Presenters | The Culinary Institute of America's Worlds of Flavor® International Conference & Festival

Mona Leena Michael

Shuk Shuka

MONA LEENA MICHAEL is chef-owner of Shuk Shuka and chef-consultant of Dyafa. In the last 8 years, Mona has had the privilege of working in some of San Francisco’s best restaurants, including Jardiniere, Roka Akor, and Serpentine. She trained in French, Japanese, and American cuisine, which have all played a very big role in her culinary identity today. California cuisine celebrates the diversity of the people who live here by bridging the gap amongst cultures and shows through food that we are so closely connected through our traditions, customs, and especially our cuisines. As a Palestinian-American, raised by Palestinian immigrant parents, she was always in the kitchen, watching in awe as her mother and grandmother created traditional Palestinian meals with incredible complexity. She knew this was where her soul was. With many years of food and hospitality experience under her belt, Mona has found her culinary voice in the food of her upbringing. She honors both its traditional roots, yet brings forth flavor that is uniquely derived from the melting pot of cuisines she has dabbled in. Mona has always considered herself lucky to have been born in a state that truly embraces diversity. Her mission is to take all the influences of her culinary training, California’s diverse offerings, and her Palestinian upbringing to create her own version of Californian Cuisine from a first generation Palestinian perspective. (San Francisco, CA)

Charles Bililies

Souvla

CHARLES BILILIES is the founder and CEO of Souvla. A Greek-American, Charles comes from a family tradition of restaurateurs and is deeply passionate about the hospitality experience. Bon Appétit dubbed him “the Mark Zuckerberg of fast fine restaurants” and Souvla has been a San Francisco Chronicle Top 100 restaurant, a recipient of the StarChefs award for Best Concept and has been featured in such media outlets as The Today Show, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and Bloomberg. Charles now leads strategic development for the restaurant group, focusing on new business opportunities, financial planning, team, culture, and brand consistency. He also serves as an advisor (both officially and unofficially) to partners in the food and tech space, including Apple, Square, Caviar, and Plate IQ. He regularly speaks on panels and in the press about the future of restaurants and tech, entrepreneurship, and how to develop profitable restaurants. Charles moved to California in 2006 and worked for Chef Thomas Keller at The French Laundry and Bouchon Bistro, as well as Chef Michael Mina at both his eponymous restaurant and RN74. He holds degrees in hospitality management from Cornell University and culinary arts from Johnson & Wales University. (San Francisco, CA)

Raj Dixit

MICHAEL MINA

RAJ DIXIT ‘98 has worked in a number of top kitchens across the country, and was recently named the executive chef at MICHAEL MINA in San Francisco. In his role, he works in partnership with Chef Michael Mina to elevate and innovate the Michelin-starred restaurant. Raj presents food centered on Mina’s philosophy of bold, balanced flavors, but also draws upon his passion for global flavors and influences. He was most recently the executive chef of Mina’s Stonehill Tavern at the St. Regis Monarch Beach. His menu at Stonehill Tavern was playful and unpretentious, always ingredient-focused, elegant and minimal. He has brought many of these principles to MICHAEL MINA. Dixit graduated from The Culinary Institute of America and worked at The Ryland Inn under the direction of Chef Craig Shelton. Shelton was known for making the farm-to-table concept a nationwide movement, and taught Raj a great deal about cooking with farm-fresh ingredients. Raj then became the opening chef for Dennis Foy, then chef de cuisine for restaurateur David Bouley, while opening his New Bouley Restaurant in New York City. He oversaw all operations for the 100-seat restaurant, and garnered three stars from the New York Times, in addition to receiving two Michelin stars. He was then given the opportunity to become the executive chef at The Inn at Dos Brisas, a Relais & Chateaux property in Texas. There, he oversaw the restaurant and guest rooms for the small luxury property, the only Forbes 5-star in Texas. In addition to his duties in the kitchen, Raj coordinated the planting schedule for 40-acres of organic farming and two geothermal greenhouses. After spending two years in Texas, he was ready for new adventures and challenges. He had the opportunity to work with Michael Mina and oversee Stonehill Tavern in Southern California. He was elated to get back to California (where he had spent some time as a child), and the move allowed him the opportunity to work with the abundance of incredible regional produce and products. At Stonehill Tavern, he garnered a number of accolades, including being named one of 75 Best Places to Eat by the Orange County Register, one of Orange County’s 21 Hottest Restaurants by Eater Los Angeles, and had a dish on the 100 Favorite Dishes in Orange County list in the OC Weekly. (San Francisco, CA)

KATE LEAHY

Cookbook author

A former line cook turned writer, KATE LEAHY has written or edited more than nine books on food and wine, including A16 Food + Wine, an IACP Cookbook of the Year. Her work have been recognized by the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and NPR. She has been interviewed on The Splendid Table and podcasts such as The Food Seen and Modernist Bread. Her most recent book is Lavash: The Bread That Launched 1000 Meals. (San Francisco, CA)

Nicole Duncan

FSR Magazine

NICOLE DUNCAN is the editor of FSR magazine; previously she was the senior editor of both FSR and sister publication, QSR. Including her time as a freelancer, she has been covering the restaurant industry for six years. Over the past decade-plus she has performed editorial work for a variety of outlets including consumer-facing magazines, a science research center, and a now-defunct startup. In true millennial fashion, she used the recession as an excuse to work overseas by teaching English in—and eating her way through—Argentina. (Chapel Hill, NC)

ADEENA SUSSMAN

Cookbook author

ADEENA SUSSMAN is the author of Sababa: Fresh, Sunny Flavors From My Israeli Kitchen, which has been named a Best Fall 2019 cookbook by The New York Times, Bon Appetit, and Food & Wine. The co-author of 11 books, her three most recent collaborations, including Cravings and Cravings: Hungry For More with Chrissy Teigen, were New York Times Best-sellers. Adeena is also the author of Short Stack Editions’ Tahini, and her recipes and writing have been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Food & Wine, Martha Stewart Living, and many other publications. Adeena cooks and writes in Tel Aviv, where she lives in the shadow of that city’s Carmel Market with her husband, Jay Shofet. (Tel Aviv, Israel)

LORYN NALIC

Balkan Treat Box

Chef LORYN NALIC and her husband, Edo Nalic, the owners of Balkan Treat Box, serve Balkan-inspired cuisine straight from the heart in St. Louis, Missouri. Balkan Treat Box began in 2017 as a colorful food truck complete with a wood-fired oven, offering authentic street food style dishes inspired by the elaborate cuisine of Southeastern Europe. To recreate the classic Balkan recipes, Loryn traveled around the region learning age-old culinary traditions from locals. Balkan Treat Box, the brick-and-mortar restaurant, opened in 2019 in St. Louis. Loryn began her career in hospitality working at Companion Bakery in St. Louis, learning the art of pastry. She progressed while overseeing pastry and bread service at the lauded local restaurants Luciano’s Trattoria and Tavern 43 and later moved on to oversee special events for the venerable Pappy’s Smokehouse. It wasn’t until she met her husband, Edo, that she became interested in cooking authentic Balkan recipes. A Bosnian refugee, Edo emigrated to St. Louis after the Yugoslav Wars of the 1990s made his hometown of Sarajevo unsafe. Wanting to recreate the dishes of her husband’s homeland, Loryn began an all-encompassing research process to learn more about the cuisine of the Balkans. In the hopes of opening her own restaurant, she traveled through a multitude of countries in the Balkan region to learn first-hand the time-honored recipes of Southeastern Europe. By watching, listening to, and observing the chefs, restaurateurs and home-cooks of the Balkans, Loryn learned to recreate these traditional recipes on her own. She took notes and photos and translated recipes in order to honor the integrity of each dish she learned to make. While travelling through each city center, she was also inspired by the varying forms of finger food sold on the streets, which later became the concept for their restaurant. With this knowledge and passion, Loryn and Edo created the food truck of their dreams, Balkan Treat Box. The food truck’s global guests have grown to love their fresh and flavorful dishes which seem so far from their origination and unique to the heartland. In February 2019, the duo’s first brick-and-mortar location of Balkan Treat Box opened in St. Louis, giving the ever-travelling Balkan menu a permanent home. The fresh and smokey pides, doners, and bundles of cevapi that emerge from the wood burning fire bring a taste of the Balkan regions to the Midwest and share the inspiring story of the couple who created them. Awards the couple has received include Food & Wine’s Best Bites of the Year, St. Louis Business Journal’s Best Food Trucks, Feast Magazine’s Best Savory Food Truck and Best New Restaurant, St. Louis Magazine’s A List Awards Best Food Truck, Ian Froeb’s 100 Best St. Louis Restaurants, St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Best New Restaurants, and Sauce Magazine’s Best New Restaurant and Best New Restaurant People’s Choice. (Webster Groves, MO)

DIMITRIOS MAVRAKIS

Kritamon

After doing cooking seminars in Lyon, France, DIMITRIOS MAVRAKIS returned to his village to cook creative Cretan dishes using the best seasonal and local ingredients. His restaurant, Kritamon, is one of the suggested Michelin restaurants in Archanes, the picturesque village of central Crete, next to Knossos archaeological site. He has attended seminars with Alain Ducasse and Assandro Miatello. (Archanes, Greece)

