CIA alumni are always cooking up something interesting, and with a network of more than 55,000 strong, there’s never a shortage of highlights!
Next Gen Chef
Many CIA alumni were mentioned in Netflix’s premiere announcement for Next Gen Chef, the cooking competition show filmed on CIA’s New York campus during the summer of 2024. Hosted by influencer and former Miss Universe, Olivia Culpo, with Carlton McCoy ’06 and Kelsey Barnard Clark ’11 serving as judges, the show also includes these other CIA alumni and friends: food writer Francis Lam ’03; Milk Bar CEO Christina Tosi; and chefs Cat Cora ’95, Paul Carmichael ’00, Susan Feniger ’77, Dale Talde ’98, Kwame Onwuachi ’13, Daniel Boulud, Thomas Keller, Grant Achatz ’94, Harold Dieterle ’97, Emma Bengtsson, and Dr. Tim Ryan ’77. Learn more.
Awards and Accolades
Kwame Onwuachi’s ’13 Washington, DC, restaurant, Dōgon, received a two-star rating from The New York Times. Comparing it to its “New York cousin,” Tatiana by Kwame Onwuachi at Lincoln Center, the review highlighted the history and sense of place Onwuachi invokes.
Jodee Sadowsky’s ’81 The Breakfast Club, located on Tybee Island, was eighth on food and lifestyle website Ever After in the Woods’s list of community favorite restaurants in Georgia. According to the article, “Their Blackhawk Breakfast Burrito combines chorizo, jalapeños, and cheese in a way that cures even the worst vacation hangovers.”
KJUN by Jae Jung ’10 was one of five women-owned restaurants featured on the New York City Tourism + Conventions website. The article highlighted Jung’s unique blend of Korean and Cajun cuisines as well as her past working at NoMad and Le Bernardin.
Idaho’s Park City Creamery, which welcomed Kurt Clodfelter ’00 as its fromager mid-2025, won second and third place for its Brie at the 2025 Idaho Milk Processors Association Annual Conference. According to the release, only three and a half points separated first through fourth place.
Cork & Table, owned by James Fallon ’93, who is also the chef and sommelier, made Eater DC’s list of the best restaurants in Fredericksburg, VA. The article highlighted the “seasonal menu with thoughtful wine pairings.”
What’s Hot in Hospitality
Julia Sullivan’s ’07 restaurant, Judith, is one of the places changing the culinary scene around Swanee: The University of the South in Tennessee, according to Southern Living. The restaurant, named after Judith Ward Lineback, the first woman to matriculate from Sewanee, is located in the space that was once the university’s laundry.
Madison Gabor ’18 and Brooke Garlieb ’18, who met at CIA at Greystone, are two of three chefs behind Napa’s Stoop Supper Club. According to Eater San Francisco, the popular invitation-only dinners range in price from $130 to $150 and can have themes such as “Tomato Girl Summer.”
Todd Misener’s ’89 restaurant, Iron & Grape Italian Kitchen, was among those highlighted in a World Atlas article about DeFuniak Springs, FL. The article called Iron & Grape, “a dining experience that should not be missed by anyone visiting DeFuniak Springs.”
Mark ’14 and Ariana ’14 Bolchoz’s new Italian restaurant in Hanahan, SC, deliciously combines local “Lowcountry ingredients with Italian techniques,” according to an article in The Post and Courier. The couple met at CIA.
Reed Palmer ’18 joined his father Charlie Palmer’s ’79 Appellation hotel brand, taking the helm in the kitchen at the new Appellation Healdsburg property’s Folia Bar & Kitchen restaurant. According to Eater San Francisco, the plans for the 8.5-acre property included 108 guest rooms in 12 buildings.
Profiles, Stories, and Features
Tasting Table profiled Tartine, founded by Elisabeth Prueitt ’93 and Chad Robertson ’93, who met while attending CIA. The article stated the cafe and bakery in the LA and San Francisco area is “renowned for rustic loaves baked fresh daily” and counts Martha Stewart among its fans.
Hell’s Kitchen runner-up Mary Lou Davis ’15 spoke with San Antonio Current about her return to San Antonio, TX, as the head chef at Ida Claire. In the interview, she talked about her inspiration, her YouTube series Geeks and Grubs, and her plans to continue to host pop-up dinners.
Licia Householder ’10 was one of three Hamptons-based private chefs who spoke to Cultured magazine about their lives, misconceptions about the job, and the most “unexpected after-hours ask from a client.”
Nola.com shared the story of Tom Branighan ’09, who meticulously renovated his 19th Century New Orleans, LA, home with his husband while opening his restaurant MaMou, a small, pan-European restaurant named after his great grandmother.
Teaching the Next Generation of Chefs
Roshara Sanders ’14, assistant professor of Culinary Arts, shared with Hudson Valley Magazine her story of how she came to CIA, first as a student and again as an instructor. “Chef Ro,” as she is fondly known, revealed how food “saved her life” as she overcame obstacles to become the first Black female culinary arts chef-instructor.
In a press release, Delaware County Community College announced Jonathan Fike ’06 would be its new director of culinary. The hiring of Fike, who has more than 20 years of experience in both culinary and higher ed, is expected to help the college expand its award-winning Culinary Arts and Hospitality Program.