Nick Graff joined Noodles & Company in 2014 and quickly advanced to the position he holds today as executive chef and VP of culinary. Along the way, he introduced scores of new ingredients, formats and global dishes. Among the standouts are veggie-based zoodles, stuffed pastas including tortelloni and ravioli in several flavor iterations, a high-protein pasta called leanguini, and Chicken Parmesan—Noodles’ first baked entrée and already a runaway best seller. He also introduced new equipment...
Oct 12, 2023•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast Steve Sturm, VP of Food & Beverage at Firebirds Wood Fired Grill, has been with the polished casual concept for 23 years, steering and evolving the menu from its first restaurant in 2000 to its present-day count of 56 locations. The concept’s centerpiece is its wood-fired grill, which adds bold flavor, innovative prep and dramatic flair to everything it touches. Firebirds’ signature steaks, seafood and vegetables are all elevated on the grill, and this year, Sturm is using the cooking techni...
Oct 05, 2023•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast Paul Fehribach, chef-owner of Big Jones in Chicago, has operated a popular Southern restaurant since 2008, but he has always been enamored by Midwestern food. His roots are in Indiana, where German culinary traditions and farm-fresh ingredients defined meals. But the story behind the scope and diversity of Midwest cuisine has scarcely been told. Fehribach sets out to change that through “Midwestern Food,” a narrative cookbook many years in the making, published this month by University of Chicag...
Sep 28, 2023•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast Sharon Arthofer had a career in marketing, retail and the snack industry before she started fast-casual Sip Fresh in 2017, but she noticed a huge growth opportunity in the beverage segment. Instead of doing just another pressed juice concept, she hired mixologists to take it to the next level. They created a menu of unique, alcohol-free juice-based drinks with on-trend ingredients like dragon fruit, kiwi, chamoy and tajin—each artfully garnished like cocktails. “Sipologists” develop the recipes ...
Sep 21, 2023•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast Adam Crocini, VP and global head of food and beverage for Hilton hotels, is reimagining food and beverage service at all the company’s brands—from family-friendly Hampton Inn to the luxe Waldorf Astoria. With guests looking for more meaningful experiences post-pandemic, Crocini is leading the charge to create more chef partnerships in the hotel restaurants. José Andrés, Michael Mina and Nancy Silverton are already established in some Hilton properties, but “we have thousands of hotels around the...
Sep 14, 2023•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast Chicken Salad Chick started with one recipe created by an Alabama mom and has grown to more than 225 restaurants across the South, with units now open in Colorado and the Midwest as well. Its menu features more than a dozen variations of chicken salad, many named after their female creators or fans. Now, the chain has introduced its first warm sandwich: the Chick Melt. Based on a tuna melt but filled with—you guessed it, chicken salad—it’s the latest example of Chicken Salad Chick’s continuing d...
Sep 07, 2023•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast Eileen Andrade, chef-owner of the newly revamped Amelia’s 1931, started out in the fashion business. But she couldn’t resist the pull of her Cuban family’s restaurant legacy, especially that of her abuela Amelia, for whom the restaurant is named. Andrade renovated her grandmother’s diner in June, breaking through to the dry cleaner next door to add 100 seats, a trendy cocktail lounge and dazzling artistic touches. Her eclectic Asian-Latin menu pays homage to her family’s Cuban heritage, elevatin...
Aug 31, 2023•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast Amanda Stelly, general manager of Camp Margaritaville Breaux Bridge, remained unruffled when tasked with supervising the overhaul of food and beverage operations. She has deep experience as a restaurant manager, and even though the revamp had to be done in just a few months, she put one foot in front of the other and got it done. The Jimmy Buffet-branded Margaritaville venues were all in top operating order by the time the busy summer season started this year. These include the 5 O’Clock Somewhe...
Aug 24, 2023•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast Jeff Carcara, CEO of Sixty Vines, says he owes a lot to the Hillstone Restaurant Group, the hospitality company where he began his career. He followed that start with stints at innovative casual-dining players, including Bahama Breeze, Seasons 52 and Del Frisco. Carcara now leads Sixty Vines, an eight-location polished casual differentiated by its unique wine-on-tap initiative and vineyard-inspired global menu. The restaurant came onto his radar when he dined there as a guest and was wowed by th...
Aug 17, 2023•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Scott McCurdy earned his culinary chops working as an executive chef in high-end restaurants, hotels and other segments of the industry. As director of culinary for US Foods since 2005, he’s now on the other side, tapping that experience to help operators, particularly independent restaurants, create smarter, more profitable menus. Scott McCurdy McCurdy is a “constant student of restaurants” to stay on top of the trends—a commitment that drives innovation and product development. Listen as he sh...
