Podcasts about foodservice-podcast

The Fast Casual Nation Podcast offers exclusive interviews with experts ranging from top chefs and brand makers to executives and restaurants who work in one of the fastest-growing segments of the restaurant industry. In this episode, I chat with the chief executive officer of Tropical Smoothie Cafe, Charles Watson.  Watson, a veteran franchise professional, worked for several hospitality companies including Intercontinental Hotels Group and US Franchise Systems. We talk about his early introduction to the business as a boy, standing on a tub in his dad's restaurant doing dishes. Watson says, “I started at about nine standing on a bus tub in my dad's restaurant washing dishes. My dad described the dishwasher as the race car which was supposed to make it more attractive to me as a nine year old and I guess it.”  Tropical Smoothie Cafe is about who they are as a brand and it is about the people, Watson says when I ask about brand strategy. “It's about us as a corporate support center, it's even more importantly about our franchisees who deliver our products and services to guests every day and when we think about that and we think about our culture we start with two words, inspire better. It's our belief at Tropical Smoothie Cafe that what we do every day matters.” Watson talks about their thirteen year partnership with Camp Sunshine. It is a retreat in Maine that offers support for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families through stages of a child's illness. Tropical Smoothie Cafe has raised close to $8 million over the years. At a recent franchisee convention, the brand announced the new national charity partnership with No Kid Hungry. The nonprofit helps nearly 12 million kids in America who are living in hunger.  Watson says about the partnership, “And to think that we live in this country and we're blessed with so much and that there's still kids out there that are hungry every day, especially right now especially in the summer right? when school is out of session so through the partnership we really think Tropical Smoothie Cafe locations around the country will be able to really drive this partnership.” To hear about Tropical Smoothie Cafe's loyalty program and the brand's roll out for 2022 listen to this episode of Fast Casual Nation on Apple Podcasts.

The next generation of culinary artisans are changing up the industry. These artisans have a whole new approach to reaching and satisfying the next generation consumer. In this podcast we will explore chefs and artisans from around the world diving into their story and passion. In this episode of Chef AF, I chat with Hunter Evans, chef and owner of Elvie's in Jackson Mississippi. Elvie's which offers a modern take on classic French cuisine through Southern Culinary ingredients and traditions. The restaurant was named after Evans' grandmother who he spent time with in the kitchen growing up in New Orleans. Chef Evans a native of Jackson, Mississippi worked in kitchens run by acclaimed chef John Currence while getting his bachelor's degree in Hospitality Management at the University of Mississippi in Oxford. Evans continued his training at CIA, the Culinary Institute of America in New York. Chef staged at top restaurants in NYC, including Le Bernardin, Cafe Boulud and Daniel. After graduation, Hunter went on to work for Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality before returning to Mississippi to fulfill his dream of opening a restaurant in his hometown.I asked Evans about getting into culinary and he said his grandmother was the most influential and early exposure to food and great ingredients definitely came from her. He talks about his family always eating together and being around food, but said he didn't see cooking as a career possibility until his senior year. When Evans went to Culinary Institute of America he says, “I kind of saw my path and my goals pretty clearly early on which I feel like a lot of people don't so I feel very grateful that I figured out what I wanted to early on and that felt like the next step. I wasn't sure what to expect but you know I've told a lot of people and especially young cooks that are coming through the restaurant, I want to go to school, make sure you want to do it because it costs a lot of money. It's very time consuming. But ultimately you get out of it what you put into it.”To hear about challenges Evans faced and how he was able to help his community, plus get his recipe for Heirloom Tomato Vinaigrette, check out this episode of Chef AF “It's All Food” or you can listen at Spotify!

The Fast Casual Nation Podcast offers exclusive interviews with experts ranging from top chefs and brand makers to executives and restaurants who work in one of the fastest-growing segments of the restaurant industry. In this episode, I chat with Stacey Pool, chief marketing officer and Sue Petersen, executive vice president of Noodles & Company about the uncommon goodness that has been the core of the brand for more than twenty-five years. Pool shares her background prior to joining Noodles & Company and has held a variety of leadership roles at Vail Resorts, Inc., including senior vice president of season pass marketing, chief of staff to the ceo, and vice president of digital experience. Before joining Vail Resorts, Pool was at Nike, Inc., where she defined the vision and strategy for the NIKEiD.com digital experience. Petersen joined Noodles in 2015 as vice president of human resources, and in her expanded role as executive vice president of inclusion, diversity and people, she will continue to spearhead the Company's inclusion and diversity initiatives, as well as its total rewards, recruitment, and human resources functions. Her experience includes over twenty years of human resource and operational leadership roles at brands such as Chipotle, Walgreens and Rock Bottom Restaurants. We talk about Noodles team member benefits including immigration reimbursement, general manager equity partner program, mental health series and more. Petersen says, “we look at our benefit offerings and identify where there might be gaps and/or where we could maybe do something a little different than what's happening in the industry or around us and each year we can add to the standard benefits as far as health, dental, medical and look at what else we can be doing.  This year we're really excited, we introduced in the beginning of May some really cutting edge benefits.”Pool talks about the Noodles & Company rewards program and she says, “​​I think all of us are really passionate about our loyal members. They definitely are a key contributor to our success but the way that we think about the rewards program is how do we bring the most unique program to our guest so that it feels different, it feels special, and the guest feels very special being part of it.” Adding, “right now we have over four million members in that program and we continue to grow every single month.” To hear about the company's uncommon goodness positioning, more details on the team benefits, and menu innovation including LEANguini, listen to this episode of Fast Casual Nation on Apple Podcasts.

The next generation of culinary artisans are changing up the industry. These artisans have a whole new approach to reaching and satisfying the next generation consumer. In this podcast we will explore chefs and artisans from around the world diving into their story and passion. In this episode of Chef AF, I chat with Executive Chef Jair Solis Mendoza from The Restaurant at the Norton Museum of Art about his twenty years of experience, influences on his menu and mentoring the next generation of young cooks. Chef Mendoza born in Lima, Peru, was introduced to food early on by his family's pickling business and in the kitchen. As a young boy, Chef spent time over summer break making meals for the staff and began learning the restaurant business. Over his career, Mendoza has held positions at Troquet on South in Boston, NIOS at the Muse Hotel in New York City, Area 31 in Miami and The Breakers in West Palm Beach. Chef infuses a global approach to his culinary point of view. Chef talks about the importance of mentorship and about mentoring young cooks today. He says, “to me cooking is what keeps people together and you can learn from each other and you get to experiment.” Adding, “I try to pass that along to the new newbies too and for them to understand that if you don't make mistakes you will not learn. There's no such thing as a perfect recipe. You know you need to be able to judge less, try more.” Mendoza says focus is important in the kitchen, he says, “I guess it all depends on the individual, I treat every single one of my cooks as individuals and you know everyone deserves the opportunity to get better,” I asked Mendoza about industry challenges he has faced in day-to-day business, he says, “I guess the most obvious one is just staffing, to be able to find people that are willing to work and willing to do the type of work that we do. I mean after a pandemic, we've gotten a lot of people that just never been in the industry before.” To hear about special events at The Restaurant at the Norton Museum, how an exhibition can influence the menu and get the Norton's Quiche recipe, check out this episode of Chef AF “It's All Food” or you can listen at Spotify!

