food_lab_2018_speakers2018 Fall Food Lab Conference
Eat Global…Cook Local

September 14 & 15, 2018

Speakers:

Keynote: Pati Jinich
Colin Ambrose in Conversation with Biddle Duke


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Scheduled this year September 14 – 15, the Fourth Annual Food Lab Conference at Stony Brook Southampton will have a theme of “Eat Global … Cook Local.”

Diversity is a major topic in the U.S. and around the world: emigration, immigration, assimilation and acknowledgement, acceptance and celebration of the different threads that weave together to form our cultures and communities.

The ever-expanding food universe has now gone beyond Brillat Savarin’s dictate “you are what you eat” to explore and experience all manner of diversity, not only in how and what we cook, eat and drink but also how we nourish and care for ourselves and our bodies.

The 2018 Food Lab Conference gets underway on Friday, September 14, with an Opening Reception at the Literary Landmark Windmill on the Southampton campus from 6:30 to 8 p.m. with cocktails and passed hors d’oeuvres and  welcome remarks from Robert Reeves, Associate Provost, Creative Arts, and Geoffrey Drummond, Food Lab Executive Director.

Cultural Ambassador of the Shinnecock Nation Shane Weeks will offer a blessing and a song before Slow Food New York State governor and Slow Food East End board member Laura Luciano offers a talk on “Eat Global…Cook Local: Nourishing Community and Understanding Through ‘Slow’ Food.”

For this year’s Conference, the Food Lab has gathered together an amazing group of speakers from television, food writing, wellness and nutrition.  Pati Jinich — a James Beard Award winner and nominated for Emmys for Outstanding Culinary Personality and Outstanding Series for “Pati’s Mexican Table” — will keynote the Conference on Saturday after lunch.

On Saturday morning, another keynote speaker, Colin Ambrose — chef and owner of Estia’s Little Kitchen in Sag Harbor, former chef at Old Stove Pub Greek Restaurant in Wainscott, fisherman and host of “American River Tours” — will talk with Biddle Duke, journalist, writer and founding editor of EAST magazine.

Panels include Florence Fabricant — NY Times food and culinary journalist, cookbook author and host of the Guild Hall in East Hampton series “Stirring the Pot” — joining in conversation with Lisa Gross and Sonya Kharas, the founders of League of Kitchens.

Epitomizing the “Eat Global … Cook Local” theme of this year’s Conference, League of Kitchens offers immersive culinary adventures in New York City, in which immigrants teach intimate cooking workshops in their homes, and participants encounter a new culture, cuisine, and neighborhood with every experience.

Other speakers and panelists at the Conference include Dr. Frank Lipman MD, an integrative medicine coach, health expert, celebrity doctor and best-selling author of “The New Health Rules” and “How To Be Well.” A pioneer in both integrative and functional medicine, Dr. Lipman is the founder and director of Eleven Eleven Wellness Center in NYC and the creator of Be Well Health and Wellness (www.bewell.com).

Also participating will be Seamus Mullen, an award-winning chef, restaurateur and cookbook author who has become a leading authority on health and wellness. Mullen’s New York City restaurant, Tertulia, was a finalist for the James Beard Foundation Award for Best New Restaurant, and he is the author of the books “Hero Food” and “Real Food Heals.”

The evocative titles of this year’s Conference panels tell the story: “Nourishing Diversity: Our Social, Emotional and Spiritual Relationships with Food”; “Nutrition + Health: Old Ways, New Science”; “Local Food — Really??”; and “Diversity in the Bottle,” to name a few.

On Saturday evening, the Food Lab Conference will be capped with this year’s version of the traditional dinner: “One Long Table,” a wine, beer and spirits tasting/small plates buffet featuring dishes from League of Kitchens and Carolina Santos-Neves, coordinated by Santos-Neves and Kate Fullum, Executive Director of the Amagansett Food Institute.

Cooking Demonstration of Greek Classics Friday, September 14

On Friday, September 14, just prior to the start of this year’s Food Lab Conference at Stony Brook Southampton, a separate, special Cooking Demonstration on “Greek Classics Updated by Chef Nicholas Poulmentis” will be offered in the South Fork Kitchens space of the Amagansett Food Institute at the Southampton campus. Led by Poulmentis — the chef at Akrotiri in Astoria, New York, and a champion on the Food Network’s “Chopped” program — the demonstration will be offered from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m.

