Sometimes, one lucks out early on and finds the place where they belong. Such was the case with Candace Ochoa, the new executive chef at Bazaar Meat. Ochoa began her career with José Andrés’ restaurant empire 11 years ago, when she was 22 years old.

“I had a little bit of experience before that in some kitchens, but I really grew up in the Bazaar family,” Ochoa says. “I just really wanted to be a part of them. What they offered was very different from what most restaurants that I had been in—about how they care about their food and the product. You know, using an orange every which way possible. The zest, the juice, the segments, the whole orange. It was intriguing to me.”

Before moving to Las Vegas seven years ago, Ochoa worked at the South Beach outpost of Bazaar, where she learned the nuances of Florida-influenced Spanish tapas. But having grown up in California, she says she’s happy to be back on the West Coast settling into her new gig, which began in March of this year.

As for how she plans to put her own stamp on Andrés’ distinctive cuisine, Ochoa has no shortage of ideas, prompted by the Bazaar ethos of bold innovation. “If you think something is crazy, do it. It’s a staple here at Bazaar to always think outside the box and just get really creative,” Ochoa says. “Don’t be scared to show people things that they’ve never seen before. It might not always work out, but at least you tried. People will always respect that.”

Bazaar serves as an unapologetic destination for carnivores, and Ochoa has been securing purveyors who have something new to offer in the meat market. She recently discovered a company in California that sources olive-fed wagyu from Japan, and she’s eager to get it on plates for diners to enjoy.

“Little things like that I want to put on the menu,” Ochoa says.” “It doesn’t have to be a whole steer, it doesn’t have to be the whole cow, but like just little cuts, something that we hadn’t had before. I ask the purveyor, ‘Who else in the city is using this? Nobody’s using it? Great, Bazaar wants it.’”

And while meat remains the restaurant’s raison d’etre, the chef says she also wants to spotlight vegetables at their seasonal height as a worthy accompaniment. “A couple of weeks ago, we had baby carrots—organic with some Spanish goat cheese, some peanuts, just fresh and light, nothing too crazy. I don’t like to put too many ingredients on one dish, because flavors start to get lost; I just really want to accentuate the freshness of the carrot and the artichokes,” Ochoa says.

As far as what the future holds for her, Ochoa is simply taking time to learn everything she can in her current position while also setting her sights for a larger role in ThinkFoodGroup, Bazaar’s parent company.

“Manning this whole beast is insane. I think even in the next couple years, I’ll still be learning, I’ll still be trying to figure out how it actually runs, because I feel like every week, I come in and there’s new obstacles, new challenges,” she says. “It’s awesome. I’m never bored.”

It’s also a testament to how much Ochoa respects Andrés’ way of running his business, not to mention his sense of philanthropy for the world at large. It inspires her to keep growing and learning within her work family of choice.

“José’s mind is beautiful, the way he thinks and does things. It’s always very interesting,” she says. “Before I found José and the Bazaar brand, I didn’t really think like that about any of the chefs that I worked for. And I think that’s why—no, I know that’s why—I stayed with Bazaar, because you can continue to learn.”

BAZAAR MEAT BY JOSÉ ANDRÉS Sahara Las Vegas, 702-761-7610. Wednesday-Sunday, 5-10 p.m.

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