My Food Job Rocks!

Soom Foods started 5 years ago, with one of the Zitelman sister’s boyfriend, introducing them to their family’s Tahini in Israel. One taste of this Tahini, convinced the sisters that it had to go to the United States, no matter what. 5 years later, chefs and influencers alike love the stuff, and it’s now popping up in East Coast whole foods stores. I personally got a ton of value from Shelby’s interview because as I started Better Meat Co, we are running into a lot of the same situations Soom Foods ran into. The questions I ask are quite timely, and hopefully, they’ll help you understand the complexities of a food business. I appreciate Shelby’s honesty in the interview and we go into things such as the risk of marketing campaigns, the complex sales channels of the food industry, and a lot of talk about the health perspectives of this seed based butter. About Shelby Shelby is the CEO & Co-Founder of Soom Foods, and is the oldest of the three Soom sisters. Inspired by her entrepreneurial family, Shelby graduated from the Wharton School with a concentration in Entrepreneurial Management. Shelby is responsible for developing the company’s strategy, managing the finances and accounting, managing the team and overseeing contractor relationships. She spends her downtime exploring kid-friendly Philadelphia with her husband, Dan and their two sons, Malcolm and Julius.  Sponsor - FoodLabelPro.com Is your product packaging compliant with the new FDA rules?  The compliance deadline is January 1st, 2020. At FoodLabelPro.com we will upgrade your current panels for only $50. FoodLabelPro.com also provides package and claim reviews, laboratory analysis, shelf life testing, printer/graphics services, and menu analysis.   We are your one-stop shop for food packaging: FoodLabelpro.com. Sponsor - BAKERpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business. Show Notes When someone asks what you do for a living, what do you tell them?: I am a tahini saleswoman, I’m a food importer and distributor. I’m the CEO of Soom foods What does CEO mean to you?: I’m the captain of the ship and I direct where the ship goes. What’s the best part about being a CEO?: I love the opportunity to be a CEO What is something surprising to you about food?: The marketing costs were surprising. Especially in retail. Slotting or Coupons are also a surprising thing The return on marketing campaigns are a gamble, but it works when it works Advocacy and trusted influencers helped a ton for our business Describe the steps to where you are today: I studied entrepreneurship, went into venture capital (Ops) and then worked in a non-profit. My middle sister Jackie dated Omri, who’s family owned a tahini operation. Eventually, I asked to sell this amazing product over to the US. My two sisters and I started the business and we all have important skillsets It took us two years to get the tahini to the United States and that was a huge amount of work figuring it out No Business Plan Survives First Impact Is a business plan useful?: Yes, it provides a general framework What’s special about your Tahnini?: We get our sesame seeds from Ethiopia. The oil to meat ratio makes for a great butter What do people use the tahnini for?: Mostly hummus, however, drizzled on roasted vegetables or eaten with yogurt. We also have squeeze packs and they work great in trade shows and in portion control Do you label an allergen for tahini sauce?: Yes, seeds. We receive positive affirmation for being an alternative to peanutbutter or almond butter What is the most important skill you can have when starting a company?: Know who and when to ask questions. Due diligence and surrounding yourself with people you can count on How did you get your first sale?: We knew a chef and wanted some advice. So we had him evaluated the product, he tried it, and he instantly bought it. We can solve a lot of pain points using our tahini, especially on improving tahini output Why does your food job rock?: I really believe in what we’re selling is a good product. It’s so rewarding hearing our customers love our product. Tahini Sauce Chocolate Tahini Silan – Date Syrup What are the negative feedback you’ve gotten in your product?: Calories and fat. For us, we realize we can’t be everything to everyone. Any positive feedback from the keto community?: Not yet, but we are hoping to get more people to use tahini. We’ve worked with Keto bloggers and put our products in Keto boxes. Sometimes we get black specs in the product, and we have to explain to the customer that it’s natural What is the biggest problem in the food industry right now?: Food Waste and Supply Chain. One of the hardest thing for me to do is to throw away products. Even though we see poor people who can’t afford our food Sarah Ramirez Blockchain What is one thing in the food industry you’d like to know more about?: the economics of a grocery store. How can they afford what they do? How are your online sales?: 80% of our revenue is food service, 20% is retail 15% Ecommerce, 5% Retail. We ask ourselves why do retail? Good distribution. JUST Foods Retail has a powerful brand effect Favorite Quote: You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take – Wayne Gretski Favorite Book: To Kill a Mockingbird Favorite Kitchen Item: A corkscrew – for opening wine! Advice for anyone starting a food business: Retail and grocery stores are not the only way to sell food. Healthcare for instance, is its own world. How do you like working with your sisters?: Love it, we have different skill sets. We’ve all messed up and just said how we can fix it. Where can we find you for advice?:  Online, or Amazon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I met Bryson Bolton at the IGNITE sessions, a session where 5 new professionals were asked to present their path through food science. Bryson and I got to talking and I loved his enthusiasm so I asked him to be on the show. We have a pretty timely interview, as many listeners might have heard, La Croix is getting sued on their natural flavors. Bryson gives great insight into the world of sensory and consumer sciences that might allow you to understand how working with flavor houses work. Bryson is also heavily involved in IFT along with many other sensory organizations. You’ll not only get some great resources in the field of sensory science but also learn how Bryson rose up the ranks to become a well-connected, successful professional. About Bryson Bryson C. Bolton is the Manager of Sensory and Sample Collections at Synergy Flavors. He leads a team that strategically partners with RD&I, Quality, and the Commercial Team to integrate sensory understanding into the flavor and application design process. In this role, he also manages a team that selects and sends flavor samples to internal and external customers. Prior to joining Synergy Flavors, Bryson was the Sensory & Consumer Research Manager at Product Dynamics. There he provided leadership, guidance and insight on sensory and consumer research activities. He was a primary customer contact and served as a key client advisor and resource to many food, beverage, and ingredient manufacturers. Prior to Product Dynamics, Bryson was a Sensory Scientist at Kraft Foods, Inc. There, he provided sensory and consumer science support to the Grocery R&D Community and the Center of Excellence for Cheese and Dairy.  