Sumito Estévez Singh (born 22 October 1965 in Mérida, Venezuela) is a Venezuelan

chef A chef is a professional Cook (profession), cook and tradesperson who is proficient in all aspects of outline of food preparation, food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term (), the di ...

, writer, entrepreneur, educator and television personality.

Career

He is one of the most recognized Venezuelan chefs in both Venezuela and abroad and one of the most renowned Venezuelans in general. Together with the chef Héctor Romero, Estévez founded the Instituto Culinario de Caracas, and has interests in commercial establishments in that city as well as abroad. Estévez is also the conductor of culinary television programs, radio programs and has written articles and columns for several newspapers in Venezuela. Among his many occupations, he has been a judge and creator of culinary festivals. Between 1998 and 2001, the newspaper '' El Nacional'' published two volumes with his recipes. In 2005, the same publisher extended its bibliography with the edition of fifteen volumes of ''La Cocina de Sumito'', the gastronomic collection of greater tiraje published in Venezuela.

Family and early life

He is the son of the marriage between the Venezuelan physicist Raúl Estévez and Anusuya Singh, of Punjabi origin. His father graduated in the first promotion of the Patricio Lumumba University in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

and studied for a master's and a doctorate in the

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

in the United States. His father was one of the founders of the Faculty of Sciences of the University of the Andes (Universidad de Los Andes). His paternal grandmother, María Laprea, was the second wife of Aquiles Nazoa after they both became widowed; they were married in 1949. Nazoa's previous wife had been Estrella Fernández-Viña Martí (granddaughter of the Cuban José Martí) who died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

shortly after the marriage. Estévez is the nephew of the chef and comedian Claudio Nazoa, who is the son of Laprea, and has a sister named Swapna Puni Estévez Singh, who is a psycho-pedagogue. His maternal grandfather was Sri Gurbaksh Singh, writer in Punjabi and founder of Prit Nágar, a town in northern India.Varinder Walia's article in '' The Tribune '' (Chandigarh) newspaper of 17 May. February 2005. Accessed April 24, 2010.
/ref> Estévez lived between

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and Venezuela during his childhood. From childhood, he had a taste for

gastronomy Gastronomy is the study of the relationship between Human food, food and culture, the art of preparing and serving rich or delicate and appetizing food, the cooking styles of particular regions, and the science of good eating. One who is well ver ...

. At the age of 14, he founded a gastronomic "club" with the filmmaker Alberto Arvelo. For three years, they dedicated themselves to selecting countries, reading about them and experimenting with their cuisine on Saturdays. Eventually, the group became thirty members.Quintana, Marsolaire
Sumito Estevez and ginger to taste
Excess Magazine. 2 April 2003, issue number 34.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Estevez, Sumito 1965 births Living people 20th-century Venezuelan journalists 20th-century Venezuelan businesspeople 20th-century Venezuelan male writers 21st-century businesspeople 21st-century journalists 21st-century Venezuelan male writers 21st-century Venezuelan writers Cookbook writers Founders of educational institutions Newspaper journalists People from Mérida, Mérida Venezuelan expatriates in India Venezuelan founders Venezuelan gastronomers Venezuelan people of Indian descent Venezuelan radio presenters Venezuelan television chefs