Bon Appetit Chef Of The Year: 2009

Are you wondering who was the Bon Appetit Chef of the Year: 2009? Dan Barber was awarded the James Beard Foundation’s Outstanding Chef award for 2009, making him Bon Appetit’s Chef of the Year.

Dan owns and operates the Blue Hill Farm, located in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. The restaurant was opened in May, 2000, and had only been opened for two years before Dan was named one of the “Best New Chefs” in the country by Food and Wine Magazine.

Dan also serves as Executive Chef, co-owner, and a member of the board for the Blue Hill at Stone Barns and Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture in Pocantico Hills, New York. This organization not only serves great food in the restaurant that is part of it but also provides education on many aspects of the farming that is required to provide food for restaurants.

Further, Dan works with Harvard Medical School’s Center for Health and the Global Environment, The Kellogg Foundation, and New York City’s Greenmarkets. It’s nice to know that this Bon Appetit Chef of the Year isn’t just content to rest on his laurels.

As part of his affiliation with Harvard School of Medicine, Dan wrote an article about how he fell in love with a fish. The first part of the article was written with his tongue firmly planted in his cheek; however, throughout the remainder of the article, Dan spoke of his concern about environmental effects of fish. These included pollution, overfishing, especially of some species, and loss of natural habitats.

Dan’s love for food may have been what won him the Bon Appetit Chef of the Year award, but his other endeavors, as well as his concern for the environment, should also be commended.