We’re off to Nashville this week for our first-ever road show and we could not be more excited.

In today’s episode, we sit down with Chef Jean Leathersich, the Director of Culinary at Hardee’s restaurants. If you’ve ever wondered what it actually takes to get a fast food item onto a menu, look no further. Chef Jean walks us through the process while we talk inside Hardee’s very own test kitchen here in Tennessee.

We spend a lot of time talking about both Hardee’s, and Carl’s Jr. as well as what differentiates the two. However, Beef Medium has always been about the people within the wonderful world of food which means that Chef Jean gets to tell us her story as well, including the time she was a postal worker, her stint a boutique pastry chef, and even when she was snack packaging engineer. It turns out getting to lead culinary innovation for a restaurant brand isn’t as straightforward of a path as one would think.

Our favorite fast food-loving educator is on the pod today: Alexis Frost! (alexis.frost / lex.loves)

As a former high school math teacher, her internet fame began as a bit years back with one of her students. Alexis ultimately decided to start her own page on TikTok in 2020 during a phase in her life where most folks would have a hard time putting themselves out there (not even including the pandemic).

She started off doing content about being a teacher which amassed her hundreds of thousands of followers but she found a higher calling in the world of fast food, particularly in trying employee orders, ultimately becoming a full time creator several years ago and leaving her job as a teacher.

Alexis's story is truly a motivating one. Regularly putting out multiple videos a day for past the five years, she's only missed a couple in total. One video of hers in particular proved to a bit of a challenge but she made it happen anyway and it landed her a collab with both Chipotle and Keith Lee in case you're ever doubting your content. Let Alexis's grind be your guiding light.

It’s about time we had a Texas-centric episode. Who better to walk us through the food culture of one of the U.S.’s best states than Emily Hill aka Grocery Obsessed?

Like many others, she started her page back in 2020 but unlike many others, her content focused specifically and only on Texas’s iconic grocery store chain H-E-B. Emily’s page was originally known as HEB Obsessed but a couple years back, she found that she had niched just a bit too hard and that’s where the rebrand to Grocery Obsessed comes in. Regardless, she still focuses only on Texas grocery finds, with everything from national brands to new startups. It’s been so successful that it’s become her full time job, which makes her one of the coolest moms we know (in addition to her being the first ever guest on the podcast that is indeed a mom).

This episode is particularly great because Matt has never really experienced Texas, so you have three perspectives today, those being the true local (Emily), an experienced visitor (Zach), and a relative newcomer (Matt). 

Laneygrn (Laney Green) the official Dessert Queen joins us on the podcast today.

A full-time content creator at 22, Laney wasted no time launching her career right out of college. She is undoubtedly living the life reviewing food every day in San Diego, but it didn’t happen overnight. Turns out Laney’s been making videos since she was nine years old. After over decade of pure hustle experimenting with everything from makeup to lifestyle content, she ultimately landed on food as she was wrapping up school. 

During her time in college, she also started a user-generated content (UGC) marketing business, largely separate from her escapades as a social media personality. UGC’s a pretty big subsection of the industry these days but get this: barely anybody was talking about it when she started things back in the early 2020s. The risks she’s taken have ultimately paid off as she continues her career and it’s something anyone looking to get into content, young or old, can learn from. 

All hail KingSchratz (Dave Schratz), fast food legend and pop culture expert.

Dave is an absolute content machine. His page was originally created in 2006, during YouTube’s earliest days, but he didn’t start taking content creation seriously until 2020 when the pandemic forced his personal training business to a halt. From long-form to short-form, Dave does it all, every single day, every single platform. 

It all started with an Instagram post where he offered to eat an entire Shaq-a-Roni Pizza from Papa John’s in exchange for 5,000 likes. From there, he took his childhood love for fast food and turned it into multi-thousand calorie eating challenges, mukbangs, and even tech reviews via his second channel, MoreKingSchratz. In today’s episode, we talk about his personal journey, his love for Wendy’s, his disdain for Subway, and much more.

The world of soda is vast and SodaSeekers aka Griffin Parker (@sodaseekers) joins us this week to help us navigate it. 

