My Food Job Rocks!

Ep. 193 – The Global Food Safety Center with Guangtao, Food Safety Expert at Mars Global Food Safety Center

When you think of Mars, you might think of chocolate or pet food but have you ever thought about the important role Mars has on Food Safety? In fact, Mars recently launched a brand new, state of the art global food safety center right in the heart of China. Within this center, Mars employs top scientists to solve the world’s pressing food safety solution innovations including research on mycotoxins, pathogens and traceability Take a look at not only the Global Food Safety Center’s amazing ...

Ep. 192 - From Advocate to Entrepreneur and Tuna to Tomato with David Benzaquen, CEO and Co-Founder of Ocean Hugger Foods

I met David Benzaquen, CEO and Co-founder of Ocean Hugger Foods, and his company at multiple different events and tried some of their sushi. As someone who’s in the space, I was super impressed. I’m always impressed with David’s network and because he’s so intertwined within the plant-based industry, I wanted to ask him why he decided to go into building businesses and how can we all can get started creating something impactful. Learn step by step how David built Ocean-Hugger Foods. From...

Ep. 191 – How to Create Beauty in Food and in Life with Payal Gupta, Food Stylist

Payal Gupta’s journey to becoming a food stylist was a wild one. She quit her standard corporate job, in which both her ex-husband and her family disapproved of, but through years of persistence,e she now owns her own food styling studio and is flourishing Though you'll learn some fun tricks and tips to style food, and how to work with clients, this episode is more than a peek inside being a Food Stylist, it’s much more about the journey of finding your passion and working hard at it. It t...

Ep. 190 – The Meatiest and Most Sustainable Whole Food on the Planet with Annie Ryu, CEO and Founder of the Jackfruit Company

With the plant-based movement in full force, you have burgers and milk, but you also have something that already naturally feels like meat. Jackfruit, young jackfruit in particular, has been an up and coming food that when Annie Ryu first found it in India, saw the potential to save the world. Eight years ago, Annie was in pre-med student at Harvard and during a trip to India to implement a healthcare program, found Jackfruit and its potential as a food that could reduce meat consumption, ...

Ep. 190 [Bonus] - A Special Announcement

This is a short episode of the future of My Food Job Rocks

Ep. 189 - How Food Scientists Innovate in the Packaging Field with Jesper Thomsen and Helen Sellar, Food Technologist and Product Manager at TetraPak

Tetrapak is one of the biggest packaging companies in Europe and you might know them for their unique boxed packaging. When you think of boxed chocolate milk or juice, these guys might have made it. But more importantly is that TetraPak is more than just a packaging company, they solve complex ways in how to package and sustain food. You’ll learn about how Jesper Thomsen (Food Technologist)  and Helen Sellar (Product Manager) found out about food science and why they love working at TetraP...

Ep. 188 - Food Business Advice from a Serial Global Food Entrepreneur with Robert Jakobi, CEO and Founder of Bou Brands

Robert Jakobi is a serial food entrepreneur who founded Metcalfe, Itsu, and is now CEO and Founder of BOU, a company reinventing bullion. What makes Robert’s story so fascinating is that he made successful companies in two different countries. Originally from the United Kingdom, he built Metcalfe and Itsu, and now is growing a successful bullion company right in the United States. You’ll get a great overview of Robert’s history, on all three companies that he’s built or is building, and ...

Ep. 187 – An Intro to the Foodservice Industry with Stephanie Lind, Founder of Elohi

The name of the game in this episode is food service, an area that’s not well talked about yet it dwarfs retail space. Think about it, lunch spots, schools, universities, and prisons all use the foodservice channels to feed people and this channel has its own challenges. That’s where Stephanie Lind comes in. Stephanie Lind has a good understanding of the food system and I like to say I do too so we get into some really complex discussions about supply chain in the foodservice industry. S...

Ep. 186 – How to Internationally Communicate a Global Brand, with Wendy Zheng, PhD Product Development Scientist at Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola has probably the most ubiquitous and well-known branding in the entire world but they need scientists to do it. Scientists that help innovate in multiple countries Wendy Zhang is one of those scientists who works on Coke products to bring them internationally. She works with teams from China and Japan to get innovative coke products onto the market while still maintaining that delicious coke brand. Learn about the interesting nuances in communicating internationally and the dif...

