The Feed

Michael Lastoria is the Co-Founder & CEO of &pizza, a 40-unit pizza chain that recently announced that it will ensure a $15 minimum wage for all employees by 2022. We sat down to talk about everything including the future of livable restaurant wages, suburban expansion, and what lessons fast casual can learn from old school QSRs. Intro song: "It's the S" by Great Ghost: https://spoti.fi/2Yfq1Qv

Rahanna Bisseret Martinez is an Oakland-based 16-year-old Top Chef Junior alum with experience at four Michelin starred restaurants. Matt sat down with Rahanna to discuss how black voices can be amplified within food media and the current state of diversity within the greater food ecosystem. Check out Rahanna's latest recipe: https://www.allrecipes.com/article/cooking-projects-to-entertain-kids/

Richard Sprague is a veteran technologist from Apple and Microsoft who has done over 600 microbiome tests using skin, nose, and fecal samples over the last six years. His fascination with his gut microbiome has led him to start Personal Science, a personalized nutrition project to help people discover their ideal diet by helping them track their glucose responses to doctor-prescribed meals. We speak with him about the future of gut microbiome testing and personalized diets that are projected to become a $64bn market in the next two decades.

Bill Stenger is the Director of Food Solution for Knapp North America, the automation partner for Takeoff Technologies which was recently dubbed a Technology Pioneer in the grocery microfulfimment space by the World Economic Forum. Microfulfillment is a disruptive new technology that reduces labor and last-mile delivery costs associated with online grocery by creating small automated warehouses on the back of existing retail stores. We cover everything from consumers’ shopping preferences during the pandemic to Amazon’s suburban strip mall grocery strategy.

Alex Canter isn't just the founder of an online delivery management platform, he's also the fourth generation of the famed Canter's Deli in West Hollywood, Los Angeles. We talk about everything from the potential Uber/Grubhub acquisition to the harsh realities currently facing the oversaturated restaurant industry. If you're curious about where the future of dining is heading, this is a must-listen conversation.

On our debut episode, we speak with Andrew Ive and Christian Cadeo of Big Idea Ventures, a VC fund and incubator dedicated to plant and cell-based proteins and ingredients, about the consumer and entrepreneurial landscapes across the US and Asia.