Healthy Cooking: White House assistant chef Sam Kass, doesn?t just spend his time in the kitchen. He works closely with Michelle Obama on her ?Let?s Move? campaign. Image by Getty Images

By Adeena Sussman December 31, 2012

Whether they’re influencing policy, curing pastrami or turning out beautiful plates of kosher fare, these food professionals give us a peek into the hot topics for 2013 — which is shaping up to be a tasty year, and perhaps even a healthy one.

1) Michael Solomonov
Chef

Image by michael persico

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

After turning Philadelphians on to Levantine flavors at Israeli-centric Zahav, Solomonov, 33, is setting his sights on kosher cuisine with Citron and Rose, which he just opened in the heavily Jewish suburb of Bala Cynwyd. With dishes like fluke schnitzel and gussied-up lamb-shank cholent on the menu, the James Beard Award–winning chef just may succeed where others have failed in luring a wider audience to a law-abiding table.

2) Sam Kass
White House Policy Wonk

The ultimate food-wonk insider, Kass, 32, is both the White House’s Senior Policy Advisor for Healthy Food Initiatives and its assistant chef, a post that has him serving up dinner to POTUS and family on a regular basis. As a frequent on-air presence, his telegenic looks and well-honed physique help advance Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move anti-obesity campaign, which attempts to reverse statistics that show one in three American children are either overweight or obese. With the big boss poised to begin a second term, Kass and the First Lady’s bully pulpit can only get leaner.

3) Barry Koslow
Chef

Image by Joshua Cogan Photography

Sensing a void for great deli in downtown D.C., the classically trained Koslow opened DGS Delicatessen this December, adding his own spin to the current “Deli 2.0” zeitgeist. Using sustainable meats and seasonal produce, Koslow, 43, produces everything in-house, including the cured and smoked meats that are the heart of the menu. Dr. Browns, beware: a full wine, beer and cocktail menu includes drinks like the Mazel Tov, a lavender-infused sparkler mixed with plum liqueur for a taste of the old country.

4) Charlotte Druckman
Author and Food Writer

Image by Felicia Gordon

Druckman, 37, opted to pry open a sometimes unappetizing can of worms with the publication of her 2012 book, “Skirt Steak: Women Chefs on Standing the Heat and Staying in the Kitchen.” After interviewing more than 70 professional female chefs, the accomplished food writer found that women often compete with, rather than help, one another in the professional food arena. Next year she’ll continue her so-called “unbook tour,” celebrating her subjects and further stirring the pot.

5) Naama Shefi
Culinary Curator

Image by Katherine Needles

As the former director of public programs at the Israeli consulate, Shefi, 31, recruited Israeli food personalities to be nonpolitical ambassadors for her native country. Currently a fellow at the LABA house of Study at New York’s 14th Street Y and a Forward contributor, Shefi also curates on-trend culinary events at the Center for Jewish History while working to create The New Jewish Pantry, a video archive that will explore Jewish culture and history through the prism of food.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount