Star Chef Aitor Zabala, Rick Caruso Among Lineup at TEDxBeverly Grove

On Oct. 13, 2021, Chef Aitor Zabala stood at a breaking point. His acclaimed restaurant Somni had closed during the pandemic. The new space he planned to reopen in had fallen through. His sous chef had quit. After four years cooking alone in a test kitchen with no guests, the white jacket felt heavier than it ever had. Quitting seemed not just possible, but rational.

Instead, Zabala made himself a smaller promise: He would wait one more day.

That decision, repeated when confidence had disappeared, quietly set the stage for one of the most striking comebacks in modern fine dining. When Zabala reopened Somni in West Hollywood in November 2024, expectations were cautious. Seven months later, the Michelin Guide awarded the restaurant three stars, a distinction that often takes years, sometimes decades, to achieve.

As Zabala told The Hollywood Reporter shortly after receiving the honor, “It takes years and years of hard work…