Roberto Pérez is a chef, musician, and researcher of Afro-Caribbean traditions. He is one of the founding members of acclaimed Afro-Puerto Rican music group, Bomba con Buya, and the co-founder of educational culinary initiative, Urban Pilón.
Urban Pilón is a culinary movement with a mission: to honor and preserve cooking traditions from Puerto Rico, the Caribbean, and Latin America, while using completely natural, healthy ingredients. With this mission in mind, Roberto serves not only as chef, but as storyteller, sharing the stories of our ancestors through his cooking, classes, and demonstrations. His popular Caribbean cooking courses showcase these stories by teaching both classic and original recipes along with the history behind them.
IN ADDITION TO HIS WORK AS AN EDUCATOR, ROBERTO HAS FOUND GREAT SUCCESS IN EVENT CATERING AND DINNER HOSTING, AND AWARDED "INTERNATIONAL MEALSHARER OF THE MONTH" BY THE PLATFORM MEALSHARING.COM. HIS COOKING CLASSES HAVE BEEN FEATURED IN THE SPANISH-LANGUAGE CHANNEL UNIVISIÓN AND SEVERAL OF HIS ORIGINAL RECIPES HAVE BEEN SHOWCASED IN PUERTO RICAN TELEVISION. HE HAS CATERED FOR THE CAST OF HAMILTON, SNAPCHAT, AND COOKED IN COUNTRIES SUCH AS TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO, CUBA, MEXICO, AND PUERTO RICO.
ROBERTO HAS RECENTLY COLLABORATED WITH BRANDS SUCH AS “AMOR Y SOFRITO” (VEGAN CHEF), “PRESSED CAFE” (RESTAURANT), AND “CASA YARI” (RESTAURANT). THIS HAS SHOWN A TRUSTED AND FIRM VERSATILITY IN CREATING PLANT BASED, NATURAL, AND GLUTEN FREE MEALS.
ROBERTO RECENTLY HAD A RESIDENCY AT THE BOATHOUSE CAFÉ IN CHICAGO, WHERE HE CONSISTENTLY SOLD OUT EVENTS FEATURING AN INNOVATIVE TAKE ON TRADITIONAL CARIBBEAN CUISINE. LA CRIOLLA, A CHICAGO STAPLE SINCE 1957 PROVIDING CUSTOM-BLENDED HISPANIC SPICES & BLENDS HAVE NAMED CHEF ROBERTO EXECUTIVE CHEF. IN NOVEMBER 2020, THEY PARTNERED UP AND RELEASED THE MUCH ANTICIPATED URBAN PILÓN ARTISAN ADOBO AND “PIQUE”, NOW AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE AT SEVERAL LOCAL GROCERS. CURRENTLY, CHEF ROBERTO IS THE FIRST SPANISH SPEAKING FRONT OF THE HOUSE INSTRUCTOR AT THE GREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY, AND 1 OF 4 CHEFS FEEDING FAMILIES AFFECTED BY COVID WITH THE HIGHLY PUBLICIZED MUTUAL-AID “FARM, FOOD, FAMILIA.” AS OF TODAY, “FARM FOOD FAMILIA” IS MAKING 350 MEALS FOR FAMILIES EXPERIENCING FOOD INSECURITIES IN CHICAGO’S MOST AFFECTED COMMUNITIES. ALL WHILE CONTINUING TO HAVE EVENTS & PRIVATE VIRTUAL COOKING CLASSES TAKEN BY STUDENTS ACROSS THE UNITED STATES.
Farm. Food. Familias Mutual-Aid Meals(FFF) is a project co-led by Getting Grown Collective, and the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization, Urban Pilon, Fresher Together, Amor y Sofrito and Kwamena to prepare and deliver meals to families in Little Village, Englewood and South Chicago. FFF started with 50 meals on May 6th, 2020.