Don’t miss the exciting program we have in store for you at this year’s National Summit. Scroll down below for a detailed agenda of our conference. To sign up for workshops, register now.
Sunday, October 23
5:00-7:30 pm: Our kick-off starts here, with a tasting of Gulf Coast oysters and delicious cocktails by acclaimed mixologists. Author Paul Greenberg and Allison Fairbrother from the Public Trust Project will give a brief talk on the most important fish in the sea, and we’ll enjoy tastes prepared by the culinary students at the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts (NOCCA).

Monday, October 24
We start at Gallier Hall

Registration and breakfast (8:00-9:00 a.m.)
sponsored by Whole Foods
Welcome to the Summit! (9:00 a.m.)
Host Rowan Jacobsen, author; Donald Link, Link Restaurant Group; Michael Leviton, Chefs Collaborative, Area Four/Lumiere restaurants
Keynote address (9:30-10:00 a.m.)
American Cuisine: A  FOOD & WINE Perspective, with Dana Cowin, editor-in-chief, FOOD & WINE.

Panels (10:15-11:45am.):
*Note: Panels will run concurrently with workshops and demos, but will have different start and ending times.

  • Gulf seafood: where do safety and sustainability meet? With Claire Leschin-Hoar, journalist; David Krebs, Gulf Wild; Calvin Walker, NOAA; Tim Fitzgerald, Environmental Defense Fund; Chris Lusk, Cafe Adelaide. (Teutonia-Cosmopolitan Room)
  • Scaling sustainable food: with Jane Black, author; Pam Broom, Women and Agriculture Network  (WandA); Piper Davis, Grand Central Baking Company; Tom Philpott, Mother Jones; Drew Robinson, Jim n’ Nick’s BBQ. (Conference Room)
  • Work your Angle: Media Pitch Workshop with Dana Cowin, FOOD & WINE (This session starts at 10:30) (Ballroom)
  • Farm to Glass Cocktail Lab with Robin Schempp, Right Stuff Enterprises; Neal Bodenheimer, Cure; Ann Tuennerman, Tales of the Cocktail; Sharon Floyd, Restaurant Iris. (Room “B”)
  • Gulf fish butchering demo: with chef Tenney Flynn, GW Fins restaurant, chef Brian Landry. (Room “A”)
Off-site workshops and demos (10:30 a.m.-noon):
*Note: Workshops and demos will run concurrently with panel discussions , but will have different start and ending times.

at Domenica restaurant
  • Wooly Hogs! A Butchering Demo: with Alon Shaya, Domenica restaurant; Jeannette Beranger, American Livestock Breeds Conservancy.

at Cochon

  • Lamb: From Shepherd to Chef: with Donald Link and Ryan Prewitt, Cochon and Herbsaint restaurants; Craig Rogers, Border Springs Farm; Megan Wortman, American Lamb Board.
Lunch and special guest (noon-1:30 p.m.)
Join us back at Gallier Hall for lunch and a very special guest! Mother Jones blogger Tom Philpott will interview farmer and author Joel Salatin of Polyface Farms during the second half of lunch. You won’t want to miss this.

Afternoon panels (1:45-3:00 p.m.):
*Note: Panel discussions will run concurrently with workshops and demos, but will have different start and ending times.

