2013SummitLogo_WebThis year, Chefs Collaborative will recognize four individuals who have played an exemplary role in advancing the Chefs Collaborative mission to promote a national network of chefs fostering a sustainable food system. Awards will be presented on Tuesday, November 4 at the Chefs Collaborative Sustainable Food Summit in Charleston, SC.

The Awards nomination deadline has passed! Please contact Alisha Fowler with any questions.

The Awards  

National Sustainer: This award will recognize a chef who has been both a great mentor and is a model to the culinary community through his/her purchases of seasonal, sustainable ingredients and the transformation of these ingredients into delicious food. Click here to see past winners.

Southeast Sustainer:  This award will recognize a chef in the Southeast who has been both a great mentor and is a model to the culinary community through his/her purchases of seasonal, sustainable ingredients and the transformation of these ingredients into delicious food. Click here to see past winners.

Pathfinder: This award will recognize a visionary working in the greater food community who has been a catalyst for positive change within the food system through efforts that go beyond the kitchen. Click here to see past winners.

Foodshed Champion Southeast:  This award will recognize a food producer in the Southeast(farmer, fisher, artisanal producer) committed to working with chefs and who exemplifies the following principle:  Good food begins with unpolluted air, land, and water, environmentally sustainable farming and fishing, and humane animal husbandry.  Click here to see past winners.

The Judges

  • Rick Bayless, Chef/Owner, Frontera, Topolobampo, XOXO restaurants, Chicago, IL. Chefs Collaborative Advisory Board member. 2010 Pioneers Table Awardee
  • Jane Black, Journalist, Washington Post Columnist, Brooklyn, NY
  • Sara Clow, General Manager, GrowFood Carolina, Charleston, SC
  • Peter Davis, Executive Chef, Henrietta’s Table, Cambridge, MA. 2010 Sustainer Awardee
  • Piper Davis, Cuisine Director/Co-Owner, Grand Central Baking Company. Chefs Collaborative Board member
  • Justin Dean,

    Farm Manager/Chef Educator, Relish Restaurant Group, Ft. Mitchell, KY. Chefs Collaborative Board Member

  • Rebecca Goldburg, Director of Marine Science, Pew Charitable Trust’s Environment Group, New York, NY. Chefs Collaborative Advisory Board Member
  • Maisie Greenawalt, VP of Strategy, Bon Appetit Management Company, Palo Alto, CA
  • Sam Hayward, Chef/Owner, Fore Street, Portland, ME. 2011 Sustainer Award
  • Kären Jurgensen, Chef Instructor, Seattle Culinary Academy, Seattle, Washington
  • Fred Kirschenmann, Distinguished Fellow, the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Ames, IA. Chefs Collaborative Advisory Board Member
  • Chris Koetke, Executive Director, Kendall College School of Culinary Arts. Vice President, Laureate International Universities Center of Excellence in Culinary Arts, Chicago, IL. 2010 Pathfinder Awardee.
  • Michael Leviton, Chef/Owner, Lumiere in Newton MA and Chef/Co-Owner, Area Four, Cambridge MA. Chair, Chefs Collaborative Board
  • Theresa Marquez, Chief Mission Officer, Organic Valley, La Farge, WI
  • Dan McGovern, Publisher, Sustainable Food News, Portland, ME
  • Gary Nabhan, Internationally-celebrated nature writer, seed saver, conservation biologist and sustainable agriculture activist, Patagonia, AZ. 2011 Pioneers TableAward
  • Nicolette Hahn Niman, Attorney and Livestock Rancher, Bolinas CA
  • Michel Nischan, President/CEO, Wholesome Wave, Bridgeport, CT. 2010 Pioneers Table Awardee
  • Bob Perry, Coordinator and Chef, Food Systems Initiative, College of Agriculture, University of Kentucky. Chefs Collaborative Board Member
  • Andrea Reusing, Chef/Owner, Lantern, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
  • Jimmy Schmidt, Executive Chef, Morgan’s in the Desert, Aspen, CO. Pioneers Table Awardee
  • Kim Severson, author/Atlanta Bureau Chief, New York Times, Atlanta, GA
  • Marion Sullivan, Culinary Institute of Charleston; Food Editor, Charleston Magazine, Charleston, SC
  • Teresa Taylor, Features Editor, Post & Courier, Charleston, SC.
  • Megan Westmeyer, Fishery Improvement Project Director (FAO Area 31), Sustainable Fisheries Partnership, Charleston, SC
  • Paul Willis, Founder and Manager of the Niman Ranch Pork Company, Thornton, Iowa
  • Virginia Willis, Chef and Food Writer, Atlanta, GA.

Awards Process

  • Awards Committee is established.  Piper Davis, Cuisine Director/Co-Owner, Grand Central Baking Company; Justin Dean, Farm Manage/Chef Educator, Relish restaurant Group, Ft. Mitchell, KY; Marion Sullivan, Culinary Institute of Charleston; Food Editor, Charleston Magazine, Charleston, SC; Virginia Willis, chef and Food Writer, Atlanta, GA
  • Nominations due to the Awards Committee by July 10
  • Awards committee selects finalists by August 1
  • Awards Judges will review nominees and select an awardee in each category by end of August
  • Nominees will be notified in August
  • Awards will be announced and presented at the Chefs Collaborative Sustainable Food Summit in Charleston, SC, November 3 – 5