PRESENTER BIOGRAPHIES ZOE ADJONYOH is on a mission to bring African food to the masses. Born to a Ghanaian father and Irish mother, the writer and cook from South-East London deepened her understanding of West African cuisine after a trip to visit her extended family in Ghana. There she spent time exploring recipes in her grandmother’s kitchen and at the famous Kaneshi street market, where she met with cooks who shared their own takes on traditional recipes. Described by The Observer as a “standard bearer for West African food” and picked up by Nigel Slater as one to watch on the topic of immigration food in Britain, Zoe has been making waves in the food scene ever since her first sell-out successful supperclubs in 2011 at her home in Hackney Wick. Zoe has taken her fresh interpretation of classic Ghanaian flavours to popup venues across London and Berlin as well as prominent streetfood festivals around the U.K., including Bestival and Camp Bestival as part of The Feast Collective. Named as one of “London’s hottest chefs” by Time Out, Zoe launched her first fixed restaurant space in 2015, at shipping container community project Pop Brixton. Zoe’s Ghana Kitchen is the epitome of social, relaxed and affordable dining—where guests gather to enjoy Ghanaian favourites, notable for their heartiness and spice, alongside Zoe’s contemporary West African creations. Zoe’s stunning debut cookbook Zoe’s Ghana Kitchen was published by Octopus Books in 2017. (London, UK) @zoeadjonyoh CHRISTINA AROKIASAMY (“aro-keeya-samee”), born and raised in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, is a spice expert and award-winning cookbook author. She was Malaysia’s first- ever official Food Ambassador to the United States and brings with her over 25 years of world class culinary expertise as a former chef of various Four Seasons Resorts throughout Southeast Asia. Christina’s passion for cuisine is rooted in a life immersed in spices, blending many different cooking techniques from various cultures and being a 5th generation descendant of spice merchants—who have traded spices since the supremacy of the British East India Company. Christina hosted The Malaysian Kitchen for The Cooking Channel, showcasing flavors and traditions of the spice trade. Her expert knowledge in spices appeared in Oprah.com, Huffington Post, CBS, NBC News, Fox News, The New York Times, The Food Network Magazine, The Milk Street Magazine, Yahoo 2020 Global Plant-Forward Biographies | Updated June 5, 2020 | Page 1 of 16 © 2020 The Culinary Institute of America. All rights reserved. News and other international media. She is the author of The Spice Merchant’s Daughter (Clarkson Potter, 2008), and The Malaysian Kitchen: 150 Recipes for Simple Home Cooking (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017). Christina lives in the Pacific Northwest with her family and is currently the chef ambassador for GAGGENAU, BSH Home Appliances Corporation. Christina’s joy is to give Americans an insider experience into her tropical homeland through cooking classes and culinary tours she leads to Southeast Asian destinations each year. (Kent, WA) @mkpusa SOPHIE ATTWOOD is Senior Behavioral Scientist at the Better Buying Lab (World Resources Institute). She develops, tests and scales food service interventions that encourage diners to switch to plant-based alternatives to meat. Her latest publication, WRI’s Behavioral Playbook, summarizes the most up-to-date research on consumer behavior change for more sustainable diets. Sophie holds a doctorate in Behavioral Science from the University of Cambridge, is a chartered Health Psychologist and Public Health Nutritionist. She has published a range of academic papers on health behavior change, including physical activity promotion, alcohol reduction, diet and smoking cessation. (London, England) STÉPHANIE AUDET is chef-owner of Senhor Uva, a natural food, wine bar, and boutique in Lisbon, Portugal. She is also the author of Cuisine Botanique, and was formerly the executive chef of LOV restaurant in Toronto, Canada. Stéphanie travels the globe sharing her culinary creations and teaching the food ethics of her generation. After opening her first restaurant in 2007 in Hawaii—where she worked exclusively with local and organic produce—she was recruited back to her homeland of Quebec and soon became a leader of the first raw food movement as well as one of the founders and directors for l’Academie Culinaire Crudessence. An expert in plant-based cuisine, her kitchen celebrates the use of seasonal, local, and organic food from the earth where freshness is one of the key pillars. Stéphanie’s inspiration begins long before she picks up a knife. Whether it be traveling to new countries to discover the culture and native food each has to offer or what is growing in her neighbor’s garden, Stéphanie is constantly searching for innovative ways to highlight vegetables on her menus. She embraces the use of natural foods by presenting vegetables as the star of her dishes. Elevating what are typically second-tier elements in most dishes, she excels at bringing finesse and elegance to her tasty and colorful plates without altering the initial