Costa Rican chef Carlos Alpízar doesn’t just cook—he tells a story with every dish.

His life has unfolded at the crossroads of two worlds: the daily hustle and bustle of Poás de Aserrí, San José, and the scent of firewood in San Vito de Coto Brus, in southern Costa Rica, where he learned that a dish is, above all, a space for memory.

At 27, this young chef has turned his life into a constant exploration of Costa Rican identity. In this intimate conversation, Alpízar reveals how memories of his grandmother and his involvement in iconic projects like Sikwa have shaped a cuisine that seeks, more than just to feed, to embrace those who sit at the table.

In Poás de Aserrí, Carlos experienced that everyday family cuisine, “where cooking was a way to bring the family together around the table. But in San Vito, I discovered another reality: that of my grandmother and great-grandmother cooking over a wood-fired stove, respect for ingredients, country life, and a community where it was still normal to walk from one house to another and share a cup of coffee or a meal,” he recalled.

Many of the memories that inspire his work today stem from those family experiences. More than just recipes, he inherited a way of understanding the kitchen as a space for connection, memory, and identity.

For as long as he can remember, Alpízar wanted to be a chef. It was never a passing fancy or something that developed over time; it was simply what he wanted to do.

While many children’s dreams changed as they grew up, Carlos’s remained the same. The kitchen was where he imagined himself in the future, even before he fully understood what the profession entailed.

Over the years, that dream evolved. Today, he not only enjoys cooking, but also researching, telling the story of Costa Rican gastronomy, and helping more people discover and appreciate the richness of Costa Rican cuisine. But it all began with that little boy who knew without a doubt that he wanted to dedicate his life to cooking.

He currently lives in Poás de Aserrí, in San José. That’s where his studio is located, and it’s from there that he carries out much of his work: creating content, conducting research, and working on the culinary projects in which he participates.

He also spends time in Copey de Dota. There, you’ll find Raíz, the restaurant located within Coper Estate Winery, and nearby, he and his team are developing Fuego Manso, a project through which he promotes various culinary initiatives.

“I could say that today my life is divided between those two places: Poás de Aserrí, where ideas are born, and Copey de Dota, where many of them come to life in the kitchen,” he said.

The Costa Rican chef doesn’t just cook with ingredients; he cooks with time. When speaking with him, one quickly understands that his cuisine is a true reflection of his spirit: an exercise in meticulous observation and absolute dedication.

Carlos is defined by his patience and keen powers of observation. He likes to take the time to understand things, listen to people, and learn from his surroundings.

He is a young Costa Rican who loves with an intensity that sometimes overflows—both for the people around him and for the projects he leads. For him, that passion has been the main driving force and his greatest strength in a career as demanding as his.

Among his flaws, he noted that every great creator lives with his own inner demons. The very intensity that makes him shine has a more complex flip side. He admits to being stubborn and, at times, impulsive. It is precisely that stubbornness that keeps him working on a dish until the result comes close to the perfection he envisions in his mind.

“I have a hard time settling for a result when I know it can still be improved,” he admitted.

In that sense, there is one thing that defines him most: he never feels like he’s finished learning.

For Carlos Alpízar, his greatest muse isn’t an exotic ingredient, but rather the entire map of the country where he was born: Costa Rica.

When asked what truly inspires him about this Central American country—amidst its mix of biodiversity, landscapes, and people—he replied that the country as a whole inspires him: “its people, its biodiversity, its cuisine, its landscapes, and the history behind every corner.”

He maintains that cooking is not just a series of techniques or the assembly of aesthetically pleasing dishes; it is, above all, an exercise in identity.

Despite having traveled the world and exposed his palate to diverse cultures, Alpízar confessed that the most important journey is always the one back home. There is an invisible thread that keeps him tied to his roots, a feeling he only experiences when he sets foot on Costa Rican soil.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to travel and get to know other parts of the world, but I always return with the same feeling: how much I long to go home,” the chef said. Carlos says that distance has only sharpened his perspective on his own heritage. Every border he’s crossed has been a reminder that true wealth was waiting for him in his kitchen: “Every trip makes me appreciate even more what we have here and reminds me that we still have so much left to discover about ourselves.”

