villa-blanca-cloud-forest-frog-costa-rica-1

Reimy Cruz Palma

Chef at Claro Que Sí Restaurant,
Sí Como No

Reimy Cruz was born in Cartago, Costa Rica and has lived in the Manuel Antonio area for over 12 years. A key member of the culinary team at Greentique’s Sí Como No Resort, he spent his first year at the Rico Tico Jungle Grill and the past three years at Claro Que Sí. He achieved the senior cook position in 2015. Reimy is a graduate of the Professional Technical College in Quepos, where he studied food and beverage before continuing his culinary education, receiving his Class A certification from INA. His passion for cooking focuses on becoming one of the leaders of the emerging Costa Rican style of “sustainable gastronomy,” with its commitment to healthy, fresh, locally sourced products shaped by a combination of traditional techniques and bold, inventive new approaches and recipes that are already transforming the Manuel Antonio restaurants experience for guests at Claro Que Sí.

Carlos L. Gonzales

Greentique Certified Master Guide (GCMG)
Osa Peninsula, Águila de Osa

Carlos is a bilingual naturalist guide and the resident Greentique Certified Master Gudie for Aguila de Osa. Born on the Osa Peninsula, he’s been guiding across the region for 18 years. During his career, Carlos has earned a combined 12 certificates from the Instituto Nacional de Aprendizaje (INA), Instituto de Biodiversidad (Inbio), the Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS), and the Asociacion Ornitológica de Costa Rica (AOCR). Working with Aguila de Osa since 2005, he is the lead guide for Osa birding, the Mangrove Estuary Tour, and the Night Walk. His deep knowledge, incredible passion, and amazing eagle eyes make every tour an exceptional experience in the coastal lowland rainforests of the Osa Peninsula.

Jimmy Mata

Biologist and Herpetologist
Greentique Wildlife Refuge, Sí Como No

Born in Cartago, Jimmy Mata joined the Greentique Wildlife Refuge (WLR) in 2002 as its resident biologist. Jimmy’s idea for the Wildlife Refuge was to create a natural habitat and living laboratory to help the native frog populations of the Manuel Antonio area recover without any requirements for enclosures. He subsequently assumed the management and development of the WLR Nature Exhibits, including the Butterfly Atrium, and the Amphibian Gardens and Reptile Lagoons adjacent to Si Como No Resort. Jimmy’s education includes a Masters in Natural Resources Management from the Institute of Technology of Costa Rica, plus a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from the Latin University of Costa Rica. He is an official consultant for the research of the ecology of the frog species of Costa Rica, focusing on vanishing frog species over the last 25 yeas in Costa Rica. He also works in recording vocalizations of the frogs with Mark Wainwrith and Alexander Villegas, and works with Fabio Hidalgo photographing the herpetofauna of Costa Rica. Previously, Jimmy was the Advisor Biologist for tour projects in La Selavtura Park in Monteverde, Parque Arenal Natura, Arenal Oasis, ant the Botanical Garden of Monteverde and Veragua Rain Forest. Jimmy consultants for new conservation and research program on amphibians and reptiles and supports the Cloudmaker Nature Reserve in Santa Juana.

Alberto Barrantes

Lead Cook at Rico Tico Jungle Grill
Sí Como No

Merlin Alberto Barrantes Corella is a lifelong resident of Quepos, Costa Rica. His story is one of perseverance and commitment. Alberto’s passion for cooking great food began during his time as a dishwasher in a local restaurant. Watching and learning from cooks and chefs, he took his own initiative to start cooking, and in 2008 joined the staff at Si Como No’s two Greentique Restaurants — Rico Tico Jungle Grill and Claro Que Si. He earned his Class A Certification from INA and recently became the lead cook at Rico Tico. His love of food, and of Costa Rica, drives him to continue his studies to become a chef and to expand his already significant contributions to Costa Rica’s emerging sustainable gastronomy movement, the signature of all Greentique Restaurants.

Roy Valverde

Greentique Certified Master Guide (GCMG)
Los Angeles Cloud Forest Private Reserve, Villa Blanca

Born in San José, Costa Rica. Roy was raised in San Ramón, surrounded by nature, rolling farmland, and the mountain cloud forest. Working at the Villa Blanca Cloud Forest Hotel & Nature Reserve for more than seven years, he is the resident Greentique Certified Master Guide and the Director of the José Miguel Alfaro Research Station, guiding and conducting research in the Los Angeles Cloud Forest Biological Reserve. A bilingual naturalist guide, Roy specializes in birding, amphibians and reptiles, and tours that focus on the natural history of the different ecosystems, particularly the nightlife of the mountain cloud forest. His education includes the National Technical University in Alajuela, where he studied Tour Guiding. In addition, he studies Sustainable Tourism at the State University, and over the past several years, has completed courses in Volcanology, Biology for the Conservation of Ecosystems, Birds of Costa Rica, and Photography. Roy is a skilled photographer and his nature photography is exceptional.