Ep. 185 - Building a Business within a Business with David Hart, Business Unit Director at Salt of the Earth

You might have heard of Salt of Earth because they sponsored our podcast So David Hart was a native in California but more to Israel on a scholarship and kept on coming back. Now in Israel full time, he’s worked for companies, started his own company, and recently heads a company within a company. You see, Salt of the Earth is actually a parent company where they sell well, salt. However, David is exploring selling the Mediterranean Umami brand, a salt reduction solution to lower sodium ...

Ep. 184 – Legal and Social Advice for Aspiring Food Entrepreneurs with Abe Cohn, Intellectual Property Lawyer at the Cohn Legal Group

This episode's main focus is talking about the legal nuances of starting a food business. Everything you’d like to know about NDA’s, patents, and copyright, it's is all here. But Abe Cohn also does a great job talking about the fun stuff like LLCs, stocks, and fiscal cliffs, you know,  the fun stuff.  But another hidden gem in this interview is talking about networking. Whether you're an introvert who has a grand invention or an extrovert with a grand vision, Abe gives multiple scenarios...

Ep. 183 - High-Pressure Processing a Snack Bar with Brenden Schaefer, Founder and CEO of Bright Foods

When you think of High-Pressure Processing, you might think guacamole, or hummus, or juices, but can you do it for a snack bar? Brenden Schaefer has spent the last three years developing a fresh-tasting fruit and vegetable bar that’s sold in retail such as Whole Foods, etc. Brenden knows his stuff, and there’s a reason why. He worked for one of the biggest food company in the world, Pepsi! He advised the CEO Indra Noori directly making tough decisions based off of data. He took this experi...

Ep. 182 - Sensory Techniques that Legacy Brands Use with Emily Kimmins, Sensory Manager at KraftHeinz

If you are looking at the field of sensory, then this is the episode for you! This is probably the most technical sensory episode we’ve had so far as we learn about new sensory techniques, what type of groups should do what type of sensory and also, great tips on how to sensory test for kids! Emily Kimmins from KraftHeinz does a great job explaining the purpose of sensory, and how focusing your testing parameters and delivering compelling data allows you to convince a global organization t...

Ep. 181 – For the Love of Ice Cream with Maya Warren Sr. Director of International Research and Development at Cold Stone Creamery

Our guest today is Dr. Maya M Warren, Sr. Director of International Research and Development and the Tastemaster at Cold Stone Creamery. I’ve seen Maya twice on TV. One on an episode of the Amazing Race with Amy DeJong (a podcast guest from way back) and last Christmas at my Grandma’s house watching Dr. Oz (my grandma loves the show, not me). Anyways, I had to get her on the show so I asked Amy for Maya’s contact and we went from there. Thanks Amy! Maya is a delight to talk to as the f...

Ep. 180 [Bonus] - Different Approaches to Plant-based Meat, an Interview with Gary Nowacki, CEO of TraceGains

You are listening to a bonus episode where I talk about my actual day job at the Concept to Consumption podcast. I talk with Gary Nowacki, the CEO of TraceGains! So you’ll learn mainly about how I think about things and my thought process on innovation. I talk a lot about growing Better Meat Co and the steps it took to do so. A big portion of the interview is also about analyzing the current plant-based meat landscape, and how the players, both the restaurant and the manufacturers are d...

Ep. 180 - How to Brand Food Tech with Alexander Zox and Dianna Rogers, Business Developers at BrandFirst Digital Agency

Today you are listening to episode 180 with Alexander Zox, New Business Development Lead and Dianna Rogers, Director of Account Services and New Business Development at BrandFirst Creative Agency. BrandFirst Creative Agency specializes in branding food companies form confections to food tech. They were the main creative agency behind the Alt Protein Show and I bumped into them at Expo West This episode was recorded a bit earlier, but the main reason was that I wanted to coincide with Bra...

Ep. 179 – Climbing Up the Corporate Ladder while Empowering People with Zachary Lones Director of Local Social Media at Walmart

Zachary Lones started working as a cashier at Sam’s Club (which I didn’t know was owned by WalMart) and rose through the ranks from a business associate to multiple levels of managers and landed in the director’s seat 8 years later. I saw his story on LinkedIn and I thought, Zachary would be a great podcast guest. A lot of people want to get promoted, especially in a large company and Zach has done it so many times and I wanted to distill the method on how he did it. This is great episod...

