Perhaps no other industry has been hit harder in 2020 than hospitality. For chefs and restaurant industry staff, it’s been a year of pivoting and in many cases, rethinking the current models of food service. Chef Levon Wallace of Nashville, Tennessee took the pandemic as a welcome opportunity to experiment in his home kitchen. Before he knew it, the tasty treats he made for his kids turned into a new fast-casual concept that has found a lot of love (and plenty of mustard) in his city and beyond. 

In this episode, we’ll talk about how the industry has had to adapt through the pandemic, the growth of fast-casual, the future of gastronomy, and the lessons we can take from the disruptions of 2020.  You’ll hear why it’s important to source food locally, and how to cultivate symbiotic relationships between chef’s and growers. 

Conversation with Chef Matt Bolus from the 404 Kitchen

I decided to do what I know how to do best, which is doing something for someone else. That usually works nine times out of ten to get me out of any kind of situation.

It’s that human connection, and who doesn’t love a hot pretzel? It’s kind of hard to get bummed out when you get a hot pretzel.

What’s important to me in food are things that are handmade, homemade, simple, and good food made from real ingredients.

In the foodservice industry that’s all we do is pivot. All we’ve ever done is adapt. You adapt and you overcome.

We went through a Renaissance period. And after the Renaissance comes the Age of Enlightenment. I’m excited for what the future of gastronomy will be, and I’m willing to accept that it may not be what it used to be, but I know that whatever it is, it will continue to inspire and grow.

Fatbelly Pretzel

Chef Levon Wallace

Fatbelly Pretzel