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2008 Meet the Chefs
Special Guest
Alton Brown
Food Simple
Atlanta, Georgia
Alton Brown is a chef, James Beard award-winning cookbook author and television personality. He is creator of the Peabody award-winning Good Eats, a smart and entertaining show on Food Network that blends wit with wisdom, history with pop culture, and science with common cooking sense. Alton not only writes and produces the shows but also stars in each offbeat episode. He is the creator of Feasting on Asphalt; and a regular contributor to Men's Journal and Bon Appétit. www.altonbrown.com
Honored Chef
Darina Allen
Ballymaloe Cookery School County Cork, Ireland
Ireland's most famous cook and a best-selling author, Darina Allen has presented eight series of her cookery program Simply Delicious on television in Ireland. She was honored by the International Association of Culinary Professionals as international cooking teacher of the year and for her Easy Entertaining cookbook. Darina is a leader in the Slow Food movement, and a tireless ambassador for Irish food both at home and abroad. www.cookingisfun.ie
Celebrity Chefs
John Ash
Fetzer Vineyards, Wine & Food Educator
Santa Rosa, California
A perennial favorite at Cooking for Solutions and a staunch advocate for sustainable foods and wine. This internationally recognized chef/educator is credited as the creator of Wine Country Cuisine. He is the award-winning author of three cookbooks including John Ash Cooking One-on-One and Private Lessons in Simple Contemporary Food from a Master Teacher. www.chefjohnash.com
Michelle Bernstein
Michy's Restaurant Miami, Florida
Her background as a Jewish-Latino woman has instilled a passion for culture, travel, food and the art of food preparation. She hosts the hit public television series Check, Please! South Florida, defeated Bobby Flay on Iron Chef America, was a Top Chef judge, and co-hosted the Food Network's Melting Pot. Twice a Beard Award nominee as Best Southeastern Chef, she awaits release of her first cookbook. www.restaurantelite.com/miami/ restaurants.html
Stuart Brioza
Rubicon
San Francisco, California
Recognized as a rising star among chefs nationwide, he has developed a unique style of cooking that blends simplicity with seasonal and local foods. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, he worked Chicago's Park Avenue Café and at Savarin with John Hogan and at the legendary Tapawingo in Michigan. www.myriadrestaurantgroup.com
Andrew Brown
White Dog Café Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
A Philadelphia native, his talent with and passion for high-quality, locally produced food earned him his position as Executive Chef of the White Dog Café. This restaurant is a national leader both for its superb cuisine and for its dedication to serving customers, community, employees, and the natural environment. The White Dog Café sources all its produce in season from local organic family farms and sustainable seafood sources. www.whitedogcafe.com
Joël Chenet
Mill Bay Coffee and Pastries Kodiak, Alaska
A native of France, he trained in restaurants on the Continent and in Madagascar. He was chef for French President Valerie Giscard d'Estaing and for the French Consulate in New York, and later sous-chef at the Pierre Hotel in New York. He creates classic pastries for one of the most celebrated coffee roasting companies and bakeries in the United States. www.millbaycoffee.com
Sam Choy
Sam Choy's Diamond Head Restaurant, Sam Choy's Big Aloha Brewery, Sam Choy's Breakfast, Lunch & Crab, all Honolulu, Hawaii; and Sam Choy's, Guam, USA
An award-winning restaurateur, this best-selling cookbook author and TV host has been dubbed Hawaii's culinary ambassador. Through his restaurants and other vehicles, he educates people the world over about the wonderful, diverse cultures and flavors reflected in Hawaiian cuisine. www.samchoy.com
Jim Dodge
Bon Appétit Management Co. Palo Alto, California
A much-honored chef in the United States and Asia, he is considered to be one of the leading influences on contemporary American cuisine. He is the author of the Beard Award-winning cookbook, The American Baker and a contributing editor to Joy of Cooking. www.bamco.com
Clark Frasier and Mark Gaier
Arrows Restaurant/MC Perkins Cove Ogunquit, Maine
Founding chefs of the internationally acclaimed restaurant Arrows Restaurant, they are also authors of The Arrows Cookbook. Arrows was ranked among America's Top 50 restaurants by Gourmet magazine and is celebrated for an innovative menu that reflects many influences and relies on seasonal fresh ingredients. www.arrowsrestaurant.com