His work has a clear purpose: to serve as a bridge so that others, too, can rediscover the value of their national heritage. “The more I research Costa Rican cuisine, the more I realize that I’m also exploring who I am. And that journey is, probably, my greatest source of inspiration.”

The Costa Rican chef has managed to blend two worlds that, at first glance, seem different, but which, in his hands, share a common language: creation and memory.

His path has not been a straight line, but rather a map charted with curiosity and persistence. Although today he possesses an enviable technical foundation, his training has been based on a process of maturation through various stages.

“I studied gastronomy, and although I attended two universities before graduating, each stage provided me with important tools,” he said.

What makes Alpízar’s work unique is its artistic duality. At some point in his career, photography entered his life. What began as a tool to complement his culinary career eventually became a parallel passion.

For Carlos, cooking and photography are now two sides of the same coin: while the stove allows him to create, the lens gives him the ability to immortalize the story behind the ingredient. It’s a symbiosis where flavor translates into an image, and the image invites you to the table.

However, the chef is clear that titles are just the beginning. For him, true mastery is forged in the heat of the real kitchen, in the frenetic pace of festivals, and in the diversity of his teams. It is in that constant doing that one learns what the books leave out.

Carlos said that he was the one who motivated himself to enter the world of gastronomy.

That conviction led him, at age 15, to his first real encounter with raw ingredients: his uncle’s butcher shop. There, amid the physical labor and the rigor of the trade, he understood that behind every ingredient lies a value chain that deserves respect. Today, with ten years of professional training behind him, that lesson remains the foundation of each of his dishes.

Although his academic background was essential to mastering the craft—first through training with a chef and then through college studies—Alpízar firmly believes that a chef’s education is a never-ending process. 

The Costa Rican chef plans to pursue a master’s degree in Europe as his next step toward continued growth.

However, along his educational journey, certain figures have emerged as fundamental pillars. He gratefully singled out his mother and uncle, who have been the people who truly shaped his character. They taught him that cooking, beyond recipes and perfect presentations, is an exercise in perseverance.

He spoke of Chef Luis Alarcón, the teacher who transformed his drive into discipline. From Alarcón, he inherited not only technique but also the urgency to forge his own identity—a signature that would set him apart in an increasingly globalized culinary world.

Then came his encounter with Pablo Bonilla, founder of Sikwa. For Carlos, working with him was an awakening to the depths of his own homeland. “It allowed me to understand Costa Rican cuisine through research and the local landscape.” With Bonilla, respect for ingredients evolved into a commitment to the communities and producers who have safeguarded Costa Rica’s ancestral knowledge for generations.

Carlos views the kitchen as a whole, “even though it’s a chaotic, demanding, and, at the same time, incredibly beautiful world.”

While the rest of the world rushes by, he finds a place of absolute focus amid the hustle and bustle of a professional kitchen. “It’s a profession that often takes time away from your family, your friends, or even yourself, but it also gives you a second family. It’s chaos that makes sense. Beautiful chaos,” he emphasized.

Alpízar’s career path diverges from the traditional resume of an academically trained chef. His story is that of a visual and gastronomic explorer.

His current projects, Raíz and Fuego Manso, are the culmination of everything he has learned. These were not easy paths; there were periods of extreme personal and professional demands, but the young Costa Rican embraces them as part of who he is today. As such, he feels he is just beginning to build what he wants to contribute to Costa Rican cuisine.

Beyond the kitchen and the success of his restaurants, Alpízar has found a mission that transcends the menu: to become an ambassador for Costa Rican cuisine.

