Jacques Torres is the authority on all things chocolate – that’s why we call him Mr. Chocolate™! As the Executive Pastry Chef at the iconic Le Cirque restaurant in New York City, Jacques served his magical and memorable desserts to presidents, kings, and celebrities.
With a passionate focus on local ingredients and a serious position on equality in the kitchen, Reneé Touponce, Chef/partner of Oyster Club and The Port of Call, continues to raise the culinary bar in Mystic, CT and throughout New England. Reneé is a 2024 James Beard Award Finalist for Outstanding Chef, a 2023 James Beard Award finalist for Best Chef Northeast, and was named Chef of the Year at the Connecticut Restaurant Association’s 2022 CRazies Awards. Her kitchens are healthy, equal and safe, where no one has to feel out of place, while also cooking some of the most innovative and thoughtful food in New England.
Fabio Trabocchi is the founder of Fabio Trabocchi Restaurants, featuring award-winning venues like Fiola, Fiola Mare and Del Mar. Trained in Italy under Michelin-starred Chef Gualtiero Marchesi, he earned a James Beard Award and a Michelin star. His global expertise and restaurant group have redefined fine dining in Washington, D.C. and beyond.
Chef Ming Tsai is an Iron Chef, James Beard and Emmy Award-Winner, Chef/Partner at BaBa at Yellowstone Club in Big Sky, President of the National Advisory Board for Family Reach, and author of five cookbooks. He was host and executive producer of the longest-running cooking series on PBS, Simply Ming.
Doug Psaltis is a Michelin star chef and restaurateur with esteemed restaurants in Chicago. He is well respected for his unwavering dedication to sourcing the best products in the world. His Basque-inspired steakhouse, Asador Bastian was recently named 14th best steak restaurant in the world.
Natalia Vallejo, a Puerto Rican chef, has worked in renowned kitchens worldwide. She studied oenology, nutrition, and molecular cuisine, researching ancestral food in Chile. In 2019, she opened Cocina al Fondo in Puerto Rico. She won the 2023 James Beard Award for “Best Chef: South,” the first Puerto Rican to achieve this honor.
Florida’s culinary icon, Norman Van Aken is known for introducing the term “Fusion” into the vocabulary of global cuisine. He is the only Floridian Chef recipient of the James Beard Foundation’s “Who’s Who”. He’s been a semifinalist for the “Best Chef in America”, and NORMAN’S was nominated as a finalist for “Best Restaurant in America”.
While attending school, Camilo Velasco joined the team at Orlando’s Award-winning, Victoria and Albert’s at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa. Here he trained under James Beard Award-nominee, Chef Scott Hunnel. He then moved on to NORMAN’S at the Ritz Carlton Grand Lakes to work under the direction of James Beard Award-winning Chef Norman Van Aken.
Before Paola Velez was a culinary diplomat for the United States and a founder of the Bakers Against Racism viral bake sale, she was a chocolatier at Jacques Torres’ Brooklyn chocolate shop. She then moved to Washington, D.C. to work with Christina Tosi at Milk Bar, and has since cooked in some of the city’s most acclaimed kitchens.
Greg Vernick, a Cherry Hill, NJ native, built a standout culinary career after earning degrees from Boston University and the CIA. He rose through Jean-Georges restaurants, opened acclaimed Vernick Food & Drink in 2012, and later launched Vernick Coffee Bar and Vernick Fish. Recognized by the James Beard Foundation, he continues to define American dining with excellence and hospitality.