Tastemaker Conference

The Premier Food Blogger Conference and Community for content creators

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Virtual Tastemaker Conference 2025

  • Building a Human-First Creator Brand: Surviving the AI Apocalypse

    AI is here—and it’s not slowing down. 

    But instead of sounding the alarm, we’re helping you future-proof your brand by doubling down on what makes you irreplaceable:
    your voice, your story, your humanity.

    Join us at VTC 2025!
    When: Friday, September 12, 2025
    Where: Online
    Price: $79

    *ALL Tastemaker Conference 2026 attendees receive a free ticket to VTC!

  • We’re Taking on the AI Shake-up

    This year’s event focuses on smart, creator-first strategies:

    • Learn the science behind recipe substitutions to create reliable, high-performing content your readers trust
    • Build deeper audience connections and reclaim your email list through Substack
    • Hear from Mediavine experts on growing and sustaining your revenue
    • And for the first time ever, the entire event will be live streamed from the ThermoWorks kitchen with real-time cooking demos from top food creators

    This isn’t just about keeping up. It’s about showing up with purpose, scaling with intention, and creating a brand that lasts.

    If you’re ready to evolve—without losing your soul—this is the can’t-miss experience for the modern food creator.

  • Live, Interactive, and Built for Connection

    All sessions are streamed live, giving you real-time access to:

    • Speakers
    • Fellow attendees
    • Sponsors
    • And live-only giveaways and prizes

    Can’t attend live? No worries.
     Replays will be available on-demand inside the virtual venue so you can catch up anytime.

ONLY $79

Your all-access online event is back

Woman taking notes during a conference session, seated among other attendees.

Designed to equip food creators with the tools, strategies, and insights you need to thrive in today’s ever-changing digital landscape.

Whether you’re refining your content strategy, building new revenue streams, or exploring smarter ways to scale your business, this year’s sessions cover the topics that matter most to creators right now.

You’ll walk away with:

  • Actionable tips you can implement immediately 
  • Expert advice from leading voices in the industry 
  • A renewed sense of direction for growing your brand sustainably and profitably

Buy Your Ticket – $79

Apply for a Scholarship

We are providing 25 scholarships to our Virtual Tastemaker Conference. We believe in the power of our events to help you grow your online business as a food content creator, so you can achieve success on your own terms. It is our goal to provide equitable access to the resources and education we offer to our community, in an effort to help empower you, and help you reach your business goals within the food blogging + influencer industry. These scholarships are specifically for people who meet one or more of the following criteria: PGM/BIPOC LGBTQIA+ People with Disabilities – Physical or Mental People with Financial Need

 

Check out past highlights!

Event Schedule

*Subject to change

September 12, 2025

10:00 AM ET

Welcome

10:10 AM ET

AI Power Moves: Advanced, Responsible AI for Creators

  • Speaker: Raptive Team

    Sponsors:

Level: Intermediate

Step into the future of content creation with practical, responsible AI skills you can start using today. This presentation covers navigating top AI models like the recently released GPT-5, building efficient prompts, and developing repeatable workflows that save time and spark creativity. You’ll leave ready to implement AI strategies that boost productivity, protect your brand, and position you ahead of the curve.

10:50 AM ET

Break

11:00 AM ET

Creating an Intentional Community through Substack

Level: Intermediate

This workshop is an invitation to bring Substack into your marketing ecosystem with intention. You’re likely already creating content somewhere: Blog, Instagram, LinkedIn, a podcast, maybe all of the above. I’m not asking you to add more to your to-do list. I’m showing you how to repurpose what you already have into a space that’s built for visibility and connection. Substack is different, and it can support you in being seen without burning out.

11:50 AM ET

Break

12:00 PM ET

Create Once, Share Everywhere™: A Burnout-Proof Strategy for Content, Visibility, and Revenue

Level: Intermediate

Content doesn’t scale without structure, and most food creators are stuck in a cycle of posting everywhere without a clear system. This session introduces Create Once, Share Everywhere™ (COSE), a framework that helps food bloggers turn each recipe into a platform-ready asset that supports discoverability, monetization, and long-term growth. You’ll learn how to organize your content for reuse, pitch to platforms and partners more effectively, and reduce the overwhelm of managing your blog, social, and newsletter. This isn’t about more tools or trends, it’s about building a content strategy that actually works. Whether you’re just starting to streamline or ready to license and expand, COSE will help you get more from the recipes you already have. Come ready to rethink how you publish and walk away with clear steps to make your content work harder (so you don’t have to).

