Podcast appearances and mentions of Michel Nischan

This week on the Titans of Food Service podcast, Nick Portillo speaks with Michel Nischan, a four-time James Beard Award Winner and chef. Michel shares his journey from working on his grandfather's farm to becoming a celebrated chef and influential advocate for food equity and sustainability. Michel talks about co-founding Wholesome Wave and Wholesome Crave, and working with the late actor Paul Newman on the Dressing Room restaurant. Nick and Michel discuss the importance of being curious about other cultures' cuisines and Michel's commitment to using food as a tool for positive social change. Quotes"You need to be able to channel your talent into making customers happy instead of creating things that only intrigue you." -Michel Nischan"If you don't make an effort to genuinely know all of your different customers and respect and meet them where they're at and be able to have really open conversations, regardless. Regardless of their ideology or whatever it is, you need to be welcoming to everybody." -Michel NischanTIMESTAMPS(00:02) Michel's Impact on Food Equity and Sustainability(03:48) Michel's Journey from Farm Life to Four James Beard Awards(14:24) Authenticity in Restaurant Concepts and Cultural Sensitivity(18:24) Mentors and Milestones in a Chef's Journey(25:08) Michel Nischan on Authenticity and American Heritage Cuisine(28:08) From Dressing Room Restaurant to Wholesome Wave's National Impact(33:00) The Power of Food in Transforming Health and Society(37:05) Connecting with Chef Michel Nischan Through Social MediaRESOURCESPortillo SalesCONTACT Nick: nick.portillo@portillosales.com