The Fast Casual Nation Podcast offers exclusive interviews with experts ranging from top chefs and brand makers to executives and restaurants who work in one of the fastest-growing segments of the restaurant industry. In this episode, I chat with Raji Sankar, co-founder of Wholesome International a multi-concept restaurant development company and co-chief executive officer of Choolaah Indian BBQ restaurants which is owned and operated by Wholesome International. I asked Sankar about her background prior to getting into the restaurant industry and she says, “I was what you could term a permanent student so I went to school for metallurgical engineering and then mechanical engineering masters, went to school for artificial intelligence and then finally got my MBA from Carnegie Mellon and in between I worked in tech and finance in big consulting. I think I was always searching for my true passion.” Sankar adds how she found herself in food and says, “I did two startups with my classmates at Carnegie Mellon while we were still in our MBA course and it was so much fun. It was focused on tech and once we wound that up I ended up in a technology company and that's where I met my current Co-ceo, we hit it off. That company got sold to a larger company and we decided to start something because it's one of those things when you find a great team it's such a powerful thing.”Sankar shared that in 2003 they wrote the business plan for a fast-casual Indian concept while looking at the trends around fast-casual and brands like Chipotle and Panera were emerging. She said that they saw that consumer behavior was leaning towards families who dined out needed speed and convenience. Consumers still wanted quality ingredients made fresh. Indian at the time was not mainstream and they decided to put that concept on hold.  Wholesome International in 2004 started to franchise Five Guys and Sankar talks about learning about the founders passion, values and staying true. She says they were blown away by the commitment from the brand. Sankar and I speak about automation and technology available in the industry. She talks about always looking for ways to make things easier on the team, using technology as an enabler for that and constantly innovating.When I ask about future plans for Choolaah, Sankar says, “so we want to bring that clean, healthy, good for you food across everywhere. We are in the process of opening number seven back in Cleveland. She adds,  like I mentioned to you, God willing we will have the opportunity to open across the eastern seaboard and then across all of the U.S.To hear more about being a people-centric company, the importance of growth & utilizing employee talents at the highest level, and a proactive approach to staffing, listen to this episode of Fast Casual Nation on Spotify.

The next generation of culinary artisans are changing up the industry. These artisans have a whole new approach to reaching and satisfying the next generation consumer. In this podcast we will explore chefs and artisans from around the world diving into their story and passion. In this episode of Chef AF, Pepe talks with Executive Chef Jeremy Shelton of Verde, located at the Pérez Art Museum Miami, to discuss his early passion for comfort food, menu innovation, and a new recipe that is a fresh take on an old classic.When Pepe asks Shelton why he decided to cook for a living, he shares that cooking is important to him and it's something that he has always wanted to do. He talks about spending a lot of time as a child in the kitchen, watching the great cooks in his family preparing dishes and enjoying meals together. He says, “I think food has always been something that's been a value to me, that kind of helps to bring people together and I think that's incredibly important and it's just something that I was always drawn to.”Shelton talks about his Southern roots and growing up in Florida. He shares fond memories of comfort foods like Grandpa's pancakes on Sunday mornings, and a favorite stew, pinto beans and Ham Hocks served with butter and horseradish. He says, “For some reason it's like one of the most comforting things in the world to me. He adds that he still makes the dish from time to time, although not as often as he'd like to.Pepe and Shelton chat about his culinary training and experience. Shelton reveals that he actually started in the industry at 16 years old as a dishwasher and slowly worked his way up to line cook. After turning 18 and completing high school, Shelton tells Pepe that he moved to Miami and attended Johnson & Wales. He talks about the years following culinary school being filled with a wide range of opportunities, and working at several prominent restaurants in the Miami area. He talks about a short stint in DC, which he recalls was, “a nice chance of pace”, before returning to Florida, initially to Palm Beach, where he helped run several high volume operations and partnered in a fast casual concept before landing back in Miami, joining the Constellation Culinary team and running Verde at the Pérez Art Museum Miami.When asked about the menu offerings at Verde, Shelton talks about using seasonal ingredients and working with local farmers and distributors whenever possible. He shares that the restaurant recently decided to do what he calls, “a major overhaul of the menu”, by changing about 75% of the dishes. He says that while the new menu “took a more Mediterranean approach”, he is also quick to point out that the menu features treasured dishes from the previous menus as well. He says, “There are certain things that are on our menu that will never change based on, you know, the history of the restaurant and its relationship with the museum.” He adds, “There's certain things that are ‘the untouchables' so to speak. But those are all very, very good dishes. So, it's not really something that needs to change.”To hear Shelton talk about the importance of being able to pivot, solving labor shortages, and the positive change happening due to Covid, check out the episode of Chef AF “It's All Food” or you can listen at iTunes Now!

The Fast Casual Nation Podcast offers exclusive interviews with experts ranging from top chefs and brand makers to executives and restaurants who work in one of the fastest-growing segments of the restaurant industry. In this episode, Pepe chats with Lori Cominsky, Vice President at Mongolian Concepts, about driving growth strategy, labor shortages and menu innovation. When asked about her 20 plus years of experience in restaurant operations, Cominsky shares that she began working in the industry at KFC when she was a teenager. She talks about landing her first restaurant management job right out of college and how she learned a great deal about systems, new restaurant openings and how a company grows. She shares that the company grew from 15 units to 200 during her 9 years with them. Cominsky talks about growing a Chicago based Mediterranean fast casual brand and opening several locations under her leadership. She shares that she went on to serve as Vice President of Operations at a healthy quick service restaurant before taking on the role of Vice President at Mongolian Concepts.Cominsky talks about why she decided to join the Mongolian Concepts team. She shares that Mongolian Concepts is the parent company of three casual dining, stir-fry brands and how she welcomed the strong challenge of taking three unique brands, making them successful, aligning them with their systems and training, while allowing each of them to have their own culture and identity. She adds, “I also firmly believe that Mongolian Concepts has the ability to grow exponentially and become the best stir-fry concept in their respective markets.”Pepe and Cominsky discuss the importance of improving communication, labor shortages, and recruiting new talent. Cominsky shares that she had a 30-60-90 day plan laid out when she joined the company, and that her number one goal was improving communication across the board, which resulted in improved trust and bond within the team. She talks about the company's two-pronged, digital and hands-on training technique for new hires to make certain that they feel empowered and supported. When it comes to recruiting new talent, Cominsky shares that the brand takes a multifaceted checks and balances approach to ensure that teammates want to stick around. She adds, "It's something that we talk about every day. We talk about how we can become better staffed and what we can do better to keep our team and to get the best people and to make sure that they're happy.”Pepe asks Cominsky what we can expect to see from Mongolian Concepts in the coming months. Cominsky is excited to share that in addition to remodeling some of their existing units, they recently opened a new Genghis Grill location. She talks about the pride the team felt regarding the roll out of a new menu at the brand's concept, bd's Mongolian Grill, which will feature chef-curated dishes as well as some signature cocktails. Cominsky mentions the importance of menu innovation and shares that the company's concept, Flattop Grill, is introducing new dishes including Ramen and Poke bowls. She says, “Innovation with this menu allows for significant growth in dining room sales. So, we're planning to drive our business there and also to drive off-premise and third-party sales to a bigger percentage of our overall sales.”To hear more from Cominsky about the brand's new menu items, third-party delivery relationships, and the company's ghost kitchen concept, listen to this episode of Fast Casual Nation on Apple Podcasts. Produced by Lisa Pepe

