Ken Oringer is a James Beard Award winning chef, restaurateur, and cookbook author. He owns and operates highly acclaimed restaurants around Boston including Coppa, Toro, Uni (formerly Clio), Little Donkey, Faccia a Faccia, and his newest project, Verveine Cafe + Bakery. Oringer has received numerous awards and recognition for his work.
For the past 20 years, Dave Punch has been cooking up a storm in Boston and beyond. He got his start learning the classics at the Nightingale Restaurant in the South End, then sharpened his skills as sous chef with some of Boston’s best — Susan Regis, Amanda Lydon, and Steve Johnson — at Upstairs on the Square and Rendezvous.
Stefan Riemer is the Pastry Culinary Director on the F&B Culinary Development team for Walt Disney World. He was named a Top Ten Pastry Chef in North America by Dessert Professional. Chef Riemer has been making culinary magic at Disney since 1999 and in his current role, he drives product development, menu planning, provides training and mentoring, develops pastry menus and leads the concepts of Amorette’s Patisserie and The Ganachery at Disney Springs.
Chef Henrique Sá Pessoa of Portugal studied at the Pennsylvania Institute of Culinary Arts, before working abroad in London and Australia. After winning 2005 Chef of the Year in Portugal, he starred in cooking shows before opening Alma, which holds 2 Michelin stars since 2019.
Jeremy Sewall is the Chef and Partner of Row 34 in Boston’s Seaport, Cambridge’s Kendall Square, Burlington, MA and Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Row 34 is a progressive, neighborhood-focused oyster bar that continues the team’s mission of celebrating New England’s rich seafood traditions.
Chef Jess Shadbolt is a British born chef, restaurateur and soon to be cookbook author. Along with her partners she opened King — a restaurant that changes the menu daily — in 2016. In 2018 Jess was one of Food and Wine’s Best New Chefs. King gained a two-star review from Pete Well’s in The New York Times later that year.
Gail Simmons is a trained culinary expert, food writer, and dynamic television personality. Since the show’s inception in 2006, she has lent her extensive expertise as permanent judge on BRAVO’s Emmy-winning series Top Chef. She was most recently co-host of The Good Dish, the daily syndicated series offering delicious recipes, real-life wisdom, and conversations on the topics of the day, and was formerly host of Top Chef Amateurs, as well as Iron Chef Canada.
Hailed as one of the country’s “most creative fusion practitioners,” Ana Sortun was named the Best Chef Northeast by the James Beard Foundation in 2005 and has been lauded as “a culinary genius” by Boston Magazine and in Saveur. In 2015, 2016 and 2017 she was a James Beard semi-finalist for Outstanding Chef.
Chef Karyn Tomlinson was just named a 2024 Food & Wine Magazine Best New Chef and is a three-time James Beard semi-finalist. She is the celebrated chef and owner of Myriel, an internationally acclaimed restaurant located in St. Paul, Minnesota. With her deep-rooted passion for sustainability, Karyn has positioned Myriel as a beacon of sustainable dining.
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.