The Johnson & Wales University International Symposium on Bread will return in 2021, this time as a virtual platform with new presentations every week for 24 weeks.

The 4th Annual Symposium, which is presented with platinum sponsor Puratos, originally was scheduled for June 2020, but it was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The event now will begin on Monday, May 17, 2021.

Peter Reinhart, executive director of the Johnson & Wales International Symposium on Bread, in a Dec. 22 update said the symposium has been “totally re-envisioned,” pivoting to a “dynamic virtual platform.”

The overall theme of the symposium remains “The Future of Bread,” he said, with focus shifting to “Disruption and the Disruptors,” featuring an emphasis on game-changing innovations.

All of the speakers scheduled to present at the postponed 2020 symposium will be returning, but the event will be expanded to 24 presentations from 10, Reinhart said.

Highlights of the symposium include:

  • A new live presentation every Monday at 4 p.m. Eastern, with recordings available at any time to all subscription ticket holders, anywhere in the world. The presentations will be 20 minutes followed by a 25-minute Q&A session.
  •  24/7 access to Johnson & Wales University’s virtual On the Rise Conference Center, where the symposium’s sponsors will have interactive information booths as well as bonus programming and speakers of their own.
  • A special value-added subscription pass will be available that allows ticket holders to enter the virtual VIP Lounge for after-talk sessions with each week’s featured speaker for more personal Q&A time and networking.

Featured speakers include:

  • Apollonia Poilane, who will  share her story of inheriting a legendary baking legacy after her parents were tragically killed in a helicopter crash and how, during the subsequent 20 years, she grew the Poilane legacy to even greater heights.
  • Dave Dahl, founder and namesake of Dave’s Killer Bread, who will describe his journey of redemption and success through bread, as well as his thoughts on the future.
  • Daniel Leader, founder of Bread Alone Bakery and author of the new book, “Living Bread.” Leader will show how to achieve craft to scale production in order to bake for the masses without compromising quality.
  • Serge Ameye, director of the $8 million Mission to Mars Space Bakery Project. Ameye will reveal the latest results and discuss the implications of the project.

The presentations will take place every week from May 17 through Oct. 25. In addition, bonus presentations and special programs will be held during the week.

The full program will be available when tickets go on sale beginning in early March 2021. Tickets for the 2021 Symposium will cost $100 for the season pass and $125 for the VIP pass. A la carte tickets for specific presentations will also be available.