My Food Job Rocks!

My Food Job Rocks is a podcast created by serial entrepreneur and food scientist Adam Yee where he interviews an expert in the food industry every week on their career path or a specific hot topic going on in the world today. He connects the dots in the complex world of food. From farmers to ingredient manufacturers, to entrepreneurs and global players join Adam as he explores all angles in the food industry and tackles it with engaging conversations and impactful insights. It’s all interesting and it’s all complicated. This podcast is a wealth of knowledge to anyone who’s interested in food and we are fortunate to be partnering with the Spoon Network to amplify our reach and impact. Message us any time at podcast@myfoodjobrocks.com to get in touch.

My Food Job Rocks! is a business podcast hosted by Adam Yee, with 390 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 87.

Adam Yee hosts My Food Job Rocks!, a business show with 390 episodes published.

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  My Food Job Rocks!

  AI in Food Marketing & Reinventing Imagination with Alicja Spaulding, Alicja Spaulding, Adjunct Professor at Saint Joseph University (and much more)

  Sep 23, 20261h 9m

  What happens when AI agents start doing the grocery shopping? Alicja Spaulding teaches what she describes as the world's first MBA and undergraduate curriculum in AI and food marketing at Saint Joseph's University. She has been watching technology upend industries since her early days in new media marketing at Universal Music Canada. Adam and Alicja talk about building a portfolio career and why today's consumer is pickier than ever. They also ask what your competitive advantage is once AI makes everyone faster, better and cheaper. They cover where AI still falls short in food, like photography for packaging, and how it's helping small restaurants compete. Alicja also explains why she thinks of AI as a "return on imagination," not just a return on investment. In this episode: What a portfolio career is and why more people are building one B2B vs. B2C marketing, and why there's no shared pop culture anymore The first time Alicja saw one AI agent hand off a grocery order to another How she learned AI: using it hands-on and reading research papers instead of headlines AI food photography: great for prototyping, risky for packaging Being open about AI use, and how to spot bland AI writing Why she expects small businesses and solo founders to rival big companies in the next 1–3 years Her daily AI setup: scheduled agents, meeting transcripts and voice dictation Why you still need real expertise to judge whether the AI's work is any good Connect with Alicja: Website: alicjaspaulding.com LinkedIn: Alicja Spaulding Email: aspaulding@sju.edu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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  My Food Job Rocks!

  Dig In: How AI is Affecting Hiring in The Food Industry and Advice for Young People Going Forward with Nicole Gallace, founder of FoodGrads

  Sep 9, 20261h 3m

  Adam sits down with Nicole Gallace, Talent Solutions Manager at FoodGrads and Careers in Food, who founded FoodGrads back in 2016 and has spent 20+ years recruiting across the food and beverage world. A decade after Nicole gave Adam his very first platform, the two reconnect for a wide-ranging, freeform conversation about how much has changed — and what still matters. They dig into the real state of hiring in food manufacturing: the post-COVID swing from frontline roles back to skilled trades and professionals, the scramble for electricians and millwrights, and why "become a plumber" isn't advice that fits everyone. From there it's all AI — the hopeful-but-unsure businesses experimenting with ChatGPT and Claude, the pushback from young people who don't want a machine handing them the answers, and Adam's case for becoming "tech curious" as the real job-security skill. Along the way: AI-perfected resumes and the interviews that expose them, the em dash as an AI tell, smart glasses on the factory floor, and why the skills that don't get automated — communication, storytelling, critical thinking, showing up in person — are about to matter more, not less. They close on the human stuff: personal branding, being vulnerable in public, letting go of a bad co-founder split, and Nicole's north star — "nothing happens to you, everything happens for you." Find Nicole: FoodGrads.com and the That's a Food Job podcast with Veronica Hislop. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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  My Food Job Rocks!

