User:Chef Mario Pagán

Mario Pagán is the chef and owner of five of the finest restaurants in Puerto Rico; MARIO PAGAN, his Modern Puertorican flagship restaurant, SAGE Italian Steak Loft and RAYA his latest exploration into Carb-Asian fare, all in the Condado Beach exclusive San Juan area. He’s also the Culinary Director at the Dorado Beach Resort & Golf Club where MELAO by Mario Pagan is located, his newest restaurant which opened its doors after Hurricane Maria. He also oversees the menus of 3 more restaurants on the property. His dedication to introducing modern Puerto Rican and Caribbean flavors to the rest of the world are front and center again at LA CENTRAL Rum Bar-Bacoa at the new Distrito T-Mobile entretainment center. It’s menu pays homage to the history of our Rum and native style cooking of the Caribbean. Mario’s passion for cooking began while watching the women in his family prepare traditional Caribbean meals in his childhood. In 1992, while in Miami on his second year of Architectural school, he decided to make a career change to pursue his passion for food and enrolled at Johnson & Wales University. He then went on to hone his skills in the kitchens of well-known chefs such as Carmen Gonzalez, Pascal Oudin, the great Norman Van Aken, and the man he considers his mentor, Alfredo Ayala, the founder of CHAYOTE Restaurant and undoubtably the father of Modern Native cuisine. Mario acquired CHAYOTE off Ayala, the first restaurant he owned, and then went on to open LEMONGRASS Pan Asian Latino and LAUREL Kitchen Art Bar at the Puerto Rico Museum of Art. In September 2022 CHAYOTE will emerge again at Winterpark Village in Orlando, Florida. His belief has always been on respecting the ingredients and helping the sustainability of the island by promoting our local farmers, fishermen, producers and everybody that helps the future of our agriculture and our local food supply. He’s a member of the James Beard Foundation’s State Department Culinary Diplomacy Chefs Partnership and was part of their delegation at the 2015 Milan World Expo. He’s also a member of an army of chefs recruited by the James Beard Foundation and Chefs Collaborative to educate on sustainability and food consciousness all over the world. He has always been involved in helping children-based organizations like St Jude’s Children Hospital for their annual gala in Puerto Rico and his own charity, “Play it Forward with Mario & Friends,” which donates toys to foster kids on the island. Mario was a featured chef on Food Network’s “Next Iron Chef” 3rd season. He hosted two cooking television series on FOX Latino, “Sabores de Ensueño” and “Boricuas,” and also co-wrote books “Cocinas del Mundo del Caribe: and “La Gran Cocina Caribeña.” His most recent collaboration on “Waste Not,” a book by the James Beard Foundation on food waste, was published in September 2018. One of the most recent and important collaborations has been with his friend Chef José Andres on creating awareness and support for World Central Kitchen and Chefs For Puerto Rico.