Edible Business at Stony Brook Southampton

Food Lab at Stony Brook Southampton

Friday, June 5, 2015 at 5:00 PM – Sunday, June 7, 2015 at 5:00 PM (EDT)

The Food Lab at Stony Brook Southampton presents the first annual Edible Business conference. This gathering at the historic and picturesque Southampton campus in the heart of the East End will bring together today’s leading thinkers in food business, media and policy to discuss the path towards healthy regional food systems. This event is ideal for people working at all links in the food chain, from farmers to foodtech startups, from investors to concerned eaters, from food policy makers to agribusiness executives.

The event kicks off with a tasting event on Friday night, featuring food and drink makers assembled by Edible East End magazine. Saturday will include a full day of dynamic discussions on food business, meat and seafood, and the alcohol industry, paired with informative and unusual tastings. Saturday night attendees will enjoy a meal prepared by East End chefs at South Fork Kitchens’ AFI incubator. Sunday features a morning networking session as well as a pitch and investor feedback program.

Click the conference schedule tab on this page for an agenda summary. Full agenda, schedule and speakers list will be released in coming weeks.

Attendees will have access to discounted accommodations on campus, as well as guides to enjoying food and drink experiences around the conference.

A limited number of discounted tickets are available for students, farmers, senior citizens and others. Please email Kathleen.Russo@stonybrook.edu.

To inquire about sponsorship opportunities, and for any other information, please email Kathleen.Russo@stonybrook.edu.

FRIDAY 6/5 5-8pm-Cafeteria

Reception and tasting/Edible and AFI
Raw Bar, Channing wine, beer, apps, mescal, cider
Chancellor Hall/Main Lobby-registration

WELCOMING REMARKS – Geoffrey Drummond

All ticketholders, speakers and selected press/VIPS
Carlos Lamas/dj

SATURDAY-Chancellor Hall

8:30-9:30, Registration/coffee/small bites by AFI. Sponsored by MISHA Dairy. Coffee by Hampton Coffee Company. Chancellor Hall, Main Lobby and tent.

9:30-10:30, Keynote Event/Duke Lecture Hall

Robert Reeves – opening remarks
Geoffrey Drummond – introduction
Amanda Hesser (Food52)  in conversation with Jessica Soffer (Author, Tomorrow There Will be Apricots)

10:30-11:30, session #1.
Growing a Food Business
Florence Fabricant – New York Times – @flofab, #DearFloFab

Andy Arons – Gourmet Garage – @gourmetgarageny
Tyler Hawes – Roland Foods – @rolandfoods
Joe Tremblay – Bay Burger, Joe and Liza’s – @bayburger
Ron Tanner – Specialty Foods Association – @craftcarejoy
Daniel Lubetzky – KIND Healthy Snacks – @KINDSnacks

11:30-11:50, break by Hampton Coffee.

11:50-12:50- session #2 The Business of Seafood/Meat
Moderated by Brian Halweil – Edible East End – @brianhalweil

Ariane Daguin – D’Artagnan – @dartagnan
Sean Barrett – Dock-to-Dish – @docktodish
Cesare Cassela – Salumeria Rosi, Discovery Center – @chefcasella
Holly Browder – Browder’s Birds – @browdersbirds

12:50-2, Lunch on campus (Food truck/Nice Buns) Canal Café

2-3pm, session #3, The Business of Food Tech and Media
Moderated by Brian Halweil – Edible East End – @brianhalweil

Tanya Steel – Kids’ State Dinner – @tanyasteel
Taryn Fixel – Ingredient1 – @Ingredient1, @TarynFixel
Jamie Tiampo – Seefood Media – @seefoodmedia
Dan & Julie Resnick – FeedFeed – @the_feedfeed

3-4pm, session #4, The Business of Farming
Kathleen Masters – Amagansett Food Institute – @amagansettfood

Paulette Satur & Eberhart Müller – Satur Farms – @Satur_Farms
John Halsey – The Milk Pail – @MilkPailLLC
Ian Calder-Piedmont – Balsam Farms – @BalsamFarms
Steph Gaylor – Invincible Summer Farm – @InvincSumrFarms

4-4:20, break/tasting by Hampton Coffee. Sponsored by KIND bars.

