John Besh is a chef with a passion for preserving the rich cuisine of New Orleans. He was profoundly active in providing meals for thousands of people devastated by Hurricane Katrina, and in 2011 he established the John Besh Foundation, which provides scholarships, grants, and loans to those in the New Orleans area with the drive to ignite change in their communities. Today, John owns nine restaurants which celebrate the cuisine of southern Louisiana. This program has been sponsored by The International Culinary Center. Now you start to see chefs carry the banner of culture...I now have a responsibility to preserve the good stuff. [19:30] John Besh on Evolutionaries

Episode 20: John Besh

HeritageRadioNetwork.org (HRN) presents “Evolutionaries,” a new radio documentary series featuring the stories behind the stories of individuals who defied conventions and shaped our food landscape. Tune in to hear from personalities who made their mark on our collective food culture, sharing experiences in their own words. Eric Ripert recounts club nights at 6AM. Steve Jenkins reminisces about secretly selling illegal cheeses. Harold McGee recalls how the smell of his mother’s curry sauces clung to his clothes during the school day. “Evolutionaries” is your chance to hear these food visionaries unguarded and unchained from the conventional food media format.

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Jamie Oliver is a chef, restaurateur, cookbook author, and TV host. In the late 90s, he was a young restaurant cook who happened into his own show "The Naked Chef" where he cooked to his credo: "It's got to be simple. It's got to be tasty. It's got to be fun".  As his career evolved, Jamie worked tirelessly to improve the nutritional quality of school foods in the UK and beyond, a mission that initially met mixed responses from the press and the public, but delivered extremely impactful success stories and lasting results. He has won several awards including a Primetime Emmy Award for his show Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution as well as a Ted Prize for his efforts to fight diet-related diseases.  He also started the Jamie Oliver Foundation to improve the lives of people all over the world through food education.   Jamie currently writes for publications in the UK and around the world, including his own Jamie Magazine.  He also has the YouTube channels Jamie Oliver’s Food Tube and Drinks Tube, plus five award-winning apps, and has published eighteen bestselling cookbooks. Tune in to hear Jamie's story in his own words.

Episode 36: Jamie Oliver

Frances Moore Lappé is an iconic activist thinker on society and democracy: which she explores through the universal lens of food. Her first book Diet for a Small Planet, published in 1971, has since sold over 3 million copies and helped shift the narrative of hunger. In 2008, it was heralded as one of “75 Books by Women Whose Words Have Changed the World” by the Women’s National Book Association.That same year the James Beard Foundation honored Frances as “Humanitarian of the Year,” and Gourmet Magazine listed her among 25 people whose work has changed the way America eats. Frances is author and co-author to 17 other books, and has co-founded three organizations: Food First, the Center for Living Democracy, and the Small Planet Fund. The latter was launched with her daughter, Anne Lappé, who also co-wrote the book Hope’s Edge: The Next Diet for a Small Planet. Hear Frances tell her story on this special edition of Evolutionaries.

Episode 35: Frances Moore Lappé

David Kinch is a chef ahead of our time. Long before the farm-to-table trend, David found inspiration in the seasons, the land, and the ingredients at hand. Coming into his own under the tutelage of great chefs–from New Orleans to New York, France to Japan– and finally settling in California, David’s culinary prowess and vision has earned him multiple James Beard awards. In 2016, Manresa, his first restaurant, received three stars from the Michelin guide. His second restaurant Bywater, also located in the Silicon Valley, opened its doors this year.

Episode 34: David Kinch

Peter Kaminksy wears many hats - writer, outdoorsman, journalist, cookbook author, television producer, the list goes on and on. Hes worked with the likes of Francis Mallmann and Daniel Boulud on cookbooks. He was a managing editor at National Lampoon. He created both the Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize and the Library of Congress Greshwin Prize for popular song. Hear his story on this special edition of Evolutionaries.

Episode 33: Peter Kaminsky

Brooklyn-born writer Mimi Sheridan is one of the most acclaimed critics food has ever seen. Before becoming the first female restaurant critic at the New York Times in 1976, she wrote for New York Magazine. Four decades later, she has written for almost every food publication that matters and authored 17 books, the most recent being 1,000 Foods To Eat Before You Die: A Food Lovers Life List. Mimis influence on critical food writing has been unparalleled.

Episode 20: John Besh

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