2017 FOOD LAB CONFERENCE

FIFTY YEARS OF FOOD IN AMERICA: 1970-2020

JUNE 9-10, 2017
STONY BROOK SOUTHAMPTON

JOIN FOOD ENTHUSIASTS, COOKS, CELEBRITY CHEFS,
FARMERS AND FOOD PRODUCERS, BEER, WINE AND SPIRITS MAKERS,
FOR ENTERTAINING AND INFORMATIVE TALK AND TASTINGS
AT STONY BROOK UNIVERSITY CAMPUS IN SOUTHAMPTON

Click the tabs at the top of this section for more  information on the upcoming conference.

Bobby Flay, David Barber, Michel Nischan
at 3rd Annual Food Lab Conference June 9-10;
Discount Tickets Available until May 20

Keynote Speaker Bobby Flay

“50 Years of Food in America: 1970-2020” will be the focus of the 2017 Food Lab Conference at Stony Brook Southampton, scheduled this year on Friday, June 9, and Saturday, June 10.

Food enthusiasts, cooks, celebrity chefs, farmers and food producers will join Bobby Flay, David Barber and Michel Nischan along with beer, wine and spirits makers for two days of entertaining and informative talks and tastings, cocktail parties and a gala dinner on the second night of the conference, Saturday, June 10 at the Southampton campus.

Early Bird tickets for the two-day conference, including all meals, are $100 before May 20, available at thefoodlab.org. After May 20, conference tickets are $150, or $75 for students and farmers. Saturday dinner-only tickets are $75, and there are also $2,500 Friend of the Food Lab tickets available for the Friday VIP Cocktail Reception. For more information, visit the Food Lab website, thefoodlab.org, or email Kathleen.Russo@stonybrook.edu.

The conference gets underway on Friday, June 9, with a reception for VIPs and key media, preceding an opening cocktail reception at the School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (SoMAS) field station on Shinnecock Bay. One of two keynote speakers for the conference, TV personality and East End resident Bobby Flay, will discuss his personal view of “Food, Cooking and a Brief Personal History of Food Television.”

The successful chef and restaurateur became one of the first celebrity chef stars of the Food Network, introducing “food as sport” in the original “Iron Chef America” series. An “Iron Chef America” reboot as “Iron Chef Gauntlet” is currently in production.

Keynote Speaker David Barber

On Saturday, June 10, a second keynote speaker, David Barber—of Blue Hill restaurants and the Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture—will speak about future directions in the food world, and opportunities to incorporate new technologies in shaping them. Blue Hill at Stone Barns was recently named the 11th best restaurant in the world by World’s 50 Best Restaurants.

Blue Hill is a working farm, restaurant, and consulting company supporting agriculture that positively contributes to the world’s food system. The 138-acre farm in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, has been in the Barber family for four generations. Blue Hill restaurant has locations in Greenwich Village and Pocantico Hills, New York.

David Barber is a founding partner of the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture in Westchester County. The unique nonprofit advances community and ecologically based food production in the promotion of alternative ways to farm and eat.  Stone Barns Center works in association with Blue Hill’s second restaurant located on the campus.

Blue Hill (NYC) received the James Beard Outstanding Restaurant Award in 2013. Blue Hill at Stone Barns received the same honor in 2015 and was added to the San Pellegrino World 50 list.

Michel Nischan

Also on Saturday, June 10, there will be a talk entitled “Changing the World Through Food” by Michel Nischan, a chef and leader in the sustainable food movement, as well as a three-time James Beard Foundation Award winner. Nischan is founder, president and CEO of Wholesome Wave, co-founder of the Chefs Action Network, and partnered with the late actor Paul Newman to establish the former Dressing Room Restaurant. He and his Wholesome Wave team were successful at influencing legislative language for the recently passed Federal Farm Bill, supporting affordable access to healthy, locally grown fruits and vegetables for low income consumers.

Some of the other notable guests who will be taking part in Friday and/or Saturday events include: Tanya Steel, former Editor in Chief at Epicurious.com and founder of the Obama White House Kids Healthy Cooking initiative; Jack Bishop, Editor in Chief, Cooks Illustrated and host of “America’s Test Kitchen”; author and Julia Child biographer Alex Prud’homme; Nancy Hopkins, editor of Better Homes and Gardens; Matchbook Distilling founder Leslie Merinoff; Wolffer Vineyards winemaker Roman Roth; Ron Tanner, vice president of the Specialty Food Association; along with a number of speakers and panelists from Long Island’s East End.

Topics for panels on Saturday include: CIY: The Joys of Cooking It Yourself; Unscrambling Nutrition: Fad, Fashion and Functional Foods; Looking Ahead: Social Responsibility, Food Security, Farming, Fishing and Food Making; and The Future of Restaurants: From Fine Dining to Food Halls and Food Trucks.

Sponsors for 2017 so far include Anolon Gourmet Cookware, KIND Snacks, purity.organic., Specialty Food Association, Breakthru Beverage Group, Slow Food East End, Blue Point Brewing Company, and Montauk Brewing Company. Wolffer Estate Vineyard has signed on as the wine sponsor for the conference. Media sponsors are WSHU Public Radio 91.1 FM and Edible East End.

The chef for the Saturday night gala dinner will be Cheryl Stair of Art of Eating. Other food for the conference will be prepared by Hamptons Aristocrat, private chef Martine Abitbol, and Bex Waffles specialty food truck.

The Food Lab at Stony Brook Southampton is a center for education, enterprise and media incubating informed conversation, communication and business development under the umbrella of food, from farming to nutrition, from edible business to DIY tutorials.

THE FOOD LAB CONFERENCE

FIFTY YEARS OF FOOD IN AMERICA:  1970-2020

June 9-10, 2017

FRIDAY, JUNE 9

6-7pm

VIP/major donor, Sponsors and Speakers reception, including key media at the School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (SoMAS) on Shinnecock Bay.  All panelists invited to attend.

7-8 PM

The opening session, including cocktail/cold bar reception for all speakers and registered attendees of the Conference, will be held on the veranda overlooking the bay.

The opening keynote will be given by Bobby Flay, celebrity chef, food TV star and East End resident. Chef Flay has been both a successful chef and restaurateur prior to becoming one of the first celebrity chef stars of the Food Network, introducing ‘competitive cooking’ through Iron Chef and now, the re-introduction of the new “Iron Chef Gauntlet”, premiering this spring.  Bobby will speak about his personal view of Food, Cooking and a present a Brief Personal History of Food Television. He will then be joined by Alex Prud’homme and Geoffrey Drummond.  Alex is the author of “The French Chef in America” and “My Life in France”, both books about Julia Child and the beginnings of food and cooking on television.  Geoffrey Drummond is the Executive Director of the Food Lab, as well as an Emmy and James Beard Award winning producer and director of food television shows starring Julia Child, Jacques Pépin, Eric Ripert, Lidia Bastianich, and America’s Test Kitchen.

SATURDAY, 6/10

8-9:30   BREAKFAST

A breakfast, sponsored by Anolon Gourmet Cookware, Bex Waffle Truck and Martine Abitol’s quiches and pastries will be provided to all attendees.  Chef David Bonom and team will prepare delicious French Toast with Spiced Banana Pecan Topping.

9:30-10:10

KEYNOTE:  DAVID BARBER with Stephanie Strom Farm to Table and Beyond

SPEECH:  David Barber, Co-founder of Blue Hill and Board Memebre of Stone Barns Foundation (Blue Hill at Stone Barns was just named #11 Best Restaurant in the World) will join Stephanie Strom (NY Times) to speak about future directions and changes from farm to grocery shelf (and now delivery box) resulting from new technologies and opportunities and the investments being made in them.

10:10-10:15   Anolon Cookware Gifting to Audience

10:15-11:15AM  Panel 1    

CIY: The Joys of Cooking It Yourself

Nancy Hopkins – Moderator  (Deputy Editor Better Homes and Gardens)

Jack Bishop (Editor: Cooks Illustrated, Host: America’s Test Kitchen)

Marge Perry (Food Journalist, Cookbook Author)

Julianne Feder (Chef/Founder: Cook Studio)

Alex Prud’homme (Julia Child biographer)

11:15-11:30 am BREAK

11:30AM -12:30PM  Panel 2

Unscrambling Nutrition: Fad, Fashion and Functional Foods

Brian Halweil –  Moderator (Edible Manhattan, Brooklyn, East End)

Heather Carlucci (Chef, Consultant, Ayurvedic foods specialist)

Robin Berzin MD (Founder Parsley Health)

Max Lugavere, Author, Nutritionist

LUNCH 12:30-1:30   Provided by Hamptons Aristocrat and Luca’s Pizza Truck

1:45-2:15PM   KEYNOTE SPEECH:  Michel Nischan – “Changing the World Through Food” 

Michel Nischan is a chef and leader in the sustainable food movement, as well as a three-time James Beard Foundation Award winner. He is Founder, President and CEO of Wholesome Wave, Co-Founder of the Chefs Action Network, as well as Founder and Partner with the late actor Paul Newman of the former Dressing Room Restaurant. Michel is an advocate for a more equitable, healthful, organic and sustainable food future.  Michel will share his passion to create a healthier, more nutritious and nourishing “food environment” for all people through Whole Wave Foundation.   Michel has been especially especially active and effective in making fresh produce available to a significant cohort of our population that does not have either the economic or geographic ability to obtain ‘good’ food.

2:15-3:15 PM   Panel 3  

Looking Ahead:  Increasing Access to Healthy Food

Kathleen Masters – Moderator (Executive Director, Amagansett Food Institute)

Tanya Steel  (Co-founder Michelle Obama’s Healthy Lunchtime Challenge & Kids State Dinner and Editorial Director of Clean Plates )

Ron Tanner (VP, Philanthropy, Government & Industry Relations, Specialty Food Association)

Pierre Friedrichs (Chef, Exec Slow Food East End)

Michel Nischan (Chef, Founder Wholesome Wave Foundation)

3:15-4:15 PM   Panel 4

The Future of Restaurants: From Fine Dining to Food Halls and Food Trucks

Florence Fabricant – Moderator  (NY Times)

Vicki Freeman (Restaurant Founder/Proprietor: Cookshop, 100 Acres, Vic’s Café, Rosie’s –NYC)

Colin Ambrose (Estia’s Little Kitchen, Sag Harbor and Estia’s Front Porch, Darien)

David Loewenberg (Proprietor: Beacon and Bell & Anchor, Sag Harbor)

Jennifer Baum (President, Bullfrog + Baum)

4:15-4:30 pm BREAK

4:30-5:30PM  Panel 5 

Drinking Long Island:  A wrap-up panel about the growing world of fine wines, beers and distilled products of Long Island.

Daniel Lerner – Moderator (Skurnik Wines)

Roman Roth (Winemaker, Wolffer);

Han Shan (Hudson Whisky Ambassador);

Vaughan Cutillo (Founder, Montauk Brewery);

Leslie Merinoff (Founder, Matchbook Distillery);

Louisa Hargrave  (1^st Long Island Vintner)

5:30-7PM   DRINKS in the Lounge and food provided by Calissa’s restaurant.

7PM  GALA DINNER @ Cafeteria. Chef Cheryl Stair will prepare the gourmet dinner for all!

Panelist/Speaker Bios

Colin Ambrose

Chef, Owner: Estia’s Little Kitchen Sag Harbor NY & Estia’s Back Porch Cafe, Darien Connecticut

Mr. Ambrose, a veteran of the magazine industry, opened his first ESTIA location in Amagansett NY in 1991.  Since that time, he has built restaurants based upon building community and serving “seed to plate” programming year round to both the locals, summer residents and tourists for his breakfast, lunch and dinner in a market dominated by seasonal, short term restaurants.  His focus on the customers interest in freshly prepared dishes, often harvested from ESTIA’S garden (guest can see the garden where the 2 hour salad is picked for their meal as they lounge in the Adirondack chairs in the backyard waiting for their table) and a unique marketing approach connecting the restaurants to local artists, film makers and foodies has helped to keep this concept current over the past 27 years.

Always striving to build new alliances and reach new audiences, Mr. Ambrose’s latest project the “American Rivers Tour” is expanding  his horizons, letting him connect with new pioneers in the  Renaissance in Local along the Rivers as he sets out to fish rivers across the country with chefs and guides for his new online platform and video series.

