Executive Chef and Owner of Buen Provecho, Elmer Passapera was born in New York City and raised in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. At an early age, he was lured into the culinary field being surrounded by great family cooks. His passion continued to grow as he observed his mother’s cooking. Her creative combination of herbs and spices and delicacies gained his interest.
Over the years, Elmer had the opportunity to work on his Aunt Carmen and Gilberto’s (husband) food truck in Puerto Rico – little did anyone know what would become of this exposure. He was fascinated with the interaction of customers while their orders were being fulfilled. The relationship was more that of family than “customers”, where interacting with people on a personal level was normal.
As years passed, Elmer found himself influenced under his aunt and uncle’s knowledge, alongside his mother, shaping his style and depth of wisdom. With no accredited culinary education, Elmer developed his own flair without diluting the traditional cooking of Puerto Rico. Using family recipes, he continues to birth new tastes that reflect and complements the roots of his culture. His philosophy is the enjoyment of preparing authentic Puerto Rican cuisine and allowing the natural Caribbean flavors to speak for themselves. In addition to cooking, Elmer enjoys motivating others to discover their own talents as he was encouraged and strongly believes you can do anything you set your heart to do. He is also active, enjoys traveling, spending quality time with his family and desires to show the love of Christ through his food and service.
Buen Provecho started as a catering company in 2007 introducing Puerto Rican food to metro Atlanta. During this time we quickly noticed Georgia’s misconception of Latin food; they’re all the same. We were determined to prove otherwise.
As Buen Provecho gained popularity, in 2011 we launched the first Puerto Rican cuisine food truck in GA, educating locals of the diversity in Latin cuisine. While bringing exposure of our “comida criolla”, we were dedicated to offer only the finest in quality food and cater all ethnicities.
In 2015, we brought you the first Buen Provecho Restaurant in Atlanta and we couldn't have been more thrilled to provide a great new place to enjoy in the area. Opening our first restaurant has been a labor of love and we've developed our menu with the hope that each and every dish becomes someone's absolute favorite. Now in 2019, we have brought the Buen Provecho Restaurant down to Cape Coral, FL. Come check us out!
Buen Provecho started as a catering company in 2007 introducing Puerto Rican food to metro Atlanta.
Elmer purchased a food truck to begin sharing his passion for cooking with his community.
Opened Buen Provecho Restaurant in
Marietta, GA.
Opened Buen Provecho Restaurant in
Cape Coral, FL.