About
The Good Food Awards rely on the expertise of the grains community to create the tasting, determine judges and set standards for the category. Read on to learn who has been integral to building the category, as well as what the grains standards are and who will be judging this year.
Committee
Co-ChairsViola Buitoni
Independent Chef Instructor & Food Writer
Viola was born in Rome and raised in Perugia, Italy. With stories and knowledge from six generations, her dishes cross the best of California agriculture with the finest Italian food imports. After moving to the US to attend NYU, Viola started Buitoni & Garretti, a catering kitchen and Italian fine foods shop in New York City. She later moved to San Francisco where she began lecturing and teaching Italian food tradition workshops at the SF Italian Cultural Institute and Italian Consulate. She teaches Italian cooking at Milk Street, 18Reasons, and The Civic Kitchen year-round and at the Puglia Culinary Center in the summer. In October of 2021 she will lead an immersive fall foraging workshop in Le Marche. She is a regular contributor to La Cucina Italiana US. In 2020 the President of the Italian Republic awarded her the the title of Cavaliere dell’Ordine della Stella d’Italia for her work to further the culture and business of Italian food. She lives in SF’s Mission District with her husband, son and tiny dog.
Jen Nurse
Co-Founder of The Civic Kitchen S.F.
Jen is the co-founder of The Civic Kitchen cooking school in San Francisco, where she enthusiastically fosters self-sufficiency and joy in the kitchen, and civil discourse and connection around the table. She is a lifelong avid home cook, a pastry chef and former bakery owner, and an evangelist for the life-changing power of education. Jen is honored to serve as co-chair for the Grains category.
Kathryn Phelan, Illustrator & Chef
Michael Washburn, Farm Manager, Nature’s Way Montessori
Frances Wilson, Chef Instructor, Frances Cooks
Linda Esposito, Food Consultant
Standards
In order to be eligible for a Good Food Award, grains entries must meet the following standards:
- Grown in the USA or US territories.
- Grown without the use of synthetic herbicides, pesticides, fungicides or fertilizers.
- Grown from seeds that are:
- Free of genetic modification
- Open Source/Non-Patented Seed
- Grown and milled using fair labor practices.
- Grown with soil health in mind, including:*
- Conservation tillage.
- Cover crops.
- Crop rotations.
- Promotes biodiversity.
- Rotational grazing.
- Made by a crafter that is an upstanding member of the good food community, committed to equity and inclusion in all levels of their business,** as exemplified through integrating these practices:
- Offering a diversity, equity, and inclusion training to staff members and/or leadership annually.
- Thoughtfully acknowledging the heritage of culturally-specific food on websites, packaging and/or marketing materials.
- For the small percentage of Good Food community that operates on a significantly larger scale, meeting additional criteria related to board diversity, maternity leave and employment practices.**
Additional criteria for pasta and tortillas:
- If made with inclusions and flavorings that are grown domestically, they are locally sourced wherever possible; traceable; and grown without the use of synthetic herbicides, pesticides, fungicides or fertilizers.***
- If made with inclusions and flavorings that are not grown domestically on a commercial scale, they are farm-direct, certified organic or Fair Trade certified.***
* The Good Food Foundation will refer to Regenerative Agriculture guidelines to define “Soil Health” should there be any questions as to eligibility based on this criterion.
***Check if you are in the 2% of companies meeting the Good Food Foundation definition of large scale, and review the addition criteria on the Rules & Regulations page.
***If less than 2% of ingredients in the product do not meet this stipulation, the entry will not be disqualified.
Subcategories
Additionally, grains entries must fit within one of the following subcategories:
- Flatbreads (Lavash, Naan, Pita)
- Cereal Grains- Uncooked and dry (e.g., rice, barley, oats, wild rice, grits, cracked wheat, quinoa)
- Legumes – Uncooked and dry (e.g., beans, lentils)
- Pasta (Fresh, Dry and Filled)
- Tortillas
Cooking and Preparation Specs
Entrants will be able to specify cooking instructions including sorting, rinsing, soaking, water content and cooking time.
- Grains, Legumes, and Pasta will be cooked in water with 1 tbsp. of sea salt per quart.
- Legumes will be introduced in salted boiling water (105 to 110˚C) then the flame will be reduced to medium low to achieve a bubbly simmer for the time indicated by producer/packager (75 and 85˚C)
- Pasta will be introduced in salted boiling water and stirred. Subsequently the pot will be covered until the water comes back to boiling then the temperature will be reduced to medium high to just below boil (90 to 95˚C)
- Grains will be cooked based on the instructions indicated by the entrant.
- Grains, Legumes, and Pasta will be cooked with San Francisco tap water in All-Clad cookware, on a gas stovetop.
- Grains and Legumes will be cooked the day before selection and served to judges at room temperature.
- Pasta will be cooked right before the tasting.
- Tortillas will be heated on a dry, high heat cast iron skillet.
2022 Judges
Shahla Rashid
Founder, My Berkeley Kitchen
Claudia Carter
Executive Director, California Wheat Commission
Dario Barbone
Chief Slicer, Alimentari Aurora
Michael Kalanty
Principal, Michael Kalanty, Bakery Specialist
Susan Patton-Fox
Sales and Marketing Consultant, Sales and Marketing Consultant
Karen Wang Diggs
Chief Fermentation Officer, Cultured Gourmet
Deirdre Davis
Chef/Owner, Pinoli Farmhouse Kitchen
Zoé McLaughlin
French Culinary Instructor, 18Reasons
Jim Dodge
Instructor, Boston University
Ryan Pollnow
Chef-Partner, flour + water Hospitality Group