CHEFS AND OTHER CULINARY EXPERTS
MENTIONED IN KITCHEN CREATIVITY
(Starred names are chefs interviewed by the author.)
Grant Achatz is chef/owner of Alinea in Chicago, which was named number 21 on the 2017 World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. He was named 2008 Outstanding Chef by the James Beard Foundation. | alinearestaurant.com
Albert Adrià is the chef/owner of Tickets in Barcelona, which was named number 25 on the 2017 World’s 50 Best Restaurants list, and he is the former pastry chef of Spain’s elBulli. | ticketsbar.es
Ferran Adrià was the chef/owner of elBulli in Spain, which was named number 1 on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list in 2002 and 2006–2009. | elbulli.com
Andoni Luis Aduriz is the chef/owner of Mugaritz in San Sebastien, Spain, which was named number 9 on the 2017 World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. | mugaritz.com
*José Andrés is the founding chef/owner of ThinkFoodGroup, based in Washington, D.C., whose more than two dozen restaurants include the Bazaar, Beefsteak, China Chilcano, Jaleo, minibar by José Andrés, Oyamel, and Zaytinya. He was named 2011 Outstanding Chef by the James Beard Foundation, and one of Time’s “100 Most Influential People” of 2012. | joseandres.com | thinkfoodgroup.com
Dominique Ansel is the chef/owner of Dominique Ansel Bakery in New York, London, and Tokyo, and was named the 2014 Outstanding Pastry Chef by the James Beard Foundation. He is the author of Dominique Ansel: The Secret Recipes. | dominiqueansel.com
*Michael Anthony is the executive chef of Gramercy Tavern and Untitled in New York City. He was named the 2015 Outstanding Chef by the James Beard Foundation, which also named him 2012 Best Chef: New York City. He is the author of The Gramercy Tavern Cookbook and V Is for Vegetables. | gramercytavern.com
Alex Atala is the chef/owner of D.O.M. in Sao Paulo, Brazil, which was named number 16 on the 2017 World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. | domrestaurante.com.br
*Marc Aumont is the pastry chef at Gabriel Kreuther and Kreuther Handcrafted Chocolate in New York City. He previously served as pastry chef at the Modern, Compass, and Bouley Bakery. | gabrielkreuther.com | kreutherchocolate.com
*Damon Baehrel is the chef/owner of Damon Baehrel restaurant in Earlton, New York, which was cited by The New Yorker as the most exclusive restaurant in America. The 10-year waiting list to experience its five-hour menu was the subject of an answer on Jeopardy. He is the author of Native Harvest: The Inspirational Cuisine of Damon Baehrel. | damonbaehrel.com
*Dan Barber is the chef/owner of Blue Hill in New York City and Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Pocantico Hills, New York, which was named number 11 on the 2017 World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. He was named 2009 Outstanding Chef by the James Beard Foundation, which named Blue Hill at Stone Barns the 2015 Outstanding Restaurant. He is the author of The Third Plate: Field Notes from the Future of Food. | bluehillfarm.com
Lidia Bastianich is the chef/owner of Felidia in New York City. She was named the 2002 Outstanding Chef by the James Beard Foundation. | felidia-nyc.com
*Christopher Bates, M.S., is the chef/owner of FLX Wienery in Dundee and FLX Table in Geneva, and co-founder of Element Winery in Arkport, all in the Finger Lakes region of New York. He was named a 2016 Food & Wine Sommelier of the Year. | flxtable.com | flxwienery.com | elementwinery.com
*Rick Bayless is the chef/owner of Frontera Grill and Topolobampo, both based in Chicago. He was named 1991 Best Chef: Midwest and 1995 Outstanding Chef by the James Beard Foundation, which also honored as Outstanding Restaurant both Frontera Grill (2007) and Topolobampo (2017). He is the host of PBS’s Mexico: One Plate at a Time, and author of several cookbooks including Authentic Mexican. | rickbayless.com
Emma Bengtsson is the chef at the Michelin two-star Aquavit in New York City, where she previously served as the restaurant’s executive pastry chef. | aquavit.org
*Rick Billings is the director of research and development and pastry chef at José Andrés’s ThinkFoodGroup, based in Washington, D.C. | thinkfoodgroup.com
