger, Ruiz embarked on his culinary studies admittedly with a lot to learn.
“I don’t have a lot of natural ability at this—I’m not very good at cooking,” Ruiz joked about his entry into the culinary arts. “I would show up and work for free in a lot of places throughout the Bay Area, and that’s how I gained a lot of experience—showing up in the back of restaurants and begging chefs to let me in. I got to see a lot of high-end chefs, from Michelin-star chefs to James Beard-winning chefs, to see how they ran their kitchens and their philosophical approach to food. That helped form my own techniques and culinary vision.”
This persistence paid off when Ruiz, 31 at the time and co-owner and executive chef of a small fine-dining restaurant, won the James Beard Blended Burger Project and got the opportunity to cook at New York City’s James Beard House—a huge honor for any chef.
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The leap to leading a banquet team at a convention center was something he didn’t envision as a career option, but getting the chance to spend some time with the staff at the Overland Park Convention Center sold him on the opportunity.
“It’s almost like a movie, where everyone plays their part and plays it really well,” he said. “They didn’t need me to wear many hats. They just needed me to come in and elevate the cuisine and be creative by bringing in new ideas.”
The biggest idea was striving for restaurant-style food in a large facility by sourcing locally, both for sustainability as well as quality reasons. A year and a half into leading the OPCC culinary team, his vision is already taking shape.
“We’re sourcing about 35% of our goods now from the Overland Park Farmers Market, and we’ve really gone to being a low-waste facility as far as not throwing stuff away,” he said. “We partnered with Pete’s Garden and a couple other organizations to make sure [leftover food is donated].”
Giving back to the Greater Kansas City community was also manifested in something near and dear to Ruiz’ heart: mentorship.
“We partnered with Johnson County Community College to bring in young culinarians, so we have three apprentices here,” Ruiz said.
OPCC also hosted a hands-on cooking class for HopeKids families and partnered with Horizons Academy, furthering the facility’s commitment to culinary education in the community.
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Group Offerings
One memorable event Ruiz recalls was a 2025 banquet for approximately 1,000 attendees of the American Heart Association’s annual Go Red for Women Luncheon.
“It’s a lunch and it’s mostly women, so we did a salad entree for them,” he said. “We did a tasting a couple months before the event and created this beautiful Santa Fe salad, served with a blue corn muffin topped with a little bit of agave. I had to package up extra servings to go to their leadership team and was invited on stage before the event to talk about what the meal meant to me.
“That was something that was just a small piece of me that I gave out,” he added, “and to hear the overwhelming response and have people calling me all the time to ask if I will make the muffins—that feels really good.”
It’s these personal connections—even in the cacophony of producing events for up to 3,500—that have truly grown on Ruiz in his job serving the convention-center masses.
“It’s interesting because I didn’t think that I would love it,” Ruiz said of his initial thoughts on what would become, like for many of his meeting professional colleagues, an unexpected career calling. “I always find the best things happen when you least expect it…I don’t see myself doing anything else for a long time.”
Recipe
Short Rib Tostadas
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. short rib
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 red onion, julienned
- 4 limes, juiced
- 4 white corn tortillas
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 1 stalk celery, chopped
- 3 carrots, chopped
- 2 shallots, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled
- 3 sprigs thyme
- 2 sprigs oregano
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ cup red wine
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300°F.
- Chop celery, carrots and onion to create a mirepoix.
- Heat olive oil in a sauté pan over high heat. Season short ribs with salt and pepper, then sear for two minutes on each side until browned.
- Transfer short ribs to a deep baking dish or hotel pan. Add red wine to the sauté pan, simmer for two minutes, then pour over the short ribs.
- Add mirepoix, shallots, garlic, thyme, oregano and chicken stock. Ensure the short ribs are fully submerged. Cover tightly with foil.
- Braise in the oven for four hours, or until the meat is tender and easily pulls apart.
- Meanwhile, prepare the lime crema by combining sour cream, juice of one lime and a pinch of salt. Mix well and refrigerate.
- Place julienned red onion in a bowl with one tablespoon salt and let sit for 10 minutes. Rinse gently, then combine with juice of three limes and refrigerate.
- Heat neutral oil to 350°F in a saucepan. Fry tortillas for about one minute per side until crisp.
- Remove and drain on paper towels.
- Once short ribs are cooked, remove from liquid and shred using tongs or forks.
- Spread a layer of lime crema over each crispy tostada. Top with shredded short rib and finish with pickled red onion. Serve immediately.
