To get an idea of what customers think is important – beyond a single dish or a single meal – turn to Cooking Light Magazine‘s first-ever list of trailblazing chefs.

It’s both industry poll and new entry on this season’s awards.

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Cooking Light makes healthy food taste great. Each month, nearly 12 million consumers turn to Cooking Light and cookinglight.com for innovative recipes; nutrition advice and food and fitness tips.

Chances are some of those 12 million are your customers.

Stay tuned to see if the James Beard Awards supremacy will be shaken. In any case, congratulations to the following chefs:

• Marcus Samuelsson: The Neighborhood Chef Award
  Restaurant: Red Rooster, Harlem, NY
• Brandon Sharp: The Healthy Cooking Award
  Restaurant: Solbar, Calistoga, CA
• Grant Achatz: The Restaurant Innovation Award
  Restaurants: Alinea and Next, Chicago, IL
• Daniel Patterson: The Produce Innovation Award
  Restaurants: Coi, San Francisco, CA and Plum, Oakland, CA
• Clayton Chapman: The Environment Award
  Restaurant: The Grey Plume, Omaha, NE
• Maricel Presilla: The Cultural Preservation Award
  Restaurants: Cucharamama and Zafra, Hoboken, NJ
• Nate Allen: The Small-Town Chef Award
  Restaurant: Knife & Fork, Spruce Pine, NC

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