Guests in the kitchen to share conversation, culinary and cultural context, and tips on technique will include Chrisa Arcan, Assistant Professor of Nutrition at Stony Brook Health Science Center and a passionate advocate of the health benefits (and an avid cook) of the Mediterranean diet.

The demonstration will be videotaped so that it can be screened for Conference attendees.

The cost for the cooking demonstration is $50; and space is limited. For more information, visit www.TheFoodLab.org.

Lidia Bastianich, who was originally scheduled to speak at the Conference, will be unable to attend due to family issues in Italy. As a token of her sincere apologies to fans and attendees who hoped to meet her, she has offered the first 50 people who register a free signed copy of her book, “My American Dream: A Life of Love, Family and Food.”

Tickets for the 2018 Food Lab Conference are $150, or $100 for those who register by August 30. Tickets and more information available at www.TheFoodLab.org.

ATTENDING THE CONFERENCE

Attendance at the Conference is limited to 250-300 people.  
Registration is through this website, www.thefoodlab.org 

The full Conference is generally attended by people from the Metro-NYC area and the East End of Long Island, many of whom drive to the conference for the day’s events. Ample parking is provided at no charge. Accommodations are available for those people choosing to stay in Southampton. Just about all who attend are passionate about food, and genuinely interested in learning from, meeting and talking with top caliber professionals, writers, health and nutrition experts, chefs and media celebrities in the food and beverage industries.

Along with media covering the event, a cohort of social media influencers will be invited as guests to post about all that happens at the Conference.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

PATI JINICH

Pati JinichBorn and raised in Mexico City, Pati Jinich is the host of the Imagen Award winning and Emmy, James Beard and IACP nominated PBS Television series PATI’S MEXICAN TABLE, going on its seventh season. Pati is also resident chef at the Mexican Cultural Institute in Washington D.C. and author of two cookbooks, Pati’s Mexican Table: The Secrets of Real Mexican Home Cooking and Mexican Today: New and Rediscovered Recipes for the Contemporary Kitchen.

A former political analyst focused on Mexican political institutions and US-Mexico relations at the Inter-American Dialogue, Pati switched policy papers for cooking pots to make exploring and sharing Mexico’s cuisine her life’s work.

In April 2017, the Council of the Americas and Americas Quarterly named Pati one of the Top 5 Border Ambassadors who have performed outstanding work bringing the United States and Mexico closer together.

Pati is a regular guest on NBC’s The Today Show, CBS’s The Talk, ABC’s The Chew, and Good Morning America, NPR’s All Things Considered and The Splendid Table, and Univision’s Despierta America.

Pati has resided in the Washington, D.C. area for the past 17 years, where she and her husband are raising their three Mexican-American boys.

Visit Pati’s website www.patijinich.com


COLIN AMBROSE

colin_ambroseheadshot

A little over 25 years ago, Colin Ambrose purchased a sleepy coffee shop in Amagansett NY called Estia and his second career as “restaurateur” began. With a longtime interest in cooking and gardening, Mr. Ambrose quickly established a friendship with Scott Chaskey and in 1992 became a member at the Peconic Land Trust’s Quail Hill Farm, Long Island’s first Community Supported Agriculture farm. With Mr. Chaskey’s help and guidance, Chef Colin’s team developed a 2-acre garden that provided a source of fresh local ingredients for Estia’s Mexican themed foods for 16 years.

Today, a similar but smaller version grows just behind the back door of Estia’s Little Kitchen in Sag Harbor, where Colin continues as chef and owner. His restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner with a casual, friendly approach, sourcing products from his garden and as regularly as possible from farmers and fishermen who are his friends. Chef Colin has recently embarked on a new video project “in his spare time,” hosting other chef-flyfishers in explorations of local rivers and cuisines across America. Share in the adventures and discover new recipes at americanriverstour.com

PANELISTS

Dr. Chrisa Arcan

Dr. Chrisa Arcan is an Assistant Professor and a Registered Dietician (RD) in the Nutrition Division, Medical School at Stony Brook University. Chrisa’s research focuses on understanding lifestyle factors such as diet and exercise as well as the food environment that contribute to chronic diseases.
Chrisa has a passion in culinary nutrition and has a strong understanding of the ecological approach to disease management and health disparities. She has conducted numerous studies including culturally tailored nutrition interventions among African American, Native American, Latino, Somali and Hmong populations in various settings, such as food stores, schools, clinics, and communities. Chrisa uses a multi-level approach to disease prevention through close partnerships with community organizations serving ethnic communities and local organizations following the principles of community based participatory research (CBPR) approach. Chrisa received her Doctoral degree in public health nutrition and her dietetics certificate from the University of Minnesota, School of Public Health and her Master in Public Health (Global Health) from Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. She is currently completing a certification course in Integrative and Functional Nutrition.


