Punk Rock HR 095: Fixing Work One School Lunch At a Time with Dan Giusti
Let’s Fix Work Episode 95:
What's up with school lunches? How can we make them better? You may be asking yourself, “What do school lunches have to do with fixing work, Laurie?” Well, in today’s episode, you’ll learn how one company is working to bring better food and nutrition to schools and how these efforts led the founder to fix work for himself.
In this episode I am joined by Dan Giusti, Founder and CEO of Brigaid. He is the former Head Chef of Noma (the best restaurant in the world) and who now works in school kitchens. Since 2016, Brigaid has collaborated with K through 12 school districts to support and elevate the quality of their child nutrition programs. Brigaid has also expanded its reach to encompass institutional foodservice operations of all kinds. Their mission is to change what is expected of food served in these public spaces.
Dan left his job at Noma to pursue a passion to cook for people who really need and deserve high-quality food. Dan is the essence of someone who has fixed work by trying to align himself with his values and to go out into the market and make magic happen.
In this episode you’ll hear:
- Why Dan decided to leave Noma and use his chef skills in conjunction with his current passion as Founder of Brigaid.
- How Dan and the Brigaid chefs are making school lunches better.
- Some of the unique challenges Brigaid faces partnering with and working within institutionalized kitchens and settings.
- Life and leadership lessons from the kitchen, some of what Dan has learned and has taken with him as a leader of Brigaid.
- How Dan and his team measure their work’s success.
- All about the food Brigaid chefs are making for school lunches and some of the items Dan decided to take off school menus including kale chips, ambitious meatloaves, and sandwiches. Dan says, “You can make a sandwich really well and take your time to make it nice and presented properly and cut it well.” [...] “I'm proud that when we make sandwiches, they look really great.”
- Dan’s plans for expanding his mission and how Brigaid is ready to apply what they’ve learned beyond school districts.
Resources from this episode: BrigaidBrigaid on Instagram
070: Taking Risks and Saying Yes with Jeff Gordinier
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EPISODE CREDITS:
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