Javier Ramirez
Javier Ramirez is a Venezuelan born economist who worked in corporate finance for 20 years before following his passion for food and cooking to become a restaurateur in Miami, Fl. His first restaurant Alter which opened in 2015 went on to become a Beard Foundation semi-finalist for best new restaurant, was an Esquire best new restaurant and obtained 4 stars from the Miami Herald. He sold Alter in 2017 to open Palmar, which also received 4 stars from the Miami Herald and was one of Bon Appetit’s best new restaurants in 2018. That year he also helped pastry chef Antonio Bachour open his flagship restaurant in Coral Gables, which he ran with Bachour until 2019. During those years his passion for cooking turned to sourdough pizza, and he developed his own pizza dough recipe and held pizza parties for friends and family in his backyard, which led to the opening of La Natural in 2020. It was one of Esquire’s best new restaurants in 2021 and currently holds a Bib Gourmand from the Florida Michelin Guide. He has also provided consulting for Kaori and Orilla, the former went on to be mentioned in the Florida Michelin Guide.
