Food Luminaries Danny Meyer, Tom Colicchio and More Speak at ICE NY
Chefs, bakers, restaurateurs, food journalists and culinary business leaders are in regular attendance at ICE. Here, exclusive panels and cooking demonstrations feature bestselling authors; Emmy and James Beard Award-winners; Michelin-starred restaurateurs; and revered founders of international food non-profits. Such was the case at The Chef Conference 2025, a two-day event held May 18 and 19 at the ICE NYC campus.
A window to all things restaurant, The Chef Conference is an annual event that hosts rich conversations on the state of the industry with the world’s most impressive industry leaders.
Founded in 2013 as the Philly Chef Conference, 2025 marks the first year it’s been held in New York. (Since the conference’s inception and subsequent renaming, prior years have been hosted in Las Vegas and Los Angeles, the latter of which is home to ICE’s west coast campus.)
Regardless of its location, the event is an inclusive platform that cultivates dialogue and fosters long-lasting relationships that yield impactful change. It also buoys the host city — in this case, ICE’s east coast home of NYC — by providing singular dining experiences at top-tier restaurants through collaboration with prestigious chefs from around the world.
Not unlike several other events held at ICE — recent examples include an exclusive Women In Culinary Arts Panel; the Parabere Forum; and a cooking demo with chefs at LA’s Jitlada restaurant, among others — The Chef Conference turned our kitchens, classrooms and event spaces into knowledge and networking hubs.
Throughout the conference, attendees and ICE students engaged with experts in their current and future fields, and gleaned profound insights on everything from contemporary culinary arts to restaurant management and the role technology plays in successful (and unsuccessful) food businesses.
An unsurprising distributor of thoughtful insights was panelist Danny Meyer, who spoke, in his Trailblazer Talk with Hunter Lewis, about staffing and culture. On the latter subject, he recalled a meeting with a friend to whom he lamented Maialino’s changing culture on account of its rapid growth.
In short, the restaurant was receiving awards and approval from guests, media and those in the food world who determine what's in and what's out. As a result, Meyer worried that the "enlightened hospitality" culture he coined and cultivated — which prioritizes a supportive, community-centric interplay between staff, suppliers, guests and investors — had changed.
His friend repositioned his concerns, noting that "change" isn't always negative, and that culture is like a shark. “A shark swimming in place,” she told Meyer, “would die.”
“Culture needs to change,” she told her friend, for whom it was “a big aha moment.”
The unlock, explained Meyer, was in asking the question about culture differently; specifically, “How can we use our growth to advance our culture?”
This shift in perspective was paramount to Meyer, who noted that after incorporating it into his thinking, he began saying “thank you” to those who derided his company culture for having “changed.”
This is just one of many ruminations shared over the two-day event.
In a segment on TV news channel NY1, The Chef Conference’s Founder and Executive Director Mike Traud and Unapologetic Foods’ CEO Roni Mazumdar shared their thoughts on the event’s impact.
“This is one conference that is by the industry, for the industry,” said Mazumdar, who was also interviewed at one of the conference’s panels.
“Working with the Institute of Culinary Education was amazing,” noted Traud.
“One of the main reasons I created [The Chef Conference] was to bridge the gap between the industry and education — to really unite students with industry leaders … to elevate, educate and celebrate what’s going on in the restaurant industry.”
“And hopefully,” joked NY1 host Annika Pergament, “help them line up a job.”
“Yes,” agreed Traud, “lining up a job, making the right connections, and connecting with people like Roni.”
These connections are, of course, one of several “soft” perks of attending ICE. In addition to spectacular faculty, a rich curriculum and professional-grade kitchens, the school’s networking opportunities and locations in two of America’s premier culinary capitals, are, one could argue, its secret sauce.
And with chef contacts including Missy Robbins, Eric Ripert and Daniel Boulud, is there any wonder why?
Learn more about visiting VIPs and past ICE exclusive events – and get information on our career programs (we also have online programs); continuing education courses; and recreational classes.
