19th ANNUAL CIA LEADERSHIP AWARDS TO CELEBRATE THE ART AND CRAFT OF GASTRONOMY

The honorees are Mario Carbone, Kwame Onwuachi, Amy Racine, Chef Pam, and Rich Torrisi.

HYDE PARK, N.Y., March 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- On Monday, May 4, the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) will honor five outstanding food, beverage, and hospitality professionals with CIA Leadership Awards. Mario Carbone '00, Kwame Onwuachi '13, Amy Racine '10, "Chef Pam" Pichaya Soontornyanakij '13, and Rich Torrisi '01 will receive the Augie^™ for their extraordinary impact and for elevating the art and craft of gastronomy. Proceeds from the event will support scholarships for CIA students, more than 90 percent of whom rely on financial aid to achieve their dream of attending the world's premier culinary college. More than 500 hospitality industry leaders, celebrity chefs, and other luminaries from business and entertainment will gather at New York's Ziegfeld Ballroom for the gala, with CIA alum and trustee Spike Mendelsohn '05 serving as the evening's master of ceremonies.

Each of the honorees has already left an indelible imprint on the industry and their stars just continue to rise: Carbone and Torrisi make up two thirds of Major Food Group, and have evolved their craft from a single Italian deli to an empire of concepts that includes acclaimed restaurants, private clubs, hotels, and residences; Onwuachi is a James Beard Award-winning restaurateur whom the San Francisco Chronicle named 2025's most important chef in America; Racine is beverage director and partner at JF Restaurants and was named Beverage Director of the Year by both Esquire and Wine Spectator magazines; Soontornyanakij, known as "Chef Pam," was named World's Best Female Chef in 2025 and Asia's Best Female Chef in 2024. Each of the honorees is also a CIA alum.

"I am so proud to celebrate this incredible group of individuals," said CIA President Michiel Bakker. "Through their dedication to their craft—meticulous attention to detail, exacting standards for quality, astute business sense, and generous hospitality—they excel in creating exquisite experiences and delighting their guests. I could not think of a group that better exemplifies this year's theme."

The CIA created the Augie in recognition of famed French chef Auguste Escoffier's unwavering pursuit of excellence, creativity, and professionalism. The college has been honoring food and hospitality industry leaders who exemplify these traits since 2007.

The CIA Leadership Awards were made possible, in part, by the generous support of platinum sponsor PepsiCo; gold sponsors 400 Capital Management and Ecolab^®; silver sponsors Breakthru Beverage Group, Colavita^®, DIRECTV for BUSINESS; KitchenAid^® Commercial, Restaurant Associates, and Steelite International; and bronze sponsors Edlong Flavor Solutions and Jones Dairy Farm, along with dozens of other suppliers to the food and hospitality industries, and individual friends of the CIA.

For more information on the honorees, tickets, and sponsorship opportunities, visit: www.ciachef.edu/awards.

About The Culinary Institute of America
Founded in 1946, The Culinary Institute of America is dedicated to developing leaders in food, beverage, and hospitality. The independent, not-for-profit CIA offers associate degrees in culinary arts and baking and pastry arts; bachelor's degrees with majors in culinary arts, baking & pastry arts, food business management, hospitality management, culinary science, and applied food studies; and master's degrees in culinary arts, culinary therapeutics, food business, sustainable food systems, and wine and beverage management. The college also offers executive education, certificate programs, and courses for professionals and enthusiasts. Its conferences, leadership initiatives, and consulting services are a valuable resource to industry professionals, and its worldwide network of nearly 60,000 alumni includes innovators in every area of the food world. The CIA has locations in New York, California, Texas, and Singapore. For more information, visit www.ciachef.edu. 

SOURCE The Culinary Institute of America