West Point Culinary Institute Announces Inaugural Gala Nov. 18       West Point Culinary Institute to Host Inaugural Gala, “From Fire to Future,” to Build a Scholarship-Based School Turning Working Cooks into Kitchen Leaders.   West Point Culinary Institute, a new 501(c)(3) nonprofit foun ded by San Antonio chef and educator Brian West, will host its inaugural Gala, FROM FIRE TO FUTURE: A Culinary Journey Through Time, on Wednesday, November 18, 2026, at the Betty Kelso Center in the San Antonio Botanical Garden. The evening begins with a VIP and sponsor reception at 5:30 p.m., followed by general admission from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. The Gala will launch the Institute’s first capital campaign, aiming to raise $75,000 to build the school so culinary instruction can begin in 2027. Beginning in 2027, the Gala will become an annual event dedicated to raising scholarship funds for the Institute’s students.     Gala Details ·       FROM FIRE TO FUTURE: A Culinary Journey Through Time ·       Wednesday, November 18, 2026 ·       VIP and Sponsor Reception: 5:30 p.m. ·       General Admission: 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. ·       Betty Kelso Center, San Antonio Botanical Garden ·       Tickets:  tasteoftherepublic.ticketspice.com/west-point-culinary-institute-gala   Closing the gap between the line and the kitchen office Hospitality is one of San Antonio’s largest employers. According to Trinity University economists Richard V. Butler, Ph.D., and Mary E. Stefl, Ph.D., the city’s hospitality industry generated a record $23.4 billion in economic impact in 2024 and employed more than 150,000 people, more than one in every eight workers in the metro area. Restaurants account for nearly half of that impact. Yet most cooks are never trained for the step from cook to kitchen leader. Talented cooks are routinely promoted to sous chef and are suddenly responsible for leading a team, controlling food cost, training new staff and understanding the business side of the kitchen, often without anyone having taught them how. “I’ve spent more than three decades in this industry, and I’ve watched talented cooks become great cooks only to reach a point where someone hands them the keys and says, ‘You’re the sous chef now,’” said Chef Brian West. “Suddenly they’re expected to lead a team, control food cost, train people and understand the business, but too often nobody has ever taught them how. West Point Culinary Institute was created to change that.”     Turning working cooks into kitchen leaders West Point Culinary Institute’s mission is “Turning Working Cooks into Kitchen Leaders.” The Institute is designed to be a practical vehicle to learn kitchen leadership and skills. Not just a shorter, less expensive version of a traditional culinary school. Its program combines culinary fundamentals and technique with the leadership and business skills that running a kitchen demands: food costing, purchasing, sanitation, kitchen operations, leadership, communication and team management. Its guiding philosophy comes down to three words: DUTY. CRAFT. KITCHEN. The four-month program is designed for working professionals and will operate primarily on scholarships, so cost won’t determine who advances. Students complete three months of hands-on classroom and kitchen instruction, taught in small cohorts by active chef instructors, followed by a one-month internship or externship in a working commercial kitchen. The Institute sums up its approach simply: “The classroom is the kitchen. The instructor is the chef.” The model benefits both sides of the industry. Students gain the skills to run a commercial kitchen, and restaurant and hospitality operators gain a pipeline of trained candidates for leadership roles. The curriculum also emphasizes Texas culinary heritage, aiming to send graduates into the workforce as ambassadors of Texas cooking.     From Fire to Future: a culinary journey through time Chef West has built the Gala around the story of how humanity’s relationship with food has evolved, moving from Fire to Cultivation to Craft to Future. The evening begins outdoors over live fire, representing humanity’s first transformation of food, as partner chefs serve appetizers alongside cocktails. Guests then move through cultivation and the rise of civilization into the Golden Age of classical cuisine, when cooking became a codified craft and profession, before arriving at Tomorrow’s Table and looking toward the future of food. A short film presented during the evening will guide guests through the story behind each course of the multi-course culinary experience. Chef West will be joined by guest chefs including Nicola Blaque, the Jamaican-born chef-owner of The Jerk Shack, which holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand and earned her a James Beard Award nomination for Best Chef: Texas, and Kristina Zhao, chef-owner of Dashi Chinese Kitchen + Bar and Sichuan House. The evening’s fundraising centers on a live auction led by a rodeo-style auctioneer, with exclusive chef experiences among the lots. Guests will also enjoy DJ entertainment and a “Culinary Lottery.” Sponsors include Sysco and Tito’s Handmade Vodka.   Meet the founders Chef Brian West, Founder and Executive Director, is a native of Alamo, Texas, with more than 30 years in the hospitality industry, working nearly every role from busing tables to owning restaurants. In 2005, he opened Café Paladar, bringing modern, Latin-inspired fine dining to San Antonio; in 2017, he co-founded Smoke: The Restaurant, an urban barbecue concept. He served as a chef-instructor at the Culinary Institute of America’s San Antonio campus and as an operational chef on two seasons of the television series Restaurant: Impossible. While teaching, West noticed that American cuisine curricula gave little attention to Texas food culture, which led him to write the Texas Culinary Manifesto and, in 2017, to found Taste of the Republic. The official Fiesta San Antonio kickoff event celebrates the “Six Food Republics of Texas” through dishes from more than a dozen local chefs. Scott Keeler, Chief Operating Officer, is a co-founder of Taste of the Republic, a culinary marketing consultant and a business operator with more than 30 years of experience building and growing hospitality ventures.     Tickets, sponsorships and donations Individual tickets start at $150 and include open seating, beverages, food stations and the multi-course culinary experience. Reserved tables for eight start at $1,000. Premier Chefs Circle tables include early VIP admission, wine pairings and a chef-selected charcuterie board at the table. Supporters who cannot attend may donate through the ticketing page to help build the Institute’s school. West Point Culinary Institute is seeking additional sponsors and donors among individuals, businesses and organizations interested in investing in culinary education and in the people who will lead San Antonio’s kitchens in the years ahead.   Tickets and information: tasteoftherepublic.ticketspice.com/west-point-culinary-institute-gala   Website: www.westpointculinaryinstitute.org   About West Point Culinary Institute West Point Culinary Institute is a Texas 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose mission is Turning Working Cooks into Kitchen Leaders. Founded by Chef Brian West, the primarily scholarship-based Institute offers a four-month program that combines culinary fundamentals and technique with food costing, purchasing, sanitation, kitchen operations, leadership, communication and team management, followed by a one-month internship or externship in a commercial kitchen. Guided by the philosophy DUTY. CRAFT. KITCHEN., the Institute prepares working cooks to step into management and strengthens the culinary and hospitality workforce. Instruction is scheduled to begin in 2027. Learn more at www.westpointculinaryinstitute.org. ...read more read less