William Dissen is a renowned chef and culinary diplomat, restauranteur, published author, and early pioneer of the farm-to-table and ocean sustainability movements in the Southeastern, United States Appalachia region. He is committed to cooking exclusively with locally foraged ingredients, prepared using otherworldly traditions and his keen reverence for the heritage and roots of Appalachian ingredients and dishes.
Dissen currently owns three high-end farm-to-table restaurant concepts: The Market Place in Asheville, North Carolina, Billy D’s Fried Chicken at The North Carolina Zoo, and Haymaker in uptown Charlotte, North Carolina. In 2021, Chef Dissen faced off and beat Celebrity Chef Gordon Ramsay on National Geographic, landing Dissen the title “Most sustainable chef in the world.”
Throughout his career, Dissen has appeared on numerous TV programs, including National Geographic’s “Gordon Ramsay: Unchartered” and Travel Channel’s “Andrew Zimmern’s Delicious Destinations.” He is also a six-time James Beard Foundation Featured Chef and has contributed recipes to James Beard Foundation’s Waste Not: How To Get The Most From Your Food.
Dissen helped establish a local food shed in Western North Carolina, bringing the best ingredients to the region’s restaurants and organic grocery stores. Since 2010, he has been a food policy advocate, testifying in support of numerous bills, and was named White House Champion of Change for Sustainable Seafood by the Obama Administration. He also serves on the state department’s American Chefs Corps.
