Speakers Revealed for Taste Trekkers Food & Travel Expo, Returning to Providence

PROVIDENCE, RI – Taste Trekkers, the nation’s premiere Food and Travel Expo, returns to Providence, Rhode Island this fall for a second year. Taking place Friday, October 3rd through Sunday, October 5th, the event will unite adventurous food lovers who share a passion for travel. Tickets for the Expo go on sale Wednesday, July 2nd at noon (EDT). Tickets start at $50 and are available at http://tastetrekkers.com/expo.

Taste Trekkers has revealed the first ten speakers of the Expo, with many more to be announced in the coming weeks. The star-studded lineup includes:

• Myra Alperson is the owner of Noshwalks. She has been leading food tours in New York City for over 30 years. She currently offers unique food tours in all five boroughs.
• Christopher Bakken is the Director of Writing Workshops in Greece: Thessaloniki and Thasos, where he teach a food and travel writing course each summer. He is also the author of Honey, Olives, Octopus: Adventures at the Greek Table.
• Gail Ciampa has been the Food Editor of The Providence Journal for eleven years, where she produces a weekly newspaper section dedicated to food and dining.
• Cesin Curi is the Chef at Los Andes Restaurant, where he serves authentic Bolivian and Peruvian cuisine with Mediterranean ingredients and flavors.
• Grace Della founded Miami Culinary Tours ten years ago to provide both locals and visitors a taste of the different cultures that make up the city’s neighborhoods, including South Beach, Little Havana, and Wynwood.

• Richard Gutman is the Director and Curator of the Culinary Arts Museum at Johnson & Wales. Gutman has written four books on the journey of the American diner and is known as the nation’s leading diner expert.

• Shane Kost is the President of Food Tour Pros. He launched Chicago Food Planet Food Tasting and Cultural Walking Tours in 2006. Since then, it has become the nation’s largest, seasonal food tour business. In 2009, he founded Food Tour Pros to give aspiring food tour operators the benefit of his first-hand experience.
• Marina Marchese is the Founder of Red Bee Artisanal Honey and the American Honey Tasting Society. A leading authority in the world of honey tasting, Marina has dedicated her life to honeybees and educating chefs, foodies and beekeepers about the culinary delights of single-origin honey across the country.
• Cindy Salvato is the owner of Savoring Rhode Island, where she leads behind-the-scenes tours of New England’s quintessential Italian neighborhood, Federal Hill. Before that, Cindy taught pastry arts at Johnson & Wales University and in the Culinary Special Program at Boston University.

• Meghan Sheridan is the Executive Director of the Vermont Fresh Network and a member of the Vermont Agriculture and Culinary Tourism Council. Through her work at the Vermont Fresh Network, she aims to link Vermont’s culinary arts with Vermont’s agricultural bounty by connecting farmers, food producers and chefs, an authentic expression of eating the landscape.

This year’s Expo will feature an Industry Day on Friday, October 3rd, with talks and a panel discussion aimed at professionals in the food and travel verticals. It will be followed by a networking cocktail reception.

The events of Saturday, October 5th, will take place at the Providence Biltmore and be open to all food lovers. Foodies will hear short talks on a variety of cuisines and destinations, before diving in deeper with longer sessions. The afternoon will wrap up with the Tasting Pavilion in the Grand Ballroom.

On Sunday, October 5th, the Expo will conclude with the Eat & Run Scavenger Hunt. Participants will compete for hundreds of dollars in prizes by following clues to their favorite eateries around the city.

For more information, please visit http://tastetrekkers.com/expo.

About Taste Trekkers

Taste Trekkers is a website for foodies who travel. The company’s mission is to turn foodies on to new cuisines and new destinations. The company was founded in 2012 by Seth Resler, a media strategist who has been involved in the production of hundreds of events, including the WBRU Summer Concert Series, the New England Nightclub and Bar Expo, and the Global Institute for Leadership Development. His events have been recognized by the Mayor of Providence with a Citizen Citation.

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