My Food Job Rocks!

Today we have Lisa Tse, CEO of the Chinese restaurant, Sweet Mandarin in Manchester, United Kingdom… well… she does a lot more than just that. The Tse family has done the impossible: in 12 years, Sweet Mandarin has an award winning restaurant, their own factory making sauces for the Queen of England, and they write best selling cookbooks. This is an interview you don’t want to miss as Lisa really gives you a run down on what makes her brand so successful. The stuff she does is not easy..like listening to customers, or being on TV shows like Gordon Ramsey and Dragon’s Den, but I try my best to dissect those secrets. I’m serious, there is so much good advice in this episode, I couldn’t even categorize it. Every single sentence that Lisa says, is valuable advice whether you’re in the restaurant industry, products industry, or even want to write a cook book. If you want to get into any of those things, this interview is for you. Apologize for a bit of noise, we’re in a kitchen that’s how hard Lisa works! Key Take

Today’s guest has been so supportive in our promotional efforts and I love her energy! Culinary Events Manager Rachelle Boucher, is probably one of the most passionate people I know. She really puts 110% percent into her job and you’ll learn throughout the interview all of the interesting experiences she’s been a part of. Before being a wonderful Event Planner at Miele, she was actually a private chef for the one and only George Lucas. If you’re interested in being a private chef, she brings a lot of good pointers here including how she got found and what he likes to eat. Rochelle also tells you how to create wonderful events and how an amazing team can make your work feel like play. I was actually lucky enough to visit Rachelle at Miele’s showroom in San Francisco. I enjoyed a steam pressed automated coffee and a cookie and Rochelle toured me around the showroom. Amazing stuff. I’ve never seen such high class appliances. Imagine a microwave that acts as an oven, and then acts as a steam box! It’s crazy! The

oday Crystal McKay, CEO of Farm Food Care pleasantly converses with us the importance of stories. She’s a farm girl and has worked with food all her life. Her job at Farm Food Care is to really inform the Canadian people about their food system. Kind of what this podcast and foodgrads are doing. I loved talking to Crystal because she really emphasizes how stories are the best way to convey information. Within this episode, you’ll learn a lot of facts such as the “new definition of local” and why it’s hard for the whole world to become completely vegetarian If you enjoyed this episode, please, sign up on our email list, like us on facebook,  rate and review on itunes, and share with your friends. If you show interest in being interviewed, know someone who would be a great interviewer, or would like to join our team of volunteers, make sure to email us at podcast@myfoodjobrocks.com. About Crystal McKay Crystal is the CEO for Farm & Food Care Canada with a vision for building public trust in food and farmin

In this episode, I introduce Alan Marson, Managing Director of New Food Innovation a sort of… Illuminati? Of the British food system. He and a few other people are really trying to shake up the European food system. Here’s a quick summary from linkedin: "New Food Innovation is consultancy group with over 200 years of industrial experience and skills across all areas of the food industry, having careers in Large Multinationals food producers, Major UK food groups, Major food Ingredients suppliers, supermarkets, and Food entrepreneurs Formed by Managing Director, Alan Marson, was one of the early adopters of open innovation practice and has an established track record of bringing new technology to market, an extensive network of connections within food business and the product and technology innovation communities. The Team focuses on high-level working within strategic innovation activities, technology landscaping, scouting, technology translation, and external networking development for many UK's major brand

"How much ugly and excess vegetables and fruit can 7 local farms and 27 chefs save in 3 months? Over 5000 pounds!" We have another startup for you today. Naz Athina Kallel started Eu Herd, San Diego's first marketplace for ugly food. Naz shares with us an amazing story, she decided to start this company after recovering from cancer treatment and getting a second chance at life, wanted to make an impact on the world. In this podcast, I am a huge believer of sharing stories and I love people’s perspective. Naz is different from what we’re used to, but I want to really ask to take her approach with an open mind and have her story inspire you, to well.. maybe start something on your own. As long as you recognize passion, which she clearly has, I ask you to respect where she is coming from. If you enjoyed this episode, please, sign up on our email list at myfoodjobrocks.com, like us on facebook,  rate and review on itunes, and share with your friends. If you show interest in being interviewed, know someone who wou

