Customers can order pancakes and eggs all day long at IHOP, but VP of Culinary Scott Randolph is making sure there are plenty of innovative but traditional lunch and dinner options, too. In his four years as head chef, he has worked to expand IHOP’s positioning from the breakfast leader to the all-day leader, adding signature burritos, bowls, melts and more. But he’s also busy elevating breakfast—the latest menu launch is new French toast (NFT), a thicker, fluffier version of the morning favorite.

Listen as Randolph talks about the growth of IHOP’s bubbles and brews beverage program, the success of fast-casual sibling, Flip’d, his TikTok appearances and what’s coming out of the pipeline in early 2023.

Rick Petralia led menu innovation at Fazoli’s for many years before moving over to Wichita, Kan.-based Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers earlier this year, applying his deep culinary experience to a new platform.

Burgers and frozen custard are very different from pasta, he admits, but menu development relies on the same principles. Petralia analyzes consumer research, focuses on seasonality and tries to push the envelope on flavor. He’s also a TikTok fan, saying there’s lots of inspiration out there on social media.

Joe Isidori is chef-owner of Arthur & Sons, an old-school Italian restaurant he opened in New York City this past summer. Isidori comes from a three-generation restaurant family and grew up in his father’s red sauce joint, standing on milk crates to clean shrimp and plate pasta when he was just five.

He went on to hone his skills in culinary school, head up Michelin-starred restaurants and create Black Tap Craft Burgers & Beers, which started as a 15-seat luncheonette and grew to an international chain specializing in great burgers and outrageous milkshakes.

Black Tap was rooted in nostalgia, and that’s the same theme that runs through Arthur & Sons. The menu is filled with Italian-American classics like chicken parm, penne alla vodka and spumoni—all updated with artisan and housemade ingredients and new cooking styles. The cocktails are upgrades of old-school classics, too.

Listen as Isidori describes the twists and turns that led to Arthur and Sons and why this is the first time in his career that he feels like he’s being himself.

Climate change is top of mind right now, with recent heat waves, droughts and wildfires directly affecting food production and the environment. Michael P. Hoffmann, professor emeritus at Cornell University and co-author of the book “Our Changing Menu,” relays how all this directly affects what foodservice operators can put on the menu.

Some favorite foods and beverages, like sushi, salads, coffee and cocktails, are being threatened. And climate change has the potential to impact the taste of wine, gin and tonics, tomatoes and even chicken.

But all is not doom and gloom. Some ingredients may even become more abundant, including squid and octopus. And Hoffmann remains optimistic that taking action can change the dynamic.

Listen as he talks about climate change from a culinary point of view and shares how operators, farmers and scientists can work together to make a difference.

Cristina Suarez is a self-taught “bargirl”—a name she is proud to call herself even as a skilled hospitality professional in her 30s.

At 18, Suarez began her journey behind the bar at Hooters, moving on to several Miami hotels where she polished her cocktail-making expertise and learned valuable management, training and operational techniques.

Listen as Suarez describes how she taps her Cuban-American heritage to create unique drinks, differentiates the bar at each of the eight Kush concepts, spreads her passion for hospitality and never stops learning.

Caribou Coffee is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, and menu innovation has shifted from hot drinks to cold in the years since. Gretchen Hashemi-Rad, beverage category manager for the 400-plus chain, says sales of cold coffee and other icy beverages outpace hot coffees and teas—especially among younger consumers and even in the winter.

Listen as she talks about how Caribou is changing up the menu to meet that demand, with equipment upgrades, energy drinks, blended and sparkling mocktails and its own bubble tea, and why the brand is carefully timing the start of pumpkin spice season to build anticipation.

Sabin Lomac and Jim Tselikis, actual cousins from Maine who founded Cousins Maine Lobster, started with one truck, a simple menu and a commitment to source the best-tasting, best-quality Maine lobster for their lobster rolls.

That caught the attention of Barbara Corcoran when the pair pitched the concept on Shark Tank. She invested and mentored the partners, and 10 years later, Cousins Maine Lobster has close to 50 locations, including nine brick-and-mortar restaurants and an enthusiastic team of franchisees who are driving growth.

Listen as the pair discuss why lobster prices have skyrocketed, the importance of keeping the menu limited to what they do best, how they spread the Maine spirit to both franchisees and customers and how they strive to be the name and face of Maine lobster as they grow.

Marc Forgione was born into a restaurant family, but he wasn’t trained from birth to be a chef, he says.

He worked at An American Place, the restaurant founded by his father Larry Forgione, from the age of 16, but it wasn’t until he cooked big dinners for his college friends that he changed his career path from psychiatry to hospitality.

Next steps included backpacking in Europe, stints in France’s restaurant kitchens and executing the menus for several BLT concepts. He opened his first place, the Michelin-starred Restaurant Marc Forgione, in New York City in 2008 and became the owner of Peasant right before the pandemic. Peasant is a cozy neighborhood restaurant with an Italian-forward menu where most everything is cooked in a wood-burning hearth.

Listen as Forgione talks about his culinary journey, why he believes in karma, how post-pandemic customers are kinder and gentler, and how and he and his dad plan to open an Italian tapas concept in a prime New York City space vacated by Mario Batali.

Sam Polk, founder and CEO of Everytable, launched the social enterprise grab-and-go concept in Los Angeles in 2015. His goal was to provide healthy, affordable meals in neighborhoods that are often classified as food deserts.

The chef-inspired food is prepared at a central commissary to keep pricing low and is delivered to Everytable store locations, refrigerated vending machines and directly to consumers. The customer base includes more affluent diners, too, and Polk follows a variable pricing model, charging according to zip code. But the menu of salads, wraps and warm bowls, which includes best-sellers like Jamaican jerk chicken with coconut rice and salmon adobo, resonates across all locales, he says.

Steve Sturm is senior VP of food and beverage and executive chef of the 55-unit Firebirds Wood-Fired Grill. The namesake wood-fired grill is the focal point of the menu at the polished casual chain, not only for items like shrimp, salmon, beef tenderloin, chicken, blistered vegetables and tuna, but for cocktails that feature charred pineapple and chilies.

Chef Sturm is currently working on revamping the bar food menu, adding more small plates and shareables that deliver a big flavor punch and fit the way people want to dine today. That menu will launch in the fall. He’s also introducing more interactive tableside items, as guests today are looking for dining experiences—not just a straightforward dinner menu.

Listen as he describes how he likes to get in the kitchen and “play” and how he and his team of 150 chefs continue to innovate the Firebirds menu.