This ACCESS Alumnus Didn’t Let A Visual Impairment Keep Him From His Passion

In 2010, Irving Alvarado was driving to visit his family in Doral when he suddenly lost his vision. 

“I was passing some streetlights and at the corner on the left there was a school and some lights were on to indicate that students were going to start leaving school,” said Alvarado, who was 42 at the time. “I had to reduce my speed to 10 miles per hour and that’s where I, without any symptoms, lost my vision.” 

Doctors would soon discover a tumor in his brain that impacted his sight. During the next four years, Alvarado, who was a chef at the time, would undergo seven surgeries. 

“I thought I had lost my soul, my mind,” Alvarado said. “I did not know I was a cook, a chef, that I worked doing so many things for so many years.” 

After various hardships, he rediscovered his love for the culinary arts. In 2021, he landed a job as an assistant prep cook at the Andaz Hotel through ACCESS at Miami Dade College. 

Five years later, Alvarado and the hotel were honored with the Employer Recognition Award from the Florida Department of Education at a ceremony on Feb. 19 at the Embassy Suites next to Miami International Airport. 

The Andaz Hotel was recognized for hiring visually impaired people and accommodating them in the workplace. Alvarado was recognized for his accomplishments.  

“It was very emotional to know how far he’s [come] to get his name,” said Diana Herrera, Job Developer at ACCESS. 

Starting Over

Alvarado, a Venezuelan national, immigrated to the United States in 1995. He took up a job as a dishwasher at a sushi restaurant called Miyako.

“He used to say that he could even burn water,” said Yracelis Alvarado, Irving’s sister. “He had no interest in being in the kitchen.”

Alvarado moved up the ranks and became a corporate chef at the restaurant. He discovered his passion for the culinary arts. 

By 2010, Irving was a renowned chef in the Florida Keys. He managed five restaurants including Brazaleña, a Brazilian steak house he founded. 

But in April of that year, he suddenly lost his vision and the surgeries he underwent caused other health complications.  

After his third surgery, Irving developed hydrocephalus, which is an accumulation of water in the brain. The procedures and heavy medications weakened him—he couldn’t walk or feed himself anymore.

The surgeons removed part of his frontal skull twice due to infections, leaving his brain exposed. He was in a coma for several weeks. 

When he woke up, Irving gradually lost his memory. He had to relearn everything—who he was, how to speak and how to walk. 

“I closed my eyes at my house one day and tried to do everything without opening them to understand how he felt,” Yracelis said. “I learned his necessities and was able to truly help him.”

After his final surgery in 2014, he began recovery. 

Rediscovering The Kitchen

Irving’s siblings worked to get him back on his feet. They looked for culinary colleges so he could become a chef again.  

According to Irving, he was rejected by several schools because of his disability.

Eventually, his siblings found the Miami Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired, a non-profit organization that serves the visually impaired. Irving began classes for orientation and mobility around his neighborhood. 

“Since I met him, he’s always been an independent traveler,” said Samly Melendez, a mobility instructor at the Miami Lighthouse of the Blind. “He’s always been wanting to be as independent as possible.” 

While at the Lighthouse, Yracelis discovered San Ignacio University in Doral, where he graduated with honors as a culinary arts and chef training major in 2017.

He made the Guinness World Records in 2015 for making the world’s biggest Quinoa salad with a team of chefs from his school. 

After graduating, he worked briefly at Tuttoria Di Campo, an Italian restaurant, while searching for a place to re-learn English. 

In 2020, he began taking classes at West Campus. The Lighthouse introduced him to ACCESS at MDC where he met Herrera. 

With her help, Alvarado searched for a new job.

“We didn’t have much success at the beginning, it was really hard,” Herrera said. “We tried many times…I had to do variations of the resume, but every time [we met, we did] applications.”

But then, Herrera came across an opportunity at the Andaz Hotel in Miami Beach. In April of 2021, Irving auditioned for the job. 

Inside that kitchen, Herrera, Melendez and the cooking staff watched as Irving cut vegetables. 

“He started doing it so well that I was thinking, my goodness he looks like a surgeon,” Herrera said. “I was happy, proud and impressed.”  

After dazzling everyone, he was hired. 

“Irving is extremely responsible, friendly with his coworkers and is always willing to help,” said Chef Jose Miguel, the hotel’s supervisor. “He also had no problem in letting others help him due to his disability.” 

At first, Irving had a work area exclusively for him. Melendez and staff or Melendez accompanied him until he got familiar with the environment. 

Six months later, he began working without anyone’s assistance and was named employee of the year. He was also promoted to an assistant prep cook III.

Currently, Andaz Hotel is negotiating with Interlight, a road safety system company based in Spain, to create an audio-based GPS system for Irving to better navigate the hotel. 

“God has put me here to serve as a testimony,” Irving said. “The sky is the limit, there is nothing, absolutely nothing, that is impossible to any of us.” 

Some of the interviews for this story were conducted in Spanish.

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