Restaurant_Inc_Podcast

Lamar Moore wins Food Network’s ‘Vegas Chef Prizefight,’ earns respect beyond the kitchen.

Episode 46: Audarshia Townsend interviews vegan chef Lynette Astair

Chef Thai Dang sits down with the #restaurantinc podcast to discuss how he persevered after his family was bankrupted by a shady business partner in Chicago. With HaiSous, his new restaurant with wife and business partner, Danielle, he reclaims his title as one of the Windy City's most notable restaurateurs.

Episode 44: Restaurant Inc. Managing Editor Audarshia Townsend interviews 'Soul Food Scholar' Adrian Miller.

Before this pandemic, I had the great fortune of interviewing quite a few high-profile culinary kings and queens across the country. BLVD executive chef Johnny Besch sat down with us for the #restaurantinc podcast to talk about the appeal of this glamorous, old Hollywood-styled steakhouse based in Chicago.

Episode 42: Audarshia Townsend interviews Paul Kahan by Restaurant Inc Podcast

Episode 41: Audarshia Townsend interviews Chef Paul Fehribach by Restaurant Inc Podcast

Episode 40: Audarshia Townsend interviews Chef Erick Williams by Restaurant Inc Podcast

Episode 39: Audarshia Townsend interviews Briana Rupel by Restaurant Inc Podcast

Episode 38: Audarshia Townsend interviews Gina Stefani by Restaurant Inc Podcast

Episode 37: Audarshia Townsend interviews Chef Kim Leali by Restaurant Inc Podcast

Episode 36: Audarshia Townsend interviews Chef Ryan McCaskey by Restaurant Inc Podcast

Episode 35: Audarshia Townsend interviews Leighann Smith by Restaurant Inc Podcast

Episode 34: Audarshia Townsend interviews Chasity Beasley by Restaurant Inc Podcast

Episode 33: Audarshia Townsend interviews Donnie Madia by Restaurant Inc Podcast

Episode 32: Audarshia Townsend interviews Chef Mychael Bonner by Restaurant Inc Podcast

Managing Editor of Restaurant Inc Magazine, Audarshia Townsend (@IAmAudarshia), sits down with Restauranteur Ellen Yin. Ellen Yin is the founder and co-owner of High Street Hospitality Group (HSHG). She is also the author of Forklore: Recipes and Tales from an American Bistro (Temple University Press, 2007), a chronicle of her ongoing success at creating and maintaining a definitive American bistro in Philadelphia’s historic Old City. Ellen, along with business partner Roberto Sella, debuted Fork in 1997, and she has partnered with a number of dynamic chefs to keep all her restaurants menus and concepts fresh.  She continues to expand the family of restaurants to include more top locations and exciting talent. Ellen earned an MBA from Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and currently serves on the board of the Delaware River WaterfrontCorporation, the Arden Theater Company, Old City Community Fund and the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center Advisory Board at Thomas Jefferson University. In 2017, she was a finalist for Outstanding Restaurateur, James Beard Foundation, an honor that goes to only the top five restaurateurs in the country. For more, check out rfsdelivers.com.

Managing Editor of Restaurant Inc Magazine, Audarshia Townsend (@IAmAudarshia), sits down with Chef and Activist Tunde Wey. For more, check out rfsdelivers.com.

Managing Editor of Restaurant Inc Magazine, Audarshia Townsend (@IAmAudarshia), sits down with Nacional 27 Executive Chef Cory Morris. For more, check out rfsdelivers.com.

Managing Editor of Restaurant Inc Magazine, Audarshia Townsend (@IAmAudarshia), sits down with Brew Brew Coffee Owner Jasmin Medrano. For more, check out rfsdelivers.com.

Managing editor of Restaurant Inc Magazine, Audarshia Townsend, sits down with Michael Finnegan the Beverage Director of Play Kitchen's & Cocktails. For more, check out rfsdelivers.com.

