Go from 1 Food/Restaurant Concept to an Empire... roadMAPP™ will help you get there

Learn from the BEST in food & hospitality to grow & scale your business.

Are you great at what you do?

Do you love owning your restaurant, food truck, catering company, bakery/café or bar and want to create your next concept?

Do you get excited dreaming of your next venture in hospitality and food & beverage?

Does working with your staff and customers make you happy and inspire you to figure out how to do more of that?

If you answered yes to any of those questions, you are ready to take the next steps to grow and scale your business. The roadMAPP™ Webinar Series will help you do just that! Let MAPP alongside incredible industry leaders and experts empower you towards your next business phase and greater:

  • Financial Independence

  • Creative Endeavors

  • Smoother Operations

  • Greater Profitability

  • More Community Involvement

  • Bigger, Better Team so you can do more Big Picture Planning

roadMAPP™ Webinar Speakers

Katie Button

  • Four-time James Beard Foundation Award nominee Katie Button is the co-founder and CEO of Asheville, North Carolina’s beloved Cúrate, a collection of restaurants, online marketplace, wine club and culinary journeys designed to create exceptional and experiential access to Spanish culture. Button honed her craft in the kitchens of some of the world’s best chefs, most notably Ferran Adrià and José Andrés, before venturing out to open her own restaurant with husband, Felix Meana, and her family.

    Among her many accolades, Chef Katie Button was featured as one of Food & Wine’s 2015 Best New Chefs. Cúrate was named as one of the “40 Most Important Restaurants of the Past 40 Years” by Food & Wine and one of the “Most Important Restaurants of the Decade” by Esquire. In 2016, Button released her first cookbook, Cúrate: Authentic Spanish Food from an American Kitchen.

    Throughout it all, Button continues to challenge the industry standard, steadily building comprehensive benefits to create a sustainable work environment for her living wage-certified restaurant group. She also is an active participant in the James Beard Foundation’s Impact programs and is currently serving on the Independent Restaurant Coalition’s leadership team. In 2021, Button joined the brand-new Magnolia Network, launching From the Source, a series that explores the origins and stories behind different ingredients, along with Techniques for Cooking, as part of the app-based digital Magnolia Workshops.

Karen Akunowicz

  • Chef Karen Akunowicz is the 2018 James Beard Foundation Award winner for Best Chef: Northeast and the 2020 James Beard Award finalist for Best New Restaurant in America. She is the Chef/Owner of Fox & the Knife Enoteca in South Boston, Fox Pasta Co. and Bar Volpe Ristorante & Pastificio. Chef Karen has been touted “Boston’s Queen of Pasta” Her first restaurant Fox & the knife called an “Instant Classic” by Food & Wine Magazine.

    In 2019 Chef Karen opened Fox & the Knife, inspired by her time spent living and cooking in Modena, Italy. Fox & the Knife is a casual and contemporary homage to the food, wine, culture and spirit of that city, all presented with a warm welcome in a high energy atmosphere. Fox & the Knife menu highlights Akunowicz’s flair for the soul-satisfying, graceful Italian food that she honed while working in Italy as a pasta maker and Chef of L’Avian Blu Enoteca. At Fox & the Knife, the bold flavors of exceptional ingredients are expressed through both traditional and modern techniques to introduce new versions of beloved classics.

    In 2020 Chef Akunowicz created a fresh pasta retail business called Fox Pasta Company that now ships sauces and her handmade pasta Nationwide and is carried in specialty shops in Boston and New York. Her second restaurant “Bar Volpe” opened in 2021 is a restaurant and pastificio (pasta shop) focused on wood-fired Southern Italian cuisine. With a glass-encased pasta room in the middle of the dining room and a stunning market and wine bar capping off the sprawling space, Bar Volpe continues the conversation Chef Karen has started about Italian cuisine and culture at Fox & the Knife.

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 become 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 and 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-profit 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).

Nina Compton

  • Coming soon.

