Conference Speakers Full Bios

Andrew Zimmern

  • Andrew Zimmern is an Emmy and 4-time James Beard award-winning TV personality, chef, writer, teacher and social justice advocate. Andrew has devoted his life to exploring and promoting cultural acceptance, tolerance and understanding through food. Andrew is the founder and CEO of both Intuitive Content, a full-service television and digital production company, and Passport Hospitality, a restaurant and food service development company. He sits on the board of directors of Services for the UnderServed, EXPLR Media, and Soigne Hospitality. He serves on City Harvest’s Food Council, is the United Nations World Food Programme’s newest global ambassador and is the International Rescue Committee’s Voice for Nutrition. Andrew is a co-founder of the Independent Restaurant Coalition

Lorena Garcia

  • Since Lorena Garcia has been cooking professionally, she has focused on bringing the flavors of Latin cooking one of the great cuisines of the world to a wider audience. Her global, fresh and highly flavorful take on Latin Cuisine offers a modern fusion of classic techniques with Latin ingredients. Her life as a chef, entrepreneur, cookbook author, media personality, cookware designer and restaurateur has been a celebration of the cooking and passion for food that she grew up with in her native Caracas, Venezuela with the international flavors and culinary techniques she amassed as a young chef working in some of the world’s finest restaurants. As one of the nation’s top celebrity chefs best known for her television roles on Top Chef Masters America’s Next Great Restaurant, and multiple shows on Telemundo and Univision, Garcia has published two bestselling cookbooks. Though she originally went to school in Venezuela to be come a lawyer, she soon realized she had a different calling and enrolled in cooking school in the United States. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in culinary arts from Johnson & Wales University and recently received an honorary doctorate in the same field. Garcia took her first job as an apprentice at the Ritz Carlton in Paris, and then worked her way through different regions of the world including Italy, Japan, Korea, Thailand, and China, picking up techniques an d inspiration along the way.

    In July 2002, Garcia opened her first restaurant, Food Café, followed by Elements Tierra in Miami’ s Design District. In 2011, she moved her restaurant operations into airports (currently at MIA, DFW and ATL), offering millions of travelers Lorena Garcia Tapas y Cocina, a healthier take on traditional Latin cuisine. Lorena also operates the Lorena Garcia Culinary Loft in Miami, which is available for private events, as well as film and television production. In 2017, Garcia embarked on her most ambitious restaurant project in collaboration with the award - winning international hospitality ground 50 Eggs Inc., landing her on the world - famous Las Vegas Strip. CHICA by Lorena Garcia located at The Venetian hotel is a stunning celebration of Latin American cooking and hospitality showcasing flavors, influences and techniques from Venezuela, Peru, Brazil, Argentina and Mexico, combined and reimagined in Garcia’s distinct global style. With CHICA, she has joined the ranks of the world class chefs on Restaurant Row at The Venetian including Thomas Keller and Emeril Lagasse – and now her photo proudly lives between them as the first woman chef on the “Wall of Culinary Titans” outside the property. The upcoming expansion of the CHICA brand will bring Garcia back home to South Florida with the concept opening its second location in Miami’s historic MiMo district in late - 2019. The Miami incarnation of CHICA by Lorena Garcia will appeal to both locals and visitors alike, featuring the robust and vibrant flavors of authentic Latin and South American dishes, inventive cocktails and an unparalleled dining experience guaranteed to elevate the local culinary landscape. In addition to her success as a chef and restaurateur, fans of Garcia may be familiar with her regular appearances on HSN, showcasing her fresh and modern line of cookware with a splash of Latin flair known as the Lorena Bella Kitchen Collection. She has also been featured on the CNN special documentary “Latinos in America” and as a guest on such talk programs as The Talk, The Chew and Today. Her recipes have been featured in publications such as People Magazine, Cosmopolitan, Vogue and Saveur, and she has been profiled in business magazines for her significant role as a strong female Latina chef and business - owner including Kiplinger’s and Entrepreneur. When she is not growing her personal brand or expanding her culinary footprint, Garcia always finds time to give back, particularly with her own non-pro fit organization aimed at combatting childhood obesity, “Big Chef, Little Chef. ” The comprehensive program helps children and their families take control of their eating habits and, ultimately, their lives.

    You can find information on Chef Lorena Garcia at www.ChefLorenaGarcia.com and follow her on Facebook (LorenaGarciaOnline), Twitter (@LorenaGarcia) and Instagram (@ChefLorena).

Tiffany Derry

  • Beaumont, Texas native Tiffany Derry is the founder of Tiffany Derry Concepts and co-founder of T2D Concepts, the Texas - based purpose - driven hospitality group behind Roots Chicken Shak, Roots Southern Table (opening spring 2021), and ‘Shef Tiffany spice and apparel line. Denied from her first cooking job at the age of 15 because of her race and gender, Tiffany has risen her way through the culinary ranks to run her own restaurant concepts, appear as a contestant and judge on Top Chef and Top Chef Junior and as a regular advisor on Bar Rescue, and cook for President Obama at the White House. A fierce advocate for sustainable and nutritious food policies as well as gender and racial equity, Tiffany serves as a member of Les Dames d’Escoffier , a spokesperson for the James Beard Foundation’s sustainability efforts, and sits on the Board of Directors for Food Policy Action.