12:50 – 1:20 PM ET

ThermoWorks Cooking Class

1:20 – 1:50 PM ET

Networking

1:50 PM ET

Break

2:00 PM ET

How to Craft a Sponsorship Pitch No Brand Will Ignore

Level: Intermediate

There are very specific reasons why brands don’t respond when you slide in their DMs or contact them using the press email from their website. And it’s not because you have cooties (actually…do you?). This session will focus on the surprisingly easy way to transform your pitching strategy and income in one fell swoop.

2:50 PM ET

Break

3:00 PM ET

The Science of Substitutes

Level: Intermediate

Have you ever been asked, “Can I substitute this ingredient?” and felt unsure how to answer? In The Science of Substitutes, Certified Culinary Scientist Jessica Gavin breaks down one of the most common and challenging questions food creators face. Ingredients like flour, salt, butter, and oils each play a specific role in a recipe, and swapping them can dramatically change the final result. This session dives into how these ingredients function and what really happens when you replace them—whether you’re developing sweet or savory dishes. You’ll gain a clearer understanding of how substitutions affect texture, flavor, and structure, and how to design recipes that are more flexible and reliable. Walk away with science-backed insights that will make you a more confident recipe developer and a more trusted resource for your audience.

3:50 PM ET

Break

4:00 PM ET

More Than a Recipe: Bringing Heart, Humanity, and Skill Back to Your Content

Level: Intermediate

In the age of AI, your biggest advantage is you. Your voice, your experience, your ability to teach with heart.

This hands-on session will show you how to turn any recipe into a stack of approachable, empowering content. We’ll explore how to:

  • Break down a dish into teachable skills

  • Make your instructions feel human and helpful, not intimidating

  • Use your unique voice — the “You Factor” — to connect with real readers

You’ll leave with a repeatable framework for creating content that’s practical, personal, and impossible to replicate.

Because a great recipe is nice. But a confident, connected reader? That’s everything.

4:50 PM ET

Break

5:00 PM ET

How to Build a Creator Brand with Impact in the Midst of AI

Level: Intermediate

It’s not just about going viral — it’s about creating content that resonates, performs, and actually helps your audience. This session explores how to develop recipes that are both algorithm-friendly and real-life approved, with a focus on seasonal, family-focused content that drives engagement and delivers value.

You’ll learn how to:

  • Break down why certain recipes perform well (and how to repeat that success)

  • Combine craveability, practicality, and platform trends in a single post

  • Repurpose one recipe into multiple, high-impact assets across blog, social, and email

  • Use strategic timing, ideal video angles, and hooks that speak directly to your audience’s needs

Whether you’re looking to sharpen your content strategy or breathe new life into existing recipes, this session will help you find that sweet spot where virality meets value.

5:50 PM ET

Closing Remarks

Level: Intermediate

On Demand Sessions

Mediavine On-demand Session

    Sponsors:

Speakers

  • A woman with long, wavy hair stands confidently in a brick hallway. She is wearing a stylish navy blue jumpsuit with a one-shoulder ruffle detail and a cutout at the waist. She smiles warmly at the camera, with her hands on her hips.

    Abbey Rodriguez (she/her)

    Abbey Rodriguez is the founder of Tastemaker Conference, and The Butter Half, a food blog that combines gluten-free recipes, herbal cooking, and holistic nutrition and wellness education for the whole family. After three years of growing her community online, she was inspired to create a real-life community where other creators could come together. Tastemaker Conference was born in 2017 out of this mission to empower bloggers and influencers to build sustainable businesses and relationships through food.

    Abbey has worked with hundreds of brands and organizations, providing recipe development, food photography, and influencer marketing consulting. Abbey is also a certified herbalist and holistic nutritionist, and is the co-author of the cookbook, Root & Nourish: An Herbal Cookbook for Women’s Wellness.

    In an effort to educate and empower the creator industry, Abbey is currently pursuing her Master’s degree in Sociology at George Mason University, where she is studying Digital Sociology, and using her background in the influencer marketing industry to inform her thesis, “The Politics of the Creator Economy.”

    Abbey resides in the D.C. metropolitan area, with her children and their ever-growing pet family.

