The Perfect Bite

Sarah Perkins
  • 5.0 (5)
  • FOOD
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Your fusion of food and entrepreneurship, The Perfect Bite brings you inspiring conversations with chefs, restaurateurs, CPG brand founders, food tech founders, and more in the food and beverage industry, highlighting their experiences and how they've cooked up something new. From emerging brands to established business owners, you'll learn from the best entrepreneurs in food, beverage, hospitality, and agriculture about how they started their businesses, what problems they're solving, the tough times they've overcome, and their best advice for entering these industries or starting your own business. We end each episode with the world's best and hardest question: What is your perfect bite?

  1. 3H AGO

    The Hospitality Hyphenate: Lessons in Restaurant Entrepreneurship with Liz Mendez

    From sommelier to restaurateur to hospitality consultant, Liz Mendez has built a career rooted in community, beverage expertise, and reinvention. In this episode of The Perfect Bite, host Sarah Perkins sits down with Liz Mendez, founder of Aldea Hospitality, to talk about building sustainable careers in the restaurant industry, the rise of non-alcoholic beverage programs, and what it really takes to open — and close — a restaurant. Liz shares her journey from Chicago wine professional to opening the beloved Spanish wine bar Vera, the lessons learned from entrepreneurship, and how she now helps hospitality professionals design more balanced careers through consulting, education, and her concept of the “hospitality hyphenate.” This conversation covers: Becoming a sommelier and working in Chicago restaurantsOpening and running a Spanish wine bar focused on sherryThe realities of restaurant ownership and closing a businessTransitioning into consulting and hospitality techBuilding Aldea Hospitality and coaching industry professionalsThe rise of non-alcoholic and dealcoholized wine and Liz’s refocus on these productsCreating sustainable careers in hospitalityWhy community and mentorship matter in entrepreneurship Whether you’re a restaurant owner, beverage professional, or founder in food & beverage, Liz shares practical advice on building a creative career that evolves over time. To learn more about Aldea Hospitality, visit www.aldeahospitality.com. You can follow Liz on social media @mendezmusings. Subscribe to Liz’s Substack The Luncheonette! Subscribe to The Perfect Bite podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen! Want to watch the entire episode? Head here to our YouTube!  You can follow us on social media @perfectbitepod and sign up for our newsletter on Substack!

    1 hr
  2. Say Hej Hej to Swedish Hot Dogs | How Amelia Eudailey Built the Hej Hej Pop-Up Brand

    FEB 19

    Say Hej Hej to Swedish Hot Dogs | How Amelia Eudailey Built the Hej Hej Pop-Up Brand

    When I say Swedish hot dogs will change your life, it’s true! And they did for techie turned chef Amelia Eudailey.  In this episode of The Perfect Bite, host Sarah Perkins sits down with chef and entrepreneur Amelia Eudailey, founder of the cult-favorite pop-up concept Hej Hej (pronounced “hey hey”!). Known for its Scandinavian-inspired hot dogs, Swedish candy, and playful menu, Hej Hej has built a loyal following through pop-ups, catering, and creative storytelling—all before opening a traditional restaurant. Amelia didn’t follow a typical culinary path. After working in tech and startups, she pivoted into food, working as a line cook at the famed Octavia, and began testing her concept through pop-ups while still working full-time. Today, she’s growing Hej Hej into a recognizable food brand while exploring the future of brick-and-mortar, merchandising, and community-driven hospitality. This episode is a candid look at building a food business from scratch and learning through experimentation. In this conversation, we discuss: Launching a Swedish hot dog pop-upWhat makes Swedish hot dogs and food so specialTransitioning careers into food entrepreneurshipTesting a concept before opening a brick-and-mortar spaceBuilding a brand through pop-ups and communityRevenue streams beyond a brick-and-mortarUsing Substack and social media to grow an audienceDeciding when (or if) to open a permanent spaceStaying creative while building a sustainable business Amelia’s story is a reminder that there’s no single path into the food industry — and that entrepreneurship often starts with simply trying. TPB listeners, we have a special code for you to grab Hej Hej merch or Swedish candy mixes on Hej Hej’s site! Use code ‘PERFECTBITE’ on www.chefhejhej.com for 15% off your order of $25 or more through March 15, 2026. To learn more about Hej Hej and find out about future pop-up dates, visit www.chefhejhej.com. You can follow Hej Hej on social media @chefhejhej. Subscribe to Amelia’s Substack Hotdog Hustle! Subscribe to The Perfect Bite podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen! Want to watch the entire episode? Head here to our YouTube!  You can follow us on social media @perfectbitepod and sign up for our newsletter on Substack!