    Connect with Tiffany on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

Ellen Yin

  • As the Co-Founder and Owner of High Street Hospitality Group (HSHG), restaurateur Ellen Yin operates some of the country’s most celebrated dining establishments including a.kitchen+bar, Fork, High Street Philly, and High Street Provisions in Philadelphia and High Street on Hudson, in Manhattan.

    A graduate of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and veteran of the hospitality industry, Yin has been honored with Philadelphia Business Journal’s “Women of Distinction” award in 2020 and is a multi-year nominee for “Outstanding Restaurateur” by the James Beard Foundation Awards. The Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce recognized High Street Hospitality Group’s innovation, resilience and community-driven ethos as an honoree of 2020 the “Inspiring Excellence Award”. Some community-driven organizations Yin and HSHG have supported include: Bakers Against Racism, Everybody Eats Philadelphia, Fuel the Fight, Let’s Talk, and Save Philly Eats. She currently serves as leadership within the Independent Restaurant Coalition, is on The Philadelphia Regional Recharge and Recovery Task Force, and is part of the Small Business Ecosystem Advisory Council.

    “Yin’s winning combination of business acumen, willingness to take risks and passion for hospitality” has helped her restaurants thrive, wrote Billy Penn’s Danya Henninger. “Yin’s eye for the details of polished professionalism have remained a constant…Fork has matured into one of the most compellingly evolved special-occasion dining experiences in Philadelphia today,” wrote The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Craig LaBan. Food Republic called Yin “the woman who first transformed Philadelphia’s dining scene…one of Philadelphia’s most successful and insightful restaurateurs” and Eater called her “a trailblazer of the farm-to-table movement…Yin’s work ethic is legendary.”

    Fork was named one of the “20 Best Restaurants in Philadelphia” by Conde Nast Traveler in 2019, and the publication also named High Street on Market on their list of the “11 Best Brunch Places in Philadelphia.” High Street on Market was awarded The Inquirer’s “Restaurant of the Year” in 2014, and Bon Appetit named it number two in the country in their annual “America’s Best New Restaurants” issue in 2014. Likewise, Travel + Leisure named High Street on Market one of the best new restaurants in the world in 2015. High Street on Hudson earned a coveted “Two Stars” review from The New York Times’ Pete Wells, and the New York Post called it the best new restaurant of the year. Food & Wine included it among their 10 best of the year, as well. Most recently, her flagship restaurant, Fork, was named one of the most influential restaurants of the past decade by the Inquirer and among Esquire’s list of “Top 100 Restaurants America Can’t Afford to Lose” in 2020.

    Since she debuted Fork in 1997, Yin’s leadership has included overseeing a team of talented professionals in all areas of the restaurant, from the award-winning chefs to the gracious and hospitable managers and front-of-house staff. Further, the High Street brand pioneered the all day cafe model nearly a decade ago and is widely credited with sparking an artisanal bread movement in our region and beyond it.

    Yin is also the author of Forklore: Recipes and Tales from an American Bistro (Temple University Press, 2007), a thoughtful chronicle of her ongoing success at creating and maintaining a definitive American bistro in Philadelphia’s historic Old City and served as the keynote speaker for graduation ceremonies at the Culinary Institute of America. Over the years, she has partnered with a number of dynamic chefs to keep Fork’s menu and concept fresh; since bringing Chef Eli Kulp to Philadelphia in late 2012 (Chef Kulp is now Yin’s business partner in High Street Hospitality Group), Yin has expanded her smartly built family of restaurants to include more top locations and exciting talent. She currently serves on the board of the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation, the Arden Theatre Company and the Community Advisory Board of the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University.launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more.

Michael Shemtov

  • Michael Shemtov is an Atlanta, GA based restaurateur who is passionate about entrepreneurship, mentorship, and the environment. He graduated from the College of Charleston and went into restaurant ownership at age 22 with the opening of Mellow Mushroom Pizza Bakers in downtown Charleston. Shemtov later opened three more Mellow Mushroom locations in the Charleston area, and served for two years as the Marketing Director for the parent company of Mellow Mushroom.

    In 2011, Shemtov opened Butcher & Bee Charleston with the simple mission of serving honest-to-goodness sandwiches made with flavors and quality usually reserved for fine dining. In 2014, he opened The Daily, a modern neighborhood bodega offering coffee, hot breakfast and lunch, and provisions. In 2015, Shemtov opened Butcher & Bee in East Nashville, his first concept outside of South Carolina. A second East Nashville restaurant called Redheaded Stranger followed in 2019 and a third concept will open late 2023. The restaurant group now includes multiple locations in Atlanta as well.

    Shemtov is a regular volunteer for political campaigns and in 2019 became a proud graduate of the James E. Clyburn Political Fellowship program. Shemtov is also active in giving back to the culinary community. He helped found and is the Board Chair for Pay it Forward Charleston, a non-profit serving the city’s Food & Beverage community with emergency grants. He is also a founding member of The Independent Restaurant Coalition, an advisor to the James Beard Foundation, and supporter of MAPP, an advocacy organization for women in Food & Beverage.