April Bloomfield is the chef/owner of the Spotted Pig in New York City. She was named 2014 Best Chef: New York City by the James Beard Foundation. | thespottedpig.com
*Aaron Bludorn is the executive chef of Café Boulud in New York City, where he worked his way up through the ranks. He previously cooked with chef Douglas Keane at Sonoma’s Michelin-starred Cyrus restaurant. | cafeboulud.com/nyc
About the Experts419
Heston Blumenthal is the chef/owner of several restaurants, including the Fat Duck and Dinner by Heston Blumenthal in England. The latter was ranked number 36 on the 2017 World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. | thefatduck.co.uk | dinnerbyheston.com
Massimo Bottura is the chef/owner of Osteria Francescana in Italy, which was named number 1 on the 2016 World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. | osteriafrancescana.it
David Bouley has been the chef/owner of multiple restaurants in New York City including Bouley, which he closed in 2017. Bouley was named the 2000 Outstanding Chef by the James Beard Foundation, while his eponymous restaurant was named Outstanding Restaurant in 1991. | davidbouley.com
*Daniel Boulud is the chef/owner of the Dinex Group based in New York City, whose restaurants globally include Bar Boulud, Boulud Sud, Café Boulud, Daniel, and DB Bistro Moderne. His James Beard Foundation honors include 1994 Outstanding Chef, 2006 Outstanding Restaurateur, 2009 Outstanding Service, and 2010 Outstanding Restaurant. | danielboulud.com
Michel Bras and his son Sébastian Bras are the chefs/owners of the Michelin three-star restaurant Bras in Laguiole, France. | bras.fr
*Terrance Brennan is the chef of Roundhouse in Beacon, New York. He previously served as chef/owner of Picholine in New York City, which earned four stars from New York, three stars from the New York Times, and two Michelin stars. | terrancebrennan.com | roundhousebeacon.com
Sean Brock is the chef/owner of Husk and McCrady’s in Charleston, South Carolina. He was named 2010 Best Chef: Southeast by the James Beard Foundation. | huskrestaurant.com
Jonathan Brooks is the chef of Milktooth in Indianapolis. He was named a semifinalist for Best Chef: Great Lakes by the James Beard Foundation in 2016 and 2017. | milktoothindy.com
*Jean François Bruel is the executive chef of Daniel in New York City, which was named number 8 on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list during his tenure. | danielboulud.com
David Chang is the chef/owner of several restaurants globally, including Momofuku Ko in New York City, which was ranked number 58 on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. | momofuku.com
Roy Choi is the co-chef/co-owner of LocoL in Los Angeles and Oakland, California. LocoL was named Restaurant of the Year by Pulitzer Prize–winning restaurant critic Jonathan Gold of the Los Angeles Times. | welocol.com
*Amanda Cohen is the chef/owner of Dirt Candy in New York City, the first vegetarian restaurant in 17 years to receive a two-star review from the New York Times, and of Thyme at Newark Airport in New Jersey. She was the first vegetarian chef to compete on Iron Chef America and her cookbook, Dirt Candy, is the first graphic novel cookbook to be published in North America. | dirtcandy.com
Tom Colicchio is the chef/owner of multiple restaurants including Craft and Riverpark in New York City. He was named 2010 Outstanding Chef by the James Beard Foundation. | craftedhospitality.com
*Kyle Connaughton is the chef/owner (with his wife, farmer Katina Connaughton) of Single Thread in Healdsburg, California, which was the first restaurant in history to earn a four-star rating from the San Francisco Chronicle upon its opening. | singlethreadfarms.com
Dominique Crenn is the chef/owner of the Michelin two-star Atelier Crenn in San Francisco, which was named number 83 on the 2017 World’s Best Restaurants list, which also named her the 2016 World’s Best Female Chef. Crenn was named a finalist for 2017 Best Chef: West by the James Beard Foundation. | ateliercrenn.com
*Derrick Davenport was named the Armed Forces Chef of the Year in 2013, and as senior chief and executive chef of the U.S. Navy, he went on to be named Chef of the Year by the American Culinary Federation in 2015.
