Our Members
Abbey is an Austin-based hospitality public relations specialist who has been representing clients in the industry for upwards of 10 years. She is inspired and motivated by the passionate and creative people in the hospitality industry is proud to provide them with PR expertise to help grow their businesses.
Through her company L’Oven, Abby Love bakes whole-grain bread and pastries from freshly milled flours, teaches baking classes, and is planning the opening of her Dripping Springs bakery in late 2019. Abby started her career in bakeries but quickly shifted to restaurant work. After a decade of moving around the country, she settled in Austin to become the pastry chef at Dai Due Butcher Shop and Supper Club from 2014-2017. At that time she shifted her focus back to her roots in artisan bread and L’Oven was born.
Alicynn Fink found her love for food at an early age, spending weekends in the kitchen after checking out cookbooks from the library. Her passion for all things culinary led to a Bachelor’s Degree in Hotel Restaurant Management from Northern Arizona University. Fink later received her Master’s in Food, Culture, and Communication from the University of Gastronomic Science in Bra, Italy. In 2014, Alicynn and her husband Kevin moved to Austin, Texas to open Emmer & Rye. Emmer & Rye brings a unique dining experience to Austin and continues to evolve the use of sustainable and indigenous foods. Emmer & Rye has received numerous accolades, including being named Austin American-Statesman’s Best Restaurant of 2018. In 2018, the group opened Henbit and in 2019 they opened TLV, both are quick casual concepts in the Fareground Food Hall. Alicynn manages all operations for the restaurant group. Kevin and Alicynn have one son, Hudson.
Allison has 30+ years of experience in the food industry, with a degree from both the University of Iowa and the Culinary Institute of America. She was one of the first women to become a Certified Research Chef. Allison owns Culinary Culture, a company specializing in culinary focused product development.
Allison was raised in a family passionate about food and entertaining. Her journey led her to HEB where she is able to combine her heart for people, vision for community, and product education to best serve her Teams, customers, and peers. In her free time, she volunteers for the American Cheese Society and takes her dog hiking. His name is Beaufort. Yes, he's named after a cheese and Allison would love to tell you all about it.
As Executive Chef of the restaurant that bears her name, Alma explores her passion for innovative, authentic Central Mexican cuisine. A native of Mexico City and an alumnus of Le Cordon Bleu Paris, her Austin culinary career began at Jeffrey’s, where she started as Pastry Chef and worked her way to Executive Chef. While there, she developed a lifelong appreciation for continental cuisine and fine ingredients. A stint at Fonda San Miguel reconnected her with her Mexico City roots and she began exploring the flavors of Central Mexican cuisine. In 2011 she partnered with Carlos Rivero of El Chile Group to open El Alma, which has become a standout in the dynamic Austin culinary scene, thanks to Alcocer’s drive to offer fresh flavors and warm hospitality.
Alondra Martinez is a sous chef at 1886 Cafe & Bakery. She began her career over 12 years ago. Today she oversees all operations in the kitchen, including onboarding staff, and recipe development. She comes from a long line of self-taught cooks who value celebrating the complexities of the LatinX culinary tradition.
Alyce began baking at an early age with her grandmother in her farmhouse kitchen and has never stopped. A Houston native, she began working in professional kitchens during high school and continued through college in New York City. She then attended the Culinary Institute of America in Napa, California followed by six years as a pastry chef in San Francisco. She then moved to Rome to intern at Alice Water's Sustainable Food Project which led to a job at Rose Bakery in Paris, France. After four years in France it was time to return to Texas and she moved to Austin in 2017 where she has worked at Dai Due ever since. Alyce now maintains a small farm in Taylor, Texas on the land where her love of baking began.
Little did Amy Cartwright know that taking a job at the Bitter End Brewpub in 1996 to pay her way through the University of Texas Austin would lead to a lifelong pursuit for the perfect IPA, and an obsession with craft beer in general. While enjoying a killer American Pale Ale brewed by her husband, Rob, Amy decided to dedicate herself to a more worthy endeavor: craft beer! It was then that the idea for Independence Brewing Co. was born. Years of research, planning, and fundraising culminated in October 2004 when Independence opened its warehouse doors in South Austin. Amy’s passion for brewing hand-crafted ales for Texas comes through in every batch, every keg and can of beer that Independence brews.
Amy March is the founder and executive chef of The Steeping Room, a specialty retail tea store and full-service restaurant.
San Antonio native Anastacia Uriegas started her adult life immersed in art as a photographer and eventually followed in her mother’s marketing footsteps. She interned at the seventh-largest Hispanic advertising agency in the US and served as Creative Director for a boutique marketing firm for over a decade. After moving to Austin she found her place in the city’s vibrant food and drink community as a freelance food, cocktail, and culture writer, beverage photographer and stylist, as well as art director for brands and nonprofits with a focus on…yes, food and drink. Her writing has appeared in Thrillist, Eater, Remezcla, Austin Chronicle, SFGate, and more.
Born in Australia and brought up in London & Wiltshire, moved to Texas 40 years ago, I attended Le Cordon Bleu in London, and discovered the wonderful art of cooking! I moved to Texas because of marriage—first Houston and then Spicewood. My husband was a physician. We planted the vineyard in 1999 and opened the winery in January 2006 to the public. It’s been an enormously satisfying experience on many levels. It encompasses my love of the outdoors and plants, good food, winemaking—and good wine. And, the opportunity to meet and get to know so many amazing people that cross my path.
Nine years ago I decided to leave my work in PR and marketing to pursue my passion for cooking. I work as a plant-based private chef, and also offer private cooking instruction and event catering. My style has many global influences, but much of it centers around locality and preserving the foodways of Texas cuisine. I have studied plant-based nutrition and holistic nutrition through programs offered by Cornell. When I'm not catering to the needs of private clients, I'm usually reading, writing, obsessing over my lacto-fermentation crocks, and being a mother to my lovely 17-year-old, Mia. You can follow me on IG @msannacooks.
Long dreaming of bringing paradise to Texas, Anna’s visits to French Polynesia, Hawaii, and the Caribbean inspired her to start a mobile tiki bar business in Austin. After working in the catering industry for over 8 years, she decided to pivot and start an events staffing company. Anna wanted to inject more fun and relaxation into event bartending, and Texas Tiki Time was born.
Anna Tauzin is Principal of The Good Kind Consulting, a B2B advisory company for restaurant technology. She was previously the Senior Director of Industry Relations and Community Affairs for ChowNow, an online ordering and marketplace for independent restaurants.
Prior to her career in tech, Anna was the Chief Revenue and Innovation Officer for the Texas Restaurant Association and before that the Head of Innovation at the National Restaurant Association based in Washington, D.C. She earned a Master of Arts in Journalism and Public Affairs from American University and a Bachelor of Arts in Mass and Political Communication from Texas State University.
Anna serves on the advisory board for SXSW Interactive, an influential global conference and networking event in Austin. She is the current President of Les Dames d’Escoffier - Austin, an organization supporting women in the culinary, beverage, and hospitality industry.
She is based outside of Austin and is a native Texan. She enjoys riding motorcycles, visiting restaurants, baking, traveling, and spending time with her family. Her Instagram account is mainly pictures of Frank, her pet dachshund.
April Collins founded Vintage Wine Marketing & The Wine Agency in 2008 with the goal of revolutionizing the fine wine sales channel. She specializes in sales, marketing, and brand management within the state of Texas. April represents a healthy roster of the world’s premier wineries including atLarge Wine, which she co-produces with the Beckstoffer Family. Prior to becoming an entrepreneur, April worked in various front-of-house positions in fine-dining establishments across the nation. She has amassed 15 years of experience in wine sales and management, most recently for the Francis Ford Coppola family. April loves life in Austin, Texas, with her husband, Craig, and their 2 young sons.
Ashley Colleen Fric has spent the last 15 years working in numerous operational, marketing and ownership roles across multiple bar and restaurant concepts. Most recently she has directed her energy into creating, opening and operating her own unique restaurant concept, Colleen’s Kitchen. Ashley’s passion remains undiminished for our industry and the positive effects it can have in the community.
Aswini Sivaswamy is an entrepreneur and wellness advocate with a passion for facilitating positive impacts in individuals and communities. Aswini is the founder of SESA Beverage Lab & Kitchen based in Austin. SESA is a beverage purveyor focused on servicing local independent restaurants with alternative source-direct, functional plant-based beverages.
I am a native Texan who has been in hospitality for over 18 years, opening five restaurants in El Paso, TX and Portland, OR. I currently own Flat Brim Wines, a low intervention winery in the Pacific Northwest. In 2020 we expanded into Texas with our newest label Summer Revival Wine Co.
After beginning her career as a TV and video writer and producer, a two-month European journey became a culinary catalyst that changed the course of Pav’s life. Beth returned with gratitude and a passion for creating “the endless possibilities that begin with fresh, wholesome ingredients." Soon, she enrolled in cooking school. “So similar is a producer to a culinarian;” she says now, “both use visual tools to create a story.”
Beth graduated from the L’ Academie de Cuisine and took additional classes at the Culinary Institute of America. She trained under and assisted some of the nation’s top chefs. Later, she opened Cooking by Design Culinary Studio, located in the idyllic setting of the Texas Hill Country, as a home base for her range of offerings; a cooking class studio and personal chef service. In addition to being a celebrated chef, Beth Pav is a renowned Culinary Instructor, Recipe and Menu Developer, and Writer. Her popular online journal Fresh from Beth and print articles have been enjoyed by thousands of enthusiasts who rely on her gastronomic, lifestyle, and adventure-travel stories to inform them on creative ways to satisfy a variety of appetites. She is a founding member and past President of Les Dames d’ Escoffier of Austin as well as a longtime member of IACP.
I started Fine Home Dining 15 years ago as a means to cook independently and creatively, providing nourishment and celebration through food. It is a very personal way to cook professionally and I value the relationships most. While food is a necessity, I love that it brings pleasure, comfort, and memories.
Virtuoso Wine & Spirits is the only women-owned distribution company in Texas. Founded in 2003, by my sister, Robyn, and myself with our focus to find artisanal, independent, family-owned producers from around the world to share with Texas. We are a certified Women-Owned Business Enterprise, certified with the City of Austin, and a certified Airport Concessionaire.
Brooke is Co-owner/Founder of C.L. Butaud Wines. The primary goal for C.L. Butaud has always been to highlight the beauty of Texas, its unique terroir, and to make wines with 100% Texas fruit that are well regarded across the country. Brooke is a CPA and has 15 years of business/finance experience in the beverage world. She is also the Director of Finance for Garrison Brothers Distillery.
Callie Massey, award-winning chef and native Austinite, has called this food community home for the past 20 years. After years of running restaurants (most recently the highly acclaimed Holy Roller), Callie now runs Austin Eats, which focuses on celebrating and bringing business to locally owned Austin restaurants.
Carla is Co-Owner and Partner of Springdale Handmade, LLC, creating natural bath and beauty products from locally grown, seasonal produce. Carla founded Austin Urban Gardens in 2008. While the organic gardening business has closed, her blog— awarded Top Ten Food Blog by the Austin Chronicle—remains active. Carla is a local food and farm activist and spends her spare time advocating for local food businesses and raising awareness of local, sustainable food systems.
Carol Huntsberger is the proprietor of Quality Seafood Inc., a Texas Corporation which spawned in Austin, Texas. Since 1938, Quality Seafood has provided fresh seafood for over 150 wholesale accounts, to local retail customers, and has fed thousands of people freshly prepared seafood from the restaurant and catered fundraisers, crawfish boils, and many parties. Prior to owning Quality Seafood, Carol was a Senior Sales Director with Mary Kay Cosmetics, with 75 women on her team. She earned the use of free cars for 10 years and traveled around the world. Carol has been involved in many organizations including St. Theresa’s School Board, Co-Chair for the Family Fair Auction Committee at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School, and many other school, church, and civic committees. Ms. Huntsberger graduated from Texas State University in 1983 with a B.B.A. in Accounting.
