Webcasts

Moderator
Joe Carbonara
Editorial Director
Foodservice Equipment & Supplies

Panelist
Laura Lentz, FCSI
Design Principal and Owner
Culinary Advisors

Laura graduated from Cornell University with a BS Degree from the School of Hotel Administration and embarked on a career that started in foodservice and hospitality management. The daughter of Architects, Laura soon found her own interest in design. Her knowledge of culinary operations combined with her innate sense of design made her ‘a natural.’ Today, Laura has significant breadth and depth of experience, is an active professional member of FCSI (Foodservice Consultants Society International) and has completed more than 100 projects as lead designer. Her project typology ranges from hospitality to education, healthcare, and workplace dining. As a Design Principal and Owner at Culinary Advisors, she has managed her design studio, mentored upcoming colleagues, and brought in new clients. Laura is now central to Culinary Advisors’ strategic management as well as its public profile.

Panelist
Chef Matt Schuler
Director of Culinary Development
SCOPOS Hospitality Group

Chef Schuler’s professional career began when he started working in the culinary field at the age of 16, and he has never looked back. A Johnson and Wales University 00’ (Charleston, SC) graduate, Chef Schuler garnered additional experience at this prestigious culinary school beyond graduation, as a teaching assistant and culinary demonstrator. He furthered his instructional skills as a full time faculty member for The Pennsylvania School of Culinary Arts.

His experience also includes positions as private chef, catering chef, and banquet chef for several upscale restaurants in central Pennsylvania and Charleston, SC.

Matt was also the Executive Chef/Designer for Ella’s American Bistro in Wayne, PA, focusing on sustainability and farm to table cuisine.

Matt spent four years with Clark Associates & The Webstaurantstore.com as the Corporate Executive Chef/Product Expert with a focus on training for equipment and small wares from various manufacturers in the foodservice industry.

He has consulted on over 200 food service designs in almost every sector of the food service industry. His 20+ years of experience, combined with his ability to impart knowledge of the foodservice industry, has made Chef Matt Schuler a great asset to the SCOPOS Hospitality Group team since 2014!

Panelist
Kristin Sedej, FCSI
Principal/Owner
S2O Consultants, Inc.

Kristin Sedej, Principal & Owner, brings a strong operational background to S2O Consultants by drawing on her extensive hospitality experience as well as her in-depth knowledge of all facets of the food design service industry. She holds a BS in Hospitality Management from Roosevelt University and currently is a professional member of the Foodservice Consultants Society International.

Kristin began her career in food service management. After gaining hands on experience in the industry, she joined Cini-Little International and quickly became known for her personal drive, ability to learn quickly and strong personal skills. She, along with fellow S2O partner Harry Schildkraut, left the company to form Schildkraut, Schroeder, Sedej & Associates in 2003. After that firm was dissolved in 2008, Kristin and Harry formed S2O Consultants and continue to provide a broad range of specialized consulting services to the Sports, Healthcare, Corporate, Educational and Hospitality industries in the areas of food service, laundry, and solid waste. She is both a facilities designer and operational consultant.

Key projects have included renovations to the New Orleans Superdome after Hurricane Katrina, winning project of the month from FE&S Magazine for the new dining pavilion at Ravinia Festival, working on the new Indianapolis Colts Lucas Oil Stadium (which was named the Sports Facility of the Year by Street and Smith’s Sports Business Journal), designing food service facilities for the first LEED-certified green major professional sports stadium in the U.S. – the new Nationals Ballpark in D.C., and receiving the LEED Gold certification for work done on the HSBC North America Headquarters in Mettawa IL.

Kristin serves the Chicagoland area by providing pro-bono work for the United Methodist Church in Barrington, IL, the Ronald McDonald House in Chicago and the Salvation Army Recreation Center in Chicago.