The Food Professor

Welcome to a special bonus episode celebrating the 29th ANNUAL CANADIAN GRAND PRIX NEW PRODUCT AWARDS Sylvain and I are thrilled to be a sponsor of these prestigious awards for the third year in a row and have the chance to hand out the hardware on the stage to the winners in person for the first time! We had the opportunity to meet and get to know many fantastic food innovators and entrepreneurs,...

Welcome to another special SIAL bonus episodes of The Food Professor podcast! Sylvain and I were thrilled to be the official podcast of the SIAL food innovation trade show held in Montreal in April; for many, the first in-person event since the COVID era began two years ago. We had the opportunity to meet and get to know many food innovators and entrepreneurs, creators and makers from many facets...

This episode is recored live at the Canadian Grand Prix New Product Awards 2022 in Toronto June 1st with very special guest Darell Jones , President Save-On-Foods, Margaret Hudson , CEO Burnbrae Farms, Michael Graydon, CEO at Food, Health & Consumer Products of Canada, the one and only Jim Slomka (episode picture credit to Jim!), and Errol Cerit, SVP FHCP.  We take the opportunity to congratulate...

Welcome to a special bonus episode celebrating the 29th ANNUAL CANADIAN GRAND PRIX NEW PRODUCT AWARDS Sylvain and I are thrilled to be a sponsor of these prestigious awards for the third year in a row and have the chance to hand out the hardware on the stage to the winners in person for the first time! We had the opportunity to meet and get to know many fantastic food innovators and entrepreneurs,...

Welcome to the first of several special bonus episodes celebrating the 29th ANNUAL CANADIAN GRAND PRIX NEW PRODUCT AWARDS Sylvain and I are thrilled to be a sponsor of these prestigious awards for the third year in a row and have the chance to hand out the hardware on the stage to the winners in person for the first time! We had the opportunity to meet and get to know many fantastic food innovator...

Welcome to another special SIAL bonus episodes of The Food Professor podcast! Sylvain and I were thrilled to be the official podcast of the SIAL food innovation trade show held in Montreal in April; for many, the first in-person event since the COVID era began two years ago. We had the opportunity to meet and get to know many food innovators and entrepreneurs, creators and makers from many facets...

Sylvain and I are recording live together at the Restaurants Canada trade show in Toronto.  Thanks to the folks at Restaurants Canada for loaning us a great podcasting space right in the middle of the action of the big show!   We talk about the show, the largest of its kind in Canada, what we're hearing, and the hot trends in the restaurant business.     We also cover the latest inflation numbers...

Welcome to the first of several special SIAL bonus episodes of The Food Professor podcast! Sylvain and I were thrilled to be the official podcast of the SIAL food innovation trade show held in Montreal in April; for many, the first in-person event since the COVID era began two years ago. We had the opportunity to meet and get to know many food innovators and entrepreneurs, creators and makers from...

We're back from the SIAL food innovation show in Montreal, back from our honeymoon with amazing food and food creators from Canada and around the world!  Be sure and check out our livestream from the show, and keep your eyes and ears open for all our bonus episodes recorded live in our podcast studio on the show floor! In this solo episode we're talking about the North American avian flu outbreak,...

On this episode of The Food Professor, we talk about missed opportunities from the latest Federal Budget,  the high cost of U.S. inflation and lobster, upcoming reports on gardening and the plant-based meat versus meat value equation, and the cease fire in the great chip war. Our very special guest is Carl Goyette , president and CEO of Guru all natural energy drinks, and for our Trying Stuff segm...

Live from Las Vegas the latest episode tackles changes in the way Statistics Canada measures the basket of food as part of its CPI index, a pending lawsuit in Quebec aimed at beef processors, and how getting Russian food products, or ingredients, off the grocery shelf may be harder than you think! Our very special guest on this episode is Lyne Castonguay, President and Chief Operating Officer, Dai...

Welcome to episode 44 - the second episode 44 ‘cause I messed up and last episode was actually episode 43 for those listeners playing along at home…. Our very special guest for this episode is Richard Scofield , Président et Chef de la direction at Groupe St-Hubert.  We start by asking Richard to assess the health of the brand today versus your ambition for the business - are you at where you want...

In this episode war comes to the Ukraine and Sylvain and I discuss the global implications on the food system and supply chain of Europe's bread basket under attack.   Check out this article Sylvain wrote and published.  Next, we Lay(s) our chips on the table and talk about the high stakes negotiations happening between Lays Potato Chips and Loblaws.  Our Trying Stuff segment features viv eau real...