4:20-5:20, session #5 The Business of Drinking
Daniel Lerner – Skurnick Wines – @SkurnikWines

Vaughan Cutillo – Montauk Brewing Company – @montaukbrewco
Leslie Merinoff – The Noble Experiment – @TheBookOfBam
Gable Erenzo – Tuthilltown Distillery – @Tuthilltown
Teresa von Fuchs – Irving Farms – @IrvingFarm
Allison Dubin – Channing Daughters Winery – @CDWwine

5:20-7 pm-Tasting by previous panel! Chancellor Lobby and tent.

SATURDAY CHEF’S DINNER 7-10 pm-Cafeteria

Jason Weiner/Almond- head chef
All local contributors

SUNDAY 6/7

8:30-9:30 Breakfast by Crepe Truck. Coffee by Hampton Coffee.

Sunday – Socially Responsible Food Businesses 9:30-11:30

Moderated by Geoffrey Drummond – Food Lab – @geofdrum
Under the tent.

Kevin Egolf – Local Farms Fund
Mary Cleaver – Cleaver Company – @cleaverco
Tanya Steel – Kids State Dinner – @tanyasteel
Kathleen Masters – Amagansett Food Institute – @amagansettfood
Ron Tanner – Specialty Food Association – @craftcarejoy
Derek Denckla – Slow Money NYC – @SlowMoneyNYC
Sara Gordon – Sylvester Manor – @sylvestermanor

KEYNOTE EVENT 9:30-10:30 am

Amanda Hesser in conversation with Jessica Soffer 

Amanda Hesser is CEO of the website Food52, which she co-founded with Merrill Stubbs in 2009. Food52 was named Publication of the Year by the James Beard Foundation in 2012 and Best Culinary Website by the International Association of Culinary Professionals the last three years. From 1997 to 2008, she was a Reporter and Food Editor at The New York Times. Ms. Hesser is the author of Cooking for Mr. Latte: A Food Lover’s Courtship, with Recipes and The Cook and the Gardener and the co-author of two Food52 cookbooks. Her The Essential New York Times Cookbook  was a New York Times Bestseller. Ms. Hesser has been named one of the 50 most influential women in food by Gourmet, played herself in the Nora Ephron film, Julie & Julia, created the Twitter app Plodt, and was recently appointed by President Obama to the Commission on White House Fellowships.

Jessica Soffer earned her MFA at Hunter College. Her work has appeared in Granta, The New York Times, Martha Stewart Living, Real Simple, The Wall Street Journal, Vogue and on NPR’s Selected Shorts. Her first novel, TOMORROW THERE WILL BE APRICOTS, was published in 2013. She teaches fiction and food writing at Connecticut College and lives in Amagansett.

GROWING A FOOD BUSINESS

10:45-11:45 AM

THE MODERATOR:

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 book is “Wine with Food” (Rizzoli), based on the New York Times pairings columns and written with Eric Asimov. She has also written “The City Harvest Cookbook” to be published by Rizzoli in the fall.

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).

THE PANEL:

ANDY ARONS is the Co-Founder and CEO of Gourmet Garage, a retail off-shoot of the distribution company Flying Foods International, which he founded in 1981 and which was acquired by Kraft Foods. Gourmet Garage is a retail chain of stores that allows the public to “shop like a chef,” offering New Yorkers high-quality and diverse fresh specialty and organic foods in six locations across New York City. Mr. Arons has interest and expertise in fundraising and currently serves as the co-chair of Grace Church School’s High School Capital Campaign with his wife Elyce, who is the Chairperson of the Board of Trustees for the school. He also serves there as the Chair of the Food Committee and member of the Salary and Compensation Committees. Additionally, Mr. Arons is a founding member on the Board of Trustees for the South Bronx Early College Academy Charter School.

