Hello and Welcome.

It's nothing flashy but this is an easy place to foster discussion. When we update the Chefs Collaborative website we will work on establishing a place to have a more formal private forum of or local networks. I guess this makes you a pilot program...Anyhow Blogger is easy enough to use and allows for discussion as well as uploading of pictures and videos where need be. To start things off, the main points that were discussed as topics of issue and interest today can be summed up as

• Sourcing and availability of local meat. 
• Composting kitchen waste (with special regard to Matt Gennuso)
• Sharing of cooking and or purchasing techniques. 
• Fostering and promoting regional identity.
• The possibility of Johnson and Wales threatening your buying capacity by jumping on a food trend bandwagon. 

I think this covers most of the bases. With special regard to the last two points, we at Chefs Collaborative are an organization made of chefs with chefs' interests at heart. The things that you are all doing merit more than just individual accolades and we want to help to connect you and mobilize you as a group so that Johnson and Wales doesn't have to be a threat and so that you can protect your assets and businesses mutually and further the work that you are doing. I'm sure that there are things that you didn't all have a chance to say today, and you can't all physically get in a room together too often...so here is your virtual room.