Meet the 2026 Speakers

Internationally recognized chef, restaurateur, actor, producer, and three-time New York Times bestselling author Matty Matheson has been breaking barriers since his cooking debut. He owns nine restaurants in Canada and the U.S., runs Matheson Food Company, Blue Goose Farm, and the relaunched Rosa Rugosa brand, and is an executive producer and actor on FX’s The Bear, back with its fifth season this June. Matheson fronts the band Pig Pen, lends his voice to animated films like Gabby's Dollhouse and Toy Story 5, and returned with season three of Netflix’s cooking series Just a Dash.

With each new venture, Matty continues to redefine what it means to be a chef, creator, and cultural force.

Christian Petroni is a Bronx-born chef, restaurateur, and television personality whose cooking is shaped by both the energy of New York kitchens and the old-world traditions of Ponza, Italy, where his family roots run deep. He began catering at just 12 years old and quickly built a reputation for bold Italian-American cooking and an infectious, larger-than-life presence in the kitchen. In 2010, he won Chopped, and in 2018 he was crowned champion of Food Network Star. Alongside his television career, Petroni founded Fortina, a beloved wood-fired Italian restaurant concept that expanded to seven locations across the East Coast. He continues to appear regularly on hit Food Network programs including Beat Bobby Flay, Guy’s Grocery Games, and Tournament of Champions. His best-selling cookbook, Parm to Table, was published last September. In 2025, he curated a stadium menu for the New York Yankees that featured a viral tiramisu dessert, and he is set to open a restaurant inside Yankee Stadium this summer. Petroni will launch a new cooking series on YouTube this spring in partnership with Lando Entertainment.

Saleena Subaiya, MD, MSc is the co-founder of BKE Kombucha, a Brooklyn-based brewery producing naturally fermented, low-sugar kombucha known for its complex botanical flavor profiles. Trained as a physician and researcher with a specialization in plant medicine and wellness, Saleena brings a rare blend of science and craft to fermentation. At BKE, they focus on slow fermentation, whole ingredients, and carefully balanced cultures to create kombucha that is both deeply flavorful and exceptionally low in sugar. BKE is brewed in Bushwick and served at restaurants and cultural venues across New York and beyond. Saleena is passionate about the intersection of fermentation, flavor, and the living microbial processes that shape how we eat and drink.

Marian Cheng is the co-founder of Mimi Cheng’s, the cult-favorite NYC dumpling shop she launched with her sister Hannah in 2014. Inspired by their mom Mimi’s beloved Taiwanese recipes, the sisters turned a craving into a business that blends tradition with playful, craveable flavor. Before launching Mimi Cheng’s, Marian studied international business and Mandarin at the University of Maryland and worked in womenswear wholesale at Dolce & Gabbana and Burberry. Today, Mimi Cheng’s has expanded from its East Village roots to Whole Foods freezers nationwide—and Baldor warehouses up and down the East Coast. Marian has been featured in Forbes 30 Under 30, Zagat 30 Under 30, Inc. 500 Female Founders list for 2026 and rang the NASDAQ bell.

Garland Reiter Jr. is Chief Commercial Officer of Driscoll’s of the Americas, where he leads the company’s commercial growth strategy across sales execution, market expansion, customer development, marketing, and business solutions. In this executive role, he is responsible for advancing revenue growth while strengthening the connection between consumers, customers, and Driscoll’s mission.

Jacob Krempel is the Senior Vice President of Procurement & Merchandising at Baldor Specialty Foods, where he leads merchandising and replenishment across produce, meat, and specialty categories. With nearly 20 years of experience spanning every link in the food supply chain—from grower and retailer to meal-kit innovator—Jacob brings a holistic perspective to sourcing and operational strategy. Before joining Baldor in July 2025, he held senior leadership roles at HelloFresh and began his career with grower-shippers and The Kroger Co., developing a deep understanding of how great food moves from farm to table.

Aaron founded Girl & Dug Farm, the namesake of his daughters and lovable overweight beagle Dug, began curating one-of-a-kind vegetables exclusively for some of the most influential restaurants, one chef at a time. What began in 2005 as an immigrant family’s 8-acre cucumber farm evolved into a chefs-first, flavor and sustainability driven greenhouse farm spanning 50-acres with the singular mission: to make game-changing ingredients easily accessible and approachable for every kitchen. Having forged a trusted working relationship with a single restaurant in San Diego in 2017, Aaron started working with Michelin-starred restaurants in San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, and major resorts on the Las Vegas Strip. As Covid lockdowns in 2020 shuttered restaurants, Aaron successfully navigated the business into retail and direct-to-consumer models until the hospitality industry reopened in. Today, the farm and its 150+ unique varieties of produce continues to serve and expand into major cities across the U.S.

