By Nelson Santana and Emmanuel Espinal
November 20, 2025
Read in Spanish: Chef Tita hace historia: primera dominicana en The Best Chef Awards 2025
SANTO DOMINGO / SOSÚA. Dominican chef Inés Páez Nin, better known as Chef Tita, just smashed a glass ceiling: she’s the first Dominican selected for The Best Chef Awards 2025. The global platform officially added her to its guide and awarded her two “knives”—the designation for World Class chefs. This isn’t just a personal milestone; it’s a win for Dominican cuisine on the world stage.
“Thank you for giving visibility to our gastronomic culture,” she wrote on social media, embracing what it means to represent a nation. The recognition lands the same year Rasmus Munk (Alchemist, Copenhagen) retained the top spot at the Milan ceremony—context that underscores the caliber of the ecosystem where a Dominican chef now stands.
Why this Recognition Matters
The Best Chef maps the most influential cooks on the planet. Two knives = World Class: consistency, influence, projection. Having a Dominican chef in that space expands the map of Latin-Caribbean fine dining and gives international weight to the culinary research the country has pushed for years.
The impact goes beyond symbolism. In 2018, Law 20-18 established the National Day of Dominican Cuisine and Gastronomy and recognized it as intangible cultural heritage. Chef Tita’s presence at The Best Chef Awards materializes that cultural policy: it brings to global stages a cuisine that the Dominican State already claims as part of its identity.
And in 2025, Latin America’s 50 Best honored her with the Champions of Change Award for community impact. That double validation—culinary excellence and social transformation—positions Chef Tita as a full-spectrum country-brand ambassador.
Dominican Cuisine, Loud and Local
From Aguají, her Dominican fine-dining space at The Ocean Club, Sosúa (Puerto Plata), Chef Tita builds menus that honor Taíno roots and local pantries with contemporary technique and a strong sense of place—a luxury showcase for Dominican products before international travelers.
Her other front line is MoriSoñando at Las Américas International Airport (SDQ), a strategic gateway serving thousands of Dominicans and visitors daily. There, the country-brand experience starts right at the door.
What It Means for the Dominican Republic (and Its Global Community)
Representation and cultural pride. Being the first Dominican in The Best Chef guide opens paths for new generations of cooks.
International reach. A high-impact platform amplifies Dominican flavors to journalists, curators, and travelers worldwide.
Alignment with public policy. The distinction reinforces Law 20-18 and the notion of gastronomy as heritage, strengthening cultural diplomacy.
Bio Snapshot | Inés Páez Nin (Chef Tita)
Training. Began cooking at 17; Hotel & Tourism degree (UNIBE), Culinary Arts diploma (PUCMM), and a Culinary Institute of America certification.
Restaurants. Leads MoriSoñando (SDQ) and Aguají (Sosúa), developing a “New Dominican Cuisine” that rescues recipes, updates techniques, and defends local products and producers.
Gastronomy policy. Advocate behind the recognition of Dominican gastronomy as intangible heritage and a promoter of Gastronomic Diplomacy as a country-brand strategy.
Recognitions. Medalla al Mérito a la Mujer Dominicana (2021); Forbes: 50 Most Powerful Women in the DR (2023); Champions of Change (2025).
Social action. Leads Fogones/Gastronomía Solidaria and the IMA Foundation, using cuisine as a tool for social impact and support for local producers.
A Door Wide Opened
Chef Tita’s entry into The Best Chef Awards 2025 does not close a cycle—it issues an invitation for more Dominican cooks to master technique without losing the memory of the criollo stove. If gastronomy is a language, the Dominican Republic spoke loudly and clearly today. And the world listened.
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