*Vinny Dotolo is the co-chef/co-owner (with Jon Shook) of Animal (which was nominated for 2009 Best New Restaurant by the James Beard Foundation), Son of a Gun, and Jon & Vinny’s, and co-owner of Petit Trois, Trois Familia, and Trois Mec, all in Los Angeles. The duo was named 2016 Best Chef: West by the James Beard Foundation. | animalrestaurant.com | jonandvinnys.com
Alain Ducasse is the chef/owner of Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athénée in Paris, which was named the number 13 World’s Best Restaurant in 2017. | alain-ducasse.com
*Curtis Duffy is the chef/owner of Grace in Chicago, which was awarded three Michelin stars and four stars from the Chicago Tribune, which declared it the city’s number-two best restaurant in 2017. Duffy was named 2016 Best Chef: Great Lakes by the James Beard Foundation. His life is the subject of the documentary film For Grace by Kevin Pang and Mark Helenowski. | grace-restaurant.com
Jeremy Faber is the proprietor of Foraged & Found Edibles in Seattle. | foragedandfoundedibles.com
*Brad Farmerie is the executive chef/owner of Saxon + Parole in New York City and Moscow. He served as chef/partner, with the design team AvroKO, of Public, which won two James Beard Foundation awards and a Michelin star. After winning a 2009 Iron Chef America battle, Farmerie created the inflight menu for JetBlue’s Mint experience. | saxonandparole.com
*Phillip Foss is the chef/owner of EL Ideas in Chicago, which he self-describes as “the most unlikely of Michelin-starred restaurants” yet indeed holds a Michelin star. The Chicago Tribune awarded Foss’s “mad-genius cooking” three stars, and Eater.com declared “No chef in America cooks dinner quite like Phillip Foss.” | elideas.com
*D’Anthony Foster is the pastry chef of the Point in Saranac Lake, New York. He previously held positions at the Relais & Chateaux–affiliated properties Hotel Fauchere in Milford, Pennsylvania, and the Inn at Dos Brisos in Texas. | thepointsaranac.com
*Jeremy Fox is the executive chef at Rustic Canyon in Santa Monica, California. He was previously the executive chef at Ubuntu in Napa, where he earned a Michelin star. He has been nominated several times as Best Chef: West by the James Beard Foundation, including in 2017, and is the author of On Vegetables. | rusticcanyonwinebar.com
*Meg Galus is the executive pastry chef of Boka, Momotaro, and Swift & Sons in Chicago. She was a finalist for the 2016 Outstanding Pastry Chef award from the James Beard Foundation. | bokachicago.com
*Ruben Garcia is the culinary creative director of ThinkFoodGroup, based in Washington, D.C., where he serves on chef José Andrés’s team for creative projects including television programming and cookbooks. He previously spent five years working with Ferran and Albert Adrià at elBulli in Spain. | thinkfoodgroup.com
Gunnar Gíslason is the chef of Agern in New York City, which earned three stars from the New York Times. He is the author of North: The New Nordic Cuisine of Iceland. | agernrestaurant.com
*Spike Gjerde is a local-food advocate and chef/owner of Woodberry Kitchen (named one of the Best Restaurants in America via the Eater.com 38, 2015–2017), Artifact Coffee, Bird in Hand, and Parts & Labor, all in Baltimore, and A Rake’s Progress in Washington, D.C. In 2015, Gjerde became the first and only Baltimore chef to be named Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic by the James Beard Foundation. | woodberrykitchen.com
*Della Gossett is the pastry chef of Spago in Beverly Hills. She previously spent a decade as pastry chef of Chicago’s Charlie Trotter’s, and also completed stints in Spain with Ferran Adria and master confectioner Ramon Morato. After earning a B.A. in arts education and painting at the University of Illinois/Champaign-Urbana, she worked in pastry for six years at Trio in Evanston, Illinois. | wolfgangpuck.com/dining/spago
Sarah Grueneberg is the chef/owner of Monteverde in Chicago. She was named 2017 Best Chef: Great Lakes by the James Beard Foundation, after her first nomination. | chefsarahjayne.com | monteverdechicago.com
Will Guidara is the partner (of chef Daniel Humm) in Eleven Madison Park in New York City, which was ranked number 1 on the 2017 World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. | elevenmadisonpark.com
*Karen Hatfield is the pastry chef and co-owner (with Quinn Hatfield) of Odys + Penelope and Sycamore Kitchen in Los Angeles. She honed her skills under Sherry Yard at Spago, where she also met her husband, Quinn, and at Café Boulud, Gramercy Tavern, and Jean Georges. The couple’s previous restaurant, Hatfield’s, was named a best new restaurant by Bon Appétit and won a perfect four-star review from the Los Angeles magazine. | odysandpenelope.com
*Quinn Hatfield is the chef and co-owner (with Karen Hatfield) of Odys + Penelope and Sycamore Kitchen in Los Angeles. He previously cooked at Spago, where he also met his wife, Karen, and in New York at Bouley, Jean Georges, and Union Pacific. The couple’s previous restaurant, Hatfield’s, was named one of the top 10 restaurants of the decade by the Los Angeles Zagat Survey. | odysandpenelope.com