Ep. 178 - Not Your Ordinary Family Fish Business with Roger Berkowitz, CEO and President of Legal Sea Foods

Today we have Roger Berkowitz, CEO and President of Legal Sea Foods on the show. A Third generation family business that not only does fish processing, but has a fish restaurant, and a fish grocery store. All of my fans in the East love this restaurant. I interview Roger on the complexities of the fish farming industry and there was some things I didn’t know about, one, Roger talks about how the rising temperature of the water is affecting fish yields, and two, the complexities of fish far...

Ep. 177 – How to Systematically Analyze Food Trends, and Apply It with Purpose with Eric Pierce, VP of Business Insights at New Hope Network

Eric Pierce analyzes hot trends, consumer behavior, and innovative breakthroughs and collects this data to help natural product industries strategically innovate. If you guys don’t know, the New Hope Network is at the forefront of the food industry as they are the ones in charge of Expo West, Supply Side East, and many more industry conferences throughout the world. I was fortunate enough to meet Eric during my shift at the Better Meat Co in Expo West. I was so excited to see him because...

Ep. 176 – Innovating the Frozen Seafood Category with Scott and Jon Demers, Founders of Scott and Jon’s (formally the Cheating Gourmet)

This episode is with Scott and Jon Demers, two brothers who founded a frozen meal company that specializes in healthy seafood. They’ve recently rebranded, so you might know their previous brand, Cheating Gourmet but now they’ve gotten a bit more personal and call it simply, Scott and Jon’s. Maybe you’ve seen that small little refrigerator right next to the fresh fillet of salmon. If you’ve ever peeked inside of it, you might have found something from Scott and Jon’s. From their deep fried...

Ep. 175 [Bonus] - Adam Yee in the Break Room 2 Honest Opinions on Communication, Impostor Syndrome and Priorities

If you recall, a year or two ago, we did one of these and had a pretty good response so we’ve decided to do one again to catch up. The issues we discuss in this episode aren’t really well talked about, so I view this as a very transparent heart to heart. It helped Kim Schaub, perhaps it might help you. Things like communication, impostor syndrome, prioritizing your life versus your work life all come up in this episode so if you’re dealing with issues like these, this one is a good liste...

Ep. 175 – Food Startups Confidential with James Richardson, Founder of Premium Growth Solutions

James Richardson has a PhD in anthropology and has worked for the Hartman Group for a little less than 15 years. During that time, he’s done work for a whole variety of different companies. From small companies to legacy brands. With a tone similar to Anthony Bourdain’s view of the restaurant interview, James brings a realistic yet refreshing viewpoint on the food industry and throughout the interview, brings a ton of tangible tips on how to grow, especially if you’re in the beginning stag...

Ep. 174 – Mission-Driven with a Food Industry Foundation with Pete Brennan, Co-Founder at Soñar! Foods

Pete Brennan is the Co-Founder of Soñar! Foods. A mission-driven company that sells plant powered tortilla chips. Pete might have started his own food business, but he is a veteran in the food industry. With experience from E&J Gallo Winery, Kelloggs, Foster Farms, and Zola, Pete’s specialty is marketing big brands. He teamed up with the best person he knew to start Soñar! Foods, his wife, Maria. Pete and I met at the Fancy Food Show, and again at the Alt Protein show. Pete’s a go-getter...

Ep. 173 – Cooking, Owning a Restaurant, Directing R+D, Consulting, Leading a Company with Mark Crowell, CEO of CuliNex

Mark Crowell has had quite an amazing culinary journey with a lot of risks and a lot of reward. First he tells me how he found out about cooking, by staging at a restaurant in Europe, and brought that love back to the United States and worked hard enough to open his own restaurant. But opening up a restaurant was really hard, and he struggled. Eventually, he became an R+D Director at both Olive Garden and Starbucks. Eventually, Mark threw it all away and started consulting. He again strugg...

Ep. 172 - Powerful Strategies to Immortalize Your Brand with Jeremy Smith, President of Launchpad USA Group

Jeremy Smith, founder of LaunchPad has impacted iconic brands such as Apple, Chobani, Bob’s Red Mills, Urban Remedy and Kumana. This episode has prime examples on how Jeremy has worked with these company's and how these companies went to the next level. A lot of great takeaways for food entrepreneurs and marketers including how to recognize superflourous trends versus trends that stick, with also amazing advice on how to make your brand everlasting. You’ll get so many great examples from i...

