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August 2 - 5
Renaissance Hotel - Dupont Circle - Washington, DC
Renaissance Hotel - Dupont Circle - Washington, DC
Guest Speakers
Mary Beth Albright
Finishing in the Final Four of the highly competitive Food Network Star Season 7, Mary Beth wowed the judges with her “wit, humor, and intelligence” and by “describing food so well, she makes us fall in love more with food.” Mary Beth’s wit and culinary savvy bring diners to the table. With her can-do spirit and optimistic message that eating fresh meals brings people together, Mary Beth is a passionate proponent for living deliciously.
Mary Beth specializes in sharing the joy of food with all audiences. As a food writer and DC Magazine’s food critic for four years, she covers the Washington dining scene, from soup to nuts. In her local radio and television appearances, she helps her hungry audience connect with family and community through a daily local feast.
As an attorney and media advocate, Mary Beth draws on 15 years of work promoting America’s public health. She has assisted Surgeons General and has advised corporations, not-for-profits, and the government on connecting with people through food. She teaches cooking and gardening at the U.S. House of Representatives preschool and is the author of How Apples Grow, a children’s rhyming book.
Mary Beth earned a J.D. cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center and a bachelor’s degree with honors from The Johns Hopkins University. She currently lives in Cleveland Park, DC, with her husband, Craig, and son, Truman.
Daniel Traster
Daniel Traster CCC, CCE, CCP, is the Culinary Director for the Metropolitan Cooking and Entertaining Show, a freelance writer, culinary consultant, and author of two books - Welcome to Culinary School: A Culinary Student Survival Guide and Foundations of Cost Control. Former Dean of Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management at Stratford University and former Academic Director for the Art Institute of Washington, Traster has eight years of experience in culinary arts education.
Prior to his time in education, Chef Traster worked at the Four Seasons Hotel in Philadelphia, and Provence Restaurant, Occasions Caterers, and American University all in Washington, DC. Traster has a BA in English and Theater from Yale University, an AOS in Culinary Arts from the Culinary Institute of America, and an MS in Adult Learning and Human Resource Development from Virginia Tech. He is currently working on a menu planning textbook - his third for Prentice Hall Publishers.
Simon T. Bailey
Voted the best keynote speaker ever heard or used by the readers of Meetings and Conventions magazine, Simon T. Bailey is a compelling instigator who enriches people's lives by encouraging them to create the destiny they want.
He does this by illuminating and then magnifying the brilliance inherent in everyone through his positively contagious energy and enthusiasm.
His transformational insights, delivered with compassion and humor, connect viscerally with audiences; and have earned Simon recognition as one of the Top 25 Speakers Shaping the Speaking Profession.
Since leaving the Walt Disney Company and discovering his vocation eight years ago, Simon has worked with three hundred of the Fortune 1000 and written 6 books, one of which, Release Your Brilliance, was voted #17 of the top 100 books being read by corporate America.
A repeat speaker at Microsoft, Dell, Society of Human Resource Management and the University of Phoenix, Simon is also the founder of Brilliance Institute, Inc., a consulting and educational think tank.
Somehow he still finds time to write columns for Prestige Magazine, London UK and Destiny Magazine, South Africa. Simon's seventh book, Vuja De, will be published in 2011.
Samantha Weigand
Samantha Weigand is a Chef Instructor in the professional Pastry Arts Program at L'Academie de Cuisine in Gaithersburg, MD. She started her pastry career in Seattle, Washington, where she worked as a pantry cook and baker. She moved to Washington, DC in 2006 and attended L’Academie de Cuisine’s pastry program. After completing her externship at Bistro Bis, Samantha stayed on to continue her training under Executive Chef Jeffrey Buben. She left Bis in 2007 to open Hook, working for award-winning Pastry Chef Heather Chittum. Samantha joined the faculty of L’Academie de Cuisine in 2007 as a pastry assistant, eventually earning the position as Chef Instructor.
In addition to teaching, she crafts plated desserts and celebration cakes for private events through her company, Blackburd Pastries, and continues to work with her mentors Chef Mark Ramsdell and Chef Roland Mesnier.
Originally from Stamford, CT, Samantha holds a BA from Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH.
