Chef Eddy Fernández, President of the Culinary Federation of Cuba, Passed Away

March 28, 2025

Chef Eddy Fernández Monte, president of the Federation of Culinary Associations of Cuba and tireless promoter of Cuban cuisine, passed away this Thursday in Havana.

The Federation confirmed the news on its social media, highlighting his more than 40 years dedicated to the culinary art of Cuba, "from the most humble positions in the kitchen to becoming the national leader of the profession."

The information does not specify the cause of death, although unofficial sources suggest it was a heart attack.

A Life Dedicated to Cooking
Born in 1962, Fernández Monte began his culinary studies in the late 1970s at the School of Hotel Management and Tourism, and throughout his career he worked in institutions such as the Hotel Habana Libre and was in charge of food service at the Ministry of the Armed Forces.

Since the 1980s he held various positions in the culinary profession and for more than 20 years he presided over the Federation of Culinary Associations of the Republic of Cuba, from which he promoted Cuban cuisine and its insertion into the global gastronomic scene.

He was also vice president for the Caribbean of the Association of Gastronomic Restaurateurs of the Americas and a member of the French Culinary Academy.

He participated in numerous congresses, trade shows and other national and international events, and was himself an organizer of such events held on the island in recent decades. Additionally, he received various recognitions and distinctions for his work as a federation leader and as a chef.

Considered an ambassador of Cuban cuisine and its most representative dishes, he promoted the declaration of Creole cooking as cultural heritage of the nation, an effort that he was able to see realized.

Eddy Fernández was also a mentor to generations of chefs and creator of the Artechef Project, as a space for training, exchange and professional development for Cuban cooks, and also for the enjoyment of diners, despite the shortages and economic crisis.

Author of books and articles on Cuban cuisine, he always defended its practice in the gastronomic and tourist facilities on the island, without that meaning closing the doors to international practices and innovations.

"We have to defend Cuban cuisine, show it to those who visit us and feel proud of what it represents," he told OnCuba in an interview in 2019.

He then asserted that "a good cook is born and made" and that beyond talent and vocation one must always "educate oneself, practice, improve." He also emphasized the "dedication to service" and "sense of responsibility" that in his view those in that profession should have.

"No one working in the kitchen can do their job well with just school training; they have to have the willingness; give their heart, their mind and their hands to what they do. And from my experience I can tell you that once you fall in love with cooking you can't let it go. It becomes your life. There is not a day that I don't mention it, that I don't think about it," he asserted.