Bryson is an active IFT volunteer and is currently serving a three-year term on the Board of Directors. He is a former Adjunct Sensory Evaluation Instructor at Dominican University and is an active member in the American Society for Testing Materials, E-18 and the Society of Sensory Professionals.    NEW Sponsor - FoodLabelPro.com Is your product packaging compliant with the new FDA rules?  The compliance deadline is January 1st, 2020. At FoodLabelPro.com we will upgrade your current panels for only $50. FoodLabelPro.com also provides package and claim reviews, laboratory analysis, shelf life testing, printer/graphics services, and menu analysis.   We are your one-stop shop for food packaging: FoodLabelpro.com. Sponsor - BAKERpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business. Show Notes Debra Zabrodil IGNITE Session When someone asks what you do for a living, what do you say?: I teach people how to taste. What is Food Science? What do you do?: I’m in sensory and sample collection as a manager. I work for Synergy Flavors Wauconda Illinois Sample Collection: Allows us to optimize sending out samples to customers. 10,000 of these flavors are on the shelf and allows us to quickly send to our customers. What is the best way to request flavors?: Ask an account manager. You must also know the claims, your budget, the price point for this flavor, shelf-life, processing, to help us choose flavors Maltodextrin Gum Arabic How did you find out about food science? I actually started to fall in love with it when I had to develop my own gelatinous sauces Bryson doesn’t like Cranberry Sauce, so he was able to make a pineapple and cantaloupe sauce. He did the whole process. I made Pantalope sauce! 9 Point Hedonic Scale Harry Lawless On Sensory Evaluation by Harry Lawless and Hildegard Haven Sensory Science is a multiple disciplinary fields. It combines psychology, physics, chemistry, etc Sensory Psychophysics Sensory Physiology Sensory Analysis – a branch of food science that uses human judges to measure the perception of goods Different stages of Sensory Analysis For example, different concepts of tests. For example, market research, comparison tests, description tests, there are so many tests in the sensory test Napping technique – Origin is from a Napkin technique Because Napping is 2 dimensional, it gets complicated For sensory tests and small companies, you have to work within your budget. How much do you want to mitigate risk? New Coke Scenario When you’re a big company, you are very risk adverse How did you get involved in IFT? I’m in my 2nd year for a 3 year term as a board of directors Alabama A and M University applied to the IFT scholarship. I won the scholarship and had no idea who they were. Institute of Food Technologists – Non-profit organization in 95 countries with 17,000 memberes. Mission is to advance the science of food. Western New York IFT section Sensory and Consumer Science Division - I was the content advisor Data Visualization Fundamentals of Sensory Course Adjunct Professor at Dominican University Riverforest Illinois Robert Grevani – Past IFT president Why does your food job rock?: I'm able to strategically partner with people within my organization 7 years to be a flavor chemist Methyl anthranilate – Concord Grape Flavor Flavor chemist is what makes organic chemistry make sense What type of food trends and technology is really interesting to you?: A year ago, I became vegetarian. Started as a meatless Monday and ended up feeling really good. I lost like 20 lbs. I noticed a couple of veggie patties are really good. More plant-based media is popping around Cognitive Dissonance Beyond Meat Biggest problem that the food industry has to face: Consumer fears of chemical foods How to fix this: read more scientific articles. Ask experts in the field What is one thing in the food industry you’d like to know more about?: CRISPR – Gmo technology Clara Foods Favorite Quote, book or kitchen item: Quote: If you stay ready, you never have to get ready. My father taught me this. Kitchen Item: Batman shaker cup What protein shake do you drink?: Plant-protein shakes. Flavor is chocolate or peanut butter What resources would you recommend on learning about sensory?: There isn’t really one. Maybe I can start one What if you were a food scientist trying to get into sensory science?: There are plenty of short courses. Sensory short courses from Sensory software courses. IFT Society of Sensory Professionals Society of Sensory Professionals Conference Pangbourne Symposium Eurosense Conference in Europe LEEDS in Singapore UC Davis Short Course ASTM – American Society for Testing Materials- writes the standard for sensory templates Any advice for anyone who wants to go into the food industry: If you like to eat, you should go into food science. I got my cousin into food science by giving her a pass to IFT IFT Expo has cemented being a food scientist for sure IFT19 is in New Orleans The next 10 Expos will be in Chicago Where can we find you?: Find me on linkedin and just contact me on LinkedIn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After a stint of being a comedian, Sara Polon started to spiral downhill and it wasn’t until she decided to do a triathlon, that she started to move her life around. But how did she decide to feed herself? With her mother’s soups of course. And that’s kind of how Soupergirl started. With constantly changing innovative flavors such as Split Pea Mint and Mexican Black Bean Sweet Potato and speedy delivery service, Soupergirl is growing fast. Soupergirl has been featured in the press multiple times and has critical acclaims of the taste and health benefits of the Polon’s family soup. Rumor has it, they’ll be appearing on Shark Tank very very soon. Check the show notes for more details. Anyways, super insightful interview with Sara Polon. I learned a ton about passion, motivation, and high pressure processing. A quick note, we talk about Alexa during this interview and while editing, Alexa added 5 apples to my shopping cart… NEW Sponsor - FoodLabelPro.com Is your product packaging compliant with the new FDA rules?  