Its a night under the learning tree with Chef Michel Nischan

Does the term Policy Advocate conjure up the image of a chef? Today we're speaking with Katherine Miller, Founding Executive Director of the Chef Action Network, and author of the book "At The Table, The Chef's Guide to Advocacy". Katherine formerly served as the Vice President of Impact at the James Beard Foundation and serves as an adjunct professor at the Culinary Institute of America. She's worked for 20 years at the intersection of policy, politics, and social impact, and says chefs have an important role to play in this space. Interview Summary   Chefs are more and more visible in this advocacy and policy space. I assume that they've been doing this for a long time, but you see more attention to it now, which is nice. Let's talk about sort of its fundamental concept of chefs being involved in the food system at this level. Why do you think chefs and other people in the restaurant industry are equipped to make the food system more just and sustainable?   I think that chefs are some of the greatest translators, right? Chefs, as we know them, are the people who cook us delicious meals or host us for events in our lives. But in reality they are taking the ingredients from the farmers and producers and fishermen and translating them to the plate to make them interesting and enjoyable for all of us, right? And the food system is incredibly complicated. It is deeply rooted. The root system overlaps and is incredibly complex. It's off-putting for people to think about how they might get involved in food policy or even understand the different controls on our food. Chefs can really help tell a better story, right? They can take the what's happening in the field and on the boats, and then they can put it on our plate, and they can help explain to us the stories behind all the food, how it's grown, the things that we should be interested in, the decisions that we should make differently. I think they're the ultimate translators and making the world a more delicious place.   That makes perfect sense! What inspired you to write your book, "At The Table"?   I've been working with the chef community for 10 years, first as a consultant and the founder of the Chef Action Network, and then working with the James Beard Foundation as the first vice president of advocacy and impact for the foundation. Then, after leaving the foundation, continued to work with organizations who are really interested in helping chefs step into policy arenas on things like healthy soils or food waste or medically-tailored meals. All those things are impacted by the policies that our state houses and our federal houses. And it's hard. The restaurant industry is enormous. There are 11 million or so restaurant employees. There are tens of thousands of people who are considered chefs or leaders in the kitchen, and we weren't going to reach them one Chef Bootcamp for Policy and Change at a time. You know, when I left the foundation in 2020 at the sort of tail end of the first year of COVID, we had over 1000 people on the waiting list to get into the Chef's Bootcamp for Policy and Change. We knew we were on to something, but we didn't really have the capacity to expand at scale. So, you know the great thing about a book is it can reach many chefs, culinary students, restaurant workers, farmers. And that's the other thing - I think there's a sort of duality to this idea of chef. It's really anybody who's a food system leader, anybody who is really interested in how the policies control our food system. I'm very excited to have a book out because I wanted this message and the examples and the tips and tools to reach the biggest audience that it could.   Boy, it's nice to hear there's so much interest among chefs and work of this type. I'm interested in whether this kind of thing is finding its way into culinary education. You have a position at the Culinary Institute of America, highly visible place. Is this the sort of thing that's showing up in discussions in culinary schools and classes and the training people receive?   More and more. I really credit Robert Egger for so many things in life, the great food system advocate and co-founder of DC Central Kitchen. But Robert was one of the first to write an op-ed that was like, culinary education should include advocacy, right? Because in culinary schools all over the country and all over the world, we teach people about flavor, we teach people about dish composition, we teach people about cleaning their station, and being a good person on the line, right? But we don't teach them about sustainability and that concerted way, we don't teach them business school skills and we don't really teach them about policies that impact their business, their sourcing, the way they run their restaurants. So that is growing. I think it's also a benefit of this next generation of chefs and consumers even who are really leading with their values. They want to see people step into this arena. The Edelman Trust Survey, which comes out every year, shows that food systems and food communities are some of the most trusted networks in the world. These leaders of that community have sort of a right, but also an obligation to get involved. The thing I like about the book and the thing I love teaching is that it's easy to do. It's not as difficult as you think it is, but I really think that the students and the consumers are demanding a sort of values-based approach. We're going to see all of the culinary schools add at least one class, if not more, of this type of training, I think in the future.   Let's go a little bit deeper into the bootcamp. You've directed the James Beard Foundation's Chefs Bootcamp for Policy and Change. Can you describe what goes on at the camp, and how this has affected your view on the chef's role in the advocacy world?   The Chef's Bootcamp for Policy and Change was an idea that Chef Michel Nischan and a James Beard trustee by the name of Eric Kessler had the idea for way back in 2012. They found me because I am a experienced trainer and facilitator. I've worked all over the world with, whether it be land advocates in Nigeria, health experts in China, folks in Australia, democracy in Lebanon, and they approached me and they said, “Hey, we have this idea. Chefs are highly visible. They are celebrities in their own right and we want to help them better use their voice.” That first bootcamp took place in July of 2012. We trained the first 15 chef advocates, and the penny sort of dropped for me that this was a community who are sitting in every single street corner. They have visible storefronts in every single community in America. They are trusted not to kill us, right? They are trusted to deliver something delicious and an amazing experience. They are networked heavily through the producers, both within their region and their city, but also globally in terms of what they source and how they buy. They have an authentic connection to fans, right? The bootcamp, which still continues to this day, trains 15 to 20 advocates at a time. The training module is still the same it was with a few tweaks in 2012. We really put them through their paces on introducing them to this food system and the complications of the food system. They also did role plays and learned techniques on how to be a better advocate. So how to create a message, how to reach out to their networks, how to use their social media profiles to talk about advocacy. And also, how to deal with the sort of haters of the world who might be like, "Shut up and get back to the kitchen". So, a little bit of that. Then the other piece that is so important to the entire food movement is created community amongst themselves. Every bootcamp ends with a dinner cooked by the chefs, for the chefs together with what they source on the working agricultural farm that would take them to. That community then spills out and it grows and grows. So exponentially, you could grow from 15 to 150 to 1000. They take it with them, they teach their staff, they host their own bootcamps or programming in their own cities. So, the bootcamp is one piece of it, but it's really about giving people the tips and tools they need to be an advocate, and then creating community amongst the chefs themselves and also their staffs and their greater community, and really just putting them into the places where they can use their voice to make a difference.   You know, it sounds really exciting! So, you have talked us through the process of how this education and training on advocacy and policy takes place. But let's talk a little bit more about the issues. Let's just say the Chef's Bootcamp was happening today and we walked in and we could overhear the discussions. What would we hear people talking about? Would they be talking about how children can be educated about food, about sustainable food systems and regenerative agriculture? Would they be talking about? state law, federal policy? What kind of issues would be important to them today?   Today? The Farm Bill, right? Chefs do advocacy in three places really. They do it on the table, right, through what they source, how they market to their customers, the types of labor practices they have in their own restaurant, like that is a self a form of advocacy. They do it within their community. So, a lot of chefs will get involved with local feeding organizations, will get involved with school gardens, things that they can put their hands on and bring people into their restaurant or visit regularly. I see a lot of community interaction. Then there's the hard and long work of state and federal policy reform. We are not going to be able to just uproot our entire food system and throw it out the window. Policy reform is gradual. It takes time and it takes a concerted effort. So, throughout each bootcamp or throughout different programs that I do, say with the Natural Resources Defense Council or programs that are run through No Kid Hungry, where alumni of the bootcamp have really gone on to shine is this federal policy piece. If you walked into a bootcamp today, you'd probably be hearing information about the Farm Bill, the impact of the Farm Bill on local regional food systems, the impact of the Farm Bill on food as medicine programs and SNAP programs, and really looking for ways a chef or a food system advocate could use their voice effectively to make the case for greater funding, to protect funding, to really encourage more progressive policies.   That sounds good. You brought up the Farm Bill, so let's talk about that in a little more detail. The last Farm Bill was passed in 2018, so it needs to be passed again now and reauthorized. Vast amounts of money are at stake for this. You mentioned that chefs can advocate for protecting funds that have been used in the past for particular purposes, and also argue for new uses of funds. What would be some of the top priorities? You kind of alluded to several of these, but tell us a little bit more specifically about what the chefs might be fighting for.   The Farm Bill is our food bill. I think we don't say that often enough. I think when we look at how the Farm Bill is constructed, we are looking at programs that are everything from specialty crops, i.e., fruits and vegetables, to the Supplemental Nutrition Programs that help people in times of need to not go hungry, to food as medicine programs that help us reach vulnerable populations with more fruits and vegetables at farmer's markets or medically tailored meals in hospitals or in systems. The Farm Bill reaches into all of those things. One thing I like to say about chefs is they're not monolithic. They're not all running around saying this thing. They are well-informed narrators and translators of a complicated food system and encouraging people to pay more attention to things like the Farm Bill and more things like the political nature of our food system.   If we want in the long term to redirect subsidies to support more climate smart agriculture, or help us have local and resilient food systems, that's going to happen through the Farm Bill. I was just recently with a bunch of chefs who were on Capitol Hill talking about healthy soil and the need to incentivize farmers through a bill called the Cover Act to help them change growing practices so that their soils would be healthier, and they could do more regenerative agriculture techniques. In a few weeks, there will be folks here really advocating to protect SNAP benefits. I think as we see a growing partisan divide and the growing divide on how to spend government money, SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, is always going to be a constant target of that.   There's a great anecdote in the book by chef Elle Simone, who talks very eloquently and proudly about the fact that at an early point in her life, she took SNAP benefits. She was broke, and she was financially insecure, and she needed help. She took those SNAP benefits at a time when she needed them, and they helped her complete her education and complete her path to the future. Now, she's a cookbook author and the first woman of color to be on America's Test Kitchen. She is a known celebrity chef around the country, and she wouldn't be there, she will always say, if it hadn't been for SNAP. So, somebody like Elle will come to Capitol Hill and tell that story to put a human face on a program that is often demonized by people who think there are other ways to spend money rather than make sure that people don't come hungry.   You know, there's a lot built into what you just said on lots of different levels. SNAP program, relationships with farmers, et cetera. Let's talk about farmers for a moment. I know that chefs have, of course, always had a strong relationship with farmers because that's where they secure what they serve in their restaurants, but it sounds like it's going beyond that. This alliance now is out there in the bigger policy arena around issues of regenerative agriculture and things like that. I'm assuming you've seen some interesting cases of farmers and the chef community coming together to argue for a common purpose.   Chefs and farmers are natural partners. There wouldn't be any food on our plates if there weren't for farmers. The types of food and the types of vegetables and meat, and even seafood, fishermen, the world, you wouldn't be able to put things on the plate without those humans. They produce amazing, delicious food, and they do it in ways that are better for the environment. It's nutritionally dense. So, they're a natural partnership, but they haven't always worked together. In part, because they had completely opposite schedules. The farmers are up at 5:00 AM and go to bed at 2:00 PM and you know, chefs are out until 5:00 AM, and at work, they haven't always been able to come together. But more intentionally, organizations are bringing them together. The Natural Resource Defense Council is working a lot with zero food print as a chef-led organization. Those two organizations are working in deep partnership to put chefs and farmers together regularly on Capitol Hill or in state houses, talking about things like the Cover Act, talking about regenerative agriculture, talking about the health that's contained in our soil and how that translates into healthier and more delicious food. They are natural partners, and I'm really excited that they seem to be coming together more on common issues that really are about putting healthy and delicious things in front of us all.   Well, it makes good sense that those kind of partnerships have evolved to where they are now. Let me ask you a final question. Well, let's just say I'm a chef and I meet you or people involved in this kind of sphere of work, and I'm thinking, boy, my life is pretty crazy. It's a high stress life, very long hours, lots of decisions to be made and people to supervise, and all kinds of stuff going on in these restaurants. How in the world would I have time to do anything like this? And then also, what are the actionable steps that such a chef might take to help create a better food system?   It's a great question, right? We're all really busy people. Everybody's calendar is full, whether it's kids or parents to take care of, whether it's jobs, whether it's volunteering, and we all look at our calendars, and we're like. How could I possibly fit one thing else in here? The number one tip I give chefs and anybody who really wants to be an advocate is you learn to say no first. You learn to look at what you care most about and decide that that is the thing that you are going to focus on. And all the rest of it, you're going to say no very politely to. So, in the beginning of work with chefs, I did an audit of dozens of restaurants and essentially chefs were being asked to donate on average about $50,000 each year to dozens of organizations in their local community and even nationally. When we think about that from a fundraising perspective, if you donated $50,000 to one organization, you would be a top donor to that organization. You would have a totally different relationship with them. I really encourage all of us, but especially the chef community, to take a deep look at the issue that drives you most, whether it's hunger, the environment, ending violence in our communities, mentorship, whatever it is. And really, one, pick that issue and prioritize that issue. Get to know the organizations and the experts that are already working in it, right? We all think that we're so smart and we must be the first people to have thought about X, Y, and Z, and you're not, right? There are lots of experts in the field, and there are now even experts in the field of chef advocacy. There are dozens of organizations actually in the appendix of my book that point you in the direction of different issues that you might want to get involved in. So, get to know the experts. And number three, take a baby step. Schedule an appointment with an organization, sign a petition, do some research. Just take a baby step into, okay, now I'm going to learn more. Now I'm going to do something. And it doesn't have to be a big thing. And then your advocacy will go from there. I'm a political activist at heart, and I want everybody to make sure that they're registered to vote, and vote because that is the ultimate form of advocacy and probably the biggest baby step that we can all take once we've picked an issue and become informed on that issue. There are other tips and tools in the book. I'm all about opening conversation, not closing conversation. So I really encourage people through the book and through some exercises in it to figure out their own narrative that opens conversation, their own set of questions that turns them into sort of active listeners and not lecturers. I think food certainly has enough judgment in it that it doesn't need advocates pointing fingers at each other, talking about how one's point of view is better than the others. It's really simple to get involved. The first step is say no. Pick the one issue that's most important to you. Do the work and get to know the issues and the experts. Take a baby step, register to vote, vote, and then you can grow from there.   Bio   Named an industry leader and “Fixer” by Grist magazine and called one of the most innovative women in food and beverage by Fortune and Food & Wine magazines, Katherine Miller was the founding executive director of the Chef Action Network and the former vice president of impact at the James Beard Foundation. She was the first food policy fellow at American University's Sine Institute of Policy and Politics and is a Distinguished Terker Fellow at George Washington University's School of Media and Public Affairs. Miller has built a 20-year career working at the intersections of policy, politics, and social impact. She develops and manages award-winning campaigns, trains activists around the world, and helps deliver millions of supporters – and hundreds of millions in funding – to efforts focused on global health, climate change, gender bias and violence, and food system reform. She is a member of the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS) and serves on the Board of Directors of both the New Venture Fund and Re:Her DC. Miller is an adjunct professor at the Culinary Institute of America. She lives in Washington DC, on the land of the Anacostan and Nacotchtank people, with her husband, Lou, and their cat, Lily.

