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
The Lincoln Eatery in Miami Beach, FL, announced the opening of the first permanent location of Vice Burger. Owned by Gregory Schesser ’10, Vice Burger made its way onto the Miami culinary scene beginning with late-night pop ups in downtown Miami Beach.
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Vogue highlighted Marcus Samuelsson’s New Restaurant, Hav + Mar in Chelsea. Chef de Cuisine Fariyal Abdullahi ’14, is just one of the women of color make up the restaurant’s core leadership team.
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Upstate Taco is bringing authentic Mexican flavors to Stone Ridge, NY. Opened by Sasha Miranda ’01, and her husband Mauricio, besides tacos the menu offers quesa burros, salads, and appetizers, like grilled corn and guacamole.
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Christine Rosell ’00 joins Executive Chef Umit Kaygusuz, at the Ritz-Carlton Bacara’s restaurants in Santa Barbara, CA, as head pastry chef.
Charlie Gonzalez ’14 and Gabby Hinojosa ’14 opened Panfila Cantina earlier this year in San Antonio, TX, to give San Antonians a taste of real Mexican food. The menu is mainly inspired by the couple’s childhoods with an elevated culinary twist.
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Scott Nordon ’87, alongside his wife Lisa, opened Skippers Pier Coastal Cajun Kitchen in Galdewater, TX. While Skippers Pier is inspired by flavors from all three coasts of the U.S., it draws most of its inspiration from Cajun cooking and Louisiana flavors.
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Cameron Petrelli ’08 joined Sensei Porcupine Creek in Rancho Mirage, CA, as Director of Food & Beverage. Petrelli will spearhead all operations including Sensei by Nobu, an exclusive collaboration between Sensei Co-Founder Dr. David Agus and Nobu Matsuhisa.
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Karl Diehn ’09, chef and owner of the new restaurant Chachi’s is bringing a fine dining background to casual eats. Located in Baltimore, MD, Chachi’s menu is simple, hearty fare, which is a staple of European farmers markets. Diehn focuses on keeping prices affordable for everyone with no compromise to flavor.
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Alexandra Holt ’12 opened Roxanne BYOB in Philadelphia, PA. Located in a former 26-seater café, Roxanne BYOB will start with an eight-course, $75 tasting menu of daring plates that will change frequently.
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Reuben Asaram ’11 and Cory Powell are cooking up a storm on the Philadelphia, PA pop-up circuit. The duo is using pop-up events to refine their concepts before investing in a brick-and-mortar storefront.
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Logan Jones ’05 is shifting from fine dining to a Middle Eastern cuisine pop-up at Third Window Brewing Company in Santa Barbara, CA. After meeting Third Window’s owner Kris Parker during a Priedite Barbecue pop-up at Bell’s in Los Alamos, Jones was offered the opportunity to make his lunchtime dreams come true.
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David DiStasi ’11 opened Materia Ristorante with his brother last spring in Bantam, CT. DiStasi took inspiration from his years of refined restaurant experience and drew from his years spent in the Tuscan countryside. DiStasi was exposed to the restaurant industry as a young boy, working at his father’s and brother’s catering business before moving on to a commercial kitchen.
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Origin Stories
Ajai Sharma ’21 is a self-made chef who has won the hearts of many with his delicious cuisine. This thriving young individual has come a long way. From wanting to become a cardio surgeon to becoming a chef, Sharma talks about his inspirations and aspirations as a young chef.
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Seamus Platt ’14, a chef at Hogstead Family Farm outside Seattle, WA, took the pandemic as an opportunity to step back and analyze his place as a chef in the food system. Starting a salumeria on a pig farm has been Platt’s dream for years, and when Luke Conyac suggested doing it at Hogstead, Platt took the job.
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Greenpointers.com spoke to Brooklyn’s No String Attached Noodle Bar’s (or NSA Noodle Bar, for short) Executive Chef Brooke Apfelbaum ’19 about her mentorship of kitchen staff, the importance of simplicity, her favorite neighborhood taco spot, and more.
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Andy Barnes ’01, owner and chef at Dinner for Two in Santa Fe, NM, spoke to the Albuquerque Journal about how he started his food journey as a dishwasher at 14 and climbed the culinary ladder to where he is now.
