Episodes

Local Ingredients Matter: Journey of Food from Farm to Event Buffet
April 6, 2026

Local Ingredients Matter: Journey of Food from Farm to Event Buffet

It started as a kitchen garden. Nine acres. A favor from her husband. Today, Green Door Gourmet is 350 acres of certified organic farmland on the Cumberland River — one of the largest organic operations in Tennessee — growing...

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How a FarmHER Feeds Music City: Bloomsbury Farm’s Impact on  Nashville Conferences & Catering
March 30, 2026

How a FarmHER Feeds Music City: Bloomsbury Farm’s Impact on Nashvill…

What does it actually take to grow the food that ends up on a hotel banquet table or a farm-to-table dinner menu? Lauren Palmer has spent 17 years answering that question one harvest at a time. Lauren is the owner and farmer ...

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Why Sustainable Event Menu Design Starts Outside  the Kitchen
March 23, 2026

Why Sustainable Event Menu Design Starts Outside the Kitchen

What if the most interesting ingredient at your next event was already growing just outside the venue? I've been thinking about this lately — and then Lotta Giesenfeld Boman introduced me to Lisen Sundgren, and honestly, she ...

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Taste of Place: How to Use Event F&B to Celebrate Local Culture
March 16, 2026

Taste of Place: How to Use Event F&B to Celebrate Local Culture

What if your event menu was the most powerful branding tool your destination has? In this episode, Tracy is joined by Erik Wolf, Founder and Executive Director of the World Food Travel Association and the pioneer behind the g...

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Black History Month 2026: Designing Events That Honor Culture & Community
March 9, 2026

Black History Month 2026: Designing Events That Honor Culture & Commu…

As we honor Black History Month’s centennial in 2026, I sat down with two powerhouse guests, Zoe Moore and Diane Brown, to discuss how event design can truly honor Black culture and community. Zoe, an Army veteran, certified diversity practitioner, and founder of Grow with Zomo, brings her expertis…

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357: Why Non-Alcoholic Wine Matters For Inclusive Event Experiences
March 2, 2026

357: Why Non-Alcoholic Wine Matters For Inclusive Event Experiences

Dry January always gets me thinking about how poorly the event industry still does when it comes to inclusive beverage experiences. At one event where I was speaking about inclusive dining, everyone at the table was served sa...

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How Inclusive Bar Design Improves Guest Experience and Event Revenue
Feb. 23, 2026

How Inclusive Bar Design Improves Guest Experience and Event Revenue

If your event bar still treats non-alcoholic drinks as an afterthought, we need to talk. I’m sitting down LIVE with Kevin Morgan, Global Head of Tempo by Hilton and a 24-year hospitality veteran who has worked his way through...

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355: When Event Catering Becomes Community Care: Food that Connects & Gives Back
Feb. 16, 2026

355: When Event Catering Becomes Community Care: Food that Connects &…

When you’re in Philly for PCMA Convening Leaders, you don’t just grab a cheesesteak and call it a day. You pay attention to the food culture, the people behind it, and the stories that shape the city. And I couldn’t leave town without sitting down with one of the catering chefs doing exactly that.…

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354: Event F&B: Designing Menus That Respect People & Ingredients
Feb. 9, 2026

354: Event F&B: Designing Menus That Respect People & Ingredients

Imagine sitting down at an event, ready to enjoy dessert… and realizing the kitchen can’t tell you what’s in it.Tracy is joined by internationally recognized vegan pastry chef, cookbook author, and culinary educator Fran Costigan to talk about what should be one of the easiest wins in event foo…

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353: Turning Surplus Prepared Food From Events Into Safe, Shared Meals
Feb. 2, 2026

353: Turning Surplus Prepared Food From Events Into Safe, Shared Meals

Last year, Les Dames NC selected Food Connection as one of three beneficiaries of our annual holiday cookie sale—and this conversation is exactly why.This is the third interview in my series spotlighting organizations that are feeding our communities with food that already exists… including foo…

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352: How Event Food Can Feed Communities: The Javits Center Model
Jan. 27, 2026

352: How Event Food Can Feed Communities: The Javits Center Model

When I first toured the Javits Center rooftop farm back in October 2022, I walked past rows of lettuce, herbs, and apple trees on top of a convention center, tasted apples the chef had just brought down from the orchard, and went home with honey from the hives above the show floor. That visit compl…

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351: Anaphylaxis And Events: Why Allergy Safety Can’t Be An Afterthought
Jan. 21, 2026

351: Anaphylaxis And Events: Why Allergy Safety Can’t Be An Afterthou…

When Kerry Washington recently shared on Jimmy Kimmel Live that she often eats in bathrooms at high-profile events because her food allergies aren’t taken seriously, the allergy community felt it. And when FARE posted that clip, Jo Frost — who lives with life-threatening anaphylaxis herself — comme…

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350: How Mobile Food Rescue Teams Are Saving Communities From Hunger
Jan. 19, 2026

350: How Mobile Food Rescue Teams Are Saving Communities From Hunger

As 2025 closed, Tracy dedicated three episodes to something that matters deeply: the organizations feeding people who need it most.And we’re starting with one that’s rewriting what community feeding can look like in Florida.When the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, FL shared that…

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349: Allergy Safety at Events: Why “I Don’t Think So” Isn’t an Acceptable Answer
Jan. 14, 2026

349: Allergy Safety at Events: Why “I Don’t Think So” Isn’t an Accept…

When your food allergy becomes the reason you have to walk out of your own professional presentation, something is deeply broken. That’s exactly what happened to Christina LiPuma, MPH, RDN, CDCES, when she had a severe allerg...

