Registered dietitian nutritionist Ashley Koff is a recognizable nutrition and marketing expert with the Ashley Koff Approved 3rd party nutrition evaluation service as well as collaborations among healthcare practitioners and food brands. While not a product developer herself, Koff has some insights to share with R&D teams and food brands who seek to make nutritional claims. In this preview, Koff echos comments that I've heard from other guests on the show: the product should be delicious bef...
Mar 28, 2020•3 min
founder Krishna Kaliannan is our guest for the PeasOnMoss podcast this week. Krishna Kaliannan is the Founder and CEO of Catalina Crunch, a Keto-Friendly Cereal in Delicious Dark Chocolate and Cinnamon Toast. Krishna started Catalina Crunch because he believed it shouldn’t be so darn hard to eat Keto and have fun doing it! As a Type-1 Diabetic and Epileptic, Keto has helped Krishna both manage his diabetes and eliminate seizures. So Krishna is trying to spread Keto as far and wide as possible so...
Mar 21, 2020•44 min
Krishna Kaliannan's keto cereal brand is right at the threshold of breaking out big in the retail world after success in e-commerce and local brands. It would be easy to predict the meteoric rise and risk of failure that we see in other food startup brands. Kaliannan recognizes that these are pitfalls that startups can trip on - scaling up so quickly that they can't keep up with demand or that promises they made to their consumers might be compromised in order to be more cost or manufacturing ef...
Mar 14, 2020•12 min
Chef Jeffrey Cousminer joined us on the PeasOnMoss podcast to share his experiences as a research chef and to reflect on the Research Chefs Association's legacy. From the early days of the founding of the RCA through the various education courses he has taught and the mentorship of product developers, Chef Jeff has been involved in many facets of our career and professional organization. Today he consults under his own consultancy business, Food Alchemy, with the witty tagline “We Put the Food B...
Mar 07, 2020•52 min
When you're a co-founder of an organization (or one of the original 20), it can be challenging to watch it evolve and grow in the hands of other leaders and volunteers who came after you. There's an element of belief that you have been able to share the original objectives and trust that the organization will meet the needs of its members. Chef Jeff has been a voice in the RCA to encourage reflection upon our legacy but has also recognized that the way we differentiate our members within the foo...
Feb 29, 2020•4 min
Business lawyer Abe Cohn is the managing partner for Cohn Legal PLLC, and he has a unique expertise in food business. Cohn joined us on PeasOnMoss to break down some of the key ways that a legal counsel can help food businesses and discusses the necessity of protecting a business' intellectual property, registering and protecting your brand, and licensing it - all tasks that Cohn recommends you accomplish early in your food business journey. From registering your business name to trademarking a ...
Feb 22, 2020•37 min
Abe Cohn, the managing partner of Cohn Legal PLLC, is next week's guest on PeasOnMoss, and this preview features a special message for food business owners and managers. In our full episode, Cohn and I talk about the importance of protecting your brand, and he describes the perfect time to do so is as early as possible. Listen to his explanation and how a business law firm like Cohn Legal could help your business. Contact for details. Since 2017, IconFoods has sponsored the PeasOnMoss podcast. I...
Feb 15, 2020•3 min
In 2015, Shehzad ventured into the cannabis industry, as VP of R&D at Cannabistry™ – a professional research, development and branding company dedicated to bringing outstanding product innovation to the legalized cannabis industry. Over the past four years, he has spearheaded the creation of a world-class research and development team, which has brought numerous products and technologies to market. With innovation focused on patient needs, the Cannabistry team of engineers, scientists, regul...
Feb 08, 2020•52 min
Research and development professionals know that it's vital to use the same ingredients in formulating from the bench to the plant and among the various teams. Slight variations in ingredients at the bench could result in wildly different commercialized products. So, how does a team work with cannabis ingredients when they can't be legally transported across state lines? In this PeasOnMoss podcast preview, Cannabistry's EVP Shehzad Hoosein explains how his organization has worked within those re...
Feb 01, 2020•8 min
Sarah Masoni is the Director of Product and Process Development at Oregon State University’s Food Innovation Center (FIC). Located in Portland, Oregon, the FIC is one of 13 experiment stations across the state affiliated with the College of Agricultural Sciences at OSU. Sarah joined us on PeasOnMoss to share how she has spent the last 19 years honing the visions and products of food entrepreneurs through various classes and hands-on work with them. This podcast has been loyally sponsored by Icon...
