Talking About The Chef Conference with Founder Mike Traud

This week my guest is Mike Traud, founder of The Chef Conference (formerly The Philly Chef Conference). We talk about the history, and evolution, of this food and beverage conference. You'll hear what you can expect from this year's conference which is taking place in Philadelphia from April 12th through 15th.

Some of this year's guest are: Sean Brock, Tom Collichio, Alain Ducasse, Andrew Zimmern, Rob Rubba, and Rosio Sanchez

MIKE TRAUD and The Chef Conference
The Chef Conference on Instagram
The Chef Conference Website

Get Tickets to The Chef Conference:
Day 1 April 12, 2024: Openings & Expansions
Day 2 April 13, 2024: A conversation between Chef Alain Ducasse and Jeff Gordinier
Day 3 April 14, 2024: The Chef Conference Opening Night Event
Day 4 April 15, 2024: Keynote & Panels

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Transcript

Chris Spear: 0:00

If you're listening to this podcast, chances are you're a food and beverage entrepreneur. But even if you're not, you most likely work in the food and beverage industry. I get asked a lot of the same questions about growing my business and how I've managed to have some of the opportunities that I've had, like writing for publications or getting certain guests on my podcast. Quite often, it simply comes down to conferences and networking, which can be one in the same. This week, I speak with Mike Trout of the chef Conference, which is happening in Philadelphia from April 12. Through the 15th. Stick around to hear why I think this is the one conference that you're going to want to attend this year. This is Chris spear. And you're listening to Chefs Without Restaurants, the show where I speak with culinary entrepreneurs and people working in the food and beverage industry outside of a traditional restaurant setting. I have 31 years of working in kitchens, but not restaurants, and currently operate a personal chef service throwing dinner parties in the Washington DC area. If you've listened to more than a few episodes of the show, or follow me on social media, you might know that I'm already a big fan of the chef conference, formerly known as the Philly chef conference. Many of the guests I've had on the show I've been able to connect with because of it. I think I've been there for years, maybe five years at this point. This week, Mike, the conference founder is going to be on the show to talk about it. Besides hearing why the name change from the Philly chef conference to just the chef conference, you'll hear what he has planned for the four days of the conferences here. Going back to what I touched on earlier, you know, one of the biggest things that I found successful for my businesses, whether it be my personal chef business, or having the opportunity to write for, you know, a magazine or having a guest on the podcast, so much of it comes down to networking. We live in a great age of social media where you can clearly you know, dem people send them an email. But I do think that in person networking is so important. And if you're in the food and beverage industry to go to a conference like this is it can be transformative. I don't want to spend a lot of time pitching it here in the intro because Mike and I are gonna get into that. So if you're on the fence, listen to this episode. And you know, hopefully, you'll decide that it sounds like something that you want to go to. I'll be up there for the opening night event on Sunday. And I'll be around all day Monday. So if you do come up, please come on over and say hi to me, I'd love to connect with you in person. As always, thanks so much for taking the time to listen the show and have a great week. Hey, Mike, welcome to the show. Thanks so much for coming on.

Unknown: 2:31

No, it's a pleasure to be here. Chris.

Chris Spear: 2:33

I'm looking forward to talking to you. Because this is one of my favorite culinary events. I think I've been to four of them, maybe now. So it's a good time. And I tell people all the time they need to be coming to this event.

Mike Traud: 2:44

You know, I love to hear that from people. Because this is kind of the event that I wanted. When I was ally cook. So like every year and planning it, it's still that, you know, that young line cook mentality of like, who would I want to see who would I want to connect with and like, you know, figuring out, you know, an agenda from that point, even for me, it's just like, these are people that I want to meet. I don't know, everybody. And

Chris Spear: 3:10

we'll dig into this a lot more. But the thing I'll say off the bat is the approachability, you know, because a lot of times you go to a food event, you know, even as a chef, I'll go to, you know, something in DC where Bobby Flay or someone comes, but there's definitely this wall of like fan and celebrity chef, where it's just like they shake your hand and sign a book, but that you're at this event, you know, like, last year, the year before, like, I had lunch with Harold McGee, and what world? Am I ever going to be at a table just like talking to this guy over cheese steaks, you know, and, and to be able to get up close and personal with these people and sometimes continue the conversations that were started on a panel discussion, but you can have a one on one with them later. There's no other place where you can have this opportunity with these kinds of people in the food world. Yeah.

