October 30, 2025
Season 9 highlights
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…
Our Podcast
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
August 28, 2025
Sameer Malhotra – Food entrepreneur and leader in authentic Indian cuisine
From growing up in his family’s New York restaurants to leading a $50 million food company, Sameer Malhotra has built Café Spice into one of the most recognized names in…
August 14, 2025
Edward Medina – Transformative leader in authentic Mexican cuisine
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…
July 31, 2025
Tom Moffitt – Pioneer in Plant-Based Dairy and Champion of Quality Innovation
Tom Moffitt is a seasoned entrepreneur and pioneering figure in the plant-based dairy industry, leveraging his extensive background as a food microbiologist. With a successful track record co-founding Commonwealth Dairy…
July 17, 2025
Joey Jurgielewicz – Duck industry leader and champion of happy poultry
We’re kicking off Season 9 of Forktales with a deep dive into the world of duck. Joey Jurgielewicz is Director of Client Service at Tasty Duck—one of the largest and…
July 11, 2025
Season 8 highlights
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…
June 4, 2025
Kenny Morrison – Founder of VCC Brands and Pioneer in Cannabis-Infused Beverages
Kenny Morrison is the founder of VCC Brands and CQ Drinks, and a pioneer in the world of cannabis-infused edibles and beverages. His expertise lies in crafting products that normalize…
May 22, 2025
Laurel Orley – CEO of Daily Crunch and Innovator in Better-for-You Snacking
Laurel Orley is the founder and CEO of Daily Crunch Snacks, a women-owned, mission-driven snack brand known for its sprouted, air-dried almonds and bold flavor combinations. With a background in…
May 8, 2025
Denise Woodard – CPG entrepreneur and advocate for allergy-friendly snacking
In this very special 100th episode of Forktales, we’re joined by Denise Woodard. Denise is the trailblazing founder and CEO of Partake Foods, a line of allergy-friendly snacks inspired by…
March 14, 2025
Yanni Hufnagel – Founder of Lemon Perfect
Yanni Hufnagel knows how to build a winning team, whether on the basketball court as a former assistant coach for powerhouse programs like Harvard, Vanderbilt, and Nevada or in the…
February 13, 2025
Clara Paye – Founder & CEO of UNiTE Food
In this episode, we sit down with Clara Paye, founder and CEO of UNiTE Food, a company shaking up the protein bar industry with globally inspired flavors like Churro and…
December 20, 2024
Season 7 highlights
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…
October 14, 2024
Andy Gellert – President of Gellert Global Group
Gellert Global Group imports more than 5,500 unique food items from more than 60 countries and is one of the largest food importers in the world. Andy Gellert sits at…
September 4, 2024
Ep 87: Doug Renfro / President of Renfro Foods and Salsa Creator Extraordinaire
This episode of Forktales is a spicy one thanks to Doug Renfro of Renfro Foods. Doug and his cousins oversee Mrs. Renfro’s salsas, a brand that has grown into one…
July 18, 2024
Ep 84: Audley Wilson / Shark Tank survivor & Founder of RoboBurger
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…
June 10, 2024
Ep 82: Martino Brambilla / President of Embassy Ingredients
If you’ve had a donut, brownie, cupcake or cookie in the past year, you’ve probably had a baked good made with ingredients from Embassy Ingredients. Martino Brambilla was just 17…
April 4, 2024
Ep 78: Emily Rugaber / VP of Marketing for Thanx
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….
January 11, 2024
Ep 74: Rob Grimes / Founder & CEO of IFBTA
As the founder and CEO of the International Food & Beverage Technology Association (IFBTA), Rob Grimes spends his time forecasting tech trends and helping brands apply those trends to stay…
September 13, 2023
Ep 71: Dan Costello / CEO of Home Run Inn Pizza
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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