Eating at a Meeting

By definition, the word welcome means to be a cause of joy; admitted willingly to the house, entertainment, or company." In the episode Tracy talks with author, speaker and coach Doreen Cumberford whose travels and living experiences across the world have influenced her dining table. We touch on preparing food and eating that food with intention, and how food is a mechanism to welcome others into our homes, our tables and our events. She said, "...if you feel welcome at a meeting. And you feel welcome at the table. Your experience of the food is in my opinion is a little different." Useful Links https://doreenmcumberford.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/doreenmcumberford/

James Filtz is Director of Meetings and Special Events at the Ritz-Carlton New Orleans and Vice President of National Association of Catering & Events (NACE), becoming President Elect January 1, 2021. In this episode, Tracy and James chat about catering during COVID and what we will see in the future. His philosophy on how the pandemic has had a positive effect on catering service is refreshing. So it the value that The Ritz Carlton places on their ladies and gentlemen who work at the property. www.ritzcarlton.com/neworleans www.instagram.com/jfiltz www.twitter.com/jfiltz www.linkedin.com/in/jamesfiltz

Donna Mack is a speaker, trainer, consultant, and (in her words) “always the last one chosen for Pictionary.” She brings a lifetime of disability customer experience that has resulted in more than 35 years of training, presenting, and consulting on disability access and inclusion. She served on ADA Access Committees for both AT&T Stadium and Globe Life Field, and has planned and hosted local, regional, and national events specific to the disability community. www.DisabilityDiplomat.com https://www.facebook.com/DonnaMackDisabilityDiplomat/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/disabilitydiplomat/

Born from the crisis need to save the life of one food service worker, The Giving Kitchen is an organization that is built on community, compassion, generosity, empathy and gratitude that supports food service workers in crisis. TGK's shift starts when the food service worker's can't. In this episode with Jen Hidinger-Kendrick, a co-founder of Giving Kitchen, we learn more about the nonprofit and how it helps food service workers when they are affected by an illness and injury, the death of a family member or a housing disaster like a flood or fire. She explains how their clarity of mission and purpose has really helped them focus be optimistic about the future, especially with the strength ot the hospitality community. https://thegivingkitchen.org/ https://www.facebook.com/givingkitchen https://www.instagram.com/givingkitchen/ https://twitter.com/givingkitchen https://www.linkedin.com/company/thegivingkitchen/

Food has become a central utensil in diplomatic toolkits across the world. Culinary diplomacy is today in the academic world what we call soft power — a tool of persuasion. Countries are branding their cuisines or their unique foods as a way to track business and tourism. Johanna Mendelson Forman is a leading voice in the field of gastrodiplomacy and a leader in the Social Gastronomy Movement. She brings to the table years of experience as a policy maker on global conflicts and as an expert on making the connection between food and wars. Useful Links www.conflictcuisine.com https://facebook.com/conflictcuisine https://instagram.com/conflictcuisine https://www.linkedin.com/conflictcuisine https://twitter.com/conflictcuisine https://youtube.com/conflictcuisine

Ahuva Gottdiener enjoys the nurturing of things, creating things and watching things grow. That includes vegetables, humans, chicken and sour dough starter. What started out as an Instagram account to share pictures of what she grows in her garden and the bread she made for her family has turned Homegrown Kosher into a certied kosher bakery, garden consultancy and more. Her goal is to bridge the food knowledge gap between ground and plate for her Orthodox Jewish community. She shares her fascination with the fundamentals through education, inspiration and connection. She also runs her sourdough microbakeryto provide kosher certified artisan sourdough community to her local community. I found her on Instagram because of a picture of the bread she makes - it was a work of art! www.homegrownkosher.com www.instagram.com/homegrownkosher

When Aidan Reilly and James Kaneff saw on the news that billions of pounds of produce were going to waste during the pandemic while millions of Americans were going hungry they decided to do something about it. Within days these two college students home from college because their campuses were closed in response to COVID-19, created the nonprofit organization FarmLink Project, connecting farmers to food banks and committed to alleviating the ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic. To date (December 15, 2020), the Farmlink Project has delivered 17,151,462 pounds of produce via truck, car and planes to those in need across the US. They have NO plans to stop. With more than 100 students from colleges and universities across the country on the team, they creating a long-term and sustainable organization in the fight against food insecurity and food waste. Useful Links https://www.farmlinkproject.org https://www.instagram.com/farmlinkproject/ https://www.facebook.com/thefarmlinkproject/?view_public_for=104821607874722 https://twitter.com/farmlinkproject https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-farmlink-project/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCffYGVNDg5dIqFlOYN3ylKQ

While people do not eating Jewish cooking within multicultural fabric of the UAE, Elli Kriel is quite busy right now helping food service providers in Dubai and across the UAE understand the importance and value of food through kosher cuisine. As a sociologist and self-professed foodie, born and proudly raised in South Africa by Greek parents, Elli’s Kosher Kitchen caters “culinary diplomacy” by blending her multicultural family recipes with local flavors to create unique, mouthwatering “Kosherati” dishes. Useful Links https://www.elliskosherkitchen.com/ https://www.facebook.com/KosherDubai https://twitter.com/ElliKosher https://www.instagram.com/elliskosherkitchen/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/elli-s-kosher-kitchen/

As parents of a food allergic child, Dave Bloom as his wife wanted to ensure their daughter was safe in her classroom so they created a list of snacks that were safe for her and shared it with other parents and the school. That original list 14 years ago became the genesis for their website snacksafely.com and Snack Safely Guide which provides information on products - snacks, entrees, cereals - produced by more than 130+ manufacturers to help disclose precisely how their product is manufactured with respect with 11 allergens. Useful Links https://snacksafely.com https://facebook.com/SnackSafely https://instagram.com/SnackSafely/ https://twitter.com/SnackSafely https://linkedin.com/company/SnackSafely-com

A conversation with Brian Freedman, Wine, Spirits, Travel, & Food Writer and Restaurant Consultant. He hosts beverage-focused dinners, workshops, and seminars, consults on wine lists for dinners, top restaurants, and private clients, and hosts "Day Drinking with Brian." Brian shares his knowledge on how wine and spirits can help create inclusive experiences for clients and guests by meeting them at their place of greatest comfort. Useful Links www.briandfreedman.com www.facebook.com/onthefrontvines www.instagram.com/FreedmanReports www.twitter.com/FDTreport www.linkedin.com/BrianFreedman