For decades, the world (and Costa Ricans themselves) looked on with admiration at foreign techniques while neglecting their own culinary treasures. Carlos has set out to change that narrative. Today, he divides his time between the kitchen and researching ingredients, techniques, and the oral tradition that underpins Costa Rica’s history.

“I’m not just looking to create new dishes. I’m seeking first to understand where we come from so I can imagine where we can go. If my work manages to spark that curiosity in someone, I’ll feel that this whole journey has been worth it,” he added.

For many, a chef’s greatest challenge is mastering a centuries-old technique or getting through a busy service when the restaurant is full. For Carlos Alpízar, the real challenge has been something else: learning to live.

In the beginning, Carlos was willing to sacrifice everything. Back then, his compass pointed in only one direction: working longer hours, resting less, and prioritizing cooking above every other aspect of his life. It was the classic formula for professional growth, but it came with fine print that not everyone notices in time.

Over time, he came to understand that this path comes at a very high cost. The culinary world, with its frenetic pace, can become a barren landscape for one’s personal life, family, and closest relationships. It was there, in the wee hours of the morning, that he learned his most valuable lesson.

Today, although he maintains an unwavering commitment to his craft, his concept of success has evolved. It’s no longer just about awards or the perfect dish. In his view, success should also be measured by the life one is able to build outside the kitchen.

Finding that balance is not a goal that’s been achieved, but a daily practice. For this Costa Rican chef, all of this remains one of his greatest challenges, but it’s also proof that one can be a great Costa Rican chef without losing oneself in the heat of the kitchen.

3 Authentic Dishes, Their Details, and Why He Recommends Them

Beyond the conviction that dishes aren’t entirely original, cooking is always a conversation between generations, cultures, and people. Even when we think we’ve created something new, we’re surely building on someone else’s work.

The first is tongue in milk, a very traditional recipe from his family that, interestingly, he has never found anywhere else. “For me, it represents inherited cuisine—the kind that’s passed down from generation to generation and holds very personal memories.”

The second dish is oxtail in sauce with yellow potato purée. It’s a dish that reminds him of the importance of patience and time in the kitchen. “It’s a dish that speaks to cooking without rushing, respecting the ingredients, and letting the flavors develop slowly.”

The third dish features chilotes in butter with garlic, Bagaces cheese, and coyote cilantro—a dish he discovered during his time at Sikwa that profoundly shaped his understanding of Costa Rican cuisine. “It taught me that a dish can be technically simple and, at the same time, deeply connected to the land.”

Regardless of who created each recipe, these three dishes are part of the chef’s story. They are dishes that remind him why he cooks and how he likes to do it: “striving to make sure that whoever sits down at the table feels welcome, cared for, and, in a way, at home.”

What competitions have you entered, and what awards have you won?

So far, Carlos Alpízar has not participated in any culinary competitions. His career has focused more on working in kitchens, researching Costa Rican cuisine, creating content, and developing personal projects.

That doesn’t mean he’ll never do so. “Perhaps at some point in my life that opportunity will arise, and it will make sense to take on that challenge, but today my focus is on continuing to learn, cook, and contribute to Costa Rican cuisine through other avenues.”

Nor has he received any formal awards or recognition—a fact that, in his view, has a reason behind it… Although he has been in the culinary world for many years, his work as a public figure and his personal projects are just entering a new phase.

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Today, he has venues where people can experience his cuisine and get an up-close look at what he does, and that means his journey is just beginning.

“I won’t deny that I’m excited about the possibility that one day my projects might receive significant recognition. It would be wonderful if the work, research, and effort behind them were valued by the industry. However, I don’t want that to be the driving force behind my career. I prefer to focus on doing things as well as possible, continuing to grow, and building projects with purpose,” he explained.

Fuego Manso is one of his projects; it’s not a restaurant, but rather a company he founded with his partner, José Salas, a chef whom he deeply admires and with whom Carlos shares the same approach to gastronomy. “Although he has chosen to keep a much lower profile, we complement each other very well, and we decided to create a platform from which to develop various projects related to cooking. Very soon, we’ll be showcasing everything we’ve been building,” Carlos said.

Now, if you have a restaurant called Raíz—a project developed in partnership with Coper Estate Winery in Copey de Dota—it’s a high-altitude cuisine restaurant born from the desire to tell Costa Rica’s story through its ingredients, its producers, and its land.

“At Raíz, we work with a deep respect for local produce and the country’s culinary roots. Each dish seeks to reflect the landscape where it originates, the people who grow the ingredients, and the story behind them. Although Fuego Manso and Raíz are different projects, they both share the same philosophy: to use cuisine as a way to bring people together around a table and make our guests feel like part of a family,” he explained.

In Instagram’s digital ecosystem, where everything seems fleeting, Carlos’s profile reads like a statement of principles: tradition and creativity. To many, these might seem like opposing concepts—the oil and water of gastronomy—but for Alpízar, they’re the same ingredient. “For me, one cannot exist without the other,” he says.

There was a time when the Costa Rican felt that the mirror didn’t reflect a clear image of himself. In his search for his own identity, he realized that the path to finding himself lay not ahead, but behind him. That compass inevitably led him back to his roots: Costa Rican cuisine.

His creative process stems from becoming curious about his own history. How did our indigenous peoples cook? What secrets were held in the hands of our grandmothers and great-grandmothers? Why does this ingredient—and not another—grace our table?

“The more I researched, the more I realized that our cuisine has a much richer identity than we often give it credit for. To be truly creative, you first have to know the rules. You have to understand tradition before you can try to transform it,” he emphasized.

When asked about the future, Carlos steers clear of rigid projections. He doesn’t have a clear picture of himself ten or twenty years from now, and it doesn’t seem to bother him. Although his dreams are focused—traveling, researching, writing, and cooking in unfamiliar places—his energy is anchored in the present. “I’ve learned that obsessing over what’s to come can make you stop building what you have today.”

However, behind the chef lies a man with a longing that transcends the walls of a kitchen. At the end of the road, beyond awards or projects, Alpízar hopes to find something simpler and more vital: a family—that is one of his most important dreams.

“Although I’ve been fortunate enough to fulfill several dreams, I believe I’m just getting started. My biggest goal is to keep learning. The more I explore our gastronomy, the more I realize how much I still don’t know. And that feeling, far from frustrating me, motivates me,” he said.

The message…

As our pleasant conversation with the young Costa Rican chef, Carlos Alpízar, came to a close, he made it very clear that, for everyone, resilience is the secret ingredient that doesn’t appear in the cookbooks.

“Life can be very hard. There will be moments when you feel like you’ve hit rock bottom. But rock bottom isn’t the end—it’s a springboard. If I’ve learned anything, it’s that when you hit rock bottom, the only thing left to do is climb back up.”

On this journey of ups and downs, the chef recognizes the value of his closest team: his family and friends. They were a constant reminder that there’s always a new opportunity to flourish.

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Today, Carlos is going through a period of profound transformation. He lives by a simple yet powerful premise: you only live once. “We must live it, we must enjoy it, we must do what fills our hearts, and we must have the courage to pursue our dreams, even if the path seems difficult.”

For him, the future isn’t a distant event, but something built day by day. Every recipe he cooks, every visit to his projects, and every minute someone dedicates to him is, for him, a source of immense gratitude.

At the end of the day, what Carlos seeks is something that transcends ingredients: to communicate. Whether through a flavor that evokes childhood or a photograph that captures the beauty of everyday life, his goal remains unchanged: to honor the stories hidden behind every bite, keeping alive the essence of a cuisine that recognizes itself as

Follow Chef Carlos Alpizar on social media—such as Instagram @imjustacookcr and @fuegomanso.cr—to see every step he takes. You can also visit his website: https://carlosalpizar.com/portfolio.

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