Katie Baldwin

Katie Baldwin is the co-founder, with Amanda Merrow, of Amber Waves Farm in Amagansett, New York. The pair have been farming together on the east end of Long Island since 2008 when they met during a season-long farming apprenticeship and decided to follow their passion for good food and hard work by founding Amber Waves. Now in its tenth season, Amber Waves specializes in a 175 member CSA, farmers markets, and sales of specialty vegetables to some of the Hamptons’ most popular restaurants and their popular on-site retail market in the iconic Amagansett Farmers Market building. The farm is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit educational farm that is open to the public every day and regularly welcomes families, school groups, and passers by to enjoy all the fields have to offer. Amanda and Katie are part of the national movement of young people committed to revitalizing America’s food system by helping people become empowered and excited to make thoughtful food choices through a deeper connection to their food and the people who grow it. They have been featured on the Food Network’s Barefoot Contessa, ABC’s The ChewThe New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, NPR, and many local publications for their work at Amber Waves Farm. They frequently speak at regional workshops and conferences geared towards organic growers and consumers.


Kerry Brodie

Kerry Brodie is the founder and executive director of Emma’s Torch. Emma’s Torch is a non profit restaurant in Brooklyn that provides culinary training and job placement services to refugees, asylees, and survivors of human trafficking. Prior to founding Emma’s Torch, Kerry worked in public policy, most recently as the Global Press Secretary of the Human Rights Campaign. Kerry is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education, where she won the Wusthof Award for Leadership. She holds a Masters in Government from Johns Hopkins University and a Bachelors in Near Eastern Studies from Princeton University.


Dr. Shawn Cannon D.O., FACOI

Dr. Shawn Cannon D.O., FACOI is the Chief Academic Officer, Stony Brook Southampton Hospital. He studied medicine at the University Hospital for the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center in the City of New York. At Montefiore, he served as chief resident in the Department of Social Internal Medicine. He is a board certified osteopathic internist with sub-specialty boards in Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Dr. Cannon is currently studying at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec in the International Master’s for Health Leadership (IMHL). He founded the Residency Program in Social Medicine at Southampton Hospital to ensure medial students and residents were being educated in the fields of medicine that are acutely affecting citizens of the United States, specifically Addiction Medicine and Palliative Care, which are often given minimal attention in U.S. medical schools.


Scott Chaskey

Scott Chaskey is a poet, farmer, and an educator. Since 1990 he has farmed garlic, potatoes, greens (and fifty other crops) for the Peconic Land Trust at Quail Hill Farm, one of the original Community Supported Agriculture farms in the country.  He is past president of the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York, and was named Farmer of the Year in 2013. He is the author of “Stars are Suns” (poetry), and the editor of “Free Concert,” his teacher Milton Kessler’s last collection.  In 2005 Viking/Penguin published his memoir, “This Common Ground,” to critical acclaim, and Rodale published “Seedtime, On the History, Husbandry, Politics, and Promise of Seeds” in January, 2014. He is presently writing a book about the sculptor, William King.


Dr. Shawn Cannon D.O.

Dr. Shawn Cannon D.O., FACOI is the Chief Academic Officer, Stony Brook Southampton Hospital. He studied medicine at the University Hospital for the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center in the City of New York. At Montefiore, he served as chief resident in the Department of Social Internal Medicine. He is a board certified osteopathic internist with sub-specialty boards in Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Dr. Cannon is currently studying at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec in the International Master’s for Health Leadership (IMHL). He founded the Residency Program in Social Medicine at Southampton Hospital to ensure medial students and residents were being educated in the fields of medicine that are acutely affecting citizens of the United States, specifically Addiction Medicine and Palliative Care, which are often given minimal attention in U.S. medical schools.


Laura Donnelly

Laura Donnelly was a researcher for NPR and NBC News for 20 years before becoming a pastry chef. She has contributed recipes to Sheila Lukins and Ina Garten’s cookbooks. She is the food editor and restaurant reviewer for the East Hampton Star.


Geoffrey Drummond

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.


