Joseph Regenstein, Jr. School of the Chicago Botanic Garden

Gale Gand, Tru Restaurant

Gale Gand is a James Beard Award winning pastry chef and executive pastry chef and co-owner of the world-renowned Chicago restaurant Tru. The host of Sweet Dreams, Food Network’s first daily show devoted to baking, she is the author of six previous cookbooks, including Gale Gand’s Just a Bite , Chocolate & Vanilla and her most recent effort, Gale Gand’s Brunch!.

Gand was recognized in 2001 as Outstanding Pastry Chef by The James Beard Foundation and Pastry Chef of the Year by Bon Appetite magazine, and in 1994 as one of Food & Wine's Top Ten Best New Chefs.

As a long-standing supporter of sustainable agriculture, eating locally and the environmental movement, Gand is a member of the National Restaurant Association's "Conserve" Council and forages annually for local ramps and mushrooms with her son for her restaurant.

Bruce Sherman
North Pond Restaurant

A native Chicagoan, Bruce Sherman traveled the world developing his culinary knowledge before returning to his hometown to delight Chicago’s dining community.  As Chef and Partner at Lincoln Park’s North Pond, Sherman utilized influences he picked up in Paris, Southeast Asia and London to produce his contemporary French-American, innovative, seasonal cuisine.

Making daily trips to the corner vegetable “wallah” (vendor) in New Delhi forced Sherman to cook only with what was available each day, what was fresh and seasonal. His experience in India profoundly influenced his cooking style.

Sherman was honored by Food & Wine as one of America’s “Best New Chefs” of 2003 in the July issue of the same year.  First in 2007, then again in 2009, Sherman was nominated by the esteemed James Beard Foundation in the “Best Chef: Great Lakes Region” category.