The next generation of culinary artisans are changing up the industry. These artisans have a whole new approach to reaching and satisfying the next generation consumer. In this podcast we will explore chefs and artisans from around the world diving into their story and passion. In this episode of Chef AF, Pepe chats with Chef Kaytlin Dangaran about her unique path to becoming a Chef, her passion for Italian food and her commitment to using the freshest, local ingredients. When asked about her passion for cooking, Dangaran says, “I can't remember a time that I didn't want to cook.” She shares that even when she was very young she loved cooking and actually had the goal of attending culinary school following high school but instead she decided to follow her parent's advice to attend college where she studied cultural anthropology. She shares that her studies led to her becoming even more passionate about food. She says, “That kind of reinforced my love of food, of how different cultures eat and how food is the central thing that brings people together.” Dangaran talks about her time working with a nonprofit in South America, and shares that she continuously felt another calling, the drive to cook, which led to her moving to New York, enrolling into culinary school and finding a mentor. She says, “I went to the French Culinary Institute in New York, and I found this wonderful Chef who taught me everything there was to know about Italian food which is my passion for sure.”Pepe asks Dangaran how she ended up at Bistro in Sarasota, Florida, and Dangaran shares that after her time in New York she wanted to see different things, and considering she had always been on the East Coast, she decided to check out the West Coast and ended up in San Francisco. She talks about working at a few high end venues and finding an appreciation for fresh produce during her time there. She talks about missing New York and returning there for a short time before moving back home to Florida where she worked at Pérez Art Museum until joining the team at Bistro.Dangaran talks about her experience working predominantly in Italian restaurants, her love for cooking and the importance of using fresh ingredients. She says, “That's what I love about Italian cooking is the honesty of the ingredients.” She adds, “I didn't realize that as much until I moved to San Francisco and I found that love for produce and ingredients and how important those things are in a dish.”When asked about her culinary point of view, Dangaran shares that her focus is on staying hyper local and hyper seasonal. “In Sarasota, specifically at Bistro, I've probably had the most local ingredients that I've ever had at any of my restaurants.” She talks about sourcing ingredients like milk and honey locally and the excitement she feels when getting to use new ingredients as the produce changes seasonally. She adds, “I want to make beautiful dishes but I want the ingredients to be in season because nothing's better than when you're in season.”To hear Dangaran talk more about seasonal ingredients, offering cooking classes and the importance of mentorship, check out this episode of Chef AF “It's All Food” or you can listen at Spotify!

The Fast Casual Nation Podcast offers exclusive interviews with experts ranging from top chefs and brand makers to executives and restaurants who work in one of the fastest-growing segments of the restaurant industry. In this episode, Pepe chats with Craig Erlich, President and CEO of Friendly's Restaurants, about Friendly's Cafe, labor shortages, and technology.Erlich talks about his background in the industry. He shares that he got his start in the restaurant business as a teenager and worked his way up through a variety of positions. He says, “I actually started my career in the restaurant business as an early teen and worked probably in every position, dishwasher, prep cook, line cook, cook, barback, waiter, manager.” He talks about leaving the industry and going into retail leadership for 25 years, before returning to his restaurant roots, and joining the team at Friendly's Restaurants.Pepe and Erlich chat about how dining habits have changed over the past two and a half years, particularly due to Covid. Erlich shares that it created a strong push towards off-premise dining and third party delivery models. He says, “When covid hit you know, many, many restaurants, the ones that survived, were the ones that embraced the off-premise third party business.  And, I think you know when you look at how restaurants are performing today, that fast casual balance of convenience, and also can enjoy your favorite restaurant anywhere, anyhow, is really popular.”Erlich drops the exciting news that Friendly's is launching a new fast casual concept called Friendly's Cafe. He shares that the new concept will have a more modern design than the traditional Friendly's Restaurants. He talks about the menu innovations, and shares that the new dishes were created through a collaboration with customers, employees and franchisees. Erlich tells Pepe a few of the new menu offerings while also ensuring her that the brand is committed to keeping fan favorites as well. When Pepe asks Erlich about supply chain issues and labor shortages, he talks about how those challenges shape how they are continuing to run and open  restaurants. Erlich shares that they also lean into technology to drive efficiencies and with third party delivery, but he is quick to add that the one thing technology won't replace is the Friendly's family. He says, “So I will tell you that tech is never going to be a substitute for human interaction, at least not in Friendly's.”To hear more from Erlich about the restaurant's new concept, his thoughts on ghost kitchens, and what the company has planned for virtual brands, listen to this episode of Fast Casual Nation on Apple Podcasts.Produced by Lisa Pepe

The next generation of culinary artisans are changing up the industry. These artisans have a whole new approach to reaching and satisfying the next-generation consumer. In this podcast, we will explore chefs and artisans from around the world diving into their story and passion. In this episode of Chef AF, Pepe talks with Corporate Executive Chef Dewey LoSasso of Bill Hansen Catering & Event Production, to discuss his early start in the industry, why it's important to be a lifelong learner, and the latest innovations in catering menus. LoSasso talks about growing up in New Jersey, along the Jersey Shore, and his early start in the restaurant industry. He shares that his first job was as a dishwasher at the age of 13, and how he immediately fell in love with the business. By the age of 14, he had decided that he wanted to become a Chef. LoSasso talks about how his very supportive father, a master plumber, would bring home used restaurant equipment in order to create a kitchen in the family's basement for the young chef to practice with. He talks about cooking with his mother and father, their discussions about food and ingredients, making memorable holiday meals together, and how that shaped him during his childhood. He says, “I think it was something that definitely influenced me as I got older.”When asked about his education, LoSasso shares that he continued to work in restaurants throughout high school, then right after graduation, he enrolled in the Culinary Institute of America. He talks about working his way through culinary school and traveling from New York to Miami while sampling a variety of dishes, and learning along the way. He says “It was always about hospitality and culinary, and just the whole business whether it's construction, wine lists, dining room elements, the whole thing for me has been a case study in life. In a way and still to this day, I mean, I'm always learning.” Pepe and LoSasso chat about a few of his career highlights. He talks about being hired at The Forge, one of the oldest restaurants in Miami, then relaunching the brand around 2009, and both the challenges and joys that came along with recreating a menu that paid homage to the dishes of the past while embracing new concepts as well. LoSasso reflects on his time working with Micki Wolfson and the Wolfsonian Museum which enabled him to travel every summer to places like Switzerland, France and Australia. He recalls that timeframe was like an experimental kitchen that was a big influence on him. He talks about his journey leading up to opening his first restaurant and working with ‘farm to table' decades before it was trending. In addition to launching several other restaurant concepts, LoSasso was a private chef for numerous celebrities, before deciding to join the team at Bill Hansen Catering & Event Production in 2016. LoSasso talks about working with Bill Hansen Catering & Event Production over the past five years and how they have been expanding the brand and bringing a restaurant sensibility to a catering environment. He says, “Bill Hansen, who's been around for over 42 years, is an iconic man, he actually wrote the book on catering.” LoSasso shares some key insights regarding catering menu development and why incorporating new options, such as vegan dishes are important because plant-based foods are becoming more and more relevant. He adds, “We feel that if you're reactive to what's in the marketplace, we can do a great vegan menu without using a lot of processed plant-based food. And I think the trends are showing, for us, plant-based food is here to stay.”Tune in to the podcast to learn more from LoSasso about plant-based catering, future predictions, and his thoughts regarding Covid takeaways, on Chef AF “It's All Food” or you can listen on iTunes Now!

The Fast Casual Nation Podcast offers exclusive interviews with experts ranging from top chefs and brand makers to executives and restaurants who work in one of the fastest-growing segments of the restaurant industry. In this episode, Pepe chats with Graham Humphreys, Chief Executive Officer, and Haley Kabus, Associate Director of Strategy at The Culinary Edge, about creating new fast casual concepts, launching virtual brands and how cryptocurrency can impact a restaurant's bottom line.Humphreys brings an extensive design experience background to The Culinary Edge. He talks about creating branding that not only engages the user's sense of sight, touch and sound, but smell and taste as well. He talks about the diverse team at the company that he collaborates with everyday from design experts, anthropologists, researchers and MICHELIN Star Chefs. He says, “We're an innovation agency for the food and food service industries.” He adds, “If you haven't heard our name, you've probably tasted our food.”Kabus talks about her history working with big brands in the advertising and marketing space and how her real love and passion for working in the food and beverage industry led her to The Culinary Edge. She talks about driving food to the forefront of culture. She shares that this is definitely an area that has been propelled by COVID because it brought people back into the kitchens or into the kitchen for the first time, igniting a new passion for cooking. She says, “For the vast majority of us, our relationship with food has never been more personal or more fun and engaging.”When Pepe asks Humphreys about the advantages and disadvantages of trying new concepts versus tried and true mainstream brands, Humphrey shares that the company actually spends a lot of time on both. He talks about how virtual brands and ghost kitchens have given brands more direct access to the market than ever before and can therefore scale more quickly. He provides an example with MRBEAST BURGER,  a virtual brand that was able to open out of the back line of an existing restaurant and it managed to scale to over 1000 locations within 18 months. He says, “That kind of growth, scale and reach, it might have been possible before, but it certainly didn't happen very much. But it's all being facilitated now by big changes in what makes a restaurant a restaurant.”Pepe asks Kabus about what she has seen with regard to cryptocurrency and the restaurant industry. Kabus shares that crypto is becoming another way that people are looking at what it means to be a restaurant, and what payment looks like today. She shares that according to Yahoo Finance almost 50% of people aged between 24-40, already own cryptocurrency. Major mainstream companies like Yum Brands, Taco Bell and KFC are starting to accept these payments. She says, “But for the most part what we love about embracing crypto is really the signal it sends to your customers about your brand being modern and adaptable and built for the future.”To hear more from Humphreys and Kabus about cryptocurrency, how TikTok is shaping user experience, and what's next for The Culinary Edge, listen to this episode of Fast Casual Nation on Apple Podcasts.

