Speaker Profiles
SUVIR SARAN
Viewing the kitchen as both a culinary and spiritual haven, New Delhi-born Top Chef Master Suvir Saran has nurtured a lifelong passion for the traditional flavors of Indian cooking, which has led him to become an accomplished chef, cookbook author, educator, and organic farmer. Saran’s approachable and informed style has helped to demystify Indian cuisine in America and ultimately formed American Masala, his culinary philosophy, which celebrates the best of Indian and American cooking.
A respected culinary authority, Saran is Chairman of Asian Culinary Studies for the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) and travels extensively to teach audiences ranging from home cooks and fellow chefs to physicians and nutritionists. He has been a featured speaker and guest chef for notable gatherings such as the Healthy Kitchens, Food Network’s South Beach Wine & Food Festival, the New York City Wine & Food Festival, and many others. Saran has also led classes for culinary centers and schools nationwide.
HAYLEY STEVENS
Hayley Stevens is a graduate from the Corso Superiore at the renowned Italian culinary school, Alma, in Parma, Italy. She has experience in kitchens from the north to south of Italy; between Oderzo, outside of Venice under the tutelage of Alessandro Breda, to Licata, Sicily where she worked with Pino Cuttaia at La Madia. Hayley was employed on the Amalfi coast at the 2 Michelin star restaurant Don Alfonso where she first partook in the production of extra virgin olive oil and spent several years enjoying cooking with fresh products from the fertile Vesuvian land and the nearby Mediterranean sea.
SIMON FIELD
Simon Field, BA (Hons), MA (Cantab) founder and organiser of Savantes (www.savantes.com) and Olive Business (www.olivebusiness.com), is a producer of organic olive products and olive industry consultant. His tasting experience comes from travelling to growing regions worldwide and tasting thousands of olive oils at Savantes and in the company of some of the world’s leading tasters.
ERYN BALCH
Eryn Balch joined the North American Olive Oil Association (NAOOA) as Executive Vice President in January 2012. Formed in 1989 and headquartered in Neptune, NJ, the NAOOA advocates for global olive oil standards enforcement and fair competitive trade, as the U.S. is the largest importer of olive oil in the world. Other key activities include buyer, dietitian and consumer education and efforts to increase olive oil consumption in North America. Promotions efforts focus on fostering a clear understanding of the different grades of olive oil and making consumers aware of the taste, versatility and health benefits of olive oils.
RICK CUMMISFORD
Rick Cummisford holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from Bradley University and excelled in Organic Chemistry. His career of over twenty years has taken him through many aspects of the fats and oils industry, from applied Sciences in specialized industries, process development and engineering projects to sales of Oleo-chemical products to upper management roles overseeing research and development, product development, quality assurance and control, regulatory and many direct customer related consultations for a variety of processes, products and applications.
For almost fourteen years, he has been with Columbus Vegetable Oils in a leadership position for development in a variety of industries and markets. He has been interviewed and quoted in several industry circulations, professional expert situations, live and video presentations for local and national trade organizations and the internet.
CHEF OLLY ROUSE
Olly Rouse is one of a new breed of creative chefs who has an inspiring and original vision for modern fine-dining.
Head Chef at The Avenue in Lainston House, an Exclusive Hotel near Winchester, Hampshire, Olly has a tireless obsession for seeking out ingredients he considers special and firmly believes that a chef is a ‘custodian of nature’s larder’. Olly is keen to celebrate British and grows his own produce in the hotel’s abundant kitchen garden; his menus are completely market-led and ingredient inspired. Olly is also on a never-ending quest to learn, discover and explore global flavours and techniques.
RAFAEL MUELA
Rafael Muela was born in Jaén, Spain as part of the 3rd generation of a family involved in olive oil since 1942. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Mueloliva and Almazara de Muela, companies which have developed throughout his career and where he is also the Commercial and Marketing Director. Rafael and his brothers have turned Venta del Baron and Mueloliva Picuda into two of the best extra virgin olive oils worldwide. Venta del Baron has held the accolade ‘Best Extra Virgin Olive in the World’ for three consecutive years.
Rafael has a Masters degree in Marketing and Sales Management from ESIC and graduated from the University Antonio de Nebrija in Management and Business Management. He is a Tasting Panel Member for DOP Priego de Córdoba, and Associate Savantes.
PATTY LAMBERTI
Patty Lamberti is a Professional-in-Residence and the Director of Graduate Program in Digital Media and Storytelling at Loyola University Chicago’s School of Communication.
She teaches a variety of courses related to digital media, including producing web and social media content for small businesses, new media entrepreneurship, reporting and writing, producing online journalism content, ethics and communication, narrative communication techniques, and new media and communication.
She maintains an active freelance career which includes producing monthly content for Money Under 30, a financial advice web site that has 11,000 email newsletter subscribers. She produces quarterly content for Imagination Publishing, a content marketing agency. She’s also published content for Maxim, the New York Post, the Chicago Tribune, and Delish, a cooking web site. Before having a child, she operated a blog about Italian cooking. Olive oil was a frequent topic of discussion.
She previously held full-time editorial positions at Playboy magazine, Latina magazine, and Lifetime TV.
You can learn more about Patty at www.patricialamberti.com