For the last 11 years Len Senater ran The Depanneur in Toronto, Canada, an unusual venue that hosted thousands of unique pop-up food events and showcased Toronto's culinary talent. In 2016 he founded the Newcomer Kitchen, a weekly food pop up by and for newly arrived Syrian refugee women so they could prepare, serve and sell traditional Syrian meals. Currently taking a sabbatical year to finish up The Depanneur Cookbook (2023) which will feature recipes & stories from 100 cooks (>80 natio...
Apr 26, 2022•39 min•Ep. 132
In this special 2-part episode to kick off American Heart Month and Black History Month, Tracy is chatting with Valda Ford, a Registered Nurse and Public Health expert and Chef Author Jennifer Hill Booker. In the first 30 minutes, Tracy and Valda are going to talk about how and why she works tirelessly to find answers to complex questions if it will enable some person or some group to have a better experience - especially one that enhances their quality of life or access to care. Plus, how she c...
Apr 19, 2022•1 hr•Ep. 132
Rich Wilner, a native New Yorker, is the General Manager of AFFAIRS to REMEMBER, the Atlanta-based #catering and #eventproduction company with strong passions for delicious food, unforgettable events, sustainable practices, and community involvement. He is a 30+ year veteran of the #hospitalityindustry, as well as of living a #plantbased lifestyle. He thinks — actually knows from experience — that server quality and innovative, tasty products that happen to meet the objective of plant-based prac...
Apr 12, 2022•44 min•Ep. 130
This is a special Women's HERstory month edition Tracy does every March. National City has one of the highest rates of obesity and diabetes in San Diego County and in the state of California. To help women seeking healthier diets in National City, a 7-week nutrition program called Cooking for Salud® was designed in 2012 with the goal of empowering families to take control of their health through the foods that they eat and prepare at home. It has become a Latina-led movement to raise the health,...
Apr 08, 2022•49 min•Ep. 129
This is a special Women's HERstory month edition Tracy does every March. With a passion for global cooking and holistically nourishing the body through food, Chef Elizabeth Johnson, by way of her restaurant Pharm Table, shares plant-forward meals that are locally sourced, globally inspired, and promote an overall better quality of life. With her rich and unique background in multi-disciplinary studies like Anthropology, Culinary Arts, and Ayurvedic medicine, she has a deep understanding the heal...
Apr 07, 2022•43 min•Ep. 128
This is a special Women's HERstory month edition Tracy does every March. Aliza Tuttle is combining her own personal experiences with food. Growing up volunteering with her grandma in the local soup kitchen, studying food systems and urban studies in college to understand the systemic issues that affect food and inequality, and personally experiencing food insecurity and time poverty — to help build community and help the economy through food. As a volunteer with the Corvallis Sustainability Coal...
Apr 05, 2022•45 min•Ep. 127
Sera Cuni is a classically trained chef who grew up in a family of self-taught cooks who enthusiastically embraced their Italian and Czech heritages. She also learned early in life that the sharing a home-cooked meal together every evening was a necessary ingredient for an abundant life. Now as chef owner of The Root Cellar, she has built her career around feeding people and feels especially compelled to provide nourishment to those in need. Join Tracy and Sera today, Wednesday, March 23 at 12PM...
Mar 31, 2022•38 min•Ep. 126
Back in April 2016, SAVEUR said New Jersey was "the unsung hero state of American eating." From Taylor Ham to Jersey Sloppy Joes, Trenton Tomato Pie (pizza) to Boardwalk Lemonade & Fries, Pechter's Rye Bread to Cranberries, blueberries and tomatoes, magazine deemed the Garden State is "the most edible state" with a rich, diverse, and passionate food culture. But you do not need to tell that to Kathleen Carozza, Alessia Aron or Liz Pacelli, food tour owner operators and co-founders of the New...
Mar 29, 2022•46 min•Ep. 125
As a toddler, this week's Women's HERStory month honoree studied her Persian grandma’s movements in her kitchen while she deftly tossed in spices to stews that cooked for hours until the meat was so tender it slipped off a fork, rehearsing an act long practiced and learned from her own mother. Today, Tala Ahmadi is inspiring people in Accra, Ghana (and across Africa) to think critically about where their food comes from, how it is processed, and the effects it has on their health, and the planet...
Mar 24, 2022•44 min•Ep. 124
After years of participating/attending food and beverage festivals and not seeing themselves represented, restaurateurs Subrina and Chef Gregory Collier decided to start their own. Eighteen months later the Bayhaven Food & Wine Festival was born, celebrating Black culture. "highlighting the richness of Black culinary traditions and advancing Black cuisine in innovative ways." Listen in as Tracy is chats with them at the beginning of Women's History Month about how they were inspired by women...