TYLER HAWES currently serves as the Executive Vice President at Roland Foods, LLC., an 80 year-old specialty food importer that sources products across the world and sells to restaurants, retailers and manufacturers primarily through distributor partners.  Tyler is responsible for the sales and marketing at Roland with regional sales management and business development across the country including our international division based in New York City. Prior to joining Roland Foods, LLC., Tyler was Executive Vice President, Sales & Operations for 7 years at The Chefs’ Warehouse.  At The Chefs’ Warehouse, a specialty food distributor to restaurants, hotels, caterers and specialty retailers, he led a team across over 20 distribution centers nationwide.  Through his tenure with The Chefs’ Warehouse he has held various roles in over 10 acquisitions of varying size from 10M specialty food companies to 100M meat businesses.

His additional experience includes General Manager, Larkin Cold Storage, an import and logistics company based in Long Island City and Buyer at Artisanal Premium Cheese.  Tyler attended Syracuse University and French Culinary Institute.  He lives in Brooklyn, NY and spends most of his weekends in search of new things fermented, pickled or smoked.

DANIEL LUBETZKY, founder and CEO of KIND, is on a mission to make the world a little kinder one snack and act at a time. Maker of nutritious and delicious snack foods, KIND is the fastest-growing U.S. snack company, and through the KIND Movement has inspired more than one million kind acts since the company’s inception in 2004. A pioneering social entrepreneur working to build bridges between people through commerce, Daniel is also the founder of PeaceWorks Inc., a business that fosters cooperative ventures among neighbors in the Middle East, and co-creator of Maiyet, a fashion brand that partners with artisans to promote entrepreneurship in developing economies. Additionally, he founded the OneVoice Movement, an international grassroots effort that amplifies Israeli and Palestinian moderate voices. His commitment to creating economically sustainable and socially impactful business has been recognized by BusinessWeek, Time, Advertising Age, and Entrepreneur. In 2015 President Barack Obama and Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker named Daniel a Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship (PAGE). He is also the author of the New York Times Best Seller Do the KIND Thing. 

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 3,200+ members, since 1987. Prior to joining the Specialty Food Association, Ron worked for 10 years as an editor with Progressive Grocer Magazine.

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.

JOSEPH TREMBLAY and his wife Liza opened their restaurant Bay Burger in Sag Harbor in 2007 at the age of 27. In addition to burgers, the restaurant quickly became known for their homemade ice cream and in 2010 the couple began selling ice cream pints through local retail outlets, and wholesale ice cream to east end restaurants. Bay Burger and Joe & Liza’s ice cream have evolved to meet the demands of the east end’s educated consumers over the last 8 years. Bay Burger now offers New York raised grass-fed beef burgers, and Joe & Liza’s cream is sourced from Hudson Valley Fresh all natural dairy co-operative.

 

THE BUSINESS OF SEAFOOD/MEAT (11:50-12:50) 

THE MODERATOR:

 Brian Halweil is the editor-in-chief of Edible Brooklyn, Edible East End, Edible Long Island and Edible Manhattan magazines. His 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.

THE PANEL:

Sean Barrett is a lifelong fisherman and restaurateur who founded Dock to Dish in Montauk. Dock to Dish is the original Community Supported Fishery program of New York State which successfully established the first Restaurant Supported Fishery program in North America.

Holly Browder of Browder’s Birds, runs the only certified organic, pastured poultry farm on Long Island, with her husband. Their livestock farm owns a mobile processing facility, the first on Long Island.

Chef Cesare Casella is best known as the chef with the rosemary. He is rarely without a small bouquet springing from his jacket pocket, a signature that represents his dedication to fresh ingredients, his herb-inflected cuisine and his childhood in the Tuscan countryside where rosemary grew wild and his family ran a small trattoria, Vipore, outside of Lucca.

For over 20 years, Chef Casella has been sharing his passion for authentic Italian food with Americans. Today, Chef Casella is the co-owner and Executive Chef of Salumeria Rosi on New York City’s Upper West Side. He is the Dean of Italian Studies at the International Culinary Cen and serves as Chief of DNA, the Department of Nourishment Arts ® at The Center for Discovery, where he works to raise awareness about food, nutrition and sustainability for a developmentally disabled population.

Chef Casella has written several books including 2013 James Beard Foundation Award nominee, The Fundamentals of Classic Italian Cuisine (2012), True Tuscan (2005), Italian Cooking for Dummies (2002) and Diary of a Tuscan Chef (1998).

