Karla Hoyos
Tacotomia | Doral, FL
May 2025
Karla Hoyos always knew she wanted to be a chef. At 12 years old, she was already a culinary success, selling pastries to her classmates at school until the demand got out of hand. After high school, 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. Looking to learn more about systems and large scale production, Hoyos started as a catering sous chef for the Bon Appétit Management Company and worked her way up to executive chef over the next year before eventually joining the corporate team.
In 2017, Hoyos was called to action when Hurricane Maria made landfall, ravaging parts of Puerto Rico. She flew down to the island to assist World Central Kitchen in their relief efforts. 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. When she returned to the mainland, Andrés invited Hoyos to do a tasting at The Bazaar by José Andrés in Miami. Two days later, he offered her the role of chef de cuisine. Over the next four years, she led the team and 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. She launched her pop-up, Tacotomia, while raising money for a permanent location. In 2023, Hoyos opened her first brick-and-mortar location at Julia & Henry’s in Downtown Miami, and followed up with a second in Doral in 2024. 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.
