Honorees Include an Alumnus of CIA San Antonio
Hyde Park, NY – Making the Food & Wine Best New Chefs list is often a sign
of greater things to come in the culinary world. The magazine’s class of 2017 includes two graduates
of The Culinary Institute of America,
including one from the CIA’s San Antonio campus. Diego Galicia ’10 is chef and co-owner
of Mixtli in San Antonio and Nina Compton ’01 is
chef and owner of Compère Lapin in New
Orleans.
Galicia graduated from the CIA San Antonio, aided in his studies
by the college’s El Sueño Scholarship initiative to help aspiring Latino chefs become leaders in the
food business. He opened the highly acclaimed Mixtli—a 12-seat restaurant
housed in a former railroad boxcar—after leading menu research and development
for the quick-service Taco Cabana chain. Food
& Wine Editor Nilou Motamed told the San Antonio Express-News that Galicia and business partner Rico Torres “impressed us with their ability
to constantly reinvent Mixtli. Their cuisine is incredibly studied, technical,
and transportive—all attributes of amazing Best New
Chefs.”
In naming Compton to its list of rising star chefs, the Food & Wine editors write that she
“unravels the French/Southern/Haitian rubber-band ball of Louisiana cooking,
and looks at its constituent parts in a new way.” Compton, a native of St.
Lucia who graduated from the CIA’s New York campus, is also a nominee for the 2017
James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef: South. Compère Lapin was named Restaurant of the Year for 2016 by the New Orleans Times-Picayune.
Chefs Galicia and Compton will be featured at the Aspen Food
& Wine Festival in June and as the cover story of the magazine’s July
issue, along with the other 10 honorees. Some previous CIA alumni honorees who
have gone on to chef stardom include Gary Danko ’77, Rocco DiSpirito ’86, Jonathan Benno ’93, Melissa Perello ’96,
Roy Choi ’98, and Justin Yu ’05.
Photo Caption and Hi-Res Image:
Diego Galicia ’10 is one of two alumni of The Culinary
Institute of America, along with Nina Compton ’01, named to the 2017 Food & Wine Best New Chefs list.
Galicia, a graduate of the CIA San Antonio, returned to campus in 2015 as
commencement speaker. (Photo credit:
Darren Abate/CIA)
View hi-res image >
Media Contact:
Jeff Levine
Communications Manager
845-451-1372
jeff.levine@culinary.edu
Founded in 1946, The Culinary Institute of America is the world’s premier
culinary college. Dedicated to developing leaders in foodservice and
hospitality, the independent, not-for-profit CIA offers bachelor’s degree
majors in management, culinary science, and applied food studies; associate
degrees in culinary arts and baking and pastry arts; and executive education
through its Food Business School. The college also offers certificate programs
and courses for professionals and enthusiasts. Its conferences and consulting
services have made the CIA the think tank of the food industry and its
worldwide network of 49,000 alumni includes innovators in every area of the
food business. The CIA has locations in New York, California, Texas, and
Singapore.
# # #