Originally from a small Argentinian village in the Patagonia region and having a mother of Spanish origin, Fernando grew up in a culture rich with social Sunday Asados and Mediterranean-inspired home-cooked food. In a country of 40 million people with 60 million cattle, Fernando was no stranger to using beef as a key ingredient to many meals and has been grilling steaks from an incredibly young age.

After finishing secondary school, he moved to Buenos Aires and started working in a small restaurant. Quickly discovering a passion for cooking, he undertook a two-year culinary course after which he worked at various Italian restaurants, widening his skill set and experience and eventually worked his way up to being a Head Chef.

Seeking new experiences in Europe, in 2007 Fernando moved to Europe to head up Argentinian restaurants in Madrid and then in Marbella. In 2009, he moved to London and joined Gaucho. Falling in love with the company’s ethos of working with grass-fed, free-to-roam Aberdeen Angus-bred beef from traditional Argentine estancias, Fernando has not looked back.

In 2012 he was appointed Master Griller for the restaurant group. Responsible for educating Gaucho’s front of house teams about beef, ensuring his sought-after knowledge can be shared with diners, and also training all of the restaurant group’s grillers through regular visits to Gaucho’s 16 sites in London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Leeds and Birmingham. He’s also in charge of the design and delivery of in-house Cookery Schools, giving participants a good understanding of the history of Argentine beef as well as the skills required in cleaning and preparing different cuts of meat, marinades and grilling.

Working closely with the farms in Argentina, he also makes regular trips back to his country of heritage to ensure that the beef sold in the restaurants meets the highest quality that Gaucho has become renowned for.