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New and Noteworthy
Dara Yu ’21 won MasterChef’s 11th season of “MasterChef: Back to Win.” In an exclusive interview, she talks about her time competing on the show, winning, and what comes next for her.
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Eight CIA Alumni were named by The New York Times as a part of their 29 Reasons to Make a Date with a New York Restaurant. Alex Stupak’s ’00 Mischa, Eric Huang’s ’13 Peking House, Kwame Onwuachi’s ’13 Tatiana, JJ Johnson’s ’07 FIELDTRIP, Lee Hanson’s ’87 Le Rock, Rich Torrisi’s ’01 Torrisi Bar & Restaurant, and David Honeysett’s ’90 Revelie Luncheonette were all highlighted.
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Chef David Renner ’84 was named the 2022 Southern Berkshire Chamber of Commerce’s Business of the Year. Renner opened the Marketplace Kitchen in the Berkshires alongside Kevin Schmitz in 1991 with the simple mission of providing high quality, prepared food for people to bring back to their own homes.
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Detroit Chef Matt Schellig ’00 won the Central Regional Championship and second overall for the National Chef of the Year through the American Culinary Federation (ACF) in July. Schellig was also inducted into the American Academy of Chefs (AAC), the honor Society of the ACF.
Ouita Michel’s ’00 Holly Hill Inn was featured at the Bourbon & Beyond Festival in Louisville, KY, as one of the culinary highlights. She, along with Tyler McNabb, showcased their southern hospitality at the festival.
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GQ India named Larder & Folk as one of 20 best eateries in the Indian state of Goa. Priyanka Sardessai ’18 helped the eatery gain attention when they started making unbelievably delicious babkas to order, followed by equally impossibly good bánh mì sandwiches.
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Outlaw Kitchens has been named by USA Today’s 10 Best as one of the best restaurants for fall in San Antonio, TX. Run by Chef Paul Sartory ’78, who both graduated and taught at the CIA, Outlaw Kitchens is a charming neighborhood restaurant truly unlike anywhere else in San Antonio.
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Tabitha Yeh ’07 was named by FSR Magazine as one of the 40 under 40 Rising Stars that are driving restaurants into a brighter future. Yeh was recently named as senior culinary director for PLANTA Restaurants in New York City.
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Sincerely Breakfast, co-owned by Randall Matthews ’10, is an all-day breakfast spot operating as a ghost kitchen under Dupont Circle in Washington, DC Sincerely Breakfast’s menu features mostly handheld items, fast-food breakfast menus but heartier, with locally sourced ingredients and much better flavor.
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Daeik Kim ’18, Jungsik’s Executive Chef, was highlighted by BroawayWorld.com. Kim spoke to the publication about being more creative with Korean cuisine by using different techniques and ingredients. He wants to spread Korean cuisine around the world and believes cooking is not restrained by borders and races, and any great food can be loved by anyone.
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Evermade Foods will expand its Warrenton, VA, factory to keep up with increased demand for easy meal options. Founder Rachelle Slotnick ’09 says “when investors decided to expand their footprint with a new company, Virginia was a logical choice since they already had experience dealing with local and state entities.”
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Dwynesha Lavigne ’03 is the chef behind the first African American-owned cooking school in New Orleans, LA, in 80 years. Inside New Orleans’ Southern Food and Beverage Museum, Lavigne offers cooking classes for the museum, helping travelers, visitors and locals master the Southern food and Creole flavors of her hometown.
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Eating Well
Scott Daniels ’88 spoke with Authority Magazine, as a part of their interview series, “Chefs and Restaurateurs Helping to Promote Healthy Eating.” Daniels is vice president of culinary operations with Culinary Coach at 3rdPlus and is passionate about putting his experience to work helping senior living communities effectively self-operate—with a focus on training, coaching and fresh, local ingredients.
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Manu Cahndra ’03 is passionate about staying on top of the latest trends in the industry and the world around him. In recent years, when plant-based meat or smart meat has been all over the culinary space, chef Manu has ventured into it and given it a try.
Mike Osborne’s ’10 high school culinary arts classes in Waco, TX, attempts to give his students the chance to challenge their preconceived notions of what they will or won’t eat. Osborne echoes the observations of statewide experts, who say that sugary, processed foods are the ones that also happen to be the most accessible. And that fact contributes to Texas’ high and growing rate of childhood obesity.
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