Chef Casella consults and creates artisanal Italian-style salami in the United States. He is also the founder of Republic of Beans, Inc. specializing in imported Italian heirloom products including olive oil and dried beans. Chef Casella is a favorite with the media. Recently voted one of the best chefs in New York City by Food & Wine magazine and appearing on hit shows such as “Iron Chef,” “Top Chef, ” “ Master Chef Australia,” “Best ThingI Ever Ate,” “ No Reservations,” “Food Porn,” and “ After Hours with Daniel Boulud .”

In 2005, Forbes awarded Casella’s restaurant Maremma with three stars and New York Magazine called it one of the Top 5 “Best New Restaurants.” Soon after Casella was the recipient of Food Arts magazine’s “Silver Spoon Award” and upon opening the Italian-style small plates delicatessen, Salumeria Rosi in 2008 he received a notable “Dining Brief” by the New York Times’ Frank Bruni.

Later he was honored with the title of “Best Meatballs” and “Critic’s Choice” by New York Magazine.

Ariane Daguin is the founder, owner and CEO of D’Artagnan, the renowned gourmet food purveyor. Famous for providing humanely-raised meats, from game and foie gras to organic chicken and prepared charcuterie, the name D’Artagnan is synonymous with top-quality food produced with care.

Ariane was born into a world of great food. Her father, Chef André Daguin, is famous throughout France for his artistry with foie gras and other Gascon specialties. Ariane was expert at deboning ducks, rendering duck fat, preparing terrines and cooking game birds by the time she was ten.

A career in food might have seemed natural, but Ariane decided to pursue an academic degree at Columbia University. While working part-time for a New York pâté producer, Ariane was in the right place when the opportunity to market the first domestically produced foie gras presented itself. She and a co-worker pooled their financial resources to launch D’Artagnan in 1985 as the first purveyor of game and foie gras in the U.S.

Devoted advocates for natural, sustainable and humane production, Ariane and D’Artagnan have been at the forefront of the organic movement in America, pioneering organic, free-range chicken (years before the FDA allowed the word “organic” on the label), and humanely-raised veal

The creation of D’Artagnan coincided with a growing sophistication in American cuisine. According to Jean-Georges Vongerichten, “D’Artagnan changed food in America by introducing high quality products to the American market, items Americans weren’t familiar with like foie gras, game and wild mushrooms. The emphasis has always been on organic products and free range as well. As chefs, we can only create great food with great ingredients, something D’Artagnan has always supplied us with.”

THE BUSINESS OF TECH/MEDIA (2-3 PM)

THE MODERATOR:

Brian Halweil is the editor-in-chief of Edible Brooklyn, Edible East End, Edible Long Island and Edible Manhattan magazines. His 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. 

THE PANEL:

Taryn Fixel is the founder of ingredient1, a tech startup transforming the way people discover and share healthy foods. Their mobile app gives users easy access to the leading all natural and organic foods database, allowing shoppers to search simultaneously by multiple ingredient, diet, and sustainability criteria. Launched in March 2015, it was rated 1 of the top health and wellness apps of 2015.

Prior to Ingredient1, Taryn was an investigative & documentary journalist for CNN and CBS. She traveled the nation and the globe reporting on events from Hurricane Katrina to the Arab Spring. Her work has received Peabody awards, as well as New York Festival gold & silver medals for social issue documentary & best investigative longform report.

Dan and Julie Resnick are founders of feedfeed, a crowd-sourced highly curated digital cooking publication, fueled by a global community of home cooks, chefs, bloggers, and food organizations. feedfeed is also home to one of the most engaged cooking communities (and hashtag #feedfeed) on Instagram.

Tanya Steel is CEO of Tanya Wenman Steel LLC, a consultancy that focuses on digital, mobile, print, and broadcast media, culinary education, and health initiatives. She is also the CEO of Cooking Up Big Dreams, which develops culinary and travel television and video properties. She is the creator and executive producer for the annual Healthy Lunchtime Challenge & Kids’ State Dinner with Michelle Obama; Award Director for the Julia Child Foundation; and founded Kids News World, a site spotlighting change makers who happen to be children.

