Daniela Soto-Innes, chef at Cosme and Atla in New York, USA has been named the elit Vodka World's Best Female Chef by The World's 50 Best Restaurants.
At just 28 years old Soto-Innes, from Houston, Texas, is the youngest ever winner of the award and has come a long way since opening Cosme with Enrique Olvera in 2014. The modern Mexican restaurant has retained a strong hold on the New York dining scene from the moment it opened and currently sits at no.25 on the World's 50 Best Restaurants list.
Speaking of her win on Instagram Soto-Innes said: "I grew up with a line of really strong women that love to cook. When i was born, my mother was a lawyer with my father, but she wanted to be a chef because my grandma had a bakery and my great grandma went to cooking school. Everything was about who made the best cake, who made the best ceviche, who made the best mole. I just knew that it was the thing that made me the happiest."
A post shared by Daniela Soto-Innes (@danielasotoinnes) on Apr 24, 2019 at 6:57am PDT
Soto-Innes says she hopes to use the platform to help inspire and support people of all ages, races and nationalities in becoming cooks. Much as she already does in her own relaxed multicultural kitchen in which two thirds are women and where music and dancing are encouraged.
Later this year, Soto-Innes and Olvera will open two new adjoined restaurants in Los Angeles, Damian (serving Japanese-influenced Mexican) and Ditroit (a taquerÃa).
Clare Smyth from Core in London was named Best Female Chef in 2018, Slovenian chef Ana Ros in 2017 and US chef Dominique Crenn in 2016.