Staff Highlight: Chef Anai

Have you met Chef Anai, the Head Chef at Vinnie’s South?

Anai moved to the United States after graduating from one of the few colleges in Mexico that offered a 5-year degree in the culinary arts. Having studied baking, french cuisine, the chemistry of food, and more, her educational background and experience in the restaurant industry allowed her to land several internship opportunities, including one at Omni Grove Park Inn, which brought her to Asheville in 2013.

Anai began working at Vinnie’s in June 2019 as a Pantry Cook, following the lead of a fellow chef whom she respected and trusted. Wanting to learn other stations, she eventually became a Sauté Cook where she worked for the next 6 months. She was then promoted to Sous-chef and is now Head Chef of the #1 favorite restaurant in South Asheville.

As far as what she likes most about being Head Chef at Vinnie’s, Anai explains:

“I love to see others care; to see people take pride in their work, and to not come in here just for a paycheck but to actually put out good food. We all care about quality over quantity.”

Perhaps surprisingly, Anai never intended to be a chef and certainly didn’t expect to rise as high as Head Chef. She considers her journey here to be a happy accident. Encouraged by her father to join the culinary path after noticing her passion for finding new recipes and reading culinary books, she found herself relieved when other avenues she had considered, like Criminology and Graphic Design, didn’t pan out.

Anai loves to travel, and even as a young adult, ventured to places like Japan and Spain by herself where the food she encountered ended up being the most memorable part of her trips. She’s modest about her achievements in life so far. Her colleagues describe her as strong; someone who grits their teeth and bears it when things get tough. Anai attributes this partly to being a female… sometimes you have to work harder, or appear tough, in order to not be seen as delicate.

When asked what advice she would give to aspiring chefs, particularly to women chefs in a male-dominated field, Anai advised “Nothing comes for free. You don’t have to take poor treatment, but you also don’t have to treat others badly either. Having boundaries is important, and knowing who you are is important. It’s not as daunting as other people think; especially here at Vinnie’s, people take care of you.”

“There’s always going to be someone better than you, but it’s really not helpful to compare. Just try to be the best version of yourself you can be. You may not be the strongest or smartest, but you can look at what other people are doing, and if that aligns with you, then try to find your own version of it. I may have a lot of doubts, but I firmly believe I will never apologize for being me.”