The Food Professor

Quebec loves wine, gin and good food. Whisky is a harder sell. Vicky Trépanier, President, and Jean-François Théorêt, Master Distiller, of WfE Distillery in Chambly explain why they make only whisky, how they plan to win over Quebec drinkers, and why France may be easier to crack than the rest of Canada. In the news, Sylvain sizes up the Parti Québécois's sweeping election win, its pledge to source 75% of public-institution food from Quebec, and his shortlist for agriculture minister. New Statistics Canada data show agri-food exports to the U.S. up 5.8% and America's share of our imports edging higher. Is the "elbows up" boycott showing up anywhere? Michael asks whether restaurant diners can even choose. Plus: Nortera steps back from Green Giant, JBS closes Wild Fork, the Westons move on Boots, the U.S. molasses ban and a Goodles taste test.

By Amazon's own count, it is now the No. 2 grocer in the U.S., trailing only Walmart, with roughly $100 billion in sales. Jason Buechel, CEO of Whole Foods Market and VP of Amazon Worldwide Grocery Stores, explains how it got there with special guest co-host Steve Dennis. Plus: the potash port shake-up, front-of-package labels that are changing consumer behaviour, and the Canada–U.S. alcohol standoff.

Annemarie Swijtink, President & CEO of McDonald's Canada, joins Michael and Sylvain for her first Canadian podcast interview. Annemarie shares how 85% of McDonald's Canada's supply chain is domestic, reaffirms the Canadian beef commitment, and talks affordability, GLP-1s, labour and new restaurant formats. But first, the news: potash politics with Belarus, Canada–India trade, Super El Niño, rising chicken and strawberry prices, Wendy's franchisee troubles, Maple Leaf Foods, grocery labour updates and Barilla buying Goodles.

Agtech expert Aidan Connolly, President of AgriTech Capital, joins Sylvain and Michael to separate agtech hype from real value, share his DRIVE framework for AI adoption and rank Canada on an S-to-D agtech tier list. In the news: Farm Credit Canada's $1 billion financing initiative, EU associate membership upsides, shifting beef imports, food price volatility across the G7, diesel's hit to grocery bills, the return of Yves Veggie Cuisine and recall communication lessons from Taylor Farms.

Vreshin "Vresh" Nagarajan, Founder and Chief Ghee Officer of Vresh Foods and OG GHEE, joins Michael LeBlanc and Dr. Sylvain Charlebois live from SIAL in Montreal to argue that 90% of the ghee sold in Canada isn't really ghee. Plus the week in food and agriculture news: tariff recalibration and lost predictability, reindeer on the menu, Sapporo heading south, McDonald's ditching pumpkin spice, Dunkin's Canadian odds, and a farewell to New Coke architect Brian Dyson.