Unknown: 3:54

And that's what I really, you know, wanted? Because yes, there's a lot of great events out there where it's like, you have the talent, and they're on stage. But you don't get to ask a question. In the audience. There's no questions and then on top of it, the person disappears, never to be seen again. But I think the people that participate. They're all in. They're there to be part of the community. They're there to, you know, even sit in on other panels and ask questions. So I think that's the value. So

Chris Spear: 4:25

this event is the chef conference, formerly known as the Philly chef conference. And there's an evolution here so why don't why don't we kind of start there for people who've never been to this conference. don't know anything about it, the history. This is one of your babies that his is all grown up now. It's been like 1010 years this is here 11 or something like that.

Unknown: 4:44

This would be this is year 1110 years of doing it in that I only missed one year for COVID Cut. Yeah, exactly. I flew right onto the radar late February 2022 weeks later, the world closed. You know, but uh, no. So like, for me, it's like, when I started teaching at Drexel University, it was really one of the things was implementing the Philly chef conference to really engage the local community. And I always thought there was a gap between industry and education. So to bring a better connection into the classroom. So that was for the first couple years, it was really Philly centric. But as he said, like conferences, the best ones are when there's people there that you don't get to see you don't get to interact with and you have that accessibility. So it was pushing it to see, you know, how many people externally I could bring in, and then eventually it kind of flipped and said, Wouldn't the value be to have all people outside of my geographic region speaking to kind of provide ask access for everybody else to kind of engage and ask questions and meet these people. So I did that for roughly 10 years in the past year, Drexel, decided to move past the Hospitality Management Program, which I was the director. So that kind of presented the opportunity to, you know, maybe take this to the next round. And you know, and rebranded as the chef conference, I think is more reflective of what it's become. It's no longer just about Philly, it's a national event. And sometimes I think people when they see would see the film, in front of it thought, Oh, this is just Philadelphia, people in the site. Now this is national to bigger than Philadelphia, it's about the whole industry. So the rebrand really kind of helped that, you know, spread that message further.

Chris Spear: 6:39

But what a great way to kind of also put Philly, I don't know, say on the map, because they've been there for a while. But I lived in Westchester from 2002 to seven. So kind of right, as you're starting to see the growth and evolution. You know, I think about all the restaurants at the time as Mark vettery and Jose Garces and all them were coming up. But, you know, one highlight so many great Philadelphia chefs, when you're first starting with us, but also bringing all these amazing chefs from all over the world to the city of Philadelphia, to see what Philly has to offer. That must be so great for you.

Unknown: 7:09

You know, it's the connection, the networking, and as you mentioned, like the authentic atmosphere that allows it, and then it's hosting journalists and hosting these chefs. It's, they have to eat there in Philadelphia, they have to eat, you know, they're doing their research on what chefs that they want to meet what restaurants they want to check out. So it's like we have this contained audience that really kind of gets to shine a light on the Philadelphia food scene. So like, yeah, although, you know, not having as many Philadelphia people on the panels. It's the community aspect that they're all going out to eat. And a lot of these journalists and chefs like they're doing two meals a night, you know, making the most of their time. So it's a Yeah, it does ultimately benefit the Philadelphia restaurant community because it allows them to get the access and engagement as well.

Chris Spear: 8:04

I'm always envious on social media looking, seeing where everyone's eating and who's there. It's like, oh, I I'm only probably going to do one place tonight. Like, where do I want to be? And who do I want to be with? There's always way more going on than I can do in the one or two days that I'm out there.

