Kulinary School Jonathan Schroeder

Chef Bill Bracken, cofounder and culinary director, of Bracken’s Kitchen is my guest this week on the podcast. Chef Bill has an incredible story from growing up in Kansas and discovering his passion for food, winning a scholarship to the Culinary Institute of America and moving to the west coast. Living in California, Chef Bill worked for multiple luxury hotels and restaurants while receiving many awards and recognition along the way. Fast forward to today, Chef is taking what he learned from his experience to serve hot and nutritious meals to those in need. Check out this week’s episode to hear how the Bracken’s Kitchen team is changing the lives of families in Orange County, California. 

Amanda McAllister is the Director of Capital Purchasing for Red Robin. In the episode, Amanda  shares her journey, experience with food growing up, why she decided to work at Red Robin and why she is still there today. We also discuss the dine in guest experience, off premise and third party delivery, the emergence of new brands, sticking to what you’re good at, attracting younger people to the industry and she gives advice to her younger self who is getting ready to get started working in the foodservice industry. 

Industry news for 7/2

Industry news for 6/19

Celebrity Chef Jaime Laurita is my guest this week on the podcast. Jaime has an incredible story from attending the Culinary Institute of America, working for catering companies, traveling the world with top celebrities and rockstars to his newest venture as Creative Director for The Middleby Corporation. In the episode, Jaime talks about his love for music and entertainment which lead him on a quest to find the coolest job in the world. He shares stories from the road, working in a chaotic environment, putting on a show and how he stayed energized while making sure the artists were happy and focused. He talks about his experience on the road and how that helps him bring that same energy and atmosphere to your home experience with Middleby Residential and working with the top brands in the world. 

Shawn Lange, co-founder and President of L2F Inc., is my guest this week on the podcast. L2F  is a company that focuses on creating opportunities for people with robotics, artificial intelligence and machine learning. In the episode, Shawn shares the story of L2F and how in 2016 they made a strategic decision to focus on the foodservice industry. We discuss initial challenges with robotics in the foodservice industry, misconceptions about robotics in foodservice, automating the back of the house to create a better front of the house experience, improving customer operations and better work environments for employees, extracting useful data and how L2F is changing the foodservice industry. 

(This episode is available on all major podcast platforms)