Roberto Treviño is an American chef known for his appearances on '' Iron Chef: America'' and '' The Next Iron Chef''. He is chef and owner of three restaurants and a bar in the Condado area of

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan ( , ; Spanish for "Saint John the Baptist, John") is the capital city and most populous Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the ...

Personal life

Treviño was born and raised in

Sunnyvale, California Sunnyvale () is a city located in the Santa Clara Valley in northwestern Santa Clara County, California, United States. Sunnyvale lies along the historic El Camino Real (California), El Camino Real and U.S. Route 101 in California, Highway 1 ...

. He became fascinated with the kitchen when he began working as a young cook in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

while he was still in high school.

Career

Treviño moved to Puerto Rico in the early 1990s to work as a chef for the inauguration of the El Conquistador Resort in

Fajardo, Puerto Rico Fajardo () is a town and a municipality part of the San Juan-Caguas-Fajardo Combined Statistical Area in Puerto Rico. Fajardo is the hub of much of the recreational boating in Puerto Rico and a popular launching port to Culebra, Vieques, and ...

. In 1996 he quit his job at ''El Conquistador'' to open ''The Parrot Club'', a Nuevo Latino restaurant in

Old San Juan Old San Juan () is a historic district located at the "northwest triangle" of the San Juan Islet, islet of San Juan in San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan. Its area roughly correlates to the Ballajá, Old San Juan, Ballajá, Catedral, Old San Juan, ...

, where he served as

Executive Chef A chef de cuisine (, French language, French for ''head of kitchen'') or head chef is a chef that Supervisor, leads a kitchen and its cooks. A chef patron (feminine form ''chef patronne'') (French for ''boss chef'') or executive chef is a chef ...

. Following the success of ''The Parrot Club'', Treviño opened two more restaurants in Old San Juan: ''Dragonfly'' (2000), specializing in Latin-Asian Cuisine, and ''Aguaviva'' (2002), a seafood restaurant. In 2007, Treviño stepped down as Executive Chef of the three restaurants in Old San Juan and opened the 5,000 square foot Latin-Asian ''Budatai'' in Condado as Chef / Owner. He has since opened three more locales of his own in Condado: ''Bar Gitano'' which features Spanish

tapas Tapas () are appetisers or snacks in Spanish cuisine. They can be combined to make a full meal and are served cold (such as mixed olives and cheese) or hot (such as , which are battered, fried baby squid; or , spicy potatoes). In some bars ...

and

paella Paella (, , , , ; ) is a rice dish originally from the Valencian Community. ''Paella'' is regarded as one of the community's identifying symbols. It is one of the best-known dishes in Spanish cuisine. The dish takes its name from the wide, sha ...

s, local

watering hole A watering hole or waterhole is a geological depression in which a body of water forms, usually a pond or a small lake. A watering hole is "a sunken area of land that fills with water". Watering holes may be ephemeral or seasonal. Ephemeral ...

''El Barril'', and his latest, the 16,000 square foot "

criollo Criollo or criolla (Spanish for creole) may refer to: People * Criollo people, a social class in the Spanish colonial system. Animals * Criollo duck, a species of duck native to Central and South America. * Criollo cattle, a group of cattle bre ...

kitchen" ''Casa Lola''. His fifth restaurant in Puerto Rico, ''Rosa Mexicano'', a collaboration with NYC

restaurateur A restaurateur is a person who opens and runs restaurants professionally. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who owns a restaurant, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspe ...

Howard Greenstone, is set to open in early 2013. Treviño has cooked dinner at the

James Beard Foundation The James Beard Foundation is an American non-profit culinary arts organization based in New York City. It was named after James Beard, a food writer, teacher, and cookbook author. Its programs include guest-chef dinners to scholarships for asp ...

house in New York, & Orlando for their award events, is frequently featured as a guest chef in food events throughout the US and the Caribbean, including the ''Aspen Food & Wine Classic'', ''Telluride Culinary Festival'' and the ''St Croix Food and Wine Festival'', and has served as guest chef on Celebrity Cruise Lines ships on several occasions. He has made numerous television appearances both in Puerto Rico and the US, including a battle against renowned Chef

Mario Batali Mario Francesco Batali (born September 19, 1960) is an American chef, writer, and former restaurateur. Batali co-owned restaurants in New York City; Las Vegas; Los Angeles; Newport Beach, California; Boston; Singapore; Westport, Connecticut; and ...

on ''Iron Chef: America'', as a contestant on ''The Next Iron Chef'', with

Rachael Ray Rachael Domenica Ray (born August 25, 1968) is an American cook, television personality, businesswoman, and author. She hosted the syndicated daily talk and lifestyle program '' Rachael Ray''. Other programs to her credit include ''30 Minut ...

on her show

$40 a Day ''$40 a Day'' was a Food Network show hosted by Rachael Ray. In each episode, Ray takes a one-day trip to an American, Canadian, or European city with only $40 US, to spend on food. While touring the city, she finds restaurants to go to (often ...

, as well as on his own local shows ''Kandela'' and the currently running ''4 Minutos con Chef Treviño'' on

WIPR-TV WIPR-TV (channel 6) is a non-commercial educational public television station in San Juan, Puerto Rico, owned by the '' Corporación de Puerto Rico para la Difusión Pública'' (English: Puerto Rico Public Broadcasting Corporation). Most of t ...

. In late 2011 Treviño launched ''CookShop'', a production company specializing in television production and live events. Up to date CookShop has produced Treviño's series ''4 Minutos con Chef Treviño'' and presented the ''Food & Fashion Festival'', a once a year event which was attended by more than 3,000 guests on its inaugural date.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trevino, Roberto Living people People from Sunnyvale, California American chefs Date of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people)