Viceroy Cooks Up Ongoing Guest Chef Series
at its Chic Mexican Resorts
Food lovers looking for innovative and diverse culinary experiences while on vacation will relish the new guest chef series at Viceroy’s two chic seaside luxury resorts in Mexico called ‘Tastes of Mexico.’The program will bring hot and trending Mexican chefs to both properties each quarter to collaborate with the Executive Chef on creative, edgy dinner menus. And guests can savor these original menus as part of a special Viceroy package.
The first guest chef dinners will be:
- July 9, 2016, La Marea restaurant, at Viceroy Riviera Maya, featuring Chef Pablo Salas of Amaranta, #41 on the San Pellegrino List of the Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants, and the resort’s Executive Chef Jorge Ildefonso.
- July 15-16, 2016, La Marea restaurant, at Viceroy Zihuatanejo, featuring Chef Federico Lopez, director of the Culinary Center of Mexico, Chef Arturo Fernandez of award-winning Restaurant Ruiz, and the resort’s Executive Chef Eduardo Avila.
At Viceroy Zihuatanejo:
- The Tastes of Mexico Package, including accommodations for three nights, the Guest Chef Dinner with wine pairing and daily breakfast, starts at $255 per night.
- The Guest Chef Dinner with wine pairing only is $65.
- For more information and reservations: Tel.: 52 755 55 55 500, toll-free USA/Canada 866-905-9560. vz.reservations@
viceroyhotelsandresorts.com, www.viceroyzihuatanejo.com
At Viceroy Riviera Maya:
- The Guest Chef Dinner with wine pairing is $100 and includes a welcome cocktail hour starting at 7:00 pm where the Chefs will interact with the guests. The dinner, starting at 8:00 pm, will feature six courses, three by each chef. Each of the six courses will be paired with wine.
- For more information and reservations: Tel.: 52 984 877 3000, toll-free USA/Canada 800-578-0281 vrm.reservations@
viceroyhotelsandresorts.com, www.viceroyrivieramaya.com
Jorge Ildefonso took charge of the kitchen at Viceroy Riviera Maya as Executive Chef in December 2014. Previously, he had honed his culinary skills at leading hotels and resorts in Mexico, including as Chef de Cuisine at the Five Diamond Grand Luxe in Nuevo Vallarta, Executive Sous Chef at Hotel Villa del Palmar, Loreto, and Chef de Cuisine at The Grand Mayan Hotel, Los Cabos. He prepares gourmet Mexican cuisine in La Marea that melds tradition with innovation and new interpretations and techniques, and at the exclusive resort’s seaside Coral Grill oversees delectable Mexican-Mediterranean dishes cooked on wood-burning grills.
Executive Chef Eduardo Avila of Viceroy Zihuatanejo took the reins of the resort’s culinary team in January, bringing more than 15 years of experience at exclusive hotels, private clubs and cruise lines. He is a dynamic and creative professional who has prepared world-class cuisine for a wide range of discriminating, high-profile and VIP guests. His past experience includes executive positions with Hotel Ecce Inn, Guanajuato; Lyford Cay Club, Nassau, Bahamas; M.S. Westerdam, Holland America Cruise Line; Allure of the Seas, Royal Caribbean International; St. Regis Hotel, Mexico City, and Four Seasons Hotel, Mexico City.
Chef Arturo Fernandez is a graduate in Culinary Arts from the Culinary Center Ragweed in Mexico City and the 2004 Gold Medal winner of the Young Mexican Chef competition. He developed his skills in two of Spain’s most famous restaurants, Chef Andoni Luis Aduriz’s Mugaritz in San Sebastian and Ferrán Adriá’s El Bulli in Girona. Currently, he is the Corporate Chef of Coronado Group, co-owner/chef of acclaimed Restaurant Raiz in Atizapàn de Zaragoza, Mexico, and the Director of the organizing committee of the International Congress of Gastronomy Fusion Mexico.
