TORONTO -- Innovative women in the culinary world will be sharing their experiences this spring with members of the hospitality industry.

Food writer Ruth Reichl, winner of six James Beard awards and the last editor of the now-shuttered Gourmet Magazine, is a keynote speaker at the annual Terroir Symposium, set for May 11 at Oliver & Bonacini's Arcadian Court in Toronto.

Gabrielle Hamilton, chef and owner of Prune Restaurant in New York and author of "Blood, Bones & Butter," and Dominique Crenn, chef and restaurateur of Atelier Crenn in San Francisco, will recount their experiences too.

Also featured will be Douglas Quint and Bryan Petroff, proprietors of Big Gay Ice Cream, which launched in New York as a seasonal food truck in 2009 before opening storefronts.

The theme for the ninth annual gathering of chefs, food writers, wine and food experts, and media and business leaders is "Pioneering Change: Crafting the Way We Eat."

Other presenters include Mark McEwan, restaurateur and judge on "Top Chef Canada"; Gavin Kaysen, chef and owner of Spoon and Stable in Minneapolis, Minn.; Zita Cobb, of Fogo Island Inn in Newfoundland; Yaron Milgrom, owner of Local Mission Market in San Francisco; Eric Werner, chef and owner of Hartwood in Tulum, Mexico; Jair Tellez, chef and owner of MeroToro in Mexico City; and Antonio Park, chef of Park Restaurant & Lavanderia in Montreal and a judge on "Chopped Canada."

Writer and media figure Max Valiquette of Toronto and fisherman Roderick Sloane of Norway will act as hosts.

Tickets are on sale online for $299 plus HST.