Ernesto Garrigos received his education at Mar Vista in Santa Monica, California in the 1970s. He then apprenticed under Italian chef Antonio Orlando from Naples, from 1980 to 1982; then was sous chef under Sicilian chef Salvatorie Cabsallo from Palermo, between 1983 and 1987.

In 1988, Virgiolio Del Mare offered Chef Garrigos the executive chef position at his Virgilio’s Italian restaurant in Los Angeles. In 1992, Del Mare decided to close his LA restaurant and move it to St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

In 1993, it reopened as Virgilio’s Super Italian Cuisine in Charlotte Amalie, on the island of St Thomas in the Caribbean. Chef Ernesto followed along as his Executive Chef and is still there in 2014.

In 1998, Great Chefs Television was producing a new series for the Discovery Channel called Great Chefs of the World, and the team showed up in St. Thomas to tape Chef Garrigos. He prepared two dishes, an Osso Buco entrée (episode #183) and a Tiramisu dessert (episode #167).