David Barber

Co-founder, Blue Hill

David is co-founder of Blue Hill–a working farm, restaurant, and consulting company supporting agriculture that positively contributes to the world’s food system. The 138-acre farm in Great Barrington, Massachusetts has been in the Barber family for four generations. Blue Hill restaurant has locations in Greenwich Village and Pocantico Hills, New York.

David is a founding partner of the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture in Westchester County. This unique nonprofit advances community and ecologically based food production-demonstrating alternative ways to farm and eat.  Stone Barns Center works in association with Blue Hill’s second restaurant located on the campus.

Blue Hill (NYC) received the James Beard Outstanding Restaurant Award in 2013. Blue Hill at Stone Barns received the same honor in 2015 and was added to the San Pellegrino World 50 list.

David is an angel investor in the food and hospitality space and advisor to S2G Ventures and Acre Investments. He serves on the Board of BluCart Corp, and as a Trustee for Stone Barns Center, Jacob Burns Film Center and the Collegiate School in New York City.

Jennifer Baum

President + Founder, Bullfrog + Baum

Jennifer Baum is the president and founder of Bullfrog + Baum, an award winning, nationally recognized agency specializing in hospitality, lifestyle and consumer marketing and consulting.  Under her guidance the agency has had a hand in turning chefs like Laurent Tourondel and Michael Psilakis into internationally recognized brands while strategizing for well known culinary luminaries like Bobby Flay and Wolfgang Puck.  With a client roster that includes international real estate development firms and global hotel brands, the agency does as much to keep established brands and products top of mind as they do to bring “the next best thing” to the marketplace.

Baum began her career far from the restaurant world, cutting her teeth amid blue chips and the Fortune 500.  Following undergraduate work at Union College, she received her MBA from New York University, and became enamored with the business of hospitality.  Combining her corporate savvy with a keen eye for creating and marketing successful concepts, she carved out a niche for herself by building an agency that not only creates and launches concepts, but brings strategy to the diverse array of needs that figure into their success.  She is known and respected in the industry as a creative, energetic thinker who values honesty and integrity above all else.

During the last 16 years at the helm of Bullfrog + Baum, she has played an integral part in the changing landscape of hospitality marketing. Baum possesses an innate appreciation for the role media plays in building a successful brand but also understands the need for an integrated approach, incorporating consumer-focused and digital marketing into all of the agency’s campaigns, and has worked closely with journalists, clients and employees alike to address the constantly evolving demands of the hospitality industry.  She continues to take an active role in mentoring her staff as well as those looking to break into the profession by identifying their unique talents and fostering their growth.

Baum also acts as an advisor to real estate developers, hotel brands and other hospitality professionals, having built strong relationships in her over 20 years in the industry. Companies such as Westfield World Trade Center, Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, The Related Companies and The Howard Hughes Corporation have engaged Baum to advise on potential chef and restaurateur partnerships, establish connections and advise on the viability of such partners.  Through her trusted relationships and honest business practices, Baum has assisted in securing such chefs as Michael Lomonaco at Porter House Bar & Grill and Marc Murphy at Landmarc, among others.

Baum is a member of Women in Communications, PRSA, City Meals Power Lunch Committee, City Harvest Food Council, International Association of Culinary Professionals, The James Beard Foundation, International Foodservice Editorial Council, and Les Dames d’Escoffier.  Baum and her team created and continue to organize and moderate a series of industry discussions called Trade Talks and actively participates in panels and events for events such as HX: The Hotel Experience and The New York Restaurant Association.

In addition, she has been an Adjunct Professor and guest lecturer at New York University’s Department of Nutrition and Food Studies and is a guest lecturer at The Institute of Culinary Education.  Baum is a trusted resource for a variety of media and has been featured and/or quoted in The New York Times, The New York Post, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, PR Week, NY Restaurant Insider, WOR Radio and CNBC among others. 

Dr. Robin Berzin

Founder, CEO, Parsley Health

Dr. Robin Berzin is the Founder and CEO of Parsley Health. A Summa Cum Laude graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Robin went to medical school at Columbia University -where she co-founded the physician communication app Cureatr – and later trained in Internal Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital. She is a certified yoga instructor and a meditation teacher, writes for a number of leading wellness sites, and speaks regularly for organizations including Stanford Medicine X, The Clinton Foundation, Health 2.0, Summit at Sea, and Further Future, on how we can reinvent health care.

Jack Bishop

Chief Creative Officer, America’s Test Kitchen

Jack Bishop is the chief creative officer of America’s Test Kitchen. He was part of the original team that started America’s Test Kitchen, beginning with the launch of Cook’s Illustrated in 1993. Jack directed the launch of Cook’s Country magazine in 2005 and the building of the company’s book publishing division. He is the tasting lab expert on America’s Test Kitchen and Cook’s Country from America’s Test Kitchen. Jack leads the creative teams working on the company’s television shows, magazines, books, websites, and online cooking school. Jack is the author of several cookbooks, including Vegetables Every Day and The Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook.

David Bonom (breakfast chef)

Author, Educator

If you love to cook or read about cooking, chances are good that you have seen David Bonom’s recipes in one of your favorite magazines. His work appears regularly in Rachael Ray Everyday, Cooking Light, Better Homes & Gardens, Fine Cooking, Relish, Prevention, Coastal Living, Health, Self, Weight Watchers, Eating Well and many, many others. David has also created recipes for over thirty books for Weber Grills (including over 100 recipes in the 2013 New York Times Bestselling “New Real Grilling”), Rodale (including the Flat Belly Diet! series), Oxmoor House, Weight Watchers International, Atkins (for which he was the Consulting Food Editor on two titles), The Virgin Diet Cookbook and The Sugar Impact Diet Cookbook.

In addition to publishing, David teaches home cooks at a variety of venues, including the Institute of Culinary Education, Lake Austin Spa in Texas and Woodloch Spa.

Corporations appreciate the combination of culinary artistry and insight into consumers’ tastes and needs David brings to product development, his accessible style and his strict adherence to delivery dates and deadlines. Meyer Corporation, (Anolon, Circulon, Farberware and other cookware), OXO (housewares), Driscoll’s Berries and other consumer food and food-related companies hire David to create products and recipes that highlight the best features of their products. David’s affable yet authoritative style engages and delights the public—and makes him an ideal broadcast, print and social media representative.