Amanda Cohen

  • Amanda Cohen is the James Beard-nominated chef and owner of Dirt Candy, the award-winning vegetable restaurant on New York City's Lower East Side. She is also one of the Iron Chefs on Iron Chef Canada

    Dirt Candy was the first vegetable-focused restaurant in the city and is a pioneer of the vegetable-forward movement. It’s included in Paul Freedman’s Ten Restaurants That Changed America as “Ten Restaurants Changing America Now” alongside Momofuku and Eleven Madison Park. Dirt Candy’s original location only had 18 seats and was open for seven years, during which time it became the first vegetarian restaurant in 17 years to receive two stars from the New York Times, was recognized by the Michelin Guide five years in a row, and won awards from Gourmet Magazine, the Village Voice, and many others.

    Its new location opened in January, 2015 and was the first restaurant in the city to eliminate tipping and share profits with its employees. Amanda was the first vegetarian chef to compete on Iron Chef: America and her comic book cookbook, Dirt Candy: A Cookbook, is the first graphic novel cookbook to be published in North America. It's currently in its seventh printing. She is also a Canadian.

    In 2018, New York Magazine named Dirt Candy "The Absolute Best Restaurant on the Lower East Side" and Wine Enthusiast selected it as one of the 100 Best Wine Restaurants in America.

Mary Sue Milliken

  • Mary Sue Milliken is a James Beard and Julia Child Award-winning chef best known for her modern Mexican Border Grill restaurants, trucks and catering in Los Angeles and Las Vegas; BBQ Mexicana and Pacha Mamas, fast casual eateries in Las Vegas; and Socalo, an all-day California canteen and Mexican pub in Santa Monica all created with her business partner Susan Feniger. Mary Sue has co-authored five cookbooks, co-starred in Food Network’s Too Hot Tamales and successfully competed on Bravo's Top Chef Masters. Milliken is passionate about food policy and works with various nonprofits around the world to bring her expertise to help shape sustainable food systems. Mary Sue also serves on the Board of Trustees for the James Beard Foundation; is a co-founder of Regarding Her Food, a non-profit to provide women owned restaurants in LA county business grants, mentorship and resources in response to Covid's crippling effect on the industry; and is a member of the U. S. State Department’s American Chef Corps.

Tiffany Daniele

  • As Chief Financial Officer of Union Square Hospitality Group, Tiffany oversees our Accounting and Finance department and collaborates with Senior Leadership to drive strategic financial planning and analysis, accounting and internal controls, and operations finance and tax to drive growth and profitability for the business. She manages and protects the company's assets, ensures financial discipline in the business, and maximizes return on investment capital.

    An experienced finance executive, Tiffany joined USHG with a highly accomplished history in retail, international business development, mergers & acquisitions, corporate finance, and business development. Most recently, Tiffany led global corporate Financial Planning and Analysis at Tapestry and Kate Spade. She began her career in investment banking at Citigroup before moving on to private equity firm Bruckmann, Rosser, Sherill & Co, where she focused on control investments in the consumer, retail, and restaurant industries.

    Tiffany is a graduate of the University of Virginia with a BS in Commerce. She lives in New York City with her husband Adam and her two sons, Alex and Wyatt.

Dayanny De La Cruz

  • Chef Dayanny De La Cruz: A native of Dominican Republic, with over 20 years of experience cooking with some of the most prestigious chefs and kitchens throughout the world, Chef Dayanny has been most influenced from her grandmother’s recipes and culture. Today she is the Executive Chef at the Hard Rock Stadium in Hollywood overseeing a staff anywhere from 150-250 and an annual budget of $50 Million while being the first executive chef at the Hard Rock to introduce a fully sustainable program going completely green using no plastics anywhere in the kitchen and composting. She was the first female executive chef to oversee a SuperBowl with Super Bowl 54

Kelly MacPherson

  • As Chief Technology Officer of Union Square Hospitality Group, Kelly is responsible for the development and execution of USHG’s technology strategy and oversees all tech systems and team members. In her role, Kelly fosters innovation, maximizes operational efficiencies, and enables data-driven decisions to grow our brands and optimize the guest experience at each and every touchpoint.

