The LA Chef Conference will return on May 20 as part of the LA Times’ annual Food Bowl, a month long celebration of the city’s dynamic food scene. The all-day event which lasts from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. takes place at ArcLight Cinemas and The Gourmandise School on the third floor of Santa Monica Place and then moves to Viceroy Santa Monica for a celebratory after party.
The event will feature expert panels, restaurant business workshops, cooking demos with top chefs, and pop-up dining experiences.
Panel guests includes a who’s who of local food celebrities: chef and TV personality Curtis Stone; acclaimed chef/restaurateur Suzanne Goin; sustainable seafood advocate Michael Cimarusti; Will Guidara of Make It Nice hospitality group (Eleven Madison Park, Nomad); entrepreneur, philanthropist, and restaurateur Kimball Musk; award-winning chef Jeremy Fox; Bravo Top Chef winners Brooke Williamson and Richard Blais; Spago Co-Founder Barbara Lazaroff; culinary icon Jean-Georges Vongerichten; pop-up impresario, chef, and TV personality Ludo Lefebvre; former Santa Monica Farmers’ Market Program Manager Laura Avery; Johnny Ray Zone of the famed Howlin’ Rays Nashville Hot Chicken; and renowned pastry chef Sherry Yard.
Panel topics range from ‘Boiling Point’, an honest discussion of mental health, wellness, and maintaining balance in the restaurant industry moderated by Los Angeles Times Food section staff writer Amy Scattergood to ‘Chefs, Drugs, and Rock & Roll: How Food Lovers, Free Spirits, Misfits, and Wanderers Created a New American Profession’ inspired and moderated by acclaimed author and podcaster Andrew Friedman.
The Restaurant Workshop Series is a four-session entrepreneurial track for those interested in opening a restaurant. Featured topics include branding and marketing, construction and design, financials, and HR/morale/culture. Workshops are led by innovative industry leaders Jeffrey Goodman of Pitfire Artisan Pizza and Superba Food + Bread, Ellen Bennett of the handcrafted, chef gear brand Hedley & Bennett; Tiffany Stith of Lawry’s; Natasha Case of Coolhaus; Lee Maen of Innovative Dining Group; and Colby Goff of Rustic Canyon Group.
A series of cooking demos will be hosted by Los Angeles Times cooking editor Genevieve Ko and Cooking Columnist Ben Mims. They feature local Michelin honored chef Josiah Citrin, culinary mastermind Tetsu Yahagi, award-winning chef Ricardo Zarate, and mixologist and author Matt Biancaniello.
Breakfast pastries and coffee will be provided by Bakers Kneaded and Caffe Luxxe. Lunch will be provided by Tim Hollingsworth’s C.J. Boyd’s Fried Chicken, Christina Tosi’s Milk Bar, Puesto, Paperboy Pizza, Supertoro, and Superior Seafood Co., along with craft beer bar from The Dudes’ Brewing Co.
The conference is presented by Brad Metzger Restaurant Solutions, a Los Angeles-based hospitality recruitment firm in partnership with the Los Angeles Times. There’s a choice of ticket options, with five percent of ticket sales supporting charity partner C-CAP LA which provides careers through culinary arts in Los Angeles.
For more information and updates, and tickets, please visit lafoodbowl.com and www.lachefconference.com. Connect on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @LAfoodbowl (#LAfoodbowl #31daysoffood).