C&RB’s 10th Annual Chef to Chef Conference—to be held in Seattle, Wash., March 4-6, 2018—will feature keynote speaker Brad Barnes, CMC, CCA, AAC.
Seattle has been named “Best Food City by numerous publications in recent years. Its restaurant scene has exploded, and its markets offer some of the best local products specific to the region. And in March 2018, the city will play host for the first time to C&RB’s annual Chef to Chef Conference, giving attendees a unique opportunity to explore the many culinary delights that are quickly giving the “Emerald City” a new “foodie” identity.
“Part of the attraction of the annual Chef to Chef Conference is the rotation of destinations to cities that represent cutting-edge culinary trends,” says National Conference Coordinator Jerry Schreck, Executive Chef of Merion Golf Club, Ardmore, Pa. “Seattle has been on our radar, and we’re excited to finally be heading there for our tenth annual Conference.
“What I love about Seattle’s restaurant scene is that the food is honest, authentic and generally features local ingredients,” Schreck adds. “There are many niche restaurants in cool neighborhoods, too, like Queen Anne, Capitol Hill, Wallingford, Ravenna and downtown.”
In addition to all that the city has to offer, Conference planners have already lined up a number of other exciting new attractions and features for the Seattle Conference (the full agenda and speaker lineup, along with registration information, will be available at www.CheftoChefConference.com later this year).
Brad Barnes, CMC, CCA, AAC, (pictured) Director of Consulting and Industry Programs at The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in Hyde Park, N.Y. and the college’s North American Association of Food Equipment Manufacturers Professor, has committed to be the Conference’s keynote speaker after the opening dinner on Sunday, March 4th.
Barnes is responsible for oversight of the CIA’s ProChef® certification and custom professional training programs. He also consults globally with a variety of clients—from educational institutions to real-estate developers and non-commercial foodservice providers—regarding operational excellence and change architecture.
A co-author of the books So You Want to Be a Chef?, So You Are a Chef, and The American Culinary Federation’s Guide to Culinary Certification, Barnes is the former national Certified Master Chef Committee chair for the American Culinary Federation (ACF) and a past chair of the ACF National Certification Commission. He is also an ACF-certified culinary competition judge and certified by the World Association of Chefs Societies as an international judge.
“Brad Barnes will kick off the conference with a lot of energy and excitement,” says Schreck, And he won’t be the only CMC on the docket, Schreck adds. Robert Mancuso, CMC, Executive Chef of The Bohemian Club (San Francisco, Calif.), has also committed to present on his innovative wine-dinner program, during one of the Conference’s full days of educational sessions on Monday and Tuesday, March 5th and 6th.
“Other topics that will be covered at the Seattle Conference include certification, outdoor cooking, and kitchen renovations,” Schreck says. “Plus we’ll once again have our always-lively ‘Chef to Chef Live’ breakout sessions, where no subject is off limits.”
Beyond the educational agenda, Chef to Chef Conference attendees will have the opportunity to explore Seattle’s culinary scene on Monday, March 5, after a reception that will feature the always-popular Mystery Basket cookoff competition (view an exciting recap of the 2017 Chef to Chef Mystery Basket battle in Atlanta on Chef to Chef’s YouTube Channel).
Previous years’ attendees and C&RB/Chef to Chef subscribers will be alerted via e-mail when registration for the Seattle Conference opens later this year on CheftoChefConference.com. Those registering prior to December 31, 2016 will qualify for an “early bird” discount.
