2012 Sustainer Award Winner—Karen Jurgensen
SEATTLE – Karen Jurgensen, chef instructor at the Seattle Culinary Academy, has received the “Sustainer” Award by Chefs Collaborative, the leading national non-profit dedicated to changing the sustainable food landscape. She and other winners will be honored during the 2012 Chefs Collaborative Sustainable Food Summit as part of their national conference in Seattle Sept. 30—Oct. 2.
More than 350 food professionals will be in Seattle to attend the “Flavors of a Foodshed” Summit, which will be held around Seattle, including Seattle Central Community College.
The Sustainer Chef Award recognizes a chef who is a model to the culinary community and mentors others in the use of sustainable ingredients to create delicious food. As a chef instructor at Seattle Central, Karen shares her philosophy with her students.
“As a chef, I want access to flavor that only comes from just picked freshness; I want diversity of products to chose from and create with; and finally economics. If my local farmers prosper, my community prospers, then so do I. It is in the interest of our profession that chefs and restaurateurs support this family farm system. Our fates are linked.” –Karen Jurgensen.
At Central, Karen developed a Sustainable Food Practices course in 2005, which established the Culinary Academy as one of the first culinary schools in the nation to offer formal coursework in sustainability. The program has now become a model for other colleges. She has co-authored two books: Rethinking the Kitchen and Chefs on the Farm.
During the summit, attendees will tour Skagit Valley farms, visit Pike Place Market, hear from local chefs and dine at local restaurants. Speakers include: Ruth Reich, former editor of Gourmet Magazine; Kim Severson, food writer at The New York Times; Tom Douglas, Tom Douglas Restaurants and other local food experts and chefs.
Other 2012 Sustainability Winners are: Lora Lea and Rick Misterly, Foodshed Champion—owners of Quillisacut Farm, Rice, WA; and Paul Willis, Pathfinder—founder and manager of Niman Ranch Pork Co. Thorton, Iowa.
Further Reading:
Chefs Collaborative
Sustainable Food Summit
Contact
Janet Grimley
Interim Director of Communications
Seattle Central Community College
206-934-5488
janet.grimley@seattlecolleges.edu
Web: seattlecolleges.edu