On this episode of The Mess Hall, Mike and Maeve discuss what they learned from recent hospitality experiences in New Orleans and Denver. What can the food industry learn from a bar packed with orthopedic surgeons, a tableside bananas foster, and a prix fixe menu personalized to your likes and dislikes? Then, Mike and Maeve dig into a hot topic: should the food industry stop using the word "consumer"? They trace the surprising political history of the term, debate what to replace it with, and explore how language across the industry, from "ethnic" cuisine to emoji-laden brand messaging to loyalty programs that inspire no actual loyalty, shapes the way real people feel seen, respected, and valued.

On this episode of The Mess Hall, we talk to Chef Anna Cheely, a flavor science expert and the senior culinary innovation manager at Kalsec, a natural flavors and colors company based in Michigan. How have flavor preferences have changed over the years? What does flavor look like at a time when ultra-processed foods are in the headlines? And how do you even capture the flavor of tom yum soup in a bottle? Plus, we start the episode discussing the joy of cooking and what it means for the food industry. And in our five questions, Chef Cheely tells us her food industry pet peeve.

On this episode of The Mess Hall, we talk to Suzy Badaracco, who went from tracking serial killers to cereal bars. Badaracco's background has taken her from training as a criminalist with the FBI and Scotland Yard to culinary school and studying human nutrition. Today she runs Culinary Tides, where she uses all of those skills to find trends and patterns in the food and beverage industry. On the show we talk about why Dubai chocolate may cheat on his wife with a muffin, why the food industry is one giant crime scene, and the 2026 trend she thinks is way off base. And, in our five questions, she tells us her top pet peeve, which is related to potatoes...