• Honored for his commitment to sustainability and food ethics: Walter Robb, co-CEO, Whole Foods Market, Austin, Texas

Created in honor of famed French chef Auguste Escoffier, the Augie Awards celebrate success and achievement of the foodservice industry’s best chefs, visionaries and entrepreneurs. Augie recipients exemplify a tradition of innovation and leadership.

The event took place at the Grand Hyatt in New York City, where the ballroom was filled with nearly 400 attendees—including past CIA graduates Steve Ells, David Burke, Alex Stupak and Charlie Palmer. Throughout the program, videos by students and the honorees and a presentation from CIA President Dr. Tim Ryan, CMC, proclaimed the theme of the event, Food Matters.

In his opening remarks, Ryan said, “Not only is food part of everyone’s traditions and family celebrations—it is a bridge to other cultures; it fosters understanding among the people of the world, it nourishes the body and the soul, and it inspires innovation, excellence and creativity.” All the videos are available for viewing on the CIA Network on YouTube in the Special Events playlist.

Each honoree had advice for the 30 CIA students who were assisting at the celebration and the entire student body, many of whom followed the program on Twitter.

Humm discussed how he finds inspiration through the music of the great jazz innovator, Miles Davis, and abstract expressionist artist Willem de Kooning. Davis pushed the envelope and charted new territory with every album, and de Kooning said, “I have to change to stay the same,” a sentiment Humm has taken to heart.

Pleau told the audience that his vision for a restaurant like Seasons 52 began early in his career, but it took nearly 20 years to come true. He spent a lot of time practicing “culinary imagineering,” and over the years, collaboration and risk-taking became as important to his success as his commitment to helping Americans eat more mindfully.

Bayless took a different path on the way to earning his Ph.D. in anthropological linguistics. Food was his passion. “With one bite of a dish and sometimes just a look at the dish can tell you reams of things about a culture, its history, its agriculture and its people.”

Robb quoted author and academic Wendell Berry several times in his remarks about sustainability. He sees 100% transparency in the future of food, with stores and restaurants providing complete information about how food is grown, made and transported.

As Ryan noted, “Each honoree was presented his Augie in the name of just one of our thought-leadership pillars, but they are all committed to all of the pillars. The role of today’s chefs and food professionals is not only about flavor development and pleasing customers. Chefs must be socially responsible citizens of the world, and it is our job and our privilege at the CIA to train them with that goal in mind.”

All proceeds from the Leadership Awards dinner support CIA student scholarships. More than $49,000 was raised through the live auction alone.

Photo: The 2013 Augie Award winners pose with Tim Ryan (center). L. to r: Walter Robb, Daniel Humm, Clifford Pleau and Rick Bayless. Courtesy of CIA/Phil Mansfield.