Episode List

Inspire the next generation of food professionals

My Food Job Rocks is the first podcast of it’s kind. We interview food professionals, both fresh and experienced so that they can tell the world why working in the food industry is awesome and why their Food Job Rocks!

Want to find an episode?  This page is a directory of all of the episodes we produce.

You can either listen to them here

Or we are currently available on Itunes and Stitcher.

Podfanatic has an amazing breakdown as well

We have also sorted all of our episodes by profession. See below

Career Advice

Early podcasts on career advice, and capturing the general passion of the food industry.

What is Food Science?

My First Food Job Search

Making College Worth It

Should You Go to Graduate School?

What I Learned From CEO’s

On Changing Jobs

An Overview on Ideation to Commercialization

On Impostor Syndrome and Over Working

Episode 200 Celebration Collection Part 1

Episode 200 Celebration Collection Part 2

For the Love of Food – A Collaboration with WeWork Food Labs

Pandemic Insights

Recent podcasts from new and returning guests about what’s going on and how to navigate it.
(note: these episodes might have outdated information)

Don Schaffner and Ben Chapman – Professors in Food Safety and Podcasters of Food Safety Talk

Cesare Varallo – founder of Food Law Latest, Lawyer in Italy

Christine Rico – CFO at CFO on Speed Dial

Gary Nowacki – CEO of TraceGains

Mike Mitchell – Co-Founder and CEO of Acari Fish (invasive fish jerky)

Research and Development 

A collection of people who create great products using science and culinary skillsets. We ask what type of skill sets are needed and how they got their job.

Product Developers

Taryn Yee – Food Technologist at Safeway

Andrea Zeng – Food Technologist at Lundberg Farms

Adam Yee – Product Developer at Isagenix

Katie Lanfranki – Food Technologist at Southcoast Baking Company

Haley Richardson – Associate Scientist at the Dr. Pepper/Snapple Group

Kimber Lew – R and D Coordinator at La Terra Fina (Quiches)

Stephanie Ronquillio – Food Scientist at Newly Weds Foods (Quiches)

Jessica Gavin – Sr. Research Scientist at Nutrilite

Jocelyn Ngo – R and D Food Scientist at Day Lea Foods (Chinese Food)

Jaime Reeves – R and D Manager at Del Monte Foods (Processed Fruit)

Sherrill Cropper – Bakery Formulation Specialist at Red Star Yeast

Jonathon Weber – Gummy Technologist at Herbaland Naturals

Shyamoli Gramopadhye – Dairy Technologist at DariConcepts – Dairy Tech

Brian Gouldsbury – Sr. Research Scientist at Krave Nutrition – Beef Jerky

Siddharth Bidhe – Food Scientist at JUST Inc. – Plant-based products

Phil Saneski – VP of Product at ReGrained – Upcycled Beer Grain

Ethan Beswick – Research Director at Endless West – Whiskey

Dr. Maya M Warren – Sr. Director of International Research and Development at Coldstone Creamery

Dr. Maya M Warren – Founder of Ice Cream for Change

Dr. Wendy Zheng – Product Development Scientist at Coca-Cola

John Frelka – Food Scientist at Prime Roots (plant-based bacon)

Marie Wright – President of Creation, Design, and Chief Global Flavorist at ADM

Lindsey Wiesner – Founder at WiseBev (Beverages)

Read more about food science here

Research Chefs

Kimberly King Shaub – Innovation Manager at Lundberg Family Farms 

Philip Saneski – President of the RCA Student Association

Michael Bunn – Sr. Manager QA and R and D at Sam’s Club

Ali Bouzari – CSO of Pilot R+D and Author of Ingredient

Louis Edmond – Food Technologist at Advanced Pierre Foods

Jessica Goldstein – Marketing Director at Nu Spice

Mark Crowell – CEO of CuliNex

Read more about being a Research Chef here.