Aug 10, 2023•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Hot honey may be the hottest condiment of the year, infusing restaurant menus across the country with sweet heat. Mike Kurtz first tasted hot honey on a pizza in Brazil in his early 20s and started making his own chili-infused honey in his Brooklyn apartment. He brought samples to Brooklyn pizzeria Paulie Gee’s and soon turned owner Paul Giannone onto the idea of drizzling his pies with hot honey. Fast forward 10-plus years, and Mike’s Hot Honey is now a staple on retailer’s shelves and in foods...
Aug 03, 2023•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast Eric Gabrynowicz, vice president of culinary for Tupelo Honey Southern Kitchen & Bar, fell in love with knives and fire when he worked in a restaurant kitchen as a teenager. From there, he graduated from the CIA, worked for Danny Meyer at Union Square Cafe and Blue Smoke, and eventually helmed his own kitchen at North Restaurant in Westchester County, N.Y. But Gabrynowicz has always been obsessed with the flavors and passion that go into Southern food. When he landed at Tupelo Honey, he want...
Jul 27, 2023•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast Spike Mendelsohn is a celebrity chef, entrepreneur, TV personality and food policy activist, all of which come together in his newest ventures—PLNT Burger and Eat the Change. PLNT Burger, which serves up chef-curated, plant-based versions of burgers, soft-serve, chicken fingers and other fast-food favorites, currently has 10 locations and is on a growth trajectory. Meanwhile, Eat the Change, a healthy snack company Mendelsohn started with partner Seth Goldman, has launched packaged snacks such a...
Jul 20, 2023•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Matthew Padilla, culinary director for True Food Kitchen, joined the full-service restaurant group last year and quickly started innovating the menu. This spring, he introduced over 30 new dishes, incorporating hyper-seasonal ingredients and inventive global flavors, with an updated summer menu close behind. To appeal to a broader audience, he transformed comfort-food favorites like burgers, pizza and pasta with healthier twists. Padilla also refreshed menu staples, including bowls, salads and d...
Jul 13, 2023•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast Fabio Viviani is a native of Florence, Italy, where he started working in restaurant kitchens at the age of 11. He learned the ropes of the hospitality industry by cooking in and managing Italian trattorias and restaurants, eventually moving to the U.S. when he was 27, where he opened and operated several restaurants in L.A. Over the next 15 or so years, Chef Viviani built a hospitality empire, developing more restaurants and related culinary businesses around the country in hotels, casinos, air...
Jul 06, 2023•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast “Chefwise: Life Lessons from Leading Chefs Around the World” is not a cookbook. In place of recipes, its pages are filled with insider insights from 117 chefs around the world, collected by author Shari Bayer. Bayer interviewed both well-known chefs like Tom Colicchio, Sean Brock, Alice Waters and Massimo Bottura, as well as rising stars, owners of Michelin-starred restaurants and operators of casual eateries. They share tips on everything from leadership strategies to team building, purchasing,...
Jun 29, 2023•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast Robert St. John is a restaurateur, chef, writer, philanthropist, international travel guide and TV personality—in short, a modern-day renaissance man. He opened his first restaurant, Purple Parrot Cafe, more than 30 years ago in Hattiesburg, Miss., turning the small Southern city into a dining destination. While that one closed during Covid, seven other restaurants remain in town and two more in the state capital of Jackson. The Midtowner is the newest, an all-day breakfast place serving St. Joh...
Jun 22, 2023•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast Yogurtland has developed more than 200 frozen yogurt flavors that rotate throughout the chain’s 220 locations at different times of the year. The company employs a team of flavorologists, who combine scientific knowledge, market research and their refined palates to create unique flavor profiles like Thai Tea, Blueberry Pancake, Decadent Dark Chocolate Orange and Irish Mint. Limited-time flavors launch frequently, but the chain’s tart flavor is still one of the best sellers. President Sam Yoon b...
Jun 15, 2023•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast Ford’s Garage is a 1920s gas station-themed burger and craft beer restaurant with a unique vibe. Chef Jessica Tomlinson landed at the 24-location, full-service concept after working in fine dining, baking and pastry, a farm-to-table restaurant and at Bloomin’ Brands. In a nostalgic setting filled with vintage vehicles, gas pumps and even a Model T car suspended above the bar, she offers a wide range of classic and creative comfort foods. House-made sauces and condiments, a Burger Hall of Fame an...
Jun 08, 2023•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast James Beard Award-winning chef Jonathon Sawyer heads up the kitchen at Kindling Downtown Cookout & Cocktails, a new 500-seat restaurant where almost every menu item touches the wood-fueled fire at some point in its culinary journey. That’s not an easy task, being that Kindling is housed in a soaring two-story space inside Chicago’s iconic Willis Tower, one of the tallest office buildings in the world. Although Sawyer graduated from culinary school, he previously studied to be an engineer—tra...
