
Los Roast Machina
Having grown up between Fort Worth and Albuquerque my entire life, I’ve had my share of various cuisines said to be native to both areas. I happily agree that Texas does meat like no other place I’ve been to, especially slow cooked brisket. But Albuquerque, moreover the entire state of New Mexico, has and probably will forever be, in love with its native chiles pronounced (Chill - ees) .
On any given day of the week, New Mexicans are asked the same question over and over — red, or green? If you’re a true “Burqueno,” then you’ve probably answered back Christmas, which means a combination of both, but primarily it really depends on your mood. Red chile is the working man’s chile, the everyday meal chile. And green chile, well that’s usually set aside for special occasions like a holiday get together or party. The only issue I’ve had with these highly addictive ingredients over the years is not being able to get them once I’ve left the state of New Mexico.
For some odd reason, this delicious spice never made it big across the border, that is until now. Marshall Berg, president and founder of Best in the West LLC., has found a way to ship these precious spices to Native New Mexicans hankering for these flavors across the U.S. And I for one am overjoyed, especially because it's nearly roasting season.
“Our parking lot is the best smelling place in southern New Mexico for a couple months,” Berg says during a phone interview in Deming, New Mexico, where his company’s headquarters are located.
Like me, Berg says when he moved away from New Mexico, he felt strong cravings for the chiles we were raised on, which gave him an idea to try and make them available all over the U.S.

President and founder of Best in the West LLC, Marshall Berg roasts a batch of green chile.
For anyone outside of this everyday New Mexican cuisine, red and green chiles are a staple of everyone’s diet throughout the state. When the chiles are fresh, they sprout a vibrant green color. After a week or two on the vine, they change to a stunning red, thus changing the flavor profile of the chile significantly. Most, if not all restaurants in the 505-area code offer both as a side or smothered on everything from burritos to hamburgers. Even McDonald’s has a green chile cheeseburger on its menu, but only in New Mexico.
And no, this isn’t what most people outside of New Mexico consider chile either, which is usually made with beans, spices, and ground beef mixed together over a campfire or out of a can. New Mexico chile is a sauce, a garnish, and for us old-timers a friendly reminder of home.
“I grew up in Santa Fe and I grew up in restaurants,” Berg says to my point. “Here, chile is everywhere you go, and in everything you eat, and so I definitely grew an appreciation for all the different ways that chile can be used.”
This notion hit Berg hard when he moved to Oregon, given he couldn’t find this addictive sauce anywhere.
“The first chile I ever roasted was in Oregon,” he says. “I was definitely really delving deep into chile culture through missing it so much and it made me really get further into it. It was pretty cool.”
Due to this craving, Berg says he came up with the idea to ship this specific cuisine across the country. Until now, fresh chiles have been hard to ship, but Best in the West has found a way for everyone to enjoy these southwest flavors through a proprietary process.
“We purchase chile from New Mexico farmers only and it is all New Mexico grown from places like Hatch, Deming, Las Cruces, Socorro … they grow great chile all over the state,” he says. “We have some great farmers that have been at it for six, even seven generations.”
For the sake of authenticity, Berg verifies that all of the products Best in the West ships out have the label New Mexico grown on them. This also means Berg moved his operation from Portland, Oregon back to Deming, New Mexico to stay close to the sources his companies work with.
During this move, Berg explained that he was able to combine both the Los Roast and Santa Fe Olé companies together under the Best in the West banner in late 2023. Now, Best in the West boasts the most advanced farm to final packaging facility in New Mexico. Los Roast itself is a shelf-stable product line featuring New Mexico-grown chiles. Santa Fe Olé, on the other hand, is a brand established in 1984 that pioneered roasted green chile in a glass jar. Santa Fe Olé remains at the forefront of innovative and quality traditional New Mexico chile products, which has a loyal fan base.
“We moved back to New Mexico four years ago and build a new processing facility that kind of cut out some middlemen and got us the quality I wanted, after I started this thing. So, we're buying direct from the farmers. We roast, peel, chop, all of the green chile during the season, and it's all shelf stable so it's never frozen straight out of the roaster with a little bit of lime juice into a bunch of different containers,” he says.
Currently, Best of the West sells glass jars of chile to retailers as well as gallon jugs and 25-pound clear pouches to food services, as well as offering some red chile processing. Customers can get chile straight out of the field, sun dried, pureed, or order chipotle smoked red jalapenos.
When asked to explain why he thinks chile is such a significant cuisine,” Berg says. “I think it's so special because there is so much tradition and culture behind it. It's a harvest, seasonal cultural activity. I mean, the flavor of chile is amazing, but everything that it represents is so much more.”
The smell, the act of prepping the chile, everything, he says, plays into this specific cuisine’s importance. However, he says he never liked having to use frozen or powdered chile to recreate his favorite dishes. That’s why all of the Best of the West products are made shelf stable.
“I think that's really a big reason why it doesn't even make it across the state to Texas, is you've got the storage, transport, distribution, and all of that,” he says.
These costs can compile the further away from New Mexico a shipment of chiles gets. This is why Berg says his product is popular, because it’s always crisp.
“It’s great to give restaurants and consumers a real green chile that everyone can be excited about,” Berg says. “And that elevates the food across the country.”