Meet our 2009 Nutrition Advisory Board

Efisio Farris

Born and raised in Sardinia, Chef Efisio Farris has introduced his homeland’s healthful cuisine to American diners through his restaurants, Arcodoro and Pomodoro in Dallas and Arcodoro in Houston, gourmetsardinia.com, and his new book, Sweet Myrtle and Bitter Honey: The Mediterranean Flavors of Sardinia.

Dan Buettner

Dan Buettner is The New York Times best-selling author of The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer from the People Who’ve Lived the Longest. Buettner is an internationally recognized explorer who founded Blue Zones, a project that researches the world’s best practices in health and longevity and shares that information to help people live longer, better.

Bill Bettencourt

Joanne Weir

Longtime Cooking Light contributor Chef Joanne Weir is a San Francisco–based cookbook author, teacher, and host of a PBS culinary series. Her books include Wine Country Cooking, From Tapas to Meze, and Weir Cooking in the City.

Raghavan Iyer

Born in Mumbai, Raghavan Iyer is a cookbook author and culinary teacher whose adventures at the stove began in his mother’s kitchen. He is a two-time James Beard Award finalist, and the International Association of Culinary Professionals named Iyer 2004’s Teacher of the Year.

Heather Bauer

Heather Bauer, RD, specializes in the connections between eating habits, metabolism, and lifestyle. She offers private diet and nutrition counseling through her New York City–based nutrition practice, Nu-Train.

Greg Drescher

Greg Drescher is executive director of strategic initiatives at the Culinary Institute of America’s Worlds of Healthy Flavors program. Before joining the CIA, Drescher was cofounder and program chairman of Oldways Preservation and Exchange Trust.

Robert Schueller

Robert Schueller (aka Produce Guy) is director of public relations for Melissa’s, the nation’s largest exotic produce supplier. He has introduced specialty items in books like Melissa’s Great Book of Produce and the forthcoming Produce Book.

Marion Nestle

Marion Nestle, PhD, MPH, is the Paulette Goddard Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University. Her research focuses on the scientific, social, cultural, and economic factors that influence the development, implementation, and acceptance of federal dietary guidance policies. Her most recent book is What to Eat; read her blog at whattoeatbook.com.

Tory McPhail

Tory McPhail is executive chef at the legendary Commander’s Palace in New Orleans. While at Commander’s, he has worked with the Oschner Clinic in New Orleans to develop healthful dishes for the restaurant’s menu.

Liz Neumark

Liz Neumark is the founder of Great Performances, a cuisine and event planning company in New York City. Her company specializes in creating local menus, using ingredients from within a 100-mile radius of a client’s event. Great Performances also owns the Katchkie Farm in upstate New York, which specializes in organically grown produce. Neumark is also on the New York Governor’s Council on Food Policy.

Douglas Merriam

Deborah Madison

New Mexico–based cookbook author Deborah Madison is a frequent contributor to Cooking Light. As the author of Local Flavors and Vegetarian Suppers, she advocated for fresh, local, seasonal fare long before it became a trend.

Laurent Gras

As the executive chef/partner at Chicago’s L2O seafood restaurant, Chef Laurent Gras applies his French training to a cornucopia of global ingredients sourced from artisanal purveyors. He’s had a lifelong connection to food, growing up in Antibes, France, where his family had a small olive orchard.

Walter Willett

Chair of the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, Walter Willett, MD, PhD oversees several landmark epidemiological studies, including the Nurses Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study. Willett served on the advisory board for the 2005 USDA’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Amy Myrdal Miller

Amy Myrdal Miller, MS, RD is the program director for strategic initiatives at The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) at Greystone. In addition to planning conferences and leadership retreats for foodservice, culinary and health professionals, Amy serves on the Greystone Menu Research & Development Steering Committee and on the faculty of Healthy Kitchens, Healthy Lives, a continuing medical education initiative co-presented by the CIA and Harvard Medical School.

Brian Wansink

As director of the Food and Brand Lab at Cornell University, Brian Wansink, PhD, has conducted fascinating research about food behaviors―everything from evaluating how dish size influences how much we eat to the psychology of grocery shopping. Wansink is the Author of Marketing Nutrition and a frequent source for Cooking Light stories.