JENNIFER KIM

Passerotto

Chicago-native chef-owner, JENNIFER KIM found her calling to cuisine later in life by way of her love for science. During her second year at UIC, in the aftermath of a near-catastrophic potluck, a friend had introduced her to Harold McGee’s On Food and Cooking, which seamlessly blended the science behind cooking and the need to understand the “whys.” This sparked a new hobby, which eventually led her to Kendall College a few years later. During her time in culinary school, Jennifer interned and eventually started working at Michelin-starred Blackbird, where she found mentorship with then-chef David Posey. Looking to expand her knowledge, Jennifer then spent some time in the south of France at Michelin-starred Bistrot des Saveurs, before finding her way back to Chicago and One Off Hospitality via avec and Nico Osteria. Drawing on her love of entrepreneurship and reckless optimism, she opened beloved pop-up micro-deli Snaggletooth in early 2016. There, she honed her strengths as an operational business partner and creative force in the industry. After Snaggletooth had run its course, Jennifer set her sights on opening a stand-alone, fully-independent restaurant where she could focus on the cuisine of her experiences as a first-generation Korean-American. Passerotto opened in May 2018 and has already accumulated industry honors such as a Michelin Bib Gourmand, the 2018 Thrillist Prime 13, Time Out Chicago’s 2018 Best New Restaurants, 2019 James Beard Semi-Finalist for Best New Restaurant, and many more. Jennifer has also found a voice in the Chicago hospitality scene by being named Eater Chicago’s 2018 Chef of the Year and Chicago Tribune’s 2018 Chef Rookie of the Year. Jennifer hopes to use the platform she currently occupies to continue the conversations around toxic, unequitable restaurant culture and hopes to enact long-term culture change through spreading awareness, internal learning/education, challenging oppressive behaviors and creating opportunities for other marginalized communities. (Chicago, IL)

NAJMEIH BATMANGLIJ

Najmieh Batmanglij

NAJMEIH BATMANGLIJ, hailed as “The Grande Dame of Iranian Cooking” by The Washington Post, has spent the past 40 years cooking, traveling, and adapting authentic Persian recipes to tastes and techniques in the West. The 25th Anniversary Edition of her book Food of Life: Ancient Persian and Modern Iranian Cooking and Ceremonies was called “A classic cookbook made even better…Gorgeous expanded edition” by Russ Parsons in the Los Angeles Times. Her Silk Road Cooking: A Vegetarian Journey was selected as “one of the 10 best vegetarian cookbooks of 2004” by The New York Times, while her most recent book, Cooking in Iran: Regional Recipes and Kitchen Secrets was selected as one of the 18 best cookbooks of fall 2018 by The New York Times, where Julia Moskin called it, “Magisterial…An engrossing visual feast of modern Iran…An essential new book”; and Evan Kleiman of KCRW Radio selected it as her Cookbook of 2018. Najmieh is a member of Les Dames d’Escoffier and lives between Washington, DC and Los Angeles, where she teaches Persian, and consults with restaurants around the world. (Washington, DC)

FLORITA ALVES

La Famiglia Restaurant

FLORITA ALVES was born in Macau in December 1960. While active in her professional career at the Macao Post and Telecommunications Bureau and the Monetary Authority of Macao, she attended several cooking courses at the Institute of Tourism Studies and other entities on food and beverage, with the purpose of improving her cooking techniques. She became a member of the Macanese Gastronomy Brotherhood in 2010, performing presently functions in the directorate of the same Brotherhood. Since March 2018, she has been responsible for the kitchen and food production of La Famiglia Restaurant - Macanese and Portuguese Cuisine. In October 2018, she received the Best European Chef award at the CEUCO Congress (European Congress of Eno-Gastronomical Brotherhoods) held in Athens, Greece. In July 2019, she was elected as a committee member of the Macau Culinary Association. She has appeared on CCTV Beijing, Hong Kong’s DayDayCook.com, Me Voy a Comer el Mundo, John Torode’s Asia, the National Geographic Channel, on the South China Morning Post TV, and other international programs. Florita also regularly shares her knowledge of Macanese cuisines at conferences and events around the world. (Macau, China)

Keith Corbin

Alta Adams

https://www.altaadams.com/

Growing up in Watts, KEITH CORBIN initially discovered his love for food while shadowing his grandmother in the kitchen. Together, they would prepare soul food for friends and family inspired by his grandmother’s upbringing in the South. While his path to the restaurant industry was atypical, Keith always found comfort in the kitchen—particularly when serving time in prison. During that period, he worked in the kitchen and continued to cultivate his passion and love for food. Challenged with limited ingredients, Keith honed his skills, relying on his ingenuity to create delicious meals with whatever items were available, including preparing tamales with ground Fritos potato chips. His first professional foray in hospitality came in late 2015 after seeing a “for hire” sign at Roy Choi and Daniel Patterson’s original LocoL in Watts following Keith’s release from prison. Initially starting as a member of the construction crew, he quickly worked his way up from line cook to kitchen manager. With his innate culinary talent and leadership skills, Keith continued to grow with the restaurant, playing an integral role in the expansion of LocoL throughout California. Through his work at LocoL and extensive research, he refined his interpretation of California soul food, tracing the origins of American soul food back to West Africa and its eventual migration to South. He fine-tuned that approach—aiming to draw the connection between the grain-centric, vegetable-driven traditional West African food and its similarities to California cuisine. Keith’s menu at Alta Adams fuses the Southern flavors and dishes of his childhood with a vibrant, produce-driven California aesthetic. His philosophy is that soul food spans beyond a culinary category; it’s a feeling that can be articulated through any ingredient. With Alta Adams, Keith creates a space that highlights community, encourages conversation and promotes unity. (Los Angeles, CA)

Seamus Mullen

Chef, restaurateur and cookbook author

Tertulia, El Colmado

https://www.seamusmullen.com/

SEAMUS MULLEN is an award-winning chef, cookbook author and health and wellness expert. He opened his first solo restaurant Tertulia in Manhattan in 2011, which garnered two stars from The New York Times and was a finalist for the prestigious James Beard Foundation Award for Best New Restaurant. In 2013, he opened El Colmado, a Spanish tapas and wine bar at Gotham West Market, a food hall in New York’s Hell’s Kitchen. He was awarded Chef of the Year by Time Out New York and has been named a semi-finalist for Best Chef NYC by the James Beard Foundation three years in a row. Seamus grew up on an organic farm in Vermont and learned from a young age the value of eating real, whole foods. After cooking throughout Spain, New York, and San Francisco, Seamus first rose to national prominence in 2006 with Boqueria, one of the first critically acclaimed and highly successful Spanish restaurants in New York, and where he became known for his inventive and approachable modern Spanish cuisine. In 2009, he was one of 3 finalists on the Food Network’s The Next Iron Chef. He is now often featured as a guest judge on the popular Food Network series Chopped and Beat Bobby Flay, and is a frequent guest on programs such as The Today Show, The Dr. Oz Show, The Martha Stewart Show, and CBS This Morning. In recent years, Seamus has become recognized as a leading authority in the conversation on food, health and wellness. An avid cyclist who raced competitively in his twenties, he was diagnosed in 2007 with rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disease, that forced him to rethink his relationship with food, and led to his first cookbook Hero Food, published in 2012. Through food, exercise and lifestyle changes, Seamus was able to successfully turn his health around and overcome what is commonly considered to be an incurable disease. He shares his story through numerous speaking engagements and workshops around the world, and has been featured in major publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Chicago-Tribune, and The Guardian. Seamus has written about his experience for The New York Times and through his bimonthly column in Men’s Journal. As a testament to his newly reclaimed health, in November 2014 he raced in La Ruta de Los Conquistadores, one of the most challenging mountain bike races in the world. Seamus works directly with a number of leading brands in the food and hospitality industry to help them better align their products and services with his principles of wellness. In August of 2017 Seamus released his second cookbook Real Food Heals: Eat to Feel Younger + Stronger Everyday. And in May 2019 he launched his first podcast goopfellas in collaboration with Gwyneth Paltrow’s lifestyle company, Goop. He currently is working on his third book and splits his time between Los Angeles, Brooklyn and Dutchess County, New York. (New York, NY)

Steve McHugh

Chef/Owner

Cured

More information coming soon!

Todd Gray

Chef/Owner

Equinox

TODD GRAY is chef-owner at Equinox in Washington, DC. (Washington, DC)

Ellen Kassoff Gray

Owner

Equinox

ELLEN KASSOFF GRAY is chef-owner at Equinox in Washington, DC. (Washington, DC)

Anahita Dhondy

Chef Partner

Cyber Hub, Gurgaon, SodaBottleOpenerWala

@anahita_dhondy @anahitadhondy

ANAHITA DHONDY comes from a family of Parsis settled in Delhi. Since childhood, her world has revolved around food, with her mother cooking and catering Parsi food and baking cakes. Anahita graduated with honors from IHM-Aurangabad, India, and received a Grande Diplome from Le Cordon bleu in London, and has trained at Taj properties, and the Bombay Baking Company at JW Marriott. An expert at French pastries and cuisine, 28-year-old Anahita cooks Parsi food from the heart at SodaBottleOpenerWala, where the spice mixes are supplied by her mother and the recipes come from her grandmother. Anahita advocates for sustainable food and zero food waste practices drawing upon cultural traditions through such organizations as the Chefs Manifesto, EAT Forum, and at various United Nations and FAO events. She was awarded Indian of the Year in the hospitality sector as chef manager of SodaBottleOpenerWala in 2017. Anahita is writing a Parsi cookbook that will be published by Harper Collins in early 2020. (Gurgaon, India)

Pasquale Cozzolino

Chef/Partner and Founder

Ribalta

http://www.ribaltapizzarestaurant.com/NYC/AboutUs

PASQUALE COZZOLINO is chef-partner and founder at Ribalta. Born and raised under the delightful Sun of Napoli, the “Gentle Giant” Pasquale is one of the most brilliant and prolific representatives of the Neapolitan culinary culture around the world. Starting his studies when he was only a teenager, Pasquale’s potentialities attracted quickly the attention of Gaetano Esposito—great grand-nephew of the inventor of the Neapolitan Pizza Margherita—who took him under his wing teaching 200 years old recipes and tips about the ancient art of making Neapolitan pizza. After completing six years of culinary school, Pasquale diversified his experience working as private executive chef in concert tours throughout Europe and South America serving singers such as U2, Madonna, Muse, and Cold Play, to name just a few. Finally, in 2011, Pasquale settled down in New York City and after a year became executive chef at Ribalta, in the heart of Manhattan. His top-quality ingredients and his incredible talent in mixing tradition and innovation awarded led New York Magazine and Gambero Rosso to award it their “best pizza” titles. (New York, NY)

