Hyde Park, NY – Daniela Soto-Innes, named the 2019 World’s Best Female Chef by the World’s 50 Best Restaurants, delivered the commencement address at the New York campus of The Culinary Institute of America on September 27. Soto-Innes is chef and partner at Cosme in New York City, the best restaurant in the United States on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list.
Originally from Mexico City, Chef Soto-Innes moved to Houston, TX at age 12. After working in some of the best restaurants in that city through her teen years, she returned to Mexico City and worked for CIA graduate Enrique Olvera at his acclaimed Pujol. That partnership rekindled in 2014 when they teamed up to open Cosme.
Chef Soto-Innes has since partnered with Olvera on a second New York restaurant, ATLA, serving light, progressive Mexican food. They have two Los Angeles-area concepts currently in the works.
“You’re not only dealing with ingredients, food cost, or technique. You’re dealing with people,” Chef Soto-Innes told the newest CIA graduates. “Being a chef is not about cooking. It’s about caring for everyone around yourselves and empower(ing) everyone. Make sure your personality never fades and you stay true to yourselves.”
In addition to the accolades from the World’s 50 Best Restaurants, Chef Soto-Innes has won the James Beard Foundation Award for Rising Star Chef, been named Chef of the Year by Thrillist, and earned a StarChefs Rising Stars Award.
The entire CIA commencement ceremony, including Daniela Soto-Innes’s address to recipients of associate degrees in Culinary Arts and Baking & Pastry Arts, can be .
Photo Caption and Hi-Res Image:
Acclaimed chef Daniela Soto-Innes congratulates a new graduate during commencement ceremonies at The Culinary Institute of America on September 27, 2019, while CIA Vice President of Academic Affairs Michael Sperling looks on. Soto-Innes, chef and partner at Cosme in New York City, was named the Best Female Chef in the World for 2019. (Photo credit: CIA/Phil Mansfield)
Media Contact:
Jeff Levine
Communications Writer
845-451-1372
Jeff.Levine@culinary.edu
About The Culinary Institute of America:
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 master’s, bachelor’s, and associate degrees with majors in culinary arts, baking & pastry arts, food business management, hospitality management, culinary science, and applied food studies. The college also offers executive education, certificate programs, and courses for professionals and enthusiasts. Its conferences, leadership initiatives, and consulting services have made the CIA the think tank of the food industry and its worldwide network of more than 50,000 alumni includes innovators in every area of the food world. The CIA has locations in New York, California, Texas, and Singapore.
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