David graduated from the Institute of Culinary Education in 1993 and earned his prestigious CCP designation in 1998. He is married and has two children, two dogs, one cat and one beloved chef’s knife.

Heather Carlucci

Chef, industry consultant, writer and teacher.

Heather Carlucci is a chef, industry consultant, writer and teacher. As a pastry chef she received three 3 star reviews from the New York Times. Heather was the owner of the well received Lassi, her northern Indian restaurant in the West Village.

She now has a consulting company and teaches Ayurveda, the traditional Indian system of medicine.

Vaughan Cutillo

Founder, Montauk Brewing Company

Vaughan is a Montauk Local who, with two longtime friends, started Montauk Brewing Company in June 2012 after graduating college.  What started as a home brew operation has evolved to be NY State’s fastest growing craft brewery. Montauk beer is available in can and keg throughout Long Island, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx, Staten Island and Westchester.  Vaughan leads the marketing and sales team and is responsible for building and maintaining the Montauk brand identity.

Geoffrey Drummond

Executive Director, The Food Lab

Geoffrey Drummond is Executive Director of The Food Lab at SUNY Stony Brook/Southampton. He is a producer/director of culinary programs for television and digital media applications. Over a 40 year career in film and television, Geof was president of Saga Productions (producer of the cult classic My Dinner with Andre) and president of A La Carte Communications, where he produced and collaborated with Julia Child, helping to bring food and cooking television to generations of culinary fans. Geof also created/produced food series for TV starring Lidia Bastianich, Jacques Pépin, Martin Yan, The Frugal Gourmet, America’s Test Kitchen, Eric Ripert and numerous others. Geof is the recipient of ten National Emmy Awards and more than a dozen James Beard Awards. A graduate of Cornell University and (graduate school at) Stanford University, he is a member of the Smithsonian Institute Kitchen Cabinet, has served as a member of the City Harvest Food Council, and on the boards of the Yale-New Haven Children’s Hospital and the American Institute of Food and Wine.

Florence Fabricant

Author

Florence Fabricant is a food and wine writer for the New York Times. She contributes the weekly Front Burner and Off the Menu columns, is a member of the wine panel and writes the pairings column for the wine tastings. She frequently writes features that appear in the Dining section and also covers food and travel for the Sunday Travel section and articles about news in the restaurant industry for the Metro section. She has written 12 cookbooks, including The New York Times Dessert Cookbook (St. Martins Press), The New York Restaurant Cookbook (Rizzoli), The New York Times Seafood Cookbook (St. Martins Press), Venetian Taste (Abbeville Press), Park Avenue Potluck, and Park Avenue Potluck Celebrations, both fund-raisers for Memorial Sloan-Kettering, published by Rizzoli. Her most recent books are “Wine with Food” (Rizzoli), based on the New York Times pairings columns and written with Eric Asimov and “The City Harvest Cookbook” also published by Rizzoli.

A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Smith College, she has an M.A. in French from New York University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. She holds L’Ordre National du Mérite from the French government, is on the Board of Trustees of Guild Hall in East Hampton, N.Y., and is a member of Who’s Who of Food and Beverage in America. (New York, NY).

She and her husband, Richard, a lawyer, live in Manhattan and East Hampton, N.Y. They have two children and two grandchildren.

Julianne Feder

Founder, The GastroNerd

Julianne Feder is a culinary consultant, private chef and food writer . She graduated from Williams College, Phi Beta Kappa, Magna Cum Laude, with a Bachelors of Arts Degree in Religion, as well as from the International Culinary Center in New York with a Degree in Classic Culinary Arts. She has cooked throughout France, Italy and Spain and is heavily influenced by their culinary cultures.  Julianne has worked in many facets of the food industry: from specialty food sales in New York, farming & hospitality in Tuscany to cooking at a two Michelin Star restaurant and working as a private chef and culinary consultant. She regularly contributes to Thrillist, has a food blog, TheGastroNerd.Com and YouTube channel youtube.com/c/juliannefeder. Julianne speaks fluent French, Italian and Spanish. She has also competed on the Food Network’s Cooks vs. Cons and is a member of the Young Professional Board of CityMeals.

Bobby Flay

Chef, Restaurateur, Cookbook Author, and Media Personality

Bobby Flay is an award-winning chef, restaurateur, cookbook author, and media personality. He has opened scores of restaurants in New York City, Las Vegas, and beyond such as Mesa Grill, Bobby Flay Steak, Bar Americain and his newest, Gato. In addition to his fine dining restaurants, there are 17 outposts of his Fast Casual concept, Bobby’s Burger Palace.

He is the author of 13 best-selling cookbooks and has starred in 14 Food Network programs. Among his many distinctions are the 1993 James Beard Award for Rising Star Chef of the Year, his induction into the James Beard Foundation’s Who’s Who of Food and Beverage in America in 2007, 5 Daytime Emmy Awards for Boy Meets Grill, Grill It! with Bobby Flay, and Barbecue Addiction. In 2015, he was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the first chef ever to be awarded one.

Vicki Freeman

Cookshop, 100 Acres, Vic’s Café, Rosie’s NYC

Vicki Freeman is a native New Yorker and got her start in the industry in the 80s running a successful catering company in NYC before she opened her SoHo cafe, Vix where she met her future business partner and husband, chef Marc Meyer. Shortly after, they opened up Five Points in NoHo which over the course of 15 years grew to be an institution beloved by guests. Vicki and Marc followed up their success with with Cookshop in 2005, Hundred Acres in 2008, Vic’s in 2014 and Rosie’s in 2015

Pierre Friedrichs

Chef, Exec Slow Food East End

I grew up on Millbank Farms, an 80-acre farm outside of New Orleans that has been in my family for 135 years where we raised our own livestock, poultry and vegetables. From an early age, I could be found tending to vegetables with my grandfather.  Mornings my brother and I traded off the milking chores. Evenings were often spent on a stepstool at my grandmother or mother’s side at the stove.  Most of the food my family ate was raised at Mill Bank Farms — “we always knew who we were eating.”