In this episode, we have Amit Sinha, Process Innovation Engineer at Watson, an ingredient company. This company is particularly fun because they products are so innovative. Most of their ingredient capabilities are based off of a specific need in the market. If you go to any food science based expos like IFT or Supply Side West, you gotta check out their booth. A giant, white, two story booth and they al;so have great notebooks. This is a fun episode because you get to learn the magic of food engineering. I actually saw Amit Sinha in action during a small lecture in Supply Side West, what he presented was pure magic. He has found a way to make vitamins… disappear. About Amit Sinha Process Innovation Engineer, Amit Sinha, from Watson has been in the dietary supplement and food and beverage industry for the last 10 years. With an MBA in Marketing and MS in Chemical Engineer, he finds that this is the right combination for his career path. By being able to utilize market research and through ingredient discover

We are back to our regular show where we interview amazing food jobs. This next batch of episodes are some unique ones, and I think I’m getting better at asking questions maybe. Today we have Haley Richardson from Dr. Pepper/ Snapple Gorup talking about well, being a soda scientist. Have you ever wondered how Soda is made on a bench top? Or how new flavors get idealized? This episode explains all of that. We also geek out about the perfect steak and the show Unwrapped. Key Takeaways - How food scientists make soda bench samples - The crazy way on how Dr. Pepper runs their companies - Haley’s most interesting interview question - How Food Science made Unwrapped better Question Summary What is your official title?: Application Scientist for Dr. Pepper/Snapple What’s a Typical Day?: No day is the same. Describe the Steps it Took To Get To Where You Are Today: Originally Engineering to Food Science Most important skill you need to succeed: Critical Thinking My Food Job Rocks Because: I get to try the newest flavo

We wrap up all 8 episodes of the graduate school series with a jam packed episode of amazing takeaways and pratical advice about graduate school.  Most of this episode is a recording from the scripts below: 10 Things I Learned From Interviewing Graduate Students (Part 1) 10 Things I Learned From Interviewing Graduate Students (Part 2) on Thursday   The Ultimate Graduate School Timeliine is posted here

Welcome to the My Food Job Rocks Podcast with me, Adam Yee, where we showcase amazing food schools and interview the passionate people who drive the industry forward and this is episode 39! First I gotta say, welcome home This is out final interview for the graduate series and I wanted to interview someone kind of different. Though most of our interviewees are Food Science related in some way, I wanted to get somone a bit different. Eleni Galata studies Agriculture Communications at the University of Missorui and I am so glad I did this interview. Eleni talks about a lot of processes that are easy to follow. So easy to follow I mapped it out on the show notes. We also talk a lot about media such as how GMOs are being perceived by the media and how the best social networks aren’t necessarily about how much money people shove up their accounts, but what matters is that people just have to show that they care. So yea, this is the final interview, I will be distilling and summing up these interviews next episodes

Today’s guest is an old classmate back in the college days and I actually met her at a Chinese college club. Fiona Salim came from Indonesia, studied at San Luis Obispo, got an awesome job at Bakersfield, California, and now is in the Netherlands’ getting an advanced degree. When I heard she was in another country, I had to ask her to be on the show. And the information that you’ll get from this one is very valuable. Because Fiona applied to both United States and European schools, you’ll learn about the differences between a United States University Application versus a European one, and you’ll learn the very different atmosphere that revolves around this university. Even if you’re not interested in applying to graduate school in another country, I highly recommend having an open mind and listening to what Fiona has to say. It’s well worth it. Take your time in Europe you guys, next week, we’ll be flying back to the United States where we interview our final guest, who is from Greece. If you enjoyed this ep