Ep. 171 - Discussing Modern Food Communication with Sally Squires SVP - Management Supervisor & Director, Food, Nutrition and Wellness Communications at Weber Shadwick

Sally Squires is a food communicator who works with really cool companies crafting messages. She spent her early years at the Washington Post, and now works for Weber Shadwick, as their SVP-Management Supervisor & Director, Food, Nutrition and Wellness Communications A funny story about this interview is that you might recall I had the opportunity to go to The Ohio State University to talk about podcasting and they dropped me off in a room with Sally Squires. After a brief talk about some ...

Ep. 170 - Let's Sit Down and Have a Beer with Daryl Neal, Podcast Host of Beer Talk Now

I met Darryl at an NCIFT event about a year ago and we talked, and after the event, he invited me to drink with him and I got a free beer out of the deal. I talked his ear off about podcasting and he wanted to start one. Every month, when I saw him at an IFT event, I asked him if he started. 8 months later, this podcast came to life and I’ve been giving Darryl pointers ever since. What’s great is that in almost every IFT event where Darryl and I are there, we gather a group of friends to g...

Ep. 170 [Bonus] - May the 4th Be With You: Stories from the Lucas Ranch with Rachelle Boucher, Private Chef

This is a bonus episode with Rachelle Boucher (episode 46) as she talks about her experience working as a private chef for the Lucas family and her experience working with the Lucas family including interacting with the kids, Lucas himself, and the actor of Jar Jar Binks. We do this live in Tinker Kitchen!  About Rachelle Culinary Program Developer, Private Chef and Appliance Whisperer  Chef Rachelle knew early on that food would be her medium. With the power to nourish, entertain, un...

Ep. 169 - What to Innovate in the Beverage Industry with Andy Dratt, Chief Commercial Officer at Imbibe

This interview is with Andy Dratt, Chief Commercial Officer at Imbibe, a Beverage Innovation Company and has had past experiences building flavor divisions in Griffith, FONA, and Sensient. If you want to know all about what it takes to develop an innovative new beverage, this podcast episode is for you! Andy and his team at Imbibe are experts in developing beverages because it’s not just formulating and pay up, but it’s much more than that. It’s a whole system. Learn about the fine line ...

Ep. 168 – Design Thinking and the Startup Life with Lauren Joyner, Founder of LOCA Foods

Lauren Joyner used to be a designer for many tech startups and a year ago, dropped all of that to pursue food and is now the founder of LOCA Foods, which is a plant-based cheese dip company. I met Lauren at the Cultured Meat Symposium and our companies were boothed together at the Fancy Food Show and Alternative Protein show. So of course, we chatted and our discussions were so good, I wanted to capture it on a podcast. A big portion of this interview is about year one of building a food...

Ep. 167 – Building and Innovating Supplier Relationship Management Technology Marc Simony, VP of the TraceGains Network at TraceGains

Marc Simony wrote a compelling post at his time at the American Food Innovation Summit. I found it pretty cool, so I asked him to be on the show. What I didn’t know until I did my reach is that Marc is one of the important people in TraceGains, one of the fastest growing supply chain management software programs in the food industry. And that he live din Phoenix, neat! Marc lays on a ton of advice on his experience working for TraceGains such as times pivoting the business and times whe...

Ep. 166 - Let's Build a Restaurant in New York City with Kenny Lao, Principal at Culinary Task Force

This episode is with Kenny Lao, who worked with the masterminds behind Nobu, created his own restaurant empire Rickshaw Dumplings, and now brings it all together in his new project, Culinary Task Force, a consulting service to help bring new restaurant concepts to life. We have a couple of episodes on My Food Job Rocks that deal with building restaurants so I asked Kenny advice on how to build one. Especially in the New York scene. Kenny did not disappoint telling me the intricate and hone...

