Why Food?

Michele Tanenbaum was burnt out after spending decades in the fashion industry. She began to experiment with making sweet treats for both humans and canines as a gift for her friends - and quickly things blossomed into a full-blown cookie business. Now Lucky Bites - which is named after her terrier Lucky - is in its seventh year and reaching tens of thousands of avid fans online. Join us as we talk about how Michele's design eye has influenced her cookie business, navigating the world of Instagram influencers, tricks of the icing trade and the wildest cookie she's ever baked!

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Dianna Daoheung left a career in advertising because she wanted to work with her hands. She decided to challenge herself by enrolling in a culinary school's pastry program, where she found she loved the science behind bread baking. She took a job at the newly-opened Mile End Deli in Brooklyn, where she learned the fundamentals of Jewish cuisine and when Mile End's owners decided to open a bagel shop, Dianna was the natural choice to run it. Since then, she's overseen its significant expansion, become a partner in the business, and been recognized by the James Beard Foundation (twice!) as a nominee for Best Baker. Join us for a fun, honest conversation about how she balances the creative and commercial aspects of running NYC's only Montreal-inspired bagel bakery.

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Jeremy Lyman began sketching floorplans of his future business at 16, but found himself only working on his "coffee project" during bad days at work. He wanted to fill a hole in the NYC market for a hospitality-driven coffee concept - except he didn't know anything about coffee. Serendipitously he met his Co-Founder Paul, and together Birch Coffee started with a trip to CoffeeFest 2008. Now, Birch Coffee has 9 locations across NYC and its own roastery in Long Island City. Join us as we talk about embracing change with an evolving business, the realities of business partnerships and the importance of letting go of control.

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Andrew Jacobi always flirted with the idea of starting a food business, but found himself chasing the competitive high of private equity after college. After yet another late night, he decided to think more seriously about his long-harbored love for meat. After learning the beef supply chain first hand and meeting his founding chef, Ricky, Andy started Untamed Sandwiches, a fast-casual concept with 3 locations across NYC. Untamed's unique focus on braised meat as the centerpiece has allowed him to use "less-loved" cuts of meat to build a restaurant business that is delicious, accessible and scalable. Join us as we talk about the highs (and lows) of raising money, balancing family with entrepreneurship and managing the operations of a growing business.

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Matt Shapiro was in law school when he read about a Midtown street vendor's cart being wrongfully confiscated by the police. He was immediately moved by the issue and began to work with the Street Vendors Project, an arm of the non-profit organization Urban Justice Center, that advocates for and provides legal representation to all types of street vendors in NYC - from food trucks to grocery carts to craft & clothing vendors. Join us as we wade through the issues of immigration and race, permitting and regulations, politics and public attitude surrounding many of our familiar neighborhood vendors.

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Ligaya Mishan is the author of the New York Times' "Hungry City" column, where she reviews New York's "great, unsung" restaurants. Her career has taken her from an MFA in poetry to writing book reviews for the New Yorker to her current job, where she tells the stories of immigrants and entrepreneurs through the food that they serve. Join us as we talk about how someone who grew up eating spam and frozen peas now reviews restaurants serving food from dozens of countries, and as we grapple with questions of authenticity in the food industry.

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Rob Laing was a successful tech entrepreneur in Japan when he first realized his stressful, nonstop lifestyle was leading him astray. After leaving his company, embracing a plant-based diet and taking time to learn more about his food sources, he came across the burgeoning indoor vertical farming movement - and saw the impact he could make on the food industry while leveraging his tech background. Rob started Farm.One in 2016 with 350sqft inside New York's Institute of Culinary Education, growing rare and specialty herbs and flowers for some of the city's best culinary talent. Now Farm.One has expanded into its second location inside 2-Michelin-starred Atera with an even wider breadth of offerings and detailed techniques for growing consistently and sustainably. Join us as we talk about Rob's journey from tech to food as well as the ins and outs of urban farming - what it means for our food systems now and in the future.

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Devika Kumar found herself at a crossroads after having her first child. She had successful career in investment banking and an MBA from Harvard Business School, but she wanted to leave a legacy of good food for her newborn boy. Her love for talking to others and telling their stories propelled her down the path of food, from surveying customers at Tom Colicchio's 'Wichcraft to forging relationships with new produce farmers at FreshDirect to overseeing the supply chain at L'Atelier de Robuchon. Now, she's coming full circle by joining her family's thriving tea business in India. Tune in as we talk about her journey through the world of food and the thematic connection of storytelling in her career.

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With a love for good food and wine in comfortable and welcoming surroundings Tim and Nancy Cushman poured themselves and their finances in to their first restaurant, O Ya, in Boston, to create a space where they would feel comfortable. On todays episode they are celebrating the ten year anniversary of O Ya and reflecting on the other four restaurants that reside under the umbrella that is Cushman Concepts, as well as rolling back the years on their respective careers in music and advertising.

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Have you craved New York bagels when you are on the west coast or needed the Caramel Pecan Pie from Blue Owl Bakery in Missouri? Brad Koenig was a lover of all regional foods and wanted access to them from his home in Menlo Park, California. Previously a partner at Goldman Sachs for over 20 years, Brad turned his food desires in to a business and created FoodyDirect which ships delicious foods from restaurants and artisan producers all over the country.

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