Much of my career has been focused on food retailing — as a corporate caterer at Rockefeller Center, as a restaurant owner and front of house manager, and as an independent caterer and private chef. Today I am a chef, farmer and beekeeper– engaged in many aspects of local farming, food and community. The past seveal summers I have served as a private chef for summer families on the East End incorporating not only products from my own farm, but those from many local growers and purveyors on the East End as well. We are so fortunate to live in a region where we have an abundance of farmers, food producers, fishermen/women, and vintners etc.

I have been a member of Slow Food East End for seven years. The past 3 years I have also served as a leader of the group where I launched the Chefs to Schools Initiative and helped organize our annual fundraiser event for the Josh Levine Memorial Foundation as well as a variety of other events. For the past year, I have been privileged to serve as Vice Chair and was pleased to represent SFEE at Terra Madre, the global Slow Food event held in Turin Italy, where delegates from more than 150 countries meet at the most important international event dedicated to food and gastronomy.

I am excited to carry on the mission of Slow Food — expanding awareness of and appreciation for good, clean and fair food while bolstering consumers’ knowledge of the wonderful output of the farmers and producers of the East End.

Brian Halweil

Editor-in-Chief, Edible Brooklyn, Edible East End, Edible Long Island and Edible Manhattan magazines

Brian Halweil’s writing has focused on organic farming, biotechnology, hunger, rural communities and, most recently, foodtech. Before launching Edible magazines, Brian was the director of the food and agriculture program at the Worldwatch Institute. He is the author of Eat Here: Homegrown Pleasures in a Global Supermarket, as well as Nourishing the Planet, a meta-analysis of hunger-reducing innovations for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He lives in Sag Harbor, New York, where he and his family keep a home garden and orchard, and raise ducks and oysters. Brian received degrees in Earth Systems and Biology from Stanford University; as an undergrad, he founded the Stanford Student Farm. Brian serves on the board of Slow Money NYC,  Edible   Schoolyards of the East End, and Food Tank, and is an advisor to FeedFeed.

Louisa Hargrave

Co-founder and former owner, Hargrave Vineyard

Louisa Hargrave was co-founder of Long Island’s first commercial vineyard and winery, Hargrave Vineyard, in 1973. Since selling the business in 1999 she has published a memoir, The Vineyard (Viking, 2003), directed the Stony Brook University Center for Wine, Food, and Culture (2004-2009), worked as a wine judge, consultant, and columnist, and traveled widely in pursuit of fine wine, good tastes, and spontaneous laughter.

Nancy Wall Hopkins

Senior Deputy Food & Entertaining Editor
Better Homes & Gardens Magazine and Brand

Nancy Wall Hopkins has been the Food and Entertaining Editor for Better Homes and Gardens Magazine for nearly 20 years. She is responsible for all the food content in the magazine and website and oversees the creation of more than 350 recipes each year. Nancy is also a frequent judge for national cooking contests and a trend spotter at many trade shows. Nancy is a proven producer of the brand’s award-winning food and entertaining features and has made numerous TV appearances and speaking engagements on the topic of food and entertaining. She is originally from Tennessee and graduated with degrees in Food Science and Nutrition and Journalism from the University of Tennessee.

Daniel Lerner

Skurnik Wines

Daniel Lerner has worked as a wine director, consultant, and in wine sales in New York City and the East End for more than 30 years, currently for importer distributor Skurnik Wines & Spirits. He lives in New York City.

David Loewenberg

Co-Owner: The Beacon, The Bell & Anchor, Fresno

David Loewenberg is widely regarded as one of the East End’s top restaurateurs and is well respected by his peers. Bonnie Munshin, former general manager of Nick & Toni’s, describes him as having “the great host instinct” or “the restaurant gene” that makes him capable of “graceful, selfless, spontaneous contortions that divide successful restaurateurs from hobbyists.” Accomplished Long Island restaurateur, Tom Shaudel, says he is “on when he is off” and “the guy you would build to work the front of house.” Eric Ripert, chef owner of Le Bernadin in Manhattan, calls him “the busiest, hardest-working restaurateur” he knows with “an extremely peaceful and pleasant elegance so you don’t know he is working so hard.”

Loewenberg, a native of Manhattan, is co-owner of The Bell & Anchor and The Beacon, both located in Sag Harbor, NY, and of Fresno Restaurant in East Hampton, NY. To say that Loewenberg is an industry veteran is an understatement. Through the years, he held prominent positions at distinguished New York City restaurants. He played an integral role as general manager in the opening of Tatou, was manager of Barocco, and was an assistant manager during opening of the critically acclaimed Periyali. Prior to owning his own restaurants on the East End of Long Island, he embraced various roles at renowned establishments in the Hamptons, including Nick & Toni’s, The Honest Diner and 95 School Street, all of which helped elevate his level of expertise.

Loewenberg is a huge advocate of local farms and vineyards. Much of the menus at each restaurant are prepared with local products from companies such as Dock to Dish, Fairview Farm at Mecox and the Long Island Mushroom Company. The wine list is composed of vintages from various wineries, including Channing Daughters Winery, Paumanok Vineyards and Wölffer Estate Vineyard.

Outside of the restaurants, you can find him traveling through Europe, discovering new tastes and trends to incorporate to his restaurants.

Max Lugavere

Researcher, Author

Max Lugavere is a top expert in nutrition for cognitive health, performance, and longevity. He was motivated by his mothers memory loss to launch a film project called BREAD HEAD which is the first-ever documentary about dementia prevention through diet and lifestyle which sent him around the world to interview many of the top scientists in the field. Lugavere is a regularly-appearing brain health researcher on The Dr. Oz Show, and has a book being published on HarperCollins in 2018 which documents his findings on the power of food to optimize focus, productivity, mood, and long-term brain health. He is a regular speaker, most recently keynoting the Biohacker Summit in Stockholm, Sweden, and coaches top performers on ways to “hack” cognition for greater wellbeing and performance.

Kathleen A. Masters

Executive Director, Amagansett Food Institute

Kathleen A. Masters has been the Executive Director of the Amagansett Food Institute (AFI) since 2013. AFI is a non -profit organization which supports famers and food producers on the East end of Long Island, helping them to grow and sustain their food businesses. In 2014 AFI developed South Fork Kitchens a food business incubator and café operating on the campus of Stony Brook Southampton.