Jun 01, 2023•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast As VP of culinary innovation at Untamed Brands, the parent company of fast-casual Taim Mediterranean Kitchen and Hot Chicken Takeover, Avi Szapiro brings years of fine-dining experience to the job. He grew up in Bogota, Colombia, and thought he’d become a lawyer. But he caught the cooking bug as a teenager and never looked back. Szapiro graduated from the CIA; worked in top restaurants and hotels in Latin America, Europe and California; operated his own highly rated restaurant in New Haven, Conn...
May 25, 2023•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast Aaron Noveshen, founder and CEO of San Francisco-based Starbird, trained as a French chef and started a company called The Culinary Edge that develops menus for restaurants. After years of helping other operators get successful concepts up and running, he felt it was time to start his own. In 2016, Starbird was hatched. The fast-casual chicken chain now numbers 12 brick-and-mortar units and a couple of virtual kitchens, but Noveshen plans to open five more company locations this year, and franch...
May 18, 2023•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast Anna Castellani launched her first food hall in the basement of a building in downtown Brooklyn, N.Y., when the neighborhood was essentially a food desert. Today, the underground space is the thriving DeKalb Market, home to more than 25 local vendors offering a range of cuisines that celebrate Brooklyn’s diverse culture. “I like to transform unloved spaces into vibrant eating and drinking venues,” Castellani said. Her next project was The Hugh, a space in midtown Manhattan’s Citicorp building th...
May 11, 2023•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast “Cinco de Mayo is like Super Bowl and New Year’s packed into one,” said Jared Galbut, founder and CEO of Bodega Taqueria y Tequila. As celebrants flock to Mexican restaurants and bars on Friday, he expects record crowds, with a number of revelers partying until 5 a.m.—closing time for some of the seven locations. Jared Galbut The newest Bodega is actually opening on May 5 in Chicago’s West Loop neighborhood, far north of its South Florida roots. More are planned for Nashville and other parts of ...
May 04, 2023•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Menu innovation is key to differentiating a concept in the crowded and competitive chain restaurant environment. During Winsight’s annual Restaurant Leadership Conference, which took place this week in Phoenix, Ariz., we caught up with three top execs to find out what innovation looks like at their operations. Donna Josephson, CMO of Shipley Do-Nuts; Andre Vener, co-founder of Dog Haus; and Frank Paci, CEO of Newk’s Eatery, each share their menu strategies and how they’ve contributed to growth. ...
Apr 20, 2023•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast Katy Velazquez, executive chef at Qdoba Mexican Eats, claims that she got her Ph.D in regional Mexican cooking while working with chef Rick Bayless in his celebrated restaurants, on TV shows and throughout his travels in Mexico. Those experiences influence her menu R&D for 735-unit Qdoba, but she balances that authenticity with a good dose of fast-casual fun. Although Velazquez has innovated the menu with on-trend items such as birria tacos and breakfast burritos, there’s one item she can ne...
Apr 13, 2023•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast After graduating from culinary school, Aaron Taylor criss-crossed the country, earning his cred at a number of top resorts and restaurants. But his ultimate ambition was to become a corporate chef for a restaurant group—a goal he reached with The ONE Group, operators of STK and other global concepts. Now, Taylor is corporate chef-partner for Atlas Restaurant Group in Baltimore, overseeing 27 restaurants mostly in that city as well as Boca Raton, Fla., and Houston. In this role, he taps into his ...
Apr 06, 2023•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast The devastation of 9/11 prompted Andrew Pudalov to leave his finance career behind in New York City, move to Boulder, Colorado and launch a healthy bowl concept. That was almost 20 years ago and Rush Bowls has since grown from a single location at the University of Colorado to a 40-unit chain in 21 states. Although the healthy bowl category is now a crowded one, Pudalov sees Rush Bowls as a differentiator, with its focus on a scratch-made menu of curated bowls featuring diverse flavor profiles. ...
Mar 16, 2023•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast “If you’re a broccoli or watermelon, stay away from Planta,” warns Steven Salm, founder and CEO of the veggie-centric restaurant concept. “We can do serious damage.” Indeed, what Salm calls a “plant-powered” menu offers indulgent, chef-driven items like Bang Bang Broccoli, ahi watermelon sushi and noodles with truffle mushroom cream, all served in a polished-casual setting with a full bar pouring craft cocktails and biodynamic wines. Planta’s mission is to open diners’ minds and taste buds to th...
Mar 02, 2023•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast Adenah Bayoh, an IHOP franchisee and passionate entrepreneur, co-founded fast casual Cornbread Farm to Soul to put a spotlight on soul food favorites. Along with the restaurant’s signature cornbread, its menu features chef-partner Elzadie Smith’s scratch-made fried chicken, catfish, yams, baked mac and cheese, collard greens and peach cobbler. Three locations are currently open in the New York-New Jersey area, and now, the partners are on a mission to expand Cornbread through franchising. But as...
Feb 16, 2023•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