Missy Robbins is the Co-Founder of Grovehouse Hospitality and Chef-Owner of Lilia, Misi, and Misipasta in Brooklyn. She's a James Beard Award winner (Best Chef New York City, 2018), two-time cookbook author, and a 2025 James Beard semifinalist for Outstanding Chef.

Her two restaurants—Lilia and Misi—have each earned three stars from The New York Times and become cult destinations for Italian cuisine that's both elevated and approachable. Misipasta, her pasta and Italian specialties company, extends that philosophy by giving guests the tools, ingredients, and recipes to bring restaurant-quality cooking into their homes. Her approach to Italian cooking is rooted in years of studying Italian regional cooking and culture.

Tim Ma is a critically acclaimed chef and food & beverage entrepreneur known for his dynamic restaurant concepts and culinary innovation. After an eight-year engineering career following degrees from the Georgia Institute of Technology and Johns Hopkins University, he left the field to pursue cooking, training at the French Culinary Institute and working at Momofuku Ko and Momofuku Ssam. He went on to open multiple acclaimed restaurants in the Washington, D.C. area, including Maple Ave, Kyirisan, Lucky Danger, and Any Day Now and serves as Co-Founder and Culinary Director of Laoban Dumplings, now sold in more than 2,000 grocery stores nationwide. Chef Ma is also an advocate and community leader, co-founding Chefs Stopping AAPI Hate and earning recognition from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History for his family’s contributions to the restaurant industry.

Paul Carmichael is the chef and visionary behind Kabawa and Bar Kabawa in New York City’s East Village, acclaimed concepts that offer a deeply personal and elevated perspective on Caribbean cuisine inspired by his upbringing in Barbados. Since opening, Kabawa has earned widespread recognition, including a rare three-star review from The New York Times and a spot on its “100 Best Restaurants in NYC 2025,” while Bar Kabawa has also received critical praise and a two-star review. Prior to these projects, Carmichael served as Executive Chef of Momofuku Seiobo in Sydney, which was named Australia’s Restaurant of the Year by Gourmet Traveller and recognized among Food & Wine’s World’s Best Restaurants.

Tiffani Faison is a nationally recognized chef and restaurateur known for her dynamic personality, culinary talent, and fearless approach to hospitality. As the founder of Boston-based Big Heart Hospitality, she has created a portfolio of beloved restaurants including Sweet Cheeks Q, Fool’s Errand, Dive Bar, Tenderoni’s Pizza, Bubble Bath, Charming Gardener, and Tigerbaby. A four-time James Beard Award nominee for Best Chef: Northeast, Faison is also a familiar face on Food Network, appearing as a floor reporter on Tournament of Champions and a judge on Chopped, Guy’s Grocery Games, and Beat Bobby Flay. Beyond the kitchen, she is an advocate for the restaurant community and LGBTQ+ youth, serving on the boards of Women Chefs & Restaurateurs and BAGLY (Boston Alliance of LGBTQ+ Youth).

Matt Rodbard is a writer, editor, and author of food and culture books with more than two decades of experience working in television, magazines, book publishing, and online media. He’s the author of Koreaworld: A Cookbook, named IACP Cookbook of the Year, Koreatown: A Cookbook, a New York Times Bestseller, Food IQ, an Amazon and Publishers Weekly Bestseller and winner of a 2023 IACP Cookbook Award, and the Founding Editor of online food and culture magazine TASTE, winner of three James Beard Foundation Awards. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Travel + Leisure, Bon Appétit, Food & Wine, Saveur, Fodor’s, and GQ.

Michael Sullivan is Director of Enterprise Data Applications at Baldor Specialty Foods, where he leads initiatives focused on modernizing systems that support operations across the business. In addition to his work at Baldor, Michael brings a unique background in food culture and live events, having served as an MC for Major League Eating competitions. He has emceed events at iconic venues such as Mile High Stadium in Denver, Petco Park in San Diego, and the Coney Island stage during competitive eating’s most storied event. His experience behind the mic, combined with his deep connection to the food industry, makes him a natural fit to moderate our hot dog eating contest.