Héctor Ismael Jiménez-Bravo (, born 14 January 1972 in

Bucaramanga Bucaramanga () is the capital and largest city of the department of Santander Department, Santander, Colombia. Bucaramanga has the fifth-largest economy by GDP in Colombia, has the lowest unemployment rate and is the ninth most populous city i ...

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

) is a Colombian-born Canadian and Ukrainian chef, businessman, television presenter and culinary arts lecturer. He is currently based in

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

, holding

Ukrainian citizenship Ukrainian nationality law details the conditions by which a person holds nationality of Ukraine. The primary law governing these requirements is the law "On Citizenship of Ukraine", which came into force on 1 March 2001. Any person born to at ...

and serving as a judge on shows such as ''

MasterChef Ukraine ''MasterChef Ukraine'' is a Ukrainian competitive reality television cooking show based on the revival USA version of ''MasterChef (U.S. TV series), MasterChef''. The first episode aired on 31 August 2011 on STB (TV channel), STB. Judges Master ...

'', ''

Ukraine's Got Talent ''Ukrayina maye talant'' (; ) is a Ukrainian reality television series on the STB television network, and part of the global British ''Got Talent'' series. It is a talent show that features singers, dancers, sketch artists, comedians, and other p ...

''. He is the founder of Bravo Restaurant Group Company and is a recipient of "The World Master Chef" award.

Biography

Hector Jimenez-Bravo was born and raised in

. In the words of the chef himself, his mother has encouraged him to cook. He was interested not only in the procedure of cooking but also in its aesthetic side. In high school, he was into fine arts, which woke-up his creative side. Later on, he did enrolled into the Culinary Arts Program from the National Learning Service in Bogota, from where he has graduated. After in 1992, he began to work in the best 5 star hotels of Colombia, such as the "Hotel Charleston Casa Medina", "Metrotel Royal Park" from Royal Hotels. In 1995–1999, he lectured Culinary Arts at National Learning Service of Medellin. At the age of 27, he was offered to become a Chef of Restaurants at one of the most luxurious hotels in the USA – Hilton Boston Back Bay in Boston. He then became the youngest chef at this Hilton. At first days of his work, colleagues did not perceived Hector seriously, because of his youthful age, but soon they encountered his professionalism. According to Hector Jimenez-Bravo, the work in the U.S. had a powerful influence on him, and divided his career into two parts – before and after Hilton. After one of private dinners at the Hilton organized for a group of hoteliers from Canada, he was invited to work in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

. Hector was offered a contract to open at The Marshes Golf Club. After a little more than 2 years he made a move to open the restaurant "Foundation" in the Canadian capital. The restaurants led by Hector, more than once made the top 10 best restaurants in Canada. After 6 years in Canada, Jimenez-Bravo took the citizenship of this country. In 2006, Jimenez-Bravo became a chef at Radisson SAS Royal Hotel,

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

. His work brought to the hotel Radisson the «Best Hotel Restaurant Award» from magazine "TimeOut". After his arrival to

, he surprised the city with the opening of a «Nuevo Latino» concept, which was very unknown and new to the city. In 2006 the G8 Summit took place in St. Petersburg, where Jimenez-Bravo had a difficult task serving heads of the world's leading countries. After Russia, in 2007, Jimenez-Bravo moved back to Canada, where he took a lead on the kitchen at the

Delta Hotels Delta Hotels by Marriott is a four-star brand of hotels and resorts located primarily in North America. History Beginnings In June 1962, William Pattison and his business partners opened the 68-room Delport Inn in Richmond, BC. That Septemb ...

& Resorts in

Fredericton Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River (Bay of Fundy), Saint John River, ...

