Born in the South to traditional Indian parents, Chef Patel became inspired to cook since he was a child, composing menus for his family, featuring dishes he would prepare for them. He always enjoyed satisfying their tastebuds as they would savour his creations. As he traveled around the world working in The Cayman Islands, The Florida Keys, and studying in Europe, Chef Patel became influenced by the variety of flavors and people native to those places. The way in which local ingredients were impacted by their environment drove him to push the envelope in his farm to table approach to cooking.

Though born to parents with an appreciation for cuisine, Jose Mendin didn't discover his own love of cooking until he was off at college and preparing his own meals. Mendin moved from his native Puerto Rico to Miami in 1998 to enroll at Johnson & Wales University with a degree in Culinary Arts. Since then, Mendin has gone on a streak of successful restaurant openings including Nobu, SushiSamba, Mercadito, and his very own Pubbelly Sushi and La Placita in Miami.

Born in Buenas Aires where his father had a restaurant, Ponce moved to Uruguay when he was 15 and got a job making bread in a bakery. In 1998, he moved to Miami where, after several years, he became a restaurateur running Soprano Pizza in South Beach. Ponce became intrigued by cheesemaking while at Cascale Pizzeria in 2009. From early beginnings making mozzarella in his South Beach apartment, Ponce now supplies countless distinctive restaurants and fresh markets in South Florida and beyond.