Chef-Owner, Butterfunk Biscuit Co.; New York, NY

Chris Scott is chef-owner of Butterfunk Biscuit Co. in New York, and a restaurateur, television personality, and cookbook author who feels that his most important culinary tool is his kitchen table. Chef Scott’s relationship with food goes beyond just whipping up something wonderful to leveraging its ability to connect individuals and tell a story. He believes that food is love, lineage, heritage, and restorative. His over thirty years of professional experience includes stints at AAA designated five diamond restaurants and stages at highly regarded establishments such as Charlie Trotter’s Lespinasse and Le Bec Fin. He’s been written about in notable publications such as Food & Wine, The New York Times, Brooklyn Magazine, Elle Japan, and those cute mini mags in the chair pocket of any United airline flight. He has also made appearances on several television programs and was a semi-finalist on season 15 of Bravo’s Top Chef and a runner-up on The Great Soul Food Cookoff, produced by the Oprah Winfrey Network. A James Beard Foundation boot camp alum, he’s hosted several events for them including the first Juneteenth Day celebration, working alongside several other prominent chefs of color. Scott holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Temple University, and an associate degree in baking and pastry arts from the French Culinary Institute. What is most meaningful to him though, is to show respect for the craft and culture of cooking by placing the food first while using his platform to inspire young cooks, passing knowledge down from one generation to the next. To that end, Chef Scott just released his first cookbook, Homage: Recipes and Stories from an Amish Soul Food Kitchen, written with Sarah Zorn and published by Chronicle Books. @chefchris512