Ivan Barros
formerly of Amara at Paraiso | Miami, FL
May 2025
Ivan Barros thought he was going to practice medicine until his disdain for a prerequisite nursing course steered him towards culinary school. He attended Le Cordon Bleu in Miami, Florida while moonlighting at a Tex-Mex grill. After he graduated, he landed a job at Scarpetta at Fontainebleau Miami Beach under the helm of Chefs Michael Pirolo and Nina Compton. At Scarpetta, Barros laid the foundation for his career—he worked his way up the line, learned how to organize and execute, and fell in love with Italian food.
Three years later, Barros moved to New York to work on Chef Scott Conant's corporate culinary team and at Pirolo’s The Saint Austere in Brooklyn. After working his way up to executive sous chef, he left to stage around Miami and New Orleans before ultimately landing in Los Angeles. He spent most of his time in L.A. at Alimento under Rising Stars alum Zach Pollack, where he started as a line cook again in an effort to deepen his culinary and leadership knowledge. He eventually became the chef de cuisine, honing and refining his menu development and design skills. After five years at the restaurant, he left to open his first concept in Santa Monica before becoming the champion of the second season of the Food Network show “Ciao House.”
Feeling homesick, Barros decided to move back to his hometown of Miami with his partner, owner of Magie Wine Bar, Caroline Strauss. In late 2023, he accepted the executive chef position at Amara at Paraiso under the direction of Chef Michael Schwartz. Before departing in February 2025, Barros used South Florida’s coastal bounty as the backbone of the menu’s contemporary Latin American fare. Now, he is joining forces with Strauss to continue expanding Magie Wine Bar across Miami.