Jan 25, 2020•47 min
Oregon State University Food Innovation Center Director of Product and Process Development Sarah Masoni joined us on the PeaOnMoss podcast to tell us about her work at the Innovation Center, and we chatted about the challenges that entrepreneurs face bringing their food concepts to reality. One unique trend coming forward is the blossoming of international cuisines such as African food and ingredients. Because there is less familiarity - and possibly limited availability of supply - entrepreneur...
Jan 18, 2020•7 min
Chef Jaime Mestan is the recently promoted VP of Culinary Innovation at Vienna Beef, and she's an , public speaker, author, and newly minted career coach. Chef Jaime represents the next generation of research chefs, who mix together our culinary experiences with food manufacturing processing and food science and technology. When she's not doing product innovation for Vienna Beef, Chef Jaime has written a book () and offers career coaching () for culinary professionals looking for ways to get int...
Jan 11, 2020•50 min
VP of Culinary Innovation at Vienna Beef Chef Jaime Mestan is also the Treasurer for the Research Chefs Association, so when Chef Jaime and I talk about the RCA, we automatically reflect on the history of the organization, how far it has come, and what its future could look like. In addition to her work in product innovation and volunteering at the RCA, chef Jaime has also just published an e-book about professional networking, called . Check it out on . Interested in finding out how to grow you...
Jan 04, 2020•6 min
Formerly known as Steviva Ingredients, named because CEO and Founder Thom King first started importing and processing stevia leaf products, has gone beyond commodity sweeteners and is the leader of single and blended high intensity and non-nutritive natural sweeteners and alternatives to sugar and sucrose. Thom joined Kimberly on PeasOnMoss to wrap up the year, reminisce, and anticipate 2020. Get information about and see what they can do for your reduced sugar formulations.
Dec 28, 2019•28 min
Season 3 sponsor TraceGains Founder and CEO Gary Nowacki is here this week on PeasOnMoss to share about and the technology solutions they bring to food manufacturers and CPG brands making their work more efficient. is a cloud-based platform that helps food and consumer-packaged goods companies innovate faster. TraceGains Network is where R&D, procurement, quality, and regulatory departments discover and collaborate with over 27,000 global supplier sites to safely bring new products to market...
Dec 21, 2019•23 min
Director of Culinary Applications & Corporate Executive Chef Christopher Warsaw joined us on PeasOnMoss to give us a deeper dive into the capabilities that has distinguished . Bell Flavors and Fragrances the PeasOnMoss podcast and has been an example of customer focused innovation and solutions-oriented service. Chef Chris details how a research chef is vital to the success of a flavor company, and gives examples of how their influence helps progress innovation and stay on top of trends. Spo...
Dec 08, 2019•35 min
Chef, food scientist, account director, and RCA president Justin Kanthak is an impressive millennial and future leader, and you could ever accuse him of resting on his laurels. He joined us on the show to share his journey with us, and I pepper him with questions throughout regarding leadership, career advancement, and asking smart questions. We got deep in our discussion really quickly, so there isn’t a typical intro and welcome, but the depth of the topic was so good that I didn’t want to stop...
Nov 30, 2019•1 hr 6 min
Chef, food scientist, account director, and RCA president Justin Kanthak is an impressive millennial and future leader, and you could ever accuse him of resting on his laurels. He joined us on the show to share his journey with us, and I pepper him with questions throughout regarding leadership, career advancement, and asking smart questions. We got deep in our discussion really quickly, so there isn’t a typical intro and welcome, but the depth of the topic was so good that I didn’t want to stop...
Nov 23, 2019•5 min
Chef Kurt needs very little introduction in the Research Chef Association industry. Indomitable seems to be the word that comes to mind when I think of him. From his journey through restaurants to R&D, he is already a leader in his work. But, Chef Kurt has survived a health misadventure that should have shut down his career right at the pinnacle. Hear the story from his own words. His determination to heal and bring that experience into his work is inspiring, but it also should make us quest...
Nov 16, 2019•42 min
Chef Kurt needs very little introduction in the Research Chef Association industry. Indomitable seems to be the word that comes to mind when I think of him. From his journey through restaurants to R&D, he is already a leader in his work. But, Chef Kurt has survived a health misadventure that should have shut down his career right at the pinnacle. Hear the story from his own words. His determination to heal and bring that experience into his work is inspiring, but it also should make us quest...
