CHEF PARTNERS
Santiago Cueva
Santiago Cueva is an Ecuadorian pastry chef and chocolatier. After studying all the vanguard techniques of pastry restaurant with sensory analysis specialty, at the ESPAISUCRE Institution, Santiago has enriched his experience with renowned chefs and restaurants around the world like Chef TETSUYAS in Sydney or COMERC 24, a 1 Michelin star restaurant in Barcelona. Since then, Santiago has carried out his training with multiples masterclasses at Valrhona School, in France and New York, with Alain Chartier, Yann Duytsche and Philippe Givre, among others. Santiago Cueva is República del Cacao Executive Chef since 2014 and he has distinguished himself leading many trainings and workshops internationally (USA, Dubai, China, Latin America).
Natividad Toledo
Her practice starts in the kitchens of different hotels and restaurants in Ciudad de México and at the same time her academic formation studying Gastronomy in the Universidad del Claustro de Sor Juana. After graduating, she worked and studied for a year in the Principality of Monaco as an intern of the Turquois Foundation, improving her knowledge in the fine chocolate shop at the Paris Hotel and at Alan’s Ducasse restaurant Louis XV. Back in Mexico she was part of the staff of chefs at TAR, supporting the development of new products and paying atention to the Independent Market Area. Some time later, she worked in the development, opening and direction of her own gourmet chocolate shop. She has improved her formation with a variety of courses in pastry training, chocolatier and marketing, and at the same time she has been a part in the team of documentary investigation for difusion programs of mexican gastronomy.
Javier Guillen
Javier started his career as a pastry chef studying in the School of Hotel Management and Tourism in Madrid. his first job was at Casino de Madrid, for 8 months, where I had the opportunity to get to know and to be assisted by Ferran Adrià. He then moved to Barcelona in order to work with Oriol Balaguer, where he spent 4 years, doing demonstrations and exhibitions in Singapore, Mexico DF, San Francisco (USA) and Tokyo. He had the opportunity to work as internship during one season at El Bulli, the world best restaurant, 3 stars Michelin. In 2006-2007 he spent one year working at Pierre Herme, in Saint Sulpice, Paris, and then through the Ecole du Grand Chocolat at Tain L’Hermitage, where he received training needed in order to be Pastry Chef. In 2013 he opened a consulting pastry concept.
We have the world’s finest cacao from our home: Latin America. Our sugar is panela an unrefined traditional organic sugar and our milk is produced by small communities of dairy farmers. No wonder our chocolate is so delicious.
Let’s change the world one cacao bean at a time. We create alliances with local producers to strengthen traceability and promote the preservation of artisanal techniques, developing sustainable production of fine aroma chocolates.
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