Mar 22, 2022•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 123
As an Ecuadorian anthropologist, writer, and filmmaker Pilar Eguez Guevara uses her independent food education and media company to highlight the value in the local knowledge about food. Carried and preserved by elders through food traditions, she create spaces of belonging through the empowerment that comes from the access to knowledge about the value of traditional foods. Join Tracy and Pilar as they discuss how understanding and respecting traditional food knowledge is a way to re-generate or...
Mar 17, 2022•47 min•Ep. 122
Did you know that wine, beer, and spirit manufacturers are not required to tell you what's in their products? It's true. Amanda Thomson, CEO, and Founder of Thomson & Scott Noughty Alcohol-Free Wine wants to change that - especially at it relates to wine. On Wednesday, March 9 for Women's HERstory Month, I'm chatting with THE woman taking the wine world by storm with her organic, alcohol-free, vegan, halal, no-added-sugar wine while also leading the movement toward greater transparency in wi...
Mar 15, 2022•53 min•Ep. 121
To kick off Women's HERstory month, Tracy is chatting with Jamie Gonzalez, aka the “Puta De La Fruta," who has, since 2020, partnered with over 50 organizations to distribute more than 3 million pounds of food. With the mantras “Everybody Eats” and “Cultivating Community” she is using her voice and her experience to help people find pathways to quality, affordable, and healthful food choices. Her professional and philanthropic feeding efforts — and actions — are creating private-public partnersh...
Mar 08, 2022•55 min•Ep. 120
Who says that eating plant-based cannot have flavor? I am sure there are a lot of people who do, but not Chef Robin Asbell. A vegetarian since 1980, Robin is the least preachy veg-head you know. Most of her friends are omnivores and she cooks meat for her private clients. She is more into living it than talking about it at parties and really believes that teaching people to enjoy eating more plants and less meats is going to have a bigger impact than pushing strict rules on people. Fun Fact: Rob...
Mar 01, 2022•36 min
Coming Live from Las Vegas on the final day of PCMA Convening Leaders, Tracy reports on what she saw and heard about food and beverage at the convention, around town, and through the convention partners who are showcasing their cities. Tracy covers presentation styles, labeling, room sets, and ancillary events. She even takes a tour around the main area of the show so you can see how it is set-up. Connect with Tracy: facebook.com/groups/EatingataMeeting thrivemeetings.com...
Feb 22, 2022•33 min•Ep. 118
Kicking off the 2022 talking about and celebrating veganism and how it can help us be better stewards for our planet. Who better to help me do this than Veganethical food advisor Chantal Cooke . Her 30+ years as an environmental journalist, founder of UK's only ethically focused radio station PASSION for the PLANET, a long time vegetarian/vegan, she is a wealth of knowledge to start the year and Veganuary. Tune in to listen as Chantal and Tracy chat about why moving to plant-based eating so impo...
Feb 15, 2022•54 min•Ep. 117
To truly create safe, inclusive, and sustainable food experiences, we must take into account all the other human and non-human inputs along the food supply chain. Using their experience running a global corporate food program and their appreciation and advocacy for local and sustainable food system, McKenzie Phelan and Meghan Shellenberg founded Foodmuse. Through their food and beverage design agency they help organizations create dining programs that are connected to their local food systems wh...
Feb 08, 2022•45 min•Ep. 116
What do you get when you provide a safe dining experience for someone with food allergies? An inclusive experience in which everyone can enjoy a meal with together without anyone going hungry. If you are a #foodservice outlet or an #event, adding those two types of experiences together — safety + inclusion — you gain potential for increasing your revenue. You see, individuals with #foodallergies and other dietary needs are VERY loyal. Debbie Bruce, founding member and current Director of the Can...
Feb 01, 2022•44 min•Ep. 115
When contacting a hotel or other venue to hold a meeting/event there is usually a food and beverage (F&B) contract clause that stipulates the group must spend a minimum amount of money on F&B during the event, providing a source of revenue for the venue. And, if the group doe not generate the contracted amount, it will responsible for making up the difference. These are "standard" clauses, if you're in the industry. But what is the standard now after/during the pandemic? What has to be n...
Jan 25, 2022•48 min•Ep. 114
What are the cocktail (alcoholic and non!) basics that everyone should know about making excellent drinks? Grab a glass and tune in to learn from cocktail editor, coach and mixologist, Erin R. Petrey about how cocktails are made, why they are made the way they are, and the history behind what's in the glass. Learn what to serve for your New Year celebrations and events in 2022, including non-alcoholic spirits and cocktails. Useful Links www.bourbonbanter.com https://www.instagram.com/livelongand...