The compliance deadline is January 1st, 2020. At FoodLabelPro.com we will upgrade your current panels for only $50. FoodLabelPro.com also provides package and claim reviews, laboratory analysis, shelf life testing, printer/graphics services, and menu analysis.   We are your one-stop shop for food packaging: FoodLabelpro.com. Sponsor - BAKERpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business. Show Notes James Altucher – Comedic Journey We want Soupergirl to be happy, fun and approachable Washington Post Article about Soupergirl When someone asks what you do for a living, what do you tell them in a sentence or less?: I’m Soupergirl, I deliver whole food, vegan soup to the masses “Sara Polon is going to clean your colon” We rebranded the cleanse concept and put it as more on the meal If you eat four soups a day, you’ll eat less but you’ll feel more energized New and innovating flavors every week Beet Gaspatcho Peach Gazpacho We try to get traditional flavors and give them a twist Lay’s Do Us a Flavor Queso Chips Frieka Bulgar New flavors work when you pair something new to something old My mom cooked from scratch. We started this company because we saw how many things are low quality and had so many preservatives Why did you start Soupergirl?: After I stopped doing Comedy, I slowly slid to rock bottom. I signed up for a triathalon and paid attention on what I eat. Michael Pollan – Omnivore’s Dilemma We first started in the kitchen. I just invited people to my apartment. When we started delivering, we got press because we were authentic. We started catering, then selling to Costco, then ship How did you get a first customer?: We had a launch party. I asked 6 friends who didn’t know each other and they spread it their friends and it brought 100’s of people. The invite went viral and got forwarded to the press. Daily Candy – begged them to not get the scoop What is the hardest part of the business?: Growth is hard. You have to keep people interested, loyal and still have great quality What are ways to manage growth: Try to hire proactively. Some of the worst mistakes I’ve made was reactively hiring. For example, we hired a kid to deliver soup and he got a hit and run and didn’t tell anyone. What is the most important skillset you can have?: Leadership. You need to learn how to delegate. Do you have any books about leadership?: Actually. No. It’s more about people. How do you choose advice?: You have to be passionate about it. If you're not passionate about the business, the advice you take can destroy you. Passion will sort out the right advice Soupermeals Any stories about your soup?: One of our customers got her bloodwork done and the Soup meals gave her the best blood results Cancer treatments, harsh illnesses Parents use their soup for kid’s diets Food Trends and Technology: For trends, plant-based. For technology, clean meat High-pressure Processing (HPP) – Our gaspacho is HPP HPP increases shelf life from 10 days to 95 days HPP used in Hummus and things HPP can have your product explode your product The biggest challenge a food producer needs to face: If you have an idea and you want to cook something, there’s not a lot of shared kitchen spaces to try a product. There’s barely any guidance for this. You need a lot of physical assets that are hard to get. More people are getting sick in food because your food comes from everywhere Maker’s Space shuts down Cottage Industry Laws One thing in the food industry you’d like to know more about?: The future. Things are changing so rapidly. The tension between retail, farmer’s market, so much technology is going on. Trends will boom, but there are niches that will never go away Coconut Oil Who inspired you to get into food?: My mother and Michael Pollan What’s your favorite kitchen item?: Just a knife and a cutting board. I also use my Vitamix. However, to make soup, you just need a knife and cutting board Food Mills Why are you closed on Friday and Saturday?: I’m Jewish and we’re a kosher company so I have to follow the law. Sometimes it’s frustrating, but I’m glad that it forces me to have a vacation How many of your customers are orthodox jewish?: A lot of my customers are not orthodox and vegan. Most of my customers just love good food. How do you like working with your mother?: I’m really lucky. My mom is so energetic How do you make vegan challah?: We make a water challah. We get it from a kosher bakery Any advice to get into the food industry?: Life is short, do it! Regret is the worst feeling in the world. Start small, don’t invest too much until you’re ready. You get to the point: Do this, or do nothing else. Every time I’ve had a Where can we find you for advice?: Our website. Just send me a message. Twitter: @soupergirl Supergirl Like This Episode? Then You Might Like Hugh Thomas - Ugly Drinks: Also exploding in the US, Ugly Drinks is a snarky, CPG brand that is just fun and enjoyable. I learn a ton about marketing from Hugh and this would give you the best steps to start small. Lisa Tse - Sweet Mandarin: Lisa heads Sweet Mandarin, a very popular restaurant and sauce line in the UK. It seems like in the restaurant world, press is king.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Carrie Arndt is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to seeing the hidden reasons on why you buy things. And not just color, or a name, but it’s so much more than that. I first heard of Carrie when I saw her post aesthetically pleasing infographics that compare brands. These infographics show the importance of not just color, but font aesthetics, and shape. It’s amazing! I really want these pictures to be achieved and not lost in space so I asked Carrie if I could put them on My Food Job Rocks. So Carrie’s LinkedIn posts will be achieved on My Food Job Rocks in a special article subsection called, Carrie’s Corner. We’ll be introducing them on the My Food Job Rocks’ website just like we did Flavor Investigator and Why does this…. Series Overall, great, lighthearted interview. Had a lot of fun with Carrie. Though this was the first time I met her, I feel like because we know each other by our content, it feels like I’ve known her for a while. NEW Sponsor - FoodLabelPro.com Is your product packaging compliant with the new FDA rules?  