Carlos Aparicio was born and raised in Mexico where he learned the secrets of authentic homemade Mexican cuisine prepared by his mother in her rustic kitchen. Aparicio moved to New York City to discover the world of baking at a Greek bakery and patisserie where he learned techniques to create breads, pastries, and cakes and worked his way up to head baker. Aparicio then moved to Philadelphia where he accepted a pastry position at Stephen Starr’s Buddakan Asian Fusion Restaurant. He also helped open restaurants including Pod with Michael Schulson, Blue with Shola Olunloyo, and Osteria with Marc Vetri. He returned to baking with the opening of Stephen Starr’s Parc Restaurant. As the head baker, Aparicio developed the bread program and was awarded “Best Baguette” from Philadelphia Magazine’s Best of Philly in 2009. He took the opportunity to train and learn about pizza and homemade pasta in New York City with the Italian-owned Serafina Restaurant Group, and was offered the executive chef position at Serafina Philadelphia. Aparicio acted as executive chef at Serafina before joining the team at Zavino Wine Bar Pizzeria, where he is now the executive chef. His background in a variety of ethnic-fusion cuisines (including Asian, Italian, Greek, Mexican, and French) allows for interesting and refreshingly unexpected combinations.