CHEF HECTOR SANTIAGO-

A native of Puerto Rico, Chef Hector Santiago, began his culinary career nearly 25 years ago in the San Juan kitchen of his mentor, Chef Giovanna Huyke. Under her advisement, Santiago attended the Culinary Institute of America in New York. Following graduation, he trained in the kitchens of the Greenbrier Hotel in West Virginia, the Manhattan Ocean Club, Stony Hill Inn in New Jersey and Heartland Brewery. He expanded his culinary techniques with stints in the kitchens of renowned international chefs, including José Andrés, Wylie Dufresne, and Andoni Luis Aduriz.

In 2001, Chef Santiago moved to Atlanta and opened his acclaimed restaurant, Pura Vida. For more than a decade, the highly regarded tapas restaurant provided a venue for Santiago to showcase the authentic flavors and ingredients garnered from years of traveling, cooking and exploring his beloved Latino America. As Chef-Owner of Pura Vida, Santiago was a three-time James Beard Foundation “Best Chef of the Southeast” semifinalist; in 2011 he was named Star Chef’s Rising Star of Atlanta and earned a spot on Bravo’s Emmy-winning show, “Top Chef Las Vegas” (Season 6).

What started as a popular weekend popup at Pura Vida, Santiago officially opened El Super Pan at Ponce City Market in 2015, receiving accolades from VOGUE, Travel + Leisure, Eater, The Local Palate, CNN, Thrillist, USA Today, the Travel Channel, Food Network, Zagat, Food & Wine, and many more. In 2018, he opened a second El Super Pan location at The Battery Atlanta. El Super Pan is a classic Latin kitchen highlighting the bold and rich flavors of Cocina Criolla and the Spanish Caribbean, with a beautiful melody of Indigenous food, Spanish and African cuisine. His inventive takes on tropical cocktails lead guests through a vacation in the Caribbean, highlighting rum flavors from both Puerto Rico and Cuba.

With the success of El Super Pan, Chef Santiago will be bringing El Burro Pollo, an authentic Mexican burrito and ceviche cantina inspired by the Pacific west coast, to the chef-driven “Collective” at the CODA building in Midtown in spring 2020.

“Saludos, y’all!!!”

- Chef Hector Santiago