You made it!
My name is Maury Crespo and Casa Lago is my brainchild! After being in the food industry for over 10 years I wanted a playground where we could analyze food, it’s science, culture, and psychology and make totally new interpretations of traditional dishes along the way.
So here you’ll find food that’s familiar, but you’ll be seeing it again in a new light. I was born in Cuba and came to this country from an early age- I love this land, and I love the values of my home country, and our food influences celebrate the best of those worlds.
Our Ethos
At the core of all we do here, we believe firmly in the power of food to bring people joy. Good food, done well, makes us happy, and when we share that with someone else, even better. As a rule, we love bringing people together with food, whether in person or by sharing a fun recipe. Joy is at the core of what we do.
Going deeper:
Because food doesn’t exist in a vacuum, you’ll see snippets of our daily life here as well. What makes us laugh, and come alive, and be human.
Home Remodeling: We’re pretty handy, and we thrive on DIY projects to make our office/house beautiful on a budget. So from time to time, you’ll see home projects on the site.
Marriage: My wife and I got married in July of 2019, and since then it’s been a wild adventure that has made us grow as people and as a marriage. Our story hasn’t always been easy, but it has been beautiful.
Faith: Our core values as a business are rooted in our relationship with God. Everything we do is to show others the same love God has shown us.
Cancer: In 2017 my father in law was diagnosed with Stage 4 Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer that traveled to his hip, brain, spine, jaw, and adrenal glands. It was one of the hardest things a family has to go through, but God got us through the other side. Now he’s 100% Cancer free and we’re celebrating that every day. To document this amazing testimony, we wrote the book “GOD HAS THE FINAL WORD”, to give hope to every family going through it.
Cancer has marked us, but God never let go of us. And we’re blessed because of it.
You can find out more about the book here!
Travel: We love to explore and find food hot spots. Whenever possible, we show you where our inspiration comes from. Jambalaya in NOLA, or Liege Waffles in FT. Myers. You can check out travel posts here.
Gus Gus!: The newest member of our family and CLTR’s official mascot! This little furball has brought us so much happiness that we can’t help snapping pics of him being, well…him!
You can stalk him on Instagram at @gusgus_the_mighty_toe_nipper
Oh so secret Dinners
From time to time, we host secret dinners that are invitation only. We started Casa Lago with the mission of bringing people together through food when we were living in North Florida.
Each dinner has its own tasting menu working on inspiration- and we hang out together talking about each dish as it comes out and the inspiration behind it.
If you’d like to join us for the next one, sign up for the mailing list, and you’ll know when the next one is happening.
I also share about my life on my personal Instagram @maurycrespo. I’d love if you followed me there too!