The CIA’s 2026 Alumni Hall of Fame: 16 Culinary Icons Earn a Permanent Home
https://www.fb101.com/cia-alumni-hall-of-fame-2026-inductees-302907477
Meet the 2026 CIA Alumni Hall of Fame Class
The honorees, inducted in a ceremony at the CIA’s Hyde Park, N.Y. campus, represent nearly every corner of the food and hospitality world:
David Burke ’82 — restaurateur, artist, and philanthropist
Anne Burrell ’96 — TV personality, chef, author, and teacher, recognized posthumously and represented at the ceremony by her husband Stuart Claxton, along with her mother and sister
Mario Carbone ’00 — chef, restaurateur, and entrepreneur
Andrew Carmellini ’91 — chef, restaurateur, and author
Maneet Chauhan ’00 — James Beard award-winning chef, restaurateur, and media personality
Michael Cimarusti ’91 — James Beard award-winning chef and sustainable seafood advocate
Scott Conant ’92 — chef, restaurateur, entrepreneur, and media personality
Cat Cora ’95 — Iron Chef, restaurateur, TV host, author, and philanthropist
Mark Erickson ’77 — certified master chef, educator, and former CIA provost
Jennifer Jasinski ’89 — executive chef and restaurateur
Michael Mina ’89 — James Beard award-winning chef and restaurateur
Enrique Olvera Figueras ’99 — world-renowned chef and Michelin-starred restaurateur
Alfred Portale ’81 — chef, restaurateur, and pioneer of New American cuisine
Michael Symon ’90 — Iron Chef, media personality, and Cleveland’s hometown chef
Rich Torrisi ’01 — chef, restaurateur, and entrepreneur
Geoffrey Zakarian ’83 — Iron Chef, Michelin-starred restaurateur, and television host
It’s a lineup that spans fine dining and media, sustainability advocacy and hospitality entrepreneurship — the full modern definition of what a culinary career can become.
“This extraordinary group has influenced how we cook, dine, entertain, and experience hospitality, setting new standards for excellence while inspiring generations of culinary professionals to follow their lead,” said CIA President Michiel Bakker. “It is an absolute privilege to give them a permanent home on our New York campus, where students, families, faculty, staff, and visitors may always be reminded of their remarkable contributions.”
Keller and Yamaguchi Get Permanent Campus Tributes
Beyond the Hall of Fame class, the CIA welcomed Chefs Thomas Keller and Roy Yamaguchi ’76 — a 2025 CIA Alumni Hall of Fame inductee — to campus for dedicated spaces in their honor.
For Keller, whose name already graces the college’s main entrance gate, the celebration centered on a statue in his likeness set just inside the Keller Gate. Across campus, the college dedicated the Yamaguchi Family Lanai — a gathering space outside the student commons — in Yamaguchi’s honor.
The dedications anchored a busy week at the Hyde Park campus that also included the CIA Board of Trustees’ October gathering, the annual Run for Your Knives 5K student scholarship Walk/Run, the 36th annual Chili Cook-Off organized by the CIA Alumni Council, and Family Weekend — which brought more than 1,200 family members and friends of CIA students to campus.