DIANA DÁVILA
Chicago native Diana Dávila is a two-time James Beard Award finalist and five-time semifinalist, with recognition spanning Best Chef: Great Lakes, Outstanding Chef, and Best New Restaurant for acclaimed Logan Square restaurant, Mi Tocaya Antojería. She was also named a Food & Wine Best New Chef, and Mi Tocaya was recognized as one of Bon Appétit’s Best New Restaurants in America.
Raised in a family of restaurateurs, Dávila began working in her parents’ taqueria at the age of ten. Her culinary career has taken her across North America — from Oaxaca to Washington, D.C. — before returning home to Chicago to open Mi Tocaya in 2017. Her cooking challenges narrow perceptions of Mexican cuisine, celebrating regional depth, Indigenous ingredients, and bold, vegetable-forward dishes that reflect both tradition and personal evolution.
In Washington, D.C., she was named one of the Washingtonian’s “Culinary Rising Stars” and recognized as part of the magazine’s “Female Force.” Since opening Mi Tocaya, Dávila has become one of the leading voices in contemporary Mexican cuisine, earning multiple Michelin Bib Gourmand distinctions and national acclaim from The New York Times, Bon Appétit, Food & Wine, and the James Beard Foundation.
Beyond the kitchen, Dávila is deeply committed to community advocacy. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she co-founded Todos Ponen, a grassroots initiative that mobilized chefs, artists, and hospitality partners to provide direct financial relief and grocery support to undocumented workers and families impacted by the crisis. What began as an emergency response has grown into an ongoing platform for cultural celebration and economic solidarity.
A proud mother of two, Dávila brings the same intensity and heart to her life outside the kitchen as she does within it — balancing leadership, mentorship, and a continued commitment to reshaping how Mexican cuisine is understood and celebrated in America.