Unknown: 8:17

Yeah, I never know where they're going. And it's kind of like you Oh, it's always interesting to see which and hearing from the visiting chefs and journalists to like, what was their standout favorite, you know, somebody who's coming in with a perspective, who doesn't have the familiarity with the scene to see like, what they see, as you know, what was their best restaurant? What was their most memorable meal? You know, what did it what was their takeaway,

Chris Spear: 8:41

and you can meet so many great people, it was, I don't remember what year 2019 Maybe I went up there, I didn't have any plans. I went to Friday, Saturday, Sunday by myself and sat at the bar and Jeff gardeners, like literally sitting there, like by himself reading a book. And I sat down next to him, and he, you know, put down his book, and we talked for like, two hours, just the two of us. He was just having, you know, a quiet dinner that, you know, maybe I interrupted, but again, you know, like, What, When else would you have an opportunity to just sit down with someone like that and talk over dinner and just have a good time, you know, only in Philadelphia during the chef conference. And

Unknown: 9:14

I also think it's, it's not just the attendees that have that takeaway. I think it's also the participants where they see, you know, the value of like, oh, because it's such a diverse geographic participant list. And so, well, this is the one event where I get to connect with that person that I never see. So let's, you know, let me get to listen to that individual. And, you know, I think it's benefits everybody who you know, is in the room. It's not just a participant, you know, Speaker thing, it's, you know, the attendees, it's the people who are producing food, it's the whole community, atmosphere.

Chris Spear: 9:50

100% So this year, you're, well, I mean, you've got a lot of events leading up to you have multiple days, when I was getting ready to say is this year is kind of kickoff conversation. I mean, you've got Andrew Zimmern. You've got Sean Brock, Greg, Gord Ed, Mike Solomonic, like, you couldn't find any big name chefs to kick off of it.

Unknown: 10:12

You know what, it's lucky enough that, you know, these people, they see the value of this. And sometimes it's finding the right topic. And that's another thing. I think it's constructing the topics and the atmospheres and the panels around what people really want to talk about. And I think the conference kind of doesn't, you know, take on the fluff issues. It's finding these key topics that, you know, are difficult, and there's not an easy answer. But the conversations occur in the new these different rooms, but these conversations continue outside of it. And I think that's where, you know, the benefit. The offshoot is, it's like, these discussions don't just end at the end of the conference people, you know, keep them down. Yeah.

Chris Spear: 11:02

Well, that conversations about sobriety, and then, you know, you have other conversations about, you know, old school versus new school, the ethics of accolades, who gets to write a cookbook, these are deep conversations, this isn't like how to make a better, you know, roast chicken or something. These are the topics that I think chefs and people in the industry are talking about quite often behind the scenes, but like you said, we haven't really been having these conversations on this scale before.

Unknown: 11:27

Yeah. And I think it's a lot of the individuals, their willingness, and they know that it's kind of a safe space that they can express their ideas, and have these open conversations with which are healthy, you know, and, you know, putting these issues out there for everybody to kind of discuss them. I don't think anybody has, you know, this is the one definite answer from this topic. It's like, well, let's convene and discuss it. And I think a lot of times, there's people in the audience who bring in a perspective that the panelists, you know, appreciate as well, and

Chris Spear: 12:01

not always agreement, I've been in some conversations where there was a distinct disagreement between sometimes panelists, sometimes panelists, and attendees, you know, which is great, you can have a give and take in the conversation. Yeah.

Unknown: 12:13

And it's dialogue that doesn't, it's not like they walk away angry at the other person, especially when you have, you know, some of the top journalists, who are there just discussing these issues, and, you know, having these open conversations, which ultimately benefits industry as a whole,

Chris Spear: 12:30

how do these conversations get picked? Like, what's the process of deciding what's gonna happen at the at the event?