I have been a member of the food and beverage world since my first job in high school. I am now a Certified Cheese Professional, a level 2 WSET wine professional, and a Certified Cider Professional. I teach cheese classes for Antonelli’s Cheese and am an Event Manager for Banger’s on Rainey.
Cassie has been an integral part of the Austin restaurant community for over twenty years. Her gifting lies in building healthy employee cultures, nurturing client relationships, and leading strong operations. You can find Cassie running Franklin Barbecue as the GM, playing with her boys, and volunteering in the Becker Elementary Green Garden.
Catherine Stiles is the co-owner of Stiles Switch BBQ & The Switch, craft style bbq joints in Austin, Texas. Catherine is also the owner and founder of the consumer packaged beverage company, Barbecue Wife.
With 14 years in global retail marketing, public relations, and community relations with Whole Foods Market, Cathy Cochran-Lewis now serves as Communications and Operations Director for Whole Kids Foundation, a Whole Foods Market foundation.
She is co-founder of the Austin Chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier, and also co-founded the Austin Food & Wine Alliance in 2012, where she continues to serve on the board. Other accomplishments include Director of the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP), the world’s largest membership-based culinary organization, for seven years and board president in 2009 – 2010; serving as a multi-year judge for both the James Beard Foundation’s restaurant and chef awards, as well as the International Association of Culinary Professionals cookbook awards.
Cathy Strange is the Global Cheese Buyer at Whole Foods Market. She began her career with Whole Foods Market as a part-time Team Member in the wine department at the Wellspring Grocery in North Carolina sixteen years ago. Since that time, Cathy has worked in three different regions for Whole Foods Market, holding Store Buyer, Team Leader, and Coordinator positions.
Chrissy Grundy is the recipe developer and writer at Sunshine Texas Cookies Blog. She began her career in food at a very early age as the founder and head cheesemaker at CKC Farms in Blanco, Texas. Since her dairying days are behind her, Chrissy reignited her passion in food by creating a blog to invite her community to share in her baking joys. She currently resides in Buda, Texas with her husband and two small children and is an avid supporter of the local Texas food movement.
Born in South Texas, I grew up in Houston and often traveled to and spent extended periods in Mexico. I would help my grandmother cook simple northern Mexican dishes, eventually inspiring me to travel, live abroad and connect to people through their cuisine. One of the most significant gifts of growing up bilingual and bi-cultural is understanding that food can bridge culture and language. I studied International Studies at the University of St.Thomas in Houston, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts with a minor in Latin American Studies. I also worked on my Master of Education. After that, life led me to live in Portugal and France.
In 2019, my family and I moved to Austin from the south of France. I discovered my love of baking French pastries in France and spent three years taking master baking classes and training as a pastry chef. My love of baking led me to create Miss Macaron, an organic macaron provider for Austin and the surrounding area. In Austin, my husband and I also started Kids Code and Cook from a need to develop a program breaking gender stereotypes. My husband Alexis and I have been married 16 years; we have three children Alfred, Amalia, and Adelys.
Christina has worked at her Parent’s restaurants since the age of 16. She worked in restaurants and hotels for years before landing at Central Market. Christina has been with Central Market for 13 years.
Christina has had mentors that guided and nurtured her career and one of her goals is to do the same.
Cecilia Nasti was born into a large Italian-American family where mealtime took center stage. She loved working with her mother in the kitchen and experimenting on her own. As a young girl, had she known she could follow a culinary path, she would have. But instead, she went into broadcast journalism. Eventually, she combined her passion for food and her skills as a storyteller. She produced weekly food segments featuring local chefs which aired on the KGSR morning show in Austin. She also produced a long-running weekly radio show called Growing Concerns for KUT-FM, which focused on organic gardening and eating from the garden. In time, she developed the radio show and website, Field & Feast, where she put the spotlight on local gardeners, farmers, ranchers, home cooks, chefs, makers, and more. Field & Fiest focused on telling their stories, ensuring that these heroes of the world she loved received the attention they deserved. Cecilia's taking a hiatus from the show, which aired on KUT-FM and KUTX-FM for seven years, while she figures out her next steps.
Chelsea McCullough is a 5th generation Austinite and founder of local PR and Social Media Management agency, MYLK Collective. A natural connecter with over a decade of hospitality public relations experience in the Austin and the Hill Country area, Chelsea is passionate about linking people, brands, and ideas. Chelsea has represented dozens of hospitality brands and chefs since 2012 and works as the brand manager for the largest social media platform in Austin, 365 Things Austin. Chelsea’s volunteer work includes raising over $150,000 for the Austin Winter Storm Relief Project that she co-founded, which went to local restaurants and Good Work Austin, and raised over $10,000 for hospitality workers through a project she cofounded, Hundred for Hospitality.
Cheryl Drummond, Sr. Director of Culinary Innovation at Torchy’s Tacos. I’ve been at Torchy’s for over 10 years. I am an altruist at heart. I have a master’s in hospitality administration from UNLV, a culinary certificate from Austin Community College and a BS from Texas State. I established an annual culinary scholarship for female students at ACC in 2018. I currently sit on the advisory board for ACC Culinary Arts. I am a member of the CIAs Healthy Menus R&D Collaborative.
A proven executive leader and serial entrepreneur, specializing in creating vision, initiative and organization in the beverage industry. My creativity has been showcased in the enterprises I helped launch such as Deep Eddy Sweet Tea Vodka, Vinaire and 9 Banded Whiskey and now as part of the Leadership Team behind Future Proof Brands, LLC (BeatBox Beverages).
As a Certified Chocolatier and owner, I have a drive for perfection in all that I do. I travel to further my education by taking master classes to learn from the very best. My mission is to be the premier spot for chocolate sculptures and confections and to be a positive part of their celebrated events. I want to give my customers an authentic feel taking their taste buds on an exciting path. I am ambitious and very driven to always provide the best service possible.
Following an instinct, which turned into a true passion, my journey to become a chef turned into a lifelong career in the hospitality industry. I believe feeding someone is a way to show love and is translatable across cultures all over the world. Becoming a sommelier then added a new element to how I can share my passion with others.
Courtney Knittel joined the Giant Noise team in February of 2011. While at Giant Noise, Knittel has orchestrated launches for several new restaurants, including Olamaie, winner of Food & Wine’s “2015 Best New Chefs”; Emmer & Rye, winner of Food & Wine’s “2016 Best New Chefs”; and Launderette, featured in Food & Wine’s "2016 Restaurant of the Year" list. She has also spearheaded the PR strategies for Circuit of The Americas, the home of Formula 1 racing in the United States, and the launch of Domain Northside, Austin's premier shopping and entertainment development, which includes Rock Rose. Knittel also serves on the board of the Austin Food & Wine Alliance and handles their public relations. Prior to her move to Austin, she was a senior publicist at a top boutique PR firm in Beverly Hills with more than eight years of experience in media relations, entertainment media, celebrity relations, special events, and agency relations.
With over 13+ years experience in hospitality, marketing & events, Claudia recently just opened her first restaurant, Underdog in Austin with her business partner Richard Hargreave. Claudia's professional journey had a strong focus in the entertainment industry as well as the luxury wine and spirits space. Most recently prior to opening Underdog, Lee oversaw luxury new business development for Pernod Ricard USA working with their luxury spirits, wine and champagne portfolio, executing partnerships with fashion, entertainment and technology brands such as Versace, Chanel, Hermes, Piaget, IWC, Google and Fox. While also executing her role with PRUSA, Claudia was also helping out at her mom's 3 restaurants in Los Angeles (Starfish Sushi) during the pandemic. Prior to that, having worked in special events for Fox Entertainment Group executing large scale corporate hospitality programs such as Super Bowl and Upfronts as well as numerous other marketing agencies representing clients such as Pacifico, Chase, Hyundai, The Grammys and Puma.
Cristin Moxy Castro is a seasoned professional in the beverage business and a freelance writer. She is the founder of Commonwealth Beverage & Brand, LLC—a beverage company consulting firm working with small to medium-sized wineries, distilleries, breweries, and beverage companies—to start, seed, scale and grow strategically. She is a Board Member of the Wine & Food Foundation of Texas, Women of the Vine, and a graduate of the Master’s Program in Fine Food & Beverage at Bocconi University in Milan. She will carry Alsace Grand Cru and small-batch tequila to her desert island.
Christina moved from DC to Austin in 2011 where she continued accruing her 10 years of FOH experience as a Bar Manager at Porter Alehouse and Gastropub. In 2016, she took a job with Tito’s Handmade Vodka with the task of managing and expanding their philanthropic event footprint in Austin. Christina has doubled the amount of charity events Tito’s contributes to and continues to grow nonprofit relationships, while managing events throughout the state of Texas. When she’s not at events around town, you can find her at the greenbelt with her dogs, riding horses, or enjoying restaurants around town.
Dawn Orsak passionately writes about and cooks Texas Czech food. Her interest in the community has led to a blog; a statewide, traveling exhibition about Texas Czech culture; a kolach-baking side business; and speaking at the annual conferences of Les Dames d’Escoffier, IACP, and the Texas Folklore Society. Dawn is frequently quoted in articles nationwide about Texas’ version of kolaches and is doing a cookbook about food in the Texas Czech Community for University of Texas Press. In her day job, she is the director of the Philosophical Society of Texas, but she has planned gala dinners to cooking demonstrations for the Texas State Historical Association, Texas Hill Country Wine and Food Festival, Texas Folklife, Austin Food and Wine Alliance, and the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington D.C.
De Juana "De J." Lozada is a serial entrepreneur with a passion for popcorn. De J. took that passion and used it to create a company that addressed her desire to snack cleaner and healthier while also allowing her to celebrate Soul Food flavors from her Southern heritage. That's how Soul Popped Gourmet Popcorn was born!
Denise is a PR consultant, providing communications strategies and programs for food, wine, travel, and other clients. She is also a Certified Wine Educator and Certified Sommelier and holds an advanced certification from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust. She loves hosting private wine tastings and sharing knowledge about wines from around the world. An avid cyclist, Denise can be found smiling on her bike around town!
As Executive Director for Wine & Food Foundation, Denise leads the charge to cultivate and invest in the wine & food community through education, appreciation and enjoyment.
Hailing from New York, Denise moved to Austin in 2002 and ran her own event production company where she produced hundreds of corporate events, non-profit galas and weddings.
Donna Wilkins, co-owner and founder of Veneto Hospitality, and operator of the Juliet restaurants, has been in Austin for over 30 years. She provides strategic direction and serves as the CFO for the hospitality group. Donna holds WSET Wine Level 1 and 2 certifications.
Elaine Garza is a Partner at Giant Noise public relations agency based in New York City and Austin, Texas. Her diverse client list includes Internet startups such as non-profit media organization The Texas Tribune; travel and hospitality clients Hotel Saint Cecilia, Hotel San Jose and the Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau; media properties Pitchfork and Texas Monthly; and events including Fun Fun Fun Fest among many others.
Growing up in New Jersey, Elizabeth’s mother owned a catering company and was always introducing her to new foods. Elizabeth has worked in nearly every position in a variety of restaurant atmospheres. She excels in restaurant growth and development. While living in Delaware she worked with Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant as they grew from three stores to seven, and was instrumental in creating procedures and templates for the corporate office. She moved to Austin in 2008 and worked with North by Northwest Brewery & Restaurant and the original Highball & Alamo Drafthouse before settling into her role at Kome Sushi Kitchen. Since 2011 she has helped the brand grow from one store to five, taking the rank of Director of Operations and working side by side with the owner, Kayo Asazu. In the next coming years, she hopes to open her own coffee shop.