Biddle Duke

Biddle Duke is a journalist because I see the profession and the business as a public service and a linchpin of democracy. His career as an editor, writer, and media company executive spans four states (New York, New Mexico, South Carolina, and Vermont), where he worked for newspaper companies, and Argentina, where he was the editor in the mid 90s of the English-language daily, The Buenos Aires Herald. In 1998 I became the publisher of the weekly in Stowe, and since then expanded the company to five weeklies and two magazines. Duke’s core passion is story telling and advocacy, and in 2016, with the owners of the weekly East Hampton Star, he launched EAST magazine, who’s mission is to celebrate the soul — history, environment, culture, art, grounded people — of the South Fork of Long Island. Biddle Duke is also a community organizer in Vermont (having organized speakers’ series and huge political campaign events) and Long Island and a freelance writer for various publications.


Florence Fabricant

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.


Paula Gilovich

Paula is the Story Consultant for The Assemblage in NYC, where she teaches public speaking, storytelling and writing workshops, aids in the curation and moderation of events, and consults with members on their brands. She also serves as Head of Communications for The Alchemist’s Kitchen. Paula was formerly the Program Producer for the Deepak Chopra Homebase at ABC Home in NYC.


María Rivero González

“I was born in Monterrey, but Parras is my hometown”. María Rivero González was born in 1983 in a working family. She has a bachelor´s degree in International Relations from the Tecnológico de Monterrey. In 1998 she discovered her true vocation, year in which her family planted the first vineyard in the Valley of Parras, Coahuila.

She has been the CEO of Bodega Rivero González since 2007. In 2010 she started her education at the International Wine Center in New York City, where she obtained her advanced diploma from the WSET as a sommelier. That same year she enrolled in the French Culinary Institute where she specialized in wine pairing.

In addition to managing Rivero González, Maria has important functions in different Mexican associations, such as being the Director of Marketing and Image of Consejo Vitivinícola de Coahuila, President of the Board of GFM Philanthropy among other boards where she is a member.

Recently her family acquired Martha Clara Vineyards where she is now CEO. She has been in the North Fork for the past 6 months and plans on staying for a few more summers here.


Lisa Gross

Lisa Gross is the founder/CEO of the League of Kitchens–a unique cooking school in NYC (and soon to be LA) where immigrants teach intimate cooking workshops in their homes, and participants encounter a new culture, cuisine, and neighborhood with every experience. The League of Kitchens has been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Oprah Magazine, the Chew, Saveur, and The Splendid Table, among others. Conde Nast Traveler called the League of Kitchens “quite possibly the coolest foodie thing to do in NYC whether you’re a visitor or local.” As the daughter of a Korean immigrant and a Jewish New Yorker, Lisa was raised on one grandmother’s denjang-guk and the other’s matzoh ball soup. The League of Kitchens is borne out of her passion for New York City, her love of cooking, and her connection to the immigrant experience. Lisa’s projects as an artist, educator, and social entrepreneur create opportunities for learning, connection, and multi-sensory engagement. She received her MFA in participatory public art from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts/Tufts University and has a B.A. from Yale University. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two daughters.


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.


Sonya Kharas

Sonya Kharas is the Program Manager for the League of Kitchens. She brings to the organization her personal experience as the daughter of a Parsi immigrant and a Jewish New Yorker, a love of cooking for friends and family, and a commitment to celebrating diversity and inclusivity in New York City. Prior to joining the League of Kitchens, Sonya managed the farm-to-food pantry program at Just Food and worked more broadly to make sure that good, healthy, culturally appropriate food is affordable and accessible to all. She received her MA in Food Studies from New York University and has a BA in Art History from Wesleyan University.


Dr. Frank Lipman

Dr. Frank Lipman, a pioneer in both integrative and functional medicine, is the founder and director of Eleven Eleven Wellness Center in New York City, a New York Times best-selling author and the creator of Be Well, a lifestyle brand which offers premium supplements, cleanse programs and personalized health coaching to help people achieve genuine and sustainable life changes. A leading international speaker in Health and Wellness, he has been featured in all the top magazines and profiled in many too, including the New York Times, New York Magazine and O, the Oprah Magazine, and has appeared on TV shows like the Today Show, Extra and Dr Oz. For more information, please visit www.bewell.com


Laura Luciano

Laura Luciano is a Board Member of Slow Food East End, and since 2017 has been Slow Food Governor for New York State, where she oversees all regional chapters and shares her unwavering passion for biodiversity, food sovereignty, and coveting culinary traditions.