Brooks Headley is the chef/owner of Superiority Burger in New York City, which was named a semifinalist for 2016 Best New Restaurant by the James Beard Foundation. While the executive pastry chef at Del Posto, he was named 2013 Outstanding Pastry Chef by the James Beard Foundation. | superiorityburger.com
John Hong is the chef de cuisine of the Restaurant at Meadowood in St. Helena, California, which was ranked number 84 on the 2017 World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. | therestaurantatmeadowood.com
*Katianna Hong is the executive chef of the Charter Oak in St. Helena, California, and was previously chef de cuisine at the Restaurant at Meadowood in St. Helena, California—the only female chef de cuisine of a U.S. Michelin three-star restaurant. | thecharteroak.com
Chad Houser is the chef of Café Momentum in Dallas. | cafemomentum.org
Daniel Humm is the executive chef/partner (with Will Guidara) of Eleven Madison Park in New York City, which was ranked number 1 on the 2017 World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. | elevenmadisonpark.com
*Trevin Hutchins is the drink designer and beverage manager at Tempo Dulu at the Danforth Inn in Portland, Maine, and of Natalie’s at the Camden Harbour Inn in Camden, Maine. | tempodulu.restaurant | camdenharbourinn.com
*Stephanie Izard is the chef/owner of Girl & the Goat in Chicago. She was the first female winner of Top Chef (season 4), and was named the 2013 Best Chef: Great Lakes by the James Beard Foundation. | girlandthegoat.com
Kate Jacoby is the pastry chef and co-owner (with Rich Landau) of Vedge and V Street in Philadelphia. | vedgerestaurant.com | vstreetfood.com
*Scot Jones is the executive chef of Crossroads in Los Angeles. He was previously the executive chef at Vegiterranean in Akron, Ohio, a vegan restaurant concept conceived by musician Chrissie Hynde (The Pretenders) and Chef Tal Ronnen. | crossroadskitchen.com
*Cameron Karger is the general manager of the Point resort in Saranac Lake, New York. He previously served as a manager of the Inn at Dos Brisas in Washington, Texas, where he launched an in-house cheesemaking program, and assistant winemaker for Mark Aubert. | thepointsaranac.com
*Gavin Kaysen is the executive chef/owner of Spoon and Stable in Minneapolis and Bellecour in Wayzata, Minneapolis. He previously served as executive chef and director of culinary operations at Café Boulud in New York City, Palm Beach, and Toronto. | spoonandstable.com
Thomas Keller is the chef/owner of the French Laundry in Yountville, California (which was named number 1 on the World’s 50 Best list in 2003 and 2004), and Per Se in New York City. He was named 1997 Outstanding Chef by the James Beard Foundation. | thomaskeller.com
*Matthew Kenney is the chef/owner of Plant Food and Wine in Los Angeles. | matthewkenneycuisine.com
*James Kent was the executive chef at Eleven Madison Park who was named opening chef de cuisine of the NoMad in New York City, which was named to the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list during his tenure. | elevenmadisonpark.com | thenomadhotel.com/dining
Beverly Kim and Johnny Clark are co-chefs/owners of Parachute in Chicago. They were named finalists for 2017 Best Chef: Great Lakes by the James Beard Foundation. | parachuterestaurant.com
David Kinch is the chef/owner of Manresa in Los Gatos, California. He was named a finalist for 2017 Outstanding Chef by the James Beard Foundation. | manresarestaurant.com
Eric Klein is the executive chef, vice president, and partner at Wolfgang Puck Catering based in Beverly Hills, and the former chef of Spago in Las Vegas. | summer.wolfgangpuck.com
Jessica Koslow is the chef/owner of Sqirl in Los Angeles, and the author of Everything I Want to Eat: Sqirl and the New California Cooking. | sqirlla.com
Christopher Kostow is the executive chef of the Restaurant at Meadowood in St. Helena, California, which was ranked number 84 on the 2017 World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. He was named 2013 Best Chef: West by the James Beard Foundation, which also named him a finalist for 2017 Outstanding Chef. | therestaurantatmeadowood.com
*Gabriel Kreuther is the chef/owner of Gabriel Kreuther in New York City, which earned three stars from the New York Times and was named one of the 10 best new restaurants in the world for 2016 by the Robb Report and one of America’s 10 Best Restaurants by The Daily Meal. He was named the 2009 Best Chef: New York by the James Beard Foundation while executive chef of the Modern at the Museum of Modern Art. | gknyc.com
*Chris Kurth is the farmer/owner of Siena Farms in Sudbury and Concord, Massachusetts, which provides more than 100 varieties of vegetables to his wife chef Ana Sortun’s Cambridge restaurants and beyond. | sienafarms.com
Jeong Kwan is a Zen Buddhist nun based in the Chunjinam Hermitage at the Baegyangsa temple in South Korea, and was featured on the first episode of season 3 of the Netflix series Chef’s Table.
