Why Food?

Shen Tong is one of the most accomplished individuals I have met. It is simply not possible to bracket him in to pre- and post-food careers because he builds on his achievements instead moving from one to the next. Shen is a social activist, exiled from China as one of the student leaders in the democracy movement in Tiananmen Square in 1989, he was also heavily involved in the Occupy Wall Street movement. Shen Tong is a television producer, technology innovator, entrepreneur, serial investor and writer. His accomplishments are extraordinary at 48, and his new focus is food. Shen founded Food Future Co. the world's first scale-up accelerator in food, agriculture and social entrepreneurship. He also founded Food-X, the number 1 food innovation accelerator in the world. These accelerators will support companies that are making meaningful change for the future. Food Future Co. and Food-X are not trying to fund rapid growth for a high return on investment, these companies are the ethical investors in the future of food. Tune in to hear a new perspective on the future of food and what the goal in sight is for Shen’s food movement. If you enjoyed todays episode please subscribe or rate and review. One Industry Fits All, Much Love.

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Vincent Mazeau recently traded his successful career as an artist and set designer of 15 years to start a new life, owning and operating his own restaurant, Cherry Point, in Greenpoint, with his partners, Chef Julian Colcott and Garrett Smith.

Vincent is a graduate of Sculpture from Yale who progressed in to the world of set design with his company, Big Room. During Vincent's fifteen years in the industry he collaborated with brands such as Calvin Klein, Yves St. Laurent, Alexander McQueen and Dolce & Gobbana. As an artist, Vincent’s work has been shown in galleries and museums all around the world as well as some of the worlds most-acclaimed publications.

Vincent left the industry to enroll at the French Culinary Institute, after graduation he did a stage at Michelin-starred Corton where he met Cherry Point’s chef Julian Colcott.

In this episode we will be discussing why Vincent left a successful career behind him to re-establish himself in the notoriously fickle New York restaurant scene, along with the trials and tribulations of opening a restaurant. I’m also curious to understand how a “Brooklyn restaurant’ is created in his eyes, along with the global trend to seek inspiration from Brooklyn’s bar and restaurant scene – some say Brooklyn is the new Paris.

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Stephen and David Flynn are twins and founders of The Happy Pear.

The Happy pear began twelve years ago as a fruit & veg shop in their hometown of Greystones, just south of Dublin, Ireland. In that twelve year period, The Happy Pear has expanded to a Café, evening restaurant, sprout farm, food production facility – producing energy bars, pesto, granola and many other plant based delicacies, the happy heart – a health education course, and two best-selling cookbooks.

Stephen and David have an insatiable appetite for life and probably have the most jam-packed days of anybody I have ever met. The Happy Pear is a community of people who want to improve the lives of others and all of this has stemmed from the twins vision to start a food movement with their fruit & veg shop.

In this episode I sat down with Stephen and David in The Happy Pear café in Greystones. They shared the story of their younger years, the profound connection they have to food, the importance of having fun, and how their food movement is taking shape.

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"If you have a genuine passion for something, why not go for it?"

I'm back home in Galway, Ireland this week and while I was home I wanted to meet the guys who have set the restaurant scene a light with their warm hospitality and sensational Neapolitan pizza.

Galway is the major food destination in Ireland, recently awarded the European Region of Gastronomy 2018 and Dough Bros are the restaurant that perched themselves as the number one restaurant on TripAdvisor for 14 consecutive months among 345 restaurants.

Dough Bros is founded by two brothers Eugene and Ronan Greaney. Eugene was laid off from his sales and marketing job during the recent recession and spotted an opportunity to go into business with his brother by starting up a food truck selling Neapolitan style wood fired pizza. The food truck quickly moved on to a pop-up restaurant with a 10 week lease, which extended to 18 months, and four weeks ago the brothers moved in to their first permanent space. It has been a rapid success story for the Greaney brothers with the future looking brighter than ever.

In this episode I had an opportunity to speak with Ronan, who takes the mantle of Head Chef. Their vision is simple - quality ingredients and quality service, a restaurant should feel like a home. A place where diners can relax, socialize and feel acknowledged.

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"The one through line of my early twenties was that there was no through line." After many years of random jobs and a prolonged stint at the Metropolitan Opera, Casey made a pledge to himself that he would establish his career path by the time he was 30. Food was always heavily involved in Casey's life, it was a love interest of his but always something in the background. That is until he and a friend set themselves a challenge to set up a company in 30 days. They developed a spicy honey with quality ingredients from the Hudson Valley, Bushwick Kitchen was born. Three years later, they now produce 7 products ranging from honey, maple syrup and hot sauce. Casey discusses the early challenges in his first entrepreneurial endeavor, how he rolled with the punches, and how all those random, unrelated jobs in his twenties aligned to mould the multi-dimensional entrepreneur that he is today.

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In this episode we meet one of the most inspirational restaurateurs in the States. Largely unknown because she doesn't operate in sexy markets like New York or LA, Martha Hoover is the CEO and founder of 11 restaurants and a charitable foundation. Formerly a public sector lawyer, Martha made the transition to food in '89. With no restaurant experience, two young children, and a third on the way, she opened up Cafe Patachou. Over the past 25 years she has changed the restaurant landscape in Indianapolis - with community at the center of everything she does. Martha shares her simple steps to run a sustainable, efficient and collective restaurant group.

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