Welcome to a very special episode with The Healthy Menu x Devour! Food Film Fest. Hosted by Sonia Couto, today's guest is award-winning chef and food advocate, Michel Nischan. Four-time James Beard Award-winner Chef Michel Nischan has been dubbed the “Godfather” of advocacy in the culinary world, maintaining the longest-standing record fighting for a more sustainable, resilient, and equitable food system through policy change. Michel is Co-Founder of the James Beard Foundation Chef Boot Camp for Policy and Change, and the only chef in America to change the Federal Farm Bill, twice, through his non-profit organization Wholesome Wave. Wholesome Wave was founded in 2007—the same year both of his restaurants were listed on Condé Nast's Top 95 Restaurants in the World (Pure in Mumbai, India, and The Dressing Room Restaurant in Westport, CT). The festival has become a destination for celebrities and notable chefs including Anthony Bourdain, Phil Rosenthal, Jacques Pépin, Dominique Crenn, Chuck Hughes, Sam Cass, Michael Städtlander, Normand Laprise, Michael Smith, Gordon Pinsent, Jason Priestley, Lidia Bastianich, and Bill Pullman. Each year, top chefs from across Canada and around the world collaborate on special dinners inspired by films. Devour! offers something for everyone with a roster of films at our host cinema, the Al Whittle Theatre, as well as food, film and beverage workshops, the Chowder Smackdown, the Great Devour! Community Supper in support of regional food banks, the Devour! The Street Food Rally and so much more. This live is part of a three-part live series in collaboration with Devour! Food Film Fest. The Healthy Menu is brought to you by MenuSano. This episode was taken from a recorded live on October 19, 2022. ===== Michel Nischan: www.chefnischan.com Devour! Food Film Fest: www.devourfest.com Sonia Couto: www.linkedin.com/in/soniacouto MenuSano: www.menusano.com

