Around the World with Michael Olson

In episode 015 we caught up with Tilit founders Jenny Goodman and Alex McCrery.  They shared their story from concept to operation, including their 'origin' story of opening–and closing– their first restaurant.  Their story is super inspiring because they've been able to take the lessons learned in that first failure and use them to help guide them towards long term success in the hospitality clothing world.  

In episode 014 of the podcast we catch up with Tara O'Brady.  Tara is the author of Seven Spoons, as well as a contributor to The Globe and Mail (she's also a Culinary Host for the newspaper's cruise program).  Her writing has appeared in Bon Appétit, Saveur, Kinfolk, Epicurious and many others.  We chat with Tara about how she started blogging before food blogging was it's own thing, and how she has continued to navigate the gig economy that is freelance writing.

In this ep we chat with Gage Corlett from Sharp Knife Shop in Hamilton about his journey from opening the shop to going through the trials and tribulations of operating over the past 3 years, as well as his impressive cooking resumé.  Gage’s mind definitely works in a very cool way and he has some really interesting thoughts about how cooking and pushing yourself in a kitchen setting can set you up for success in business.

The title captures the essence of Christine's adventurous career but also the excitable nature of our meandering conversation.   We cover everything from her travels, kitchen culture in different parts of the world, her work at IQ Food Co., and balancing a career in this industry with family life.

In episode 011 we battle some technical difficulties but still manage to have a catch up with Chef Anthony Greco.  Anthony, like countless others is patiently waiting to see what's next for his business, and our industry amidst the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In episode 10 we have a quick chat with Dylan Benoit. Dylan is the Executive Chef of Prime Consulting and Carnivore in Cayman, as well as the host of Fire Masters, which is back for its’ second season on the Food Network this week.  Dylan’s one of the lucky ones who hasn’t been too badly effected by COVID-19, so we didn’t want to take up too much of his time, but he gave us the ‘Cliffs Notes’ of his career and how he ended up where he is today.

In episode 009, we chat with Robert Belcham, the chef behind such iconic Vancouver restaurants as Fuel, Campagnolo, Fat Dragon, Monarch Burger and Popina Canteen. We chat with him about his journey, and the transition from chef to restaurateur, as well as his work with Chef’s Table Society BC and Cooks Camp.

For epsidoe 008 we were lucky enough to chat with Eric Pateman from Edible Canada.  Eric’s years of experience in the industry coupled with a strong background in Finance make for a really fascinating conversation about how our industry can move forward after COVID-19.

In episode 007, Michael Olson shares his journey from a small town in Saskatchewan, to Japan, around Ontario, and finally to Niagara.

For episode 006, I had a chance to sit down (remotely) with Lori McDonald and learn more about her story, from first seeing a niche in the Niagara food and wine industry, to scaling up over the years, and overcoming some adversity along the way.