Episode 26: Audarshia Townsend interviews Chef Jason Shelly by Restaurant Inc Podcast

Episode 25: Audarshia Townsend interviews Chris Marshall by Restaurant Inc Podcast

Episode 24: Audarshia Townsend interviews Chef Mariya Russell by Restaurant Inc Podcast

Episode 23: Audarshia Townsend interviews Chef Melva Jarvis by Restaurant Inc Podcast

Episode 22: Audarshia Townsend interviews Chef David Posey by Restaurant Inc Podcast

Episode 21: Audarshia Townsend interviews Sam Toia by Restaurant Inc Podcast

Restaurant Inc Magazine managing editor interviews bar director of the Monarch in Kansas City Brock Schulte.

Episode 19: Audarshia Townsend interviews Chef Heather Terhune by Restaurant Inc Podcast

Lynn House talks about her heritage, her upbringing, and how she keeps her craft drinks new and innovative. For more, check out rfsdelivers.com

Managing editor of the Restaurant Inc Magazine, Audarshia Townsend, interviews Chef Greg Biggers of Margeaux Brasserie and Petit Margeaux in Chicago's Gold Coast. He talks about how he has taken an unconventional approach to French cuisine to change the customer's perception on what a French restaurant is. For more, check out rfsdelivers.com.

Episode 16: Audarshia Townsend interviews Joshua Millman by Restaurant Inc Podcast

Managing Editor of Restaurant Inc Magazine Audarshia Townsend interviews Chef Julius Russell of A Tale of Two Chefs about how he got into the industry, his unique business, and cooking "the food people want." Visit rfsdelivers.com for more.

Episode 14: Chef Kevin Nash About His Experience in Front-of-the-House vs. Back-of-the-House by Restaurant Inc Podcast

Episode 13: Audarshia Townsend Interviews Chef Marita Swift of J. Rieger & Co. by Restaurant Inc Podcast

Episode 12: Audarshia Townsend interviews Free Rein Chef Kristine Subido by Restaurant Inc Podcast

Episode 11: Justin Van Horn of Eagle Ridge Legacy 72 by Restaurant Inc Podcast

Black River a division of Reinhart Foodservice supplies some of the more interesting foodservice products in the Northeast and beyond with a specialty in finding and supplying hard-to-find specialty produce, meats and artisanal chesses. With a heavy focus on what chefs want in their kitchens, Black River is one of the best in the foodservice industry when it comes to sourcing specialty products that make a restaurant stand above the competition. Sean and Chef Merry talk about current trends in specialty food products, what’s new in the market and what chefs are looking for to give their restaurant operation the edge. They also discuss the many types of artisanal cheese that can be sourced for foodservice customer as well as the fact that Black River is not just a produce company. This is a great conversation about where the foodservice industry in general is heading and chefs want and need for their kitchens. Find out more at: https://www.blackriverproduce.com/

Chef Merry sits down with Cathy Gomez, marketing director of Markon Produce. Markon Produce is a cooperative founded in 1985 and supplies quality produce to countless foodservice operators across the country. Reinhart is a proud partner and features their quality products. Cathy and Chef Merry talk about the lines of produce Markon carries, trends in the produce industry as well as how some of Markon’s products help those in the food industry save on labor costs. Cathy also talks about organic produce and dispels some myths about that conversation. Chef talks with Cathy about their 5-star food safety system that has set the standards in the world of produce.  They talk about why this is important from the fields all the way to your kitchen. You can find out more about Markon Produce at: https://www.markon.com/

Chef Merry talks with Jim Murray, manager of national marketing for the Pork Board. The Pork Board is a non-profit organization that promotes all parts of the pork industry including ideas, food safety, farming, production and other areas. Jim talks about these areas that the Pork Board focuses on, some of the many initiatives he and others there are involved in and the current trends in pork and the foodservice industry. Jim also discusses how they promote pork, the education the Board provides to the public and the research they conduct on trends, consumer habits, food safety and more. If you want to know about pork, Jim has many answers. Learn more about the Pork Board at: https://www.pork.org/

Chef Jeff Merry chats with Reinhart’s Chef Demetrio Marquez this time and one of the main topics this week is knowing your food costs as a restaurant operator. Chef Marquez has over 30 years of experience in the foodservice industry, working in resorts, healthcare and private dining. He now works closely with many restaurant operators on how to bring new and exciting product to their menus, and how to engineer those costs so that operation can be profitable. The two chefs talk about how to maximize profits in the restaurant business, and how someone like Chef Marquez can help an operator do that. Chef Marquez also brings the food trends from the New Orleans area into the discussion, a chat about Latino influences and plant-based trends and he discusses the need to have passion in this industry to be successful.

