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Napa-based Maryam Ahmed built a career at the intersection of wine, travel, and storytelling. As the founder of Maryam + Company, a Certified B Corporation that develops impact-driven brand, leadership, and educational initiatives across the food, wine, tourism, and hospitality industries, she focuses on translating vision into thoughtful experiences and strategic programming that connect people more deeply to place and purpose. Maryam also founded Field Blends, an immersive travel and education platform exploring regional narratives and emerging voices in wine and agriculture, and co-founded the Diversity in Wine Leadership Forum. She serves on the Executive Leadership Board for University of California, Davis Department of Viticulture and Enology and is a partner at PLAYTE Kitchen, a Napa-based culinary education company.

Laura Alber is one of the most influential leaders in retail. As president and CEO of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. since 2010, she has overseen the company's transformation into a digital powerhouse while expanding its portfolio of beloved brands, including Pottery Barn Kids, PBTeen, and Pottery Barn Bed + Bath. Under her leadership, Williams-Sonoma has become one of the world's leading home and lifestyle retailers. Beyond Williams-Sonoma, Laura has helped shape the broader business landscape through board leadership roles, including service on the board of Salesforce. A longtime advocate for education and philanthropy, she serves on the Board of Overseers for the University of Pennsylvania College of Arts & Sciences. Frequently recognized among the nation's most powerful business leaders, Laura continues to influence the future of retail through her vision, adaptability, and commitment to innovation.

Helene An is a culinary trailblazer whose influence on American dining spans five decades. After arriving in the United States as a refugee following the fall of Saigon in 1975, she helped transform a small San Francisco restaurant into the foundation of the House of AN hospitality group, which includes the celebrated Crustacean restaurants and other acclaimed concepts. Widely credited with introducing Vietnamese cuisine to mainstream America, Helene became known for her innovative approach to blending Vietnamese, French, and Chinese culinary traditions, earning recognition as the “Mother of Fusion Cuisine.”

Through signature dishes like her famous garlic noodles and her commitment to storytelling through food, Helene has shaped generations of chefs and diners alike. In 2016, she released her cookbook, An: To Eat: Recipes and Stories from a Vietnamese Family Kitchen. In 2019, she received the Smithsonian’s Pioneer Award in Culinary Arts for her contributions to American food culture, and in 2024, she was inducted into the California Hall of Fame. Today, Helene’s five daughters—Elizabeth, Catherine, Monique, Hannah, and Jacqueline—help run the family’s restaurant empire.

Nyesha Arrington started as a contestant on Top Chef: Texas and has since appeared on various television shows, including as a mentor and judge on Fox's Next Level Chef, the culinary competition starring Gordon Ramsay.A native of Los Angeles, Nyesha grew up in a multicultural household and fell in love with food at a young age. She worked the line at her local Taco Bell as a teen then went on to culinary school and a career in fine dining. Nyesha worked in kitchens of Michelin and Mobil award-winning restaurants before opening her own restaurant, Native, in Santa Monica.

Kerry Brodie is the founder and executive director of Emma’s Torch, exhibiting leadership at the intersection of culinary arts and social advocacy. With multiple locations in New York City and, now, Washington, D.C., Emma’s Torch is a nonprofit social enterprise that provides refugees with in-depth culinary training as well as employability, equity, and empowerment training. Kerry’s passion for sustainable business models has played an important role in Emma’s Torch’s growth. She believes in being mission-driven and data-informed. Her interest in philanthropic R.O.I. has kept the organization laser-focused on ensuring program graduates get the best possible outcomes: to pursue their own goals and attain financial freedom.

Chef, restaurateur, and author Gabriela Cámara is one of the most influential figures in contemporary Mexican cuisine. As the co-founder of Contramar in Mexico City, she has helped redefine how Mexican food is understood around the world, championing regional ingredients, sustainable sourcing, and an authentic approach to hospitality. Gabriela is also an advocate for food policy and sustainability. She has served as an advisor to the Mexican government on food-related initiatives and was featured in the Netflix documentary A Tale of Two Kitchens, which explored her vision for creating equitable workplace cultures through food. Gabriela is also the author of My Mexico City Kitchen: Recipes and Convictions.

Gabriela is behind the new Cantina Contramar restaurant at Fontainebleau Las Vegas and is featured on the cover of Cherry Bombe’s Game Changers Issue, alongside Frida Escobedo and Bertha González Nieves, who helped her bring the Las Vegas restaurant to life.

Caroline Chambers is a New York Times bestselling cookbook author, recipe developer, and culinary expert based in Carmel Valley, California. Her journey began in her mom’s kitchen in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and blossomed into a career as a chef, caterer, and freelancer for top brands and publications. Caroline’s first cookbook, Just Married, was published in 2018. During the pandemic, she connected with home cooks on Instagram and launched her hit Substack newsletter, What to Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking. Her second cookbook, bearing the same title, was released in August 2024. Her next book, What to Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking: Make It Fast, will be published in August 2026. She lives with her husband, George, and their four sons—Mattis, Calum, Cashel, and Tavish.

Through her writing, recipes, and online community, Caroline has transformed the way a new generation approaches home cooking—and that’s why she’s the recipient of Cherry Bombe’s Trailblazer Award. She is also featured on the cover of Cherry Bombe’s Game Changers Issue.

Photo by Amy Dickerson

Chef Adrienne Cheatham has spent her career shaping some of the country’s most influential kitchens. After studying business and journalism at Florida A&M University, she honed her craft at New York City’s Le Bernardin, where she rose to executive sous chef during an eight-year tenure. She later joined Chef Marcus Samuelsson’s restaurant group, helping open Streetbird and Marcus’ Bermuda before leading the kitchen at Red Rooster Harlem as executive chef. A finalist on Season 15 of Top Chef, Adrienne has become a prominent voice in the culinary world. She has collaborated on cookbook and television projects with both Eric Ripert and Marcus Samuelsson and advocates for nutrition through her work with Schwan’s Chef’s Collective. She’s the author of Sunday Best: Cooking Up The Weekend Spirit Every Day and the creator and co-host of the popular Chef’s Cut podcast.

Chef and restaurateur Ashley Christensen has played a defining role in shaping modern Southern food and Raleigh’s culinary landscape. Since opening Poole’s Diner in 2007, she has built a celebrated restaurant group, AC Restaurants, which includes Death & Taxes and Bridge Club. Her restaurants have earned national acclaim, with Death & Taxes recognized as a James Beard Award finalist for Best New Restaurant and one of Food & Wine’s Best New Restaurants. A champion of Southern foodways and hospitality, Ashley has dedicated her career to fostering connection both inside and outside her restaurants. She has served on the boards of numerous cultural and philanthropic organizations, supports the Southern Foodways Alliance through fundraising and advocacy efforts, and has helped elevate Raleigh as a nationally recognized food destination. Her many honors include James Beard Awards for Best Chef: Southeast and Outstanding Chef, and she is also the author of Poole’s: Recipes and Stories from a Modern Diner.

Founded by longtime chef Ken Concepcion and makeup artist Michelle Mungcal, Now Serving is a thoughtfully curated culinary bookstore in Los Angeles’ Chinatown neighborhood. Since opening in 2017, Now Serving has grown its community beyond its small shop walls, through ongoing culinary programming, author events, and collaborative partnerships. Now Serving continues to champion cookbooks, food writers, cooks, the hospitality industry, and the culinary curious in Los Angeles and beyond. Michelle and Ken live in Pasadena with their daughter, Frankie.

Julia Coney is a Washington, D.C.- and Houston–based award-winning wine writer, speaker, and consultant. She is the founder of Black Wine Professionals, a resource for the wine industry whose goal is to lift up the multifaceted Black professionals in the world of wine. She is the recipient of Wine Enthusiast’s 2020 Social Visionary Award Winner for her work in writing and speaking on diversity, equity, and inclusion in the wine industry. In 2022, Wine Industry Network named her one of Wine’s Most Inspiring People. Julia’s work has been featured in Food & Wine, Local Palate, Wine Enthusiast, and The Washington Post. She currently pens the Substack newsletter Métier—with a wine glass in hand.

Sandra Cordero is the executive chef and owner of Xuntos, a Spanish tapas bar in Santa Monica. She was born in the Netherlands and raised between Amsterdam and, in the summertime, the Northern Spanish region of Galicia. Her love of entertaining and good food began with those summers on the coast, and she found herself taking charge in restaurants before she could drive a car. After traveling the world in her 20s and a chapter in New York City, Sandra settled in Los Angeles and worked in several of the city’s most respected kitchens. Her culinary journey included Grace with Chef Neal Fraser, the Michelin-starred Providence, and Test Kitchen. After giving birth to a baby girl, she started a catering and food styling business, then opened Gasolina Café in 2015. Drawn back to the beach, she opened Xuntos in 2023 with a seasonal seafood-driven menu of pintxos, tapas, and Spanish natural wines. Sandra is a James Beard WEL Fellow and co-founder of Regarding HER, a national nonprofit supporting women in hospitality.

Sally Ekus is proof that, at their best, agents are like glue for the entire food world. She’s a senior literary agent at JVNLA, where she spearheads The Ekus Group, a boutique culinary division specializing in cookbooks and lifestyle titles. Sally has brokered over 300 book deals for a wide range of talent, from first-time cookbook authors to acclaimed chefs and popular content creators. On top of her work as an agent, Sally hosts an online community called How to be a Cookbook Author and writes the Substack newsletter Not So Secret Agent—sharing her insider knowledge with anyone who wants to learn about publishing. She’s also a dedicated supporter and previous board member of The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society New England Chapter and currently sits on the board of Happier Valley Comedy. She is an active member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals, Women’s Media Group, and The Association of American Literary Agents, among other organizations.

As the co-founder of poppi, Allison Ellsworth proved that soda could be: a wellness category; flavorful and beneficial; and profitable. She started by selling her drink at farmers' markets in Dallas, promising apple cider vinegar benefits but much tastier, then things took off when she and her co-founder and husband, Stephen, landed a deal on Shark Tank and nationwide distribution. They grew poppi into Amazon’s #1 selling soda brand and one of the fastest-growing beverages in the U.S. In her role as chief brand officer, Allison pioneered the brand’s cultural cache and digital-first approach, with a one-million-strong social media following, before selling to PepsiCo for nearly $2 billion in 2025.