Dayanny De La Cruz

  • A native of Dominican Republic, Chef Dayanny was taught from an early age that “hard work pays off.”

    The greatest influence in Chef Dayanny’s work ethic and passion for cooking has to be given to her Grandmother. “Mama,” as she was known in the family home, helped Chef “D” understand the cultural and family recipes that would shape her over 20 years of experience with some of the most prestigious chefs and kitchens throughout the world. Standing side by side in the kitchen and washing “Mama’s” dishes has to be the reason Chef “D” has employees working “with her instead of working for her.”

    Her hard work philosophy guided her in 2003 to make a career change from Hospitality Management and Tourism to pursue a culinary career. She attended Culinary School in Grand Rapids, Michigan, resulting in being awarded the Director’s Award. She quickly gained recognition as an Executive Chef in Chicago and Minnesota focusing on the NHL Minnesota Wild and Harley Davidson Museum. In 2011, Chef “D” found her way to combine her love for cooking, management of a sports facility culinary operation and nutritional development when she was hired by Levy Restaurant at TD Ameritrade Park, Home of the Men’s College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.

    Next stop for this hard working and ambitious Chef was Downtown Miami. She took a position with Levy Restaurants and brought her whole family to Miami, Florida where she became the Executive Sous Chef at the American Airlines Arena, home of the Miami Heat. Her attention to detail led to tremendous success in menu development and management in all premium food operation, team dining and special events. The opportunity to partner with well-known Miami Chefs: Ralph Pagano, Richard Sandoval, Michael Lewis and Dena Marino, proved Chef “D” would have a place in the South Florida Culinary scene.

    Her expertise in culinary management and development of Farm to Fork menus caught the eye of a nationally known hotel and resort company. Ocean Properties recruited Chef Dayanny to work directly with the Vice President of Food & Beverage and Kitchen Management team while developing menus that showcase the abundant variety of local ingredients and implémentation of all logistic in BOH. With her help, Ocean Properties opened 10 new restaurants with concepts and structures unique to the Italian and Spanish market. Again, because her hard work ethic had no limits she was tasked with creating vertical hydroponic vertical farms for all of Ocean Properties boutique hotels. This allowed the hotel restaurant patrons to enjoy menu items that integrated organic and plant based recipes from their in-house gardens.

    She will be the first to tell you she is only as good as the people in her kitchen, including seven highly trained chefs and numerous kitchen staff. There is no question “Mama” is proud of Chef Dayanny because she has been heard saying, “everyone in my kitchen is my extended family, we are a mix of every nationality you can think of working together to create the best user culinary experience, one event at a time and always as a team.” She will immediately tell you how important her husband and family are and the sacrifices they have made for her to achieve this level of excellence in the culinary profession. Hard work is a good thing and Chef Dayanny’s light shines the brightest when she is doing what she loves: working towards a common goal.

    Dayanny is currently the VP of Culinary Core Resources at Levy Restaurants .

Tom Foley

  • Developing, launching, and strategically building businesses is the common thread tying together Tom’s 25 years of professional work.

    Tom launched his career practicing law in New York, handling litigation, mergers & acquisitions, & real estate matters. Throughout Tom’s experiences, he became acutely aware of systemic inequities. After practicing law for 15+ years, Tom shifted his focus to develop social entrepreneurially businesses with the mission to drive equity. Tom founded T2D Concepts, LLC along with Chef Tiffany Derry with the goal to change the industry for good. T2D owns and operates Roots Southern Table and Roots Chicken Shak. The latter concept includes a franchise model designed to create equitable opportunity for underrepresented communities. Tom earned his J.D. from the Villanova University School of Law and his B.A. from Colgate University.

Jason Hammel

  • Coming soon

Micheline Mendelsohn Luhn

  • Micheline Mendelsohn Luhn brings her unparalleled marketing and communications expertise to the Sunny Side Restaurant Group in addition to years as Deputy CEO overseeing 6 restaurant brands. Her education in journalism and Master’s degree in International Relations from The University of Chicago prepared her to launch Good Stuff Eatery into the limelight with her public relations and social media plans. She continued that success with the opening of We, The Pizza, Santa Rosa Taqueria, The Butcher's Sandwich and Big Top Ice Cream Bar, all fast casual brands. Micheline works on every restaurant from inception to opening day and handles franchisee relations, brand strategy and marketing. Micheline plays a major role in the expansion of these brands across the globe. She serves on the Board of Directors for DC Central Kitchen, an organization that works to eradicate hunger; is a member of Les Dames D'Escoffier, a society of professional women in the hospitality industry; Regarding HER, the DC Chapter of a non profit devoted to the advancement and empowerment of women restaurateurs; and Defeat DIPG, a pediatric cancer charity that her dear friends, the Mosier Family, started.