  • Carla Contreras, a Latina woman with long black hair and bangs, smiles softly while holding a black mug with a gold constellation design. She wears a black sweater with small cherry prints and has red nail polish. She stands by a large industrial-style window with exposed brick in the background, basking in natural light.

    Carla Contreras (She/her)

    I work with entrepreneurs and brands bring their vision to life with content that captivates, connects, and converts. Work that doesn’t just look beautiful, but stirs emotion and moves people to action. With over a decade of experience, I’ve partnered with visionary founders and iconic brands like Bobbi Brown, Bumble Bee Tuna, and The Institute for Integrative Nutrition. Shaping strategies and creative work that’s purposeful and profitable.

  • Caytlin McCleery standing and smiling beside a brick wall on a charming street. She is wearing a colorful, patterned dress with ruffled sleeves and carrying a bright yellow handbag with a crossbody strap. The background shows a slightly blurred pedestrian walkway and pastel buildings.

    Caytlin McCleery (She/her)

    Caytlin McCleery’s lifelong passion for cooking has been a driving force. Her profound interest in the culinary arts was so significant that it often took precedence over her college classes. Now a wife and mother of five, Caytlin creates dishes for her appearances on Food Network and various news stations. With years of experience in the culinary industry, she has made a name for herself as a content creator, educator and influencer. One of her most rewarding experiences has been catering, which she’s done for events of all sizes. Caytlin also has a deep love for helping her community, which she does by bringing smiles to people through her food. She consistently receives rave reviews, known for her ability to craft delicious meals that leave people with happy bellies and smiles.

  • A smiling woman with long, wavy blonde hair stands in a brick corridor, wearing a floral dress with a high neckline and belted waist. The background features large windows and an inviting urban setting.

    Chandice Probst (She/her)

    Chandice Probst is the bubbly personality behind both This Vivacious Life and Holiday Food and Fun. She is a food and entertaining blogger and the co-author of Gluten-Free on a Budget with her mom. Chandice’s work has been featured in print and online industry publications, as well as on television. As someone with Celiac Disease and a degree in exercise and health wellness, she has led the charge in hosting Celiac awareness nights with MLB and NBA teams around the nation as well as working with the Celiac Disease Foundation to raise money for research.

    Chandice has been with Abbey since the first Tastemaker Conference in Salt Lake City and has loved getting to know the community at each subsequent event. Working with sponsors to help them achieve their marketing goals and planning fun experiences for guests is where she thrives. From conceptualizing booths and brand activations, to creating menus and organizing all excursions for Tastemaker Conference, Chandice loves creating moments that everyone will remember for many years to come. The best part? She gets to do it with the greatest team ever!

    While Chandice loves to cook, entertain, travel and plan for Tastemaker Conference, she loves being a wife and mother most.

  • Heather Tullos smiling warmly, wearing a mustard yellow sweater. She has straight, reddish-brown hair and is posed against a dark background with soft lighting.

    Heather Tullos (She/her)

    Recipe for most things: A few quality ingredients, a couple of essential tools, and a great set of instructions.
    Multi-tasker extraordinaire. Rescues all the dogs. Requires copious amounts of coffee and is slightly addicted to podcasts. But seriously though… ALL. the. Dogs

  • Jessica Gavin smiling with long dark hair wearing a sleeveless red top and light gray apron, standing in a bright white kitchen behind a wooden cutting board with a skillet of colorful stuffed bell peppers.

    Jessica Gavin (She/her)

    Jessica Gavin is a Certified Culinary Scientist, food scientist, and the creator of JessicaGavin.com, where she shares trusted, science-backed recipes. She holds a master’s degree in food science, a culinary arts degree, and has over 12 years of experience as a Nutrition Research Scientist. For more than 13 years, she’s helped home cooks feel more confident in the kitchen with practical tips and reliable techniques. Jessica is the author of Easy Culinary Science for Better Cooking, a cookbook that breaks down complex concepts into clear, approachable methods—paired with recipes so readers can immediately apply what they’ve learned. Her teaching style is rooted in curiosity, clarity, and encouragement. She’s passionate about helping others—whether home cooks or fellow creators—understand the “why” behind cooking so they can cook smarter every day.

  • Justin Moore is smiling with short dark hair wearing an olive green t-shirt, sitting indoors in a bright, modern space with blurred books and a plant in the background.