at the International House Hotel

  • Dead Zone: What the River gives the Gulf: with Paul Greenberg, author; Alex Echols, Sand County Foundation; Paul Hartfield, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Lance Nacio, Anna-Maria Seafood, Cynthia Sarthou, Gulf Restoration Network. (Conference Room)
  • Hot Sauce and Climate Change: with Dr. Gary Nabhan, University of Arizona; Kurt Friese, Devotay restaurant; Louis Michot, Cultural Resource Institute of Acadiana; Harold Osborn, McIlhenny Co./Tabasco. (Room “A/B”)
  • Relocalizing the Pantry: Native Rice and Grains in Regional Cuisine: with John T. Edge, Southern Foodways Alliance; Glenn Roberts, Anson Mills; Sean Brock, Husk restaurant; Kurt Unkle, Cajun Grain. (Ballroom)
  • What’s the Value in Value Chains? With Bob Perry, University of Kentucky; George Frangos, Farmburger; Brian Ellison, Death’s Door Spirits; Richard McAlister, Marksbury Farm Market. (Teutonia-Cosmopolitan Room)
Afternoon off-site workshops and demos (2:00-3:30 p.m.):
*Note: Workshops and demos will run concurrently with panel discussions , but will have different start and ending times.
at Domenica restaurant:
  • Wooly Hogs! A Butchering Demo: with Alon Shaya, Domenica restaurant; Jeannette Beranger, American Livestock Breeds Conservancy.
  • Modern Louisiana charcuterie workshop: with Spencer Minch, Emeril’s Delmonico.
  • Lamb: From Shepherd to Chef with Donald Link and Ryan Prewitt, Cochon and Herbsaint restaurants; Craig Rogers, Border Springs Farm; Megan Wortman, American Lamb Board.
  • Meet the authors and the sponsors (3:00-4:00)
Take a break and browse the authors’ tables, have a book signed, and thank our sponsors! Authors include Barry Estabrook, Randy Fertel, Kurt Friese, Paul Greenberg, Jessica Harris, Rowan Jacobsen, Gary Nabhan,  Andrea Reusing,  Poppy Tooker, Virginia Willis, and more.

Afternoon plenary sessions (4:00-6:00 p.m.)

at Gallier Hall

Join Compass Group for a presentation, followed by a panel discussion called Fragile Times, Healing Foods. This session, moderated by marketumbrella.org founder Richard McCarthy, will look at the food community’s role in helping people cope and come together during times of trauma and disaster. With farmer Ben Burkett, restaurateur Ti Martin, and culinary consultant Robin Schempp.

Sustainability Awards Dinner (8:00-11:00 p.m.)

Food personality Poppy Tooker will emcee, while author Jessica Harris takes us on a cultural tour of a meal prepared by some of New Orleans’ best-known chefs. The Chefs Collaborative Sustainability Awards follow.
Tuesday, October 25

Breakfast (8:00-9:00 a.m.)

Panels and workshops (9:15-10:30 a.m.):
at the International House Hotel

  • Sustainable Purchasing: Making it Work on the Bottom Line: with Corie Brown, Zester Daily; Jayne Buckley, Compass Group; Piper Davis, Grand Central Baking Company; Ed Doyle, Real Food Consulting. (Conference Room)
  • Talking Beef, Tasting Beef: with Dan Rosenthal, Rosenthal Restaurant Group; Will Harris, White Oak Pastures; Michael Leviton, Area Four/Lumiere restaurants. (Ballroom)
  • Farmworkers and Sustainable Food: with Barry Estabrook, author; Maisie Greenawalt, Bon Appetit Management Company; Tom Philpott, Mother Jones; Gerardo Reyes, Coaltion of Immokalee Workers. (Room “A/B”)
  • Wild Fish and Ocean Aquaculture: Can they Coexist? With Megan Westmeyer, South Carolina Aquarium; Mark Palicki, Fortune Fish; Chris McDowell, McDowell Group; Sebastian Belle, Maine Aquaculture Association. (Teutonia-Cosmopolitan Room)

Closing brunch (11:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.)
Buses will depart for The Pavilion of the Two Sisters at 10:45 a.m.

Closing brunch planned by Chef Susan Spicer of Bayona and Mondo. Ken Cook of Environmental Working Group will discuss the chef’s role in making the Farm Bill a food bill. Chefs Collaborative Executive Director Melissa Kogut will provide closing remarks and a call to action. Host Rowan Jacobsen will offer a wrap-up and farewell.

Thank you—we look forward to seeing you in New Orleans!