The next generation of culinary artisans are changing up the industry. These artisans have a whole new approach to reaching and satisfying the next generation consumer. In this podcast we will explore chefs and artisans from around the world diving into their story and passion. In this episode of Chef AF, Pepe chats with Chef Jose Garces about growing up around fantastic Ecuadorian cuisine, why he started developing plant-based foods and launching his latest concept.When asked about becoming a chef, Garces talks about growing up and watching fantastic cooks, his Mother and Grandmother, preparing foods revolving around the cuisine of Ecuador. Garces talks about attending cooking school in Chicago at Kendall, moving to Spain and working at the local eateries and hotels. He talks about moving to New York, where he worked under mentors at the Four Seasons and the Rainbow Room. He says, “I'd say that part of my career is where I really learned how to cook, how to become a Chef. I would say it was my heaviest training there.” Garces moved from New York to Philadelphia in 2000. He shares that the next part of his career involved leaning into ownership and entrepreneurial opportunities. He opened his first restaurant, Amada, named after his Grandmother, in 2005. He talks about competing on ‘The Next Iron Chef',  becoming an ‘Iron Chef', and appearing on 5 seasons of the show. He says, “I have quite a few battles under my belt.”Pepe and Garces discuss why he started developing plant-based foods. He shares that there were a few factors in the decision. He tells Pepe that a colleague had reached out to him and asked if he would be interested in collaborating on a project to create Latin inspired plant-based meals. Garces says that around the same time-frame, his daughter was having gluten allergies as well as lactose intolerance, and they found that a plant-based diet worked better for her. Garces says, “I was challenged to create these plant-based foods and I took it on wholeheartedly.” He says the result was the launch of Casa Verde.Pepe asks Garces about his most recent endeavor, a Mexican fast casual concept. Garces is excited to talk about the opening of Buena Onda, which means ‘Good Vibes'. The restaurant, a Baja Taqueria, was inspired by the spirit of Mexico's Baja Peninsula. Garces talks about how the restaurant is scaling in both units and with new franchising opportunities. He adds, “This should be a national brand within this year.”To hear Garces talk more about plant-based foods, virtual brands, and the Garces Foundation, check out this episode of Chef AF “It's All Food” or you can listen at Spotify!Produced by Lisa Pepe

The Fast Casual Nation Podcast offers exclusive interviews with experts ranging from top chefs and brand makers to executives and restaurants who work in one of the fastest-growing segments of the restaurant industry. In this episode, Pepe chats with Alan Nathan, Co-Founder and CEO at Sweetfin about his start in the industry, moving into the fast casual space and 94 million poke bowl combinations.Nathan shares how he got started in the hospitality industry over 30 years ago. He had a nightlife and entertainment company that opened nightclubs, hotels and created fine casual restaurants over the years. Nathan talks about his next endeavor which involves him moving into the fast casual concepts segment.Nathan talks about how he got involved with Sweetfin. He was approached by a friend of the family who wanted to discuss a concept for fast casual poke bowls. Nathan shares that the timing was great because he was already looking to expand into the fast casual markets. Nathan decided to review the idea with Dakota Weiss, his head chef at the time. After discussing the concept and their vision for creating a poke bowl that was “a touch above what the Hawaiian soul food was all about”, Nathan shares that Chef Weiss developed recipes with California born inspiration and accents of Japanese sauces. Nathan talks about agreeing to the partnership in 2013, and immediately starting the search for great locations. Nathan talks about the process taking 2 years and ultimately deciding on Santa Monica to launch the first Sweetfin. Nathan talks about the instant impact in the sector, resulting in lines outside of the restaurant for the first 3 months and demand so high that the staff would need to close the restaurant between lunch and dinner to try and keep up. Nathan says, “It was quite an amazing experience, just for the demand of what we created. I would say that we pioneered the poke space and I think that we've continued to be the premium product of the sector.”Nathan shares more about the uniqueness of Sweetfin. He says, ”I'd say we're unique because we're not just what I feel is a premium product in the poke sector, but we're a lifestyle brand that integrates with collaboration with other chefs with other artists. I would say that that's one of our biggest awareness campaigns. We're not just coming up with everything ourselves. It's almost like an open forum.”Nathan talks about the wide variety of bowl choices at Sweetfin. He says that there are over 94 million combinations where you can build a bowl and that 70% of all their orders are build your own bowl, not the signature bowl. He adds, “People truly want to customize their bowl.” Nathan says that's why they decided to do things differently by collaborating with other chefs, artists and musicians; it truly sets Sweetfin apart for the pack. He says, “I think that sharing the canvas for other artists to paint on and other chefs and other musical inspirations and lifestyle inspirations makes us very different to just kind of offering a poke bowl.”To hear more about what Sweetfin has planned for menu updates, future strategies and what Poke House is, listen to this episode of Fast Casual Nation on Apple Podcasts.Produced by Lisa Pepe

The next generation of culinary artisans are changing up the industry. These artisans have a whole new approach to reaching and satisfying the next generation consumer. In this podcast we will explore chefs and artisans from around the world diving into their story and passion. In this episode of Chef AF, Pepe talks with Josh Chanin, Energy Efficiency Consultant for California Instant Rebates to discuss how the California Instant Rebates Program works, why it is beneficial to commercial foodservice customers and their business, and who can qualify for these rebates. Chanin talks about working with utilities across the nation to help them run energy efficiency programs. He explains that utilities actually want their customers to save energy because it also saves the utility companies money in the long run since they don't have to build as much infrastructure to serve a growing customer base. Chanin shares that a lot of utilities are mandated by their public utilities commission to save energy. He says, “We help them do that by running things like rebate programs”.Chanin shares that the California foodservice instant rebates program is a California statewide program targeted specifically at commercial foodservice customers by allowing them to get rebates when purchasing any high efficiency, commercial foodservice equipment such as high efficiency fryers, convection ovens and steamers. Chanin talks about how the program works. Chanin shares that when commercial foodservice customers buy high efficiency, commercial foodservice equipment from their local or national food service equipment dealer or supplier, they are able to get pretty impactful rebates. Chanin shares that the rebates are offered at the time of purchase, making it an instant rebate as opposed to other standard rebate programs that arrive via mail and can take months to reach the customer. He says, “The instant rebates program is great because it allows you to get those rebates as a discount, and have a lower upfront cost when purchasing high efficiency equipment.”Chanin talks about how commercial customers can easily learn what products qualify for rebates and which California residents are eligible for rebates based on their zip code. Chanin says, “We cover almost all of the State of California.” Chanin shares that customers can visit the company's website, featuring a user-friendly search tab to look for equipment by name, manufacturer, model number or they can work directly with their equipment dealer to find the right products for them and check eligibility.Chanin talks about the benefits of high efficiency equipment. He says, “High efficiency equipment has a lot of benefits, especially for the small and medium sized businesses, not only do you get these great rebates, and you're able to save money on the purchase and save energy, which means saving money on your utility bills over the lifetime of your products.” Chanin talks about additional benefits of high efficiency equipment. Chanin shares that often those models have lower recovery times, which means that they can recover faster, such as when frozen food goes in the fryer, or when refrigerator doors are opened and closed again, they're able to get back to temperature faster than other models. Chanin adds, “High efficiency equipment is often name brand products that are higher quality and longer lasting.”Tune into the podcast to learn more from Chanin about the California Instant Rebates Program, on Chef AF “It's All Food” or you can listen at iTunes Now!Produced by Lisa Pepe

