Eating at a Meeting

Picture your opening reception. One guest is pregnant. Another is in recovery, another is training for a race, and another just doesn't want to drink tonight. What are you handing them?

Too often it's still a soda, a bottle of water, or a sugary "mocktail" nobody planned, and nobody wants to drink (yuck!)

That's why I'm so glad Derek Brown and Laura Silverman are joining me on this week's Eating at a Meeting Podcast LIVE. They just judged The Daily Pour's 2026 Zero Proof Choice Awards, blind-tasting hundreds of alcohol-free spirits, wines, beers, mixers, ready-to-drink cocktails, and functional drinks from coded glasses.

Derek was head judge. He ran Columbia Room in DC, once named Best American Cocktail Bar, wrote "Mindful Mixology," and has been championing mindful drinking for years. Laura founded Zero Proof Nation, a global resource that maps alcohol-free bars and bottle shops, and she's been pushing restaurants, workplaces and events to give non-drinkers real choices.

Planners, a medal list gives you something concrete to take to your catering manager when the banquet bar offers one NA beer and a Diet Coke. Hotels, caterers, and venues: guests will pay for a well-made zero-proof drink. I want to know if your bar packages are built and priced for that.

There's a safety side too. "Non-alcoholic" and "alcohol-free" don't mean the same thing on a label. Hemp-infused and THC drinks even have their own awards category now. Does your bar team know the difference?

What's the best alcohol-free drink you've been served at an event? The worst?

We ask a lot of the food at our events. We want it sustainable, inclusive, local, good for the planet and fair to the people who grew it — and then we hand the caterer a headcount and a budget and hope it all shows up on the plate.

So what would it take to build an event where the experience itself actually lives out those values, instead of just claiming them on the website?

One event has been answering that for almost 40 years — and every two years it shows the whole world how, at Terra Madre Salone del Gusto in Turin, Italy. More than 600 producers from over 100 countries, spread across the city's historic squares, all organized around one idea: good, clean and fair food for everyone.

My guest this week on Eating at a Meeting is Elisa Demichelis, International Networks Director for Slow Food, based at the movement's headquarters in Bra, Italy. Her whole job is connection — linking producers, cooks, Indigenous leaders and food communities across the globe, then turning all of that into one of the most complex food gatherings on earth.

We're talking about how Slow Food grew from "the opposite of fast food" into a full food-system movement, and what that means for those of us who plan and supply events. How do you source with real transparency? How do you feature small producers without expecting them to work for exposure? And how do you make sustainability something guests actually enjoy — not something they feel lectured about?

Whether you plan events or supply them — hotels, venues, caterers, DMCs, destinations — this one's for you.

In honor of Food Safety Awareness Month, Tracy is thrilled to welcome Doug Davis, founder of Sokeum Consultants and former Global Director of Food Safety for Marriott International, to Eating at a Meeting. With nearly 40 years of experience and stewardship over food safety protocols for 33 brands across 139 countries, Doug brings a wealth of knowledge to the table.

Doug and Tracy dig into how food recalls unfold behind the scenes, the evolving landscape of foodborne outbreaks, and what event planners must ask to ensure safety and trust at every meal. We tackle the complexities of allergen management, the art of guest communication, and why compliance should never be about checking boxes. Doug's global perspective, stories from the field, and lessons learned on prevention, transparency, and raising standards are invaluable for anyone planning safe and memorable events

When was the last time your event menu was sized for how much people actually eat? Overproduction and mismatched expectations between planners and venues quietly create thousands of dollars in waste—and missed opportunities to wow guests. Discover why salad dressing is the secret weapon for immediate change, the real reason food waste isn't just a "kitchen problem," and what happens when you finally empower culinary teams with the right benchmarks.

In advance of Stop Food Waste Day in April, Tracy chatted with Christy Cook, CEO of InvestHER Strategies and architect of nationwide food waste reduction programs, you'll get field-tested tactics, toolkit recommendations, and a new mindset for guest experience that happens to save money and the planet.

Christy has spent her career designing and scaling food-waste reduction programs for stadiums, universities, corporate foodservice, and large events—proving that cutting waste can also cut costs and elevate the guest experience. Today, we will chat about where food waste really happens at meetings and events, how to use data and design to prevent it, and why women leaders are reshaping ESG and sustainability in hospitality.

If you plan, host, or cater events, this conversation is a playbook for making every plate count.

Here's an event F&B stat that dumbfounds me: on average, 42% of the food we prepare for a buffet goes uneaten — and at one event, 72% of the special-dietary meals got thrown straight in the trash. As someone who has spent the last 16 years fighting to make sure every guest gets fed safely, that second number breaks my heart and lights a fire under me. Those are real stats from a 2026 World Wildlife Fund and ReFED study of six real business events.

