Ana Liz Pulido | |
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| Born | 1997or1998(age 26–27) [1] San Juan, Texas |
| Education | Culinary Institute of America, San Antonio |
| Culinary career | |
Current restaurant(s)
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Award(s) won
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Ana Liz Pulido is a Mexican-American chef and restaurateur. In 2024 she won the James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef: Texas.
Pulido grew up in Mexico, where her father, Armando, owned two taquerias and a hotel in Reynosa, Mexico, [2] [3] [4] and in the United States. [4] As a teenager she sold chamoyadas, marranadas, crepes, and chorreados at a walk-up space, which she name Aliz, near one of her father's restaurants. [2] [4] In the Rio Grande Valley, she sold Nutella pies to classmates until administrators at her high school shut down the business; she promptly moved it off campus. [4]
Pulido attended the Culinary Institute of America in San Antonio, graduating in 2019. [5] [4] She did an externship at Pappasito’s Cantina. [4]
After graduating from culinary school, Pulido worked in a restaurant at Tower of the Americas, after which she found space in a shopping center and renovated it into a restaurant. [4]
Pulido owns Ana Liz Taqueria in Mission, Texas in the Rio Grande Valley region, which she opened in 2021. [2] [6] As of 2024 the restaurant has only five tables. [2] After her tortilla supplier moved from the area, Pulido learned how to make her own from scratch, including nixtamalization of the corn. [2] [5] [4] [1] Texas Monthly called the restaurant "pilgrimage-worthy", crediting the tortillas and the tacos from which they're made. [4]
In 2024 Pulido won the James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef: Texas. [6] In 2023 she was a semifinalist in the same category. [5]
Pulido lives in Mission, Texas. [3]