Chef Chris Galarza has set the restaurant industry on fire by championing induction stoves for the commercial kitchen. Last year, he became the world's first executive chef to be certified in an all-electric kitchen. This year, he has entered the national spotlight again by earning a place as one of the Grist 50 for 2025.
"This came out of nowhere," said Galarza in an interview with The Cool Down. "It was a complete surprise."
The Grist 50 is a list of the top 50 climate activists who are making a noticeable impact in America today. 2025 marks the 10th year of the noteworthy feature, which covers figures in the arts and media, business and technology, policy and advocacy, science and energy, and food and land.
"The list is stacked, so I felt very honored to be there," said Galarza. "I was looking at some of the people and they were like professors and … just people who are much more decorated than I. And I'm just like, that's a lot."
But as Grist outlined in a profile on Galarza, he has more than earned a place at the table. He has worked tirelessly not only to rise through the ranks as a chef but to transform the modern commercial kitchen with the use of cost-effective, safer, healthier induction stoves. Whether it's pushing for warning labels on gas stoves in New York or consulting with Microsoft to transition to all-electric kitchens on its campuses, he is constantly improving working conditions for the world's hospitality professionals.
"Hospitality as a whole employs one out of every 10 jobs in the world, producing about $11 trillion of GDP for the world," Galarza told The Cool Down. "The whole system electrifies. One out of every 10 people on this planet would have less of a risk of getting asthma, or dealing with air quality issues, or having adverse health effects because of what they're exposed to. I think that is a global shift."
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And while this move would be good for workers and the environment, the fact that makes it feasible to make this change and make it quickly is that it's also good for business.
"I focus on the financial piece of it because that is a common language," said Galarza. "So just bridging those gaps to be able to talk to folks on both sides of the aisle and make the case why sustainability is right. A byproduct of which is a better climate. … Because when you talk about climate to people, it feels too big for them to possibly wrap their heads around, too big for them to possibly have an impact on. But if you can distill it down to how can it immediately improve their lives, they're more open to it."
Or, as he told Grist, "I'm trying to speak a language that everyone can get on board with … I'm helping bridge that connection between environmentalism, sustainability, and economic prosperity."
In recognition of Galarza's achievement, he was invited to the Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting in New York City. Galarza hopes that this could open doors to work with larger companies in revolutionizing commercial kitchens.
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Healthier indoor air 🏠 "We want to change things up, whether it be a hotel group [or] one of those quick service restaurants. … I would kill to work with brands like that," he told The Cool Down. "A dream would be to work with a large company to effect change so we can finally start to see these big corporations as part of the solution."
In the meantime, he is keeping busy writing his second book, while expanding EcoChef sustainability certifications in partnership with the American Culinary Federation, a first for the acclaimed organization.
"I don't like to compete with people, I like to uplift people," said Galarza. "Everything we did is not to compete with the ACF. … What we've done is created things, this entire framework to uplift what they do."
And he is bringing the entire culinary world with him.
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