The Texas culinary school dedicated to putting Latin food on the world stage

Kit Goldsbury’s $35 Million Gift Creates CIA’s Pearl Campus

In 2001, salsa mogul Kit Goldsbury bought an old beer factory in San Antonio with big plans.

The Pace Foods billionaire then pitched the Culinary Institute of America on a wild idea – build a campus to lift up Latin food. CIA president Tim Ryan said no at first, but Goldsbury didn’t quit.

He started small in 2006, flying in top chefs to teach Latino cooks.

Then came the game-changer: a $35 million gift in 2007, the biggest ever in US cooking school history.

By 2008, the Pearl District had America’s third CIA campus, with $20 million set aside to help Latino students climb the kitchen ranks.

The Pearl’s transformation from brewery to culinary hotspot now draws food lovers from across the country.

Billionaire Salsa King Bought a Dead Brewery

Kit Goldsbury bought the old Pearl Brewery complex in 2001 after selling Pace Foods to Campbell Soup for $1. 12 billion.

The 22-acre site was dirty and crumbling, with most builders seeing it as a money pit. Goldsbury wanted to create a food-focused neighborhood with Latin American cuisine at its heart.

His company Silver Ventures planned to turn this ugly spot into a mixed-use area that would bring new life to San Antonio’s midtown.

When Goldsbury asked Culinary Institute of America president Tim Ryan about opening a campus there, Ryan called the idea “implausible.”

The Test Kitchen That Proved the Doubters Wrong

Goldsbury opened the Center for Foods of the Americas in 2006 when he couldn’t win over the CIA right away. The CFA worked on its own but used CIA-style teaching methods with CIA teachers flown in from Hyde Park.

Students took 30-week certificate courses about Latin American cooking techniques. Chef Shelley Grieshaber ran the first CFA program and called it a “mom-and-pop school” compared to the fancy CIA.

The small center’s success over two years helped show that San Antonio could support a full CIA campus.

A Food Lover’s $35 Million Gift Changed Everything

Goldsbury gave the CIA $35 million in 2007, the biggest single gift in American culinary education history. He set aside $7 million to grow the San Antonio facilities from 5,000 to 30,000 square feet.

Another $8 million went toward Latin culinary programs at the main Hyde Park campus in New York. The biggest chunk, $20 million, created the “El Sueño” (The Dream) scholarship fund for Latino culinary students.

This huge amount of money finally convinced CIA officials to make San Antonio their third official campus.

San Antonio Joined the CIA Family in 2008

The Center for Foods of the Americas became the Culinary Institute of America San Antonio in January 2008.

This made it the CIA’s third location after Hyde Park, New York and St. Helena, California. The school picked San Antonio to focus on Latin American foods and to serve Latino food workers.

At first, the campus kept offering the same 30-week certificate programs in cooking.

CIA President Tim Ryan said the campus had two main goals: training young Latinos for leadership roles and showing the world how great Latin cuisine could be.

Latin American Cooking Got the Respect It Deserved

The campus worked to lift Latin American foods to their rightful place among the world’s great cuisines. Staff at the Center for Foods of the Americas wrote down traditional cooking methods from across Latin America.

They knew that 60-70 percent of restaurant kitchen workers across the country were Latino but mostly worked in entry-level jobs.

Goldsbury wanted to create paths for Latino workers to become head chefs and restaurant owners.

The school put a spotlight on real techniques, ingredients, and cooking traditions from Mexico, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean.

Cooking School Grew Six Times Larger in Two Years

The bigger 30,000-square-foot school opened in 2010 with great teaching spaces.

The first floor had three teaching kitchens, two skills kitchens, and a special Latin kitchen with a wood-fired oven. The Latin kitchen featured Talavera tile walls, a demonstration theater, and six cooking stations.

A 2,300-square-foot library held more than 4,500 books with access to the main Hyde Park collection. The campus mixed indoor and outdoor cooking areas in ways no other cooking school had tried before.

Students Could Finally Get Full Degrees Without Moving

The first class of 24 students started working toward associate degrees in culinary arts at the San Antonio campus in August 2011.

Before this, San Antonio students earned certificates then had to move to Hyde Park to finish their degrees. The 21-month program followed the same teaching plan used at the Hyde Park campus for decades.

They soon added a baking and pastry arts degree program alongside the cooking program. All students had to complete 15-week work experiences at CIA-approved restaurants or food businesses before graduating.

Money Was No Longer a Barrier for Latino Cooks

The El Sueño scholarship program covered 50 percent or more of the $25,000 yearly tuition for many students. More than half of all new students got El Sueño scholarships to make their education possible.

About 43 percent of students were Latino, many from families who could never afford cooking school without help. The scholarship fund helped around 150 students each year pursue careers in professional cooking.

Students combined El Sueño money with Pell Grants and other financial aid to make their culinary dreams come true.

Students Ran a Real Restaurant Serving Latin Cuisine

The campus opened Nao in May 2012, a student-run restaurant celebrating Latin American foods, cultures, and ingredients.

The restaurant served as a training ground where advanced students worked three-week shifts in both kitchen and dining room roles.

Students spent the final 12 weeks of their program getting real-world experience at Nao before graduating.

Diners sat at a curved chef’s counter with front-row views of CIA teachers and students cooking right in front of them.

Nao became a showcase for refined Latin dishes and helped boost San Antonio’s food reputation across the country.

Graduates Transformed the City’s Food Scene

CIA San Antonio graduates opened notable restaurants like Mixtli, which got national attention on food TV shows.

Diego Galicia, who received an El Sueño scholarship, became a research chef after finishing the certificate program. Johnny Hernandez and other CIA grads ran multiple successful restaurants throughout San Antonio.

The campus produced more than 1,000 graduates in its first ten years who worked in kitchens across the city.

Latino CIA graduates started moving into head chef jobs and restaurant ownership roles they rarely had access to before.

A Food Desert Became a Culinary Destination

The CIA’s arrival helped change San Antonio from a city known only for Tex-Mex into a diverse food destination.

The Pearl District grew into San Antonio’s artistic and cultural center with the CIA as one of its first tenants.

San Antonio restaurants started getting James Beard nominations and national recognition with CIA-trained chefs running their kitchens.

The campus raised cooking standards and food knowledge throughout the city’s restaurant scene.

CIA San Antonio fulfilled Goldsbury’s dream of making the city a major Southwest culinary hub with Latin cuisine at its heart.

Visiting The Pearl District Riverwalk, San Antonio, Texas

The Culinary Institute of America’s San Antonio campus at 312 Pearl Parkway showcases Latin American cuisine through hands-on learning. You can eat at Savor restaurant Tuesday-Saturday from 5-8 p.m. (call 210-554-6484 for reservations) or visit the CIA Bakery Café pop-up January-April.

Take multi-day Boot Camps or single-day classes covering Latin cooking, grilling, and wine pairing. Check out their Live Fire Kitchen pop-up at the weekend Pearl Farmer’s Market too.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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