Co-Founder, Bakers Against Racism

Keynote

Willa Pelini was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Summer days biking to the Midtown Farmers Market for fresh strawberries followed by nighttime walks to the Lake Street Dairy Queen lead to a life-long passion for creating and sharing sweets. After graduating from New York’s French Culinary Institute, she went on to learn the ins and outs of fine dining in the kitchens of Colicchio & Sons and Eleven Madison Park. Moving to Washington DC, she exercised her pastry skills at Fiola, Pineapple and Pearls and as the Executive Pastry Chef at Emilie's in Capitol Hill. Most recently she co-founded Bakers Against Racism, a world- wide bake sale benefiting the Black Lives Matter movement.

While some might describe her as a “type A” personality, she prefers “detail-oriented.” Willa loves graphic novels, white wine, decorating gingerbread houses and watching Juan Soto crush home runs at Nationals Park.

*Photo Credit to Deb Rubba

Founder of Made by Lino, Co-Founder of Lit Coffee Roastery & Bakeshop

Keynote

While searching for validation and certainty in her life's purpose, Melanie wanted to try something she never has before, which was baking. She'd spend countless hours on the internet researching the history of all types of baked goods, going through A LOT of trial and error but, also being very impressed with many first try's. Realizing her capability, she grew a deep love and desire to create baked goods. Baking, to her, turned into more than just mixing a batter and popping it in the oven; It is an art form. It is a blank canvas, open to creating unique flavor combinations, confusing the palate from what it's used to, the norm. From this self discovery, Made by Lino was born. Made by Lino operates out of Melanie's second business "Lit Coffee Roastery & Bakeshop'' in Bethlehem, PA, co owned with her business partners Monocacy Coffee Co. Lit serves as a community hub where local artisans, entrepreneurs and musicians can unapologetically be themselves.

Misterkrisp

Rice Crispy Treat Ice Cream Cones Demo

My name is Jessica Siskin and I am a human woman, but sometimes people call me Misterkrisp. Five years ago I didn't know how to cook anything besides oversized heart-shaped Rice Krispies Treats (but I had other redeeming qualities). When I was invited to a potluck birthday dinner, I was stumped. The birthday girl was a surfer, so a friend suggested I make a Rice Krispies Treats surfboard. When I realized that food coloring could be added to the side-of-the-box recipe, I felt an immediate and overwhelming impulse to make a Rice Krispies Treats cheeseburger. I brought my creation to work the next day, where people freaked out before devouring it; I posted a photo of my creation on Instagram, where I broke 100 likes for the first time and I freaked out. I continued to experiment with Rice Krispies Treats recipes, techniques, and designs until Misterkrisp was born in October 2013. I'm inspired by my previous career in fashion, everything pop culture, the internet, and the library of emojis that are slowly eliminating the need for traditional expressive language. When I'm not in the kitchen, I'm writing creative nonfiction and eating all of the ice cream in the Tri-state area. My first book, Treat Yourself! is available wherever books are sold!

Founder, Sprinkles for Breakfast

How to Take Stunning Food Photos with your Phone

Lindsay Nathanson is the founder of Sprinkles for Breakfast, a baking blog dedicated to showing people how to make beautiful desserts right in their own homes. She has also taught thousands of students how to improve their food photos skills and take their business to the next level at The Sprinkle Academy. She also spends her free time suffering through horrible online dates and convincing people that everything is better with sprinkles.

Founder, Michaels Desserts

Ice Cream In A Bag Demo

Michael is a 14 year old baker and creator of Michaels Desserts. The reason he became a baker is because he has an epic sweet tooth, but that's not the reason he made Michaels Desserts. He made Michaels Desserts because he is passionate about ending inequality.

Michael made his company at 11 years old in 2017. For every dessert you buy he gives a dessert to someone in need. This 1-for-1 business model is at the heart of why we exist. A cupcake won't end hunger but a tasty treat, when times are tough, can make life sweeter.

Michael is a No Kid Hungry Youth Advocate.

A Taste Of Koko

How To Be A Food Influencer Panel

Jane Ko is the blogger behind A Taste of Koko, Austin's top food and travel blog featuring the hottest restaurants and weekend getaways. A Taste of Koko has been voted best local Austin blogger by the Austin Chronicle in 2018 and 2019 and has been featured in O Magazine, InStyle Magazine, OWN TV Network, and The New York Times.

