Program Overview

SAVE THE DATE | November 5-7, 2025

Roots of Culture, Seas of Discovery: Mediterranean Culinary Tradition, Exchange and Invention in the 21st Century

The food and cooking of the greater Mediterranean region comes forth from some of the world’s oldest cultures, encompassing a dizzying array of ingredients, culinary techniques, and vibrant flavors across a great number of countries with distinct and rich regional cultures, brought together by their connection to the Mediterranean Sea. This formidable culinary heritage has been shaped by wars and empires, religion, trade and cultural exchange, geography, and climate and has influenced foodways across the globe.

The 27th Annual Worlds of Flavor® International Conference & Festival will bring an amazing delegation of leading chefs, street food experts, cookbook authors, and other food and cultural authorities from all around the Mediterranean—from west to east and north to south—as well as from across the US to the CIA at Copia in the heart of the Napa Valley to increase foodservice/restaurant operators’ mastery of these key cuisines here in the US through a deeper understanding of the history and cultures that has shaped these foodways. 

We’ll delve into this multi-layered culinary heritage, from Morocco and Tunisia in North Africa into the Middle East to the Gulf States and ancient Persia/modern Iran—what was long known as the “Fertile Crescent”—to Spain, Portugal, Provence, Italy, Greece, Turkey, and more, to understand why their influence has endured for millennia and how they continue to offer inspiration for American menus of all kinds. We’ll taste together the genius of both “everyday cooking” and the flavors of feast days and the celebratory cooking of the Mediterranean.

Top chefs who continue to find inspiration in these ancient traditions and work to safeguard them for future generations will share their knowledge, as will the inventors and disruptors who view the palate of Mediterranean flavors as the perfect platform for creativity. We’ll also hear from leaders in the American fast casual restaurant and high-volume foodservice sectors who are bringing these flavors to market at scale, with an eye towards leveraging the growing spirit of consumer discovery in foods and flavors fueled by social media and the appetites of younger generations.

We’ll look at Mediterranean cuisines and flavors through the lens of the hugely popular healthy Mediterranean Diet and the ingredients and techniques that this interest has highlighted:  from the olive oil kitchen to new directions in spices and aromatics, sauce making, cooking methods including around Mediterranean seafood traditions, baking and pastry—as well as menu concepts and design. And, finally, we’ll explore the world of Mediterranean vegetarian and plant-forward cooking that has evolved over many centuries, transforming vegetables, pulses (legumes), grains, nuts and seeds—with generous amounts of olive oil—into memorable, world-class dishes. 

So don’t miss this odyssey of discovery, of learning and tasting, as we consider the future of Mediterranean flavors—in the Mediterranean and on American menus.