Achatz shares career highlights on new CIA podcast

Grant Achatz, chef/owner of Alinea in Chicago and the Culinary Institute of America's 2009 Alumnus of the Year, tells all in a 13-minute podcast, the newest installment in the CIA's "Insight from the Inside" podcast series of discussions with CIA graduates.

(l to r) Grant Achatz with CIA president Tim Ryan at the 2009 Augie Awards

Achatz graduated from the CIA in 1994, and trained under Charlie Trotter in Chicago and Thomas Keller at The French Laundry in Yountville, Calif., before setting out on his own. In the podcast, he talks about his pre-teen start at his parents' Michigan restaurant, enrolling at the CIA and launching Alinea, which has since been named Best Restaurant in America by Gourmet magazine.

To hear the interview with Achatz, visit www.ciachef.edu/podcasts.