Dana Cowin – Event Emcee

Dana Cowin is a tastemaker and innovator in media, food and branding. Her work spans advising creatives, founders and non-profits and creating editorial through podcasts, social, video, zines and books. Drawing on more than twenty years of tastings as the Editor in Chief of Food & Wine magazine, Cowin curates collections of extraordinary comestibles, bringing attention to the remarkable women behind the products. An award-winning influencer in the food world, she is a sought-after speaker on topics from trendspotting to lifestyle and motivation, and entrepreneurship. And of course good food!

For 21 years, from 1995 to 2016, Cowin was the Editor in Chief of Food & Wine magazine. She transformed Food & Wine into a must-read lifestyle publication and digital outlet for anyone who wanted to track culinary trends, up-and-coming chefs, news about travel destinations, entertaining, wine and spirits.

Cowin has a longstanding commitment to supporting opportunities for economic growth through culinary training. She’s on the board of  Food Education Fund and Hot Bread Kitchen, as well as the Food Council of City Harvest.

Guest Chefs

Chef Jamie Malone – Owner & Chef, Paris Dining Club & Studio (Minneapolis, Minnesota)

Jamie Malone has always had a life that revolved around food. She grew up cooking and baking bread with her dad in St. Paul, Minnesota. Before receiving her culinary degree from Le Cordon Bleu, Chef Malone traveled and studied extensively in Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam, and Europe, immersing herself in each region’s cuisine.

Malone has gained national attention and earned a place as a semifinalist for the James Beard Award Foundation’s “Rising Star Chef” for 2013 and “Best Chef Midwest” for 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019.  In 2013, Malone was named one of Food and Wine magazine’s “Best New Chef”.  In 2017 Jamie opened her first restaurant Grand Café, in 2018 her restaurant was a Semifinalist for the the James Beard Award Foundations “Best New Restaurant”, and was also named Food and Wine magazine’s “Best New Restaurant”, that year she was also awarded  Food and Wine Magazine’s “Dish of the Year”.

Jamie has written for Esquire’s “Eat Like a Man” blog and been featured in many magazines including GQ, Saveur, and Elle. In 2014 she won Cooking Light magazine’s “Trail Blazer Award” for her work with sustainable seafood. Most recently, Malone has created Paris Dining Club & Studio. You can find Jamie at her North Loop Studio hosting events and creating new experiences for people who love food.

Chef Jennifer Hill Booker – Author, Food Advocate, Owner & Chef of Bauhaus Biergarten (Springdale, Arkansas & Atlanta, Georgia)

Chef Jennifer Hill Booker has taken her Southern culinary heritage, her belief in healthy, seasonal foods and her classic French training to create a unique cuisine — Modern Southern Healthy Cuisine with a French Accent. Chef’s cooking style is a modern reinvention of Southern cuisine that incorporates the traditional use of seasonal ingredients, important to maintain a healthy lifestyle, with French culinary techniques she learned from her training at the Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Paris, France. She is a Georgia Grown Executive Chef for the GA Department of Agriculture, the Culinary Explorer for the Georgia Department of Tourism and Travel, is the founder of Southern Divas of the New South TM Dinner Series. Chef Jennifer is the current President of the prestigious Atlanta chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier International, a member of SlowFood-Atlanta and of Atlanta’s No Kid Hungry Atlanta Society. Chef Jennifer currently sits on the James Beard Foundation Sustainability Advisory Council.

Chef Carrie Nahabedian – Co-Owner & Executive Chef, Brindille (Chicago, Illinois)

Chef Carrie is a James Beard Award recipient and has received seven consecutive Michelin stars. Carrie opened Brindille in the spring of 2013 along with partner and cousin Michael. Mayor of Chicago Richard M. Daley named September 22, 2009 in honor of Nahabedian, the same day that she was inducted into the Chicago Culinary Museum’s Chefs Hall of Fame.  As of the 2012 edition of the Michelin Guide, Nahabedian is one of only ten female chefs in the United States to hold a Michelin star.

Chef Joy Crump – owner and chef, FOODE + Mercantile (Fredericksburg, Virgina)

Chef Joy Crump, a Pennsylvania native, is known for crafting the seasons’ best locally-sourced ingredients into comfortably refined dishes. In 2011, Crump opened her first restaurant, FOODE in Historic Downtown Fredericksburg, Virginia with business partner Beth Black. In 2014, the duo opened their second restaurant, the breakfast-centric Mercantile, also in Fredericksburg. In 2021, Joy and Beth purchased 718 Venue, a meticulously-renovated 100-guest special events and lodging facility in the heart of downtown Fredericksburg. Crump appeared on Season 12 of Bravo’s Top Chef. Crump has had the honor of cooking as a featured chef at the James Beard House in both 2016 and 2017, and is actively involved in the James Beard Foundation’s Impact Programs for Food Policy, Chef Advocacy and Change.

The James Beard Foundation celebrates and supports the people behind America’s food culture, while pushing for new standards in the restaurant industry to create a future where all have the opportunity to thrive. Established over 30 years ago, the Foundation has highlighted the centrality of food culture in our daily lives and is committed to supporting a resilient and flourishing industry that honors its diverse communities. By amplifying new voices, celebrating those leading the way, and supporting those on the path to do so, the Foundation is working to create a more equitable and sustainable future — what we call Good Food for Good™. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the James Beard Foundation launched the Open for Good campaign to ensure that independent restaurants not only survive, but that the industry is able to rebuild stronger than before.