Why We Love Ann Kim

Ann used to think her name would be up in lights on Broadway. But when acting wasn’t everything she’d hoped, she turned to a different icon of New York: pizza. Her Minneapolis restaurants—Pizzeria Lola, Hello Pizza, Young Joni—have topped countless top restaurant lists, and led to her recent James Beard Award for Best Chef.

Why We Love Charles Bililies & Tony Cervone

Why We Love Mark Estee

Why We Love Evan & Sarah Rich

If there’s one thing Evan and Sarah know how to do, it’s bring you into their world, make you feel welcome and excited. Since opening Rich Table in San Francisco's Hayes Valley, they’ve earned a Michelin Star and been nominated for a James Beard Award.

Why We Love Ferrell Alvarez

In 2013, a young Ferrell Alvarez opened his first restaurant, Rooster & the Till, in his hometown of Tampa, Florida. Fast forward seven short years, and he’s stacked up a James Beard nomination and a slew of Best Restaurant awards. His creative vision blends flavorful fun and playful sincerity.

Why We Love Gavin Kaysen

Gavin is a tried and true Midwesterner, as connected to the seasons as he is to their ingredients. And he’s the only person we know who was inspired to become a chef while working at Subway. He’s battled in the culinary world’s most prestigious competitions, including Bocuse d'Or, and won a 2018 James Beard Award for Best Chef.

Why We Love Andrew Zimmerman

Andrew is the five-time James Beard Award finalist behind Chicago’s Sepia and Proxi. Aside from being named a Rising Star Chef and an Iron Chef America winner, Andrew's Sepia has earned a Michelin star for the past 10 years.

Why We Love Elisabeth Akinwale

Look at Elisabeth Akinwale’s athletic career, and you’d think she was a superhero. A successful CrossFit Games and Olympic-style weightlifting competitor, holds a Masters degree in social work, is a proud mother and, with her partner, co-owner of Chicago’s 13th Flow fitness company.

Why We Love Cheetie Kumar

Before Cheetie discovered her culinary calling, she was following a different path to becoming a rockstar. But things changed when she began studying recipes while pursuing her music career. Now the award-winning chef channels her creativity at Raleigh's Garland.

Why We Love Claudette Zepeda

While most kids were watching Sesame Street, Claudette was learning English watching Julia Child and other famous chefs on cooking shows. She has worked with some of the industry’s best and brightest, and competed on two seasons of Top Chef earning rave reviews for her hyper-regional Mexican masterpieces.

Why We Love Elias Cairo

Elias believes in meat. Owner and salumist of Portland's Olympia Provisions, Elias can wax poetic about a piece of bacon like you would a work of art, and all that will still leave you wanting more. Let's just not mention the dark period in his life when he was vegan.

Why We Love Bonnie & Israel Morales

Bonnie and Israel found a way to combine what they felt they had to do–opening a restaurant based on homecooking of the former Soviet Union–even if it didn’t exactly seem like a surefire hit. Portland’s Kachka is the country’s hottest Russian restaurant, and spawned the first Russian cookbook in the US in decades.

Why We Love David Adelsheim

Few people in the world know a bottle of Pinot noir as well as David Adelsheim. After meeting several of the first families to plant grapes in the late 1960s, David and his former wife Ginny purchased 19 acres in Yamhill County in 1971, becoming part of the ten families to make wine in the Willamette Valley before 1980.

Why We Love Camille Becerra

Camille’s magic comes from her knowledge that a food experience is more than the sum of its ingredients. For Camille any meal must look good, taste good and make you feel good afterwards. This is a belief she’s put to practice in her nearly 20-year career ranging from appearances on Top Chef to heading up celebrated New York kitchens.

Why We Love Michael Cimarusti

Michael Cimarusti has helped define the top echelon of seafood in Los Angeles—and the country. At his restaurant, Providence, his impeccably crafted, sustainably sourced dishes have earned national recognition and accolades. He's a James Beard Award winner and has two Michelin stars to his name.