With well over 25+ years both in and out of the kitchen of both highbrow and lowbrow establishments mixed with working both in front of the house and back, tossed with a hearty side of restaurant public relations and marketing, Elizabeth Van Huffel has a well-rounded love for the restaurant and food industry and is passionate about giving back to the community. Hyper-focused on learning as much about local food, farmers, producers and makers founded an award-winning food blog which she ran for nearly 10 years before most recently pivoting over ownership the Hill Country Tasting Room & Event Space.
Following her life’s passion for the Arts and Service, Emily has found herself as the second half of the Site Rentals Department at the historical Austin gem, The Contemporary Austin - Laguna Gloria and The Jones Center. When she isn’t hustling behind the scenes during a private Site Rental, she is keeping in touch with her creative side through digital illustration.
Having worked in the service industry for over 10 years, Illinois-native Emily O’Connor is no stranger to the hustle and bustle of the business. During her time at Western Illinois University, she earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications with an emphasis in Public Relations.
O’Connor got her first taste of event planning in college when she was given the opportunity to arrange events for local nonprofits through an internship. She has worked as a server at a number of restaurants, gaining firsthand knowledge about the hospitality industry.
She started at Juliet Italian Kitchen as their first Event Coordinator and built the events program from the ground up. She then transitioned into the General Manager role after the re-concept of the restaurant. As Juliet Italian Kitchen’s General Manager, she handles the overall operations of the restaurant along with the events, marketing, public relations, and advertising.
When O’Connor isn’t busy running the restaurant, she enjoys live music, cooking, reading, Pilates and spending time with family and friends.
Emily was born and raised in the Texas Hill Country. While studying at the University of Texas, she launched her career in producing large scale events and co-founding East Austin’s HOPE Farmers Market. Over the years, she has found most satisfaction in curating large-scale opportunities for small food business, and continues to do so through her companies Event Site Design and Casero Austin.
Erin Fohn is a strategic marketer with a sharp eye for creative design, authentic storytelling, passionate people, and good works. She has over 16 years of experience working with a variety of beloved Austin-based brands focused on growth, excellence, innovation, and positive disruption. Her expertise is deeply rooted in food and hospitality, where she’s helped restaurants like Hopdoddy Burger Bar, Lick Honest Ice Creams, and Tacodeli grow from single spots to nationally-recognized leaders in our industry.
Gina Burchenal is the Owner/Operator of Gina’s Kitchen, her main vehicle for her catering, consulting, and culinary education activities. Gina is also very active in the community, donating her time and energy to organizations such as The Texas Hill Country Wine and Food Festival, Project Transitions, and Les Dames d’Escoffier.
I am National Photographer for Whole Foods Market. Previous to that I was an editorial/commercial photographer specializing in food and features for print.
Heather Clark has been in the Specialty Food and Adult Beverage industry for nearly 20 years. After attending The French Culinary Institute, Heather began working for Murray's Cheese, helping to open their first charcuterie focused shop, Murray's Real Salami in New York City. She was a wine buyer in New York City and the United Kingdom before starting with Whole Foods Market in 2015. Today, Heather oversees Specialty Operations for WFM's Central West region.
Hema Reddy is the founder and CEO of Crafty Counter, a consumer products food brand. Prior to that, Hema was with IBM for fourteen years.
She also runs the Food Startups Podcast, and occasionally volunteers her time teaching cooking classes and working with local non-profits.
Hope has 11+ years of experience in the food industry with roles ranging from Catering Director for The Peached Tortilla to brand management for food & beverage companies such as CatSpring Yaupon & PepsiCo. Currently, she is a co-founder of The Elephant Table, a collaborative dinner party concept focused on empowering chefs, brands and creatives.
Since 1999, Jackie has worked as Regional Sales Manager for FoodMatch, Inc., a Manhattan-based manufacturer and importer of Mediterranean products. Her job involves lots of travel to work with specialty markets around the country with an emphasis on product mix and marketing programs. Her position also provides the opportunity to attend several national and international food shows per year. From 1993 to 1996, Jackie was self-employed operating a gourmet food brokerage company representing about 20 manufacturers.
Raised in South Texas and Santiago, Chile, Jackie grew up in a large family with a deep history in farming. She pursued a degree in Viticulture from Universidad Catolica de Chile after obtaining a degree in Culinary Arts in Austin, Texas. As a professional, Jackie has pursued projects that allow her to blend community engagement with local food and culture. After working in the food and wine industry in Chile and South Texas, Jackie moved back to Austin in 2010 and launched a small food business, Paté Letelier, that focused on making connections with local farmers and ranchers to craft small-batch patés, charcuterie, and preserves. In 2019, Jackie launched Casero, a project that brought her back into the kitchen, once again making her small-batch charcuterie. Through Casero, Jackie creates beautiful trays of carefully selected artisanal cheeses, handmade charcuterie, jams, and other local goods delivered to your door and ready to serve to guests.
Born in Australia, after falling in love with more than the city she moved to New York with her now husband. Together opening El Diablo Tacos in Union Pool 17 years ago. Dividing time between New York and Austin the conception of Hillside Farmacy quickly evolved, after a year of hands on restoration, Hillside Farmacy was opened with her partners in early 2012. Their restoration was honored by Preservation Austin in a 2012 award and the building is now a registered Landmark.
I moved to Austin in 2001 to attend the University of Texas at Austin graduate school. I received a Master’s Degree in Communication in 2003. While waiting to pursue my Ph.D., I started teaching Thai cooking classes at people’s homes. At the same time, I started a farmer’s market stand at Sunset Valley Farmers’ Market to promote my class. Inspired by farmers and ranchers at the farmers’ market and the community, I decided to stay in Austin to pursue my culinary career and gave up my Ph.D. acceptance. I opened Thai Fresh in 2008 focusing on making traditional Thai food using locally grown and raised ingredients.
Janie Ramirez grew up in the city of Sulphur in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, where she loved baking for her family. Janie worked in various restaurants while attaining her Bachelor’s Degree in Art History at Louisiana State University. After graduating, inspired by Alice Waters’ The Art of Simple Food, she moved to Austin, Texas to attend Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts. She gained experience at several Austin establishments before accepting a prep position at Dai Due Butcher Shop & Supper Club. Only two months later she was promoted to Sous Chef, and eventually to Executive Chef. Her culinary passions include mayonnaise, spicy food, and shellfish.
January Wiese grew up in the wine industry in Paso Robles where she co-owned and operated her family winery, JanKris Vineyard & Winery until it sold in 2007. She married a Texan and moved to Austin where she has been the Executive Director of Texas Hill Country Wineries since 2012.
Jen D. Rodriguez is the Chef and Owner of 3 small plates, LLC, a contemporary tapas-style catering company specializing in small plate culinary journeys, one plate at a time.
A 2019 Le Dames d’Escoffier Beyond the Classroom recipient, the Texas native volunteers chef support for GABC Taste of Black Austin and crowd service support to AFWF. A DOD-trained journalist/photographer and avid traveler, she shares a passion for entertaining and love of cooking for others.
Jenna Northcutt was born and raised in southern Louisiana, where she first discovered her love of food. She landed in Austin in 2002 to attend the University of Texas at Austin and graduated with a degree in advertising. Jenna started off her career doing graphic design and marketing for local businesses and was on the founding team of Edible Austin and later the owner and publisher. After 12 1/2 years of connecting Central Texans to their local food community, Jenna sold the magazine and turned her focus to her design firm Raad Graphics doing freelance work for businesses of all sizes. Jenna is an award-winning photographer, a creative problem solver and a passionate creator.
Jennifer is the owner and head instructor of Make It Sweet, an Austin based specialty retail supply store and hands-on classroom studio with a focus on the tools, supplies, ingredients and educational and recreational classes to make beautiful and delicious cakes, cookies and candies.
Jenny moved to New York after graduating UT Austin to pursue her design career, eventually settling in Connecticut. Becoming a mother gave her consciousness around food. She became passionate about making food from scratch, sourcing organic and locally—eventually volunteering and consulting with the local farmer’s market community. After being diagnosed with celiac, she focused on her diet and healing with nutrition. Eventually launching It’s All Good, a gluten-free baking company that makes sourdough breads and baked goods. She believes in using clean, organic, and local ingredients and collaborating with other local small businesses.
Jessica Dupuy is a native Austinite and freelance writer. Her credits include articles for Texas Monthly, Fodor’s, Texas Highways, Austin Monthly, Edible Austin, and Saveur online. She will also release Uchi: The Cookbook with famed Austin sushi Chef Tyson Cole in January 2011. Dupuy’s most enjoys food, traveling, and the outdoors.
jessicadupuy.com
Jessica Halich is the founder and owner of Fancy Fluff. Fancy Fluff provides the surprise and delight for special events with its new twist on classic cotton-candy. Combining her background in special events, love of cooking, and keen business finesse, she launched Fancy Fluff in 2016 as a new delectable dessert for Austinites, one made with natural, organic ingredients and full of real flavor. Today, Fancy Fluff offers more than 65 fun flavors, all gluten-free, vegan, and ready for you to personalize with branding for special celebrations, corporate events, or weddings for parties as large as 5,000. With the success of Fancy Fluff, Jessica recently launched a sister brand, The Churro Burro, which serves up hot and delicious churros for celebrations, complete with custom gourmet dipping sauces.
Jessica is the Chef and Co-Owner of Lenoir and Vixens Wedding. She has been cooking since she was a teenager and later decided to become a professional after graduating from UT in 2000. She considers herself an advocate for sustainability, preservation, nutrition, as well as good food and wine. She is very proud to be a part of the restaurant community in Austin.
Jessica is a bar owner, professional bartender, and hospitality consultant based in Austin. She is the Owner/Operator of drink.well., an award-winning cocktail gastropub in Austin’s vibrant North Loop district. Her professional endeavors also include cocktail catering, spirits education, and bar consulting. Since opening in 2012, drink.well. has consistently been recognized as one of Austin’s best bar programs. Nationally, Jessica’s work has been featured in numerous publications including Food & Wine, Southern Living, Bon Appétit , and Condé Nast Traveler.
She was previously the President of the Austin Chapter of the United States Bartenders’ Guild and has lectured at notable industry events including The Bar Institute, Portland Cocktail Week, and the San Antonio Cocktail Conference. In 2016, Jessica was profiled in Imbibe Magazine’s anticipated annual list of the 75 most influential tastemakers in beverage & hospitality. Jessica was featured in Wine Enthusiast’s ’40 Under 40’ list in 2016 and was a national finalist in 2014 for a Wine Enthusiast ‘Wine Star Award’ in the category of Best American Mixologist.
Jill Johnson is a pioneer in Wine, Spirits, & Specialty Food Industry. After years supporting brands with Diageo in California, she broadened her knowledge with private winery representation managing importing and distribution. Her professional food experience was learned through Columbus Salame which then prompted the creation of Swig Consulting, a specialty Wine & Food boutique company focused on wine, spirits, & food.
Johanna is a founding member of the Austin Dames Chapter and an independent recipe developer for products and home appliances.
Joi is the owner of the Cook’s Nook, a culinary incubator that provides kitchen production space, entrepreneur development, and food services in the food+tech space. During the COVID pandemic, she created an emergency food initiative called “Keep Austin Together” to provide meals to over 25 nonprofits.
A University of Texas graduate, she also attended Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts. She serves on the City of Austin’s Office of Sustainability’s Central Texas Regional Food Systems Organizing Committee, the City of Austin-Travis County Food Policy board, Annie’s List board, and Google’s Refresh Working Group. She is a board member of NaturallyAustin (focused on CPG for Black and Brown entrepreneurs) and is a founder of the Greater Austin Black Chamber of Commerce’s Taste of Black Austin. In 2018, she was the first African American woman to run for State Comptroller.