Unknown: 12:37

It's really complicated, because it doesn't, it never stops, you know, people that I reached out to this year that weren't available, you know, looking at 2025 topics are always presenting themselves. And that's the tough thing about perennial like, you go six months ahead. And things can always come up within that timeframe that, you know, sometimes you have to pivot and make executive decisions. But a lot of it is like, oh, there's, there's, you know, committee of people that touch on, it's talking to everybody about, you know, what topics are important? What speakers? Do you want to see? Who do you want to engage with what's important that you're taking the pulse of, you know, journalists, and saying, like, well, what topics is important to you? What speakers? Who am I? Who am I missing, like, who's really out there doing something new and different, and I think it's a lot of trying to introduce new voices into the conference each year and not having the same speaker list. It's bringing in a lot of people that, you know, I don't know, I've never met, and bringing them to the community to open up these networks for everybody else. So it's figuring out, you know, going through the list of topics, sometimes it could be as simple as, you know, hey, I want this speaker. How can I build a topic around them? What's going to get this person to answer an email to be engaged? What's the hook that's going to drive them to take time out of their busy schedule to spend it with us in Philadelphia? And

Chris Spear: 14:15

I think, you know, you touched on there, there's a good mix of well known if you will, people, but lesser known people, I'm sure you have to have some of the bigger name chefs and topics as a draw, right? But I went one year and Vaughn tan was there, no idea who this guy is right. Like, of all the people on the list, probably the guy I knew least and I sat down in that conversation, and I was just blown away by him and what he was talking about. And we continued that conversation for maybe 45 minutes after he ended up coming on my podcast later, you know, so then he became a guest and a friend and we could talk for an hour and a half kind of digging in a little more on what he was talking about. And I

Unknown: 14:54

think that's one of the fun aspects of it is finding those individuals who are doing so. One thing that are different and you know, finding these people before they jump into this snatch national platform and spotlight say like, okay, let's let me see if I can identify or my group can identify the right talent and give them a platform for their message before their whole world changes. And they'd be, you know, become these food and wine best new chefs or when they're James Beard Award, it's kind of getting them involved, and supporting them before any of those accolades come their way.

Chris Spear: 15:34

I think this year, there's three or four people nominated for their first James Beard Award. And they were on my podcast first, and I think like was even their first podcast up here. And so you know, because, for me, it's important about having a community of people and just talking to people doing these really interesting things, but to see some of them getting the nod like, oh, wow, when I talked to them, they were just running a pop up doing every month or so. And now it's like, Oh, they've opened a restaurant, they have a James Beard nomination. That's pretty cool.

Unknown: 16:00

No, and it shows so much that, you know, putting in the research of these individuals, and I think they appreciate it. And I think it pays off in the long run, to show that like, Hey, I could recognize what you were doing before these accolades. You know, because once you know, again, when the panel is talking about the benefits of accolades, I'm sure they'll touch on, like, the amount of requests that they get the day after they win these awards. And how does everything change? And not just, you know, what's your waitlist in your dinner reservation, it's now becomes the point where they they're getting asked to donate their time to all these different events, and for them to figure out what is worth their time? What's worth their investment, what you know, where do they want to travel to, and that, I think puts, you know, different burden on the chef, because they get these awards, and it's now figuring out like, okay, now I have this platform, what can I do with it? And you know, what's worth my time? What's not worth my time? Do you

Chris Spear: 17:05

ever get like, starstruck? Like, is there any big name person who's really kind of wowed you when they showed up and still kind of had like, a pinch me moment.

Unknown: 17:16

It's amazing. This world we live in and how you can reach out and connect or, and just like getting in front of people. So like, yeah, I remember, you know, sending an email out of the blue to Ben Sheree at, you know, advocate in Melbourne, and getting a response back and be like, Oh, okay, this is going to happen. Let me figure out transportation from Australia

Chris Spear: 17:43

is a little further away than most chefs, I'm sure. Yeah.

