The foodspring 20

From eco-conscious food trucks to a new-format Italian megastore to celebrity chefs fighting obesity, the past year has brought plenty of news and innovation on the food front. Here are our editors’ picks for the top 20 most influential food events of 2010. —Eva Meszaros

1. A-List Chefs Give Back

A growing number of celebrity chefs used their fame as an opportunity to promote causes in what they know best: good food. The most visible effort was from British celeb chef Jamie Oliver, who has made serious waves stateside with Food Revolution, as he aims to fix America’s obesity epidemic, one school at a time. His multi-target approach—engaging children, their parents, the local community and government alike—has demonstrated Oliver’s drive to effect a profound shift in national nutrition.

Taking a lower-key, but no less effective, approach, the James Beard Award–winning chef José Andrés is Chairman Emeritus for DC Central Kitchen. In addition to providing meals and outreach to homeless people in the Washington, D.C., area, this nonprofit offers professional culinary training to unemployed adults coming out of homelessness, addiction or incarceration. Andrés, a native of Spain, who owns a network of restaurants in D.C. and regularly appears on TV and radio spots, from Bravo’s Top Chef to NPR’s All Things Considered, works closely with the kitchen to train and fundraise, and has even hired some of its culinary graduates to work on his staff.

2. The Hyperlocal Movement Begins

The discovery that a few dishonest vendors at a Los Angeles farmers market had made false claims about their produce jarred local-food enthusiasts across the country. Farmers market certification is helping to reinforce the rules and ensure every item made available at these venues is honest and truly local, but some more discerning foodies are cutting out the other middleman to grow their own garden. And where better to grow than right at the site of the market or restaurant where the food is bought and consumed?

The benefits of going hyperlocal are innumerable—environmentally, ethically and financially—which is why plenty of shops and restaurateurs are joining the movement. Food from the Sky, a supermarket in North London, turned its massive rooftop into a lush garden that grows fruits, vegetables and herbs, sold right inside the market below every week. The entirely hydroponic rooftop garden six flights above newly opened Manhattan restaurant Bell Book & Candle has been burgeoning for months, and will provide ingredients for many of the bistro’s dishes. Billionaire mogul Sir Richard Branson of the Virgin empire has made his own signature mark with Ninety Acres, a N.J.-based restaurant/culinary center set on a resort farm, where seasonal recipes highlight ingredients plucked mere paces away from the dining area. Finally, an innovation in sustainable eating that anyone with a roof or a yard can get behind.

Next >

Eva Meszaros is the associate editor of foodspring.com
 and author of foodspring’s food for thought blog.

0 comments