Champions of Change Award 2025
Inés Páez Nin – Chef Tita
Santo Domingo
The Dominican chef creating social change through food
Inés Páez Nin, also known as Chef Tita, believes that cooking can change lives. When the Dominican chef started Fundación IMA in 2015, she was already championing local ingredients at her Santo Domingo restaurants. Now, through the foundation, named after the word for ‘food’ in the indigenous Taíno language, she empowers rural communities with the skills and knowledge to make a living while also promoting local produce.
Chef Tita has always been led by a love of cooking – she started working in kitchens at age 17 before completing a degree in hospitality and tourism in Mexico City and culinary training in her native Dominican Republic. She opened two now-closed restaurants in Santo Domingo, the country’s capital, before focussing on Aguají, a coastal fine-dining spot that revolves around the Taíno-Arawak indigenous culture and cuisine.
Alongside her work in restaurants, the highly driven chef became the chief ambassador for New Dominican Cuisine, publishing a book of 100 recipes and working with the government to champion the island’s gastronomy at international food forums such as Madrid Fusión. During the pandemic, she created Fogones y Gastronomía Solidaria to help feed poor communities, while continuing to support rural producers through Fundación IMA.
She’s no stranger to life in the public eye – she appeared on the Dominican version of MasterChef for several years before moving to the international Spanish-language Top Chef VIP in 2024 – but her focus on using food as a tool for social change remains. A key part of Chef Tita’s work with Fundación IMA is training people living in rural communities in good food safety practices and creating new business opportunities. These initiatives mean that instead of needing to relocate to cities to find work, farmers are able to stay in their ancestral homes and protect the gastronomic heritage of the Dominican Republic.
Ever the changemaker, next year Chef Tita will tackle inspiring the next generation by publishing a children’s book of Dominican history and culture, told through food. Her consistent celebration of Dominican gastronomy, unwavering commitment to championing native produce and ambitious plans to transform the lives of farmers across the country makes Chef Tita a thoroughly worthy winner of the Champions of Change Award 2025.
Read more about Chef Tita's work with Fundación IMA
The Champions of Change Award recognises and celebrates unsung heroes of the hospitality sector who are driving positive action in their communities and creating blueprints for a more inclusive society.
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