Prior to joining AFI she served as Executive Vice President and General Counsel to CAMBA, Inc., a multi-service non-profit agency. In that capacity, Ms. Masters oversaw a portfolio of programs relating to Workforce Development; Community Economic Development; Immigration and Refugee Services and Homelessness Prevention.  She also served as Executive Director of CAMBA Legal Services, Inc. which provides civil legal services.   Prior to joining CAMBA in 1993, Ms. Masters had a fifteen-year career as a poverty lawyer, culminating in a position as the Attorney in Charge of the Brooklyn Office of the Legal Aid Society Civil Division.  Ms. Masters is a member of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York where she served on its Committee on the Judiciary; she formerly served as a member of the Board of Directors of : Amber Waves Farm;  New York Immigration Coalition,  New York City Employment and Training Coalition (where she served as Chair for over 10 years)  and the Workforce Professionals Training Institute.   She is a graduate of SUNY at Buffalo and the Boston University School of law.

Leslie Merinoff

Founder, Matchbook Distillery

Leslie Merinoff wants you to truly experience flavor.  Growing up with a family in the food and beverage business gave her an early emersion into the sensory pleasures and the thrilling history of eating and drinking.  Leslie’s first “job” at the Amagansett CSA – Quail Hill Farm – taught her about the building blocks of flavor.  When Leslie turned 21, she started a ‘where/what/how to drink’ website/consulting business/events agency with now fiancé, Brian Kwasnieski, based in Burlington, VT.  With a focus on supporting local culture, Broke in Burlington rocked for 3+ years before Leslie took a job with family owned global spirits company, William Grant & Sons, managing brand strategy and it’s execution for Sailor Jerry Rum, as it closed in on annual sales of 1M cases.  After 2+ years with William Grant, she was itching to get back to her entrepreneurial, process oriented roots, and so she joined The Noble Experiment distillery in Brooklyn, NY.  Owned and operated by women dedicated to advancing this golden age of spirits, The Noble Experiment makes award winning, small batch Owney’s Rum.  After 2+ years helping founder Bridget Firtle take Owney’s Rum to the next level, Leslie is now heading into a challenge of her own making, as she launches her new distillery incubator, Matchbook Distilling Co.  Based on the North Fork  of Suffolk County in Greenport, NY,  Matchbook Distilling Co. will bring drinkers, brand owners, distillers and farmers closer together for better drinking.

Michel Nischan

Chef, Author and Food Equity Advocate
Founder & CEO, Wholesome Wave

Michel Nischan is a four-time James Beard Award winning chef with over 30 years of leadership advocating for a more healthful, sustainable food system. He is Founder and CEO of Wholesome Wave , Co-Founder of the James Beard Foundation’s Chefs Action Network , as well as Founder and Partner with the late actor Paul Newman of the former Dressing Room Restaurant. Nischan, whose parents were farmers, began his career at 19, cooking breakfast at a truck stop. He quickly realized that the ingredients coming in the back door fell far short of the farm-fresh harvests he’d grown up on, and began a life-long career championing the farm-to-table concept, decades before it had a name.

Nischan was instrumental in securing $100M for Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive (FINI) grants in the current Federal Farm Bill, expanding affordable access to locally grown fruits and vegetables. He’s also the author of three cookbooks on sustainable food systems and social equity through food. A lifetime Ashoka fellow , he serves as a director on the board of the Jacques Pepin Foundation and on the advisory boards of Chef’s Collaborative, Modern Farmer, TerraVia, Good Food Media Network, and The National Young Farmers Coalition. The James Beard Foundation honored Nischan as the 2015 Humanitarian of The Year.

Marge Perry

Writer

Marge is an award-winning writer who also broadcasts, teaches and speaks about food, nutrition, travel and cooking. She is the Contributing Health Editor for Rachael Ray Every Day, a long-standing Newsday columnist; health columnist for AllRecipes magazine, and Ask the Expert columnist for MyRecipes.com (written and video). She also writes for TheKitchn, Food Network, The New York Times, Fine Cooking, Eating Well, Better Homes & Gardens, Prevention, and Self. She is a frequent guest on television (including news segments, QVC, and a regular feature on News 12) and radio. Her blog, A Sweet and Savory Life, allows her to exercise the depth and breadth of her writing.

Marge is the recipient of the Folio award for Best Travel; in the same year she received the Best Essay award from the Association of Food Journalists.

In addition to Dinner Tonight, the cookbook based on her daily Newsday column, Marge has ghost and co-written about 20 other chef and celebrity food and nutrition books, including a number of New York Times best sellers. Marge is also a consumer trends junkie who mainlines survey results and reports between deadlines.
Marge teaches cooking and media classes at the Institute of Culinary Education and Food Writing at New York University. In addition to working directly with consumers, Marge’s extensive involvement with the food industry ranges from writing about cooking and nutrition, chefs, restaurants, growers, and producers; recipe development; restaurant reviewing; menu consulting; and teaching cooking and nutrition to ‘tweens in under-served neighborhoods.

Alex Prud’homme

Author, My Life in France

Alex Prud’homme has been a writer for almost thirty years. As a journalist he has covered a wide range of subjects – from biotech to terrorism, food, energy, the environment, art, business, and Monster Trucks — for The New York Times, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, and Time, among other publications.

He has written seven books, most notably as co-author of Julia Child’s memoir, My Life in France, which was a #1 NYT best-seller and inspired half the film “Julie & Julia.”

His 2011 book, The Ripple Effect: the Fate of Freshwater in the Twenty-First Century, was published by Scribner, and inspired Participant Media’s 2012 documentary film “Last Call at the Oasis.” A year later, he produced Hydrofracking: What Everyone Needs to Know for Oxford University Press.

Prud’homme’s latest book is The French Chef in America: Julia Child’s Second Act, about how Julia quit The French Chef and found her true voice in the tumultuous 1970s. Knopf published the book in Oct. 2016, and in Oct. 2017 Anchor/Vintage will publish the paperback.

Also in Oct 2017, Thames & Hudson will publish Our Lives in France: Paul and Julia Child’s Photographic Journey. A book of Paul Child’s evocative black-and-white images taken in Paris and Marseille, 1948-54. It is a companion to My Life in France, told from Paul’s perspective. The curator Katie Pratt edited the images, while Prud’homme wrote the text.

