Odessa Piper

“Choosing lovingly grown food within our region is a powerful way to support our local economy and ecology,” says Odessa Piper, chef-proprietor of L’Etoile in Madison, Wisconsin. “This is the true mission of sustainable agriculture.” Ms. Piper was the 2001 recipient of the James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef—Midwest. The award was a powerful endorsement of Piper’s philosophy of creating menus composed of local ingredients all year round, and achieved through partnerships with a large network of small-scale farms. She divides the year into nine—not four—seasons: early spring, late spring, early summer, high summer, Indian summer, fall, late fall, winter, and late winter. The foods she serves at L’Etoile are taken from each season.