Michel Nischan Week

The world of a celebrity chef isn’t only about racking up Michelin stars and making guest appearances on Top Chef. For many, like Michel Nischan, it’s also about creating change in the food system around them.

Name any influential food agency and organization and chances are that Gus Schumacher has been a part of it. From the USDA (where he was Undersecretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services from 1997 to 2001) to the World Bank (where he was the Senior Agri-lender) to Foreign Agriculture Services (where he was Administrator) to his position as Massachusetts Commissioner of Food and Agriculture, Schumacher has been a major influence in food policy circles for decades.

Our guest editor Michel Nischan has spent considerable time cooking all over the world—running kitchens in Milwaukee, New York and at a luxury hotel in India. Cooking was his life and soul. It’s why he got up before dawn and crashed into bed far past midnight. As any champion toques or rising line cook will tell you, cooking professionally at restaurants is the life. And it’s pretty damn addictive. To quit? That’s just not an option.