Awards and Accolades
Mike Friedman ’07, a highly acclaimed restaurateur based in Washington, DC, was a finalist for “Chef of the Year” for The Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington’s 2025 RAMMYS Awards Gala.
Profiles and Features
Forbes profiled Brian Lewis ’87, a James Beard third-time finalist for Best Chef: Northeast, for his Westport, CT, restaurant, The Cottage. The article highlights his career and “eclectic cooking style.” As reported in The Hartford Business Journal, he hopes to win the coveted award and leverage the publicity to continue to grow his Full House Hospitality Group, which includes four restaurants.
People magazine reported on the new documentary in which Davion Only-Going ’23 tells his story. The Davion Effect, which premiered at the Sarasota Film Festival, sheds light on the broken foster-care system, which Only-Going endured before being adopted by a loving family, graduating from CIA with a Bachelor of Business Administration, and becoming a private chef.
Carlton McCoy ’06, CEO of Lawrence Wine Estates, answered questions about his go-to wines, memorable experiences, favorite pairings, and more in Decanter.
Steven McHugh ’97 has added a chef’s table to his acclaimed restaurant, Cured, located in the Pearl District in San Antonio, TX. According to the San Antonio Report article, the restaurant’s name has double meaning, as both a celebration of curing food and McHugh’s in-remission non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Supporting Local and Sustainable
InForum, a North Dakota-based news platform, featured Maxx Lyman’s ’11 career and his Field and Fork pop-up dinner concept, both of which have centered on fresh, local farm-to-table ingredients.
Tasting Table followed up on the success of Simply Good Jars, a company founded by Jared Cannon ’06 that creates layered, fresh salads in reusable mason jars. The company earned investments from Lori Greiner and Mark Cuban on Shark Tank.
The South Florida Sun Sentinel previewed Jimmy Everett’s ’05 Locals Dinner at his Driftwood restaurant in Boynton, FL. The event, which took place May 19, celebrated the South Florida harvest season’s end and featured local ingredients.
Dan Souza ’10, chief content officer of America’s Test Kitchen, helped Leila Fadel of NPR’s Morning Edition make rigatoni with mushroom Bolognese, one of the recipes from America Test Kitchen’s new cookbook, Mostly Meatless: Green Up Your Plate Without Totally Ditching the Meat.
New Restaurants in Town
David (Rozzi) Rosner ’96, plans to open Rozzi Pizza in Santa Barbara, CA, bringing New York style pizza to California.
Coverage of the newly opened City Tavern and Table restaurant highlighted that the menu was developed by Ed Cotton ’00 of Jack & Charlie’s. Jack & Charlie’s and City Tavern are both managed by Table 95 Hospitality Group.
Moroma, by five-time James Beard Award nominee Omar Flores ’06, is scheduled to open this September in Dallas, TX. According to the Dallas Observer, the menu is inspired by coastal Mexican cuisine such as ceviche, Aguachile, and mesquite grilled meats.
Married couple Aubrey ’13 and Tyler ’14 O’Laskey, who met at CIA, opened Perenn Bakery, in Franklin, TN, their first location outside of Nevada.
Celebrating Heritage Through Food
The owners of Fish Cheeks, Jenn Saesue and Chat Suansilphong ’13, were interviewed on CBS Saturday Morning’s weekly food segment, “The Dish,” sharing their Thai heritage and the nontraditional aspects of their cuisine. The pair and their hospitality group expanded with a second New York City location.
Travel + Leisure reported on Kwame Onwuachi’s ’13 newest restaurant, Maroon, a Caribbean steakhouse at Sahara Las Vegas, which is scheduled to open in late 2025. According to the article, “Maroon is also the first concept on the Strip led by a Black chef-owner, rooted in diasporic cuisine and designed from the ground up to represent a broader cultural vision.”
Also, Eater New York shared some of the dishes Kwame Onwuachi ’13 served at the Met Gala, including hoecakes with crispy chicken and the popular “bodega special” Cosmic Brownie served at his Tatiana restaurant. The piece highlighted Onwuachi’s desire to “capture Black culture in all of its elements” and listed his recent accomplishments.
Sungchul Shim ’06 appeared on New York’s WABC as part of its celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. The segment shared Shim’s story, including the opening of his newest restaurant, GUI, in New York City, and how he blends his CIA training and Korean culture.
Adán Medrano’s ’10 The Texas Mexican Plant-Based Cookbook from Texas Tech University Press is scheduled to publish on August 21, 2025. The cookbook, which focuses on plant-based, indigenous Mexican American traditions, is the first in the upcoming “Indigenous Foodways of Texas and Northern Mexico” series.
Delicious Destinations
San Giorgio Pizzeria in Milwaukee, WI, led by head chef Gino Fazzari ’97, was recommended by travel website Only Wisconsin as one of the state’s best pizza restaurants. The article highlighted Fazzari’s use of fresh ingredients and strict standards.
Town & Country magazine’s list of 12 restaurants to visit in New York City included Maison Passerelle from Gregory Gourdet ’00 in the new Printemps department store. Gourdet oversees the store’s entire food program, which includes five food and beverage concepts.
Women in the Food Industry
Recent Greystone alum Ruby Pokras ’24 was one of the women celebrated on May 5 at the San Francisco chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier’s annual awards reception. Pokras received the L’Etoile d’Escoffier Culinary Scholarship.
Susan Feniger ’77 spoke with Gayety magazine about her road to becoming a super star chef, her friendship with business partner Mary Sue Milliken, her personal journey as a queer woman, and her LGBTQ+ advocacy.
Donna Yuen ’04, the pastry chef at the L’Auberge de Sedona resort, was featured in The Arizona Republic’s list of outstanding Phoenix-area female chefs.
Stephanie Skiadas ’12 opened Phos: A Greek-American Kitchen in Catskill, NY, on June 6. The menu includes “mostly meze or small plates, designed for sharing food and bringing people together.”
Hannah Ryder ’19 was promoted to executive chef at Twelve, a high-end restaurant in Portland, ME. The Mainebiz interview discussed her career, her typical day, and her response to rising food costs, among other topics.
Ashley Burk ’10 opened a brick-and-mortar version of her popular pop-up concept, Steady Hand Café. Her brand is known for drinks made with handcrafted syrups inspired by her culinary adventures or cocktails she’s had.
A Philadelphia Inquirer review of Alexandra Holt’s ’12 Roxanne restaurant, which has moved to the Queen Village neighborhood of Philly, highlighted Holt’s bold creativity and the joy, passion, and optimism she expresses in her more expansive space.
2023 CIA Leadership Awards honoree Nina Compton ’01 was one of two New Orleans chefs featured on CBS Sunday Morning. Correspondent Mo Rocca visited Compton and her husband, Larry Miller, at their award-winning Compère Lapin restaurant, where Rocca tried her best-selling curried goat and discussed the influence of Compton’s St. Lucia upbringing on her menu.