The compliance deadline is January 1st, 2020. At FoodLabelPro.com we will upgrade your current panels for only $50. FoodLabelPro.com also provides package and claim reviews, laboratory analysis, shelf life testing, printer/graphics services, and menu analysis.   We are your one-stop shop for food packaging: FoodLabelpro.com. Sponsor - BAKERpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business. Show Notes Pictures on Linkedin Fred Hart Honey Jar Picture Millenials super into beekeeping Mint Color Products When someone asks what you do for a living, what do you do in a sentence or less?: I work with clients to help them launch products that will line up with consumer expectations Is it not only food?: I try and follow the food industry type product Though we do use household care clients, we do get a lot of food and bev space Market Research is not marketing Market Research is data Marketing is creating a story Marketing actually focuses on Market Research as it’s so integrated What’s something that you find really fun?: I love looking at data and finding hidden meanings. For example, 2 names scored the same, but looking deeper, we found that the name associates with the brand. PAC- Packaging When people assess products, they will not only do taste BUT EVERYTHING For example, picking up a product is a metric in analysis, not just color Bathroom cleaners-blue Food is generally – Red Brown Sustainable labels getting more colorful Why is this happening? Carrie: Because it’s noticeable, trendy, and interesting Adam: Natural is getting more mainstream, also RXBar did it, and they made a lot of money Where you got to where you are today: I majored in Political Science Carrie was at a Startup in Houston – Operations and Marketing I am in MMR right now and it’s the best company ever My first job in MMR was an entry-level position However, I worked hard and MMR asked about my interests, and I got to persue them What should someone need to do to get started?: An interest or background in market research. For PAC research, it’s broader thinking with a creative edge Tropicana New Brand – Failure. Even though it was on trend, the emotion fell flatNew Coke New Coke Failure New Diet Coke Success Expo East Expo West Food trends and technologies: Minimalist style products. High-fat products. Fat Bar by Zayne Bulletproof- Fat Water Fat Bombs Consumers need shortcuts Favorite Kitchen Item: Chopsticks. Even with soup and salad If you were to say something your first day in MMR, what would you say?: Focus and don't be afraid. How to find you: Through Linkedin - Carrie Arndt Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Due to some unexpected delays, we’ll be switching our currently scheduled episode with this current one, a Q and A session that dates back all the way to IFT 2018. So, Mandy Jian, now president of the McGill University Food Science club, interviewed me live in IFT. She did a great job hosting, as she not only asked great questions but compiled a list of questions from other students. We talk a lot about how IFT can really help you, not only in college but when you start your career. Other questions like graduate school, and how to get a raise also pop up. If you’re a student, I highly suggest listening to this episode. You’ll learn about what we realized is important in college, and it’s not grades. Overall, I teared up a bit when editing this episode. Sometimes when you’re stuck in the weeds, you don’t really have time to look up and see who’s listening. So again, if you’re a long time follower of My Food Job Rocks, thank you. Sponsor - BAKERpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business. Patreon Due to our ad cycle being over, we’re trying a different model for My Food Job Rocks. We have opened up a Patreon page! Now you can support My Food Job Rocks if you want to and the reward tiers go from a complementary career advice book to ad placement and more. We’d love for you to be part of the process. Visit Patreon.com/myfoodjobrocks Show Notes The common things most guests say: be passionate on what you do. Never meeting Nicole Gallace in person Meeting with guest Gabriel Keith Harris On Video: It's a big investment, and we want to make it good. Introvert: How to be Outgoing and Super Confident Mechanism: Say you’re excited when you’re anxious Purpose: How can I convince people on my message? Lion Dancing Gary Vaynerchuk Blue Ocean Grave Keeper’s Association Cactus IFT - IFT sections are the best way to get friends fast if you’re new to town Meetup.com Cal Poly Food Science Club Cal PolyFood Media or Global Food Tasters Club (I guess it's gone...) Diversity Advocate for Multicultural Center College advice: The only point of class is to impress the teacher’s ruleset Clinical Nutrition Class Food Science Club Polos On the best example of being consistent: Jessica Gavin Emerging Leader’s Network Varuze Asked: Grad School, to go or not to go?: For entrepreneurs, no. There are huge advantages to go to Graduate School.  Sapna Thontitali Emma from McGill: Have you noticed a gender pay gap in the food industry?: Guys are more likely to ask for a raise than girls Guys are generally more aggressive than girls when it comes for asking for a raise. There are a lot of biases when it coems to women and pay. Most are subconsciously cultural. Veronica Hislop asked: What do you see as the future of food?: Sustainability Flavor Investigator Series Impossible Foods Beyond Meat Most interesting episode: Tom Mastrobuoni Favorite Episodes: Missy Shaaphok Good Food Institute Series What's next: Susie Fogelson Big Questions Cal Fussman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

’ve always wanted to know the machine side of the food industry. How do people build these machines that can create thousands of pounds of foods today? I found the answer when I interviewed Matt. Matt contacted me after he finished listening to Good Food institute Series and I asked if we could meet up. I’ve done interviews at libraries before, after all, they’re free and quiet, so we found the best small room in Fremont California to belt out the interview. Here we have great tips on managing big projects and explore the most optimal way to get from concept to commercialization. Matt also gives some great tips on how to tackle big ideas using some smart strategies that you might want to apply to your work. Enjoy! Sponsor - BAKERpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business. Patreon Due to our ad cycle being over, we’re trying a different model for My Food Job Rocks. We have opened up a Patreon page! Now you can support My Food Job Rocks if you want to and the reward tiers go from a