    Justin Moore (He/him)

    Justin Moore is a Sponsorship Coach, author, and the founder of @CreatorWizard, a school & community that teaches you how to find & negotiate your dream brand partnerships so that you stop leaving thousands on the table. His latest book, “Sponsor Magnet,” offers a succinct distillation of his ideas and frameworks for securing successful brand collaborations.

    Along with his wife April, he has been a full-time creator since 2014 and has personally made over $5M working with brands. He also ran an influencer marketing agency for 7 years that helped other creators earn millions more.

    Justin brings a very unique perspective because not only has he been a creator in the trenches doing sponsorships for years but by running an agency, he has insider knowledge behind how big brands choose which influencers to partner with and why they pass on others. Justin’s mission is to enable creators big and small to land 1 million paid brand partnerships by 2032.

  • man wearing black chef coat and looking at the camera

    Martin Earl (He/him)

    Martin is the Culinary Editor at ThermoWorks. After receiving a degree in physics and a graduate degree in the history of science, he went back to school for a classical culinary education. Having worked in the culinary world as cheese monger, baker, assistant butcher, prep cook, sous chef, and, eventually, executive chef. He believes temperature makes all cooking better, and better cooking makes for a happier life.

  • Sandie Markle smiling with arms crossed, wearing a light pink textured blazer over a white top, posed against a solid light blue background.

    Sandie Markle (She/her)

    Sandie is a seasoned professional at the intersection of content and technology, previously lending her expertise as the Director of Content Partnerships at SideChef. Transitioning from her role at SideChef, Sandie now channels her wealth of knowledge and expertise into Blueberri Consulting, where she provides invaluable consulting services to businesses seeking to enhance their content and tech infrastructure. Her dedication to excellence, coupled with her passion for innovation, continues to drive tangible results for clients across industries.

Testimonials

What People are Saying

  • “I LOVED the conference last year. In fact, because of the conference it launched me. When I came to Tastemaker I had less than 4,000 sessions a month and had been stuck in that for a long time. Thirty days after the conference, I applied for Mediavine, and have been growing since! Yeah me! I’m super excited to come back to Tastemaker!”

    woman with short blonde hair wearing a gray sweater and smiling to the camera

    – Rebecca Johnston,
    Devour Dinner

  • “Tastemaker Conference was unforgettable and incredibly valuable. I got to meet a bunch of fellow bloggers that I am friends with on social media—I got to actually meet them in person!—and they understand the challenges and wins of being a food blogger and being in the industry.”

    woman with brown hair wearing a red printed dress and jean jacket smiling to the camera

    – Kat Higashiyama,
    The Heirloom Pantry

FAQs

  • Who is the conference for?

    Tastemaker Conference is for all food bloggers, content creators, and brands. Whether you are just starting out, or you are a seasoned pro, there is something for everyone at our events. The education ranges from introductory, general, and advanced. The networking opportunities benefit all attendees, because relationships are one of the most beneficial factors in business growth. Find a mentor, be a mentor, make a connection with an amazing brand—whatever it is that you are looking for, you can find it at Tastemaker Conference.

  • When and Where is the event?

    It’s being held on September 13, 2024. And can be accessed from anywhere in the world with internet access!

  • What does the General Admission ticket include?

    Full General Admission access to our one-day conference.

     

  • How many people will be attending the conference?

    There will be 200+ like-minded food bloggers, influencers, and brands attending. A great place to network and make new foodie friends!

  • How do I access the Conference?

    All attendees will be sent links through the email they registered with. Make sure you confirm your subscription to our emails from hello@tastemakerconference.com. If you aren’t receiving emails, please contact us.

  • What is the return policy?

    All tickets to any event, including the conference, workshops, and digital products, are NON-REFUNDABLE. Tickets may be transferred to another person up to 30 days before the event. All transfers must be made by the original ticket holder. Tastemaker Conference is not responsible for organizing the ticket transfer.

    Each attendee will receive full playback of the conference, whether or not they are able to attend.

  • I’d love to speak at the conference! Is there a speaker application?

    Our submissions are limited, but we would love to hear your ideas! Please submit a speaker application.

  • This event looks like an amazing sponsorship opportunity. Whom should I contact?

    We would absolutely love to work with you and offer affordable and unique experiential influencer marketing opportunities. Please email chandice@tastemakerconference.com to receive our current sponsorship deck.

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