    A visionary and business savvy executive with over 20 years of experience, Kelly has an extensive background in strategy, development, execution, and operations across IT, shared services, and advisory roles. As Chief Information Officer for Restaurant Brands International, Kelly transformed the company mindset, aligned stakeholders, and set in motion an M&A blueprint that enabled rapid technology integration of both the Tim Hortons and Popeyes brands. In prior roles, Kelly worked with high-profile global brands including Abercrombie and Fitch and Hard Rock Café International to drive international expansion; multimillion growth drivers, and cost savings through technology modernization.

    Kelly holds a BA in Finance and Economics from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. In her time off she enjoys traveling, golfing, exploring new wine and food, and most importantly, spending quality time with her husband, daughter, and two Yorkies Jimmy Choo and Coco.

Nathan Ricke

  • Nathan Ricke is the Chief Network Officer at Rethink Food, leading the organization's two primary hubs of programming: Rethink Certified—a nationwide partnership program with restaurants and food establishments to fund and make meals for communities impacted by food insecurity, and the Rethink Food Commissary Kitchen—an in-house hub for sustainability and community meals that receive and process millions of pounds of excess food from partners across the food system to provide free meals to our neighbors across New York City.

    Nathan has a decade of experience in hospitality and is a Managing Partner of a Brooklyn-based hospitality group with two locations in Brooklyn.

Catina Smith

  • Chef Catina Smith, or Chef “Cat,” as she is affectionately called, is one of Baltimore’s well known and impactful chefs. Chef Cat studied culinary arts at Baltimore International College, earning her degree in Professional Cooking, before beginning service to her country in the Air Force reserves. She received an Associate’s Degree in Hospitality and Restaurant Management from the Community College of the Air Force. Chef Cat also has a Bachelor’s Degree in Organizational Management, and is currently pursuing her Master’s Degree in Acquisition.

    Chef Cat began her career as a garde manger cook and moved up the culinary ranks quickly. Her passion and drive then led her to the line. Within a short time she took the sous chef position at Guy Fieri’s Kitchen and Bar. She then went on to become Executive Chef at Dovecote Cafe and Notre Dame of Maryland University. Other notable kitchens she has worked in include Magdalena and the Alexander Brown Restaurant. She currently works at Copper Kitchen, one of the premier catering companies in Baltimore. Chef Cat has founded two organizations Culinary Socialite - bringing people together for good food and conversation - a foodie lifestyle brand and parent company to her other initiatives; Just Call Me Chef a sisterhood for networking, mentoring, and building community amongst black female chefs. Just Call Me Chef is changing the narrative, breaking not only the glass ceiling, but also shattering stereotypes. Her most popular project is the JCMC calendar highlighting black women chefs around the country. Cat is also a private chef, creating an in home restaurant experience for her clients. She also teaches classes, cooking demonstrations, speaking engagements, and catering intimate events.

    Chef Cat currently produces several events; Brunch for Brothers, a monthly mentoring opportunity for young Black men; Crust & Cocktails, a networking event series for creative professionals; Taste Baltimore, a food emporium highlighting local businesses and local chefs; and Sunset Kickback, an outdoor food and music festival. She also serves on the board of The Food Project, where she teaches cooking and food safety to kids. Chef Cat lives in Baltimore with her two beautiful kids Micah and Isaiah.

    www.chef-Cat.com

    www.justcallmechef.co

    @justcallmechef.co

    @naturallychefcat

Patti Simpson

  • Patti Simpson is the Chief Administrative Officer of Union Square Hospitality Group (USHG) and oversees all Human Resource operations. In her role, Patti implements key systems and benefits that align with USHG’s Family Values (excellence, hospitality, entrepreneurial spirit, and integrity) to further enhance USHG’s philosophy of Enlightened Hospitality, the belief that putting employees first is the key to running a meaningful and sustainable business.

