27th Annual Tastes of the World Chef Culinary Conference

For the second time in as many years, the 27th annual Chef Culinary Conference will be hosted in a virtual format.

This year’s theme – Riding the Momentum of Change – will incorporate elements of last year’s planetary and human health focus while exploring what the post-pandemic future might hold for college and university dining, food manufacturing, health and wellness and everything in between.

The longtime conference is widely known for bringing together diverse groups of forward-thinking experts to tackle issues affecting the food service industry now and beyond. Last year more than 1,300 registrants from 7 countries joined the three-day remote conference. Similar participation is expected this year as well.

This year’s conference will feature a robust three days of content (five hours per day) with over 40 speakers from multiple universities including Harvard University, Yale University, Columbia University, Cornell University, McGill, University of Washington and UMass Amherst, among others. Topics will include operations and strategic planning, health and wellness, sustainability, culinary excellence, innovation and communication; in addition, there will be several interactive workshops.

Ken Toong, UMass Amherst executive director of auxiliary enterprises and chair of the event is looking forward to another successful remote event saying, “If anything can be learned from the last 15 months, it’s that college and university dining is a team of resilient and dedicated people that adapt well to change. We will learn from a diverse group of people, across many disciplines, and see what the future may look like moving forward. I’m truly looking forward to connecting with our peers, riding the momentum of change and raising the bar of college dining together, while better serving our Gen Z customers.”

Similar to last year, participants from around the globe will gather on the Zoom platform to discuss how they can leverage their experience through the pandemic, to produce a truly memorable experience for their students in the Fall of 2021.