We’re proud to announce that Colleen Holland of VegNews fame will be joining us again as a judge for Vegan Iron Chef, and we welcome Tommy from Field Roast and Kristin from Will Travel For Vegan Food as a first-time judges this year. We know your job of tasting delicious vegan food is hard, but someone’s got to do it!
Passionate about publishing and marketing, Colleen Holland is the co-founder of VegNews. From the company’s humble beginnings in 2000, she grew the vegan lifestyle brand into an award-winning, international media company complete with a flagship magazine, digital properties, events, e-cookbooks, and global vacations. A graduate of UCLA and the Natural Gourmet Institute, Colleen is one of just six people worldwide to have been elected into both the Vegetarian Hall of Fame and the Animal Rights Hall of Fame—honors which she says are her greatest achievements. A 19-year ethical vegan, she is a die-hard foodie and yogi. - via The Vegan Taste
Competitors, take note: according to her VegNews Bio, Colleen’s favorite meal involves a steaming bowl of laksa soup, a Malaysian specialty with tofu, rice noodles, greens, and cilantro in a fragrant coconut broth. Yum!
Tommy McDonald is Food Service Sales Manager, and Culinary Ambassador for The Field Roast Grain Meat Co. Before working for Field Roast, Tommy spent seven years working for the United States’ largest natural food Co-operative, PCC Natural Markets, developing new food programs, and teaching culinary courses at the IACP’s number one “Avocational Cooking School in America”.
From nine-to-fiver to lifestyle-designer, Kristin Lajeunesse takes her background in marketing and communication and applies it directly to her personal passions: food, travel, and helping others learn how they too can turn their passions into profitable careers.
Kristin Lajeunesse is the founder and writer of the award-winning website Will Travel for Vegan Food. Since September 2011, the New York native, has been traveling throughout the U.S. in an effort to eat at and write about every single all-vegan establishment she can find. Eighteen of those early consecutive travel months were spent living out of a renovated sports van named Gerty. Almost immediately after beginning her journey, Kristin discovered a deep passion for nomadic and unconventional living and has since chosen to maintain a mobile lifestyle, indefinitely. As of July 2014, Kristin met her goal of visiting and eating in each of the 50 states. A self-employed business and lifestyle strategist, Kristin now works with small business owners and entrepreneurs seeking clarity around their business models, income streams, and passion projects. She is also the founding member of the Vegan Weddings HQ website and the Unabridged Addiction podcast. Kristin has a Master of Arts in Integrated Marketing Communication from Emerson College. Follow her travels and business adventures on wtfveganfood.com and kristinlajeunesse.com.