Chef Hector Solis of Fiesta - Biography

Chef Hector Solis was born in a small town in northern Peru where decedents of the Mochina tribe are dedicated to living the good life by keeping the time-honored customs of their cuisine alive. A devotion to cooking begins at birth, and for Solis, it was a birthright. He’s a third generation entrpenuer and restaurateur whose farther, Don Alberto, opened the original, groundbreaking Fiesta restaurant in Chiclayo in 1996.

After receiving a degree in economics and studying hopsitality managemnt at Le Cordon Bleu in Peru, Solis joined the family business with a vision for the future of Peruvian food and Fiesta. In 2002 he opened Fiesta Tacna followed by Fiesta Trujillo in 2007. Today there are five such fine-dining establishments throughout Peru, plus Solis’s most recent addition, the more casual La Picantería. Carrying on the family tradition of progressive Peruvian cuisine while remaining true to his roots, Solis has shepherded the food of his culture into the modern era of global cusine.

Solis pushes the boundaries of Peruvian cooking while relying heavily on indigenous ingredients like native chiles, heirloom potato varieties, chicha de jora (Peruvian corn beer), and most famously, his warm, fragrant, barely cooked ceviches. In addition to cooking and overseeing the Fiesta empire, Solis writes cookbooks and travels to important gastronomic events around the world, spreading the wealth of his culinary inheritance and becoming one of Peru’s greatest cultural exports.