Stories
Chefs
Partners
Ready to explore your personal passion? The right financial advisor can help.
Use our free matching tool to find a financial advisor ready to partner with you on your journey.
Meet the Chefs
Jason Hammel
Jason Hammel is the chef and owner of Lula Café and Marisol Restaurant in Chicago. Opened in 1999, Lula is known as a harbinger of the local foods movement and– through its hyper-seasonal menus– an expression of restless, artistic change. Known for his trailblazing, creative seasonal cuisine, Hammel made Lula Café a pioneer of the farm-to-table movement, of which he was an original voice. Hammel was one of the first chefs to source local, organic ingredients and build close relationships with Midwestern farmers, emphasizing freshness and seasonality and adding creative new dishes every week. Hammel is also a founding member of Pilot Light, the not-for-profit, chef-centered organization that is writing a food-based curriculum for Chicago Public Schools. Through his work in education and in the kitchen at Lula, Hammel seeks to bring community, creativity, nourishment, and purpose back to the table around which we all sit.
Chad Houser
Chad Houser is a chef and restaurateur by trade. He attended culinary school and opened his first restaurant in 2007 Parigi. After 17 years as a chef, Chad sold his partnership of Parigi Restaurant to devote his full attention to the role of Executive Director of Café Momentum in 2012. In 2020, Chad co-founded Momentum Advisory Collective, a non-profit organization built to scale Café Momentum and a new model for juvenile justice across the country. Always one to add a little levity to the conversation, Chad often describes Café Momentum as “taking kids out of jail and teaching them to play with knives and fire.” But levity aside, it’s this charisma and passion to teach life, social and employment skills to Dallas’ most at-risk youth that makes Houser a hit with everyone from philanthropists and dinner-goers to the young people participating in the program.
Yin Chang and Moonlynn Tsai
Heart of Dinner was founded by partners in life and love, Yin Chang and Moonlynn Tsai. Yin Chang, co-founder, is a former actor and storyteller, and Moonlynn Tsai is a Taiwanese-American restaurateur and entrepreneur. Moonlyn spent most of her childhood time at her parents’ Chinese-American restaurant. Both Moonlyn and Yin may have taken different paths in their respective lives and careers; however, they both ended up reaching the same goal: joyfully centering and uplifting people and communities through their organization, Heart of Dinner. Founded at the onset of COVID-19, Heart of Dinner works to fight food insecurity and isolation experienced by Asian American seniors. They serve elders throughout NYC, delivering weekly care packages filled to the brim with culturally thoughtful hot lunches, fresh groceries, pantry essentials, and bulk ingredients while supporting local small businesses during their COVID-related recovery process.
Chef Suzy DeYoung
Cooking runs in Chef Suzy DeYoung’s blood. And though she’d run a successful and well-reviewed restaurant in Cincinnati for over 25 years, Chef Suzy realized there was more she could be doing to be helping people of her hometown. Armed with this idea, Chef Suzy launched her nonprofit La Soupe, which helps redirect the city’s food waste and transforms “ugly” produce into meals for people that need it the most.
Chef Jennifer Caraway
In 2010, Chef Jennifer Caraway’s friend Joy battled and ultimately succumbed to ovarian cancer. As Joy battled the disease, Chef Jennifer saw first-hand exactly how debilitating the day-to-day struggle with the disease could become. In 2011, Chef Jennifer did something to help others in similar situations by creating the Joy Bus - a nonprofit organization (named after the friend she lost) that brings meals to those who are waging their own battles against cancer and other illnesses.
We’re currently traveling around the country capturing more passionate chefs. Come back soon.
Partners With Passion
Learn more about the wonderful organizations these chefs support.
