On May 5 – 6, Vilnius will host the largest gastronomy and hospitality conference in the Baltic States at “Dūmų fabrikas.” The event will bring together international speakers, Michelin-starred chefs, gastronomy scientists, and hospitality industry leaders.
For the second consecutive year, Vilnius will host the Baltic Gastro Summit (BGS) – the premier gastronomy and hospitality conference in the Baltic region. It is designed for professionals, food culture enthusiasts, and anyone seeking meaningful experiences and new ideas in the world of gastronomy. After receiving widespread acclaim last year, the event returns with an even more ambitious programme and international speakers whose expertise ranges from Michelin-starred kitchens to world-renowned gastronomy platforms and academic research centres.
Future Restaurants, Science, and Personal Stories
This year’s BGS program invites attendees to look at gastronomy through a lens broader than just the dishes themselves. One of the most prominent speakers is Kristian Baumann from Copenhagen, the founder of the two-Michelin-starred restaurant Koan. He will share a personal story about how origin, roots, and location influence a chef’s creative and professional journey. Born in Korea and raised in Denmark, Baumann combines Korean culinary traditions with Nordic ingredients, serving as a living example of how the search for identity becomes a creative engine. He will not only speak but also serve two of his signature dishes on stage.
Airis Zapašnikas will talk about his goals and path toward professional excellence, sharing his experience from the World Sushi Cup, where he took first place. On stage, Airis will demonstrate how precision, speed, and skill come together to serve a champion’s plate that earned a gold medal.
Daily Challenges: From Team Management to Guest Experience
The Baltic Gastro Summit programme also covers practical topics relevant to every restaurant. James Maxwell Stewart, a chef from Norway, will address how to align restaurant owners’expectations with employees’ mindsets and daily lives – a highly relevant topic for anyone managing a hospitality business.
Jogilė Bulavaitė, head of the non-alcoholic beverage department and a member of the hospitality team at the spectacular Alchemist restaurant in Copenhagen, will present how service staff create the guest experience and how the floor team “wins” the guests’ hearts every night.
Ulrika Karlsson from Sweden – a restaurant manager, lecturer, and sommelier – will share proven guest service strategies and explain how to adapt them to different contexts to ensure every restaurant visit is an impressive experience.
Linda Pérez, co-founder of the remote Swedish restaurant Hållfjället, will introduce a unique concept where raw nature meets refined hospitality, and the location itself becomes the primary ingredient. Her colleague, chef Jens Carlsson, will discuss their quest for self-sufficiency in vegetable production: how a garden is planned with future dishes in mind and what it means to farm in a northern climate with short, intense seasons.
Professor Charles Spence from Oxford University, head of the Crossmodal Research Laboratory and author of Gastrophysics: The New Science of Eating, returns to the conference to share the results of his latest research. The professor will address urgent questions: Will robots truly replace staff in the hospitality sector? How are creative chefs using AI to facilitate culinary innovation? And how can digital technologies enhance the dining experience?
An Organically Forming Community
The goal of BGS is not just to deliver presentations but to build a community. It is a space to openly discuss industry problems, celebrate achievements, meet colleagues, and step back from the daily grind to see the profession from a new perspective.
Success stories prove the value of this space. Last year, student Emilija Strolytė approached chef Tadas Eidukevičius during coffee break. Having dreamed of working in his restaurant, she was able to introduce herself and arrange an interview. Today, Emilija works at the restaurant Demo. This story highlights how the summit serves as a platform for real opportunities. Furthermore, speakers from last year have returned to the Baltics for consultations and training after being noticed by Estonian and Latvian chefs and organisation heads.
The importance of community will also be discussed by Joanna Slusarczyk and Cristian Gadau, the founders of the international platform The Best Chef Awards. Since 2017, they have built one of the world’s most influential gastronomy communities, focusing on the chef as an individual rather than just the restaurant.
Gender Balance on Stage: A Starting Point for Conversation
This year, organiser Vaidilė Katinienė naturally succeeded in inviting an equal number of female and male speakers – a rarity in a sector where gender imbalance remains an issue. This reflects the growing visibility of women in the industry. This topic will be further explored by Maria Canabal, journalist and founder of the Parabere Forum, one of the most influential ambassadors for gender equality in gastronomy. Her platform, Parabere, is the world’s largest organisation addressing gender balance in hospitality, uniting over 8,000 women from 60 countries.
“BGS was born from the belief that our gastronomy and hospitality community need a space to be open – to talk about challenges, share experiences, and learn from one another. For the second year in a row, we see how the connections made here turn into long-term professional friendships and collaborations. That is our greatest achievement.” – Vaidilė Katinienė, Founder and Organiser of Baltic Gastro Summit
