RAYA at The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel

RAYA, a restaurant concept by Richard Sandoval, showcases Pan-Latin Coastal Cuisine prepared with sustainable seafood, local produce, natural and organic meats, and Chef Sandoval's signature Latin flavors. At the helm in RAYA is Chef Marissa Gerlach.

Chef Gerlach says, 'Every product we use has a history, a story behind it. For instance, AquaFarm is a small local sustainable seafood farm in Southern California where I learned so much about how using locally grown seafood not only offers the guests a much tastier product, but it helps lessen our carbon footprint. Working with Chef Sandoval, I have become very fond of unique ingredients such as Togarashi, an Asian seven spice, Huitlacoche, a sweet fungus that grows on corn, and Pilonillo, which is unrefined Mexican cane sugar that is smoky, caramel-like, and earthy all in one. Each week, my goal is to pair an ingredient like one of these with a fresh, seasonal product to create a new and unique dish,' she added.