Renee Erickson is a James Beard Award-winning chef, restaurateur, and author whose work has helped define the Pacific Northwest’s contemporary dining scene. As the chef and co-owner of some of Seattle’s most beloved restaurants—The Walrus and the Carpenter, Jeffry's, Westward, and Deep Dive, to name a few—she is known for showcasing the region’s extraordinary ingredients through a distinctive blend of Pacific Northwest sensibility and European influence. Her restaurants are celebrated not only for their food but also for their thoughtfully designed spaces.

A Seattle-area native, Renee is also the author of the acclaimed cookbooks A Boat, a Whale & a Walrus, Getaway: Food & Drink to Transport You, and, her latest, Sunlight & Breadcrumbs. Drawing on her background in painting and printmaking, she approaches cooking as both a craft and an artistic practice, inspiring home cooks and hospitality professionals alike through her thoughtful, deeply personal vision.

Architect Frida Escobedo is one of the most influential design voices of her generation. Since founding her Mexico City-based practice in 2006, she has earned international acclaim for work that explores the intersections of architecture, public space, history, and culture. Her global profile expanded with her groundbreaking design for the 2018 Serpentine Pavilion in London, which made her the youngest architect to receive the prestigious commission. In 2022, she was selected to design the new Modern and Contemporary Art Wing at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, becoming the youngest architect—and the first woman—to lead a building project for the institution. Her numerous honors include recognition from the Royal Institute of British Architects, the Architectural League of New York, and the Créateurs Design Awards. Alongside her professional practice, Frida has taught at leading institutions including Harvard, Columbia, Yale, and the Architectural Association in London.

Recently, Frida designed the new Cantina Contramar restaurant at Fontainebleau Las Vegas, and she’s currently the associate designer for the Centre Pompidou renovation in Paris. Frida is featured on the cover of Cherry Bombe’s Game Changers Issue, alongside Gabriela Cámara and Bertha González Nieves.

Chef Kim Floresca is the VP of Culinary and Culture at goop kitchen, where she leads the charge in culinary innovation rooted in clean, bold, and nourishing food. Her career spans some of the world’s most celebrated Michelin-starred restaurants, including elBulli, Per Se, and The Restaurant at Meadowood, experiences that honed her precision, creativity, and passion for hospitality. At goop kitchen, Chef Kim has redefined what wellness-driven dining can be. Guided by a philosophy that food should be both feel-good and flavor-forward, she continues to create dishes that celebrate sustainability, accessibility, and joy without compromise.

Born and raised in Palm Springs, Holly Fox is the co-founder of Last Word Hospitality in Los Angeles. Since launching the company with her husband, Morgan Fox, in 2014, Holly has helped build a growing portfolio of acclaimed concepts, including Found Oyster, Barra Santos, Hermosillo, Queen’s Raw Bar & Grill, Rasarumah, Red Dog Saloon, and The Copper Room. Drawing on a lifelong passion for travel, design, and hospitality, she oversees the company’s strategic operations, interior design, construction management, and financial performance.

Zoë François is a baker, bestselling cookbook author, television host, and the creator behind ZoëBakes. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, she has spent decades helping home bakers build confidence in the kitchen through approachable recipes, expert instruction, and an infectious enthusiasm for the craft. She’s authored 10 cookbooks, including the IACP Award-winning Zoë Bakes Cakes and her latest, Zoë Bakes Cookies. She is the host of Zoë Bakes and a judge on Magnolia Network’s Silos Baking Competition. Her recipes and expertise have been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Food52, Cherry Bombe, Better Homes & Gardens, and on the Today show, among many others. Through her popular Instagram account and Zoë Bakes newsletter, she continues to inspire a global community of bakers.

Lois Freedman’s 40-year career is the stuff of legend. After graduating from the French Culinary Institute, she got her first pastry chef job at Lafayette in 1986. There, she met Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten. Together, they opened Jojo in 1991, where Lois took over the front-of-house and oversaw the choreography of service, seating, and accounting at the end of each day. She also ensured all the fine finishing touches of the dining experience were exquisitely executed, from the flowers to guest hospitality. Since then, Lois has continued to be the creative firepower behind Jean-Georges Management’s success as the group’s president and CEO. Her exacting standards and discerning taste level continue to define the group’s endeavors, including the upcoming opening of abc kitchens in DUMBO—Jean-Georges’ first restaurant in Brooklyn.

Food journalist and culinary historian Deb Freeman delves into the intersections of race, culture, and food—especially in Virginia and across the South. Deb is the executive producer and host of the Emmy award-winning and James Beard award-nominated PBS documentary Finding Edna Lewis, a film that explores the legacy of the famed chef. She is also the host and creator of Setting the Table, a multi-award winning podcast exploring Black foodways and culinary history. Her writing has appeared in Eater, Condé Nast Traveler, Epicurious, and Gastro Obscura, among others. Deb has been honored by Slow Food USA and Black Women in Food.

Laila Gohar is an internationally recognized artist who works with food as her creative medium. Born in Egypt, she has lived and worked in the U.S. for the last decade. Laila’s work has been shown in museums and galleries all over the world. She is also known for her high profile collaborations, and has become a go-to person for fashion, design, gastronomic, and luxury partners who are interested in engaging new audiences using food and visual storytelling. Laila’s frequent collaborators include: Prada, Hermès, Comme des Garçons, Simone Rocha, and Sotheby’s. Beyond this, her work has evolved into product design, launching the eponymous label Gohar World alongside her sister Nadia Gohar in 2022. Laila is also a contributing writer for the FT HTSI, where she writes a regular column called "How To Host It." Laila is based in New York City but works worldwide on location, most often in London, Paris, Milan, and Venice.

Photo courtesy of ARKET

Brianda Gonzalez Gefkovicz is the founder and CEO of The New Bar, a pioneering nonalcoholic beverage company that curates and distributes some of the world’s most innovative alcohol-free wines, beers, and spirits. The New Bar has helped redefine what it means to drink and gather in a more inclusive way. Inspired by her father, a bartender whose life was transformed by a debilitating autoimmune disease, Brianda recognized both the cultural importance of social rituals and the lack of sophisticated nonalcoholic options available to those seeking alternatives. She launched The New Bar in 2022 to bridge that gap, introducing a wider audience to a rapidly evolving category and helping shape the future of mindful drinking. The New Bar currently has a robust online shop and a brick-and-mortar in San Francisco.

A food stylist, cookbook author, and the creative visionary behind some of the most iconic cookbooks and food campaigns of the past three decades, Victoria Granof’s groundbreaking work has helped shape the tastes and visual language of contemporary food culture. Victoria is also the founder of Be Kneady, a ritual and therapeutic baking practice rooted in the belief that the act of making bread holds profound power to heal, ground, and connect. This work has grown into something larger: Victoria is currently forming a nonprofit dedicated to bringing therapeutic baking programs to teens and young adults, with the long-term mission of establishing Culinary Arts Therapy as a formally recognized modality within the field of expressive arts therapy. Beyond her individual achievements, Victoria works one-on-one to mentor and coach other creatives in the food realm—helping them develop a visual style that is uniquely their own. Her generosity in sharing knowledge and opening doors has created a ripple effect throughout the industry, with many of today's most compelling food creatives tracing their careers back to her guidance and influence. She released her latest book, Sicily, My Sweet: Love Notes to an Island, with Recipes for Cakes, Cookies, Puddings, and Preserves, in 2024.

A James Beard Award-winning chef, restaurateur, and author, Sarah Grueneberg is known for her vibrant, ingredient-driven approach to Italian cuisine. As the chef and partner of Monteverde Restaurant & Pastificio in Chicago, she has built one of the nation’s most acclaimed restaurants, celebrated for its handmade pastas and warm hospitality. Born and raised in Houston and inspired by her grandparents’ ranch in Victoria, Texas, Sarah’s culinary journey has taken her from Brennan’s of Houston to Chicago’s renowned Spiaggia, where she rose from line cook to executive chef before opening Monteverde in 2015. In 2017, she received the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Great Lakes. In 2022, she released her debut cookbook, Listen to Your Vegetables: Italian-Inspired Recipes for Every Season.

Sarah is a longtime advocate for the restaurant industry through her work with organizations including the Independent Restaurant Coalition, the Southern Foodways Alliance, and the Southern Smoke Foundation. Through her restaurants, writing, mentorship, and advocacy, Sarah continues to influence the future of American dining while championing the power of food to bring people together.

Jenn Harris is a James Beard Award-nominated restaurant critic for the Los Angeles Times. She’s a lifelong Angeleno who knows that Los Angeles is one of the best food cities in the world. Raised between the kitchens of her Jewish and Chinese grandmothers, Jenn developed a deep appreciation for foods from different cultures and a belief that every meal has a story worth telling. That early lesson inspired a career spent exploring the world through food, one taco, dumpling, and bowl of noodles at a time, chronicling her meals in her popular Best Things I Ate Instagram series and contributing to the iconic L.A. Times 101, a list of the best restaurants in Los Angeles.

Johanna Hellrigl is a chef, restaurateur, and culinary changemaker redefining the role restaurants can play in the world. She is the chef-owner of D.C.’s Ama, an award-winning, mission-driven Northern Italian restaurant where she earned a James Beard nomination and the D.C. Sustainability Award. Her philosophy found a national stage in 2025, when Johanna delivered the TEDx talk “The Plastic You Eat,” catalyzing a national conversation about invisible plastic exposure inside restaurant kitchens, from packaging to storage to everyday tools that touch food long before it reaches the plate. She advocates for plastic solutions for the food industry with the Plastic Pollution Coalition, advances children's nutrition as a Chef Council Member of Eat Real Certified, serves on the Chef Corps with World Central Kitchen, and sits on the board for the Environmental Working Group. She is also a proud member of the Independent Restaurant Coalition, Les Dames d’Escoffier, and Regarding HER.

Denise Hernandez Comley is the founder of Maker Collaborative, a boutique talent management company representing creators across the food, fashion, and lifestyle space. With over a decade of experience in talent representation, she specializes in building enduring, multi-platform brands through strategic partnerships, literary opportunities, live experiences, and personalized strategies tailored to each creator’s unique voice and goals. Prior to launching Maker Collaborative in 2021, Denise represented cookbook authors and recipe developers at DBA, where she was among the first managers to exclusively focus on culinary creators. She founded Maker Collaborative with the belief that meaningful growth begins with investing in people, from the creators she represents to the team helping shape and grow their brands.

