MISSION, TX - Despite still being weeks away, the 2019 Viva Fresh Expo lineup is already looking star-studded and award-winning. This week, the team behind Texas’ premier produce show announced Seamus Mullen—award-winning New York chef, cookbook author, and health and wellness expert with an impressive resume that includes stints on The Next Iron Chef (he was one of three finalists in 2009), Chopped, Beat Bobby Flay, The Today Show, The Dr. Oz Show, The Martha Stewart Show, and CBS This Morning—will be this year’s keynote luncheon speaker.

“From the beginning, a core mission of the Viva Fresh Expo has been to create a platform to bring attention to the importance of the health and nutritional benefits of fruits and vegetables,” said Dante Galeazzi, President and CEO of the Texas International Produce Association. “Seamus works directly with a number of leading brands in the food industry to help them better align their products and services with his principles of wellness. These insights will be an incredible asset to our industry in spreading that message, and we’ll provide these ideas in the form of a handout as well for the audience.”

Mullen will share his story during his keynote address, which begins with his childhood on an organic farm in Vermont. According to a press release, he first rose to national prominence in 2006 with Boqueria, one of the first critically-acclaimed and highly-successful Spanish restaurants in New York, which put him on the map for his inventive and enticing modern Spanish cuisine.

In 2007, Mullen was diagnosed with autoimmune disease rheumatoid arthritis. His diagnosis forced him to rethink his relationship with food, and ultimately, led to him publish his first cookbook Hero Food in 2012.

“Through diet, exercise, and lifestyle changes, I was able to successfully turn my health around and overcome what is commonly considered to be an incurable disease,” Mullen said. “Fruits and vegetables played a key role in my journey and are vital for my continued health which is why I’m excited to share my story at the Viva Fresh Expo and provide valuable tips for how the produce industry can share the message of eating healthy and energize consumers to make changes in their diet.”

In addition to Mullen’s accomplishments, he has been featured in major publications like The Wall Street Journal, Chicago-Tribune, and The Guardian, and has written about his experience for The New York Times and Men’s Journal. In August of 2017 he released his second cookbook, Real Food Heals: Eat to Feel Younger + Stronger Every Day.

Viva Fresh Expo’s Keynote Luncheon will take place on Friday, April 26 at the JW Marriott Hill Country Resort in San Antonio, Texas. Be there or be square!

For more information, visit VivaFreshExpo.com. And for more trade show news, keep following AndNowUKnow.

Viva Fresh Expo