Culinology in Industrial Food Ingredient Manufacturing – Co-hosted with IFFI

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Agenda Summary:

• 12:00 – 13:00: Registration & Lunch
• 13:00 – 13:10: Opening Session - Dirk Lodewijk, Chair IFFI
• 13:10 – 13:45: Elevating ingredient suppliers to strategic collaborators with Culinology - Anna Cheely, Sr Culinary Innovation Manager, Kalsec
• 13:45 – 14:15: Break & time to visit member booths
• 14:15 – 14:45: Culinology applications in upcycling from Spora and The Alchemist restaurant - Mads Bjornvad, CSO Spora
• 14:45 – 15:15: Science and Food Interactions: A chef in a scientist's world - José Guerrero, R&D Chef Cargill
• 15:15 – 15:45: Break & time to visit member booths
• 15:45 – 16:15: Parallel break out sessions – discussion, Q&A and connecting
  • Anna Cheely, Sr Culinary Innovation Manager, Kalsec
  • Mads Bjornvad, CSO Spora
  • José Guerrero, R&D Chef Cargill
• 16:15 – 19:00: Plenary Closing and Italian Cooking workshop & dinner

Event Summary

Organized as a joint effort by Ingredients For Food Innovators and the Research Chefs Association, the IFFI & RCA Joint Event 2026 celebrates the science and art of Culinology®. This unique event brings together professionals from the food ingredients industry and the culinary world to mark 30 years of Culinology,® a registered trademark of RCA, and highlight its importance in modern food product development.

Culinologists are at the forefront of food innovation, combining culinary techniques with food science, including chemistry and biology, to optimize taste, texture, and appearance while safeguarding food safety, nutritional value, and shelf life. By connecting craftsmanship with scientific rigor, Culinology plays a vital role in creating innovative, high-quality food products.

Aligned with IFFI’s annual theme “Food in Mind,” the event explores key topics such as food processing and the debate around Ultra-Processed Foods (UPF). Through the lens of Culinology, participants will gain balanced perspectives and practical insights relevant to both laboratory and kitchen environments.

This joint effort of IFFA and RCA encourages meaningful dialogue between chefs and food ingredient professionals to help shape the future of food.

Event Speaker:

Anna Cheely is Senior Culinary Innovation Manager at Kalsec and Vice President of the Research Chefs Association. She works in Kalsec’s Taste and Sensory Innovation department, where she creates culinary-based solutions for customers ranging from seasoning and sauce manufacturers to CPG companies. Anna began her career in New York restaurants before earning a Master of Science in Sensory and Food Science from the University of Georgia. At Kalsec, she bridges global culinary trends with consumer insights to develop clean-label, scalable solutions. She leads cross-functional innovation projects, from prototypes to commercialization, applying authentic, kitchen-inspired flavor systems using Kalsec’s proprietary extracts and tools. Anna draws on the ingredients and flavors of Southern cuisine as well as her travels around the world, making food exciting, approachable, and inspiring—one bite at a time.

Mads Bjornvad works at the intersection of food science and gastronomy to innovate next-generation food systems. At Spora, the power of culinary and scientific collaboration fuels a multidisciplinary innovation process aimed at creating globally relevant food solutions. His work explores how biotransformation can improve texture, flavour, digestibility, and functionality in future foods, helping bridge scientific research with practical culinary and industrial applications. He is especially interested in sustainable protein, fibres, phytochemicals, clean-label food innovation, and translating emerging food technologies into products with delicious, nutritional, gut microbiome, and planetary impact.

Jose Guerrero is an R&D chef for Cargill, based in Belgium R&D centre in Vilvoorde. He is an Innovative gastronomic scientist with a Master of Science in Gastronomy and a strong foundation in biotechnology, sensory science, neuroscience, and flavor development. A Michelin-trained chef and researcher who is specializing in new product development, culinary R&D, and food innovation, with hands-on experience in fermentation, bioprocess scaling, and functional ingredient design.

RCA Disclosures

• Nonrefundable: Registration fees are nonrefundable, but may be transferred to another person. If RCA must cancel or reschedule the event, your registration will be refunded.
• Contact Information: By registering for this event, you consent to the sharing of your contact information (such as name, email address, and company) with the event’s sponsors. This information will be shared exclusively with sponsors for purposes related to the event and will not be shared with other attendees or third parties.
• Photographs and Videos: During this event, RCA may take photographs and/or video of you which may be posted to social media and on the association’s website. By registering for and attending this event, you agree to the use of images in photographs and/or video for this purpose. Additionally, other event attendees may take photographs and post said photographs to social media. RCA shall not be responsible for photographs taken and/or shared by other event attendees.
• Session Recordings: This session may be recorded for the purpose of education, training, and use in RCA’s Learning Library. The recording will be used for this stated purpose and shall not be used for any other purpose. Do not share information that you do not wish to be recorded. If you are uncomfortable being recorded, please refrain from speaking and submit questions via email.

Thank you Kalsec, Inc. for supporting year-round RCA events.