The next generation of culinary artisans are changing up the industry. These artisans have a whole new approach to reaching and satisfying the next generation consumer. In this podcast we will explore chefs and artisans from around the world diving into their story and passion. In this episode of Chef AF, Pepe talks with Rick Petralia, Culinary Director at Fazoli's to discuss his jumpstart to becoming a Chef, his Culinary point of view and why he's passionate about approachable, authentic Italian food.Petralia talks about his unique journey towards becoming a Chef. He shares that while attending college to become a math major, he was working at a local restaurant as a server. During his shift one evening the cook called out and the manager asked him if he would be interested in learning how to cook. Petralia replied, “Sure I'll try it.” He adds, “I really enjoyed that and I transitioned from serving to cooking at the restaurant.” Petralia shares that this opportunity led to him changing course from being a math major to going to Culinary school. Petralia talks about the 15 years following Culinary school and how he held a variety of positions in the industry, none of which had him utilizing his culinary experience. He talks about a position becoming available at Fazoli's that would allow to get back into the culinary side of things. He says, “I thought, hey that'd be great to get back into a culinary more creative type of role.” He adds, “Italian is my background and you know it just really seemed like an exciting opportunity.”Petralia shares his culinary point of view and how he approaches recipe development particularly when it comes to QSR and Fast Casual. He talks about having over 200 locations that serve over 700000 meals per week and how being able to replicate every recipe with consistency is key. He says, “First and foremost, that's in the back of my mind every time I develop a recipe, is how is this going to happen 700000 times a week in the same way.” Tune into the podcast to learn more on how Petralia feels about developing recipes including [Fazoli's Breadstick Panzanella (Bread Salad)], what he has to say about upcoming culinary trends, and his thoughts on supply chain issues on this episode of Chef AF “It's All Food” or you can listen at Spotify!Produced by Lisa Pepe

The next generation of culinary artisans are changing up the industry. These artisans have a whole new approach to reaching and satisfying the next generation consumer. In this podcast we will explore chefs and artisans from around the world diving into their story and passion. In this episode of Chef AF, Pepe talks with Rick Petralia, Culinary Director at Fazoli's to discuss his jumpstart to becoming a Chef, his Culinary point of view and why he's passionate about approachable, authentic Italian food.Petralia talks about his unique journey towards becoming a Chef. He shares that while attending college to become a math major, he was working at a local restaurant as a server. During his shift one evening the cook called out and the manager asked him if he would be interested in learning how to cook. Petralia replied, “Sure I'll try it.” He adds, “I really enjoyed that and I transitioned from serving to cooking at the restaurant.” Petralia shares that this opportunity led to him changing course from being a math major to going to Culinary school. Petralia talks about the 15 years following Culinary school and how he held a variety of positions in the industry, none of which had him utilizing his culinary experience. He talks about a position becoming available at Fazoli's that would allow to get back into the culinary side of things. He says, “I thought, hey that'd be great to get back into a culinary more creative type of role.” He adds, “Italian is my background and you know it just really seemed like an exciting opportunity.”Petralia shares his culinary point of view and how he approaches recipe development particularly when it comes to QSR and Fast Casual. He talks about having over 200 locations that serve over 700000 meals per week and how being able to replicate every recipe with consistency is key. He says, “First and foremost, that's in the back of my mind every time I develop a recipe, is how is this going to happen 700000 times a week in the same way.”Tune into the podcast to learn more on how Petralia feels about developing recipes including Fazoli's Breadstick Panzanella (Bread Salad), what he has to say about upcoming culinary trends, and his thoughts on supply chain issues on this episode of Chef AF “It's All Food” or you can listen at Spotify!Produced by Lisa Pepe

The Fast Casual Nation Podcast offers exclusive interviews with experts ranging from top chefs and brand makers to executives and restaurants who work in one of the fastest-growing segments of the restaurant industry. In this episode, Pepe chats with Karl Goodhew, Chief Technology Officer at BurgerFi about the latest restaurant technology, labor shortage solutions, and Patty the Robot.Goodhew shares how he got started in the industry and restaurant technology, he says that his background was originally in big box retail where he was responsible for both the customer-facing e-commerce platforms and the in-store experience. Goodhew says that the way BurgerFi was approaching both online and in store experience just made sense to him, so he decided to transition from retail to the restaurant industry by joining the team at BurgerFi.Goodhew talks about the other key reason he decided to join BurgerFi, he says, “They have a really great product.” He adds, “I really enjoy working for a company that I love the product.” He also enjoys a really great burger, just one of many items on the company's menu created with Chef Paul Griffin, chief culinary officer at BurgerFi. Goodhew says that because they offer a diverse variety of food options, he is able to take his wife, a vegetarian and whole family to the restaurant and everyone is able to have a meal that they really enjoy.Goodhew talks about labor shortages and how technology can help in this regard by supplementing and supporting both front and back of house staff. He says that ensuring systems stay up and running, streamlining POS and making sure innovation is helping staff is key. “There's nothing worse than having a room full of customers and maybe the POS goes down. That's not acceptable. I believe technology partners have to help our staff and an example of that might be as simple as making sure that the systems are always up and running. Things like that just help.”Goodhew shares news of the latest addition to the BurgerFi team, Patty the Robot. Goodhew says that Patty the Robot is not intended to replace anyone but instead, she is there to assist the team and solve daily challenges. Goodhew says “I think we should focus on how can technology help solve problems that exist today.” Patty the Robot supports employees by helping to serve meals to tables, returning trays to the kitchen and by interacting with guests. Goodhew ads, “It's extremely important that technology is driving that growth at BurgerFi and also the solutions.”To hear more about how BurgerFi will be utilizing the latest technology to implement touchless QR codes, game changing drive-thrus, and how your next car might be able to order your burger for you, listen to this episode of Fast Casual Nation on Apple Podcasts.Produced by Lisa Pepe

The next generation of culinary artisans are changing up the industry. These artisans have a whole new approach to reaching and satisfying the next generation consumer. In this podcast we will explore chefs and artisans from around the world diving into their story and passion.In this episode of Chef AF, Pepe talks with Alex Sadowsky, Executive Chef at Twin Peaks to discuss his humble beginning in an industry that he quickly fell in love with while working his way up in a variety of kitchens, his passion for comfort food and how a childhood sandwich would become a signature recipe.Sadowsky talks about entering the industry as a dishwasher out of necessity and quickly learned that he'd found his calling. He talks about admiring other Chefs, reading their books and consuming as much knowledge as possible as he worked his way up in the kitchen, and into The Culinary Institute of America where he immersed himself in his culinary education.Sadowsky shares that following graduation he returned home to Minnesota and decided he wanted to gain even more experience. He says, “I worked my way through all these kitchens and tried to get a little bit of experience with everything you know, from Diners to Fine Dining, Seafood, Steakhouse, Country Clubs.” At one point he even owned two bars and grills where he really started to lean into cooking and serving comfort food.Sadowsky talks about growing tired of the cold weather in Minnesota and being ready to relocate to someplace warmer when a chance call with his best friend from culinary school, encouraged him to relocate to Texas. Once there Sadowsky joined a great company emerging in the Gastro Pub trend. It was during this time that Sadowsky says he was able to work directly with little farmers, create farm to table dishes and open up a lot of new concepts for the company.Sadowsky talks about becoming the Executive Chef at Twin Peaks and how it opened up the opportunity to take his love for comfort food to the next level first Nationally, and then scaling it Internationally with the company. Sadowsky shares details on a new comfort recipe that was inspired by his favorite food as a child. He says, “I love to talk about this! Okay I was addicted when I was a little kid to eating fried baloney sandwiches and I would put the potato chips right on the sandwich and I don't think I'm the only one. And, right now it seems like Bologna is having a big comeback.” So much so that he has created a special dish in honor of it!Chef shares with us his recipe for [Potato Chip Crusted Bologna], an inexpensive dish that he developed with hopes that it will bring back fond memories and make a bunch of people happy.Tune into the podcast to learn more about Chef Sadowsky's thoughts on virtual brands, comfort foods and labor shortages in the restaurant, on Chef AF “It's All Food” or you can listen at iTunes Now!Produced by Lisa Pepe

