Cocina de las Americas

Chef Luis Rene Fernandez, Chef/Proprietor of Azuca Nuevo Latino Restaurant and Bar, San Antonio, discovered he had an exceptional passion for food and the culinary arts as early on as eight years old, when he remembers becoming enamored with the “beautiful and abundant” paella he first sampled in a Spanish restaurant in Mexico City.

He did some studies at the Culinary Institute of America, as well as took specialty courses in food and beverage at Cornell University. He is also a proud member of Chaine Des Rotisseurs.

Though born and raised in Mexico, Chef Fernandez began his career working as a cook at a country club in Houston. He then joined the Sheraton in Mexico City as their chef Garde Manger, and then on to Manaus, Brazil at the Tropicana Hotel, and again on to the Hyatt Hotel in Acapulco where he worked as Sous Chef for three (3) years. Eventually he moved on to Guatemala at the Westin Comino Real where he had finally earned the honorable title and responsibility of executive chef. From there he continued his career as an executive chef working at various exotic locals, from Mexico City and Cancun to Aruba and Puerto Rico.