Meet The Team
Chef Gilad Chudler
Executive Chef and Founder of Rising Tide Catering
Chef Fernando Castro
Chef de Cuisine
Chef Gilad began his career 20 years ago selling ice-cream in Southern California as a seventeen year old finding his way in the world of gastronomy. Over the years he has honed his skills and expanded his culinary horizons all over the world. His excitement for food and travel has led him on a life long journey looking for the next great dish, garnering inspiration from countries like Mexico, India, Israel, Morocco, Spain and beyond.
Before moving to Costa Rica Chef Gilad spent three years working in the Gourmet Ghetto of Berkeley, California, home to a wide variety of foodie destinations such as Chez Panisse, Cheeseboard Pizza and Saul’s Deli. It was here where he developed his passion for farm-to-table cuisine and learned the importance of making food from scratch with high quality ingredients.
Now a Costa Rican resident of ten years, Chef Gilad has dedicated his time in Costa Rica to catering, as well as operating a variety of successful restaurants. He’s a co-founder of Riverside Pizzeria & Gastropub as well as Burrito Republic. He has consulted for several of Costa Rica’s best known restaurants and resorts.
Fernando was born and raised in the Guadalupe neighborhood of San Jose, Costa Rica. Growing up amongst the diverse ingredients and authentic cuisine of the tropics, Fernando began honing his skills at a young age. His mother is a pastry chef and he learned to get around a professional kitchen as a child. On top of that, he was always involved in family meals whether it was making homemade tamales on an open fire or making corn tortillas from scratch.
At nineteen he began cooking professionally in a variety of San Jose restaurants as a line cook. From there he graduated to head chef of Lulu y Saturnino where he ran their kitchen as head chef. Since then he has also worked with some of the country’s best known chefs at popular venues such as Al Mercat and Cumpanis.
The last several years Fernando has dedicated himself to working as a private chef in Costa Rica’s top villas such as Punto de Vista, Ylang Ylang and Puros Dieces just to name a few. His amazing international repertoire and charming personality keeps our clients booking him every time they come back on vacation. When Fernando is around you know you are in good hands!