Chefs

Claudette Zepeda

Claudette Zepeda is an award-winning, San Diego-based celebrity chef and culinary entrepreneur known for her fearless style and bold approach to regional Mexican cuisine. A celebrated culinary anthropologist, Zepeda draws upon 20+ years of experience working in restaurant kitchens, as well as her extensive travels around the world and throughout Mexico. Zepeda's multi-faceted expertise is showcased in her role overseeing the creative vision as Founder of Chispa Hospitality with projects in Australia and México. VAGA restaurant in San Diego's North County is where she authors a love letter to her hometown with a menu that celebrates local flavors and immigrant influences. Seen on 2022 Netflix’s edition of Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend, winning her challenge & on Iron Chef México where she successfully won her challenge and tied in the finale. Also in the fall of 2022, she showcased her talents by beating Bobby Flay’s Titans on Bobby’s Triple Threat and winning the cash prize. 

 In 2019 Zepeda Founded Viva La Vida, LLC. Through Viva La Vida, Zepeda helps Mexican women support their families without sacrificing their safety. Expanding into a 501c3 in 2024 is to establish a fund dedicated to helping Hispanic women break from generational poverty in the United States.

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Chris Shepherd

Midwest-raised, James Beard Award-winning Chef Chris Shepherd has helped change the landscape of the Houston culinary scene since opening Underbelly in 2012. He built the restaurant to support the Houston food community and its suppliers by buying local and drawing inspiration from the people and cultures that live in the city. Thanks to Chris’ vision and passion, Underbelly was a James Beard Award semifinalist for Best New Restaurant, was named one of the best new restaurants in the country by Bon Appetit and Esquire and was named one of 38 essential restaurants in America by Eater. Chris was named one of the 10 Best New Chefs in America by Food & Wine in 2013 and was then awarded the 2014 James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southwest.

Chris was a semifinalist for the James Beard Award for Outstanding Chef in 2019 and was named Robb Report‘s Chef of the Year the same year. Chris’ first cookbook, Cook Like a Local: Flavors that Will Change the Way You Cook—and See the World, was published by Clarkson Potter in September 2019 and was nominated for a 2020 James Beard Foundation Book Award. In 2023, Chris launched a TV show Eat Like a Local on Houston’s KPRC-TV, where he tells the stories of Houston’s rich and diverse food and beverage scene. He also hosts an onstage conversation series, Table to Stage, with the biggest names in food and beverage.

Chris began his fine dining career at Brennan’s of Houston, where he spent seven years in the kitchen and then ran the wine program for two. He left Brennan’s in 2006 to open Catalan Food & Wine, which was named one of Esquire’s Best New Restaurants in America that same year.

Chris’ foundation Southern Smoke has distributed more than $11 million directly to people in the food and beverage industry in crisis via the Emergency Relief Fund and provides free mental health counseling to F+B workers. 

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Carrie Morey

Carrie Morey founded her handmade biscuit business in 2005 with the goal of making the tender, buttery, made-by-hand biscuits of her mother accessible across the country. Now two decades later, Callie’s Hot Little Biscuit is widely recognized as an iconic Southern brand with national retail and e-commerce exposure, grab-and-go eateries, a catering division in Charleston, 24 SFA sofi™ awards, and a cult-like following. Carrie is the author of cookbooks: Callie’s Biscuits and Southern Traditions and Hot Little Suppers and stars in the culinary docu-series, How She Rolls, about biscuits, business, and balance in her life as an entrepreneur. She resides in Charleston, SC with her husband and three daughters.

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Andrew Zimmern

Andrew Zimmern is an Emmy-winning and four-time James Beard Award-winning TV personality, chef, writer and passionate global citizen. As the creator, executive producer and host of the Bizarre Foods franchise, Andrew Zimmern’s Driven by Food, What’s Eating America, Emmy-nominated Family Dinner, Wild Game Kitchen, Field to Fire and the Emmy-winning The Zimmern List, he has devoted his life to exploring and promoting cultural acceptance, tolerance and understanding through food. He has written four books, including the Ippy Gold Medal award-winning AZ and the Lost City of Ophir. Andrew is the founder and chairman of Intuitive Content, named one of the top 100 production companies in the world by Realscreen, and Passport Hospitality, a restaurant and food service development company. He is passionate about his philanthropic endeavors and sits on the boards of Services for the UnderServed, EXPLR Media, Soigne Hospitality, Giving Kitchen, Beans is How and The Great Northern. He is on the advisory boards of Procure Impact and the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project, and serves on City Harvest’s Food Council. Andrew is a Global Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations World Food Programme and The Nature Conservancy, and is the International Rescue Committee’s Voice for Nutrition. He is a founding member of the Coalition for Sustainable Aquaculture and the Independent Restaurant Coalition. 

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