Laura lives in Hampton Bays in a house she and her architect husband designed.   The “green” house has a rooftop garden filled with heirlooms and Ark of taste varieties, where she hosts potlucks and dinner parties for people to come together to talk and enjoy amazing food and drink and share inspiration in a great space.

Laura’s blog — Out East Foodie — shares the edible stories of the North and South forks of Long Island. She contributes to Edible East End and Edible Long Island Magazines for her What’s in Season column, and is one of the founders and coordinator for the Long Island Cheese Pumpkin Project, a squash that is on the Ark of Taste.


Kareem Massoud

Kareem Massoud has been actively involved in his family’s wine making business — Paumanok Vineyards in Aquebogue NY — since its inception. and he has been working full time at Paumanok for the last 20 years. Kareem is a second generation winemaker, having learned the trade under his father’s (Charles Massoud) tutelage. His international travels to South Africa, Germany, France, New Zealand and Chile have given him a wide range of experience in the art of wine making.
Paumanok has been recognized with numerous accolades over the years including wine service at The White House, Wine Spectator’s Critic’s Choice Award, NY Wine & Food Classic’s “Winery of the Year” Award and a nomination for Wine Enthusiast’s “American Winery of the Year”.


Leslie Merinoff

Leslie Merinoff Kwasnieski has a decade plus of experience in the Spirits world. She, along with her husband Brian, is the founder of Matchbook Distilling Co., the worlds first bespoke distillery incubator specializing in spirits that prioritize science, tradition, agriculture and anthropology. Leslie is also a partner at The Lin Beach House, a boutique guest house in Greenport, which is home to Days Like These cocktail bar — a partnership with her Matchbook team. When Leslie isn’t focused on making watermelon eau-de-vie, consulting with startups on brand strategy, or behind the bar at Days Like These, she can be found working for the Brownsville Community Culinary Center, a year long culinary arts program located in East Brooklyn. She also makes time for brands close to her heart, like Empirical Spirits out of Copenhagen and Chinola, a passion fruit liqueur.


Mohammad Modarres

Mohammad Modarres is a 2018 TED Resident and the founder of Interfaith Ventures a nonprofit incubator that creates products and programs that promote interfaith unity and dialogue.

Its flagship product is Abe’s Meats (AbesMeats.com), an award-winning social impact organization that has produced the first-ever “Interfaith Meat” products that are both Zabihah Halal and Glatt Kosher at the same time. Sourced from ranchers who practice regenerative agriculture, these high-quality meats have premiered at their “Shabbat Salaam” interfaith dinners across the country—from San Francisco to New York’s Times Square. Its combined production process helps food businesses save time, money, inventory space, and food waste, while making religious foods more accessible. Abe’s Meats has won awards from TED, Columbia University, Center for Social Impact Strategy, Singularity University, Founder’s Institute, Social Enterprise Alliance, and others.


Seamus Mullen

Award-winning chef, restaurateur and cookbook author Seamus Mullen has become a leading authority on health and wellness. Mullen, a finalist for the James Beard Foundation Award for Best New Restaurant, opened his first solo restaurant, Tertulia, in Manhattan in 2011 and in 2013, opened El Colmado at Gotham West Market. He was a competitive cyclist and in 2007, was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disease that forced him to rethink his relationship with food, which led to his first cookbook Hero Food followed by Real Food Heals.


Dee Muma

Dee Muma is the owner of North Quarter and Centerville Farms ( raising bison and longhorn cattle) in Riverhead, LI. She is co-founder of Tweeds Restaurant, and chef/owner Dark Horse Restaurant.


Nicholas Poulmentis

Nicholas Poulmentis is the Executive Chef of Astoria’s Greek neighborhood eatery, Akrotiri Seafood Taverna. Poulmentis hails from the Greek island of Kythria, where he owns the Cengo Hotel Academy and Cengo restaurant. With more than 20 years of restaurant experience with Mediterranean-style cuisine, Nicholas started cooking in his native Greece, studied at the S.T.E. Anavyssos (the leading culinary school in Greece) and at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. In addition, Chef Nicholas was a guest chef at the White House (2013 and 2015), instructed at FED CUP culinary school, and hosted the New Greek TV’s show, “Greek Kitchen.” Most recently, Poulmentis was a winner of the Food Network’s cooking competition “Chopped”.