Registered Dietitians

Missy Schaaphok – Senior Nutrition Strategist at Taco Bell

R and D Managers

Claudia Sidoti – Head of Recipe Development at Hello Fresh 

Natalie Roseler – VP of Innovation at Surlean Foods

Food Safety

Practical jobs and philosophical insights on why our food has to be safe.

Food Safety Auditor

Tiffany Lau – Food Safety Auditor at NSF

Food Safety Manager

Austin Bouck – Quality Manager at Earth2O

Guangtao Zhang – Food Safety Expert at Mars Global Food Safety

Food Safety Advocates

Dr. Darin Detwiler – Assistant Dean at Northwestern University 

Dr. Steven Gendel – Vice President, Allergen Control at IEH Laboratories (worked in the FDA)

Dr. Don Schaffner – Distinguished Professor at Rutgers State

Dr. Ben Chapman – Associate Professor at NC State

Quality Assurance/Control

Stories that talk about what gets people excited about quality assurance and the underlying process that makes good quality programs.

Raf Peeters – CEO of Qcify

Bryan Armentrout – Quality Consultant at the Food Leadership Group

Weber Stibolt – Quality Assurance Specialist at Eight O’ Clock Coffee 

Tara Riley – Director of Quality and Savour International (Harvest Internship)

Julie Wilson – Managing Director at FreshCheq (software)

Lilian Cruz-Hand – QA Specialist at Save-a-Lot

Interviews at the SQF Conference Part 1

Interviews at the SQF Conference Part 2

Weber Stibolt – Quality Systems Manager at Beyond Meat

Food Regulatory, Law and Policy

A combination of regulatory and legal questions to make sure you don’t get sued when you develop a product.

Cesare Varallo – VP of Regulatory Affairs at Inscatech and owner of foodlawlatest.com

Mitchell Weinburg – CEO of Inscatech

David Mahoney – Senior Counsel at Indigo Ag, Inc

Joseph Robertson – Global Strategy Director at Citizen’s Climate Lobby

Abe Cohn – Intellectual Property Lawyer at the Cohn Legal Group

Production, Supply Chain and Operations

The workhorses that make and manage your food. Stories that not only advocates the average worker, but also shows just how complex our food system really is.

Trevor Fast – Production Supervisor at Dandelion Chocolate

Sapna Thottathil – Supply Chain Specialist at School Food Focus

Dino Borri – VP of Purchasing at Eataly

Katy Jones – CMO of FoodLogiQ (Supply Chain Software Company)

Darius Chen – Sr. Commercial Operations Analyst at MARS + Wrigley

Marc Simony – VP of TraceGains Network (Supply Chain Software Company)

Zachary Lones – Director: Localized Social Media at WalMart

Renee Dunn – CEO of Amazi Foods (Copacking in Uganda)

Bryan Lew – COO of Fair Trade America

Michelle Klieger – CEO of Strategerm Consulting

Sensory Science

The science and subject of getting paid to taste things. We discuss the tactics to gather good data through companies big and small.

Dr. Howard Moskowitz – CSO of Mind Genomics

Lumeng Jin – Senior Research Executive at MMR Research 

Bryson Bolton – Manager of Sensory and Sample Collection at Synergy Flavors

Emily Kimmins – Sensory Manager at KraftHeinz

Ivy Kolliker – Director at Sensory Spectrum

Food Engineering

What even is food engineering? When we actually manufacture a product, what do we actually have to look for? These stories share the technical skillset needed to create the sometimes impossible.

Jeffrey Nguyen – Supply Chain Engineer at Gatorade

Deya Trujillo Suarez – Extrusion Engineer at Beyond Meat

Amit Sinha – Process Innovation Engineer at Watson

Anton Slavkin – Product Development Engineer at Strauss Group

Matt Tom – Systems Engineer and Founder of MTCC

Ana Maria Quiros – Food Engineer at CITA in Costa Rica

Alternative Meat Innovation

Stories that dive into not only the science behind alt-meat such as plant-based and cell-based meat but also the passion behind the people who create them and invest in them.

