New Chef at The Tides

Gonzalo Rivera Jr. has been named as the new executive chef of The Tides South Beach. Rivera will be responsible for all culinary operations at the recently redesigned La Marea and Coral Bar, as well as the hotels' other catering functions. Rivera earned a Bachelor of Science in Gastronomy from the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco in 2003, then spent over five years at various restaurants within the acclaimed Mina Group.
 
Gonzalo was born and raised in California, but the influence of his Mexican-immigrant parents is laced through the menu. He describes his cuisine as "Coastal Comfort", which encompasses dishes such as Amberjack tuna ceviche with red Fresno chili, compressed watermelon, and cilantro; lobster corn dogs with mustard crème fraiche; butter-poached lobster with fresh corn tamales, coconut and chile broth; ciopinno with Israeli couscous, mussels, stone crab, baby scallops, and black grouper; and for dessert, buñuelos with caramelized mango, tamarind coulis, and flan ice cream. Sounds pretty good, no?