Thomas Zacharias ‘09

The Bombay Canteen

Having always been passionate about cooking, Chef THOMAS ZACHARIAS ‘09’s culinary journey started at a very young age, inspired by his grandmother’s home-cooked food. After graduating in hotel management from WGSHA, Manipal, he went on to study further at The Culinary Institute of America in 2007. He then worked at the celebrated three-star Michelin restaurant Le Bernardin in New York City. He returned to India in 2011 and helmed the Mediterranean kitchen at Olive Bar and Kitchen, Mumbai. Prior to joining The Bombay Canteen as executive chef in 2014, Thomas travelled extensively across 18 states of India to understand the richness and diversity of Indian cuisine. As a chef, his food philosophy involves showcasing regional Indian cuisine in a contemporary avatar, celebrating local and seasonal Indian ingredients, and creating memorable food experiences around Indian cuisine. Through his #IndianFoodMovement, Thomas works towards getting more and more Indians excited and engaged with our food traditions in the hope of celebrating and preserving our incredible regional cuisines across the country. (Mumbai, India)

Yiannis Tsivourakis

Minoa Hotel

https://tsivourakis.com/

For more than a decade now, YIANNIS TSIVOURAKIS has been privileged to hold the position of the executive chef at Minoa Palace resort and spa, a beautiful five-star hotel located in Chania, the most cosmopolitan part of the island of Crete in Greece. He also recently became the corporate executive chef of both Minoa and Euphoria (EM resorts), since he was given the opportunity to manage the cuisines and restaurants of Euphoria resort as well, the newest property of the same company. Leading a staff of more than 80 people, they have won numerous awards and have had high ratings consistently, regarding the food departments. Yiannis has always been an avid advocate of Greek and especially Cretan cuisine, whose richness and unique tradition he had distinguished from early on. He specifically tends to express his strong feelings towards his hometown Chania, which to Yiannis is a synonym of culture, hospitality, tradition, and natural beauty. Through his work, he became a worthy ambassador of his native Crete and has managed to travel in many places in the world, carrying with him the flavors and aromas of the raw materials impressing the most demanding of palates along the way. Yiannis’ dishes can be characterized by his fondness for simplicity and nature, combined with the flavorful experiences he has had around the world. Of course, he never misses out on adding Cretan and Greek ingredients too, respecting the character and tradition, with a strong focus on organic products. (Chania, Greece)

Diana Tandia

Berber Street Food

https://berberstreetfood.com/

DIANA TANDIA is chef-owner of Berber Street Food. Originally from Mauritania in North Africa, she grew up watching her relatives prepare food from scratch and quickly learned that quality of food is essential for living.. Diana studied at the French Culinary Institute in New York and continued learning by working at fine dining restaurants coupled with travelling the world. Recently, she launched her first restaurant with a focus on Afro-Fusion dishes from Morocco, Mauritania, Senegal, Ghana, Nigeria, and many more with a French and Asian flair. Diana’s culinary philosophy and passion reflects the growing trend toward a healthier and down to earth lifestyle. The essence of her cuisine is to allow the natural flavors of food to express themselves. Her dishes are developed from family recipes and made from scratch with love and passion. (New York, NY, USA)

Scott Tacinelli

Don Angie

https://www.donangie.com/

A passion for food led SCOTT TACINELLI away from a successful career as an advertising sales rep after eight years in the industry at CBS radio. Being brought up in an Italian-American family with a mother and grandparents who were avid cooks, he had always had a deep love for food, especially Italian. Scott found that pursuing a new path in the kitchen brought him the fulfillment he had hoped to find in a career. He enrolled at the French Culinary Institute while taking on a job as a cook at a local restaurant in New Jersey. Before graduation, he was hired as a line cook under Craig Koketsu at the newly opened Park Avenue Summer and quickly progressed, being promoted to sous chef a year later. In January 2011, Chef Koketsu named Scott chef de cuisine of Quality Meats, a modern steakhouse that has been named one of America’s best new steakhouses by Details. It was at Quality Meats that Scott developed and honed his leadership skills, running the day-to-day operations throughout the restaurant’s back of house. His success running Quality Meats placed him in the ideal position to become the executive chef of Quality Italian, which he opened with his wife Angie Rito. The couple then developed and operated a 19-seat speakeasy restaurant project in the East Village together called dinnertable, where they gained acclaim for their creative menu and unique lasagna. The couple returned to Quality Branded in 2016 as partners in Quality Italian to help open the new location in Denver and assist in future expansion of the brand. Scott and Angie opened Don Angie in 2017, a 55-seat restaurant in NYC’s West Village that serves a unique, modern take on Italian-American fare. Among other accolades, the restaurant was named one of Esquire’s best restaurants in America in 2018. (New York, NY)

Jamie Simpson

Culinary Vegetable Institute

https://culinaryvegetableinstitute.com/main/

JAMIE SIMPSON is the executive chef liaison at The Culinary Vegetable Institute. He hails from a small town in Summerville, S.C. and is en route to becoming a young highly sought after chef. He began his culinary career in a serendipitous fashion after leaving the music industry and his job at a recording studio. His journey continued to one of Charleston’s most acclaimed restaurants, The Charleston Grill, which gave him opportunities to explore other globally recognized kitchens and work with countless talents. Jamie is passionate about exploring different cultures, the connection between art and food, and the relationship between unconscious process and creativity. Producing beautifully dressed and garnished dishes that marry complex flavors with technical expertise, he uses luxurious ingredients as well as odd cuts and guts. His creative approach of taking raw product and turning it into something unique and inspiring piques the interests of others. At The Culinary Vegetable Institute, he designs dishes around what is available on the farm that day, and his commitment to micro seasonal cooking opens the door for him to be more creative while respecting the plants. His dishes always play tricks on the senses and are constantly evolving. (Milan, OH)

Alon Shaya ‘99

Saba, Safta

https://eatwithsaba.com/ @alonshaya @AlonShaya

ALON SHAYA ‘99 calls New Orleans his home. In 2017, Alon and his wife Emily formed Pomegranate Hospitality to foster opportunities for colleagues, partners, and friends in a comfortable and professional environment where cultural differences are celebrated. Alon has been nominated for five James Beard Awards. He has been named Best Chef: South while at Domenica in 2015, and his previous restaurant, Shaya, won Best New Restaurant in 2016. He was named one of the 50 People Who Are Changing the South by Southern Living in 2015, and one of the 50 Most Influential Jews in America by The Forward. In 2016, Alon joined forces with Donna Barnett, his high school home economics teacher, to start the Shaya Barnett Foundation, committed to providing culinary education and resources to high school students. In March 2018, Alon published his debut cookbook, Shaya: An Odyssey of Food, My Journey Back to Israel (Knopf). In early 2018, Alon and Pomegranate Hospitality announced the opening of two new restaurants: Saba in New Orleans and Safta in Denver. Saba opened its doors in May 2018 in Uptown New Orleans. Safta opened in the River North neighborhood of Denver in August 2018. (New Orleans, LA and Denver, CO)

Brett Schulman

Cava

https://cava.com/

BRETT SCHULMAN joined the CAVA team as CEO in 2011, quickly leading the brand through multilevel growth including nationwide CPG and restaurant expansion. Prior to taking the helm at CAVA, Brett spent more than a decade in investment banking and first combined his business experience with his personal interest in the culinary world as COO of Snikiddy, LLC, a healthful snack food company he led through a successful acquisition by Utz Quality Foods. (Washington, DC)

Antonella Scatigna

La Taverna Del Duca

http://www.tavernadelducascatigna.it/

ANTONELLA SCATIGNA is chef-owner at La Taverna Del Duca. A self-taught chef with a passion for cooking, she has owned La Taverna Del Duca, a restaurant that respects local and seasonal ingredients in Puglia, since 1997. (Locorontondo, Italy)

Vasco Coelho Santos

Euskalduna Studio

http://www.euskaldunastudio.pt/

VASCO COELHO SANTOS is chef-owner of Euskalduna Studio. During the final year of his business management degree, he realized that his passion for cooking was stronger than his love for numbers. He went to Lisbon to study at Atelier de Cozinha Michel and did an internship at Restaurante Olivier and Tavares Rico. In 2010, Vasco left for Spain to work in some of the best restaurants in the world: Mugaritz, Arzak, and El Bulli. When he came back to Porto, Vasco worked at Pedro Lemos and, before starting a private cooking project, traveled through many European and Asian countries, including working at Viajante in London and 2am: Dessert Bar in Singapore. In 2016, Vasco opened, in Porto, Euskalduna Studio: his first space of contemporary author’s cuisine, gaining many national and international recognitions. In June 2018, he opened, also in Porto, Semea by Euskalduna. (Porto, Portugal)

María José San Román

Monastrell

https://monastrell.com/en/

MARIA JOSÉ SAN ROMÁN is the co-owner and executive chef of GRUPO GOURMET in Alicante Spain. With a collection of five restaurants, including her landmark restaurant, Monastrell, for which she was first awarded a prestigious Michelin star in 2013 and La Taberna del Gourmet, winner of the National Award for Best Bar in Spain, she blends Mediterranean tradition with creative innovation to bring classic Spanish ingredients to the contemporary restaurant table. Maria José’s cuisine is based on a philosophy and vision that celebrates the bounty and flavor of local ingredients with distinctive style. Recognized as both Spain’s Queen of Saffron and a leading authority on extra-virgin olive oil, she is renowned as an international ambassador of Spanish culinary excellence. Her cuisine pays homage to a wide range of classic flavors from her Spanish coastal roots including extra virgin olive oil, rice, seafood and saffron. GRUPO GOURMET ALICANTE (www.grupo-gourmet.com), a gastronomic project founded in 1975, includes restaurants Monastrell, La Taberna del Gourmet, La Vaquería, Tribeca, La Terraza del Gourmet and Taller de pan, each celebrating distinctively Spanish gastronomy and contributing to Alicante’s status as one of the top hospitality centers of Spain. (Alicante, Spain)

