ABOUT THE EXECUTIVE CHEF JUAN RIVERA – “Chef Juan Rivera brings 10 years of culinary experience to Barcelona Wine Bar and leads the culinary team at Barcelona 14th Street in D.C. A native of Honduras but raised in El Salvador, Rivera migrated to the United States at the age of 17 to join the rest of his family. On his very first day in the U.S., his father put him to work at the family-owned pizzeria as a dishwasher. Rivera watched the line cooks as they prepped meals and admired how proud they were about something as simple as making a salad—it was then that he realized his passion for cooking.

Rivera landed his first culinary position as a line cook at Jaleo by José Andrés, which helped prepare him to join the team at Ping Pong Dim Sum as they launch their first U.S. location. During his time with Ping Pong Dim Sum, his talent did not go unnoticed. He was promoted to Executive Chef at one of the locations and later became the Corporate Chef for all U.S. locations. Following his tenure at Ping Pong Dim Sum, Rivera shadowed Chef Michel Richard at Central as a Sous Chef, which significantly influenced his culinary career.

Rivera enjoys cooking with clean flavors, a variety of textures, and simple techniques—drawing inspiration for his dishes from seasonal ingredients and various proteins.”

ABOUT THE VENUE: Barcelona Wine Bar & Restaurant 14th St. is a warm and welcoming Spanish tapas bar serving small plates of food using the finest seasonal picks from local markets and unusual specialties from Spain and the Mediterranean. This award-winning restaurant offers an award-winning selection of wines from Spain and South America and is one of the largest importers of Spanish wines in the United States.

GETTING THERE: Public Transit: Located near U Street Metro (Green, Yellow). Driving: There is limited street parking. Link to Google Map directions. Or you can use Lyft and use our code: WINELOVERSGROUP to get up to $5 off your first ride.