Behind the Counter: Gaby Montes de Oca

From Spotlighter to Organizer: How Gaby Montes de Oca is rallying the community for Venezuela

I am delighted to feature Gaby Montes de Oca for this edition of Behind the Counter. When the earthquakes hit Venezuela, Gaby didn't wait to see how bad it was before she acted. She jumped straight into motion, turning shock and grief into a sold-out dinner at Osteria Morini with ten chefs from some of DC's most celebrated restaurants, plus three bake sales that brought the community together again and again. Together, those efforts raised over $4,500 for World Central Kitchen, but the number only tells part of the story. What Gaby really built was a space for people to help and to heal at the same time.

Gaby's path here started as a pastry intern at Imperfecto, where she realized her calling wasn't behind the pastry case, it was in telling the stories of the people who work in it. That instinct led her to found Tepui in 2022, a platform spotlighting bilingual chefs, cooks, and the often-invisible labor behind the hospitality industry, while also sharing Venezuelan culinary heritage with the community.

I've watched Gaby turn heartbreak into action in a matter of days, and I wanted to learn about how she pulled it off and what it's meant for the Venezuelan community here in DC.

Here's our conversation.

How did you come up with the idea to organize these events?

When the earthquakes occurred, I realized I had to do something. I was still in shock, and like many Venezuelans, trying my best to process what happened. But after seeing the images and how quickly the people in the country, despite being personally impacted, organized themselves to help, I realized I couldn’t sit still. I’ve built a community in the hospitality industry, and I started presenting ideas to people and friends without a specific plan.

The first concept to do an event came from Matt Adler, Chef and Partner at Osteria and Cucina Morini, who learned about the catastrophe from Venezuelan team members and offered to host a fundraising dinner at Osteria Morini. After a few exchanges on Instagram, the day the earthquakes happened, we started reaching out to chefs, gathering the team, and organizing the dinner within a week. Given Matt’s ties to World Central Kitchen and the impact it’s having on the ground, we quickly agreed to support them. The final lineup included chefs Enrique Limardo, Tatiana Mora, Miguel Guerra, Paolo Dungca, Erik Bruner-Yang, Carlos Delgado, Kevin Pieters, and Leury Sánchez, as well as Elegancia’s restaurateur Daniella Senior and beverage director Josh Murski, who joined us to cook 12 courses for a dinner for 30 people.

Then, the idea of organizing a bake sale came from my friends at HG Supper Club, who had run a similar bake sale at La Cosecha for last year’s California fires. Kate and Tatum, the founders, kindly shared everything — spreadsheets, planning process, even utensils and servingware for the day. Once I secured support from La Cosecha’s team, I reached out to my friend Genesis Flores, pastry chef at Seven Reasons and Imperfecto, who supervised my internship there, and we started setting the plan in motion. After our first successful sale at La Cosecha, we were a group of five friends; by the second at Hill’s Kitchen, we were already eight volunteers.

Besides helping the community and raising actual money, what has been the impact of these sales?

Beyond generating sales that translate into real meals, tents, medical supplies, and other essential items people need during difficult times, it’s been comforting to see the DC hospitality community come together to support the reconstruction of Venezuela. We’ve also provided a space for the Venezuelan community to gather and heal collectively.

During the first dinner, we had Venezuelan arepas and a pasta dish featuring cazón, a fish stew many recognize from beach trips, catering to both Venezuelan and new audiences. At the bake sales, people waited almost an hour just to try pastries such as Ometeo’s Chef Manuel Perez’s golfeados, a brioche-like preparation not found anywhere else, which many Venezuelans had waited over ten years to try again. We also featured some home bakers who wanted to test recipes: Lutece’s chef Ana Sofia Pino’s family cookies and flans, as well as contributions from my aunt, and a project called The Persian Table, owned by a woman of Iranian descent who provided us with baklavas inspired by Venezuelan flavors. The final bake sale in this series took place at Grand Cata, where I’ve hosted events featuring Venezuelan recipes in the past.

Reaching out to the friends and people I’ve met since founding Tepui during these times and receiving their support without hesitation, or even offers to use their space or take donations, has been a gift during these dark times.

What’s coming next to continue supporting Venezuela in the long run, harnessing the power of hospitality?

I feel incredibly grateful to the DC community (chefs, business owners, home bakers, and patrons) for supporting the dinner and bake sales.

The earthquakes mark a before-and-after moment for Venezuela and for the Venezuelans diaspora, many of whom feel a greater responsibility to help, given our privilege and luck in having survived this. Seeing the success of the community gatherings, dinners, and bake sales, we’re already developing initiatives to sustain the momentum, organize cooking classes, feature home bakers and small businesses across activations, and keep the aid flowing. Our goal is also to share what Venezuelan gastronomy and energy have to offer and to provide more spaces for our community to gather and share our culinary heritage.