Ana Castro

After years of working in restaurants in Europe, New York, and New Orleans, the Texas-born Ana Castro has found particular meaning and purpose in her Mexico City upbringing and her deep reverence for its culinary culture. In 2019, she earned her first James Beard nomination in the category of Rising Star while working at Coquette. The New Orleans restaurant Lengua Madre, which she opened in 2021 with her sister and business partner, Lydia, earned a James Beard nomination for Best New Restaurant in 2022 and garnered Castro a nomination for Best Chef: South a year later. After shuttering Lengua Madre, the sisters joined forces once again to open Acamaya in the Bywater neighborhood in 2024, catalyzing the city’s passion for Gulf seafood by marrying it to foodways from their other shared homeland.