Dinner with Artists: Juan Diaz and Greg Shapiro

Juan Diaz was born in 1981 in Bogotá, Colombia. He is the oldest child and only son of three children born to a closely-knit family. During Diaz‟s childhood, his father recognized his son‟s natural creative intelligence and artist gifts within the first five years of his life. In 1995 at age 13 Diaz accompanied his father when he moved to the United States. Shortly thereafter, his mother and two sisters joined him and his father who were residing in Naples, Florida.
Since the late 1990’s, Diaz has used painting and drawing to explore and expose the complexities of life seeking freedom, respect and equality. Diaz added to his creative outlets, performing art and installation in 2010, using them to investigate the relationships between life and death. Diaz’s work shows his need to break away from the comfort zone, is the reflection of constant search to express his process of understanding the human experience. Explaining: “… What makes me happy is just discovering how to be a human through art…”

As a mentee in the kitchen, Chef Greg Shapiro has experienced just about every responsibility at one time or another before becoming the fine chef and business owner he is today. He actually owned a restaurant before discovering that his true passion was for catering, thus setting his sights and focus on Tastebuds Custom Catering, which launched in 2008. Now, Chef Shapiro is the mentor. A proud member of the International Catering Association Culinary Council, Chef Shapiro continuously attends seminars and courses each year. He does this to continuously spark his creativity and so that at each event, he will always bring something amazing to the table. Chef Shapiro currently educates at Catersource and AOCF, has been the National Association of Wedding Professional Member of the Year (2013), has received the ICA Star Service Award (2014) and is a Member of the Wedding Network among holding other honors and memberships.