March 25, 10:00 A.M. Talk: Motherhood in the Restaurant Industry and How We Navigate It All Presented by BentoBox
March 25, 2024 10:00 AM
A Panel Conversation Featuring Industry Leaders Lauren Byrd, Jenny Goodman, Anna Gordon, Petrushka Bazin Larsen, and Hillary Sterling
25 11th Ave, New York, NY 10011, USA
From unpredictable events to wide-ranging responsibilities and ever-changing demands, the workdays of restaurant industry professionals and the daily grind of motherhood have a lot in common. Join the James Beard Foundation and BentoBox for a Women’s History Month event moderated by BentoBox's vice president of customer success Lauren Byrd and featuring industry experts Jenny Goodman (Tilit), Petrushka Bazin Larsen (Sugar Hill Creamery), Hillary Sterling (Ci Siamo), and Anna Gordon (The Good Batch). The panel will discuss the various challenges and rewards that come with balancing motherhood and a career in the hospitality industry.
Free Admission
About Lauren Byrd:
Passionate about hospitality, Lauren Byrd loves to support the restaurant industry and empower the people within their walls by using her experience in both owning and operating restaurants and pairing it with how BentoBox’s restaurant technology can drive revenue, streamline processes, and give time back to operators, all with a human-first approach. Byrd is currently the vice president of customer success at BentoBox leading and nurturing a team that includes customer onboarding, customer success, customer support, CS operations, and production—directly responsible for empowering 14,000+ restaurants. She also opened Two Birds Taphouse with her husband and in-laws, a 6000+ square foot restaurant and bar in Marietta, Georgia. As an owner, she focused on the profitability and growth of the restaurant, providing leadership to their team to establish long-term goals, strategies, and policies. They built a unique restaurant business model that supports customer loyalty, trust, and community.
About Jenny Goodman:
Jenny Goodman is the co-founder and chief executive officer of Tilit NYC, the fashion-forward workwear brand for the culinary and hospitality industry. Before co-founding Tilit in 2012, Goodman had a successful career in the pharmaceutical industry, opened a restaurant called Goods in Brooklyn, and earned an MBA from NYU Stern. Goodman is also the co-host of Opening Soon on Heritage Radio Network, a podcast all about the business of starting a restaurant. She resides in Brooklyn with her husband, two daughters, and St. Bernard.
About Anna Gordon:
Anna Gordon founded The Good Batch in 2010, with the purpose of introducing her one-of-a-kind pastries to New York City. The Good Batch specializes in hearty cookies, baked goods, and ice cream sandwiches. The bakery is one of New York City’s largest wholesale cookie distributors, servicing over 200 coffee shops and fine retailers. Anna's popular ice cream sandwiches were released as a CPG line in 2019, and their flagship bakeshop in Clinton Hill has become a bustling neighborhood staple. Gordon is best known for her playful diversity of ingredients and textures. She splits her time between chef and chief executive officer of the company, is a James Beard Foundation Women's Entrepreneurial Leadership alum, and the happy mother of two daughters.
About Petrushka Bazin Larsen:
Petrushka Bazin Larsen is the co-founder and co-owner of Sugar Hill Creamery, Harlem’s first family-owned small-batch ice cream shop. Customers can also enjoy Sugar Hill Creamery via nationwide shipping and in the American Wing Cafe and The Met Dining Room at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Sugar Hill Creamery has been featured on the Today Show, in the New York Times, and is listed as one of 18 essential ice cream shops in New York City on Eater. In 2023, Sugar Hill Creamery was awarded the StarChefs Rising Star Community Award.
Previously, Bazin Larsen worked as vice president for Programs & Education at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum and program director at the Laundromat Project, a nonprofit committed to building resilient neighborhoods using art, art making, and culture as platforms for meaningful exchanges between New Yorkers. She is an adjunct lecturer at CUNY, and coaches women looking to make career changes and start businesses in New York City through her coaching practice.
About Hillary Sterling:
Hillary Sterling is the executive chef of Ci Siamo, a Union Square Hospitality Group restaurant located in the Manhattan West neighborhood. Sterling began her career in the kitchen of Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill where she learned the critical balance between spice, heat, and acid. Sterling continued working with Flay, joining the team at the acclaimed Spanish restaurant Bolo, furthering her appreciation for Mediterranean cuisine and culture. She then turned her attention to Italy, working in the salumi and butchery department at Lupa Osteria Romana. In 2010, she shifted her focus to the fine-dining world, assuming the role of chef de cuisine at Michelin-starred A Voce. Working under chef Missy Robbins, Sterling fell in love with the regionality and traditions of Italian cuisine. Most recently, Sterling returned to her domestic roots as the executive chef and partner of Vic’s, where her menu of thoughtfully prepared dishes gained a loyal following. At Ci Siamo, Sterling has created an ambitious restaurant centered around live-fire cooking and the understated excellence of seasonal ingredients. The culmination of her diverse culinary training and extensive travels, Ci Siamo is Sterling’s most personal project to date and celebrates the power of simplicity.
Tickets to events held at Platform at Pier 57 by the James Beard Foundation cover the cost of food, education and a unique dining experience. Meals are prepared by culinary masters from all regions of the United States and around the world. Unless otherwise stated, alcoholic beverages are provided on a complimentary basis and are not included in the ticket price.
James Beard Foundation events permit guests age 21 years and older to attend events where alcoholic beverages are served.