Chefs Collaborative, a national organization founded on inspiring and educating the culinary community to build a better food system, will host its 8th Annual Chefs Collaborative Summit in Atlanta Saturday, September 9, through Monday, September 11. This year’s gathering will focus on the theme “Growing Community—Owning the Future,” highlighting Atlanta’s culinary community and the role chefs can play in driving change. Chefs Collaborative Local Leader chef Steven Satterfield, co-owner and executive chef of Miller Union, and team will welcome culinary professionals from across the country to explore Atlanta’s evolving culinary community, showcase modern Southern cuisine, and learn and share industry best practices in sustainability with local and national changemakers.  

“I’m excited to host the 8th Annual Chefs Collaborative Summit in Atlanta this year,” says Satterfield. “It gives all of us in the good food community here—chefs, farmers, activists, producers and food enthusiasts—a chance to show off our tight knit community. We are a rich tapestry of different people working to build a better local food system that embraces strength in numbers and a willingness to work together.”

In past years, cities such as Boulder, Colo., Charleston, S.C., and New York City have hosted the educational culinary experience and explored different themes focused on sustainability. The Chef Summit 2017 will offer a variety of programming options including informative lectures, breakout sessions and moderated panels set against the backdrop of Atlanta’s most iconic landmarks, such as the Fox Theatre, Atlanta Botanical Gardens and Ponce City Market. Topics will include Seafood Solutions, Food Waste, Storytelling and Publishing, Meat Matters, Plant-forward and more. Guests will also have access to field trips ranging from butchery demonstrations to local farmers market tours led by chef Kevin Gillespie of Gunshow and Revival, as well as curated tastings and dining experiences, such as a special “Georgia State Fair” dinner hosted by chef Anne Quatrano of Star Provisions and Bacchanalia. Guest speaker highlights will include Michiel Bakker, director of Google Food; U.S. Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-ME); Kim Severson, national food correspondent for The New York Times; Nicolette Hahn Niman, livestock rancher and environmental attorney; Joe Fassler, senior editor of New Food Economy; Paula Daniels, co-founder of Center for Good Food Purchasing; Matthew Raiford, chef at The Farmer and The Larder and farmer at Gilliard Farms; and Tamara Jones, executive director of Southeast African American Farmers Organic Network (SAAFON).

As a part of Chefs Collaborative’s mission to celebrate growth and continued collaboration within the culinary community, the organization offers scholarships for chefs and culinary professionals to attend the Chef Summit. This past April, the local group hosted Supper at the Farm, a potluck-style fundraiser and gathering at Love is Love Farm. The event raised $9,000 that will provide nine scholarships for Chef Summit 2017. Another 16 scholars will attend thanks to the combined support of a $5,000 grant from The Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts, Chefs Collaborative local groups across the country and Good Food Fund donations to the organization. The application for scholarships is open now through Thursday, July 20. Past scholarship recipients include Terry Koval, executive chef of Atlanta’s own Wrecking Bar Brewpub.

“While attending the Chef Summit, I gained priceless education as well as an opportunity to discuss and collaborate with other like-minded people,” says Koval. “This knowledge and experience made me a better human, father, chef and leader in my community. I have utilized the contacts that I have made by advancing my education and collaborating in sourcing and helping to improve our food system.”

Tickets to this year’s Chefs Collaborative Annual Summit are available for purchase online at http://bit.ly/Summit17CC. For more information about the organization, visit www.chefscollaborative.org/summit.