For over 20 years, Peruvian Chef Daniel Chavez’s career has taken him to some of the finest F&B establishments in the world. Daniel enrolled in the Florida Culinary Institute and applied for a scholarship for a master’s programme in culinary arts in Valencia, Spain after graduation. There, he apprenticed at the Michelin-starred “La Sucursal” and was exposed to fine dining techniques and Mediterranean culture.
His desire to widen his repertoire led him to traverse across continents; from Barcelona where he joined “El Raco de Can Fabes”, a three Michelin-starred restaurant by the culinary icon Santi Santamaria, to Singapore where he learned classic French cooking techniques from Chef Gunther Hubrechsen in “Les Amis”.
He then reunited with Chef Santamaria as the Chef de Cuisine of “Ossiano” at Atlantis The Palm Hotel in Dubai, and later as Executive Chef of Santi at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel in Singapore.
Daniel went on to open OLA Cocina Del Mar, a Spanish restaurant and the first of his projects in 2012. Becoming his mission to showcase Latin America’s culinary diversity with the Singaporean community, in 2017 Daniel launched “TONO Cevicheria”, the first Peruvian Cevicheria in Asia, and “TONITO Latin American Kitchen” in 2018, the first Latin American family concept in Singapore.
He also founded “LATINADA”, Singapore’s first Latin American Food Festival, in 2018. The second edition of the festival, held the following year, brought together over 3000 attendees.
Having exited the OLA Kitchen Group; in 2021 Daniel founded CANCHITA Peruvian Cuisine with the purpose to focus all his energy on promoting the Latino culture through Asia.
In less than a year since its inception, CANCHITA Peruvian Cuisine has quickly became a culinary destination and reference in the eclectic dining scene of Singapore, gaining a well-earned reputation between foodies and chefs from the region.
Daniel and Tamara Chavez , his wife and partner, have travelled to promote Peruvian cuisine to Bali, Maldives, Seoul, Hanoi, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok. Their aim is to showcase the immense diversity of flavours, colours and ingredients that the Latin American region have to offer.
Daniel was awarded the “Global Chef Award” in 2017 by At-Sunrice Global Chef Academy for his work in inspiring young chefs, as well as Entrepreneur of the Year in 2018 by Peruvian University San Ignacio de Loyola, a distinction conferred to him by the former president of Peru, Mr Raul Diez Canseco.
