Anya Fernald (born 1975) is an American entrepreneur, chef, and sustainable agriculture expert based in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

. She founded Live Culture Co., a business and marketing consulting company, the Eat Real Festival Company, and Belcampo Meat Co., a producer of sustainably sourced meats headquartered in

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

, of which she was founding CEO. She has published a cookbook and appeared as a judge on the

Food Network Food Network is an American basic cable channel owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a unit of Warner Bros. Discovery, who manages and operates it as a division of the Warner Bros. Discovery U.S. Networks Group. The channel airs both televi ...

's ''

Iron Chef America ''Iron Chef America'' is an American cooking show based on Fuji Television's ''Iron Chef'', and is the second American adaptation of the series, following the failed ''Iron Chef USA'' that aired in 2001. The show is produced by Food Network, wh ...

, Iron Chef Gauntlet'', and '' The Next Iron Chef''.

Early life and education

Fernald was born on a raw-milk dairy farm outside

Munich, Germany Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, while her parents were teaching and researching abroad. When she was 3 years old, her family moved back to the United States, eventually settling in

Palo Alto, California Palo Alto ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for ) is a charter city in northwestern Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a Sequoia sempervirens, coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. Th ...

, and then Oregon.Tara Duggan
"Anya Fernald brings sustainable food to masses"
''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...

'', May 30, 2010. After graduating from

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the Methodi ...

with a degree in political science,Emily Kaiser Thelin
"The Locavore Empire of Anya Fernald"
(archived), ''

Food & Wine ''Food & Wine'' is an American monthly magazine published by Dotdash Meredith. It was founded in 1978 by Ariane and Michael Batterberry. It features recipes, cooking tips, travel information, restaurant reviews, chefs, wine pairings and sea ...

'', January 2013. she received a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship, leading to work as an itinerant cheesemaker in Europe and North Africa.

Career

Europe (1999–2005)

From 1999 to 2001, Fernald developed and implemented business and marketing plans for small-scale cheese makers in

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

for rural development initiative funded by the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

, CoRFiLaC. She subsequently directed the International Presidia program at Slow Food in

Bra, Italy Bra (, ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Cuneo in the northwest Italian region of Piedmont. It is situated southeast of Turin and northeast of Cuneo in the area known as Roero. Bra is the birthplace of the feminist philosopher A ...

, where until 2005 she devised and instigated an international micro-investment program that managed business planning and marketing for small-scale artisan food producers in countries such as

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

and

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

.Josh Sens
"Anya Fernald's Empire of Meat"
''

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

'', March 26, 2013.

United States (2006–present)

Soon after returning to California in 2006, Fernald founded a produce distribution company connecting high-quality farmers to large institutional buyers, which was later acquired. In 2008 she began working with

Alice Waters Alice Louise Waters (born April 28, 1944) is an American chef, restaurateur, food writer, and author. In 1971, she opened Chez Panisse, a restaurant in Berkeley, California, famous for its role in creating the farm-to-table movement and for ...

as executive director of Slow Food Nation to organize and direct a large event to raise the profile of high-quality organic food. In 2009, Fernald founded the Eat Real Festival Company, which produces an annual, two-day

food festival A food festival is a festival, that features food, often produce, as its central theme. These festivals have been a means of uniting communities through celebrations of harvests and giving thanks for a plentiful growing season. History Food fe ...

. This company was acquired in 2015. The festival focuses on food and drinks produced locally, sustainably and organically.Renée Frojo
"Anya Fernald brings fresh food to Oakland"
''

San Francisco Business Times American City Business Journals, Inc. (ACBJ) is an American newspaper publisher based in Charlotte, North Carolina. ACBJ publishes ''The Business Journals'', which contains local business news for 44 markets in the United States with each market ...

'', September 17, 2012. Also in 2009, Fernald founded Live Culture Co., a business and marketing consulting firm.Christine Muhlke
"The Nifty 50: Anya Fernald, Food Consultant"
''

The New York Times Magazine ''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors. The magazi ...

'', January 12, 2010. In 2010, the company began working with Todd Robinson to develop a concept to market products from a ranch he owned in Northern California. This consulting engagement resulted in the development of Belcampo, which Fernald and Robinson founded in 2012. Fernald and Robinson also collaborated on a project in

Belize Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...

, which later became Copal Tree Farms and Lodge.

Belcampo

Under Fernald's watch as CEO, Belcampo was the subject of some controversies. The USDA had begun federal investigations into Belcampo for various violations, including sanitation, safety, and labeling at their

Siskiyou County Siskiyou County ( ) is a county located in the northwestern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 44,076. Its county seat is Yreka and its highest point is Mount Shasta. It falls within the Casca ...

plant, leading up to its closure in 2021. Inspections revealed poor hygiene, mislabeled meat, and operational failures. A wage theft lawsuit in 2020 was brought by an employee named Maria Celina Perez Aguilera on behalf of herself and other employees. The suit alleged a variety of labor and wage theft violations, including failure to pay workers minimum wage, failure to pay overtime wages, and failure by the company to adequately allow for employee meal breaks. Belcampo agreed to pay $750,000 as part of a legal settlement that does not admit any wrongdoing on behalf of the company. Fernald was CEO until August 2020, when Garry Embleton became co-CEO. The company closed in October 2021 after a former butcher Evan Reiner reported that it had fraudulently labeled cuts of meat as produced by Belcampo when they had been sourced from other producers.

Television

Fernald began working as a judge and sustainable food expert on the

's ''

'' franchise in 2009, and continued to appear regularly until 2015. She has also appeared on ''

CBS This Morning ''CBS This Morning'' (''CTM'') is an American morning television program that aired on CBS from November 30, 1987 to October 29, 1999, and again from January 9, 2012 to September 6, 2021. On November 1, 1999, the original incarnation was repla ...

''.

Publications

In spring 2016, Fernald released her debut cookbook, ''Home Cooked: Essential Recipes for a New Way to Cook'', with

Ten Speed Press Ten Speed Press is a publishing house founded in Berkeley, California, in 1971 by Phil Wood. It was bought by Random House in February 2009 and became part of their Crown Publishing Group division. History Wood worked with Barnes & Noble in 196 ...

Honors

In 2010, Fernald was named one of 40 Big Food Thinkers 40 and Under by ''

'' magazine, one of the top 100 female founders in ''INC Magazine'', and one of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

Nifty 50, recognizing America's up-and-coming talent.

Personal life

Fernald was married to Renato Sardo, former head of Slow Food International; , they lived in Oakland. The couple had a daughter, but had separated.

References

External links

Belcampo website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fernald, Anya Living people American food writers Food Network chefs American television chefs American chief executives of food industry companies American women food writers American women chief executives American women chefs 21st-century American women 1975 births