Alright guys, I hope you enjoyed Ireland, now let’s go to India… and then back to the United States. For our graduate student series, we have Deepak Kumar, who came from India to do graduate school. I really wanted to get an international student who came from a foreign country to the United States because, well, you see them a lot. Deepak is also just getting a masters degree which might interest some of you guys who don’t want to  go all in for a PhD. In this episode, we really hone in on what makes a United States education valuable, and the really cool tips Deepak used to find information from across the oceans. I’ll give you a hint, it involves facebook. On Wednesday, we pack our bags and head to the Neatherlands where my college friend Fiona decided to go. If you’re interested in actually going to a different country for graduate school, this is the episode for you. If you enjoyed this episode, please, sign up on our email list at myfoodjobrocks.com, like us on facebook,  rate and review on itunes, and

Very jolly guest we have this time. John Gleeson lives and studies in Dublin, Ireland and has been all his life. What I found amazing about his accomplishments is his involvement in the IFTSA board. I think it’s important to get a perspective on how other graduate schools work, especially out side of the United States and John explains the differences very well. Throughout this interview, we have a great discussion about communicating what we do as food scientists and John does an amazing job discussing the difference between how European universities work. Key Takeaways - How John Gleeson got into the IFTSA board - How Europe works differently from the US Graduate School - How superheroes are related to superfoods (they save lives) - How food safety and quality in Europe works - Using the science to talk about flipping burgers on the grill Question Summaries Why did you decide to go to graduate school?: I got bored, I love science What are you studying?: Food derived peptides Strangest lab stories: I broke m

Another episode of our graduate student series and this week, we are featuring Audrey Girard, who is doing her PhD at Texas A and M. Audrey does an amazing job talking about her prior experiences and she had three different internships before deciding to go to graduate school. Also, she gives awesome book recommendations like Lab Girl and The Man Who Fed the World. These are definenelty on my ever growing book list. Enjoy another graduate student’s perspective. Do you see a trend so far? Just let me know. The next four episodes will take you around the world and back again. We are interviewing someone in Europe on Wednesday, someone who traveled from the US to the Netherlands and two people who left their home countries to come to the United States to study what they love. You don’t want to miss these. If you enjoyed this episode, please, sign up on our email list at myfoodjobrocks.com, like us on facebook,  rate and review on itunes, and share with your friends. If you show interest in being interviewed, kno

This is our second interview for our Graduate Series and we bring you another great graduate student who is in her final year of graduate school. Caroline Campbell’s interview gives some great, actionable tips on how to start your graduate process and this can be found on our new writing project, the Weekly Stew. The title is “Actionable tips on researching graduate school”. Caroline also does an amazing job talking about why she went to graduate school and this might resonate you in that if you are finding your job a bit boring, maybe it’s time for a change. Key Takeaways - How Graduate school can escape the boring, repetitive jobs - How modified Starches are made - The crazy method Caroline uses to measure and visualize how people chew - How Caroline benefitted from graduate school Question Summary   Why did you decide to go to Graduate School?: I didn’t want to get stuck with Quality Assurance Favorite thing about North Carolina State: The Community and Family Feel Advice for researching graduate school: T

Thank you for joining me for the first episode of the Graduate Student series and we’re kicking it off with a bang with a friend of mine that I kinda knew at my time in undergraduate. About Amy DeJong Amy DeJong is a PhD candidate in food science at the University of Wisconsin- Madison.  Her work focuses on understanding phase transitions of sugar –free sweeteners in confections. Amy earned a BS in Food Science from the University of Wisconsin in 2012 and has been an active member of IFTSA since 2009, where she has served in both chapter and institute leadership positions.  Currently, she is the Immediate Past President of IFTSA with roles on the IFT Board, IFTSA Board, and Feeding Tomorrow Board of Trustees. She has also been an intern with the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company since 2010. In addition to her work in food science, Amy loves to travel.  You may recognize her from the CBS reality show, The Amazing Race, where she and her lab mate, Maya, beat out 10 other teams in a race around the world to win its 25th s

