ABOUT
LAUREN CHEESEBOROUGH
FREELANCE EXPERIENCE
PRODUCER
INTERNATIONAL CHEFS CONGRESS
PRODUCER
July 2019 - March 2020
ABOUT
In July 2019, StarChefs brought me on board to produce their International Chefs Congress.
The 3-day industry only symposium gathers the world’s leading chefs and beverage professionals to present their latest techniques and concepts. The Congress welcomes over 1,800 annual attendees, touting 150+ presenters, 50+ exhibitors and 50+ programs.
PRODUCTION
I oversaw all production elements for the event including managing vendor relationships, pre-production logistics, filing permits, developing production schedule and on-site execution.
BUDGET MANAGEMENT
I held full budget responsibility from projection to reconciliation and coordinated across all stakeholders involved to ensure all projected and actual costs are documented and budgets stay on track. In 2019, I negotiated $42K in savings from the previous year without compromising the integrity of the event.
TEAM MANAGEMENT
I created the staffing plan for the Congress, recruited and negotiated contracts for all freelancers.
In total, I managed a team of 40+ in house & freelance persons responsible for production, presenter logistics (travel, accommodation, and stipends/reimbursements), competitions, signage and collateral, registration, event app, pop up restaurants, exhibitor services, volunteer recruitment, ancillary events, equipment inventory & storage and BOH kitchen operations.
2020
After a successful 2019 Congress, StarChefs brought me back on board to produce the 2020 Chefs Congress, but due to COVID-19, the event was ultimately cancelled for this year.