Anya Fernald

Anya Fernald
Fernald at Belcampo Farms, 2018
Born Germany
Residence Oakland, California
Nationality American
Alma mater Wesleyan University
Occupation Co-founder & CEO, Belcampo
Years active 2000–present
Spouse(s)
Renato Sardo (m. 2004–2012)
[1]
Website www.belcampo.com

Anya Fernald is a sustainable food expert and the co-founder and CEO of Belcampo. She has appeared as a judge on the Food Network's Iron Chef America and The Next Iron Chef.

Early life and education

Fernald was born on a farm outside Munich, Germany, while her parents were teaching and researching abroad. When she was 3 years old, her family moved back to the United States, eventually settling in Palo Alto, California.[2] After graduating from Wesleyan University with a degree in political science,[3] she received a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship, leading to work as an itinerant cheesemaker in Europe and North Africa.[2]

Career

Europe (2000–2005)

From 2000 to 2001, Fernald developed and implemented business and marketing plans for small-scale cheese makers in Sicily for a European Union-funded rural development initiative, CoRFiLaC. She then moved on to direct the International Presidia program at Slow Food in Bra, Italy, where she devised and instigated a micro-investment program that managed business planning and marketing for small-scale artisan food producers in countries such as Madagascar, Sweden, Ecuador and Bosnia between 2001 and 2005.[4][5]

United States (2006–present)

Soon after returning to California in 2006, Fernald began working with Alice Waters as executive director of Slow Food Nation to organize and direct a statewide farm-to-school and farm-to-hospital initiative in over 100 low income schools and hospitals,.[2][6][7]

In 2007, Fernald founded Live Culture Co., a business and marketing consulting firm that, in its three years of activity, helped for-profit and nonprofit companies create sustainable food businesses and develop events to showcase sustainable foods.[2][5][8] In 2009, she created the Eat Real Festival, an annual, two-day food festival that takes place in Oakland, California, and is attended by over 100,000 people each year. The festival focuses on food and drinks produced locally, sustainably and organically.[3][9] In 2011, she founded the nonprofit Food Craft Institute, and currently serves as its board chair.[9]

To further advocate sustainable agriculture, Fernald frequently delivers keynotes and appears on panels, including the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, Colorado.[10] She authored the book A World Of Presidia: Food, Culture & Community for Slow Food, and contributed to various other Slow Food books, including Slow Food Nation's Come to the Table: The Slow Food Way of Living.

In Spring 2016, Fernald released her debut cookbook Home Cooked: Essential Recipes for a New Way to Cook for Ten Speed Press[11] to critical acclaim from publications including the Los Angeles Times[12] and Saveur, Best of 2016 [13] issue.

Belcampo

In November 2012, the Belcampo Meat Co. storefront opened its doors in Marin County, California, following the opening of Belcampo Butchery, a 10,000 square foot, USDA-approved multi-species slaughter facility designed by animal welfare expert Temple Grandin, and a nearby 27,000-acre (11,000 ha) farm. Belcampo also has an eco-lodge and a 23,000-acre (9,300 ha) farm in Belize.[3][4][7][14] It has butcher shops and restaurants in Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Palo Alto, Marin, and San Francisco. Belcampo is planning a Summer 2018 launch of its flagship location in Jack London Square, Oakland. Fernald co-founded the company and serves as its CEO.[14]

Television

Fernald has made frequent appearances as a judge on the Food Network's Iron Chef America, and was a judge on the second season of The Next Iron Chef.[5]

Honors

In 2010, Fernald was named one of 40 Big Food Thinkers 40 and Under by Food & Wine magazine,[15] and one of the New York Times' Nifty 50, recognizing America's up-and-coming talent.[8]

Personal life

Fernald resides in Oakland, California.[7]

References

  1. Carol Ness, "Down to a Science," San Francisco Chronicle, March 15, 2006.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Tara Duggan, "Anya Fernald brings sustainable food to masses," San Francisco Chronicle, May 30, 2010.
  3. 1 2 3 Emily Kaiser Thelin, "The Locavore Empire of Anya Fernald," Food & Wine, January 2013.
  4. 1 2 Josh Sens, "Anya Fernald's Empire of Meat," San Francisco, March 26, 2013.
  5. 1 2 3 "Anya Fernald: Getting Real with Sustainability," Archived January 8, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. Organic Connections. Retrieved January 9, 2014.
  6. Carol Ness, "Chez Kaiser's food revolution / Hospital experiment putting locally grown produce on patients' plates," San Francisco Chronicle, August 6, 2006.
  7. 1 2 3 Richard Bradley, "Fields of Green," Worth, February/March 2013.
  8. 1 2 Christine Muhlke, "The Nifty 50: Anya Fernald, Food Consultant," New York Times Magazine, January 12, 2010.
  9. 1 2 Renée Frojo, "Anya Fernald brings fresh food to Oakland," San Francisco Business Times, September 17, 2012.
  10. Hayley Bosch, "Insider's Guide To Food And Wine Classic In Aspen," Forbes, June 12, 2013.
  11. 1 2 Dana Goodyear, "Elite Meat," The New Yorker, November 3, 2014.
  12. "Anya Fernald: Slow-Food Activist," Food & Wine, November 2010.
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