Unknown: 17:46

It's just like, Okay, well, and that, yeah, it's stuff like that, like, even I think the first person that kind of made the transition to blowing it up was getting Harold McGee. And like, oh, okay, this guy's answering my emails. And it's become easier just because my network has grown. And having an established speaker list year in year out that other individuals can look at the history of the conference and say, like, oh, okay, these people say it's worth their time. Or I can even just say, like, hey, if so and so said, You're great, feel free to ask them what their opinion of it, you know, I'm not going to try to sell you on it. And I think everybody, you know, the fact that a lot of the journalists come back on a year to year basis, I think shows the value of it, because they think it's important to have these discussions. And I think that ultimately leads to the validity of the conference. Yeah,

Chris Spear: 18:45

and, you know, so much of it does come back to the moderation. I've been to many conferences, where there seems to be like a big disconnect between the whoever the panelists were, and whoever the moderator was. And I think, you know, you've really gotten a great stable of moderators to lead these discussions, because sometimes I'm like, Does this person even know who any of these guests are, you know, and you kind of sit there, but I have to say, like, every one of these conversations, they seem to really know who they're talking to, and have a good grasp on that conversation, which I think helps because I've been in many rooms at other conferences, where you're just like, What is going on here? Like, this person is not even asking the questions that most of us want to hear.

Unknown: 19:26

And that's the part of, you know, connecting with the journalists and the moderators. And a lot of time, you know, a having a journalist as a moderator is going to be beneficial because they know the art of asking questions. They know the art of the follow up. And then it's also touching base with the journalists and saying, like, well, What topic do you think is important? Who do you want to be a part of this? So they're, you know, an unofficial member of the planning committee, because they're leading their voice to the topic and who the individuals they think would be best suited to be on the panel. So they've done their doing their research as well to ensure it. And you know, just the nature of what my conference is I don't. And other conferences are different, but some will have, you can tell that the moderator is based on a pay to play mat model, like, oh, you're a sponsor. Now you get to moderate. And now this becomes your infomercial, about your product line. Whereas you may sponsor, but that does not give you a place on a panel, I think it's a more authentic model to, you know, have the experts be there. Because they're not coming in with their own agenda. Like, they don't have to drop their company name X amount of times, they're there to have a discussion. Have these questions follow up? And yeah, like having the journalists who, you know, really kind of focused on these topics. You know, they're, they're coming in, ready to ask these questions, because it's important to them.

Chris Spear: 21:08

Having a podcast, you have no idea or though maybe you do like how many pitches I get for people to come on. And quite often, it's someone who, you know, they want to talk about their brand. It's like, if you have someone in your company who can talk about olive oil and make this really educational one, great, but this is not going to be a 45 minute discussion about your product. Like we'll get there. We'll touch on those points. But I can't have this just be like 45 minutes of you like pitching your product, because that's not going to work at all.

Unknown: 21:34

And yeah, I think from an audience member perspective, we can all see through that. Yeah, 100 We've been in those auditoriums, and it's like, okay, this person paid X amount of dollars, they get to moderate. And now, we all have to sit through this while I'm sure it's, you know, and I get the financial model, but I'm sure the people behind the conference are just like, pulling their hair and saying like, please, like, can we get back to the topic?

Chris Spear: 22:03

Well, thankfully, that's not what I've found to be the case with the IRS. So I'm doing a great job to hear that. And so you know, this is a little different from some of the conferences, I think maybe last year was the first year but you used to have a component with, like demos and workshops in the kitchen. And then last year was exclusively conversation. So what was the reason for switching that? And is that something that we might see in the future? The

Unknown: 22:29

reason that switch was made was a couple years back, while I was at Drexel, there was a university policy because it was the second wave at that point of COVID, where if it was in the university, everybody had to be masked. But if it was off campus, masking wasn't required. So having off campus, I think having a food and beverage conference, a massive food and beverage conference can be difficult. So therefore, it eliminated the access to demo kitchens and putting on that stuff. And just being able to host it at the study after that one year was like, Wait, this works. This is a bigger venue. It's more open spaces in the field, I felt like we kind of outgrew the old location. So the study is beautiful conference space, it has, you know, access to fresh air and outdoor spaces. So it's just like, well, this seems to work. I would love to have demos again. But it's also finding in the right place that can, you know, fully functional, and

