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 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 (#RCA2017) and Facebook will tell you what else is on the menu.

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