complementary career advice book to ad placement and more. We’d love for you to be part of the process. Visit Patreon.com/myfoodjobrocks Show Notes Fremont Library Would you consider yourself a food scientist?: Yes, now, but I’m a systems engineer by training How did you fall into food?: I used to work in medical devices and applied to a job on extruders. I never knew you could use extruders to make food. Only thought you could use it for rubber or plastic How to make decisions: It’s not a matter of if, but rather when. Eventually, everyone will have a  compromise whether you’re culinary, scientist or engineer How would you create a new product?: Two paths: either mimic or something new. With mimicking, you know exactly what attributes you want. How do you do things faster?: Communicate expectations and create modular platforms In most technologies, we don’t create something too new, we improve existing technologies What would you recommend a food engineer should focus on: Find something passionate. Always ask questions and eventually, you’ll find something you’re passionate about. Most problems can be solved by simple algebra My Food job Rocks: I get to see cutting-edge technology all the time, everywhere Food Technologies: Machine Learning in the food space What challenges does the food industry have to face?: Get with the times. People who try to discourage technology are usually the ones who don’t benefit when it booms. What is something in the food industry you’d like to know more about?: How other products are made. Such as Chicken Nugget shapes and M and M colors. Timelines: How long do you think it should take for products to get to market?: Depends on the complexity of the product. Unfortunately, if it’s too complex, the consumer won’t follow the directions anyways. The trend for products is 2 years Who inspired you to get into food?: the Extruder. Also the visionaries I’ve worked for in the past. Kitchen Item: I love to grill. Love working with fire. I prefer Coal. Adam: I made a firepit in Phoenix. Favorite Food: Noodles. All types of noodles If you were to teach a college course, what would you teach?: A big part about innovation is to look at things in a different lens. For example, meal kits were created in this. Any advice you have in the food industry?: don’t overcomplicate the question. Look at the tech and learn as much as you can about it. Broaden your horizons Where can we find you?: www.mtcc.io I’m free to just talk about ideas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sophie Mendes van Delft is a world traveler and has lived in France, the United States, and now, Canada. She’s explored all walks of life trying to find what makes her passionate and what makes work enjoyable and ended up finding her place marketing in the food industry, where she absolutely loved how passionate the people are there. In this episode, we go into detail on social media, and the power of community, and talk a bit about the emerging Generation Z. We also talk about the really fiery hot Canadian trends in the food industry such as local food. But perhaps the most important part of the interview is the confirmation that the food industry is full of passionate individuals and that everyone, no matter if you’re a scientist, a chef, or a marketer, you’re welcomed here. Sponsor - BAKERpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business. *NEW* Patreon Due to our ad cycle being over, we’re trying a different model for My Food Job Rocks. We have opened up a Patreon page! Now you can support My Food Job Rocks if you want to and the reward tiers go from a complementary career advice book to ad placement and more. We’d love for you to be part of the process. Visit Patreon.com/myfoodjobrocks Show Notes When someone asks what you do for a living, what do you tell them in a sentence or less?: I create content and community and you can’t have one without the other What comes first, content or community?: I think content, but Sophie thinks community. The Wolfman, a chef in Canada How do you distribute content?: We have two platforms. A blog and a magazine with a different audience Restaurants Canada – Teach Industry Menu Mag – Inspires industry All social media has a different platform. For Restaurants Canada, advocacy is important so Twitter is the best Foodservice and Food Industry focuses on Instagram because it’s a very visual profile What do you like best about your job: I get to meet so many passionate people George Brown in the Ontario Region. We had a bunch United States students and they asked for advice. Someone said that in the food industry, it’s ok to change paths Describe the steps it took to get to where you are today?:I went to medical school first, and hated it. Then I went to business school and hated it. I loved food in Ontario and wanted to get into the industry but didn’t know how. One day, a lady saw that I was upset and said “just do marketing for food companies” We eat food more than we talk about it Soft skills that are important in the industry: Empathy Technical tools: The platforms themselves have a huge amount of tools. For example, Instagram can track every single post and who is looking and use hashtags to find things. Instagram Direct Question ability. Instagram also might allow you to book a restaurant in the future. Twitter is super dependent on the audience. RC show: Restaurants Canada Show in February Toronto is the food capital in the world. What is the food capital in the world?: New York, but perhaps California Local food is a very important aspect in Canada. Most of the new chefs are focused on “local”, For activism, they focus beyond local Mark Brand – Uses his network and community to end world hunger #beinghungrysucks Greasy Spoon Dinners- a way to raise money to go to places to build ways for people to get jobs and eat properly Why does your food job rock?: I get to be the bridge between the physical world and digital world and connect and engage and learn and help people. Give and Take – Adam Grant -both Sophie and I recommend this book Originals – Adam Grant The biggest challenge the food industry needs to face right now?: Mental house. For food service, long hours and lots of stress. You can’t let arguments fester and management has to lead by example. Most chefs know about this culture and are trying to amend it What is something in the food industry you’d like to know more about?: I would really like to talk to students and know why they joined the industry Generation Z – Use Snapchat, Instagram, but never facebook Musical.ly (Tik Tok) My sister is 8 years younger than me and we don’t