If you like to geek out on culinary trend pieces as much as I do, then you'll love the baker's dozen of food culture somebodies and tastemakers that the website Chow.com has compiled for its first-annual Chow 13 Awards.
From the dude who has Angelenos compulsively checking Twitter to get their Korean barbecue taco fix, to the brewery founder who's gotten beer geeks drinking ever stronger, ever more esoteric brews, the rundown is a fun read.
Here's the quick rundown of who gets a nod this year:
CHRISTINA TOSI, founder of Momofuku Milk Bar and innovator of haute trash desserts.
DEBORAH MADISON, celebrated cookbook writer and greens guru who elevated vegetarian cuisine to a new level.
RICHARD BLAKELY AND JESSICA AMASON, co-founders of Thisiswhyyourefat.com, an ode to the most calorific dishes created by modern man.
DUANE SORENSON, the coffee connoisseur who founded Stumptown and brought on the golden age of coffee.
RYAN FARR, hot butcher and rogue peddler of artisanal hot dogs, homemade chicharrones, and other meaty goods.
BRYANT TERRY, eco soul food chef, author, and food justice activist.
NOVELLA CARPENTER, bad-ass urban farmer of Oakland, California.
MATT TIMMS, the czar of amateur cook-offs, take-downs, and bake-offs in NYC, inspiring a movement of down-home cooking competitions.
SAM CALAGIONE, experimental craft beer entrepreneur and president of the off-centered Dogfish Head Craft Brewed Ales.
SANDOR KATZ, self-described fermentation fetishist, master of live-culture foods, and author of Wild Fermentation.
ROY CHOI, chef of L.A.'s legendary Kogi BBQ Taco Truck, best located by Twitter feed.
JOSH VIERTEL, advocate for national food policy reform as president of Slow Food USA.
