Participant Food and Drink Preferences
The following summary of the 2026 participant food and drink preferences is provided as information to the cooking teams and grocery purchasers.
The big list of what people do and don't like to eat is --->
Chefs should take special note of the "Allergies" section so that allergic individuals can be informed which dishes might pose a threat to them.
The conference will provide some drinks and snack foods. However items sought by only one or two individuals are generally not provided by the conference, but should be purchased or ordered directly by those who wish them.
NOTE: Every day a team will go to the grocery store and there will be a list in the kitchen where people can add things they'd like people to purchase. If it is something for the group, it'll be purchased and brought to the kitchen for everyone to enjoy. If you need something specific to you, just write your name next to it so it gets to you and so it's added to your bill.
Food Allergies
When a recipe calls for one of the ingredients described below, chefs should ordinarily make a second version of the dish that omits the problematic ingredient, allow non-allergic people to add the ingredient to the dish themselves, or post a warning that the dish contains the allergen.
Mollusks
Tree nuts
Gluten
Avocado
Chickpeas, Beans
Moldy Cheese
Alcohol Preferences
🍷 Wine (types)
Highest interest → lowest
-
White & Red (general mix)
-
White wine (leaning white)
-
Red wine (leaning red)
-
Sparkling / Prosecco / bubbly
👉 Takeaway: Stock a balanced mix, skew slightly toward white + some sparkling.
🍺 Beer (brands & styles)
Highest interest → lowest
-
Modelo / Negra Modelo
-
Guinness
-
IPA (general / IPAs)
-
Stella Artois
-
Local craft beer (open interest)
-
No strong preference (flexible group)
👉 Takeaway: Get Modelo + Guinness as anchors, add IPAs + 1 local option.
🍸 Other Alcohol
Highest interest → lowest
-
Gin
-
Cocktails (general interest)
-
Hard seltzers (e.g., High Noon)
-
Margaritas
-
Hard cider
-
Mixed drinks (non-spicy / non-fizzy preference noted)
👉 Takeaway: Gin + seltzers = safest buys; margarita fixings = high upside.
Other Drink Preferences
🥤 Other Drinks (non-alcoholic)
Highest interest → lowest
-
Sparkling water / seltzer (plain + flavored)
-
Soda (Dr Pepper Zero, Cherry Coke Zero, root beer)
-
Water (baseline)
-
Decaf coffee (for evenings)
👉 Takeaway: Seltzer is essential (multiple mentions + versatility).
☕ Coffee / Morning Drinks
Highest interest → lowest
-
Coffee (dominant preference)
-
Tea
-
Orange juice (notably some strong preferences like high pulp)
-
Oat milk / milk alternatives (mentioned alongside coffee)
👉 Takeaway: Heavy coffee-first crowd, with light tea + OJ support.
Snack Preferences
Highest interest → lowest
-
Nuts (esp. almonds, cashews, pistachios)
-
Fruit (berries, apples, grapes, oranges)
-
Popcorn
-
Pretzels
-
Chips (variety—some specific flavors mentioned)
-
Granola / granola bites
👉 Takeaway: Strong tilt toward “healthy + crunchy”, with room for classic snack foods.
--Food and Drink Preferences compiled by Emily Balcetis