communicate the same way. Millennials looking things up in the internet: puts up key words Generation Z: Will write questions directly to google She won’t trust the same websites I do Who inspired you to get into food?: It was an internal fire. My family was really involved in food. We would butcher animals on the kitchen floor. I loved to bake and took any opportunity to bake. What is your favorite book?: I have a ton of cookbooks. But there is one I keep going back to. Plenty and Plenty More from Yotam Ottolenghi  Favorite food: Not sure. I know I have a limit of eating cookies Adam Yee: I love smoked seabass because you get a lot of different textures and flavor that meld well. Oh, now I remember: Tartare. Had some with wild game meat Ethiopia Tartare with ingeria Clarified Butter, Berber Spices, Tartare Do you have any advice for someone who would follow your path?: Go for it. You’ll be with very driven people, people with very interesting pasts that has influenced their positions. Their passion and enthusiasm is quite inspiring. Where can we find you for advice?: Instagram @SophieYOUPI   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What do Tennis and Culinary have in common? Judi and Penny Lerner are a mother-daughter duo that leads AYS Sports Marketing, which kicks off an event called Taste of Tennis, an event that brings Tennis professionals and culinary professionals in a super fun event to showcase the best food in the city. How did this start? Funny story. Judi kept on getting asked by professional tennis players about good places to eat and that gave her an idea to bring the chefs to them. Now bringing amazing chefs such as Masaharu Morimoto under the same roof as Venus and Serena Williams, this event has gotten widely popular and is a way to showcase amazing food and food trends to the best in the tennis industry. We go over the trials and tribulations when it comes to planning an event like this. We also talk in depth on how to find the most talented and unique people in the city for your event, and go really in depth on the hottest food trends going on right now. At the end of the episode, I found out that Tennis and Cooking share the same passionate people, and no matter what profession you’re in, it’s always a blast to meet passionate people.   Sponsor - BAKERpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business. *NEW* Patreon Due to our ad cycle being over, we’re trying a different model for My Food Job Rocks. We have opened up a Patreon page! Now you can support My Food Job Rocks if you want to and the reward tiers go from a complementary career advice book to ad placement and more. We’d love for you to be part of the process. Visit Patreon.com/myfoodjobrocks Shownotes What do you do?: We introduce tennis players to professional chefs How did this start?: I was having a bad time at my previous job and my mom noticed this niche and asked if she wanted to start something with me. AYS Sports Marketing Judi, how did you start this niche?: When I was doing these events, I saw that these tennis people wanted somewhere to eat and I thought this was a great opportunity. Taste of Tennis: When we first started, we had around 12 chefs. The tennis players didn’t know any We went from 200 people to 700 people. The chefs go from twelve to twenty five. When we started this twenty years ago, chefs were not chefs. Now chefs have a bigger meaning. Notable Chefs: Masaharu Morimoto Chef Shorne Kerry Heffernan Chef John Mooney Do other sports do this?: Yes, but we do it differently. We have the tennis people really get involve dwith the chefs. The tennis players even serve the food. What kind of experience do you want your guests to feel?: It depends on the city, but in general, we want it to b engaging. We have photo walls and have chefs and tennis players do cooking shows, DJ’ing. We like to give the people “Wow moments” or when a celebrity tennis player will do something unique Notable Tennis Players: Venus and Serena Williams Nick Kyrigois What is the stressful thing about setting up an event?: Hoping to have everyone show up on time. There are so many factors that can cause someone not to show up. For the tennis, for instance, tennis players don’t know when they play until the day of. We also worry if they don’t get injured. One time, we had a city-wide blackout right before the event and the chefs ran out of food. What kind of tools or services have helped your business?: We have a  global network of people and we communicate very regularly. Our biggest resources are talking and eating. On eating: Sometimes I’ll be in New York and have 3 lunches What do you look for when you look for talent?: We have our network give us experience. Hotel bellman actually provides a ton of information. We then take the information and find the recommended talent and go from there. I am looking for new ideas and exceptional people Feedback Sessions: We send out surveys for the chefs and ticket buyers and talk with sponsors. We’ll always have a group brunch where we talked about what went good and what went bad. City taste of tennis after dark: We did an event focusing on desserts. Desserts are now the thing to focus on. We took 5 instragrammable desserts and showcased them. For example Wowffules Ice NY Food trends and technologies: We live in the world where we can use all of these ethnic spices Where do you find a great restaurant in New York?: Mainly word of mouth, or ask friends in our community What is specifically your brand?: We lift these people up in the sports community and turn them into lifestyle brands What is one thing you’d like to know more about in the food industry?: How chefs can go from one event to the next. They balance so much going through events Southern Fork – Stephanie Burt Who inspired you to get into tennis?: Judi – I actually just got involved in tennis and someone asked me to help out and I stayed ever since Tennis players now have a lot of dietary guidelines What are the trends for a tennis player’s diet?: Eating gluten-free (they get more energy). Never put out raw shellfish. They eat plain food before a match. They’ll eat pasta before the match. However, they love food and they eat it all. Tennis is an all or nothing game. You have to win aaroundto get paid. What’s your favorite food?: In a Philedelphia’s restaurant called Franzino. We had this delicious fish. Bidwell Union Square Market. John Mooney. What is your advice for event planning?: For culinary events, read the autobiographies of the chefs. Read books about their lives. Markus Sameulson Anthony Bordain Danny Meyer Markus Samuelson – Yes Chef! Next event just passed: New York - August 23rd September 20th in Chicago Girl and Goat Burrata   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

