Organic chef is a winner!

The James Beard Foundation has announced that Nora Pouillon, restaurateur, author, and the first American chef to open a certified organic restaurant, is the recipient of the 2017 James Beard Lifetime Achievement award.

Though not a vegetarian, we applaud Nora Pouillon as a pioneer and champion of certified organic, environmentally conscious cuisine. She’s been promoting a healthier lifestyle since arriving in the U.S. in the 1960s from Vienna, Austria, according to today’s press release.

In 1979, Nora opened her namesake restaurant in Washington, D.C., Restaurant Nora, and in 1999 it became the first certified organic restaurant in the United States.

She is also credited with initiating D.C.’s first producer-only farmer’s market, called FRESHFARM Markets, and jumpstarting the farm-to-table movement in the area.

Nora is the author of Cooking with Nora, a seasonal menu cookbook that was a finalist for the Julia Child Cookbook Award, and her memoir, My Organic Life: How A Pioneering Chef Changed the Way We Eat Today, was published in 2015.

Today, Nora Pouillon continues to participate in environmental causes, advocating for a sustainable, health-focused lifestyle based on the premise that you are what you eat, drink, and breathe.