Carlo Lopez

Sous Chef

Carlo was born in Bahía de Caráquez, a small coastal city in the Manabí province—the culinary capital of Ecuador. Growing up by the ocean, he was surrounded by incredible food from an early age. His early memories are having ceviche for breakfast and enjoying the true meaning of beach-to-table cooking. That’s where his love for good food really began, influenced deeply by his family and the flavors he grew up with.

Right after high school, he stepped into his first professional kitchen—and never looked back. Soon after, he attended the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale to study Culinary Arts, officially starting his journey in the culinary world.

Over the past 18 years, he's had the privilege of working alongside outstanding chefs like Dean Max and Chef Makoto, as well as learning from incredible mentors such as Alex Becker and Jeremy Ford. Carlo believes that one of the greatest things about this industry is that you never stop learning, and that’s something he values most.

His career has taken me across borders—from Miami to Guatemala, Ecuador, and now Fort Lauderdale—operating and leading restaurants wherever my passion for cooking takes him. For Carlo, being a chef isn’t just a job; it’s a lifelong journey. Wherever food takes him, he’ll go.