. In 2008, Hector left for the

Maldives The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in South Asia located in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, abou ...

to lead the kitchens of the most famous Hotels in Asia. There he was the Director of Cuisine at "W Retreat & SPA" and the "Sheraton Maldives Full Moon Resort & SPA" hotels. Traveling to Singapore and Hong Kong, Hector studied the culture of

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

and

Malay cuisine Malay cuisine (; Jawi script, Jawi: ) is the traditional food of the ethnic Malays of Southeast Asia, residing in modern-day Malaysia, Indonesia (parts of Sumatra and Kalimantan), Singapore, Brunei, Southern Thailand and the Philippines (most ...

s, and was part of the "Task Force" for the openings of the " W Hong Kong" and the "St. Regis Singapore" hotels. In 2009, Hector Jimenez-Bravo received an offer from the international hotel chain

InterContinental Hotels Group InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), marketed as IHG Hotels & Resorts, is a British multinational hospitality company headquartered in Windsor, Berkshire, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange. It ...

to open restaurants at the five-star hotel InterContinental Kyiv in

, where he created and implemented the concepts of all the restaurants. Aside from the hotel, Hector developed concepts for several restaurants of the owning company. At the end of 2010, he developed restaurant concepts and kitchen technology for the

Fairmont Grand Hotel Kyiv Fairmont can refer to: Places Canada * Fairmont Hot Springs, British Columbia, a resort town ** Fairmont Mountain, a summit near Fairmont Hot Springs United States *Fairmont, Illinois *Fairmont, Minnesota * Fairmont, Missouri *Fairmont, Neb ...

, as well as other prestigious hotels in

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

. From September 2011, Hector has been involved into several culinary projects on Ukrainian television, primarily STV channel. In 2016, Hector has opened his First restaurant of modern Chinese cuisine in Ukraine BAO. In 2018 Hector has opened NAM. Modern Vietnamese Restaurant and pastry shop Bo.Pastry. In 2017, Hector published "The first culinary book" (in Ukrainian) which became a bestseller with 400,000 book sold. In 2018 he publishes second culinary book "New Year Culinary Book" In May 2021, he received Ukrainian citizenship. Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Hector Jimenez-Bravo expressed his support for Ukraine: "My heart aches for Ukraine. My place is here. Ukrainians - are my family." He returned from Colombia, where he was on vacation in Warsaw, and began working with local voluntary organizations. Hector is involved in two directions - refugee coordination and organizing charity events to collect funds for Ukraine. Also, Hector's restaurants and partner establishments in Kyiv prepare 2000-2500 meals daily. Food is given to territorial defenses, Armed Forces, police, hospitals, as well as old people who need help.

Culinary style

Hector Bravo's culinary style is based on the ideas of multiculturalism and integration of wide variety of cooking methods. Hector Bravo is a founder of his own culinary style «Nuevo Latino». It combines Latin American culinary traditions, French refinement and the delicacy of the Asian cuisine.

"My food speaks with its own language, the
Latin American Latin Americans (; ) are the citizenship, citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their Latin American diaspora, diasporas are Metroethnicity, ...
that I love, the French culture which I have learned, the Asian techniques that always inspire me and the Canadian spirit because it is inside of my heart."

Hector Jimenez-Bravo describing his culinary style.

TV projects

* 2011 Judge of

MasterChef ''MasterChef'' is a competitive cooking show television format created by Franc Roddam, which originated with MasterChef (British TV series), the British version in July 1990. The show aims to discover the culinary talent of chefs of varying sk ...

Ukraine, STB channel * 2011 TV Host of post-show

, STB channel * 2012 TV Host for "The Culinary Dynasty" show, STB channel * 2012 Culinary Expert "Everything Will be OK" show, STB channel * 2012 Judge of

Ukraine 2nd season, STB channel * 2013 TV Host for "Culinary Dynasty" show 2nd season, STB channel * 2013 Judge of the

Ukraine 3rd Season, STB channel * 2014 Judge of the

6th Season, STB channel * 2014 Judge of the

Ukraine 4th Season, STB channel * 2015 Judge of the

Ukraine 5th Season, STB channel * 2016 Judge of the MasterChef Kids Ukraine 1st Season, STB channel * 2016 Judge of the

