2009 New York Rising Star Chef Angelo Sosa’s story is that of the quintessential contemporary American chef—ethnically diverse, creative, and untethered by culinary definitions. He’s Dominican and Italian by heritage, grew up in Connecticut, and has adopted Asian cuisine as his own. His fast-casual Asian sandwich shop called Xie Xie was already gaining acclaim in 2009.

Growing up, Sosa’s family took their meals seriously, and it was the perfect breeding ground for Sosa’s budding culinary curiosity. He graduated The Culinary Institute of America with honors and jumped headlong into two of Connecticut’s top-rated kitchens, including the four-diamond Stonehenge Inn and Restaurant and Acqua. In 1999, Sosa moved to New York to work at Jean Georges—the starting point of his obsession with Asian ingredients and techniques.

In the following years Sosa worked at TanDa, Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Dune in the Bahamas, Spice Market, and Yumcha; and consulted at Buddakan and Morimoto. He was also invited by Alain Ducasse to create a special seasonal menu at his Paris restaurant Spoon Food & Wine.

Sosa’s broad-ranging restaurant experiences cemented his devotion to Asian flavors, which he expanded with trips to Thailand, Hong Kong, and Vietnam. Last year he has appeared as a finalist on Food Network's "Top Chef". His latest project, Social Eatz, is an Asian-influenced sandwich joint.