Shannon Smith

  • Chef Shannon Smith is a cook, teacher, and traveler based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Raised in nearby Oklahoma City, Chef Smith has traveled to more that 50 countries around the globe, meeting and cooking with folks ranging from home cooks to restaurant chefs, while documenting it all on her blog www.chefshannon.com. She also uses her travels to teach women to cook and helps to finance their businesses using micro-loan programs. Her charity work includes Vizavance, a program in Oklahoma that provides eyecare to the homeless, as well as for Hope Haven Rwanda, a school for impoverished children in Murindi, Rwanda. She has raised over $500,000 for her charity work by donating epic dinner parties at her home for which she is renowned. She is a regular contributor to Good Day Tulsa KTUL-ABC, was previously a contributor to The News On 6 KOTV-CBS, and has appeared on Tulsa World. Her work has also been recognized in Edible Tulsa, Oklahoma Magazine and Tulsa People. Her byline appears regularly in Values magazine. Chef Shannon Smith is currently working on forthcoming cookbook, THE HIDDEN TABLE, a collection of stories and recipes from her adventures around the world, which is set to be released next year. She also hosts the podcast Dish It Out; an interview pod about the intersection of travel and food. Chef Smith is the recipient of the Critics Choice award for Project Hope fundraiser for Uganda. She lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Lauren Fernandez

  • Lauren Fernandez is the CEO and founder of Full Course, a non-traditional restaurant investment and development firm created for operators by operators that is changing the way new businesses grow their brands. The company partners with restaurants in the early stages of development to optimize existing operations, develop strategies for sustainable growth and bring the right investors or franchise partners to the table. Fernandez is a restaurant industry veteran with two decades of experience. She previously served as General Counsel and Head of Franchise Administration for FOCUS Brands and was Co-Founder, President and Operating Partner for multi-unit franchise developer Origin Development Group, acting as a strategic growth partner for brands such as Chicken Salad Chick.

Kimberlee Nicholls

  • Over a career spanning almost 30 years, Kimberlee Nicholls has earned a reputation as one of Napa Valley’s most respected winemakers. With a gifted palate, and three decades of Napa Valley winemaking knowledge and experience, Kim crafts wines of character and complexity from Markham’s 350 acres of certified sustainable estate vineyards in Yountville, Oak Knoll and Calistoga. From this prized fruit, Kim continues Markham’s unapologetic fascination with Merlot, its flagship varietal, and dedication to exceptional Bordeaux blends. Markham was one of the first wineries in Napa Valley to grow and specialize in Merlot, long recognized for its structure and vineyard-inspired sophistication. She spearheaded a shift from “reserve” to estate wines, driving focus on the importance of sourcing and sustainability as major contributors to quality. Today, sustainability is woven into the fabric of Markham and considered at every touchpoint, from soil to fruit and cellar to glass. Kim supports her community including the Napa Valley Vintners Napa Green Land and Napa Green Winery initiatives, and by collaborating with and mentoring her team and fellow female winemakers, especially through the last several seasons of devastating wildfires. After earning a degree in biology from Willamette University in 1989, Kim’s fascination with the science of winemaking led her to the lab at Napa Valley’s Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, where she honed her craft before joining Markham Vineyards in 1993. After four years of hands-on experience in the vineyards and in the winery, she was promoted to associate winemaker in 1997 and then to winemaker in 2001. In the two decades since, Kim’s artistry, innovative spirit and encyclopedic knowledge of winegrowing and winemaking have helped Markham Vineyards to earn countless accolades, and an enduring place as one of Napa Valley’s great wineries. In 2020, Kimberlee celebrated her 29th harvest at Markham Vineyards.

Suzanne Barr

  • Suzanne Barr has become one of the most respected and beloved chefs for her flair for fresh comfort food and also her passion for local community, food security, and advocacy. Chef Suzanne’s career as a chef, author, social activist, and culinary mentor is inspired by both her mother and father, two novice chefs, who instilled a lifelong passion to cherish the role that food plays in both nourishing the body as well as the soul. Chef Suzanne’s expansive culinary career includes her role as the inaugural Chef-In-Residence at the Gladstone Hotel in Toronto, Canada, owner of the former Saturday Dinette, and head chef and owner of True True diner, a diner concept that paid homage to the sites of many civil rights sit-ins and the history of the diner in breaking down segregation. What is most impressive, however, is Suzanne’s relentless advocacy for food security, marginalized communities, mental health, pay equity, nutrition literacy, and food source sustainability. Her truest form of self-expression is empowering and mentoring other women chefs. Earlier this year, Suzanne published My Ackee Tree, A Chef’s Memoir of Finding Home in the Kitchen, which takes readers on a personal journey of food, family, soul-searching, self discovery, and even motherhood that lead Suzanne home...in the kitchen closer to her Jamaican heritage.

    Suzanne’s food philosophy is simple: to create nutritious, flavorful, and comforting foods made with local, accessible ingredients.

Martha Hoover

  • Martha Hoover is the Founder and President of Won't Stop Hospitality Inc., a successful collection of restaurants in Indianapolis, Indiana —Cafe Patachou, Petite Chou Bistro & Champagne Bar, Napolese Pizzeria, Public Greens, Apocalypse Burger and Bar One Fourteen. Founded in 1989, Hoover used premium ingredients, prepared from scratch, and partnered with local vendors and farmers years before the phrase “farm to table” was first uttered. Won't Stop's culture furthers the organization's mission; to improve the health, prosperity, and security of our restaurants, teams, and community.

    In 2013, Hoover created The Patachou Foundation to cultivate opportunity for youth by amplifying the value and power of food. This year, the Foundation will hit a milestone 500,000 healthy, nutritious meals served to children who live with pervasive food insecurity.