So when Chef Nettie Frank told me while we were at the ICA conference this summer that she'd built a company around rescuing flavor before it hits the bin, I said — okay, I need to hear exactly how you do that.

Nettie is a chef who has worked every angle of feeding people: Culinary Institute of America grad, founder of Silver Whisk Catering, owner of the beloved Beyond Glaze bakery, cookbook author, and yes — you've seen her on Cake Wars and Chopped.

Now she's the founder and CEO of CITREVE, a chef-driven freeze-drying company that came directly out of a sustainability talk she gave to caterers. Her idea: freeze-dry the leftover sauce, the peak-season herbs, the citrus you'd normally toss — and bring them back to life later, color and flavor intact.

Why should planners AND suppliers care? Because food waste is a cost line, a sustainability report, and a garnish bin at every bar you run. Extending a seasonal ingredient, cutting spoilage, designing a lower-waste cocktail program — that's money and impact on your F&B line, whether you're planning the event or catering it.

Join us for this week's Eating at a Meeting. And tell me — what's the most food you've ever watched get thrown out at an event? Let's talk about it in the comments.

Every meal matters. So does every ingredient.

Sandy Bridger said something to me the other night that I haven't stopped thinking about: wine isn't the drink you serve alongside dinner — it's another ingredient in the meal. Once you hear it that way, you can't unhear it.

Sandy is the co-owner of DRINK, a Raleigh wine shop she runs with her husband Cam under the tagline "The Somm and The Mom." By day she leads a nonprofit; by night she curates small-production, family-owned wines and designs winemaker dinners people remember. Her philosophy is "intimate, not intimidating" — exactly the skill our industry needs when wine shows up on an event floor plan. And I'm glad Cam, "The Somm," is joining her on this week's Eating at a Meeting LIVE, bringing the technical read of the glass to Sandy's food-and-experience lens.

If wine is an ingredient, you cook with it. Sometimes you pair to mask a flavor — heat, bitterness, richness. Sometimes you pair to enhance a dish's best quality. And some wines are incomplete on their own — high-acid, high-tannin bottles that only come alive with food.

Why should planners AND suppliers care? At most hotels and convention centers, planners get a short, pre-selected wine list and little say. It's about making the most of it — or making the case for something with a story behind it. The right pour makes guests slow down and connect; for hotels, caterers, and venues, that's experience and revenue on your F&B line.

We'll also get into how they source what they pour — family-owned, small-production, "drink globally, source locally" — and how to deliver a "story in a glass" without a $200 bottle.

Come watch LIVE and bring your questions. What's the best — or worst — wine you've been served at an event? Let's talk in the comments.

Every meal matters. So does every pour.

Why does the same banquet menu cost more this year than last — and why can't anyone tell you what it will cost next quarter?

Global uncertainty drives up the cost of every meal at your meeting — often before a single supply chain is disrupted. If food arrives by car or truck (and nearly all of it does), energy prices are baked into every plate you serve. When markets get nervous, oil and gas prices move, transportation costs climb, and fertilizer prices rise for the farmers growing what eventually lands on your buffet. By the time those costs reach a hotel banquet kitchen or catering contract, they've been multiplied through every link in the supply chain.

On the next Eating at a Meeting LIVE, I'll be joined by Dr. Mike Walden, Reynolds Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Agricultural and Resource Economics at NC State University. For decades, Mike has translated complex economic forces into plain language for consumers, businesses, and policymakers — and now he'll do it for the people who buy, serve, and budget for food at meetings and events.

Together we'll unpack how market uncertainty and volatility move food prices even before supply is disrupted, why energy is the hidden ingredient in every meal, how rising fertilizer costs today shape food prices for seasons to come, and what all of this means when it flows downstream into hotel banquet pricing, catering contracts, and F&B minimums.

Whether you're a planner trying to explain a budget increase to stakeholders, a hotel or caterer setting prices in an unpredictable market, or a supplier navigating rising input costs, this conversation will give you the economic vocabulary to understand what's happening — and to have smarter conversations with clients and partners about what comes next.

Join us live and bring your questions — what are you seeing in your F&B budgets and contracts? Mike and I will take them on air.

Because every meal matters, and every meal has a price tag shaped by forces far beyond the kitchen.

Why does the beef entrée on your banquet menu cost so much more than it did two years ago—and what should you expect next when deciding whether beef belongs on your event menu?

Record-high cattle prices, the smallest U.S. beef herd in decades, and shifting global trade flows have pushed beef prices to historic levels. Consumers feel it at the grocery store in the sticker price on burgers and steaks, but for hotels, caterers, convention centers, and event planners buying beef by the case, the stakes are even higher. Every carving station, plated filet, and burger buffet now carries a price tag shaped by forces that start on a cattle ranch and travel through feedlots, packers, and distributors before landing on your BEO.

