By Priya Konings and Jessica van Dop DeJesus
The Dining Traveler team was thrilled to be able to attend the announcement of the 2024 Restaurant and Chef Awards nominees. This year, the event took place in Washington, D.C., at the famed Waldorf Astoria Washington, DC. The announcement of nominees, which was highlighted by enthusiastic screams and claps, concluded with words from the D.C. Deputy Mayor, Nina Albert, who reminded the group of chefs, PR staff, and other culinary and hospitality stakeholders that in 2023, Washington D.C. had the most restaurant openings of any other city in the United States, with 42 openings for every 100,000 residents – quite the accomplishment! However, one of the things that made me beam with pride was the three Puerto Rican finalists: chefs Carlos Portela of Orujo and Gabriel Hernandez of Verde Mesa for the chef’s awards and documentary filmmaker Rafael Ruiz for the media awards.
Whether running a restaurant or creating compelling video content, these three Boricuas have a unique take on Puerto Rican gastronomy. Puerto Rico continues to gain more visibility in the culinary world, and rightfully so. With its diverse food culture, these artists are the perfect ambassadors.
Meet the Meet the 2024 James Beard Awards Puerto Rican Finalists:
Chef Carlos Portela
I first learned of Carlos Portela when I was producing The Dining Traveler Guide to Puerto Rico. He had just started his atelier in Caguas in 2015. Since then, he’s brought a unique take on Puerto Rican food to the island with a creative tasting menu from his restaurant in San Juan. A classically trained chef and sommelier, he describes his cooking style as avant-garde, merging his haute cuisine techniques with local boricua ingredients like yuca, sweet peppers, and locally caught ahi tuna. The Orujo dining experience takes you on a delicious multi-course journey in his cozy restaurant as Chef Portela personally pours you a glass of Rioja that he personally selected with a braised short topping a deconstructed alcapurria.
Orujo Taller, 906 Ave Juan Ponce de León, San Juan, Website
Rafael Ruiz
If you’re looking to learn about Puerto Rican food and listen to the voices of some of the most prominent chefs in Puerto Rico, subscribe to Rafael Ruiz’s La Mafia YouTube Channel. His channel is a master class of Puerto Rican food culture and a platform for boricuas to tell their stories about the island’s gastronomy. Ten years ago, he started writing about restaurants in Puerto Rico on his blog, La Mafia, with a focus on independently-owned restaurants, and it evolved into a beautiful video series focusing on establishments like Orujo, El Burén de Lula, and El Rancho de Apa. Ruiz is a second-time James Beard Media Awards finalist, with his El Burén de Lula episode nabbing a nomination in 2020.
Chef Gabriel Hernandez Febo
I still vividly remember dining at Verde Mesa, a restaurant in Old San Juan, back in 2019. Thoughts of the perfectly grilled octopus that my then toddler devoured and the tembleque (coconut custard) delicately covered in tiny fushia and orange edible flower petals come to mind. At Verde Mesa, Chef Gabriel Hernandez Febo creates edible art with his delicately plated dishes without losing that sazón boricua, like a scallop tartare atop a guava gazpacho. The restaurant, tucked away in Calle Tetuan in Old San Juan, takes you back in time with rustic furniture and vintage plates, where Chef Hernandez Febo serves his farm-to-table fare.
Verde Mesa, 107 Calle Tetuan Esq, C. San José, San Juan, Website