For eight years, she was Editor-in-Chief/Editorial Director of Epicurious, which she, with many talented colleagues, turned into the most award-winning digital food brand on the web. Under her tenure, Epicurious won 3 ASMEs, 2 James Beards, 11 Webbys, 1 New York Emmy, and dozens more awards making it the most award winning food brand on the web. She also helmed the creation and development of the most award-winning food app, with more than 10 million downloads.

In 2011, Steel was appointed E.I.C of the Gourmet brand–Gourmet.com and Gourmet Live, which was awarded MIN’s Digital Magazine of the Year. She was inducted into MIN’s Digital Hall of Fame; won a personal James Beard’s award for Magazine Restaurant Review, 2003; and a World Gourmand Cookbook Award for Children, 2009, for Real Food for Healthy Kids. She was an editor at Bon Appétit; Food & Wine; Mademoiselle; and Diversion, and wrote for many publications, including The New York Times from 1994 to 1998.

In 2008, Ms. Steel coauthored the award-winning Real Food for Healthy Kids. Her second book, The Epicurious Cookbook debuted on The New York Times’ best seller list in November 2012.

Jamie Tiampo is the founder and president of SeeFood Media and loves just about every element of food media. A former tech startup executive and a classically trained chef, Jamie is the rare bird who can cook and shoot (ideally not all at once).

Jamie directs food-focused videos for clients ranging from Unilever to Campbell’s Soup and Turner Entertainment. His accolades include a James Beard Foundation Award and multiple Telly Awards. Jamie’s still photograph portfolio includes top selling cookbooks, digital assets for web and social media use, and product packaging. Jamie is active in the food community, serving as an elected member of the Board of the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP).

Jamie holds a Grand Diplome in Classic Culinary Arts from the French Culinary Institute. He also holds a Master’s degree in Food Studies from New York University, a Restaurant Management Diploma from the Institute for Culinary Education, and a Bachelor of Science in International Marketing and Technology from Washington University in Saint Louis. He is an investor in dell’anima, L’Artusi, and L’Apicio restaurants in New York, and a partner at Top Round Roast Beef in Los Angeles.

THE BUSINESS OF FARMING (3-4 PM)

THE MODERATOR:

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.  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 : the New York Immigration Coalition, the New York City Employment and Training Coalition (where she served as Chair for over 10 years) and the Workforce Professionals Training Institute.

THE PANEL:

Ian Calder–Piedmont was born and raised on a small horse farm in Monroe, MI.  He first came to Long Island in 2005 to work with his college friend, Alex Balsam, on Balsam Farms, which the two now co-own and manage.  From an small upstart, Balsam Farms has grown into a diverse farm, growing a wide variety of vegetables, herbs, flowers, and fruit on 60 acres spread out between Amagansett and Sagaponack.  Balsam Farms’ produce is sold locally at Balsam Farms Farm Stand, at farmers markets, and wholesale to restaurants and stores.  Ian has a great appreciation for the rich history of agriculture on Long Island, and is happy to be able to grow and sell in the very special community of the East End.

Steph Gaylor founded Invincible Summer Farms in 2005, selling fresh vegetables and saving rare seeds. She and Cheryl Frey started Salt of the Earth Seed Company in 2014. The Long Island Regional Seed Consortium (LIRSC) was founded in 2011 by Ms. Gaylor and Ken Ettlinger.

Invincible Summer Farms strives to preserve the history of food as well as work to maintain healthy food security for Long Island and beyond. The farm specializes in providing unique and endangered vegetables to our community, maintain and provide germplasm for seed banks and libraries, and provide seed to our sister company, Salt of the Earth Seeds.

John Halsey is actively assisting his two daughters, Amy and Jennifer on their farm, The Milk Pail in Water Mill. He is part of the 11^th generation of Halsey’s who live and farm in area. John along with his wife, Evelyn, opened The Milk Pail in 1969. The two of them worked together to grow apples and pumpkins, and market them to the local community at their farm store located on Montauk Highway. Amy opened a greenhouse and later expanded it to the 8,000 sq. ft. space she currently operates. Jennifer planted peach trees, began taking over the pumpkin and apple production, and managing the general farm operation. Today, John spends less time in the managerial role of the farm and enjoys helping out where he can. John is currently serving on the Agricultural Advisory Committee for Southampton Town and also serves on the Customer Service Council for Farm Credit East. He feels it is important to support and remain active in the agricultural community.