16 years ago, Chronic Tacos started out as this little taco shop, but with time and patcience, exploded into a Taco Empire. Randy started the shop because he missed Tacos and hired on a Mexican family to produce their tacos in his store. Mike took it a step further and put systems in place to grown Chronic Tacos to an empire, with over 50 locations all over the United States, and Canada and even Japan. We go through many things in this interviews such as tough beginnings, to what it really takes to pass on information from one franchise to another. You’ll also learn what makes Chrnoic Tacos a fun, authentic brand and how the team innovates faster and faster every day. Sponsor - BAKERpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business. *NEW* Patreon Due to our ad cycle being over, we’re trying a different model for My Food Job Rocks. We have opened up a Patreon page! Now you can support My Food Job Rocks if you want to and the reward tiers go from a complementary career advice book to ad placement and more. We’d love for you to be part of the process. Visit Patreon.com/myfoodjobrocks Shownotes Why the name Chronic Tacos?: Chronic means the best. Chronic means high quality As owners, what do you guys do?: We wear many hats What makes this job exciting?: Mike – you never know what will pop up. You meet some really cool people. Randy – I love feeding people and making people happy How Randy started Chronic Tacos: I missed authentic tacos in Orange, LA. I found a small store that needed a taco shop and I bought it. We then hired the Bonia Family – 3rd generation Mexican restaurant family. Chronic tacos got media attention and that caused it to explode. Soon, a lot of people wanted to franchize Chronic Tacos. Randy met Mike, who is from Vancouver. Mike brought infrastructure to Chronic Tacos. Took the time to really build its future So far, we have 54 locations and over 80 in the pipeline. We are opening 15 this year. More locations in Canada and Japan What was the hardest part of making a restaurant?: construction. Plumbers, electricians, plans, drawings, permits. The Daily Pilot – Orange County Register With the newspaper, we got a ton of new demographics Mike – How did you make Chronic Tacos scaleable?: Chronic Tacos was really good at making restaurants but they were not good at recording the things they were good at, down. Each Chronic Tacos Restaurant has a design book that incorporates the color, texture, and ambiance. The biggest art asset is the Day of the Dead Artist Choozer (Day of the dead Artist) How can I become a franchize owner for Chronic Taco?: All starts with a phone call with Randy. We look for a type of “authentic life” through Chronic Tacos. Who creates the building with Chronic Tacos?: We work together with the franchise. From location to design. Chronic Taco’s in San Luis Obispo Philosophy in food: Fresh, authentic, made how you like it. It’s all about flavor. We want to experience something different than your average taco shop. We’re always staying on top of it. For example, Chronic Fries We cook our carnitas 3 hours daily. We use Mahi Mahi, Shrimp, breakfast, etc Where do you get your new menu items?: Feedback from our customers. However, our menu doesn’t change that much. We are rooted in tradition Chronic Tacos does events Gringo Bandito Gringo Bandito Chronic Taco challenge: Big concert, 12000 people at the Sabrosos. We have it all over the country. For example, we brought Kobayashi, ate 152 tacos in 10 minutes. This is a big, competitive eating contest What’s the difference between having a Chronic Tacos in Japan than the US?: Portion size. Also, seeing Japanese eat Tacos with Nachos. People love the California culture. Monster Burritos Small Burritos What are your favorite trends and technologies?: Mike – I really love how people are becoming more knowledgeable about their food and this is great for businesses like ours. Randy – Where the food come from. We talk with the Avacado farms and the tomato farms and where the meat’s getting processed. How do you convey to your customers your transparency?: Our customers ask all the time where our ingredients come from and we answer truthfully, which spreads Doordash Grubhub Uber Eats What is the biggest challenge in delivering?: Consistent service. The biggest challenge in the food industry: Food industries and labor costs rising. Starbucks raising their coffee 10 cents What makes Chronic Tacos a good place to work with?: There are opportunities for growth. What’s one thing you’d like to know more about?: Randy: I’d like to know how supply chain works. Who inspired you to get into food?: Mike – Randy Weiner convinced me to get into food. For Randy – I ended up hanging out with the kitchen staff and loved hanging out with this family serving this cruise ship. As a child, I served all the kids in my neighborhood and spent all my mom’s groceries. Favorite Quote, book or kitchen item?: Greatness is a lot of things done well What should someone get the first time in Chronic Tacos?: Randy - Beer Battered Fish Tacos Mike – Our Surf and Turf Bowl Do you have any advice for someone wanting to start a restaurant: Mike - Love food, have patience. Randy – Surround yourself with other entrepreneurs in this business. Surround yourself with a good team What are the common problems other restaurant entrepreneurs have?: Real Estate, Design, Food and where the food’s coming from SiteZeus – ways to search up real estate Where can we find you for advice?: eatchronictacos.com, there’s a franchise section, all inquiries go directly to Randy.     Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When I was approached to interview Susie Fogelson, I recognized the name, but I couldn’t put a finger on it. However, after researching who she was, it all came torrenting down. Susie’s marketing directive at Nickelodeon and the Food Network had influenced my childhood. She was behind many of the shows that you might recognize such as Emeril Live, or Good Eats, or Iron Chef and you might recognize her as a judge in the Next Food Network Star. Now revving up her new strategic firm, Susie shares her amazing way of marketing for all of you. Get ready for an interview with a lot of amazing takeaways. This episode has it all, from this new concept we talk about called food connectivity, the strategy and concept behind key shows such as Iron Chef and Chopped, and the amazing things you can do in the internet today when it comes to accelerating your personal brand. Susie taught me a lot, and surprisingly, I taught Susie a lot! I talked to her about food science, co-packing, and sensory science. That’s the beauty of the food industry. There are so many facets and faces, and I learn from every one of them. Sponsor - BAKERpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business. *NEW* Patreon Due to our ad cycle being over, we’re trying a different model for My Food Job Rocks. We have opened up a Patreon page! Now you can support My Food Job Rocks if you want to and the reward tiers go from a complementary career advice book to ad placement and more. We’d love for you to be part of the process. Visit Patreon.com/myfoodjobrocks Show Notes How do you get a show on the food network?: If you know someone, that’s the best. But the truth is, if you havea  concept, you should work with a  production company and use the production company to leverage with the programming people It’s very simple to see which production companies are working on the show. For example, Rock Shrimp Who is your favorite Food Network Star?: What makes them so special and unique is that these food network stars are passionate about food. Emeril Lagasse was someone I really respect because he would cook and bring the food out. Bobby Flay is one of the hardest working people I’ve ever known. The way he manages his team and how he rewards with people and deals with people matters. Guy Fieri is fun to hang out with, Ann Berelle is fierce, charismatic, etc. You might know Susie from: She was on the Next Food Network Star and the AltonBrownCast Now she has a: Boutique Strategic Firm and Agency Food Marketing Path and a Celebrity Chef Food Strategy and Storytelling Has Foodies been extinguished? New term: People are Food Connected Everyone is getting involved in being food connected. It’s the Dad who loves to grill or the two dads who bake. It’s the college kids going out to eat, it’s the lawyers going to culinary food How Susie started her Strategic Firm: I worked with food network for 16 years, left 2 years Discovery bought Scripps, corporate shakeup Susie left but didn’t get any offers, at least the ones she didn’t want. She realized that a lot of brands were trying to get food connected and she wanted to make a firm that was dedicated to connecting brands to food. On self-branding and connecting: You should focus on your brand. If you’re booked all the time, you won’t have time for those 1 on 1 lunch. It’s important to think about your brand and your company’s brand at the same time. Background: Sociology at UCLA a great foundation on how people think in groups. My first job was at an ad agency. Went into media, which ended up with me going to Nickelodeon. I’m a strategist at the end of the day. Use data to extrapolate strategy and let people rock it Example: In Food Network, in the day, people liked Stand and Stir, but in the night, they want excitement and competition An example is Iron Chef. We would market this show as a non-fiction entertainment seeker’s show. 3 shining objects. We would work as a sort of task force. We were looking to promote cooking as a sport. This includes getting well know chefs to do this as a way to hook them in. Iron Chef was shot on the 6th floor of Food Network. You have to have every ingredient the chef Iron Chef as a sport and that ushered into a whole new genre For Chopped, there are 30 professionally trained chefs in the background. They would use the Chopped Ingredients before the show aired to prove the viability. How do I become a Celebrity Chef?: First, don’t think of being a celebrity chef. Think of developing your brand. If you want to develop your brand, you can talk to us. First, I ask for a video of them creating a dish Then my partner writes a positioning document Then we do an hour-long interview (like this?) I won’t make a show, but I’ll help you make great content What is your favorite social media platform?: Video. Snapchat, Instagram stories, less is more musical.ly or Tik Tok– Gen Z app Crushing It – Gary Vaynerchuk Someone should get on that for cooking App: Panna – a collection of cooking videos Migelo does dumpling Rick Bayless does mole sauce Do you need the food network to be successful?: Yes, but it’s more than that. How do you get people to pay for your content? Number one place for recipes is social media now Content Strategy Know your brands: The three shiny objects. Create good content: That’s well thought through, and for your specific platform After starting, I’ve learned that the food industry is much bigger than I thought. Head forager for whole foods was talking to Susie about scaling up. They’ve been making it in small quanitites, but when they scale with copackers, there are a ton of things that can happen I never thought of design, private equity, everything Institute of Food Technologist in Chicago Fancy Food Show Beverage Conference NOSH Live Hippeas Daily Harvest – Direct to Consumer Food Trends and Technology Transparency: How can brands be more forthcoming on the process. A lot of companies are very nervous about being transparent. Small brands get it, big brands are struggling Wendys looks at Greenhouse Tomatoes Transparency is hard, but it’s all about storytelling Food Network has proven that storytelling is the best way to get people interested in food Ag Tech such as vertical farm and clean fish Blue Nalu – Clean Fish Company Impossible and Beyond Meat – lab based protein forward foods Plenty – vertical farms Aerofarms – vertical farm Fancy Food Show: Tyson Ventures has something called Up-Cycle. They take chicken waste and turn it into a chip Food Waste When I talk to startups, it’s all about scale. Not everything is organic or not The Abbott’s Butcher – focuses on flexitarians Food Network Star – Nikki Dinki – Meat on the side For plant-based: it has to taste amazing Taste is King Portland Flavor Article Adam talks about sensory science Do you have any advice for anyone getting into the marketing industry?: The best approach is that I started at an agency. I learned how to start a deck, or how to work with clients Start with a goal, agree on a strategy, devise the tactics It’s hard but gives you the best foundation All companies have a goal PR is also a great business to be in Food PR is really smart. You can work in a  company, or freelance, etc Rini Ader Susie knew a guy who was really good at connecting and connecting with PR agents and that’s how we got Rini Networking A La Carte – a roundup You can sign up for the newsletter at F&Co's website. 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