My Food Job Rocks!

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

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

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: [email protected] 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

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

Starting next week, we will do an episode twice a month. But I'll still be on every week! Listen to the R&D Radio podcast on the Startup CPG podcast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices