6 May, 2019 - Rob Ruiz - The Land and Water Company

 Slow Living Radio is thrilled to welcome the acclaimed chef and sustainability advocate and pioneer, Chef Rob Ruiz.  A chef truly making a difference in this world, his dedication, hard work and endeavours have escalated him to the world scene for both culinary and environmental activities.  Here his fascinating story.

Chef Rob Ruiz
The Land and Water Company

Chef Robert Ruiz has been at the forefront of sustainable seafood. His inventiveness, mindful determination, and meticulous care has earned him recognition as one of the nation’s progressive culinary minds.  Chef Ruiz has humble roots in San Diego, CA., and a decade on the Big Island of Hawaii. 

In 2010 he earned the title of “Chef of the Fest” at the San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival.In 2012 and 2013 Ruiz served as the Executive Chef for the Party in the Valley at the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen.

Ruiz also began working extensively with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). 

 In 2014 Ruiz opened his signature restaurant, The Land & Water Co., recognized in the cities top 10, and San Diego Magazine Critics choice. Chef Ruiz worked with Slowfood, representing the USA at Terra Madre, Salon de Gusto, Turin, Italy.  2016 Chef Ruiz was recognized as “Chef of the Year” by the San Diego Union Tribune.

Chef Ruiz received global recognition for his dedication to improving seafood industry practices at the 2016 Ocean Awards, in London, presented by the Blue Marine Foundation. October 2017 Ruiz was featured at the StarChefs annual Chefs Congress in Brooklyn, NYC. 2018 The Land & Water Co., is featured in Alice Waters book, “Truth, Love, and Clean Cutlery”. I

In 2019 Ruiz is the certified as a Leader for the James Beard Foundation’s SmartCatch Program. 

Here is a story written by Slow Living's Sally James about the chef for Seafood Source :  

An unlikely chef to find crafting sustainable sushi, Rob Ruiz, is a prodigy in the world of sustainable seafood.  Honing his craft in Hawaii with Alan Wong and then under Japanese Sushi master, Etsuji Umezu, he established The Land and Water Company in 2014, serving traditional and inventive sushi and sashimi, in the small beach city of Carlsbad. Since then, he has also opened a sushi hand roll market using only fish caught by local fishers.

From this remote outpost, however, his voice has travelled far, promoting his mission to “heal the planet”, one fish at a time.  Working with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and other leading international organizations he has been pivotal in the development and promotion of initiatives, such as tracking codes, aimed at making the seafood industry more reputable and sustainable.

Ruiz was one of only 12 honorees to receive the international Ocean Award from the Blue Marine Foundation and Boat International, for his sustainable practices.  Based in London, the mission of the foundation is to protect just 10 percent of the world’s oceans by 2020.

March 25, 2019 - California Wines Down to Earth Month

The eighth annual California Wines Down to Earth Month was celebrated in April with sustainability-focused wine events and offers across the state, including Earth Day festivals, vineyard hikes, food and wine events, eco-tours and more. Created by Wine Institute, the association of nearly 1,000 California wineries, the month-long celebration highlights the winemaking community’s commitment to protecting the environment, being a good neighbor and producing high quality wines with sustainable farming and business practices. See: www.discovercaliforniawines.com/d2e.

Nancy Light,

Wine Institute 

Nancy Light is Vice President of Communications for the Wine Institute, the public policy association of 1,000 California wineries and affiliated businesses dedicated to enhancing the environment for the responsible consumption and enjoyment of wine. Light has more than three decades of experience in marketing communications and public affairs and has held positions at Kobrand Corporation in New York, where she started her wine career, and at Robert Mondavi where she served as Vice President of Public Relations. At Wine Institute, she directs media relations, member communications and issues management and is an alternate on the Board of the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance (CSWA). She co-conceived and edited the book, Down to Earth: A Seasonal Tour of California Sustainable Winegrowing and is at work on a second book about wine and sustainable agriculture in California.

Alison Jordan

California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance

Allison Jordan is Executive Director of the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance and Vice President, Environmental Affairs for Wine Institute, where she is responsible for oversight of the California Sustainable Winegrowing Program and Certified California Sustainable Winegrowing. Jordan represents Wine Institute on the National Grape & Wine Initiative board of directors and the California Environmental Dialogue Plenary. Previously, she was a Senior Associate at SureHarvest and Vice President and Acting Executive Director of Resource Renewal Institute. Jordan holds a Master of Public Policy from the Goldman School at UC Berkeley and a Psychology B.A. from Allegheny College, and is a fellow in the German Marshall Fund's American Marshall Memorial Fellowship program. Jordan and her husband are founding partners of Giordano Bros., a San Francisco restaurant group. She serves on the board of trustees at her children’s school, Montessori de Terra Linda.

Christian Ahlmann

Six Sigma Winery

After finishing a degree in horticulture at Kansas State University in 2005, Christian worked for a nursery in Copenhagen, Denmark before returning to work in the wine industry. His experience includes apprenticeships at Rex Hill Winery in Oregon and Eagle’s Trace Winery in Napa Valley. Christian joined the family business in August 2008; he takes a holistic approach to the vineyard management by using livestock to manage the vineyard floor and avoiding the use of pesticides or herbicides. Christian received an MBA from Sonoma State Wine Business Institute in 2013.