Funding and Selection
Financial support for the Blackberry Farm Foundation and Sam Beall Fellows comes from Blackberry Farm and from fundraising events like “Passing the Torch,” held annually at Blackberry Farm beginning in 2017 with Chef Daniel Boulud and continuing this year with Chef Grant Achatz. Additional funds come from donations to the Foundation and other fundraising events and activities with partner organizations and corporate sponsors.
Four Sam Beall Fellows will be chosen by the Blackberry Farm Foundation’s Board of Directors for the Class of 2019. Applications from candidates nominated by a select group of acclaimed chefs and hospitality industry leaders will be screened by a selection committee made up of five people with extensive hospitality experience and special knowledge of Sam and the mission of the program. We will announce the inaugural class at the annual "Passing the Torch" event at Blackberry in August, and next January, two Fellows will begin six- month stages of work and immersive learning, starting in the Napa Valley, then moving on to Colorado and then to New York City before ending their tour at Blackberry Farm. In July, two more Fellows will begin the same tour of work. We are proud to launch a program that will forever change the lives and careers of some of the most promising future champions of gracious and genuine hospitality. And proud to know that Sam would have settled for nothing less.
If you know of a great individual, please contact Rick Johnson for an application or to make a suggestion.