She loves playing video games, looking through her telescope, and traveling.
Josie owns and operates Violette Wine Co, a boutique wine distributor in Austin, Texas. Selling to some of the greatest restaurants and wine shops in the state, Violette represents over 40 natural wine producers from across the globe. Find her gardening, swimming and practicing yoga in those precious leisure hours.
Julia Poplawsky has worked as a whole animal butcher in Central Texas for the last six years. She founded the Central Texas Meat Collective in 2017 in order to teach people how to source and butcher local meat. Her passion lies in bringing chefs, consumers and farmers together.
Julie Kuhlken, Co-Founder, Chief Marketing, and Hospitality Officer, oversees the marketing and hospitality operations and is artistically responsible for the Pedernales Cellars brand. A graduate of Stanford University, Julie received a doctorate in Philosophy and has taught at universities in Europe and North America. She holds the WSET III certification, which she received with distinction. She is a regularly published author, passionate about wine, art, and philanthropy – those loves have come together in Pedernales Cellars’ partnership with the Hill Country Film Festival.
Chef Julie Myrtille is internationally renowned for her outstanding work in French pastry and cuisine.
Julie is the executive pastry chef at Julie Myrtille Bakery, the author of an award-winning blog, and a member of the Académie Culinaire de France.
After years of traveling to destinations near and far, Karen Killough and her husband Kent put their mind to creating a destination centered around craft beer and local food right here in the Hill Country. They opened Vista Brewing in 2018, a destination brewery in Driftwood, just southwest of Austin. The 21-acre ranch includes a brewery & tasting room, restaurant, 1-acre vegetable farm, apiary, live music and private event spaces.
With her background in CPG and spirits marketing, Karen oversees Vista’s brand, social media and design, as well as event programming. She is also the resident beekeeper of Vista’s 16-hive apiary.
Karen Odom Spezia is a freelance culinary writer in Austin, Texas. She has been a monthly contributor to Tribeza Magazine since 2006 and has also been published in the Austin American-Statesman, Austin Magazine, and Austin Woman Magazine. She has taught wine appreciation classes at Central Market. She has studied viticulture and enology at UC/Davis, culinary arts at the Culinary Institute of America, and holds a Level 1 certificate from the International Sommelier Guild. She is the former Marketing Director of the Texas Hill Country Wine & Food Festival and has a journalism degree from Southern Methodist University.
Newspaper staff writer/editor
Food editor/writer of a daily paper in Austin, Texas for 28 years.
Originally from the Central Coast of California, Katie studied Agricultural Business at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. She started with Whole Foods Market as an intern in their produce buying office. After working as a produce buyer for 5 years, she was fortunate enough to join the global specialty team. She currently manages the domestic wine assortment nationally.
Kati moved to Austin 10 years ago and has done everything from catering to culinary director. She started Killa Wasi to promote an inclusive and supportive work environment for women — and to bring a cuisine that is highly undervalued in Austin. Killa Wasi started out as a pop-up in 2014 and has since grown into a food bus and catering operation based in Govalle. Living and working in East Austin has encouraged her to continue growing the business to cater to an underserved area and food desert.
As an Austin native, Katie got her start producing music, food and wine events, and fell in love with the hospitality industry. As the Experiential Marketing & Partnerships Manager for Still Austin Whiskey Co., Katie has brought to life immersive music, culinary, and spirits focused events that create a lasting audience impact.
After graduating from UT with a bachelor’s degree in public relations and leading a successful PR career in Austin, Katie pivoted to the culinary world to pursue a lifelong passion of baking and sweets. It didn’t take long for her to fall in love with the work, the people, and eventually even the hours. Katie has worked at Austin icons like Quack’s 43rd St. Bakery and Launderette, as well as the Fairmont Austin. Always looking to further her own knowledge and to better understand the “why” behind the recipes, Katie enrolled in culinary school and graduated with her associate’s degree in baking and pastry. She is now the pastry chef de cuisine for Albert Hotel, a New Waterloo property in the heart of historic Fredericksburg.
Katrina Ferraro is a private chef, hospitality consultant, and the owner of Concession Stand at Hotel Vegas and Volstead Lounge.
After graduating from Le Cordon Bleu in Austin in 2005, Katrina relocated to New York. She worked in several high-profile kitchens before launching her own East Village-based catering service, The Hot Knife, which specialized in providing healthy lunches for tech companies including Squarespace, Apple, and Centric Digital. When she returned to Austin in 2016, Katrina opened the Concession Stand at Hotel Vegas and Volstead, where she created a menu of crave-worthy burgers and other classic American comfort foods.
Kela Hunte also known as Chef Keii (pronounced "Key") As a trained Pastry & Culinary Chef her passion and specialty is transforming ordinary ingredients into extraordinary and delicious creations. While in culinary school she discovered her love for mentoring and teaching. Last year she launched
Keii Events creative cooking & baking workshops. Chef KeiiI enjoys working with companies seeking group activities. Her mission is inspiring others through food to reach their highest goals.
With a firm belief that food brings people together, Kellie set out to find her way in a broad culinary industry over two decades ago. From restaurants and hotels, catering and event-planning, Kellie found her home in the grocery retail environment 16 years ago. Currently serving as the Selling Manager for specialty grocery retailer Central Market, Kellie focuses her work on growing sales through creating an incredible customer experience, loves finding and helping emerging products and brands enter the marketplace, teaching, and has the pleasure of leading a team of professional foodies and artists. “I am inspired by the history and possibilities that bring people into their kitchens and to their tables. And I am humbled to be let into my customers’ lives while they make their own delicious memories.” When she’s not in aisles, you can find her in the kitchen with her son, tending to her backyard chickens, exploring the southern US for great BBQ, enjoying vineyards and distilleries, hiking, at the beach, or off on a grand food adventure!
Kendall is Co-Owner/Founder and President of Antonelli’s Cheese Shop, an award-winning cut-to-order cheese and pairings shop that represents hundreds of artisanal producers and has earned distinctions of Best Cheese Shops in America and Local Heroes among others. The mission-driven shop to #DoGoodEatGood includes robust wholesale and events programs as well. Kendall has been named a Profile in Power by the Austin Business Journal and a Blazing Star by the Women’s Chamber of Texas. She serves on multiple boards, is a published author, and enjoys speaking on topics of entrepreneurship, as seen in her recent TEDx talk. Her life is made sweeter alongside partner John, spirited kids Everett and Elia, and adopted dogs Lucky Day and Luna Loca.
CEO and Co-founder, Whim Hospitality
As an entrepreneur and CEO of Whim Hospitality, Kim Hanks has grown her business from a small rental company in 2012 to one of the largest and fastest-growing, woman-led businesses in the country. Whim, an event services company offering rentals, tents, catering, florals and venue management, employs more than 250 people and have been named to the Austin Business Journal’s Fast 50 and the Inc. 5000 list for four consecutive years. Whim Hospitality also manages Camp Lucy, a 289-acre luxury resort that specializes in weddings, with 3 distinct venues, lodging options and an onsite fine dining restaurant. Kim received the Austin Business Journal’s Best CEO Award (Small Business) in 2018 and was honored by the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce with its Executive Leadership Award in 2019.
Kori Rosetti left restaurants 4 years ago to work in private in-home dining through The Austin Artisan. Before that, she worked in restaurants all over the United States. Her main focus was finding restaurants that showcased farm-to-table and learning about different cuisines from different regions.
Born 1983 in Austin, Texas. Raised in the Rio Grande Valley, home of the Ruby Red Grapefruit and Tom Landry. I moved back to Austin in 2005 to start my career in the food industry and since then have worked in numerous scratch kitchen restaurants serving up to 300 people and large hotels serving 2000-person banquets. In 2016 I took a break from the restaurant industry to spend more time with my husband and two beautiful boys, who are 5 and 10. I found my love for food through family and friends when I was a child. My favorite part of being a Pastry Chef is creating unique desserts using seasonal ingredients and elevating them with sweet, salty, and bitter notes. In 2021, my love for pastries and passion for the kitchen brought me home to The Driskill right here in Austin, TX.
Krystal Craig is the Co-Owning Manager & Chocolatier/Pastry Chef for Intero restaurant. She is a self taught chocolatier who has owned her own chocolate companies and produced chocolates for multiple establishments ranging between well-known restaurants to hotels such as the Four Seasons and Jeffrey’s. Additionally, she has participated in the Armadillo Christmas Bazaar for over 10 years and continues to do so with her now side chocolate product line Crave Artisan Chocolate. Krystal is a born and raised Austinite who was inspired in her entrepreneurial path with chocolate and pastry production by her naturally creative nature and the experiences she had growing up. She attributes her work to her time baking with her dad, eating various chocolates with her mother, observing the behind the scenes operations of her family friend’s neighborhood restaurant, and spending time in Italy as her greatest influences. Her focus in working with specialty couverture chocolates and organic ingredients to create elevated classic flavors and unique offerings have earned her multiple accolades and write-ups over the years as a rising star for chocolate in Austin.
Laila Bazahm is chef-restauranteur at Austin’s El Raval, serving modern Spanish tapas and paellas with global influences, celebrating the diverse cultural influences of Barcelona’s El Raval neighborhood. Hailing from Manila, Chef Laila first found success at J.P. Morgan and Deutsche Bank before quitting her finance job in Dubai to train in Michelin-star restaurants in Spain, Hong Kong and Singapore. In 2017, she launched Hawker 45 in Barcelona, featuring her inventive Asian street food-inspired fusion cuisine. In 2020, she launched Hawker Beach Club Ibiza with Axel Group, the world’s leading LGBTQ hotel chain. Moving with her wife to Houston in 2021, she began attracting local acclaim with her Hawker Street Food Bar at Post Houston before selling it to loyal staff. Chef Laila arrived in Austin in 2022, briefly taking over the kitchen at Eberly. With the opening of El Raval, she now has an American platform in Texas as Chef-restaurateur, and a showcase for her original and very personal style of cuisine.
Laura Freedman is co-founder with her wife Laila Bazahm of Austin’s El Raval restaurant, serving modern Spanish tapas and paellas with global influences, celebrating the diverse cultural influences of Barcelona’s El Raval neighborhood. Laura began her culinary journey in 2012 when she met her wife, Chef Laila Bazahm, who was then embarking on her culinary career transition in Singapore. Moving to Barcelona in 2015, she co-founded and financed Chef Laila’s Asian street food fusion restaurant, Hawker 45. In 2020, they launched Hawker Beach Club Ibiza before moving to Houston in 2021 to launch Hawker Street Food Bar. Arriving in Austin in 2022, they purchased Barlata Tapas Bar, transforming it into El Raval. A former management consultant with a background in financial services and an INSEAD MBA, Laura has lived and worked in cities including Barcelona, Singapore, Bangkok, Paris, London, Brussels, Warsaw, Moscow, Vladivostok, Chicago, Boston, Atlanta, Miami, Houston and New York.
Whimsical, complex and beautiful, Laura’s work embodies her spirit and passion for creating desserts that tickle our memories and enchant our palettes. Her love of hospitality and dedication to her craft, has gained Laura a devoted following and high praise from both local and national press. She was named “Best New Pastry Chef 2012” by Food & Wine magazine and has been nominated five times by the James Beard Foundation for “Outstanding Pastry Chef.”
A 2005 graduate of The Culinary Institute of America, Laura spent many years honing her skills and developing her unique culinary voice, staging and working at some of New York City’s best restaurants. In early 2009, Laura moved to Austin, Texas to help open modern interior Mexican restaurant, La Condesa. As Executive Pastry Chef, she oversaw the subsequent expansion of La Condesa Napa and also opened La Condesa’s sister restaurant Sway.