Satur Farms, owned by chef Eberhard Müller and his wife Paulette Satur, is dedicated to growing the finest vegetables and culinary ingredients. It began when they purchased their original farm on the North Fork of Long Island in 1997, with the intention of growing some vegetables and herbs for Chef Müller’s restaurant.

After twelve successful years in the wine business in NYC, Paulette returned to her love of the land when she and Eberhard purchased their farm. At the same time, they’ve become an agricultural force and economic driver on Long Island, leading the governor to have chosen Paulette to sit on his economic delevopment council.

Eberhard shot to fame when he opened Le Bernardin with Gilbert LeCoze and was awarded four-stars from The New York Times. He later became Chef of Lutece after Andre Soltner’s retirement, was subsequently Executive Chef at Bayard’s in downtown Manhattan; however, he is now at the farm full-time. After thirty years in restaurant kitchens, he has taken on a new challenge of growing produce and supplying other chefs with the raw ingredients that he found difficult to procure at a freshness level meeting his exacting standards.

THE BUSINESS OF DRINKING (4:20-5:20 pm) 

Followed by a tasting in the lobby!

THE MODERATOR:

Daniel Lerner has been fascinated by wine since the early 80’s, when legendary Keens Chop House was kind enough to take a chance on a kid from Chicago. He 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.

THE PANEL:

Born and raised in Montauk, Vaughan Cutillo came back to his hometown after graduating from Villanova University in 2007.  The entrepreneurial spirit thrives in Vaughan, and in 2008, after homebrewing in his basement in Montauk in 2008, he and his business partners  developed the plan for Montauk Brewing Company.  Launching in 2012, Montauk Brewing Company is New York State’s easternmost brewery and proudly distributes to accounts all over Long Island.

Allison Dubin was born and raised in New York City, and on the East End of Long Island. Her parents encouraged creativity and exposed her and her sister, visual artist Mindy Dubin, to good food and wine at an early age, laying a foundation for a life obsessed with culinary and oenophilic hedonism! Allison started acting in NYC as a child, and spent many years working in the theater, including founding and running the not-for-profit company, The Momentary Theatre, with husband, partner and now winemaker Christopher Tracy.

Allison is thrilled to be at Channing Daughters Winery where she is now a partner in the company and the General Manager. She first came to the winery in 1999 as a member of the wine club and then as a member of Team Merlot-her first winemaking adventure.

 

As both Distiller and Ambassador, Gable Erenzo divides his time between production and the national roll out of Hudson Whiskey. With over 20 years in production and national event management, an associate’s degree from CU, and a BS in Business Management from SUNY New Paltz, he brings considerable business knowledge and experience to the company. Gable’s prior position as Head Distiller and Production Manager at the distillery educated him about all aspects of the Hudson Whiskey production process, preparing him for his current role as Brand Ambassador. A rock climber and outdoor enthusiast from the very start, Gable has been climbing in the “Gunks” for over 20 years. He is happy to be working at something he loves, surrounded by friends and family.

Teresa von Fuchs started in coffee as a Barista more than half her life ago. Since 2008, she has been nose deep in Specialty Coffee: working with the SCAA and the BGA on curriculum development, their growing certification program, and becoming a judging Barista Competitions. As Director of Wholesale for Irving Farm Coffee Roasters she’s developed a relationship-based wholesale model, developing and maintaining Coffee Programs for restaurants’ like Gramercy Tavern, Blue Hill Stone and Hudson Clear Water. She’s certain there’s always something new to learn and share.

Leslie Merinoff wants you to experience toe-curling, head-nodding, body-tingling, ecstasy-inducing flavor.. every day.  Growing up with a family in the food and spirits business led a young Leslie to her first “job” at the Amagansett CSA, Quail Hill.  As soon as Leslie turned 21, she started a ‘where/what/how to drink’ website/consulting business/events agency with partner 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, working on Sailor Jerry Rum.  After 2+ years with William Grant, she was itching to get back to her entrepreneurial, process oriented, farm-to-table roots, and so 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 with only yeast, NY filtered tap water, and the finest, domestically sourced, Grade A, non GMO molasses money can buy.

