Fell Into Food Podcast

Ian Sutherland is the co-founder of World Freight Direct — a dedicated industry platform for global freight and logistics — and brings 55 years of combined freight experience to the table with his wife and co-founder Kath. He was back on Fell Into Food this week to talk about the thing that makes everything in your restaurant, your kitchen, and your supply chain actually move: global freight.Most people in food think about supply chains when something goes wrong. A delivery doesn't show up. A price spikes overnight. A product disappears from the shelf. Ian has spent thirty years watching what happens before that — and in this conversation, we got into it from the ground up.We covered how international freight actually works: the four modes of transport, what a bill of lading is and why it matters, how a freight forwarder functions as the connective tissue between a seller in Australia and a buyer in Chicago, and what's physically happening inside a container when equipment travels across an ocean to land at your booth at the National Restaurant Show. I walked through his own experience unloading overseas freight for the first time this year — and yes, it looks nothing like what you'd expect.Then things got interesting. We talked fertilizer. Not the bag you buy at a garden center — the bulk-shipped global commodity that Ukraine, Russia, the U.S., Canada, and China all export, and that the world's food bowl cannot function without. Ian broke down why ammonium nitrate that grows your crops is the same compound that leveled the port of Beirut in 2020 — one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in modern history. The connection between what's in your soil, what's in your food, and what can happen when it's handled wrong is something most people in the industry have never thought about.We also got into World Freight Direct — the platform Ian and Kath have been building and rebuilding for eighteen years. It's a vertical industry platform that connects freight forwarders, customs agents, 3PLs, shipping lines, and specialty food and beverage companies in one place. Ian explains how it integrates with Hospitality Chain (Episode 58) so that the two industries that can't exist without each other can finally find each other on one platform. And we closed on AI, automation, the death of email, and why neither Ian nor Jeff think the relationship part of this business is going anywhere.Find Ianhttps://hospitalitychain.com/https://worldfreightdirect.com/LinkedInListen to the full episode and more! It would mean the world to me if you could leave a 5 star review on your listening platform to help grow and expand the Podcast.Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/55qBuFe9dQh5jLLdg0KLoL?si=08455ef88e554b91Apple Podcast - https://apple.co/41RoTm4YouTube: https://youtube.com/@FellIntoFoodLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fell-into-food/Instagram: http://instagram.com/fell_into_foodFacebook: https://facebook.com/fellintofoodFellintoFood.comCHAPTERS / TIME00:10 — Intro: Ian Sutherland returns — World Freight Direct and 30 years in freight01:04 — Ian's background: wife got him in, marine roots, 55 years combined with co-founder Kath05:34 — How international freight works: 4 modes of transport, bill of lading, freight forwarders10:12 — Unloading a container: what's actually inside and why it looks nothing like you'd expect12:17 — Fertilizer: what it's made of and why the global food supply depends on it14:44 — The Beirut port explosion: 2,500 tons of ammonium nitrate and what it did18:06 — The pandemic in Melbourne: most locked down city in the world, 268 days24:37 — The stat: freight + hospitality = over 20% of the global workforce26:18 — World Freight Direct: 18 years to build, rebuilt 4 times, why vertical platforms matter now37:42 — AI agents in freight: how automation will close deals faster than any email ever couldAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