Welcome to the food professor podcast episode 42! In this episode, our Trying Stuff segment features GoGo Quinoa , in this episode lentil pasta and whaaaat…breakfast cereal!  A reminder to the brands out there,  just send us product and we try it, this isn’t paid or any any other way a promotional spot:  We have a great interview with Xavier Poncin , CEO of the food innovation show SIAL North Amer...

In this episode we start out with the Truckers Convoy and the Alberta blockade and how is this impacting government policy and the  food system in Canada, Sylvain ranks the overall state of the food supply chain in Canada two weeks after the border vaccine mandate, "Shelflation" and  a great interview with Dana McCauley , Chief Experience Officer from the Canadian Food Innovation Network   Our Try...

For our 2022 season kick-off episode   Sylvain and I  talk about predictions for 2022, supply pain on 18 wheels at the border, food trade from Florida, being on the losing end of CUSMA  trade tribunals, and chat with Adam Kaat, author of "LIfe on the Grocery Line".   Next, we move to our fun segment Trying Stuff, featuring Silver Swallow luxury  Kombucha! Be sure and  check out our YouTube site fo...

For our season finale Sylvain and I wrap a the year with a great discussion of the top food industry stores of 2021!  From TimBeibs to supply chain pain to the year of the food worker, we have it all in a rich and wide ranging discussion. We kick it off where we left off last episode - talking about Canada's Food Price Report and the media/public policy impact of the 2022 forecast.  Next, we move...

Well if it sounds a bit different, it certainly looks different on our YouTube site - we’re together, live, in person for the first time every on our podcast! And what an episode!  Our special guest is Jo-Ann McArthur, President at Nourish Food Marketing back on the podcast to talk about her 2022 Trend Report, and on our Trying Stuff segment Cracker Barrel Signature shredded cheeses from our frien...

Welcome to the The Food Professor podcast episode 36, I’m Michael LeBlanc, and I’m Sylvain  Charlebois!   In this episode we talk about the latest research from the Dalhousie Agri-Food Analytics Lab and their Salmon Report , the potato crisis in PEI, updated on the Dairy Price Increase file, understanding the impacts to the food industry of the BC environmental crisis, and an exclusive opportunity...

Welcome to the The Food Professor podcast episode 36, I’m Michael LeBlanc, and I’m Sylvain  Charlebois!   In this episode we talk about the background behind the announcement by the Canadian Dairy Commission on an 8.4% increase in the cost of dairy for 2022 , the process (or lack thereof) behind it and Sylvain's concerns around the lack of transparency of the data.    We also look at sustainabilit...

Welcome to the The Food Professor podcast episode 35, I’m Michael LeBlanc, and I’m Sylvain  Charlebois!   In this episode our special guest is Melanie Morrison , CEO & Founder of BetterCart, an online grocery comparison engine that has some voodoo that captures prices on the shelves and enables retailers, brands and shoppers to compare prices, and for our popular new Trying Stuff segment, we have...

Welcome to the The Food Professor podcast episode 34, I’m Michael LeBlanc, and I’m Sylvain  Charlebois!   In this episode our special guest is Cher Mereweather President and CEO from the Provision Coalition , fantastic discussion on sustainability, up cycling, circular economy and the agri-food industry….and for our popular new Trying Stuff segment, we have a nice selection of plant-based product...

Welcome to the The Food Professor podcast episode 33  I’m Michael LeBlanc, and I’m Sylvain Charlebois!   Back on the mic together, so much going on - and in fact you and I were quoted in the same article yesterday - a first!  All about supply chain…we’ll get to that a bit later…we’re going bananas over our great guest, Julie Francouer from Fairtrade Canada, and of course our very popular segment,...

Welcome to the The Food Professor podcast episode 32, back from our brief summer hiatus!  I’m Michael LeBlanc, and I’m Sylvain Charlebois! We’re back and we have a very special guest, Serge Boulanger , Senior Vice President Procurement & Corporate Brands at Metro Inc.,  BTW, be sure and check out our bonus episode  with my interview with Vice President and Director, Metro’s Corporate Brands, Marie...

Welcome to the Canadian Grand Prix New Product Awards bonus episode of The Food Professor! My co-host Sylvain Charlebois and I are thrilled to once again be supporting Retail Council of Canada’s new product awards this year as we both are big believers in supporting new and innovative products for the grocery shelves and beyond.     The private label portfolio at Metro is extensive and was a top c...