My Food Job Rocks!

We have returning guest Cesare Varallo, an Italian lawyer who is the global advisor on food safety, food labeling, and food regulatory issues talk about what's happening right now. More specifically, he’s a crisis consultant for food and one would say we’re in a crisis. I wanted his perspective on the pandemic because well, he’s in Italy, and also because Cesare interacts with so many global players. Though I learn a bit about what’s happening in Italy, for my own curiosity, this episode shines from a systems point of view. When the pandemic happens, what are the chain reactions that happen> And how many are driven by fear? We dive into that and it’s quite interesting. A quick disclaimer is that neither of us are experts on COVID from a health perspective so our point of view is just our observations. Please do your part in researching things in terms of news of the pandemic. This is considered a piece of knowledge, specifically, economically. Enjoy and stay safe out there. General Topics Include -How are you? -How is Italy? -How is it affecting businesses? -How is it affecting food supply chain? -How is it affecting exports? -How is it affecting food safety? -What are companies doing? -Ecommerce and remote work perspectives Show Notes Bloomberg article Where do you get your information?: I usually read financial data to get more economic perspectives Financial Times Guardian I try to get the news from all the angles I read a ton of studies about COVID-19 Cesare’s LinkedIn profile Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is a crossover episode Don Schaffner and Ben Chapman, host of the Food Safety Talk Podcast have both been busy doing interviews about well, COVID-19. Everyone from popular national news, to local news, to celebrity chefs are asking about how coronavirus will affect food. Mainly, can it survive on food in any way, shape or form? Don and ben tell us what they’ve found.  Ideally, the lessons for this episode is how you can make informed decisions using science. I’m really glad they both took the time to do this episode with me. I ask them a lot of questions on what’s happening right now as I feel they are one of the most knowledgable food industry experts on the topic. So questions like who we should follow and what are the best practices to be comfortable about it, are all answered in this podcast. A disclaimer, if you’re never heard of the Food Safety Talk podcast, take a listen. We have a lot of their energy in this podcast. Mainly the fact that they sometimes go off really funny tangents. If you want to get to my questions, go to minute 33:00. If you enjoy Food Safety Talk, I left 30 minutes of familiar content in the beginning. We’ll be having a few more COVID-19 episodes in the near future. I think it’s a very important topic right now and the best I can do in this situation is to share as many perspectives as possible. Show Notes * [Bruce Springsteen Lyrics database : My hometown](http://www.brucespringsteen.it/DB/sd3.aspx?sid=392) * [Handjob Princess | Do By Friday](http://dobyfriday.com/177) * [TWiV 592: Coronavirus update - dangerous curve ahead | This Week in Virology](http://www.microbe.tv/twiv/twiv-592/) * [COVID-19 teaches us "We all live on a yellow submarine" | Marler Blog](https://www.marlerblog.com/lawyer-oped/covid-19-teaches-us-we-all-live-on-a-yellow-submarine/) * [JoCo Cruise | March 7-14, 2020](https://jococruise.com/) * [Coronavirus COVID-19 (2019-nCoV)](https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6) * [Spanish flu - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_flu) * [(20) Don Schaffner 🦠 on Twitter: "Note this is a WHO approved recipe. ⁦@benjaminchapman⁩ would also be pleased. https://t.co/GnppRbTIPE" / Twitter](https://twitter.com/bugcounter/status/1240817179681001475) * [https://foodsafety.ces.ncsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Homemade-Hand-Sanitizer_COVID-19_Flyer_031620.pdf?fwd=no](https://foodsafety.ces.ncsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Homemade-Hand-Sanitizer_COVID-19_Flyer_031620.pdf?fwd=no) * [https://www.who.int/gpsc/5may/Guide_to_Local_Production.pdf](https://www.who.int/gpsc/5may/Guide_to_Local_Production.pdf) * [List N: Disinfectants for Use Against SARS-CoV-2 | Pesticide Registration | US EPA](https://www.epa.gov/pesticide-registration/list-n-disinfectants-use-against-sars-cov-2) * [The Food Lab | Serious Eats](https://www.seriouseats.com/the-food-lab) * [A Frantic Few Days for Restaurants Is Only the Beginning - The