Private Chef Celio Castillo

I originally started by making and selling, homemade Colombian empanadas and tamales in around my neighborhood, public parks, and office spaces. My professional career began in 2009 at the French Culinary Institute in New York City. In New York, I worked a gamut of spaces stemming from basic dive bars, to fine dining establishments such as the Plaza Hotel, and Salinas NYC. My career has also taken me to San Francisco, Napa, Barcelona, Peru, and Colombia. Everywhere and everyone I meet (regardless of positive or negative) adds to my great, useful experiences to my life. What experience are you going to add to my life?

For me, cooking is...

A creation of feelings. Each time we cook, we can feel something new or something long forgotten.

I learned to cook at...

I began my professional career at the French Culinary Institute (now ICC) in New York City, but my journey began in my grandmother's house in Colombia