Ukraine 6th Season, STB channel * 2017 Judge of the

Ukraine 7th Season, STB channel * 2018 Judge of the

Ukraine 8th Season, STB channel * 2019 Judge of the

Professionals Ukraine 1st Season, STB channel * 2019 Judge of the

Ukraine 9th Season, STB channel * 2020 Judge of the

Ukraine Professionals 2nd Season, STB channel * 2020 Judge of the

Ukraine 10th Season, STB channel Appeared as the Star Guest: * 2011 " The Cube show", STB channel * 2012 "

Big Difference ''Big Difference'' () was a Russian parody TV show. Conceptually it is similar to the ''MADtv'' show or the German comedy show, ''Switch''. Created by producers Aleksandr Tsekalo and Ruslan Sorokin in 2007. The actors within the project are per ...

", 1+1 channel * 2013 "Darling, we are killing the kids" show, STB channel. * 2013 "You Think you can dance" show, STB channel. * 2014 "One for All" show, STB channel. * 2014 "Hata na tata" show, STB channel.

Interesting facts

* His first job after graduation from High school, he was washing dishes in a Hotel. * Has served the late

Queen of the United Kingdom The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with their powers regulated by the British cons ...

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

, U.S. President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

, British Prime Minister

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...

, Russian President

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

, pop singer

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

and

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Lopez (born July 24, 1969), also known by her nickname J.Lo, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer and businesswoman. Lopez is regarded as one of the most influential entertainers of her time, credited with breaking ...

. * His favorite dish – "

Scallop Scallop () is a common name that encompasses various species of marine bivalve molluscs in the taxonomic family Pectinidae, the scallops. However, the common name "scallop" is also sometimes applied to species in other closely related famili ...

s from Normandy with leek, black truffle and broth Parmentier", which he developed with his friend

Alain Ducasse Alain Ducasse (; born 13 September 1956) is a French-born Monégasque chef. He operates a number of restaurants, including Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester, which holds three stars (the top rating) in the Michelin Guide. Early life and career D ...

. * Hector's favorite cocktail is "Chili & passion" served at the Principe di Savoya hotel in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

. It combines vodka, passion fruit, chilli and citrus juice. * During his travels he always takes a set of 58 professional Swiss knives. He always carries an internal temperature thermometer to measure the temperature of the dishes he prepares. * Bravo has been working since he was 16, but he has never been on holiday for more than two weeks. * Bravo is very interested in

diving Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), ...

. He became an open-water diver. He has confessed, that most of the major decisions in his life, he took while diving.

Business

Hector Jimenez-Bravo is a head of the international consulting company "Bravo Restaurant Group". Dozens of restaurants in

, Montreal,

, Hong Kong and other cities have been opened under the leadership of the company. In 2011, Jimenez-Bravo launched the production of spices, manufactured by his own formulations and recipes. His spices went on sale under the brand "Pripravka" brand which was found by SPS group in year 2000. In November 2013, opened Hector Jimenez-Bravo Culinary Academy in Kyiv. Its mission is to introduce world culinary cuisine to culinary fans and to improve proficiency of professional cooks. In May 2016, opened Hector Jimenez-Bravo Online Culinary Academy. In February 2016, opened Modern Chinese cuisine restaurant BAO in Kyiv.

Quotes

"The creative culinary manner of Hector Bravo can be characterized by the meanings of "passion and energy", but, aside from that, words such as "tenderness" and "finesse" would be appropriate as well.

Natalia Siverina, restaurant critic, "Kommersant"

References

External links

Official site

Hector Jimenez Bravo at Ukrainian Master Chef site

Hector Jimenez-Bravo
at the Chef and Restaurant Database
Jimenez-Bravo's Facebook page

World Master Chef Society
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jimenez-Bravo, Hector People from Bucaramanga 1972 births Living people Colombian emigrants to Canada Ukrainian television personalities Colombian chefs Canadian chefs Canadian restaurateurs Canadian television chefs Ukrainian chefs Naturalized citizens of Canada Naturalized citizens of Ukraine