The assistant chef makes his first appearance on the nominee list of 203 global power players...Polling is now open for Time magazine's 2011 list of the 100 most influential people in the world, which includes world leaders, artists, innovators, and "icons and heroes." President Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama and White House assistant chef and Senior Policy Advisor for Healthy Food Initiatives Sam Kass are all competing for top spots on the list of 203 nominees. The architect of Mrs. Obama's healthy food campaign, Kass, 30, has not previously been on a Time 100 list before--but both his bosses have. (Above: Mrs. Obama and Kass at the Spring re-planting of the Kitchen garden)
Kass was on a different top 100 list in 2009, when he joined Mrs. Obama and other White House staffers on People magazines 100 Most Beautiful People list, as part of the "Barack's Beauties" category.
Time writes about Kass:
Michelle Obama credits Sam Kass, who worked for the Obamas as a combination of nutritional consultant and cook before they moved to the White House, with helping put the family on a path to healthy eating. Inside the executive mansion, he has been the First Lady's point man when it comes to promoting her signature initiatives to reduce childhood obesity, improve school lunches and encourage all Americans to eat healthier foods.Voting closes on April 14; click here to vote.
The First Lady is currently at position 14, the President is at 28, and Kass is at 102 among the wide array of headline makers, both good and questionable--such as the Fukushima Fifty and the Chilean Miners and Wikileaks' Julian Assange. Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the President's advisor Elizabeth Warren and FDA head honcho Dr. Margaret Hamburg are all on the list, too, as are a handful of other politicos.
The poll asks Is this nominee influential? Kass currently has 162 yeas and 68 nays, in response to the question. Mrs. Obama has 5,358 yeas and 1,837 nays. President Obama has 1,969 yeas and 607 yeas. Clinton has 1,890 yeas and 323 nays. Voting closes on April 14; click here to vote.
Other chefs
Kass joins British chef Jamie Oliver (currently ranked 83), Los Angeles Kogi food truck chef Roy Choi (115), Modernist Cuisine cookbook author Nathan Myhrvold (142), chef René Redzepi (169), New York Times journalist/chef Mark Bittman (173), and Chicago chef Grant Achatz of Alinea fame on the polling list.
Non-chef nominees include, in no particular order, Kanye West, Justin Bieber, Sarah Palin, Michelle Bachmann, Lady Gaga, China's President Hu Jintao, Brazil's President Dilma Rouseff, Dmitri Medvedev, Glenn Beck, Anette Benning, Gabrielle Giffords, Mark Zuckerberg, Rihanna, Betty White and Cory Booker.
*Photo by Eddie Gehman Kohan/ObamaFoodorama.com
