Inspiration Award Winner
The Culinary Institute of America and Silver Ventures Inc.
San Antonio, Texas
The Culinary Institute of America's President, Dr. Tim Ryan, and San Antonio entrepreneur and philanthropist Kit Goldsbury, both shared a dream - one they call 'El Sueno'. In this dream, they envisioned a future where Latino chefs have greater opportunities in the food world, and Latin American cuisines are elevated to their rightful place among the great cuisines of the world.
With both recognizing that Latinos account for a large share of restaurant employees, yet don't always represent the same share of restaurant owners and managers, Ryan and Goldsbury were determined to work together to increase the Latino diversity of the U.S. food service industry.
To underwrite this work, Goldsbury donated $35 million to the CIA in 2007 to open a campus in San Antonio, TX, offer scholarships to local students for culinary arts education, and create new resources within the college for the research of Latin American cuisine. In making the gift, Mr. Goldsbury noted that Latin American food has been a lifelong passion, and provided the basis for his success with Pace Foods, where he was CEO and Chairman before selling the company to Campbell Soup in 1995.
The CIA opened a new 30,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility at the campus in October 2010. With fully equipped kitchens and classrooms, the San Antonio campus now offers an associate degree program based on the same proven curriculum offered at the CIA's main campus in Hyde Park, NY. In addition, the facilities include the Center for Foods of the Americas (CFA), where chef researchers document and teach traditional cooking methods in Mexico and Latin America for professionals and food enthusiasts.
Since this CIA campus opened in 2007, it has graduated 180 students from its culinary arts program, with many choosing to continue their degree education by transferring to the CIA's Hyde Park, New York campus.
Visit www.ciachef.edu/texas/ to take a tour of the new campus.