    Patti joins USHG with a deeply rooted background in HR, where she has led HR operations for various domestic and international foodservice brands such as TGI Fridays, Ignite Restaurant Group (Joe’s Crab Shack, Brick House Tavern + Tap), Au Bon Pain, and most recently Ruby Tuesday.

Lauren Busch

  • Coming Soon

Aniece 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.

Elizabeth Tilton

  • Elizabeth Tilton is the Founder + CEO of Oyster Sunday, a corporate office for independent restaurants + small food and beverage brands based in New Orleans and New York City with the mission is to build a sustainable and supportive infrastructure for the industry.

    Elizabeth’s hospitality career started with several years of back of house experience in New Orleans at Sucre and Restaurant August and eventually moved to NYC to join Momofuku. On the branding team, Elizabeth managed the public relations and marketing for Momofuku’s New York restaurants, market research for Momofuku’s expansion in the US, and major partnerships with companies such as The World Bank, Sweetgreen, Patagonia, Lucky Peach + MAD in Copenhagen.

    Prior to launching Oyster Sunday in 2019, Elizabeth was part of the original leadership team and the Head of Brand at W&P, a vertically-integrated design and manufacturing company developing culinary products. She managed a department to strategize and execute the launch of 300 + products including products in partnerships with Williams-Sonoma, West Elm, Lucas Films + Food52.

Jennifer Hill Booker

  • Chef Jennifer Hill Booker has taken her Southern culinary heritage, her belief in healthy, seasonal foods, and her classic French training to create a unique cuisine — Modern Southern Healthy Cuisine with a French Accent.

    Her first cookbook, Field Peas to Foie Gras: Southern Recipes with a French Accent. (Pelican Publishing, 2014) includes original recipes that will help you create healthy, delicious meals for your family. Using Southern upbringing and French training as the basis for culinary exploration in her second cookbook, Dinner Déjà Vu: Southern Tonight, French Tomorrow, (Pelican Publishing, March 2017), uses one list of fresh ingredients to create two meals, one Southern and one French. In her first illustrated children's book, Jelly Fries A Fish For Dinner, (Tallahatchie Tales, March 2021), Chef Jennifer highlights the foods of the Mississippi Delta, through the eyes of her daughter Jenelle.

    Who is Chef Jennifer Hill Booker? She’s an African American woman of strength and character who can creatively meet life and culinary challenges with grace. Her passion for the culinary world knows no boundaries from creating new recipes, to teaching culinary arts, presenting live cooking demonstrations, keynote-speaking engagements, and in the digital world where she engages with her online community. Her focused attention to detail came through loud and clear when she was a contestant on the Food Network’s Cutthroat Kitchen competition food show.

    Chef Jennifer’s earned her Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Tulsa before graduating first in her class; eighteen months later, with an Associate of Occupational Science from Oklahoma State Institute of Technology. Extensive travel while married to a United States Army Officer pushed Jennifer to blaze a trail that fit her unique situation-a female African American chef, living abroad. As a result, her culinary company Your Resident Gourmet was born. She was also able to fulfill a lifelong dream of attending Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Paris, where she once again graduated top of her class. Twenty years later Jennifer finds herself once again blazing culinary trails as she wears many culinary hats as chef, cookbook author, reality TV personality, culinary educator and business owner.

    She is a Georgia Grown Executive Chef for the GA Department of Agriculture, the Culinary Explorer for the Georgia Department of Tourism and Travel, is the founder of Southern Divas of the New South* Dinner Series. Chef Jennifer is the current President of the prestigious Atlanta chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier International, a member of SlowFood-Atlanta and of Atlanta’s No Kid Hungry Atlanta Society. Chef Jennifer currently sits on the James Beard Foundation Food Waste Advisory Council.

    Weaving her love of traditional Southern cuisine with her belief in incorporating healthy, seasonal foods and her classic French training, Chef Jennifer created a unique style of cooking that she terms Modern Southern Healthy Cuisine with a French Accent. Chef Jennifer shares this brand of cooking through her many guest chef television appearances, with original recipes. During her Food Network debut as a finalist on Cutthroat Kitchen, Chef Jennifer was able to showcase her love of Southern cuisine with a French accent, and again when her family was featured on an episode of Andrew Zimmern's show, Family Dinner-found on Magnolia Network.

    Chef Jennifer is opening her first restaurant, Bauhaus Biergarten, in Springdale Arkansas the summer of 2022. She spends her free time in her kitchen, garden, or the farmer’s market with her two daughters Jenelle and Regine, and their KorgieJack, Pudge.

LaToya Meaders

  • Coming soon.

MaryEllen Georgiadis

  • MaryEllen is the owner and CEO of Finance A La Carte, a consulting company that provides multilevel financial support from the CFO level to daily bookkeeping to the restaurant and bar industry. This allows operators to focus on their passion: hospitality. Started in 2017, the company has grown exponentially and continues with the same success rate.

    MaryEllen has been a guest speaker at Portland Cocktail Week (PDXCW) in 2018 and 2019 helping young entrepreneurs review the financial planning needs to achieve their ownership dreams.

    Prior to opening Finance A La Carte, MaryEllen was the CFO and Partner at the Schlow Restaurant Group, living and working in Boston and DC. She played an instrumental role, both financially and operationally, in the group’s growth from 1 to 11 units.

    With over 25 years of financial experience in the hospitality industry, MaryEllen and Finance A La Carte bring a focused insightful view to each client.

Andrea Borgen Abdallah

  • Andrea Borgen Abdallah is a mission-driven hospitality consultant focused on the intersection

    of restaurants, social justice, and public policy. She owned a small restaurant in Downtown Los

    Angeles, barcito, for 6 years, where she often advocated for an improvement in wages, benefits

    and standards in the hospitality industry. Abdallah was named a 2016 Eater Young Gun, and has

    been featured on Zagat Los Angeles’ 30 under 30. She has served on the California Restaurant

    Association LA Chapter Board, the South Park BID Board, and the Downtown Women’s Center

    Social Enterprise Committee, with a primary focus on improving community outreach and

    workforce development. She closed barcito in June 2021, with a desire to pursue this advocacy

    work full-time. She is currently the Community Manager for RAISE High Road Restaurants, a

    subsidiary of One Fair Wage, focused on eliminating the tipped minimum wage, and improving

    racial, gender and wage equity in the restaurant sector.

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.

roadMAPP™ Board Members & Speakers

Ellen Yin: Founder/Co-Owner, High Street Hospitality Group

  • 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.

Micheline Mendelsohn: Deputy CEO, Sunnyside Restaurant Group

  • 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.

Ji Hye Kim: Chef/Owner, Miss 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.

Tiffany Derry: Chef/Owner, Tiffany Derry Concepts

  • 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.

Elaine Chon-Baker: Founder& Managing Director, Mokja Ventures

  • 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.

Michael Shemtov: Owner/Founder, Butcher & Bee

  • Michael Shemtov is a Charleston, South Carolina based restaurateur with a strong passion for entrepreneurship, and a strong interest in politics. 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. Michael 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, Michael 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, Michael opened his first concept outside of Charleston, Butcher & Bee in East Nashville, and now co-owns a second restaurant in East Nashville called Redheaded Stranger. His project Workshop - a multi-concept culinary incubator opened in Charleston in 2017, has “graduated” over six culinary entrepreneurs out of it’s food hall and into standalone brick & mortar locations.

