Reny Alfonso
Director of Operations, Brazen Restaurant Group
Forty-two-year-old Reinaldo Alfonso brings a rare mix of fine-dining finesse and from-scratch ethos to the kitchens of Celtic Crossing and soon to open Bog and Barley in Memphis.
Born in Costa Rica to Cuban parents, Alfonso moved to Miami as a child, where training began early. He was only 8 when his grandmother began teaching him the secrets behind Cuban dishes like ropa vieja, arroz con pollo and pudin de pan.
The passion Alfonso felt for hands-on cooking in these years — he fondly remembers butchering whole chickens and assisting with family pig roasts — led him to pursue a career behind the line, beginning with an apprenticeship at Miami’s Grove Isle Hotel at the age of 15. At 17, Alfonso got his first real taste of French cuisine, which heavily shapes his style, while working at Miami’s Sofitel. Alfonso further sharpened his culinary focus at the Biltmore Hotel, where he first began playing with Asian ingredients, and at landmark Miami Beach steakhouse Forge under executive chef Andrew Rothschild.
The Johnson & Wales graduate eventually left his hometown to work up and down the East Coast, including a stage at Eric Ripert’s lauded Le Bernardin in New York City. “I packed up my bags and worked wherever I could,” says Alfonso, who goes by “Reny” when he is among family, friends and coworkers. “I wanted to see what big-city restaurants were like, working under some of the best chefs in the country.”
Alfonso’s hunger to learn worked to his advantage once he returned to Miami. The chef, with stints at South Florida institutions like La Palme D’Or, Chef Allen’s and Norman’s already under his belt, became chef de cuisine at Rothschild’s Tsunami, a Latin-Asian fusion restaurant in West Palm Beach.
By 2005, Alfonso was ready for a new challenge, so he relocated to Tennessee to become chef de cuisine of Chez Philippe in Memphis’ Peabody Hotel. Alfonso’s Asian-inflected style and expansive knowledge of seafood was a welcome change at the four-Mobil-star institution, one the Memphis Daily News characterized as a true “era of exoticism.” Here, Alfonso began developing strong relationships with local farmers and studying the ins and outs of charcuterie. He would eventually rejigger Chez Philippe’s menu to reflect a personal Latin-influenced approach he dubbed “Nuevo Southern.”
In 2010, Alfonso took over as executive chef of STARR Restaurants’ Alma de Cuba, a position that represented him “coming full circle,” working once more with the elements that first inspired him. After a run as executive chef of Jose Garces’ JG Domestic, Alfonso returned to Starr to take over the original Continental in Old City. In addition to refining long-running staples and introducing new favorites to the fray, father of three is worked on modernizing Starr’s original hit, expanding its scope while keeping its unmistakable spirit alive. Then later in 2013, Alfonso was promoted to Corporate Executive Chef for Stephen Starr’s Group. His expansive knowledge in a vast number of cuisines and rapport with other team members made him an asset to the team, assisting in day-to-day operations, menu development and restaurant openings.
In 2017, Alfonso decided to take a step back from the corporate world and focus on just one restaurant, Starr’s El Vez, where he was able to apply his extensive knowledge in Mexican cuisine and drive the business forward with an even wider variety of menu offerings. Later in 2017 he was asked if he would like to take over two concepts at the same time, Frankford Hall and Fette Sau where his love for BBQ and German cuisine were the center stage for both concepts. He applied that knowledge of BBQ, meat butchery and anything smoked to diversify the menu at Fette Sau while at the same time pulling his past experiences from working in Germany and Austria to do the same at Frankford Hall all while continuing to assist in Starr openings around the country.
In 2021, Reny partnered with the Naylor’s to undertake the opening of Bog and Barley in the Regalia Shopping center in East Memphis. Bog and Barley is slated to open in December of 2022. It will have a large whiskey program along with more updated and elevated versions on Irish fare not found in the area, while emphasizing on Irish hospitality.