“I was born and raised in Queens for the most part, but both of my parents come from abroad – so I was raised in an international environment and have always been surrounded by food. My mom actually owns a Cuban restaurant across the street from us – she’s been there for 11 years.

Being from Queens is great, The idea of a melting pot of different cultures and people cooking all kinds of different food is a beautiful thing – if you are a cook that is looking to learn any cuisine, NYC is the place, be it the street food vendors or the restaurants.

To be honest I would’ve opened a Cuban restaurant if it weren’t because my mom’s already got one; so I went ahead and created an Argentinian concept instead because I’m basically Argentinian by association, since my step dad’s from there I have been able to learn so much about the food and its culture. I also realized that NYC needed a chef-driven Argentine restaurant; there are a couple of mom and pops great places but I found a gap and in consequence my voice!”