Soneva Jani

For more than 30 years, Claus has been a gastronomic entrepreneur. Through countless initiatives within the food and restaurant industries, he has inspired generations to expect the next meal to be delicious and healthy and to consider eating an agricultural act. Inspired by his learnings from building three-Michelin-starred noma with Rene Redzepi and initiating the Nordic cuisine movement, he went on to pursue his dream to help unfold culinary potentials outside of Scandinavia. In 2010 he established the Melting Pot Foundation, through which he founded food schools in Danish state prisons, Bolivia, Colombia, the USA and most recently in Morocco. In August 2015, Claus moved to New York City with his family to steer the 2016 opening of fine dining, Michelin-restaurant Agern and Great Northern Food Hall. Agern won a Michelin star after just six months of operation, and the Food Hall was called out in New York Times as “Nirvana, Nordic Style”. After returning to Denmark with his family in 2018,  he joined IKEA Foods Advisory Group to help propel a new, sustainable, and more delicious food offering. He also co-founded and is an active board member of Madens Folkemøde (the Peoples Public Food Assembly), an annual summit in Denmark. Besides his countless companies employing more than 800 staff, Claus is an affiliated professor and distinguished alum at Copenhagen Business School and Social Impact Fellow at the Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley. Claus is a Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog under the Royal Danish House and a receiver of the French Order, Merit Agricole; he has been named on the EAT Foundation and The Culinary Institute of America’s Plant-Forward Global 50; is a member of the Advisory Board for the Stone Barns Center, USA; and a member of the Danish Gastronomic Academy.

Michael Wignall’s experience of freshly cooked and multi-cultural cuisine started at a young age, traveling extensively from the Far East, to the United States and across Europe. Although exposed to a variety of international gastronomy, aspiring to be a top chef was not Michael’s first passion. As a teen, Michael had a promising career as a professional BMX biker, however, his parents encouraged him to attend catering college. After three years, Michael moved to Spain to experience front of house, authentic cooking and the cuisine the country had to offer. Michael’s professional career started at Broughton Park in the UK under Paul Heathcote. Since then Michael has headed several restaurants earning them Michelin stars. Michael held two Michelin stars and five AA rosettes at Gidleigh Park in Chagford, Devon, and at The Latymer at Pennyhill Park in Bagshot, Surrey. He then purchased The Angel at Hetton in 2018, which is set in the Yorkshire Dales National Park and gained a Michelin star in its first year of opening. Michael produces incredibly complex, technical accomplished dishes. His attention to detail and dedication to the pursuit of perfection in flavour, texture and appearance knows no bounds. He has a passion for traveling the world to find new inspirations and ideas to pair with locally sourced, British produce.

Barbara Schett is one of the most successful athletes Austria has ever produced and Austria’s highest-ranked female tennis player ever. She reached the Top 10 in both singles and doubles. A native of Innsbruck, her career-high singles ranking at the WTA Tour was World No 7. Her Career High in doubles was World No. 8. Shortly after her retirement from professional tennis, Barbara started an international business career. Among other business activities, she is still a popular celebrity endorser and brand ambassador representing various brands and companies worldwide. Besides that, she works as an expert and presenter for Eurosport, the N°1 European TV sports channel, reporting live from Grand Slam Tournaments and is the host of the award-winning show “ Game Schett and Mats “ along with 7-time Grand Slam Champion Mats Wilander.

Frederic Van Tricht was born into a family of cheese experts. Forty-eight years ago, his grandfather Pieter Van Tricht opened up a gourmet shop with a great cheese selection in Antwerp, Belgium. When his son Michel took over the family business in 1978, he nurtured his passion for cheese, travelling to the best cheese affineurs (maturers) and artisanal producers across Europe. Selecting only the finest raw milk, artisan cheese, Kaasa Affineurs Van Tricht (Cheese Affineurs Van Tricht) gained an impressive reputation among Antwerp’s culinary community, supplying the finest restaurants in and around the city. Today, the company supplies nearly all Michelin-starred restaurants in Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxemburg and Ireland, and has been named ‘Europe’s best cheese shop’ by The New York Times. Frederic Van Tricht joined the business while studying to become a chef, helping out with the wholesale side of the company and working in the shop for an entire year before his father Michel let him come on board. Today, he oversees the day-to-day management of the wholesale business, curating an exceptional collection of the finest artisan cheeses from farmers and small businesses and working with chefs and restaurants across the world. His background as a chef enables him to find the perfect pairing of cheese for every dish, and also gives him the creativity to experiment in collaboration with his customers. Frederic’s favourite cheeses are Stilton and Roquefort.