Speakers & Topics

 

Cooking Like a Chef

Chef Donnie Ferneau is a highly celebrated chef who is very active in the local community as well as the national cooking scene.  He is participating as a personal chef auction item this Oct. to help raise money for charity at Eva Longoria’s Gala in San Antonio.  He just finished the National Share Our Strength effort.  The American Culinary Federation named him Humanitarian of the Year in 2009, and The American Culinary Federation named him Chef of the Year for 2008.  The National Restaurant Association gave him The Good Neighbor Award for community work in 2010.  His Restaurant was named “Best New Restaurant” in Arkansas for 2005.  He was named “Best Chef in Little Rock” in 2007, ’08, ’10, and ’11.  Soiree Magazine named him “Best Chef” in 2006, ’09, ’11 and 2012.  He was named “Teacher of the Year” in 2010 by the Culinary Arts Hospitality and Management Institute.  Chef Ferneau currently acts as a consultant to restaurants and prepares meals for private events. His next restaurant is set to open at the end of 2013.

You Are What You Eat

Meenakshi Budhraja MD is a Board Certified Gastroenterologist in Private Practice and has been practicing medicine in Southwest Little Rock since 1989. Her special interests include wellness and prevention of illness through a healthy diet and exercise. Earlier, she helped put together a conference with the Department of Health and Winthrop Rockefeller foundation to teach culinary skills to physicians. She is passionate about bringing the medical and culinary worlds together for a healthier Arkansas and believes that ‘teaching kitchens’ should be a part of medical school training. An avid home cook and an (almost) vegetarian, she is now teaches the ‘Healthy Foods’ class to culinary students at Pulaski Technical College. Twitter @gastromom.

Dr. Budhraja comes to us thru the courtesy of: 

You Stole My Recipe: Copyright, Plagarism, and Recipes

and other issues to consider when writing about food for publication and the importance of maintaining credibility with your readers.

Kelly Brant is food editor of the Arkansas Democrat- Gazette. In her 17 years of newspapering, Brant has worked as newsroom clerk, occasional restaurant critic and general features reporter. She was assistant food editor for a decade, writing stories and styling food for photographs before becoming food editor in 2009. Today she dons columnist, chief writer and editor hats and continues to enjoy developing and writing stories, as well as styling food for both print and digital media projects. In 2011 she compiled and edited Idea Alley: 50 years of recipes in the Arkansas Democrat, Arkansas Gazette and Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Her column, Front Burner, appears every Wednesday in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and arkansasonline.com. She lives in Little Rock with her husband, a cranky old black cat and a German shepherd puppy.

Searching for Perfection 

Chef Liz Bray was not always a chef, but she always  loved to cook.  She also loves kids, has two of her own, and now, four beautiful grandkids.  So after teaching kindergarten for 21 years and loving it, she felt the doors opening to train as a personal chef.  In 2002, she joined the U.S. Personal Chef Association, and after a period of time under a mentor, started her own business, Just Leave It to Liz where she has been highly successful as a caterer, personal chef and restaurateur. With over 35 years of cooking experience both as an instructor and student, she continues to have a growing passion for cooking and inspiring others to cook along with a genuine love of cooking for others.   One of her goals is to bring families back into the kitchen and dining room to experience the joy of cooking and eating healthy meals together.

 

The Business of Blogging

Stephanie Parker is the creator of Plain Chicken, a popular food blog that features quick and easy recipes to please the entire family. Stephanie is a regular contributor at The Rhodes Bake-N-Serve blog and also writes a weekly food column for The Birmingham News and al.com  Her recipes have been featured on many websites and publications, including The Today Show’s website, The Huffington Post, Southern Living, and The New York Times blog. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, shoe shopping and cheering for the Auburn Tigers. Stephanie lives in Birmingham, AL with her husband and their three cats.

Twitter @plainchicken
Facebook: fb.com/plainchicken.fan
Instagram: @plainchicken
Pinterest: pinterest.com/plainchicken

 

“Iron Chef” Distinguished Judges

 

Joel DiPippa is a cocktalian, cook, and all around ne’er-do-well.  Known for his ability to complicate even the simplest dish, Joel practices his cookery at home while trying to keep a well-stocked home bar.  While few bartenders still curse his name, he is recognized as a cocktail lover and blogger much to the chagrin of his friends.  To get a bit of a break from his day job as an attorney and his side job as an adjunct professor for the Bowen School of law, he spends his free time posting on Southern Ash Blog and shining his shoes.  DiPippa is sometimes known as the organizer and enlightened tyrant of the Little Rock Burger Caucus which was recently featured in the Democrat-Gazette on July 30.

Twitter: @LRBurgerCaucus
Twitter: @Joel_DiPippa
Facebook: Southern Ash Blog
Facebook: Joel DiPippa

 

Mimi SanPedro, Hortus, Ltd’s Chief Operating Officer & Chief Marketing Officer, leads all aspects of the company’s operations as well as driving the strategies for product and brand marketing initiatives. Within this role, Mimi leads the strategic planning process and operational structure to lead the company to global recognition. She oversees all consumer, enterprise and partnership marketing initiatives, from product planning and positioning. Mimi manages the day-to-day operations of the company and manages brand marketing, PR, client services, business and sales development, television production, publications, internet services, online marketing, photography and art services, and IT services teams.

Need a restaurant recommendation?  Ask Mimi.  She’ll have one for you.

Twitter: @MimiSP

 

Kevin Shalin started his personal food blog, The Mighty Rib, in March 2010. Soon afterwards, he began making weekly contributions for the Houston Press’ blog “Eating Our Words.” During that time, Kevin also wrote the hard copy wine article for HP’s Menu of Menus. In 2012, Kevin and his family moved to Boston for one year, where he was the Director of Communications for a food review site called 2 Dine For. He now resides in Little Rock, makes appearances on The Alice Stewart Show (96.5 FM), and continues to update The Mighty Rib on a regular basis.
Kevin is a high school teacher by day and is married to Sara, a dermatopathologist at UAMS. They have two children, Natalie (9) and Sydney (4).

Facebook: The Mighty Rib
Twitter: @themightyrib

Alice Stewart  is a Radio Talk Show host and Republican Strategist who has served as National Press Secretary for Rick Santorum for President and Communications Director for Michele Bachmann for President.  She also served as a surrogate for the Republican National Committee. In 2008, she served as National Press Secretary on the Mike Huckabee for President Campaign. She has worked on communications strategy for Concerned Women for America, Republican National Senatorial Committee, Republican National Congressional Committee and Rick Scott for Florida Governor.  An Emmy award winning journalist, she appears on Fox News, MSNBC, CNN and CBS as a political commentator.  Stewart is a contributor to the Fox Nation Blog and Redstate.com.  She currently hosts a morning radio talk show on 96.5 fm.  Alice is an avid runner who knows her way around a kitchen as well.

Twitter: @alicetweet
Facebook: Alice Stewart

Daniel Walker is a food writer and restaurant critic for the Arkansas Times.  He also writes for their Eat Arkansas which appears online weekly.  He makes regular appearances on The Alice Stewart Show (96.5) commenting on the latest foodie news. When not eating or seeking out the latest in culinary adventures in the Central Arkansas area, he is a dermatology resident at UAMS. Originally from Salt Lake City, Utah, he came to Arkansas after a four-year stop in Dallas, TX for medical school. He is the proud owner of two children, Max (2) and Vivian (8 mos.).

Twitter: @daniel_p_walker
Facebook: Daniel Walker

 

 

 

Justin Fox Burks, The Chubby Vegetarian.

Justin Fox Burks and Amy Lawrence, a husband-and-wife team, are the authors of The Southern Vegetarian Cookbook: 100 Down-Home recipes for the Modern Table, published by Thomas-Nelson in May of 2013. A lifelong vegetarian, Justin’s career as a photographer allowed him access to some of the secrets of the South’s greatest kitchens, where he picked up techniques and tricks from talented chefs. His wife and partner in the kitchen, Amy Lawrence, studied the dishes and techniques of restaurant chefs as a food writer and restaurant critic for Memphis Magazine. In 2008, they decided to start sharing the recipes they were inspired to make in their home kitchen through a blog called The Chubby Vegetarian.

He will have some of their cookbooks with him for you to purchase.