Left to right: Austin Community College student Jacob Pham; Fonda San Miguel Executive Chef Blanca Zesati; and ACC student Nicolle Martinez Rivera.
Austin Community College students Jacob Pham and Nicolle Martinez Rivera are the first recipients of a career scholarship agreement that serves to prepare students to become future leaders in the culinary world. The scholarships are a tribute to the legacies of Diana Kennedy and Miguel Ravago, the co-founder and executive chef of Fonda San Miguel Restaurant in Austin, TX. Ravago died in 2017. Kennedy was a world-famous authority of Mexican cuisine who died in 2022 at the age of 99. She was a close friend of Ravago and Fonda San Miguel owner, Tom Gilliland. (Click here to read a previous article about this scholarship program.)
“Jacob and Nicolle will continue the legacy of Miguel and Diana who both believed in sharing knowledge and elevating true Mexican food to its deserved place at the top of world culinary rankings,” Gilliand says. “This is just the start of our collaboration with ACC to support students interested in building culinary careers."
About the first-ever ACC District Career Scholarship Recipients
From Puerto Rico, Nicole Martinez Riviera is bilingual and a graduate of the University of Idaho where she earned a Hospitality degree. She hopes her hands-on kitchen experience at Fonda San Miguel will set her on a path to open her own restaurant featuring the Puerto Rican cuisine she came to love and appreciate as a child.
Born in Kentucky and raised in New Braunfels, Jacob Pham attended the University of Texas at Austin. His love for baking and cooking grew from time spent by his Vietnamese grandmother’s side in the family kitchen. His goal is to become a respected chef who introduces others to the unique and authentic dishes of his Vietnamese culture.
About Fonda San Miguel
Fonda San Miguel was founded in Austin, TX by Tom Gilliland and Miguel Ravago in 1975. It was the first restaurant in Texas to focus exclusively on authentic regional cuisine from Mexico's interior culinary epicenters: Oaxaca, Puebla, Veracruz, and Yucatan. The restaurant features Gilliland's carefully curated collection of museum-quality artwork, exotic plants, and international decor. With the dual focus of food and art, Fonda San Miguel flourished and its long-range impact on Mexican food in Texas and the United States has garnered national and international acclaim.
About ACC and the Culinary Department
Austin Community College is a nationally recognized two-year college serving Central Texas. ACC is focused on student success and providing affordable, flexible pathways to help students reach their education goals, learn new job skills, or advance their career.
ACC’s Culinary Arts program is led by a faculty of expert chefs. The college offers an Associate of Applied Science: Baking and Pastry and Associate of Applied Science: Culinary Arts at the ACC Highland Campus.