TV Appearances
Scott Conant ’92 was also featured on an episode of CBS Saturday Morning’s The Dish, as he brings his new Martone Street line of jarred sauce to homes everywhere.
Gregory Gourdet ’00, culinary director at Printemps New York and a three-time James Beard award winner, was featured on CBS Saturday Morning’s The Dish. He shared his inspiration and culinary roots, including his passion for fashion and for bringing Haitian and Caribbean cuisine and the French diaspora to New York.
Food Network Chopped champion Lyanna Cintron ’18 was on local Texas TV station KRBC-TV as they visited her at Texas State Technical College to cover the Culinary Arts program she co-runs.
Culinary instructor and historian Kevin Mitchell ‘91 and his cohost have premiered a show on South Carolina’s public broadcasting network SCETV.
Lisa Schroeder ’95 was featured on Portland TV station KOIN-TV for her restaurant Mother’s Bistro & Bar, which celebrates mothers every day.
Recipes and Recoveries
Chandra Ram ’99 and Craig Wilmer ’15 both had their pancake recipes featured by Food & Wine in its top five pancake recipes, as top overall and best for a sweet tooth, respectively.
A profile of Grant Achatz ’94 was published by Nation’s Restaurant News.
Candace Stock ’13 was featured for her success as a chef after recovering from a debilitating car crash.
Openings and Moves
Hanahan’s Cane Pozzo by Mark Bolchoz ’14 was named Charleston’s best new restaurant.
Zachary Breaux ’20 is revitalizing Oakland, CA’s once celebrated Snail Bar, using his CIA training and creative vision to reignite the restaurant.
Nariya Charoensupaya ’12 has moved her cat-themed Thai American bakery to Sacramento.
James Beard Award-winning chef Johnny Clark ’02 will open a new restaurant in downtown Evanston, IL.
Mary Garrison ’05 and her Vass, NC, bakery The Nectary, were featured for craftsmanship, beekeeping, use of local honey, and desire to bring attention and visitors to the small agricultural community she loves.
Blakely Gove ’08 is bringing her classical training to Harvest on Main, a new Sharpsburg market‑café providing fresh, affordable, community‑focused meals from inside the Second Harvest Community Thrift Store.
Emily King ’01 and her business partner and husband have launched Norwalk Bagel Co., which specializes in naturally leavened, scratch-made bread.
Tsu-Hung Liu ’12 is leading Belle & Grey, a new restaurant inside The Hotel Landing in Wayzata, MN, at Lake Minnetonka.
Cameron Mitchell’s ’86 Hudson 29 Kitchen + Drink franchise is expanding into Bexley, OH, marking the third Hudson 29 location in Central Ohio.
Kayla Pfeiffer’s ’16 modern cookshop Heyday was reviewed by Florida Weekly, highlighting its collaborative kitchen and hi-fi listening room.
Joe Rago ’98 opened a new location of Graze Craze, a growing chain of franchise charcuterie shops by that create artful picnic boxes and grazing boards.
Sustainability Spotlight
Fariyal Abdullahi ‘14 was highlighted for her zero-waste approach at seafood restaurant Hav & Mar in New York City.
Douglass Miller ’96, a senior lecturer at the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration, part of the SC Johnson College of Business, coauthored a Cornell Center for Hospitality Research report that focuses on the beverage industry is shifting from treating sustainability as a marketing narrative to treating it as operational survival.
Award Nominations and Wins
Sommelier Joshua Dunson ’16 of Ocean Prime in 63 CityCenter in Las Vegas, NV, was named a Las Vegas Rising Star by StarChefs.
Sue Kim ’09 was named Chef of the Year at the San Antonio Tastemaker Awards for her work at The Magpie.
Dora Ramírez ’06 was nominated for a James Beard Book Award in the category of Vegetable-Focused Cooking for her cookbook Comida Casera: More than 100 Vegan Recipes, from Traditional to Modern Mexican Dishes.
Sue Zemanick ’01, a James Beard Award winner and two-time Top Chef contestant and judge, received a Michelin star for Zasu, her Mid-City, New Orleans restaurant inspired by her Slovak heritage.
