Jason Hammel is the executive chef and owner of Lula Cafe in Chicago, a pioneer in the Midwest’s farm-to-table movement since 1999 and a recipient of the James Beard Foundation’s 2024 Outstanding Hospitality award. He also co-founded the nonprofit Pilot Light, serves as executive chef of Marisol at the Museum of Contemporary Art, and published his first cookbook, The Lula Cafe Cookbook: Collected Recipes and Stories, in 2023.