Chef Rashida Holmes is a Los Angeles-based chef, entrepreneur, and culinary trailblazer who has redefined how Caribbean cuisine is experienced in the city. Her concept, Bridgetown Roti, began as a pop-up in 2019 and opened its permanent East Hollywood home in 2024. Rashida’s menu is a vibrant, chef-driven vision of Caribbean food that blends fine-dining technique with the soul of Bajan and Trinidadian flavors.

Rashida’s work has earned national recognition from The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, Eater, and Esquire. She’s been a James Beard Award Emerging Chef finalist and Best Chef semi-finalist, and Bridgetown Roti was recognized as a Best New Restaurant semi-finalist.

Beyond the kitchen, Rashida is deeply committed to excellence, mentorship, sustainability, and community, volunteering with L.A. City College’s culinary program and supporting women in hospitality through Regarding HER. Her career reflects both innovation and impact, making her one of Los Angeles’ most distinctive culinary voices.

Restaurateur Nathalie Hudson’s ethos is grounded in the belief that hospitality is ultimately about how you make people feel. She’s the co-owner and creative director of Dante (with locations in NYC, L.A., and London), Dante Aperitivo, and Caffe Paradiso in New York City. Nathalie oversees day-to-day operations across all Dante properties, as well as the creative direction and brand identity. Nathalie, alongside her husband and co-owner, Linden Pride, lead a team of more than 300 employees. She is deeply involved in shaping the narrative to feel cohesive and authentic across every space. Her approach is holistic and meticulously crafted, shaping every element from menus and interiors to music and service. Under her and Linden's leadership, Dante has grown while maintaining its neighborhood soul and remaining deeply personal to guests.

Sarah Hymanson and Sara Kramer are the chefs, operators, and culinary collaborators behind essential Los Angeles restaurant Kismet and the popular quick-service Kismet Rotisserie, which now has four locations in the city. The two first worked together in Brooklyn before joining forces to open their own vegetable-focused restaurant in a city defined by its access to produce. Along with many local and national accolades, the two were named Food & Wine Best New Chefs in 2017 and Kismet was nominated for a James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant in 2018. In 2024, they published their first cookbook showcasing their decade of creative collaboration: Kismet: Bright, Fresh, Vegetable-Loving Recipes. In addition to being sustainability-minded regarding their sourcing and operations, Sarah and Sara focus on creating inclusive spaces that serve their teams as well as the broader community. That was especially clear in the wake of the Eaton Fire in 2025, when they set up meal donations, fed first responders, and rallied hard to get the restaurant scene of Pasadena and Altadena back on its feet—which is why they are receiving our Bombesquad Award, presented by Resy.

Molly Irani is dedicated to creating and spreading groundbreaking culture. Within the walls of the growing Chai Pani Restaurant Group, that means she’s responsible for the management style, community engagement, and “mindblasting” hospitality as co-founder and chief culture officer, alongside her co-owner and husband, Meherwan. With stereotype-defying Indian food, the original Chai Pani opened in 2009 and won the James Beard Award for Outstanding Restaurant in 2022. Now, Molly and Meherwan oversee a staff of 300 across locations in North Carolina, Georgia, and D.C. Molly’s also sending that one-of-a-kind culture outward: through cult-favorite spices at Spicewalla and, now, through her debut book, Service Ready: A Story of Love, Restaurants, and the Power of Hospitality.

Aishwarya Iyer is the founder and CEO of Brightland, the first category-defining olive oil brand known for making the freshest, highest-quality olive oils, honeys, and vinegars on the market. Since its inception, Brightland has been featured by The New York Times, Vogue, Food & Wine, Fast Company, and many more. Aishwarya has been named on Create & Cultivate’s 100 and in Inc.’s Female Founders 100. Aishwarya also hosts the podcast Recent Eats where she speaks with interesting people about what they've been eating lately. Previously, Aishwarya spent over a decade in public affairs and corporate communications at various technology companies in both New York City and L.A. She started her career at L’Oréal in the luxury products division at Lancôme, and is a graduate of NYU’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study.

Roxana Jullapat is one of the shining stars of the Los Angeles baking scene. Over the past two decades, Roxana has worked at some of L.A.’s most celebrated, women-led restaurants, including Campanile and AOC. In 2017, she opened Friends & Family, where every loaf of bread, morning pastry, and decadent cookie reflects her love of regional grains, California seasonality, and her unique perspective as an L.A.-born baker of Costa Rican and Thai descent. She also oversees Friend & Family Pizza Co. and Friends & Family Silver Lake Outpost. Her debut cookbook, Mother Grains: Recipes for the Grain Revolution, was nominated by both the James Beard Foundation and IACP. Her latest cookbook, Morning Baker: Recipes and Rituals for Breakfast and Beyond, was released in April 2026 and has already been called one of the best cookbooks of the year by multiple publications.

Telly Justice is known for her inclusive food philosophy that puts people and relationships first, ego last. A proud trans woman who has been working in the food industry for over a decade, she is the chef and co-owner of the acclaimed New York City restaurant HAGS alongside her partner, co-owner, and wine director Camille Lindsley. At HAGS, Telly alternates between serving flamboyant and outrageous (her words!) tasting menus and fun Pay What You Can meals. Her hard work and singular approach have led to her being recognized as a Michelin Young Chef NY Winner 2023, a James Beard Foundation nomination for Best Chef New York 2023, a James Beard Foundation nomination for Emerging Chef in 2022, a StarChefs Community Award Winner 2022, and a part of the 2025 class of Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs.

Maggie Kang is a director at Sony Pictures Animation, who, alongside Chris Appelhans, directed the global hit KPop Demon Hunters, an original animated feature for Netflix that originated from her own idea. Maggie began her career at DreamWorks Animation as a story artist on various projects including the Puss In Boots franchise and The Croods: A New Age, as well as Rise of the Guardians, Kung-Fu Panda 3, Trolls, Shrek Forever After, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, and Over the Hedge.

She went on to contribute her talents as a story artist at Illumination Entertainment on Minions: The Rise of Gru, and Warner Animation Group, where she was head of story on The LEGO Ninjago Movie.

Born in Seoul, Korea, Maggie grew up in Toronto, Canada and attended Sheridan College where she studied classical animation.

If you work in social media, you know Rachel Karten. She is the author of Link in Bio, the primary trade publication for social media teams across industries. The newsletter has been described as “every social media manager’s favorite newsletter” and has over 105,000 subscribers. Rachel has worked in social media for over 13 years and previously led the social media team at Bon Appétit magazine. During her time there, the social team won a Webby Award and a prestigious National Magazine Award. Since leaving in 2020, she has consulted on social media strategies for CAVA, Google, West Elm, and more.

Alicia Kennedy is a digital-publishing innovator. The Long Island-born writer runs the popular twice-weekly newsletter, From the Desk of Alicia Kennedy, and she is the publisher of Tomato Tomato, a digital magazine of food writing about culture. She’s in print, too. Her memoir, On Eating: The Making and Unmaking of My Appetites, was released in April 2026, and her first book, No Meat Required: The Cultural History and Culinary Future of Plant-Based Eating, is a bestseller. Her byline has recently appeared in Financial Times and The Yale Review, as well. Along with her writing and publishing, Alicia has also taught in the food studies program at Boston University.

Jessica Koslow is a chef, entrepreneur, and preservationist whose work has helped define modern California cuisine. She’s the founder and owner of Sqirl in Los Angeles, a celebrated restaurant known for its produce-driven menu. What began in 2011 as a small-batch preserves company evolved into a culinary institution that helped shape a generation of chefs and diners while championing seasonality, sustainability, and the value of exceptional ingredients.

A Southern California native, Jessica began her career in pastry at Bacchanalia in Atlanta, where she developed a lifelong appreciation for preservation and agriculture. Today, Sqirl’s preserves business continues to work closely with regional producers, extending the reach and longevity of California’s harvests through handmade jams and collaborative partnerships. Jessica is also the author of Everything I Want to Eat and The Sqirl Jam Book.

Throughout her career, Jessica has embraced evolution and reinvention, continually expanding her creative vision. As she enters a new chapter with expanded concepts across the globe—including Bar Munk, an intimate cocktail bar in L.A.; a historic 1850s hotel property in Northern California where she’s creating the F&B program; and a new Sqirl outpost in Asia—Jessica’s journey is a testament that growth is possible, leadership can deepen through adversity, and some of the most meaningful accomplishments are not built in moments of ease, but in the determination to keep moving forward.

Chef-restaurateur Vivian Ku is building one of Los Angeles’ favorite restaurant groups, starting with her first restaurant, Silver Lake’s Pine & Crane. Opened in 2014 and named for grandfather’s noodle company, it’s a fast-casual Taiwanese restaurant that honors both her family history—she grew up on her parents’ Asian vegetable farm in Bakersfield, California, and visiting her grandmother’s house for handmade noodles and from-scratch steamed buns. Although she studied economics at Harvard, Vivian’s interest in restaurants motivated her to run the campus grill and then head to the Culinary Institute of America after graduating. Now, she also has Joy, a Taiwanese street-food restaurant in Highland Park, as well as a second Pine & Crane location in DTLA. Through each of her restaurants, Vivian continues to foster community-driven spaces where guests feel welcome and can rely on thoughtfully prepared dishes offered at accessible prices.

Cheetie Kumar is the chef and co-owner of Ajja and Big Cat in Raleigh, North Carolina. An India- and Bronx-raised Southerner and musician, Cheetie earned two James Beard Foundation Award nominations (and five semi-finalist nods) for Best Chef: Southeast for her multi-cultural menus that blended the flavors of South Asia and the surrounding regions with local agriculture at the beloved Garland, which closed in 2022. Ajja builds on the legacy of Garland and continues telling the rich story of North Carolina’s growers, farmers, and purveyors in a vibrant indoor-outdoor neighborhood restaurant.

Cheetie has been profiled in The New York Times, Southern Living, and The Wall Street Journal, among many other national publications. She is active in food advocacy and serves on the Board of Directors and as Vice President of both the Independent Restaurant Coalition and the Southern Foodways Alliance. She also serves on the board and the Government Affairs Committee of NCRLA. Cheetie is part of World Central Kitchen’s Chef Corps, a global network of culinary leaders who champion World Central Kitchen’s work providing fresh meals following crises.