    Hoover is a six-time semifinalist for Outstanding Restaurateur by the James Beard Foundation; Food and Wine named her “One of The Most Innovative Women in Food and drink”, Eater named her “Empire Builder of the Year”, Vogue profiled her and the company for their sustainability practices, and InStyle named her to their list of “50 Badass Women”. Additionally, Bar One Fourteen was named one of the Best Bars in the US by Esquire magazine, Café Patachou was named one of Restaurant Hospitality’s Top 25 Coolest Concepts, and Won't Stop Hospitality Inc. was named among “19 Great Restaurants in the US to Work For” by Food and Wine.

Hassel Aviles

  • Hassel Aviles has built a career in the hospitality and foodservice industry for over two decades working primarily in restaurants, event production and entrepreneurship. In 2018, after years of struggling with mental illness and workplace trauma, Hassel was inspired to co-found Not 9 to 5, a non-profit that empowers foodservice service workers like herself. Hassel’s strategic planning abilities helped grow Not 9 to 5 from a series of workshops, panels and webinars into a global vehicle for change to foster psychological safety in the workplace. Her work has contributed to a worldwide hospitality revolution to create work environments that are inclusive and proactive, rather than top-down and reactive. Hassel has used her experience, her social capital and intelligence to create industry-specific solutions and support for workplace mental health in the hospitality industry.

Vicky Colas

  • A Culinary Executive Chef, Entrepreneur, and Nutritionist with over 10 + years of experience in the Hospitality Restaurant Management industry. Chef Vicky is the granddaughter of self-taught entrepreneurs and rum distillers, Chef Vicky grew up on a family compound in Haiti that shared the same land as the family rum distillery. Sunday dinners were grand feasts at home. The meals were prepared from her family’s organic garden, and meats farmed nearby. This shaped who she is today.

    Chef Vicky’s immense talent has become finely honed through experience and training. Along the way, she has worked in many fine establishments such as the Westin Fort Lauderdale, the Tropi-Bleu Restaurant, the Renaissance Plantation, the Turn Berry Isle Resorts and Spa, and countless others.

    In addition to the work she and her family do for their native country, Haiti, Chef Vicky is dedicated to giving back to the community that she loves so dearly.

    She provides nutrition education and cooking demonstrations to many nonprofit and for-profit community partners such as Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies, Memorial Healthcare System, Holy Cross Hospital, Urban League in Broward, Broward Housing Authorities, and many others.

Ani Meinhold

  • Aniece Meinhold is a mover and shaker in Miami's ever- growing culinary scene. Her passion for food, wine, and beverages is rivaled only by her commitment to excellence. The seasoned restaurateur pioneered the “pop-up” and was one of the first to introduce contemporary Vietnamese cuisine to the South Florida's food scene. Blazing trails with her culinary prowess, Meinhold continues to set the standard for restaurant innovation helping to forge the Miami food scene into something bigger than herself.

    In 2004, Meinhold joined the opening team at Four Seasons Brickell together where she met Cesar Zapata, a brilliant young chef. The assistant manager and the line cook quickly formed an alliance, and in 2010 finally got the opportunity to work together on their own project– a 20 - seat progressive wine bar called The Blue Piano. In 2011, Meinhold, along with Zapata, launched Phuc Yea, Miami’s first pop-up restaurant long before the pop-up dining concept was trending. Its Vietnamese-inspired menu was considered groundbreaking in South Florida. By nature of the concept, Phuc Yea was a temporary project lasting all but three months. The planned closure saddened its extensive fan base who clamored for a chance to dine on Imperial Rolls and Coca-Cola Duck.

    Meinhold switched gears in 2012 to take a stab at classic, American fare at The Federal. The 45-seat restaurant helmed by Zapata dished out crave-worthy comfort plates such as Buffalo Pig Wings and a Thanksgiving-inspired Jar o' Duck. Meinhold was tasked with curating an extensive wine list and drink menu of low-ABV cocktails while simultaneously running the front-of- house. The restaurant's "biskits" were sold at Williams-Sonoma and were named “Best Biscuits in the U.S.A.” by Food & Wine. Meinhold and Zapata were also featured on Bravo's America's “Best New Restaurant”, produced by James Beard Award-winner Tom Collichio.

    In 2016, with the help of Chef Zapata, Meinhold opened a brick-and-mortar restaurant in the heart of the “MiMo” district, and thus Phuc Yea was reborn. This once dilapidated neighborhood has reemerged with the addition of chef-driven restaurants and boutique retail spaces. Dotted with mid-century Miami-Modern style architecture and vintage-looking motels, MiMo had seen rapid, economic growth making it an ideal home for the duo’s New Vietnamese concept where it continues to thrive.

Elaine Chon-Baker

  • Elaine Chon - Baker is Founder and Managing Director of Mokja Ventures, a Washington DC-based boutique venture fund that invests in restaurants and hospitality tech. Mokja means “let’s eat” in Korean– a nod to her heritage and her close relationship with her parents and six sisters. She founded Mokja Ventures as a natural outgrowth of her love for eating, drinking, and supporting start-ups and early stage ventures. Coming from the telecom and tech worlds, she immersed herself in learning everything about restaurants in the back office of her first investment. She loves a great start-up and advises entrepreneurs in all sectors with launching and growing their businesses. Elaine is mom to an artist - entrepreneur daughter (@kimchi.juice) and two teenage sons.

