The World's Most Influential Chefs

In reaction to a culture of fussy, high-priced restaurants fighting for the crown of extravagance,Barberwent back to his roots, literally, and elevated farm-to-table cooking at New York's Blue Hill, taking off where Union Square Café and Savoy had begun years before. In 2004, he took the logical next step—into the countryside (or at least the posh suburbs), with Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Westchester County. Here, most of what's on the plate is grown in the shadow of the refurbished dairy barns that serve as the dining room. Barber, meanwhile, has become one of the most vocal and respected proponents of the farm-to-table movement.