“If you want to become a chef, you truly have to be all in,” says 29-year-old chef and Poughkeepsie native David Cruz. “Not only with the food, but also with who you’re serving and working for.” The founder of farm-fresh brand Reconnect Foods—a concept that evolved from a social media project to a food truck and finally into a brick-and-mortar restaurant in Eastdale Village—Cruz has built his culinary career on a philosophy of reconnection.
“I design my kitchen so [chefs] don’t have to stress. I’ve made the cooking part easy. Your hardest job is going to be smiling at people, having great energy, and making people want to come back and see you. Screw the food for once. Have some personality.”
Cruz’s passion for cooking started early. At 15, he began as a dishwasher at Tony’s Pizza Pit and advanced to prepping pizza and pasta. Collaborating with chefs and culinary students at various Poughkeepsie restaurants, like the Ice House, further deepened his appreciation for food. Encouraged by his peers, Cruz applied and was accepted to the Culinary Institute of America in 2015.
Cruz came up with the name Reconnect Foods during his schooling. “I called it Reconnect because through food, I felt reconnected with different cultures and friends who were from other areas,” says Cruz. “It made me appreciate the Hudson Valley more. Since I was from here, I could show them around and introduce them to local farms. We’d visit and host dinners—all while we were still in school. It was for no money, just the experience and connection.”
After graduating in 2019, Cruz struggled during the pandemic. When the Nic-L-Inn closed and he lost his job as executive chef, he worked as a butcher at Adams. He sold food from his home to friends and family and started Reconnect Foods as an Instagram page to share his passion for vegetables and farm-to-table dining.
In 2021, Cruz launched his food truck, focusing on fresh, local vegetables and incorporating his Mexican heritage into his dishes. By 2022, he opened a brick-and-mortar restaurant at Eastdale Village, which now offers a mix of Mexican and Asian cuisines, with a menu that includes tacos, bao, burritos, quesadillas, ramen, and rice bowls.
At Reconnect, Cruz sources from local farms like Poughkeepsie Farm Project, Titusville Farm, and Obercreek Farm. His focus is on preserving ingredients for freshness and sustainability. “A lot of what we have at the restaurant is fresh right now and can come out of the cellar in winter when needed,” says Cruz. “We source ingredients from Mexico in winter that aren’t in season here; most Mexican ingredients shine better in winter.”
With the restaurant now open, Cruz has resumed using the food truck for pop-ups and events. For the past three years, Cruz has hosted farm-to-table dinners at Taliaferro Farms, a second-generation, family-run organic farm in New Paltz. These events feature a three-course meal with locally grown ingredients, regional craft beverages, and live music.
“Farming is such a tough job, and in the Hudson Valley, it’s an even tougher challenge because of all the supermarkets and competition,” says Cruz. “Events like this help us see it in a different light.” The CIA has had students host their own cooking event at Taliaferro, which now plans to convert a shed into an on-site kitchen.
He’s also hosted educational cooking classes, such as a Yelp Event bao cooking class at the Watergrasshill Bed & Breakfast in New Paltz. And recently, Cruz cooked for 20 architects and contractors in a showroom at Modern Cabinet Company, a custom cabinetry maker established in 1945 and based in Poughkeepsie since 1984.
Cruz has several exciting projects in the works. He’s received permission from Sam Schor, Vice President of the Cabinet Company, to use their kitchen for a casual cooking show centered on practical techniques and accessible food preparation. He’s also working on a recipe book and another on his life and culinary experiences. Ultimately, he aims to become a professor at the Culinary Institute of America.
But for now, Cruz is focused on his short-term goals. At Reconnect, that means fostering a breed of chefs who are communicative and supportive. “The new generation of chefs is an even better team player,” says Cruz. “Literally that. Being a chef who’s aggressive and taunts other chefs is no longer a thing anymore. I grew up working with chefs who were tough on me and who made me cry. I won’t say I regret it, but there were better ways of handling that. Now it’s my job to overcome all that and be a stronger leader and an even better teacher.”
Reconnect Foods
48 Eastdale Ave N, Poughkeepsie