  The Food Scientist Who Founded a Biotech Company with Laura Katz, Founder and CEO of Helaina

  Aug 26, 202659 min

  What does it actually take to bring a human protein—one never before put into a human body orally—from a shared co-working lab to a partnership with the largest food company in the world? This week, Adam sits down with Laura Katz, founder and CEO of Helaina, the company making bioidentical human bioactive proteins, starting with its first commercialized product: a replica human lactoferrin sold under the trademark EFERA. Laura shares the whole journey. A self-described food scientist who knew at age ten that her purpose was to feed people, she cold-emailed her way into biotech with no network, no fancy school, and no idea what a venture capitalist was—collecting "hundreds of no's" along the way. From launching a lab in New York the same month COVID hit, to running over a hundred fermentation tanks at commercial scale, to publishing eleven peer-reviewed papers and running six clinical trials at once, she explains how Helena knocked through each milestone in step with its funding rounds. We get into the science of why lactoferrin is so hard to make (an 80-kilodalton molecule packed with disulfide bridges and glycosylation), why the biotech "market adjustment" is pushing the industry toward high-value molecules over commodities, and the surprising range of applications—from infant nutrition and prenatal iron deficiency to women's health, gut and immune health, and athletic performance. Along the way, Laura offers sharp, hard-won advice: be obsessed with the problem, not the product; do one thing right before doing anything else; skip the hype and the endless conference circuit in favor of the only two things that matter—driving revenue up and cost of goods down; and, for the next generation of food and biotech talent, show up "AI native," with a team of agents behind you. Whether you're a founder, a food scientist, or just curious about the cutting edge of what's going into our food, this one's full of substance. In this episode: Why "high-value molecules" are the future of food biotech What makes lactoferrin so valuable—and so hard to replicate Fundraising from zero: cold emails, persistence, and getting punched in the face daily Building an R&D and clinical engine that runs trials in-house The Nestlé partnership and Helena's B2B ingredient platform Why "if you can't pronounce it" is the wrong way to think about ingredients Advice for surviving—and thriving—in a tough biotech market Follow Laura and Helena on LinkedIn and Instagram, and learn more at Helena's website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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  My Food Job Rocks!

  Why Restaurants Live and Die By Their People with Christine Marvin, Founder of Columbine Hospitality

  Aug 12, 202654 min

  What does it actually take to build a restaurant that lasts and to scale it without burning out? In this episode of My Food Job Rocks, Adam Yee sits down with Christin Marvin, CEO of Columbine Hospitality, who started as a 15-year-old line cook flipping enchiladas and went on to open 13 restaurants across concepts from speakeasy barbecue to casual French. Today she coaches multi-location restaurant owners on how to grow the right way. Christin shares the lessons that carried through her 20-year career: the difference between the creativity of independent restaurants and the discipline of chains (and why the best operators blend both), what real hospitality looks like when you listen closely and never say no, and the hidden costs that blindside first-time builders — from $80,000 sprinkler systems to million-dollar construction overruns. We also get into the hard stuff: why most owners scale out of ego instead of strategy, how to develop leaders from within so you can work on your business instead of in it, and her "low flame vs. high flame" approach to coaching people through uncomfortable feedback. Plus, an honest look at the toughest moment the industry has faced — rising costs, a post-pandemic talent shortage, grocery-store competition — and where AI genuinely helps versus where it should never touch the guest experience. Whether you run a restaurant, lead a team, or just love the business of food, this conversation is packed with practical wisdom on leadership, hiring for values, and why investing in people is the highest-ROI move you can make. In this episode: From line cook to five-star hotel to opening 13 restaurants Independent creativity vs. chain systems — and blending both Real hospitality: listening, saying yes, and creating memorable moments The hidden costs of building and scaling restaurants Why scaling out of ego leads to burnout Developing leaders from within to free up the owner Hiring for core values (you can't train those) "Low flame vs. high flame" coaching and giving hard feedback The toughest environment the industry has ever faced Where AI helps behind the scenes — and where it must stay out of the guest experience Connect with Christin Marvin: Email: christin@columbinehospitality.com Website: columbinehospitality.com Podcast: The Restaurant Leadership Podcast (bi-weekly) LinkedIn: daily leadership content Free coaching session: email and mention you heard her on Adam Yee's show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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  My Food Job Rocks!

  What Adam Is Doing With His Life: An Interview with Nathan Schmidt on The CPG Level Up Podcast

  Jul 29, 20261h 4m

  An interview about my past career, present-day projects, and future insights Check out Nathan Schmidt's website: https://progressusolutions.com/ The CPG Level Up Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4rKQ00Gayuk2kIqERYWyTK Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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