Bobby Flay is one of the Food Lab Conference’s two keynote speakers this year. • Photo courtesy of Stony Brook Southampton
A lot can change in 50 years, especially where food is concerned—but how, why and in what ways? How do we direct these changes and harness them to make sure our food system is better off? These are exactly the questions the 3rd Annual Food Lab Conference will set out to answer when it returns to Stony Brook Southampton on Friday and Saturday, June 9 and 10.
“50 Years of Food in America: 1970-2020” will be the conference’s theme, and the important event has already drawn three culinary icons to lend their voices to the conversation: Bobby Flay, David Barber, and Michel Nischan.
The Food Lab Conference will return on Friday, June 9. • Photo courtesy of the Amagansett Food Institute
The conference’s roster of other participating speakers and panelists is equally impressive, featuring Tanya Steel (former editor in chief of Epicurious.com and the founder of the Obama White House’s Kids Healthy Cooking initiative); Florence Fabricant (author and journalist for the New York Times); Roman Roth (winemaker at Wölffer Estate Vineyards); and Edible East End‘s own editor in chief, Brian Halweil.
The Food Lab Conference—two days of entertaining and informative talks and tastings, punctuated by excellent food, cocktail parties, and a gala dinner on the second night of the conference—will begin on Friday, June 9 with a VIP cocktail reception with Bobby Flay and Dan Barber, followed by a boat ride. Flay, one of the conference’s two keynote speakers, will discuss his personal view of “Food, Cooking and a Brief Personal History of Food Television.”
David Barber is the conference’s second keynote speaker. • Photo courtesy of Blue Hill at Stone Barns
On the second day of the conference—Saturday, June 10—the 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. The World’s 50 Best Restaurants recently named Blue Hill at Stone Barns the 11th best restaurant in the world.
Michel Nischan, a chef and leader in the sustainable food movement, as well as a three-time James Beard Foundation Award winner, will also speak on Saturday.
Michel Nischan is the founder, president and CEO of Wholesome Wave. • Photo by Tom Hopkins
The real star of the conference, however, will arrive on Saturday night—in the shape of a gala dinner prepared by Cheryl Stair of the Art of Eating. Other food for the conference will be prepared by Hamptons Aristocrat, private chef Martine Abitbol, and Bex Waffles specialty food truck.
Early bird tickets for the Food Lab Conference are available now for $100 per person, including all meals. After May 15, conference tickets are $150 per person, or $75 per person for students and farmers. Gala dinner-only tickets are also available for $75 per person. All tickets can be purchased online on the Food Lab’s website.
For more information on the Food Lab Conference, please visit the event’s website and stay tuned to Edible East End. We’ll be sharing a special sneak peek at its gala dinner menu soon.
Edible East End is a proud media partner of the Food Lab Conference.
