Chrissy Tracey

As a plant-based chef, forager, and advocate for sustainability, I’m driven to make plant-based eating accessible, vibrant, and meaningful. My work centers on showing people how food can nourish not just the body, but also the soul, the environment, and the communities we build around it. I believe in the transformative power of reconnecting people with their food and their land—helping them see plants not just as ingredients, but as medicine, as tradition, and as a vital key to sustainability.

My work tackles systemic issues at their root—food insecurity, environmental harm, and the loss of cultural knowledge. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I witnessed firsthand the impact of nourishing others when I provided 20 families a week with plant-based meals, an initiative that earned me recognition in Connecticut’s 40 Under 40. What stood out most was realizing that the barrier for many was not a lack of desire for healthy, vegetable-forward meals, but a lack of access and resources. That experience propelled my focus on creating systems that enable more equitable food access and education.

Both of my parents were raised in farming communities in Jamaica. My connection to food is rooted in memories of my grandmother’s garden and her reliance on herbs as medicine. Foraging is a way to reclaim those traditions while inspiring others to see the abundance in their environment. It’s also a critical tool for sustainability, offering an alternative to industrial farming and a pathway to reduce our environmental footprint. I aim to spark a movement driven by constant innovation, and to inspire a new wave of curiosity, connection, and care for our planet and each other.

My work as a chef, forager, and advocate pushes boundaries by challenging how we view food, culture, and sustainability. Exploration can happen in a garden, a forest, or even within ourselves as we reconnect with lost traditions and redefine our relationships with the land. Foraging—a practice often relegated to the past—is at the heart of what I do. It’s more than just gathering wild ingredients; it’s a way to engage with biodiversity, mitigate environmental harm, and address food deserts. By introducing more people to the art and science of foraging, I expand the definition of exploration to include the ecosystems and communities right outside our doors.

Sometimes, pushing boundaries entails rediscovering timeless wisdom, looking to our ancestors for the answers, and realizing that the wheel doesn’t always need reinventing. It doesn’t always take the form of new innovation. Take my grandmother, for example, who embodies this connection. In Jamaica, she’d brew bush teas from cerasee, a wild grass known for its healing properties. Whether someone had the flu, a headache, or a stomach ache, cerasee tea was the go-to remedy, not just for our family but for neighbors too. She harvests wild ackee from her property and enjoys callaloo, a vibrant green that grows abundantly in Jamaica, as part of her daily meals. These traditions, rooted in self-sufficiency, tradition, and botanical knowledge are invaluable and must be preserved.

When I create, I think of food as a bridge to connect the past with the present, culture with innovation, and people with their stories. Plant based cuisine, often misunderstood as limiting, flavorless, or detached from heritage, offers a powerful opportunity to challenge perceptions through storytelling and tradition.