HABLA 2009 Award Winners and Photo Gallery

HABLA 2009 Entrepreneur Award Winner
Hector Santiago

Hector Santiago is executive chef and owner of Pura Vida restaurant in Atlanta’s Poncey Highlands neighborhood. A native of Puerto Rico, Mr. Santiago moved to the United States to attend the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in Hyde Park, NY. His exemplary career includes an externship at the Greenbrier Hotel in West Virginia as well as positions at the Manhattan Ocean Club and The Heartland Brewery. Moving to Atlanta in 1995, Mr. Santiago worked for the Peasant Restaurant Group for four years as well as cooking at Murphy’s Restaurant and Duex Plex before opening Pura Vida. Exemplifying Mr. Santiago’s passion for international cuisine, Pura Vida’s menu of tapas features dishes with ingredients from Latin America and Spain that have earned the restaurant many accolades, including Atlanta Magazine’s “Best of Atlanta.” Mr. Santiago was named a “Rising Star Chef” for Atlanta in 2007 by StarChefs.com and earned a place as a long-list nominee for “Best Chef of the Southeast” by the James Beard Foundation for 2008 and 2009.