The character arc of Daniela Soto-Innes

A life drawn by Character Arc from the public record

Born on 26 August 1990 in Mexico City to two lawyers, and moved to Texas at the age of twelve. Between then and now sit a competitive swimming career that lasted until she was twenty, training at Le Cordon Bleu in Austin, apprenticeships in Europe and New York under three chefs, the opening of Cosme in New York in 2014 as chef de cuisine, a rising star award in 2016, a second restaurant opened in 2017, the title of world's best female chef in 2019 as the youngest ever to hold it, and a new project in Mexico announced in 2022. The line below draws the story so far, in order.

Drag along the line to move, pinch or use the buttons to look closer. Tap the line to pluck it, or any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of her life; the sources are at the foot of the page.

Who is Daniela Soto-Innes?

A swimmer until twenty, and the best at twenty eight.

She was born in Mexico City to two lawyers and moved to Texas at twelve, which is the age at which a person loses one country and has to learn another. What she did with her teens was swim: she was a competitive swimmer until she was twenty, which is a full sporting career by itself and leaves very little time for anything else.

Then she changed everything. She studied at a cookery school in Austin and went to train in Europe and in New York under three chefs, including the Mexican chef Enrique Olvera. In 2014 she helped open the restaurant Cosme in New York, serving there as chef de cuisine, which means running the kitchen day to day. She was twenty four.

In 2016 she received a rising star award from a major American foundation, and in 2017 she opened a second restaurant, Atla, in partnership with Olvera. In 2019 she was named the world's best female chef by an international restaurant list, and she is the youngest chef ever to receive it. After leaving Cosme she worked alongside her husband at a restaurant in Washington state until its closure in 2022, adding Mexican elements to its menu, and in 2022 announced a restaurant of her own in Nayarit, in Mexico.

The moments

Daniela Soto-Innes's timeline.

The 1990s

26 Aug 1990

Born in Mexico City

Everyday. Two lawyers for parents, and a Mexican childhood.

The 2000s

~2002

A new country at twelve

Setback, and it changed her direction. Twelve years old, and a different country and language.

~2005

A competitive swimmer

Everyday, and it changed everything. Her whole teens, in a pool, twice a day.

The 2010s

1 Jun 2010

Stop swimming

Crossroads, decided.

The paths laid out: start again in a kitchen, taken, or keep swimming. She was running a New York kitchen by 2014 and was named the world's best female chef in 2019.

~2011

Cookery school in Austin

Milestone, and it changed everything. She stopped swimming and started again, in a kitchen.

~2012

Three kitchens, two continents

Milestone, and it changed her direction. The apprenticeship: three kitchens, two continents, no shortcuts.

~2014

Running a kitchen at twenty four

Milestone, and it changed everything. Twenty four years old, and running the kitchen of a New York opening.

~2016

A rising star award

Milestone, and it changed her direction. The award American cooking gives to whoever is next.

~2017

A second restaurant

Milestone, and it changed her direction. Her name on a second opening, with the chef she had trained under.

~2019

The best in the world

Milestone, and it changed everything. Twenty eight years old, and the youngest ever to hold the title.

The 2020s

~2021

A different kitchen

Milestone. A remote island restaurant, and Mexican cooking put into it.

~2022

A restaurant in Nayarit

Milestone, and it changed everything. Back to Mexico, with her own name on the door this time.

Mexico City is where she was born and where the next restaurant is going, which is its own kind of answer. What it has set moving is a short and useful demonstration: she gave twenty years to one discipline, started another from nothing, and was the best in the world at it within a decade.

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Daniela Soto-Innes: frequently asked questions

What people ask about her line.

What is Daniela Soto-Innes's character arc?

A girl from Mexico City who moved to Texas at twelve, swam competitively until she was twenty, then went to cookery school, trained in Europe and New York, ran a New York kitchen at twenty four and was named the world's best female chef at twenty eight.

Was Daniela Soto-Innes an athlete?

Yes. She was a competitive swimmer until she was twenty, which took up her whole teenage years. She only began training as a chef afterwards, studying at a cookery school in Austin, Texas.

Where did Daniela Soto-Innes train?

At Le Cordon Bleu in Austin, Texas, and then in Europe and New York under the chefs Danny Trace, Chris Shepherd and Enrique Olvera. She helped open the restaurant Cosme in New York in 2014 as its chef de cuisine.

What award did Daniela Soto-Innes win in 2019?

She was named the world's best female chef at the World's 50 Best Restaurant Awards, and she is the youngest chef ever to receive the title. She had won a rising star award from an American foundation three years earlier.

What restaurants has Daniela Soto-Innes worked in?

Cosme in New York, which she helped open in 2014 as chef de cuisine, Atla, which she opened in 2017 in partnership with Enrique Olvera, and later a restaurant in Washington state alongside her husband until its closure in 2022.

What is Daniela Soto-Innes doing now?

Going home. In 2022 she announced that she would open a restaurant in Nayarit, in Mexico, the country she was born in and left at twelve. It is the first project with her own name on it rather than a partnership.

Where does this timeline of Daniela Soto-Innes's life come from?

From the public record. Character Arc drew every moment on this line from the sources listed at the foot of the page, and the kind and weight of each moment are our editorial reading. Daniela Soto-Innes isn't a Member of Character Arc and has no connection with it, and no feeling is attributed to her.

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Sources

Daniela Soto-Innes, English Wikipedia biography, filed under living people.
James Beard Foundation Awards, rising star chef, 2016.
The World's 50 Best Restaurants, world's best female chef, 2019.