Ep. 165 – Marketing Insights in the Pork Industry with Tara-Ann Dugan, Director of Consumer Marketplace Insights for the National Pork Board

Today, Tara-Ann Dugan gives us a deep dive into the wonderful world of pork which includes barbeque, pork chops, and bacon! We learn how pork is trending and in what ways the consumer eats the meat. We go into the insights on how the data was collected (if you’re into that like I am) and also some market trends that might be related to your field. Tara also has a great history in consumer insights and I loved talking to her about her career journey. Her 4 year McDonald's stint, for instanc...

Ep. 164 – Dissecting Tasty Videos with Matthew Francis Johnson, Chef and Video Producers

I’m a huge fan of the viral videos on social media that teach you how to cook in just a few minutes. The dishes are eye poppingly bright and I personally love trying to replicate them. I caught Matthew’s post on LinkedIn, talking about his layoff from Buzzfeed. As many know, many media companies went through a layoff round, and unfortunately, Matthew was one of them. I reached out to Matt to tell his story and we had an interview that night. I learned about the complexity of creating Tas...

Ep. 163 - How to Innovate Whiskey with Ethan Beswick, Research Director at Endless West

I met Ethan Beswick at the Prime Root’s panel at IndieBio a couple of months ago and he was just a really cool, chill dude. It helped that he offered me some whiskey before the talk. After he told me what Endless West was about, I was curious to learn more. Ethan himself has an interesting background, especially since he took about a year off to go travel the world. I’ve heard of people do this, whether it’s teaching English, or just because they’re sick of it all. Sometimes I wish I could...

Ep. 162 - On Sustainable Packaging with Ziynet Boz, Assistant Professor at University of Florida

This episode is with Ziynet Boz, who recently got a job at the University of Florida as an Assistant Professor. Her expertise is on sustainable packaging and she is also a full bright scholar. Ziynet brings a lot of insight into the sustainable packaging realm and teaches me about what type of packaging is truly sustainable, and how you can find more about it online. We also revisit the topic of lifecycle analysis, something in which I feel is becoming a bigger and bigger topic. Last wee...

Ep. 161 - How to Convince Politicians About Climate Change with Joseph Robertson, Global Strategy Director of Citizens Climate Lobby and founder of Geoversiv

Joseph Robertson's job is to convince politicians to focus on Climate Change, and we get into many strategies and stories on how to do just that. Joseph’s a powerhouse when it comes to working together with political bodies to get them to understand and act on the impending climate change issue. He not only plays a key role in getting Congress to focus on sustainable solutions, but he also has a great way of rallying up great people to join the cause. This episode gave me a bit of hope i...

Ep. 160 [Podcast Showcase Series] - Alex Shirazi interviews Peter Verstrate, CEO of Mosa Meats

We have our final Podcast Showcase Series with Alex Sharzi. He does the Cultured Meat and Future Food Podcast. His guest is amazing, Peter Verstrate is the CEO of Mosa Meat, a clean meat company in the Neatherlands. If you’re familiar with the clean meat and cell-based world, then you might know this company, because the Chief Science Officer, is Mark Post, the man who made the first lab-grown burger. You’ll learn a ton of actionable tips about the Clean Meat Industry, and Alex’s portfo...

Ep. 159 [Podcast Showcase Series] - Katie Mleziva Interviews Alli Ball about Navigating Retail, from Allison Ball Consulting

To continue with our Podcast Showcase Series, we have an episode from Katie Mleziva, podcast host of real food brands, a podcast that gives great insights on food marketing and how to get your amazing brand on the shelf. She will be interviewing Alli Ball, a well known retail consultant in the industry. I don’t think I would do justice talking about Katie, as she’s been a recent friend and addition to the food industry podcast space. So I decided to do a quick interview with her, to lear...

Ep. 158 [Podcast Showcase Series] - Katie Jones from the Food Heroes Podcast Interviews Louisa Ziane Chief Brand Officer at Toast Ale

To continue with our Podcast Showcase Series, we have an episode from Katie Jones from the Food Heroes Podcast. In this episode, she interviews a cool startup in the UK, a company that makes beer out of old bread. Katie Jones popped out of the scene last year when LinkedIn had this weird power of getting individuals to talk more. I was fortunate to ride the wave of this, and so did Katie. Katie has a very interesting story. You can actually listen to it on her podcast. I believe it’s e...

