Daniela Soto-Innes
Daniela Soto-Innes is a Mexican chef behind Rubra in Punta de Mita, bringing her love of Mexican flavors, tropical ingredients, and caring kitchen communities to the Pacific coast.
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Latest
Daniela’s happenings, collected from public sources, plus her backstory and Starbook, where fans write.
Known for
Eater VideoOverview
- From
- Mexico City, Mexico
- Work
- Chef and restaurateur
- Training
- Le Cordon Bleu, Austin
- Breakout
- Opening chef de cuisine at Cosme, New York, in 2014
- Now
- Rubra, Punta de Mita, Nayarit
Mini bio
How it started.
Daniela grew up in Mexico City and moved to Texas at 12. Food was part of family life, especially through her mother, aunts, and grandmother. In a James Beard Foundation interview, she recalled starting at the Woodlands Waterway Marriott at 15, trimming strawberries and washing lettuce, and finding mentors who encouraged her to learn.
Finding her voice.
She trained at Le Cordon Bleu in Austin and worked in Houston kitchens including Chris Shepherd’s Underbelly. At Pujol in Mexico City, she worked with Enrique Olvera, who chose her to lead the kitchen for Cosme’s 2014 opening in New York. Her cooking connected Mexican traditions with local ingredients, and she won the James Beard Rising Star Chef award in 2016.
The New York chapter.
Daniela and Olvera opened the more casual Atla in 2017. In 2019, at 28, she became the youngest recipient of the World’s Best Female Chef award from 50 Best. Alongside the food, her kitchens became known for music, warmth, and treating cooks as individuals. She announced her departure from Cosme and Atla in December 2020.
Growing Rubra.
Her next chapter took her back to Mexico. Rubra opened at W Punta de Mita in 2024, with tropical cooking shaped by its garden and the Pacific coast. She brought longtime collaborators into a team led by women and built a place that brings together food, drinks, growing ingredients, and Mexican craft.
Creditschronological, newest first
Restaurants
- 2024Rubra, Punta de MitaChef and creator
- 2017Atla, New YorkOpening chef and partner with Enrique Olvera
- 2014Cosme, New YorkOpening chef de cuisine; later chef-partner
Food video
- 2017Cosme’s corn husk meringue, Elevated CookingFeatured chef demonstrating the dessert
Awards
- MexBest: Best New Restaurant, 2025Awarded to Rubra, Nayarit.
- The Best Chef: One Knife, 2025Recognized in The Best Chef’s 2025 guide for Rubra.
- World’s Best Female Chef, 201950 Best’s youngest recipient at age 28.
- James Beard Rising Star Chef of the Year, 2016Winner for her work at Cosme in New York.
- StarChefs New York Rising Stars, 2015Recognized for her work at Cosme.
Quotes
You have to treat each person as an individual, not as a machine.Daniela Soto-Innes, 50 Best interview with Laura Price
Speaking in April 2019 about nurturing the different people and personalities in Cosme’s kitchen.
Trivia
- She was a competitive swimmer until she was 20, according to her 2019 interview with 50 Best.
- Cosme’s corn husk meringue draws on childhood memories of her father bringing meringues and her mother serving sweet corn soup.
- Her duck carnitas began as a meal for the Cosme staff before becoming a dish for guests.
Find Daniela
Follow Daniela’s cooking, collaborators, and life at Rubra.
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