The Fast Casual Nation Podcast offers exclusive interviews with experts ranging from top chefs and brand makers to executives and restaurants who work in one of the fastest-growing segments of the restaurant industry. In this episode, I chat with Abe Ng, founder and chief executive officer of Sushi Maki about brand development, innovation and growth over two decades. Ng, a lifelong restaurateur, has been in the industry for many years, he says since birth. His parents had Chinese restaurants and Ng worked in them as he grew up. After university Ng spent some time in public accounting but his love for hospitality brought him back. He founded a fast casual burrito chain but transitioned to Sushi Maki in 2000. Twenty-two years later Sushi Maki is still a family business and today operates twenty-five restaurants. I asked Ng about the Sushi Maki concept and he says, it started as a neighborhood sushi bar. He took into consideration what the area had already and what it needed. Ng says, “Hard to believe that in the early 2000 where we were in South Miami and in Coral Gables Florida there weren't a lot of sushi bars.” He adds, “I actually spent some time in California at the California Sushi Academy to get some basic understanding and respect for the cuisine. I went to a hospitality school and had a rudimentary understanding of restaurants and commercial kitchens.” Ng talks about seeing the importance off-premise could have to the business early after opening, and began selling wholesale sushi to country clubs and hotels. Sushi Maki today does all of the sushi for Whole Foods Market in Miami Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties. You can also find Sushi Maki locations at universities in South Florida. Polished fast casual restaurants is a concept Ng says he started dabbling in a few years ago and feels it is the future of his concept. Sushi Maki Las Olas introduced the 2,500-square-foot new concept for the brand and it represents the company's first stand-alone location in Broward County. The restaurant differs from the traditional fast casual by including real glassware and plates rather than disposable options. To hear Ng talk about the Sushi Maki tech stack and the brand's marketing approach, listen to this episode of Fast Casual Nation on Apple Podcasts.

The next generation of culinary artisans are changing up the industry. These artisans have a whole new approach to reaching and satisfying the next generation consumer. In this podcast we will explore chefs and artisans from around the world diving into their story and passion. In this episode of Chef AF, I chat with Chef Dawn Burrell about her incredible journey as an Olympian to finding her passion for a career in culinary, becoming a finalist on Top Chef Portland and her James Beard Award Nomination. Burrell who traveled the world with the USA's Track and Field team says it was a great way to spend her early twenties, she was traveling and there was airport and hotel time sprinkled with culture and great food. Her traveling played a role in her love of food and she says, “You know when you eat the food of the people, you are learning about their history and their culture without even knowing if you're in tune in that way.” Burrell says that her love for food came from her grandmother and aunts. I ask Burrell about culinary becoming a full-time career for her and she shares that during a difficult time in her life when she was facing retirement from track and field, she needed to find something else that she loved to do. She says, athletes have blinders on and you can lose sight of other interests and things you can do in life. She says, “So I had to quickly figure out for myself in my adult life and I landed in culinary, I really remember I had the fondest childhood memories of food and I always wanted to know more.”Burell has been extremely busy as a chef since culinary school. She was the sous chef at Uchiko, the executive chef at Kulture, she had a James Beard nomination, and became part of Lucille's Hospitality Group opening the restaurant Late August, a culinary collaboration with Chef Chris Williams. Burrell also talks about two industry non-profit organizations she supports, I'll Have What She's Having, a women-led non-profit, raising community awareness and funds in support of better health and healthcare in the food and beverage industry and Lucille 1913, a conscious community collective that is building a vertically integrated ecosystem to combat food insecurity and waste; creating training and employment opportunities in traditionally under-resourced neighborhoods; and empowering communities to discover a self-sustainable livelihood through food.To hear Chef Burrell talk about being an all star guest judge on Top Chef Season 19 and her recipe for Salmon with Buttermilk Broth & Gai Lan, plus find out why she decided on culinary school, check out this episode of Chef AF “It's All Food” or you can listen at Spotify!

The Fast Casual Nation Podcast offers exclusive interviews with experts ranging from top chefs and brand makers to executives and restaurants who work in one of the fastest-growing segments of the restaurant industry. In this episode, I talk with Massimo Noja De Marco, chief executive officer and co-founder of Piestro about his extensive background as an entrepreneur in the restaurant industry and an emerging leader in kitchen automation. Noja De Marco was born and raised in the hospitality industry, he is part of a seven-generation family in hotels and restaurants. He tells me that his mom was a fabulous chef and his grandparents and great grandparents ran hotels in Italy on the north side of Milan on the Swiss border. He says, “So I was born, I was literally born in the hotel just like my father and my grandfather were so you know I just fell in love with the hospitality from a very very young age. You know, when I was a little kid I asked my grandfather to promise me that when I would turn five years old he would teach me how to make cappuccino in the hotel and you know by the time five years old came around I already knew how to do it.” When Noja De Marco moved to New York in his twenties, he opened restaurants, a few Italian and one French restaurant. He talks about hospitality and says, “I really embrace that the hospitality, the ability to change people's perspective on life on any given day by just being excited by serving them something delicious and just making them feel like they were your best friends that you hadn't seen for a lifetime.” Noja De Marco moved to California and opened restaurants there too. He worked for the Ritz-Carlton as well as Wolfgang Puck Catering and did events including the Oscars. Noja De Marco launched Kitchen United and drove all aspects of design with a focus on setting up a better way for off-premise business for restaurants. Kitchen United which was the first ghost kitchen space in the United States was about optimizing the space for the restaurants. He says, “I really wanted to optimize the entire space and since I had already started working with robotics probably about a year and a half earlier with Miso Robotics which you know the parent company of Flippy, I got super excited. I'm like what if I can bring that into the ghost kitchen space but what if I can bring that automation into the restaurants.” We chatted about Piestro, which Noja De Marco calls his favorite thing and he has been dreaming about it for years. Piestro has designed robots that make pizza at a fraction of the cost. It eliminates the retail footprint and labor costs, making pizzas using high-quality ingredients for less. To hear more of Noja De Marco's insights for restaurant brands and Piestro's partnership with 800 Degrees Pizza, listen to this episode of Fast Casual Nation on Apple Podcasts.

