The Icons

Dr. Lezli Levene Harvell
Creator + Chief Curator

Chef Khaled Albanna
Calliope Restaurant, Chattanooga (he/him/his) After spending his childhood in the kitchen alongside his mother in Amman, Jordan, Chef Khaled Albanna acquired invaluable and unattainable cooking

Chef Bernard Bennett
Okàn (Bluffton) (he / him / his) Bernard’s love of food began when his mother taught him to cook with vegetables grown in his grandmother’s

Chef Romann Dumorne
Northern Union (Ogunquit) (he/him/his) Romann worked his way up the ranks of the kitchen in a small restaurant in upstate New York before landing an

Chef Courtney Evans
Leah & Louise (Charlotte) (she/her/hers) Chef Evans hails from Columbia, SC. Her love of food was initially rooted in her curiosity about the chemical reactions

Chef Luis Guevara
Carmel (Atlanta) (he / him / his) Born in Acapulco, Mexico and transplanted to Atlanta at three years old, Luis grew up in the restaurant

Chef Zarah Khan
Rustic Canyon (Santa Monica) (she/her/hers) Chef Zarah’s educational background in Environmental Science and Forestry led her to a deeper exploration of the stories behind the

Chef James Linabary
Audrey / June (Nashville) (he / him / his) James is the pastry sous chef at multiple-award-winning and acclaimed Chef Sean Brock’s Flagship restaurant Audrey

Chef Kim Mok
Boka (Chicago) (she/her/hers) Chef Kim’s life has been defined and shaped by food. She is a second-generation Chinese-American and spent many childhood weekends and summers

Chef Yoonjung Oh
Jungsik (NYC) (she/her/hers) Being born and honing her pastry skills in Seoul, Korea, Chef Yoonjung found her way into The Culinary Institute of America in

Chef Justin Pioche
Pioche Food Group (Upper Fruitland, NM) (he/him/his) Justin Pioche is an Ashihii Dine’ who is born for the Bit’ahnii people (Navajo Nation) and the owner

Chef Faye Poonsiripukdeekul
Bacchanalia / W.H. Stiles Fish Camp (Atlanta) (she / her / hers) Faye “Poon” Poonsiripukdeekul’s career has been defined by her commitment to investing in

Chef Tre Sanderson
Hotel X, Baro, Vela, (Toronto) (he/him/his) Sanderson has over a decade of culinary experience working in some of Toronto’s hottest restaurants. Being a first-generation Canadian

Chef Christopher Vega
La Pícara (San Juan) (he/him/his) Upon graduating from culinary school, Christopher began working at Condado Vanderbilt Hotel under one of Puerto Rico’s most lauded chefs,

Chef Rasika Venkatesa
Mourad (San Francisco) (she/her/hers) Her fondest memories are growing up in Chennai, India and cooking with her biggest inspiration, her grandmother Mythily Ramachandran. At a

Chef Lateisha Wilson
Matador Room at The Miami Beach Edition (Miami Beach) (she/her/hers) Chef Lateisha gravitated toward cooking from a young age and always sensed that she was
WINE

Alisha Blackwell-Calvert, CSW
Cinder House at Four Seasons (St. Louis) (she/her/hers) Alisha is currently an Advanced Sommelier and is studying to sit for the Master Sommelier examination. When

Cassandra Felix
Daniel (NYC) (she/her/hers) Cassandra began her career at The Breakers Palm Beach in 2010 while studying Dance and Fine Arts at Palm Beach Atlantic University.
SPIRITS

Alexis Brown
LVMH and Serving Life Behind Bars, Chicago (she/her/hers) Born and raised on the Southside of Chicago, Alexis noticed the lack of diversity in her profession

Carlos Marquez Hernandez
Carlos Marquez Hernandez (he/him/his) Originally from Mexico City, Carlos has been working in the restaurant industry for about ten years. He worked his way up