Mar 15

Mar 15 One More Cook in the Kitchen

Interview, 2023

“I have a little farm in my garden at my house,” Chef Harold Castro says with a beaming smile. “I have basil, oregano, and rosemary…” He stops and searches for the names of a few more aromatic herbs.

^{— By Kylee Ross
— Photography Kenneth Theysen}

**Harold Castro**
*Executive Chef – Water’s Edge Restaurant & Bar*

“Melisa? That one is like lemongrass.” The translation for melisa is lemon balm— a lemon-scented herb from the mint family. “And I use all of the herbs here in the restaurant.”

You’ll find Castro’s fresh herbs in the home-made butter at Water’s Edge Restaurant & Bar at the Costa Linda Beach Resort. The herbs for preparing fish are also plucked from the same garden. A cilantro-lemon-garlic butter for the grilled salmon served with mashed potatoes and asparagus. A lemon-garlic butter for the pan-fried red snapper (or served with Aruban-Creole sauce) plated with timbale potatoes and seasonal vegetables. “When the quality is fresh, the taste is totally different,” Castro says. “I don’t mind having to make something from scratch every day. The most important thing is the quality and how food smells at the table.”

Castro means it when he notes what’s most important to him in a dish. He uses the herbs he grows himself in the restaurant because, “I feel safe,” he says. “It’s always fresh.” He has eyes on the growth of the herbs and knows exactly where they come from—a luxury on an island that imports most of its fresh produce.

“I start my day in my garden. I walk in, cut my herbs, and come to the restaurant with everything.” Castro says. “It’s great because when you’re in the kitchen, people call for you maybe a hundred times, so my garden is my therapy.” It offers a balance between solace and productivity. The garden is filled with fruits of Castro’s labor (or rather, vegetables of Castro’s labor) but he chooses to reinvest it into Water’s Edge.

This meticulous attention to detail, passion, and commitment to the freshest flavors are staples in the way Castro operates in and outside of the kitchen. “Outside of the kitchen, I’m the chef for administration,” Castro says with humility. “But inside of the kitchen, I’m one more cook.”

At dinner service you’ll find Castro in the center of the kitchen (facing all the cooks at the kitchen pass) finalizing every dish before it makes its way to a table. He stays on his feet and never stops moving. It’s how it’s done in fine dining restaurants around the world and Castro brings his experience working in kitchens in Colombia at the executive chef level. His wealth of experience has also served him in positions at restaurants in several of Aruba’s top resorts.

Roy Leitch, Owner of Water’s Edge, says everyone on the team knows Castro holds high standards for service. Wait staff know to look for Castro’s OK before picking up their orders. Cooks and wait staff alike are able to spot when a dish needs to be replated or is missing an element—before it has a chance to go through Castro’s inspection.

Every element is made to serve, in accordance with Castro’s philosophy of working with fresh ingredients—including all the bread. “We have a perfectly good bread warmer in the kitchen,” Leitch says. “But it’s always empty at dinner service.” There is delicious bread made in abundance daily, but Castro prefers to serve warm bread directly out of the convection oven. It requires extra steps without the pre-baking but makes all the difference served with aromatic butter.

“The moment that I put my apron on, I immediately start to work non-stop.” Castro says. Along with his other responsibilities making sure the kitchen runs smoothly with everything needed to serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner, Castro checks in with his team to make sure they are supported in doing their best work. “Believe me, I’ve worked in kitchens where the chef doesn’t want to touch one spoon,” Castro says. That’s not how he views his role in the kitchen. He’s ready to jump in anywhere when extra help is needed to make sure guests receive the best Water’s Edge has to offer. Instead, he thinks of his team as a family.

An hour before dinner service Castro is already preparing for the next day’s kitchen needs. Inventory, soups (a personal favorite of Castro’s to cook), sauces, and cold dressings for dinner service. “At six o’clock, I have to be in the line. I ensure that everyone has their set up ready,” Castro says.

“I can trust in my people,” he adds when talking about how proud he is of his team at Water’s Edge. “They are my legs and arms in the kitchen. They are my sons and daughters and brothers and sisters. They have my full support.” Castro holds the team together and steers the ship, so to speak, but he will always step in to get his hands dirty—whether it’s in the kitchen or in his garden—and act as one more cook in the kitchen.