Forktales is a podcast that feeds the food, beverage, restaurant, and hospitality industries with insights, innovations, and incredibly entertaining stories. Each episode features an in-depth interview with an industry leader, including best-selling authors, chefs, CEO’s, creative masterminds and tech entrepreneurs. All of them have a story to tell and we’re here to help them tell it.
Hosted by Michael Pavone
Michael loves a good story. Stories about growth, innovation, beating the odds and entrepreneurship in the food and beverage world. Finding those stories and sharing them is why Michael is on top of his game as the host of Forktales. When he’s not serving as the host of an industry-leading podcast, Michael is the CEO of Pavone Group, a fiercely independent collection of nine equally fierce and focused marketing agencies.
Episodes
Season 9 highlights
October 30, 2025
Season 9 of Forktales brought together visionaries redefining what it means to lead, create, and serve in the food and beverage world. From heritage duck farms to plant-based dairies, family…
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Curtis Chin – Writer, filmmaker and storyteller of culture and community
October 2, 2025
“Chinese restaurants are going to save America.” That’s the bold belief of Curtis Chin — writer, filmmaker, activist, and author of the memoir Everything I Learned, I Learned in a…
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Elliot Nelson – Restaurateur, real estate developer and future mayor of Tulsa
September 11, 2025
Elliot Nelson is the founder and CEO of McNellie’s Group, the hospitality company credited with transforming downtown Tulsa’s dining scene. What began as a college business plan for a fictional…
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Edward Medina – Transformative leader in authentic Mexican cuisine
August 14, 2025
Edward Medina is at the helm of Ramona’s Food Group, steering the company with both tradition and innovation in mind. When Edward joined in 2012 as director of finance, Ramona’s…
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Season 8 highlights
July 11, 2025
Season 8 of Forktales served up a fresh batch of bold voices and breakthrough ideas from across the food and beverage industry. From Sean Zecman’s insights on scaling a food…
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Sean Zecman – Food distribution leader and innovator
June 23, 2025
Sean Zecman is the Executive Chairman of National Food Group and a second-generation leader in the institutional food distribution space. With a focus on schools and correctional facilities, Sean has…
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Judy Joo – Chef, entrepreneur and leading voice in modern Korean cuisine
May 16, 2025
Judy Joo is a chef, entrepreneur, and TV personality who left Wall Street to follow her passion for food. A graduate of Columbia and the French Culinary Institute, she trained…
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Josh Kesler – Restaurateur, community builder and champion of local food and art
April 25, 2025
Josh Kesler is a musician-turned-entrepreneur and the visionary behind some of Pennsylvania’s most community-defining projects. As the founder of The Millworks—a hybrid art collective, farm-to-table restaurant, and craft brewery—Josh has…
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Peter Newlin – Chief Vision Officer of Gastamo Group
April 10, 2025
Peter Newlin is the Chief Vision Officer of Gastamo Group and a driving force behind some of Denver’s most community-rooted and experience-focused restaurant concepts. He also brings a unique perspective…
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Stephanie Jaeger – President of Les Dames d’Escoffier International (LDEI)
March 27, 2025
Women make up more than half of the hospitality workforce, yet hold only a small fraction of leadership roles. Stephanie Jaeger wants to change that. Stephanie currently serves as President…
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Jeff Broadhurst – CEO of Eat’n Park Hospitality Group
February 26, 2025
Jeff Broadhurst has built a career centered on creating memorable dining experiences and bringing joy to guests with Eat’n Park’s iconic smiley cookies. As CEO, he’s helped shape Eat’n Park…
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Season 7 highlights
December 20, 2024
Season 7 of Forktales was a feast of stories and insights from food industry trailblazers. We explored how Biscuitville’s secret recipe became a Southern staple, how Rubix Foods stays one…
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Stephen Baldi – President of Baldi Management Group
December 2, 2024
People in airports are travelling for a variety of reasons. The common denominator? They all have to eat. That’s where Stephen Baldi and Baldi Management Group (BMG) comes in. BMG…
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Nick McMillan and Amanda Signorelli – Managing Partners of the Golden Steer
November 13, 2024
The Golden Steer is more than just a steakhouse, it’s a piece of Las Vegas history. Sinatra, Muhammad Ali and Elvis dined there. Mob bosses held dinner meetings in dimly…
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Anand Gala – Managing Partner of Gala Capital Group
October 21, 2024
Anand’s life in the restaurant industry started at a very young age when his mother became one of the first franchisees for Jack-in-the-Box. Although he tried to escape the family…
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Ep 88: Shannon O’Shields / VP of Marketing for Rubix Foods and Gen Z whisperer
September 30, 2024
Rubix Foods has its finger on the pulse of the hottest flavor trends and brings those trends to life for roughly 70% of the top QSR and FSR restaurant brands…
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Ep 86: Burney Jennings / Executive Chairman of Biscuitville
August 21, 2024
More than 60 years ago Burney Jennings’ father, Maurice, had a choice: He could have the family farm or his mother’s closely-guarded biscuit recipe. Maurice chose the biscuit recipe and…
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Ep 85: Ben Jacobs / Chef, founder of Tocabe and Native local pioneer
August 1, 2024
Ben Jacobs is a chef and a tribal member of the Osage Nation. He’s also a leader in bringing Native American food to the forefront of the American culinary conversation….