When she’s not taking Ajja to the next level, Cheetie likes to spend time tending to Messrs Disco and Boondi, her rescue cats, and catching some live music.

Carla Lalli is the New York Times bestselling author of That Sounds So Good and received a James Beard Award for her first cookbook, Where Cooking Begins. She is a producer, writer, cookbook author, podcast host, and video host. She worked in restaurants for many years, and later became the food director at Bon Appétit. She hosted the YouTube series, "Back to Back Chef," and appeared in dozens of BA Test Kitchen videos.

Carla’s third book, Food is a Feeling, out this September, is a genre-expanding cookbook memoir that combines personal essays and recipes. Rooted in her experiences as a cook, a parent, and a recently divorced person, it explores the emotional connections between cooking, eating, and feeding others.

At home in Brooklyn, Carla reigns supreme over two humans, a cat, a dog, and three houseplants that aren’t looking too hot (if she’s being honest!). She shares a birthday with Julia Child and Napoleon, and her natural sleep cycle is from 2 a.m. to 10 a.m.

Throughout her career, Leticia Landa has relied on her experience of being the daughter of Mexican immigrants who moved to the U.S. and started a business to fuel her strong belief that business ownership can be transformative, particularly for women, immigrants, and people of color. In 2008, she became the third employee at La Cocina, a nonprofit food business incubator in San Francisco supporting primarily immigrant women and women-of-color entrepreneurs. She was instrumental in its tremendous growth to a $7M operation and 24-person staff, and became executive director in 2023. Leticia co-developed La Cocina’s award-winning incubator program model that has cultivated 130+ food businesses and launched 40+ brick-and-mortar locations throughout the Bay Area. She co-authored the We Are La Cocina cookbook and has been pivotal to the vision and strategy behind La Cocina’s consulting practice, which has inspired similar incubators worldwide. She now serves La Cocina in an advisory role and is on the board of directors. She also serves on the board of the Magic Cabinet Foundation and on the advisory board for the California Migration Museum.

Katherine Lewin is at the forefront of the dinner party moment. In 2021, she founded Big Night, a trendsetting housewares store in her home neighborhood of Greenpoint, Brooklyn, a one-stop shop for hosting known for its meticulous curation and an ahead-of-trend aesthetic. Big Night now has three locations in New York City and a robust e-commerce site. Katherine knows what’s hot when it comes to your next favorite female-founded pantry items, stocking brands like Fishwife, Brightland, Fat Gold, and Cabi. She utilized her food writing background (she spent years writing for The Infatuation) for her debut book, Big Night: Dinner, Parties and Dinner Parties, which, naturally, is all about helping readers host and entertain.

Sue Li is a self-described cat-lady living in Brooklyn and a proud member of the BTS Army (each member is a favorite—please don’t make her choose!). Sue was born in Taipei, Taiwan, raised in North Texas, and then moved to New York City for college where she studied statistics—but then she decided to pursue a career in food styling instead.

Sue learned about the food-centric world outside of restaurants after working on a cookbook for Eleven Madison Park. She then worked in food media and at publications like Real Simple, Bon Appétit, and Food & Wine. She likes to cook and to write recipes, and she likes to see images of food as their real, true selves—she loves to make them come to life in this way. She believes the perfect sandwich is a tuna melt on rye, the perfect drink is a light beer in a glass so chilled that ice chips form on the sides, and the perfect bowl of food is hot noodle soup on a hot day.

Bobbie Lloyd is the chief brand officer and chief baking officer of the world-famous Magnolia Bakery. In her 20 years with the bakery, including 12 years as COO and president and five years as CEO, Bobbie has fostered the continued growth of the omnichannel business, bringing Magnolia Bakery and its desserts to new people in all new ways across the globe. She has played an integral role in expanding the bakery from its original location in New York City’s West Village to over 50 locations worldwide. Bobbie pioneered the company’s international franchise growth, launched the U.S. franchising program, spearheaded nationwide shipping and the launch of the brand’s direct-to-consumer channel, and drove product innovation. On the culinary side, Bobbie brings the homemade essence of Magnolia Bakery to customers through the creation and development of new recipes and perfection of old favorites, and she's the author of two beloved Magnolia Bakery cookbooks.

Having worked consistently in Hollywood for over 20 years, Eva Longoria has cemented herself as an industry staple known for her work both in front of and behind the camera. She can currently be seen in CNN’s celebrated culinary original series Eva Longoria: Searching for France, which she produced as part of her company Hyphenate Media Group’s growing slate of original content, her other recent credits include Disney+’s Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Road Trip, Apple TV+’s Land of Women, and Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building, which won a SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series. Eva also directed Flamin’ Hot, which immediately catapulted to Searchlight Pictures’ most watched streaming movie ever. She recently wrapped production for the highly anticipated Netflix film Fifth Wheel, which she directed, and next up, is set to direct Searchlight’s Anita De Monte Laughs Last.

She co-founded Hyphenate Media Group and serves as its co-founder and chief creative officer alongside industry veteran Cris Abrego, setting the vision across the studio’s rich slate of originals while providing extraordinary leadership across labels and investments. Hyphenate Media Group’s first title was Land of Women for AppleTV+, which Eva executive produced and starred opposite Carmen Maura. The innovative bilingual series was recognized at the 2025 Imagen Awards and was also featured on USC Annenberg’s 2024 Inclusion in Television list.

While working full-time on Desperate Housewives, Eva earned her master’s degree in Chicano Studies from California State University, Northridge in 2013. She wrote her thesis on “Success STEMS from Diversity: The Value of Latinas in STEM Careers.” She received her Bachelor of Science in kinesiology at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. A native of Texas, Eva currently resides in Los Angeles with her family.

Demi Lovato is a Grammy-nominated singer, actor, bestselling author, and advocate whose latest venture has brought her into the food world in a very personal way. This spring, she released her debut cookbook, One Plate at a Time: Recipes for Finding Freedom with Food, a collection of more than 80 approachable recipes inspired by her journey of learning to cook and rebuilding her relationship with food. Through personal stories, practical kitchen guidance, and comforting dishes, the book encourages readers to embrace cooking as an act of self-care, connection, and joy. Through her music, advocacy, and now food writing, Demi continues to use storytelling to build community and inspire others to care for themselves and one another. She’s currently on tour for her latest album, It’s Not That Deep.

Brita Lundberg is a fourth generation farmer and the chief storyteller at Lundberg Family Farms. In her current role on Lundberg’s marketing team, Brita helps share the brand’s regenerative organic farming practices and educates a broader base of consumers about regenerative organic agriculture. Whether she’s talking about wildlife-friendly farming (her family’s practices have saved tens of thousands of ducks!) or the future of food, Brita is helping shape a more delicious, earth-conscious conversation—and that is why she’s receiving our first-ever Sustainability Award.

Jaíne Mackievicz is a Brazilian food writer, recipe developer, and Le Cordon Bleu–trained chef based in California. Born and raised in a remote, river-surrounded village in the Amazon, she grew up inspired by Julia Child’s love of cooking. After leaving law to pursue cooking in the U.S., she taught herself English through cookbooks—then went on to win Food Network’s The Julia Child Challenge, which took her to Paris to study at Le Cordon Bleu. She shares Brazilian recipes filtered through French technique, empowering home cooks to feel confident in the kitchen. She’s still guided by Julia’s enduring spirit: “Learn how to cook—try new recipes, learn from your mistakes, be fearless, and above all, have fun.”

Karen MacNeil is one of the most influential wine educators and writers of her generation. The only American to have received every major wine award in the English-speaking world, her honors include the James Beard Award for Wine and Spirits Professional of the Year, the Louis Roederer International Wine Writers’ Award, and the International Wine & Spirit Competition’s Global Wine Communicator of the Year award. Her impact on wine education has been so profound that TIME magazine dubbed her “America’s Missionary of the Vine.”

Karen is the author of the award-winning and bestselling The Wine Bible, which has sold more than one million copies and become an essential resource for wine professionals and enthusiasts alike. A former wine correspondent for NBC’s Today and host of the Emmy Award-winning PBS series Wine, Food and Friends with Karen MacNeil, she has spent decades making the world of wine more accessible and engaging. Through her company, Karen MacNeil & Company, and her widely read newsletter, WineSpeed, she continues to educate, inspire, and shape the global conversation around wine.

Ilona Maher is a professional rugby player, Olympic medalist, and cultural trailblazer whose influence extends far beyond the pitch. A member of the U.S. Women’s National Rugby Sevens Team, she helped lead Team USA to a historic Olympic bronze medal at the Paris Olympics in 2024, and since then, she’s become one of the sport’s most visible ambassadors. Through her authenticity, humor, and candid approach to social media, Ilona has introduced millions of people to rugby while challenging societal norms about beauty and strength.Off the field, Ilona has emerged as a powerful advocate for body confidence and women’s sports. Her message has resonated with audiences around the world, making her one of the most influential voices in sports today. Along with her two sisters, Olivia and Adrianna, she co-hosts the podcast House of Maher. Because of her powerful message and cultural impact, Ilona is receiving Cherry Bombe’s Athlete of the Year Award.

Stephanie March is a food journalist, broadcaster, and editor-at-large for Mpls St. Paul Magazine. She covers the local restaurant scene and co-hosts Weekly Dish on myTalk 107.1. She also pens the Substack newsletter Pickle and co-founded The Salt Cure Restaurant Recovery Fund. Launched in partnership with the Minneapolis Foundation, The Salt Cure Fund provides vital operational grants to Minnesota restaurants and hospitality workers facing severe economic hardships.

Connie McDonald and Pam Weekes are best friends, accomplished bakers, and the creators of New York City’s favorite cookie. After baking bread for some of New York City’s best restaurants, the two decided to open their own bread shop on the Upper West Side in 1995, naming it Levain Bakery from the French word for “leavened bread.” The bakery prided itself on baking each loaf, baguette, and roll by hand. A few months into it, Connie and Pam developed a massive chocolate chip walnut cookie to help keep their energy levels high for triathlete training. After a sample of the cookie flew off the shelves, the cookie became an official menu item and is now one of NYC’s most iconic desserts. Thirty years later, everything is still baked by hand—in locations around the country. They are also the co-authors of the 2025 memoir-cookbook, Levain Bakery: A Story of Friendship, Community, and Cookies.

