For years, Chef Daniela Soto-Innes has been a rising star in the culinary world. Soto-Innes – who runs the kitchens at Cosme and Atla – has helped these restaurants receive prestigious titles and she’s also racked up important awards, such as the James Beard Rising Star Chef award in 2016. Now, the 28-year-old chef has been named the World’s Best Female Chef by World’s 50 Best Restaurants. She is the youngest woman to win this prize.
World’s 50 Best Restaurants (which, as Eater points out, doesn’t have female and male chefs compete against each other) made the announced on Wednesday. In a post, the group praises Soto-Innes for thriving in a male-dominated industry while running a largely female kitchen.
Accompanying the article is a video profile where Soto-Innes breaks down why she became a chef. “What ignites my passion as a chef is people,” the Mexican chef said. “I believe that what drew me to cooking was personalities and people, and the story behind why they were cooking what they were cooking… Real Mexican food, for me, is that it has to have happiness and spice, and it has to be fun. It can’t be too serious when you make Mexican food.”
Check out the video below to learn more about Soto-Innes and how her team at Cosme works together to create new dishes.