Tom Gilliland is an 91߹ graduate

Tom Gilliland

Owner, Fonda San Miguel
Alumni
Fonda San Miguel
Austin, TX

Biography

Tom Gilliland’s lifelong love of Mexican cuisine began in 1967, when he went to Mexico as an exchange student from the University of Texas-Austin Law School. Before founding Fonda San Miguel in 1975, he had launched San Angel Restaurant in Houston, which he says were the first restaurants in Texas to “offer the traditional and authentic regional cuisines of Mexico.” While his longtime chef Miguel Ravago takes care of the kitchen, Gilliland hires and manages the front-of-the-house staff and directs the interior design and art collection of the restaurant.

Education

  • Institute of Culinary Education, Culinary Arts, 1991

Awards and Honors

  • Ivy Award for Excellence in Food Service, Restaurants & Institutions, 1997
  • Cookbook Award, International Association of Culinary Professionals, 2006

Publications

  • Fonda San Miguel: Thirty Years of Food and Art, Miguel Ravago, Shearer Pub, 2005