i. Biography
The Climb
Technical range is the through-line in Jeferson Garcia’s path. Training at SENA gave him the base; the kitchens that followed widened it. He worked as chef at 99 in Chile and chef at 040 in Chile, then moved to chef at Santa Teresita in Punta del Este, Uruguay, before stepping into chef at Central in Peru. Each post added another market, another pace, another way of working, building a record that reads in sequence as accumulation rather than repetition. That accumulation continued in kitchens known for discipline and pressure. Jeferson went on to cook as chef at Gaggan in Thailand and chef at GA in Thailand, then worked through Denmark as chef at Amass in Denmark, chef at Jordnaer in Denmark, chef at Alchemist in Denmark, chef at Kadeau in Denmark, and chef at Relae in Denmark. Taken together, those roles show a chef shaped by demanding rooms and by systems where consistency, precision, and adaptation matter service to service. Since 2021, Jeferson has been chef of Afluente, and that role brings the rest of the record into view. It is the point where an international résumé resolves into one address, with each earlier kitchen still visible in the way the work is framed and carried.
Today
At Afluente (since 2021), the menu is a dish that has become part of the restaurant’s identity: crab with chilli pepper, passionfruit and cuca cookie. The plate is tied to the Bogotá address, which makes it read less as a standalone item than as part of the house language. That specificity matters. Crab with chilli pepper, passionfruit and cuca cookie gives the kitchen a clear register: contrast, texture, and balance carried through a combination that is easy to name and difficult to mistake. It is the kind of signature that defines a room by precision rather than noise.
Signature
Jeferson's signature dishes include Conectividad and crab with chilli pepper and passionfruit and cuca cookie. Those two dishes mark out the edges of his work. Conectividad and crab with chilli pepper, passionfruit and cuca cookie are the names most closely attached to him, and together they point to a chef whose cooking is identified through distinct plates rather than broad claims. In a career that has moved across countries and kitchens, the signatures give the work its reference points.
Recognition
Jeferson Garcia has received The Best Chef Awards — Knife (2025). Jeferson's honors include Knife and Scholarship to Mad Academy. Knife and Scholarship to Mad Academy sit alongside the kitchen list as part of the same record: recognition added to experience, not separated from it. They confirm a trajectory already defined by movement through serious rooms and by the accumulation of craft in each one.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Jeferson
Where did Jeferson Garcia train or study?
Jeferson Garcia trained at SENA.
What recognition has Jeferson Garcia received?
Knife (2025).