In 2014, Sawicki and longtime culinary partner, Rene Ortiz, branched out to form a new restaurant group. In addition to Fresa’s Chicken al Carbon, which now has two Austin locations, the group opened Launderette in February 2015.
After growing up in the service industry working with her mother's catering company and bartending across many cities, Lauren has been producing large scale events specializing in food and bev for over 15 years. The art of bringing people together to truly experience the hospitality industry is more than a passion, it's a way of life.
Leah is the Chief Marketing Officer for William Chris Wine Company, a champion for evolving and growing the Texas wine industry and the leading producer of 100% Texas-grown wines. Born and raised in Austin, Leah enjoys exploring her beloved hometown alongside her husband Chris and their young daughter Lexie.
Chef/Owner Leanne Valenti founded Bento Picnic in 2015 to bring delicious, healthy homestyle bento boxes to Austin. Leanne fell in love with bento cuisine while living in Japan in 2011, and she returned home to Texas with a mission to create balanced bento meals with local ingredients. The aspects of owning a restaurant & catering business that she loves the most are developing new recipes and connecting with customers. "It is really rewarding to see customers return again and again, who enjoy our food because it not only tastes great, but also fits in with their lifestyle, and makes them feel good!"
LeighAnn Bakunas is the Senior Manager of Food, Beverage, and Music for YETI where she currently leads the influencer and partnership marketing efforts to drive awareness, affinity, and advocacy within the food, beverage, and music communities. She has over 17 years of professional experience in the marketing realm.
Lena Ognyanova is the founder of Organic Eats for Kids. When her medical background meet her passion for food, the healthy meal delivery service for kids was born. Cooking has always been a passion deeply connected to her roots. After her son was born all the knowledge she obtained over the years she focused in a company that Lena feels is her second child.
Lindsey is a PR professional (and co-owner of LeRoy and Lewis Barbecue) equally passionate about barbecue and beer as community engagement and philanthropy. A partner in The Rind, a PR agency dedicated to CPG brands, she thrives on telling brands’ stories and developing creative partnerships to help increase awareness.
Lindsey Peebles is the owner of Texas Keeper Cider, mother of two girls and a lover of all foods, fermentation, gardening, and farming. Before starting Texas Keeper with her partner Nick and her old friend, Brandon, Lindsey was at various times a lawyer, vineyard worker, apple picker, bakery assistant, and administrative assistant.
For 11 years, (2004-2015) Liz has been responsible for the art direction and brand management for Stubb’s Bar-B-Q in Austin, TX. Her other roles there included graphic design and photography for events, lifestyle, products, and food. During that time she developed incredible friendships and connections in the industry which allowed her to go out on her own.
Since 2015, she has been operating as Liz Berry Creative, a small, "word-of-mouth" design company offering branding and photography for many local Texas based CPG companies and restaurants. She is a previous board member for the Texas Restaurant Association Education Foundation and a past mentor for SKU, a CPG accelerator program. Two of her most recent clients have been Franklin BBQ and Central Machine Works Brewery.
Liz (as of 2020) has shifted gears from design to hospitality with helping to start the Texas hill country boutique hotel and event property, Cactus Moon Lodge. She now focuses "most" of her energy towards managing it but still continues design work for current clients and takes on branding projects when she can.
Liz, her husband, two dogs and chickens live in Dripping Springs on Fitzhugh road and love the neighboring breweries, wineries and bakeries.
Lorena is the CEO and Executive Producer of Dish’n Dames, a digital media platform dedicated to raising awareness of the significant and impactful roles of women in the culinary world. Her career spans over twenty years in the retail food industry and she is a founding partner of Brand & Mortar restaurant consulting group. Lorena has also served as a member of the culinary management team for the Austin and Nashville Food & Wine Festivals and as a senior culinary instructor at The Art Institute of Austin. She has sat on the board of directors for The Junior League of Austin and currently serves on the board of trustees for the Texas Restaurant Association Educational Foundation.
Maria “Lulu” Palacios is originally from Mexico but moved to Austin in July of 2022 from El Paso, TX. She started in the hospitality industry in 2013 and that love for creating memorable guest experiences and creative marketing has followed her throughout her life to her current career as the Key Account Manager for Pernod Ricard.
Lynn is currently employed as a Sommelier at The Wine Cellar in Lakeway TX. She also teaches wine classes and private wine events. She recently relocated from Los Angeles where for many years she was the Wine and Bar Manager for a busy Steakhouse. The wine business is a second career as she has a BS in Nursing . Fell in love with food and wine and decided to delve deeper into her passion. She is now WSET Diploma candidate and a French wine scholar.
When food writer and market chef Maggie isn't sharing the best local farmers offer, you might find her scouting barbecue in Mississippi, comparing gumbo in the Big Easy, or begging bagel secrets on the Lower East Side. Her true north is sharing what she learns with students of all ages.
Mandi’s journey into the world of wine and cuisine began when she was 16, working for various restaurants and country clubs in her native Dallas.
After graduating from the University of North Texas, Mandi moved to Austin and held various Wine Manager positions from Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse to General Manager of TRIO at the Four Seasons. After leaving Four Seasons she sought out a full-time role to be immersed in wine and joined the fine wine team at Republic National Distribution. After 8 years at Republic National, she joined the New Waterloo group as the Beverage Director. At New Waterloo, she curated the beverage programs, lead staff education at Le Politique, Il Brutto, La Matta, Sway, Otoko, Central Standard, La Condesa, Hotel Ella and South Congress Hotel. In 2018 she took the Southern Regional Sales Manager position with European Cellars to be closer connected to wineries.
Originally from Madrid, Spain, Fer learned to cook Spanish food at an early age. She developed her cooking talents attending culinary programs and learning with professional chefs. She started teaching cooking classes 12 years ago. Even though she has a law degree, her passion has always been connecting with people.
Mari Soto was proudly born & raised in San Antonio & has lived in Austin for 15 years. The entirety of her 20-year professional career has been within the hospitality industry. Following 11 years with Whole Foods Market (8 of those years in leadership), she has curated pop-up restaurants for festivals such as Coachella & Desert Daze in California, built relationships with local producers to source products for catering companies, as well as overseen production & product development for restaurants, a plant-based ice cream company, & a catering company. Her overall experience has culminated in her becoming a full-time private & traveling chef who has a focus on developing creative & approachable food that's inclusive of all nutritional & dietary needs. In addition to obsessing over delicious food, she spends her time obsessing over her dog, Toni B. Negroni.
Yuyo Executive Chef Maribel Rivero is passionate not only about food but also about fostering community through food. A third-generation food industry professional, the chef’s hunger for culinary creativity was fostered at a young age by her grandparents. Trained at the Culinary Institute of America in San Antonio, Rivero has immersed herself in Latin American cuisine, studying in Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Argentina, but it was in Lima where she found her true calling, spending two years exploring the diverse culinary landscape of Peru. After returning to the United States, she opened Yuyo with her brother, restaurateur Carlos Rivero, and a new Austin hot spot was born. The 2019 James Beard-nominated chef continues to explore and innovate using the essence of Peruvian flavors while creating community.
CEO and Marketing Director of 50 Foot Websites & Branding, Martha has over 20 years of expertise in marketing for small to medium-sized wineries, distilleries, breweries, and restaurants. A Long time home brewer, she brings her creativity and industry knowledge to help businesses achieve their marketing goals.
Mary Mickel, partner at Resplendent Hospitality in Austin, Texas, has over ten years of PR experience with a strong focus on the hospitality industry. Before moving to Austin in 2009, she spent time in California, working in hotels in Napa Valley and one of San Francisco’s oldest hospitality PR firms, Andrew Freeman & Company. Upon heading south, Mickel and her husband founded Austin’s first hard cider house, Argus Cidery. She subsequently co-founded Resplendent Hospitality, with partner, Ali Slutsky, with the mission to assist in building hospitality brands across all platforms.
Mary Stanley is the owner, wine buyer, pasta maker, gelato artisan, and chocolatier for the Turtle. She has studied chocolate making with Jean-Pierre Wybauw, art of entremets with Spanish master Ramon Morato. She has diplomas in Artisan Pasta and Breads from Manuelina Culinary in Brescia, Italy. Mary is T Certified in Tequila from the Consejo Regulador Del Tequila, is WSET Level 2 Award with Distinction in Spirits.
Matti Bills is the Owner of Three Six General in San Marcos, Texas. Her butcher shop specializes in local sourcing, whole animal butchery, and preservation through curing, smoking, and fermentation. 36G distributes to area farmers markets, through wholesale, and supplies food to breweries and wineries in the surrounding hill country.
Meg Schwartz, owner of Spoon & Co a Boutique Catering Company in Austin, TX has dedicated her life to sharing delicious food and excellent service. Her career in food began in 2000 when she landed her first job cooking for Deli’s & restaurants all over Cape Town, South Africa.
Meg has a degree in Studio Painting and Philosophy of Art but soon realized that not everyone bought art, but everyone did buy food and food became her medium of choice. She started her first catering company in 2002 and in 2005 she moved to Austin with her husband and dogs. After a brief stint working with a local caterer, she started Spoon & Company in 2007.
Meg prides herself on creating mindful entertaining experiences, which allow people to create events that go on as shared memory...
Melanie McAfee has been the owner of Barr Mansion since 1981. Barr became the first certified organic special event venue in the nation in 2007. Creating a beautiful, sustainable, historical and modern venue has been a driving passion. Her next endeavor is to create a farm to table community.
Creator, optimist, former lawyer and outstanding leader, Melanie Roy is multi award-winning entrepreneur and founder of multiple successful businesses. She is currently the business manager for Julie Myrtille Bakery.
After spending more than a decade working in events, sales and marketing for nationally recognized brands, start-ups and early-stage companies, Reese co-founded Huckleberry Hospitality. Her diverse experience is extensive and includes international music festivals, nonprofit fundraising, galas, athletic competitions and multi-day installations. She can be found engaging with her community at the Central Texas Veterans Affairs Center and managing Austin’s Rhodesian Ridgeback group.
Born and raised in east Texas, I got my first hostess job in high school. I made a lot of friends, fell in love with hospitality, and continued to hostess through college. I was on the opening team of La Condesa as the lead host and stayed until I moved to NYC three years later. In NYC, I worked as a fashion assistant under the Conde Nast umbrella at Lucky Magazine - I ran a fashion closet and managed 14 interns. When I moved back to Austin, I knew I wanted to work with New Waterloo again. Over the last 8 years, my role has evolved from Private Dining Manager to Partnerships + Programming Manager to my current position as Director of Partnerships. We currently operate 3 hotels, 9 restaurants, and 8 forthcoming projects.
Growing up in the motion picture industry, this Los Angeles native is no stranger to the magic of events. After attending college in North Carolina on a tennis scholarship, Meredith rediscovered her passion for cooking while spending time in the kitchen with her grandmother, and quickly made the switch to culinary school where she would begin chasing her dream of becoming a Chef.
She returned home to LA where she landed a job with a major catering company that specialized in large awards dinners and movie + TV craft services. Harnessing her ability to serve Hollywood celebrity clientele, Meredith went on to become a personal chef to several A-List celebrities. While she loved her time in the city of stars, she was ready to make the jump to Austin.
Meredith first joined the Whim Hospitality team as Executive Sous Chef of Whim Catering, where she led the charge on offsite catering in the Austin and surrounding hill country areas. In her new role as Banquets Executive Chef at Camp Lucy, she will direct the Banquet Team and drive the direction for the Banquet Food and Beverage Program. She is inspired by the dedication and passion of this female-led company and is honored to be a part of the continued growth.
