--- title: "Conference Circuit: The Science of Cooking" id: "37261" type: "post" slug: "conference-circuit-the-science-of-cooking" published_at: "2017-03-09T21:37:56+00:00" modified_at: "2026-11-09T16:21:12+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2017/03/09/conference-circuit-the-science-of-cooking/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2017/03/09/conference-circuit-the-science-of-cooking.md" excerpt: "The 2017 Research Chefs Association’s 2017 Annual Conference and Culinology Expo begins next week in Puerto Rico. Close to 1,200 industry professionals are expected to attend." taxonomy_category: - "Meetings / Events" taxonomy_post_tag: - "AssociationsNow" - "conferences" - "Culinary Events" - "Meetings" - "science" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "Employee (Non-Manager)" - "Manager" taxonomy_persona: - "Industry Professionals" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » Conference Circuit: The Science of Cooking Around 1,200 culinary professionals, food scientists, research and development specialists, and foodies are headed to San Juan, Puerto Rico, for education sessions, demos, and workshops focused on the growing discipline of “culinology”—the blending of culinary arts and food science. **Organization:** Research Chefs Association **Conference:** 2017 Annual Conference and Culinology Expo **Venue:** Puerto Rico Convention Center **City:** San Juan Following an afternoon of preconference workshops and excursions, the [2017 RSA Annual Conference and Culinology Expo (opens in a new tab)](http://www.culinology.org/page/annual-conference) kicks off on Wednesday morning with the President’s Address and the first keynote session. Father-and-son duo Augusto and Andreas Schreiner will discuss their shared passion for food and how it has led to both innovation and success. A look at what else the meeting plans to cook up: **Competitive element.**Two professional-level contests—the National Savory Culinology Competition and the National Pastry Culinology Competition—will take place at the conference. A chef and a culinary scientist will work together to create a culinary gold-standard recipe based on the cuisine of Puerto Rico and then commercialize the recipe into a retail frozen product. Both foods will be presented onsite. First-place teams will take home a $2,500 cash prize. **Late-night networking**. Especially for night-owl attendees, RCA will for the first time host a late-night networking opportunity called Afterglow. In addition to mingling, participants can compete to create the best cocktail. **Postconference fun.**Attendees not ready to say goodbye after the awards reception closes out the meeting Friday evening are in luck: Two postconference tours will be available on Saturday. One will take participants on a taste test of four small Puerto Rican eateries called Chinchorros, while the other will include a walking tour of Old San Juan and a cooking demo. [Twitter (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/culinology) ([#RCA2017 (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/hashtag/rca2017?f=tweets&vertical=default&src=hash) ) and [Facebook (opens in a new tab)](https://www.facebook.com/Culinology?ref=ts) will tell you what else is on the menu. (iStock/Thinkstock) [Samantha Whitehorne](https://associationsnow.com/author/samantha-whitehorne/) Samantha Whitehorne is a former editorial director of Associations Now in Washington, DC. [More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/samantha-whitehorne/) Tags: [#conferences](https://associationsnow.com/tag/conferences/) [#Culinary Events](https://associationsnow.com/tag/culinary-events/) [#Meetings](https://associationsnow.com/tag/meetings/) [#science](https://associationsnow.com/tag/science/) **Stay Informed** [Subscribe to our free newsletter](https://associationsnow.com/newsletter/) , *Associations Now Daily News*, to find out what’s happening in the association world every business day. ## You Might Like - [VideoTony Clark Shares His Experience at the 2025 ASAE Annual Meeting & ExpositionAugust 11, 2025](https://associationsnow.com/2025/08/11/tony-clark-shares-his-experience-at-the-2025-asae-annual-meeting-exposition/) - [VideoAshley Cobb Shares Her Experience at the 2025 ASAE Annual Meeting & ExpositionAugust 12, 2025](https://associationsnow.com/2025/08/12/ashley-cobb-shares-her-experience-at-the-2025-asae-annual-meeting-exposition/) - [VideoJenny Teeson, CHSE Shares Her Experience at the 2025 ASAE Annual Meeting & ExpositionAugust 12, 2025](https://associationsnow.com/2025/08/12/jenny-teeson-chse-shares-her-experience-at-the-2025-asae-annual-meeting-exposition/) - [VideoLakisha Woods, CAE Shares Her Experience at the 2025 ASAE Annual Meeting & ExpositionAugust 12, 2025](https://associationsnow.com/2025/08/12/lakisha-woods-cae-shares-her-experience-at-the-2025-asae-annual-meeting-exposition/) ## Comments **Comments are for ASAE members.** [Learn more about comments on this site.](https://associationsnow.com/comments/) [Log in](https://associationsnow.com/login?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fassociationsnow.com%2F2017%2F03%2F09%2Fconference-circuit-the-science-of-cooking%2F%23comments) to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/) !