Chef Kevin Connor is the director of food services for Community Servings based in Boston. Community Servings is a non-profit organization that serves fresh meals to individuals with critical or chronic illnesses. Chef Connor talks about his experience in the foodservice industry and how that translates into running this type of operation and how he approaches serving almost 4,000 meals a day to Boston-area residents. Chef also speaks to the training program that Community Servings provides to area residents that have various barriers to employment. Chef Jeff Merry of Reinhart Foodservice is a regular volunteer in this program and both chefs speak to the importance of this training program. The two chefs will also chat about the rapid expansion of Community Servings and how they are meeting the needs of the people they serve. Learn more about Community Servings and Chef Connor here: https://www.servings.org/

Today we sit down with Rob Williams, center of the plate category manager at Reinhart Foodservice in Boston. Rob works with a team of foodservice professionals and they monitor the markets very carefully. It’s their job to make sure that restaurants can get the best pricing on center of the plate items so they in tun can stay profitable. Rob and his team keep an eye on beef, poultry, lamb, veal and they work hard to stay up to date on these markets. They not only try to get the best pricing for these commodities, but they also work to get the best products as well. Chef Merry and Rob discuss the inns and outs of how the commodity market affects foodservice and what a restaurant operator can do to maximize profits and create a great working relationship with a foodservice distributor such as Reinhart. Learn more about the center of the plate expertise that Reinhart has at: https://rfsdelivers.com/products/center-of-the-plate

In this episode of Restaurant Inc. Chef Jeff Merry chats with Chef Brad Stevens of Commonwealth Kitchen in Boston. Commonwealth Kitchen provides shared kitchen facilities for aspiring entrepreneurs in the foodservice industry. The organization provides assistance in the areas of business planning, how to create a product, what to do when you have that product and moving forward from there. That can include everything from sourcing the right ingredients, how to find the best food distributor, marketing and legal guidance and taking your venture to the next stage of success. Chef Stevens walks Chef Merry through their process, what it takes to come up with a great idea in the foodservice industry and what Commonwealth Kitchen expect from aspiring entrepreneurs. Learn more about Commonwealth Kitchen here: http://www.commonwealthkitchen.org/

Food waste is an important topic and Chef Merry tackles this with Angel Veza of ReFED. ReFED is an organization that is committed to reducing food waste in the United States and works with community, business and government leaders to address this issue. Chef Merry and Angel talk about the current status of food waste in our country, the causes of food waste and what ReFED is doing to work on this issue. ReFED has identified 27 ways in which we can reduce food waste in our system. Angel speaks to the trends happening in food waste and what restaurant operators can do to minimize food waste in their operations. By doing so, they can also save money and other resources. And Chef Merry offers his take from a Chef’s perspective on how a restaurant can make an impact. Learn more about ReFED at https://www.refed.com/about

In this episode of Restaurant Inc, we chat with Chef David Cunningham of Reinhart Foodservice. Chef Cunningham is a center of the plate specialist and works closely with restaurant operators to get the most out of their kitchen operations. In this discussion, Chef Merry and Chef Cunningham discuss how getting a little help and guidance can help a restaurant operator a long way. They talk about the benefits of having a professionally-trained chef offer suggestions on products, food costing and labor. The chefs also chat about how someone like Chef Cunningham needs to gain the confidence of a restaurant operator and other kitchen staff and the challenges they can solve together. They will discuss the benefits of TRACS Direct to a restaurant operation and the trends in the New Orleans region.

Chef Merry and Customer Engagement Specialist Taylor Ducett discuss the importance of having a menu that works for your restaurant operation. Taylor and Chef discuss how a menu should be both appealing to the eye and printable. They also talk about how even the placement of menu items can determine if you’ll sell these items or not. You may have very profitable menu items that are not selling, and Taylor discusses ways to change that. Menus have also taken on a different tone in recent years with more awareness regarding food allergies and other food trends such as vegetarian and other tastes. Taylor gives tips on how to showcase those items and food categories. They also chat about how valuable specials can be to a restaurant operation, not just profits but in terms of public perception. Learn more: https://rfsdelivers.com/services