Chef
Daniel Ganem
- Discipline
- Chef
- Based in
- Washington DC, Washington DC, United States
i. Biography
In Coral Gables, the cooking is organized around cold fish work, pasta dough, pumpkin, sage, cheese, and the daily discipline of a seafood-minded Italian kitchen. At Fiola Miami, Daniel Ganem works with Miami in the background and with the materials named on the table: hamachi, branzino, caviar, tortelloni, crema, foam, herbs, and salt.
The Path
Formal French training sits behind the later Italian and South Florida work. Daniel Ganem trained at Le Cordon Bleu before moving into an apprentice role at Aqua in San Francisco, CA. the path then widened through San Sebastian, Spain, where he was a stagiaire at Martin Berasategui from 2007, and returned to South Florida through Executive Chef roles at The Raleigh Hotel and The Betsy Hotel, followed by Executive Chef at Little Palm Island in The Florida Keys, FL. Current kitchen leadership is split across restaurant service, terrace dining, hospitality direction, and steakhouse work. Daniel is Executive Chef of Fiola Miami since 2021 and Executive Chef of La Terrazza da Fiola since 2021, while also serving as Culinary Director of Gioia Hospitality and Culinary Director of Daniel’s A Florida Steakhouse.
The Work Today
The Fiola kitchen in Coral Gables has worked across hamachi crudo, bison tartare with Parmigiano-Reggiano crema, meatballs with shaved royal trumpet mushrooms, whole Canary Island branzino, pastas, and caviar service options. In Daniel Ganem’s hands, that range reads as station discipline: clean raw fish work, rich meat handling, thin mushroom shaving, restrained whole-fish cooking, and pasta treated as a primary craft. The most legible plate is the Calabaza Tortelloni served at Fiola in Coral Gables in 2023. Daniel Ganem built it from cinnamon pasta dough, roasted pumpkin-ricotta filling, pumpkin crema with maple syrup, and a Pecorino Romano and Parmigiano Reggiano foam, finished with pepitas and crispy sage. The construction keeps pumpkin in multiple forms and moves the plate through sweetness, dairy, nuttiness, and herb. Photography is also part of the practice outside the kitchen. For Daniel Ganem, it is another discipline of timing, attention, and composition.
Signature
Signature dishes include Calabaza Tortelloni with pumpkin crema.
Acclaim
Recipe publication is a form of trade visibility because it exposes method, not only image. In 2023, StarChefs published the recipe for Calabaza Tortelloni as a dish by Chef Daniel Ganem of Fiola in Coral Gables, Florida. The published recipe placed the working components in public view: cinnamon dough, roasted pumpkin, ricotta, maple, Pecorino Romano PDO, Parmigiano Reggiano, seeds, and sage. The career record is defined by the kitchens and roles where the work was done: Le Cordon Bleu; Martin Berasategui in San Sebastian; and the Miami-area restaurants and hospitality roles connected to Daniel Ganem’s work today.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Daniel
What is Daniel Ganem's current role?
Daniel Ganem is Executive Chef.
Where did Daniel Ganem train or study?
Daniel Ganem trained at Le Cordon Bleu.
What is Daniel Ganem known for?
Photography.
