Fernando Salazar
Professional Jury - Ecuador
Born in Guayaquil, Ecuador, Salazar began his career at Helmsley Hotels in New York before joining Westin Hotels and Resorts. In 1996, he was appointed Vice President of Food and Beverage at Omni Hotels and Resorts, a position he also held in 2007 with Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, in addition to serving as Vice President of Operations for Latin America. In 2015, Salazar served as Director of the San Antonio Campus of the prestigious Culinary Institute of America. In 2017, Salazar was appointed Senior Vice President of Interstate Hotels and Resorts, the world's largest hotel management company. In this role, Salazar oversees the entire culinary department of the company's 600+ hotels, located in 15 countries. He was named an Ambassador of the prestigious Culinary Institute of America, which awarded him the Gold Medal for his creativity, leadership, and mentoring skills with students. In 2014, Salazar joined the Royal Spanish Academy of Gastronomy and was named a Universal Ambassador of our cuisine. He has participated as a judge in recent years in the National Tapas Competition in Valladolid and the World Tapas Competition. In 2019, he was named Honorary Professor of the Faculty of Hospitality and Gastronomy at the Universidad Espíritu Santo in Guayaquil, Ecuador.