As the Executive Chef, Humberto Guallpa showcases his culinary knowledge and personal style by creating exquisitely tasty and aesthetically appealing dishes that seamlessly blend cultures.

As child growing up in rural Ecuador, where his family managed a small farm of vegetables and livestock for the sole purpose of feeding the family, Humberto displayed his intense interest in the culinary arts by assisting his grandmother in the kitchen and learning everything he could about the preparation of healthy, balanced meals. He entered the restaurant business as a dishwasher at the age of 17. This highly talented and motivated future chef worked his way up through the kitchens as Garde Manager, Line Chef and Sous Chef to his current title of Executive Chef. Humberto’s formal training led to his combining regional Ecuadorean preparations and ingredients with French technique to create unique, mouthwatering masterpieces.

Before move to run Freemans restaurant. Chef Humberto’s most recent projects included Calle Dao Cuban-Chinese fusion Restaurant Play, the sultry restaurant at the Museum of Sex; Vandaag, the Nordic-inspired restaurant which received two stars from the New York Times; and Sag Harbor’s Page @63 Main, where his cuisine was inspired by the local farms on Long Island. Prior to that, he worked at perfecting his craft alongside many of New York City’s top-rated chefs, including Mario Batali, Marco Moreira, Paul Zweben, Larry Forgione, Marcus Samuelsson, Rocco Dispirito, Julian Alonzo and Franklin Becker. He also worked as a stagiaire in some of the country’s finest kitchens, including New York’s Per Se and Eleven Madison, Chicago’s Alinea, and Guy Savoy in Las Vegas.

When not working on his craft, Chef Humberto enjoys playing soccer, eating, hiking, biking, and yet he still resourcing for new ingredients in the forest for new flavors.