This coming May, the city of Edmonton will be overtaken by chefs, cooks and culinary partners from across Canada, the US, along with international guests, all in the passionate pursuit of Connecting Our Culinary Roots. 

The Canadian Culinary Federation is the association of culinary professionals, and this May Edmonton is the host city for their Annual National Culinary Conference. The conference will be hosted in the heart of downtown, overlooking the stunning river valley at the Chateau Lacombe Hotel. The last time this conference was hosted in Edmonton was for the 50^th celebratory conference, some 11 years ago. The Culinary Federation Edmonton Branch is working alongside the National Board of Directors and Administrative Team to plan a culinary experience like no other, highlighting all that Edmonton and surrounding areas have to offer. 

The theme for the conference is Connecting Our Culinary Roots. This theme comes from a collective desire of our membership and culinary professionals around the world wanting to bring it back to the basics. We are all looking for more sustainable practises of local provisions, growing and preserving our own food, and re-learning our ancestor’s recipes and routines from a simpler time. We are excited to explore the roots of Edmonton’s culinary community from seasonal foraging and local heritage to new pioneers creating cutting edge sustainable practises in the modern world. There will be keynote programming, education sessions, product showcasing from the best in the industry, social opportunities for our members and a delegate favourite - local tour day.

A few of the local chefs and culinary pioneers already on board to be featured in the conference programming include Blair Lesback from The Butchery / RGE RD, Jeff Nonay from Lakeside Farmstead, Kevin Kossowan from In The Wild, Peter Keith from Meuwly’s, Mark Kondrat from Alberta Beer Festivals and Serge Belair from Edmonton Convention Centre .