BESPOKE Debuts in Napa on Saturday, August 26th at Charles Krug Winery
BESPOKE: An Exploration of Taste & Thought debuts in Saint Helena on Saturday, August 26 at Charles Krug Winery at 9 a.m. Renowned Food Scholars & Professors Dr. Ken Albala (Pacific U), Dr. Lok Siu (UC-Berkeley), and ROC United Founder/ Forked author Saru Jayaraman to headline day of keynote speeches, panels on labor, noodle-soup lunches, wine tastings, and round table discussions with theme of Origins and Authenticity. The greater goal is to bridge the gaps between the worlds of academia, food culture, and hospitality through a series of inspirational keynote speeches and educational panels and roundtable discussions. The theme for the day is Origins and Authenticity, a way of measuring how we represent and interact with food cultures and, in turn, perceive what we eat, cook, and taste. Below, the line-up for the day:
Keynote Speech 1 – Renowned food scholar, Pacific U Professor, and author Dr. Ken Albala on food cultures, origins, and authenticity with a focus on globally-loved foods like noodles.
Keynote Speech 2 – Anthropologist and UC-Berkeley Food and Ethnic Studies Professor Dr. Lok Siu on food culture, hybridity, and authenticity through a series of culinary case studies.
Keynote Speech 3 – Restaurant Opportunities Center (ROC) United Director and author of Behind the Kitchen Door and Forked Saru Jayaraman on issues of labor in the restaurant business.
Themed Panel on ‘Issues of Diversity, Labor, and Power in the Food Industries’ – ROC United director/author Saru Jayaraman; food lawyer Michael Tenenbaum; UC Berkeley Food Institute Policy Director Nina F Ichikawa. Chaired by BESPOKE Founder Robert McKeown.
Round-Table Discussions w/Speakers – Guests will rotate through tables of 10-12 people, intimately engaging in debate and questions with at least 3 of the day’s speakers. This is meant to foster engagement and discourse beyond ordinary q-and-a format.
100% of the profits go will go to two charities: Piggy Bank (supporting family farms raising heritage breed animals) and the American Friends of the Oxford Food Symposium (student scholarships fund).
“We believe Napa Valley is the perfect place for us to debut this day-long food summit in support of two fabulous charities (Piggy Bank and American Friends of the Oxford Food Symposium),” says BESPOKE Founding Chair Robert McKeown. “By spending a day exploring food and thought for inspiration, education, and social action, we hope to both enrich and change the way our guests perceive not only food, but the industries that define it.”
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