Chef Mark brings the desire to blend his fine dining background and vast culinary knowledge into simple, delicious take home fare. With a focus on the highest quality ingredients, using locally grown, organic and/or sustainable foods whenever possible, he brings healthy, great tasting meals to your dining table. Chef Mark's food can be described as "New American." He brings the influences of his Mexican-American family and Texas upbringing along with his experiences cooking the Polynesian and Pacific Rim foods of Hawaii, backed by his classical French training, to create his superbly unique menus.

Chef Mark, a native Texan, has nearly 20 years experience in the restaurant industry. He is a graduate of the Colorado Mountain Culinary Institute in Keystone, Colorado and a longtime member of the American Culinary Federation. Chef Mark has worked in some of the finest restaurants and hotels throughout Texas, Colorado, and Hawaii. He was the Executive Chef of the world-renowned Merriman's restaurants, where he worked under James Beard-nominated Peter Merriman. Most recently, Mark was Sous Chef at the Westin La Cantera. He has been featured on the television shows "The Secret Life of... Tex Mex" on the Food Network Channel, and "Hawaii Cooks," and has received numerous awards and medals competing in culinary competitions throughout the United States.

Chef Mark has always had a slow food philosophy towards food and cooking--tapping into local resources and working hand in hand with farmers to bring the best quality products to his customers. It's no secret that great meals begin with the freshest ingredients. It was while working under his mentor Peter Merriman that Mark realized the possibilities as they relate to the relationships between chef and farmer. At Merriman's, he would select seed varieties with farmers, combining efforts with other chefs to make options viable for the growers. He would walk down to the harbor and build relationships with charter fisherman so he could buy their catches hours out of the water. Mark would purchase whole animals from local Island ranchers. All of these relationships created a way for him to provide his guests with the freshest possible products, and his efforts helped local farmers thrive as well. Mark brings that same philosophy to SoGo, where he has created relationships with Texas growers, is a member of Go Texan, which showcases local products, and continues to search Texas and the rest of the United States for the best quality ingredients. "You can't put a price on good quality ingredients. Never will we sacrifice quality for cost or profits".