On this episode of Eating at a Meeting LIVE, I'm joined by Dr. Derrell Peel, Charles Breedlove Professor of Agribusiness at Oklahoma State University and Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist since 1989. One of the country's most trusted voices on cattle markets, beef demand, and meat supply chains, Derrell has spent more than three decades helping producers and buyers make sense of the economics behind every pound of beef—and he has a gift for making complex market dynamics clear to non‑economists.

Together, we're tracing the path from farm to function: how tight cattle supplies and strong demand have driven prices to current levels, how North American and global trade flows shape what U.S. buyers pay, and how those upstream dynamics translate into the B2B prices hotels, caterers, and studios see on invoices every week.

You'll learn: ▶ Why cattle supplies are historically tight, and why herd rebuilding—and price relief—will take years, not months ▶ How beef moves from cow‑calf producer to packer to distributor to your banquet menu, and where the key price "steps" happen ▶ Why grocery‑store beef prices and B2B foodservice prices don't move in lockstep ▶ Which cuts are under the most pressure, and how that should inform menu design, portion strategy, protein mix, and whether beef stays on the menu at all ▶ What planners and F&B buyers can realistically expect for beef pricing over the next few years—and how to plan, negotiate, and communicate with clients accordingly

Whether you're a planner justifying a per‑plate increase to a client, a hotel F&B director building next year's banquet menus, or a caterer deciding whether beef stays on the buffet, this conversation gives you the market literacy to make smarter decisions—because every meal matters, and every menu line item has a story that starts long before it reaches the kitchen.

Join us live and bring your questions about beef prices, menu strategy, and managing F&B budgets in a volatile protein market.

Why does the same banquet menu cost more this year than last — and why can't anyone tell you what it will cost next quarter?

Global uncertainty drives up the cost of every meal at your meeting — often before a single supply chain is disrupted. If food arrives by car or truck (and nearly all of it does), energy prices are baked into every plate you serve. When markets get nervous, oil and gas prices move, transportation costs climb, and fertilizer prices rise for the farmers growing what eventually lands on your buffet. By the time those costs reach a hotel banquet kitchen or catering contract, they've been multiplied through every link in the supply chain.

On the next Eating at a Meeting LIVE, I'll be joined by Dr. Mike Walden, Reynolds Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Agricultural and Resource Economics at NC State University. For decades, Mike has translated complex economic forces into plain language for consumers, businesses, and policymakers — and now he'll do it for the people who buy, serve, and budget for food at meetings and events.

Together we'll unpack how market uncertainty and volatility move food prices even before supply is disrupted, why energy is the hidden ingredient in every meal, how rising fertilizer costs today shape food prices for seasons to come, and what all of this means when it flows downstream into hotel banquet pricing, catering contracts, and F&B minimums.

Whether you're a planner trying to explain a budget increase to stakeholders, a hotel or caterer setting prices in an unpredictable market, or a supplier navigating rising input costs, this conversation will give you the economic vocabulary to understand what's happening — and to have smarter conversations with clients and partners about what comes next.

Join us live and bring your questions — what are you seeing in your F&B budgets and contracts? Mike and I will take them on air.

Because every meal matters, and every meal has a price tag shaped by forces far beyond the kitchen.

When you travel somewhere new, you often don't know a single soul. So how do you actually understand the place you're standing in? Kenny Dunn's answer: eat.

This week on Eating at a Meeting LIVE, I'm talking with Kenny Dunn, Founder and CEO of Eating Europe. His story is a rare one — he started his career at the United Nations working on food security and sustainable agriculture, then a chance pizza tour sparked an idea that became one of Europe's leading culinary tour companies, spanning cities across seven-plus countries and hundreds of thousands of guests.

But here's what makes Kenny essential listening for our world. He treats food as a gateway to culture, not a checklist of dishes. His guides don't just point at plates — they translate daily life, share the stories behind the people cooking, and turn a meal into genuine access to a place.

And he takes the hard parts seriously. Safety starts with knowing every guest's allergies and dietary needs before they arrive — he'll share a Rome story that shows exactly why that communication is life-or-death. Sustainability, for him, means putting money behind the small, often family-run businesses preserving food traditions that globalization threatens to erase. Inclusion means the more diverse the table, the richer the experience — something he felt firsthand at a 100-year-old restaurant in Bogotá, seated with strangers who became a shared meal to remember.

For planners, destinations, hotels, and DMCs, this is a blueprint for off-site dining and local experiences that are safer, more meaningful, and more memorable than any banquet.

Watch LIVE and bring your questions. When has a meal given you real access to a place or a person? Tell me in the comments — I want to hear your table story.