Alejandra Schrader is an award-winning author, plant-based nutrition certified chef, food TV personality, and activist based in Los Angeles, CA.
She is the author of “The Low-Carbon Cookbook and Action Plan: Reduce Food Waste and Combat Climate Change with 140 Sustainable Plant-Based Recipes.” Her book won the 2021 Gourmand World Cookbook Award for the United States in the Food Waste category.
Ms. Schrader’s message focuses on sustainability, biodiversity, and nutrition as the key for optimal food systems where everyone has access to good food. She has been invited to speak at the United Nations and the World Bank. She has been interviewed by high-profile media including The New York Times and Forbes.
Some of the international events where she has spoken include the Global Nutrition Summit 2017 in Milan, EAT Forum 2018 in Stockholm, Devex World 2020, United Nations Food Systems Summit 2021, Women in Food and Agriculture 2022 in Frankfurt, and AGRF 2022 Summit in Kigali where she also cooked for a dinner hosted by President Kagame.
As an Ambassador for the Periodic Table of Food Initiative, Alejandra spoke at two different launching events of the initiative—the 75th World Health Assembly in Geneva and FINUT Conference 2022 in Mexico City.
Ms. Schrader is a founding member of the Chefs’ Manifesto—a program by the SDG2 Advocacy Hub—and she has taken a lead in promoting equity and sustainability in our food systems. She is an Ambassador for Sustainable Development Goal 2: “Zero Hunger,” and has contributed to campaigns by the United Nations, World Health Organization, World Food Programme, EAT Foundation, and Global Citizen.
A Sister on the Planet Ambassador for Oxfam America, Alejandra has traveled internationally to work with ecological farmers and underprivileged communities in developing countries such as El Salvador, Honduras, and Peru. She has also done policy advocacy at the United States Capitol where she has met with elected officials including (former) Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and then US Senator, now Vice-President Kamala Harris, among others.
As a celebrity chef, Alejandra has showcased her passion for planet-friendly food on all major television networks in the United States and Canada. She’s made appearances on national TV shows such as Access Hollywood Live, The Talk, Café CNN, Despierta América, the Marilyn Denis Show, and The Social.
She is an alum of the popular cooking show ‘MasterChef’ with Gordon Ramsay where she earned the title of fan favorite as a top finalist in the competition. Alejandra has competed on other culinary competitions such as Food Fighters with Adam Richman on NBC and ‘El Sabór de Aarón’ with Aarón Sánchez in Discovery Familia.
Ms. Schrader has a Certification in Plant-Based Nutrition from the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies at Cornell University. She holds a Master of Arts in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from the Southern California Institute of Architecture.
Published Work:
“The Low-Carbon Cookbook and Action Plan: Reduce Food Waste and Combat Climate Change with 140 Sustainable Plant-Based Recipes” – DK Books/Penguin Random House June 8, 2021
– Winner, Gourmand World Cookbook Awards 2022, Food Waste Category, United States.
– Foreword by Dr. Gunhild Stordalen, Founder and Executive Chair, EAT Foundation
– Endorsements for The Low-Carbon Cookbook by: Dr. Agnes Kalibata, Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for the Food Systems Summit, Abby Maxman, President and CEO of Oxfam America, Paul Newnham, Director of the SDG2 Advocacy Hub Secretariat and the Chefs’ Manifesto, Courtney Hazlett, Executive Producer and Creator, Netflix’s Restaurants on the Edge, and Mary Sue Milliken, Chef and Food Systems Advocate.
Selected Media:
- “These Five Cuisines Are Easier on the Planet” by Somini Sengupta, The New York Times
- “More People May Die from Hunger Than from The Coronavirus This Year, Says Aid Group Oxfam” by Shayna Harris, Forbes
- “The Way We Eat: Alejandra Schrader, Food Policy Advocate and Private Chef in Los Angeles” by Lauren Masur, The Kitchn
- “Scream Flavor, Whisper Health” by Jessica Koslow, Playa Vista Direct
- “Chefs Who Cook Well and Do Good: Alejandra Schrader” by Deirdre Appel, Diet Detective
- “Chef Alejandra Schrader: Inspired by Mother Earth, Inspiring Humanity”, Vitamix
- “Cooking Up a Better Food System” by Divya Amladi, Oxfam America
Public Speaking Engagements:
- Society for Economic Botany and Society of Ethnobiology Conference “Human and Planetary Health: Everything is Connected”, Atlanta, GA (June 6, 2023)
- Rockefeller Foundation, Bellagio Convening “Climate Change, Food Quality, and Planetary Health”, Lake Como, Italy (May 8-13, 2023)
- The Periodic Table of Food Initiative Launch, Mexico City, Mexico (October 10, 2022) A side event at FINUT Conference II Keynote Speaker
- AGRF Summit, Kigali, Rwanda (September 7, 2022) Speaker, Presidential Gala Dinner
- Women in Food and Agriculture Summmit (June 14, 2022) Featured Speaker, “Lowering Your Carbon FOODprint”
- The Periodic Table of Food Initiative Launch, Geneva, Switzerland (May 23, 2022) A side event at the 75th World Health Assembly Keynote Speaker
- United Nations Food Systems Summit – Pre-Summit Dialogues (June 30, 2021) Speaker, “Solutions Rooted in Food and Social Innovation”
- Devex World 2020 (December 10, 2020) Speaker, “How Businesses Can Build a Resilient, Sustainable Food System”
- United Nations Food Systems Summit – World Food Day (October 16, 2020) Expert, Roundtable Discussion: “Chefs as Potential Agents of Transformative Change in Food Systems”
- Earth Day Live 2020 (April 24, 2020) Featured Participant – Segment: “Healthy Cooking for a Healthy Planet”
- World Bank, Washington, DC (April 10, 2019) Panel Speaker, On the Menu: Can Food be the Planet’s Medicine?
- Live Interview: Healthy Eating for Better Development
- Live Interview (Spanish): Cómo Una Dieta Saludable y Sostenible Puede Salvar Vidas y Nuestro Planeta?
- United Nations, New York, NY (February 5, 2019) Panel Speaker, Global Launch of the Report: EAT-Lancet Commission on Food, Planet, Health
- EAT Forum, Stockholm, Sweden (June 12, 2018) Presenter, Chefs Manifesto Global Launch
- Global Nutrition Summit 2017, Milan, Italy (November 4, 2017) Presenter, Chefs Network for Global Goals
- Social Good Summit, New York, NY (September 12, 1017) Presenter, Eat for Good campaign
To book Alejandra Schrader, contact Rob Firing at speakers@transatlanticagency.com.