How an Austin Woman Farman is Reshaping the Hospitality Food Supply

How THE UK Events Industry Is Standardizing Dietary Needs Management

Here's something that doesn't get said enough: the biggest food allergy risk at your event doesn't start in the kitchen. It starts the moment your registration form goes live. To kick off Food Allergy Awareness Week, I'm getting into exactly that — and I've got the right people at the table. The UK events industry just launched something the sector has needed for a long time: the ABPCO Managing Dietary Requirements at Events Toolkit. A shared language. Standardized processes. A way to get planners, venues, caterers, and delegates finally on the same page. I'm talking with the three people who made it happen — Anita Macdonald, who leads the ABPCO taskforce and translates dietary needs into kitchen reality at Cambridge's college venues. Sammy Connell, who manages 60+ conferences a year at NASUWT and lives the in-house organizer reality every single day. And Matt Stalker, Executive Director of ABPCO, who decided the industry didn't need another webinar — it needed infrastructure. We're going to talk about where dietary communication actually breaks down, what it costs when it does, and what it looks like when you get it right. Safety. Inclusion. Delegate confidence. Operational reality. This one is for every planner who's ever stared at a dietary request wondering what the actual risk level is. For every venue that's received a brief that left more questions than answers. For every delegate who's shown up to an event not knowing if they'd be able to eat. Come join us LIVE. Bring your questions, your frustrations, and your stories. This conversation belongs to all of us.

Food Allergy & Celiac Awareness: Raising the Bar for Safer, Inclusive Events

May is extra special for me—it's not only Food Allergy Awareness Month and Celiac Disease Awareness Month, but it also marks the 16th anniversary of thrive! meetings & events and the start of Eating at a Meeting's seventh year! This episode is a solo one, and I'm taking the mic to reflect on why I started my business and this show: making safe, inclusive dining part of every event experience. In this heartfelt discussion, I share why food allergies, celiac disease, and other dietary needs aren't niche—they impact millions of Americans and event attendees worldwide. From the staggering statistics (1 in 10 adults has a food allergy; 1 in 133 Americans has celiac disease, most undiagnosed) to the recurring event planning challenges (from menu coding to allergen labeling), I walk through the real risks guests face and the industry's continuing gaps in safe practices. I break down the hard facts on why proper procedures matter, how new laws like California's Addie Act are changing the game, and why transparency should start at the proposal stage, not just the pre-con. Plus, I spotlight how small steps like clear labeling and thoughtful menu design can foster loyalty—because every guest and every meal truly matters.

Food Allergies are No Joke

If you think serving one gluten-free vegan dish covers all your guests' needs—or that "nut-free" labeling is enough to keep diners safe—think again. This episode dives deep into the most persistent myths and mistakes surrounding event food and beverage, from confusing labels and registration oversights to the real cost of ignoring dietary needs. Host Speaker A shares hard-earned lessons from 30+ years in the industry, including practical fixes and compelling stories: $200,000 price tags for last-minute accommodations, and the long-term loyalty earned when venues get it right, even for just one guest. Learn why food allergies and dietary restrictions are anything but rare, how poorly-communicated accommodations can damage trust (and attendance), and what emerging laws mean for your practices. You'll leave this episode with actionable tips to make every guest feel seen, heard, and safe—without breaking your budget.

Fishing for Heritage: How Two Sisters Keep Tradition Alive

What does it really mean to source "Pacific salmon"? Kim Brigham-Campbell and Terrie Brigham are sisters, members of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, and co-owners of Brigham Fish Market—a Native-owned, family-run business on the banks of the Columbia River in Cascade Locks, Oregon. Since 2014, they've been catching wild Columbia River salmon, sturgeon, and steelhead from the same tribal fishing platforms their family has used for generations, then smoking, filleting, and cooking it into the chowders, fish-and-chips, and barbecue-ready fillets that define destination dining in the Pacific Northwest. Their work is at the intersection of Indigenous food sovereignty, sustainable fisheries, and a food tourism economy that doesn't always name the people behind the fish. In this episode, Kim and Terrie talk about what treaty fishing rights look like in practice, how event planners and caterers can source seafood that honors Indigenous producers, and what it means to be women of the working waterfront in 2026. If you've ever put salmon on a banquet menu, this conversation will change how you think about where it came from—and who deserves credit for getting it there.

How an Austin Woman Farman is Reshaping the Hospitality Food Supply

Anamaria Gutiérrez is 23 seasons into running Este Garden, a women-powered, one-third-acre urban farm in East Austin growing vegetables, herbs, edible flowers, and fruit and nut trees for four restaurants: Suerte, Este, Bar Toti, and Nixta Taqueria. Her path to the garden ran through a UT Austin business degree, a farmers market coordinator role, a farm fellowship, her own market food business, and a direct pitch to restaurant owners to let her build edible gardens on their properties. In this episode, Tracy talks with Anamaria about what it means to grow culturally significant food for chefs who care — going to pre-shift to discuss seeds and taste-test new harvests, running a volunteer program that passes farming knowledge forward, and keeping urban green space open and accessible to the whole community. They also get into the harder questions: what it takes for women and young farmers to access land, what cooperative models can do for food system resilience, and what event and hospitality professionals genuinely misunderstand about the people who grow their food. Farmers and event pros have more in common than most people think — long days on their feet, weather upending months of planning, needing a village to make it work. This conversation is a reminder that the best food experiences start with knowing who grew what's on the plate.