A special panel talking about the pioneer spirit in Utah will be moderated by Chef Peter Sproul from Utah Valley University.

Pioneer by definition is:  to develop or be the first to use or apply a new method, area of knowledge, or activity.

The goal of this panel is to describe and present individuals and corporations that saw beyond the regional, cultural and socioeconomic barriers that existed in Utah to pioneer a vision or dream of introducing a new method, product or area of knowledge to our region.  Pioneers are willing to take a risk and go against the current of complacency to shift a paradigm and change people's perspective.  

Our moderator, Chef Sproul is a graduate from the State University of New York in 1981 with a degree in Restaurant Management & Operations, which he quickly deemed useless unless he knew how to cook!  Thirty years later he is Director of Culinary Arts at Utah Valley University's Culinary Arts Institute, Owner and Executive Chef of Chef's Table Restaurant in Orem, UT; a Certified Executive Chef (C.E.C) with the American Culinary Federation ACF); an ACF Approved Culinary Judge; an active consultant to the industry; a member in good standing with the Research Chefs of America (RCA) and La Chaine des Rottiseurs Association, the Utah Restaurant Association (URA) and the Association of Career and Technical Educators (ACTE). Chef Sproul also sits on several boards and is extremely active in the community.

Chef Sproul has won scores of ACF medals at regional and national culinary competitions, including over a dozen ACF Gold medals. Peter also won Utah's highest culinary honor and was named 2009 & 2011 Chef of the Year by the ACF Beehive Chef's Association and was a National Chef of the Year semi-finalist in 2012. Peter has coached and mentored scores of students to success over the years, leading the Culinary Arts Institute to six Utah state titles and Gold Medal success at the ACF Regionals. He has coached and mentored students to multiple National finals as both individual competitors and apprentices.

Our panelists:  Bowman & Viet pioneered  a pathway to modernist cuisine at Forage, one of eatable smoke and nitrogen frozen raspberry dust. All of the Salt Lake culinary world has developed because of the risk they took to support their dream.  Colleen Worthington created Kneaders Bakery and Café's out of family history that every household kitchen in Utah has done for centuries. Yet she created a regional empire in an area and culture where women are drastically underrepresented in the workplace. A true pioneer. Mt. West distillery led by Dave Perkins was the first local distillery in a state with the most controlled liquor policies and one known nationally for its non-drinking population.  Pioneering at its best.

Creating a way to develop, bring to market and celebrate the hundreds of small producers and growers throughout the state of Utah, our fourth panelist, Seth Winterton helped establish Utah's Own, a statewide cooperative that does just that. Utah's Own encourages individuals to build relationships with those farmers and companies who grow or make their food, supporting more than 30 farmers markets, 300 grocery stores, 4,000 restaurants and several food service distribution companies.

This panel is meant to inspire and teach the attendees ways to look at the pioneer spirit in relationship to the opportunities (and pioneers) in their own areas!

For more information about the 10th annual CAFÉ Leadership Conference, please go to http://cafemeetingplace.com/cafe-events/2014-leadership-conference