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In Mexico City, Gabriela Cámara reigns as a star of modern cuisine and, now, as a political force

Two decades ago, an art-history student opened Contramar, a restaurant that introduced Mexico City's dining scene to fresh fish in the form of tuna tostadas and red-and-green grilled snapper. Since then, Gabriela Camara's seafood mecca has become a beloved, perpetually packed institution for languorous lunches, while the chef and restaurateur has opened the similarly spirited Cala in San Francisco and recently released her first cookbook, My Mexico City Kitchen. This month, the ever energetic Camara opens Onda in L.A., with Jessica Koslow of Sqirl cafe fame, and returns to her home in Mexico City to serve as an adviser to President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, focusing first on food policy and nutrition.

LOUISA STRAUSS