Hanif Sadr

Komaaj

http://www.komaaj.com/ @komaajfood @komaajfood

HANIF SADR is chef-owner of Komaaj. (Pinole, CA)

Angie Rito

Don Angie

https://www.donangie.com/

Growing up in and around her family’s Italian bakery in Cleveland, ANGIE RITO’s passion for Italian cuisine and cooking grew naturally from a young age. Her family has owned and operated Rito’s Bakery & Deli in Cleveland since 1965. Her grandfather opened the business when he came to the United States from Sicily. Angie learned about cooking, baking, and running a business as an integral part of her childhood, instilling the dream that one day, she would like to open her own restaurant. Likewise, her grandmother, who is from Naples, also had a huge influence on her life and her cooking. As a student in New York City, Angie started her restaurant career in the front of the house, working as a captain at Park Avenue Autumn/Winter/Spring/Summer. Her strong interest in food and cooking drew her to the kitchen, and she worked her way from line cook to sous chef at various restaurants within the Quality Branded restaurant group. Angie proceeded to work for Rich Torrisi and Mario Carbone at Torrisi Italian Specialties, where she fine-tuned her Italian culinary craft, before returning to Quality Italian to help develop the opening menu with her husband, Scott Tacinelli. Several elements of the signature dishes that Angie developed came directly from techniques and recipes she learned from her grandmother. Scott and Angie then developed and operated a 19-seat speakeasy restaurant project in the East Village together called dinnertable, where they gained acclaim for their creative menu and unique lasagna. The couple returned to Quality Branded in 2016 as partners in Quality Italian to help open the new location in Denver and assist in future expansion of the brand. In 2017, Scott and Angie opened Don Angie in the West Village, a 55-seat restaurant serving a unique, modern take on Italian-American fare. The restaurant was named one of Esquire’s best restaurants in America in 2018. (New York, NY)

Uyen Pham ’04

The Culinary Institute of America

https://www.ciachef.edu/uyen-pham-bio/

UYEN PHAM ‘04 is chef-instructor at The Culinary Institute of America. She holds a master’s degree in education and a bachelor’s of science degree in kinesiology from the University of Houston, where she graduated magna and summa cum laude. She taught at the collegiate level for nearly 10 years before leaving to attend the CIA. As a 2004 graduate of CIA’s Hyde Park campus, Uyen graduated top of her class. Following graduation, she ventured into the New York City restaurant scene by apprenticing at some of the city’s best fine-dining restaurants. She worked for Gray Kunz, Danny Meyer, Anita Lo, Alfred Portale, and Andrew Carmellini. After her time in New York, she moved to Seattle, where she worked at Farestart and then opened her temporary restaurant, Dumpling Dojo. Realizing her true calling was an educator, Uyen joined the faculty at the Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts in 2011 before landing at the CIA, San Antonio campus in 2017. She teaches courses to culinary and baking and pastry students in the degree program, as well as classes to the general public. In January 2019, she opened the CIA’s newest restaurant, SAVOR, which has been named one of the top 10 restaurants in San Antonio. She has been a judge for the Food Network’s All Star Academy and has taught for Whole Foods headquarters. Uyen has travelled extensively throughout Europe and specializes in global cuisines, particularly Asian and Mediterranean. Her other areas of expertise include fermentation, plant based, paleo, keto, gluten-free, vegetarian/vegan, and special dietary needs. She has been a presenter at the Gluten-Free Festival and will be returning for the third time as a speaker at the Fermentation Festival in Austin, Texas, where she also owns a kimchi business. Uyen is a strong advocate for food recovery and minimizing food waste. She works closely with the Child Nutrition Program in the San Antonio Independent School District to develop and improve their food services to 87 schools that produce 100,000 meals in a day. She is also a consulting chef and leads team building events such as Iron Chef Competitions for clients such as Google and Facebook. She is a Certified Executive Chef, member of Les Dames d’Escoffier, and was inducted by Chef Jeremiah Tower into the Disciples of Escoffier. She is a member of the ACF, Slow Food USA, and Women Chefs and Restaurateurs. (San Antonio, TX)

Laura Ozyilmaz ‘14

Noosh, Istanbul Modern SF

https://www.nooshsf.com/

LAURA OZYILMAZ ‘14 and her husband Sayat are the owners and executive chefs of Noosh. The couple has worked for the past three years developing their own brand and concept to accomplish their vision of bringing Eastern Mediterranean food to San Francisco in a casual environment with the debut of their pop-up venture, Istanbul Modern SF. After hitting the ground running with sold-out events, serving over 10,000 guests, they put plans in place to create Noosh. They have created a distinctive model in the restaurant industry where the focus is on food, community, and value. Noosh opened its doors in March 2019 under Laura’s and Sayat’s leadership. StarChefs named them 2019 Game Changers. Originally from Mexico, Laura has been immersed in the culinary world since an early age, working in various catering establishments. She then attended Centro Culinario Ambrosia and continued her education at New York’s Culinary Institute of America (CIA). Following her time at CIA, she worked at Café Boulud and staged at the prestigious Mugaritz in San Sebastian, Spain while simultaneously enrolling at the Basque Culinary Center. Upon her graduation from the CIA, Laura accepted an offer at Eleven Madison Park in New York City. It was during her time at CIA where she also met her future husband, Sayat. After realizing their shared dream of creating community through cuisine, they embarked on a multi-city honeymoon, setting up a series of two dozen stages with renowned restaurants including Wolfgang Puck’s Spago, Michael Mina’s Bourbon Steak, and Pujol in Mexico City. The trip ended in San Francisco, where Laura joined Saison’s three-Michelin-star team. (San Francisco, CA)

Sayat Ozyilmaz ’14

Noosh, Istanbul Modern SF

https://www.nooshsf.com/

SAYAT OZYILMAZ ‘14 and his wife Laura are the owners and executive chefs of Noosh. The couple have worked for the past three years developing their own brand and concept. Originally from Istanbul, Turkey, Sayat brings the distinct flavors and cooking style from his heritage into the kitchen. Noosh showcases a familiar rendition of Eastern Mediterranean through the lens of California ingredients. It comes on the heels of the couple’s successful pop-up endeavor, Istanbul Modern SF. Istanbul Modern SF allowed Sayat and Laura to push limits to create a refined, yet casual cuisine rooted in community and creativity. Sayat earned an economics degree at Dartmouth College in his early twenties but it wasn’t until a solo trip through Turkey, Georgia, and Armenia that he began to think about cooking professionally. He enrolled at The Culinary Institute of America (CIA). While at CIA, he worked at Blue Hill at Stone Barns, and joined the Le Bernardin team upon graduation. During his tenure at CIA, Sayat met fellow student, and his future wife, Laura Millan. After their wedding, both embarked on a multi-city honeymoon, setting up stages with prestigious restaurants such as Pujol, Husk, and Robuchon. Finally setting roots in San Francisco, Sayat joined the Michelin-starred Mourad team before partnering with Laura for Istanbul Modern SF and Noosh. (San Francisco, CA)

Melba Nunis

Simply Mel's

http://www.simplymels.com/

MELBA NUNIS became a professional chef in 2011 when she opened her restaurant, Simply Mel’s, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Through this venture, she used her talent for cooking and entertaining to bring joy to others, while preserving the rare cuisine of her native Kristang people. She was born and raised in Garden City, Ujong Pasir, Malacca, where she was exposed to a style of cooking rooted in a 500 year-old legacy of early Portuguese and Dutch settlers in 16th century Malacca. This rare and unique Kristang cuisine fuses Portuguese and local Malay ingredients, cooking techniques, and culinary tastes. Melba’s goal is to introduce as many people as possible to this one-of-a kind cuisine that she has enjoyed cooking and eating all her life. Melba is the author of A Kristang Family Cookbook, which was released in 2014. This book won her the prestigious Best in the World award in the Woman Chef category at the 2016 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards in Yantai, China. Following the success of her first cookbook, Melba released Everything Kristang in 2018. Through this bilingual publication, Melba hopes to share the Kristang cuisine with a wider audience both in Malaysia and abroad. Melba joined The Majestic Malacca in 2017 as the hotel’s celebrity chef. She led the team at Melba at The Mansion, the hotel’s sole dining establishment, and brought Kristang food back to her hometown. In 2018, she completed her two years at The Majestic Malacca. Melba continues to travel for guest chef appearances. In 2018, she cooked at Fat Rice in Chicago, United States for a special Kristang dinner event. In 2019, she was invited to cook at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards in Macau. When she is not traveling, Melba hosts and cooks for small groups at her home in Kuala Lumpur through her newest venture, Dine with Mel. She also conducts cooking classes and sells her homemade cakes, pickles, and sauces. She hopes to continue sharing her food and culture with others and inviting them to Beng Naki Kumi (come here and eat) with her. (Malaica, Malaysia)

Samir Mogannam

Beit Rima

http://beitrimasf.com/

SAMIR MOGANNAM is chef-owner of Beit Rama, which means Rima’s Home in Arabic. It is named after his Jordanian mother and has been open since February 1st, 2019. Since then Beit Rima has been awarded Top 100 restaurant from the San Francisco Chronicle and Best New Restaurant from SF Weekly, along with excellent reviews from both of the food critics from both publications. (San Francisco, CA)

Jesuslee Fernandes

Jesus é Goês

https://www.facebook.com/Jesus-%C3%A9-Go%C3%AAs-334007756699073/

JESUSLEE FERNANDEZ is chef-owner of Jesus é Goês. (Lisbon, Portugal)