produce, but instead shining a bright light on them. (Lisbon, Portugal) @stephaudet (Instagram) DEREK AZEVEDO is executive vice president of Bowles Farming Company, a 6th generation, 160-year-old, 12,000-acre diversified farm striving to produce food and fiber in the most ethical and sustainable ways possible in rural Los Banos, California. Derek's roles on the farm involve strategic crop planning, contract negotiations, and oversight of special projects, including on-farm composting and habitat restoration. Prior to joining the Bowles' team, Derek spent 12 years in the food processing industry working with farmers throughout the San Joaquin Valley, coordinating the purchase and delivery of 2020 Global Plant-Forward Biographies | Updated June 5, 2020 | Page 2 of 16 © 2020 The Culinary Institute of America. All rights reserved. raw of fruit and farm services. Derek is a graduate of Kansas State University, the California Ag Leadership class 45, and currently resides in Gustine, California. (Gustine, CA) MICHIEL BAKKER, MS, MBA is the director of global programs for Real Estate & Workplace Services, Google’s renowned workplace programs and services such as food, transportation, events, sustainability, and fitness and well-being. Michiel is focused on providing integrated workplace services and experiences that enable Google and Googlers to thrive. He is also focused on supporting the growth of Google through the scalability of the programs and innovating the future of workplace services. From 2012 to 2017, he led Google’s Food program, supporting all foodservice-related activities and initiatives for Google’s global community as well as developing internal and external partnerships to explore and tackle the challenges and opportunities in the broader food system. Before joining Google, Michiel spent 17 great years with Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. in various roles. He continues to be very involved in the ever- evolving and growing intersection of food, health, and sustainability through various roles and organizations around the world such as The Culinary Institute of America’s Menus of Change Business Leadership Council; the EAT Forum Advisory Board; and the Yale School of Management Center for Customer Insights' Advisory Board. He holds a bachelor of business administration degree from the Hotel Management School Maastricht (The Netherlands), an MBA from the University of Bradford (UK), a master of hospitality administration degree from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and a master’s degree in real estate and construction management from the University of Denver, Colorado. (Los Gatos, CA) BRAD BARNES ‘87, CMC is the director of consulting and industry programs at The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in Hyde Park, NY. Brad is responsible for the oversight of all operational consulting, ProChef® certification, and custom professional training. His clients include Google, U.S. Department of Defense, and Stanford University. Brad is the author of two books and the creator of food concepts such as Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn and The Pythian Market in New Orleans. Previously, he served as the senior director of culinary education and senior director of continuing education at the CIA. Before joining the education administration, he was the president of GigaChef, LLC and chef/owner of B&B Solutions. Brad is a Certified Master Chef, one of 66 in the U.S., a Certified Culinary Administrator, and an inductee of the American Academy of Chefs, the American Culinary Federation’s honor society. (Hyde Park, NY) PAUL BARTOLOTTA is the co-founder and owner of The Bartolotta Restaurants, a nationally recognized restaurant and catering organization co-founded with his brother, Joe Bartolotta, that has grown to become the premier culinary brand in the Greater Milwaukee region, offering first class service and cuisine across a portfolio of 17 one-of- a-kind restaurants and catering facilities. Drawing upon his 30+ years as an internationally celebrated chef and restaurateur, Paul provides deep insights into plant- 2020 Global Plant-Forward Biographies | Updated June 5, 2020 | Page 3 of 16 © 2020 The Culinary Institute of America. All rights reserved. forward and whole vegetable culinary strategies from Italian cuisine. Paul has shared his culinary talent in kitchens around the globe—from Paris to New York to Las Vegas— and has been instrumental in shaping Milwaukee’s culinary scene since The Bartolotta Restaurants launched its first concept, Ristorante Bartolotta dal 1993. Paul graduated from the restaurant and hotel management program at Milwaukee Area Technical College in 1980, and began his professional training in New York with famed restaurateur Tony May. With May’s support, Paul traveled to Italy and France, and trained in some of the countries’ most prestigious restaurants. Paul received the James Beard Award for Best Chef Midwest for his work at Chicago’s Spiaggia in 1994; the James Beard Award for Best Chef Southwest for Bartolotta Ristorante di Mare at Wynn Las Vegas in 2009; and he was a finalist for the Outstanding Restaurateur award in 2020.