About 400 pastry chefs filled the Charlotte Convention Center this week for the second-ever National Pastry Conference, a three-day gathering that paired flashy competitions like live ice sculpting and gelato demonstrations with pointed conversations about an industry still struggling to recover from the pandemic. Organizers said the event was built to revitalize, ignite and inspire a corner of the hospitality world that often gets overshadowed by its savory counterparts.
The conference wrapped Thursday, as reported by WBTV, with sessions covering everything from the evolving role of pastry chefs in modern hospitality to how bakers can protect their mental health on the job. Pastry chefs at the event said their field is still working to bounce back from the disruptions of the pandemic, according to the station's report. That recovery theme ran through much of the programming, alongside the showpiece competitions that drew crowds watching chefs build sculptures and desserts in real time.
Mental Health Takes Center Stage
Among the speakers was Mark Allison, founder of Midlife Wellness and Beyond, who told the station that chefs are accustomed to looking after others but not themselves. That message landed against a backdrop of grim industry numbers: survey data from the nonprofit The Burnt Chef Project found that 76% of hospitality professionals have experienced mental health struggles during their careers, up from 56% in 2018. A separate global survey by Unilever Food Solutions found that 60% of chefs report their kitchen work environment negatively affects their well-being, pointing to high-stress environments and irregular hours as major contributors to burnout across professional kitchens.
Conference founder Justin Fry, who owns Charlotte-based JF Chocolat, said chefs from outside the region increasingly view Charlotte as a rising food destination. Fry argued that the savory side of the industry is often celebrated while pastry work gets overlooked, even though pastry chefs are the ones creating the lasting memories guests walk away with. Fry was named Pastry Chef of the Year at the 2016 U.S. Pastry Competition and Chocolatier of the Year in 2014 at Pastry Live, according to So Good Magazine, credentials that have helped position him as a national voice for the craft. Before launching JF Chocolat, he served as the first Executive Pastry Chef at The Club at Longview in Weddington, developing its pastry program after six years at Norman Love Confections in Florida, according to Club + Resort Chef.
From a Park Expo Debut to a Bigger Stage
Fry co-founded the biennial conference with Ryan Stipp, pastry chef at the Omni PGA Frisco Resort & Spa in Texas, to fill what the pair saw as a gap in standalone national gatherings for pastry professionals, according to Chef's Roll. The inaugural event ran from August 29 to August 31, 2024, at The Park Expo and Conference Center, according to the City of Charlotte, before the event relocated to the recently expanded Charlotte Convention Center for this second edition. That venue underwent a $126.9 million expansion completed in 2021, adding 50,000 square feet of meeting space and bringing its total leasable capacity to 600,000 square feet, according to Business North Carolina.
This year's competition lineup expanded to eight divisions, adding new Breads and Student categories alongside existing cake decorating, chocolatier and gelato contests, according to the conference's own event materials. Attendees watched chefs produce elaborate showpieces live over the three days, alongside the ice sculpting and gelato demonstrations that have become signature draws of the event. The conference is held every other year, with the next edition scheduled for 2028.
A City Riding a Culinary Wave
Charlotte's selection as host city comes as the region's culinary profile climbs nationally. The Michelin Guide introduced its inaugural American South selection in November 2025, awarding Charlotte tasting-menu restaurant Counter- one Michelin Star and a Green Star for sustainable gastronomy, making it North Carolina's first Michelin-starred restaurant, according to WBTV's QC Life. That recognition has rippled across the region's dining scene, a trend Hoodline has tracked through the reopening of Customshop in Elizabeth and the arrival of Michelin-trained talent at Zamindar's Clubhouse in South End.
The convention business backing events like this one is also booming. The Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority reported a record $1.2 billion in total economic impact for fiscal year 2025, with Charlotte Convention Center events alone generating 119,786 hotel room bookings, according to the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority. Tourism now supports one out of every nine jobs in the city, underscoring why Charlotte has become an attractive stage for an event trying to raise pastry's profile nationally while also pushing the industry to confront the burnout eating away at its workforce.
