Katie Button

Katie Button is one of the new stars of the global food world—a finalist for James Beard’s 2014 Rising Star Chef Award and for Food & Wine People’s Choice Best New Chef. In 2008, she left a promising career as a neuroscientist to apply her creativity and precision in professional kitchens. She was the first American to wait tables at the Michelin 3-star restaurant El Bulli in Spain, and was later offered a coveted internship under the restaurant’s acclaimed chef Ferran Adria. Now just thirty-two years old, she has two of her own restaurants: Cúrate, an award-winning Spanish tapas bar in Asheville, North Carolina; and Nightbell, a lounge with a Barcelona-meets-American-South feel.