Early 1980s
A Chef With a Standard
The son of displaced farmers, Chef Michel Nischan began his culinary career at 19, cooking breakfast at a truck stop. He quickly recognized that the ingredients coming through the back door fell far short of the farm-fresh food he'd grown up on and began a career championing ingredient integrity and culinary standards, decades before either had a mainstream name.
1994 - 1997
Food Gets Personal
When his son was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in 1994, Chef Michel's commitment to clean, nourishing food became both personal and professional. He then founded Heartbeat: A Restaurant of Wellbeing in 1997, determined to prove that food made with real ingredients could be as satisfying as it was good for you. During his time as Executive Chef at Heartbeat, Chef Michel hosted His Holiness the Dali Lama and received the first of his four James Beard Awards.
2006 - 2007
Setting the Wheels of Change in Motion
Chef Michel opened the Dressing Room Restaurant with the late actor Paul Newman in 2006. Working alongside Michel, Paul witnessed firsthand his commitment to changing the food system through food equity. Moved by that mission, he helped provide the funding needed for Michel and the late Gus Schumacher to found Wholesome Wave in 2007. Their mission then is the same as it is today: to end food and nutrition insecurity across America by increasing the affordability and access to fruits and vegetables for everyone, regardless of race, ethnicity, income, or zip code.
2015
Humanitarian of the Year
The James Beard Foundation honored Chef Michel as its Humanitarian of the Year — recognition not just of his culinary career, but of his work with Wholesome Wave, proving that food can be a lever for lasting social change.
2018
Wholesome Crave Is Founded
Chef Michel founded Wholesome Crave in 2018 with a clear mandate: bring genuinely chef-crafted, 100% clean label food to scaled foodservice to directly fund the ongoing work of Wholesome Wave. Wholesome Crave entered the market with its Global Cuisine line, the first fully plant-based, vegan soup line purpose-built for scaled foodservice operators in America. With a portion of sales going directly to fund Wholesome Wave's work, every bowl served is a step toward a more equitable food future.
2019
The Impact Board is Formed
Wholesome Crave's chef Impact Board was ratified in 2019, establishing an equity holding model that puts world-renowned culinary leaders at the center of every recipe. Chef Maneet Chauhan signed on as Impact Board Chair, helping steer the meaning and purpose of chef member involvement.
2023
Campus Dining, Transformed
Wholesome Crave partnered with Nestle Professional and UMass Amherst, the nation's most awarded collegiate dining program, to launch a first-of-its-kind plant-forward culinary incubator, bringing recipe development resources and menu playbooks to campus dining programs across the country. More than a dozen universities participated in the inaugural year.
2026
A New Line. Same Standard.
Wholesome Crave launched its first-ever meat- and dairy-inclusive soups with the Comfort Classics line: Homemade Chicken Noodle, Rustic Vegetable Beef, Tomato & Herb Bisque, and Classic Minestrone. The same 100% clean label, from-scratch recipe standards using a veg-forward, protein packed approach that ensures every bowl has more protein per serving from more vegetables, grains, and legumes than any comparable product on the market. America's most-beloved soups made the Wholesome Crave way.