We wanted to thank everyone for joining us for our third annual Food & Entrepreneurship Conference at SOMArts Cultural Center. For two days, this event brought together 40 panelists from around the country with various food industry representatives, policy makers, city government officials, food entrepreneurs, economic development nonprofit employees and volunteers, and technology professionals – to consider how we can continue to foster community and entrepreneurship.
Guadalupe Guerrero – Owner of El Pipila Antojitos Mexicanos, Olive Loew – Owner of Saint & Olive, and Mariko Grady – Owner of Aedan Foods (Photo Credit: Anthony Lindsey Photography)
We kicked things off of Sunday with our “Peanut Butter for Breakfast” Brunch, made possible by National Peanut Board. Guests enjoyed dishes from visiting chefs Suvir Saran, Nick Pihakis and Matt Jennings – as well as from La Cocina program participants Sal de Vida Gourmet, Saint & Olive, El Pipila Antojitos Mexicanos, and Aedan Foods.
Sunday sessions provided a platform for successful female and immigrant entrepreneurs like Whitney Otawka of Farm 255 and Maria del Carmen, owner of Estrellita’s Snacks, to share the stories of their restaurants and food businesses. On Monday, the panels, workshops and breakout discussions were tailored toward food entrepreneurs, public sector and economic development groups, and food centered nonprofits – and covered topics from “How to write about your own food” to “Using technology to organize shared-use commercial kitchens.” The event concluded with a happy hour, giving conference attendees the chance to network while enjoying hummus from La Cocina participant Donna Sky’s Love & Hummus, bolani from speaker Nazifa Sidiq’s East and West Gourmet Afghan Food, and samosas from speaker Sukhi Singh’s Sukhi’s Gourmet Indian Food.
We want to extend a special thank you to all of our generous sponsors, including our presenting sponsor Union Bank, as well as Federal Home Loan Bank San Francisco, National Peanut Board, SOMArts Cultural Center, Evernote Food, FoodHub, and Eventbrite. Thank you also to the hard-working team at SOMArts Cultural Center, the chefs who made the entire event more delicious, and all of the amazing volunteers – we could not have done it without you!
DID YOU MISS THE EVENT?
All corresponding Presentation Materials from the Food & Entrepreneurship Conference can be found below, next to the speaker or presenter’s name for their respective panel.
In addition, the Audio Files will be available here shortly!
SUNDAY- August 19th, 2012
Female Restaurateurs – A Showcase of Women in their Kitchens
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
Economic Development & Food Entrepreneurship – Best Practices
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
Conference
We wanted to thank everyone for joining us for our third annual Food & Entrepreneurship Conference at SOMArts Cultural Center. For two days, this event brought together 40 panelists from around the country with various food industry representatives, policy makers, city government officials, food entrepreneurs, economic development nonprofit employees and volunteers, and technology professionals – to consider how we can continue to foster community and entrepreneurship.
Guadalupe Guerrero – Owner of El Pipila Antojitos Mexicanos, Olive Loew – Owner of Saint & Olive, and Mariko Grady – Owner of Aedan Foods (Photo Credit: Anthony Lindsey Photography)
Introducing New Flavors – The Entrepreneurship of Ethnic Food
MONDAY – August 20th, 2012
Morning Tracked Sessions
Track 1: How to Write about Your Own Food – A Writers Workshop
Track 2 a: Panel Discussion on How to Create Spaces for Mobile Food Vendors
Track 2 b: Panel Discussion on How to Create Spaces for Successful Entrepreneurship
Track 3: Empowering Lives Through Foodservice: Presentation and Roundtable Discussion
Food Entrepreneurship and Technology
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
Economic Development & Food Entrepreneurship – Best Practices
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
OUR GENEROUS SPONSORS: