Menu Talk Winsight Podcast Network

This week on Menu Talk, Restaurant Business Senior Menu Editor Pat Cobe and Bret Thorn, senior food and beverage editor of Nation’s Restaurant News, share their take on some recent happenings in the world of food and drink.

This week on Menu Talk, Restaurant Business Senior Menu Editor Pat Cobe and Bret Thorn, senior food and beverage editor of Nation’s Restaurant News, share their take on some recent hot topics.

The James Beard Foundation announced the finalists in the restaurant and chef categories, naming nominees in 22 categories, including both national regional honorees. While culinary skill and operational excellence still play into the awards, a positive work culture and community involvement are now key criteria for a nomination. And, since the pandemic, the foundation completely overhauled the program to bring more diversity into the awards selection process, including broader geographic representation. 

Pat and Bret weigh in on the revised criteria and discuss the cachet the James Beard Awards hold for the winners.

Mike Freeman, CEO of McAlister’s Deli, joins the podcast to share the brand’s menu evolution. It started with breakfast catering, launched last year when the fast casual was under the former Focus Brands banner.

“There’s been lots of attention placed on our catering innovation, expanding our reach from the beginning of the day to the end of the day.” Snacks, desserts, and beverages also got a refresh, and a new “semi-homemade” category provides takeout options.

Speaking of beverages, new ones keep flowing out of the pipeline. Lately, we noticed orange creamsicle drinks on several menus. The nostalgic flavor taps into childhood summers. With summer fast approaching, we will probably see more of these retro frozen treats showing up on beverage menus.

Pepe Moncayo is the chef and owner of Cranes, a restaurant he opened in Washington, D.C., in February of 2020 to enthusiastic acclaim. Of course, normal operations ceased five weeks later, but the fine-dining restaurant survived and the chef’s food, which reflects his own culinary journey, continues to be appreciated by guests.

Moncayo was born and raised in the suburbs of Barcelona and started cooking after his mother passed away when he was 13. He would accompany her to the market, carrying her bags for her as she shopped for food for their meals, and he continued to follow in her footsteps after her death, preparing meals for his father, who worked in a factory, and his older brother and younger sister. He realized that cooking was the field he wanted to go into when, as he searched for colleges to attend, the only thing that appealed to him was culinary school. 

After graduation he worked at some of the best restaurants in Barcelona until his mentor, Santi Santamaria of Can Fabes restaurant, invited him to work under him at Santi restaurant at the Marina Bay Sands resort in Singapore. Moncayo stayed in that city-state, working in various positions until he eventually opened his own restaurant, Bam! in 2013.

During his stay in Asia he also visited Japan to learn about that country’s cuisine, and he fell in love with it.

That influence is reflected in the food at Cranes, a restaurant named for the migratory birds. Moncayo says his own journeys have had a strong impact on his own cooking, so the name seemed appropriate.

Listen as the chef-owner shares his culinary legacy and his approach to cooking and running restaurants.

This interview was part of a new podcast series called Menu Talk, a collaboration between Restaurant Business Senior Menu Editor Pat Cobe and Bret Thorn, senior food & beverage editor of Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality. You can subscribe to it wherever you listen to podcasts.

Menu Talk will still feature Pat Cobe, but now she'll have a cohost: Informa colleague, Bret Thorn with Nation’s Restaurant News.

Both are veteran reporters on the menu beat and eager to bring you inspiring conversations about what’s happening in restaurant and foodservice kitchens, including weekly interviews with chefs, operators and food professionals.



Get ready for a new era of Menu Feed with Menu Talks!

Gott’s Roadside got its start in California’s Napa Valley 25 years ago and has been recognized by the James Beard Foundation as an early pioneer of fast-casual dining. Through the years, the food has evolved from a limited menu of burgers, fries and shakes to a broad and varied selection that offers something for everyone, says Clay Walker, president of the iconic drive-in.

This year, culinary director Jennifer Rebman is introducing a commemorative 25th anniversary menu, rotating in old favorites and new LTOs during each month of 2024. Items like a soft shell crab sandwich, grilled artichokes, street corn and a lobster BLT are coming up as specials.

Listen as Walker describes how he is honoring Gott’s legacy while growing the brand, how the roadside restaurant puts hospitality front and center, and what guests can expect next from Gott’s.

Sara Bradley, chef-owner of Freight House in Paducah, Kentucky, worked in Michelin-starred restaurants in New York and Chicago, but always wanted to return to her hometown and be her own boss. She opened Freight House in 2015 with the mission to create a technique-driven yet accessible restaurant where all guests would feel comfortable dining and all team members could experience true work-life balance.

Bradley knows all about balance—she juggles her job as restaurant chef-owner with her role as mother to two young children and a contestant on multiple chef competition shows, including "Top Chef: World All-Stars." During the "Top Chef" filming, she made headlines for pumping and shipping breast milk from London to Paducah for her youngest daughter.

Listen as Bradley describes how her locally inspired menu gives her the opportunity to tell her culinary story, how she’s built a popular and profitable restaurant while creating a compassionate work environment, and why Paducah is the perfect place for Freight House.