Chris Spear: 23:46

I'm sure coordinating food and a cooking component. And all of that one is more expensive and also more challenging. But I will say the year that Matt Orlando broke out two dozen dishes of the weirdest stuff from like, I don't know egg white Gerome to anything fermented you can think of was really cool. You know that there have been some pretty interesting culinary demos in there. And again, also that they weren't sponsored, because most of those are sponsored by whatever. And they're working their brand and product into it. And not a single one of those culinary demos felt like there was a heavy handed push by a brand or a piece of equipment or something. But there's been some really interesting things there. But yes, space wise, like if you were sitting in a conversation unless it was in that bigger room, those other rooms were tight and that, you know, there were times that people were like in the hallway trying to peek in. Yeah,

Unknown: 24:36

demos are great. And you know, I'd love to, you know, explore that opportunity in the future. As you mentioned, there are demos that become infomercials, and I get it. I'm from a financial standpoint in this year being like my first establishment I'm doing it on my own and establishing my own LLC behind it like I get the finances behind it, but I think you also lose that off A city and easy money, you know, can disappear quickly. And I'd rather maintain the credibility because I think that's what people come for, to, you know, to not see an infomercial, but to engage with the speaker.

Chris Spear: 25:15

What are some of the events going on around us this year? So we have, obviously on Monday, the 15th of April, the big day, the night before you've got these conversations, but you have a couple other days of things going on. Can you talk about those for a few minutes.

Unknown: 25:28

So I kick off on Friday, April 12, where I'm doing kind of a meet the Expert Day, where it'll be two panels. And, again, a lot of the selection of the timing of my morning events, especially, you know, on Friday and Saturday, this year, there between nine and 12. Because I want these to be events where chefs and line cooks can attend together as a team, where they can come in, listen, learn, and then go do service. So it's going to be two panels. First one be based on the kind of the behind the scenes of opening a restaurant, because everybody thinks they have a great menu. And every line cook has a great menu. But there's more to establishing a restaurant besides that. So it's like, here's, here's a lawyer, here's a real estate person, here's a finance person, here's somebody from the health department, here's somebody from government, saying like, Great, now, these are all the other things that you really need to focus on. Before you even get to the point we're doing your menu. So to have that discussion, and kind of introducing, you know, cooks, and professionals to that mentality, the broader spectrum of the behind the scenes of opening a restaurant, and then it's followed by a great panel and menu development where I'll have Ariel Johnson, who's got her new book on flavor, Thomas freeable, who's the climate culinary director from Noma projects, Rocio Sanchez, from IDI Sanchez, and Noma, former head Pastry Chef Ryan, Mr. Lyon, who's a world renowned bartender from London, all talking about like, Okay, we know, we know what goes into building a restaurant, let's talk about, you know, menu development, and all these different aspects from, you know, these world renowned leaders, and then on top of your book, so, and you get to meet erielle, and you get a book signing. So you had that on Friday. And then Saturdays, we are really fortunate to have Alain Ducasse coming to do his talk on his memoirs before they get released. So his memoirs will get released on Tuesday, April 16. But he's doing a preview event as part of the conference. So to kind of engage with this legend, who, I mean, has 21 Michelin stars by himself to talk about, like his career and conversation with Jeff Gordon air, I think is, you know, stands out on its own would be, that would be enough. And that would make me happy, you know, to have that on the main day or the panel, or the opening night. But to have that as a singular event. And then yeah, holding it on a Saturday morning at 10am. It provides the access for cooks to come in, because we both know, there's a lot of food events, and both talks that are done at night. And that's when cooks are working. Almost all of them. Yeah, and they don't get the access to it. So holding it at 10am. So this is a perfect opportunity for a chef to do team development. Bring them along, listen to you know, this legend speak. And you know, these discussions and things you learn can trickle into the you know, the kitchen later that day, and you can you know, be like I met Alain Ducasse, this guy's a legend.

