Leslie Ooi

Leslie Ooi has a long history of work experience in the food industry. Starting in 1998 as a Restaurant Line Chef, Restaurant Buffet Chef, and Resort Roomservice Chef at Polynesian Resort - Walt Disney World, Ooi went on to become a Product Development Consultant at Dave's Hawaiian Ice Cream in 2001. In 2003, Ooi was hired as the Head Quality Assurance Manager at Food Solutions International, Zippy's/FCH Enterprises, Inc. where they were the technical food safety and nutrition expert for the entire FCH/Zippy's restaurant chain corporation. In 2006, Ooi joined Mattson & Co. (foodcom.com) as a Sr. Food Technologist, where they were responsible for benchtop formulation and scale up for every food category imaginable. In 2010, Ooi was hired as a Product Development Manager at Albertsons, where they managed vendor management in formulation and scale up for snacks, beverages, deli, bakery, frozen food, retorted food. In 2012, Ooi joined Safeway as a Technical Liaison on the Innovation Team. In 2018, Ooi became a Food Development & Innovation Consultant as an independent consultant, and then Head of Culinary Innovation at The Whole Cart at Google. Currently, Ooi is the Director Of Product Development at Treasure8, a technology company focused on systemically reducing food waste and alleviating climate change.

Leslie Ooi holds a Master of Science degree in Food Science & Human Nutrition from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, as well as a Bachelor of Science degree in the same field from the same university. In addition, they have obtained certifications from AIB International, Inc in PCQI, from the National Restaurant Association in ServSafe, and from edX in Digital Branding and Engagement.