About the Academy

Adrian Brijbassi is co-founder and editor of Vacay.ca and VacayNetwork.com, digital publications focused on Canadian travel, destinations and culture. Brijbassi has won numerous awards for travel writing, photography and fiction and has visited more than 55 countries. A former editor at the Toronto Star and New York Newsday, he also served as social media and advocacy manager for Destination Canada. Brijbassi edited Inspired Cooking, a nutrition-focused cookbook featuring 20 leading Canadian chefs in support of cancer charity InspireHealth, and has appeared on national and local broadcasts discussing travel, journalism, sport and creative writing.

Lesley Chesterman trained at the Institut de Tourisme et d'Hôtellerie du Québec before working as a professional pastry chef and cooking teacher in Montreal and France. Chesterman served as restaurant critic at the Montreal Gazette for 20 years, with work also appearing in Gourmet, The Art of Eating, FOOL, Nuvo, Food Arts, the New York Post and Eater. A regular Radio-Canada contributor, she is also an award-winning cookbook author. Her latest English-language book, A Montreal Cook: Recipes and Reflections from My Kitchen, was published in 2026. Chesterman also co-hosts the food podcast Salt Lick. 

Lyndsay C. Green is the dining and restaurant critic at the Detroit Free Press, where she reviews restaurants and reports on metro Detroit's food industry. Green was a 2023 Pulitzer Prize finalist in criticism and won a James Beard Award for Emerging Voice in Journalism that year. In 2025, she won a second James Beard Award, in the Foodways category. Her essay Accidentally Anonymous appeared in The Best American Food Writing 2023. Beyond journalism, Green is an advocate for farming and food sovereignty and has been involved with urban agriculture on Detroit's east side. 

Mike Jordan is an Atlanta-based culture journalist and senior editor at UATL, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Black culture brand. Jordan has reported on subjects ranging from hyperlocal stories to international culture for publications including The Wall Street Journal, Rolling Stone, Bon Appétit, The Guardian, National Geographic, Southern Living, Eater, Resy and Thrillist, where he was Atlanta's founding editor and later bureau chief. He is also chairman of the Atlanta Press Club and a contributor to NPR affiliate WABE. Jordan won the James Beard Foundation's 2024 Jonathan Gold Local Voice Award after being named a finalist in 2023. 

Based in San Francisco, Virginia Miller is a food and drink writer. She grew up in the suburbs of Los Angeles and New York before embarking on a career that has seen her work as an editor for Zagat, as national editor and VP for Table8, a critic for San Francisco Guardian and a Time Out columnist, and has written for international publications. She is fascinated by the drinks sector, covering bars, cocktails and spirits for specialist and mainstream outlets. Miller launched her website, The Perfect Spot, in 2007, documenting restaurants, bars, travel and drinks in San Francisco and beyond. 

Nneka Nurse is the founder of Best Dressed Plate, a culinary platform championing Caribbean gastronomy through dining experiences, cultural storytelling and industry initiatives. Nurse also created the Caribbean Tradishon dinner series, which has appeared at the James Beard House, the United Nations and internationally, showcasing the techniques and cultural narratives behind Caribbean cuisine. Her perspective is informed by extensive travel throughout the region, documenting traditional cooking methods, indigenous ingredients and contemporary restaurants. Through Best Dressed Plate, Nurse also supports Caribbean chefs and food entrepreneurs through events, restaurant consultation, branding, marketing and the Caribbean Culinary Impact Awards. 

Jamila Robinson is the editor-in-chief of Bon Appétit and Epicurious, leading an award-winning team covering recipes, restaurants and food culture. Previously, she was assistant managing editor for food and culture at The Philadelphia Inquirer, where she led the digital transformation of its food and dining coverage and won an Emmy Award for Wildest Dreams, a multiplatform project on the Black experience. Robinson has also held senior leadership roles at Atlantic Media and the USA Today Network and is recognised as an influential figure in food media. 

Renée Suen is a Toronto-based restaurant and travel journalist and photographer who searches the world for memorable tastes and the stories behind the plate. She is a columnist at SingTao's EliteGen and a contributor to the Toronto Star, Chatelaine, re:Porter and other publications. Formerly the food and lifestyle editor at Zoomer Media, she is best known for her 13 years of food and restaurant reporting at Toronto Life. A former academic scientist, Suen has been covering the Canadian food scene for more than a decade.