Zak Weston – Corporate Engagement Specialist at the Good Food Institute

Aylon Steinhart – Business Innovation Specialist at the Good Food Institute

Erin Rees Clayton Ph.D.- Scientific Foundations Liason at the Good Food Institute

Isaac Emery Ph.D. – Senior Environmental Scientist at the Good Food Institute

Marie Gibbons – Clean Meat Scientist at the Good Food Institute

Paul Shapiro – Author of the Book, Clean Meat

Tom Mastrobuoni – CFO of Tyson Ventures

Peter Verstarte – CEO of Mosa Meat (from the Cultured Meat and Future Food podcast)

Annie Ryu – CEO of The Jackfruit Company

David Benzaquean – CEO and Co-Founder of Ocean Hugger Foods

Daniel Scharff – Head of Consumer Insights at Eat JUST Inc

Minh Tsai – CEO of Hodo Foods, a Tofu Company

Ashish Jogi – CEO of FudTekKey, Indian Plant-based consultant firm

Andrew Ive – Founder and General Managing Partner at Big Idea Ventures

Stacie Waters – CEO of Bilinski’s Sausage Company

John Frelka – Food Scientist at Prime Roots (plant-based bacon)

Yuki Hanyu – CEO of Integriculture (Japanese Cell-based)

Max Elder – Research Director for the Institute for the Future

Ryan Bettencourt – CEO of Wild Earth

Arvind Gupta and Po Bronson – Cofounder and Managing Director at IndieBio

Leadership (C-suite, non-founders)

Interviews with C-Suite executives that were chosen to scale a company with high potential. They bring a ton of experience to the table to share with you.

Wil Holsworth – CEO of the SAFE+FAIR Food Company

Roger Berkowitz – CEO of Legal Sea Foods

Robert Jakobi – CEO and Founder of BOU Brands (Boullion) 

Evan Holod – CEO of Michel et Augustin 

Scott Lerner – CEO of Farmhouse Culture

Lily Miller- CEO of Lily’s Chocolate

Bryan Lew – COO of Fair Trade America

Big Data

A complex field about where the future of food is going and how to take advantage of it.

Todd Barr – Product Owner at Solspec Solutions (Geospatial and Precision Agriculture) 

Uwe Hohgrawe – Lead Faculty in Analytics at Northeastern University (Analytics)

Sales and Marketing

How do you get your product or service directly to customers? Two ways: go to them or have them come to you. We discuss the dynamic world of sales and marketing from sales managers to sales executives.

Sales

Kyle Failia – Account Manager at Glanbia (Distributor)

Russ Nishikawa – VP of Business Development at SPI Group (Distributor)

Kim Chackal – Sales Manager at Equifruit

Andy Dratt – Cheif Commercial Officer of Imbibe 

David Hart – Business Unit Developer at Salt of the Earth

Stephanie Lind – Founder of Elohi (Food Service)

Marketing 

Eric Dunn – Director of Marketing and Innovation at Nutrifusion

Alex Oesterle – Ideation Director at Blue Bear Creative

Jessica Goldstein – Marketing Director at Nu Spice

Hugh Thomas – Founder of Ugly Drinks

Susie Fogelson – Founder and CEO of F&Co (VP of marketing for the Food Network)

Sophie Mendes – Content Marketing Specialist at Restaurants Canada

Chelsey Walker – Social Media Manager at Taste Your Future

Louisa Ziane – Chief Brand Officer at Toast Ale (from the podcast Food Heroes Podcast)

Allison Ball – Marketing Consultant (from the podcast Real Food Brands)

Tara-Ann Dugan – Director of Consumer Marketplace Insights for the National Pork Board

Alexander Zox and Dianna Rogers – Business Developers at BrandFirst Creative Agency

Evan Holod – CEO of Michel Et Augustin (formerly marketing executive at Coca-Cola)

Manuel Gorrin – Brand Engagement Manager at Nature’s Path Foods

Food Trends and Insights

Eric Pierce – VP of Business Insights of New Hope Network

Daniel Scharff – Head of Consumer Insights at Eat JUST Inc

Keren Novack – VP Client Services at Curion insights

Public Relations

Shannon Gomes – Founder/Principal at Good Food PR

Packaging

What goes into a package? Design and plenty of material science. Learn about the complexities of each when it comes to developing a package.

