Chef Jose Miguel Melendez was born and raised in Puerto Rico until the age of 14. In 1992 his family moved to Cleveland, Oh seeking better opportunities. Graduated from Lincoln-West High School in 1995, attended Cleveland State University with a Major in Chemical Engineering and minor in Business Administration, however couldn't complete his degree due to making the decision to take care of his sick mother and younger brother.

Melendez got married the first time in 1999 and had two daughters. In 2008, after a divorce gone bad,  Jose ended up in financial hardship, he ended up living in friends guest rooms, basements and even in his car. It was at that point that Jose turned into the one thing he knew and loved, food. 

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Melendez Latin Grill was founded by brothers Omar & Jose Miguel in 2010. In 2014, Jose met his current wife Cristina, sharing the passion for the culinary arts both took the leap of faith to establish Melendez Catering Services in 2016. With Cristina's background in Mexican & Colombian Cuisine, Melendez Catering has built its reputation as the only Caterer in North East Ohio that focuses on a new take on traditional Latin & Caribbean flavors. 

In 2020, Chef Melendez launched Twisted Taino Restaurant in Ohio City and then moved to Parma, OH. Since then, Twisted Taino Restaurant has won several awards including 2020 NEOHCED Ground Breaking Business of the Year, 2020 Cleveland Magazine's Best 25 Restaurants in Cleveland Chef to Watch, 2020 Best of CLE Editor's Edition & 2021 SCENE Magazine's Best things we ate in 2021, 2022 Silver Spoon Award Nominee as Best Spanish Restaurant, Honoree Mention as one of the Best 25 Restaurants in Greater Cleveland by Cleveland Magazine & 2022 Hispanic Business Award's Best Restaurant, North Ohio Division. Twisted Taino is still under Construction building out it's Dine in Area.. 

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Chef Melendez cuisine has been featured in articles from Cleveland Scene Magazine, Cleveland Magazine, Fox 8 New Day Cleveland, Old Brooklyn News, Liner Legal , LLC, WKYC Channel 3's Show "Yo Soy Latino Cleveland", WKYC Channel 3's "The Ana Show", Top 20 in Cleveland Chain Reaction's Second Season & Jumpstart's Core City's Impact Program Finalist.