A Sporked Contributor and beverage expert, Griffin possesses an immense amount of knowledge (likely stored in his beard) about a variety of snacky topics including the truth behind Coca-Cola’s recent real sugar announcement, the intricacies of running a cotton candy business, the energy drink industry’s crazy competition between companies such as Red Bull Alani Nu, Celsius, and Ghost, and much more. Beyond the fun facts, the world of drinks is constantly changing, especially with it becoming rather political in recent years, so consider this your catchup on all the haps.

At this point, SodaSeekers is the largest independent non-alcoholic beverage-focused page on Instagram. It’s a mouthful, but it takes a hell of a lot to get there including internet-breaking inside scoops and some very sexy graphic design skills. It’s rare that we have a guest with such subject matter expertise, so crack a can of your favorite drink and get ready for this absolute trip of an episode.

Sandwiches of History (@sandwichesofhistory), aka Barry Enderwick, has been at the top of our guest wishlist since the inception of this podcast. Today, we finally get to check that box.

There’s no niche quite as niche-y in the food world as the one Barry has carved out. Having gained major traction during the lockdown of 2020, Sandwiches of History is exactly what it sounds like: every day, Barry and his fans dive into a new sandwich recipe from society’s past. From countless variations of egg salad to regional favorites like the North Shore Beef (a personal favorite of ours), Barry brings history to the plate in the most delicious — or sometimes diabolical — ways possible.

Over the past five years, Sandwiches of History has grown into a full fandom with a cookbook, a roadshow, and a thriving community, all dedicated to exploring one of humanity’s most beloved foods. In this episode, we talk sandwiches galore, Barry’s early career at Netflix, his advice for aspiring content creators, and much more. And if you’re feeling ambitious while you listen, grab a couple slices of bread and get to cheffin’.

IDGAFFOODS (@idgaffoods) joins us on the podcast today. We’ve had a lot of great guests on here, but there will never be another episode quite like this.

A former substance user now twelve years clean, IDGAFFOODS took to social media last year after becoming frustrated with the relentless unsolicited health tips constantly popping up online. His first video was in his kitchen, eating a jar of tomato sauce while recounting how he used to chase highs in places most people never see. Since then, he’s eaten countless foods off the pavement, drank gallons of seed oils, and plenty more, all in the name of taking his power back during this resurgence of food hysteria. After all, these aren’t the worst things he’s put in his body.

An unintended bonus: IDGAFFOODS’s untraditional escapades have become something of a beacon for folks struggling with substance use, mental health disorders, and eating disorders. They look to him as a guiding light in a world full of armchair experts and self-declared health gurus. He’s only ever granted two interviews in his career: one to GQ, and the other to us. That’s something we’re incredibly grateful for, as it gives us the chance to share a fascinating story of recovery and learning how to enjoy life a little more.

Sanaaeats (@sanaaeats) is one of Foodtok’s most endearing creators so we’re stoked over here at Beef Medium to host her for her first podcast experience.

At this point in her career, Sanaa has amassed nearly two million followers across platforms. Some folks may say that it takes a lot of luck to get to that point on social media but for her, two things have driven her to that point: a desire to get in touch with her true self and the want to connect with people on a deeper level. TikTok challenged her to leave her comfort zone, putting her on a path of full-time content creation as well as taking her to both New York City to Los Angeles, two of America’s most iconic food cities. 

She’s living her best life and we’re absolutely here for it.

Morgan Chomps (@morganchompz / @morganchomps) is a bit of a food icon if you ask us. Part reviewer and part creative mastermind, she’s been behind some of the space’s most memorable moments, from ordering a now-viral 50 count bucket of chicken nuggets at Wendy’s to buying herself wedding cakes, birthday cakes and other sweets just because she felt like it.

Her story is fascinating. Morgan is one of only a handful of Beef Medium guests who make content full time, though it was never part of her original plan. After graduating college at the start of the pandemic she didn’t have many other options, so content became her path forward. Five years later she’s built a loyal following among snackers, sweet tooths and Walmart regulars.

Recently Morgan left her home state of Colorado for the milder climate of Utah, which has introduced her to a whole new world of food culture. In today’s episode we talk about it all, including Crumbl, her love for Taco Bell, Mormon culinary staples and plenty more.