The Food Professor

In the Season 6 regular season finale of The Food Professor Podcast , hosts Michael LeBlanc and Dr. Sylvain Charlebois welcome Pete Hoekstra, United States Ambassador to Canada , for an exclusive and wide-ranging conversation about the future of Canada-U.S. food trade, agriculture, supply chains and North American economic cooperation. While The Food Professor Podcast isn't a political show, few r...

This week on The Food Professor Podcast , Michael LeBlanc and Dr. Sylvain Charlebois sit down with Vincent Breton, President & CEO of duBreton , Canada's leading organic pork producer, for a fascinating live interview recorded at SIAL Canada in Montreal. Vincent shares the remarkable story behind duBreton's evolution from a traditional pork producer into one of the world's fastest-growing organic...

This week on The Food Professor Podcast , Michael LeBlanc and Dr. Sylvain Charlebois welcome Jean-François Archambault, Founder and General Manager of La Tablée des Chefs , for an inspiring conversation about food recovery, food security, and the power of community action. Recorded live at SIAL Montreal, this episode showcases one of Canada's most remarkable social entrepreneurs and the national m...

This week on The Food Professor Podcast, co-hosts Michael LeBlanc and Dr. Sylvain Charlebois welcome two special guests for a wide-ranging, no-holds-barred interview: Axel Schwan, President of Tim Hortons Canada & U.S., and Duncan Fulton, Chief Corporate Officer of Restaurant Brands International (RBI). With Dunkin' Donuts announcing its return to Canada and Canadians passionately debating the fut...

This week on The Food Professor Podcast , Michael LeBlanc and Dr. Sylvain Charlebois sit down with Don Hill, Chairman of Sucro , for a rare inside look at one of the most significant investments in Canada's food manufacturing sector in decades. Sucro has quickly become one of North America's fastest-growing sugar companies, and its newly built Ontario refinery marks the first major new sugar-refin...

This week on The Food Professor Podcast, recorded live at SIAL Canada 2026 in Montreal, Michael LeBlanc and Dr. Sylvain Charlebois welcome back Karen Proud, President & Adjudicator of the Canada Grocery Code, for an important conversation about one of the most closely watched structural reforms in the Canadian grocery industry. Only months after the official launch of the Canada Grocery Code, Prou...

This week on The Food Professor Podcast, our interview is recorded live at SIAL Canada 2026 in Montreal. Michael LeBlanc welcomes one of the most influential executives in global consumer packaged goods: Jessica C. Adelman, Mars Snacking North America. Fresh off Mars’ massive $36 billion acquisition of Kellanova, Adelman offers a rare inside look at the strategic thinking behind one of the largest...

This week on The Food Professor Podcast , recorded live from the West Coast, Syvain in Chilliwack, Michael in L.A., begin with a fast-moving roundup of the biggest food, grocery, and agriculture headlines shaping Canada. First, the hosts unpack Dunkin's return to Canada and debate where the iconic brand could fit in a market dominated by Tim Hortons and McDonald's. They also explore major developm...

On this latest episode of The Food Professor Podcast, recorded live inside the podcast fishbowl at SIAL Canada 2026 in Montreal, Michael LeBlanc and Sylvain Charlebois welcome one of the most exciting entrepreneurs in Canadian food innovation: Santiago Stacey. Fresh off winning SIAL’s prestigious Gold Innovation Award, Santiago shares the remarkable story behind Ku Na Na, creator of Canada’s first...

Broadcasting live from the vibrant show floor of the SIAL Food Innovation Show in Montreal, this episode of The Food Professor Podcast delivers a dynamic blend of industry insight, macroeconomic analysis, and a compelling first-ever deep dive into the fast-growing pet food sector. Our guest on this episode is Dylan Munro, Canadian-born COO and Co-Founder of Spot & Tango. Munro unpacks how the comp...

In this episode of The Food Professor Podcast , hosts Michael LeBlanc and Dr. Sylvain Charlebois sit down with Trinh Tham , CEO of the Kevito Group , operator of Chatime and Bake Code—two of Canada’s fastest-growing quick-service restaurant (QSR) brands. Tham shares a compelling leadership journey spanning grocery retail, luxury fashion, and now high-growth foodservice, offering a masterclass in b...

In this episode of The Food Professor Podcast , hosts Michael LeBlanc and Dr. Sylvain Charlebois welcome back to the mic Michael Graydon, CEO of Food, Health & Consumer Products of Canada (FHCP) , for a timely and wide-ranging conversation on the state of Canada’s food manufacturing sector, regulatory pressures, and the future of food policy. Graydon delivers a candid assessment of an industry at...

