Past Global Perspectives Guest Speaker

Barton Seaver

Chef, author, speaker, and National Geographic Fellow Barton Seaver is on a mission to restore our relationships with the ocean, the land, and with each other—through dinner.  He believes food is a crucial way we can connect with the ecosystems, people, and cultures of our world.  Seaver explores these themes through healthful, planet-friendly recipes in his first book, For Cod & Country, and as host of both the National Geographic web series Cook-Wise and the three-part Ovation TV series In Search of Food.

Executive chef at some of Washington D.C.’s most celebrated restaurants, Seaver is known for his devotion to quality, culinary innovation, and sustainability.  He works on ocean issues with National Geographic’s Oceans Initiative to increase awareness and inspire action.  He is a regular participant at the Aspen Institute and has delivered a talk at the prestigious TED conference.  He is a regular guest on the radio show National Geographic Weekend and a regular contributor to the National Geographic blog Ocean Views. 

Recently, Barton was named the first ever Sustainability Fellow in Residence at the New England Aquarium, and was named by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to the American Chef Corps.  He also collaborates with D.C. Central Kitchen, the School Nutrition Association, Future of Fish, and Fair Trade USA, among many others.  In 2011, StarChefs.com presented Seaver with the Community Innovator Award, as voted by over 1,000 chefs and culinary leaders worldwide.  He was Esquire magazine’s 2009 Chef of the Year, and in 2008, he was honored as a fellow Seafood Champion by the Seafood Choices Alliance.