Chef of Denver restaurant Toro shares Mexican cultural heritage with an ofrenda for Día de los Muertos

The two day holiday Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, starts Nov. 1. It's a tradition that dates back more than 3,000 years.

Oscar Padilla is the executive chef at Toro in Cherry Creek and wanted to share part of his Mexican culture with his patrons and staff.

At Toro restaurant in Denver's Cherry Creek neighborhood, Executive Chef Oscar Padilla is always cooking up something special

"Its something that I learned from my grandma," he said. "She showed me how to do all of these things."

Chef Oscar set up a beautiful ofrenda for Dia de los Muertos when its believed the dead return to visit their friends and relatives.

"I want to explain to them how to share this love and how to remember and put all this love for them in their hands," he said.

An ofrenda is an offering or an altar providing a way to reunite the dead with the living.

"You need to put on the ofrenda a picture of your parents or your brothers or whatever you want, the people that you love," Chef Oscar said.  

Pictures are an important element. Candles light the way for the dead to return. Bread, or pan de muerto, is nourishment for the dead.

"Pan de muerto is beautiful," he said. "We have a lot of lime and lemons and we're using orange blossoms to make this beautiful bread."

Sugar skulls are also placed on the ofrenda and everyone is invited to write their loved ones names on them. An ofrenda should always be colorful to make it look festive since its a celebration.

"Dia de los Muertos is something so important," Chef Oscar said. "Its cultural. It's not to be afraid or scared but for Mexico, it's something beautiful to share."

And it's something Chef Oscar feels honored to share this with everyone.

Toro will leave the ofrenda up until Nov. 4 and is featuring a special menu with cocktails and dishes to commemorate the holiday.