Since entering college, I have maintained a passion for the restaurant industry. It started out as a serving job at Chuy’s Tex Mex, and expanded into me changing from a Pre-Vet Med, Bio major to a Hospitality Management major. This then resulted in me moving to South Korea after graduation, working as an English teacher for 4 years ,and then trying to open my own restaurant with a close friend on Jeju Island, South Korea. This sense of wonder and appreciation for global cuisine has now culminated in me pursuing my true passion of working as a Chef and eventually opening my own upscale Puerto Rican and Soul food restaurant.

Food is so important to me and is deeply a part of my culture and upbringing. Both sides of my family have always used food as a way to connect and teach us about our culture. Both my grandmothers on both my Puerto Rican and Black sides, used and still use food as a way to teach us about our family and who we are. Puerto Rican food is not a cuisine that is well know, or thought of as upscale. Soul food is well known in the states, but is also not elevated or appreciated at the level that it should be. I want to showcase these cuisines in a different light, and create elevated cuisine that is available to everyone, not only those who can pay an obscene price tag……….not in today’s economy.