Mia was born in California to Southeast Asian parents and learned early on how to cook from her grandparents. After completing her culinary degree from the prestigious Johnson & Wales University, she went on to experience professional cooking in a range of environments. From staging in food trucks to Michelin-starred restaurants such as Saison. She developed her career while working for James Beard-winning chefs Jennifer Jasinski, Melissa Kelly, and Paul Qui. She is a locally beloved chef and has helmed Austin kitchens, like Lenoir and Kuneho. Inspired by her Southeast Asian roots, Mia creates beautiful dishes with powerful flavors and deep history. She currently resides in Austin, TX where she is the western territory sales manager for Ora King Salmon. In her free time, she cooks private tasting menus and participates in events supporting Asian Americans.
What started as a food blog for Mica soon blossomed into a career. Since 2015, Austin Food Guide has been setting the trends and capturing the essence of food brands in fresh and innovative ways. Six years later, she’s still enthusiastic about food photography.
Mica creates fresh and innovative visuals for food marketers, restaurant owners, and cookbook publishers in a way that captures their true brand essence.
Following graduating culinary school in 2002 from Le Cordon Bleu, Pasadena, California, I worked as a pastry cook several reputable eateries across California including A.O.C, Michelin-starred restaurants Michael Mina, Masas, Campton Place and opened Quince & Cotogna. I worked briefly in Maui to work at Spago and then decided to grow my root in Austin, Tx opening Jeffreys and then worked at La Corsha Hospitality Group as their Corporate Pasty Chef for 10 years. During my time with them, I worked at Congress, opened SBK at the Archer Hotel, ABIA, and Stagecoach Inn. I then worked as a Chef Instructor for 2 years at Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts. I recently started my own business to pursue event planning, food festival coordination, food photography and consult for restaurants and catering companies with their special events and pastry programs.
Longtime Austin live music/bar professional (Donn’s Depot) and co-owner of St. Cecilia Soda Co.
Michelle is the founder of Michelle's Patisserie, an Austin-born, award-winning custom bakery specializing in wedding cakes, custom cakes, pastries, and tea parties. Michelle is a Food Network winner from the Big Bake Holiday December 2022, she was a finalist in May of 2023 for the Austin Woman's Way Awards, her work has been featured on Martha Stewart Weddings, and she is in the Knot Hall of Fame.
Michele Haram is a lifetime cheese enthusiast and American Cheese Society Certified Cheese Professional. She is a graduate of the French Culinary Institute and has been working with cheese for over 10 years as a retailer, educator, and representative. She is a Sales Director at Vermont Creamery, a B-Corp Certified producer of fine cow’s milk and goat’s milk cheeses. She pinches herself every day because her job is to travel the country extolling the virtues of artisan cheese, the value of knowing your producer, and of course, the cuteness of baby goats.
Graduate of California Culinary Academy; contributes regularly to various local and national publications, published in culinary reference books, including Scribner's Encyclopedia of Food and Culture and Oxford Encyclopedia of Food & Drink in America. Focuses on topics of food history in Texas. Presents regularly to museums, food groups, and other organizations on food history topics. Works as a private chef, works part-time in San Francisco.
Cooked at NXNW in 2001. Cooked in the production kitchen at Central Market as well at that time. ASTI in Hyde Park in 2003, Prep to Chef de Cuisine until my resignation in early 2008 to become CDC of Olivia. I worked sporadically with Dai Due cooking farm dinners and other events until Olivia opened in August of '08. Full-time with Dai Due since 2010 working the shop and cooking markets and dinners, eventually starting up hunting and fishing schools.
Morgan Perry has been working in the wine & spirits industry for 15 years. She started her career at a PR & marketing agency in NYC, where she became Vice President. After ten and a half years, Morgan left the agency and started Morgan Perry Public Relations. Current clients include Champagne Billecart-Salmon, the wine region of Alto Adige, and Texas Hill Country Wineries.
Morgan is also the founder of Vino Vinyasa, which combines wine education and yoga.
She holds an Advanced WSET (Wine & Spirits Education Trust) Certification, which she passed with distinction. She is also a certified yoga instructor, SCUBA diver, and enjoys hiking, wake surfing, acro yoga, and of course, enjoying great food & wine all over Austin.
Nancy earned her BA and MA from UT Austin and worked as a CPA before owning and operating a catering company and working as a Cooking School Instructor for Central Market Austin. She is a Level 1 Certified Sommelier and Specialist of Texas Wine. Outside of the culinary world, she is Aunt Nancy, Stepmom to 4 teenage girls, and loving Cat Mom to George and Chloe.
Before retiring Nancy Siler was creator, host, and executive producer of the Telly and MarCon Gold Awards-winning PBS series “Bake Decorate Celebrate!” which aired for 10 seasons in 85% of the USA, 46 countries and in its final year achieved 23.3K confirmed airings. Nancy has done hundreds of interviews and decorating demonstrations for programs on CBS, NBC, ABC, WGN, PBS, Food Network, Discovery Channel, HSN and QVC Networks.
As former Vice President of Consumer Affairs and Public Relations for Wilton Brands, she achieved 4 billion impressions and 16K placements for the brand in one year on a limited budget. She was superintendent of The Wilton School of Cake Decorating which offered over 246 classes plus was responsible for Regulatory Affairs, Consumer Affairs, Public Relations, The Wilton Store, and The Test Kitchen. Her last role at the company was VP of Creative Services leading a team of 50 people fulfilling 4.3K requests including 2.4K projects, 15K images, and producing 21 digital education classes in a single year.
Also, Nancy served as a corporate dietitian for Dominick’s Finer Foods, director of nutrition at Hill & Knowlton, a health care consultant, and a university professor at the University of Texas at Austin, University of Illinois, and Chicago State University.
Siler has served on the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Board of Directors and 8 strategic committees. She’s been president and delegate for both the Texas and Illinois Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics in addition to serving on other major committees and in elected positions. She’s been on the Board of the Food and Culinary Professionals Dietetic Practice Group, Les Dames d’Escoffier–Chicago and Dallas chapters–and Chicago Food and Nutrition Network.
Nitya is a commercial & editorial photographer specializing in food, beverage, and hospitality. Every flavor, space, and maker tells a story and her visuals celebrate the craft, the people, and the spaces that create community. When not behind the lens, she enjoys spending time with her family, cooking, traveling, and planning the next trip while traveling.
Olivia Rodriguez is an Assistant Principal at Taylor High School over Career and Technology Education.
She has served the last 15 years in the classroom as Chef Instructor to over 1500 students. Choosing to teach because a teacher changed her life. She holds an Associate of Culinary Arts and a Bachelors of Science in Food Service Management from Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island. She also holds a Masters of Education in Educational Leadership with a Principal Certification from the University of Texas, Tyler.
Patricia is a native Austinite and Engineer turned Cake Artist and Baker at Suga's Cakery. Suga's Cakery is an artisanal bakery and classic dessert shop based in a dessert trailer in Pflugerville, TX. She also specializes in allergy-friendly baked goods such as vegan and gluten friendly.
Paula writes about the endless adventure of food and travel. Her stories have taken her to vanilla plantations in French Polynesia, single malt distilleries in Scotland, olive groves in Spain, and salmon boats in Alaska. She is a frequent contributor to Southern Living, Food & Wine, The Local Palate, and Texas Highways, among other national publications.
Disbrowe has written seven cookbooks, including her forthcoming book, “Thank You For Smoking” (Ten Speed Press, March 2019) and “Any Night Grilling” for Food52 (Ten Speed Press, March 2018). Her first book, “Cowgirl Cuisine,” chronicles the adventure of leaving New York City to cook on a ranch in The Texas Hill Country. She has co-written four other cookbooks, “Crescent City Cooking” with Susan Spicer, chef at Bayona restaurant in New Orleans and “Real Cajun” with Donald Link, the acclaimed chef of Herbsaint and Cochon restaurants in New Orleans, which won the prestigious James Beard Award for Best American Cookbook. “Down South,” her second collaboration with Link, was published 2014 and won the International Association of Culinary Professionals Award for Best American Cookbook.
Rachael is responsible for the research and development of Whole Foods Market's industry-leading standards for food and beverage ingredients standards at Whole Foods Market. Rachael has 20+ years of experience at Whole Foods Market, is passionate about good food and loves cooking and sharing a meal with family and friends.
Rachel Landers is the owner of Rachel Landers Creative Studio, LLC, an award-winning creative studio focused on working with mission-driven companies in the food and beverage industry. Prior to this, Rachel on the Global Communications and Marketing Team at Whole Foods Market and attended UT receiving her MA in Advertising with an emphasis in Art Direction.
Rae Wilson, Founder and Winemaker for Wine For the People, has worked in food and wine for over 20 years. From beer brewing and a variety of restaurant roles, she turned her sights to wine in 2007, acquiring an Advanced Certification from the WSET, and later with the Court of Master Sommeliers as a Certified Sommelier.
She learned winemaking in Napa Valley and Portugal, and upon returning to Austin in 2010, established Wine For the People. In 2014 she released the first vintage of Dandy Rosé, established a vineyard in the Texas Hill Country, then co-founded The Grower Project production in 2016.
Rusti moved to Austin 12 years ago after graduating from Oklahoma State University. She always had her eye on Texas and made Austin her forever home in 2007. Her passion for food started at a young age helping her family with catering events that eventually led her into the foodservice industry. Being an Architect had been her childhood dream, however, the food and beverage industry stole her heart. While working with US Foods as an operator, an opportunity came about that seemed custom made for her. She began working with US Foods in 2009 working through the ranks in various positions including Restaurant Operations Consultant and most recently a New Business Manager. Helping customers make it is both her motivation and reward. When Rusti isn’t working you can find her traveling about in her homemade teardrop camper or listening to live music.
Sam began her career in public relations and event direction in 1989. After holding marketing positions at PBS affiliate KERA in Dallas, Rovillo Design Associates and May & Co., and Event Coordinator for the March of Dimes in Dallas and Austin, she found her way to New York in 1998 to work with one of design PR’s most notable publicists, Susan Becher, of the eponymous Susan Becher Public Relations. Sam worked with high-profile clients Waterworks, Brunshwig & Fils, Jim Thompson Thai Silks and Source Perrier among others. She then moved on to award-winning mid-size agency Peppercom and the highly regarded boutique lifestyle firm, Clifford Public Relations, working primarily in the hospitality, design and lifestyle space. In 2001, Sam returned to Austin and accepted a position as Event Director for the non-profit started by director Richard Linklater, Austin Film Society. Sam started working for Central Austin Management Group in 2004, working on marketing campaigns and media outreach for in-house clients Uchi, The Belmont, and Lavaca Street Bar, among others. In 2008, Sam started her agency, Cultivate PR, continuing her long-standing relationship with Uchi, now known as Hai Hospitality and FBR Management.
Owner of Venue hosting Cooking Classes, Supper Club Dinners, Weddings, Rehearsal dinners, Yoga Retreats, Music events. Offer 3,000 square foot commercial kitchen for education purposes and charity events.
Sara Gibson co-founded Sightseer Coffee, a roasting company that supports gender equity in the coffee industry by sourcing beans exclusively from women producers. She also co-founded Rising Tide Roast Collaborative, a community-oriented roasting space dedicated to making roasting accessible for all through the sharing of equipment, resources, and knowledge.
Sara (you can call her Bigi) hails from the Ozarks of Arkansas, but has made Austin her home for the past 10 years. Professionally, she’s worked in international education as the Director of Alumni Relations at ISA, in hospitality and event management at Peached Social House as the Senior Corporate Events Manager, and in HR as a Talent Engagement Manager at Torchy’s Tacos. Personally, Sara loves awkward jokes, long walks on the beach, and eating every taco that Austin has to offer. Currently, Sara is the Co-Owner // Operations for her and Chef Edgar Rico’s taco baby, Nixta Taqueria.
Sara Hamza Watson is a Co-Founder at Vacancy Brewing in Austin, TX. With a background in hospitality marketing for companies such as Starwood, Marriott and Hyatt, Sara has leveraged her expertise to create a welcoming, inclusive space at Vacancy’s South Austin taproom.