Why We Love Giorgio Rapicavoli

At just 26, Giorgio won Chopped, made Forbes’ 30 Under 30, and opened his first restaurant. He’s been nominated twice as a James Beard Best Chef. But he’ll be the first to tell you he’s not cooking for awards. At each step, he’s carried with him his heritage and the Slow Food motto of his native Piedmont “Good, Clean, and Fair.”

Why We Love Gregory Gourdet

Over the past decade, Gregory Gourdet has become one of Portland’s most distinctive and beloved chef personalities, from his ultra-marathoning to inventive cooking. His place as a Top Chef finalist in 2015 secured him a spot in the foodie limelight, but that was only the beginning.

Why We Love Jorge Guzmán

Why We Love Andrew Murray

Why We Love Kate Payne-Brown

Why We Love Joe & Katy Kindred

Joe and Katy met in Chicago, moved to San Francisco, and worked in world-class restaurants before deciding to move back to Joe’s hometown of Davidson, North Carolina. There, they started a family and opened their first restaurant. Joe’s now racked up multiple James Beard nominations, and Katy’s an accomplished sommelier.

Why We Love Michael Scelfo

Eating in Boston at one of Michael Scelfo’s restaurants—including Cambridge's Alden & Harlow, named one of the “Best Restaurants in the World” by Conde Nast Traveler—is like pulling up a chair at his own dinner table: simple dishes, quality ingredients and good conversation.

Why We Love Jamie Malone

Jamie is a woman of contrasts, soft-spoken with a sharp wit, somebody who values the functional and the beautiful. Her cooking career started in 2012, in her hometown of Minneapolis/St. Paul. Just one year in, Jamie was named 2013 Best New Chef in America by Food & Wine.

Why We Love Mark Bitterman

Mark is a self-proclaimed “selmelier,” a James Beard Award-winning writer and leading expert on culinary salts. Yes, that is a thing, and he is it. Mark is also founder of The Meadow, a go-to for craft salts, chocolate and handmade bitters operating across four locations, three cities and two continents.

Why We Love Jonathan Zaragoza

The Chicago-based executive chef of his family’s Birrieria Zargoza has been on a meteoric rise since he could hold a spatula or roast his own goat—which weren’t that far apart. At 22, he was listed on Zagat’s “30 Under 30”; today he's making a name for himself perfecting an almost-lost art form.

Why We Love Jenn Glysson

Jenn is dynamic and playful, approaching fitness in a fun and inspiring way anyone can rally around. She opened The Body Los Angeles as a boutique Hollywood gym focused on helping people have fun, work hard and get stronger.

Why We Love Kate Williams

Chef and restaurateur Kate Williams is Detroit’s matriarchal host of unforgettable dining experiences. Kate’s restaurants each have a distinct vibe—and Kate fits with them all. She’ll butcher a whole pig, then sip an exuberant cocktail under a sparkly chandelier.

Why We Love Holly Perkins

Holly is the author of 'Lift to Get Lean' and has trained some of the world’s most famous names. She wants you to not only understand what you’re doing, but the why behind it. She’ll push you, partner with you and educate you all at the same time.

Why We Love Joshua McFadden

You may know him as the head chef & owner of Ava Gene’s and Tusk in Portland. Yet Joshua is so much more than just a chef. He’s a farmer, an author, and an artisan.

Why We Love Lacey Stone

Lacey is not your average trainer. She’s your best friend cheering from the top of the bleachers, the Thelma to your Louise, the voice in your head that whispers “keep going” when your body grows tired. Lacey's spent her career traveling around the world to show people just how far a positive attitude can go.

Why We Love Maximillian Petty

Maximillian's cuisine is boundlessly imaginative, bursting from the plate in color and style. Each dish he creates at his Seattle restaurant, Eden Hill, is a fusion of art, science and flavor. His New American avant garde cooking has earned him a James Beard Rising Star Chef semi-finalist position three years running.

