CIA alumni are always cooking up something interesting, and with a network more than 50,000 strong, there’s never a shortage of highlights! Here are just a few examples of CIA alumni in the news this past month.
Award and Accolades
Moody Tongue, based in Chicago, IL, is the world’s first two Michelin-starred brewery. CBS Saturday Morning interviewed Brewmaster Jared Rouben ’06 about the brewery’s tasting menu and recipe for success: pairing fine dining with in-house crafted beers.
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OpenTable Blog highlighted Ruthie’s All-Day in Arlington, VA, as one of the hotspots on the Washington DC food scene. Opened in 2020, by co-owner and chef Matt Hill ’00, Ruthie’s is known for serving different menus depending on the time of day, transitioning seamlessly from coffee to barbecue.
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The Herald Sun highlighted Ideal’s Sandwich & Grocery as one of the most promising restaurants that opened in the Durham, NC area in 2021. This sandwich shop, owned by Ian Bracken ’13 and Paul Chirico ’14, was built as an ode to Philadelphia-style delis, making its own bread, focaccia rounds, seeded hoagies, and English muffins.
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Openings and Chefs on the Move
Alex Tubero ’14 was named chef at Amali, an Eastern Mediterranean restaurant in New York City. Tubero is bringing new twists on traditional dishes like yeasted sesame bread with yogurt-whipped butter, herbed labneh with whipped pistachio feta, chili and toasted garlic, and tajarin noodles with chestnut cream and shaved white truffles. He previously worked at Ad Hoc by Thomas Keller, Betony and Union Square Café.
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Pastry Chef Derek Sweetapple ’90, was named general manager of the Manchester, CT, Crumbl cookies location. Crumbl is a unique nationwide chain that offers just six types of cookies each week: two varieties remain constant and the other four change weekly.
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Jeff Tunks ’83 recently signed as partner and executive chef at Corvina Seafood Grill in Boca Raton, FL. Tunks is best known for the 18 years he spent in Washington DC operating D.C. Coast and previously worked for Dean Fearing ’77 and Takashi Shirmaizu.
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Changing the Narrative
Chef Mellissa King ’07, was invited to Sesame Street to introduce Ji-Young, the show’s first Asian-American Muppet. King cooked Asian foods with Ji-Young, Cookie Monster and Elmo, and showcased the culture and traditions of Asia.
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Josh Kessler ’17 is redefining kosher food with his French kosher bistro, Barnea Bistro in New York City. After primarily working in non-kosher restaurants around the city, Kessler decided to pull from his experiences in French cooking to open the bistro, opening up opportunities for people who keep kosher to experience new flavors and dishes.
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Origin Stories
Chef Fany Gerson ’98, founder of Fan Fan Doughnuts, was interviewed about her career and Mexican and Jewish heritage. Gerson is also a cookbook author and the former owner of Dough Doughnuts. Her donuts feature global flavors, including Mexican cinnamon sugar, white coffee and mango lassi, and guava-cheese fan-fans.
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After losing their jobs due to the pandemic, Kimberly Camara ’16 and her partner started making donuts in their apartment in Queens, NY, during 2020. Starting as a short-term summer project relying on family and friends to deliver orders has now turned into Kora’s Donuts attracting so many orders, they had to close their waitlist. Now Kora’s has a five-person team, along with an industrial kitchen, and is looking to open a shop.
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