Fabrizia Lanza

Anna Tasca Lanza Cooking Experience

https://www.annatascalanza.com/

FABRIZIA LANZA is at Anna Tasca Lanza Cooking Experience, where she brings the joys and knowledge of Sicilian food and culture into people’s lives around the world. Born in Palermo in 1961, Fabrizia grew up in her family’s 200-year-old agricultural estate in the heart of Sicily. Being part of the renowned Tasca family of vignerons meant immersion into the food and wine world from birth. In addition to wine, the estate produces cheese, fresh pasta, poultry, lamb, extra-virgin olive oil, and an enormous variety of fruit and vegetables, naturally instilling Fabrizia with the sensory satisfactions of farm to table. Understanding the practices and challenges would come later. At the age of 18, Fabrizia flew north, spending time in France and Italy to experience other worlds and to study. With a degree in art history, she worked for 25 years in museums and as an art curator, ultimately directing two museums in Feltre, 100 kilometres north of Venice. Meanwhile, Fabrizia’s mother, Anna Tasca Lanza, established the world-renowned Anna Tasca Lanza Cooking School in 1989 to promote Sicilian cuisine, believing that eating well is crucial to the quality of our lives and knowing that how to eat well requires an intimate understanding of the land’s produce, food preparation methods, and the rituals of eating. In 2006, at the age of 45, Fabrizia decided to join Anna’s venture and return to Sicily. Not only would she be closer to her family and reconnect with Sicilian food and its environment, but her skills and creativity would flourish. In 2010, after the passing of her mother, Fabrizia became director of the school and continues to build on Anna’s magnificent legacy. Continuing in her mother’s footsteps, Fabrizia travels regularly to the United States of America promoting Sicilian food, joining good food advocates along the way, including Alice Waters in California. Anna’s numerous books on Sicilian cuisine (including The Heart of Sicily and The Flavours of Sicily) have been joined by Fabrizia’s Olive, A Global History published in 2011 and Coming Home to Sicily (co-authored with former Gourmet magazine editor Kate Winslow) in 2014. Fabrizia also promotes Sicilian food practices and traditions through video documentation. Amuri: The Sacred Flavors of Sicily, a 37-minute documentary produced by Fabrizia together with Giacomo Costa, Lena Connor and Chiara Pelizzoni in 2014 is the foundation of a video archive on the techniques of foods in danger of extinction. Under Fabrizia’s direction, the school’s teaching program has been extended through Cook the Farm, where the truly food passionate spend 10 weeks exploring food from every angle. Entering its third year, it attracts international students who are passionate about bridging the gaps between eating, cooking and farming and understanding food from the global, Mediterranean, and Sicilian perspectives. (Casa Vecchie, Italy)

Aglaia Kremezi

Aglaia's & Costas Table in Kea Cyclades

https://www.aglaiakremezi.com/

AGLAIA KREMEZI is co-founder of Kea Artisanal. She is a journalist, food historian, and author whose books include Mediterranean Vegetarian Feasts; The Cooking of the Greek Islands; The Foods of Greece (which won the Julia Child Award); and Mediterranean Hot & Spicy. Born in Athens, for the past 11 years she has lived with her husband in Kea, where she gardens, cooks, writes, and teaches cooking to travelers. She was a consultant for Molyvos, the first upscale Greek restaurant in New York. She blogs often at the Atlantic’s food/health website, and writes regularly in Greek, European, and American publications such as Saveur, the Los Angeles Times, BBC Good Food, Bon Appétit, Food & Wine, and Food Arts. She takes part in and gives papers at the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery, and has taught at The Culinary Institute of America, Macy’s Degustibus, the French Culinary Institute, and many other US cooking schools. (Kea, Greece)

Diane Kochilas

Cooking School Owner, Cookbook Author

My Greek Table, PBS Committee Rest, Glorious Greek Cooking School

https://www.dianekochilas.com/ @DianeKochilas @dianekochilas

DIANE KOCHILAS—chef, award-winning cookbook author, and cooking school owner—has been at the forefront of bringing healthy, delicious Greek cuisine to a wide international audience for many years. She is the host and co-producer of My Greek Table, a national cooking-travel series on public television. She is consulting chef at Committee Restaurant, a meze concept in Boston and has worked with many of the top Greek restaurants in North America. Every summer, she runs the Glorious Greek Cooking School on her native island, Ikaria, a Blue Zone, renowned for the longevity of its inhabitants. Diane’s latest book is My Greek Table: Authentic Flavors and Modern Home Cooking from My Kitchen to Yours, (St. Martin’s Press). Her previous book, Ikaria: Food, Life and Longevity from the Island where People Forget to Die (Rodale, fall 2014), won an IACP Award for Best Cookbook, International Category; the 2015 Books for a Better Life Award by the MS Society; and was nominated for an Art of Eating award. She has authored more than 18 cookbooks in both English and Greek, including another IACP winner, The Glorious Foods of Greece, and The Greek Vegetarian. Diane has worked with several universities around the United States to bring healthy Greek cuisine to student dining, including UMass Amherst, Harvard, and Yale. She divides her time between New York City, Boston, the Greek island of Ikaria, and Athens.(New York, NY; Ikaria and Athens, Greece)

David Hodson

Bouchon

https://www.thomaskeller.com/bouchonyountville

DAVID HODSON is chef de cuisine at Bouchon Bistro. (Yountville, CA)

Anissa Helou

Anissa's

https://www.anissas.com/

ANISSA HELOU (www.anissas.com) is a chef, food writer, journalist, broadcaster, consultant and blogger focusing on the cuisines and culinary heritage of the Middle East, Mediterranean and North Africa. Born and raised between Beirut, Lebanon, and Mashta el-Helou, Syria, she knows the Mediterranean as only a well-traveled native can. Anissa is the author of numerous award-winning cookbooks, including Sweet Middle East; Levant; The Fifth Quarter, an Offal Cookbook; Modern Mezze; Savory Baking from the Mediterranean; Mediterranean Street Food; Café Morocco; and Lebanese Cuisine, which was a finalist for the prestigious Andre Simon awards and chosen as one of the Los Angeles Times’ favorite books in 1998. Lebanese Cuisine remains the classic and most comprehensive work on this increasingly popular cuisine. Her new book, Feast: The Food of the Islamic World, was published to great acclaim by Ecco in May 2018. It has been short-listed for the very prestigious Art of Eating award and was on “Best of the Year” lists in numerous publications. It has also won the James Beard Foundation award in the International category, and was nominated for the IACP awards in the General and International categories. An accomplished photographer and intrepid traveler, she runs culinary tours to various Mediterranean countries and also teaches cooking classes. Anissa was the featured chef in the travel/cooking Show, Al Chef Yaktachef (meaning the chef discovers), shown on Abu Dhabi TV in 2010. She has also featured as one of the judges/mentors to a team of chefs in Taste Arabia, which aired on Al Nahar TV in Egypt and OSN all over the Arab world and was one of the guest judges in the final of one of the series of Top Chef Arabia. She was also listed in 2013 in Arabian Business as one of the 100 Most Powerful Arab Women and on the 500 Most Influential Arabs. Anissa was also the first ever chef-in-residence in Leighton House during their Nour festival in November 2011. In 2013 she helped a group of Egyptian entrepreneurs open Koshari Street in Covent Garden, where they serve her gourmet version of Koshari, the ultimate Egyptian street food. Koshari Street was chosen by the Financial Times as one of London’s five best street foods. She is no longer associated with Koshari Street and she now divides her time between Sicily, where she will eventually have a teaching kitchen, and London. (Trapani, Sicily and London, UK)

Teresa Gutiérrez

Azafran

http://www.azafranvillarrobledo.com/

TERESA GUTIÉRREZ is chef-owner of Azafrán, located in the heart of Spain’s La Mancha region; all of the restaurant’s staff are women. Teresa began her university degree in odontology, but she left it in the last course in pursuit of her dream: to be a chef. She studied at the Valencia culinary school (Spain) and Avignon culinary school (France). She worked in some Michelin-starred restaurants, and finally opened her own restaurant in October 2008. Teresa works with regional cooking, with local ingredients like manchego cheese, manchego lamb, mushrooms, local hunted meat, etc. She also studied nutrition and health, so she gives great importance to the union of cooking savory meals and maintain the properties of the food to also create a well-balanced diet. Teresa was the pastry teacher in Master Chef Online School, and was also a contestant in the TV show Top Chef Spain 2014. She was nominated as a Revelation Chef of Spain at the world-famous congress Madrid Fusión in 2013. Her restaurant currently holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand and a Sol Repsol from the Repsol Guide. (Villarrobledo, Spain)

Suzette Gresham

Acquerello

http://www.acquerello.com/

Over the course of her more than 29 years at the helm of her kitchen, SUZETTE GRESHAM, Acquerello’s co-owner and executive chef, has had a profound impact on the culinary world. Acquerello has held a spot every year on the San Francisco Chronicle’s Top 100 Bay Area Restaurant List since it’s inception 22 years ago. The restaurant has received a Michelin star every year since 2007. In 2014 it was awarded a second star. Suzette is only the third woman in the U.S. to hold two stars. While these prestigious achievements are a source of pride for her, they are not the driving force behind her career; cuisine and her cooks–above all else, is what keeps her in the kitchen. In 1980 she was the first female apprentice to be on the U.S. Culinary Olympic team. Four years later, she returned as an individual competitor and brought home a bronze medal. She was honored to become the first Junior Member of the ACF and later held a position on the board of directors for three terms. Numerous awards and accolades from both local and international institutions have punctuated her career. At a time when there were few female chefs, she was proud to quietly dispel the myth that women didn’t belong in a professional kitchen. Suzette produces more than just meals at Acquerello. She and her team provide experiences for the diner that are emblematic of what they could expect in Italy. Through her dedication to elevated hospitality, the execution of soulful and thoughtful dishes, and a mission to educate and inspire all those who come through the door, she has found an Italian timelessness. She remains current by listening to diners, maintaining an awareness of her marketplace, and revitalizing forgotten ingredients and classic dishes through interpretive applications. “Materia prima,” or quality ingredients, along with seasonality, tradition, and philosophy are the driving forces behind Acquerello’s style. Just as ingredients have been a pillar in her cooking, education has been a hallmark of her legacy. Suzette strives to make Acquerello all about opportunity. She enjoys growing cooks as much as making food. It is with this philosophy in mind that she has successfully passed 63 interns through her kitchen. Before the “Me Too” movement, of which she is a survivor, Suzette dared to run a professional kitchen free from fear, intimidation and ridicule, regardless of gender. (San Francisco, CA)