Karla Hoyos

  • Coming Soon

Tanya Holland

  • Acclaimed for her inventive take on modern soul food, as well as comfort classics, Tanya Holland is the Executive Chef/Owner of the internationally renowned and beloved Brown Sugar Kitchen restaurant, in Oakland, California.

    The author of The Brown Sugar Kitchen Cookbook and New Soul Cooking, Holland competed on the 15th season of Top Chef on Bravo, was the host and soul food expert on Food Network’s Melting Pot, she appears on the new HBO Max show Selena + Chef featuring Selena Gomez, and is the host of “Tanya’s Kitchen Table” on OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network.

    She is a member of the Board of Trustees, a frequent contributing writer and chef at the James Beard Foundation, and Brown Sugar Kitchen (Oakland, CA) has received multiple Michelin Bib Gourmand awards. She is an in-demand public speaker and lecturer who frequently leads the conversation on inclusion and equity in the hospitality industry.

    Holland leads a critically-acclaimed podcast “Tanya’s Table” produced by MuddHouse Media, interviewing many celebrity guests in Season One such as Questlove, Samin Nosrat, Alice Waters, Danny Meyer, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Bassem Youssef, and Carla Hall. Season Two of “Tanya’s Table” features special guests Ayesha Curry, Danny Glover, Bonnie Raitt, Phil Rosenthal, Lars Ulrich, Lizz Wright, Ericka Huggins, Jonny Moseley, and others.

    Holland has served as the president of the prestigious Les Dames d’Escoffier San Francisco chapter.. The City of Oakland declared June 5th, 2012 as Tanya Holland Day for her "Significant Role in Creating Community and Establishing Oakland as a Culinary Center".

    Holland holds a Bachelor of Arts in Russian Language and Literature from the University of Virginia, as well as a Grande Diplôme from La Varenne Ecole de Cuisine in Burgundy, France.

Adrianne Calvo

  • With two distinguished and popular restaurants, six published cookbooks, an Emmy-nominated Youtube series, a newly launched Cabernet Sauvignon, Chef Adrianne Calvo is a nationally acclaimed chef, author, and mega restaurateur with an accrued Instagram following of over one million.

    Chef Adrianne Calvo opened her namesake restaurant, Chef Adrianne’s Vineyard Restaurant and Bar at the age of 22. Now open over 15 years, and collecting accolade over accolade as it carved out its position on the culinary stage, such as 8 Most Innovative Restaurants in Miami, Best Chef Miami, Best Chef Florida, New Times Miami Best Restaurant, Thrillist’s 50 Things to Eat Before You Die, Thrillist’s 17 Most Important Restaurants in Miami, Thrillist’s Most Influential Restaurants, Zagat’s 10 Totally Unique Restaurants in America, Zagat’s Top 6 Restaurants Worth a Drive, and Zagat’s 9 Most Romantic Restaurants.

    In 2019, Chef Adrianne launched her fine-casual eatery, Cracked by Chef Adrianne. Equal parts fun as it is serious about food, Cracked by Chef Adrianne has been featured on Food Network, CNN, and Delish boasting about its “drool-worthy” cuisine. In a true testament to her passion and drive, her culinary empire has now expanded to Baked by Chef Adrianne.

    Among Chef Adrianne Calvo’s hard earned achievements, beyond her staple Miami Restaurants – are six cookbooks, Maximum Flavor (2005); Driven by Flavor, Fueled by Fire (2008); #MaximumFlavorSocial (2014); Play with Fire (2015); and The A List, a two volume work released in 2018. She has appeared on the Today Show, Good Morning America, Fox and Friends, Fox News, Food Network’s Chopped, Food Network’s Beat Bobby Flay, The Talk, Pickler and Ben, Morning’s with Maria, CNN, Hallmark Channel, and has a weekly cooking segment on NBC 6 in the Mix for over 14 years.

    Chef Adrianne has earned corporate sponsorships and endorsements from brands such as Reebok, AirBnB, Jaguar, Samuel Adams, The British Virgin Islands, Diamond Resorts International, Baptist Health, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Anguilla Culinary Experience, AYS Sports, Casillero del Diablo, Royal Caribbean International, F1, Señorio Mezcal, Scrub Island, Jack Daniels, Got Milk?, Hormel, Amerant Bank, Super Bowl LIV, ChefWorks, Sprint, Crocs, Nissan, and Sprint.

    Also known for her philanthropic work, Chef Adrianne Calvo launched The Make It Count Foundation in 2007 inspired by her younger sister, Jennifer who passed away from a rare cancer. Jennifer’s motto was “Make It Count” and now that has become the inspiration and driving force behind her non-profit organization whose goal is to make a difference and positively impact the lives of children and teens nationwide. The foundation has aligned with several organizations such as St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (Chef Adrianne is the Culinary Ambassador), Susan G. Komen, Flippany, Cooking Matters, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Easter Seals, and many more.

