July 16, 2015

Alumni in the News, June 2015

CIA-alumni-Grant-Achatz-at-the-CIA

Here are some exciting CIA alumni stories from this past month.

1. Roy Choi ’98 is opening a new restaurant.

Loco’l. The new fast food concept will be more health conscious than other fast food chains: the operation’s centerpiece offering will be a burger featuring a patty that’s 30 percent grain and 70 percent beef.

2. Eater’s 2015 Young Guns Class

Three CIA alumni made Eater’s 2015 Young Guns class; Joel Stocks ’07, Deuki Hong ’09, and Alex Levin ’12.

3. Top Chef’s CIA Connection

Top Chef helped launch the careers of some of our most respected alumni, including Richard Blais ’98 and Bryan Voltaggio ’99. Read more >

4. NBC’s Food Fighters

This season NBC’s Food Fighters will feature alumni Duff Goldman ’98 and Rocco DiSpirito ’86. Watch a sneak peek of season two >

5. San Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants

San Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants list for 2015 includes 13—including all of the top five—are approved externship locations where CIA students can complete their required field study between freshman and sophomore year. They are:
1. El Celler de Can Roca, Girona, Spain
2. Osteria Francescana, Modena, Italy
3. Noma, Copenhagen, Denmark
4. Central, Lima, Peru
5. Eleven Madison Park, NYC
16. Pujol, Mexico City
18. Le Bernardin, NYC
21. Le Chateaubriand, Paris
26. Alinea, Chicago
30. Vendôme, Bergisch Gladbach, Germany
40. Per Se, NYC
41. Mani, São Paulo, Brazil
49. Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Pocantico Hills, NY

Two restaurants on the list, Pujol (Enrique Olvera ’97) and Alinea (Grant Achatz ’94), are owned by CIA alumni, and two others, Noma (Daniel Giusti ’04) and Per Se (Eli Kaimeh ’00) have graduates running the kitchen.