It's a credit to the San Antonio culinary scene's growth that this year's nominees for the Tastemaker Award for Chef of the Year are more diverse than ever. We don't just mean that there is a wider variety of faces but also that each prospective winner approaches food in singular ways. It's clearer than ever that the key to great food lies in biography.

We've only touched the surface with our profiles below. Still, all are making Alamo City more storied than ever. Eat at these chef's restaurants for the richer tale, then join us on April 4 when we reveal the winners at the Briscoe Museum. (There's still some tickets available before selling out.) In the meantime, catch up on our special editorial series profiling all of this year’s nominees.

Here are the nominees for Chef of the Year:

Andrew Ho, Andrew Samia, and Sean Wen, Curry Boys BBQ
Growing up in Houston, Ho and Wen were engrossed in cross-cultural cuisine from an early age. First making a splash with Viet-Cajun seafood boils, the pair found new alchemy when teaming up with pitmaster Samia. Like Beyoncé, the trio is now exposing the limits of genre, producing deeply personal fare. Call it fusion or Thai barbecue or make up a name; it's food that refuses to be pigeonholed.

Berty Richter, Ladino
Richter first appeared on the Texas radar screen with an East Austin food truck. It was clear then that a tiny space couldn't contain his ambition. Now afforded a showstopping Pearl space, his aim is even higher. Ladino expresses a singular heritage, using recipes passed down from generations. In an industry timid of innovation (can we finally press pause on charred Brussels sprouts?), Richter boldly leads with POV.

Ceasar Zepeda, Sangria on the Burg, Saucy Birds
When Sangria on the Burg became untenable, Zepeda switched gears to fast casual. But it was clear he wouldn't throw the baby out with the bathwater. Though adopting a simplified menu at Saucy Birds, the chef is still proving his knack for cooking approachable, uncompromising fare. He remains the San Antonio restaurant scene's consummate everyman.

Christopher Cullum, Cullum's Attaboy
Cullum's culinary education began by washing dishes at his father's River Walk jazz club. The Landing's unforced hospitality and classical fare left an indelible impression. With Attaboy, he remains committed to reviving a history before meals were eaten on dashboards and gimmickry became more important than coherence. That attitude may be out of time, but it's also eternal.

Diego Galicia & Rico Torres, Mixtli
Though Mexican fare found quick success in the United States, it hasn't always been particularly valued. Galicia and Torres were among a vanguard of chefs calling for a reclamation. Heavily researched and immaculately presented, the pair honors pre-Hispanic and indigenous techniques while bucking against decades of racialized preconceptions. In the process, they rewrote rules for who is allowed in the culinary conversation.

Emil Oliva, Leche de Tigre
Oliva first developed a passion for Peruvian fare at 12, when he moved from Texas to his father's home country. Returning to the Lone Star State in 2012, he brought that love back. After paying his dues in the front-of-house of Costa Pacifica, Oliva started a series of pop-ups with no commercial cooking experience. After a year of tasting his standout brick-and-mortar, locals should feel blessed he is such a quick learner.

Francisco Estrada and Lizzeth Martinez, Naco
Thank the stars for Theory Coffee Co. The lauded truck's brews impressed Estrada and Martinez enough that they wanted to provide a breakfast to match. Though the couple has branched out since those early days, they have remained dedicated to improving San Antonio's A.M. hours. Mexico City chilaquiles are enlivened with a deeply roasted sauce, and the unfussy tacos let every ingredient shine.

Jennifer Hwa Dobbertin, Best Quality Daughter
Sometimes, fine-dining chefs bother themselves with cooking for other chefs. Dobbertin seems to be having too much fun. Whether creating a Crunchwrap Supreme for Taco Bell or Korean corn cheese spring rolls for her Pearl restaurant, she never loses sight of the pleasure of eating. Those big ideas still impress jaded industry types without snubbing the masses.

Nicola Blaque, The Jerk Shack
Whether riffing on Caribbean cuisine or celebrating her entrepreneurial forebears, Blaque's food is unapologetically Black. Even in 2024, that matters. For too long, history has insisted that a Eurocentric outlook is essential in creating "elevated" food; She applies her classical training to making the best version of traditional fare, arguing that the contributions of generations of women are enough on their own.

Sue Kim, Magpie
A whirlwind in the kitchen, Kim cut her teeth cooking in New Zealand, Southeast Asia, Los Angeles, and San Antonio's dearly missed Minnie's Tavern. All that globe-trotting informed the food coming out of her East Side bistro. Though rooted in world flavors, it doesn't have the cynicism of New American. Instead, it collects the best dishes worldwide, building Alamo City's most awe-inspiring nest.