Simone Mayer

  • Coming Soon

Chris Shepherd

  • Midwest-raised, James Beard Award-winning Chef Chris Shepherd has helped change the landscape of the Houston culinary scene since opening Underbelly in 2012. He built the restaurant to support the Houston food community and its suppliers by buying local and drawing inspiration from the people and cultures that live in the city. Thanks to Chris’ vision and passion, Underbelly was a James Beard Award semifinalist for Best New Restaurant, was named one of the best new restaurants in the country by Bon Appetit and Esquire and was named one of 38 essential restaurants in America by Eater. Chris was named one of the 10 Best New Chefs in America by Food & Wine in 2013 and was then awarded the 2014 James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southwest.

    Chris was a semifinalist for the James Beard Award for Outstanding Chef in 2019 and was named Robb Report's Chef of the Year the same year. Chris’ first cookbook, Cook Like a Local: Flavors that Will Change the Way You Cook—and See the World, was published by Clarkson Potter in September 2019 and was nominated for a 2020 James Beard Foundation Book Award.

    Chris began his fine dining career at Brennan’s of Houston, where he spent seven years in the kitchen and then ran the wine program for two. He left Brennan’s in 2006 to open Catalan Food & Wine, which was named one of Esquire’s Best New Restaurants in America that same year.

    Chris' foundation Southern Smoke has distributed more than $10.3 million directly to people in the food and beverage industry in need via the Emergency Relief Fund.

Ambrely Ouimette

  • Born in Greenwich, Connecticut and raised in Hudson Valley, New York, Ambrely Ouimette’s path to

    culinary recognition began with humble intentions. Her earliest memories are all tied to the kitchen and

    food: growing up on a small farm miles from a traditional grocery store harvesting from a family garden;

    her grandmother instructing her how to hold a knife before she could see over the kitchen counter;

    watching cooking shows; learning the basics of cooking, baking, and realizing both the joy and necessity

    of providing meals for family and friends. In a household with Italian and Ukrainian roots, Sundays were

    spent cooking feasts to be enjoyed around the table, sparking Ouimette’s lifelong love of feeding people.

    During culinary school at SUNY Delhi, Ouimette learned to refine her craft and think on the fly as part of

    the program’s culinary competitive team. And after graduating in 2008 with a Culinary Arts and

    Restaurant Management degree, Ouimette’s career began to take off. It did not take long for her to hone

    in on the grace and ‘calm in the chaos’ that could be only attained from a path honoring sushi, igniting a

    lifelong passion and deep-rooted sense of belonging that would lead Ouimette to spend the next 15

    years distilling and shaping in her own expressive vision.

    At Latitude 43 (Gloucester, MA), Ouimette began working diligently to carve out a role for herself in the

    male-dominated industry. Chef Ouimette proved her worth for the opportunity to assist behind the sushi

    bar after months of volunteering to help prepare wasabi, wash rice, and clean after service. Ouimette

    self-taught how to sharpen her knives in the traditional and painstaking manner with whetstones, a

    technique that required hours of dedicated practice to master but earned her respect from her

    colleagues. She found herself promoted to apprenticeship, where over a yearlong training under the

    guidance of Chef Norio Ishii she began to push both personal and artistic boundaries. Ouimette went on

    to further hone her skills through some of the country’s most renowned seafood-focused kitchens,

    including Toro (New York City) and alongside the renowned Chef Nobu Matsuhisa (Matsuhisa Denver)

    and Chef Jason McLeod (Ironside Fish & Oyster) sharpening an already innate understanding of the

    importance of seasonality and bracingly perfect seafood.

    Though traditionally taught, Ouimette’s style has evolved to become uniquely her own: ensuring her

    guests feel they are part of an intimate experience in an exploration of contemporary and unexpected

    flavors amid a lively, inviting atmosphere. Chef Ouimette creates a collaborative atmosphere where the

    sushi – prepared mere inches from guests’ plates – cohesively blends the traditional art of sushi and Chef

    Ouimette’s personal relationships with top vendors, both local and overseas. The result is a bespoke

    experience that makes tangible Ouimette’s passion for unexpected flavor combinations and expressive

    interpretation.

    Chef Ouimette most recently helped to launch Sushi|Bar in both Austin, TX, and Montecito, CA – the

    latter earning a Michelin Star in 2021. After being named Executive Chef of Sushi|Bar ATX in 2021,

    Ouimette refined the 17-course, Omakase-style experience to one that is a departure from traditional

    stylings and features contemporary nigiri enhanced with a collection of personally crafted ferments,

    salts, koshōs, and unique condiments. These flourishes each have a personal story and recall back her

    upbringing whether in Hudson Valley, Maine or Europe; tying together a sensibility about sushi that is

    not found in most kitchens and by a gender that is even less visible. As one of the country’s only female

    omakase chefs, Ouimette is steadfast in her dedication to creating a hospitable space for more women to

    enter and feel welcomed from which they have long been shunned. Her life’s work is to propel a sushiinterested

    sisterhood, providing a solace that she fought long to achieve.

