[About her experience with the Scholarship Foundation]... very positive, giving her an opportunity to meet and work with Foundation Board members and their pool of top professional mentors
Graduate School: Culinary Institute of America
Program: Associate’s in Baking & Pastry, Graduated in 2000
Current Profession: Pastry Chef at the newly opened St. Regis, Bahia Beach Resort in Rio Grande.
With a Bachelor’s degree in hotel and restaurant administration from the UPR, Carolina campus, René decided he wanted to pursue further studies in baking and pastry at the Culinary Institute of America and he was granted a scholarship. Upon graduation in 2000, René was named Pastry Chef at the new Pikayo Restaurant at the Museo de Arte. He has always been interested in teaching and in 2002 he joined the faculty as a pastry arts instructor at the José A. (Tony) Santana International School of Hospitality and Culinary Arts at Universidad del Este. Subsequently, René became the Pastry Chef at Koppas Restaurant in Isla Verde where he continued to develop his skills and creativity in the world of pastry.
In 2008, René was offered the position of Executive Pastry Chef at Villas Caleton at Cap Cana in Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. He later moved to Washington, D.C. as Assistant Pastry Chef at CoCo Sala under Chef Santosh Tiptur. René has continued to develop as a topnotch pastry chef and has now moved back to the island to become the Pastry Chef at the newly opened St. Regis, Bahia Beach Resort in Rio Grande.
René is a talented pastry chef and has been a member of Puerto Rico’s National Culinary Team twice. In 2004, he was the team captain and the team won a gold medal and he won an individual bronze medal. In 2007, he was again named to the Puerto Rico National Culinary Team and both the team and he as an individual won gold medals. He was named the Caribbean’s Pastry Chef of the Year during the Taste of the Caribbean competition.
Learn about our scholars in: Casino Management, Hotel Management and Culinary Arts