SUNDAY

SOCIAL RESPONSIBLE FOOD BUSINESSES (9:30-11:30 AM)

THE MODERATOR:

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.

THE PANEL:

Mary Cleaver, one of the country’s foremost authorities on sustainable food and local sourcing, is the founder and owner of The Cleaver Co. and The Green Table in New York City. The Cleaver Co. is a full-service event planning and catering operation with a large roster of private, non-profit and corporate clients, and a full-time staff of 50. The Green Table is a farm-to-table restaurant in the Chelsea Market where guests enjoy delicious dishes that demonstrate a commitment to seasonal cuisine. Most recently, Mary opened two food and beverage kiosks at The Battery in partnership with The Battery Conservancy. Fondly known as Table Green and Table Green Café, they are bringing a local focus to concession-style food and drink.

As Mary’s businesses have grown, so has her reputation for providing sumptuous, seasonally-driven food, attentive service, excellent event planning – and for helping create a sustainable, humane and delicious food system. The Cleaver Co. and The Green Table are widely recognized for utilizing local farms and purveyors in order to obtain the best-quality product, and for supporting small to mid-size farms and family farmers. Today, Mary works with dozens of purveyors, from Satur Farms on Long Island’s East End, to Flying Pigs Farm in upstate New York, to Consider Bardwell Farm in Vermont and Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard in the Finger Lakes. On any given morning, you will find Mary at the Greenmarket, purchasing fruit, vegetables, flowers and much more from our local farmers. Taking the ultimate leap, Mary and her husband recently purchased their own farmland; 2015 is their second season raising poultry and growing produce and grains at Green Table Farms in Washington County, NY.

In November 2011, Mary was named the first-ever “Snailblazer” by Slow Food NYC to honor her contributions creating a better, healthier food system for all. She is a board member of Hawthorne Valley Farm, a member of the Glynwood Advisory Council and was a founder of the Farm to Chef network

Derek Denckla is an impact investor, community organizer and serial social & environmental entrepreneur. He is founder of Foodshed Investors NY, the first angel investor network focused on funding small local and sustainable food business. He led Slow Money NYC for 4 years, growing the network 1000 members and hosting over 100 events dedicated to enhancing investment opportunities in sustainable local food and farm enterprises.  Denckla organized North East Foodshed Finance Alliance (NEFFA) which serves as core planning community for Food + Enterprise, an annual summit held in Brooklyn, NY which fosters collaboration to finance a better food system in the North East.  Denckla provides consulting and private equity through his firm, Denckla Projects, investing in various stages and sizes of businesses such as Local Farms Fund, Homesweet Homegrown, Made by Lukas, With Love From Brooklyn, Goldilocks Goodies, Egg Restaurant, Windowfarms, Mouth.com, Red Hook Community Farm, Blue Marble Ice Cream and several other local sustainable companies. Through 2010, he ran a green real estate development company that built GreenbeltCondominiums, first LEED™ Gold project in Brooklyn, NY. Denckla has spoken and written widely on impact investing, sustainable agriculture and environmental activism.

Kevin Egolf is an impact investing professional focusing his efforts on socially responsible farmland investing. His passion for sustainable agriculture and extensive finance background naturally led him into the growing impact investing field and towards agriculture. Through Iroquois Valley Farms, a leader in triple bottom line impact farmland investing, and Local Farms Fund, an early stage farmer land access venture in the NY Foodshed, Kevin helps investors achieve social and environmental benefits alongside financial returns. Prior to his work in socially responsible farmland investing, Kevin spent several years in investment banking and private equity developing extensive experience in corporate valuation, transaction management and fundraising. Kevin is a graduate of Wesleyan University with a Bachelor of Arts in both Economics and Computer Science. Kevin is also the wrestling coach at Hunter College High School in New York City.

