2026 ReFED Food Waste Solutions Summit

Chef Michel Nischan is a four-time James Beard Award-winning chef with over 40 years of advocating for a sustainable, healthful food system. A lifelong Ashoka Fellow, he co-founded Wholesome Wave, a nonprofit focused on ending food and nutrition insecurity, and founded Wholesome Crave, a food company that supports the groundbreaking work of Wholesome Wave. Chef Michel has authored three cookbooks, owned Dressing Room Restaurant with the late actor Paul Newman, and is the co-founder of the James Beard Chefs Boot Camps for Policy and Change. Most recently, he received the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition’s 2024 Lifetime Impact Award in recognition of his extraordinary career and relentless commitment to improving food equity and nutrition across the U.S. Most recently, Michel launched the OneKitchen program, leveraging his deep experience and knowledge to provide training and mentorship along with an ongoing network of support for chefs who wish to make positive food systems change in the communities they call home.