"Nothing Ordinary" Food and Wine Festival in Sanya presents a contemporary dining extravaganza of authentic French, Italian, Vietnamese, South American and Chinese fare.[Photo provided to China Daily]

Born in 1975 in San Jose, he fell in love with cooking as a means to satisfy his cravings for sweet desserts, eventually earning "the grand diploma for cuisine and pastry" in 1993 at Le Cordon Bleu, an internationally renowned cooking school in Paris.

Since then, he has been traveling and working in luxury hotels and resorts throughout the world, including many in Europe, Costa Rica and the United States.

He started working for Ritz-Carlton 17 years ago. In 2011, while helping opening the chain's hotel in Hong Kong, he became fascinated with Chinese culture. When the opportunity came to relocate to Sanya, he jumped at it.