JENN LOUIS
Cook. Chef. Teacher.
AWARDS
James Beard Award: Lincoln was nominated 2X & Book of Greens was a finalist
Best New Chef - Food & Wine Magazine, Jenn was a 2012 BNC
IACP: Book of Greens won a IACP award
BIO
Jenn Louis is currently caring for nine homeless tent camps in Portland, Oregon. Two times each week she packs a warm meal, non-perishable foods, all of the donated clothes, blankets, sleeping bags, hats and gloves and distributes them. She brings a complete toiletry kit, batteries, headlamps: all basic needs. With an open heart and without judgement she believes that basic needs are human rights.
Jenn has connected with several food distributors and gleaners and acts as a distribution hub redirecting excess food to organizations who quickly get the food to people who are in need.
Prior to this she enjoyed a culinary career spanning more than two decades. She grew up believing that a creative path was in her future, and she found her calling early in the kitchen. She has owned three highly acclaimed Portland restaurants as well as a full-service catering company. Jenn has competed on Bravo's Top Chef Masters and was named one of Food & Wine's Best New Chefs in 2012. Her simple, sophisticated cooking style, championing seasonal Pacific Northwest US ingredients, has earned her two nominations for the James Beard Foundation Award of Best Chef: Northwest. Her debut cookbook, Pasta By Hand, published in 2015 and was nominated for an IACP from the International Association of Culinary Professionals in the single subject category; it was followed by The Book Of Greens, which won an IACP award in 2017 and was nominated for a James Beard Award. The Chicken Soup Manifesto is Jenn’s third book and was published in 2020. Jenn is involved with nonprofits including Alex's Lemonade, Portland Homeless Family Solutions and Lift Urban Portland. She lives in Portland, Oregon, with her three cats, Wasco, Silverado Silverstein and Tov, and loves to garden, read, and cook for her friends.
Find her on Instagram and twitter: @jennlouis