Hugo Ferreira

Primos Catering and Hospitality

HUGO FERREIRA is head chef at Primos Catering and Hospitality. (Sao Miguel, Azores, Portugal)

Zachary Engel

Galit

ZACHARY ENGEL is the executive chef and owner of Galit Restaurant, which opened in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood in April 2019. Previously, Zach was the Chef de Cuisine at Shaya Restaurant in New Orleans, where he led a talented team to take home the 2016 James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant, a culminating triumph at the end of a year of many “Best New” accolades. In 2017, he followed with the James Beard Rising Star Chef of the Year Award. His career includes time spent in the kitchens of Zahav in Philadelphia, Catit in Tel Aviv, and Michelin-starred Madrona Manor in Sonoma County. Zach’s time growing up in a Jewish household as the son of a rabbi and his many trips to Israel are the grounding elements of his modern Middle Eastern cooking. He lives close to Galit with his wife, daughter, and dog. (Chicago, IL, US)

Naz Deravian

Bottom of the Pot

http://bottomofthepot.com/

NAZ DERAVIAN is the James Beard Award nominated author of Bottom of the Pot: Persian Recipes and Stories (Flatiron Books). She is the recipient of The IACP Julia Child First Book Award, presented by The Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts. She has been published in The Atlantic, The Los Angeles Times, Saveur, O Magazine, and Montecristo Magazine. She has also been profiled in The New York Times and Bon Appétit, among others. Naz was born in Iran, she grew up in Canada and now lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two children. (Los Angeles, CA)

Marina Senna-Fernandes

MARINA SENNA-FERNANDES is a chef and expert of Macanase cuisine. (Macau, Macau)

Musa Dagdeviren

Owner, Executive Chef

Çiya Sofras

http://www.ciya.com.tr/ @ciyasofrasi

MUSA DAĞDEVIREN was born in Nizip, Gaziantep in 1960 and started working in his uncle’s bakery when he was 5 years old, until 1977, when he moved to Istanbul and he started to work with his uncle as a cook responsible for the wood burning oven. He learned to make kebabs and appetizers in the Istanbul and Gaziantep styles, and developed his experiences on kebab and pide. After more apprenticeship and his military service, he returned to Istanbul and worked as the master cook of kebab and appetizers in a few restaurants, and also worked in a bakery. In 1987 he opened Ciya/Kebap-Lahmacun, and in 1990, Zeynep Caliskan, who would later become his wife, joined the Ciya family. Musa’s experiences and his further researches enriched the kebab menu containing a list of 100 items. He also created the first vegetarian lahmacun and kebab. In 1998 he opened Ciya Sofra, where he created a unique menu with the local food, desserts, and drinks of a vast area. In 2001 he started another kebab restaurant, Ciya Kebap II. In 2005 Musa and Zeynep established Çiya Publishing Company and started to publish a semi-academic quarterly magazine called Food and Culture. They have now published five books and three translated books. In 2018 Netflix’s Emmy Award-winning program Chef’s Table featured Musa in Season 5. His first cookbook in English, The Turkish Cookbook, contains 550 recipes and was published by Phaidon in April 2019. Musa and Zeynep established the Çiya Foundation 10 years ago; it produces research and projects in relation to food and drinks culture. (Istanbul, Turkey)

José Chesa

Ataula

https://www.ataulapdx.com/

JOSÉ CHESA, a Spanish native, grew up cooking alongside his father and grandmother, and began to display his own talent and acute palate at a very early age. It became clear that he had inherited his family’s passion for gastronomic excellence; with this and an undeniable love for his craft, José began traveling the globe, honing his skills at prestigious Michelin-starred restaurants including Arpège, Can Fabes, and Fleur-de-Sel, with mentors such as Alain Passard, Cyril Renauld, Santi Santamaria, Dominique Bouchet, and Nandu Jubany. Portland, Oregon became home for his family and his first restaurant Ataula, which opened in 2013. In early 2016 José and his wife opened their second Spanish restaurant, Chesa, which is dedicated to his father. When he is not delighting guests with his authentic Spanish cuisine, you can find him cheering on FC Barcelona, reading about cars, or spending time with the family and Mason (his dog). In 2014, José was chosen as Portland Monthly’s Chef of the Year, and in 2016 and 2017 he was nominated as a semifinalist for Best Chef Northwest by the James Beard Foundation. (Portland, OR)

Vincent Carvalho

Chef-Instructor

The Culinary Institute of America

https://www.ciachef.edu/vincent-carvalho/

VINCENT CARVALHO is chef-instructor at The Culinary Institute of America. Born in Biarritz, France, perched in the Pyrenees Mountains of southwest France, and just 20 minutes from the border of France and Spain, he experienced the rich culinary traditions of the French Basque region from an early age. Vincent began his culinary journey with his family in a restaurant owned by his uncle. The experience exposed him to the cross-cultural influences of a region that is known for its blend of French and Spanish cuisine, and the Mediterranean Diet lifestyle, rich in vegetables, plants, grains, and limited animal protein consumption. After training in his uncle’s kitchen, Vincent began an apprenticeship at Hotel du Palais, a Leading Hotels of the World property, while also pursuing his other passion, jai alai (the fastest ball game in the world). He played professional jai alai in Europe and the US for two decades. When he retired from the game, he focused his energy on his culinary career. Professional jai alai had landed him in Miami, where he became a chef at the Le Meridien Hotel at Sunny Isles Beach. Vincent was also a chef at the Sheraton and Westin Fort Lauderdale Beach before moving in to the executive sous chef role at The Westin La Cantera Hill Country Resort, then executive chef at the Hilton San Antonio airport, and finally chef at Central Market/HEB, where he had the opportunity to provide meals for the NBA Spurs. (San Antonio, TX)

Floyd Cardoz

Bombay Bread Bar

@floydcardoz @floydcardoz

FLOYD CARDOZ is culinary director of Bombay Canteen and O Pedro in Mumbai, India. A celebrated Indian-American chef in New York, India, and throughout the world, Floyd attended culinary school and began his career in his native Bombay, India, and after studying in Switzerland at Les Roches, he moved to New York City to work under chef Gray Kunz at the venerable Lespinasse. In 1997, Floyd partnered with Union Square Hospitality Group’s Danny Meyer to open Tabla, a contemporary Indian restaurant celebrating his groundbreaking cuisine that married the exotic flavors and spices of his native land with western techniques. He moved on to open North End Grill and White Street in downtown Manhattan and The Bombay Canteen in Mumbai. In the summer of 2016, Floyd opened Paowalla, a casual modern Indian restaurant in New York’s SoHo neighborhood that celebrates his Goan-Indian heritage and showcases his seamless integration of Indian flavors and techniques with local ingredients. Floyd’s first cookbook, One Spice, Two Spice (William Morrow, 2006) includes his favorite recipes while demystifying Indian flavors, and his second cookbook, Floyd Cardoz: Flavorwalla (Artisan) was published in spring 2016. He is a four-time James Beard Award nominee and regularly works with Share our Strength, City Harvest, Careers through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP), and Madison Square Park Conservancy, among others. In 2012, Floyd won Season 3 of Bravo’s Top Chef Masters. (New York, NY)

Ivan Brehm ’05

Nouri

http://nouri.com.sg/

IVAN BREHM ‘07 is the chef-owner of Restaurant Nouri in Singapore. He has worked at some of the best restaurants in the world, including Per Se in New York, Mugaritz in Spain’s Basque Country, and The Fat Duck in Bray, England as development chef in the Fat Duck Experimental Kitchen. With a mixed heritage of Italian, German, Russian, Spanish, Lebanese, Syrian, and Brazilian, Ivan has developed a cuisine as eclectic as his own lineage aimed at challenging notions of identity and authenticity, with the purpose to create a deeper sense of and community in a world that is ever so polarized. His latest project, the research collective Appetite, explores the study of material culture with a focus on food and engages academics, artists, and food practitioners in discourse and artistic exploration. (Singapore)

Shirel Berger ‘14

Opa

https://www.opatlv.co.il/en

SHIREL BERGER ‘14 started to cook at the age of 12. She graduated from The Culinary Institute of America in 2014 and worked in New York City restaurants before going home to Tel Aviv, Israel. When returning there in 2015, Shirel first began to cook exclusively with vegetables, fruits, and seeds. This discovery and experience led her to a new style of cuisine, introducing her to the fine and unique art of cooking with vegetables. This passion led her to open her own restaurant, Opa, in the heart of the Levinsky Market in Tel Aviv in late september 2018. (Tel Aviv, Israel)

