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Jason Hammel

Executive Chef & Owner at James Beard Award-Winner Lula Cafe; Cookbook Author

Executive Chef & Owner at James Beard Award-Winner Lula Cafe; Cookbook Author

Travels From Travels From:
Chicago, IL, USA
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Jason Hammel Biography

Jason Hammel is the executive chef and owner of Chicago's Lula Cafe, the Logan Square community institution known for its creative, seasonal, all-day cuisine. In 2024, Lula Cafe received the Outstanding Hospitality Award from the James Beard Foundation.

Since 1999, Lula has been at the forefront of the farm-to-table movement in the Midwest, but growing up in New Haven, Connecticut, Hammel aspired to be a writer, not a chef. After graduating in 1994 with a degree in English, he traveled to Italy, where an accidental stay across the street from Florence’s central market foretold his career as a chef dedicated to seasonality.

Hammel has developed a reputation as a conscientious leader and a progressive voice in the restaurant community. As a member of the Independent Restaurant Association, he lobbied for federal assistance for the restaurant industry during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2017, the Museum of Contemporary Art named Hammel as executive chef/culinary curator for the museum’s new restaurant, Marisol, in the heart of downtown Chicago. At Marisol, Hammel continues to prioritize seasonality and freshness, along with an enlivened aesthetic vision.

Lula and Marisol have both been featured in the press, including on NPR’s “This American Life” and in The New York Times, where Lula was named one of Chicago's 25 Best Restaurants in April 2024. Lula has also been awarded the prestigious Bib Gourmand honor by the Michelin Guide. Hammel himself has been named a StarChefs Rising Star, the Jean Banchet 2019 Chef of the Year, and was a three time finalist for the James Beard Awards for Best Chef: Great Lakes. His debut cookbook, "The Lula Cafe Cookbook: Collected Recipes and Stories," was published in 2023.

Today, Hammel splits his time between Lula, Marisol, and the non-profit food education group Pilot Light, which he co-founded in 2010. Pilot Light develops classroom lessons that weave food and nutrition into everyday subjects like English, math, social studies and science, reaching more than 10,000 students. Through his work in education and in the kitchen at Lula, Hammel seeks to bring community, creativity, and nourishment back to the table.

Jason Hammel Videos

  • Jason Hammel - En Process Podcast
    Chef Jason Hammel of Lula Cafe on non-profit Pilot Light.
  • Jason Hammel - The Welcome Conference
    Showing Up First for Yourself

Jason Hammel Books

  • The Lula Cafe Cookbook: Collected Recipes and Stories
    The Lula Cafe Cookbook: Collected Recipes and Stories

FAQs on booking Jason Hammel

  • How do I book Jason Hammel to speak at my event?

    Our experienced booking agents have successfully helped clients around the world secure speakers like Jason Hammel for speaking engagements, personal appearances, product endorsements, or corporate entertainment since 2002. Click the Check Availability button above and complete the form on this page to check availability for Jason Hammel, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to discuss your upcoming event. One of our experienced agents will be happy to help you get speaking fee information and check availability for Jason Hammel or any other speaker of your choice.
  • What are the speaker fees for Jason Hammel

    Speaking fees for Jason Hammel, or any other speakers and celebrities, are determined based on a number of factors and may change without notice. The estimated fees to book Jason Hammel are for live events and for virtual events. For the most current speaking fee to hire Jason Hammel, click the Check Availability button above and complete the form on this page, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to speak directly with an experienced booking agent.
  • What topics does Jason Hammel speak about?

    Jason Hammel is a keynote speaker and industry expert whose speaking topics include Business, Food, Lifestyle, Non Profit.
  • Where does Jason Hammel travel from?

    Jason Hammel generally travels from Chicago, IL, USA, but can be booked for private corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. For more details, please contact an AAE Booking agent.
  • Who is Jason Hammel’s agent?

    AAE Speakers Bureau has successfully booked keynote speakers like Jason Hammel for clients worldwide since 2002. As a full-service speaker booking agency, we have access to virtually any speaker or celebrity in the world. Our agents are happy and able to submit an offer to the speaker or celebrity of your choice, letting you benefit from our reputation and long-standing relationships in the industry. Please click the Check Availability button above and complete the form on this page including the details of your event, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536, and one of our agents will assist you to book Jason Hammel for your next private or corporate function.
  • What is a full-service speaker booking agency?

    AAE Speakers Bureau is a full-service speaker booking agency, meaning we can completely manage the speaker’s or celebrity’s engagement with your organization from the time of booking your speaker through the event’s completion. We provide all of the services you need to host Jason Hammel or any other speaker of your choice, including offer negotiation, contractual assistance, accounting and billing, and event speaker travel and logistics services. When you book a speaker with us, we manage the process of hosting a speaker for you as an extension of your team. Our goal is to give our clients peace of mind and a best-in-class service experience when booking a speaker with us.
  • Why is AAE Speakers Bureau different from other booking agencies?

    If you’re looking for the best, unbiased speaker recommendations, paired with a top-notch customer service experience, you’re in the right place. At AAE Speakers Bureau, we exclusively represent the interests of our clients - professional organizations, companies, universities, and associations. We intentionally do not represent the speakers we feature or book. That is so we can present our clients with the broadest and best performing set of speaker options in the market today, and we can make these recommendations without any obligation to promote a specific speaker over another. This is why when our agents suggest a speaker for your event, you can be assured that they are of the highest quality with a history of proven success with our other clients.

Jason Hammel is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics . The estimated speaking fee range to book Jason Hammel for your event is available upon request. Jason Hammel generally travels from Chicago, IL, USA and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. Similar motivational celebrity speakers are David Standridge, Gregory Gourdet, Dominique Crenn, Alice Waters and Art Smith. Contact All American Speakers for ratings, reviews, videos and information on scheduling Jason Hammel for an upcoming live or virtual event.

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