In a special episode of Crave – The IFDA Podcast, recorded live at the 2025 SMart Conference, Julien LeBlanc sits down with Patrick Cairoli, marketing tech leader at Gordon Food Service and AI evangelist, for a no-fluff conversation on how foodservice distribution professionals can embrace AI to sharpen strategy, boost creativity, and strengthen consultative selling.

From building digital assistants to crafting custom catering menus on the fly, Patrick shares real-world use cases that are reshaping daily workflows for DSRs, DSMs, and food distribution leaders. He also breaks down how to train AI tools to sound like you, think with you, and challenge your ideas, turning every rep into a super-powered strategist.

This is more than just a tech talk. It’s an activation session packed with practical marketing wins and leadership gems.

Topics covered include:

👉 How to build your own AI mentor

👉 Prompting for personalization and productivity

👉 Using AI to help customers uncover insights

👉 Reverse mentoring and competing perspectives

👉 Strengths-based leadership and why “grass kills weeds”

👉 What happens when your AI tools argue with each other

👉 Why consultative selling is finally becoming possible

Timestamps:

0:00 How AI Becomes Your Pocket Mentor

0:45 Sharpening Your Creative Edge with AI

1:31 Welcome to Crave – Live from Miami

2:15 Introducing Patrick Karolyi

3:02 From Restaurants to Strategy at GFS

3:44 The Romance of the Industry

4:24 How Patrick Uses ChatGPT Daily

5:06 Personal Productivity with AI

6:15 Building a Custom AI Assistant

7:20 Live Demo: AI Introduces Patrick

8:08 How Patrick Interacts with His AI

9:16 Adoption Trends in AI for Foodservice

10:10 Why You Need to Hone the Tool

11:07 Real Example: AI Builds a Catering Menu in 90 Seconds

12:54 AI in the Car: Creating Promotions on the Fly

13:33 Making Menu Math Easy with AI

14:18 Addressing Fear of Replacement

15:22 Consultative Selling Powered by AI

16:20 Using Competing AI Tools to Stress-Test Ideas

17:05 How to Show Up as a Trusted Consultant

18:26 Quick Wins with Creative Prompting

19:42 Watch Outs: Don’t Lose Your Voice

20:22 Strategy Companion Use Case

21:37 Intern Public Speaking Presentation via AI

22:25 QR Code Podcasts and Interactive Content

22:58 Fresh Leadership Insights

23:15 Mentorship Mindset

23:50 The Power of Reverse Mentorship

24:35 Seeing the Full Picture

25:09 The Book That Changed Everything: StrengthsFinder

26:07 “Grass Kills Weeds” Leadership Philosophy

26:28 One Word Leadership T-Shirt Game

27:08 Individualized Leadership in Action

27:45 Final Reflections and Audience Thanks

🌐 Find Patrick Cairoli on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-cairoli-7b1a8b19   

🌐 Learn about the SMart Conference: https://ifdaonline.org/events/smart/about/ 

🌐 And, more about this episode: https://ifdaonline.org/crave-podcast/episode/creativity-marketing-strategy-ai-superpowers-in-foodservice-distribution/ 

Learn more about Crave – The IFDA Podcast and future episodes: https://ifdaonline.org/crave-podcast/