Ángel León

He might be a renowned innovator now, but Chef Ángel León began his career much like any other chef—on the line. After three years at Taberna del Alabardero in Sevilla, Spain, the knowledge-hungry chef moved on to the Spanish Pyrenees and its regional star Casa Irene, and later to his homeland, the province of Cádiz, where he continued his professional development at Restaurante El Faro. Fearlessly curious, León’s next step brought him to the tough-as-nails Bordeaux kitchen of Chapeau Femme, and then back to Sevilla, where he was appointed chef de partie at the Hotel Alfonso XVIII. At this point in his career, León decided to pursue a degree in hospitality management, which later afforded him two stages at the Hotel Sheraton, in Buenos Aires and Miami—then a hotbed of Spanish chef-transplants.