We’re on a mission to build a more sustainable, innovative, inclusive, and collaborative food & beverage industry. Lengua features an annual conference, exclusive pop-up dinners, and talks about food business, marketing, and innovation.
—Nidal Barake
2026 marks the fifth anniversary of the food centric conference featuring food’s thought leaders, restaurateurs, chefs, artisan producers and more from all around the world.
As you can see by hitting the link this one begins the two-day run April 14th. It would not surprise me if the viral attention augured by the news regarding the New York Times articles swirling around the famed Copenhagen restaurant ‘Noma’ (plus the pop up in LA going on now… unless the tent comes down) and the central figure of Noma, Chef René Redzepi that some speakers will be addressing the topics of the now well-known toxic work environments to be found in the restaurant world. It will not be my place to speak with any specificity on it as I have never dined there nor have I understood the cultish nature of restaurants that subsist on any kind of behavior expectations that would. Instead, I look forward to the central theme of this year’s conference which is “Origins”.
Protégé, friend and colleague Chef Michal Beltran and I have been invited to have a conversation about ‘Origins’ as it relates to the culinary historical arc of South Florida. It says, ‘Miami’ in the program but you can be sure as a person who gained their perspective of cuisine from living for formative years in Key West and making my bones there I will include the importance of that crazy quilt place I still love. And heck, my life’s work continues through Central Florida with our 19th year of operating, “Norman’s Florida Kitchen” in Orlando. It will be hosted by a longtime friend and colleague Andrew Friedman. If you are not yet familiar, I urge to look up his book, “Chef’s, Sex and Rock and Roll” which he will also be presenting just ahead of our time on stage together.