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Ep 84: Audley Wilson / Shark Tank survivor & Founder of RoboBurger
July 18, 2024
Earlier this year, Audley Wilson and his partners took their dream – a revolutionary vending machine that makes fresh, made-to-order burgers – and pitched it to the investors (and to…
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Ep 83: Craig Bernstein / Founder of Doc B’s Restaurant & Bar
June 28, 2024
If you’re a fan of great stories, you’re going to love this episode of Forktales featuring Doc B’s Restaurant & Bar founder Craig Bernstein. Craig shares tales about how a…
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Ep 81: Benjamin Calleja / CXO of Livit Design
May 23, 2024
Every eight hours, a new Livit designed restaurant opens somewhere in the world and Benjamin Calleja is leading that charge. As the founder and chief experience officer of Livit Design,…
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Ep 80: Dan Rowe / CEO of Fransmart
May 9, 2024
Dan Rowe is known in the restaurant industry as The Chainmaker. He takes emerging restaurant brands and, along with the team at Fransmart, turns those brands into successful national restaurant…
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Ep 79: Jason E. Brooks / Founder of HospiVation
April 18, 2024
Jason E. Brooks is a coach, a motivational speaker and an author with a lifetime of restaurant experience. That’s one of the reasons he created HospiVation, a leadership coaching clinic…
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Ep 78: Emily Rugaber / VP of Marketing for Thanx
April 4, 2024
Why do so many restaurants fail to properly use data? What are the biggest mistakes restaurants make when designing loyalty programs? Two huge questions and Emily Rugaber answers them both….
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Ep 77: Betsy Hamm / CEO of Duck Donuts
March 21, 2024
Duck Donuts is one of the fastest growing donut shops in the nation, with 32 new locations last year and another 45 planned this year. The brand’s fresh, made-to-order donuts…
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Ep 76: Jay Cipra / CEO of Broaster Company
March 7, 2024
If you live in Wisconsin and the surrounding region, you know broasted chicken and how good it is. And the only way to make broasted chicken is with pressure-frying equipment…
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Ep 75: Mark Schostak / Executive Chairman of TEAM Schostak Family Restaurants
February 22, 2024
Mark Schostak is the third generation of a four-generation family business that oversees 150 restaurants throughout Michigan. It’s a portfolio of culinary options that includes Applebee’s, MOD Pizza, Wendy’s and…
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Ep 73: Andrew Glantz / Founder of GiftAMeal
December 14, 2023
Studies have shown that 84% of Gen Z shoppers are more likely to purchase from a brand if the brand gives back and 71% of Millennials would pay more for…
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Ep 72: James Passafaro / Co-Founder of opsi
September 28, 2023
James has 20 years of experience in the restaurant industry and a strong vision for technology’s role in it. One day, while working as a chef de cuisine in an…
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Ep 71: Dan Costello / CEO of Home Run Inn Pizza
September 13, 2023
Dan Costello oversees nine Chicago area pizza shops and a thriving frozen pizza brand as the CEO of Home Run Inn Pizza. That position gives him a front row seat…
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