Stay ConnectedWelcome to Weekly Specials, a show hosted by Will Guidara and produced by the Welcome Conference, that explores the changing restaurant and hospitality landscape by sharing voices, creating discussion, and telling stories that can inspire through hope, reflection, and a bit of laughter.
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Copyright: © 2020 Weekly Specials The Welcome Conference
This week we check in with Colleen Vincent, VP of Community at the James Beard Foundation and Co-Founder of Black Food Folks. Colleen and Will talk about her unexpected path into the world of hospitality, racial issues she's faced along the way, and the work she's doing to try and create more equality in our industry.
Gary Obligacion joins us for a new segment called: This Really Happened. Gary 's career in the hospitality industry has included some incredible roles, including Director of Operations for the Alinea Group in Chicago and currently General Manager of the world-famous Post Ranch Inn. Over the years he's had some memorable experiences and he joined Will Guidara to share one story that is hard to believe, but that we can all learn from.
Host Will Guidara chats with Kelly Peacock, General Manager of Thai Diner in New York City. They talk about her path through the restaurant world, struggles she's faced as a Black woman in the industry, and her love of making people happy through hospitality.
Will Guidara is joined by Chef Nyesha Arrington. They discuss her journey through fine dining over nearly two decades, issues of systemic racism she's experienced as a Black woman in restaurants and what she's hopeful for as the industry evolves.
We're shining a light on seven restaurants around the globe that aren't afraid to take risks in return for the greatest reward, opening their doors so they can feed people again. Plus, we're sharing a very special edition of #icantwait this week, as Welcome Conference partner Anthony Rudolf interviews Steve Palmer of Ben’s Friends and The Indigo Road Hospitality. Together they’ll talk about how the newly digitized version of Ben’s Friends has reached its largest audience yet. And of course, we’re back with This Week in José, with some extra clips from Ben Leventhal's interview with Chef José Andrés.
This week on Weekly Specials, we hear from a few friends around the country and also reflect a bit on what the past few months have done to our industry. We head to Houston, Texas where Tracy Vaught of H-Town Restaurants shares what reopening her dining rooms has been like. We hear from Katie Button and her team at Cúrate and Button & Co. Bagels on what they can't wait to do once their restaurants open, in a new installment of #icantwait.
This week, we shared more stories from around the industry and across the globe, including Ellen Bennett, Marcus Samuelsson, Roy Choi, and Mary Celeste Beall. We have more headlines from the outstanding Chef José Andrés and of course, our Deep Dive, featuring a groundbreaking grassroots collaboration started by Other Half Brewing Company.
This week, we share a collection of good news with you that highlights a variety of stories, from large corporations like @Chobani, to local car dealerships lending rental cars to assist in food delivery, and everything in between. Other stories highlight the restaurant Canlis in Seattle, WA, Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur, CA, and Southern Smoke Foundation, based in Houston, TX. And of course, our Deep Dive: a feature story about Alicia Villanueva and her unimaginable strength and immense resilience in adjusting to the changing climate of her Bay Area tamale business.
This week, we're shining a light on colleagues around the globe that are creatively pivoting and continuing to surprise and delight, like the restaurants Coquette in New Orleans, Alinea in Chicago, Saison Smokehouse in San Francisco, and Ani Ramen in New Jersey. Operators like Gabe Stulman, Dan Barber, and Stephanie Izard, have turned their restaurants into grocery stores and created innovative CSA boxes and there's so much more to cover. Christina Tosi has a fun-loving interview with some Girl Scouts of Greater New York and their incredible effort to support healthcare workers. And as a new treat, we've created a segment called "I Can't Wait," with our inaugural video featuring Kevin Boehm and his team from Boka Restaurant Group in Chicago, sharing the many moments they can't wait to experience again in their restaurants.
This week on Weekly Specials, we’re inspired by the way grocery stores have partnered with chefs to create to-go meals, like Rouses Markets in Louisiana, H-E-B in Texas, and Spartan Nash in Michigan, raising a significant amount of money in support of their local restaurants. Dimo’s Pizza in Chicago is using their ovens to cook up more than just a solid slice, and restaurant regulars support their favorite spots by installing road-side billboards advertising a local spot with the simple message, “We are open.” And in Hong Kong, Black Sheep Restaurant released a reopening playbook that’s already been translated to 5 languages and passed around the world. Ben Leventhal spends some quality time with Chef José Andrés in the ultimate version of This Week in José. And our latest segment, #icantwait, continues with Chef Kwame Onwuachi and his team from Kith/Kin joining us on the show to share what they can't wait to get back to doing in their restaurant.
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