The Chef Conference returns to Philadelphia, and Noma Projects will be in the house
The annual chef gathering features a slate of big names, including Tom Colicchio, Andrew Zimmern, and Eric Adjepong, as well as dining events from high-profile restaurants around the country.
Culinary professionals and food journalists from around the world will gather in Philadelphia for the 2025 edition of the Chef Conference, the four-day whirlwind of panel discussions, dinners, and other related programming. This year’s dates are April 4 to 7.
It’s again under the direction of Mike Traud, the lawyer-turned-chef-turned-instructor who organized the first event in 2013 as hospitality-management program director at Drexel University. In 2023, Traud and Drexel parted ways; Drexel has planned its own Philly Chef Conference for Oct. 5 and 6.
Last year, Traud relaunched the conference with sponsorship from Visit Philadelphia and the reservation website Resy, and hosted a version in Los Angeles in September.
Ticket prices vary per day, from $20 to $325 plus tax. Resy also will host ticketed events around Philadelphia, pairing chefs and restaurants such as Acamaya in New Orleans, Anime in San Diego, Budonoki in Los Angeles, Penny in New York, and Tâm Tâm in Miami with Philadelphia restaurants such as Irwin’s, Jaffa, Kalaya, Mish Mish, and Co-Op Restaurant & Bar at the Study in University City.
The conferences, primarily geared toward food professionals, will be held at the Study. The off-site collaboration dinners are open to the public.
This year’s big get is a small team from Noma Projects, the initiative from chef René Redzepi’s three-Michelin-star restaurant in Copenhagen that produces and sells small-batch products created by its test kitchen and fermentation lab. Noma Projects and its products will pop up at meals at South Philly Barbacoa/Casa Mexico, Goldie, and Vetri Cucina.
“Philly is a perfect way for us to both participate in the talks, meet other cool industry folks who are attending the conference, but then also have a great way of doing something for the wider public as well,” said Noma Projects chief operating officer Annika de Las Heras, based in Copenhagen. Noma staffers have attended previous conferences.
De Las Heras will join a panel titled “The ABCs of CEOs,” and creative director Thomas Frebel will join a conversation about kitchen leadership with Philadelphia chefs Greg Vernick and Marc Vetri. Frebel and Kevin Jeung, Noma Projects production chef, will host a talk and tasting about Noma Projects’ products, which are umami-packed flavorings spun off tastes conceived at the restaurant. The top sellers are mushroom garum, a cooking sauce; corn yuzu hot sauce (“you could put it on a taco, you could put it on a slice of pizza,” de La Heras said); and dashi RDX, a savory syrup that you can drizzle over vegetables.
“What we think is so fun for us is to see what other people do with [our flavors] and have more people have the opportunity to taste them,” de Las Heras said. Last year, Noma Projects launched at least 20 new products.
Other panelists and moderators include Eric Adjepong (Sankofa Hospitality Group), Michael Solomonov (Zahav), Chutatip “Nok” Suntaranon (Kalaya), Katie Button (Cúrate), Tim Carman (Washington Post), Tom Colicchio (Crafted Hospitality, Top Chef), Jeff Gordinier (Esquire), Jenn Harris (Los Angeles Times), Hunter Lewis (Food & Wine), Roni Mazumdar (Unapologetic Foods), Enrique Olvera (Casamata), JP & Ellia Park (Atoboy), former Inquirer food editor Jamila Robinson (Bon Appetit), Helen Rosner (New Yorker), Ben Shewry (Attica), and Stephanie Wu (Eater).
Even the fictional restaurant world will be covered. Courtney Storer (culinary producer on the TV series The Bear) will sit for a conversation with Philadelphia-based journalist Regan Stephens.
Traud has changed the programming over the year to suit the times. The keynote panel, on April 7, is titled “When Disaster Strikes.”
“When this topic first came up, it was November and we were talking about the recovery in Asheville, N.C.,” Traud said. “But now with the fires in L.A., we’re really incorporating both coasts.” Andrew Zimmern will moderate, and the panel will include Jason Collis, chief relief officer World Central Kitchen.
Traud said he was pleased with the conference’s evolution.
He created it “as a way to engage and connect to create a community atmosphere in Philadelphia and allow our restaurant and chef community to engage with national and international leaders and really showcase the Philadelphia food scene.” As the conference has evolved, “we’re continuously bringing in new voices as a way to kind of expand Philadelphia’s presence outside our local community.”