trends & happenings
Denise Shoukas is a contributing editor to Specialty Food Magazine.
18 ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE specialtyfood.com
AT THE HEART OF FOOD
Proving it's not all about the bottom line, this brewer, music mogul, and top chef are leading with their hearts.
• Dale Katechis, founder of craft beer company Oskar Blues, halted beer produc-
tion for more than a week to can clean filtered water for the residents of Flint,
Michigan. The company sent 100,000 cans as part of its CAN'd Aid disaster
relief efforts. Chad Melds, marketing director says, "Phase two of CAN'd Aid's
disaster relief efforts in Flint will be to implement the Crush It Crusade (in
partnership with local Flint recycling organizations) to ensure the hundreds of
thousands of plastic water bottles and cans donated don't end up in a landfill."
• Moby, acclaimed singer-songwriter turned restaurateur, opened vegan bistro
Little Pine in Silver Lake, California, late last year and is donating 100-percent of profits to animal welfare orga-
nizations, including the Mercy for Animals, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, Farm Sanctuary,
Sea Shepard, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, and the Animal Legal Defense Fund.
• Dan Giusti—head chef at Copenhagen's Noma for the last three years—is leaving his prestigious post to start
Chefs Brigaid, a new foodservice company committed to providing a new model for school food in the U.S.
This for-profit company will place trained chefs in school kitchens in hopes they will integrate their discipline,
cost-cutting measures, and culinary expertise to shift the quality of food being served—all while educating
kids about good food. Giusti wants to provide a model that both chefs and school administrators will get
excited about.