Carolina Santos-Neves

Carolina Santos-Neves is a Brazilian-American chef, writer, brand ambassador and food consultant. After graduating from Brown University with a B.A. in post-1800s European history, she worked as an editor at Epicurious for 5 years and then, after attending the Chef’s Training Program at the Natural Gourmet Institute, entered the restaurant world as the chef de cuisine at Comodo in 2012. Based in NYC, Caro had the good fortune of living in countries such as Switzerland, Brazil, Mexico, Canada, Russia and Portugal. No matter where she lived, however, the one constant has always been her love of all things food, exploring all the nuances of taste, smell and, well, eating & cooking. Carolina is presently working on several projects that focus on community development, activism, healthy eating, and communication.


Josephine Smith

Josephine Smith is an enrolled member of the Shinnecock Nation and resides on the Shinnecock Territory located near Southampton,NY with her family. She is the daughter of Eva Kellis of Shinnecock and Joseph Smith, granddaughter of Marguerite Lee and David Kellis. She is the mother of four and grandmother of eight. Josephine is the Director of the Shinnecock Nation Cultural Resources Department and is the culture and language instructor for the Shinnecock Indian Education Program. She is a former educator at the Shinnecock Nation Cultural Center and Museum and has taught and been the supervisor for cultural enrichment classes on the Shinnecock Reservation for many years. As the owner/ operator of “Hands of Tradition” a Native American business specializing in handmade regalia and accessories, jewelry, crafts and cultural presentations, and native foods Josephine’s skills are known on Long Island and throughout the northeast. Josephine has a love of cooking having grown up learning from family members. She has developed or modified recipes to be tasty and healthier by using traditional ingredients. Josephine has shared her craft and knowledge as a vendor and presenter at powwows, schools, libraries, museums, and other institutions for over 40 years.

”Our culture will never die, as long as one person remembers, as long as one person teaches, as long as one person continues living our traditions.”

Josephine is happy and humbled that her children continue the tradition as spiritual people who along with their professions are dancers, singers, artists, paddlers, teachers, and mentors and who share a love for sharing good food.


Ron Tanner

Ron Tanner is the Specialty Food Association’s Vice President of Philanthropy, Government and Industry Relations. The Specialty Food Association is membership-based trade association in the United States representing approximately 3,500 businesses. The Association is a not-for-profit organization whose members are specialty food artisans, purveyors, importers and entrepreneurs, as well as distributors, retailers, and others involved in the specialty food trade. Overall specialty food sales in the U.S. totaled over $120 billion in 2015. The Association owns and produces the Winter and Summer Fancy Food Shows, and presents the sofi Awards honoring excellence in specialty food.


Shane Weeks

Shane Weeks is a member of the Shinnecock Nation in Southampton where he resides. He is a member of the Southampton Town Arts and Culture Committee, Watermill Center Fellowship Committee, Shinnecock Nation Natural Resource Committee, and the Shinnecock Nation Cultural Committee. Shane is an artist, traditional dancer, traditional drummer, hunter and fisherman. Working on a fishing boat in the summer months, he also works for Wampum Magic on the Poospatuck reservation in Mastic year round making wampum beads out of quohog clam shells. Shane gives presentations on Shinnecock life, history, and culture around the U.S. “One of my biggest goals is to bridge the awareness gap between my own community of Shinnecock and the local communities as well as global communities.”


Amy Zavatto

Shelter Island native Amy Zavatto is the author of 6 books on the topic of wines and spirits and earned the Level III certification in Wine & Spirits from the Wine & Spirits Education Trust. She is the former Executive Director of the Long Island Merlot Alliance, has visited and studied wineries, distilleries, and breweries all around the globe. Amy is a Contributing Editor to Imbibe magazine, and her work appears regularly in Wine Enthusiast, Shape, Liquor.com, Men’s Journal, Beverage Media, and many others.

Food Lab Conference

@ SUNY Stony Brook Southampton   –   September 14/15, 2018

Diversity is a major topic in the US, and around the world:  Emigration, Immigration, Assimilation and Acknowledgement, Acceptance and Celebration of all the different threads that weave together to form our cultures and communities.

On Long Island, we have a breadth of people from around the world, along with a food culture that mirrors it.  Our Conference this year will do the same.

