Chef Harold Villarosa was born in the Philippines and raised in South Bronx, New York. From his humble beginnings working in fast food to traveling overseas and working in the #1 restaurant in the world, Chef Villarosa’s culinary journey has been both treacherous and exhilarating. In the farmlands of the Philippines, where he spent his earliest years, Chef Villarosa was exposed to his first education in food and agriculture. His father, a captain in the Philippine navy started his career on the sea as a cook and his mother, who always had a daring food palate, awakened his first curiosities for food. As a teenager living in New York City, Chef Villarosa always expressed a knack for adventurous food choices. After a rocky high school career followed by a relocation to the West Coast, he chose jobs in the food industry as a means of survival. But it would not take long before he identified the deep passion for food and cooking that had always been there. From chef de partie to tournant to sous chef, Chef Villarosa has been steadily ascending the culinary ladder. In 2008, determined to perfect his craft, he moved back to New York knocking on multiple doors and not taking no for an answer. After tireless requests, he made his way into stages at numerous Michelin rated restaurants including Aquavit, Aureole, and Rouge Tomate. He also staged as a fish butcher at the top rated fish market, the Lobster Place. He was offered an externship as an associate in the test kitchen and production for Food Network Magazine, developing recipes from the conceptual stages to testing and labored behind the scenes for Iron Chef America and other Food Network programs. He earned his stripes at Ouest, Triomphe Restaurant, Acme, A Voce Columbus and later at Macondo and Rayuela restaurants, where he worked alongside mentor and friend, the respected and late Chef Máximo Tejada. His fearlessness and persistence truly paid off in 2011, when Chef Villarosa was given the opportunity of a lifetime. He would stage with renowned Chef René Redzepi at NOMA, then the #1 restaurant in the world located in Copenhagen, Denmark. Undoubtedly, this proved to be heavily influential and pivotal in Chef Villarosa’s career. Here he was rigorously trained in the selection, appreciation and art behind farm to table cuisine. This experience not only cemented Chef Villarosa’s passion for cooking, but it also showed him the critical difference and benefits of using locally-grown products and livestock. With the respect and support of some of the most influential chefs in New York City, Chef Villarosa is now launching his own series of projects under the concept of Insurgo (Latin for “to go against the grain”). Turning his dishes into a delicious and dynamic dining experience and bringing them to unlikely places in North America. Through Insurgo, Chef Villarosa aims to both appetize and educate communities, combining innovative but simple food techniques using high‐quality organic products. Chef Villarosa currently works at Fedora restaurant of the Little Wisco Group in the West Village. He is a member of the Black Culinary Alliance and the Experimental Cuisine Collective and holds a Culinary Arts Degree from the Culinary Academy of New York.