Koko launched her blog in 2010 and has been doing it full-time since 2015 and has worked with over 300 brands on influencer campaigns like Target, IKEA, Whole Foods, Best Buy, Visit Germany, and more.

Shop Koko is her very own line of foodie tees that help support local non-profits in Austin and she also self-published her first book, Koko's Guide To Austin, a pocket-sized guidebook to Austin that's sold in 40 locations in Austin.

Brunch Boys

How To Be A Food Influencer Panel

Jeremy Jacobowitz has over a decade of media experience, having first worked  in sports television, and then transitioning from Bobby's Flay's assistant on set, to food TV producing for networks like Food Network, Cooking Channel, FYI and more! Jeremy has now been running Brunch Boys for over 6 years, creating content all over the world, and all social platforms where he has a total reach of almost 500K followers. 

Foodie In New York

How To Be A Food Influencer Panel

After winning Season 3 of the Great American Baking Show in 2017, Vallery gathered the courage to leave her "day job" as an attorney to pursue her passion—a full time career in food! Her debut cookbook will be published in September 2021 by Clarkson Potter, imprint of Penguin Random House. In the meantime, she's sharing recipes, videos, and inspirational messaging through food. She has appeared on CNN, Fox, ABC, & NBC. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, Food & Wine, Food 52, the cover of Better Homes & Gardens, People Magazine, and Taste Cooking. She has created digital content and videos with the Food Network, Buzzfeed and more.

Founder, Mini Melanie

How To Run A Food Business Panel

Mini Melanie specializes in beautiful and delicious desserts for all occasions. We are a female-owned, sister-led business based in Brooklyn, New York. From custom cakes to corporate-branded treats to dessert tables of bite-sized sweets, our team does it all with exceptional customer service and attention to detail. Mini Melanie has appeared in the NYC Michelin Guide, and Melanie is a champion of Food Network's Chopped.

Founder & CEO, Malai

How To Run A Food Business Panel

Pooja Bavishi is the Founder and CEO of Malai, an artisanal ice cream company with flavors inspired by nostalgic, aromatic spices, and South Asian ingredients. Pooja founded Malai when she discovered that the same spices of her childhood – ginger, rose petals, cardamom – could be used to robustly flavor ice creams in a way that she had never tasted before. She notes that she “founded Malai because desserts bring people joy, and I wanted to be in the business of delivering happiness.”

Pooja continues to craft all of Malai’s flavors, and distributes through various channels, including a flagship storefront in Brooklyn, NY, and selling pints nationwide in grocery stores and online. She has claimed the title of “champion” after winning a battle of Food Network’s Chopped Sweets in March 2020. Pooja holds a B.A. from UNC-Chapel Hill, an M.S. from the London School of Economics, and an M.B.A. from NYU’s Stern School of Business. She is a 2018 Tory Burch Foundation Fellow.

Co-Founder, Macaron Parlour

How To Run A Food Business Panel

Macaron Parlour was founded in 2010 by Christina Ha and Simon Tung. Macaron Parlour aims to expand macarons offerings beyond traditional fillings. While playing homage to butter creams and ganaches, we also dabble with savory and fun fillings. We offer fun, American flavors like candied bacon with maple cream cheese, s'mores, and red velvet.

Founder, Twisted For Sugar

How To Run A Food Business Panel

Bespoke cotton candy catering based in Los Angeles. Lucia also founded Churro Service, a gourmet churro catering cart. She reimagines cotton candy and churros with a Latina twist of flavors!

Co-Founder, Third Culture Bakery

How To Run A Food Business Panel

Third Culture Bakery, home of the Original Mochi Muffin®, butter mochi donuts, and other foods and drinks inspired by our upbringing as Third Culture Kids—kids who grew up in a culture different than that of their parent’s. After falling in love in Berkeley, CA, Chef Sam Butarbutar and Wenter Shyu started a bakery journey together, offering pastries reflective of their childhood in Indonesia and Taiwan.

WoodSpoon

Moderator, How to Run A Food Business Panel

Youval is the Head of Growth at WoodSpoon and a trained chef, with experience cooking in several famous restaurants in Israel. Youval was also a Project Manager at Impossible Foods. She has a real passion for food, and her mission is to support WoodSpoon's home chefs in sharing their cuisine and culture with others. She holds a B.A from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and soon an M.A from Cambridge Judge Business School, with research on the impact food jobs can have on immigrants' integration.

