Pulling back the curtain on CREATE: The Experience — Poolside parties, meeting Danny Trejo, and morePulling back the curtain on CREATE: The Experience — Poolside parties, meeting Danny Trejo, and more

Earlier this month, hundreds of restaurant operators gathered at the Margaritaville Resort in Palm Springs, Calif., for three days of sunshine, education, and fun.

Highlights included the 11^th annual Texas Pete Kitchen Hero Cook-Off benefiting Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry, Jeep tours and other excursions around Palm Springs, and a keynote address from actor and restaurateur Danny Trejo. Rather than spending three days in a stuffy ballroom setting, attendees were invited to network by the pool, ideate with their peers in roundtable sessions, and sample delicious food in the courtyard. There were also Ask the Experts sessions, TED Talk-style presentations, a forum featuring three successful industry founders, and so much more.

Click through the gallery to see behind the scenes at CREATE: The Experience, and stay tuned for details on how you can be a part of next year’s event, Oct. 9-11, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn.

All photos by Gregg Felsen