David Pardo de Ayala is corporate chef of the Dis­covery Shores, Boracay Island. As corporate chef, Pardo de Ayala is responsi­ble for the direction and de­velopment of a 30 member culinary team. He oversees the menu of the Sands and the Indigo restaurants and the newly opened Platitos. Each food and beverage outlet offers a unique and diverse menu.

Creating menus that evoke a “sense of place” as he puts it, is not an altogether
alien concept for the Columbian culinary artist. Born in Bogota, Chef Pardo de
Ayala started his culinary experiments at a young age in his mother’s kitchen. “My mom once asked me to help her in the kitchen, she paid me afterwards and since that moment I’ve never looked back. I fell in love with cooking and pursued the art from there on”, he says.

Inside the kitchen, Chef Pardo is in his element. “I rose fast in my career. At 24 years old, I became one of the best known chef ’s in my own country. I quickly became executive chef, which meant a lot of paper work and took me away from the kitchen. I did not like this at all. I have to be in the kitchen to explore more and learn more, thus assuring my continued evolution as a culinary artist,” he continues.

Chef Pardo de Ayala brings more than 15 years of diverse culinary experience to the resort. In 1993, when he was only 20, he became the youngest winner ever of his country’s national culinary contest, the Nestle “Toca de Oro,” and represented Columbia in gastronomic competitions at an international level.

After a few years as chef de partie in five star hotels and as Executive Chef of independent operations, Chef Pardo de Ayala traveled to New York and worked in Lespinasse, Le Bernardin, and at Restaurant Bouley, a four star Michelin restaurant famous for its delicious French style food.

In the Philippines since 1997, he opened Soleil Res­taurant in Makati and worked as head Chef of Aqua Restaurant at the Enterprise Center and at the Soleil Moderne Cafe at Greenbelt 2.

An avid and passionate teacher to his colleagues in the kitchen, Chef Pardo de Ayala strongly believes in sharing his craft and mentoring culinarians. Recently, he was awarded the Maitre Rotisseur by the Chaine des Rotisseurs. He is also an active member of Les Toques Blanches. As Corporate Chef of the Discovery Group, he is directly in charge of all the restaurants of the Discovery properties.