New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/16/dining/restaurants-coronavirus.html) * [https://foodsafety.ces.ncsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Retail-FAQ_COVID-19_031520.pdf?fwd=no](https://foodsafety.ces.ncsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Retail-FAQ_COVID-19_031520.pdf?fwd=no) * [Food Safety Talk](http://foodsafetytalk.com/) * [Risky or Not?](https://www.riskyornot.co/)   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I was first introduced to Burlap and Barrel when my friend Phil Saneski told me about them at MISTA. All the way in California. The next time I heard of them, I met Ori sitting down working at the WeWork Food Labs in New York, when I was doing my orientation. We chatted, knew a few common friends, and then he invited me to a Rabobank mixer. So if you’ve noticed a pattern with our entrepreneurial guests, the best way to get on the show is to know someone I think is cool, meet me in person, and take me out to drinks. Joking aside, Ori is a wealth of knowledge and I didn’t even know he built and sold a mortgage company! He used this experience to really shape Burlap and Barrel and with his cofounder Ethan, they make an unstoppable team with a variety of unique products. If you go to Burlapandbarrel.com, you’ll see a variety of spices you’ve probably never heard like Urfa Chili or ground Black Lime. As you’ll see in the episode, Ori took a lot of care in crafting the site to be as user friendly as possible. Plenty of tips and tricks in this one. Enjoy! About Ori Ori is a social entrepreneur and the co-founder of Burlap & Barrel, where he leads the company's US operations and finances, as well as eCommerce and retailer relationships. Ori's family moved to Baltimore, Maryland from Israel when he was 5 years old. He developed a love of all things food as a kid, learning to cook Middle Eastern and Mediterranean dishes from his parents. Ever enterprising, Ori's entrepreneurial journey started in his teens, when he started a business (poorly) DJ'ing parties. Ori first teamed up with Ethan to start Guerrilla Ice Cream, an activist ice cream cart that received a frenzy of media attention, in 2010. A few years later, he launched Sindeo, a venture-backed mortgage company that provided home loans in an open and transparent way. Sindeo raised $32m, helped its customers secure more than $500m in home loans, and had record-breaking customer satisfaction scores. Ori took the startup from idea through acquisition. Show Notes MISTA WeWork Food Lab Burlap and Barrel – single origin spice company that helps farmers My cofounder, Ethan, was a chef in New York and worked as relief in Afghanistan. He found spices in Afghan and brought them back and people loved it Guerilla Ice Cream We bring our spices from farmers in 12 countries Ethan does operations and professional cooking, Ori is the operation and home cook How did you get to where you are today? I grew up in Maryland and went to the University of Maryland. I studied business. I started small and goofy entrepreneur projects I worked in the big ad agencies after that I learned how did people like Applebees and Six Flags marketed at scale Before Burlap and Barrel and after Guerilla Ice Cream, I had a mortgage company that raised over $30 million dollars. However, it was such a chaotic journey. Ethan approached me beforehand but I had to sell the mortgage company but he prepared for me What type of tweaks did you make?: A ton. Mainly optimizing Ecommerce Once we got press (that was basically this is Burlap and Barrel) our site exploded Once we asked our customers who they were, we found our demographic My Food Job Rocks: The more we do what we do, the more our spices go around the world Chef Ottolenghi is a gift: He wrote a ton of books and included our spices in our books How do you delight your customers?: We really care about our customers and are transparent when things are slow or if we have something special What do you want to learn about?: How do we hop on the trends that current buyers are forecasting? Do you read any business books that have helped you? The Hard Thing and Hard Things The Lean Startup Facebook group: #OMGCPG Surprisingly, there’s a whole community of food entrepreneurs who have their own problems More importantly, everyone is helpful in the industry For scrappy entrepreneurship, you have to cover your weak points. Doesn’t have to be experts, but friends and family Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You might not have heard of Curion Insights. That’s because their job is to help big fortune 500 companies innovate. A lot the top food companies can get stuck in a rut and need services like Curion to test things using methods like sensory testing and category reviews. Keren Novack herself has an interesting background and uses her psychology degree often as she climbed up the career ladder to be a VP of Curion. We also go through an interesting section about the challenges new and innovative CPG products have when it comes to competing in the store. Also, we get a sneak peek on one of the hottest potential trends and how big companies are looking at it: Sustainable Packaging. Enjoy! About Keren Keren takes complex research initiatives at all stages of the project life cycle and utilizes a research-based psychology background to apply an insightful understanding of consumer behavior behind perception. Prior to joining Curion Keren worked for L’Oreal USA as a Sensory Research Scientist. Her 12 years of sensory & consumer insights experience includes food, beverage, and personal care. She is also a trained QDA panel moderator. Keren received her B.A. from Franklin and Marshall College in Psychology and holds a Certificate of Sensory & Consumer Science from UC Davis. Show Notes What do you do for a living?: Market research Why do big companies ask Curion for help?: Big companies have biases and we help them navigate swiftly It takes a huge amount of resources and big companies can’t move fast. Even changing one thing can take a while New target markets make it much harder for big companies to innovate. Disruptors can get there fast, but big companies can’t. How do you guys do sensory tests?: We usually have the client come to us QDA Panels We have facilities in New York, Dallas, Chicago, the Bay Area, etc How much do you inform them?: Really depends. We work with everyone and some people know the tests and some people don’t How did you get to where you are today?: I’m a psychology major Franklin and Marshall College After college, where did you go?: I was applying to everything I found a job at L’oreal and it fits me perfectly Curion has grown a ton thanks to new leadership Herb Stone and Joel Sydel Food Science and Psychology is amazingly important How do you feel people with Psych degrees can feel more competent in the food industry? You have to live and breathe it and be in a company who supports it. My Food Job Rocks: I get to be in a company that embraces change Biggest trends: Plant-based with a focus on sustainability and nutrition. I think it’s a bit blown out of proportion CBD is rising too but we don’t really know where it’s going Are there any insights on how trends can be sustained?: The new millennials/Gen Z latches on to trends and rides them swiftly I don’t know if we’ll ever have a legacy brand anymore because there are so many new trends Are these new products going to be around in 20 years? The End of CPG (White label article) For grocery shopping, it’s so hard to choose and try new products The rise of online shopping People, especially families, have a static list and it doesn’t change Companies have to rely on word of mouth What is the biggest challenge the food industry needs to taste?: We need to feed a lot of people. How do we make sustainable products? I think we can do better in waste and sustainability A lot of companies are actually focusing on sustainable packaging Anyone inspired you to get into food?: I fell into food but on the daily, people inspire me everyday What type of news do you consume?: Food Navigator Food Dive In general, people send me interesting things Do you have any advice for anyone to be in the food industry?: What do you want to do in the food industry? There’s so many options. Internships or trials are the best way to know about a job Where can we find you for advice?: email is best knovak@curioninsights.com LinkedIn works too   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re introducing something called the Pantry Podcasts, which is basically an analogy that these podcasts, like your pantry items, are practically timeless but eventually, you have to create something with them! Don’t think of this as year-old pasta, but rather that special bottle of bourbon you’ll open on special occasions or perhaps to reward yourself from surviving the tough period we’re all going through now. These interviews are timeless and get better with age. This was recorded a little bit less than a year ago back when I was planning another podcast but life changes and I just have been swarmed. During my time trying to make a new podcast, I had a ton of really amazing guests, but I didn’t have the capacity to make another, short-form podcasts. You’ll