Nov 09, 2019•4 min
Today’s Guest, Jessica Coon, works at Texas Food Solutions, the first company in Houston, Texas, providing commercial High Pressure Processing (HPP) tolling to Southeast Texas and Louisiana. We re-met at a recent trade show and started chatting about the pros and cons and myths of HPP, and it occurred to me that we should have recorded the discussion. So, I invited Jessica to join the show and tell us all about the technology as well as detail her journey from the restaurants to this seemingly h...
Nov 02, 2019•44 min
Being a research chef and food scientist is a unique combination, and it could be easy to let the negative internal voice make us feel like we aren't good enough. Imposter Syndrome is a strong feeling that the American Psychological Association describes as feelings of fraud and a "specific form of intellectual self-doubt." I have asked several of my podcast guests about how they deal with their own imposter syndrome, and the answers received are always great suggestions for addressing our own. ...
Oct 26, 2019•5 min
Chef Karl Marsh is no stranger in the Research Chefs Association, having logged nearly twenty years as an active research chef and serving on the certification commission for the past two years. Now as the chairman of the certification commission, Chef Karl is leading the charge to improve the exam, refocusing both the CCS and CRC exams to emphasize culinology knowledge while also vetting the experiences of the food scientists and chefs. Together with the committee volunteers and the certificati...
Oct 19, 2019•46 min
Chef Karl is becoming the face for the Research Chefs Association certification commission, and he was part of the team who rewrote the exam this year, updating the questions and making them even more relevant and representative of a culinologist's experiences. He shared 3 main bullets about himself, and they're reflective of how his career has grown. 1. I have a passion for developing healthy meals and really enjoy the challenge that accompanies it. 2. I am a passionate about certification thro...
Oct 12, 2019•4 min
This is a really special episode for folks who have been listening to the podcast for a few years. Deepak Rajmohan was a season two guest while he was studying his masters of food science at Oklahoma State University. He had shared how he reached out to over 200 professionals on LinkedIn and spoken with over 50 to learn about the industry and to get some advice. Fast forward two years, and Deepak had graduated and worked for Danone in the Happy Family Organics group. We reconnected at the - a su...
Oct 05, 2019•42 min
This was a fun and special episode to record with a returning Season 2 guest - Deepak Rajmohan. We connected when he was studying his master's of food science at Oklahoma State University, and we caught up at the American Food Innovate Summit in Chicago. He talks about why he chose to come to the US to study and what he has observed about the attitudes towards food between India and the US. We cover functional food, ayurvedic medicine's influence on food, and international flavors in this previe...
Sep 28, 2019•8 min
Today’s guest is Director of R&D for , Dan Howell. We met at the in Chicago, the organization for whom he is the chair person. He and his sales & marketing colleague Stephanie Robbins gave a talk about emotional intelligence and how building strong friendships in a company and a project team leads to better product development. I was so intrigued, and Dan joined me on the show to elaborate on several of the insights he and Stephanie shared. He also chatted about how he annoyedhis way int...
Sep 21, 2019•1 hr
Today’s guest is Director of R&D for , Dan Howell. We met at the in Chicago, the organization for whom he is the chair person. He and his sales & marketing colleague Stephanie Robbins gave a talk about emotional intelligence and how building strong friendships in a company and a project team leads to better product development. I was so intrigued, and Dan joined me on the show to elaborate on several of the insights he and Stephanie shared. He also chatted about how he annoyedhis way int...
Sep 14, 2019•6 min
Chef Mark has a colorful origin story, starting as a dishwasher when he was 15 and then spent the last 24 years growing his skills as a chef - graduating from the - and coming over to R&D with Burley Foods. Burley Foods represents about 45 ingredient manufacturers, so Chef Mark spends his day helping find solutions for customers leveraging the ingredient resources he has. He joined us on the podcast today to tell us about his journey and what he would do with a can of beans today. This podca...
Sep 07, 2019•35 min
Chef Mark Chura is from and is responsible for sending some listeners and new friends to the podcast - in fact, I met a new scientist at the American Food Innovate Summit in Chicago in February because she had been keeping a look out for me because he had shared the podcast with her. Chef Mark has a colorful origin story, starting as a dishwasher when he was 15 and then spent the last 24 years growing his skills as a chef - graduating from the - and coming over to R&D with Burley Foods. Burl...
Aug 31, 2019•2 min