Chris Spear: 28:52

That would be mind blowing for me today, but I can't imagine being like 20 years old and getting to meet him, you know, just Yeah, wild. I hope kids I hope young cooks today at least know who he is. Because I do feel like you're starting to see less and less of that as I talk to cooks. And they know people who are cooking on tick tock, but they don't know these people. And you're like, Are you kidding me? Like, can you please break out a cookbook? Yeah,

Unknown: 29:12

you know, that's, you know, I want these cooks to realize that I want them to experience it. Because I think both of us know, the the rarity of getting to engage with Alain Ducasse is like, this is a one time thing. You know, this is, this is my one time that I'm going to get to meet him. You know, and I want to be able to use the platform as a chef conference to open up that opportunity to everybody else.

Chris Spear: 29:38

Now, do you foresee doing one off events like that in the future like this past year, I came and saw when he was on the unreasonable hospitality tour. I got to see Wilga Dara when he came up and did like that his book talk and that was the only thing going on. Are you thinking about doing more events like that?

Unknown: 29:55

It's one of those things where it's like if the right book is out, and that's That's, at least with the conference, I can kind of plan ahead and build. A lot of times, I may not know about a book coming out for, you know, two months prior or if I see somebody who's doing a book tour, I'll reach out. So it's it's finding the right author, and where they are and their tour and their willingness to stop and Philly, but I'd love to have those events. Because I think, again, those events are important to hold in the morning for chefs and restaurant tours to come and listen and engage and not worried about missing work, you know, to hear these experts speak. And as you mentioned before, in an environment where you have accessibility to ask questions, you're not in 1000 seat auditorium never to ask a question. You're, you know, right there. And I think it's even the people who are participating in these talks, I think they appreciate it to the intimacy, I think they like to engage with the speakers, they like to have these conversations, I like the eye contact, that it makes it more more of a bit of a greater investment for them to participate in. And

Chris Spear: 31:15

again, most of these things, there is the opportunity to quite often converse with, you know, the panelist or whoever's talking afterwards, I mean, I got to talk to will for a few minutes, you know, as he was signing a book, which was great. And, you know, maybe if you aren't comfortable asking a question publicly, or you know, you just have a couple of minutes afterwards, that's something that I've always found I could do at these events

Unknown: 31:37

in to see these people who are, you know, participate in a panel, and then they're sitting in the audience in the next session, and they're asking questions, and they're there all day, you know, I've heard from the past, where it's like, Oh, I saw so and so was at this conference, and they came in, and they disappeared, never to be seen again. But they're at your conference. And they're actually there all day, sitting around talking. And, you know, asking questions, and being part of the audience and providing feedback.

Chris Spear: 32:11

Yeah, I think it's a great testament to the kind of event that this is, well, what would you say to someone who's maybe still on the fence about coming to this? I've, you know, I think there's some tickets left, I will say that quite often these things sell out. So if you know, we're gonna get this out soon. So if there's still tickets available, what's your pitch?

Unknown: 32:30

I think there's no better environment, and kind of no better kind of career investment to come in. And spend a day listening to these experts. You know, maybe I'm biased, but I think we had the best food of any conference, and the best food options. So like, that's worth the ticket price. But it's the ability to listen, engage, ask questions, and everybody historically, has been approachable, that you can go up and ask them questions and engage. And for a young cook, it's like picking the minds of these leaders. But it's also the ability to kind of broaden your network, I think so much of what we talk about in the hospitality industry is our network and our authentic connections. And being able to engage is only going to be beneficial and broaden your horizons, your thought process. So the amount of people that you get to meet in a eight to five atmosphere, I don't think there's another conference in the United States that has that accessibility, and range,

Chris Spear: 33:38

or degree. And that's what keeps me coming. I was just talking to someone the other day about this. And, you know, people will ask me, they'll say, like, how have you had your opportunities? You know, you've had a recipe in this magazine, or you wrote for this, or you had this guest on your podcast. It's like, Yes, I got out in the real world and got to meet people. You know, the internet is great. Social media is great. You can send someone to DM and connect with them. But there's nothing like sharing a cheesesteak with a Harold McGee at lunch, you know, like these things that you would never get to do at any other time in place. And not from a greedy, like, I'm gonna pitch you my thing kind of standpoint, but just like getting out and getting to know people. I mean, there's people who I've only seen at this event, but three years in a row of seeing them, you know, you build a relationship over time, and you stay in contact. And, again, I think networking is tremendously important. It's been great for my career. It's great to go out and meet people. It's great to get ideas, but I've never been to an event that was on par with this for just like, being able to take in new ideas, but also connecting with people on such a one on one level.