Eat Global…Cook Local

Key Speakers:

Pati Jinich

Pati Jinich

Colin Ambrose

Colin Ambrose

Friday September 14 

2:30-4:30PM

Cooking Class Greek Classics “Updated”  with  Chef Nicholas Poulmentis

Chef @ AKROTIRI, Astoria NY  Winner Food network “Chopped”, with Chrisa Arcan, Asst Prof  Dept of Nutrition, Stony Brook University

Separate Advance Registration Required – see “Cooking Class”

cooking_class


6:30 – 8:00PM

Friday Opening Reception:

@ The Windmill
Cocktails and passed hors d’oeuvres

Welcome remarks:

Robert Reeves – Associate Provost, Creative Arts
Geoffrey Drummond – Executive Director, Food Lab

Opening:  Shane Weeks, Cultural Ambassador Shinnecock Nation

“I will open the evening with a blessing to the four directions. This is a simple gesture towards each direction accompanied with good intention. This gesture will be followed by a song sung by myself in my traditional Shinnecock language. The words of the song are “Tabutne Gitche Manido” meaning “thank you great creator” thanking the creator for this day and in blessing for all of those who are able to be present as well as those that could not. I will be dressed in a traditional regalia specific to the northeastern part of the country including my people, the Shinnecock Nation.”

Talk:  Laura Luciano – Slow Food New York State Governor, Slow Food East End Board Member,  “Eat Global…Cook Local: Nourishing Community and Understanding Through “Slow” Food”

Saturday September 15

Sessions:

9:15 – 9:30

Geoffrey Drummond:  Conference Welcome 


9:30 -10:00AM

Speakers:

Colin Ambrose and Biddle Duke: in Conversation

Chef/Proprietor  Estia’s Little Kitchen, Sag Harbor
Host,  American Rivers Tour

Biddle Duke – Writer, Journalist, Founding Editor, EAST Magazine 


10:15-11:15

Panel:  Nourishing Diversity: Our Social, Emotional and Spiritual Relationships with Food

MODERATOR: Paula Gilovich, Head of Communications, The Alchemist’s Kitchen, former Director of Programming Deepak Chopra Homebase
Ron Tanner
 –
EVP Specialty Food Association
Mohammad Modarres, MSc 
 – Founder, Interfaith Ventures, Abe’s Meats
Carolina Santos-Neves – Chef, Writer, Brand Ambassador
Nicholas Poulmentis – Chef, Akrotiri Taverna, Astoria NY
Josephine Smith – Director, Cultural Resources, Shinnecock Nation


11:15-12:30

Panel:  Nutrition + Health: Old Ways, New Science

MODERATOR:  Dr Chrisa Arcan PhD, RD – Stony Brook University
Frank Lipman MD – Physician, Author, Founder Eleven Eleven Wellness Center
Shawn Cannon D.O. – Chief Academic Officer and Dir of Medical Education, Stony Brook Southampton Hospital
Seamus Mullen – James Beard Award Winning Chef, Author “Real Food Heals”


12:30-2:00PM

LUNCH, Networking, Sponsor Showcase


2:00 -2:45

Keynote Speaker:  Pati Jinich 

James Beard Award winning and Emmy nominated host of PBS “Pati’s Mexican Table”


3:00-3:45PM

A Conversation about the “League of Kitchens” and “Emma’s Torch

Florence Fabricant NY Times Food Journalist, Host of Guild Hall’s ‘Stirring the Pot’
Lisa Gross and Sonya Kharas – Founders, League of Kitchens
Kerry Brodie – Founder, Emma’s Torch

Florence Fabricant

Florence Fabricant

Lisa Gross

Lisa Gross

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Sonya Kharas

4:00-4:45PM

Panel:  Local Food — Really??

MODERATOR  Laura Donnelly – Food Editor, East Hampton Star
Katie Baldwin  – Owner/Farmer  Amber Waves
Scott Chaskey  –  Farmer, Founder and Director, Quail Hill Farm
Asa Gosman – Fisherman, Fish Monger, Gosman’s Montauk NY
Dee Muma – Owner, North Quarter and Centerville Bison and Long Horn Cattle Farms, Restaurateur and Chef Dark Horse Restaurant and Tweed’s, Riverhead LI
Brian Halweil – Editor-in-Chief Edible East End, Long Island Brooklyn, Manhattan    


4:45-5:30PM

Panel:  Diversity in the Bottle

MODERATOR  Amy Zavatto – Food, wine, spirits writer
Maria Rivera Gonzales – Proprietor Martha Clara Vineyard
Leslie Merinoff – Founder,  Matchbook Distillery
Kareem Massoud – Partner, Paumanok Vineyard


5:30-8:00 PM

ONE LONG TABLE: Wine, Beer and Spirits Tasting/Small Plate Buffet

With dishes from League of Kitchens and Carolina Neves-Santos
Coordinated with Chef Carolina Neves-Santos and Kate Fullum, Exec.Dir. AFI

On Friday, September 14, prior to the start of this year’s Food Lab Conference, a separate special Cooking Class/Demonstration on “Greek Classics “Updated” by Chef Nicholas Poulmentis” will be offered in the South Fork Kitchens space of the Amagansett Food Institute at the Stony Brook Southampton campus. Led by Poulmentis — the chef at Akrotiri in Astoria, New York, and a champion on the Food Network’s “Chopped” program — the demonstration and hands-on class will be offered from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m.