Tami Treadwell

  • As a chef and owner, Tami takes great pride in both her passed-down recipes and her roots in the NYC neighborhood where she was born and raised. Tami is known for her garlic butter shrimp and creamy grits, fried mac and cheese bites, fish tacos, and seafood po’boys – all of which she serves to her beloved Harlem community with great pride.

    As she advanced in the largely male-dominated food truck industry, Chef Tami made it a priority to offer support and guidance to other women. She believes that by helping others, she could positively impact the industry as a whole.

    Chef Tami is passionate about both food and people from all over the world. She enjoys sharing her love of the cuisine with others and believes food can be a powerful tool for bringing people together.

Ji Hye Kim

  • Ji Hye Kim is the award-winning chef and owner of Miss Kim in Ann Arbor, MI. Named one of Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs of 2021 and a James Beard Award Best Chef semifinalist, Ji Hye aims to broaden the understanding of Korean cuisine through her cooking. At her acclaimed restaurant Miss Kim — named one of Ann Arbor’s “Most Essential Restaurants” by Eater — her seasonal menu is inspired by ancient Korean culinary traditions, and adapted with local Midwestern ingredients.

    Born and raised in Seoul, Korea, Ji Hye was introduced to cooking by her mother, a talented home cook who would make large batches of kimchi every fall with seasonal vegetables, dumplings for their annual New Year’s parties, and rice cakes for the mid-autumn harvest festivals. When Ji Hye was a teenager, her family immigrated to New Jersey, and Ji Hye went on to study political science and economics at the University of Michigan, before pursuing a successful career in hospital administration. In 2008 at 27 years old, Ji Hye decided to switch to hospitality and immediately immersed herself in the industry, training across the storied Zingerman’s businesses and the Rome Sustainable Food Project. She launched her first business, a Pan- Asian food cart named San Street, which she operated for four years, in partnership with Zingerman’s.

    In 2016, Ji Hye opened her first restaurant Miss Kim, which features a menu inspired by ancient Korean recipes and culinary traditions from her family, while highlighting bountiful and seasonal Midwest ingredients. Signature dishes include Royale Style Tteokbokki (rice cake batons with savory soy sauce, sautéed with shiitake mushrooms and seasonal local vegetables); Buddhist Silken Tofu Soup, a deeply flavored soup inspired by Korean Buddhist cuisine; and Fried Caramel Broccolini tossed with anchovy caramel, almonds, fried onions, and cilantro; among others. A reflection of the restaurant’s focus on highlighting the regional diversity of Korean food, Miss Kim also offers three different regional variations of BiBimBob: a pork - heavy version from North Korea that is tossed in rich pork fat and topped with tender pork belly and soy sauce; one from the mountainous region of South Korea, which features rice and potato combining to form a crispy crust as the base for locally foraged mushrooms; and a version of BiBimbob that follows the dietary restrictions of Buddhist monks, incorporating all locally sourced vegetables and no alliums. With Miss Kim’s focus on regional intricacies, ancient histories, and its spotlight on local Midwest producers, the restaurant challenges common perceptions of Korean cuisine.

    Additionally, Ji Hye is committed to prioritizing fair wages, benefits and equity in the industry, and has been admitted and completed programs like James Beard Chef Boot Camp for Policy Change and Food Lab Detroit’s Fellowship for Change in Food and Labor

Adrian Lipscombe

  • Adrian Lipscombe is a native Texan, Adrian began her career in city planning after graduating from the University of Texas at San Antonio with a Masters in Architecture, working with the municipal government in Austin and subsequently, San Antonio, on community impact project planning.

    With deep roots from Central Texas for over six generations, she has a vast knowledge of Black Pit Master in the U.S., was taught and has live-experience in Central Texas BBQ and had been smoking meats for over 25 years. She is an advocate for all farmers and ranchers to provide opportunity for local connections with chefs. Adrian is a also a advisory board member of the Foodways Texas and Austin Travis County Food Policy Board.

    In 2016, Adrian moved to La Crosse, Wisconsin and opened Uptowne Café, creating a safe haven and gathering place for the Northside community while exploring the synergy behind her Southern upbringing, Midwest ingredients and African American culinary history. As an endeavor initially rooted in her perspective as one of the only Black restaurant owners in the surrounding area of La Crosse, Adrian founded the 40 Acres Project, which seeks to preserve the legacy of Black agriculture and foodways through the purchase of Black owned land.

    Adrian is a founding member of the Muloma Heritage Center, a non-profit organization that is an educational, culinary and pastoral destination exploring the African Atlantic influences in American culture, and its contribution to American cuisines in addition to serving on the board of the Edna Lewis Foundation. Adrian is currently a PhD candidate in Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Texas at Austin.

    In her return to Austin, she is now working for a multimillion dollar Food Tech company as a Director of Culinary Operations and is looks forward to continuing to showcase the African American influences on food culture today and to feed friends, family and the community.

Irene Li

  • Irene Li (she/hers), co -founder of Mei Mei, has spent the last decade driving the industry forward in ethical sourcing and fair and transparent employment practices, including open book management. Now, Mei Mei is evolving into a packaged dumpling company while Irene launches Prepshift, a tool for restaurant owners who want to professionalize their operations and improve retention. She sits on the boards of The Food Project, Haley House and Project Bread and is a 2022 James Beard Foundation Leadership Award winner.