Mary Sue Milliken is a James Beard and Julia Child award-winning chef, cookbook author, media personality, food system activist, and co-owner of Mundo Hospitality Group along with her business partner, Susan Feniger. After graduating from Washburne Culinary Institute in Chicago, Mary Sue worked her way up and became the first female chef at Le Perroquet in 1978—where she soon met Susan. She cooked at the woman-owned, two-Michelin-star Restaurant D’Olympe in Paris, before rejoining Susan in L.A. to launch City Café in 1981, applying French techniques to dishes from around the world. The culinary pair found further acclaim with CITY Restaurant in 1985, and captured the hearts of Angelenos with their restaurant Border Grill.

Susan Feniger is an iconic culinarian, author, entrepreneur, and co-owner of Mundo Hospitality Group, which she runs with her business partner, Mary Sue Milliken. After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America in New York, Susan made a groundbreaking move in joining the nearly all-male kitchen at Chicago’s Le Perroquet, serendipitously meeting the only other woman in the kitchen, Mary Sue. After working for Wolfgang Puck at Ma Maison in L.A., Susan went to the French Riviera to further hone her skills, and returned to open City Café with Mary Sue in 1981, forever changing L.A.’s culinary landscape by introducing eclectic dishes from around the world. Mary Sue and Susan have since opened multiple Border Grill locations, food trucks, and a full-service events and a catering business in L.A. and Las Vegas. The chef duo continue breaking barriers as female restaurateurs in a male-dominated industry, pioneering sustainability initiatives and developing their culinary offerings in a variety of restaurants that include BBQ Mexicana, Pacha Mamas, and SOCALO, a California canteen and Mexican Pub. Most recently, the duo opened Alice B., a California twist on Mediterranean food in Palm Springs. Together they received the Julia Child Award and Los Angeles Times’ annual Gold Award.

Between them, they have co-authored six cookbooks and together starred in nearly 400 episodes of the Food Network’s Too Hot Tamales television series. Both competed in different seasons of Bravo’s Top Chef Masters, each winning money for their selected charities. They joined a handful of progressive colleagues to found two important organizations: Women Chefs & Restaurateurs, an organization promoting women’s education and advancement in the restaurant industry, and Chefs Collaborative whose mission is to inspire, educate, and celebrate chefs and food professionals building a better food system.

Because of their immeasurable impact and undeniable influence on the restaurant industry at large and the L.A. community, we are honoring Mary Sue and Susan with this year's Icon Award.

As the Vice President of Store Development and Real Estate for Whole Foods Market and Amazon, Christina Minardi draws upon her experience and passion for innovation to oversee the company’s real estate, construction, store design and several strategic growth initiatives. As part of her role, Christina leads all global real estate for Amazon’s Worldwide Grocery Stores business, including Whole Foods Market.

Her connection to food began as a child at Minardi’s Bakery of Paterson, New Jersey; the family-owned bakery where she experienced firsthand the hard work that goes into running a successful business and the power of food to bring families and communities together. Christina relies on those lessons today to build a positive work environment, evoking team member passion and success throughout her decades long career at Whole Foods Market. Her journey with the company started in Millburn, New Jersey, in 1995 in store leadership at Fresh Fields prior to the Whole Foods Market acquisition. In 2002, Christina was named Vice President for the Northeast region before becoming the Regional President in 2005. Under her 12 years in regional leadership, she supported tremendous growth including the opening of the Columbus Circle flagship store in 2004, a major step in the company’s expansion in New York that transformed the city’s grocery offerings. In addition to opening 31 stores during her Northeast tenure, Christina also built a leadership team of which half the positions are held by women and/or team members with diverse backgrounds.

Christina joined the Whole Foods Market Executive Team as the Executive Vice President of Operations in 2018 and successfully led Amazon integration, supported real estate strategy, drove culinary innovation, re-imagined the customer experience and grew e-commerce initiatives for Whole Foods Market. In 2024, her team launched Whole Foods Market’s first Daily Shop small-format store in the Upper East Side neighborhood of New York City. Today, the concept has grown to include an international footprint with multiple locations opening in the U.K.

Christina is a proud New Jersey native and resides there with her wife, Annette, and daughter, Jordan. A passionate cook with an insatiable appetite for culinary discovery, she loves exploring the latest restaurants, discovering new food trends and ingredients during her travels and sharing her own skills in the kitchen with friends and family.

Raised in Honolulu by a Filipino mother and British father, Ligaya Mishan developed an early fascination with restaurants as places of discovery, storytelling, and cultural exchange. After an early stint working as a restaurant hostess, she went on to build a celebrated career as a writer and critic. Ligaya has written extensively on food, arts, and culture for publications including The New York Times Magazine, T Magazine, The New Yorker, and The New York Review of Books. From 2012 to 2020, she penned The New York Times’ Hungry City column, which spotlighted the city’s small, often immigrant-run restaurants, and in 2025, she was named chief restaurant critic for the newspaper, alongside Tejal Rao. She’s won a James Beard Media Award as well as an Asian American Journalists Association Award, and was a finalist for the National Magazine Awards. A graduate of Princeton University and Cornell University, where she earned an MFA in poetry, Ligaya is widely admired for expanding the conversation around food and illuminating the communities and cultures that shape American dining.

Alecia Beth Moore Hart—the Grammy Award-winning artist known as Pink!—has become a respected voice in the wine world through her dedication to farming and winemaking. Inspired by years of travel and conversations with growers and vintners around the globe, she and her family settled in California’s Santa Ynez Valley in 2013, where she took on the stewardship of an 18-acre organic vineyard and immersed herself in learning the land. Working alongside co-winemaker Alison Thomson, Alecia spent years crafting wine before launching Two Wolves, their Santa Ynez Valley winery. Through a commitment to sustainable agriculture and site-driven wines, she has built a venture that reflects both her creativity and her deep respect for the people and places that shape great wine.

Chef Nozomi Mori is the chef-owner of Mori Nozomi, an intimate omakase restaurant in Los Angeles. Operated by an all-female team, the restaurant has earned acclaim for its thoughtful, seasonally driven menus and unwavering commitment to the traditions of Japanese dining. Drawing on exceptional seafood sourced from Japan and seasonal produce from local farmers’ markets, Nozomi creates refined omakase experiences that celebrate both precision and restraint. Her cooking is guided by a philosophy of respect—for ingredients, for technique, and for the natural world—with a strong emphasis on minimizing waste through practices that honor every part of each ingredient. Trained in the Japanese tea ceremony and ikebana, the traditional art of flower arrangement, Nozomi brings a holistic understanding of Japanese culture to every aspect of the guest experience. At the heart of her work is omotenashi, the Japanese philosophy of wholehearted hospitality, which informs every detail of the meal and creates a dining experience rooted in care, intention, and connection.

Niki Nakayama is the chef and co-owner of n/naka, a Michelin-starred restaurant in Los Angeles. Here, she has redefined kaiseki for a new generation, bringing together the precision and philosophy of the traditional Japanese dining format with the ingredients, seasons, and spirit of California. Her deeply personal approach to cooking has helped establish n/naka as one of the most celebrated restaurants in the U.S. Born and raised in L.A., Niki began her culinary career locally before spending several years in Japan, immersing herself in both traditional and modern Japanese cuisine. Since opening n/naka in 2011, she has earned international acclaim for her distinctive “California kaiseki” style, which honors the principles of balance, gratitude, and seasonality while showcasing the region’s agricultural bounty. The restaurant’s appearance on Netflix’s Chef’s Table introduced her work to a global audience, while numerous accolades have cemented her place among the country’s most respected chefs. Through her artistry, discipline, and unwavering commitment to craftsmanship, Niki has expanded the possibilities of Japanese fine dining in America and inspired a new generation of chefs to honor tradition while embracing innovation.

Zoe Nathan is a pastry chef and co-founder of Rustic Canyon Family, the Santa Monica–based restaurant group known for its seasonal, ingredient-driven California cooking. A defining force behind beloved bakeries and restaurants including Huckleberry Bakery & Café and Rustic Canyon, she has helped shape Los Angeles’ modern dining landscape through a warm, unfussy approach to baking rooted in exceptional produce and classic technique. Zoe, alongside her husband and business partner, Josh Loeb, was a semi-finalist for the James Beard Award for Outstanding Restaurateur in 2018. She’s also the co-author of Huckleberry: Stories, Secrets, and Recipes From Our Kitchen.

Candace Nelson knows how to make brands worth obsessing over. She’s the pastry chef and entrepreneur who founded Sprinkles, the world’s first cupcake bakery and Cupcake ATM, and wrote The Sprinkles Baking Book. She is also the co-founder of Pizzana, a growing Neapolitan pizza chain with locations in L.A., Dallas, and Houston. Candace is an avid investor, focusing on early-stage consumer companies with her venture studio CN2 Ventures and as a Guest Shark on Shark Tank. She shares her entrepreneurial knowledge in the Wall Street Journal, her popular newsletter, and her bestselling book Sweet Success: A Simple Recipe for Turning Your Passion into Profit.

Rather than waiting for someone to create a space for women’s sports fans, Jenny Nguyen claimed her own. She’s the founder and CEO of The Sports Bra in Portland, Oregon, which opened in April 2022 as the world’s first sports bar dedicated to showing only women’s sports. Her commitment to championing women is also reflected on the menu, with beverages sourced primarily from women-owned and -operated businesses whenever possible and a commitment to donating at least one percent of all proceeds to support organizations focused on promoting access, representation, and inclusivity of girls, women, BIPOC, and LGBTQIA+ community members.

Jenny’s inspiration came from her own desire for a space where she and her friends could come together and cheer on their favorite women athletes, and it turns out she wasn’t alone: The Sports Bra was an instant hit, attracting fans and fanfare from around the world. Jenny has been featured in major media outlets in the U.S. and around the world, affirming the demand for more women’s sports coverage and has inspired other operators to open women’s sports bars. Jenny has big plans for her budding empire: she's expanding The Sports Bra by franchising and is in the midst of raising $1.2 million via a community round. That’s why we’re honoring her with our first-ever Visionary Award.