hear clapping in the background because I do this face to face at Food Funded, an amazing Entrepreneur and Investor Fair. I actually went to my first one to meet Paul and Joanna, the founders of Better Meat Co for the first time. The second time, I had a blast doing these interviews. The next one is on June 4th. I wonder what will happen again? Thank you, Cynthia Maxey, who is a super-connector of the food industry in the Bay Area, for introducing me to these amazing guests and letting me use her space to share these people’s stories. ---------------------------- Our first guest is Jon Sebastiani, I don’t think he needs any introduction. A pioneer of the natural food movement, he founded Krave Jerky, sold it to Hershey, and then started Sonoma Brands which has Smashmallow, Guayaki, and Dang Foods. Here you’ll learn how and why Sonoma invests in really cool brands. It’s more than just growth. Sonoma Brands Krave Jerky Why would a candy company want to be a Jerky Company? What was the hardest part of Krave?: the first 2.5 years of not knowing if we had something Was the growth of Krave gradual or exponential?: I was at the right place and the right time and the consumer was ready What do you look for in the companies you invest?: We want to understand the product fits into a need case. What food trends are exciting right now?: Actually everything. There are consumers who are always looking for premium products Why are you at Food Funded?: At Food Funded, I met some awesome people at the beginning and I want to give back What advice would you give someone who has an idea but is scared to share it?: Do a small MVP and see who buys it -----------------------  Will Rosenzweig is the Faculty Co-Chair at Berkeley Haas Center for Responsible Business Will has a great track record, just look at his resume. After founding the company, Republic of Tea, he then became a VP of Odwalla, holds a ton of leadership positions, and is just an all around good guy. Also, fun fact, I thought Will reminded me of Seth Godin and Seth Godin actually has a class about Food with Will! It’s called The Business of Food Workshop. Small world. I inherited a class by Alice Waters and Michael Pollen I also teach a social entrepreneur course on food innovation Berkeley Food Institute Transforming Food Systems Graduate Certificate Revolution Foods Republic of Tea – How an Idea Becomes a Business What do you teach your students?: We usually teach how to think and try to guide your moral compass Then we teach you how to become a systems thinker Edible Ed Class on youtube Edible School Yard Project Edible Education 101 How do you choose a problem?: Generally, the problem will find you and you will try and find a solution Design Thinking Toolkit Sam Kass Food investing has changed. You can raise money on an idea. Before you had to prove your worth What brings you to Food Funded?: I’m a big fan Regenerative Agriculture Mission Chinese Full Belly Farms Regenerative Agriculture is to restore the land and that’s through the soil What do you recommend for someone to start something?: Enroll a list of advisors You have to be credible You need passion, credibility and tenacity Prototype, test and iterate Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we interview David Chan, Watter Resource Control Engineer by day, and creator of Nichijou Ramen by night! So before I got a full-time job at WeWork, I was thinking of launching a new podcast that was a lot less in formality and structure. Now, I don’t have the time, but I have a bunch of interviews that are amazing, but aren’t the common My Food Job Rocks structure. However, they are all super valuable, and I always think: would this ruin My Food Job Rock’s consistency? But then I think about the fact that this is my platform and I can do whatever I want. So You’ll find more experimental podcasts from old interviews in the future. I met David through an after-work group called Side Hustle Wednesday and we connected instantly because of our weird love of food. David is actually a civil engineer but he is obsessed with ramen. So the question is always “well, is he going to go full time into ramen?” And the answer is, you don’t have to! You don’t have to go all in to showcase your passion and that’s what I wanted to capture with David. You can have a perfectly fine high paying job and work on your craft. This is what I did with podcasting and my life is more fulfilling because of it. So not only how you’ll learn how to improve your passionate craft, but also tips on being yelp elite, social media strategies, and a lot of cool facts