Daniela Soto-Innes

The Path

Training at Le Cordon Bleu in Austin, Texas gave Daniela Soto-Innes a formal base before the work moved into larger kitchens. That foundation became visible at Cosme in New York City, New York, where she served as Head Chef from 2014 and helped place her among the most closely watched figures in contemporary Mexican cooking. The progression from school to a demanding New York kitchen was less a leap than a tightening of focus, with discipline and instinct operating together rather than in opposition. That same focus carried into Rubra in Punta de Mita, Nayarit, Mexico, where she has been chef since 2023. The move changed the setting, not the terms of the work: modern Mexican cooking in a coastal context, with the pace and light of Punta de Mita giving the cuisine a different frame. Across both rooms, Soto-Innes has built a reputation on control, clarity, and the ability to keep the work legible as it changes.

The Work Today

Since 2023, Soto-Innes has been chef at Rubra in Punta de Mita, Nayarit, Mexico. There, her modern Mexican cuisine sits in a coastal register, extending the same line of work that first gained wide attention in New York. The continuity matters: a new setting, the same insistence on form.

Signature

Daniela's signature dishes include Razor clam tostada. In its compact form, the dish reflects the precision associated with her cooking: direct, controlled, and built to read cleanly on the plate.

In Their Words “Cosme is my food, the way I cook. It has the same paintbrush, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be the same dishes. It’s a constant evolution.”

Acclaim

Daniela Soto-Innes has received The World's 50 Best Restaurants — World's Best Female Chef (2019). Daniela's honors include World's Best Female Chef and James Beard Award for Rising Star Chef. Those awards sit alongside the kitchens themselves as markers of recognition earned through sustained work, a defined point of view, and a career that has continued to move without losing its line.