James Beard Award–winning chef Tom Douglas has shaped Pacific Northwest cuisine for over three decades. A self-taught chef, he debuted at Seattle’s Café Sport in 1984, opened Dahlia Lounge in 1989, and earned national acclaim in 1994. He built an expansive restaurant group, Dahlia Bakery, “Rub with Love” spices, Hot Stove Society, and continues inspiring with creativity and community.
Wylie Dufresne, award-winning chef born in Rhode Island in 1970, trained at the Culinary Institute of America and worked with Jean-Georges Vongerichten. He later opened WD-50 in 2003, earning acclaim, a James Beard Award, and a Michelin Star. In 2023 he launched Stretch Pizza in New York, celebrating the classic slice, with expansion planned for 2025.
Stephen Durfee is Director of Chocolate Curriculum at Dandelion Chocolate. Former Executive Pastry Chef at The French Laundry, he won the 1998 James Beard Award and was named a top 10 Pastry Chef in 1999. He taught pastry at CIA Greystone for 20+ years and represented Team USA in the 2013 Coupe du Monde de la Patisserie.
Chef Christian Eckmann began his career under French Chef, Jean Banchet at Le Francais. He later took over as executive chef of Ambria in Chicago under Gabino Sotelino. His love of Basque cuisine stemmed from his year living in San Sebastian and working at Arzak. He and Chef Doug Psaltis created Asador Bastian in 2023.
Stranger Wine Co. is a family-owned micro-winery in Buchanan, Michigan, rooted in the Lake Michigan Shore AVA. Founded in 2021 by husband-and-wife team Maxx Eichberg and Sidney Finan, the winery sprang from their shared passion for wine and agriculture and a quest to “find meaning in an otherwise meaningless world” through winemaking. The couple purchased the historic 15-acre Avonlea Estate vineyard in 2021, choosing Michigan for its untapped potential as a wine region.
Zachary Engel is Chef/Owner of Michelin-starred Galit and Cafe Yaya in Chicago. Formerly Chef de Cuisine at Shaya, he led the team to a 2016 James Beard Award and earned the 2017 Rising Star Chef of the Year Award. His experience includes Zahav, Catit, and Madrona Manor, with roots in Jewish and Middle Eastern cooking.
Executive Chef Raymond England leads the kitchen at Husk with local purveyors and ingredients at the forefront, truly embracing the spirit of Husk’s identity in highlighting Southern cuisine. With humble beginnings on his family’s cattle farm in rural Idaho, England knows the value of every ingredient that comes through the door.
James Beard award-winning chef and author Renee Erickson co-owns acclaimed Seattle restaurants including The Walrus and the Carpenter, Bateau, and Willmott’s Ghost. Her Pacific Northwest-inspired cuisine and European sensibility have earned national recognition. With partner Jeremy Price, her design firm Price Erickson has also received widespread acclaim.
Stuart Farr is the owner of Hudson Valley Hops & Grains, a 400-acre USDA certified organic farm in Columbia County, New York. Using a biological approach and regenerative practices, the farm grows wheat, rye, barley, sunflowers, canola, camelina, buckwheat, and black beans with cover crops. Oils from sunflower, canola, and camelina are expeller-pressed on-farm without heat or additives.