The Mess Hall

The Mess Hall brings you messy conversations about the topics that matter to the food and beverage industry -- the thorny topics that don't have a simple solution and require nuanced discussion, ideas, and thought. Hosts Maeve Webster and Mike Kostyo of food industry consulting firm Menu Matters bring in expert guests -- chefs, anthropologists, beverage consultants, marketing experts -- to dive into one provocative topic each episode. Plus, Maeve and Mike start each show with a look at attention-getting research, data, and news that impacts food industry professionals, and each episode ends with five questions, from "What is your hospitality pet peeve?" to "What is something you've changed your mind about?" This conversational, funny, and thought-provoking series is a must-listen for anyone who works in foodservice or CPG: chefs, R&D, sales, marketing, supply chain, regulatory, nutrition, agriculture, C-suite, and beyond. For more information about Menu Matters, visit menumatters.com

Last refreshed: June 6th, 2026 at 12:51 PM ⓘ

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Episodes

Can we measure food craveability?

In this episode of The Mess Hall , Mike and Maeve check in on their 100 Recipe Challenge, a year-long project to cook 100 new recipes from cookbooks they've collected. They compare progress, debate the merits of following recipes to the letter versus trusting your gut, share their favorite and least favorite dishes so far, and go down a rabbit hole on the quest for the perfect pancake. Then they sit down with Beth Kimmerle, founder and CEO of Attribute Analytics, to explore the science of sensor...

May 28, 2026•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 11

How can we design a better restaurant?

In this episode of The Mess Hall, we talk about the importance of play and creativity in our adult lives, which includes in cooking and eating experiences. And we talk with Rebecca Kilbreath, editor in chief of Restaurant Development + Design magazine. She talks about current design trends in restaurants, what the nostalgia trend actually looks like, moving away from same-ification in restaurant design, and how to tell a story in the design of a restaurant. Plus, in our five questions, she talks...

Apr 27, 2026•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 10

Does the food industry have a language problem?

On this episode of The Mess Hall, Mike and Maeve discuss what they learned from recent hospitality experiences in New Orleans and Denver. What can the food industry learn from a bar packed with orthopedic surgeons, a tableside bananas foster, and a prix fixe menu personalized to your likes and dislikes? Then, Mike and Maeve dig into a hot topic: should the food industry stop using the word "consumer"? They trace the surprising political history of the term, debate what to replace it with, and ex...

Mar 27, 2026•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 9

Who decides what your food tastes like?

On this episode of The Mess Hall, we talk to Chef Anna Cheely, a flavor science expert and the senior culinary innovation manager at Kalsec, a natural flavors and colors company based in Michigan. How have flavor preferences have changed over the years? What does flavor look like at a time when ultra-processed foods are in the headlines? And how do you even capture the flavor of tom yum soup in a bottle? Plus, we start the episode discussing the joy of cooking and what it means for the food indu...

Feb 26, 2026•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 8

What does tracking serial killers have to do with understanding cereal bars?

On this episode of The Mess Hall, we talk to Suzy Badaracco, who went from tracking serial killers to cereal bars. Badaracco's background has taken her from training as a criminalist with the FBI and Scotland Yard to culinary school and studying human nutrition. Today she runs Culinary Tides, where she uses all of those skills to find trends and patterns in the food and beverage industry. On the show we talk about why Dubai chocolate may cheat on his wife with a muffin, why the food industry is ...

Jan 29, 2026•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 7

What do consumers want in 2026?

In this episode of The Mess Hall, we start off the show by looking at some of the brands and products that are killing it right now, from a marketing message from a knife sharpening brand to the Savannah Bananas to one of the best hotels we stayed at in 2025. Then we dive into the Menu Matters Consumer Need for 2026 -- consumers are just looking for the food and beverage industry to keep it real. In a world of AI slop and general distrust, how can brands and companies showcase the real human-foc...

Dec 18, 2025•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 6

What was the Cracker Barrel uproar really about?

In this episode, we discuss the decline of deviance. From cults to alcohol, movies to car colors, the evidence is clear that society is afraid to take risks. What does that mean for the food industry -- and humanity at large? Then, now that the controversy has subsided, we dive into what the Cracker Barrel uproar was really about. What can brands learn from Cracker Barrel's missteps, what could Cracker Barrel have done to engage new consumers in ways that honored the brand identity, and why shou...

Nov 25, 2025•54 min•Ep. 5

Is there a place for emotion in the food industry?

In this episode of The Mess Hall, we talk to Chef Rosalyn Darling about whether there is a place for emotion in the food industry. How do you create new food products, menu items, or experiences that solve for human anxiety, or the need for some excitement in our lives? How do you think through the entirety of the emotional experience, including for food industry workers? Is it possible to weave empathy and compassion into a restaurant or retail experience? Plus, we kick off the episode discussi...

Oct 28, 2025•59 min•Ep. 4

Do taste and flavor even matter anymore?

In this episode of The Mess Hall, we chat with Chef Andrew Hunter who is a consulting chef for brands like Wolfgang Puck, Niman Ranch, and Kikkoman. What starts as a conversation about the difference between taste and flavor and whether the two even matter to today's social media-centric consumers quickly dives into a range of topics, from what brand authenticity means to Arby's to Dubai chocolate to whether massive chains will even exist in the future. To kick off the episode, we chat about whe...

Sep 25, 2025•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 3

Will GLP-1s be the downfall of the food industry?

Will GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy spell the downfall of the food industry -- or at the very least the snack food industry? In this episode, we look at the hype around GLP-1 drugs and try to uncover the real learnings for restaurants and food manufacturers. From food noise to portion sizes to what consumers consider to be healthy today, registered dietitian nutritionist and industry expert Pam Smith (a co-creator of the Seasons 52 brand, which created the original mini dessert portion tren...

Aug 28, 2025•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 2

Has the food and beverage industry overdosed on nostalgia?

We dive into why Gen Z isn’t hosting parties, discuss the decline of coupons, and our guest Chef Chase Obenchain joins us to have a messy conversation about nostalgia and whether we’ve gone overboard in our pursuit of the past. From bringing back brands from the '90s to the relentless focus on "newstalgia," the food and beverage industry has gone all-in on nostalgic brands, marketing campaigns, and ideas. But does that obsession also mean that true innovation has taken a backseat to rehashed ide...

Jul 30, 2025•55 min•Ep. 1

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