Packaging Design

Derryl Kostynuik – Creative Director at Pencilworks Studios 

Fred Hart – Creative Director at Interact On Shelf

Carrie Ardnt – Sr. Research Executive, Strategy and Development at MMR Research

Packaging Engineering

Ziynet Boz – Assistant Professor at the University of Florida (Sustainable Packaging)

Jesper Thompsen and Helen Sellar – Food Scientists at Tetra Pak

Shelving

Chris Robb – Sr. Account Executive at Dirty Hands

Consulting

Whether you have a couple years of experience or decades of experience, there are consultants at all levels. Learn about how these people tackle on challenges with either plenty of resources or none at all. Each one of them has an interesting background that allows them to “cash in their chips” once they reached a good point in their career.

In a firm

Brian Chau – Food Technologist at Helmsman Group

Ken Botts – Food Policy Manager of the Humane Society

Alan Marson – Managing Director of New Food Innovation

Tiffany Tong – Business Development Lead at Canada’s Smartest Kitchen

Elliot Begoun – Principal at The Intertwine Group

Jeremy Smith – CEO of Launchpad Group

On their own

Darryl David – Consultant at Darryl’s Ice Cream Solutions

Michael Kalanty – Author of How to Bake Bread

Susie Wyshak – Author of Good Food Great Business

Dan Follese – Owner at Follese Consulting Company

Rachel Zemser – Independent Food Science Consultant at A La Carte Connections 

Kenny Lao – Principal at Culinary Task Force

James Richardson – Founder of Premium Growth Solutions

Authors, Writers, Advocates

Interesting subjects from people who have put their heart into communicating what’s going on in the world. Whether farmer stories, baking bread, or meat without animals, these people push the discussion forward. Learn not only a new subject but howw they got the opportunity to write or talk about it.

Authors

Eve Turow Paul- Author of Generation Yum

Ali Bouzari – Author of Ingredient

Michael Kalanty – Author of How to Bake Bread

Susie Wyshak – Author of Good Food Great Business

Paul Shapiro – Author of Clean Meat

Jessica Gavin – Author of Easy Culinary Science for Better Cooking

Lisa Donovan – Author of An Unscripted Culinary Journey

Harold McGee – Author of On Food and Cooking

Food Media

Julie Miguel – Owner of Daily Tiramisu

Rachel Cheatham – Owner of Foodscape Group

Ronald Arceo – CEO of foodbox.tv

Logan Guleff – Master Chef Junior Champion and Teen Celebrity Chef

Ken Burgin – Community Manager at Silver Chef

Stephanie Burt – Podcaster and Writer at the Southern Fork

Sebastien Dubois-Didcock – Food Photographer

Sophie van Delft – Content Marketing Specialist at Restaurants Canada

Elaine Watson – Editor at Food Navigator USA 

Graham Kerr – TV Host of the Galloping Gourmet (from the podcast Peas On Moss)

Matthew Francis Johnson – Chef and Video Producer

Payal Gupta – Food Stylist in India

Austin Welch and Richard Fleming – Owners of Sage Media (Training Videos) 

Albert Baez – COO of Blended Sense

Toni Okamoto and Michelle Cehn – Plant-based on a Budget and World of Vegan

Advocacy and Education

Crystal MacKay – CEO of Farm and Food Care (Farmer Education)

Naz Athina Kallel – Founder of Eu Herd (Ugly Food)

Ken Botts – Food Policy Manager of the Humane Society (Plant Protein)

Kim Chackal – Sales Manager at Equifruit (Fair Trade)

David Despain – Director of Science Communication at Isagenix (Legitimate Nutrition News)

Karen Nachay and Jay Gilbert – Employees at the Institute of Food Technologists

Sarah Ramirez – Executive Director at FoodLink (Food Bank) 

Ted Johnson – Senior Fellow at The  Brennan Center of Justice

Sally Squires –  Director, Food, Nutrition and Wellness Communications at Weber Shadwick

Eric Adams – Borough President at Brooklyn, New York

Student Perspectives

Ambitious students that talk about their decision to go to graduate school or work or maybe even both. We dive into the thought process of choosing to go to graduate school and strategies on choosing the right one. I know I’ve had this issue in the past!

