Flavour Talks

Our next guest is Stephen Manheimer, a prominent American executive and leader in the flavor, fragrance, and essential oils industry.

Key Career and Achievements

* J. Manheimer Inc.: Joined his family's natural flavors and fragrances business in 1964 and served as its president starting in 1976, modernizing the company until it was acquired by the Kerry Group in 2004.

* Kerry Group: Served as executive vice president at the Kerry Group for 20 years until his retirement in August 2024, helping integrate the family business into a global corporation.

* Industry Leadership: Elected as the youngest-ever president of the Essential Oil Association (now the International Fragrance Association, North America) in 1973.

* Monell Chemical Senses Center: Associated with the Monell Chemical Senses Center since the early 1970s, joined its International Advisory Council in 2001, and became a member of its board of directors in 2018. In 2025, the Kerry Group and Monell inaugurated the Stephen Manheimer Scholarship in Flavor Science in his honor.

* Awards & Honors: Received the International Federation of Essential Oils and Aroma Trades (IFEAT) Ron Neal Award of Excellence in 2017. He also donated a historical flavor and fragrance ephemera collection to the New York Botanical Garden Library.

Host: Trevor Groome, Michel Aubanel, Music: Aidan Kirkwood, Editing: Yusuf Toprak, Publishing: Ján Peťka

Our next guest is Dr. Kavita Bhatnagar, an accomplished business leader, food scientist, nutritionist, Flavourist and author at the intersection of sensory science, food technology, and consumer behaviour. As the CEO of Kanegrade India, she leads a company specializing in taste management, natural flavours, and ingredient innovation, shaping the sensory experiences of food and beverage products.

A Harvard Business School alumna with over 20 years of industry experience, Dr.Bhatnagar brings a multidisciplinary approach—blending scientific rigor, business strategy, and behavioural insights—to create products that align with evolving consumer expectations. Her expertise spans flavour innovation, food formulation, and the psychology of eating.

Beyond her executive role, Dr. Bhatnagar serves as the Honorary Vice-President of the British Society of Flavourists and elected member of the Executive Committee of Harvard Club of India. She is also the bestselling author of The Power of Imperfect Eating, a book that reframes how we think about food choices. A LinkedIn Top R&D Voice, she is widely recognized for her contributions to food innovation, research, and industry thought leadership.

Host: Trevor Groome, Michel Aubanel, Music: Aidan Kirkwood, Editing: Yusuf Toprak, Publishing: Ján Peťka

We are kicking off the fifth season of the Flavour Talks podcast with Craig Duckham, winner of last year's Bill Littlejohn Award.

Following several years in university research at Nottingham, Lancaster and Reading, investigating plant biochemistry, biogenic volatile emissions and flavour chemistry, Craig pursued a career in small molecule analysis and technical management. This led to a roles in contract R&D and technology transfer management in the microencapsulation industry. He has operated across diverse sectors including six years developing yeast as a carrier of flavourings and other functional ingredients and three years developing sensory tools for water, beverage, and food quality control. In 2012 Craig founded CD R&D Consultancy Services to provide independent technical support to both developing and mature businesses.Craig gained his doctorate in Plant Physiology from The University of Nottingham in 1992 and he is a BSF Fellow, a Fellow of the Institute of Food Science and Technology and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology. Craig applies his multidisciplinary background to support further understanding of taste and flavour and to encourage the next generation of flavour scientists to pursue careers in the food and beverage sector.

Host: Trevor Groome, Music: Aidan Kirkwood, Editing: Yusuf Toprak, Publishing: Ján Peťka

We are thrilled to publish our first podcast in Chinese: Please meet Yi Fengping, Ph.D., Professor and doctoral supervisor at Shanghai Institute of Technology. She joined the university in 2005. Since 2010, as the head of the Flavor & Fragrance Technology and Engineering Department, she has witnessed the professional development from undergraduate to master's and doctoral stages. The discipline has now become a leading educational and research hub in China for systematically cultivating technical talents in the Flavor & Fragrance field. With profound expertise and strong capabilities, it has been recognized as a national first-class undergraduate major, enjoying high influence nationwide and globally, earning titles such as "Cradle of Chinese Perfumers" and "Key Industrialization Base for Flavor & Fragrance Cosmetics Scientific Achievements in China." Since 2010, she has been regarded as a flavor & fragrance specialist in China's Flavor & Fragrance industry. With a strong academic background—graduated from the Applied Chemistry program at East China University of Science and Technology—her achievements include winning the Shanghai Teaching Achievement Award (Grand Prize), Shanghai Education System March 8th Red Flag Bearer, Shanghai Talent Award, Shanghai Institute of Technology Teaching Celebrity, and Shanghai Institute of Technology "Teacher of My Heart." She currently serves as the head of the Flavor & Fragrance Technology and Engineering major.

