Rosana, Chief of Deliciousness
CHEF ROSANA
Rosana Rivera has been a successful entrepreneur and Chef in the Tampa Bay area for over 15 years, co-creating the culinary vision behind some of the area's favorite eateries. She is currently creating and directing her own brand under her eponymous name, Chef Rosana, an e-commerce retailer of hand crafted gourmet foods and custom kitchenware for the discerning epicurean. She is a rare breed of both culinary artisan and successful entrepreneur. Born at the hem of three generations of Puerto Rican cooks, their love of food and country made an early impression on Rosana.
Chef Rosana spent five years traveling and crafting her foodie palette as Coin USA’s VP of Sales in Latin America. In 2006 she opened her first business and left the corporate world. While building her business, Rosana furthered her education and obtained her AA Culinary Arts from the Arts Institute Tampa. Chef Rosana's MBA coursework in Business Sustainability from Marylhurst University soon followed.
Over the course of her career Chef Rosana has been featured in Tampa Magazine, South Tampa Magazine, Voyage Tampa, Tampa Bay Business Journal, winning 2015's Businesswoman of the Year - Hospitality, Tampa Bay Metro, Creative Loafing's Best of the Bay awards, Tampa Bay Times, Friends of the James Beard Foundation & Whiskey Tampa Foxtrot. Chef Rosana has also been the featured speaker for Tampa Bay Urban Land Institute, Creative Mornings St. Pete & Lean In - Buckhead chapter. In addition, Chef Rosana collaborates with Humanity Wine Co., & the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation.
Most recently, Chef Rosana was featured in the TODAY show and competed in Food Network's Beat Bobby Flay, advancing to face Bobby Flay and beating him with her signature beef empanadas. The winning recipe for Beef Empanadas is one of the featured recipes in the Bobby Flay cookbook - Beat Bobby Flay, Conquer the Kitchen with 100+ Battle Tested Recipes. Currently, she is working on her lifestyle brand - Chef Rosana, crafted for Home and Kitchen, as well as various consulting and culinary projects. In her spare time, she likes to travel, read, practice yoga, and dream up new business adventures.