The Hungry Hutch

Moderator, How To Be a Food Influencer Panel

Aaron Hutcherson is a freelance writer and recipe developer based in New York City, and runs the lauded recipe blog The Hungry Hutch. His work has appeared in publications such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, Eater, Thrillist, TASTE, Simply Recipes, Food52, and others. He's a fan of comfort food, whiskey, and intersectionality. You can follow his personal cooking and eating adventures @thehungryhutch.

POUND Workout

Unleash your inner rockstar in this cardio jam session inspired by the infectious, energizing and sweat-dripping fun of playing the drums. Designed for all fitness levels, whether you're a conditioned athlete or a beginner, POUND provides the perfect atmosphere for letting loose, getting energized, improving your health, and rocking out!

@katherinealice

Cardboard Cake Stand DIY Craft

Katie is an Actress who also does a ton of other things and lives in Manhattan with her gentleman friend and doggo. Always the most colorful person on the subway. Besides being briefly on TV and many regional shows including a recent Off - Broadway theatre festival, Katie loves writing articles, planning adventures, Color, crafting, treats, and Instagram story style journalism in her favorite city NYC.

CEO & Co-Founder, Red Velvet NYC

Live Baking Demo

Agathe Assouline-Lichten is the CEO and Co-Founder of Red Velvet NYC, a gourmet DIY baking kit company that helps both novice and expert bakers pull off culinary feats in their home kitchens. After spending nearly a decade in luxury marketing negotiating strategic partnerships for international luxury goods companies such as Sotheby’s, Richemont Group, and Harry Winston, Agathe knows what sets a brand apart and drives repeat conversions – it’s the opportunity to connect with clients over an exceptional experience. Red Velvet NYC, often referred to as the “Blue Apron” of dessert, was founded at the end of 2015 with the goal of disrupting and innovating the $12 billion home baking market in the USA. The idea for the company was born out of a strong passion for baking, and Agathe’s love of bringing people together over homemade food.

The unique service has been featured in Food & Wine Magazine, the NY Times, the Wall Street Journal, BBC, Business Insider, Cosmopolitan Magazine, among others. In 2017, Red Velvet NYC won 1st place in the Campbell's Soup Real Food Innovation Challenge for standing out as an innovative food company, and adhering to the Campbell Real Food Philosophy. Agathe holds a BA in Art History from Boston University, and an MBA in Hospitality from the Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne in Switzerland.

Founder, Hadley Go Lucky

Iced Snickerdoodle Cold Brew Latte Demo

Hadley Hauser is a Pastry Chef and Food Stylist who trained at the French Pastry School in Chicago. Some of Hadley's fondest memories on the job include developing recipes for NYC pastry institution City Cakes, styling a Halloween segment for The Wendy Williams Show, and competing and getting first place in Cherry Bombe University's Cookie Bake-Off. Hadley's interest in pastry, hospitality, and storytelling led her to begin selling her own pastries in 2019. Hadley's first pop-up featured a retro collection of cakes and cocktails inspired by childhood juice boxes, such as Hi-C and Tang. Her love of beautiful food was shaped by her time living abroad, cooking and eating with host families in Tokyo and Kyoto.

Hadley Go Lucky is about entering a new world with each creative bite. Through the custom orders Hadley makes and the original recipes she shares, she aims to infuse everyday moments with whimsical energy. Hadley loves adding magic to the stories that we live, and that's why she's so passionate about creating beautiful desserts! Hadley currently fills custom orders and produces styled catering events and classes in NYC.

Founder, Dessert Goals

Welcome + Live Attendee Meet Up

It’s pronounced Mir-ray-ah, like a ray of sunshine. A party planner since age 10, Miraya lives and breathes the event lifestyle, down to every last sparkly detail. She’s always been an avid dessert lover, her grandpa even owned a candy factory, so really it’s in her blood. Miraya is the founder of Pop Productions, the event studio that started Dessert Goals and Rom Com Fest, the first romantic comedy film festival. Follow all her dessert eating on Instagram, @mirayaberke!

Sip Shop Eat is a community dedicated to spotlighting the best in food, style and drinks! Discover, shop and experience the best in indie brands online and IRL!

Tipsy Scoop has two boozy ice cream Barlours in NYC. Nationwide shipping is available through Goldbelly. They also recently published a recipe book!