2024 Build a Better Burger Judges
What a year 2024 has been! It’s hard to believe that we are winding down another anniversary of our Sutter Home Build a Better Burger® Recipe Contest. It is an absolute honor to be in the presence of the most distinguished judges who are from culinary, wine, and media backgrounds.
This year’s judges really have their work cut out for them! Let’s meet the people who will help pick our 2024 Build a Better Burger® winner!
First up, we have Lars Kronmark who says the condiments, sauce, texture, and seasoning MUST complement the meat and bun!
Lars Kronmark is a native of Denmark. He was educated in Denmark and was hired to open the Greystone campus in 1995 and is now the senior chef-instructor at The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone and COPIA. Besides conducting wine-related cooking classes, Lars also participates in events at local wineries and has been involved with the Napa Valley Wine Auction for the past 20 years. He was also voted Chef of the Year by Cordon d’Or-Gold Ribbon, Inc.
Next, we have Mark Estee whose enthusiasm and larger-than-life personality continue to inspire those around him.
Mark Estee is an award-winning chef, restaurateur and visionary on a mission to reinvent dining culture as we know it. Now flanked by a superstar team of partners, Estee is prepared to parlay 20 years of experience into building a restaurant empire. This includes expanding into new regions, harnessing new technology platforms, exploring new restaurant concepts, hiring talented teams and embracing a diversity of opportunities. When it comes to the growth of his businesses, it’s not just restaurants he’s creating; it’s a culture of learning, caring and respect. Much has changed since his early days at Campo and Moody’s Bistro, the first of his many successful enterprises. Campo, a fine-dining pizza restaurant that Estee opened, owned and managed as a chef for 5 years, continued to be one of the most important players in Reno’s burgeoning dining scene until it was sold in 2022. Moody’s, a wildly popular restaurant in downtown Truckee, California, was another creation of Estee’s and operated at his helm for 8 years and is still a local favorite in the Truckee area. Today, Estee owns Liberty Food & Wine Exchange in downtown Reno, the historic Overland Restaurant & Pub in Gardnerville, NV, Cucina Lupo in Carson City and after the historic acquisition of Great Basing Brewing Company in September of 2021, their now 4 brewpubs and beer distributing operation. He’s been featured on the Food Network and Cooking Channel, is a James Beard Award nominee, was awarded Best New Restaurant by Esquire, and was honored as Entrepreneur of the Year by the Reno Gazette Journal. A pioneer and champion for uniting regional farmers and suppliers with a thriving restaurant scene, his commitment to community is the cornerstone of his ongoing success. Highlights of his TV accolades include his own Food Network series called Undercover Chef. An appearance on Guys Grocery Games where he won the top prize for his culinary creation. Along with his former restaurant concept Burger Me! Being featured on Diner, Drive-ins and Dines where his Italian Stallion burger was listed in the top ten burgers ever featured on the series. Estee can be found splitting his time between restaurants, where he makes sure to spend time at the front of the house, talking to customers, overseeing the kitchen, and making sure all of his establishments are equipped with the tools they need to operate smoothly and independently. When he isn’t at one of his restaurants, he’s out looking for ways to scale his impact. His enthusiasm and larger-than-life personality continue to inspire those around him, a quality that, no doubt, continues to serve his mission well.
Judge Liam Mayclem is looking for a well-balanced burger. Size does not matter here, folks!
Liam Mayclem , Emmy Award winning radio & TV personality, is best known as the host of Eye on The Bay on KPIX 5 and as “The Foodie Chap” celebrating our home-grown culinary stars (daily on KCBS Radio). His weekly entertainment guide “Liam’s List” airs Fridays on KPIX.
Find Liam here: www.bookliam.com
Next, we have Katie Hamilton Shaffer who says she’s looking forward to seeing if the winner is a good ol’ American patty or something more unique and creative!
Katie Hamilton Shaffer Innovation and risk are inextricably linked and this fiercely competitive founder who once played semi-professional soccer can undeniably see around corners and build a vision from dream to reality. Just over 19 years ago, Katie Hamilton Shaffer moved to Napa Valley to pursue a career in food and wine. While managing events at a local winery, her mentor’s daughter was diagnosed with a rare disorder, Rett Syndrome. Although she had just recently moved to the wine country, Katie saw this as an opportunity to give back and make a difference, while bringing together everything that inspired her. In 2004, Katie co-founded the Erika Van Giesen Foundation, alongside an annual epicurean gala, Erika’s Dream, to support it. With the monies raised, in 2006 she helped establish Katie’s Clinic at Children’s Hospital Oakland, which to this day still serves girls and their families afflicted with Rett throughout the Western United States. This fundraising gala was a way to incorporate all her passions; FOOD, WINE & PHILANTHROPY, while throwing one heck of a party and sharing her love for entertaining. In 2009 Katie helped launch Wine, Women & Shoes; A food and wine-based event that would become a successful national fundraising platform. Later that year she released her first wine label Toolbox Wine Co., with a mission to craft affordable, quality driven wines that gave back. That same year at Erika’s Dream a few conversations led to Katie taking a leap of faith to make her dream a reality. First launching Feast Network in 2011, this digital platform seeks to entertain and inspire alongside master chefs, influencers, actors, tastemakers and musicians. After filming original content for nearly 7 years around the country, Katie opened her flagship “click & mortar” in 2018, The Studio by Feast it Forward. This highly visible live marketing venue in downtown Napa is a film studio + experiential showroom shifting network fans to consumers as everything experienced is an on-camera sponsor – essentially a sandbox for brands to engage visitors with a shop-the-look virtual hub alongside a multi-winery tasting collective. Global pandemic hit and Katie made lemonade from lemons and began to construct The Yard by Feast it Forward, a year-round festival-like venue. Having opened July 2022, this unique playground offers an adult-Disneyland of sorts with two-story shipping containers for brand activations, instagrammable moments, art installations, chef pop-ups, large performing stage and much more. An entrepreneur (aka take no prisoners) at heart, all of Katie’s experience has led to Feast. She is also the co-founder of My Wine Society, a global wine app that hit the market in June 2018. In August 2020, Katie received the coveted award “Top 20 Emerging Leaders in Food & Ag” while most recently receiving; “Top 30 Inspiring Women To Look Out For in 2022” from Disruptors Magazine, “The Top 10 Leaders to Follow in 2022” from Insights Success, “10 Most Inspiring Business Leaders to Watch 2022” from Success Pitchers, “5 Best Women Entrepreneurs to Watch in 2022” from CIO Bulletin and “50 Fastest Growing Companies in 2022 to Watch” from Silicon Review. Katie has recently partnered with iconic rapper and producer, Warren G, to launch the “g FEAST foundation”, an organization seeking to feed charitable initiatives aiming to combat homelessness and support mental health awareness.
Finally, meet Sarah Rahlston!
Sarah Rahlston is a first-grade teacher from New Albany, Ohio. She was the Sutter Home Build A Better Burger Recipe Contest 2022 Champion with her Italian inspired Via Napoli Burger. Sarah graduated summa cum laude from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio in 2023 with a bachelor’s degree in primary education and a master’s degree in literacy and language.
She is passionate about teaching first graders the joy of reading and all the doors it opens for them. She used part of her Build A Better Burger prize money to set up a magical classroom library for her students. Additionally, she loves to cook and travel and has recently returned from a trip where she was excited to sample the culture and cuisines of England, Iceland and Norway. She is thrilled to be part of Sutter Home Build A Better Burger Recipe Contest 2024 and is so excited to see the inspiration, creativity and stories behind this year’s finalists.