    54 min
  3. How to Build a Career in Ever-Changing Food Media | Chandra Ram’s Playbook for Adaptability

    FEB 12

    How to Build a Career in Ever-Changing Food Media | Chandra Ram’s Playbook for Adaptability

    How do you build a lasting career in food when media, platforms, and business models keep changing? In this episode of The Perfect Bite, host Sarah Perkins sits down with food writer, editor, cookbook author, and media entrepreneur Chandra Ram to talk about building a career that evolves with the industry instead of resisting it. From restaurant PR to leading Plate Magazine for over a decade, working at Food & Wine, and now running her own independent publishing and consulting work, Chandra shares what it takes to stay adaptable in ever-changing food media. This conversation explores: How to build a career in food media todayWhy there’s no single path into the industryTransitioning from traditional media to independent workCookbook writing and editorial strategyBuilding a portfolio career across platformsWhy showing your work matters more than waiting for permission Chandra’s story is a reminder that sustainable careers are built through experimentation, adaptability, and consistently putting your work into the world. Whether you’re a writer, chef, founder, or creative entrepreneur, this episode offers practical insight into building a career that evolves with you. Subscribe to Chandra’s Substack Another Bite with Chandra Ram! You can learn more about her past work and purchase any of her cookbooks at www.chandraram.net. You can follow Chandra on Instagram @chandrasplate.  Subscribe to The Perfect Bite podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen! Want to watch the entire episode? Head here to our YouTube! You can follow us on social media @perfectbitepod and sign up for our newsletter on Substack!

    1h 1m
  4. A Better Vegan Butter | How Susannah Schoolman Engineered Plant-Based Ingredients for Professional Kitchens

    FEB 5

    A Better Vegan Butter | How Susannah Schoolman Engineered Plant-Based Ingredients for Professional Kitchens

    What does it actually take to build a better ingredient for professional kitchens? In this episode of The Perfect Bite, host Sarah Perkins sits down with Susannah Schoolman, founder of Tourlami, to unpack how deep culinary experience can become a real competitive advantage in entrepreneurship. Susannah shares how her background as a classically trained pastry chef revealed a major gap in the plant-based market: vegan butters that simply didn’t work in professional baking and kitchen environments. Instead of settling for “good enough,” she spent years testing, iterating, and engineering two plant-based butters designed specifically for lamination, pastry, and high-heat applications in professional kitchens. This conversation explores: How lived kitchen experience can uncover real product-market fitWhy Tourlami offers multiple functional butters, not a single catch-all solutionThe five-year R&D journey behind building a credible food ingredientThe mindset shift from chef to founderWhy early-stage founders should prioritize performance over branding This episode is a must-listen for food founders, chefs considering entrepreneurship, and anyone building a product meant to perform under real-world conditions. You can learn more about Tourlami at www.tourlami.com. You can purchase Tourlami for your own kitchen at Chef’s Warehouse locations across the U.S and Canada and on Webstaurant Store. You can follow Tourlami on social media @tourlami and Susannah at @itsschool_man.  Subscribe to The Perfect Bite podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen! Want to watch the entire episode? Head here to our YouTube! You can follow us on social media @perfectbitepod and sign up for our newsletter on Substack!

