Keynote Sessions

Enjoy the following keynote sessions while attending FNCE^®

• Opening Session
• Mission in Motion
• Closing Session

Opening Session

Saturday, October 11; 3 - 4:30 p.m. Central time

Carla Hall

Chef | Author | TV Host

Carla Hall first won over audiences when she competed on Bravo's "Top Chef" and "Top Chef: All Stars" and shared her philosophy to always cook with love. She is a trained chef who has worked in several professional restaurant kitchens in and around the Washington, D.C. area and believes food connects us all, a belief she strives to convey through her work, her cooking, and in her daily interactions with others.

Carla spent 7 years co-hosting ABC’s Emmy award winning, popular lifestyle series “The Chew,” and is currently featured as the Host of “Chasing Flavors” on Max, and on the Food Network as a judge on competition shows such as “Harry Potter: The Wizards of Baking” and the “Summer, Holiday and Halloween Baking Championships.” Her latest cookbook, Carla Hall’s Soul Food: Everyday and Celebration, was published in 2018, landing on annual "Best Cookbook" lists across the country and receiving an NAACP Image Awards nomination. Carla is also currently being honored by Les Dames d’Escoffier as Grande Dame, a lifetime achievement award and honorary title given to members in recognition of extraordinary contributions within the fields of food, beverage and hospitality. She has published a children’s book, Carla and the Christmas Cornbread (2021), a heartwarming tale loosely based on Hall’s childhood growing up in Nashville, TN, and her second children’s book Carla and the Tin Can Cake will be available October 2025.

Mission in Motion

Monday, October 13; 1:30 - 3 p.m. Central time

More details coming soon!

Closing Session

Tuesday, October 14; 2 - 3 p.m. Central time

More details coming soon!