Quench

Season 7 of Forktales was a feast of stories and insights from food industry trailblazers. We explored how Biscuitville’s secret recipe became a Southern staple, how Rubix Foods stays one step ahead of flavor trends and how RoboBurger reinvented the burger experience.

Highlights also included Ben Jacobs’ mission to elevate Native cuisine, Doug Renfro’s spicy salsa innovations, and Andy Gellert’s global food import expertise. From mastering hospitality in airports to preserving the glitz of Vegas' Golden Steer, each guest brought something extraordinary to the table.

Gellert Global Group imports more than 5,500 unique food items from more than 60 countries and is one of the largest food importers in the world. Andy Gellert sits at the helm of that family owned and operated business where he leads the company’s vision of being a part of every food experience.

In this episode of Forktales, Michael and Andy talk about how to avoid conflict in a family-owned business, the benefits of networks like the Young Presidents’ Organizations (YPO), the impact of inflation on the import business and the role of trends in identifying new imports.

This episode of Forktales is a spicy one thanks to Doug Renfro of Renfro Foods. Doug and his cousins oversee Mrs. Renfro’s salsas, a brand that has grown into one of the largest salsa names in the nation and the brand with the most unique selection of flavors.

On the menu, Michael and Doug talk about the benefits (and struggles) of family ownership, trend spotting, flavor development and eating ghost peppers for breakfast.

Earlier this year, Audley Wilson and his partners took their dream – a revolutionary vending machine that makes fresh, made-to-order burgers – and pitched it to the investors (and to America) on Shark Tank. They walked away with a $1.5 million loan, but getting there wasn’t easy.

In this episode of Forktales, Audley shares the long journey to Shark Tank, the challenges with building a fully-functioning kitchen in a 12-square-foot vending machine and why he chose to devote himself to making hamburgers. Audley also offers a behind-the-scenes look at the Shark Tank process and why each entrepreneur who appears on the show really is required to meet with a psychologist after the taping.

If you’ve had a donut, brownie, cupcake or cookie in the past year, you’ve probably had a baked good made with ingredients from Embassy Ingredients. Martino Brambilla was just 17 years old when his father handed him the reins to the company. Since then he’s grown it into one of the world’s largest providers of flavors and ingredients in the world.

In this episode of Forktales, Michael and Martino talk about the personality traits of a successful entrepreneur, clean labels, flavor trends and why indulgence doesn’t have to mean unhealthy.

Why do so many restaurants fail to properly use data? What are the biggest mistakes restaurants make when designing loyalty programs? Two huge questions and Emily Rugaber answers them both. Emily is the VP of Marketing for Thanx, a leading loyalty and guest engagement platform for restaurants.

In this episode of Forktales, Emily talks about the most common challenge restaurants face when it comes to data, the problem with discount-based loyalty programs, and why personalized programs are so difficult.

As the founder and CEO of the International Food & Beverage Technology Association (IFBTA), Rob Grimes spends his time forecasting tech trends and helping brands apply those trends to stay one step ahead of the competition.

In this episode of Forktales, Rob joins us from the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas where he offers his thoughts on what’s hot (and what’s not) at CES, drones, robotics, the rise of electric vehicles, and why we should all keep an open mind about plant-based steaks.

Dan Costello oversees nine Chicago area pizza shops and a thriving frozen pizza brand as the CEO of Home Run Inn Pizza. That position gives him a front row seat in the battle for hearts, minds and stomachs in the Pizza Capital of the World.

In this episode of Forktales, Michael and Dan talk about brand storytelling, creating synergy between restaurant brands and CPG brands and, of course, pizza. Specifically, they discuss the origins of the Home Run Inn Pizza name, which meat tops more Chicagoland pizzas (hint: it’s not pepperoni) and whether deep dish pizza is really just a casserole disguised as pizza.

Joseph is a vice president of digital experience, an author of multiple books about modern marketing and brand-building and a board advisor to restaurant tech companies and startups. He’s also the former host of Forktales.

In today’s episode, we meet the new host of Forktales, Michael Pavone (President and CEO of Pavone Group, which includes Vigor). Michael and Joseph talk about how to be a good podcast host, effective email marketing, the future of the restaurant industry and we play a game that tests Joseph’s knowledge of past guests and Forktales episodes.

It’s no secret that attracting and retaining high-quality employees is one of the restaurant industry’s biggest challenges. Caroline Skinner knows that. She’s also leading the way at Tupelo Honey when it comes to implementing industry-leading hiring practices and building a strong, hard-working and happy employee culture. 

In this episode, Caroline shares tips for how to build employee support programs that work, how to use technology to build stronger relationships with customers and one of the most effective ways to communicate with younger employees.