Chef Ramon Pérez was born and raised in NYC’s East Harlem (Spanish Harlem/El Barrio), a predominately Puerto Rican neighborhood with its bold and flavorful cuisine being served at almost every corner. Ramon’s first influence and role model in the kitchen was his mother, Mirtha, who within a tight budget and four mouths to feed, worked both fiscal and gastronomic miracles in the kitchen.
After an Army Reserve basic-training stint (at age 18), Ramon enrolled in the New York Restaurant School where he learned the fundamentals of how a professional kitchen operates. But his real education began when he landed a job with French hospitality juggernaut Sodexho Alliance, where he worked every position for the corporate dining company. In 1994, at the age of 28, Ramon was given the opportunity to run his own kitchen and became the Chef at World Trade Center’s renown Sodexho restaurant.
In 2006 Ramon met celebrity chef Alex García (Food Network’s “The Melting Pot”) of the iconic restaurant Calle Ocho, where he was eventually promoted to run the kitchen. In 2010, Chef García pointed Ramon to a new restaurant venture opening in the Throggs Neck section of the Bronx: The Bronx Havana Cafe. Under Ramon’s guidance, Havana Cafe has received wide recognition including Michelin Guide’s “Star Restaurant,” Crains New York’s “Exemplar” designation, NY Daily News, as well as national press.
Chef Ramon lives in the Bronx with his wife Jessica and their two sons Jordan and Ethan. He also has two older children from his previous marriage, Martin and Taína.
More about Ramon: Instagram