What was Ignacio Anaya's job title before he became known for nachos?

Before becoming known for nachos, Ignacio Anaya worked as a maître d'hôtel.

Anaya worked at the Victory Club restaurant in Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico, near the Texas border. In 1943, a group of American military officers’ wives arrived when the chef was unavailable. Anaya went into the kitchen and improvised a snack from fried corn tortillas, melted cheese, and jalapeño slices.

The dish was placed on the menu as “Nacho’s Speciales,” using Anaya’s nickname, Nacho, a common Spanish diminutive of Ignacio. As the creation became popular, Anaya was promoted to chef and later opened his own restaurant in Piedras Negras during the 1960s.

The job title matters because Anaya is sometimes described simply as a chef or cook. Those descriptions reflect his later career, but maître d'hôtel identifies his role when he created the dish. “Nacho” therefore began as a nickname before becoming the name of an internationally familiar food.