Unknown: 34:38

Yeah, I mean, I just look at it from my perspective. It's like, these are people that I want to meet. And I think, you know, maybe I'm just, you know, if I want to meet them, I think everybody else should. Well, is

Chris Spear: 34:50

there anything you want to leave our listeners with before we get out of here today? I

Unknown: 34:54

think it's you know, it's really important to take advantage of opportunities and aspects and really He kind of engage and learn from all different people within your food and beverage community. And I think sometimes we get embedded in our local community and have the opportunity to hear voices from all different, you know, Semia to the States, but also in the world and to kind of pick their brains and you never know who you're gonna meet, you never know who you're going to engage with. And you don't know what what opportunities are going to present itself from these, you know, interactions.

Chris Spear: 35:28

Well, I'm sold, I already have my tickets, I always get mine on day one, I think was the first year that I saw about saw this, like years ago, I thought that would be really cool. And I just like sat on it. And then I went back in a couple of weeks, and they were sold out. And from then on, I was like, I'm not going to just wait until the last minute, I'm just going to make it a point to get tickets the day they go on sale, have them and then I can just sit back and wait until the event happens.

Unknown: 35:51

And that's one of the things you know, limiting the tickets to make it worthwhile for all the attendees. So it's not like we're jam packed in there. And then it makes the networking a little more efficient, and you know, authentic? Yeah.

Chris Spear: 36:06

Well, thanks so much for coming on the show. I look forward to seeing you. And we're just about a little over a month from

Unknown: 36:11

now. 39 days,

Chris Spear: 36:13

right?

Unknown: 36:14

Who's counting?

Chris Spear: 36:14

Who's counting? I'm sure you have plenty to do between now and then. So you better probably get back to whatever that is.

Unknown: 36:19

Yeah, back to you know, figuring out travel. As always,

Chris Spear: 36:23

this has been Chris with the Chefs Without Restaurants podcast. Thanks so much for listening and have a great week. Over the past 30 years, the world of the personal chef has grown in importance to fulfill dining needs. While the pandemic certainly up ended the restaurant experience, it allowed personal chefs to close that dining gap. Central to all of that is the United States personal chef Association, representing nearly 1000 chefs around the US and Canada. USPTA provides a strategic backbone for those chefs, including liability insurance, training, communications, certification and more. It's a reassurance to consumers that the chef coming into their home is prepared to offer them an experience with their meal. USPTA provides training to become a personal chef through our preparatory membership. Looking to showcase your products or services to our chefs and their clients. partnership opportunities are available. And there's a new member special on all membership levels. Save $25 to $75 by using promo code spring 2024 special veteran pricing and payment plans are available. Call Angela today at 1-800-995-2138 extension 705 or email her at APRA t h e r@uspta.com. For membership and partner info. You're still here, the podcasts over if you are indeed still here. Thanks for taking the time to listen to the show. I'd love to direct you to one place and that's chefs without restaurants.org. From there, you'll be able to join our email newsletter. Get connected in our free Facebook group and join our personal chef catering and food truck database so I can help get you more job leads. And you'll also find a link to our sponsor page where you'll find products and services I love. You pay nothing additional to use these links. But I may get a small commission which helps keep the Chefs Without Restaurants podcast and organization running. You might even get a discount for using some of these links. As always, you can reach out to me on Instagram at Chefs Without Restaurants or send me an email at chefs without restaurants@gmail.com Thanks so much