Maksut AŞKAR

Neolokal

http://neolokal.com/en

MAKSUT AŞKAR is chef/partner at Neolokal. He studied tourism and hotel management at high school and university, learning both culinary and service management and working in food and beverage industry during and after his studies. This period led him into a passion for taste design and he reflected this passion in various projects. Maksut transformed the tastes he designed into art exhibitions, and consulted and designed events for many important food and beverage brands and entities. He opened his first restaurant in 2007, Multi, where he proved his skills to himself. Then in 2009, another restaurant, Lilbitz, followed, where he served tasting menus changing every 15 days. In 2011, he opened his third restaurant, Sekizistanbul, with the motto “neo local cuisine,” and where he was able to work deeply into his roots, childhood memories, and emotions. After three years of success and 22 years in the industry, he opened up his latest restaurant at the SALT Galata Museum, where he brought Anatolian cuisine into the modern scene. The motto he previously used became the name of the restaurant, Neolokal. With modern takes on Anatolian cuisine, he cooks deeply into the heart of guests who experience Neolokal with refined family cooking of not only Maksut’s childhood and emotions but also the root and traditions within this very geography, where he believes is the real Anatolian cuisine. In 2014, he was awarded Best Chef of The Year by Time Out. In 2015, he was awarded the “Le Proche” prize on the 10th anniversary of Omnivore Paris. He also represents his cuisine and way of thinking at various international events in the world. Neolokal was awarded the 110th best restaurant in the world at the 2019 World’s 50 Best Restaurants Awards. (Istanbul, Turkey)

Ali Saboor

Chef

Sofreh

https://www.sofrehnyc.com/

ALI SABOOR is the chef de cuisine of Sofreh, located in Brooklyn, NY. Ali was born in Iran and grew up in California. He spent his youth in family-owned Persian restaurants, and has since trained and worked throughout the continental United States cooking regional American, Spanish, and Italian cuisine. In 2018, Ali stepped aside from his tenure as corporate executive chef to return to his culinary roots and joined the opening team at Sofreh presenting regional Iranian cuisine in a contemporary setting. (New York, NY)

Nasim Alikhani

Chef

Sofreh

https://www.sofrehnyc.com/

NASIM ALIKHANI is executive chef at Sofreh. (New York, NY)

Einat Admony

Chef

Kish-Kash, Balaboosta

https://www.kishkashnyc.com/

EINAT ADMONY wants Americans to know that Jewish food is more than the heavy, briny Eastern European dishes behind the glass at your typical Jewish deli. If you visit any of her modern Israeli restaurants in New York City, you’re more likely to find fresh, Mediterranean flavors. After spending her childhood outside Tel Aviv, Einat served as a cook in the Israeli Army, spent a few months traveling around Germany, and then landed in New York City to begin her culinary career. She learned quickly in the kitchens of Patria, Bolo, Tabla, and Danube. In 2005, with her husband and business partner Stefan Nafziger, she opened Taïm, a quick-service falafel restaurant in Manhattan’s West Village. They have since opened locations in Nolita and Midtown and have more on the way. In 2010, Einat launched an upscale Mediterranean restaurant, Balaboosta, which translates to a Yiddish term that means the perfect housewife and mother; she’s the fearless emotional character of the family, who makes sure her table is not only full of gorgeous food, but also full of friends, love, and laughter. She wrote a cookbook by the same name in 2013, and in 2014 opened Bar Bolonat, a modern Israeli restaurant that received two stars from The New York Times. In June 2018, Einat opened Kish-Kash, a West Village restaurant where house-made Moroccan-style couscous is the star. (New York, NY)

Jacquelyn Chi

Director for programs and special projects for the Strategic Initiatives Group

The Culinary Institute of America

http://www.ciaprochef.com/strategic/ @jaxiecracks @jaxiecracks

JACQUELYN CHI is director for programs and special projects for the Strategic Initiatives Group at The Culinary Institute of America (CIA). In this role, Jacquelyn supports program planning for the college’s annual thought leadership conferences and initiatives, and oversees the Appetites + Innovation National Leadership Collaborative for Retail Foodservice (A+I). Launched in 2015, A+I aims to advance culinary excellence, health and wellness, sustainability, and cultures of innovation in retail food service. In 2013, Jacquelyn project-managed the CIA’s first mobile app for its flagship Worlds of Flavor® International Conference & Festival, which won the 2013 Cvent Plannie Award for “Best Use of a Mobile App”. Prior to joining the CIA, Jacquelyn earned her master’s degree in international communication from American University, where she researched food as a tool of public diplomacy, and the social construction of authenticity in foreign eating experiences. She has also served as photographer and videographer for a Turkish coffee truck diplomacy project; managed social media for a start-up food company; and worked in a chocolate factory. Jacquelyn holds a bachelor’s degree in radio-television-film from Northwestern University.

Daniel Olivella

Chef-Owner, Barlata

Austin, TX

https://www.barlataaustin.com @BarlataATX @barlataatx

DANIEL OLIVELLA is the chef-owner of Barlata tapas bar in Austin, Texas. A native of Barcelona, he has been cooking in the USA for the past 35 years. Daniel started his career in Chicago at family-owned restaurant La Paella in 1979 as an all-around family member. There, under the supervision of his French-raised uncle, he was trained on traditional French and Spanish service and food preparation. In Chicago he went on to work for the Lettuce Entertain You group, before moving to San Francisco in 1987. There, he worked as a line cook at Delfina, Zuni Café, Zazie, and the Maltese Grill. He went on to become the opening chef of Thirsty Bear Brewing Co. In 1999, Daniel opened his own restaurant, B44 Catalan Bistro, which specialized in Catalan cuisine. He was named a Rising Star Chef of the Year in 2001 by San Francisco Magazine. Daniel opened his first Barlata concept in March 2009 in the Temescal neighborhood of Oakland. In 2013, he moved the Barlata Tapas Bar to the South Lamar district to Austin. His book Catalan Food, was published by Clarkson Potter in September 2018 (Austin, TX)

MARIA GODOY

Editor, NPR’s The Salt

Washington, DC

https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/ @mgodoyh @mgodoyh

MARIA GODOY is a senior editor with NPR’s Science Desk and the host of The Salt, NPR’s food vertical. Maria covers the food beat with a wide lens, investigating everything from the health effects of caffeine consumption to how what we eat defines our cultural and personal identities. With her colleagues on the food team, she’s won a James Beard Award for best food blog, first place in the blog category from the Association of Food Journalists, and a Gracie Award for Outstanding Blog from the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation. Previously, Maria oversaw political, national, and business coverage for NPR.org. Her work as part of NPR reporting teams has been recognized with several awards, including a 2010 Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia University Silver Baton for coverage of race and the 2008 presidential election, and a 2009 DuPont for a series on the sexual abuse of Native American women. Born in Guatemala, Maria now lives in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., with her husband and two kids. (Washington, DC)

Cathy Nash Holley

Editor in Chief and Publisher, Flavor & The Menu

Freeport, ME

https://www.getflavor.com @getflavor @getflavor

CATHY NASH HOLLEY has been publisher and editor-in-chief of Flavor & The Menu since it began nearly 20 years ago. With its annual Top 10 Trends issue, Flavor & The Menu is a valuable resource for the foodservice industry, serving as a source of flavor and menu trends, strategies and innovation. In addition to overseeing the magazine, Cathy gives presentations on flavor trends at industry events, and is immediate past-president of the International Foodservice Editorial Council. She lives in Maine with her teenage twins. (Portland, ME)

Reem Assil

Reem’s

http://reemscalifornia.com @reems133 @reemscalifornia

REEM ASSIL is a Palestinian-Syrian chef based in Oakland, CA. She is the owner of Reem’s California, inspired by her passion for Arab street corner bakeries and the vibrant communities that surround them. She opened an Arab fine dining concept, Dyafa, in partnership with Michelin-award winning chef Daniel Patterson, earning it a place on Bib Gourmand’s List in its first year. Reem has garnered an array of top accolades, including being named a James Beard semifinalist in the Best Chef: West in 2018 and 2019, Thrillist’s 2018 Chef of the Year, San Francisco Magazine’s 2018 Chef of the Year, San Francisco Chronicle’s 2017 Rising Star Chef, and most recently, Star Chefs’ Rising Star Chef 2019. Reem’s California was also named one of Food & Wine’s 2018 Top 10 Restaurants of the Year. Before dedicating herself to a culinary career, Reem worked as a labor and community organizer at SEIU 1877 and East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy (EBASE). She has spent more than a decade training organizers and leaders all over the country with multiple social justice non-profits. Reem worked with Bay Area’s esteemed cooperative bakery Arizmendi Bakery & Pizzeria, Grace Street Catering, Local Flavors, and several local chefs before opening Reem’s. She is a graduate of the competitive food business incubator program, La Cocina, Centro Community Partners, and ICA Fund Good Jobs. (Oakland, CA)

Abraham Conlon ‘01

Fat Rice, Mama's Nuts

http://www.eatfatrice.com/ @AbeConlon @abeconlon

ABRAHAM CONLON ‘01 is chef-owner of Fat Rice, The Bakery at Fat Rice, and the Ladies’ Room. His bold and vibrant global cuisine is a reflection of his Azorean-Portuguese heritage and deep-dive travels where he explores historic foodways and culinary traditions. Together with business partner Adrienne Lo, Abraham opened Fat Rice in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood in 2012. The menu of this acclaimed restaurant explores the varied cuisines of the Portuguese speaking world with an emphasis on Macau, China. There, historic trade-routes enriched heritage recipes that combine techniques and ingredients from Portugal, Brazil, Africa, Malaysia, India, China, and Japan. In 2016, Abraham and Adrienne opened two adjoining concepts at Fat Rice in Chicago, The Bakery at Fat Rice, a daytime café serving Portuguese and Asian Pastries, and The Ladies’ Room, an intimate craft cocktail den inspired by the Chinese gambling halls and red light districts of early 20th century Macau. Also in 2016, they published their cookbook, The Adventures of Fat Rice (Ten Speed Press), which is a compilation of vibrant recipes that showcase Abraham’s take on historic Macanese cuisine during the first two years at Fat Rice. Abraham, Fat Rice, and his adjoining concepts have been recognized with the following honors since opening in 2012: The James Beard Foundation Award Best Chef: Great Lakes 2018, StarChefs: Rising Star 2015, Jean Banchet Award (Chicago) for Restaurant of the Year 2015, Bon Appétit: Hot 10 Best New Restaurants in America 2013 #4, Jean Banchet Award (Chicago): Best New Restaurant 2013, Time Out Chicago: Best New Restaurant 2013, and Michelin Guide: Bib Gourmand (2014 – 2019), to name a few. He frequently travels outside of his home-base of Chicago for consultations, project development, pop-ups, and special events. Most recently after a global culinary tour, he took up residency at Chefs Club in New York (August-October 2018) to further share his unique brand of vibrant global cuisine. (Chicago, US)