Chef Michel Nischan is the founder and Executive Chairman of Wholesome Wave, the founder of Wholesome Crave, and co-founder of the James Beard Foundation's Chefs Action Network. Michel is a four-time James Beard Award winning chef with over 30 years of leadership advocating for a more healthy and sustainable food system. Tune in to learn more about: Michel's memories of working on his grandfather's farm; How a climbing accident pushed him to finally found the non-profit organization Wholesome Wave; The mission of Wholesome Wave to address diet-related diseases by helping low-income Americans buy and eat healthy fruits and vegetables; The lack of affordability for healthy food and the disastrous consequences for the chronically ill; The Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP), a program that brings together stakeholders from various parts of the food and healthcare systems; About Wholesome Crave, a company that creates flavorful, nutritious soups; How health care institutions are trying to improve the quality of their food and how UC Davis Medical Center partnered with Wholesome Crave to offer their soups in their cafes. To learn more about Chef Michel Nischan go to https://www.chefnischan.com. 

I recap the past five episodes with Spencer Thompson, Kellee James, Dennis Littky, Michel Nischan and Peter Bencivenga - Enjoy!

In this episode, I interview the founder of Wholesome Wave and Wholesome Crave, Michel Nischan. WW is a non-profit that helps people gain access to healthy food, and WC is a company that sells affordable and delicious plant-based soups, while supporting Wholesome Wave with a portion of its revenues. Michel has won numerous awards as a Chef, published multiple bestselling cookbooks and founded a restaurant with Paul Newman. We cover the food system, how it became the way it is and the development of his businesses and restaurants. I hope you enjoy this interview as much as I did!

Tackling nutrition insecurity with Legendary Chef Michel Nischan. A leader in the Food-Is-Medicine movement helps us grasp why food has a significant impact on human health, environmental health, societal health, and economic health.Episode Wine Offer: 20% off for everyone, 30% off for WS & JCB members | Offer ends "Sunday at midnight" Coupon code HAPPY48Shop Now: https://my.boissetcollection.com/products/catalog/sale-1005Learn more about Wholesome Wave: https://www.wholesomewave.org/ and Chef Michel Nischan: https://www.chefnischan.com

Michel Nischan grew up working on his grandparent's farm in Missouri and developed a deep appreciation for sustainable agriculture and those who work the land. His passion for healthful cooking supported by a local sustainable food system propelled Michel to the front of the culinary scene. Michel expanded his work into the world of food equity when he founded the non-profit organization, Wholesome Wave, whose mission is to inspire underserved consumers to make healthier food choices by increasing affordable access to fresh, healthful fruits and vegetables. His vision was to catalyze a meaningful shift in food commerce to support local farmers, retailers, and food entrepreneurs through purchasing fresh fruits and vegetables in their home communities.Author of three cookbooks and a director of the Jacques Pepin Foundation, Chef's Collaborative, CIA Advisory Council, Modern Farmer, Good Food Media Network, The National Young Farmers Coalition, and the ReFresh Working Group. The James Beard Foundation honored him with the 2015 Humanitarian of The Year. To learn more about Chef Nischan, follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and visit www.chefnischan.com  For more about Wholesome Wave visit www.wholesomewave.orgPhoto Courtesy of Michel NischanHeritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Let's Talk About Food by becoming a member!Let's Talk About Food is Powered by Simplecast.

In mid-Summer, although fully vaccinated, Michel and his wife Laurie got Breakthrough Covid after a business trip to Nashville. We had to postpone our original conversation, but when we did connect, Michel shared his experience with us. We were moved. And think you will be too.Tune in for more from Michel on our next episode!Photo Courtesy of Michel NischanHeritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Let's Talk About Food by becoming a member!Let's Talk About Food is Powered by Simplecast.

Episode 26 In this episode, we speak with Michel Nischan and Ben Perkins about their incredible work with Wholesome Wave (and Wholesome Crave) and their passion for tackling nutrition insecurity and improving access to healthy, locally produced foods. www.connecticut.consciouscapitalism.org www.wholesomewave.org www.wholesomecrave.com

Listen to our latest podcast with Chef Michel Nischan. A four-time James Beard Award winning chef with over 35 years of leadership advocating for a more healthful, sustainable food system.

He is a chef, author and food equity advocate residing in Fairfield, Connecticut. Michel Nischan has hosted a dinner for the Dalai Lama and owned a restaurant with the late Paul Newman. He is the author of three cookbooks and was honored by the James Beard Foundation as the 2015 “Humanitarian of The Year.” In this episode we discuss his journey into the culinary world and lessons learned working with Hollywood royalty Paul Newman. He is the co-founder of Wholesome Wave, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to inspire underserved consumers to make healthier food choices by increasing affordable access to fresh fruits and vegetables. Enjoy this episode as we go Beyond the Plate… with Chef Michel Nischan.  This episode is brought to you by Wickles Pickles. Check out our merch at BeyondthePlateMerch.com. Follow us on TW, FB & IG: @btplatepodcast / #btplatepodcast

Hey Legends! on Today's episode of the Epic Table Podcast we have Chef Michel Nischan! Chef Nischan is a four time James Beard award winning chef, Co Founder of Wholesome Wave and, Founder - President of Wholesome Crave. Through Wholesome Wave, Chef Nischan pushes positive vibes, is all about making the right nutrient dense fruits and vegetables available at local farmers markets or grocery stores at a reasonable price. In this episode we chat all about Wholesome Wave, and how it all began and we talk about some of the issues revolving around education and government. If you want to learn more about Chef Michel Nischan, you can check out the Wholesome Wave website ( https://www.wholesomewave.org/ ) , Instagram ( @MichelNischan ).

Co-founder and CEO of Wholesome Wave Michel Nischan talks about his commitment to join people around the table in sharing nutritious food and providing healthier produce to low-income communities. Read our favorite highlights of this episode as you listen HERE. While you’re listening, subscribe, rate, and review the show; it would mean the world to us to have your feedback. You can listen to “Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg” wherever you consume your podcasts. Apple Podcasts Stitcher Google Play Spotify   Become a Food Tank member for exclusive benefits: join HERE!   Follow Food Tank on Social Media: Twitter Facebook Instagram LinkedIn Youtube