Photo by Amy Dickerson

Chef Ayesha Nurdjaja is the executive chef and partner of Shuka, the beloved Eastern Mediterranean restaurant in New York City’s SoHo neighborhood, and Shukette, a Middle Eastern establishment in Chelsea. Drawing on her Indonesian and Italian heritage, Ayesha is known for bold, vibrant cooking that layers global flavors with seasonal ingredients. Under her leadership, Shuka has become one of NYC’s most celebrated restaurants, earning her a James Beard Award nomination for Best Chef: New York State in 2022. Born and raised in Brooklyn, Ayesha began her culinary career after graduating from the Institute of Culinary Education and training in some of New York’s most respected kitchens, including Felidia, Picholine, and A Voce. Before joining Shuka, she served as executive chef of Red Gravy in Brooklyn. Through her inventive approach to Mediterranean cuisine and her commitment to hospitality, Ayesha has become one of the city’s most influential culinary voices. Her debut cookbook, Mediterranean All the Way: Bold Flavors, Built to Share, will be released this October.

Laurie Ochoa is general manager of Food at the Los Angeles Times. Previously, she was a deputy editor in Entertainment and Arts. Laurie’s history with The Times goes back to 1988 and, notably, from 1993–99 she was Food editor. She then moved to New York to become executive editor of Gourmet magazine. She has won two James Beard Awards for her food writing, and the cookbook she co-wrote, Nancy Silverton’s Breads From the La Brea Bakery, was nominated for an IACP Julia Child Cookbook Award and a James Beard Cookbook Award. She returned to Southern California as editor in chief of the L.A. Weekly, which won more national journalism awards during her stewardship than any other alternative newsweekly, including the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for criticism. Laurie then co-founded and edited Slake: Los Angeles, a journal of narrative reporting, essays, fiction, art and poetry. Before returning to The Times in 2012, she also served as an interim editor of the Hollywood Reporter. Laurie also co-hosts the podcast Three Ingredients with Ruth Reichl and Nancy Silverton.

At a time when the non-alcoholic category was still fighting for legitimacy, Emily Onkey recognized that consumers were looking for an upgrade. She co-founded Aplós, a non-alcoholic functional spirits brand that stands on its own merits alongside the best cocktails. With a background spanning Estée Lauder, CB2, and Bonobos, Emily brought her brand-building instincts as Aplós’ chief marketing officer, co-leading a $5 million fundraising round, driving triple-digit wholesale growth, navigating e-commerce and retail giants like Total Wine and Sprouts, and landing prestigious on-premise partners like the Four Seasons and Soho House. She is also a member of WieSuite and Female Founders Cabinette, is on the board of The Center in Bridgehampton, and co-founded of the Sag Harbor chapter of Moms Demand Action.

Laura O'Neill helped usher in a new chapter for ice cream. She co-founded Van Leeuwen Ice Cream in 2008 alongside brothers Ben and Pete Van Leeuwen. After discovering a gap in the market for ice cream trucks scooping good ice cream, made with good ingredients, the trio set out to create their own recipes in the kitchen of their shared Brooklyn apartment. In the Spring of 2008, they began selling their ice cream out of a yellow ice cream truck. Their French-style ice cream (made with more than double the amount of egg yolks as standard ice cream) quickly gained a loyal following; today the company has over 100 scoop shops and is on grocery store shelves nationwide. Laura relied on her experience in event production and her passion for good food and design to build Van Leeuwen from its inception to its current cult status, and co-authored the Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream cookbook. Today, Laura oversees brand growth, marketing, and the overall creative direction of the brand and serves on the City Harvest Food Council.

Hayley and Stephanie Painter are co-founders and co-CEOs of Painterland Sisters, a family-owned organic dairy brand rooted in sustainability and transparency. Together, they have helped transform their family’s fourth-generation Pennsylvania farm into a nationally recognized business producing organic skyr yogurt and dairy products. They’ve secured seven-figure funding and scaled into over 6,000 stores nationwide. Champions of sustainable agriculture, female entrepreneurship, and rural revitalization, Hayley and Stephanie lead with purpose at every step. Their impact has earned them recognition on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list and Inc.’s Female Founders 500.

Catherine Perez is one of the most trusted plant-based cooks on social media. A registered dietician that specializes in vegan nutrition, she built an audience of over 1 million on her popular @plantbasedrd account by highlighting fiber-rich, protein-forward meals inspired by seasonal and Latin flavors. Catherine creates warm, approachable plant-based recipes designed to make eating plants feel simple and joyful. Her debut cookbook, Peaceful Kitchen: More than 100 Cozy Plant-Based Recipes to Comfort the Body and Nourish the Soul, was a New York Times bestseller. Through a calm, non-judgemental lens across her Instagram, newsletter, blog, and book, Catherine prioritizes evidence-based nutrition content and the recipes that inspire others to build sustainable habits that support both health and enjoyment.

For over a decade, urban farmer Carmen Perr has shared her produce-driven recipes and her approachable gardening wisdom from her home garden in Los Angeles. She is the creator of Carmen in the Garden, where she’s grown a deeply engaged community of over 1.5 million followers across social media, her blog, and her newsletter. She has earned a spot as a trusted voice for home cooks and aspiring gardeners looking to reconnect with their food and for a grounded way of living that is still attainable in today’s fast-paced world. Carmen is also a managing partner of her family’s biodynamic wine company, Pali Wine Co., where she focuses on the winery’s hospitality experiences.

Elizabeth Poett is a seventh generation cattle rancher and was raised on Rancho San Julian, her family’s 14,000-acre ranch on Santa Barbara’s Central Coast of California. Elizabeth has always had a passion for growing and cooking food and she has brought that passion to her Ranch Table, where she hosts cooking classes, traditional ranch meals, and unique experiences on her family’s historic ranch. The Ranch Table offers a way for guests to learn about the foods they eat, and how to cook in a seasonal, imaginative, and simple way. Elizabeth is also the host of the cooking show Ranch To Table on Magnolia Network and is the author of The Ranch Table Cookbook.

Rose Previte is the chef and owner behind some of the best restaurants in the country, including Michelin-recognized Maydan, Medina, and SOOK as well as the newly launched Maydan Market in Los Angeles. Raised in a food-loving Sicilian-Lebanese family in Ohio, Rose got her start working in her mother’s restaurant and Middle Eastern catering business, eventually landing in D.C., where she made waves with Compass Rose in 2014. In 2017, she opened Maydan and the restaurant quickly earned coveted spots on nearly every best new restaurant list before becoming the first Middle Eastern restaurant in the U.S. to earn a Michelin star in 2020. In 2022, Rose co-founded Go There Wines, a social enterprise company created with the aim of disrupting the global wine industry, bringing to market trailblazing wines made by women and other underrepresented winemakers from lesser-known wine-making regions around the world.

Ella is a food and culture journalist, and a screenwriter. She often writes about obsession. Her debut cookbook and book of reported essays, Obsessed with the Best: 100+ Methodically Perfected Recipes Based on 20+ Head-to-Head Tests, was published by Harper Collins in 2026. She has contributed to The New York Times, New York Magazine, T Magazine, The New Yorker, The Cut, Bon Appéit, Saveur, The Baffler, The Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, TASTE, Food & Wine, TIME, Conde Nast Traveler, Prior World, Man Repeller, and to many group chats.

Tejal Rao is a food writer and co-chief restaurant critic for The New York Times, where she has worked since 2016 as a reporter, California restaurant critic, and critic at large. She also wrote the Eat column for The New York Times Magazine and launched The Veggie, a newsletter exploring vegetarian cooking and culture. Previously, she was the food critic at The Village Voice and reviewed restaurants for Bloomberg News. Born in London and raised across Kuwait, Sudan, France, and the United Kingdom before immigrating to Atlanta as a teenager, Tejal brings a global perspective to her work. After studying literature at Emerson College, she spent time working in restaurant kitchens and running a Brooklyn supper club while freelancing as a writer, editor, and translator. Today, she is widely regarded as one of the most influential voices in contemporary food journalism. She’s won two James Beard Awards for restaurant criticism and a Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise.

California feeds America (quite literally, since more than 50 percent of the nation’s fruits and vegetables come from The Golden State) and as Secretary of the state’s Department of Food and Agriculture, Karen Ross has kept it all on track since her initial appointment in 2011. Secretary Ross is passionate about fostering the reconnection of consumers to the land and the people who produce their food. She’s committed to improving the access of all California citizens to healthy, nutritious California-grown agricultural products and has worked to provide greater access to farm-fresh foods at school cafeterias through CDFA’s Farm to Fork Program. Secretary Ross has initiated programs to provide greater opportunities for farmers and ranchers to engage in sustainable environmental stewardship, with the goal of ensuring California meets the challenges posed by climate change.

Nicole Rucker is a chef, business owner, and author known for her rustic desserts and award-winning pies. She came up in the Los Angeles restaurant scene as the pastry chef of the Gjelina Group (including Gjelina Take Away and Gjusta Bakery) and she opened her bakery Fat + Flour as a stall in Grand Central Market in 2019. Now based out of its Culver City standalone shop, Fat + Flour showcases Nicole’s exceptional baked goods along with a full cafe menu and curated gifts. She has won blue ribbons in the National Pie Championship, KCRW Good Food Pie contest, and a Star Chef award for baking, and is a three-time James Beard Award nominee. She is also the author of two cookbooks: Dappled: Baking Recipes for Fruit Lovers and Fat + Flour: The Art of a Simple Bake.

Celia Sack is the owner of Omnivore Books on Food, the San Francisco Bay Area's only culinary bookshop. She opened Omnivore in Noe Valley in 2008, at the bottom of the recession, and there was nowhere to go but up. And up the shop went. It’s now bursting at the seams with new and antiquarian cookbooks from all over the world, and the dedicated staff are always happy to guide shoppers to the perfect book. Omnivore is also a must-visit for touring cookbook authors, with crowds attending thrice-weekly author events. The shop blends a passion for food with the pleasures of reading, and Celia couldn’t be happier with her choice to go all in on cookbooks.

Sonoko Sakai is a cook, teacher, and writer based in Los Angeles. Those three core jobs are woven into everything she does. She has worked as a film producer, creative director, cooking teacher, farmers' market vendor, lecturer, and grain activist. Sonoko has contributed recipes and stories to the New York Times, T Magazine, Los Angeles Times, Food & Wine, Bon Appétit, Saveur, Food Network, Milk Street, and more. She is an award-winning author of several books: Wafu Cooking, Japanese Home Cooking, Mai and the Missing Melon, Rice Craft, and The Poetical Pursuit of Food. She is currently working on her new book to be published in Spring 2028. She was born in New York to Japanese parents and grew up in San Francisco, Kamakura, Mexico City, and Tokyo, which contributed to her rich cultural upbringing, evident in her cooking. If she is not in her kitchen, you will find her poking around in her garden.

