It’s not an exaggeration to say our Latino workforce is essential to the health and wealth of our economy. Whether it’s in agriculture or technology, as caretakers and educators, in maintenance or innovation, or as construction workers building our infrastructure or dreamers building hope for the future, they make our economy run.

This is perhaps most true for Colorado’s restaurant industry. Our state’s culinary scene has become nationally renowned. Thirteen Colorado chefs and restaurants made the James Beard finalist list for 2023, with only one, Michael Diaz de Leon of Bruto, becoming a semifinalist. In June, the Michelin Guide announced it would be expanding to Colorado, with several top-notch restaurants competing to make the coveted list, and Michelin awarded the coveted star to the talented team at Bruto.

Our state’s strong Latino and Hispanic roots have played a key role in the development of our state’s food culture, from the Pueblo Slopper to the burgeoning “Den-Mex” scene, to the green chile wars. Latino chefs are bringing some of the most unique and groundbreaking restaurant concepts to the forefront, while Latino workers are also the backbone of the service industry.

At the Hispanic Restaurant Association, we are dedicated to supporting and promoting the interests of Hispanic-owned restaurants and businesses in the hospitality industry. We serve not only as a collective voice of advocacy for our members, but one of our key focuses is to provide members with the resources they need to succeed. This includes access to educational programs, training programs, and providing insight into best practices for workplace safety, harmony, and profitability.

Ensuring workplace safety is a priority for us, not just for Hispanic-owned businesses, but for all Colorado restaurants. According to the National Restaurant Association, 49% of restaurant and food-service employees are minorities, compared to 38% of employees in the total U.S. employed labor force. Twenty-five percent of restaurant and food-service employees are Hispanic and have a larger representation in the restaurant industry than they do in the overall U.S. workforce. Six in 10 chefs and cooks are minorities, the highest proportion among the major restaurant occupation categories like bartenders or waitstaff.

Stay up to speed: Sign-up for daily opinion in your inbox Monday-Friday

We are very excited to partner with Pinnacol Assurance and the Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant early next year to host free Spanish language training for kitchen workers to help promote safe practices in the workplace and educate staff members in their native language. Spanish-speaking workers are essential to the success of Colorado restaurants and other small businesses and are also valued members of our communities. Being able to provide safety training to employees in their native language greatly reduces employee injuries, according to local reporting, and we are hopeful we can continue to partner with Pinnacol to provide these training sessions.

We are also working on initiatives such as our Culinary Training Series for aspiring culinary professionals in partnership with Remy Martin, the Quetzales Guide (which is a search for the best Hispanic restaurants and chefs in the nation), Hispanic Top Chef and the Food and Beverage Language Institute.

This Hispanic Heritage Month, we believe Colorado’s culinary scene will only continue to grow, and we are proud to say Latino workers are at the heart and soul of this movement.

John Jaramillo and Selene Nestor are the founders of the Hispanic Restaurant Association.