Chef Lilla Bernal is an associate professor of Baking and Pastry Arts at CIA San Antonio. Among the courses she teaches are Baking Fundamentals, Baking and Pastry Techniques, Baking Ingredients and Equipment Technology, and Hearth Breads and Rolls.
A native of San Antonio and a 1999 graduate of CIA in New York, Bernal returned to her alma mater as a faculty member in 2016 after building a global career in baking and pastry arts. Her professional journey includes serving as pastry chef at Biga on the Banks (San Antonio), Villa Del Sol (Mexico), and The Horned Dorset Primavera (Puerto Rico); head baker and project manager for the Weissman Restaurant Group (San Antonio); menu consultant at Victoria House (Belize); kitchen manager and chef at the Hotel Villa Vera Puerto Mio (Mexico); and vendor at the Pearl Brewery Farmers Market (San Antonio).
In addition to her associate degree in Baking and Pastry Arts from CIA, she has a bachelor’s degree in Public Health from Johnson & Wales University.
A Certified Master Baker (CMB), Bernal was inducted into Les Dames d’Escoffier in 2017, a philanthropic organization of women leaders in foodservice and hospitality.
Fluent in Spanish and passionate about sharing her culinary expertise with students and the public, Bernal has made a meaningful impact in community health and education. She served on the Student Health Advisory Committee for the San Antonio Independent School District, helping to enhance the nutrition and appeal of school meals. As nutrition education coordinator at the San Antonio Food Bank, she taught basic cooking skills and nutritional principles to seniors, children, low-income families, and other at-risk populations, often via a mobile food pantry that brought healthy eating directly to the community.