Pastry lovers can clock Caroline Schiff from her signature updo and infamous Baked Alaska. An award-winning pastry chef with nearly two decades of experience in restaurants, bakeries, and cafés, Caroline was most recently the executive pastry chef at Brooklyn’s acclaimed Gage & Tollner. She authored her debut cookbook, The Sweet Side of Sourdough, in 2021, was named a Food & Wine Best New Chef 2022, and was a James Beard Outstanding Pastry Chef finalist the same year. Her sophomore cookbook, Daily Dessert, will be released in October 2026. In addition to her second cookbook, she has been working to open her first brick-and-mortar concept, Monday Diner, in New York City later this year.

Sarah Simms is the co-founder of Lady & Larder, the beloved Los Angeles-based cheese shop. Together with her late twin sister and co-founder, Boo Simms, she built Lady & Larder from a shared vision that the dinner table was—and still is—a sacred place. With deep roots in California’s hospitality industry, Sarah draws on her extensive background in culinary operations while carrying forward Boo’s gift for design and marketing. Lady & Larder was founded on a profound respect for American-made seasonal ingredients and an immense appreciation for the way beautiful food creates moments of connection and joy. Since its beginnings, Lady & Larder has become a go-to source for gatherings across Southern California and beyond. The shop specializes in custom edible displays featuring seasonal crudités, fruit, cheese, and charcuterie, while also offering curated cheese and charcuterie kits, a monthly cheese club, online cheese board classes, and seasonal gifts that ship nationwide. Lady & Larder has been honored by outlets including The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Magazine, O Magazine, and Martha Stewart Weddings. In 2019, the shop was recognized as one of Oprah’s Favorite Things.

Nara Smith is redefining how luxury aesthetics and food content intersect, shaping a new blueprint for the modern lifestyle creator. Born in Frankfurt to a South African mother and German father, Nara was discovered at 14 and began building her career in modeling. She grew an audience of over 17 million social media followers with her signature videos featuring elaborate meals prepared entirely from scratch, often while dressed in designer couture pieces, filmed with a refined, cinematic aesthetic. Her approach to cooking began as a personal response to managing severe eczema and autoimmune issues, evolving into a deeply intentional practice centered on nourishment, routine, and care. While her content work is often recognized for its visual precision, from wardrobe to sound to setting, it remains grounded in a simple goal: preparing thoughtful meals for her family. Based in Connecticut with her husband and their four children, Nara will release her debut cookbook, Homemade, on October 13th with HarperCollins.

Anna Sonenshein is the co-chef and co-owner of Little Fish Restaurant Group in Los Angeles. Alongside partner Niki Vahle, she transformed a pandemic-era passion project—serving fried fish sandwiches through their living room window—into one of the city’s most beloved eateries. Today, Little Fish has two Michelin-recognized locations in Melrose Hill and Echo Park. Largely self-taught, Anna has built her career through curiosity, collaboration, and a commitment to continuous learning. Beyond the kitchen, she is a passionate advocate for Los Angeles’ restaurant community, organizing support efforts and championing the industry’s vital role in the city’s cultural and economic life. During the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires, she helped lead a relief initiative that provided more than 40,000 meals to displaced residents and first responders.

Heather Sperling is the co-owner and operator of two restaurants in Silver Lake, Los Angeles: Botanica—acclaimed for its creative seasonal cooking, ambitious natural wine list, and thriving online retail program and product line—and Bar Besito, a home for modern Spanish-Californian cooking. Connecting both is her philosophy of nourishing hospitality, informing everything from Botanica’s farmers' market-centric menu and sustainable practices to its dedication to respect, equality, and healthfulness as core operating tenets. Prior to diving into the restaurant world, Heather spent a decade as an editor of food publications and a consultant for chefs, markets, and brands. Her culinary character is informed by her Lebanese heritage, a stint living in India as a child, and dozens of formative trips to Spain. She is a founding member of Regarding Her, a national nonprofit fueling the growth of women leaders in food and beverage.

Chef Cara Stadler is a celebrated Chinese American chef based in Maine. She’s worked across the globe from Massachusetts to Berkeley to Beijing to Paris. She’s a seven-time James Beard Award nominee and former Food & Wine Best New Chef, and she earned a Michelin star for her work at Gordon Ramsay’s Au Trianon Palace in Versailles. Upon relocating to Maine, she earned national acclaim for her restaurants, including Bao Bao Dumpling House, Tao Yuan, and ZaoZe Café, where her cooking reflected the Chinese, French, and New England influences that have shaped her career. In 2026, Cara reached an even wider audience when she won the inaugural season of America's Culinary Cup, taking home the competition's $1 million grand prize—the largest payout in food television history. Whether in restaurants or on national TV, Cara continues to inspire the culinary world through her creativity, technical excellence, and unique perspective.

Courtney Storer is a chef, culinary producer, and creative force whose influence spans restaurant kitchens, television, and food media. Best known as the culinary producer and consultant behind the Emmy Award-winning series The Bear, Courtney—a Chicago native—helped shape the show’s celebrated authenticity, drawing on her years of professional kitchen experience to bring the realities of restaurant life to the screen. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, Courtney worked at Whole Foods Market and in acclaimed restaurants around the globe, including Verjus and Buvette in Paris and Jon & Vinny’s in Los Angeles, where she served as culinary director. Today, she continues to expand into new ventures, including Coco’s to Go-Go, an Italian ice company. Through her work in television and culinary storytelling, she has helped redefine how audiences experience and connect with the food world, which is why she’s the recipient of Cherry Bombe’s Culinary Artist of the Year Award. Courtney is also featured on the cover of Cherry Bombe’s Game Changers Issue.

Photo by Amy Dickerson

Nashville is glad to have homegrown chef Julia Sullivan back home. After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America, Julia worked at some of New York’s best restaurants, including Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Per Se, and Franny’s. She came back to Nashville in 2017 to open Henrietta Red, which garnered accolades for its seasonal, ingredient-driven cuisine and landed Julia a James Beard nomination and Food and Wine Best New Chef award. She opened her second restaurant, Judith, in Sewanee, Tennessee, in 2024. Active in the culinary community, Julia is the president of the board of Oyster South, furthering her dedication to sustainable seafood practices and supporting coastal communities and oyster farmers.

Chrissy Teigen is a bestselling cookbook author, entrepreneur, model, and media personality whose candid, approachable take on home cooking has inspired millions. She is the author of the Cravings cookbook series and the founder of Cravings by Chrissy Teigen, a lifestyle brand spanning recipes, cookware, kitchen essentials, and entertaining. Drawing inspiration from her Thai heritage and her love of comfort food, Chrissy has helped shape contemporary food culture by bringing humor, authenticity, and real-life practicality to the kitchen.

Photo by Jennifer Livingston

Olivia Tiedemann is an Austin-based chef and creator. After attending culinary school and cooking in restaurants, Olivia worked as a private chef in the Hamptons, where she garnered a large online audience thanks to her elevated dishes, impeccable plating, and signature dry sense of humor. Her unique style of showing both the food and the cooking process has pioneered a new editing trend online and amassed her millions of followers. Olivia has collaborated with celebrities and celebrity chefs, including Daniel Boulud, Jenna Lyons, Gordon Ramsey, and Giada De Laurentiis. She was named one of Forbes 30 under 30 on their 2025 Food & Drink List and has made appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Today, and Gordon Ramsey’s Idiot Sandwich. Her debut cookbook, Eat (Like) the Rich, will be released this September.

Toni Tipton-Martin is a three-time James Beard Book Award winner and recipient of its Lifetime Achievement Award. She has been the editor-in-chief of Cook’s Country magazine by America’s Test Kitchen and a cast member of its PBS television show, and is the founder of a nonprofit organization using cultural heritage and cooking to build community. Toni is the recipient of the prestigious Julia Child Award, as well as the International Association of Culinary Professional’s Trailblazer Award.

Her celebrated books are: Juke Joints, Jazz Clubs & Juice: Cocktails From Two Centuries of African American Cookbooks; Jubilee: Recipes From Two Centuries of African American Cooking; and The Jemima Code: Two Centuries of African American Cookbooks. In 2024, Toni shepherded When Southern Women Cook: History, Lore, and 300 Recipes with Contributions from 70 Women Writers, a first-of-its-kind cookbook for America’s Test Kitchen. In 2026, she wrote the foreword for the 50th anniversary edition of Edna Lewis’ The Taste of Country Cooking.

Passionate about sustainability and foraging from the earth, Chrissy Tracey's work focuses on making great food that anyone can enjoy regardless of their lifestyle choices through both her original content and her pop-ups across the Northeast. A first-generation Jamaican American vegan chef, forager, artist, fashion fanatic, entrepreneur, Chrissy’s debut book, Forage & Feast: Recipes for Bringing Mushrooms & Wild Plants to Your Table, was published by Ten Speed Press in 2024. Chrissy was also Bon Appétit's first vegan YouTube host and was a Connecticut “40 Under 40” recipient as a result of contributing her excess resources to providing low-income families with plant-based meals in her Connecticut county.

Elly Truesdell is the founder and managing partner of New Fare Partners, an investment fund focused on the evolving American palate and modern consumer. A longtime operator, investor, and tastemaker in the natural and organic food industry, Elly brings deep expertise across retail strategy, brand development, supply chain, and product innovation. Prior to founding New Fare, Elly spent nearly a decade at Whole Foods Market, where she served as Global Director of Local Brands & Product Innovation, helping shape emerging food trends and scale innovative brands nationally. Today, Elly works closely with founders and portfolio companies across the food ecosystem. She serves on the boards of Actual Veggies, Farm to People, Nara Organics, and Tacombi. She holds a BA in Media Studies from the University of Virginia.

Chef Kat Turner is known for a thoughtful, globally inspired approach to cooking that balances comfort and creativity. As the chef of Highly Likely in Los Angeles, she has built a menu that reflects both her Midwestern roots and the diverse culinary influences she has gathered throughout a career spent cooking around the world. Before joining Highly Likely, Kat worked as a private chef for high-profile clients and helped lead culinary programming for Summit Series and Summit Powder Mountain. She trained at New York City’s Natural Gourmet Institute and worked at Blue Hill, experiences that helped shape her philosophy around sustainability, ingredient sourcing, and the connection between food and well-being.