Ep. 157 [Podcast Showcase Series] – Dr. Lin Carson and Dr. Debi Answers All Your Baking Questions

Welcome to the My Food Job Rocks Podcast, a weekly podcast where we interview experts in the food industry and hear about their career path, their insights on new trends and technology and their love of food. I’m your host, Adam Yee and You are listening to episode 157, where Dr. Lin Carson from Bakerpedia and Dr. Debi from the American Institute of Baking, answer complex questions about the baking industry. This isn’t just “how do I bake bread” or “why is my bread pale” questions, these t...

Ep. 156 [Podcast Showcase Series] - Kim Schaub Interviews Graham Kerr, TV Host of the Galloping Gourmet

Many of you know the story between Kim and I. We started our podcasts at the same time. I was able to reach out to her when I saw her posting on a super secret podcast facebook group. I reached out, because My Food Job Rocks was also in its infancy. We decided to do a podcast swap. I would interview Kim, and she would interview me. I launched episode 12 starring Kim, and now we’re here, on episode 156. Time flies, doesn’t it? But still, we persisted. Kim and my guests overlap a bit. We’v...

Ep. 155. [Podcast Showcase Series] – Business For Good Interviews John Mackey, CEO and Cofounder of Whole Foods

Welcome to the first in our Podcast Showcase Series with Paul Shapiro and Toni Okamoto interviewing John Mackey. He started this little company, grew it, and then sold it to Amazon. You might know it as Whole Foods Market. Though Paul and Toni can tell you all about their guest, I can tell you a little bit about Paul and Toni. This super star duo is hosted by none other than Paul Shapiro, animal activist, author and now CEO of the Better Meat Co, and Toni Okamoto, who is a cookbook auth...

Ep. 155 [Bonus] - Introducing the Podcast Showcase Series

When you go on a journey to improve a skill, there are likeminded people who will support you, and there are people who will do the same as you. You either choose to treat them as competition, or treat them as cohorts. Over the past two years, I’ve communicated and even worked with people who have their own interview podcasts. These podcasts follow the same vein as My Food Job Rocks. Interview food experts and chronicle their life, advice and predictions. However, each podcast I’ll be shar...

Ep. 154 – Interviewing the Interviewer with Elaine Watson, Editor at Food Navigator USA

I’ve been following Elaine Watson ever since I started working on the food industry. Every time I wanted to know a new trend or something happening in my industry, I read her articles. I’ve even commented in a few of her articles but most recently, I had the honor of being interviewed by Elaine when we debuted our article for Better Meat Co. Paul and I planned to get Elaine to debut Better Meat Co, we had this master plan to do a tasting with Elaine with our blended products only to learn ...

Ep. 153 – How to Boot Strap a Meal Delivery Service to $2 Million with Mary Drennen and Tiffany Vickers Davis from Nourish Foods Co.

The Nourish Food Co is a meal delivery company that has a beautiful menu of healthy southern comfort food that can be delivered straight to your door. Located in Birmingham Alabama, they distribute to 38 different states and have a wide array of dishes to choose from. Mary and Tiffany have humble origins. Met at a test kitchen, started a catering business, pivoted to meal delivery and scaled to the moon, but the details that made their journey successful is captured in this interview such ...

Ep. 152 - The Food Industry in Costa Rica with Ana Maria Quiros, Food Engineer at CITA in the University of Costa Rica

I met Ana Maria Quiros during the IGNITE Session at IFT 2018 where she did an inspiring talk about the food industry in Costa Rica and the young professionals that are driving it. Now she not only helps small businesses in Costa Rica grow their businesses, but she also has had a chance to talk to Congress about food science. The Costa Rica Food industry has some interesting twists on how they educate their workforce on food science and you’ll learn a lot about how they train professionals ...

Ep. 152 [Bonus] - On Taking a Break

This podcast was not scripted, so there are no shownotes.   Since this is a short episode, it's a freebie.    You can check out all of our articles and podcasts at myfoodjobrocks.com   If you’re a fan of My Food Job Rocks we’ve just released our annual survey. Though it’s shorter than last years, we know what to ask for now. If you’re a fan and want to help improve the platform for next year, I’d be greatful if you could fill out our survey. Of course, those who complete the surv...

Ep. 151 – Procuring the Candy Empire with Darius Chen, Sr. Commercial Operation Analyst for Mars Wrigley

Ep. 151 – Procuring the Candy Empire with Darius Chen, Sr. Commercial Operation Analyst for Mars Wrigley