Do you know the #1 cause of death in America? It is not what you think - our diet has surpassed smoking as a cause of death. Michel Nischan, chef and Founder, President and CEO of Wholesome Wave, and Lindsey Seegers, Program Manager of Nutrition Education at Manna Food Center in Montgomery County, MD know that food-related disease is both deadly and preventable. They join Share Our Strength founders Debbie and Billy Shore to explain some promising ways they are addressing the root causes of diet-related diseases. “We spend about $1.4 trillion a year on diet-related disease,” says Nischan. Yet the economic disparities of a disease like Type 2 Diabetes are stark. “I learned that the majority of the people that struggle with that condition lived at income levels so low they couldn’t even afford the basic ingredients to help them prevent the disease in the first place.” Seegers works with thousands of families in Montgomery County on nutritious eating. “Healthy eating is not just for the rich,” she stresses. “What parents want so much is to feed their children well – they want the best for their kids. The challenge is to be able to afford adequate and enough wholesome staple foods.”Both guests believe that systemic changes are needed to impact health outcomes, and they are making real progress. Seegers’ work at Manna Food Center focuses on nutrition education – not just food distribution – to help families learn how to identify and afford healthy foods on a budget. They are also launching a retrofitted school bus that serves as a mobile kitchen and pop-up pantry. Wholesome Wave began a 2-for-1 program for buying fruits and vegetables with SNAP food stamps with private funding which grew into a federally-funded program in the Farm Bill called the Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive (FINI) Grant Program with $100M over 5 years. Nischan did not predict the success of the model. “However complicated the root causes are, something as simplistic as providing affordability thru incentives can be so powerful – it’s mindboggling.” FINI has also had larger economic impacts because farmers whose produce is purchased through the program are responding to this increased demand by making infrastructural improvements and expanding their enterprises.These food justice leaders also discuss the recent threats to the SNAP food stamp program and the effect that cuts would have on families and the economy. “Food is where people are going to cut when things get really tight,” reports Seegers, which means that preventing diet-related disease will be even more difficult. “It’s just wrongheaded,” says Nischan. He cites the return on investment of giving people access to healthy food vs. paying for expensive health care treatments like dialysis. “$100 thousand dollars saves $4 million dollars.”

Michel Nischan, a chef and nutrition activist, describes his fight for food to be considered medicine, and how he was inspired to act when two of his children were diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. Pamela Hess joins to tells us how she brings fresh, healthy produce to food deserts in the Washington, DC area via her mobile market, and how she works with veterans to jumpstart their careers in farming.

On this week s show, we discuss sustainable food policy with culinary revolutionaries from around the world. While growing up, Michel Nischan spent a lot of time on his grandfather s farm. So the thought of eating fresh food was second nature to him. Now he s focused on changing food policy on a federal level. Next, Wynnie Stein reflects on the evolution of the Moosewood Collective, a group of cooks, artists, and activists who have been making healthy food together and publishing acclaimed cookbooks in Ithaca, New York since 1973. Then, we hear from Ugandan agronomist Edward Mukiibi and Richard McCarthy of Slow Food USA. Edward leads the 10,000 Gardens in Africa Project, an effort to transform the food system in Sub Saharan Africa by re establishing community ties to the land. For more of all things Louisiana Eats, be sure to visit us at PoppyTooker.com.

Road Trip! We're coming to you from Newman’s Own in Westport, CT, where we talk to the kid chefs who won Newman’s Own Super Snack Challenge and talk to chef Michel Nischan about the future of farming (it’s vertical!). Plus, we sip two food-friendly $10 Napa-style wines, and talk to Newman’s Own President and CEO Bob Forrester about the legacy of Paul Newman and the company’s truly unique approach to business. It’s an uplifting hour of food, wine, and friendship! Disclosure: Newman’s Own Foundation is an underwriter with WNPR, NPR, and other public radio stations.Support the show: https://foodschmooze.org/donate/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Episode 19 of Sourcing Matters we welcome well known chef, and SNAP reformer Michel Nischan to the show.  This 4-time James Beard award winning chef is founder and President/CEO of Wholesome Wave.  As a long-time advocate of better food and proper production, Nischan has dedicated most of his career to fixing a broken system through transitioning intrinsic domestic focus from energy production to nutrient dense sustenance for more.  Nischan's efforts have been nothing but transformative in enacting lasting change throughout the US food system, and in the mind's eye of its consumers. Through the creation of successful programs like the doubling of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP/ food stamps) benefits on healthy & nutritious foods, and the Produce Prescription program - Nischan has taken firm control of a political football and is now responsible for reforming a significant part of our national farm bill policy.  Additionally, in conjunction with the James Beard foundation, Nischan worked extensively with Eric Kessler to spawn the "Chef's Boot Camps".  Another successful venture which promotes ongoing reform, this initiative encourages civically and politically minded chefs to become more effective leaders for food-system change.  With a thousand of tomorrow's food leaders waiting at the door to gain access to the boot camps, Nischan's impact will persist for generations to come. The entire hour of our conversation is well worth a listen.  But, if you have only 10 minutes to lend an ear - tune-in to hear the power of Michel's words and the emotional description of his dear friends Paul Newman and Gus Schumacher.  Both influential allies; both impressive leaders; both iconoclasts who've have disrupted by leaving this place much better than they had found it. During the conversation Michel Nischan defines food as the "silver bullet" needed to engage more folks into their environmental footprint, and to the negative consequences of shortcuts used in production have on human and public health.  He explains that the food we eat is an unparalleled opportunity to democratize complex conversations in systems thinking.  As we're all eaters, and eating is an agricultural act - we can all connect by breaking this bread together. A inspirational leader, and an agent of change - Michel Nischan has levered his stardom to change the world for the better through his medium of food. And, what's even better - he's only just begun.   www.SourcingMatters.show    

