Chef de Cuisine Jose Vela has been working in the kitchens of John Sheely's award-winning restaurant ventures since the original Riviera Grill opened in Houston in 1995. The Mexico City native first ventured to Houston as a drummer with his rock band in that same year. To supplement his living expenses, he decided to look for work in a commercial kitchen.

Growing up in a traditional Mexican family, boys stayed out of the kitchen, but Vela was interested in learning more about cooking. As a young engineering student in Mexico, he lived in an apartment with a small kitchen. Away from family for the first time, he had to prepare his own meals.

Vela started at Riviera Grill as a dishwasher, staying after his shift, volunteering to help on the prep line so that he could learn. Vela quickly impressed Sheely and within a few months put the budding chef on the line, and he has remained a fixture in Sheely's kitchens since. Vela was part of the menu development team for Mockingbird, adding his considerable ideas to the concept, which opened in 2002.

Vela likes “being in the weeds,” referring to the near-panic atmosphere in a restaurant kitchen when the chefs are slammed with orders from a full house. He attributes his aptitude for engineering for his proficiency in the busy Mockingbird kitchen. “You just have to stay focused, concentrate on each ingredient, one at a time, and carefully build each plate…and then rush to the next order and keep on going,” he laughs.

Eric Hastings developed his interest in wine while working at a restaurant known mostly for beer. He found it as interesting and varied as the 130 different kinds of beer served at his bar. After four years of tasting the different wine styles of the world, he decided to pursue it as a career, while educating himself at the International Wine Academy, based in Australia, with a satellite course in San Francisco. He attained both the Cellar Master Diploma and Wine Advisor Certificate.

His first job as sommelier was at one of Denver’s most notorious fine dining Italian restaurants, Santino’s, then ran the wine department at a large retail wine and spirit outlet in Broomfield, CO, which gave him the opportunity to learn yet another aspect of the wine industry. When the retail outlet was sold, Eric had the opportunity to go to Paris and meet with renowned Michelin 3-Star chef Alain Ducasse and his head Sommelier Gerard Margeon, in preparation of helping them open their new concept in Las Vegas.

Eric has also directed the wine and beverage program for Rendezvous Bay Resort in Anguilla, a tiny island in the British West Indies; was Wine & Beverage Director for two of Colorado’s top restaurants, Samplings in Frisco and The Cellar in Breckenridge; and was sommelier at Denver Country Club, the fifth oldest private club in the United States. It was here, with French-born Executive Chef Patrice Piralla, Eric honed his skill of pairing wine with food, while pursuing his studies with the Court of Master Sommeliers.

Eric moved to Houston in spring of 2008 to accept the position of Wine Director and General Manager for Mockingbird Bistro. He continues to study wine as he works toward his Master Sommelier Diploma. He is dedicated to discovering new wines from lesser-known regions that provide a great value to his wine-loving guests.