The Experience
The Chef Conference serves up opportunities for both hospitality professionals and food lovers to eat, drink and share their passion for fine dining via a special collaborative dinner series, tours, tastings, live talks, podcasts recordings and more.
Here’s what to look forward to in 2024:
Resy @ The Chef Conference: Collaborative Dinners
Dining fans of all stripes are in for a treat as beloved Philadelphia restaurants team up with chefs from some of the world’s leading kitchens for this exclusive series of one-night-only collaborative dinners during The Chef Conference.
All in all, there are 11 specially curated dinners offered over the course of the conference. Highlights include a Senegal-meets-Philly moment when 2024 James Beard semifinalist Dakar NOLA joins Co-Op Restaurant & Bar for a family-style lunch, as well as the ultimate Italian American feast served up in style by some of the East Coast’s hardest reservations to get – Philly’s Palizzi Social Club and New York’s Don Angie and San Sabino.
Seats are extremely limited, so be sure to secure yours when tickets go on sale on March 15, 2024 via Resy.
Opening Event
The speaker segment of the conference kicks off on Sunday afternoon with two intriguing and tone-setting conversations. First, join food icon and TV personality Andrew Zimmern as he leads a panel discussion on an important industry topic, “Sobriety in the Restaurant Industry.” Next, listen in on a conversation on the “Evolution of Food TV” between Phil Rosenthal and Jeff Gordinier (Sunday, April 14, 2024).
Tours & Tasting Opportunities
This year’s event challenges attendees to get out and experience Philly’s top-rated food scene — though we have a feeling folks won’t need too much convincing with options like these:
Beyond East Passyunk with Heavy Metal Sausage Co.
Tiny Table Tours and Bon Appetit Best New Restaurant of 2023 Heavy Metal Sausage Co. take tourgoers off the beaten path – in this case, the beaten ave – to taste some of East Passyunk’s best Indonesian, Mexican, Vietnamese and Italian fare (Sunday, April 14, 2024).
Patrick Alfiero and Melissa Pellegrino of Heavy Metal Sausage Co.
— Photo courtesy Star Chefs
Sisterly Love Collective Does Brunch: The Chef Conference Edition
Comprised of some of Philly’s top women in food, the Sisterly Love Collective brings together chefs and food writers from the city and beyond for this specially curated bar, book fair and mini-market.
In attendance: 2024 James Beard Award semifinalist for Best Chef Mid-Atlantic Cybille St. Aude Tate (Honeysuckle Provisions), award-winning author Lisa Donovan, Los Angeles Times columnist and author Gustavo Arellano, and more (Sunday, April 14, 2024).
Live Conversations & Podcast Recordings
Restaurant lovers of all backgrounds will eat up these live conversations:
Women in Brown Spirits
Connect with likeminded spirits enthusiasts and some of the leading ladies in the industry, including Our Whiskey Foundation founder Becky Paskin, Codi Bixler and Sofia DeLeon, co-founders of Philly’s Twisted Tail and Tengango Rum respectively (Friday, April 12, 2024).
Good Taste: A Life of Food and Passion
Jeff Gordinier, a food writer for Esquire, joins Alain Ducasse, one of the world’s most decorated chefs, for a conversation about Ducasse’s career and new book of the same name (Saturday, April 13, 2024). Bonus: Use discount code VisitPhilly at checkout for $25 off your ticket.
The Sporkful Live: Anything’s Pastable with Dan Pashman and Kae Lani Palmisano
James Beard Award-winning podcast host Dan Pashman is joined by food journalist and Emmy award-winning host of WHYY’s Check, Please! Philly Kae Lani Palmisano to discuss his first cookbook, Anything’s Pastable: 81 Inventive Pasta Recipes for Saucy People (Saturday, April 13, 2024).
Dan Pashman of The Sporkful
— Photo courtesy Dan Pashman
Wine and Hip Hop Live!
Join the “Street Somm” himself for a special live recording of his podcast with Friday Saturday Sunday restaurateur and 2023 James Beard Award-winner for Outstanding Restaurant Chad Williams (Monday, April 15, 2024).
Industry-forward Panels
Hospitality professionals familiar with the event’s previous iteration can expect plenty of opportunities to engage with peers and share best practices including a full day of panels with experts like Top Chef’s Gail Simmons and Tom Collichio and New York Times’ food journalist and bestselling author Priya Krishna focusing on topics such as “Equality at the Bar,” “Parenthood on the Line” and “Who Gets to Write a Cookbook” (Monday, April 15, 2024).
Check out the full lineup of events here.
