The California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB) is thrilled to highlight the 6 talented chefs submitting recipes in the Cal-Mex category of this year’s inaugural CA Dairy 2GO Competition.
The top two winners in this category will compete at the cook-off finals in Napa, CA, for a chance to win a $5,000 prize!
VICTORIA ELIZONDO
- HOUSTON, TX
- Since graduating from culinary school in Houston, Victoria has worked for some of Houston’s finest restaurants. Her business, Cochinita & Co. is now operating as a wholesale business that offers made-from-scratch packaged goods to various local markets. Cochinita & Co. is slowly growing into a little, Mexican food empire. She’s very proud to be able to continue to share her creative, culinary inspirations and love for cooking and the Mexican culture with Houstonians.
GINA GALVAN
- SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, CA
- Gina Galvan is a leading food innovator and thought leader who has led hospitality R&D efforts with chains such as Yum Brands, Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut, BJ’s, Carlton, Quaker Steak, Pick Up Stix, Taco Johns and Del Taco. Gina has a successful track record of creating iconic foods with a global impact of over $2 Billion across 100 countries. Gina launched Mood For Food in 1999, a consulting firm specializing in the launch of new products and menu items.
NELSON GERMAN
- OAKLAND, CA
- A Dominican-American hailing from New York, chef Nelson German is a contestant on Top Chef season 18 and the chef/owner of alaMar Kitchen & Bar, and Afro-Latin cocktail lounge Sobre Mesa in Oakland, Calif. Nelson received his culinary training at the New York Art Institute, where he learned the foundation of Mediterranean-style cooking incorporating French techniques. He worked his way up to executive chef at Gramercy Park Hotel, Jerry’s Café, and Joseph’s Citarella.
TAMRA SCROGGINS
- LOS ANGELES, CA
- An Oregon native and third generation chef, Tamra Scroggins graduated from the University of Wisconsin in Hotel and Restaurant Management, and now resides in Los Angeles. Tamra is the Corporate Executive Chef for Grill Concepts with 3 brick and mortar concepts. She has developed 4 virtual restaurant concepts in the last 18 months. She sincerely feels that training others how to make amazing food is her calling and embedded in her DNA.
MANISH TYAGI
- OAKLAND, CA
- Originally from the Indian city of Dehradun at the foothills of the Himalayas, Manish Tyagi launched his culinary career by working in India’s most esteemed hotel restaurants, including Taj Rambagh Palace in Jaipur and Taj Safaris in Madhya Pradesh. In 2009, The Gallivanter’s Guide named Manish “Best Chef – Editor’s Choice” and National Geographic included his cooking class among its “10 Great Cooking Classes Around the World.” Manish competed on Food Network’s “Beat Bobby Flay” in 2018. Manish Tyagi is currently the Executive Chef at Aurum in Los Altos, CA.
MARY GRACE VIADO
- BIRMINGHAM, AL
- Mary Grace Viado graduated cum laude with a degree in Hotel and Restaurant Administration from the University of the Philippines. She attended the Culinary Institute of America in the US. She is now The Corporate Executive Chef for the Village Tavern in Birmingham, AL. She is a graduate of the 2014 Culinary Enrichment & Innovation Program of The Culinary Institute of America and Hormel Foods and was the recipient of the 2015 James Beard Foundation’s Jean-Louis Palladin Professional Scholarship.