Chef Federico Lopez, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, is a founder and former director of Mexico’s first school of gastronomy, the Culinary Center of Mexico, better known as the Ambrosia School, where he developed academic programs and culinary competitions, including the Young Mexican Chef competition, and coordinated gastronomic exhibitions, workshops and food festivals both international and Mexican. His many awards include the Éditions Larousse list of the Top 20 Best Chefs in Mexico and winner in 2007 of the Iron Chef Competition at the Hot & S
Spicy Food Festival in Toronto, Canada.
Chef Pablo Salas launched Amaranta, in the city of Toluca, in September 2010, preparing cuisine faithfully based on the regional cooking of his home state of Toluca. It quickly rose to become among the most highly regarded restaurants in Mexico, and indeed the world, currently ranked #41 on the San Pellegrino list of Latin America’s Top 50 Restaurants. Chef Salas also is a delegate to the Conservatory of Gastronomic Culture Mexicana (CCGM), a member of the Mexican Collective Kitchen, teaches cooking classes, writes food articles and is a judge and speaker at culinary conferences and festivals worldwide.About Viceroy Riviera Maya
The Viceroy Riviera Maya is a serene all-villa, adults-only hideaway where guests experience true relaxation, gracious villa living, exquisite dining, personalized pampering, healing spa treatments and much more in a stunning ambiance combining lush jungle with a sugary-white-sand beach lapped by the warm turquoise waters of the Caribbean.The 41 villas offer luxury, privacy and generous indoor and outdoor living space – for a perfect vacation escape. They feature an array of elegant and comfortable appointments including a terrace with lounge chairs, table and private plunge pool, plush 500-thread-count linens, oversize shower plus a private outdoor shower, dual sinks, spacious closets, Nespresso coffee maker, Bose radio with iPod dock, HDTV and DVD player.
Among the delights of a getaway to the Viceroy Riviera Maya are refined Mexican cuisine accented with international influences at La Marea, Mexican-Mediterranean dishes cooked on wood-burning grills at the seaside Coral Grill, a palm-ringed lagoon pool, Maya-influenced spa, fitness center, day beds at the beach, and a pier where guests enjoy massages, romantic dinners and are conveniently picked up by boat for snorkeling, diving and other excursions. The resort is located 35 minutes from Cancun International Airport and three miles from the restaurants, boutiques and nightlife of popular Playa del Carmen.
About Viceroy Zihuatanejo
A paradise on Mexico’s Pacific coast, Viceroy Zihuatanejo is nestled on one of the country’s most beautiful and pristine beaches, Playa La Ropa, on tranquil Zihuatanejo Bay, and known for its gourmet dining and special services and amenities. The enchanting two-story adobe-inspired casitas, housing 46 luxurious suites and guestrooms, are tucked in gentle hills above the picturesque fishing village of Zihuatanejo. The garden landscape is rich with coconut trees, rainbow-hued bougainvillea and vibrant hibiscus. The resort’s exquisite white-sand beach stretches for 600 feet along a gorgeous coastline. Two gourmet restaurants – La Villa, featuring Pacific-Mexican cuisine prepared with the freshest locally caught seafood, and La Marea, serving Mediterranean and Mexican fare – are complemented by the friendly sanctuary of the Coral Bar offering ceviche & tequila tastings and the mixologists’ special concoctions. Guests enjoy massages and treatments at an intimate spa in a lush tropical setting, fitness center, yoga and an array of activities from water sports to cooking classes. Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo International Airport is a 15-minute drive from Viceroy Zihuatanejo.About Viceroy Hotel Group
Viceroy Hotel Group delivers one-of-a-kind lifestyle experiences that bring together provocative design and intuitive service in sought-after locations. Signature brand amenities and services created for the diverse business and leisure guests include dynamic dining venues featuring world-class culinary talents and destination spas specializing in health, fitness and beauty. Current properties include hotels and resorts in Abu Dhabi, Anguilla, Beverly Hills, Maldives, Miami, New York, Riviera Maya, San Francisco, Santa Monica, Snowmass, St. Lucia and Zihuatanejo with forthcoming openings in Algarve, Cartagena, Chicago and Dubai. For more information, visit www.ViceroyHotelGroup.
