Interview with New York Rising Star Chef Daniela Soto-Innes of Cosme

Mary Choi: How did you get your start?
Daniela Soto-Innes: I come from a family that has cooked their whole lives. My great grandma owned a bakery and I always cooked with her. I’m the youngest of three sisters and my mom always wanted to be a chef, but her parents wanted her to be a lawyer, so I followed her to cooking classes.

I went to high school and did a culinary program. When I was 15, I started staging with Bobby Price, then I moved to Austin and went to culinary school there. Then I traveled all over Europe, made cheese in Switzerland, and then I worked at Brennan’s Houston for two years. I worked there because I really wanted to get my butt kicked in order to learn how to work fast and efficiently with mean French chefs while dealing with the high volume. Then I moved to Triniti as sous. After that I worked at Underbelly with Chris Shepherd. I learned how to put my head down and work as much as you can and never stop.

I met Enrique Olvera at an event with Alex Stupak. I wanted to stage at Pujol for a week, but I ended up working there for six months. Eventually, I went back to Texas and thought I needed to go back to Mexico. I learned how to butcher and had the opportunity to come to New York and it’s been exciting and crazy.

MC: Who's your mentor?
DSI: Chris Shepherd, Enrique Olvera, and Bobby Price.

MC: How are you involved in the local culinary community?
DSI: Well, I’ve been in Cosme the entire time. All our veggies are from the farmers markets and we try as much as possible to get produce from local farmers. We just want our diners to feel comfortable and taken care of. Our biggest thing is to have fun, if the ladies aren’t having fun, I tell them that the tamales will suffer. We had an issue, the tamales would come out uncooked in the middle, and so, we thought it was the attitude, with a great attitude the great tamales will come.

MC: What's the biggest challenge facing your restaurant?
DSI: Not knowing anyone and starting from zero, just doing research about everything on my own.  

MC: What's your five year plan?
DSI: I see myself in the works of opening a bar. I’ve opened 5 restaurants, and I know how difficult it is to fund. I love drinks and everything about their development process. I love Austin. I love the music, and people are very friendly. I love everything about it. I want to open a bar with food in Austin, because, Texas for me, it should be showcased more.