Prud’homme’s new project is a culinary history of the White House, to be published by Knopf. It will examine the central role food has played in American political history, from George Washington and his slave-chef Hercules to the Obamas and Trumps.

Alex Prud’homme lives with his family in Brooklyn, NY. For more information please see: www.alexprudhomme.com

Roman Roth

Winemaker & Partner

A gifted winemaker, Roman Roth can be heard singing in an enviable tenor voice amid the barrels in the winery. But most of all, he gives “voice” to his wines, produced by experience that bridges three continents and stems from the dream of a 16-year-old boy in Rottweil in Germany’s Black Forest.

Roman began a three-year apprenticeship at the Kaiserstuhl Wine Cooperative Oberrotweil while attending technical school. He traveled to the United States and worked at the Saintsbury Estate in California, then to New South Wales, Australia, at Rosemount Estate. Returning to Germany, he became a winemaker atWinzerkeller Wiesloch near Heidelberg and earned his Master Winemaker and Cellar Master Degree from the College for Oenology and Viticulture in Weinsberg.

In 1992, Roman became the first winemaker at Wölffer Estate Vineyard. He established the estate’s distinctive character—European elegance combined with the typicity of Long Island terroir. He has dedicated himself to promoting not only the wines of Wölffer Estate, but of Long Island, where he has consulted with numerous vineyards and is currently the President of the Long Island Wine Council.

Roman’s contribution to quality winemaking on Long Island was recognized at the 2003 East End Food & Wine Awards (judged by the American Sommelier Society), where he was named Winemaker of the Year. Recent honors include: Wine Enthusiast rated our Descencia Botrytis Riesling/Chardonnay 2015 with a spot on its “Top 100 Wines of 2016” list; our 2013 White Horse red collection all received 90 points and higher by Wine Advocate (including a 94+ for Christian’s Cuvee, making it the highest-rated wine in Long Island history); Wine Spectator selected Grapes of Roth Merlot 2010 for its “Top 100 Wines of 2015” list; Perle Chardonnay 2012 was served at the White House for President Barack Obama and Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany; and Diosa and Descencia 2012 dessert wines each earned 94 points in Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate.

Han Shan

Hudson Whiskey Ambassador

An autodidactic polymath, Han Shan will wax poetic on a plethora of subjects if you let him, especially if there’s good whiskey being poured.

Before turning his love of Hudson Whiskey into a vocation, Han traveled the world as an environmental andhuman rights campaigner, as well as an occasional film and video producer, painter, photographer, storyteller, and bon vivant.

Before landing in New York City, Han fronted a punk band in Baltimore, graduated from art school in Chicago, exhibited his paintings at the National Museum of American Art in Washington DC, and ran boot camps for youth activists from offices in Oakland and San Francisco.

He has interviewed gunlords in Northern Afghanistan, taught media strategy to young Tibetans in the Himalayan foothills of India, and helped indigenous groups map their ancestral territories in the Amazon. All the while, Han has had an abiding love for the history and enjoyment of fine spirits, and is renowned amongst rabble-rousers for convening creative conspiracies over craft cocktails.

A self-proclaimed whiskey nerd, Han has spent years exploring whiskey (and whisky), always coming back to classic American styles of bourbon and rye. For years before becoming the Hudson Whiskey Ambassador, he watched the trajectory of Tuthilltown Spirits and Hudson Whiskey with interest and admiration for its commitment to true craft, grain-to-glass production, starting with quality grain from local farmers.

Today, he is honored to travel the country extolling the virtues of Hudson Whiskey and celebrating the craft distilling renaissance that it helped spawn.

Han likely has a story for you—or a Hudson Old Fashioned, if he remembered his bottle of bitters—and he rarely misses an opportunity to keep folks up past their bedtimes over a dram of great whiskey.

Don’t hesitate to ask him if he has anything special in his hip flask.

Tanya Steel

Co-founder Michelle Obama’s Healthy Lunchtime Challenge & Kids State Dinner and Editorial Director of Clean Plates 

Tanya Steel is Editorial Director of Clean Plates. She’s also the Award Director for the Julia Child Award, a best-selling cookbook author, and conceiver of the Healthy Lunchtime Challenge & Kids’ “State Dinner” with First Lady Michelle Obama, an annual event for five years at the White House.

She’s the former Editorial Director of Epicurious, Gourmet Live, and Gourmet.com; was an editor at Bon Appetit and Food & Wine, and wrote for The New York Times for four years. She co-wrote the award-winning Real Food for Healthy Kids, and The New York Times’ bestseller, The Epicurious Cookbook. Her Food Fight: A History of Food for Kids, will be published by National Geographic Kids in 2018.

Inducted into the Digital Hall of Fame, she won a James Beard for Journalism, and with a talented team, won dozens of awards including Webbys, ASMEs, James Beards, and an Emmy. She’s the mom of twin boys.

Stephanie Strom

NY Times

Stephanie Strom has worked for The New York Times for 29 years — starting when she was 3. During her career, she has covered public transportation in New York, the retail business, Wall Street and finance, nonprofits and philanthropy, and served as a correspondent in Tokyo. She currently covers the food business at large, which takes her everywhere from the C Suite at Starbucks to pig farms in Iowa. Ms. Strom has a bachelor of arts degree from Northwestern University and a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University.

Ron Tanner

Vice President, Philanthropy, Government & Industry Relations for the Specialty Food Association

Ron Tanner is Vice President, Philanthropy, Government & Industry Relations for the Specialty Food Association, owner of the Fancy Food Shows®, and the publisher of Specialty Food Magazine. Ron has worked for the Specialty Food Association, and its 3,600+ members, since 1987.

