Registration is open for the Women Chefs & Restaurateurs (WCR) 22^nd Annual National Conference.

From April 18–20, 2015, the world’s leading women in food, beverage, and hospitality businesses will gather at the Millennium Broadway Hotel in Manhattan for three days of seminars, demos, parties, and competitions.

Returning to NYC for the first time in more than 20 years, the 2015 event will focus on “Taking a Bigger Bite”, offering strategies to maximize career opportunities. The conference will also celebrate its current host city with tastings, classes, and tours that pay tribute to the Big Apple.

Full conference registration and tickets to individual events are open to professionals and culinary enthusiasts alike.

Featured participants include WCR founding member Lidia Bastianich, Nancy Silverton, Gabrielle Hamilton, Missy Robbins, Alex Guarnaschelli, Gina Gallo, Elise Kornack, Julie Reiner, Anita Lo, Amanda Cohen, Jessie Cool, Nell Newman, Christina Tosi, Hillary Sterling, and more.

The 2015 conference will feature:

• Core Talent Talks: Ted Talks meet poetry-slam sessions in these main stage lectures where successful women in the business tell their stories. Speakers include Susan Ungaro, president of the James Beard Foundation; Melissa Clark, cooking columnist for the New York Times; Melanie Dunea, photographer and author.
• Breakout Sessions: Intimate educational seminars and demos covering everything from utilizing modern ingredients and techniques, to butchery, women behind bars, and honing business and career strategies.
• The Third Annual WCR Food Games: Three teams, three celebrity chef coaches, and three judges come together in a battle emceed by culinary instigator and WCR president Elizabeth Falkner.
• Offsite tours at New York City hot spots including Eataly and Dominique Ansel; a “Spirited Journey on the L Train” with stops at Brooklyn Brewery, Brooklyn Winery, and The Noble Experiment; as well as a historical food tour of Harlem featuring Red Rooster and Sylvia’s.
• Events each night including a Saturday Night  “Secret Garden Party”, Opening Night “Studio 54” Party, and the “Women Who Inspire” Awards Gala.