The Worlds of Flavor® International Conference & Festival, with the theme of Arc of Flavors: Re-imagining Culinary Exchange, from the Mediterranean and Middle East to Asia, celebrated its 15th anniversary by exploring the movement of ingredients, dishes, techniques, and flavors from the first days of trade to today's fast-changing global palate.

The resounding idea expressed throughout the conference was that cuisines are not geopolitically bounded, and that the movement of the arc of flavors continues at a pace faster than ever. Cross-influences have existed since the first adventurers took to the sea, making cuisines fluid rather than static; the re-occurrence of similar ingredients, such as Aleppo pepper or figs, or techniques like live-fire or one-pot cooking, in presentations from parts of the world seemingly disconnected helped attendees better understand the origin of the foods that we eat and the possibilities of the ones we don't yet know about, making it easier to incorporate new flavors onto their menu. 

"Worlds of Flavor is a terrific venue for networking with luminaries in the food world as they drill deeply into a culinary topic that will be of interest to trend watchers and culinary professionals of all stripes."
—Bret Thorn
Senior Food Editor, Nation's Restaurant News

Chefs from Iceland, Sri Lanka, and the United Arab Emirates appeared for the first time on the Worlds of Flavor program, along with experts on 20 other cuisines from around the globe. Enjoy highlights from their presentations below.

The Culinary Institute of America's annual three-day forum is widely acknowledged as our country's most influential professional forum on world cuisines, food cultures, and flavor trends. Each November, the Worlds of Flavor Conference showcases the gold standards of world cuisines that are reshaping American palates and the U.S. foodservice industry.

"Each of these annual events I've attended has been illuminating. But this one was especially so. Everyone I talked with said the same thing: The Arc of Flavor was the perfect combination of delicious and instructive with a strong intellectual through line connecting all of the sessions and demonstrations. Bravo to the CIA!"
—Corie Brown
General Manager, ZesterDaily.com