I've known Ethan and Cass for a while now, and every time I'm around them I walk away thinking the same thing — these guys just get it. Not just the event business, but the people side of this industry. That's what Taste Events is built on.They co-founded a curated B2B food service event company that takes everything broken about the trade show model and fixes it. We're talking 150–200 people, chain operators and suppliers who actually belong in the room together, and one-on-one meetings built around an intelligence dossier pulled from real conversations — not a generic booth pitch. The whole thing is designed so that when you sit down, it matters.We talked about how they built it, what made them realize "anti-trade show" was the wrong framing, and how they're keeping events fresh without losing what makes them special. We also got into NRA — what's trending on the floor (clean label is in, meat analogs are fading), how they work the show, and what actually gets done at Portillo's at midnight.Oh, and somewhere in there Ethan ate sardines on the show floor to start a conversation. Worked like a charm. He also runs a tin fish review account on TikTok called Tinnies with the Boys. I have no notes on that — just go follow it.Find Taste Events:LinkedIn: @TasteEventsInstagram: @TasteEventsWebsite: thetasteevents.comTimestamps[00:00] Cold open — Nutter Butter on TikTok is an acid trip[01:17] How Ethan and Cass got pulled deeper into food service[03:25] What a Taste Event actually is — the model explained[08:09] The intelligence dossier and why it's not speed dating[09:21] The extracurriculars — Taste Tour, dinners, and where the real magic happens[14:37] NRA reflections — Year 2, Portillo's at midnight, and trends on the floor[21:36] Tong Talks origin story — Hannah Lopez, a mic, and a pair of tongs[24:20] Good people, good times, good business — and how you protect that as you grow[29:26] Advice for anyone at a crossroads: if it makes you nervous, lean in[35:48] Next event info + where to find themListen to the full episode and more! It would mean the world to me if you could leave a 5 star review on your listening platform to help grow and expand the Podcast.Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/55qBuFe9dQh5jLLdg0KLoL?si=08455ef88e554b91Apple Podcast - https://apple.co/41RoTm4YouTube: https://youtube.com/@FellIntoFoodLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fell-into-food/Instagram: http://instagram.com/fell_into_foodFacebook: https://facebook.com/fellintofoodFellintoFood.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Chef Steve McHugh is a six-time James Beard Award finalist, the author of Cured, and the founder of the celebrated San Antonio charcuterie restaurant of the same name — a 12-year run built entirely around preservation, dry aging, fermentation, and the science of what happens when you take time seriously with meat.Steve grew up on a Wisconsin dairy farm, trained at the CIA, and cut his teeth in John Besh's kitchens in New Orleans before a lymphoma diagnosis stopped him mid-career. He finished treatment, moved to Texas, and opened Cured at the Pearl Brewery — a restaurant centered on whole-animal butchery, handmade charcuterie, and a custom aging case that eventually became one of the most interesting preservation programs in the country.In this conversation, we get into the real science behind curing and dry aging: what 60/60/60 actually means and when it doesn't apply, the difference between EQ curing and salt box method, why water is the enemy of every preservation technique, and how mold — the right mold — is the thing that keeps your case healthy and your flavors complex. Steve talks about how COVID wiped out twelve years of charcuterie inventory in three months, and how his wife's idea to fill the empty case with dry-aged beef turned into a second revenue engine. We also go deep on fish dry aging, wet aging, rapid aging claims, and one of my favorite moments in recent podcast memory: Steve debunking the "uncured bacon" label at the grocery store. Spoiler — they're curing it with celery. They're just not telling you.If you're a chef trying to understand preservation, an operator thinking about a dry aging program, or just someone who wants to know what's actually in that pack of bacon be sure to listen all the way through.Steve McHugh: Instagram / Twitter / Facebook: @ChefSteveMcHugh Book: Cured — available anywhere books are soldListen to the full episode and more! It would mean the world to me if you could leave a 5 star review on your listening platform to help grow and expand the Podcast.Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/55qBuFe9dQh5jLLdg0KLoL?si=08455ef88e554b91Apple Podcast - https://apple.co/41RoTm4YouTube: https://youtube.com/@FellIntoFoodLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fell-into-food/Instagram: http://instagram.com/fell_into_foodFacebook: https://facebook.com/fellintofoodFellintoFood.comCHAPTERS / TIMESTAMPS00:00 — Introduction01:17 — Farm life, work ethic & finding the kitchen07:26 — CIA, New Orleans & John Besh09:43 — Lymphoma, recovery & opening Cured15:08 — Curing vs. dry aging: the science explained22:05 — How COVID created an accidental dry aging program29:03 — Mold: why it's your best employee43:05 — Dry aging fish48:01 — Uncured bacon: the truth52:01 — Life after Cured & what's nextAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Cherie Calbom — known as The Juice Lady — holds a Master of Science in Nutrition, has authored 36 books with over 3.5 million copies sold, and has spent decades studying the connection between what we eat and how we feel. Her latest book, The Truth About Seed Oils, digs into how "heart-healthy" vegetable oils became the default in the American kitchen — and what that's quietly done to our health.The story of seed oils doesn't start in a kitchen. It starts with cotton waste rotting in piles at the turn of the 20th century. A dark, smelly oil originally used to lubricate machinery was refined, deodorized, bleached, and rebranded as a modern American cooking staple. World War II did the rest — when ships carrying coconut oil couldn't get through the waters, seed oil manufacturers filled the gap, hired cookbook authors, lobbied hard, and told home cooks this was the healthier, more modern choice. Heart disease went up anyway. It's still the number one killer.In this episode, Cherie breaks down the lipid hypothesis, the influence of Ancel Keys, what actually happens inside a seed oil refinery (hexane, bleaching agents, degumming — not pretty), why the omega-6 to omega-3 imbalance is driving chronic inflammation, and what the research shows about seed oils' connection to anxiety, depression, and aggression. She also fields the strongest counter-argument — a 2025 JAMA study suggesting people with the highest seed oil intake were 16% less likely to die — and explains why she's skeptical.And then there's her own story. In her 20s, Cherie was bedridden with chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia — sleeping 12 hours a day, waking up exhausted, unable to walk around the block. She couldn't work. She moved back home. Five days into a juice fast, her body expelled a tumor the size of a golf ball, blood vessels attached. Three months later, she woke up feeling like someone gave her a new body in the middle of the night. That experience sent her back to school to get her master's degree so she could be a credible voice for everyone else trying to find their way out.Socials: Cherie Calbom, M.S. — The Juice Lady Website: www.juiceladyinfo.com Instagram: @juiceladycherie X (Twitter): @JuiceLadyCherie TikTok: @juiceladycherie YouTube Shorts: TheJuiceLadyCherie LinkedIn: Cherie Calbom Book: The Truth About Seed Oils — available on Amazon App: Seed Oil Scout (link on her site — click the book on the homepage)Listen to the full episode and more! It would mean the world to me if you could leave a 5 star review on your listening platform to help grow and expand the Podcast.Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/55qBuFe9dQh5jLLdg0KLoL?si=08455ef88e554b91Apple Podcast - https://apple.co/41RoTm4YouTube: https://youtube.com/@FellIntoFoodLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fell-into-food/Instagram: http://instagram.com/fell_into_foodFacebook: https://facebook.com/fellintofoodFellintoFood.comChapters:00:00 — Intro: Meet Cherie Calbom, The Juice Lady00:40 — The Dark History of Seed Oils: From Cotton Waste to Your Kitchen03:10 — The Lipid Hypothesis, Ancel Keys, and Why Heart Disease Never Got Better06:00 — Inside a Seed Oil Refinery: Hexane, Bleaching, and Toxic Byproducts07:45 — The Omega-6 to Omega-3 Imbalance Driving Chronic Inflammation10:00 — The Counter-Argument: What Does the 2025 JAMA Study Actually Say?13:30 — The Real Cost of Cheap Oil (And What to Do If You Can't Afford the Swap)19:10 — Seed Oils, Anxiety, Depression, and Aggression21:45 — Cherie's Story: Bedridden in Her 20s, Healed in Three Months, and a Tumor the Size of a Golf Ball29:05 — What Cherie Eats, Seed-Oil-Free Swaps, and One Action to Take This WeekAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Ron Cardwell, Director of Commodity Strategy at Restaurant Technologies (RTI), runs point on cooking oil for the company that pioneered automated oil management — the closed-loop system that delivers fresh oil and pulls used oil out of more than 40,000 restaurants. We get into the seed oil debate, allergen myths, beef tallow's comeback, and what actually happens to the used oil in your fryer.Ron's nickname is "The Oil Nerd." He earned it. He started in soybean processing out of college, fell in love with how oil touches every corner of food and energy, and has been deep in commodity strategy ever since. RTI moves more than 700 million pounds of fresh oil into restaurants every year and pulls hundreds of millions of pounds of used oil back out — and almost all of it ends up as renewable diesel, biodiesel, or sustainable aviation fuel.We dig into how operators should actually think about oil — flavor, function, and price, in that order, not the other way around. Why "buy the cheapest" is a trap that costs you more in turnover and bad food. The seed oil vs. beef tallow debate — what's signal and what's noise, what the real trade-offs are on flavor, supply, and price when you switch. The allergen question that comes up at every front-of-house every week — and why a fully refined and deodorized oil doesn't carry the allergen at all (Ron settles this one on tape). What pourable beef tallow actually is and why it exists. Why high-oleic crop breeding is changing what "stable frying oil" even means. The full-circle history — beef tallow → saturated fat fear → trans fats → seed oil blends → consumers asking for tallow back. And the part of Ron's job he loves most: turning used fryer oil into renewable diesel at roughly 20% the carbon intensity of conventional diesel.Socials and Links:Website: www.rti-inc.comRTI 2025 Impact Report: https://www.rti-inc.com/blog/restaurant-technologies-recycled-more-than-390-million-lbs-of-uco-in-2025/Ron Cardwell Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronald-cardwell-21a7531a6/CHAPTERS / TIMESTAMPS00:00 — Intro and welcome: Ron Cardwell, Director of Commodity Strategy at Restaurant Technologies01:31 — How Ron earned the nickname "The Oil Nerd"02:44 — Why oil is one of three core nutrition components — and the most functional03:49 — What "Director of Commodity Strategy" actually means day-to-day05:09 — Quick recap of RTI's closed-loop oil system (referencing Ep 17 with Diana)05:24 — The most dangerous job in a kitchen — and why bulk delivery eliminates it07:12 — Jeff's experience as a former RTI customer08:32 — RTI's 2025 Impact Report — released Earth Day, recycling stats09:36 — Choosing oil: the three variables operators actually need to weigh11:24 — The trap of buying the cheapest oil12:13 — Flavor profiles by oil type — neutral vs. flavored oils14:39 — The allergen question — settled on tape16:15 — How operators (and customers) can verify allergen status — the supplier statement18:32 — The seed oil vs. beef tallow debate — what's signal, what's noise21:03 — Switching to tallow — flavor, supply, and price reality24:58 — Why beef tallow is a byproduct, not a planned crop — supply ceiling27:13 — Beef tallow handling — the solid block, the cleanup, the pourable version29:23 — Glass vs. plastic and why dark storage matters more than the bottle30:30 — Sustainability: where the used oil actually goes32:58 — Where the oil category goes next — high-oleic, crop breeding, consumer demand35:59 — The full circle: tallow → saturated fat fear → trans fats → blends → tallow comeback37:20 — The one thing every operator should change Monday morning37:55 — How to actually monitor oil quality day-to-day — smell, taste, look38:55 — Where to find Ron and RTI — NRA Show, rti-inc.com39:35 — Wrap upListen to the full episode and more! It would mean the world to me if you could leave a 5 star review on your listening platform to help grow and expand the Podcast.YouTube - https://lnkd.in/gQM3S5mr Spotify - https://lnkd.in/g_5kFXieApple Podcast - https://apple.co/41RoTm4Pandora - https://lnkd.in/gS-wu_YJYouTube: https://youtube.com/@FellIntoFoodLinkedin: linkedin.com/company/fell-into-foodInstagram: http://instagram.com/fell_into_foodFacebook: https://facebook.com/fellintofoodFellintoFood.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy