Who Is The Ultimate Food And Travel Game Changer?

HuffPost's Game Changers series celebrates 100 innovators, visionaries, and leaders in 12 categories who, whether working in the spotlight or under the radar, are changing how we look at the world and the way we live in it. We salute them for their willingness to take risks and question the status quo.

Below, check out the nominees for HuffPost's 2011 Game Changers in Food and Travel.

Voting for the Ultimate Food and Travel Game Changer is now closed. Thank you for your participation!

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Sean Brock

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Changed the game by: For championing the local food movement in the South. "If it doesn't come from the south, it's not coming through the door," is Sean Brock's mantra at Husk, his new restaurant in Charleston. The South Carolina restaurant, which touts cuisine that celebrates authentic Southern ingredients, was named "Best New Restaurant in America" in the September issue of Bon Appetit. When Brock opened Husk last November, he declared that no ingredient on the menu would come from above the Mason-Dixon line. And he means everything: Husk imports olive oil from Texas, and makes sea salt from ocean water 80 miles offshore. Before opening Husk, the Virginia native -- who has trained under Chef Robert Carter at Peninsula Grill in Charleston as well as Chef Walter Bundy of Lemaire Restaurant in Richmond, VA -- was the chef behind Charleston's other hit restaurant, McCrady's. Brock maintains a 1.5-acre parcel of land on Thornhill Farm in McClellanville, SC, where he plants heirloom seeds, cultivates new crops, and researches old recipes and farm journals dating from the late 1700s and the Civil War. Brock's own blog showcases his green thumb, boasting shots of the rutabagas and cardoons he harvests as well as the finished dishes, like smoked steelhead roe and pumpernickel dumplings on a leek-mascarpone puree. His efforts have helped reinvent the notion of Southern cooking -- from fried and butter-soaked to fresh and daring, but still with that southern hospitality. Accolades for Husk: Bon Appetit's feature on Brock's restaurant. Must-click: Sean's blog (Photo Credit: Courtesy photo)

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Changed the game by: For championing the local food movement in the South.

"If it doesn't come from the south, it's not coming through the door," is Sean Brock's mantra at Husk, his new restaurant in Charleston. The South Carolina restaurant, which touts cuisine that celebrates authentic Southern ingredients, was named "Best New Restaurant in America" in the September issue of Bon Appetit. When Brock opened Husk last November, he declared that no ingredient on the menu would come from above the Mason-Dixon line. And he means everything: Husk imports olive oil from Texas, and makes sea salt from ocean water 80 miles offshore. Before opening Husk, the Virginia native -- who has trained under Chef Robert Carter at Peninsula Grill in Charleston as well as Chef Walter Bundy of Lemaire Restaurant in Richmond, VA -- was the chef behind Charleston's other hit restaurant, McCrady's. Brock maintains a 1.5-acre parcel of land on Thornhill Farm in McClellanville, SC, where he plants heirloom seeds, cultivates new crops, and researches old recipes and farm journals dating from the late 1700s and the Civil War. Brock's own blog showcases his green thumb, boasting shots of the rutabagas and cardoons he harvests as well as the finished dishes, like smoked steelhead roe and pumpernickel dumplings on a leek-mascarpone puree. His efforts have helped reinvent the notion of Southern cooking -- from fried and butter-soaked to fresh and daring, but still with that southern hospitality.

Accolades for Husk: Bon Appetit's feature on Brock's restaurant.

Must-click: Sean's blog

(Photo Credit: Courtesy photo)

comments(20)

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Comments

[cookiebee]

11:37 AM on 10/13/2011

So many great people collectively adding up to real change..
The list isn't long enough though!
How about Mark Bittman for helping us put together simpler, healthier meals and Ronnie Kenner for Food Inc?

[rusteen]

11:04 AM on 10/13/2011

I vote for Butterfi - Fiber Enhanced Butter
35% less fat, calories, cholesterol & salt,
PLUS 3 GRAM PREBIOTIC FIBER PER SERVING!
Butter is now a functional food.
www.butterfi.com

[Angel Powell]

04:27 PM on 10/10/2011

Sean Brock is the man.

[Larry Aleshire]

01:12 PM on 10/04/2011

america's obsession with celebrity needs to be reined in a little. even while having an appreciation for the high end changes, my vote goes to the food cart workers in NYC who saw not a trend, but a necessity. it seems every american city has a food truck movement that shows great food can happen it the most unlikely places at reasonable prices which the average american can enjoy...

[Touregyptclub]

06:28 AM on 09/29/2011

I think it was a great and helpful idea. And every body should thank Oliver for his great work.
I think that his work is useful for every one whatever and wherever he is.
Finally, i say to him from my site "Well done" .

[writeon1]

12:49 AM on 09/29/2011

I think Oliver is great, especially what he has tried to do for school kids especially since many adults at the schools fought him tooth and nail to improve eating habits.

[momlax11]

11:31 PM on 09/28/2011

JAIME OLIVER IS THE MAN!!!
He gives so much of himself to improve the lives of others.
Terrific guy!

[Gunnar Wordon]

08:18 PM on 09/28/2011

I don't know why everybody fawns over Jamie Oliver. Anybody can brag about organic food, but he isn't that great.

[lotusgirl]

02:52 PM on 09/28/2011

I saw Will Allen on Big Ideas for a Small Planet (Sundance channel and available on Netfix streaming). I loved the idea of raising food in the city for urban residents. He also taught volunteers about farming. The people who got reasonably priced and farm fresh food (probably more fresh than we get it from the market) were so thankful. Kudos to Mr. Allen!

[SimonBao]

12:01 PM on 09/28/2011

Sorry, but it makes no sense to combine so-called "Game Changers" in the food industry with their counterparts in the travel industry. While it's sometimes convenient to combine the two when you're talking about the hospitality trades, it is truly senseless in this context.

One cannot compare folks battling childhood obesity or promoting local ingredients and tradtional cuisines with those involved in passenger rail systems.

[eward011]

11:42 AM on 09/28/2011

WILL ALLEN FTW!

[LegallyBlondeNYC]

11:13 AM on 09/28/2011

Where is Mark Bittman?

Only this week, he had a full page op-ed in the NYTimes demonstrating that fast food is more expensive than real food. Now, that's a game-changer.

[Howard Scott Pearlman 59]

10:59 AM on 09/28/2011

Chris Christie should have made this list !

He eats enough food !

[Steamboater]

10:49 AM on 09/28/2011

I don't know his name but the young guy who hosts PBS's "Globe Trekker" series is a game changer. He changed the game of travelogues by being young, cockney and free spirited. He doesn't care what he looks like and has a very natural afffinity for everyone he meets. He's extremely adventurous, funny and smart and when he doesn't like the food, he'll say so. It's always a pleasure watching him on his worldly travels.

[Dietcokefreak]

10:41 AM on 09/28/2011

Food and Travel grouped together?