Raghavan Iyer
Cookbook author/culinary educator Eden Prairie, Minnesota
A Bombay native, he was named cooking teacher of the year by the International Association of Culinary Professionals and a Beard Award finalist for best international cookbook. He is the author of several books on Indian cooking and co-founder of the Asian Culinary Arts Institutes, Ltd., dedicated to the preservation, understanding and enjoyment of the culinary arts of Asia. www.raghavaniyer.com
Douglas Katz
Fire Cleveland, Ohio
Honored as a rising star of American cuisine, he is founding chef for one of the best new restaurants in the country. He creates a menu of great American cuisine featuring fresh seasonal produce from local farms, and fine meats, fish and specialty foods. www.firefoodanddrink.com
Kristine Kidd
Author/Food Editor, Bon Appétit Magazine
After an early career as a chef and caterer, she taught cooking at UCLA and many Los Angeles cooking schools. She's been a staff member at Bon Appétit Magazine for 25 years, and food editor for the past 20 years. Author of Cookies and Biscotti, Gifts from the Kitchen, Thanksgiving, Risotto, and After Dinner for various Williams-Sonoma cookbook series, she's served on the board of the International Association of Culinary Professionals and judged the Julia Child Cookbook Awards. She's a passionate advocate of sustainable seafood and cuisine. www.bonappetit.com
Rick Moonen
rm seafood Las Vegas, Nevada
An honored chef, seafood specialist and a leading national advocate for the sustainable seafood movement, he brings passion and innovation to his fresh seafood dishes. A featured chef at Cooking for Solutions in 2002 and 2005, he is dedicated to educating about the dangers of overfishing and ocean conservation, and has testified frequently on behalf of environmental and sustainable policy issues in Washington, DC and New York. www.mandalaybay.com
Joan Nathan
Author, The New American Cooking Washington, D.C.
Called the "doyenne of Jewish American food," she is twice a Beard and IACP Award-winning author: of The New American Cooking, which explores the many innovators and innovations that have influenced American food over the past 40 years; and of Jewish Cooking in America. She has written eight other cookbooks and is a regular contributor to the New York Times as well as host of the PBS series Cooking in America with Joan Nathan. www.randomhouse.com/kvpa/nathan/
Michel Nischan
The Dressing Room Fairfield, Connecticut
A renowned chef and Beard Award-winning cookbook author, he is an avid proponent of sustainable farming, local and regional food systems and heritage recipes. He is credited with creating a "cuisine of well being." He partnered with Paul Newman and created The Dressing Room to reflect fundamental values about food, family and community. He is president of Wholesome Wave Foundation, which supports a local, sustainable, culturally-significant food movement. www.michelnischan.com
Nancy Silverton
Chef/Author La Brea Bakery/Mozza, Los Angeles, California
A Beard Award-winning pastry chef and co-founder of La Brea Bakery, she has transformed the way Americans experience bread. Cordon Bleu-trained, she was head pastry chef for Wolfgang Puck's Spago in Beverly Hills before starting La Brea Bakery and opening Campanile Restaurant in Los Angeles. She is author of seven cookbooks, named one of the most influential people in Southern California by the Los Angeles Times, and active in the Garden Schools Project and with Meals-on-Wheels. www.labreabakery.com www.mozza-la.com
Barton Seaver
Hook Washington, DC
A rising star among American chefs, he uses local organic ingredients and focuses on sustainable seafood as he blends Mediterranean simplicity with stylized organic cuisine. He is a leader among his peers in addressing sustainability issues, including solutions to sourcing ingredients and the responsibility of chefs as the trend-setters of fashionable eating. www.hookdc.com
Watch a video of past gala and cooking demos to see why this is an event not to be missed.
Seafood Choices
All Cooking for Solutions events support the Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program, which works to change the seafood market in ways that preserve healthy ecosystems that sustain ocean wildlife.
Watch a
of past gala and cooking demos to see why this is an event not to be missed.