Henry Sequeira

Greentique Certified Specialist Guide (GCSG)
Greentique Wildlife Refuge, Sí Como No; Cloudmaker Nature Reserve, Santa Juana

Henry Sequeira grew up in Costa Rica’s Central Pacific Region in the pueblo of Esperanza, which means “hope.” There that he began his quest for a deeper understanding of the extraordinary range of the species that were so much a part of his childhood. That intellectual curiosity sparked Henry’s to become a naturalist guide. He studied in Canada to learn English, part of his preparation to fulfill that dream, and later returned to Costa Rica to the National Learning Academy (INA) to become a licensed guide. After six years guiding in the Monteverde cloud forest, he joined Greentique Hotels in 2013, quickly advancing to become a Greentique Certified Guide. An expert in the flora and fauna of the Central Pacific Coastal and Mountain Wet Forests, Henry leads day and night tours in the Wildlife Refuge, tours into Manuel Antonio National Park, as well as into Greentique’s Cloudmaker Nature Reserve at Santa Juana. He is the senior Greentique guide for the Santa Juana Rural Mountain Adventure Tour, and Wet Forest birding tours.

Hannia Campos Orozco

Executive Chef, Greentique Hotels
Executive Chef, El Sendero Restaurant, Villa Blanca Could Forest Hotel

Chef Hannia Campos Orozco, affectionately known as Hannita, was born in Costa Rica’s Central Highlands in Piedades Sur, just outside of San Ramón. Trained in French and Italian cuisine at the Escoffier Gastronomic Institute in Alajuela City, and the Culinary Pan-American Forum, her culinary career began its meteoric rise working with some of the great chefs at the National Association of Chefs in San José. In Korea and Guatemala, she won critical international young chef challenges in 2013, as well as silver and bronze medals at the 2015 Culinary Championship Cup in Costa Rica.

Hannia’s exquisite creations reflect a keen understanding of the extraordinary quality of food and ingredients produced by local farms across the region, as well as in Villa Blanca’s own organic gardens. The essence that these locally sourced essentials add to the dishes she prepares can be tasted in every meal she creates. One of the country’s new generation of culinary professionals, Hannia was recently named the Executive Chef for Greentique Hotels, as well as the Executive Chef at El Sendero Restaurant at Villa Blanca. She is already delighting guests from around the world with truly inspired food that is taking Costa Rican cuisine to a new level of excellence.

José Miguel Mata Duran

Chef at Rico Tico Jungle Grill
Sí Como No

José Miguel is proudly 100% Quepeño, which explains something of his commitment to using the best ingredients, sourced as close to his kitchen at the Rico Tico Grill as possible. His commitment to authenticity in traditional Costa Rican recipes, and in expanding relationships with local sustainable sources, makes his food a vital extension of the culture and heritage of the Quepos and greater Central Pacific Coastal Region. For over 18 years, José Miguel and his teams have been the vanguard for sustainability and customer satisfaction, continuously elevating the dining experience at the Rico Tico, Sí Como No’s original restaurant. A graduate of the Professional Technical College of Quepos, José Miguel earned his “A” Cook Certification at INA, and continues his culinary education with INA courses, and in concert with Greentique Executive Chef Daniel Rodriquez and with Reimy Cruz of the Claro Que Sí. Under José Miguel’s leadership, the Rico Tico has made lasting impressions on tens of thousands of guest palates, recognized year after year through top customer ratings and Awards of Excellence from TripAdvisor.

Julia Solis Mendez

Cook at El Mirador
Santa Juana Lodge

Julia Solis is a member of one of the areas first families, her grandparents having settled in the Fila Chonta region when she was a young girl. She raised two sons, putting both of them through high school, then moved to Santa Juana where she joined Roxana as a Greentique Hotels employee in 2010. She is now the second cook at El Mirador and Head Housekeeper for Lodge operations. Her eldest son, Allan, also works for Greentique and helps with the family farm chores, which include raising much of the produce and other ingredients used in Julia’s recipes. 

Roxana Vindas Navaro

Cook at El Mirador
Santa Juana Lodge

Roxana Vindas was born in San Marcos de Terrazu, and moved to Santa Juana as young girl to help her brothers and sisters run the family farm. It was there that she learned traditional cooking on a wood-burning stove. In 2008, she became the head cook at El Mirador, using local ingredients to create amazing “platos typicos” for the lunches on the Santa Juana Rural Mountain Adventure Tour. Roxana raises her own hens and chickens, which she uses in many of the authentic Campesino meals that delight tour and lodging guests alike. She teaches the Campesino cooking class, making tortillas from scratch, along with other guest favorites, including her pumpkin squash deserts, which are flavored with local sugar cane and seasonal tropical fruit juices. 

Olmos Dixon Ceferino Fermin

Chef at The Great Room
Águila de Osa

Greentique Chef Olmos Dixon Cererino, affectionately known as Chef Dixon, was born in Panama into a family that came over from England and France. Trained at the Culinary School Academy in Panama City and at the Culinary Institute of America, he began his now 20-plus-year cooking career working for some of the great chefs in San Francisco and Seattle. In the Caribbean, he worked at restaurants in Barbados, St. Lucia, Antiqua, and St. Martin. As Executive Chef of The Great Room at Águila de Osa for the past seven years, Dixon has created a truly exceptional Costa Rica dining experience for guests from around the world. His passion for vibrant and flavorful food reflects his love of Caribbean, Indian, Italian, Thai, and vegetarian food, each an influence on his cooking style. A fierce advocate of the “closer is better” Greentique Sustainable Gastronomy philosophy, Dixon’s great tasting food starts with his hand selecting the freshest ingredients from farms around the Osa. He and his staff grow vegetables, herbs, and pinto beans in a hydroponic garden. They also make farmer’s white cheese and bake the breads and pastries on premise. And then there’s the seafood — caught locally by artisan fisherman, as well as hotel guest sport fishermen. Incredible fish make their way from the boat to your plate – with just a brief stop in Chef Dixon’s amazing kitchen in between.