Rodney Murillo, Executive Chef of Avila Modern Mediterranean, creates dishes with Portuguese, Spanish, French and Italian influences. He takes pride in being self-taught. Originally from Costa Rica, at the age of 16, he relocated to Boston to pursue his interest in the kitchen by learning from his uncle who was living in the area and working in food service. Growing up in Costa Rica, for Murillo life and recreation on the water was a daily routine, with regular fishing tips out on the ocean with his grandfather. His parents own a 110-acre coffee and pineapple plantation and he remembers that all meals prepared by his parents and grandparents used only freshly caught fish and ingredients picked right out of the garden.