Thursday, October 18, 2018

11:00 AM - 11:45 Noon - The Welcoming Plenary, Ahmanson Hall

The Power of Food: Wellness & Lifestyle: Food Innovators, Influencers and Pioneers

Matthew Kenney, Celebrated Plant-Based Chef, CEO

Fran Drescher, Wellness Activist and Global Celebrity

Chef Kerry Heffernan, Grand Banks NYC, Renown Chef, Top Chef Master, TV)

Bryce Fluellen, Community Impact Director & Chef, American Heart Association LA

Moderator - Clare Fox, Executive Director, Los Angeles Food Policy Council

Matthew Kenney is one the world’s first leading chefs at the forefront of plant based cuisine, an author of 12 cookbooks and a best-selling memoir, a culinary educator and CEO of Matthew Kenney Cuisine, a multifaceted company specializing in plant-based living throughout several unique markets. Matthew Kenney graduated from the French Culinary Institute and, after working in upscale New York City kitchens, opened a number of his own highly regarded restaurants in New York and along the East Coast. He has earned several awards, including being named one of America’s Best New Chefs by Food and Wine Magazine and was twice nominated as a Rising Star Chef in America by the James Beard Foundation. Kenney has appeared on numerous food and talk shows, and regularly lectures on the subject of food and health, including a highly watched TEDx talk in 2011. Having grown up on the coast of Maine and

being an avid outdoorsman, Kenney’s success lies within his innate understanding of seasonal and local ingredients, his classical culinary training and extensive travel background. As a raw food chef, Kenney’s application of contemporary methods and techniques, along with a firm commitment to innovative recipes and food aesthetics, has continued to bring plant-based cuisine to the mainstream. In 2009, Kenney founded the world’s first classically structured raw food culinary academy. Matthew Kenney Academy has graduated students from over 30 countries, opening several global pop-up locations and an online program. The school, known as PlantLab as of 2017, still continues to operate globally and educate students in raw food culinary around the world. Matthew has also made numerous global travels this past year throughout Australia, Europe and South America to promote his plant-based philosophy at culinary events, chef conferences and wellness retreats. His extensive travels have enabled him to develop many strategic partnerships with like-minded entrepreneurs around the world and expand into new hospitality and consumer product markets. Currently, Kenney has 15 restaurants operating on five continents, with 9 additional restaurants under construction throughout the U.S., Canada, Brazil and Argentina, all to open in the coming year. The most recent of Kenney’s openings include: Alibi Bar, the world’s first plant-based hotel restaurant, in Sydney, Australia; Make Out, the second location of his LA-based fast-casual concept, in Bogota, Colombia; Arata, a Japanese-fusion restaurant in New York City; and Essence Cuisine in London. He also recently opened a plant-based convenience store in Venice Beach, California, which offers sustainable, organic groceries, household goods, prepared foods and an extensive coffee, wine and beer program.  Aside from Kenney’s growing repertoire of international restaurants, he has also recently become involved in the consumer product industry. Ntidote, a plant-based food product line focused on nutrient-dense and functional foods, was formed in partnership with celebrated Dr. Amir Marashi and will launch three vegan nutritional bars next month, preceding its plans to offer beverages and ready-to-eat foods. Kenney will also bring Double Zero’s notorious pizza, which received the praise of New York’s Michelin Guide multiple times, to the masses this year with Double Zero Now, a line of frozen plant-based pizza. The product will be available at select stores nationwide and several small retail locations, the first being in San Francisco in late 2018. Matthew Kenney Cuisine also offers a variety of other services, including catering and events, speaking engagements, wellness retreats, chef placement and licensing agreements. Kenney also engages in extensive consulting services that lead to his most recent project, PLANTMINDED, an institutional meal program designed to provide healthy, plant-based meals to schools, universities and hospitals nationwide.

Fran Drescher has a reputation for passion and commitment. She received two Emmy and two Golden Globe nominations for her portrayal as the lovable "Miss Fine" on CBS’s hit series The Nanny, which she both created & executive produced. TV Land aired the ground breaking sitcom Happily Divorced, which she also created, executive produced and starred in. The series was inspired by her own life; Fran played a woman sharing a loving friendship with her gay ex-husband. Most recently, she has enjoyed guest appearances on the popular millennial shows Broad City on Comedy Central and Alone Together on FreeForm, as well as an animated pilot with Jack Black, produced by Scooter Braun. An accomplished author, Fran received the prestigious NCCS writer’s award for Cancer Schmancer, which along with Enter Whining, were New York Times best sellers. Most recently she penned the celebrated children's book Being Wendy. Fran recently made her Broadway debut as “Madame” in Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Tony-award winning Cinderella. Her famous voice is currently featured in the top-grossing animated feature franchise film Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation, in which she reprises her role as Eunice, the wife of Frank Stein, soon to be released world-wide. In the past, Fran has co-starred and starred in many iconic films, such as This is Spinal Tap, directed by Rob Reiner, Ragtime, directed by Milos Forman, Jack, directed by Francis Ford Coppola and Beautician and the Beast, in which she starred opposite Timothy Dalton.  Fran will return to the big screen in two indie films currently in post-production: The Creatress, and Safe Spaces.

