Menu Talk

Alexis Schultze Parra became a fan of juicing as a California mom and yoga enthusiast before she co-founded Nekter Juice Bar 13 years ago. The healthy fast casual has since grown to over 300 locations, and in her role as chief visionary officer, Parra oversees culinary, supply chain, marketing and more. Although Nekter has a large core customer base for its convenient, nutritious and functional ju...

When Cindy Syracuse joined BurgerFi International last January as CMO, she hit the ground running. Her first order of business: Earn more recognition for BurgerFi in the “better burger” category. So she tasked the culinary team with creating a new burger to enter into the South Beach Wine & Food (SOBE) festival’s Burger Bash taking place in February. In less than a month, they developed the BB...

Neil Doherty’s official job title at Sysco is senior director of global culinary development, but it wouldn't be wrong to call him “chief problem solver” for the broadline distributor. He works along with the 87 chefs Sysco employs at 32 test kitchen sites around the country to help operators in every segment source products to meet back-of-house challenges. Right now, the biggest challenge is...

Jenner Tomaska and Katrina Bravo, husband and wife co-owners of Esmé, met when they were both starting out in the industry at MK, a groundbreaking Chicago restaurant that has since closed. The pair eventually married and ventured out on their own, opening Esmé in 2021. The Chicago fine-dining restaurant embodies their vision to marry Bravo’s passion for art and Tomaska’s passion for culinary artis...

Philippe Massoud grew up Lebanon, spending a lot of time in his family’s hotel learning hospitality and cooking from the best. He was forced to leave his country during the civil war, arriving in the U.S. with a strong desire to pursue his culinary passion. That desire finally became a reality 15 years ago, when, after many fits and starts, he opened ilili in New York City, introducing Americans t...

Towards the end of every year, Technomic releases its annual predictions for the year ahead. Lizzy Freier, director of menu research and insights, worked with her team of researchers and analysts to compile Technomic’s report, “What’s in Store for 2024.” She joins the podcast to talk about the data-based trends that rose to the top. Freier digs into the report to reveal vivid details behind the pr...

Joel Reynders was named VP of culinary and executive chef at Bar Louie just last May, and he hit the ground running. The 67-unit chain has long been a popular happy hour destination, but guests would order a drink or two and some nibbles and leave to have dinner someplace else. To fill that gap, Reynders—whose casual-dining experience includes Red Lobster, Darden, Tijuana Flats and more—developed...

Becky Boyd has worked at Outback Steakhouse most of her adult life, starting as a server and moving up to bar manager and eventually to her current position as Director of Menu Innovation & Strategy for all of Bloomin’ Brands. Bloomin’ is the parent company of Outback, Bonefish Grill and Carrabba’s Italian Grill. Outback is currently on an innovation tear, launching seasonal limited-time menus...

Carl Sobocinski opened his first restaurant called Soby’s 26 years ago in Greenville, S.C., serving low-country cuisine along with a personalized brand of hospitality. More restaurants followed, and Sobocinski eventually formed Table 301 as the umbrella company that oversees them all. Now there six unique concepts, all within a three-block radius in Greenville, plus a food truck, two event venues...

Entrepreneurship runs through the veins of Andrew Munday, co-founder of Local Kitchens, a micro food hall that collects small and independent restaurants under one roof. He’s also been involved in six other startups, including delivery giant Door Dash, and is now on a mission to help existing restaurants grow and partner with operators and chefs to create new concepts. Local Kitchens’ most recent...

Pepper Lunch currently has five restaurants in the U.S., but CEO Troy Hooper is on a mission to accelerate growth into both traditional and nontraditional spaces. The fast casual was founded by a Japanese master chef more than 30 years ago, and now counts hundreds of locations around the world. The focus of the menu is a dish called Beef Pepper Rice, a favorite meal in Japan that’s usually served...

At its five locations in the Chicagoland area, Beatrix pulls in crowds all day long. Andrew Ashmore, corporate chef and partner in the Lettuce Entertain You restaurants has created a widely appealing menu with elevated touches such as house-baked breads and pastries, handcrafted cocktails and locally sourced ingredients. The varied menu includes plenty of vegetarian items for lunch, dinner and wee...

Yia Vang did not set out to be a restaurateur, but after his Hmong food popup took off in Minneapolis, he realized this was his mission. Vang emigrated to the U.S. from Southeast Asia with his family as a young child, seeking refuge among other Hmong people in Minnesota. His popup found a home in a trailer and eventually started operating as Union Hmong Kitchen in Minneapolis’ Graze Food Hall. He...

