Meet our Chef
Abel is from Añasco, Puerto Rico.
After high school, he enrolled at the Universidad Interamericana in Aguadilla where he got his first culinary degree. After working a couple of years in Puerto Rico he decided to enroll in The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY where he got his second culinary degree in May 6, 2005.
Abel has worked in different parts of the world, including cruises and restaurants with Michelin stars, from where he acquired skills that he has incorporated into his kitchen, and this is reflected in his dishes. He also spent a season in Perú, working at the prestigious Central Restaurante, together with the renowned Virgilio Martínez.
He came back home to Puerto Rico in July of 2018 as estela's chef/partner in Rincón.
In 2022, Abel was a James Beard semifinalist as Best Chef South.
He is also an avid collector of vinyl records, cuban cigars, cookbooks and rum.