Treviño developed a following as a celebrity chef with stints on Iron Chef America, where he was pitted against Mario Batali, and on Rachel Ray’s $40 a Day. He also has been a recurring judge on Food Network’s Beat Bobby Flay.
Treviño, a native of California, moved to Central Florida in 2017 from Puerto Rico, where he owned various restaurants. In December of that year, he opened El Buda, a fusion of Latin and Asian flavors, in a troubled space at Church Street Station behind Hamburger Mary’s. As with other concepts that have opened there, El Buda did not last long despite its good reviews.
He surfaced again in 2019 as the not-widely-credited developer of a ceviche bar for Don Julio’s Mexican Kitchen and Tequila Bar in East Orlando.
Treviño joined Tapa Toro about a month ago. Reached by phone at the restaurant Friday, Treviño said he had been checking out the restaurant for some time. “I think it’s a great restaurant,” he said, “and certainly a great looking restaurant.” He said he thinks Tapa Toro’s current mix of tapas and paellas works, so he said he’ll concentrate initially on the way the food is presented. “I love to cook,” he added, “and I’m cooking!”
Tapa Toro, from the same owners as the Greek restaurant Taverna Opa at Pointe Orlando, opened in 2015 with Wendy Lopez at the helm. When she left in 2018 to take the executive chef position at Reyes Mezcalaria, she was replaced by sous chef Frank Galeano. He left in late 2019 to accept the position of head chef at Wingtip, a private social club in San Francisco.
Treviño also has a podcast called Survival of the Fittest is the Soup d’Jour.