Rich Landau is the chef and co-owner (with Kate Jacoby) of Vedge and V Street in Philadelphia. He was named a finalist several times for Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic by the James Beard Foundation, including in 2017. | vedgerestaurant.com | vstreetfood.com
*Jessica Largey is the chef/partner at Simone in Los Angeles. She was previously chef at Manresa in Los Gatos, California, which was named number 90 on the World’s Best Restaurants list in 2017.
Soren Ledet is the restaurant manager and co-owner (with chef Rasmus Kofoed) of Geranium in Copenhagen. | geranium.dk
Corey Lee is the chef/owner of Benu and Monsieur Benjamin, and chef/partner of In Situ in San Francisco. Benu was ranked number 67 on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. Lee was named 2017 Best Chef: West by the James Beard Foundation. | benusf.com
Ludo Lefebvre is the chef/partner (with Vinny Dotolo and Jon Shook) in Trois Mec and Petit Trois in Los Angeles, and has been described by the Los Angeles Times’ Jonathan Gold as “probably the buzziest chef in a city filled with buzzy chefs, the telegenic inventor of the pop-up restaurant.” | troismec.com | petittrois.com
*Loic Leperlier is the executive chef of the Point in Saranac Lake, New York. He previously served as chef de cuisine at the Relais & Chateaux–affiliated property Hotel Fauchere in Milford, Pennsylvania. | thepointsaranac.com
*Eddy Leroux is the chef de cuisine of Daniel in New York City. He is the coauthor with Tama Matsuoka Wong of Foraged Flavor: Finding Fabulous Ingredients in Your Backyard or Farmers’ Market. | danielnyc.com
*David Levi is the chef/owner of Vinland in Portland, Maine, the self-described “first restaurant in the United States to serve 100 percent local, organic food,” which London’s Financial Times characterized as “a serious star.” | vinland.me
*Mark Levy is the executive chef of Magdalena at the Ivy Hotel in Baltimore, and previously held the same position at the Point in Saranac Lake, New York. | theivybaltimore.com | magdalenarestaurant.com
*Anita Lo is the founding chef/owner of Annisa in New York City, which earned three stars from the New York Times before closing in 2017. She was named a finalist multiple times for Best Chef: New York City by the James Beard Foundation, including in 2017.
