Zagat Reveals 30 Under 30 List
Young pros define Austin's hospitality landscape
By Virginia B. Wood, 3:30PM, Wed. Aug. 26, 2015
For the second year in a row, national and regional editors at Zagat have identified the emerging young hospitality professionals in key markets around the country. Austin is once again one of those markets and the 30 Under 30 list makes for a great introduction to the amazing talent working in the Austin food and beverage industry today.
The 11 women and 19 men on Austin's 30 Under 30 list range in age from 23 to 29 and have already put together some impressive resumes for folks whose careers are just getting started. Perhaps the most impressive thing about the 11 young women is the diversity of careers they are pursuing. There are four pastry chefs and a chocolatier, to be sure, but the list also includes a sommelier, a wine buyer, a restaurant owner, a chef, a general manager, and an artisan butcher.
Where the men are concerned, professions such as chef, sous chef, pastry chef, front of the house manager, bartender, and sommelier are well-represented, as you'd expect. However, the increasing diversity in our local food and beverage industry itself is supplying men (and women) with an eclectic list of career opportunities. You'll see coffee roasters, a brewer, a couple of successful app developers, a pit master, a food technology consultant, and some aquaponic farmers.
This is the most exciting time imaginable to be covering Austin's dynamic food and beverage scene. This alphabetical list represents some of the young folks who are creating that dynamic energy. In true Austin style, we suggest that you raise your glass.
• Logan Allender (26), head of production at Cuvée Coffee Roasters
• Kerstin Bellah (23), pastry chef at Juniper
• Adam Brick (27), chef at Apis Restaurant & Apiary
• Laura McIngvale Brown (29), owner, and Phillip Brown (29, owner/executive chef Vince Young Steakhouse
• Steven Carson (26), general manager at Olamaie
• Kendall Dinwiddie (29), wine sales manager at Max's Wine Dive
• Ben Doherty (26), cofounder/CEO, and Zac Maurais (26), cofounder/CMO at Favor
• Rob Drennan (27), sous-chef at qui
• Brett Esler (27, bartender at Whisler's
• Nora Hamerman (28), founder/chocolatier Great Bean Chocolate
• Michael Hanan (27)
and Lloyd Minick (28, cofounders of Ten Acre Organics
• Adam Jacoby (28), owner/operator of Jacoby's Restaurant & Mercantile
• Harman Singh Johar (24), food technology operations consultant Aspire Food Group
• Chris Kelly (28), beverage director at Lenoir
• Chloe Kennedy (25), general manager at Épicerie
• Justin Lavenue(27), owner/beverage director at the Roosevelt Room
• Oscar Martinez (24), brewer at Independence Brewing Co.
• Christopher McGhee (28, pitmaster at Freedman's
• Roman Murphy (28), executive chef/pastry chef at Bess Bistro
• Bradley Nicholson (29), sous chef at Barley Swine
• Patrick Pierce (29), cofounder of Fleet Coffee
• Julia Poplawsky (27), head butcher at Dai Due Butcher Shop & Supper Club
• Susana Querejazu (27), pastry chef at Odd Duck
• Carly Rossmeissl (26), pastry chef at Juliet Ristorante
• Gilberto Solis (28), general manager at The Peached Tortilla
• Steven Stanwyck (26), management trainer at the Uchi Group
• Ana Torrealba (27), pastry chef at El Naranjo
• David Whalen (29), chef de cuisine at Jeffrey's
• Bonnie Wright (27), chef de partie at Olamaie
• Rania Zayyat (28), lead sommelier at laV Restaurant & Wine Bar
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Zagat's 30 Under 30 list for 2015