Sara Gordon, AICP:  A certified planner, Sara was hired as strategic director of Sylvester Manor Educational Farm in April 2013, following her tenures as founding board member of the non-profit and as consulting conservation planner through Peconic Land Trust, where she managed the 2012 sales of development rights on 83 acres of Manor farmland to Town, County and USDA preservation programs; and the 2014 transfer of the property to the nonprofit.  Sara is a sustainability and environmental educator, and has worked in land use, conservation and farmland preservation since 1999.  At Sylvester Manor she directs land use and conservation initiatives, which currently includes a pilot vegetative wastewater treatment project and with Suffolk County. She also helps direct development and fundraising; grants writing; and strategic planning for the organization.

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.  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 : the New York Immigration Coalition, the New York City Employment and Training Coalition (where she served as Chair for over 10 years) and the Workforce Professionals Training Institute.

Tanya Steel is CEO of Tanya Wenman Steel LLC, a consultancy that focuses on digital, mobile, print, and broadcast media, culinary education, and health initiatives. She is also the CEO of Cooking Up Big Dreams, which develops culinary and travel television and video properties. She is the creator and executive producer for the annual Healthy Lunchtime Challenge & Kids’ State Dinner with Michelle Obama; Award Director for the Julia Child Foundation; and founded Kids News World, a site spotlighting change makers who happen to be children.

For eight years, she was Editor-in-Chief/Editorial Director of Epicurious, which she, with many talented colleagues, turned into the most award-winning digital food brand on the web. Under her tenure, Epicurious won 3 ASMEs, 2 James Beards, 11 Webbys, 1 New York Emmy, and dozens more awards making it the most award winning food brand on the web. She also helmed the creation and development of the most award-winning food app, with more than 10 million downloads.

In 2011, Steel was appointed E.I.C of the Gourmet brand–Gourmet.com and Gourmet Live, which was awarded MIN’s Digital Magazine of the Year. She was inducted into MIN’s Digital Hall of Fame; won a personal James Beard’s award for Magazine Restaurant Review, 2003; and a World Gourmand Cookbook Award for Children, 2009, for Real Food for Healthy Kids. She was an editor at Bon Appétit; Food & Wine; Mademoiselle; and Diversion, and wrote for many publications, including The New York Times from 1994 to 1998.

In 2008, Ms. Steel coauthored the award-winning Real Food for Healthy Kids. Her second book, The Epicurious Cookbook debuted on The New York Times’ best seller list in November 2012.

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 3,200+ members, since 1987. Prior to joining the Specialty Food Association, Ron worked for 10 years as an editor with Progressive Grocer Magazine.

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.

Affordable accommodations are available on the Stony Brook Southampton campus for attendees of the conference.  When tickets are purchased (via the Purchase Tickets tab on this page), you will be sent a conference code on your PDF ticket which must be entered on this booking page in order to receive the special conference rates.

SPECIAL THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT

SPECIAL THANKS

 

We would like to thank the following farmers, drink makers and food producers for providing food and drink for the gathering: Jack Formica of South Fork Kitchens, Carissa Waechter of Carissa’s Bread, Jason Weiner of Almond restaurants, Katie Baldwin and Amanda Merrow of Amber Waves Farm, Holly Browder of Browder’s Birds, Mediterra, Jane McGuire of the East End Mushroom Company, Marilee Foster of Foster Farms, Hampton Coffee Company, Montauk Brewing Company, Channing Daugters Winery, Sovereign Cider, Southampton Publick House, Farmer’s Gin, Crop Organic vodka, Michter’s, Joe and Liza’s Ice Cream, Misha Dairy, Invicible Summer Farms, KIND HEALTHY SNACKS, Art of Eating Catering, Sarita’s Mescal, Purity Organic, Salty Road Taffy, Singha Beer and Hampton Event Management International.

A special thanks to the following South Fork Kitchens producers for their generous donations of food for the Friday reception and Saturday breakfast: Carissa’s Breads, Flour Girl Jen, The Hamptons Aristocrat, Josephine’s Feast!, Madeline Picnic Co., Wyse Organics. We also acknowledge the generous support for the Food Lab at Stony Brook Southampton from Chattham Imports, Empire Merchants, the Specialty Foods Association, and friends of Stony Brook Southampton.