A modern restaurant by Chef Pepe Moncayo showcasing his culinary journey, Spanish roots and his passion for Japanese ingredients and techniques.
Chef Pepe Moncayo was born in Barcelona where he enrolled in culinary school and was assigned to cooking at Hotel Alimara. Over the next few years, Chef Pepe cooked his way through some of Barcelona’s most famed establishments. After working at Michelin star Via Veneto, he was recommended to work at the three Michelin star Can Fabes with superstar Catalan Chef Santi Santamaria. He was then sent by Chef Santi to open restaurant Evo, which after 5 months of operation received the coveted Michelin Star. Chef Pepe was then presented the opportunity to open restaurant Dos Cielos as executive chef with three Michelin Star chefs, Javier and Sergio Torres. In 2010, Chef Pepe answered the call to Singapore to be second in command of Chef Santi at the newly established restaurant Santi in Marina Bay Sands.
Chef Pepe's next venture was in Marina Bay Financial Center where he opened Ola Cocina Del Mar with his partner and longtime colleague, Chef Daniel Chavez. A few encounters with interested investors, Chef Pepe then moved to open his first solo restaurant in Singapore called Bam! in 2013. Chef Pepe was exposed to the art of modern shudo while taking a culinary trip to Japan and had the chance to explore the famed Katsuyama sake brewery and thus expand his interest in pairing sake to his interpretation of Spanish-Japanese cuisine.
Not long after, an opportunity arose for him to make a move to the other side of the world. Career driven and full of ambition, Chef Pepe accepted the offer and migrated to the United States with his family, and hence came along Cranes in 2019. During the tumultuous Covid-19 restriction, Cranes pivot to providing take-outs and deliveries. In 2020, Cranes was awarded best Fine Dining in a Box by RAMW. Soon after the restrictions were lifted and businesses started getting back up, Cranes was honored with the coveted Michelin Star in 2021 and still retained its Michelin Star up till today, year 2022. Over the course of the same year, Cranes was awarded with Formal Fine Dining Restaurant of the year by the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington.
"The experience of sake with food compared to wine is on another level."
Chef Pepe Moncayo talks about the fusion of Spanish Catalan and Japanese cuisine in his cooking. Watch CNN go behind the scenes with Chef Pepe to explore the intersection of food and sake.
