Diego Fernandez at

37 year-old Male in Overland Park, KS

Chef Diego Fernandez, Executive Chef, Overland Park Marriott

Chef Diego Fernandez’s passion for cooking started early. While growing up in Argentina, he was always surrounded by food, and his favorite activities were Saturday afternoon grocery shopping trip and collecting recipes. Despite his passion for food, he did not pursue cooking professionally until after his first year college. His friends’ suggestion to become a chef after experiencing his cooking inspired him to switch career paths from architecture to culinary arts.

Chef Fernandez’s style is rooted in European cooking where he was influenced by the Italian and Spanish traditions of his grandparents, but he has experienced all flavors of the world. He graduated from Culinary Arts School in Argentina.

For more than 13 years, Chef Fernandez has worked at Marriott hotels in Argentina, Guatemala, Saint Kitts and Overland Park. He came to the Overland Park Marriott in October 2004 as the Executive Chef.

In his current role, Chef Fernandez is responsible for shaping the restaurant and catering menus. He crafts dishes that reflect his experiences living in many different countries and his respect for the originality of their cultures, the seasonality of the ingredients, the local market and his family heritage.

Chef Fernandez is currently involved with Chefs Move to School; he also has a monthly column in Tastebud magazine, a local culinary journal and assists in the Event Operations Workshop.