Connecting Cultures Through Cuisine
Yale Global Table brings culinary thought leaders from around the world to campus, where visiting chefs train staff, engage with students and researchers, and share remarks followed by a reception featuring a menu inspired by their work. Learn more about our past Global Fellows and the culinary perspectives they brought to Yale.
Chef-In-Residence Program
Our growing cohort of Fellows lies at the heart of the Global Table program. Each semester, we welcome a leading culinary innovator to campus. During their residency, Fellows train dining staff, engage with students and researchers, and share remarks followed by a reception featuring a menu inspired by their work.
Fellows are selected for their demonstrated commitment to environmental and social good, their reputation for culinary innovation, and the regional contexts in which they live and work. While on campus, the academic components of each visit are supported by one of MacMillan’s seven regional councils, providing Fellows with meaningful opportunities to connect with faculty and students who share deep expertise and interest in their region.
Spring 2026 Fellow
Rodrigo Pacheco, Ecuador
In residence February 23 – March 3
Rodrigo Pacheco is an Ecuadorian chef, who fulfills the diplomatic role as Goodwill Ambassador in Ecuador, at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. He attracted the attention of the world through his culinary art and his innovative project “The largest Biodiverse Edible Forest in the world” that he develops as Executive Director of the Bocavaldivia Foundation, to address socio-environmental causes, through a mechanism for ecosystems conservation, reconection, restoration and strengthening, catalyzed by gastronomy.
He is founder of Bocavaldivia research and development restaurant, located in Puerto Cayo, Manabí and founder of Foresta restaurant located in Quito, capital of Ecuador. His vision, career and purpose plus his extraordinary participation in the gastronomic competition The Final Table produced by Netflix, have been well recognized by the world press and international organizations.
Rodrigo is more than a professional chef, he is a specialist in sustainable hospitality as well as a promotor of culture and biodiversity who bases his culinary art on restoring and connecting ecosystems, wisdom and flavors. One of his main life goals is to create the largest natural, cultural and community corridor on the entire planet.