Bryce Fluellen, Community Impact Director & Chef, American Heart Association LA: As American Heart Association’s LA , Community Impact Director & Chef , Bryce has leveraged his 20 years of community development experience and his creative blending of business and culinary skills to advocate for health improvement, especially in underserved, urban areas across the country. He joined the AHA almost 5 years ago to help grow Kids/Teens Cook with Heart (A healthy cooking program for youth ages 8- 18 yrs. old) and has positively impacted over 5,000 children and adults throughout Los Angeles County. In 2017, his role expanded to include youth-oriented health initiatives overall as the Senior Manager, of Community Impact and now in his current role he is responsible for improving heart health outcomes for the communities of South LA, Long Beach, South Bay , & Inglewood. Bryce is a passionate advocate for health and enjoys running 5 & 10k’s . His goal is to complete his first half-marathon by the Spring of 2019. He’s an author and published his first book, Food A Vehicle for healing ( The fruitful journey) PT. 1 in 2016. His work has been featured in Huffington Post, Uproxx media, CBS & NBC news, LA Sentinel, and Disney Jr. He resides in the San Fernando Valley area with his wife & three kids.

Chef Kerry Heffernan, Grand Banks NYC, Renown Chef, (Top Chef Master, TV): Born in Pennsylvania and raised in Connecticut, Kerry Heffernan began working in New York City restaurants at age 15. Following high school, Kerry bicycled through Europe, eventually setting up camp in the South of France baking croissants. He returned home to attend the Culinary Institute of America, graduating second in his class. After spending another year cooking and traveling throughout Europe, Kerry came back to New York City, honing his skills at such highly regarded restaurants as Montrachet, Le Régence, Restaurant Bouley and Mondrian with Tom Colicchio before landing his first job as Chef de Cuisine at One Fifth Avenue. Kerry later became the Executive Chef of the Westbury Hotel's famed Polo Restaurant, training ground of such extraordinary talents as Thomas Keller and Daniel Boulud. Soon afterward Kerry opened Union Square Hospitality Group's Eleven Madison Park as Executive Chef and eventually became partner. Under his leadership, the restaurant received numerous accolades, including a tie with Per Se on Zagat Survey's "Top 20 Most Popular Restaurants in New York," The James Beard Foundation's Award for Outstanding Service in America, and Esquire Magazine's "Best New Restaurant." During his time at 11 Madison he also worked with Danny to develop the original menu at the "Shake Shack" in Madison Square Park. Kerry is currently Chef at Grand Banks, a seasonal Oyster Bar and galley on the deck of a historic cod fishing schooner moored at Pier 25 New York. He previously spent a five-year tenure as Executive Chef of New York City's South Gate, and created and continues to work as a consultant to "15 CPW," a private restaurant at Manhattan's toniest address. Kerry remains active outside the kitchen in philanthropy, serving on the City Harvest Food Council and cooking for Share Our Strength, Project by Project, and both the Central Park and Madison Square Park Conservancies and as an advisor to several nonprofit agencies charged with seafood sustainability and conservation. In 2012, Kerry was honored as the commencement speaker at the Culinary Institute of America. An avid outdoorsman and seafood expert, Kerry has won several charity fishing tournaments, including the "Manhattan Cup" and the "Montauk Redbone." In addition to appearing as a guest judge on Top Chef All-Stars, Kerry has appeared on The Today Show, Good Morning America, Martha Stewart, CBS and CNN's American Morning. In addition to Grand Banks, Chef Heffernan is also consultant to "Seaworthy" a restaurant in New Orleans specializing in sustainable seafood.

Clare Fox is a civic and non-profit leader with experience in cross-sector campaigns focused on environmental, health and social justice. She is the Executive Director of the Los Angeles Food Policy Council (LAFPC), a non-profit organization with a mission to make food healthy, affordable, sustainable and fair for all. In this role, she partners with a large network of public, private, non-profit and community leaders to change policies that promote ‘Good Food For All’ – the motto of LAFPC. Under Clare’s leadership, LAFPC has grown its partnership network to over 400 food organizations. First joining LAFPC in 2011, she led the organization toward several legislative wins, including universal food stamps at farmer’s markets, the first county urban agriculture program, first citywide food rescue program, decriminalizing street food, and expanding Good Food Purchasing Policy to include Los Angeles World Airports (LAX), City of Los Angeles Greek Theater and Summer Lunch Program, now improving over 11 million meals with local, sustainable, organic and fair food. Clare created the nationally-recognized Healthy Neighborhood Market Network, a program that fights ‘food deserts’ by working with neighborhood businesses to bring fresh food to low-income families, which has trained over 350 entrepreneurs since 2012. In her first career, she was a radio producer at National Public Radio and Youth Radio, where she taught radio and media production to teenagers throughout Los Angeles – from Boyle Heights to Inglewood. She currently serves on Mayor Eric Garcetti’s Los Angeles Promise Zone Leadership Council, the Board of Directors for LA Compost, and was a founding board member of Critical Mass Dance Company. Trained as an urban planner at UCLA with a background in critical theory, Clare is an adept facilitator and group experience designer, with a passion for igniting leadership for a just and regenerative world.