PeasOnMoss Podcast

Oregon State University Food Innovation Center Director of Product and Process Development Sarah Masoni joined us on the PeaOnMoss podcast to tell us about her work at the Innovation Center, and we chatted about the challenges that entrepreneurs face bringing their food concepts to reality. One unique trend coming forward is the blossoming of international cuisines such as African food and ingredients. Because there is less familiarity - and possibly limited availability of supply - entrepreneurs take on different challenges when commercializing their food items. In this preview, Sarah and Kimberly discuss the challenges of interpreting a food on a different continent and the priorities that the entrepreneurs have to choose to successfully and affordably produce their products.

This podcast is sponsored by TraceGains. TraceGains is a cloud-based supplier relationship and quality management platform that helps food and consumer-packaged goods companies deliver on brand promise.

Chef Jaime Mestan is the recently promoted VP of Culinary Innovation at Vienna Beef, and she's an executive board member for the Research Chefs Association, public speaker, author, and newly minted career coach. Chef Jaime represents the next generation of research chefs, who mix together our culinary experiences with food manufacturing processing and food science and technology. When she's not doing product innovation for Vienna Beef, Chef Jaime has written a book (Networking for Noobs) and offers career coaching (Line2Lab) for culinary professionals looking for ways to get into R&D.

For both Chef Jaime and Kimberly, involvement in the Research Chefs Association has helped us solidify our identities and our craft as research chefs and has provided opportunities for us to volunteer, lead, and give back. Come meet us at the upcoming RCA conference April 15-17 in San Diego and set your career apart.

Looking for a different, in-depth, and personal conference about product strategy? The American Food Innovate Summit takes place in Chicago March 2-3, 2020. Hear from legacy brands and start-ups and how they're innovating and leading food trends.

VP of Culinary Innovation at Vienna Beef Chef Jaime Mestan is also the Treasurer for the Research Chefs Association, so when Chef Jaime and I talk about the RCA, we automatically reflect on the history of the organization, how far it has come, and what its future could look like.

In addition to her work in product innovation and volunteering at the RCA, chef Jaime has also just published an e-book about professional networking, called Networking for Noobs. Check it out on Amazon. Interested in finding out how to grow your career? Chef Jaime also offers coaching focused on chefs interested in crossing to R&D at Line2Lab.

Formerly known as Steviva Ingredients, named because CEO and Founder Thom King first started importing and processing stevia leaf products, Icon Foods has gone beyond commodity sweeteners and is the leader of single and blended high intensity and non-nutritive natural sweeteners and alternatives to sugar and sucrose.

Thom joined Kimberly on PeasOnMoss to wrap up the year, reminisce, and anticipate 2020.

Get information about Icon Foods and see what they can do for your reduced sugar formulations.

Season 3 sponsor TraceGains Founder and CEO Gary Nowacki is here this week on PeasOnMoss to share about TraceGains and the technology solutions they bring to food manufacturers and CPG brands making their work more efficient. TraceGains is a cloud-based platform that helps food and consumer-packaged goods companies innovate faster. TraceGains Network is where R&D, procurement, quality, and regulatory departments discover and collaborate with over 27,000 global supplier sites to safely bring new products to market.

Check out their demo and see how they can help you, no matter the size of your business. TraceGains.com

We're so grateful that TraceGains saw value in PeasOnMoss and have helped us pay for fees that it takes to record, edit, and host the show. Gary even interviewed Kimberly on the TraceGains C to C podcast, and you can find the episode here.

Director of Culinary Applications & Corporate Executive Chef Christopher Warsaw joined us on PeasOnMoss to give us a deeper dive into the capabilities that has distinguished Bell Flavors and Fragrances. Bell Flavors and Fragrances sponsors the PeasOnMoss podcast and has been an example of customer focused innovation and solutions-oriented service. Chef Chris details how a research chef is vital to the success of a flavor company, and gives examples of how their influence helps progress innovation and stay on top of trends.

Sponsorship pays for the fees that it takes to record, produce, and publish the podcast episodes. We appreciate the trust that Bell F&F puts into PeasOnMoss to tell the stories of the people in our industry and share insights about our work.

Chef, food scientist, account director, and RCA president Justin Kanthak is an impressive millennial and future leader, and you could ever accuse him of resting on his laurels. He joined us on the show to share his journey with us, and I pepper him with questions throughout regarding leadership, career advancement, and asking smart questions.

We got deep in our discussion really quickly, so there isn't a typical intro and welcome, but the depth of the topic was so good that I didn't want to stop us. Though he's probably going to get credit or blame for shaking up the RCA in ways it hasn't seen with regard to how the up-and-coming generation is stepping into leadership, it has been a fire slowly building. I'm excited for this new chapter for our organization, and Justin does a great job explaining his vision for its future.

This podcast is sponsored by TraceGains - data management for the complex supply chain simplified.

Chef, food scientist, account director, and RCA president Justin Kanthak is an impressive millennial and future leader, and you could ever accuse him of resting on his laurels. He joined us on the show to share his journey with us, and I pepper him with questions throughout regarding leadership, career advancement, and asking smart questions.

We got deep in our discussion really quickly, so there isn't a typical intro and welcome, but the depth of the topic was so good that I didn't want to stop us. Though he's probably going to get credit or blame for shaking up the RCA in ways it hasn't seen with regard to how the up-and-coming generation is stepping into leadership, it has been a fire slowly building. I'm excited for this new chapter for our organization, and Justin does a great job explaining his vision for its future.

This podcast is sponsored by TraceGains - data management for the complex supply chain simplified.

Chef Kurt needs very little introduction in the Research Chef Association industry. Indomitable seems to be the word that comes to mind when I think of him. From his journey through restaurants to R&D, he is already a leader in his work. But, Chef Kurt has survived a health misadventure that should have shut down his career right at the pinnacle. Hear the story from his own words. His determination to heal and bring that experience into his work is inspiring, but it also should make us question the hurdles we are facing. Maybe they aren't as big as they feel?

This podcast is sponsored by Bell Flavors. Contact them for flavor and fragrance needs, and let them know that you heard about them on PeasOnMoss.

Chef Kurt needs very little introduction in the Research Chef Association industry. Indomitable seems to be the word that comes to mind when I think of him. From his journey through restaurants to R&D, he is already a leader in his work. But, Chef Kurt has survived a health misadventure that should have shut down his career right at the pinnacle. Hear the story from his own words. His determination to heal and bring that experience into his work is inspiring, but it also should make us question the hurdles we are facing. Maybe they aren't as big as they feel?

This podcast is sponsored by Bell Flavors. Contact them for flavor and fragrance needs, and let them know that you heard about them on PeasOnMoss.