Eating at a Meeting

At your next reception, one of your guests will probably hear that question. Jen Veralle has built a movement around what it actually tells a guest: you're not quite part of this unless there's alcohol in your glass. Jen is an event strategist, TEDx speaker, founder of the Mindful Drinking Movement and a third-time guest on the show. Her TEDx talk, Why We Should Rethink Drinking Culture, asks us t...

Picture your opening reception. One guest is pregnant. Another is in recovery, another is training for a race, and another just doesn't want to drink tonight. What are you handing them? Too often it's still a soda, a bottle of water, or a sugary "mocktail" nobody planned, and nobody wants to drink (yuck!) That's why I'm so glad Derek Brown and Laura Silverman are joining me on this week's Eating a...

We ask a lot of the food at our events. We want it sustainable, inclusive, local, good for the planet and fair to the people who grew it — and then we hand the caterer a headcount and a budget and hope it all shows up on the plate. So what would it take to build an event where the experience itself actually lives out those values, instead of just claiming them on the website? One event has been an...

In honor of Food Safety Awareness Month, Tracy is thrilled to welcome Doug Davis, founder of Sokeum Consultants and former Global Director of Food Safety for Marriott International, to Eating at a Meeting. With nearly 40 years of experience and stewardship over food safety protocols for 33 brands across 139 countries, Doug brings a wealth of knowledge to the table. Doug and Tracy dig into how food...

When was the last time your event menu was sized for how much people actually eat? Overproduction and mismatched expectations between planners and venues quietly create thousands of dollars in waste—and missed opportunities to wow guests. Discover why salad dressing is the secret weapon for immediate change, the real reason food waste isn't just a "kitchen problem," and what happens when you final...

Here's an event F&B stat that dumbfounds me: on average, 42% of the food we prepare for a buffet goes uneaten — and at one event, 72% of the special-dietary meals got thrown straight in the trash. As someone who has spent the last 16 years fighting to make sure every guest gets fed safely, that second number breaks my heart and lights a fire under me. Those are real stats from a 2026 World Wildlif...

Sandy Bridger said something to me the other night that I haven't stopped thinking about: wine isn't the drink you serve alongside dinner — it's another ingredient in the meal. Once you hear it that way, you can't unhear it. Sandy is the co-owner of DRINK, a Raleigh wine shop she runs with her husband Cam under the tagline "The Somm and The Mom." By day she leads a nonprofit; by night she curates...

Why does the same banquet menu cost more this year than last — and why can't anyone tell you what it will cost next quarter? Global uncertainty drives up the cost of every meal at your meeting — often before a single supply chain is disrupted. If food arrives by car or truck (and nearly all of it does), energy prices are baked into every plate you serve. When markets get nervous, oil and gas price...

Why does the beef entrée on your banquet menu cost so much more than it did two years ago—and what should you expect next when deciding whether beef belongs on your event menu? Record-high cattle prices, the smallest U.S. beef herd in decades, and shifting global trade flows have pushed beef prices to historic levels. Consumers feel it at the grocery store in the sticker price on burgers and steak...

Why does the same banquet menu cost more this year than last — and why can't anyone tell you what it will cost next quarter? Global uncertainty drives up the cost of every meal at your meeting — often before a single supply chain is disrupted. If food arrives by car or truck (and nearly all of it does), energy prices are baked into every plate you serve. When markets get nervous, oil and gas price...

When you travel somewhere new, you often don't know a single soul. So how do you actually understand the place you're standing in? Kenny Dunn's answer: eat. This week on Eating at a Meeting LIVE, I'm talking with Kenny Dunn, Founder and CEO of Eating Europe. His story is a rare one — he started his career at the United Nations working on food security and sustainable agriculture, then a chance piz...

July 1, 2026, was a historic day for food allergy safety in America. California's ADDE Act — the Allergen Disclosure for Dining Experiences Act — officially takes effect on July 1. It's the first law in the United States to require chain restaurants to list the Top 9 major allergens directly on their menus. Named for Addie Lao, a nine-year-old food allergy advocate who dreamed of eating at a resta...

Imagine a menu where every cocktail has a zero-proof twin, every allergy is anticipated, and nothing—even the juice from a can of chickpeas—goes to waste. This episode is all about pushing past the 'Shirley Temple standard' and building truly inclusive and sustainable food & beverage experiences, one thoughtful pivot at a time." From batch-prepping for reduced waste to designing mocktails that riv...