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348: The Transparency Movement: Why Menus are Becoming the Frontier Guest Safety
Jan. 12, 2026

348: The Transparency Movement: Why Menus are Becoming the Frontier G…

Imagine a world where every guest at your event—or every diner at a restaurant—can open a menu and instantly see what’s safe for them to eat. No guessing. No anxiety. No risk. That’s the world Dylan McDonnell, founder and CEO...

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347: Nifty Method Marketing + Events
Jan. 12, 2026

347: Nifty Method Marketing + Events

What happens when hospitality stops being about service—and starts being about care? That’s the question I’m exploring this week on Eating at a Meeting Podcast LIVE with Lindsay Martin-Bilbrey, CMP, CEO of Nifty Method Market...

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346: Behavioral Science Meets the Buffet: How to Nudge Event Menus Toward Sustainable Choices
Jan. 5, 2026

346: Behavioral Science Meets the Buffet: How to Nudge Event Menus To…

What if one simple shift could make your event meals more inclusive, sustainable, and even more crave-worthy? This week on Eating at a Meeting Podcast LIVE, I’m talking with Chef Kent Buell , Culinary Director, and Taylor Flo...

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345: Eat, Meet, Celebrate: What #EventProfs Can Learn from Scotland’s Food Culture
Dec. 31, 2025

345: Eat, Meet, Celebrate: What #EventProfs Can Learn from Scotland’s…

In this episode, Tracy chats with Flora Munro, Head of Events, Scotland at 2B UK, live from the IMEX America show floor to explore how Scotland’s hospitality, food, and culture create unforgettable event experiences. From cas...

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344: How New Zealand Is Redefining Event Menus Through Culture and Sustainability
Dec. 29, 2025

344: How New Zealand Is Redefining Event Menus Through Culture and Su…

Recorded live from the 100% Pure New Zealand booth at IMEX America, this episode explores how Aotearoa is redefining event dining through connection, culture, and conscious hospitality.If “korero and kai”—making meaningful connections over shared meals—sounds like the event experience you want,…

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Rethinking Event Menus: From Buffets to Culinary Experiences that Celebrate Culture
Dec. 24, 2025

Rethinking Event Menus: From Buffets to Culinary Experiences that Cel…

Why does a crab cake taste right in Maryland—but not everywhere else? Because food is inseparable from place, people, and story. And that truth is reshaping how meetings and incentive programs approach food and beverage.Recorded live at IMEX, this conversation with Catherine Chaulet, CEO and fo…

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342: How the Basement Chefs are Revolutionizing How We Experience F&B at Events
Dec. 15, 2025

342: How the Basement Chefs are Revolutionizing How We Experience F&B…

How Amsterdam’s culinary team is redefining event food, eliminating disposables, and making plant-based options irresistible.What if event food did more than just feed your guests—what if it created community, told a story, and made sustainability delicious? Tracy Stuckrath sits down with Rient…

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341: Event Tech Meets Dining: How Maritz is Building Safer, Smarter Food Experiences
Dec. 10, 2025

341: Event Tech Meets Dining: How Maritz is Building Safer, Smarter F…

If you’ve ever walked into an event, glanced around the buffet, and wondered if there’s anything you can safely eat—or whether you’ll have to duck out for a snack instead—this episode serves up real solutions. Tracy Stuckrath gets the inside scoop from Katie Rennegarbe and Emily Thibodeau of Maritz…

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340: Why Event Planners Should Look to Toronto for Food and Beverage Inspiration
Dec. 8, 2025

340: Why Event Planners Should Look to Toronto for Food and Beverage …

Toronto’s dynamic food scene might be the inspiration you didn’t know your next event needed. As Trevor Liu, chef, author, and chair of Destination Toronto, tells Tracy Stuckrath, true innovation in events goes beyond menu labels—it’s about real inclusion, tapping into local communities, and making…

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339: Creating Space to Opt Out: Why True Belonging Goes Beyond What’s on the Plate
Dec. 3, 2025

339: Creating Space to Opt Out: Why True Belonging Goes Beyond What’s…

When meals aren’t just about food, but feeling safe enough to participate.Ever wondered why some guests quietly opt out of meal functions—even when options exist? Yush Sztalkoper unpacks the hidden barriers neurodivergent attendees face around food and inclusion, from nervous system regulation …

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