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Meet Javier Uriarte: 2024 South Carolina Chef Ambassador

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Much like his home country of Peru and his journey to becoming a chef, Javier Uriarte’s cooking is a melting pot of flavors and diverse cuisines. As a teen, Uriarte moved to Maryland and got his first taste of food service by working as a cook to help finance his college tuition; but he didn’t consider a culinary career until moving to South Carolina in 2014.

Opting for on-the-job training over traditional schooling, Uriarte dove headfirst into working at Columbia-area restaurants as he honed his culinary skills and overcame language barriers. His perseverance paid off when he secured a job in the kitchen at Motor Supply Company Bistro and eventually became the executive chef at Hendrix.

In October 2020, Uriarte firmly planted his South Carolina roots and opened his first restaurant in Elgin called Ratio. The tapas-style restaurant specializes in Peruvian and Latin American cuisine, with a focus on seasonal food and drinks. An ode to his upbringing, the menu is a mix of cuisines, incorporating a blend of Peruvian, Southeast Asian, and creole flavors that highlight the high-quality local produce and seafood plentiful in South Carolina.

SCPRT Chef Ambassador Chef Javier Uriarte Jamon Del Pais ()

“What I love the most about being a South Carolina chef is how rich our agriculture ingredients are and, of course, our Southern hospitality,” Uriarte says. “You will not find another state with so many different ingredients and farmers that work locally with chefs and restaurants. In the South, there is a sense of ‘we are all neighbors,’ and we stay close with each other to flourish. The potential and opportunities that have been presented to me in South Carolina over the past decade have been the leading cause of my success as a chef and restaurateur.”