Meet your new Chef

Chef Rafael Borbolla has joined the Grand Residences team as the new Executive Chef.

Originally from Mexico City, Chef Borbolla studied Culinary Arts in the Colegio Superior de Hoteleria y de Turismo Cesar Ritz and at the Instituto de Estudios Superiores de Turismo, both in Mexico City. He also took specialist diploma courses in Mexican and Italian cuisine at the Universidad del Claustro de Sor Juana.

Chef Borbolla trained with the acclaimed French chef Olivier Lombard and collaborated in the opening of Le Cirque restaurant in Polanco before his love of the sea took him to Puerto Vallarta to work for Westin.

After four years, he moved to Los Cabos to join Royal Solaris and 18 months later to Grand Velas Riviera Nayarit, before returning to Baja California Sur and Dreams Los Cabos.

His first job as Executive Chef was at Le Bistro, a gourmet restaurant in Puerto Vallarta and he then returned to Riviera Nayarit as Executive Sous Chef at the Grand Velas Resort where he was responsible for maintaining AAA Five Diamond and The Leading Hotels of the World® quality standards in the resort’s restaurants.

After many years on the Pacific coast, his sights turned to the Mexican Caribbean and he joined Secrets Maroma Beach as Executive Sous Chef before moving to Zoëtry Paraiso de la Bonita & Impression as Executive Chef.

Chef Borbolla also taught gastronomy at the Technological University in Bahia de Banderas, Nayarit and at the Instituto Franco-Mexicano de Artes Culinarias in Puerto Vallarta. He has participated in a number of Food Festivals in Puerto Vallarta and the Riviera Maya, the 2012 World Economic Forum and the Tianguis Turistico Travel Fair co-hosted by Puerto Vallarta and Riviera Nayarit.

He describes the fresh seafood from the Pacific coast of Mexico and European preparation techniques as having a great influence on his cuisine.

We are sure that you will want to join us in welcoming Chef Borbolla to Grand Residences and look forward to sampling his dishes.

We will be catching up with Chef Borbolla in a future edition of this newsletter