PANELISTS

Ciarán Duffy | Corporate Executive Chef | Moe’s Southwest Grill

Ciarán Duffy joins Moe’s Southwest Grill, a brand within the FOCUS Brands portfolio, as Vice President and Corporate Executive Chef. His previous role was Director of Research & Development for FOCUS Brands Channels Group, where he developed licensed products for the consumer-packaged goods and foodservice divisions, for each of the FOCUS Brands snack and restaurant brands. In his new role, Ciarán works with the Moe’s leadership team and franchise community on menu innovation to create new platforms, flavor profiles and ingredients to continue the bold and unique dining experience at Moe’s Southwest Grill. Chef Ciarán brings more than 20 years of professional culinary experience to the table.

Matthew Harding | Director of Culinary & Corporate Executive Chef | Piada Italian Street Food

Matthew Harding is Director of Culinary and Corporate Executive Chef at Piada Italian Street Food. A Culinary Institute of America Graduate of Hyde Park. Matt has worked for the Inter-Contental Hotel group in Washington DC and Campton Place Hotel, Kimpton Restaurant Group and the Stanford Court Hotel before working with Steigenberger Hotels in Bavaria. Returning to the US, Matt moved to Columbus, Ohio as the executive chef of Lindey’s, then in 2009 opened the first Brio Tuscan Grill and oversaw the growth of Brio and Bravo during a 21-year tenure with the company. He joined Piada in early 2015.

Bernie Matz | Culinary Director | Bodega Taqueria Y Tequila

Now a staple in the Miami culinary scene, Chef Bernie Matz opened his first restaurant, Wet Paint Café, on Lincoln Road in 1986 when he was only 24. It was at Wet Paint Café where Bernie and Chef Doug Rodriguez developed what was to become a signature style of cuisine called “Nuevo Latino” or New Miami American Cuisine. After his venture in the Miami scene, Chef Bernie worked in New York before honing his culinary abilities at Johnson & Wales culinary school. Chef Bernie Matz joined on as the Culinary Director of Bodega Taqueria Y Tequila five years ago. Chef Matz is the brainchild behind Bodega’s Pan Latin menu.

Jason Moore | Corporate Executive Chef | Schlotzsky’s

Jason Moore first fell in love with cooking while growing up with his maternal grandfather who taught him that thoughtful preparation of good food was meant to be shared with family and friends. Adopting that same passion for cooking, he went on to receive his culinary certification and training with the American Culinary Federation in Nashville, TN. Post professional training, Jason gained real-world experience learning classic techniques used in fine-dining restaurants. By 2017, Jason was the culinary innovation chef at Buffalo Wild Wings, leading all culinary development projects including a complete revamp of the core menu. Most recently, Jason joined Focus Brands as executive chef for Schlotzsky’s.

MODERATOR

Chris Duffy | Controller, Customer Team | Pizza Hut

Speaker bio coming soon!