Reinaldo Alfonso is chef de cuisine at Chez Philippe at The Peabody.

First cooking job: Stage at Marks' in the Grove in the Grove Isle Club in Miami. I had just moved back from Costa Rica and was 15 years old. The executive chef there was a family friend and let me apprentice there. I worked for free to make sure this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

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Best original dish: I don't think anyone can "reinvent the wheel" these days. It may be considered original, but everything is an adaptation of what someone else has already done. That being said, I would consider my best original dish surf and turf with sweet soy braised oxtails, sea urchin, green peanut puree and reduced natural juices.

Worst original dish: This was a tricky one, but I would have to say it was a Spanish saffron flan with blood oranges, baby tarragon and an anise tuille. I still think it sounds great. It was just a bit weird eating it as a dessert.

First food you remember eating: An unbelievably ripe mango that was peeled by hand and dipped in the ocean water before each bite. Sounds strange, doesn't it? I challenge you to try it next time you go to the beach. Make sure you have a great mango, though.

Your favorite meal: Arroz con pollo, tostones and natilla. This is something only my mom can make for me, even though my sister comes close to it. It's rice cooked with chicken, saffron and beer, served with fried green plantains. For dessert I love natilla, which is similar to crème brulee, but without the burnt sugar. I have it every time I go home to Miami.

Favorite junk food: Guava paste with cheese on a cracker.

What do you cook at home? Whatever I am in the mood for. I have a tendency to crave things from all cultures I have been exposed to at odd times. When that happens, I could spend the whole day in the kitchen.

The most ambitious or challenging meal you've cooked: Every chef is going to say the James Beard House, of course. And that is one of mine. However, I look back to five years ago when I was working at Tsunami in West Palm Beach and we prepared a nine-course tasting for 250 people on New Year's Eve. It was just plain nuts. But at the end, it felt really good to put out real high-quality food for that many people.

Best place in town to eat, besides your restaurant: Sakura in Germantown. I love their sushi. Every now and then they have the grilled hamachi kama. If you can, get it. I only wish they carried more sea urchin.

If you weren't a chef, what would you want to be? Professional spear fisherman. Nothing better than being in the ocean all day.