Jan 18, 2022•42 min•Ep. 113
I met Becky Kekula a few years ago at a conference about work place inclusion. When we talked about what we both do, I was intrigued by her perspective of eating at a meeting. As a person with dwarfism, she opened my eyes to yet another approach #eventprofs should consider when designing events, including the food and beverage service. In her TedX Talk, she says "we live in a society that encourages innovation. And people with disabilities are the most innovative people on the planet. Before lea...
Jan 11, 2022•43 min•Ep. 112
Did you know that in the US alone, 48 million people get and 3,000 people die from a foodborne illness each year? Some of these illnesses cause lifelong ramifications or potentially death. The problem is, no one cares until it affects them personally. To help spread awareness on the importance of compliance and ethics related to food safety, in this week's Eating at a Meeting LIVE, Tracy chats with food safety expert Francine Shaw, Founder/CEO of Savvy Food Safety. Listen as Tracy and Francine d...
Jan 04, 2022•47 min•Ep. 111
Hotel catering menus are pretty standard. You have your choice of this breakfast or that. Lunch and dinner choose from chicken, beef or fish with salad and dessert. Bonni Scepkowski was never one to follow the standard rules of meeting. She never met a menu she couldn’t improve. As you know, food is more than ‘lunchtime’ — it’s an integral part of the experience and should be woven into the fabric of the program, reflecting your audience's demographics, culture and vibe of the program. Part of o...
Dec 28, 2021•45 min•Ep. 110
I had the opportunity to interview Chef Keith Rhodes of Catch restaurant (Wilmington, NC) for a Meetings Today article I wrote on the Cuisine of the Coastal Carolinas earlier this year. His knowledge of and ideology behind cooking fresh, healthy, seasonal meals and living a sustainable lifestyle comes from his deep roots to the Carolina coastal community. While he supports local purveyors, fishermen, and farmers, he also is committed to giving back and serving his local community. In this episod...
Dec 21, 2021•52 min•Ep. 109
In this final session recorded at IMEX America 2022, Tracy chats with Yalmaz Siddiqui, Vice President, Corporate Sustainability at MGM Resorts International and Mariela McIlwraith, Vice President Sustainability and Industry Advancement at Events Industry Council. https://www.linkedin.com/in/yalmazsiddiqui/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/marielamcilwraith/ Connect with Tracy: facebook.com/groups/EatingataMee ting thrivemeeting s.com...
Dec 14, 2021•39 min•Ep. 108
This episode is the second of three recorded at IMEX America. Tracy is chatting with Mark Cooper, CEO and Sean Anderson, Global Board President of IACC, an international collection of 400 small to mid-size conference, training and meeting venues that specialize in meetings and events. Listen in as Tracy, Mark and Sean talk about food and beverage trends. From QR codes for each person's dietary needs, food waste and food safety to redesigning dining environments, evaluating a food service partner...
Dec 07, 2021•39 min•Ep. 107
When Keyatta Mincey Parker realized that she and other restaurant and bar workers need to de-stress, she created a community garden with 501c3 status where bartenders can go and wind down. With the mission to provide a “healthy and safe space for members of the industry to recharge their creativity, minds and themselves,” the garden lets her grow as a creative person, plant new roots into the community, connect with the land and her past. Listen to Keyatta and I as they chat about her 20-year ca...
Nov 30, 2021•47 min•Ep. 106
LIVE from IMEX America 2021 in Las Vegas, Tracy chats with Dale Hudson, Knowledge and Events Director for IMEX Group and Eric Wallinger, Director of Sustainability at MeetGreen on the sustainability efforts that IMEX Group has championed at the meetings industry's largest exhibition. Learn the steps taken and the milestones reached over the last 10 years in regards to reducing the show's carbon footprint. Useful Links IMEX America — https://www.imexamerica.com/ MeetGreen — https://meetgreen.com/...
Nov 23, 2021•46 min•Ep. 105
When you travel do find that you get a better sense of place when you eat traditional foods and beverages from that place? Are you one to search out the local haunts to get a true non-tourist experience for yourself, incentive trip, or VIP excursion? Erik Wolf, Executive Director & Founder of the World Food Travel Association, is dedicated to preserving and promoting culinary cultures through hospitality and tourism. Learn how he navigates trying the local food while not speaking the native ...
Nov 16, 2021•45 min•Ep. 104
Judith Winfrey is a farmer, partner, serial entrepreneur, and overall fabulous human being who has fused her passion for good food to save humans and the planet by empowering, nourishing and enriching people and their communities. She and her husband Joe are LANDLESS farmers who, since 2008, through Love is Love Farm have dug into the Atlanta soil to grow produce, plants and community. Hear from Judith how they are building a successful farming operation and serving the good food movement throug...
Nov 09, 2021•49 min•Ep. 103