As the Wine & Food Foundation's Development & Marketing Manager, Sarah is responsible for the marketing, communications, and sponsorship strategies. She has 15-plus years of experience in hospitality/events, marketing, and design and is excited to be working with and investing in the wine & food community – where she’s spent her entire career.
Sawyer Lewis is an entrepreneur, and the Co-Owner and Operations Manager of LeRoy and Lewis BBQ, specializing in hospitality, event planning, social media, and business development. At the age of 18, Sawyer moved to Austin to attend the University of Texas, where she fell in love with the community while working in local restaurants. Her passion for the restaurant industry has been cultivated over the last 15 years by working with award-winning chefs and entrepreneurs and learning from key figures in the sustainable farm-to-table movement across the country. After traveling throughout America and Europe, seeking out various regional cuisine and beverages, Sawyer and her husband Nathan Lewis moved back to Austin in 2015 to be closer to family and friends. In 2017, Sawyer and Nathan joined forces with Evan and Lindsey LeRoy to open LeRoy and Lewis BBQ food truck at Cosmic Coffee and Beer, with plans to expand into a brick and mortar restaurant and brewery and launch a line of consumer packaged goods.
Growing up in Shreveport, LA., chef and owner of Épicerie, Sarah McIntosh, had always loved blues and soul music, LSU football, and particularly, the culture of food in the southern and Cajun cuisine-rich state.
She brought her own vision of an uncomplicated café and grocery in one with Épicerie. The simplicity of delicious French-Louisiana fare that she became so familiar with growing up in Louisiana while providing the perfect neighborhood spot.
Between running a successful restaurant and raising family, McIntosh still finds time to partake in hobbies, which include gardening and throwing crawfish boils and an interior design side gig.
Sharon received her college training in theater arts and soon after was invited to establish and direct the Creative Theatre Unlimited at Princeton University. Upon returning to Texas, she designed and ran programs for the Texas Commission on the Arts. After a subsequent career in advertising, Watkins decided to buy the bankrupt Chez Fred restaurant and transform it into her next stage — a “third act.” Austin’s response has been nothing short of a standing ovation.
Running a busy restaurant for 28 years and counting has not slowed Sharon down. Besides her busy ‘job’ at Chez Zee, she actively supports several arts and nonprofits in Austin in a leadership capacity. She was the founding president of the Austin Public Library Foundation. She was in the Leadership Austin class of 1993. She serves on the board of The Long Center and Austin Area Research Association. She was on the Austin Arts Commission from 1999 to 2001 and served on the Seton Cove KLRU Boards among several others. She is a lifetime member of the Fine Arts Council at UT.
Sheila has been in a managerial position within her career paths since 2003. She’s worked in the craft beer and hospitality industry since June 2015 and held a server position from 2002 to 2003. Sheila has served as the Austin Chapter Co-Leader of the Pink Boots Society since March 2020 and was appointed to the Texas Craft Brewers Guild Board in Jan 2021.
Sheila Garcia serves as the Director Of Hospitality at Austin Beerworks.
Sonya Coté, Owner and Executive Chef of Eden East, perceives cooking as much more than just putting food on a plate. She views her professional career as creating “edible pieces of art.” Coté recognizes the importance of using locally-grown ingredients for both nutritional and environmental purposes. Coté has received numerous accolades, including recognition as one of Marie Claire’s “Women on Top.” In 2013, she competed on Food Network’s “Chopped” before opening the farm-to-table restaurant, Eden East, one of Austin Monthly’s “Best New Restaurants.” Soon after, Coté was named one of Tribeza’s “People of the Year.”
Texas-born and entrepreneur at heart, Stacy Franklin began her career by working in her family's snow cone stand at the age of thirteen. Fast forward and after several years working in restaurants, she is now Co-Owner and Chief Operating Officer of iconic Franklin Barbecue. She has deftly crafted the operations of several successful businesses from conception to fulfillment including James Beard Award-winning Franklin Barbecue, Franklin Barbecue Sauce, and Franklin Barbecue Pits. In her own words, she humbly says, “I’m a problem solver and make stuff happen!” Her skills at conceptualizing events and branding trends have opened doors for industry leaders to choose Austin for large-scale events like the Hot Luck Festival. Her business acumen and drive to help others succeed have made her one of Austin’s most respected restaurateurs.
Stef Shapira is a food & beverage consultant, publicist, writer and researcher. She started her career in NYC doing entertainment PR, then followed her passion for food to NYU where she obtained a master’s degree in Food Studies (and wrote a thesis on kolaches). Stef held positions at the likes of the Food Network, Serious Eats and the Museum of Food & Drink in NYC before moving back to her home state of Texas in 2014. After living the PR agency life for five years in Austin, Stef branched out on her own to form Stef Shapira Consulting in January 2019. In addition, in 2021, she founded The Rind, a PR agency for CPG brands and is the Chef Coordinator for Hot Luck Festival.
Stephanie Piland is an operations wonk with 25 years in restaurants and hospitality consulting. She served as the long-time DO of the 11-time-JBF-finalist ForemanWolf restaurant and wine group in Maryland and was Founder/Principal of Harvest and Vine Consulting from 2011-2017, partnering with owners and chefs to support financial health and growth for multi-unit restaurant and retail businesses in central TX, Maryland, D.C., and Portland.
In 2017, Stephanie accepted a role leading and scaling operational teams for a mid-sized food tech start-up that was building a national presence in several major US markets.
Today, she looks for ways to pay forward the immediate support she found in the Austin food community and the generosity of her past mentors. Stephanie serves on the LDEA board, on LDEI’s national brand taskforce, and in a working group to build opportunities for entrepreneurs for Austin/Travis County's Food Policy Board.
Confituras was born in the summer of 2010 when, after several years of preserving the local bounty that Austin’s farmers’ markets had to offer, owner Stephanie McClenny was ready to reach out and share her love of preserving in the form of a small jam company. It did not take long for the emerging local food-loving community in Austin to recognize and appreciate her commitment to quality, seasonality, and really good jam. Along the way Confituras was awarded the 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2018 Local Hero Awards by the readers of Edible Austin and was also recognized nationally, winning Good Food Awards in 2011 and 2012, 2014, and 2015 and a Southern Living Food Award in 2016. The Austin Food & Wine Alliance awarded Confituras a culinary grant in 2013 for their ‘Preserving Austin’ project, which is an emerging program that refers to both preserving the local, seasonal bounty and preserving our own local canning history and heritage. Confituras has recently opened their own brick & mortar community kitchen and jam & biscuit shop in beautiful South Austin called Confituras Little Kitchen, which churns out seasonal jams and biscuits made with locally milled, heritage grains and offers an incubator mentorship program for women starting out in the food business.
After a long career in IT, I made a career leap into the world of spirits and brewed up leadership and community skills beyond what I could imagine.
Stephanie Scherzer is a passionate advocate for local food systems and a committed steward of community and land resources. An urban farmer for over two decades, she founded Farmhouse Delivery in 2009 to connect consumers with sustainably-raised local produce and grow the market for goods from local producers. Over the decade since its founding, Farmhouse Delivery has created deep ties with over 180 unique farmers/ranchers/artisan food purveyors, employed over 75 community members at fair-wage salaries, and purchased over 500 tons of locally-raised produce, meat, and artisanal food produc annually. As she forged new distribution systems for local food, she also helped implement experimental agricultural projects to benefit local communities, including a pomegranate farm in West Texas and a humane pig farm. In 2018, she joined the staff of Lettuce Grow, a direct-to-consumer hydroponic growing system with a mission to allow everyone to grow their own healthy food at home. In addition to her career experience in horticulture and small-scale urban farming, she is a co-founder of the East Austin Urban Farm Tour, which has raised over 100k for the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance, and has served on the board of Urban Roots and is a member of the Growers’ Alliance of Central Texas.
Co-Owner/Director of Marketing for Fall Creek Vineyards. Dallas Morning News Who's Who in Food & Wine; Alumni of the Year, UT. Texas Exes 2001, Dept of Human Ecology; Founder of TX-Hill Country Wine & Food Festival. Member of UT Fine Arts Advisory Board, Founder of Texas Hill Fall Fest & Wine Auction.
Founder of the legendary 35 year old Dallas Affaires Cake Company and ringmaster-hostess of celebrated events at Onion Creek Kitchens Juniper Hills Farm for 16 years. She brings years of experience in the restaurant, bakery, floral, catering and event planning businesses to her skills as a culinary teacher. Now teaching and cooking for businesses, private homes, bed and breakfasts .
I was born and raised in Austin. I started at Vespaio restaurant as a host when I was 18 and moved into the kitchen shortly after graduating from Texas Culinary Academy.This is where using local ingredients and making everything from scratch became one of my passions. From there I spent some time in a small bakery and at Uchi and Uchiko honing my skills in pastry technique. From there I opened the new Odd duck restaurant and began managing the pastry department at the new Barley Swine as well. My partner and I made the decision to move to San Francisco to grow our knowledge and technique. I took a job as a sous chef at Quince and stayed for 2.5 years. During that time I was able to take some time to visit Paris and stage at Cedric Grole for one month. After Quince I decided to take a sous job at Saison under Laurent Gras. This is was amazing learning experience but after one year I needed a break from working service. I took a job under Mary Katherine Edmondson at the champagne bar called the Riddler. Working with her gave me first hand knowledge of the very limited region of France and the traditional method of sparkling wine, and service. During my time at the Riddler we were asked to come back to Austin to open the Commodore Perry Estate- this seemed like a natural progression for us and was an amazing opportunity to come back home! After two years back in Austin we welcomed our baby boy Wally into our world. He is the best thing Ive cooked up.
Susannah grew up cooking and working with food, from helping her oma make spanakopita, to line cook during college. A job in publishing led a crooked path to Whole Foods Market, where she started as a store sign-maker, and advanced to global marketing editor, and then to communications for the global quality standards team.
As a culinary educator, I provide unique cooking experiences for individuals/groups that are eager to develop or improve their culinary skills. My educational background includes a degree in Biology from UCLA, a certificate in nutrition from the Stanford Center for Health Education at Stanford University, and graduate from the Escoffier School for the Culinary Arts.
In 2009 Tabatha Conarko melded her passion for quality extra virgin olive oil and her desire to source international gourmet goods, to open Con' Olio Oils & Vinegars, Austin’s first olive oil tasting bar. Now the owner of two stores, Tabatha focuses on offering fresh products, working with authentic producers and educating and giving back to the local community.
As a founder and CEO, Conarko earned her certification in olive oil sensory by the Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori Olio di Oliva. She also received her Olive Sensory certification from the UC Davis Olive Center. With over a decade of food retail experience and a love for learning, Conarko continues to travel to Europe to maintain and cultivate relationships with her producers.
Prior to founding Con' Olio, Tabatha spent over 20 years in IT roles and ended her career managing the Call Center Operations Team at Dell Financial Services.
Conarko is a devoted mother of two, an avid runner and lover of fine wine and travel.
Tabatha grew up in Rockwall, Texas surrounded by the wonderful cooks in her family. She moved to Austin to go to UT and never left! Tabatha decided to pursue a culinary career, attending culinary school and working in the local food community. She has excelled at cooking and managing cooks at many wonderful places around town including Asti, Dai Due, and Trio.
Tabatha runs her own personal chef business, Nourish.