Helene Dujardin
Hélène Dujardin came from France to the US in the late 90s to research material for her Masters in History. Her possessions were simply an old film camera and a suitcase full of family recipes. Soon after, she decided to follow her first passion, food, and so began honing her skills in various dining establishments. She became the pastry chef at a French restaurant and she stayed there for five years. Yet photography was never very far from her heart.
Hélène launched the award-winning blog Tartelette in 2006, where she dedicates herself to the art of food, photography, and styling. It didn’t take long for photography to become more than a hobby. Hélène progressed quickly from enthusiast food photographer to professionally working with local and national magazines. She also began photographing and styling numerous cookbooks.
Hélène’s food photography and styling work has been praised online and in print by publications such as Elle magazine, Forbes magazine, The Times Online, Saveur magazine, CNN, Martha Stewart and more.
She has photographed three cookbooks to date for Carrie Vitt, Holly Herrick and Virginia Willis.
Her first book as an author, "Plate To Pixel. Digital Food Photography and Styling" published by Wiley was released in May 2011.
Her photographs reveal her passion for natural light, seasonal and fresh ingredients, a love of travel and genuine interest in people. Hélène currently lives in Charleston, South Carolina, with her husband and their two rescue dogs.
Riva Kahn
Riva Eichner Kahn is National chair of The American Institute of Food & Wine’s Days of Taste, a discovery-based program that brings together chefs, farmers, farm marketers and community volunteers with children to help them recognize and enjoy good, fresh food, and to encourage them to make better food choices.
Riva is a National Board member of The American Institute of Wine & Food (AIWF), as well as a Board member of the Baltimore/MD Chapter of The AIWF. The AIWF is a national not-for-profit (501c3) organization founded in 1981 by Julia Child, Robert Mondavi and others to promote the understanding and appreciation of good food and drink, and is the parent organization of Days of Taste.
Riva has coordinated Days of Taste in Baltimore since it began in 1998. During that time, Days of Taste in the Baltimore area has increased from 40 children in one school to over 1500 children in 22 schools last year. She has been National Days of Taste chair since 2006, promoting the program in AIWF Chapters across the country. Riva has been an invited speaker to present Days of Taste at several state and national conferences, including symposia on Farm-to-School initiatives, the 2010 National Ag in the Classroom Meeting and a Maryland State Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Food Policy Summit. Riva also represented Days of Taste at Michelle Obama’s launch of Chefs Move to Schools on the White House South Lawn in June 2010.
Prior to doing Days of Taste, Riva received a PhD in Microbiology from the University of Pennsylvania and was on the Faculty of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine , with a joint appointment in the Departments of Dermatology and Cell Biology & Anatomy. At Johns Hopkins, she did medical research on skin, published numerous peer-reviewed papers on her research and taught graduate and medical students. The similarity between teaching histology to medical students and explaining the taste elements to elementary school children has been striking.
Outside of Days of Taste, Riva is active in many cultural organizations in Baltimore. She is currently a Trustee of Baltimore Clayworks, an internationally-recognized center for ceramic arts and education.
Larry Lynch
USPCA's new CEO, Larry Lynch, will share his vision for the association as well as the plans underway to not only enhance the association but develop tools to ensure the success of the businesses of USPCA members.
Larry is a veteran of both the association and business world. He is a partner in Environmental Association Management Partners where he also serves as president of National Registry of Food Safety Professionals, one of three international food safety credentials for food managers.
Prior to creating the partnership Larry headed Disney Institute, the division of the Walt Disney Company that teaches other companies how to implement Disney's management, customer service and leadership techniques.
Leading to Disney was a long career in association management where he served as executive director of the National PaperBox & Packaging Association; director of the Foundation for Education and Research for the Pennsylvania Institute of CPAs; then as executive director of the Florida Veterinary Medical Association.
At Disney Larry was named a "Partner in Excellence", Disney's highest cast recognition honor.
Larry is a past board member and president of local and state societies of association executives; he has served as a trustee for the foundation of Meeting Professionals International; he currently serves as a board member of the Foundation of NACE (National Association of Catering Executives).
He has been recognized as Rotarian of the month for his Rotary Club in Orlando and will serve as president of the club in 2011-2012.
Larry has a passion for food and wine but has the sense to stay out of the kitchen. His real enjoyment comes from helping others achieve success.