In this episode of Accelerate series for the Takeout, Delivery, and Catering podcast series, host Paul Barron chats with Michael Liu, executive vice president of JustKitchen to dive into the ghost kitchen and virtual brand phenomenon that has been happening around the world.JustKitchen is an operator of ghost kitchens currently operating twenty restaurants in Taiwan and two restaurants in Hong Kong and they use a hub and spoke food delivery model and is currently expanding to the Philippines and Singapore.Liu says, most of the JustKitchen executives come from a food and beverage background and his background, the delivery aggregator industry. When choosing brands to partner with, Liu says, “we were able to collect a lot of data to look at what is going to be an emergent trend in terms of food delivery service, what kind of brands, what kind of food that we're serving but really just studying the data.”The process to develop a virtual brand for JustKitchen starts with a lot of data scraping, looking at restaurants and delivery and then they forecast. Liu says, “by applying some sort of algorithm to look at what kind of volume they're doing so basically just trying to meet that demand versus actually creating one.” JustKitchen offers several brands including Smith & Wollensky and TGI Fridays.In terms of ghost kitchens Liu says, “I do think that's definitely going to be a growing trend and I think another really big issue is definitely inflation of food cost, labor shortage and that gives not a lot of options to the traditional restaurant operators to operate at what they used to do. So I think virtual brand or cloud kitchen really gives that extra edge for them to really go to the next level to increase their income to increase their average ticket size or you know even just to increase their efficiencies.”To learn more about JustKitchen's partnership with DJ Khaled's Another Wing, Liu's insights on celebrity brands, and third party partner data and how to decentralize from the food delivery aggregators, listen to this episode of Accelerate.

In this episode of the twelve-part Accelerate series for the Takeout, Delivery, and Catering podcast series, host Sam Stanovich and guest host Kathleen Wood chat with Jamie Griffin, founder and principal partner at Consult to Grow, to explore the power of culture and the talent pipeline. Griffin shares his background saying, “for twenty years I spent fifteen years on the operations side working with Raising Cane's from the ninth restaurant to the four hundredth or so.” Adding, “And started my own consulting company which is Consult To Grow, where I work side by side with restaurant owners, founders and operators to scale and grow through people, systems and processes.”Wood asks Griffin what he thinks about culture in today's marketplace, he says, “I really think of culture very similar to brand, so brand is to the customer as culture is to the employee and I think there are a lot of really important symbolic relationships between those two.” Griffin adds, “But for me what culture is it's the personality in the story of how we operate our business, what are our values, what is our management style, what are the beliefs that we hold about what it takes to compete and be successful.” Griffin, when asked about the talent pipeline says, “so talent pipeline is about three things, it's about attracting the right people, it's about retaining the right people and it's about developing people to the next level.” To learn more about Consult To Grow, the power of culture, and the importance of the talent pipeline, listen to this episode of Accelerate.

In this episode of the twelve-part Accelerate series for the Takeout, Delivery, and Catering podcast series, host Sam Stanovich and guest host Kathleen Wood chat with Jamie Leeds, chef and restaurateur of Jamie Leeds Restaurant Group, which includes Hank's Oyster Bar, The Wharf and Hank's Cocktail Bar, to explore how team connection can accelerate your business. Leeds shares how she and her team navigated during the pandemic, staying connected and brainstormed ways to stay alive financially. Recognizing that restaurants were closed and suppliers were suffering, they developed a concept to engage that supply chain. Leeds talks about keeping loyal clientele and growing their customer base. She says that they are very hospitality based and attributes that to her time as a sous chef for her mentor Danny Meyer. Leeds adds that they are hospitality first, staff is key, and the importance of taking care of her own. When asked about her hiring strategy, Leeds says she has had no problems with staffing. She was able to keep most of her staff through the winter and her team came back, even relocating them at her other restaurants. Wood asks Leeds about the theme of loyalty, Leeds said it is simple, it is about connection. To learn more about why technology is important for Jamie Leeds Restaurant Group, how Leeds is making the operator's jobs easier, and about changing out POS systems, listen to this episode of Accelerate.

In this episode of the twelve-part Accelerate series for the Takeout, Delivery, and Catering podcast series, host Sam Stanovich and guest host Kathleen Wood chat with Atul Sood, the chief business officer of Kitchen United, to explore successfully creating and implementing a growth strategy in the restaurant and hospitality industry.“We focused the business quickly on restaurants… and then we realized we needed to have a facility for onsite ordering,” says Sood. “We've gone from there to having six sites, and we'll be opening another twelve to fourteen sites this year.”Founded in 2017, Kitchen United was designed to support restaurant takeout, delivery, and catering via dark kitchens. The GV-backed startup has helped countless restaurants expand their consumer base for off-premise dining.“You only staff the cooks. We take care of everything else: cleaning, sanitation, running of food to the delivery driver or customer, manning the front of house, receiving food products, managing technology, managing the co-marketing,” adds Sood. “It's really a CapEx, time, and labor-light way to expand.”Listen to the episode to learn more about Kitchen United's expansion plans!

In the first episode of the new 12-part Accelerate series for the Takeout, Delivery, and Catering podcast series, host Sam Stanovich and guest host Kathleen Wood explore how owners, leaders, and operators can effectively accelerate their business in a post-pandemic world to push for more success, more profits, and more opportunities to rebuild the industry.“Operators are busier than ever. There's pent-up demand in the marketplace and a huge lack of labor,” says Stanovich. “If we're not being strategic, and if we're not getting ready, we can't accelerate our business to where the most amount of profit is because we're being reactionary versus proactive in our business.”Despite appearances, the industry is moving at a rapid pace. With the pressure of the labor shortage, the pressure of supply changes, and new competitors entering the marketplace, many formerly successful businesses will be left behind if they don't start investing in and accelerating their business now.One group that businesses need to start investing in is Gen Z—the 72 million people born between 2000 and 2015. “These Gen Zs are digital natives. Everything about their world is technologically infused,” notes Wood. “COVID really brought their voices to the forefront. These Gen Z are becoming our customers and our workforce… and they are driving all of us to be more flexible, agile and technologically advanced.”Listen to the episode to learn more about embracing the uncertain future of the industry amidst the ongoing pandemic, and successfully implementing new, relevant technology!

On the last episode of the Takeout, Delivery, and Catering podcast series, hosts TJ Schier and Sam Stanovich sit down with Nick Vojnovic, the president of the Little Greek franchise, to explore brand building and how businesses have shifted since the onset of the pandemic.Little Greek specializes in fresh, grilled Greek cuisine. The chain prioritizes quality, handcrafted food that is as flavorful as it is affordable.“Keep your footprint as small as you can,” says Vojnovic. “We've not seen a correlation between store size and sales… the future will be smaller boxes, and drive-thrus will be a key element going forward.”Little Greek currently maintains 44 locations, adding four or five restaurants each year. The company dropped about 30 to 35 percent when the pandemic first hit, but was able to rebound and become even with the previous year by summer 2020. For the chain, the main priority is to offer a wide selection of authentic food.“From a marketing standpoint, I think we're the only franchise in the country that does not collect a marketing fee,” adds Vojnovic. “We try to let our food speak for itself. We use our catering to market the brand… for the most part, it's all been organic growth.”Listen to the episode to learn more about mentorship and cultivating a successful work culture!

