Ali Banks
Chef
Ali Banks is the research & development chef for Chopt Creative Salad Company in New York City. She studied culinary arts at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris.
Texas 2019
Amy Sins
Chef & restaurateur
Averie Swanson
brewer
Averie Swanson is a master cicerone and gypsy brewer specializing in mixed culture and spontaneous fermentation.
Ben Wenk
fruit farmer
Ben Wenk is a seventh generation fruit farmer, and the founder of Ploughman Cider.
Bob Lesnikoski
farmer, fisherman & forager
Bob Lesnikoski is a cranberry grower and juice producer, commercial squid and scallop fisherman, and mushroom forager. He also serves on the board of Vermont Workinglands Enterprise Initiative.
Caitlin Riley
filmmaker
Caitlin Riley produces video and photo content about food, health, and cannabis. She recently relocated to Denver, Colorado.
Catt Fields White
good food advocate
In 2008 Catt Fields White opened San Diego’s largest market, the Little Italy Mercato. She now manages three regional farmers markets and teaches business skills to farmers and food makers.
Christine Liu
food writer & editor
Formerly the digital executive editor at America’s Test Kitchen, Christine Liu recently made a career move to Harvard Business Publishing.
Clare Langan
chef
Clare Langan an award-winning TV culinary producer and chef specializing in recipe development, styling and product integration for digital and print.
Dafna Kory
jambot & founder of INNA Jam
Dafna Kory makes single-variety fruit jams, pickles and shrubs as founder of INNA Jam.
Elianna Friedman
chef & founder of Bay Leaf Kitchen
Elianna Friedman is the Associate Director for The Advot Project, a nonprofit that empowers youth from disadvantaged backgrounds through theater arts.
Emily Dellas
instructor & owner of First Class Cooking
Emily Dellas runs a cooking school, First Class Cooking. She also works on recipe development at Alpha Food Labs.
Gab Carbone
Ice cream maker & founder of The Bent Spoon
Gab Carbone is co-owner of The Bent Spoon, an artisan ice cream shop in Princeton, NJ. Gab and her team have created more than 550 ice cream flavors.
Julia Poplawsky
butcher
Julia Poplawsky is a whole animal butcher and co-founder of the Central Texas Meat Collective.
Kathryn Tomajan
olive oil maker | founder & director of Eat Retreat
Kathryn Tomajan farms three acres of olives in Sunol, California. She is a certified olive oil taster and the maker of Fat Gold.
Katina Talley
baker & founder of Sweet Magnolia
Katina Talley left behind her career as a food scientist developing consumer packaged products to open her own bakery, Sweet Magnolia.
Kiel Lopez-Schmidt
architect & founder of Tower Urban Family Farm
After managing the start-up and growth of Food Commons Fresno, Kiel Lopez-Schmidt joined the Northern California Community Loan Fund, which creates opportunities for socially responsible investments.
Kirk Mustain
chef
Veteran chef Kirk Mustain brings farm-to-table sourcing practices to the University of Portland’s dining halls.
Krissy Scommegna
chef
After earning a Master’s degree in agriculture and food policy at Tufts University, Krissy Scommegna will soon head west to put her skills to work on her family’s California farm.
Laura Brunow Miner
designer | co-founder of Eat Retreat
Laura Brunow Miner specializes in brand design and creative direction. She is currently working on an interactive art installation with the SFMOMA.
Lesley Stockton
writer, recipe developer & food stylist
Lesley Stockton is a recipe developer and food stylist. She is the kitchen manager and staff writer at The Wirecutter.
Lisa Pollack
publicist
Lisa Pollack is a food marketing specialist who educates chefs and restaurateurs on the virtues of California extra virgin olive oil.
Liz Martin
community builder
Liz Martin is the vice president of Wild Goose Creative, a creative community at the intersection of art, risk and meaning.
Mike Lee
co-founder of Alpha Food Labs
Mike Lee develops food products that support regenerative ag and biodiversity at Alpha Food Labs. He is also the founder of The Future Market.
Muffie Fulton
Chef & scientist
Muffie Fulton is a scientist, chef and the founder of Bold Food. She teaches classes on the science of cooking and features modernist cuisine in her pop-up dinners.
Olivia Marshall
co-founder of West Coast Mud
After spending over five years in tech, Olivia Marshall is stepping back into food as a freelance project and events manager in the food-tech space.
Rebekka Hutton
pickle maker
Rebekka Hutton is an entrepreneur making fermented food and drinks with local and organic produce. She is the founder and owner of Alchemy Pickle Company.
Rick Nahmias
photographer & founder of Food Forward
Rick Nahmias fights urban hunger as the founder of Food Forward, a non-profit that has rescued 60 million pounds of fresh produce that would otherwise go to waste.
Susan Reid
baker, editor & educator
Susan Reid is a baker, teacher and the editor of King Arthur Flour’s Sift Magazine. She also chronicles her baking experiments and recipes online at The Well Plated Life.
Tammy Tan
spice purveyor & owner of Spice Hound
Tammy Tan is the founder of the global spice company Spicehound. She also hosts the podcast Lettuce Wrap.
Tina Bell Stamos
food stylist
Tina Bell Stamos makes food beautiful as a stylist, recipe developer and creative consultant.
Vincent Finazzo
founder of Riverwards
Vincent Finazzo is the founder of Riverwards Produce, an independent grocery store in Philadelphia.
Vincent Ricchiuti
olive & almond farmer
Vincent Ricchiuti is a fourth-generation farmer. His family produces stone fruit, almonds and extra virgin olive oil in California’s San Joaquin Valley.
Will Turnage
technologist
Will Turnage uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to build technology applications for food and cooking.