If your food pantry's shelves don't reflect the needs of 21 million gluten-free Americans—or you assume guests will 'just figure it out'—it's time for a reality check. This episode reveals why transparency, education, and intentional sourcing are the keys to serving every member of your community safely and affordably. Carla Carter, Director of Education & Programs at the National Celiac Associati...

Here's the truth most event professionals don't want to say out loud: we often treat food allergy requests as a nuisance instead of a responsibility. This week — Food Allergy Awareness Week — I'm bringing a conversation to Eating at a Meeting LIVE that I believe every meeting planner, caterer, hotel F&B team, and event organizer needs to hear. I'm sitting down with Karen O'Connor, Executive Chef a...

Food allergies aren't just a dietary preference. For millions of people, they are a daily negotiation with risk, anxiety, and belonging. This week is Food Allergy Awareness Week, and for Day 3 of Eating at a Meeting LIVE, I'm sitting down with someone who has been in the trenches of this conversation for years — Lindiwe Lewis, allergy advocate and host of the Behind the Allergy podcast. Lindi has...

A label on a buffet card is not a safety plan. And if you're relying on one to protect your guests with food allergies, this episode is for you. For Day 2 of Food Allergy Awareness Week, I'm bringing Executive Chef Jay Varga of The JDK Group Catering & Events on Eating at a Meeting LIVE — and we are getting into what food allergy safety actually requires in an off-premise catering environment. Jay...

Here's something that doesn't get said enough: the biggest food allergy risk at your event doesn't start in the kitchen. It starts the moment your registration form goes live. To kick off Food Allergy Awareness Week, I'm getting into exactly that — and I've got the right people at the table. The UK events industry just launched something the sector has needed for a long time: the ABPCO Managing Di...

May is extra special for me—it's not only Food Allergy Awareness Month and Celiac Disease Awareness Month, but it also marks the 16th anniversary of thrive! meetings & events and the start of Eating at a Meeting's seventh year! This episode is a solo one, and I'm taking the mic to reflect on why I started my business and this show: making safe, inclusive dining part of every event experience. In t...

If you think serving one gluten-free vegan dish covers all your guests' needs—or that "nut-free" labeling is enough to keep diners safe—think again. This episode dives deep into the most persistent myths and mistakes surrounding event food and beverage, from confusing labels and registration oversights to the real cost of ignoring dietary needs. Host Speaker A shares hard-earned lessons from 30+ y...

What does it really mean to source "Pacific salmon"? Kim Brigham-Campbell and Terrie Brigham are sisters, members of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, and co-owners of Brigham Fish Market—a Native-owned, family-run business on the banks of the Columbia River in Cascade Locks, Oregon. Since 2014, they've been catching wild Columbia River salmon, sturgeon, and steelhead fro...

Anamaria Gutiérrez is 23 seasons into running Este Garden, a women-powered, one-third-acre urban farm in East Austin growing vegetables, herbs, edible flowers, and fruit and nut trees for four restaurants: Suerte, Este, Bar Toti, and Nixta Taqueria. Her path to the garden ran through a UT Austin business degree, a farmers market coordinator role, a farm fellowship, her own market food business, an...

It started as a kitchen garden. Nine acres. A favor from her husband. Today, Green Door Gourmet is 350 acres of certified organic farmland on the Cumberland River — one of the largest organic operations in Tennessee — growing 80 kinds of fruits and vegetables, 80 flower varieties, and 25 specialty herbs, including Southern heirloom varieties that most event menus have never seen. Sylvia Harrelson...

What does it actually take to grow the food that ends up on a hotel banquet table or a farm-to-table dinner menu? Lauren Palmer has spent 17 years answering that question one harvest at a time. Lauren is the owner and farmer behind Bloomsbury Farm, a USDA Certified Organic operation on more than 400 acres outside Nashville, Tennessee. She grows vegetables, fruits, sprouts, microgreens, mushrooms,...

What if the most interesting ingredient at your next event was already growing just outside the venue? I've been thinking about this lately — and then Lotta Giesenfeld Boman introduced me to Lisen Sundgren, and honestly, she made it impossible to think about anything else. Lisen is my guest this week on Eating at a Meeting Podcast LIVE — and she is the perfect person to kick off Women's HERstory M...