*Michael Lomonaco is the chef/owner of Porter House Bar and Grill in New York City. | porterhousenyc.com
*Chris Long is the co-chef (with Shelby Stevens) of Natalie’s at the Camden Harbour Inn in Camden, Maine. An alum of the kitchen at Chicago’s Charlie Trotter’s, he was named the 2013 Maine Lobster Chef of the Year. | camdenharbourinn.com | nataliesrestaurant.com
*Emily Luchetti is the pastry chef of the Cavalier, Marlowe, and Park Tavern in San Francisco. She was named 2004 Outstanding Pastry Chef by the James Beard Foundation, which elected her chairman of its board of trustees in 2012. | emilyluchetti.com | thecavaliersf.com | marlowesf.com
Barbara Lynch is the chef/owner of Menton in Boston. She was named 2003 Best Chef: Northeast and 2014 Outstanding Restaurateur by the James Beard Foundation, only the second woman to be so honored with the latter. | barbaralynch.com
*Taiesha Martin is the executive pastry chef of Glenmere Mansion in Chester, New York. An alumna of Johnson & Wales, she previously worked in the kitchens of Aureole, David Burke Townhouse, Fleur de Sel, and Toqueville, and cooked at the James Beard House in 2014. | glenmeremansion.com
Ignacio Mattos is the chef/owner of Estela in New York City, which was ranked number 44 on the 2016 World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. Mattos was named a finalist for 2017 Best Chef: New York City by the James Beard Foundation. | estelanyc.com
Jacques Maximin is the long-time chef of Le Chantecler at the Hotel Negresco in Nice, France, and a restaurant consultant. | jacquesmaximin.com
Claus Meyer is the founding owner of Noma in Copenhagen, which was number 1 on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2014. | meyersmad.dk/om-meyers/claus-meyer
Danny Meyer is the owner of Shake Shack and the Union Square Hospitality Group, headquartered in New York City. | shakeshack.com | ushgnyc.com
*Mark Miller is the founding chef/owner of Coyote Café in Santa Fe, where he was named 1993 Best Chef: Southwest by the James Beard Foundation. | coyotecafe.com
*Isa Chandra Moskowitz is the chef/owner of Modern Love in Omaha and Brooklyn, whose bestselling books include Veganomicon and Isa Does It. | modernloveomaha.com | modernlovebrooklyn.com
*Carrie Nahabedian is the chef/owner of Naha and Brindille in Chicago. She was named 2008 Best Chef: Great Lakes and a semifinalist for 2017 Outstanding Chef by the James Beard Foundation. | naha-chicago.com | brindille-chicago.com
Dahlia Narvaez is the executive pastry chef of Osteria Mozza and Pizzeria Mozza in Los Angeles. She was named 2016 Outstanding Pastry Chef by the James Beard Foundation. | osteriamozza.com | pizzeriamozza.com
Michel Nischan is the founder of Wholesome Wave, and was named 2015 Humanitarian of the Year by the James Beard Foundation. | chefnischan.com
*Patrick O’Connell is the chef/owner of the Inn at Little Washington in Washington, Virginia. He was named 2001 Outstanding Chef by the James Beard Foundation, which named the Inn at Little Washington the 1993 Outstanding Restaurant. He is the author of The Inn at Little Washington Cookbook, Patrick O’Connell’s Refined American Cuisine, and The Inn at Little Washington: A Magnificent Obsession. | theinnatlittlewashington.com
*Ghaya Oliveira is the executive pastry chef of Daniel in New York City. She was named 2017 Outstanding Pastry Chef by the James Beard Foundation. A native of Tunisia, she trained as a ballerina and is a former stock trader. | danielnyc.com
Paul Pairet is the chef/owner of Ultraviolet in Shanghai. It was named number 41 on the 2017 World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. | paulpairet.com
*Andres Padilla is the chef de cuisine of Topolobampo in Chicago, which was named the 2017 Outstanding Restaurant by the James Beard Foundation. | rickbayless.com/restaurants/topolobampo
Alain Passard is the chef/owner of Arpège in Paris, which is number 12 on the 2017 World’s 50 Best Restaurants list and has held three Michelin stars for more than two decades. | alain-passard.com
Daniel Patterson is the founding chef of Coi in San Francisco and LocoL in Oakland and Los Angeles. He was named 2014 Best Chef: California by the James Beard Foundation, and LocoL was named 2017 Restaurant of the Year by Pulitzer Prize–winning restaurant critic Jonathan Gold of the Los Angeles Times. | dpgrp.co
*Jacques Pépin is the author of many culinary books, including Heart and Soul in the Kitchen, New Complete Techniques, and A Grandfather’s Lessons: In the Kitchen with Shorey. He is the host of Heart and Soul on KQED/PBS. | ww2.kqed.org/jpepinheart
