DUBAI: Argentine chef Norberto Valdez Palacios brings more than two decades of global experience to his role as executive chef of the Red Sea Edition in Saudi Arabia. A pivotal chapter in his career, he says, was working with Mauro Colagreco at MGM Cotai in Macao, which helped refine his culinary philosophy that balances artistry with innovation.
“One of my earliest and fondest memories of food is making fresh spaghetti from scratch with my grandfather every Sunday,” he tells Arab News. “I would help him mix the flour and eggs, prepare the dough, and carefully slice the pasta by hand. He never let me touch the sauce at first. It was only when I was eight years old that he started to let me assist him in all the stages of cooking, and that’s where my love of cooking began. Those moments taught me patience, the importance of craftsmanship, and the joy of sharing food with family.”
When you started out, what was the most common mistake you made?
The biggest challenge was timing and coordination during busy lunch services when we were preparing hundreds of meals. Managing the pickup of main courses — especially seafood dishes — required precision, speed, and consistency. Learning how to deliver everything perfectly cooked and at exactly the right moment was one of the most important lessons early in my career.
