If you ask Carol Hill how she ended up as a Certified Executive Chef, she’ll tell you “It just happened this way.” Lucky for Texas, “it just happened this way” here. After dabbling in other interests, Carol Hill enrolled in El Centro College, in Dallas, as a culinary student. Upon graduating she became an instructor at the school and Certified Executive Chef. On a family vacation to New Braunfels, she fell in love with Historic Gruene, which is now home of the River House Tea Room. And the rest, as they say, is history. Since opening River House Tea Room, Chef Hill has been honored as San Antonio Chef of the Year, Texas Chef of the Year, and the River House Tea Room was recently recognized with the Achievement of Excellence Award by the American Culinary Federation – one of only two casual dining restaurants in the nation to receive this award.