about ramen! Thank you to Jenise Vu for connecting us through her group Side Hustle Wednesday in Sacramento! Enjoy! Show Notes @nichijou.ramen Yelp Elite UC Davis Buca De Bepo My Sister introduced me to ramen Reddit Ramen Ramenheads Serious Eats Food Labs VP of Sun Noodle Kenshiro Ramen Lab Restaurant Social Media Strategies: Follow the right people, post consistently, own the market Shio Ramen – pure ramen Miso ramen – miso ramen I’ve done popups at New York, Portland and California Derek Siverrs  Franks Kafka Ryujin and Raijin in Sacramento Favorite Ramen: In Japan Motonashi Karoke Nichijou.net What’s next? More about techniques. For example. Bowl physics 5 components of ramen Soup Noodles Tare (seasoning) Oil Toppings Always Serve Yourself First 2 Tablespoons of Salt Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alison Montford is the founder of Ends and Stems. A web platform where they send you recipes to help you be more mindful about food waste. This isn’t the first time around the block for Alison. She’s had a business before and is a master bootstrapper Alison used a ton of tricks that bootstrapped entrepreneurs have to use such as tapping into groups that share, and focusing on your Minimum Viable Product. For example, do you actually need to spend a quarter million on an app? Or would a simple website do? Also learn with how much the average person wastes and how much CO2 people emit when you waste food using pizza! Show Notes What do you tell people you first meet?: I’m a chef with a mission to eradicate food waste I have a web app where I send out ways to reduce food waste using recipes I interviewed over 1000 different families and got a lot of valuable data How did you get 1000 people to answer your survey?: Why are you struggling at dinner time? Viral effect on busy mom’s groups For surveys, you really need to target the target market Yummly How did you develop an app? I talked to a lot of people and a web app is much easier than mobile. Right now, I do it but eventually I want machine learning. However, people charge a ton for AI companies Kapwing – Why most MVPs should be a web app How did you get to where you are today? I studied Anthropology I got a sales job selling cryogenic storage for stem cells Why did you move from New York to San Francisco?: For the adventure One day I googled “What should I do with my life?” and I found “personal chef” Why did you sell a business?: I got burnt out, but it was a really hard decision Tell me about your pizza statistic Impact Consultant The average person wastes a pound of food a day It’s very hard to have people see the value of 1 kilogram of CO2 so we compare it to pizza. We want to target a certain part of food waste, people who pay attention to wasting food now Project Draw Down Paul Hawken ShamePlane.com My Food Job Rocks: I’ve been able to focus on what I’m interested. I’ve always wanted to do something a little bit different What is something in the food industry you’d like to know more about?: Farming Dan Barber: Third Plate What are some helpful resources you use?: Surprisingly, Facebook Groups San Francisco Women Chefs Facebook Group T-shirt company Mini Activists Advice for someone in the food industry: If you have no food industry experience, go volunteer into food How do we find you?: Go to www.endsandstems.com @endsandstems, facebook, etc It’s free for the first two weeks It’s two dollars a week   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We have 15 stories throughout the WeWork Food Labs Ecosystem (and some of my personal friends) based on one simple prompt: A career in food can be incredibly difficult, and we believe it requires true love to work towards positive change within the industry. What moment or experience initially sparked your love of food and keeps you going when you’re having a tough day? we recorded what they said and put them all in this episode. Thank you for contributing: Trish Wesevich - Brand & Mortar Group Emily Kealey - Naturally Austin Nicky Chang - Junzi Gordon Crane - Apple and Eve Elliot Begoun - Intertwine Group Michel Nischan - Chef, 4 Time James Beard Award Winner Amin Bahari - Elite Sweets Alison Cayne - Haven's Kitchen Stephen Zagor - Consultant and Educator Mike Lee - Alpha Food Labs Kevin Newsum - Steamm Espresso Valerie Chouquet - Encore Gourmet Experience Daniel Scharff - JUST Vanessa and Kim Pham - Oxtale Co Adam Yee - WeWork Food Labs and a bunch of other stuff   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We interview several people who benefit from the SQF conference and you’ll be hearing case