Announcing Our 2015 JBF Food Conference: Rethinking the Future of Food

JBF will host the sixth annual James Beard Foundation Food Conference at the Convene Conference Center (730 Third Avenue) on October 19 and 20. This year’s theme, Rethinking the Future of Food, will bring together a diverse group of thought leaders and provocateurs including chefs, scientists, journalists, activists, investors, and more. Building on last year’s theme of prescriptions for a healthier America, the conference will look at what lies ahead in three compelling areas: the future of health, the future of the kitchen, and the future of the farm.

Over the course of two days, speakers and panelists will explore how a deeper understanding of changes in science, technology, and investment strategies empowers us all to make choices today that will lead to a healthier and more equitable tomorrow.

The agenda will consist of three categories: The Future of Health: Food, Flavor, and Innovation; The Future of the Plate: How Innovation in the Kitchen Will Change Us (For the Better!); The Future of the Farm: Science and Technology for Resiliency. 

Guest speakers and panelists include:

• JBF Award-winning chef José Andrés, Think Food Group
• Paola Antonelli, Senior Curator, Department of Architecture and Design, MOMA
• Allison Aubrey, journalist, NPR
• Gary Bennett, Bishop-MacDermott Family Professor of Psychology, Global Health and Medicine, Duke University
• Nancy Easton, Founder and Executive Director, Wellness in the Schools
• Eileen Gordon Chiarello, Founder and CEO, Barnraiser
• Danielle Gould, Founder and CEO, Food+Tech Connect
• Chef Evan Hanczor, Egg Restaurant
• Chef Peter Ho, IKEA Group
• Marilee Jennings, Executive Director, Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose
• Ashley Koff, RD, Founder, Ashley Koff Approved
• Mike Lee, Founder, The Future Market & Studio Industries
• JBF Award-winning pastry chef Emily Luchetti, The Cavalier, Marlowe, and Park Tavern
• Michael Mazourek, School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell University
• Denise Morrison, President and CEO, Campbell Soup Company
• Nathan Myhrvold, author, Modernist Cuisine
• Danielle Nierenberg, President, Food Tank
• JBF Award-winning chef Andrea Reusing, Lantern Restaurant
• Howard Shapiro, Chief Agricultural Officer, Mars, Inc.
• Chef Bill Telepan, Telepan Restaurant, Wellness in the Schools
• Nicola Twilley, author and journalist
• Karen Washington, farmer and 2014 JBF Leadership Award recipient

The JBF Food Conference will also include the James Beard Foundation Leadership Awards dinner and ceremony on Monday, October 19, at Hearst Tower, co-hosted by Good Housekeeping and emceed by Andrea Reusing, chef and owner of Lantern Restaurant. Now in its fifth year, the ceremony will honor five visionaries across a broad range of backgrounds who influence how, why, and what we eat. All five of the 2015 Leadership Awards recipients— Don Bustos, Eliot Coleman, Saru Jayaraman, Sam Kass, Bryant Terry—will also be participating in the conference. 

Founding support for this year’s JBF Food Conference was provided by GRACE Communications Foundation, with additional support provided by Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, the Better Burger Project and the Mushroom Council, Bon Appétit Management Company, Karp Resources, Salt for Life, Good Housekeeping, and the Natural Gourmet Institute*. Admission to the two-day conference, which will be streamed live, is $500 and includes breakfast and lunch both days. Discount tickets for the Leadership Awards dinner are also available to conference attendees.

For more information and to register, visit jbffoodconference.org or follow #JBFCONF2015 on Twitter. For further details, please contact Bowen & Company at 914.231.6180 or jamesbeard@bowenandco.com. 

Read the full press release here.