Chilean-born Chef Juan José Molina grew up in Santiago, initially drawn to theater and the performing arts. However, his passion for gastronomy was awakened at home when he watched his father, an architect, prepare weekend meals with extreme care and organization. At the same time, he accompanied his mother in the kitchen daily, asking to learn her culinary secrets. Without realizing it, by age 13 he was already cooking his own school meals and, on some occasions, preparing lunch for his classmates, who became his first food critics.
Although he was about to enroll in theater college, his passion for gastronomy spoke louder. With the support of his parents, he decided to change his path and graduated in Gastronomy from the Duoc UC college in Chile. In 2006, he began his professional career, working in several haute cuisine restaurants in regions such as the Atacama Desert, the city of Pucón, and Santiago, always in search of the rich culinary diversity of his country.
His story took a transformative turn when he visited Brazil on vacation in 2018, a country he fell in love with and where, years later, he settled permanently. He joined L'Étoile restaurant in 2022 as Sous Chef. In 2024, he became Chef of the restaurant, located at the Sheraton Grand Rio Hotel & Resort, where he continues his journey of gastronomic exploration and creation. Here, his daughter was born, and Brazil became his home.