studies on how SQF has benefitted them from copackers to consulting. What I find really cool about this episode is how people get into the quality field and how they progressed throughout their roles. I find it beautiful that no matter where you are in life, you can end up in a career in food. What I find amazing is just how aligned in purpose the people in the quality field are. You’ll also hear from a special past guest and we catch up on what he’s been up to. A disclaimer is that this is in a live setting in a noisy conference room so it might be a little noisy. We’ve tried our best to mitigate the noise, so just be mindful when listening to the episode in whatever setting you’re in. Mandy Jennifer, QA Manager from Pillar’s Fine Foods Piller’s Fine Food It’s my first time visiting I brought my husband over There’s a new code this year. Ver 9.0 Leclerc Foods Alba Velasco SQF Practitioner of the US Waffle Company US Waffle Company We make store brand gluten-free pancakes and waffles We do foodservice and retail brands Food Safety Consortium Denise Webster Food Safety Consultant Food Safety consultancy Mark Crowell Certified SQF Trainer and Consultant Eurofins How do you become a trainer?: The application process, live training, test, and being shadowed Social Responsibility Standard How did you find out about food science?: Michigan State I wanted to be a chemist but I never had the personality of a chemist Tesco’s Fresh and Easy In any time in your career, you have to make critical decisions Bryan Armentrout VP Eurofins Past interview Eurofins actually does training and consulting Dr. Doug Marshall FSMA Connecting corporate and industrial to fill in gaps with the corporate supply chain Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I was invited to the SQF Conference in San Antonio to do some interviews. If you’re not familiar with the SQF Institute, it’s a certification body that ensures our food is safe. After all, SQF stands for Safe Quality Food, but it’s a lot more than that! I was fortunate to be invited to their annual conference last year to learn a bit more about the concepts behind SQF and the people who run it. We got quite a bit of content so I’m splitting it into two parts. I’d say this first part describes the ins and outs of the SQF program and the second part focuses more on, past guests and connections! It’s always so interesting meeting people in new places. Guests and Show Notes Sarah Mullunich  – Marketing and Sales Director of SQFI Food Industry Association Ethical Sourcing and Certification Systems SQF Certified: email me at s.mullenich@sqfi.com How to become SQF Certified: Find a certifying body and auditors come and verify your plant sqfi.com Only locations can be certified 12th year at SQF The conference is 2 and a  half days of learning and networking in the SQF industry Each year, we have a theme: this year’s theme is: Shaping the future of food safety together What’s super fun about SQF? Here in Texas. We're going to the Kinibbie Ranch that has a rodeo and live steers and celebrate Texas My Food Job Rocks: I get to keep food safe. Yawinder Sighn - Student from Cornell University  2nd-year phd from india I won a  scholarship to go to this conference How did you find out about the scholarship?: Cornell aggrigates student scholarship and I found this one IAFP IFT PCQI certification – part of FSMA, more global HACCP certification – generalized certification What do you win when you win the scholarship?: Travel expenses waived at $3000 dollars Reshmine from Galaxy Desserts – QA Manager I get interrupted in this one, but I decided to leave it here. I think it’s funny. We actually met at NCIFT SQF is important for everyone Why are you here?: It’s my first time here and I’m so glad I’m here. I get to network, learn more about certifying bodies, and learn about Edition 9 How did you convince your boss to go to SQF?: We’ve been SQF and you need to improve your skillset What have you learned today?: Improvement in the food fraud, environmental program, pretty much getting the most up to date methods The codes and standards keep changing and you have to keep up to date A person can be a SQF Practitioner a company can be a SQF Company My Food Job Rocks: We eat food every day. You’ll always have a  job Deni Otovemi -Quality Assurance at Wayne Farms Emerging Leaders Network We talked about risk and risk is a factor of profession Daniel Akimamayan IT Tech for SQF Bachelors of Economics Kainen Ryse Manager of the Ethical Sourcing and Sustainability Standard Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices