Saturday, April 9 Event Panelists Include:
Katie Das, President, Das Foods LLC
Das Foods is an artisanal candy company that makes shamelessly delicious non-chocolate confections. Founded in 2006 by Katie Das, Katie draws inspiration for her artisanal candies from her Ukrainian American heritage and from her travels throughout Europe and the Middle East. In marketing Das Foods products, Katie relies on the extensive food marketing knowledge she gained while working at Fortune 500 companies.
Ina Pinkney, Chef/Owner, Ina’s
Ina Pinkney opened Ina's Kitchen in 1991, which quickly became Chicago's Premier Breakfast Restaurant, and is now the Chef/Owner of INA'S, an American Food restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinner in Chicago's trendy West Loop Market District. Her recipes are featured in many cookbooks. Ina is a leader in the effort to ban artificial trans fats, and her wealth of knowledge has made national and global press.
Elizabeth Scott '97, Owner, Kitoweo Catering
Elizabeth Scott, Lexington alumnae, created Kitoweo Catering, whichwhi which features East African Cuisine. Elizabeth strives to continue to educate people by bringing the taste of Africa to Chicago. Kitoweo focuses on providing healthy and innovative Kenyan dishes, and encourages people to experience a true cultural atmosphere without traveling all the way to Africa. Kitoweo serves both vegetarian and non vegetarian dishes.
Kantha Shelke, PhD., Founder & Principal, Corvus Blue
Kantha Shelke is a principal at Corvus Blue LLC, a Chicago-based food science and research firm specializing in industry competitive intelligence, expert witness services, and new product/technology development and commercialization of foods and food ingredients that will truly enhance the health and wellbeing of people. An author, she is currently writing a book on The Global History of Pasta.
Alicia Baker, ’11, Moderator
Alicia is pursuing her BA at Lexington, with a focus on hotel/restaurant mgmt. Alicia has experience working for Disney, Hyatt Hotels, and is currently a prep chef at the Marriott Chicago Downtown Mag Mile.