Board of Advisors

Mark Beringer has worked in the wine industry for over 25 years. He spent 14 of those years making the wines of Duckhorn Vineyards in the Napa Valley, and is now the VP of Production and Winemaker for Artesa Vineyards and Winery in Carneros. In 2007, in partnership with several childhood friends, he created the Et Cetera Wine Company to make Napa and Sonoma wines.

Linda Daly is way too socially active for her own good. She is a contributing editor for Los Angeles Times Magazine, a nonprofit consultant and coordinates volunteers for her temple’s food pantry. When she’s not writing and telling people what to do, she’s raising her 2 children and takes care of a ranch in Malibu. There she watches her tomatoes grow and sheep graze and dreams about a world where biodiversity is an every day practice. Linda has two dogs and four fish. Her favorite food is guacamole and her favorite wine is Sauvignon Blanc.

Suzanne Goin, chef, restaurateur and cookbook author owns four of L.A.’s most lauded restaurants: A.O.C., Lucques, and Tavern, which she runs with partner Caroline Styne, and The Hungry Cat, where she shares duties with her husband, David Lentz. She was named one of Food u0026amp; Wine Magazine’s “best new chefs of 1999? and was nominated for James Beard awards in 2003 and 2005. In 2006 Goin won the James Beard award for Best Chef: California.

Eric Greenspan graduated both from Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and the Le Cordon Bleu Culinary School in Paris; he has trained with celebrated chefs including Alain Ducasse, David Bouley, and Joachim Splichal. While Executive Chef at the renowned Patina he was named one of Angeleno Magazines “Eight Hot Chefs” and his kitchen garnered both a 27/30 rating and a “Top French Restaurant” from Zagat. 944 Magazine recognized Eric as one of the “Most Buzzworthy Chefs in America.”

In spring 2007, Eric opened The Foundry on Melrose to similarly rave reviews and resounding success.  The Foundry was runner-up for Los Angeles Magazine’s “Best New Restaurant.”  With its swanky bar, live music, and unsurpassed cuisine, the restaurant earned a swath of accolades. Condé Nast Traveler named it Best New Restaurant; it made Los Angeles Magazine’s Top 75, as well as the “Essential 99” restaurants of then LA Weekly’s Pulitzer-winning food critic Jonathan Gold. The Foundry was also a semi-finalist for The James Beard Foundation’s Best New Restaurant in America.

Eric was recently the host of National Geographic’s “Eric Greenspan Is Hungry.” He has competed on numerous culinary competition and food-reality shows, including Food Network’s “Cutthroat Kitchen All-Stars,” “Chopped All-Stars,” “Guy’s Grocery Games All-Stars,” “The Next Iron Chef,” “The Next Iron Chef: Redemption,” and“Iron Chef America” where he defeated Bobby Flay in a throw-down.  

Greenspan has been profiled by such publications as The New York Times, Wine Spectator, Art Culinaire, Los Angeles Confidential, Angeleno, and Los Angeles Magazine. He also won the 2008 Grilled Cheese Invitational. Eric is a partner in Midcourse Hospitality Group, along with Jim Hustead and James Moon and is the Executive Chef and owner of Greenspan’s Grilled Cheese, The Roof On Wilshire and Maré (two Los Angeles locations). Midcourse Hospitality Group also recently partnered with chef Nick Erven, on the plant based restaurant, Erven.  Eric lives in LA with his wife Jamie, and son, Max. 

Suzanne Tracht is among the rare group of American women chefs who have achieved the ultimate dream of owning their own restaurant. With Jar, her modern chophouse in the heart of Los Angeles, Tracht dazzles Angelenos with the allure of her familiar retro dishes from the American culinary repertoire. Her contemporary interpretation of dishes like Pork Belly and Chocolate Pudding prove that delicious food can also be unpretentious. “I love feeding people. We want guests to feel like they are in the ultimate living room, where they can have their favorite foods without pretence. I’ve always wanted to create a restaurant space where there’s a sense of community and neighborhood,” says Tracht.

 

Suzanne Goin

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