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Jaime Rodríguez
World's 50 Best
- Discipline
- Other
i. Biography
Chef and owner of Celele in Cartagena, Jaime Rodr has built his practice around making visible what the Colombian Caribbean had long kept in the margins: its ingredients, its biodiversity and the local knowledge that gives them context. The work is research-led without becoming academic, moving from market observation and regional memory into a restaurant language that stays tight to place. From that line of inquiry, he founded Proyecto Caribe Lab and gave research a direct role in shaping restaurant identity. Rodr described the experience plainly: "I was like a kid in a candy store." The region gave him a constant field of textures, aromas and ingredients to work with, and Limones de Oro shows how that material is translated in his kitchen: a lacto-fermented lemon filled with prawns and coral emulsion, compact in form and broad in intent.
The Path
Jaime Rodr trained at SENA in Tunja, where the foundations of his craft began to take shape. He then sharpened that foundation at La Fontana in Bogotá alongside chef Luis Forero, learning in an environment that helped refine his sense of technique and pace. Later, he joined Jorge Rausch's team at Jorge Rausch in Panama and Cartagena, moving through kitchens that further developed his perspective on precision, movement and the demands of professional service. Those formative years mattered, but so did the way they eventually pointed him back toward a cuisine of place. What emerged was not a rejection of technique, but a fuller application of it: a way to use discipline in service of memory, geography and ingredient-driven storytelling. Today, Jaime is founder of Proyecto Caribe Lab and chef and owner of Celele (since 2018), where that vision has become the core of the restaurant’s identity.
The Work Today
He is the founder of Proyecto Caribe Lab and chef and owner of Celele, a restaurant built on sustained attention to the Colombian Caribbean. Rodr has described the region as "an incredibly diverse region in terms of climate, landscape and ingredients, and there was this real element of surprise every time I came across something new." That surprise is not incidental; it is part of the method. At Celele, the aim is not to reduce the Caribbean to a single reading, but to work it as a living territory of flavors and references. Limones de Oro remains a clear example of that approach: a dish that brings fermentation, seafood and acidity into a precise, compact format.
Signature
Jaime's signature dishes include Caribbean Flower Salad and Confit creole hen. Together, they sit within the same regional register that defines his broader work: attentive, grounded in place and attentive to what local ingredients can carry.
In Their Words “It's an incredibly diverse region in terms of climate, landscape and ingredients, and there was this real element of surprise every time I came across something new.” “I’d go to the Bazurto Market and see all these incredible ingredients, but none of the restaurants in Cartagena were using them.”
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Jaime
What is Jaime Rodr's current role?
As of 2026, Jaime Rodr is chef and owner.
Where did Jaime Rodr train or study?
Jaime Rodr trained at SENA in Tunja.
What recognition has Jaime Rodr received?
Sustainable Restaurant Award (2025).