Today’s guest is Ken Botts, the Food Policy Manager at the…Humane Society? So I believe that Ken’s job title is very misleading. I would call him more like a food service plant protein expert. He lead a a team and travels all over the United States implementing plant based proteins into food institutions. For example, his team works with chefs in schools, amusement parks, and even the military to educate and create amazing menus that use plants. In this episode, you’re going to learn everything about the hot topics of plants. This includes why eating plants is important not only health wise, and sustainability wise, but also learn the latest companies innovating with plant proteins, really cool recipes like non-dairy cheeses, and even about urban farming. Again, we wanted to remind you about the graduate school series next week. We'll be pushing hard on this initiative. In fact, we even a have freebie to give you. In exchange for an email address, you can get a nice, polished, graduate school post which will

I’m so happy to introduce Tiffany Lau, a friend I knew from Cal Poly. We actually graduated together, and from time to time, we catch up. Though before this interview, it’s been a while. Anyways, very excited to have Tiffany on the show because she has experience with a very important, but not really well talked about part of the industry. She is the first guest to focuses on a very important part of the industry: food safety. Working as an Auditor for the NSF, she goes and does audits for retail food stores. This mainly involves correcting and teaching workers about food safety habits. If you’re interested in learning about audits, this is really for you. You’ll learn a ton of things such as what tests to take, what it’s like to work at home, and why this job might resonate with you. This is also a pretty nice interview if you’re interested in sales Let’s begin Key Takeaways The difference between a health inspector and 3rd Party Auditing Why a Food Safety position might be for you Retail Safety versus Manu

Some housekeeping items: - We're going 2 times a week! Check out a new episode every Monday and Wednesday starting January 2nd! - On January 2nd, we will be creating an awesome new series called the Graduate Series. You can check it out at myfoodjobrocks.com/graduate Key Takeaways Hear me pronounce words wrong like existential crisis My story about applying to graduate school 5 reasons why you should apply to graduate school anyways See what we're launching in January Is Graduate School For You?   I wanted to tell you my story on graduate school, which isn’t very exciting, but whatever. I think everyone has this weird thing, like an existential crisis, that happens in your senior year of college where you have absolutely no idea what to do after graduating. I think it’s very common to have graduate school cross your mind once or twice during your final year in college. The school I went to to be honest, has a slight disadvantage when it comes to applying for graduate school. Though some people in my univers

We have an amazing guest today, Rohini Dey is an inspiring woman, who not only owns a very successful restaurant in New York and Chicago, but also spearheads a great scholarship program for aspiring women in the culinary field. We are also proud to announce the Women in Culinary Leadership Scholarship and encourage you to apply. Click here for the link. About Rohini Dey, Ph.d.  A leading restaurateur, proponent of Indian cuisine with her unique Latin twist across Vermilion Chicago and NYC, an avid supporter of women, former World Bank economist and McKinsey management consultant, Rohini Dey straddles the worlds of business and philanthropy across the US and India. Rohini was inspired to break away from her management consulting career by a desire to go entrepreneurial and a conviction that Indian cuisine in the United States was either confined to stereotypes, or timid and washed out. Rohini created and developed the Vermilion Indian-Latin concept and cuisine. She led the spectrum of entrepreneurial activitie

Enter to win $500 dollars at Jessica Gavin's contest. Click Here! Today we have an amazingly bubbly guest. Jessica Gavin is a Sr. Research Scientist for Nutralite, which is a division of Amway. She’s been there for about 9 years which I find absolutely amazing. What’s also super cool is that Jessica has her own food blog at jessicagavin.com which has amazing pictures and recipes. Her blog is one of the most professional food blogs I’ve seen as someone who is a food scientist. More importantly, Jessica has decided to showcase a scholarship for aspiring food scientists and this is the first thing on our show notes at myfoodjobrocks.com/028jessica . We definently encourage any student listening to apply. Keeping this short, because this interview is jam packed with great information just about how to be a good product developer, communicator, and mother. Note: Though Jessica and I work for direct sales companies, we cannot sell our own products! However, I hope through our conversation, you can tell they treat u