    His passion for politics, current events and world affairs is ever present. He is a regular volunteer for political campaigns and in 2019 became a proud graduate of the James E. Clyburn Political Fellowship program through the South Carolina Democratic Party. He resides in Charleston with his wife Melody and two kids, delightfully nestled into Congressman Clyburn’s district.

Lauren Fernandez: CEO/Founder, Full Course

  • 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.

Tom Foley: Co-founder T2D Concepts, Attorney, Advocate

  • 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.

The Elliot Group

  • Coming soon

roadMAPP™ Webinar Topics

  • Create Your Very Own Lean Canvas Business roadMAPP™:

    This first webinar is most important in helping you define your vision and core culture in your business. Our board of experts will help you take the most essential elements of a massive business plan down to a one-pager for you to build a strategy

  • Marketing, Branding & PR:

    How to effectively build a brand that authentically represents you & your business while promoting greater visibility and community outreach.

  • Financials, Accounting & Profitability:

    How to manage finances and bookkeeping, while maximizing profitability through menu and other cost centers to create a growth plan.

  • Human Capital & Hospitality:

    How to establish an effective infrastructure to strengthen your business and be able to grow. Creating strong recruitment & retention for you to focus more on business strategy and big picture planning. Emphasizing the importance of hospitality to your staff and showing how hospitality is a core value in your business so you can focus on development/growth.

  • Implementing Equity Frameworks:

    Ways to codify equity into your business policies and community relations. Create equitable growth and opportunity in your business vision

  • Access to Capital & Scaling:

    Advice and guidance on securing the best deal for you and how to strategically approach the next steps in scaling your business with a plan.

  • Incorporating Technology in your Business:

    How to effectively implement technology that supports you and your business in today's landscape. Learning about the different ways you can better use technology to protect and grow your business.

  • Menu Development & Wine Pairings:

    Prioritizing sustainability to minimize waste in your restaurant while maintaining creativity in your menu development

roadMAPP™ Awards

GUESS WHAT ELSE WE HAVE IN STORE FOR YOU....

Significant SEED FUNDING TO TURN YOUR DREAM INTO A REALITY!!!

For those who participate in the ENTIRE roadMAPP™ Webinar Series, you will be eligible for:

  • 1-on-1 Mentorship with an Industry Leader and Experts to grow your business for one year

  • Coaching to pitch your concept LIVE at the MAPP Conference to win seed funding for your concept

  • Free Consultation hours for marketing, legal, contracts, staffing, business plan development, HR and more

Requirements for eligibility:

  • Sign up for Entire roadMAPP™ webinar series

  • Be in business ownership for a minimum of 3 years

  • Developing your next phase or concept that could be: business expansion, new location, food truck, marketplace or product line

Don't delay and sign up today to unlock all the possibilities in your career. MAPP is dedicated to providing you with the essential knowledge, skills, resources and introductions to grow your business. Check out each of the 8 webinar topics below led by celebrity chefs, renowned restaurateurs, industry insiders, experts, business mavericks and the leaders making our industry better.

roadMAPP™ Partners

FAQs

1. What will I receive with my purchase? You will get access to attend the live webinar sessions, recordings of the webinar afterward, resources provided by our partners, and the opportunity to apply for further mentorship.

2. When will each webinar be scheduled? Each webinar will be held on the third Tuesday of each Month and will run for one hour and 30 minutes. You will receive a reminder email with the information and zoom link.

3. Is my purchase refundable? No. All ticket purchases are final and non-refundable.

4. How long will each webinar be? Each webinar will be approximately an hour and a half. The webinar will be seminar-style to allow for more Q&A and discussion with our panel.

5. What platform will the webinars be held on? The webinars will be held on Zoom. The link will be provided to you at purchase and re-sent before each monthly session.

6. What if I can't attend a live session? All sessions will be recorded and shared with series participants after each webinar.

7. What is included in my purchase? All eight webinars and all resources that we have put together to accompany each webinar. All eight webinars and all resources that we have put together to accompany each webinar.