PLAYA DEL CARMEN, MEXICO (OCTOBER 2015) –Thompson Playa del Carmen, the first-of-its-kind luxury lifestyle hotel located in the heart of downtown Playa del Carmen, today announced the appointment of Pedro Abascal as Executive Chef. Chef Abascal will oversee the launch of the hotel’s daily dining experiences, including the first Mexican outpost of EMM Group’s famed CATCH restaurant, which set the standard for elegant seafood dining, coupled with an electrifying nightlife component when it first opened in New York City four years ago. He will also oversee the property’s three-meal restaurant, which will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner daily, and the Beach House restaurant, opening early 2016, both of which enhance Mexican flavors with his unique touch.
A native of Mexico, Chef Abascal served as Chef and Director of Food & Beverage of the acclaimed Koba Casa Club in Mayakoba, developing the restaurant’s culinary concept with multi-awarded Chef Enrique Olvera. Prior to this experience, Chef Abascal served as the Operating Chef at Restaurante Country and Chef and Partner at Restaurante Duke Roma in Mexico City, Executive Chef at Maya Luxe in Playa del Carmen, and Chef de Cuisine at Mandarin Oriental in 2007 in Riviera Maya.
In addition to extensive experience working in Mexico’s culinary industry, Chef Abascal had the privilege to travel to Europe, where he was Chef de Partie at Osmosis and Mantequeria Can Ravell, which are both lauded dining establishments in Barcelona. Chef Abascal also worked under some of the most highly regarded chefs in the world, including French three-star Michelin Chef Pascal Barbot at L´Astrance in Paris, which allowed him to further refine his culinary technique and skills.
Chef Abascal has earned numerous awards and achievements, including participating in “El Reto Prime Gourmet”, a Mexican television show with a format similar to the popular U.S. television program, “Top Chef”; hosting “Hombres en La Cocina,” airing on FOX and El Gourmet Channel in Latin America, and was awarded the “Mejor Mixologia de Mexico” by Travel + Leisure Mexico. Chef Abascal serves as a member of the popular association of Mexican chefs, Colectivo Mexicano de Cocina.
Chef Abascal earned his degree in Food & Beverage from Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara in 2002, and graduated from Barcelona’s esteemed Escuela de Hostelería Hofmann in 2007.
Reservations at Thompson Playa del Carmen are currently being accepted for stays starting on November 20, 2015. For more information or to reserve, please visit thompsonhotels.com/hotels/thompson-playa-del-carmen or call (844) 823-8100.
