Join Us for La Cocina’s 3rd Annual Conference - A two day opportunity where we can all come together—food enthusiasts and entrepreneurs, policy makers, nonprofit organizers and volunteers, city government officials, and media to discuss food, community, and entrepreneurship and to celebrate the ways that food creates opportunity.
Sunday, August 19th 2012
10:00AM – 12:00PM PEANUT BUTTER FOR BREAKFAST BRUNCH
What do James Beard Award nominee Matt Jennings' Black Bottom Pie, Guadalupe Guerrero's Sopes with Mole Rojo, Michelin Starred Chef Suvir Saran's Indian Breakfast and one of Olive Loew's Biscotti all have in common? Peanut Butter!
Join us for all that plus Adriana Lahl's Homemade Gravlax on Bagels and Salpicon Beef Salad, Mariko Grady's Peach-Amazake Smoothies, Nick Pihakis's Whole Hog Breakfast Hash, bottomless mimosas, tea and De La Paz Coffee. Brunch Tickets may be purchased separately. All proceeds go to La Cocina.
Photo by Anthony Lindsey Photography
12:30PM – 2:00PM Female Restaurateurs – A Showcase of Women in their Kitchens
- Patricia Unterman, Hayes Street Grill
- Veronica Salazar, El Huarache Loco
- Sharon Ardiana, Ragazza
- Melissa Perello, Frances
- Whitney Otawka, Farm 255
2:30PM – 4:00PM Introducing New Flavors – The Entrepreneurship of Ethnic Food
- Chiefo Chukwudebe, Chiefo's Kitchen
- Hoss Zare, Zare at Fly Trap
- Nazifa Sidiq, East and West Gourmet Afghan Food
- Maria del Carmen Flores, Estrellita’s Snacks
Monday, August 20th 2012
Photo by Anthony Lindsey Photography
9:00AM – 9:30AM Morning Coffee & Welcome
9:30AM – 11:00AM Tracked Sessions
Track 1: How to Write about Your Own Food - A Writers Workshop
- John T. Edge, The New York Times
- Jessica Battilana, Tasting Table
- Ben Mims, Saveur.com
- Alison Bing, Lonely Planet
- Amy Sherman, CookingWithAmy.com
Track 2 a: Panel Discussion on How to Create Spaces for Mobile Food Vendors
- Matt Cohen, Off The Grid & Foodlab
- Alex Dang, Opportunity Fund
- Lizzy Caston, Getting Your Recipe to Market, NOLAfoodtrucks.com
- Brett Burmeister, Food Carts Portland
- Rachel Billow, New Orleans Food Truck Coalition, co-owner of La Cocinita
- Carlos Muella, SoMa StrEat Food Park
- Jordan Klein, Neighborhood Economic Development Manager, San Francisco Office of Economic & Workforce Development
Track 2 b: Panel Discussion on How to Create Spaces for Successful Entrepreneurship
- Junette Sheen, CCEDA
- Vince Scalise, Pacific Coast Farmers Market Association
- Josh Assink, Urban Village Farmers Market
- Lulu Meyer, CUESA
- Jonny Price, Kiva.org
- Alec Bauer, Kitchen, Restaurant + Bar Specialists
Track 3: Empowering Lives Through Foodservice: Presentation and Roundtable Discussion
- Luanda Arai, Catalyst Kitchens
- David Carleton, Catalyst Kitchens
11:00AM – 1:00PM Nepalese Lunch Buffet Provided by Bini’s Kitchen.
1:00PM – 2:30PM Food Entrepreneurship and Technology
- Zach Yungst and Alex Lorton, Cater2Me
- Jon Akerman, Yelp
- Amanda Oborne, FoodHub
- Naomi Pilosof, Evernote Food
- Jai Singh, Social Media SF
- Fiona Tang, FoodSpotting
- Rob Spiro, GoodEggs
2:30PM – 3:30PM Breakout Sessions on Technology
- Track 1: Use Technology To Grow your Food Business- Workshop for Entrepreneurs
- Track 2: Using Technology to Foster Entrepreneurship in Communities
- Track 3: Using Technology to Organize Shared Use Commercial Kitchens
3:30PM – 4:30PM Economic Development & Food Entrepreneurship – Best Practices
- Leo Beckerman, Wise Sons
- Evan Bloom, Wise Sons
- Gail Lillian, LIBA Falafel
- Lizzy Caston, Getting Your Recipe to Market, NOLAFoodTrucks.com
- Kelly Zubal, Inticing Creations
- Sukhi Singh, Sukhi's Gourmet Indian Foods
4:30PM – 5:30PM Happy Hour
Thank You to our Sponsors
La Cocina's Food & Entrepreneurship Conference is supported by the SOMArts Cultural Center’s Affordable Space Program, which provides subsidized, large-scale affordable space and technical assistance to nonprofits. SOMArts receives support from the San Francisco Arts Commission’s Community Arts and Education Program with funding from Grants for the Arts/The Hotel Tax Fund. The mission of SOMArts is to promote and nurture art on the community level and foster an appreciation of and respect for all cultures. To find out about SOMArts classes, events and exhibitions, please visit www.somarts.org
Available Volunteer Roles
If you'd like to volunteer for the conference, please take a look at the available positions below and fill out the volunteer application on the get Involved page.
La Cocina National Street Food Conference 2012: Volunteer Roles & Responsibilities
Collateral Management
- Assemble goodie bags
- Organize registration desk
- Organize attendee lists
- Organize name badges
- Ensure all registration staff have highlighters & pens (La Cocina team to provide)
- Put up signage
Registration
- Check attendees off lists
- Accept payment for walk-ins
- Hand out namebadges
- Direct attendees to meeting rooms, restrooms, etc.
- Keep notes of concerns/issues/follow-up questions
- Sell merchandise?
- Access Control/brunch – make sure attendees have ticket to be admitted to brunch
Photographer
- Take “scenic” photos of the room setup, food displays, etc.
- Take photos of sponsor banners, logos, product placement
- Take candids photos of guests at the events
- Photograph chefs at their stations at Sunday brunch
- Deliver CD of images to La Cocina staff after event
Food & Beverage / Culinary Support
- Set up food prep areas
- Assist chefs with food prep
- Set up meal location(s) with tables, linens, serviceware
- Ice down beverages
- Assist with beverage prep as needed
- Pick up and set up water stations
- Replenish water stations in meal location(s), as needed
- During food events, assist with flow of guests, bussing/trash
- After food events, assist with cleanup/strike
Floater @ Brunch
- During food events, assist with flow of guests, bussing/trash
- Ensure chefs have support for replenishment, cleanup, etc.
- Explain food ingredients in case of dietary restrictions
- Manage lines / direct guests to areas where there are not lines
Speaker Management / Technical Coordinator
- Load presentations on main laptop
- Add/edit presentations if needed
- Work with AV tech on run-of-show
- Place table tents for panelists before each session
Mic Runner / Audience Q&A
- Identify people in audience who have questions
- Hand microphone to audience member and retrieve after question has been asked
Teardown
- Clean up spaces as directed by La Cocina staff
- Assist food & beverage providers in breaking down/transporting equipment and materials