In the kitchen to share conversation, background, and tips on technique will be Lisa Gross and Sonya Kharas, founders of League of Kitchens, and Chrisa Arcan, Assistant Professor of Nutrition at Stony Brook Health Science Center and a passionate advocate of the health benefits (and an avid cook) of the Mediterranean diet.

The cost is $50; and space is limited. Tickets for this class are available separately from the general conference tickets below.

cooking_class

EAT…EAT…AND DRINK

On Friday evening, September 14, the Food Lab, in collaboration with Amagansett Food Institute, will host a VIP reception at the iconic campus “Windmill” for registered Ticket Holders, University and local Political Leaders, Speakers and Panelists, Sponsors and Underwriters, and Key Media.

Along with our opening keynote speaker, guests will have an opportunity to meet and talk with each other in a collegial atmosphere, as they eat and drink from the bounty of the region.  Food will be prepared under the supervision of the Chef of Amagansett Food Institute. As possible, producers of the foods and drinks will be present to share with the guests.

At the conclusion of the sessions on Saturday, September 15, attendees will be treated to a Grand Tasting of Wines, Beers and Spirits – all locally crafted – and One Long Table of Global Small Plates, prepared under the supervision of Chef Carolina Santos Neves with League of Kitchens and Amagansett Food Institute.

SPONSORSHIP

We’re delighted to have Anolon as a major sponsor of our Fourth Annual Food Lab Conference on Friday & Saturday, September 14th & 15th – and now ticket buyers have a chance to win their extraordinary cookware!

Register between August 17th and August 24th for a chance to win: NEW Anolon Advanced Tri Ply 10 Piece Set in Onyx (Value $300). This pro-style clad stainless steel cookware is designed for optimum heat conductivity and distribution. The 10 Piece Set includes 1.5 Qt. & 2 Qt. Covered Saucepans, an 8 Qt. Covered Stockpot, 8.5” & 10.25” French Skillets, and a 3 Qt. Covered Saute.

Register between August 25th and September 1st for a chance to win: NEW Anolon Nouvelle Copper Luxe Sable 5 Qt. Dutch Oven (Value $100). This elegantly crafted cookware with a rich Sable exterior features durable nonstick inside and out for easy care (dishwasher-safe). The cookware’s induction-suitable, magnetic stainless steel base crafted with copper provides exceptional temperature control and precision.

Register between September 2nd and September 9th for a chance to win: NEW Anolon Advanced Bronze 4 Piece Weeknight Dinner Set (Value $80). This superbly practical cookware set features a generously sized 5 Qt. Covered Sauté Pan with Helper Handle, a 10”x15” Cookie Pan, and a 13” Meat Fork – all the essential tools to whip up weeknight meals with ease and perfect results.

Register between September 10th and 14th for a chance to win: Anolon Eminence 5 Piece Bakeware Set (Value $60) Anolon Eminence Bakeware offers a distinctive two-tone combination of a light Umber-colored nonstick interior and darker Onyx-colored nonstick exterior for an elegant and sophisticated look that’s also highly practical.

 

For Sponsorship Information, please contact:

Kathleen Russo
Kathleen.Russo@stonybrook.edu

Steve Hamilton
Stephen.Hamilton@stonybrook.edu

Geoffrey Drummond
Executive Director, Food Lab
Stony Brook Southampton

geoffrey.drummond@gmail.com
geoffrey.drummond@stonybrook.edu

917 312 1166

Sponsoring Partner

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Conference Sponsors

Breakthru Beverage Group
Specialty Food Association

Slow Food East End
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Media Sponsors

wshu

Edible East End

Food/Beverage Sponsors

CORE water

Allora Farm

Stony Brook Whole Hearted Foods

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martha clara vineyards

Montauk Brewing Co.

blue point brewing

Carissas the Bakery Logo

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Amagansett Food Institute

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The Canal Café

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