Chef Muñiz career in New York City started at Nobu 57 with the legendary chef Nobu Matsuhisa. After a few years there, he moved on to become part of the opening team at 81 Restaurant, earning one Michelin Star and working alongside acclaimed chefs: Ed Brown, Juan José Cuevas and Yuhi Fujinaga. It was there that he practiced an amalgamation of American, French and Basque culinary techniques. After Eighty One, he went to the famous River Café under the Brooklyn Bridge where he again, was in the kitchen team that earned the restaurant their first Michelin Star. With a well-honed set of skills, the result of a pedigree earned in top restaurants around the city, Esteban became the executive chef at one of the most popular restaurants in Clinton Hill,Brooklyn: SOCOBK, during the 3 years he spent there, he earned the restaurant a Michelin Recommendation and multiple Trip Advisor and Zagat awards. Esteban has also, been a guest chef in cooking art installations for artist Rirkrit Tiravanija; cooking alongside him at at the Venice Biennial of 2013 and more recently at Uncle Brother a farm to table restaurant in Hancock, NY Tiravaninja co owns with his long time gallerist Gavin Brown.
Esteban Muñiz was born and raised in Puerto Rico and graduated from The Culinary Institute of America 2005. He was a senior chef at Wagamama's in NYC before returning home to Puerto Rico in 2018. After consulting for many local restaurants he was the head chef at Entrevinos in Isla Verde, PR where he and the team got a nomination of the 10 top restaurants in San Juan. Also he was the head chef of the kitchen operations of Taberna Medalla in Condado San Juan.