CAFÉ’s Summer Conferences focus on What’s New and What’s Next
05 May 202519th Annual CAFÉ Leadership Conference and Deans and Directors Retreat held this June in Pittsburgh.
By Lisa Parrish, GMC Editor
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Sign up now for the June 2025 CAFÉ Leadership Conference and Deans and Directors Retreat in Pittsburgh. Both events are open to all culinary education leaders and instructors and will occur on consecutive days. Attendees have the option of attending one or both events.
The Deans and Directors Retreat theme The Need for Change will showcase leadership ideas around innovation and change agents. The one-day meeting begins on Tues., June 24, at the Community College of Allegheny County’s Allegheny Campus. However, there is an informal meet-and-greet event on the evening of June 23 at the Westin Pittsburgh. Chef Christopher Galarza, founder of Forward Dining Solutions LLC and co-founder of EcoChef, is slated to present the “Urgent Need for Transformation in the Hospitality Industry” in the morning. Paul Sorgule, Harvest America Ventures and CAFÉ Gold Medal Classroom columnist, will lead a panel focused on change agents. Dr. Jon Deutsch, Drexel University, will lead a partnership discussion and the day will conclude with round-table discussions.
The cost for the one-day conference is $349, which includes a continental breakfast, lunch and an invitation to the opening night reception of the Leadership Conference. Attendees who are CAFÉ Members will receive a $25 discount to the event.
The afternoon of June 24 will see the 19th Annual Leadership Conference kick off with an optional three-hour, hands-on Master Class. Attendees can participate in class focusing on the fundamentals of building award-winning pizzas. That evening, conference goers and guests of both CAFÉ events will mingle during the opening night reception, nosh on chef showcase prepared dishes, and listen as CAFÉ award winners are announced.
The Leadership Conference continues June 25, Industry Outreach Day, with a feature keynote presentation "Adapting to the Future" by Chef Christopher Koetke, CEC CCE HAAC, Corporate Executive Chef at Ajinomoto Health & Nutrition North America, Inc. Attendees will then attend panel discussions where commodity boards experts and foodservice professionals all answer the question, “What’s new and what’s next for your company?” After the InfoFair, participants will return to the hotel.
Educational Best Practices Day will be held on June 26 and Dr. Fred Mayo, CAFÉ columnist and retired clinical professor of hotel and tourism management at New York University, will present a keynote address, “Creating Communities: The Hidden Power in Teaching and Learning.” Peer presentations of tried-and-true culinary education best practices strategies will round out the final day of the gathering.
The cost to attend only the Leadership Conference is $499, which includes ACF continuing education hours, reception, two breakfasts, two lunches and transportation to and from the school to the hotel. CAFÉ Members receive a $25 discount.
For those interested in attending both events, the total cost is $549.