6 Questions with Gavin Kaysen What’s exciting to you right now in the world of cooking? I love to see how easy it is to share and see what others are doing. I feel like it is making our world of food a stronger community. Food is about bringing people together at a table. My challenge to everyone is, what is that majestic moment that you can bring to that…

Jamie Malone Chef Jamie is a woman of contrasts, soft-spoken with a sharp wit, somebody who values the functional and the beautiful. She’s constantly learning, building, modifying, making. Her cooking career started in 2012, in her hometown of Minneapolis/St. Paul. Just one year into working at award-winning Chef Tim McKee’s Sea Change, Jamie was named 2013 Best New Chef in America by Food & Wine. Fast forward a few years when she…

Jason Neroni Chef At 16 years old 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 in California, New York and Europe at some of the world’s most storied kitchens: Le Cirque, Blue Hill, Essex House, The Tasting Room, 71 Clinton Fresh Food and Superba, to name a…

Gavin Kaysen Chef Gavin Kaysen moved back to Minneapolis because he values community. After heading the kitchen at El Bizcocho in San Diego, competing in The Next Iron Chef, and serving as Executive Chef at Michelin-rated Cafe Boulud in Palm Beach, Toronto and New York, he decided to go all-in on his own concepts. The James Beard Award-winner sought to meld high-end French culinary techniques with seasonal Midwestern flavors. The results:…

6 Questions with Aaron Barnett Did you always want to be a chef? I wanted to become a chef when I was 19, and my parents wanted me to finish school first. So I wound up getting into pre-veterinary medicine. I was on a path to becoming a veterinarian, but my math was terrible. At some point I said, “We’re all just wasting our time here.” I wound up going…

6 Questions with Naomi Pomeroy How you run your restaurant is very important to you. Why does it matter? A big part of our day has to be communicating with each other, getting to know each other as a team, hanging out, talking, being together. And then we start doing dinner service. So a lot of the day is spent just talking about family, and relating to each other, and…

Alison Roman Cook, Author, Culinary Badass How many chefs beloved for their instant-legend recipes so readily urge you to ignore them? Well, Alison Roman isn’t your average chef or food expert. She’s a wizard at kitchen improv with an infectious desire to create more “can do” kitchens for everyone willing to dabble. As she puts it, “Say yes to everything! It’s the only way to figure out if you like…

Elias Cairo Chef, Salumist, Olympia Provisions Founder The salumist’s distinctly old-world approach comes from leaning into his heritage and learning from the masters. A first generation Greek-American, he grew up making meats by his father’s side. His formative training took place in Switzerland with renowned chef Annegret Schlumpf, which set him up to apprentice in Greece before heading to Portland. He worked his way from line cook to Executive Chef…

Deana Saukam Photographer, Food and Travel Writer Deana has many talents: stylist, photographer, food writer, restaurateur, communications expert, social media influencer. But the one we know and love her for most? Deana is an avid traveler that lets her heart guide her passions. Deana lives in Austin, Texas, and ran social media and PR for Austin’s highly respected restaurants East Side King and qui for five years. Today she spends…

Scott Lawrence Owner, Breakside Brewery Scott Lawrence 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, Oregon. Since opening its doors in 2010, delicious Breakside brews are on tap at three locations and countless bars and restaurants, distributed in 8 states, they were named Brewery of the Year at the…