Midwest-raised, James Beard Award-winning chef Chris Shepherd has helped change the landscape of the Houston culinary scene since opening Underbelly in 2012. Underbelly was named as a James Beard Award semifinalist and one of the best new restaurants in the country by Bon Appetit and Esquire. Chris' foundation Southern Smoke has distributed more than $10 million directly to people in the food and beverage industry in need via the Emergency Relief Fund.
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2023 Welcome Conference
Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center
September 18th, 2023
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Years ago, we set out to create the Welcome Conference, a day where people passionate about hospitality can come together and be inspired by others who embody it each day.

What started as a place for people to network, give inspiration, and share ideas has since evolved. We’ve welcomed over 90 speakers, on three storied stages in New York City — Cooper Union, The New York Times Center, and Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center — that have shared their stories to over 5,000 people live and hundreds of thousands online.

We believe that living a life of hospitality will have a positive impact on our culture and the stories that we collect are worthy of sharing. In fact, you can find every video since 2014 on our page.