Gloria Camariillo-Vasquez, a descendant of Guachichil Chichimeca from Zacatecas is a spiritual guide who treasures her tribal heritage. Gloria and her family were part of the effort to establish the Tap Pilam Coahuiltecan Nation and its nonprofit agency the American Indians of Texas at the Spanish Colonial Missions, which is run by her son, Ramon Vasquez. She is the founder of Circulo de Chispas and recruited a board to help establish it as a non-profit organization in 2024.

Chapter Four of The Herstory Project features the stories of seven women culinary leaders who play a key role in San Antonio’s prestigious UNESCO City of Gastronomy designation. While this list is certainly not exhaustive, each of these women represents critical aspects of our city’s culinary heritage and practice, including regenerative farming, entrepreneurship, and Indigenous traditions. I hand-selected each woman because their tireless work of ingenuity, service, and community proves that gastronomy is about so much more than food. 

Tracie has a heart of service. She is passionate about others and advocates for everyone’s success. Tracie is an expert at designing, executing, and operating growth-oriented solutions. She has done so for varied organizations and early career individuals. She’s an authentic servant leader, mentor, and advocate. When Tracie founded Alamo Kitchens in 2018, she brought all of these attributes to her enterprise. She identified a community need and connected it to her solution; a clean, safe, certified commercial kitchen where food focused entrepreneurs, often in the difficult startup phase, can build and scale their business. Alamo Kitchens became a force multiplier not only by connecting community members with the infrastructure they lacked, but by introducing them to learning opportunities and valuable partners in the community and beyond. 

Sofia Tejeda, born and raised in Mexico City, followed her passion for food and creativity upon moving to San Antonio. After graduating from The Culinary Institute of America San Antonio in 2017, she pursued a career as a pastry chef. Sofia gained experience at renowned establishments such as Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Bakery and worked as executive pastry chef at Mixtli and Hotel Emma. Sofia’s exceptional skills and dedication earned her a James Beard Foundation nomination for Outstanding Pastry Chef in 2022 and the title of Pastry Chef of the Year by the Texas Chef’s Association the same year and consecutively in 2023, in addition to being named CultureMap’s Pastry Chef of the Year in 2023. She currently serves as a Chef Ambassador for San Antonio’s UNESCO City of Gastronomy designation and Nielsen-Massey Vanilla and is the Pastry Chef at the InterContinental San Antonio Riverwalk, further establishing the city as a culinary destination.

Alexana Cabrera was born and raised in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. She knew at an early age that she wanted to pursue a career as a chef. With an adventurous, independent, and entrepreneurial spirit, at 18, she moved to San Antonio to pursue her career. Chef Alexana leads her team as Chef de Cuisine at the critically acclaimed and nationally lauded Mixtli.
Recently, Mixtli was awarded a Michelin Star, the first and only one making history in San Antonio. 

Chef Nicola Blaque is a restaurateur and chef based in San Antonio, Texas. Chef Blaque is the executive chef and owner of the Jerk Shack, a Jamaican-inspired restaurant in San Antonio. The restaurant that offers fare like jerk chicken, braised oxtail, and more quickly became a staple after opening in 2018. In 2024, The Jerk Shack was awarded a Bib Gourmand designation from the prestigious Michelin Guide.

With a lifelong passion for global cooking and holistically nourishing the body through food, Chef Elizabeth Johnson has a rich background that reflects her complementary philosophies at her restaurant Pharm Table in San Antonio. The James Beard Foundation referred to Johnson as a “Food is Medicine guru,” and as such, she considers the name Pharm Table a synonym for culinary medicine.

Christina Gonzalez was born and raised on the South side of San Antonio. After unexpected heart surgery at the age of 31, Christina had to learn the struggles of being on disability, the Medicaid system, and financial hardship. After years of struggling in silence, Christina finally found her voice as a community advocate. 

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