Mariana Gonzalez-Trasvina

The Climb

Training at Johnson & Wales University gave Mariana Gonzalez-Trasvina the baseline the trade demands: technical discipline, speed under pressure, and the habits that keep a kitchen moving cleanly. That carried into her first role as summer kitchen staff at Smoke House in Newport, Rhode Island, where early service work sharpened pace and precision. The shape of her career reads from that start—steady, controlled, and grounded in repetition rather than noise. Since 2019, Mariana has served as Executive Chef of Bar 'Cino, while also holding the Executive Chef role at La Vecina. Those two kitchens require range, but the throughline stays the same: consistency at scale, energy without drift, and a clear point of view shaped by experience.

Today

At Bar 'Cino and La Vecina Taqueria, authentic Mexican dishes sit at the center of the menu, and Mariana Gonzalez-Trasvina treats that work as a living standard rather than a fixed concept. The emphasis is on service rhythm, dish texture, and the culture of the brigade, with collaboration carrying as much weight as execution. As she put it, “I really have such a great team. It’s such a teamwork culture here.” That approach also shows in how she thinks about the line itself. “We can’t just have one type of person in the kitchen because it becomes so flat,” she said. The point is practical: a kitchen gains depth when different perspectives work in the same space. Under her leadership, the room functions less like a ladder and more like a shared operating language.

Signature

Mariana's signature dishes include Chilaquiles, Tres Leches French Toast, Fried Chicken & Churros, and La Vecina Omelet. The range points to a kitchen hand that can move between comfort, indulgence, and play without losing control of the plate. Each dish carries a different register, but all of them depend on balance and clean composition.

In Their Words “We can’t just have one type of person in the kitchen because it becomes so flat.” “I really have such a great team. It’s such a teamwork culture here.”