Do you know the #1 cause of death in America? It is not what you think - our diet has surpassed smoking as a cause of death. Michel Nischan, chef and Founder, President and CEO of Wholesome Wave, and Lindsey Seegers, Program Manager of Nutrition Education at Manna Food Center in Montgomery County, MD know that food-related disease is both deadly and preventable. They join Share Our Strength founders Debbie and Billy Shore to explain some promising ways they are addressing the root causes of diet-related diseases. “We spend about $1.4 trillion a year on diet-related disease,” says Nischan. Yet the economic disparities of a disease like Type 2 Diabetes are stark. “I learned that the majority of the people that struggle with that condition lived at income levels so low they couldn’t even afford the basic ingredients to help them prevent the disease in the first place.” Seegers works with thousands of families in Montgomery County on nutritious eating. “Healthy eating is not just for the rich,” she stresses. “What parents want so much is to feed their children well – they want the best for their kids. The challenge is to be able to afford adequate and enough wholesome staple foods.”Both guests believe that systemic changes are needed to impact health outcomes, and they are making real progress. Seegers’ work at Manna Food Center focuses on nutrition education – not just food distribution – to help families learn how to identify and afford healthy foods on a budget. They are also launching a retrofitted school bus that serves as a mobile kitchen and pop-up pantry. Wholesome Wave began a 2-for-1 program for buying fruits and vegetables with SNAP food stamps with private funding which grew into a federally-funded program in the Farm Bill called the Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive (FINI) Grant Program with $100M over 5 years. Nischan did not predict the success of the model. “However complicated the root causes are, something as simplistic as providing affordability thru incentives can be so powerful – it’s mindboggling.” FINI has also had larger economic impacts because farmers whose produce is purchased through the program are responding to this increased demand by making infrastructural improvements and expanding their enterprises.These food justice leaders also discuss the recent threats to the SNAP food stamp program and the effect that cuts would have on families and the economy. “Food is where people are going to cut when things get really tight,” reports Seegers, which means that preventing diet-related disease will be even more difficult. “It’s just wrongheaded,” says Nischan. He cites the return on investment of giving people access to healthy food vs. paying for expensive health care treatments like dialysis. “$100 thousand dollars saves $4 million dollars.”

Last week's episode of Special Sauce ended with Michel Nischan and I discussing his groundbreaking restaurant, Heartbeat, and his efforts to serve food that was healthy and actually delicious. This week we pick up where we left off and talk about how leaving Heartbeat led to Michel becoming a trailblazing sustainable food consultant for major airlines, hotel groups, and corporations looking to develop healthier menus by sourcing better, organic ingredients.  It was this consulting work that led him to develop a friendship and partnership with the late actor, entrepreneur, and activist, Paul Newman, with whom he operated the former farm-to-table Dressing Room Restaurant in Westport, CT.  Michel and Newman hit it off, in part, because Michel hadn't seen any of his movies. "One day he finally said, 'Have you seen any of my movies?' I said, 'I've seen Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.'" Newman looked at him a moment and then replied, "I knew I liked you for a reason." Newman also served as the catalyst for Michel to found his remarkable nonprofit, Wholesome Wave, the goal of which is to increase access to healthy, locally and regionally grown food in underserved communities. Michel discusses the nonprofit's remarkable growth, and describes—with much-deserved pride—its accomplishments, like influencing the 2014 Farm Bill for the better. There's a whole lot more to our discussion, including Michel's thoughts on ways to get involved in fighting for iamportant food policy issues, and of course the usual grab-bag of Special Sauce questions. I do hope you listen; Michel is doing admirable work.

This week on Special Sauce, I have as my guest my old friend, Michel Nischan, the three-time James Beard award-winning chef, author, and food equity advocate. Michel's a busy guy. Between his work as the founder and CEO of Wholesome Wave, which aims to increase affordable, healthy food access for underserved consumers, and his work with the Chef's Action Network, which he co-founded, he doesn't have a lot of free time, so I'm delighted that he had the time to join me. Michel has had a long and storied career, so we've broken up the interview into two parts. This week we focus on his origins, and how he went from being a broke, teenager playing music with some legendary names–think The Edgar Winter Band and Rick Derringer–to becoming a kind of savant line cook, due to ample exposure to good cooking at home. At his first job at a truck stop diner, he took one look at the griddle and all the breakfast meats and proposed to the owner that they make biscuits and gravy from scratch. "The guy thought I was stoned or something." From there, he worked his way through a number of kitchens in the late 1970s and the '80s, moving every time he was given an incremental wage increase. "Two bucks more an hour in 1979 is like, wow. Sold." But it wasn't until he started cooking at Heartbeat in New York City that he connected all the disparate elements of his life and career and began producing food that was way ahead of its time; healthy, yet still tasty. I do hope you take the time to listen to Michel's incredible story–particularly since he embodies the ideal of chefs who care about the people they cook for. And this week is just about his restaurant career; next week we'll get into how he's trying change the world.

