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.
Openings and Chefs on the Move
Alex Beninato ’15 is teaming up with Top Chef Jason Cichonski to open a restaurant called Tulip Street Pasta in Philadelphia, PA. This sustainable and seasonal modern Italian restaurant will highlight locally sourced Italian cuisine.
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Katie Knapp ’05 has joined the sweets application team at Bell Flavors & Fragrance. Knapp will focus on bakery and party clients, while supporting the broader team on confections and dairy desserts.
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Tia Carmen opened last month at the JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort and Spa in Arizona. The new restaurant is Angelo Sosa’s ’97 tribute to his aunt, whom Sosa credits for his appreciation for food and who showed him how cuisine has the power to provide love and comfort.
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Saratoga Springs, NY, landmark restaurant Siro’s announced Elliott Vogel ’17 as their executive chef for their 2022 track season. In his new role, Vogel is updating the menu, adding a new, outside-only menu along with an oyster and clam bar.
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Worldflats, in Montclair, NJ, was named one of 10 new restaurants to try by the New Jersey Herald. Luigi Tripodi ’83, Worldflats’ chef, serves flatbreads from around the world, including Greek-themed flatbread, the Athena, the Rio Grande, a Mexican-themed flatbread.
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The soon-to-open teaching restaurant, 1856, at Auburn University in Auburn, AL, has added Tyler Lyne ’05 to its team as the inaugural chef-in-residence. Students in the College of Human Sciences’ Hospitality Management program will be taking what they learn in the classroom and labs into the teaching restaurant.
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The Limani Hospitality Group opened Limani Taverna in Woodbury, NY, with Peter Spyropoulos ’91 leading the kitchen as executive chef. Spyropoulos previously worked under Daniel Bouley at Bouley and has served as executive chef of Estiatorio Milos.
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Restaurateur Nick Dedier ’03 will be opening Almighty Food Co. in El Dorado Hills, CA, later this summer. Almighty Food Co. will be a fine-casual restaurant, utilizing local farmers and sustainably sourced meats, with nearly all proteins sourced within 10 miles of the restaurant.
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David Kaufman ’95 is bringing authentic New York bagels to Albuquerque, NM, with Kaufman’s Coffee and Bagels. The shop will offer a variety of classics, while incorporating creative flavors like green chili and parmesan black pepper.
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Brendon Hudson ’15 and David Montaguedo ’15 are re-opening Velleggia in Baltimore, MD. Hudson’s great-grandparents founded Velleggia in 1937, but closed in 2008. Hudson grew up helping around the restaurant, which inspired his passion for cooking and led him to attend the CIA.
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New and Noteworthy
Ricky Moore ’94 won his first James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southeast for Saltbox Seafood Joint in Durham, NC. Moore built Saltbox as a homage to the Eastern North Carolina seafood spots he went to growing up.
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Chef Edgar Rico ’10 was named 2022’s EmergingChef by the James Beard Foundation. Rico is the owner and chef of Nixta Taqueria in Austin, TX, which he runs with his fiancé and co-owner Sara Mardanbigi.
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Nicholas Barrel & Roost was named by NJ 101.5 as one of the top New Jersey restaurants to try this summer. Opened by Nicholas Harary ’93 and his wife Melissa, Barrel & Root offers chef-driven comfort food, and hand-crafted signature cocktails.
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Prime Time
MasterChef Junior Champion Alexander Weiss ’20 made a surprise appearance as a guest chef on an episode of this season’s MasterChef Junior. Weiss demonstrated to this season’s contestants how to fillet a whole salmon and shared some advice with the aspiring chefs.
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Recipes for Success
2022 James Beard Award-winning chef, Ricky Moore ’94, shared his recipe for a low country seafood boil with Clean Eating Magazine. Moore says his seafood boil is perfect for any occasion and emphasizes the perfect seafood boil is understanding the ratio of corn to potato to sausage to shrimp.
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Varun Totlani ’15, shared his recipe for his Phalsa Sorbet with Fresh Kokum Salad to The New Indian Expressy. This recipe along with his menu at Masque in Mumbai, India, was inspired by the hills surrounding the city. Totlani’s mission is to highlight and include lesser-known ingredients in his menu.
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Chef Emma Pinto ’13 shares five easy and practical recipes with a gourmet and sophisticated touch. Since 2020, Pinto has been broadcasting three times a week on her YouTube channel, where she shares her recipes, classes, and tips in the kitchen.
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Origin Story
Chef Evelyn García ’11, finalist on the latest season of Top Chef, spoke to Houstonia Magazine about her culinary experiences from growing up in Houston, TX, to representing the Bayou City while competing on the show.
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Giving Back
Comfort Collective co-founder Christian Washington ’16, aims to create a joyful space for underrepresented communities with their Comfort Collective pop-ups. The pop-ups merge southern-inspired food with handcrafted cocktails, while honoring heritage by preserving food from the African diaspora.
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Overcoming Adversity
Recent Baking and Pastry Art graduate, Jeremiah Josey ’22, spoke to BBC Three about not letting his autism hold him back from becoming a baker. Josey’s book, Here’s What I Want You to Know, details his experiences of being a Black man with autism.
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