Biography: Ralpheal Abrahante, Executive Chef, Thalassa
Chef Ralpheal Abrahante is a passionate advocate of Contemporary Mediterranean seafood Cuisine. Since 2002 he has consistently infused Mediterranean fare with his personal signature: a love of seasonal ingredients and a fundamental respect for the freshness and simplicity integral.
As a native Puerto Rican, Chef Ralpheal gleans the majority of his influences from the cultural and culinary variety centric to New York City. These influences have inspired him to concentrate on enhancing the natural flavors of each dish to its fullest potential, thereby creating a traditional breed of Caribbean cuisine with a modern flair. The essence of Chef Ralpheal’s culinary creed, like the food he creates, is simple yet rich: if you embrace the cuisine & love to cook, your kitchens will inevitable enjoy success.
Chef Ralpheal’s menus represent the authentic cooking style of the Mediterranean with a particular focus on contemporary and classic seafood dishes. Chef Ralpheal’s Mediterranean dishes and sauces are enhanced by an impressive selection of fresh, flavorful herbs and spices (dried tarragon, dried bay leaves, dried rosemary, fresh thyme, and fresh oregano, among many others), imported extra-virgin olive oil, and seasonal vegetables. There are no preservatives used by Chef Ralpheal This is the foundation of his culinary style.
Chef Ralpheal learned to cook from his mother and grandmother along with dining out often with his family in local New York City restaurants. Early on in his career, he developed a passion for seafood and contemporary Mediterranean cuisine.
Chef Ralpheal explains: “The cooking of Mediterranean in general is simple, earthy, and healthy. Although I’m continually creating new dishes, I remain inspired by my constant discovery of old Mediterranean recipes so that my dishes evolve along with the menus. My philosophy with food is to keep the flavors simple and let the ingredients shine. If you over-complicate the food, the flavors become muddled. Chef’s motto is: eat fish and live longer.”