Janice Provost is the executive chef/owner of Parigi and the cofounder of Café Momentum in Dallas. | parigidallas.com
Wolfgang Puck is the chef/owner of Spago in Beverly Hills. He was named the 1991 and 1998 Outstanding Chef by the James Beard Foundation. | wolfgangpuck.com
*Joe Raffa is the executive chef of
José Andrés’s ThinkFoodGroup, based in Washington, D.C. | thinkfoodgroup.com
René Redzepi is the chef/owner of Noma in Copenhagen, which was ranked number 1 on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2014. | noma.dk
*Eric Ripert is the chef/owner of Le Bernardin in New York City, which was number 17 on the 2017 World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. He was named 2003 Outstanding Chef by the James Beard Foundation, which also named Le Bernardin the 1998 Outstanding Restaurant. | le-bernardin.com
Joël Robuchon is the chef/owner of several acclaimed restaurants globally, and was named Chef of the Century by the Gault-Millau guide in 1989. | joel-robuchon.com
Joan Roca is a chef/owner of El Celler de Can Roca in Catalonia, Spain, which was twice ranked number 1 on the World’s 50 Best list, which ranked it number 3 in 2017. | cellarcanroca.com
*Tal Ronnen is the founder and chef/owner of Crossroads in Los Angeles. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Conscious Cook as well as the Crossroads cookbook. | crossroadskitchen.com
*Marcus Samuelsson is the chef/owner of Red Rooster, Ginny’s Supper Club, and Streetbird in Harlem, New York, and other restaurants in Sweden, Finland, Norway, Bermuda, and London. He was named 1999 Rising Star Chef and 2003 Best Chef: New York City by the James Beard Foundation, which also honored his books The Soul of a New Cuisine and Yes, Chef. | marcussamuelsson.com
*Damian Sansonetti is the chef/owner of Piccolo in Portland, Maine, where his wife, Ilma Lopez, is the pastry chef. Previously, he was the chef de cuisine at Daniel Boulud’s Bar Boulud in New York City. | piccolomaine.com
*Audrey Saunders is a legendary mixologist and the owner of the Pegu Club in New York City, whose opening has been credited with kick-starting the cocktail renaissance. | peguclub.com
*Michael Scelfo is the chef/owner of Alden & Harlow, Waypoint, and Longfellow in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Scelfo was named 2017 Best Chef/General Excellence by Boston magazine, which also named Alden & Harlow Boston’s Best Restaurant of 2016 in the category of General Excellence. | aldenharlow.com
*Lior Lev Sercarz is the owner of La Boîte in New York City. He was previously part of the kitchen team as sous chef at Daniel Boulud’s Restaurant Daniel. Sercarz is the author of The Art of Blending and The Spice Companion. | laboiteny.com
Alon Shaya is the chef/owner of Domenica and Shaya in New Orleans. He was named the 2015 Best Chef: South by the James Beard Foundation. | shayarestaurant.com
*Jon Shook is the co-chef/co-owner (with Vinny Dotolo) of Animal (which was nominated for 2009 Best New Restaurant by the James Beard Foundation), Son of a Gun, Jon & Vinny’s, Petit Trois, Trois Familia, and Trois Mec in Los Angeles. The duo was named 2016 Best Chef: West by the James Beard Foundation.| animalrestaurant.com | jonandvinnys.com
*Nancy Silverton is the chef/owner of Osteria Mozza, Pizzeria Mozza, and Chi Spacca in Los Angeles. She was named 1991 Outstanding Pastry Chef and 2014 Outstanding Chef by the James Beard Foundation, which named her previous restaurant, Campanile, 2001 Outstanding Restaurant. Her cookbooks include the Mozza Cookbook, Mozza at Home, and Nancy Silverton’s Breads from the La Brea Bakery. | la.pizzeriamozza.com | osteriamozza.com
*Joshua Skenes is the chef/co-owner (with wine director Mark Bright) of Saison in San Francisco, which was named number 37 on the 2017 World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. He has been named a semifinalist multiple times for Best Chef: West by the James Beard Foundation. A Relais & Chateaux property, Saison holds four stars from the San Francisco Chronicle. | saisonsf.com
Michael Solomonov is the chef/owner of Zahav in Philadelphia. He was named 2017 Outstanding Chef by the James Beard Foundation, which also named his 2016 cookbook, Zahav, Cookbook of the Year. | zahavrestaurant.com
André Soltner is the founding chef/owner of Lutèce in New York City, which held four stars from the New York Times for decades. He received the 1993 Lifetime Achievement Award from the James Beard Foundation.