On this episode of the Takeout, Delivery, and Catering podcast series, hosts TJ Schier and Sam Stanovich sit down with Elizabeth Baxter, the chief people officer of Torchy's Tacos, to explore the taco business, crafting products and merchandise, and building a culture of caring.Begun in a food trailer—with some advertising conducted on a Vespa—Torchy's Tacos specializes in high quality, cooked-to-order tacos. With over 75 locations, the chain is committed to responsible sourcing, constant menu innovation, and hiring employees that reflect and reinvest in their communities.“Every taco we serve, you're not going to see in another kind of taco shop,” says Baxter. “Our focus has really been about the best ingredients and fun, memorable names. The Brushfire has fresh mango on it, and the fact that we source that mango and make sure that it's ripe and cut perfectly—that's what gets people coming back.”For Torchy's, the goal is to make the food original and keep the customers engaged. They have a secret menu that customers can only learn about through the grapevine, and a taco of the month special to continuously surprise guests with new tacos as well as tacos from the vault to try.“Food trucks are relevant because it's just another form. Right now, people don't want to sit in a restaurant, so we've shifted to this off-premise idea,” adds Baxter. “It's another way of people getting food in an easier, different way. And people like different, innovative, and easier.”Listen to the episode to learn more about taco trucks and best practices for recruiting!This episode is sponsored by DAWN® PROFESSIONAL - Pot and Pan

On this episode of the Takeout, Delivery, and Catering podcast series, hosts TJ Schier and Sam Stanovich sit down with Tom Foley, the founder of Indigo Group, and Tiffany Derry, the chef and owner of Roots Chicken Shak, to explore packaging, catering, community, and planting roots for the future.Roots Chicken Shak is famous for its duck fat fried chicken, courtesy of celebrity chef Tiffany Derry. Options range from wings and tenders to sandwiches and salads, all freshly prepared in the chain's limited 300 square feet of space. Indigo Group helped found Roots Chicken Shak in 2017, and the management consulting company continues to oversee the chain's operations.“We call the front of the house the restaurant, where Tiffany is amazing both from a chef's perspective and a guest's engagement,” says Foley. “The back of the house is all the operational components. Anything that smells legal comes my way.”Roots Chicken Shak has a culture of buying local. The chain endeavors to keep the menu narrow and focused—emphasizing chef Tiffany's southern upbringing and preference for dishes with local, fresh ingredients and spices—to keep ordering and packaging processes simple and seamless. Roots found the ideal packing partner in H-E-B.“We're quick service. We knew that in order to make the numbers that we needed to make, it wasn't just about everyone coming in and eating—we needed our pickup and delivery to be a large part of our program,” says Derry. “I wanted to make sure that we had proper materials… not everything works for chicken.”Listen to the episode to learn more about the making of duck fat fried chicken, as well as how to successfully invest in your community!

On this episode of the Takeout, Delivery, and Catering podcast series, host Sam Stanovich sits down with Lewis Rudd, the president and chief executive officer of Ezell's Fried Chicken, to explore chicken, food trucks, and marketing transparency.This episode is sponsored by DAWN® PROFESSIONAL - Pot and Pan

On this episode of the Takeout, Delivery, and Catering podcast series, hosts TJ Schier and Sam Stanovich sit down with Carin Stutz, president and chief executive officer at Native Foods, to explore earth-friendly eating, investing in your community, as well as the ins and outs of packaging and catering.

On this episode of the Takeout, Delivery, and Catering podcast series, hosts TJ Schier and Sam Stanovich sit down with Brandy Blackwell, the director of new business at Dunkin' Brands, to explore third party deployment, building loyalty, and managing the influx of drive-thru customers.This episode is sponsored by DAWN® PROFESSIONAL - Pot and Pan

On this episode of the Takeout, Delivery, and Catering podcast series, hosts TJ Schier and Sam Stanovich sit down with Gerry Fernandez, the president and founder of the Multicultural Foodservice and Hospitality Alliance (MFHA), to explore building culturally intelligent brands and leaders, and developing multicultural solutions that help raise the top line, improve the bottom line, and strengthen your brand.

This episode of the Takeout, Delivery, and Catering offers a mixed lineup featuring some of the notable clips of and trade secrets discussed in the podcast series. If you are a bit behind on episodes, this collection can catch you up on the best moments of hosts TJ Schier and Sam Stanovich's interviews this past year with:Brian Duffy, a chef, traveler, consultant, host, and restaurateurMegan Danielson, the head of industry, food, beverage, and restaurants at GoogleJim Knight, the owner and chief executive officer of Knight SpeakerKathleen Wood, the founder of Kathleen Wood Partners and the co-founder of Suzy's SwirlDon Fox, the chief executive officer of Firehouse Subs This episode is sponsored by DAWN® PROFESSIONAL - Pot and Pan

On this episode of the Takeout, Delivery, and Catering podcast series, hosts TJ Schier and Sam Stanovich sit down with Don Fox, the chief executive officer of Firehouse Subs, to explore the latest in off-premises and packaging trends, as well as the importance of giving back to the community.

On this episode of the Takeout, Delivery, and Catering podcast series, hosts TJ Schier and Sam Stanovich sit down with Scott Taylor, the president and chief operating officer of Walk On's, to explore recent off-premises trends and the importance of building culture and community. This episode is sponsored by DAWN® PROFESSIONAL - Pot and Pan

On this episode of the Takeout, Delivery, and Catering podcast series, hosts TJ Schier and Sam Stanovich sit down with Aaron Noveshen, the founder and chief executive officer of The Culinary Edge and Starbird, to explore ghost kitchens and the latest off-premises trends.

On this episode of the Takeout, Delivery, and Catering podcast series, hosts TJ Schier and Sam Stanovich sit down with Kathleen Wood, the founder of Kathleen Wood Partners and the co-founder of frozen yogurt company Suzy's Swirl, to explore catering desserts, handling digital hospitality, and cultivating dynamic, collaborative leadership.

On this episode of the Takeout, Delivery, and Catering podcast series, hosts TJ Schier and Sam Stanovich sit down with Geoffrey Goodman, the chief executive officer of Fresh Brothers, to explore restaurant trends, off-premises basics, and ghost kitchens.

On this episode of the Takeout, Delivery, and Catering podcast series, hosts TJ Schier and Sam Stanovich sit down with Geoff Alexander, the president and chief executive officer of Wow Bao, to explore the ins and outs of the dark kitchen space.

On this episode of the Takeout, Delivery, and Catering podcast series, hosts TJ Schier and Sam Stanovich sit down with Monty Moran, an author, filmmaker, and the former co-chief executive officer of Chipotle Mexican Grill, to explore the importance of leadership and how to help brands thrive.

On this episode of the Takeout, Delivery, and Catering podcast series, hosts TJ Schier and Sam Stanovich sit down with Shawn Walchef, the founder of Cali BBQ Media, to explore how restaurants can use technology and digital advertising to drive off-premises sales.

On this episode of the Takeout, Delivery, and Catering podcast series, hosts TJ Schier and Sam Stanovich sit down with Rom Krupp, the chief executive officer and founder of OneDine, to explore off-premises ordering and how restaurants can leverage technology to drive sales and capture more self-delivery.

On this episode of the Takeout, Delivery, and Catering podcast series, hosts TJ Schier and Sam Stanovich sit down with Thom Crosby, the president of Pal's Sudden Service, to explore how to handle hiring, employee training, and managing your off-premise business.

On this episode of the Takeout, Delivery, and Catering podcast series, hosts TJ Schier and Sam Stanovich sit down with Bill Birgen, the chief technology officer at SAVRPak and the founder and chief executive officer of Soggy Food Sucks, to explore how the restaurant and hospitality industry can improve to-go food quality.

On this episode of the Takeout, Delivery, and Catering podcast series, hosts TJ Schier and Sam Stanovich sit down with Jim Knight, the owner and chief executive officer of Knight Speaker, to explore takeout and the future of hospitality amidst the pandemic.

On this episode of the Takeout, Delivery, and Catering podcast series, hosts TJ Schier and Sam Stanovich sit down with Darien Terrell, the president of DeliverThat, to explore the current status of delivery and catering, balancing in-house and third party delivery, and helping the industry thrive.

On this episode of the Takeout, Delivery, and Catering podcast series, hosts TJ Schier and Sam Stanovich sit down with Zack Oates, the founder and chief executive officer of Ovation, to explore the ever-evolving guest service model, and measuring consumer feedback.

On this episode of the Takeout, Delivery, and Catering podcast series, hosts TJ Schier and Sam Stanovich sit down with Carl Howard, the president and chief executive officer of Fazoli's, to explore menu innovation, food safety strategies, and how to thrive in a crowded market.

On this episode of the Takeout, Delivery, and Catering podcast series, hosts TJ Schier and Sam Stanovich sit down with Noah Glass, the founder and chief executive officer of Olo, to discuss online ordering and the burgeoning era of digital hospitality.