Karla Hoyos

After finishing high school, Karla Hoyos left Veracruz, Mexico to study in and cook her way through France, Spain, and Italy before landing in the United States, where she helped open a Mexican restaurant in Indiana. Hoyos then joined the Bon Appétit Management Company as a catering sous chef and worked her way up to executive chef before eventually joining the corporate team.

In 2017, Hoyos assisted World Central Kitchen in its relief efforts when Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico. There, she helped prepare over 60,000 meals a day and forged a relationship with Chef José Andrés, who convinced Hoyos to help lead the team there for the next three months. Over the next four years, she continued to contribute to disaster relief efforts across the globe with World Central Kitchen—cooking in basements, bunkers, and war zones.

After returning from a two-month trip to Ukraine, where she was cooking for war refugees, Hoyos was inspired to start a project of her own. In 2023, Hoyos opened her first brick-and-mortar location of Tacotomia in Downtown Miami. With a staff of all immigrant women, Hoyos is uplifting her team while serving comforting dishes that speak to her upbringing and honor the culinary traditions of Veracruz.