*Annie Somerville is the executive chef of Greens in San Francisco, where she trained under founding chef Deborah Madison before being named to her position in 1985. She is also author of the books Everyday Greens and Field of Greens. | greensrestaurant.com
*Ana Sortun is the chef/owner of Oleana, Sarma, and Sofra in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She was named the 2005 Best Chef: Northeast by the James Beard Foundation, which has also named her a semifinalist for its Outstanding Chef award multiple times. | oleanarestaurant.com
*Susan Spicer is the chef/owner of Bayona and Mondo in New Orleans. She was named the 1993 Best Chef: Southeast by the James Beard Foundation. | bayona.com | mondoneworleans.com
*Shelby Stevens is the co-chef (with Chris Long) of Natalie’s at the Camden Harbour Inn in Camden, Maine. She is an alum of the kitchens at San Francisco’s Coi and Manhattan’s Restaurant Daniel. | camdenharbourinn.com | nataliesrestaurant.com
*Vikram Sunderam is the executive chef of two Rasika restaurants and the Indian street-food restaurant Bindaas in Washington, D.C. He was named the 2014 Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic by the James Beard Foundation. Sunderam is the coauthor of the 2017 cookbook Rasika: Flavors of India. | rasikarestaurant.com
*Travis Swikard is the executive chef of Boulud Sud in New York City. He started with Daniel Boulud’s Dinex Group as part of Gavin Kaysen’s team at Café Boulud before being named executive sous chef at Boulud Sud. | bouludsud.com
*Bill Telepan is the chef of Oceana in New York City, and also serves as executive chef of Wellness in the Schools based in New York City. | oceanarestaurant.com | wellnessintheschools.org
*Gunnar Thompson is the executive chef of Glenmere Mansion in Chester, New York. He formerly served as executive chef of Erna’s Elderberry House at Chateau de Sureau in Yosemite, California, where he was designated a Relais & Chateaux “Grand Chef.” He previously cooked at La Pyramide in Vienne, France. | glenmeremansion.com
*Hasty Torres is a chocolatier who created and owned Madame Chocolat in Beverly Hills. She teamed up with Jacques Torres to serve as opening chef of his 8,000-square-foot chocolate factory and boutique in SoHo at Jacques Torres Chocolate, based in New York City. | mrchocolate.com
*Jacques Torres is the chocolatier/owner of Jacques Torres Chocolate, based in New York City. He won the 1994 Outstanding Pastry Chef award from the James Beard Foundation, in recognition of his term as executive pastry chef at Le Cirque. In 2016, he was named a French Chevalier of the Legion of Honor, the highest decoration in France, at the French Consulate in New York City. | mrchocolate.com
Christina Tosi is the pastry chef/owner of Momofuku Milk Bar in New York City. She won the 2012 Rising Star Chef and the 2015 Outstanding Pastry Chef awards from the James Beard Foundation. | milkbarstore.com
*Michael Tusk is the chef/owner of Quince in San Francisco, a Relais & Chateaux property that holds four stars from the San Francisco Chronicle. He was named the 2011 Best Chef: Pacific by the James Beard Foundation, which also named Quince a 2017 finalist for Outstanding Restaurant. | quincerestaurant.com
*Norman Van Aken is the chef/owner of 1921 by Norman Van Aken in Florida. He was named the 1997 Best Chef: Southeast by the James Beard Foundation. | 1921nva.com
*Michael Voltaggio is the chef/owner of ink, ink.sack, and ink.well in Los Angeles. He won season 6 of TV’s Top Chef, and is the coauthor (with chef Bryan Voltaggio) of the cookbook VOLT ink: Recipes, Stories, Brothers. | mvink.com
Melissa Weller is the baker/partner in Sadelle’s in New York City. She was named a 2016 semifinalist for Outstanding Baker by the James Beard Foundation. | sadelles.com
William Werner is the pastry chef/owner of Craftsman and Wolves in San Francisco. He was named a finalist for 2016 Outstanding Pastry Chef by the James Beard Foundation. | craftsman-wolves.com
Blaine Wetzel is the head chef of Willows Inn on Lummi Island, Washington, where he was named 2015 Best Chef: Northwest by the James Beard Foundation. Wetzel is the author of Sea and Smoke: Flavors from the Untamed Pacific Northwest. | willows-inn.com
*Lee Wolen is the chef of Boka in Chicago, which earned four stars from Chicago magazine, three stars from the Chicago Tribune, and a Michelin star. He was named 2014 Chef of the Year by the Chicago Tribune and Eater.com, and has been nominated multiple times for Best Chef: Great Lakes by the James Beard Foundation, including in 2016 and 2017. | bokachicago.com
Sherry Yard serves as chief operating officer of Tuck Hospitality Group—Restaurant Division of iPic Entertainment, where she leads culinary innovation for restaurants including the Tuck Room Tavern in New York City. | thehelmsbakery.com