Lidia Bastianich will be the keynote speaker at the 5th annual Food Lab Conference.
On Friday, September 13, the Food Lab Conference will return to Stony Brook Southampton for two food-and-drink-centric days of celebration and education. The event, now in its 5th year, is Long Island’s premier culinary conference, bringing together food enthusiasts, top chefs, farmers, distillers, winemakers and more to share their knowledge and joy in all things edible.
The theme of this year’s conference is Cook Eat Drink: Taste the Terroir, and attendees can expect to learn about and experience Long Island’s culinary landscape like never before, with special attention to its diversity, innovation and globally recognized excellence. Celebrity chef—and James Beard Award winner—Lidia Bastianich will be the conference’s keynote speaker.
The conference will begin with an afternoon cooking class on Friday, September 13, followed by a “Farmer to Table” opening reception. Guests will enjoy cocktails and an East End Food Institute farmers’ buffet prepared by chef Joao Garcia in the shadow of the Literary Landmark Windmill on the Stony Brook Southampton campus. Welcoming remarks by the college’s associate provost Robert Reeves and Food Lab executive director Geoffrey Drummond will be followed by a special screening of The Soul of a Farmer, a documentary—and a conversation between Patty Gentry, farmer-owner of Early Girl Farm in Bellport, and the subject of the film, and Dorothy Kalins, the founding editor of Saveur Magazine.
On Saturday, September 14, the conference will continue with star-studded panels on topics ranging from “Taste, Taste Memory, and Eating Mindfully” to “Coastal Cuisine: Eating from the Waters Around Us.” Panelists include local luminaries such as Claudia Fleming, Roman Roth, Tom Schaudel, Leslie Merinoff, Carissa Waechter, and more.
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Keynote speaker Lidia Bastianich will appear midday, with writer Adam Gopnik, in conversation about “The Power of Local: Taste and Terroir.” Afterwards, conference attendees will enjoy lunch and cooking demos, followed by an afternoon of more exciting and educating panels.
The conference will conclude with an Edible-hosted wine, beer and spirits tasting from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., featuring sips from Channing Daughters, Macari, Matchbook Distilling Company, Montauk Brewing, Moustache Brewery, Paumanok, RGNY, and Wölffer Estate.
Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased online here. Tickets are $100 per person (through September 4, thanks to Early Bird pricing), and $75 per farmer/student. Admission to the Friday afternoon cooking class is $50 per person.
For more on the Food Lab Conference, please visit the conference website. Edible Long Island is a proud media sponsor of the event.
