Chef Jose

The Six Degrees of Separation Theory posits that any person on Earth can be connected to any other person on Earth through a chain of no more than five other people.

The Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon is a game whereby any actor can be connected to the actor Kevin Bacon through a chain of no more than five other actors.

The Six Degrees of Sarasota is my theory that anyone in the hospitality industry in Sarasota can be connected to Chef Jose Rojas by no more than five other people. In most cases it only takes two.

In a community that prides itself on collaboration, Chef Jose Rojas is a leader. Nowhere is this more evident than in the story of how this prolific local chef came to be a private chef thanks to a Facebook post by a local Realtor. On April 15, 2021, Katy McBrayer-Lynch of Premier Sotheby’s posted that she was looking for personal chef recommendations for a client. Multiple people tagged Jose, and a private catering company was born.

“At the time I didn’t have a name for my company, or even a sample menu, but Katy reached out and her client had just purchased a home on Siesta Key and he was looking for a private chef. I told her to give him my info and he called me and invited me to come to the house and check it out.”

To Jose’s surprise, the owner of the house turned out to be a man in his 30s. His first request: a barbecue at his house. Thanks to the power of social media, images from that first gig led to more people reaching out. Soon, his private catering company had a name— Flavor Affairs—and a roster of clients, and a blank canvas.

After years of working at and consulting for some of Sarasota’s top restaurants such as Louies Modern, Libby’s, El Melvin, and Siesta Key Summer House (where he still works part time), he was excited for the opportunity to do his own thing. Jose recalls the excitement of perfecting a dish of Vietnamese pho at a client’s request. He’s cooked for everyone from celebrities such as Sam Logan from MTV’s “Siesta Key” to athletes—meal prepping upwards of 25 meals a week for tennis players.

“I think this venture was necessary for me to grow and improve myself as a chef and an innovator,” he says. “I love to create new dishes and above all to work with my clients to provide them with a unique experience. It’s more personal than a meal at a restaurant because we’re interacting directly from client to chef.”

During our conversation Chef Jose mentions a friend and former colleague, Claudia Chuquizuta, and in true Six Degrees of Sarasota she happens to be a friend and former colleague of mine. This is what Claudia had to say about Chef Jose: “He’s a great chef, creative and innovative, a good friend, an excellent dancer, fun, caring, and responsible.” She pauses, “How do I put it? He’s just a well-rounded and genuinely nice person.”