Michael Gulotta

Chef-Owner

MOPHO and Maypop; New Orleans, LA

http://mophonola.com/ @MGulottaNO @michaelgulotta

MICHAEL GULOTTA is chef-partner at Maypop and Mopho. Born and raised in New Orleans, Michael began cooking in local restaurants at a young age. After graduating from the Chef John Folse Culinary Institute, he joined the newly opened Restaurant August. Gulotta then took leave to train in the Italian Riviera and Germany’s Black Forest. When Hurricane Katrina hit, Michael returned home to help rebuild and assist with August’s re-opening. He was named chef de cuisine in 2007 and led the award-winning kitchen for six years, while establishing relationships with local farmers and purveyors. He opened his first restaurant, MOPHO, in January of 2014 with his brother, Jeffrey Gulotta, and high-school friend, Jeffrey Bybee. Located in New Orleans’ Mid City, MOPHO strives to be a true neighborhood restaurant and a destination for Southeast Asian-inspired cuisine utilizing the Louisiana pantry. In its first year MOPHO was nominated for America’s Best New Restaurant by Bon Appétit and named Restaurant of the Year by New Orleans Magazine. In 2016 Michael was named one of the Top 30 Chefs to Watch in the nation by Plate, a New Orleans Rising Star by Starchefs, a Best New Chef by Food & Wine, and Chef of the Year by New Orleans Magazine. His team recently opened its second full service restaurant, Maypop, in the Central Business District of New Orleans. Maypop has been named a Top 5 Best New Restaurant by The Times-Picayune, a Best New Restaurant by New Orleans Magazine, a New Orleans top 20 restaurant by Condé Nast Traveler, and most recently made New Orleans’ Top Ten Restaurants for 2019, by Brett Anderson of The Times-Picayune. (New Orleans, LA)

Marie Elena Martinez

Co-Founder and Founder

New Worlder + Meets NY; New York, NY

http://www.marieelenamartinez.com/ @mariesworlds @mariesworld

In 2005, New Worlder co-founder MARIE ELENA MARTINEZ ditched her literary publishing job and bought a ticket to Quito, Ecuador, beginning the journey of a lifetime. Six continents, and over 60 countries later, she began contributing to publications such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Newsday, Condé Nast Traveler, and The Guardian, to name a few. After serving as founding editor of Latina Magazine’s dedicated food site The Latin Kitchen (2012-2104), she left to launch her first brand, Meets NYC, which stages culinary destination showcases that fuse her publicity and marketing background with her love of food, wine, and travel through paired chef dinners, wine events and walk-around tastings. New Worlder, a food and travel site focused on the Americas, soon followed. She also works as a LatAm consultant in the food, travel and event spaces. (Brooklyn, NY)

Sergio Andreu

Chef, La Pepita; Barcelona, Spain

La Pepita

http://www.lapepitabcn.com/ @lapepitabcn

SERGIO ANDREU was born and raised in Alicante, Spain and studied and worked as an industrial designer before dropping out, deciding to turn up his life and dedicating himself professionally to cooking. He studied cooking and pastry at the remarkable Hofmann cooking school in Barcelona, then he moved to Paris to work with Alberto Herráiz at Fogón Restaurant. In 2010, he went back to Barcelona and together with his wife, Sofia Boixet, opened La Pepita, a modern and innovative tapas restaurant that leads them to quickly become a gastronomic reference in Barcelona. In late 2014, they opened their second restaurant, La Cava. (Barcelona, Spain)

Chandra Ram ‘99

Editor, Plate

Chicago, IL

http://www.plateonline.com/ @chandrasplate @chandrasplate

CHANDRA RAM ‘99 is the editor of Plate, an award-winning food magazine read by chefs all over the country. She spent more than 15 years in the restaurant industry as a cook and consulting chef before turning to food writing and editing. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Loyola University Chicago, an associate’s degree in culinary arts from The Culinary Institute of America, and has passed the certificate level of the Court of Master Sommeliers exam. She is a member of Les Dames d’Escoffier, and has won multiple awards for her writing and editing, including eight Jesse H. Neal awards and the McAllister Editorial Fellowship. She is the author of The Complete Indian Instant Pot® Cookbook (Robert Rose) and the co-author of The Eiffel Tower Restaurant Cookbook (Chronicle Books) and Korean BBQ: Master Your Grill in Seven Sauces (Ten Speed Press). (Chicago, IL)

Greg Drescher

Vice President of Strategic Initiatives & Industry Leadership

The Culinary Institute of America

http://www.ciaprochef.com/strategic/ @CIALeadership @ciaindustryleadership

GREG DRESCHER is vice president of strategic initiatives and industry leadership at The Culinary Institute of America (CIA). He oversees the college’s leadership initiatives for the foodservice industry, including academic and other strategic partnerships, conferences, invitational leadership retreats, digital media, and other global initiatives. He is the creator of the college’s Worlds of Flavor International Conference & Festival (now in its 21st year), as well as a portfolio of health and sustainability leadership initiatives including Menus of Change and Healthy Kitchens, Healthy Lives, jointly presented by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health; the Menus of Change University Research Collaborative, co-led by the CIA and Stanford University in association with more than 50-plus leading colleges and universities; and the recently launched annual Global Plant-Forward Culinary Summit and Plant-Forward Kitchen digital media platform. Co-developer of the CIA’s new partnership with the University of Barcelona—the Torribera Mediterranean Center, with its focus on the healthy, traditional Mediterranean Diet and regional food studies—and a strategic advisor to the European-based EAT Foundation, Greg works internationally to advance innovation at the intersection of health, sustainability, culture, and culinary insight. In 2005, Greg was inducted into the James Beard Foundation’s Who’s Who of Food & Beverage in America, and in 2007 and 2009 he shared a second and third James Beard Award for his team’s work in developing the CIA’s Savoring the Best of World Flavors digital media series, filmed on location around the world. He served on the National Academy of Medicine’s Committee on Strategies to Reduce Sodium Intake in the United States (final report 2010). In 2011, he was inducted as a member of the Accademia dei Georgofili, Europe’s oldest agricultural academy based in Florence. In 2017, Foodservice Director included Greg in its 20 People Shaping American Foodservice Today. Before joining the CIA 24 years ago, he jointly spearheaded a collaboration of some of the world’s leading health experts and organizations—including the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and WHO—in authoring the The Mediterranean Diet Pyramid: A Cultural Model for Healthy Eating. The cumulative results of this research were published in a special edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (1995), creating an evidence-based foundation for much of the academic, policy, and media interest in the Mediterranean Diet that followed. (Sacramento, CA)

Anne E. McBride

Worlds of Flavor Program Director

North Plainfield, NJ

http://annemcbride.net @annemcbride @aemcbride

ANNE E. MCBRIDE, PHD is the newly appointed deputy director of the Barcelona-based Torribera Mediterranean Center, a joint initiative of the University of Barcelona and The Culinary Institute of America’s (CIA) recently launched to advance research and education around Mediterranean food, health, and culinary innovation. She also serves as program director for the annual Worlds of Flavor® International Conference & Festival and the Global Plant-Forward Culinary Summit at the CIA. She holds a doctorate degree in food studies from New York University, and focuses her research on the changing role of the chef in the 21st century. Anne has co-authored seven books and regularly writes on topics related to professional and experimental cooking for both academic and consumer audiences, including past contributions to Plate, New Worlder, Bake from Scratch, Roads & Kingdoms, Food Arts, Gastronomica, The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets, Savoring Gotham, the Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, and Food Cultures of the World. She is the director of the Experimental Cuisine Collective at NYU, an interdisciplinary group of more than 2500 scientists, chefs, media, scholars, and food enthusiasts. She also teaches in the food studies departments of NYU and the New School. A native of Switzerland, Anne is the chair of the James Beard Foundation Leadership Awards, a member of the Menus of Change Scientific and Technical Advisory Council, and a past board member of the Association for the Study of Food and Society, New York Women’s Culinary Alliance, and Culinary Trust. She was named to the Heritage Radio Network Hall of Fame in 2019, and is a frequent presenter and moderator at academic and professional conferences around the world. (Barcelona, Spain, and North Plainfield, NJ) @annemcbride

Somer Sivrioglu

Chef-Owner, Efendy and Anason

Sydney, Australia

http://www.efendy.com.au/ @Efendy_balmain @somersivrioglu

SOMER SIVRIOGLU is the chef-owner of Efendy and Anason restaurants in Sydney, Australia and a judge on Master Chef Turkey. He spent the first 25 years of his life in his native Istanbul, Turkey. With a chef as a mother, Somer grew up around kitchens; before moving to Australia to complete his MBA, he worked in corporate hospitality, opening a number of concepts before realizing his own dream, a modern Turkish restaurant, Efendy in 2007. Efendy won a number of prestigious national and local awards in Australia, representing authentic Turkish kitchen with a modern presentation. In 2016, he opened his second concept, Anason, inspired by meyhanes of Istanbul. Anason won the best new restaurant award in Sydney in 2016 and best specialty restaurant award nationwide in 2017. Somer regularly represents Turkey on national media and in many prestigious national and international events. His first cookbook, Anatolia, won the prestigious IACP award for best international cookbook in 2017. (Sydney, Australia)

Worlds of Flavor®

2020 Presenters

2019 Title Sponsors See all 2019 WOF sponsors >>