The Specialty Food Association presents 40 educational programs each year. Ron has appeared on The Today Show, CNN and Food Network, and has been quoted in Newsweek, The New York Times, and Parade Magazine. He has an M.S. in Journalism from Columbia University in New York City, and a B.A. in English and Communications Studies from Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio. Ron lives in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Charissa LLC

Jeri Woodhouse

Jeri Woodhouse: Jeri Woodhouse is the owner of North Fork Specialty Kitchen and President of CHARISSA, LLC (a collaboration with Earl Fultz, founder of CHARISSA, in 2014). Her involvement with food spans 3 decades. Following a career in education she joined the board of World Hunger Year and helped the late singer-songwriter Harry Chapin develop the legislation for what is now The Presidential Commission on World Hunger. Together their efforts went on to launch The Food Policy Center in Washington, DC, Food Monitor Magazine and LI Cares Food Bank. As the co-founder of Center for Social Change she examined the impact of hunger and homelessness on families and worked in both government and governmental agencies in planning and public policy. Her research into health care practices in city jails led to the creation of Iris House, the first center for women and children living with HIV and Aids in the United States. Moving to eastern Long Island she became the executive director for a women’s shelter, chaired on the local planning board for farm and farmland preservation, and her interest in food led her to launch a successful brand, A Taste of the North Fork, in 2002. Recognized as a pioneer in the local food movement, Jeri produces specialty food products for a diverse group of clients including chefs, restaurant groups, farmers and winemakers. She has served on the board of the NYSSSFPA, is a leader of the East End Slow Food Chapter, and is an advocate for Edible School Garden and Chefs in schools. Ms. Woodhouse is a graduate of Queens College, CUNY, with a BA in English, and she received a MSW, with a concentration in public policy, from Adelphi University School of Social Work.

Hamptons Brine

Nadia Ernestus

Hamptons Brine is a Long Island-based producer of raw, organic, probiotic-rich sauerkraut and kvass. The owner, Nadia Ernestus, started the company in 2014. As a Certified Health Coach, she has been leading workshops on fermentation on the East End. The realization of the high demand and short supply of high-quality fermented foods on the market prompted her to start making her products available for sale. Hamptons Brine products are made the old-fashioned way, not cutting any corners. They don’t use any machinery or commercial slicers – everything is done by hand. The sauerkraut is then slowly fermented for a minimum of 28 days and cold-packed by hand. In addition, all production is done in the gluten-free room to ensure that the kraut doesn’t get contaminated with gluten and nuts. Hamptons Brine sauerkraut and kvass are never pasteurized or heat-processed in any way, ensuring that you get the widest spectrum of live beneficial bacteria. The products are sold in store on the East End, on the website www.hamptonsbrine.com and on Amazon.com. Hamptons Brine is the winner of the Edible East End 2015 Local Hero Award.

Kim’s Cookie Company

Kim Manowitz

…A “Jersey Girl” transplanted to Eastern Long Island over 20 years ago with a passion for artistic hand crafted delicious desserts has launched a new business in cooperation with the South Fork Kitchens at Southampton’s Stony Brook campus. Kim bakes an assortment of biscotti and whoopie pie cookies for local markets and online ordering.

Martine Abitbol

40 years of every day cooking and baking for clients and family,constantly inspired by memories of colors,smells,bright images of happy gatherings around gorgeous tables,all dressed up,overwhelmed by flowers,abundant varieties of delicious freshest food made by my Italian Grand-Mother,my Mother,my Aunts,just joy of sharing,tasting,eating, children,parents,friends,laughs…Love… This is what food is for me,where I was born and raised in Tunisia. Then Paris,and her ritual,organized,traditional recipes,her bakeries,food shops,amazing rich  crowded  Farmer’s Markets,prepared dishes,array of fresh seafood,cheeses,veggies,herbs. Paris,where so young at 18,I understood that Food is healing,The Medecine,and took macrobiotic classes with a Doctor who wanted to heal his cancer patients ,with just balanced food,as his Japanese Master.. Then Corsica,where my husband Jean-Marie Apparu,very talented young Chef,achieved his dream,when we took this Auberge,U Spuntinu,in the middle of a wild isolated countryside of Corsica,surrounded by mountains,torrents,berries bushes,where you could just seat and collect kilos of girolle mushrooms and bolets(portobellos)..Everything was about using what the Nature around us had to offer us,and transform it, preserve it as a treasure.I learned so much on Corsica Land,I tried so much,until I got to a satisfying result,I listened so much to the Old Corsican Ladies,about veal stews,fish soup ,wild boar,acacia flowers beignets,12 wild herbs pie,or soups,chesnut flour polenta cooked on a huge cast iron pot on the slow fire,chesnut leaves and fresh cheese tart…. The sheep and goat cheeses I learned to make at 5 in the morning with the shepherds, in these blessed hours of peace, just the bleats,baaa…. All those beauties served with pride to our clients,on our large communal wood tables,almost no menu,kind of the catch of the day,our charcuterie,made with love from our porks raised in the garden,roasted baby goat with garlic,sage,lemon,potatoes, lemon meringue pie… Everything we ate or served was coming from a near neighbor,meats,cheeses,wines, veggies..someone we could call by his first name….I could write for ever,but in a few words,my food is what Nature teaches me. When I arrived in NYC.with my 3 little children,I just tried to share what I learned in those countries I love,I was doing big dinners for friends(until they pushed me to open a Restaurant),gave samples of my 12 specialty breads line to all the Gourmet stores,Balducci made me the best bread of the year with my olive wholewheat loaf,Dean and Deluca and Fairways were my best clients too. It is with their recommendation letters that I got my Business Visa,then went to share our life between  Summers in Corsica,running my Le Poeme Restaurant,and winter in NYC.,running the US. sister on Prince street and Elizabeth for 13 years. I remember giving cooking classes then,taking my students in Central Park,to pick up wild herbs for the famous corsican herbs pie! Now 15 years in Long  Island,totally in love with it, because again,I can find food from the Earth.

South Fork Bakery

Shirley Ruch

South Fork Bakery’s purpose is to provide meaningful and supportive employment to South Fork residents with ADHD, Auditory Processing Disorders, Autism and Developmental Disabilities. Employees are immersed in all aspects of the business, including baking, packaging, sales, marketing, and business management. Proprietor, Shirley Ruch, has decades of experience supporting the special needs population and their families through her Speech/Language and Family Coaching Practice. She has designed South Fork Bakery to be a beacon encouraging the community to focus on every individual’s abilities. Enjoy these cookies with a cause! For More Information contact Shirley at Shirley@Southforkbakery.com or at 631-725-7166. Visit the website at southforkbakery.com.