Features and Honorable Mentions
Eugene Chee ’18 was noted for his work as a leader at 808 Eating House in the Joo Chiat district on the east side of Singapore.
Rene J. Marquis ’92 is the first person with a US Armed Forces background to be elected National President of the American Culinary Federation.
Edy Massih ’16, an accomplished chef, cookbook author, and owner of Edy’s Grocer, was featured in Brooklyn Magazine.
Carl Rand ’74 was included in a collection of interviews by Canvas Rebel about bringing ideas to life, discussing his pivot to wholesale coffee after a decade in the restaurant industry.
Demetrios Salivaras ’04, owner of Dimitri’s on the Water, was mentioned in a National Geographic article about Tarpon Springs, FL, a small Gulf Coast town that preserves and celebrates its deep Greek heritage.
Mae Lee Tang-Gilroy ’81 was recognized for her work as the leader of Sebring High School’s Culinary Program, which was awarded $18,000 in scholarships to graduating students.
Restaurant Trokay in Truckee, CA, by Nyna and John Weatherson ’09 was featured as a world-class restaurant in the Sierra Nevada that uses foraging, artistry, and relentless creativity to define a new regional cuisine.
Timothy Youngblood ’88 and his Youngblood’s Café in Amarillo, TX was featured for its rotating 1970s-style menu and comfort‑food classics.
NYC’s Best
The New York Times released its 100 Best Restaurants in New York City for 2026. CIA Alumni had a strong showing on this list, including:
- No. 1 Kabawa, helmed by Paul Carmichael ’02;
- No. 3 Torrisi by Rich Torrisi ’01;
- No. 12 Kwame Onwuachi’s ’13 Tatiana;
- No. 15 Joshua Pinsky’s ’07 Claud;
- No. 35 Joshua Pinsky’s ’07 Penny;
- No. 40 Casa Mono & Bar Jamon by chef and co-owner Andy Nusser ’95;
- No. 41 Jungsik by Jungsik Yim ’05;
- No. 43 Saga, where Anushana Sharma ’21, one of this year’s CIA Leadership Awards dessert guest chefs, is executive pastry sous chef;
- No. 52 Thai Diner by chef and co-owner Matt Danzer ’00;
- No. 56 Daniel, where Catalina Diaz ’16 is executive pastry chef;
- No. 63 Rezdôra, helmed by Stefano Secchi ’02;
- No. 64 Txikito by Alex Raij ’99; and
- No. 75 Maison Passerelle, where Gregory Gourdet ’00 is culinary director.
North America’s 50 Best
CIA alumni had a strong showing on the list of North America’s 50 Best restaurants:
- No. 12. Le Veau d’Or by Chef Co-Owner Lee Hanson ’87
- No. 13. Le Bernadin by Eric Ripert (fellow and friend of CIA)
- No. 14. Kabawa by Chef/Owner Paul Carmichael ’00
- No. 16. SingleThread Farms by CIA Trustee and Faculty Kyle Connaughton with Head Chef of Creative Development Marley Brown ’12
- No. 18. Jungsik by Chef/Proprietor Jungsik Yim ’05 with Executive Chef Daeik Kim ’19, Chef De Cuisine Wonsuk Jeong ’20, Pastry Chef Seula Lee ’21, Sous Chef Donggeon Noh ’23, General Manager Annie Wu ’01, and Service Manager Junseok Kang ’22
- No. 19. Penny by Chef Owner Joshua Pinsky ’07
- No. 22. Saison by Co-Owner and Executive Chef Richard Lee ’09 with Executive Sous Chef Tanya Jimenez ’07 and Pastry Chef Michelle Fried ’16
- No. 32. Providence by Michael Cimarusti ’91
- No. 37. Dōgon by Kwame Onwuachi ’13
- No. 38. Torrisi by Chef Co-Owners Rich Torrisi ’01 and Mario Carbone ’00
- No. 39. Tatiana by Kwame Onwuachi ’13
The World’s 50 Best also did a story showcasing the global success of 2026 CIA Leadership Award recipient Mario Carbone ’00.