As chef-partner in Pomegranate Hospitality, Alon Shaya has shared the rich culinary landscape of Israel through his acclaimed restaurants—Saba in New Orleans, Safta in Denver and the newest, Silan in the Bahamas. But, he says, it has been one of the greatest honors of his life to help preserve one family’s legacy through the Rescued Recipes series of dinners he’s hosting in cities across the count...

Nick Graff joined Noodles & Company in 2014 and quickly advanced to the position he holds today as executive chef and VP of culinary. Along the way, he introduced scores of new ingredients, formats and global dishes. Among the standouts are veggie-based zoodles, stuffed pastas including tortelloni and ravioli in several flavor iterations, a high-protein pasta called leanguini, and Chicken Parm...

Steve Sturm, VP of Food & Beverage at Firebirds Wood Fired Grill, has been with the polished casual concept for 23 years, steering and evolving the menu from its first restaurant in 2000 to its present-day count of 56 locations. The concept’s centerpiece is its wood-fired grill, which adds bold flavor, innovative prep and dramatic flair to everything it touches. Firebirds’ signature steaks, se...

Paul Fehribach, chef-owner of Big Jones in Chicago, has operated a popular Southern restaurant since 2008, but he has always been enamored by Midwestern food. His roots are in Indiana, where German culinary traditions and farm-fresh ingredients defined meals. But the story behind the scope and diversity of Midwest cuisine has scarcely been told. Fehribach sets out to change that through “Midwester...

Sharon Arthofer had a career in marketing, retail and the snack industry before she started fast-casual Sip Fresh in 2017, but she noticed a huge growth opportunity in the beverage segment. Instead of doing just another pressed juice concept, she hired mixologists to take it to the next level. They created a menu of unique, alcohol-free juice-based drinks with on-trend ingredients like dragon frui...

Adam Crocini, VP and global head of food and beverage for Hilton hotels, is reimagining food and beverage service at all the company’s brands—from family-friendly Hampton Inn to the luxe Waldorf Astoria. With guests looking for more meaningful experiences post-pandemic, Crocini is leading the charge to create more chef partnerships in the hotel restaurants. José Andrés, Michael Mina and Nancy Silv...

Chicken Salad Chick started with one recipe created by an Alabama mom and has grown to more than 225 restaurants across the South, with units now open in Colorado and the Midwest as well. Its menu features more than a dozen variations of chicken salad, many named after their female creators or fans. Now, the chain has introduced its first warm sandwich: the Chick Melt. Based on a tuna melt but fil...

Eileen Andrade, chef-owner of the newly revamped Amelia’s 1931, started out in the fashion business. But she couldn’t resist the pull of her Cuban family’s restaurant legacy, especially that of her abuela Amelia, for whom the restaurant is named. Andrade renovated her grandmother’s diner in June, breaking through to the dry cleaner next door to add 100 seats, a trendy cocktail lounge and dazzling...

Amanda Stelly, general manager of Camp Margaritaville Breaux Bridge, remained unruffled when tasked with supervising the overhaul of food and beverage operations. She has deep experience as a restaurant manager, and even though the revamp had to be done in just a few months, she put one foot in front of the other and got it done. The Jimmy Buffet-branded Margaritaville venues were all in top opera...

Jeff Carcara, CEO of Sixty Vines, says he owes a lot to the Hillstone Restaurant Group, the hospitality company where he began his career. He followed that start with stints at innovative casual-dining players, including Bahama Breeze, Seasons 52 and Del Frisco. Carcara now leads Sixty Vines, an eight-location polished casual differentiated by its unique wine-on-tap initiative and vineyard-inspire...

Scott McCurdy earned his culinary chops working as an executive chef in high-end restaurants, hotels and other segments of the industry. As director of culinary for US Foods since 2005, he’s now on the other side, tapping that experience to help operators, particularly independent restaurants, create smarter, more profitable menus. Scott McCurdy McCurdy is a “constant student of restaurants” to st...

 Hot honey may be the hottest condiment of the year, infusing restaurant menus across the country with sweet heat. Mike Kurtz first tasted hot honey on a pizza in Brazil in his early 20s and started making his own chili-infused honey in his Brooklyn apartment. He brought samples to Brooklyn pizzeria Paulie Gee’s and soon turned owner Paul Giannone onto the idea of drizzling his pies with hot honey...