Meet Chef Ventura Vivoni

Ventura Vivoni

He was born next to a coffee plantation in the mountains of Adjuntas, Puerto Rico where his passion for nature, the arts, and hospitality began. As a child, his mother taught him about taste and the traditional flavors of his native cuisine, giving him tasks that he carried out with his own style, and above all, with love. When he could barely reach the stovetop, he would climb on a chair in order to cook. That cooking that he learned from his mother from infancy called to him. And so, he moved to the city of San Juan where he studied Culinary Arts at the Instituto de Banca. After graduation he experimented at several restaurants and developed a culinary intellect  full of innovative styles in Latin-Asian, Creative Creole, Latin-Thai, and Nuovo-Giro cuisine, in addition to Bori-Sushi, Kiosk-Gourmet (also known as Gastro-Pub in large cities), among other fusions.
 

More into what contemporary cuisines offer, he develops and executes an ideology that he calls Global Kitchen Artist. It is a mixture or fusion of cultures without borders. With vast knowledge of the culinary arts, music, and painting, this young chef fuses his talents to delight his diners. He has his own idea of what cooking is and performs like a gastronomic artist, kitchen author, and developer of tastes. His culinary style has opened him to other challenges within the culinary/gastronomic profession. Among these, he was recommended for work in Grenada (the Spice Island) as Executive Chef at a four-star hotel. While there he was in charge of two restaurants and twenty employees. He was also a trainer for the culinary team that would represent the island at the Taste of the Caribbean competitions.  In addition, he was invited to be part of the renowned gastronomic event Saborea Puerto Rico, where along with other great chefs, made an impressive culinary demonstration.
 

Upon completing his experience in Grenada, he decided to launch himself towards achieving another of his dreams: learn and know more about different cultures. He travelled to the Old World and immersed himself in the depths of Spanish cuisine. During his experiences as a globetrotter, Vivoni explores nooks, crannies, and corners in search of the flavors that characterize the motherland and was able to contact the appropriate people. In Castilla & León and with the collaboration of El Exal-a branch of the region’s government- he was able to contact farmers, ranchers, winemakers, cheese makers, and chefs, among other contacts, that allowed him to visit places that guard gastronomic secrets from different cultures. Encouraged by a book and with camera in hand, he had the opportunity to visit vineyards, meat packers and processing plants for Spanish ham- known in Spain as 'de pata negra', the most expensive in the world- sausages, and important cheeses and wines from Spain. Documenting and investigating, he continued his travels through important cities in Spain like Barcelona with his market filled streets, Galicia, and Valladolid. Later he continued to France where he enjoyed its culinary culture from another perspective by visiting traditional markets and cultural links, where oriental invasions arise. Like Chinatown in New York City, Paris has an Asian/European culture of great importance located in Zone 14 that has a market with a wide variety of products important to French diet. Both cultures have complemented each other based on the needs and traditions that have travelled through time and space. Thus Vivoni captured the magnitude of international gastronomic forces.
 

Taking a hiatus in his travels, Vivoni returned to Puerto Rico with a heart full of desires and a mind brimming with ideas, ready to begin a new adventure-to have his own restaurant in the mountains of Adjuntas where he was born. With his vision and alongside his family, he initiated a different concept on the Island. Currently, at the Hacienda Luz de Luna in the Yahuecas Ward of Adjuntas, it is possible to enjoy a relaxing experience full of flavors and traditions. Restaurarte Vida Ventura is the new concept with which Vivoni revives the restaurant concept of yesteryear: offer an experience in which good service and haute cuisine go hand in hand to make dinning magical and unforgettable.
 

Chef Vivoni also participated in Food Network’s Cutthroat Kitchen Season 7, “The Taco Challenge” where he gained much popularity.  Vivoni also has a television program on WIPR TV - Travesías con Sabor – a program filmed completely at exterior locations throughout Puerto Rico and directed at promoting local ingredients, taking them from the farm or ranch to the table. It is currently in its fourth season. ,

He recently opened his second culinary endeavor, Casa Blanca Neighborhood Grill, in Altamira, Guaynabo, offering a new style of Puerto Rican cuisine that goes beyond rice and beans.
 

His next project is the launching of his brand “Monte Adentro”, which opens with his its first product, “Chulería en Pote”, a condiment consisting of mixed spices directed at healthy cooking.