This week's guest on Open Mic is Michel Nischan, CEO and Founder of Wholesome Wave, and an award-winning chef. The USDA announced a second amount of funding for the nonprofit to expand its healthy food initiative into areas of Connecticut and Vermont. The $500,000 was awarded through the Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive Program, enabling SNAP program participants to buy more locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables. The program means better nutrition for consumers and increased opportunities for local farmers. In this interview, Chef Nischan shares his vision for the power of food to improve personal health, his thoughts on improving diets with fresh as well as frozen vegetables, and his ideas for the future of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.Jeff NalleyWholesome Wave CEO Michel Nischan

Michel Nischan is a three-time James Beard Award winning chef with over 30 years of experience advocating for a more healthful, sustainable food system. He is Founder and CEO of Wholesome Wave, Co-Founder of the Chefs Action Network, as well as Founder and Partner with the late actor Paul Newman of the former Dressing Room Restaurant. Nischan has successfully influenced legislative language for the recently passed Federal Farm Bill, supporting affordable access to healthy, locally grown fruits and vegetables for low income consumers and is the author of three cookbooks. Today we discuss how food is the most important factor in your personal health.

Today we give you this conversation with Chef Michel Nischan, CEO and President of Wholesome Wave, a Connecticut-based organization that assists underserved urban and rural communities in 33 states and D.C. with connecting to local agriculture for equitable access to affordable, locally grown foods. He speaks about his philosophies around food, fireflies, and the inspiration of his elders.

Get a behind the scenes look at the work Michel Nischan does with Wholesome Wave on a brand new episode of All in the Industry with Shari Bayer! As the son of displaced farmers, Michel Nischan, CEO, Founder and President of Wholesome Wave, grew up with a great appreciation for local agriculture and those who work the land. He translated these childhood values into a career as a James Beard Award-winning chef, author and restaurateur, becoming a catalyst for change in the sustainable food movement. An Ashoka Fellow, Michel serves on the Board of Trustees for the James Beard Foundation, The Rodale Institute and the Advisory Board for Chefs Collaborative. This program was brought to you by Heritage Foods USA. “Almost 20 million Americans are pre-diabetic or have indicators that will lead to some kind of heart disease or diabetes.” [19:00] “Under served consumers are a powerful force. When the encounter affordability they become a powerful market force.” [21:00] “I think everything is solvable through food and I think more people want good food than one would assume.” [24:00] –Michel Nischan on All in the Industry

How does our gender affect our relationship with food? Does it determine what we want to eat, how we cook or what we buy? And as gender roles change, how too are the traditional roles for men and women changing when it comes to food? We speak to renowned food campaigner and feminist Susie Orbach, retailer Andrew Opie and chef turned whole-food campaigner Michel Nischan about how food is marketed to women and about the gender stereotypes still prevalent. We talk to two Michelin starred female chefs about sexism in the professional kitchen. We visit Mauritania to hear about traditional gender roles in the fishing industry there and we get an insight into the 1970s idea of what constitutes 'masculine' food by taking a glance back at Playboy, with food historian Polly Russell. (Photo: Michelin-starred French chef Helene Darroze in the kitchen. Credit: Jean-Pierre Muller/AFP/Getty Images)

Chef Michel Nischan, Co-Founder and CEO/President of Wholesome Wave, is leading a movement to provide fresh, healthy, locally grown food to under-served communities in the USA. The son of a farming family and father to 2 sons with Type 1 diabetes, Michel knows the benefits of eating freshly prepared, nutritious meals. With nearly 30 million American lacking access to healthy, affordable foods Wholesome Wave's network of nutrition incentive programs is helping to eradicate food insecurity.This show is broadcast live on W4CY Radio – (www.w4cy.com) part of Talk 4 Radio (http://www.talk4radio.com/) on the Talk 4 Media Network http://www.talk4media.com/).

Michel Nischan, Toby Rodriguez, and Brian Kyzar are all men with grand ambitions. Even though they work in different parts of the country, they each plan to bring about changes within their niche of the food industry. Michel s been in the game for over 35 years. Among the many jobs he s had, Michel s done farm work, cooked in a kitchen, and opened a restaurant with Paul Newman. Now he s focused on changing food policy on the federal level. We hope you ll be as inspired by Michel as we have. Then we ll speak with Toby Rodriguez and Brian Kyzar as they prepare for a pop up dinner on Frenchmen Street. They re joining us to talk about reviving the Cajun traditions that were on the verge of extinction as little as five years ago. Plus, Dr. Gourmet returns and Poppy shares a recipe for fried shrimp heads don t let them go to waste Shrimp Spiders Serves 4 24 large shrimp heads Flour Salt Pepper 1 cup milk 1 egg Hot sauce Zatarain's Fish Fry Oil for frying Pull the top shell off of the shrimp heads. Season flour with salt and pepper. Roll heads in seasoned flour. Make an egg wash by mix milk, egg and hot sauce together. Dip each floured shrimp head in egg wash then roll in fish fry. Heat oil to 360 degrees. Drop shrimp heads into the hot oil and fry for 3 4 minutes, until browned and crunchy. Salt lightly and serve hot.

Chef Michael Bloise is using his noodle -- literally. He's behind the concept of South Florida's American Noodle Bar; Chef Michel Nischan, the founder of Wholesome Wave, is bringing some needed fresh, locally grown produce to the nation's "food deserts."

Fun show jammin with great information - from news on an inter-collegiate recycling contest from our GD Sarah in Colorado Springs to lots of good news from Chef Michel Nischan who is busy with his organization, Wholesome Wave, making sure everyone has access to healthy, whole foods.