Why We Love Jason Neroni

At age 16 while working at Disneyland’s prestigious Club 33, Jason Neroni discovered his love and aptitude for cooking—and that’s only where the magic started. From there, Jason stacked up an impressive resume working at some of the world's most storied kitchens: Le Cirque, Blue Hill, Essex House, The Tasting Room, and Superba.

Why We Love Sarah Owens

Cookbook author, baker, gardener, sourdough master. Sarah Owens is a true bread winner. Her first book 'Sourdough' received a James Beard award; her following releases, 'Toast & Jam' and 'Heirloom,' have been met with equal acclaim.

Why We Love Jeremiah Langhorne

Jeremiah isn’t the typical chef who grew up cooking family recipes by his grandmother’s side. His start came as a pizza delivery boy. Fast forward to today, and Jeremiah is Washington, D.C.’s culinary voice. Named one of Food + Wine’s Restaurants of Year, The Dabney has earned a Michelin star and Jeremiah the coveted position as a James Beard Award winner.

Why We Love Neal Fraser

Neal Fraser is one of LA’s culinary heroes. If he could shout from the rooftops how much he loves LA's food scene, he would. And he could, at the top of his cathedral-turned-restaurant Redbird. Named to Jonathan Gold’s 101 Best Restaurant List, Neal’s also appeared on Top Chef Masters, Hell’s Kitchen and Iron Chef America.

Why We Love Ray Garcia

Native Angeleno Ray Garcia is just your average law school-bound, business economics UCLA grad who decided to become a chef instead. And it worked out. He cooks with his grandma’s recipes in mind, melding his Southern California upbringing with his Mexican heritage.

Why We Love Naomi Pomeroy

Naomi wrote her first recipe at age 4. Granted, that recipe involved chewing up almonds and mixing them with sprinkles. Nevertheless, it set her on a trajectory to be named one of Food & Wine’s 10 Best New Chefs, a James Beard award-winner, and an Iron Chef competitor. Marie Claire called her the next Alice Waters, but really, she could be the next anything she wants.

Why We Love Philip Krajeck

When Philip talks, you can just about hear the rocking chair on a humid Nashville day. He can discuss fermentation and cooking with the same laid-back precision as describing his favorite honky-tonk bar. Judging by his four James Beard Award nominations, we’d have to say he’s got a few strengths in the kitchen, too.

Why We Love Scott Lawrence

Scott got an idea a decade ago on a trip to Alaska with his buddies. His epiphany emerged around a campfire, and it sparked into what became Breakside Brewery in Portland, named Brewery of the Year at the 2017 Oregon Beer Awards. Not bad for an idea that spawned from a camping trip.

Why We Love Tory Miller

Tory Miller isn’t your typical Midwestern chef. His Madison restaurants, L’Etoile, Graze, and Estrellón, each boast completely different flavors and inspirations—but are bound by Tory’s passion for locally grown food. He’s received multiple James Beard nods, including winning Best Chef Midwest, and winning Iron Chef Showdown.

Why We Love Jessica Silverman

Jessica represents artists who balance beauty with ideas, and novelty with historical reflection. at her iconic, contemporary art gallery in San Francisco. She’s more than a curator, but a confidante, editor and collaborator.

Why We Love Traci Des Jardins

The child of French Acadian and Mexican farmers in California’s San Joaquin Valley, Traci was encouraged to forage and hunt at an early age, inspiring a lifelong devotion to sustainable, locally sourced produce. She's a two-time James Beard winner, and an avid philanthropist whose greatest pride is giving back to the community.

Why We Love Sarah Wolf

Portland-based Wolf Ceramics crafts with a conscience. Founder Sarah Wolf is an artist, maker and ceramicist. She started her growing company to pursue her passion and hasn’t looked back. She’s a fearless entrepreneur who knows the value of creating pieces you’ll use—and care about—for life.

Why We Love Aaron Barnett

Aaron is Canada born, LA-bred and now based in Portland. Most people who can have nuanced conversation about The Cure and Kraftwerk don’t have the palate to enjoy pickled herring and frog legs. Aaron’s at the cross-section of inspired French cuisine and worldly musical aptitude.