Brittney Valles has built her career at the intersection of hospitality, entrepreneurship, and advocacy. After getting her start at Chef Walter Manzke’s Sprout Restaurant Group, she launched The Bee-Keepers, a consulting practice that helped small businesses navigate operations and finance. One of her early clients was Chef Wes Avila’s Guerrilla Tacos, and within months, Brittney became a partner. At just 23 years old, she helped raise $1.8 million to open the restaurant’s first brick-and-mortar location and oversaw its growth into a celebrated Los Angeles restaurant.When the pandemic upended the industry, Brittney turned her attention to collective action. She co-founded the Independent Hospitality Coalition (IHC), a collective created to give independent operators a unified voice, and Regarding Her Food (RE:Her), a nonprofit dedicated to supporting women in the food and hospitality space. She later founded High School 2 Hospitality, a nonprofit connecting transition-age youth with professional mentorship, and launched Gogo’s Tacos, a concept serving street taco-style food, to help fund its work. Today, Brittney serves as executive director of the Independent Hospitality Coalition and is a regular presence in Sacramento as a voice for independent restaurant operators. Under her leadership, IHC has successfully championed multiple pieces of state legislation, including AB 592, making it easier to open and operate a restaurant in California. Bringing firsthand knowledge and relentless follow-through to her advocacy work, Brittney strongly believes that the people who feed us deserve a seat at the table.

Mariana Velásquez has spent over 20 years immersed in the world of food—from cooking on the line to styling, hospitality consulting, and beyond. Her work spans food, fashion, design, and storytelling, with projects across New York, Latin America, and Asia, blending luxury hospitality, cookbook authorship, food styling, and immersive event design.

As a stylist, she has collaborated with Vogue, Bon Appétit, The New York Times, the motion picture In The Heights and styled for First Lady Michelle Obama’s American Grown book. Her visual approach is narrative-driven—bringing warmth, elegance, and a distinct point of view to every table.

Her award-winning cookbook, Colombiana, celebrates Colombian culinary heritage through a modern lens. Her latest book, Revel: A Maximalist's Guide to Having People Over, is an ode to the art of generous, beautiful entertaining. Most recently, she launched a tabletop collaboration with Sur La Table, bringing her signature aesthetic to a curated collection for the home.

From her studios in New York and Cartagena, she creates bespoke experiences—intimate dinners, brand activations, and full creative direction for hotels and restaurants. Through her homeware line, Casa Velásquez, and projects like the Cena Rosa dinner series, she designs with intention, honoring ritual, place, and personal style.

Angela Vranich is changing how America feeds its kids. She noticed that when it came to baby food—products were shelf-stable, outdated, and disconnected from how modern parents wanted to feed their children. So she set out to reinvent the category, and co-founded Little Spoon to deliver fresh, nutritionally optimized baby food to families’ doors. Today, the brand has expanded across multiple product categories, launched nationwide in Target, and continues to pioneer convenience and quality in kids’ nutrition. As chief product officer, Angela oversees consumer insights, product development, research, and every physical consumer-facing touchpoint. Since launching Little Spoon, Angela has helped grow the company into the leading direct-to-consumer children’s food brand in the U.S., with more than 100 million meals sold nationwide and products now feeding roughly three percent of American babies.

Crystal Wahpepah is a chef, author, and Indigenous restaurateur dedicated to reclaiming and celebrating Native foodways. A member of the Kickapoo Nation of Oklahoma, she is the founder of Wahpepah’s Kitchen in Oakland, California, and the first Native woman to own a restaurant in Northern California. Through her cooking, Crystal honors Indigenous ingredients, traditions, and intertribal culinary practices while fostering community, healing, and a deeper understanding of Native cultures. A nationally recognized advocate for food sovereignty and Indigenous representation, Crystal has served as a U.S. State Department culinary ambassador and has shared her work through appearances on Food Network, CBS, and National Geographic. She was a finalist for the James Beard Award for Emerging Chef and has catered events for organizations including the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the American Indian Film Festival. Her debut cookbook, Feather and a Fork, was released this spring.

As a food and entertaining expert, Alyse Whitney uses her gift of gab and fun and funky approach to food to get people cooking and finding community together. She is the author and creative mastermind behind the cookbook Big Dip Energy. She spent most of her 15-year journalism career in magazines, entertainment publications, and food-focused brands, including Bon Appétit, The Hollywood Reporter, and Cravings by Chrissy Teigen, respectively. These days, you can find her penning Cosmopolitan's first-ever food column, "Doing the Least with Alyse," and showing up on your favorite TV shows, including segments on The Kelly Clarkson Show and Access Hollywood; hosting and judging on Netflix’s Easy-Bake Battle, The Big Nailed It! Baking Challenge, and Pressure Cooker; and three episodes judging on Food Network’s Chopped. She was the opening speaker for Cherry Bombe's Jubilee in Los Angeles in 2025 with her talk "Good Fat: Dismantling Fatphobia From the Inside Out.”

Rose Wilde is a Los Angeles–based chef, writer, and co-host of The Kitchen Tape podcast. She is the author of Bread and Roses: 100+ Grain Forward Recipes featuring Global Ingredients and Botanicals, which was named one of the Best Books of the Year by Bon Appétit and the Los Angeles Times. Her second cookbook, Tiny Cakes, will be released in Spring 2027.

Known for her work with whole grains, fermentation, and botanicals, Rose launched her bakery, Red Bread, in 2011, earning awards for Best New Bakery, Best Cookie, Best Pie, Best Cake, and Best Bagel. She has since led pastry and bread programs at acclaimed Los Angeles restaurants including Manuela, Rustic Canyon, Rossoblu, and Mother Wolf. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Bon Appétit, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Edible, Cherry Bombe, KCRW, NPR, The Splendid Table, and the Cooking Channel.

Chef, restaurateur, author, and television personality Brooke Williamson has built an incredible career in food today. Based in Los Angeles, she is known for her ingredient-driven California cuisine and for co-founding acclaimed restaurants with business partner Nick Roberts, including the Playa Provisions. Brooke won Season 14 of Bravo’s Top Chef, became the inaugural champion of Food Network’s Tournament of Champions, and stars as one of the culinary titans on Bobby’s Triple Threat. She is also the author of Sun-Kissed Cooking: Vegetables Front & Center and is a dedicated advocate for ending childhood hunger through her work with No Kid Hungry’s Leadership Council.

At age 26, Kimberly Witherspoon founded her own literary agency, InkWell Management, which quickly became one of the most prestigious and successful agencies in Manhattan, with clients who are frequently published around the world. Over the past 15 years, she has represented critically acclaimed and bestselling authors of both fiction and nonfiction, including: José Andrés, Anthony Bourdain, Cindy Crawford, Lena Dunham, Gabrielle Hamilton, Yotam Ottolenghi, and Christina Tosi, among others. She graduated from Brown University in 1984 with a BA in International Relations. She is a founding board member of The Bronx Academy of Letters, a member of the Authors Guild and the editor of two anthologies, including Don’t Try This At Home: Culinary Catastrophes From the World’s Greatest Chefs.

Sarah Yenbamroong is the co-owner of the acclaimed NIGHT + MARKET restaurants in Los Angeles. Working alongside her husband, Chef Kris Yenbamroong, Sarah has helped grow the beloved Thai restaurant brand while shaping its distinctive voice and community presence. Before hospitality, Sarah had a career in writing and editing. Her work appeared in Cherry Bombe, Refinery29, Huffington Post, and C Magazine. She is a devoted mother and advocate for pediatric cancer research.

Claudette Zepeda is an award-winning San Diego-based chef and culinary entrepreneur known for her fearless style and bold approach to regional Mexican cuisine. A celebrated culinary anthropologist, Claudette draws upon 20+ years of experience working in restaurant kitchens, as well as her extensive travels around the world and throughout Mexico, to inform her vast knowledge of indigenous ingredients and cross-cultural expressions of cuisine. Claudette's multi-faceted expertise is showcased in her role overseeing the creative vision as founder of Chispa Hospitality, including food concepts in San Diego, Nashville, Australia, and Mexico. Claudette has also garnered national acclaim for her food, including receiving a glowing review from the New York Times, and inclusion on Esquire’s 2018 & 2021 Best New Restaurants and the Michelin Bib Gourmand list. She was named Eater San Diego’s and San Diego Union Tribune’s Chef of the Year in 2018, and was a James Beard Best Chef West semi-finalist in 2019. Also in 2019, Claudette founded Viva La Vida, LLC., establishing micro-businesses with single mothers throughout Mexico to import their heirloom ingredients previously unavailable in the U.S. Through Viva La Vida, she helps Mexican women support their families without sacrificing their safety. Expanding into establishing a fund dedicated to helping Hispanic women break from generational poverty in the United States.

This June, Claudette released her debut cookbook, Cooking the Borderlands: Spice and Smoke Between Mexico and the States.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Hannah Ziskin is the pastry chef and co-owner of Quarter Sheets, the beloved Echo Park restaurant she runs alongside her partner, Aaron Lindell. Known for pairing crispy-edged pizza with an exceptional pastry program, Quarter Sheets has earned national acclaim and a devoted following. Hannah’s signature princess cake and seasonal desserts have become cult favorites in the city. In 2023, Hannah was named one of Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs, and in 2025, she was a James Beard Award semi-finalist for Outstanding Pastry Chef.

Janet Zuccarini is a restaurateur, entrepreneur, and hospitality leader known for creating some of North America’s most celebrated dining destinations. As the founder and CEO of Gusto 54 Restaurant Group, she has built a portfolio of acclaimed restaurants across the U.S. and Canada, which includes Felix Trattoria in Los Angeles and Trattoria Nervosa in Toronto. Guided by a commitment to exceptional hospitality, design, and culinary excellence, Janet has helped redefine the modern restaurant experience while championing Italian food and culture. Born in Canada to Italian immigrant parents, she draws inspiration from her heritage and extensive travels. Under her leadership, Gusto 54 has earned widespread recognition for its innovative approach to hospitality and workplace culture. Janet is also a judge on Top Chef Canada.