    48 min
  5. From Rock Bottom to Pastry Queen: How Mindy Crosato Built Decadent Creations & A Commissary Kitchen

    JAN 29

    From Rock Bottom to Pastry Queen: How Mindy Crosato Built Decadent Creations & A Commissary Kitchen

    What does it really take to build a food business from the ground up — and keep it alive for over 16 years? In this episode of The Perfect Bite, host Sarah Perkins sits down with Mindy Crosato, founder of Decadent Creations, Collective Kitchen, and Collective Market in Hillsboro, Oregon. Mindy shares her raw, honest entrepreneurial journey — from a personal rock-bottom moment at age 20 to becoming a “Chopped” champion, bakery owner, and the largest private employer in downtown Hillsboro. Mindy opens up about: Why getting fired, failing out of school, and a breakup pushed her to trust herselfStarting a bakery business at farmers markets with just $500How winning Chopped accelerated her growth overnightThe realities of scaling a handmade food businessWhy she built a commissary kitchen to help other food entrepreneurs succeedHow community, mentorship, and persistence matter more than perfection This conversation is a masterclass in food entrepreneurship, creative risk-taking, and building businesses that serve both people and place. If you’re a baker, chef, maker, or aspiring founder — this episode will leave you inspired to start before you feel ready. You can learn more about Decadent Creations at www.decadentcreations.com and visit the bakery and the Collective Market in Hillsboro, Oregon.  You can follow Decadent Creations @decadentcreationspdx, Collective Market @collectivemarketpdx, and Mindy @mindcrosato. Subscribe to The Perfect Bite podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen! Want to watch the entire episode? Head here to our YouTube! You can follow us on social media @perfectbitepod and sign up for our newsletter on Substack!

    48 min
  6. MINI BITE—Inside Food Venture Capital: Nate Cooper on Investing in the Next Generation of CPG

    JAN 22

    MINI BITE—Inside Food Venture Capital: Nate Cooper on Investing in the Next Generation of CPG

    This week’s episode is our first ever MINI BITE! You get to learn so much in a shorter episode length. Enjoy! Building a food or CPG company is never easy—and finding the right investors can be just as challenging. On this episode of The Perfect Bite, host Sarah Perkins sits down with Nate Cooper, founder and managing partner of Barrel Ventures, to talk about what it really takes to build, fund, and scale successful food and beverage businesses. Nate shares his journey from growing up in a food-industry family to helping launch LYFE Kitchen, co-founding Wise Apple, and eventually becoming an early investor in brands like Olipop. Along the way, he breaks down how founders should think about fundraising, why not everyone needs to love your product, and how venture capital actually works behind the scenes in food and CPG. This conversation covers: How Nate transitioned from operator to food-focused venture capitalistLessons learned from building and shutting down a startupWhat makes a food or CPG brand investableWhy niche audiences matter more than mass appealThe future of functional beverages, CPG consolidation, and emerging categoriesHow founders should approach investors—and what not to doWhy resilience, network, and long-term vision matter more than perfection Whether you’re building a food brand, exploring venture capital, or just curious how investment decisions are made in CPG, this episode offers a candid, insider look at the business of food. You can connect with Nate on LinkedIn or email him at nate@barrelvc.com. You can learn more about Barrel Ventures and its portfolio companies at www.barrelvc.com.  Subscribe to The Perfect Bite podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen! Want to watch the entire episode? Head here to our YouTube! You can follow us on social media @perfectbitepod and sign up for our newsletter on Substack!