In graduate school and work

Jocelyn Ngo – R and D Food Scientist at Day Lea Foods

Undergraduates

Veronica Hislop and Yenci Gomez – Student Ambassadors at Foodgrads

Graduate Students

Amy DeJong – Student at University of Wisconsin

Caroline Campbell – Student at North Carolina State University

Audrey Girard – Student at Texas A and M

John Gleeson – Student at University College Dublin

Deepak Kumar – Student at Oklahoma State

Fiona Salim – Student at  University of Wageningen

Eleni Gallata – Student at University of Missouri

Cathrine Boyles and Meghan Marchuk – Students at Cornell University (MPS)

Check out our Graduate Student Series for more info about Graduate School!

Business Owners

A collection of stories at different stages of their business. We talk about the trials and tribulations from formulation to selling at Whole Foods and capture the rewarding feeling that comes with owning your own business

Financial Advice for Small Businesses 

Christine Rico – CFO at CFO on Speed Dial

Sari Kimbell – Consultant and Owner at Food Biz Success

Restaurants

Rohini Dey – Owner of Vermillion

Lisa Tse – CEO of Sweet Mandarin

Claudia Sidoti – Head of Recipe Development at Hello Fresh (former restaurant owner)

Mike Mohammed and Randy Wyner, CEO and Founder of Chronic Tacos

Kenny Lao – Owner at Rickshaw Dumplings 

Kitchen/Digital Technology

Lin Carson – CEO of Bakerpedia (bakery knowledge hub)

Cheryl Clements – CEO of Pieshell (food crowdfunding)

Julie Wilson – Managing Director at FreshCheq (software)

Akshita Iyers – CEO and Co-founder of Inirv (smart oven knob)

Joe Heitzeberg – CEO and Co-founder of Crowd Cow (eCommerce for meat)

Alison Mountford – Founder of Ends and Stems (Food Waste web app)

Food Businesses

Tom Neuhaus – Owner of Mama Ganache Chocolates (chocolate company)

Sarabeth Yelli Marshall – Owner of Yellibelly Chocolates (chocolate company)

Pina Romolo – CEO of Picco la Cucina (macaron company)

Julie Bernarski – President and Founder of the Healthy Crunch Company (Kale snack company)

Thom King – CEO of Steviva (Ingredient Supplier)

Ana and Drew Stevens – Owners at Pepper North (sauce company)

Hugh Thomas – Founder of Ugly Drinks

Sara Polon – Founder of Soupergirl

Shelby Zitelman – CEO and co-founder at Soom Foods (Tahini Sauce)

Wil Holsworth – CEO of the SAFE+FAIR Food Company

Mary Drennan and Tiffany Vickers Davis – Nourish Foods Company (meal delivery service)

John Mackey – CEO of Whole Foods (from the Buisness for Good Podcast)

Lauren Joyner – Founder of LOCA Foods – Plant-based Cheese Dip

Mark Crowell – CEO of CuliNex

Pete Brennan – Founder of Soñar! Foods – Organic Grain-Free Chips with a Mission

Scott and Jon Demers – Founders of Scott and Jon’s (formally the Cheating Gourmet)

Roger Berkowitz – CEO of Legal Sea Foods

Brenden Schaffer – CEO and Founder of Bright Foods (High-Pressure Processed Bar)

Robert Jakobi – CEO and Founder of BOU Brands (Boullion) 

Annie Ryu – CEO of The Jackfruit Company

David Benzaquean – CEO and Co-Founder of Ocean Hugger Foods

Renee Dunn – CEO of Amazi Foods (Ugandan Snacks)

John Sebastiani and Will Rosenzweig – Sonoma Brands and UC Berkeley (past food entrepreneurs)

