Held June 11-13 in Charleston, South Carolina, a new educational conference known as FAB focused on women in the food industry and was hosted by women in the industry.

Over 48 hours, some major names in the industry such as James Beard Award-winner Barbara Lynch, founder and CEO of Culinary Agents Alice Cheng, Editor in Chief of the food publication Eater Amanda Kludt, and many more spoke on important issues in the food industry.

The conference had two educational sessions, one geared towards issues like drafting a business plan, hiring a diverse array of candidates, and dealing with food waste to expansion; the other was tailored to already-operating businesspeople, with topics like media outreach, labor laws, and mentorship.

FAB founder Randi Weinstein described the event as an opportunity for women to gain skills and knowledge they’ll use in their careers and in life. “It covers the pertinent topics starting with the financials of the business and then going into HR and branding. It's more of the unsexy things that it takes to sustain your business and open your business, and the knowledge that you need,” she said.