    31 min
  7. Setting the Table for Success with Kira Corbin

    JAN 15

    Setting the Table for Success with Kira Corbin

    Thanks for being a supporter of The Perfect Bite! I’m gathering info about what you love about the show on this quick survey—I’m picking 5 random recipients for a $10 Starbucks gift card through Tuesday, January 20, 2026! You can fill it out here. Thanks!  Now back to the episode! Setting a table is about more than plateware and linens—it’s about intention, connection, and creating a sense of place. In this episode of The Perfect Bite Podcast, host Sarah Perkins sits down with Kira Corbin, founder of Standard Affair, to explore how a lifelong love of food, prop styling, and visual storytelling evolved into a modern homewares brand rooted in sustainability and timeless design. Kira shares her journey from working on food and lifestyle shoots for major publications to launching Standard Affair, a line of ceramic dinnerware and linens designed to elevate everyday meals while reducing waste. The conversation covers everything from the emotional power of the table to the realities of entrepreneurship, creative pivots, and why persistence matters more than perfection. In this episode, you’ll learn: How Kira transitioned from prop styling and magazine shoots to founding Standard AffairWhy table settings play a powerful role in hospitality and connectionHow sustainability and recycled materials shape Standard Affair’s production processWhat it takes to pivot careers and “kill your darling” to make space for growthTips for creating meaningful, intentional dinner parties at homeWhy persistence—not talent—is often the key to entrepreneurial success Whether you’re a creative founder, food-media professional, or someone who loves gathering around the table, this episode offers inspiration for building something beautiful and meaningful. You can purchase Standard Affair and learn more at www.standardaffair.com. TPB listeners can get 10% off your purchase with code ‘PERFECTBITE10’! You can see more of Kira’s work at www.kiracorbin.com.  You can follow Standard Affair on Instagram @standardaffair and Kira @kiracorbin.  Subscribe to The Perfect Bite podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen! Want to watch the entire episode? Head here to our YouTube! You can follow us on social media @perfectbitepod and sign up for our newsletter on Substack!

    1h 2m
  8. Why Non-Alcoholic Drinks Deserve Complexity with Five Corners’ Benno Nelson

    JAN 8

    Why Non-Alcoholic Drinks Deserve Complexity with Five Corners’ Benno Nelson

    What if non-alcoholic drinks were just as complex, cultural, and satisfying as craft cocktails? On this episode of The Perfect Bite podcast, host Sarah Perkins sits down with Benno Nelson, co-founder of Five Corners Beverage Company, a Chicago-based brand crafting deeply flavored, globally inspired non-alcoholic canned drinks for adults. Benno shares how his journey into sobriety — paired with a lifelong love of food, beverage, and global storytelling — sparked the idea for Five Corners. Rather than creating sugary substitutes or imitation cocktails, Five Corners honors traditional non-alcoholic drinks from around the world, focusing on the five foundational tastes: salty, sour, bitter, savory, and sweet. This episode explores the evolution of the non-alcoholic beverage movement, why Chicago is the perfect testing ground for innovative drinks, and how intentional flavor design can create true alternatives—not compromises. In this episode, we discuss: Why non-alcoholic drinks deserve depth, culture, and storyBenno’s sobriety journey and how it shaped Five CornersThe inspiration behind flavors like Salted Lemonade and SangritaHow global beverage traditions influenced Five Corners’ recipesBuilding a beverage startup intentionally and locally in ChicagoWhy non-alcoholic menus are additive — not cannibalistic — for restaurantsLessons in entrepreneurship, patience, and community-driven growth To learn more about Five Corners or order your own packs around the country, head to www.fivecornersbev.com. Get 10% off your online order with code ‘BITE’! You can purchase and experience Five Corners Beverage at retailers, restaurants and venues throughout the Chicago area.  You can follow Five Corners on Instagram @fivecornersbev. Subscribe to The Perfect Bite podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen! Want to watch the entire episode? Head here to our YouTube! You can follow us on social media @perfectbitepod and sign up for our newsletter on Substack!

    55 min
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Trailer

5
out of 5
5 Ratings

About

Your fusion of food and entrepreneurship, The Perfect Bite brings you inspiring conversations with chefs, restaurateurs, CPG brand founders, food tech founders, and more in the food and beverage industry, highlighting their experiences and how they've cooked up something new. From emerging brands to established business owners, you'll learn from the best entrepreneurs in food, beverage, hospitality, and agriculture about how they started their businesses, what problems they're solving, the tough times they've overcome, and their best advice for entering these industries or starting your own business. We end each episode with the world's best and hardest question: What is your perfect bite?

Information

  • Creator
    Sarah Perkins
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    51
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Sarah Perkins
  • Show Website
    The Perfect Bite