Aaron Licardo
– Director of Operations / General Manager / Chef
– A twenty one year veteran in the food & beverage industry from major hotels, independent restaurants and catering companies. Aaron Licardo is a third generation chef whose passion comes in many layers similar to his world wide cooking techniques and dishes.
He comes from a hospitality family, which included his father being an Executive Chef and teaching him the philosophy of cooking and how there are no cutting corners in this industry if you want to be the best! After working in restaurants at a young age, Aaron decided to continue his education in Miami, Florida at Johnson & Wales University.
Aaron worked his way up to become the Sous Chef of the Hyatt Miami at the Blue. Eager to learn, he was taken under the wing of the Executive Chef / Food & Beverage Director and taught how to run an entire hotel Food & Beverage department. This was a very uncommon practice for a Sous Chef but Aaron never backed down from a challenge and was able to drop all costs.
Once he had proven to himself he was able to take the next leap in his career, Aaron became the Executive Chef of Tarpon Bend Raw Bar & Grill. A well known and respected establishment in Coral Gables, Florida. Always humble but looking for opportunities to push the needle, he and Wayne Eldred (the owner) was able to create the restaurant’s first ever brunch program. This doubled sales and created a new weekend vibe. Shortly after Aaron started weaving his way into the front of the house and taking on more positions and duties to run the entire operation. He was deemed General Manager and continued being the Executive Chef.
With all the different experiences throughout his career there was something he needed to do and that brought us to his next layer of talents. Aaron, became the General Manager of DIRT Eat Clean in Miami Beach. A fast-casual healthy eating concept with a bright future but in need of culinary / execution expertise. Here is where he was able to open three locations, design kitchen layouts, all menu creations, oversee and train all staff. He became the Director of Operations / Head of Culinary for the entire company, which led him to his biggest endeavor.
He started his own company Licardo Hospitality LLC where they specialize in Catering, Beverage, Staffing and Rentals. Here is where they do weddings, production shoots, events, parties, wine dinners, pro athlete meal plans all throughout South Florida. Aaron is constantly striving to stay ahead of the competition and thinking of the next steps of the industry.
Aaron dabbles with many of the top restaurants in South Florida for inspiration and trends. You’ll also find him traveling to different cities, countries or even having dinner at a friend’s house to stay on top of his world wide obsession with food.