Pickles

Committee Chairs

Liz Rubin is a proud monger and supervisor at the newly opened Mission Cheese. Her love for food and wine was fostered through her experience working at the prestigious James Beard Foundation and through her freelance work with the Oregon Truffle Festival. In her spare time she enjoys writing about food and the experiences great eating has elicited.

Lila Holland comes from a background in writing, editing, nonprofit shenanigans, and midnight baking sprees. After quitting her Internet media job, she’s now slipping fingers into food-related pies all over San Francisco.

Committee

Kelli Towner, 22 year old Sous Chef at newly opened Beast and the Hare restaurant. She started cooking two years ago at the east bay establishment BayWolf, where she was taught how to cook and truly love food by Chef Louis LeGassic.

Amber Turpin is a freelance food writer, communications consultant, and former weekly columnist and restaurant critic for the Santa Cruz Weekly. She ran her own artisan baking business, the Sweet Pea Cookie Company for five years, followed by working as Office Manager for Slow Food Nation.

Sarah Henkin is the Market Chef for CUESA and the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market; and the Vice President of Urban Kitchen SF.

Nicole Mason currently manages the Marketing Communication efforts at Veritable Vegetable, the nation’s oldest distributor of certified organic fruits and vegetables. Previously, Nicole spent five years at Roots of Change and prior to moving to California, Nicole served as the Farm to Table Initiative Director at Earth Pledge.

Talia Dillman is the Project Director at Farms of Origin, a group of quality artisan food and agritourism companies dedicated to sustainable agriculture. Talia Dillman’s career in sustainable food began in earnest when she worked for Slow Food Nation. Afterward, she became the Project Manager at LiveCulture Co. At present Talia is focused on coordinating the construction of a slaughter and meat processing facility to open in Northern California and building an Agritourism Center in Belize.

Michelle Fuerst is a writer, food stylist, and chef. Cooking in various Bay Area restaurants at the beginning of her career, she ultimately landed at Zuni Café and Chez Panisse. In 2008, she curated the pickles and chutney pavilion for Slow Food Nation and in 2009 Michelle worked for the successful Yes We Can project in San Francisco. After moving to the East Coast in 2010, she worked as an in-house chef for Etsy.com in Brooklyn.

Katherine Scherbel is a home canner, pickler, jammer and baker with a background in urban planning. She is currently teaching three young children how to live and eat well.

Karen Solomon is a food and culture writer in San Francisco. She has published 4 books including Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It: And Other Cooking Projects and The Cheap Bastard’s Guide to San Francisco. Karen’s articles have also been featured in Sunset and San Francisco Chronicle.

Julia Vanderham is an organizer and event producer who was raised on the mean streets of the fine dining world. She manages the Magik*Magik Orchestra, a non profit orchestra which has collaborated with Sting and other great musicians, loves to eat, cook, and whip people into shape.

Judges

Nick Balla, Head Chef at Bar Tartine
Rachel Cole, Avid Pickler and Hunger-Satisfier at RachelWCole.com
Case Fischer, CEO & President of Fischer & Wieser Specialty Foods, Inc.
Michelle Fuerst, Pickles Curator for Slow Food Nation and former Culinary Fellow at Montalvo Center for the Arts
Jennifer Fukui, Buyer for Gilt Taste
Jane Goldman, Editor-in-Chief at Chow.com
Dava Guthmiller, CEO and Creative Director at Noise 13
Erica Holland-Toll, Executive Chef at Prather Meat Co. – American Eatery
Peter Jacobsen, Culinary Gardener and Owner of Jacobsen Orchards
Brad Koester, Founder and Master Pickler at Boozely Pickles and Preserves
Dafna Kory, Founder of INNA Jam
David Lannon, Northern California Regional President of Whole Foods Market
Aaron London, Executive Chef at Ubuntu
Nicole Mason, Marketing Communications Manager at Veritable Vegetable
Allison McQuade, Owner of McQuade’s Celtic Chutneys
Barton Seaver, National Geographic Fellow and Sustainable Fish Expert
Fiona Tang, Community Manager for Foodspotting
Amber Turpin, Food Writer for Civil Eats