
Ignacio Anaya García (15 August 1895 – 9 November 1975) was a Mexican executive chef and restaurateur, who invented the popular snack nachos.
He worked at the Victory Club restaurant in Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico, and later owned his own restaurant, Nacho’s Restaurant, in Piedras Negras. Anaya created nachos at the Victory Club in 1940 when Mamie Finan, a regular customer, asked if Anaya could bring her and three other women a different snack than usual. Anaya went to the kitchen and spotted freshly fried pieces of corn tortillas. In a moment of culinary inspiration, he added melted cheese and pickled jalapeño strips. After tasting the snack Anaya created, Finan asked what it was called. Anaya responded, “Well, I guess we can just call them Nacho’s Special.” The dish was so popular, the owner of the Victory Club, Roberto de los Santos, put Nacho’s Special on the menu. When the Victory Club closed in 1961, Anaya opened his own restaurant, Nacho’s,.