“My teachers in elementary school were always jealous of my lunch box because of things like this Italian salad my mom used to make,” says chef Katie Button, who was born in South Carolina and now runs Nightbell and Cúrate in Asheville, North Carolina. “It is super-simple and super-flavorful. My own daughter loves olives and those kinds of flavors, and I look forward to making it for her and making her teachers jealous.”

Photo: COURTESY OF KATIE BUTTON
Katie Button at age 14 with her mother, Elizabeth, at Lake Chelan in Washington state.