i. Biography
Before Mateo Ríos became chef at X.O. in Medellín, Colombia, his formation passed through the working kitchens of his city: he began as a kitchen assistant in various Medellín restaurants, learning from the demands of daily service. From those early stations to executive-chef work in Grupo Carmen’s conceptual collective, his line of inheritance has stayed local, collaborative, and tied to Colombian flavor.
Where It Started The first chapter was practical: kitchen-assistant work in Medellín restaurants, followed by the responsibility of becoming an executive chef. That movement from support role to leadership matters in Ríos’s cooking because the work he later built gives equal attention to hands, products, and place. He has described the deeper discovery in personal terms: "There, I discovered that I could connect my very being and my imagination with the diverse flavors of my homeland." The sentence reads like a map of his cooking—imagination on one side, homeland on the other, with Colombian ingredients carrying the path between them. The experience also gave him a long view of the kitchen as a life rather than a post. "It’s been 14 years in this industry; there’s no doubt that my culinary journey has been transformative." In his case, transformation did not mean leaving Medellín behind; it meant finding new ways to cook from it.
Who Shaped Them Grupo Carmen’s conceptual collective gave the future restaurant its first shape, with Ríos working there as executive chef. The pandemic then pushed him, with Rob and Sebas, to create and open a fun-dining concept where producers and products sit at the center. That origin story is not built around a single mentor’s name. The lineage around Ríos runs through a collective, through collaborators, and through the people who bring food out of Colombian landscapes and waters: local artisans, Indigenous fishermen, farmers, and producers whose work gives the kitchen its vocabulary. Inside that frame, new flavors and culinary innovations are not detached from source. They come from attention to product, from national Colombian ingredients, and from a decision to support local producers and communities through creative haute cuisine.
The Work Today
As chef there, Ríos works in Modern Colombian cuisine rooted in local artisans, Indigenous fishermen, farmers, and new Colombian preparations. Colombian biodiversity is not a backdrop for the menu; it is the material he uses to create unique menus. The restaurant highlights national ingredients through a playful, modern, multisensory 13-course tasting menu. Among the products featured are blue crab, trout, San Pedreño pork, Pacific seafood, and Amazonian fruits—ingredients that carry different regions of Colombia into one dining sequence. In 2025, The Best Chef One Knife recognition went to X.O, marking international attention for the project’s craft. Yet the work remains pointed toward community and responsibility as much as creativity; Ríos has said, "In the future, I hope to see a reduced amount of waste, especially the excessive use of single-use plastic and Styrofoam."
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Mateo
What tradition or house shaped Mateo Ríos?
Medellín restaurant kitchens and Grupo Carmen’s conceptual collective shaped his path toward Modern Colombian cuisine rooted in local artisans, Indigenous fishermen, farmers, and new Colombian preparations.
Who did Mateo Ríos train under?
His formation is tied to various Medellín restaurants and to executive-chef work in Grupo Carmen’s conceptual collective.
