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Culinary Institute of America
Bachelor's, Culinary Arts Management (2003)
Menu Development Catering Cuisine Culinary Skills
Enrique L. Piñeiro grew up with his mother Maritza Figueroa in Toa Baja P.R. Maritza worked and studied at the same time to raise him so Enrique started almost by necessity helping his mother in the kitchen between other tasks that he helped. That’s when his passion for cooking started. He started at the age of 16 working in a supermarket at the butcher department doing whatever he had to make money in order to help his mother and also obtain experience. At the age of 18 he found a job at the San Juan Grand Beach Resort and Casino in Isla Verde P.R working at the restaurant Ciao Mediterranean Café where he started as a prep cook and then moved forward to other stations (sauté, grill, pizza, garde manger). His passion for cooking and his desire of becoming a good Chef was so much that during his days off he worked without pay in an Italian restaurant called Mangere in Dorado Puerto Rico. It is a town next to where he used to live with his mother. He studied culinary arts management from the Culinary Institute of America, graduating with his bachelor’s degree in 2003. Enrique worked for a year in 2000 in the 3 star Michelin Restaurant El Raco de Can Fabes with Chef Santi SantaMaria in Barcelona, Spain. In 2003 after finishing his bachelor’s degree he found a job right away as Chef de Cuisine of the restaurant Madrid- San Juan in the Caribe Hilton hotel where he worked for year and a half. He was a member of the Puerto Rico National Culinary Team of Puerto Rico in 2004, where he won gold and silver medals. In the same year he won the “Buen Provecho” culinary contest at Hotel Caribe Hilton in San Juan Puerto Rico. He also worked as a Culinary Instructor at the International Culinary School in Carolina Puerto Rico, the Caribbean Culinary Institute and the “Escuela Hotelera de San Juan”. In 2005 he opened his first restaurant called “Bokaito.” In 2006 he won the reality show called “Operacion Chef” a concept created by the chain Telemundo. This opportunity converted Enrique in the principal figure of the show during three years. Enrique kept his show in the first two positions during this time, proving his abilities as Chef and as a TV Host. He also had a cooking show in Univision P.R and worked with Utilissima/Fox channels in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In 2007 he was named one of the best 10 Chefs Novel of Puerto Rico. In 2009 Enrique was selected as the Culinary Ambassador of the Puerto Ricans in the National Puerto Rican Parade in New York. Chef Piñeiro as everybody calls him in his country has his own line of products which he markets in supermarkets in Puerto Rico, and also the Florida market. On December 2009 he launched his first book “Chef Piñeiro y su Alta Cocina.” From there, he went on to create his own restaurant known as Mesa 364, which is a Chef table located in San Juan area where he received groups by reservation and serves only tasting menus with local ingredients. He’s been published extensively in local papers in Puerto Rico and has written two books, with another currently on the way. However, due to the recent hurricane in Puerto Rico, that plan has been momentarily delayed until 2018, where he will pick it back up. His dream has always been to own his own business and to be independent. His second passion, besides cooking, is managing and owning his own business. Enrique possesses a strong sense of work ethic and credits that to his immense success in the culinary field. His greatest achievement, he feels, is being able to own his own manufacturing company in conjunction with World Central Kitchen of Chef Jose Andres, where he and his crew cooked three to five thousand meals a day for the citizens of Puerto Rico post-hurricane, which they did for an entire month. His immense involvement around the island has been heavily documented by local media outlets and he’s hoping to expand his business in the future to the states. He currently is selling his product in Florida and is optimistic about his expansion plans. Enrique looks forward to connecting and networking with other professionals and to gaining the recognition and credibility of being associated with the International Alumni Association.