In this episode of The Food Professor Podcast , hosts Michael LeBlanc and Dr. Sylvain Charlebois sit down with Stéphane Thuillier, CEO of SIAL Canada , for an in-depth conversation on the future of food innovation, global trade shows, and Canada’s expanding influence in the international food ecosystem. Thuillier shares his global perspective from leading one of the world’s most important food exh...

What does it really take to run one of Canada's largest western grocery enterprises — and what does the future of food retail actually look like from the inside? This week on the Food Professor Podcast, hosts Michael LeBlanc and Professor Sylvain Charlebois sit down with Jamie Nelson, President of Pattison Food Group , for a candid, wide-ranging conversation on grocery economics, consumer behaviou...

In this episode of The Food Professor Podcast , Michael LeBlanc and Dr. Sylvain Charlebois lead with a fascinating interview featuring Rob Kelly, Chief Commercial Officer at IKEA Canada. Kelly, a 35-year veteran of the company, explains how IKEA—best known as the world’s largest furniture retailer—has become a powerful force in food culture and consumer insight. IKEA’s newly released global food h...

In this episode of The Food Professor Podcast , Michael LeBlanc and Dr. Sylvain Charlebois tackle the biggest forces shaping Canada’s food economy—from rising grocery prices and global conflict to policy debates and shifting consumer behaviour. The episode opens with a deep dive into the latest food and agriculture news. The hosts unpack the escalating geopolitical tensions involving Iran and thei...

In this episode of The Food Professor Podcast , Michael LeBlanc and Dr. Sylvain Charlebois sit down with Cooper Sleeman, from John Sleeman & Sons Company’s Spring Mill Distillery , to explore how one of Canada’s most recognizable brewing families is redefining the country’s craft spirits landscape. Cooper shares the remarkable story behind Spring Mill Distillery and how the Sleeman family’s brewin...

In this episode of The Food Professor Podcast , hosts Michael LeBlanc and Dr. Sylvain Charlebois begin with their weekly conversation on the latest food and agriculture news shaping the global agri-food economy. The discussion covers geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and the potential ripple effects on energy prices, transportation costs, and food inflation. The hosts explore how rising fue...

In this episode of The Food Professor Podcast , Michael LeBlanc and Sylvain Charlebois sit down with Robert Carter, President of the Coffee Association of Canada and Managing Partner at StrattonHunter Group , for an in-depth look at Canada’s coffee and restaurant industries at a moment of significant disruption. Carter explains why coffee remains Canada’s most consumed beverage and a cornerstone o...

In this special “Year of the Fire Horse” episode of The Food Professor Podcast , Michael LeBlanc and Dr. Sylvain Charlebois deliver a wide-ranging and unfiltered analysis of the forces reshaping Canada’s food economy — from stubborn food inflation to AI-powered grocery shopping, trade diplomacy, restaurant distress, and the surprising fall in cocoa and coffee prices. The episode opens with a deep...

In this episode of The Food Professor Podcast , Michael LeBlanc and Dr. Sylvain Charlebois deliver a wide-ranging discussion that spans Canadian agricultural investment, dairy transparency, food trade infrastructure, and seafood sustainability—before welcoming Jason McLinton, President of the Fisheries Council of Canada , for an in-depth conversation on the future of Canada’s wild capture seafood...

In this episode of The Food Professor Podcast , Michael LeBlanc and Sylvain Charlebois deliver a wide-ranging discussion that connects Canadian food policy, trade risk, pricing power, and the accelerating role of AI in restaurants. The episode is anchored by a forward-looking interview with Deborah Matteliano Simeoni, Global Head of Restaurants at Amazon Web Services (AWS) , recorded live at the N...

On this episode of The Food Professor Podcast , Michael LeBlanc and Dr. Sylvain Charlebois unpack one of the most wide-ranging conversations of the season—blending major food policy, trade, and retail stories with an inspiring deep dive into the life and business philosophy of Cosimo Mammoliti, Founder & CEO of the Terroni Group . The episode opens with fast-moving headlines shaping Canada’s food...

In this episode of The Food Professor Podcast , hosts Michael LeBlanc and Dr. Sylvain Charlebois unpack two powerful and timely themes shaping Canada’s food system: the shifting geopolitical landscape of agri-food and the growing threat of food fraud. The episode opens with a wide-ranging news segment focused on Canada’s evolving trade relationship with China, recent developments at Davos, and new...

In this episode of The Food Professor Podcast , Michael LeBlanc and Dr. Sylvain Charlebois deliver a wide-ranging discussion on the forces reshaping food, retail, and consumer behaviour—before sitting down with one of Canada’s most dynamic food entrepreneurs, Suzie Yorke, CEO and Founder of The Little Cacao Company . The episode opens with insights from New York City, where Michael reports from NR...