Episodes

March 28, 2023

183: The Lag in Hotel Food and Beverage Recovery

When Tracy saw CBRE’s September 2022 Hotel Horizons® forecast in early December stating that food and beverage (F&B) recovery was lagging from pre-COVID levels while rooms revenue per available room (RevPAR) was exceeding 2019 annual levels in...

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March 21, 2023

182: Food & Beverage Trends for 2023

Tracy takes a look at various reports that share the food and beverage trends for 2023. From specific food and beverage ingredients and products (CBD, dates, salts) to processes such as upcycling and cultivating meat as well as philosophies to …

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March 14, 2023

181: Less Is Yes: Surprising and Delighting Guests with Non-Alcoholic…

We learned earlier this month how the non-alcoholic beverage market is growing rapidly not just for hashtag#DryJanuary but overall and throughout the year. One wine store owner I talked to last month said that 38% of people of drinking age …

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March 7, 2023

180: Contracting F&B in 2023: How EventProfs can be Protected and Pre…

Do you have any 2023 events for which the contract was negotiated before or during the COVID pandemic? When was the last time reviewed the contract terms related to food and beverage service, menu items, staffing, and pricing? A lot …

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Feb. 28, 2023

179: Food & Beverage Costs

Tracy talks with Food Economist and Associate Professor at Michigan State University David Ortega who studies what people eat, how it got to their plates, and various factors that affect foods' journey from farm to people's plates. His explaination of...

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Feb. 21, 2023

178: An End of Year Conversation about Food

In this year-end conversation about food, Tracy chats with Dani Nierenberg, an American activist, author, journalist, and Co-Founder and President of Food Tank, a non-profit that offers solutions and environmentally sustainable ways of alleviating...

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Feb. 14, 2023

177: Mindful Mixology

I stopped drinking alcohol in 2019. It was a CHOICE I made because I no longer wanted to experience the after-effects of drinking too much, spending the money, or consuming the calories associated with it. Since then my drink of …

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Feb. 7, 2023

176: Living with a Meat Allergy

The number of confirmed cases of meat allergy — Alpha Gal Syndrome — has risen from only 12 in 2009 to 34,000 in 2019. Unlike other food allergies, alpha-gal symptoms can occur HOURS after eating meat, making the diagnosis a …

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Jan. 31, 2023

175: Celebrating the Season of Faith, Food & Freedom

’Tis the season to be jolly. It's also the time that many of us celebrate and observe religions and cultures. While there will be many Christmas parties to attend (and Hallmark movies to watch), we must remember that Hanukkah, Yule, …

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Jan. 24, 2023

174: How to Expand Your Food Choices When Living With Diabetes

Do you ever feel deprived about food? With a chronic disease such as diabetes, you have to avoid specific foods to avoid reactions. While that may seem simple, there is nothing simple about it. It takes a lot of diligence …

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Jan. 17, 2023

173: Addressing Food Waste in Hospitality and Food Service

As the Senior Program Officer for World Wildlife Fund’s Global Food Waste Team, Samantha Kenny works with hospitality and food service businesses to change the standard ways of doing business when planning events (like forecasting) to right-size...

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Jan. 10, 2023

172: Lobbying for Systemic Change in Food Service

Elise Buellesbach was on stage at the 2022 FARE Food Allergy Summit when Tracy first heard her speak. She was getting the first-ever Young Leader Award for her work as a college student with food allergies and celiac disease to …

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Jan. 3, 2023

171: Food Rescue: How & Why its Necessary

Event Professionals from across the country have told me on many occasions — and I've personally experienced it — that event venues refuse to donate leftover, untouched food due to concerns about food safety. One planner even shared that a …

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Dec. 27, 2022

170: An Acre Farm on Top of a Convention Center

In late October Tracy visited the Javits Center in New York City to tour their rooftop farm and learn how they are using their harvest to feed employees and event goers. In two different interviews, Tracy chats with the Executive …

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Dec. 20, 2022

169: Climate Change, Sustainability & Events

What do climate change, sustainability, and events have to do with each other? A LOT! Two weeks ago in one of my education sessions at IMEX — an events industry convention that has won awards for its sustainability efforts — …

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Dec. 13, 2022

168: Live from IMEX - Day 3

Recorded on Day 3 of IMEX America 2022. Tracy is joined by Katie Kulp, a meeting planner whose niche is planning events for groups who have disabilities. Connect with Tracy: facebook.com/groups/EatingataMeetin om

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Dec. 6, 2022

167: Increasing ROI by Increasing Wellness

Recorded on Day 2 of IMEX America 2022. Tracy is joined by David Stevens who is a director of field marketing and global events who talks about how to create more healthful events by focusing on three M words — …

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Nov. 29, 2022

166: Live from IMEX - Day 1

This episode of Eating at a Meeting was recorded live on day 1 of IMEX America 2022. Tracy sat down with Ruud Janssen of the Event Design Collective who designs award-winning corporate events and gatherings. Listen as they chat about …

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Nov. 22, 2022

165: A Conversation with Visit Scotland & Scottish Event Campus on Su…

In this episode, Tracy sits down with Stephanie Beatie of Scottish Event Campus and Rory Archibald of Visit Scotland to talk about food and beverage and how to create safe, sustainable, and inclusive events in Scotland and in general. Listen …

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Nov. 15, 2022

164: Young Professionals Managing Food Allergy

October was National Disability Employment Awareness Month To bring more awareness to how food allergies (and other medically-necessary dietary needs) are disabilities that impact productivity, engagement, and inclusion in the workplace, I'm chatting...

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Nov. 8, 2022

163: The Importance of Indigenous Food Traditions

Monday, October 10, 2022 is Indigenous Peoples Day. To celebrate Native peoples throughout the US., Tracy chats with Chef Sean Sherman, co-owner of the restaurant Owamni (Minneapolis, MN) and founder of "The Sioux Chef", a company dedicated to...

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Nov. 1, 2022

162: The White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health

On this episode, Tracy and Erin Malawar of Allergy Strong recap The White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health. This is the first conference of its kind in more than 50 years. The first and only other one was …

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Oct. 25, 2022

161: Food Safety: A Caterer's Perspective

Megan Walker, Owner and Executive of Made by Meg had me at “health inspection score.” She was teaching an educational session at The Special Event back in 2017 on what food safety means and what planners need to know/ask of …

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Oct. 18, 2022

160: Catering...What the $@?^%

Tracy has known Chef Todd Annis of Cru Catering for ~20 years when we were both in Atlanta - as a caterer and a corporate event planner. When I randomly found his podcast "Catering...WTF", I laughed, was amazed, and immediately …

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