Host: Zhengyong Yan, Michel Aubanel, Music: Aidan Kirkwood, Editing: Yusuf Toprak, Publishing: Ján Peťka

Jean Mane is the former president of V. MANE FILS SAS, one of the global leaders in the flavour and fragrance industry. Under his leadership, which began in 1995, the company underwent a period of innovation and international expansion, establishing itself as # 5 in the Industry.
Recognised as a European flavour expert since 1984, Jean Mane has a strong academic background in chemical engineering from two Parisian universities and in synthetic organic chemistry from MIT. He has previously served as president of the International Organisation of the Flavour Industry (IOFI), the European Flavour Association (EFFA) and Syndicat National des Industries Aromatiques Alimentaires (SNIAA) in France.
His achievements include receiving two of the highest French knighthoods: the Légion d’Honneur and the Ordre National du Mérite. He has also received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the International Spice Conference and was named Entrepreneur of the Year 2011 for France by EY. He currently serves as Chairman of the Board and Managing Director at MANE KANCOR.

Host: Trevor Groome, Michel Aubanel, Séan Ryan, Music: Aidan Kirkwood, Editing: Mark Millward, Publishing: Ján Peťka

Ready for another episode en français? Well, here it is! Michel Aubanel interviewed Gérard Bruneau, an experienced flavourist who worked for Robertet, Mero and Kerry throughout his career. They discussed his journey into flavour creation and touched on various aspects of a flavourist's work, answering even some questions from his peers. We will publish an excerpt from this interview in the next issue of our magazine, New Flavourist.

Host: Michel Aubanel, Music: Aidan Kirkwood, Editing: Britta Nobis, Publishing: Ján Peťka

Our next guest is Ryan Ponquett. Ryan has a degree in Chemistry, a master’s degree in Organic Chemistry and completed four years post-graduate studies in Plant Biochemistry at the University of Natal in South Africa. He co-founded the flavour company FlavourCraft and was CEO and Technical Director for more than 20 years until it was acquired by Kerry in 2012. Ryan is a former President of the South African Association for Food Science and Technology (SAAFoST), he is an experienced flavourist and is former Kerry’s VP for Taste and Innovation for the EMEA region, now with TaystOvation and Nova Genetics.

Host: Trevor Groome, Séan Ryan, Michel Aubanel, Carmen Schultejans, Music: Aidan Kirkwood, Editing: Maria Palassarou, Publishing: Ján Peťka

Join us for a virtual walk through the olfactory world of Caro Verbeek, who shows us how our sense of smell deeply affects our sensory experiences of Art, History, Music, Memory and Emotion. This fascinating discussion gets dangerously philosophical as it explores our very human experience of the world around us.

Caro Verbeek is an embedded researcher of olfactory heritage at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Rijksmuseum and International Flavours & Fragrances. Trained as an art historian, she specialises in sensory art and education in museums, art academies and universities. She has 10+ years of experience curating exhibitions and conserving collections (prints, drawings and scents). 

Host: Trevor Groome, Music: Aidan Kirkwood, Editing: Mark Millward, Publishing: Ján Peťka

Today we're pleased to have William van Dongen with us. He's an R&D manager with a wealth of experience in flavour and fragrances, as well as pharmaceutical research.

William is co-founder of Scents & Flavors— a comprehensive database of over 46,000 materials used in the flavor and fragrance industry. In this episode, he'll share his approach to innovation, problem-solving, and how his diverse background informs his work.

Join us as we explore his insights and experiences in the field.

Host: Trevor Groome, Séan Ryan, Michel Aubanel, Music: Aidan Kirkwood, Editing: Britta Nobis, Publishing: Ján Peťka

The first guest of the fourth season of our podcast is Cyndie Lipka, a principal flavorist at Bell Flavors and Fragrances. Ms. Lipka has nearly three decades of experience in the flavor industry, with a focus on developing and duplicating elegantly layered flavors for a variety of markets, including the sweet and dairy industries.

She began her career at The Hershey Company and has worked for Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co., Sethness Greenleaf Chicago (later Synergy Flavors), Bell Flavors and Fragrances, Prinova USA and again for Bell Flavors & Fragrances.

She is also a past president and chairman of the board for the Society of Flavor Chemists and the Chemical Sources Association. In 2017, Ms. Lipka received the Flavoristof the Year Award from the WFFC, and in 2014, she received the O.F. Stambaugh Chemistry Alumni Award from Elizabethtown College, which is given to alumni inrecognition of outstanding professional contributions in chemistry or medicine.Ms. Lipka is also an active monthly contributor and moderator for Perfumer & Flavorist magazine's "The Flavor Report" section and  is a member of the P&F+ Advisory Board.

Host: Trevor Groome, Ján Peťka, Music: Aidan Kirkwood, Editing: Maria Palassarou, Publishing: Ján Peťka