Food Professionals

Chefs Council

The California Walnuts Chefs Council mission is to determine the necessary steps needed to transform the current American menu into one providing healthy and delicious food options. The conversation from the Council will raise awareness for the “New American Menu” and provide inspiration for media and all chefs to help communicate this essential message to diners and foodservice professionals nationwide.

Participating chefs using high-quality, great tasting ingredients such as seasonal produce, whole grains, lean meats and pantry staples such as walnuts and olive oil to create great tasting dishes which focus also can be good for you...food which tastes good AND is good for you! Chefs Council members will provide recipes and concepts applicable to their industry colleagues that are useful for home cooks, too.

The Chefs Council focus on a wide range of food topics, including (but not limited to):

    • Foodservice Menu Trends: The various trends, fads and patterns seen in consumer and food professional choices – what factors lead to such decisions and why.
    • Portion Control: Average portion size has increased significantly over the years and, with it, has skewed the American restaurant patron’s ideas of what a typical, acceptable serving amount should be. 
    • Changing Consumer Demands: The consumer is an ever-changing force dictating today’s hottest menu item, cuisine and overall restaurant environment.
    • A Nutrition Revolution: How do we use all of this information on consumer demands, menu trends and issues such as portion control to create an optimal campaign towards a Nutritional Revolution in American food culture?

 

Mollie Katzen
Mollie Katzen

James Beard Cookbook Hall of Famer and one of “The Five Women Who Changed the Way We Eat”.

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Ken Frank
Ken Frank

Ken Frank is the chef-proprietor of La Toque restaurant in the Napa, California. When Ken Frank learned there was an opportunity to build a new restaurant in The Westin Verasa, Napa, in the fall of 2008, he considered it a good omen.

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Greg Higgins
Greg Higgins

Greg Higgins is an award winning chef and co-owner of “Higgins Restaurant and Bar,” a 2010 James Beard Outstanding Restaurant nominee.

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Jim Perko
Jim Perko

With 20 years of Healthcare experience, Chef Jim Perko CEC, ACC has a passion for creating the most delectable taste experiences for any conceivable diet, from vegan to a zero-fat, plant based diet.

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Charlie Ayers
Charlie Ayers

Chef Charlie Ayers, more commonly known as Chef Charlie, lives by the creed “eat, drink, and be merry.”

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