Not interested in the traditional schooling path I decided to embark on a culinary journey. I was seeking to master a variety of flavors, so I ventured across Caribbean islands and the South American continent.
I traveled to several places with one goal in mind: Learn the Cuisine. By understanding the local ingredients I was able to learn more about the people, the culture, and the day to day of a variety of places. I set out to Puerto Rico and worked with the incredibly talented Chef Carlos Portela. Carlos’s restaurant, Orujo, is focusing on hyper-local Puerto Rican ingredients, and is currently helping revitalize the local agriculture of the island via a 17-course tasting menu.
After seeking out exotic Latino flavors in Puerto Rico, Peru, & Colombia, my travels opened a door for me to cook in Bahrain under Spanish Michelin Chef Juan Gomez. From the desert, I went into the tropics of Thailand and cooked under Thai Michelin chef, Thitid Tassanakajohn. My journey was far from over, and I eventually completed a month-long excursion in Iceland in 2021. This was an amazing lesson in fermentation and food preservation while working with Michelin-starred chef Gunnar Karl Gíslason and his team at Dill.
By coming back to the High Rockies of Colorado, I wish to take the roots of my Latino heritage and use the techniques I’ve learned from my worldly travels. Boriqua is my gift to you, a fusion dance of worldly influence channeled through a Colorado X Puerto Rican kitchen.
