Luis was born in Bogota, Colombia in a three generation household. His grandmother a native German transplanted to Chicago in the early 1900s and his mother born in the USA showed him his first glimpses into the kitchen, which he totally ignored, showing absolutely no interest other than eating the delicious foods that came out of their incredibly talented hands. In the Latin culture many things revolve around food and the family table. The Saturday morning task of going to the open street market and carrying the wicker baskets that his mother filled with all sorts of fresh fruits and vegetables, in an array of colors and shapes of such abundance that only the tropics can produce, was in his book the torture that as a teenager you must live with in order to maintain a roof over your head.
In retrospect though, his interest in others and the world around him started there. In the street markets. The carnival like atmosphere of peasants in typical garb of poncho, black dress and hat, selling their produce among the vociferous noise of trucks, honking their horns in an effort to get through the crowd, and deliver their cargo. Street vendors shouting from behind their stands Avocado !! Papaya!! Tomates!!while their wives grabbed you by the sleeve of your sweater in an effort to beat the competition and draw your attention toward their own goods. The screams of children playing soccer in a side street among empty crates and all sort of debris. People haggling over pennies for a handful of blackberries or a stack of four tomatoes in the most fascinating merry-go round of complaints and counter-complaints about whose children would starve first if they did not get the price they were demanding. The intensity of the experience, the colors, the flavors, the smells the sounds, the humanity of it, was a show of life way to grand to be ignored.
Dinner at Luis' home was a daily ritual where Latin, German, and American cooking styles intersected in unimaginable combinations of creativity, and conversation was the most important part of the event. Christmas over the years became an extravaganza of cookies, ajiaco, and tamales, where cooking would begin a month in advance and every member of the extended family and friends would participate.
In the early 70s Luis moved to London to study advertising photography. During those years he worked as a line cook in Harrod's and occasionally would do weekend work in the restaurant strip of King's Road. After that he was hooked on food for life. Having finished his studies he moved back to Colombia where he was a freelance photographer until he moved in the early 80s to the West Palm Beach area in Florida. After 15 years of, at first restaurant work, and then production manager in a screen printing company, Luis decided to convert what had been a very serious hobby all his life into a business.
Personal chef was the perfect fit for what Luis wanted to do, and in March 2002 he Joined PCN and started Chef In Your Fridge. His customers range from busy professionals and business owners to retirees, for whom he designs and cooks personalized gourmet menus. A sizable part of his business is also dinner parties and private cooking lessons.
In his private life Luis is a practicing Buddhist, and spends what little free time he has studying Tai-chi, reading history and meditating. He is also a member of Amnesty International and actively supports Second Harvest a non profit organization working to end hunger among the poor.