Tamara Mayfield is the Co-Owner of Dai Due Butcher Shop & Supper Club, Dai Due Taqueria, and the New School of Traditional Cookery. Dai Due began in 2006, initially as a supper club and farmers market stand with a mission to focus on ingredients that represent Central Texas. As the supper clubs became more popular, Mayfield and co-owner Jesse Griffiths expanded Dai Due to include the New School of Traditional Cookery, a series of ethical hunting, fishing, cooking, and butchery classes. In the fall of 2014, Mayfield and Griffiths opened Dai Due’s brick-and-mortar butcher shop and restaurant. Described as “an ode to Texas,” the restaurant was named one of the top 15 Most Outstanding Restaurants of 2015 by Alan Richman of GQ Magazine, one of Austin’s best restaurants by the Austin-American Statesman, and one of Bon Appetit’s Top 10 Best New Restaurants in America of 2015. In early 2018 Mayfield and Griffiths opened Dai Due Taqueria in Austin’s first food hall, Fareground, in downtown Austin. The Taqueria’s focus on house-nixtamalized corn tortillas and wild game and continued commitment to locally sourced ingredients has led to numerous accolades. Mayfield is passionate about supporting women in the food industry and believes women’s voices and perspectives need to be represented among the leaders who make critical decisions about one of humanity’s basic needs.
Tara Chapman is a native Texan and hails from the tiny West Texas town of Smyer. Tara had barely left Texas when she was accepted into Duke University. After graduation, Tara’s expanding world grew even larger when she was offered a job with the Central Intelligence Agency. Tara spent the next 10 years working for the federal government, filling up that new passport with stamps from countries such as Afghanistan, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, and Pakistan. On a fateful day in Austin, Tara took her first beekeeping class and was inspired and fell in love with the bees. Tara quit her government job to work for a beekeeper in East Texas rearing queen bees for 4 months, returning to Austin afterward to begin Two Hives Honey in 2016.
I attended a boutique Culinary School School here in Austin completed training in 2006. Since then I have worked and trained in many establishments I was a Sous Chef and now I am a GM for La Madeleine. I am passionate about food trying anything new. I am also passionate about health and mobility. I am a trained Foot Zone Practitioner being a Chef we have all experienced foot pain at times so bad you did not know if you could walk out to your car after shift. Foot Zone Therapy is considered an advanced form of reflexology its helps align our body systems again to experience better balance and increased health.
Teresa Wilson is chef/owner of Sala And Betty, which she owns with her husband, Terry. Sala And Betty opened in 2015 and has been a unique addition to the Austin Restaurant scene for 4 years. Teresa loved the idea of having a restaurant and drive-thru in one establishment. As a mother of 4, she understands the difficulty and guilt of not serving a home-cooked meal to your family when you’re in a hurry, thus the drive-thru! The dining room satisfies the other creative side of cooking which encourages friends and family to gather around the table and enjoy good food together. Sala and Betty offers gracious hospitality with good quality food cooked with TLC and served PDQ.
I grew my passion for food as a child, watching mom cook on a small budget. As a latchkey kid I had to learn quickly, but was able to be creative without an adult in the kitchen. I cook with my heart, because food is my love language. I have worked in food retail and restaurants my whole career.
Traci's career with Southwest Airlines has taken her from Dallas to California and back to Austin with a hearty side of food and wine. In San Francisco, she was involved with the wine harvest and helped with trade and public tastings for several boutique wineries. Back in her hometown of Austin, she serves as the auction committee co-chair for The Wine and Food Foundation of Texas. Traci holds an Advanced WSET (Wine and Spirits Education Trust) certification, working part-time supporting Texas wines at C.L. Butaud and as a sales associate at The Wine Cellar.
A passion for food and travel has taken Tracy through-out many places on her way to making Texas her home. With every stop on the journey, knowledge and experience grew into over 20 years in the specialty food and beverage industry. She currently holds the Principal Sourcing Leader position at Whole Foods Market overseeing the Private Label specialty foods and cheese.
Trang is a Vietnamese-born hospitality professional. Her career began at the Culinary Institute of America Hyde Park, where she thrived planning events for her international club. She has run her own pop up, worked in Michelin starred restaurants, and currently focuses on front of house dining in Austin.
Trish Wesevich started in the food industry over 20 years ago as a caterer, personal chef and food writer. In 2010, she helped The Grove Wine Bar launch a to-go restaurant concept and in 2012 she founded Capital Kitchens, a culinary incubator and commercial kitchen rental space for food & beverage startups. Under her leadership, Capital Kitchens, over an 8-year period, helped launch or support over 60 consumer product goods brands and over 50 other food concepts. In 2014 she launched Gastronomy Escapade in Tuscany which led culinary tours to Italy. In 2020, Trish started her own consulting business called Launchpoint Culinary Services were she advises mostly startup CPG brands. Over the years, Trish has served as a Mentor for several industry accelerators and organizations, served on the Board of Les Dames, helped launched the Austin Food Trailer Chamber, and has a wide, national and international professional network.
launchpointculinary.com
A Louisiana native, Valerie Broussard spent 11 years in New York City as a chef, food stylist and writer. She then completed an MA in Food Culture and Communications from the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Italy. After moving to Austin, she worked at Barr Mansion as Organic Food Coordinator; became Starwood’s first Forager at W Austin Hotel; then formed V. Broussard Consulting in 2014 to support restaurants, caterers, artisans, farmers and retail concepts. She returned to a role in Purchasing at Green Pastures and currently serves as Director of Sourcing & Purchasing at ARRIVE Hotels.
Veronica studied creative writing and sociology at Sarah Lawrence College before moving to Austin, where she is a Senior Copywriter & Food Writer for Whole Foods Market's global team, creating culinary copy ranging from recipes to product descriptions. Through the years, she has written about food, beverage and travel for a variety of print and digital media outlets, managed social media accounts and developed SEO-optimized content for a number of brands. She has also completed WSET Level 2 certification, which she passed with Merit, and is a Certified Sake Professional. She recently finished writing Drink Like a Local: Austin (HarperCollins, 2023), a guide detailing the history and recipes behind Austin's best bars, and is currently working on her fifth book project, a comprehensive exploration of barbecue across Texas. When she’s not tasting her way through life, you can find her hiking, swimming, practicing yoga, foraging for mushrooms, painting with watercolors, adventuring with her dog Banjo and enjoying all the live music Austin has to offer.
Victoria Villarreal is the founder of VRV PR and her expertise is deeply rooted in the food & hospitality industry. She has worked with Dame-owned brands such as Casero, C.L. Butaud, Farmhouse Delivery and Wine for the People, as well as a variety of other clients in the lifestyle, art and travel space. Victoria also serves on the Board of Directors for Urban Roots and holds a WSET Level 1 certification. When she's not in front of her laptop, Victoria enjoys taking day trips to small towns near Austin, exploring green spaces and drinking Lambrusco on patios.
As Director of Education of the TRAEF for over 17 years, I have worked with foodservice sectors ranging from educators to chefs and have worked to improve the image of the foodservice industry. I oversee educational/curriculum development, promoting EF's programs/initiatives, and coordinate major events annually such as conferences for high school culinary educators, culinary and management student competitions, and culinary demonstrations at TRA's annual trade show. I also oversee the nationally recognized ProStart program in the Texas region. I attended St. Edward's University where I graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Organizational Communication.
Yvonne Sharik moved to Austin, TX in 2009 initially lured by the city's famed music scene, love for roller derby and an opportunity to be part of an opening restaurant team that, fast forward 14 years later, led to a rewarding career in restaurant management with an affinity for openings, training, team building and mentorship. Yvonne has worn many hats in restaurant including, operations, HR, training and really, has always just gotten the job done. Most recently, Yvonne can be found as the AGM at Uptown Sports Club spreading good vibes and sharing her love for great food and hospitality.
I was born in Seoul, South Korea. My family and I came to the US when I was 2. After a few years in Maryland and Arizona, we settled in the Dallas area. Minus a year in Brooklyn when I started college, I’ve been in Texas for more than 30 years. I finally made my way to Austin in 2000.
My culinary pursuits landed me in the world of specialty foods at Central Market where I have been for over 16 years. Currently, I am the Foodie Lead and oversee the Food Journey Team. Outside of CM, I am a private chef, caterer and pastry chef with a specialization in custom cakes and cookies. I am now also offering wholesale baking services to several local restaurants.
Members Currently on Hiatus
Cara Bertone is currently a National Accounts Sales Manager for Folio Fine Wine Partners. She has worked across multiple sides of the wine industry including restaurants, distribution, and for international importers. This has given her insight into how relationships and lasting sustainability efforts are keys to success.
Emma has supported restaurateurs in two vastly different ways. As a salmon specialist for Skuna Bay, she interfaced between chefs and a company lauded for its craft-raised salmon, explaining the intricacies of sustainable fisheries to fine dining chefs. Maintaining those relationships in her role at inKind, she's a Partner on the investment side of the business. inKind offers sustainable financial opportunities for restaurant owners looking to grow their businesses.
Kristen is the Co-Founder and Owner of Pretty Thai, a Specialty Sauce & Spice brand. She has a nutrition degree from Texas A&M and a culinary certificate from Le Cordon Bleu Austin. During culinary school, Kristen started a food truck business and operated the truck until 2016. From there she broadened the business from a catering food truck to a CPG brand.
Pastry Chef Instructor, The Art Institute of Austin
I am currently the lead pastry instructor at the Art Institute of Austin, since 2014. My experience as a working pastry chef has led me around the southeast coast to hotels, fine dining restaurants and country clubs. I have been living and working in Austin for the past 7.5 years, with my husband (exec. chef/partner of Revival Public House) and my 7 year old daughter.
Kristi is a freelance writer who shares her passion for food on her blog, Kristi’s Farm to Table, and as a regular contributor for Edible Austin, Austin Woman Magazine and CultureMap Austin. Kristi is certified as an Evernote Business Certified Consultant, serves as the Evernote Freelance Ambassador and teaches technology classes tailored for food writers and publishers. She is currently working with the Global Communications and Marketing team at Whole Foods to integrate new technology and processes to better serve their customers.
Kristi passed the Introductory Sommelier Course administered by the Court of Sommeliers in 2014 and is a Certified Specialist of Wine.
Marie is a lawyer by trade but left the practice of law to pursue her love for cooking. She is the author of an award-winning cookbook Cooking With Marie: On Any Occasion! and a nationally-televised, award-winning cooking show, Cooking With Marie.
Experienced Food Editor and Development Chef with a demonstrated history of working in the supermarket industry. Skilled in Catering, Food & Beverage, Cooking, Editing, and Public Speaking. Strong media and communication professional with degrees in Political Science from Grinnell College and Culinary Arts from The Culinary Institute of America.
Natanya is the Director of Social Media and Digital Marketing at Whole Foods Market. She has been working with new media for over a decade, with a focus on both the strategy and execution for helping organizations change the way they communicate with customers. Natanya’s finger is always on the pulse, and she is ready to respond to the constantly changing web and marketing landscapes. And when Natanya is not in the office, she loves to blog for the Austin Food Lovers’ Companion.
Sarah has a strong passion for food, starting with the dirt where the food was cultivated. She began cooking in Austin 13 years ago & has held positions at The Mansion at Judges Hill, Parkside Projects, & La Condesa. She believes that integrity & respect for all parts of the process that bring food to your plate are essential to a good meal & to the guest experience. In 2017 Sarah & partner, Nathan Lemley, purchased Foreign & Domestic, Austin from founder Ned Elliott. The two are now focused on bold, cohesive flavors, adventurous wine, & pure hospitality.
I’ve been in the food service industry for 20+ years in some aspect or another. I started with Outback Steakhouse in 1997 while studying at the University of Texas at Austin where I graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Communications. While attending I moved my way through the ranks to management and helped to create the training program for the state of Texas. After 10 years with the company I made a change to Performance Food Service where I am currently a District Sales Manager. I started as a sales rep in the North Austin/Georgetown area and was able to grow by area 300% within a few years by working one on one with customers and their business needs. My focuses are training, recipe/menu design, food costing, marketing, and any day to day operational concerns.
Les Dames d’Escoffier Austin 2024 New Members