Ori Zohar – Co-Founder at Burlap and Barrel (spice company) 

Mike Mitchell – Co-Founder and CEO of Acari Fish (invasive fish jerky)

Stacie Waters – CEO of Bilinski’s Sausage Company

Jaime Snydel – Founder of Simplified Superfoods

Blake Thomas – Founder of Tiny House Coffee Roasters

Neal Gottlieb – Founder of Three Twins Ice Cream

Nona Lim – Founder at Nona Lim

Investors

Tom Mastrobuoni – CFO of Tyson Ventures

Andrew Ive – General Managing Partner at Big Idea Ventures 

Other

Dan Mills – Founder of Tinker Kitchen

Keenan Davis – Entrepreneur

David Chan – Owner of Nichijou Ramen (side hustle)

Lauren Abda – Founder of Branch Food

Academia

Spending decades in your subject has a lot of merits and you can share deeper insights on a specific subject. Passion is huge in this area. My job is to break it down so I can understand them.

PhDs in Industry

Bo Wang – Sr. Technologist at Nu – Mega Ingredients

Jaime Reeves – R and D Manager at Del Monte Foods

Sherrill Cropper – Bakery Formulation Specialist at Red Star Yeast

Rachel Cheatham – Owner of Foodscape Group

Ali Bouzari – Author of Ingredient

Howard Moskowitz – CSO of Mind Genomics

Seronei Cheison – Senior Scientist at Mars Petcare

Steven Gendel – Vice President, Allergen Control at IEH Laboratories (worked in the FDA)

Lin Carson – CEO of Bakerpedia

Lin Carson and  Dr. Debi Q and A session – Baked in Science Podcast

PhDs in Academia

Dr. Darin Detwiler – Assistant Dean at Northwestern University 

Dr. Don Schaffner – Distinguished Professor at Rutgers State

Dr. Ben Chapman – Associate Professor at NC State

Dr. Gabriel Keith Harris – Professor at NC State

Event Planning

What goes into an event? Whether a private dinner, a demo or a huge event, a lot goes into it.

Rachelle Boucher – Culinary Events Manager at Miele

Rachelle Boucher – Private Chef

Penny and Judi Lerner – Owners of AYS Sports Marketing (Taste of Tennis)

Human Resources

Understanding the inner workings of HR has us understand the complexities of culture and the secrets to getting hired.

Steve MacIntyre – Director of People at Vibrant Health Products

Melveen Stephenson – Founder of MS Elemental

Recruitment

We ask recruiters what makes a good candidate in the industry and how to be an exceptionally good candidate.

Nicole Gallace and Juliette Prouse – Founders of Foodgrads

Nicole Gallace – Founder of Foodgrads

Mike Hewitt – CEO of One Haus

Bob Pudlock – Independent Recruiter at Gulf Stream Search

Michael McDonnell – President and Managing Partner at Global Recruiters of Columbia

Alan Reed- Executive Director at Chicagoland Food and Beverage

George McGherin – CEO of the McGherin Group

Interviews with Adam Yee

A bunch of interviews that may or may not be a part of My Food Job Rocks.

Adam’s thoughts on Co-Packing

Adam’s thoughts on student advice

Adam’s thoughts after 100 episodes 

Adam’s thoughts after 150 episodes

Adam gives advice to two people building a food communication platform

Adam gets interviewed by a student live at IFT18

Adam gets interviewed at NCSU

Adam gets interviewed by Kim from Peas on Moss

Adam and Kim just talk about career advice

Adam gets interviewed by Engel Jones, host of 12 minute Convo

Adam gets interviewed by Evo Terra from the Bangkok Podcast

Adam gets interviewed by Ken Burgin from Profitable Hospitality

Adam gets interviewed by Daryl Neal from Beer Talk Now

Adam gets interviewed by Gary Nowacki from the Concept to Consumption Podcast

Adam Gets Interviewed by Kat Fernandez, Food Tech President at UC Davis

Last update: Episode 245