Eating at a Meeting explores a variety of topics on food and beverage (F&B) and how they impact individual experience and inclusion, sustainability, culture, community, health and wellness, laws and more.
The mission of Eating at a Meeting is to share authentic stories that illustrate the financial, social, emotional, and mental impact food and beverage have on individuals, organizations, and the earth. I see it being threefold:
● Help individuals and organizations understand how F&B
impacts employee, customer and guest experience, the
planet and the bottom line.
● Help those growing, producing, preparing, and serving
F&B understand the duty of care they hold in food safety
and inclusion as well as the opportunity they have to
create experiences that are safe and inclusive.
● Support those with dietary needs by gathering their
insight on eating at a meeting with dietary needs,
helping them better advocate for themselves and
educating them on the processes found on the other
side of the kitchen door.
Zero Proof Choice Awards: What Makes an Alcohol-Free Drink Worth Serving
Picture your opening reception. One guest is pregnant. Another is in recovery, another is training for a race, and another just doesn't want to drink tonight. What are you handing them?
Too often it's still a soda, a bottle of water, or a sugary "mocktail" nobody planned, and nobody wants to drink (yuck!)
That's why I'm so glad Derek Brown and Laura Silverman are joining me on this week's Eating at a Meeting Podcast LIVE. They just judged The Daily Pour's 2026 Zero Proof Choice Awards, blind-tasting hundreds of alcohol-free spirits, wines, beers, mixers, ready-to-drink cocktails, and functional drinks from coded glasses.
Derek was head judge. He ran Columbia Room in DC, once named Best American Cocktail Bar, wrote "Mindful Mixology," and has been championing mindful drinking for years. Laura founded Zero Proof Nation, a global resource that maps alcohol-free bars and bottle shops, and she's been pushing restaurants, workplaces and events to give non-drinkers real choices.
Planners, a medal list gives you something concrete to take to your catering manager when the banquet bar offers one NA beer and a Diet Coke. Hotels, caterers, and venues: guests will pay for a well-made zero-proof drink. I want to know if your bar packages are built and priced for that.
There's a safety side too. "Non-alcoholic" and "alcohol-free" don't mean the same thing on a label. Hemp-infused and THC drinks even have their own awards category now. Does your bar team know the difference?
What's the best alcohol-free drink you've been served at an event? The worst?
29 Sept 2026
Can Events Serve Food That Is Truly Good Clean and Fair?
We ask a lot of the food at our events. We want it sustainable, inclusive, local, good for the planet and fair to the people who grew it — and then we hand the caterer a headcount and a budget and hope it all shows up on the plate.
So what would it take to build an event where the experience itself actually lives out those values, instead of just claiming them on the website?
One event has been answering that for almost 40 years — and every two years it shows the whole world how, at Terra Madre Salone del Gusto in Turin, Italy. More than 600 producers from over 100 countries, spread across the city's historic squares, all organized around one idea: good, clean and fair food for everyone.
My guest this week on Eating at a Meeting is Elisa Demichelis, International Networks Director for Slow Food, based at the movement's headquarters in Bra, Italy. Her whole job is connection — linking producers, cooks, Indigenous leaders and food communities across the globe, then turning all of that into one of the most complex food gatherings on earth.
We're talking about how Slow Food grew from "the opposite of fast food" into a full food-system movement, and what that means for those of us who plan and supply events. How do you source with real transparency? How do you feature small producers without expecting them to work for exposure? And how do you make sustainability something guests actually enjoy — not something they feel lectured about?
Whether you plan events or supply them — hotels, venues, caterers, DMCs, destinations — this one's for you.
22 Sept 2026
Food Safety at Events: How to Balance Prevention, Compliance and Guest Trust
In honor of Food Safety Awareness Month, Tracy is thrilled to welcome Doug Davis, founder of Sokeum Consultants and former Global Director of Food Safety for Marriott International, to Eating at a Meeting. With nearly 40 years of experience and stewardship over food safety protocols for 33 brands across 139 countries, Doug brings a wealth of knowledge to the table.
Doug and Tracy dig into how food recalls unfold behind the scenes, the evolving landscape of foodborne outbreaks, and what event planners must ask to ensure safety and trust at every meal. We tackle the complexities of allergen management, the art of guest communication, and why compliance should never be about checking boxes. Doug's global perspective, stories from the field, and lessons learned on prevention, transparency, and raising standards are invaluable for anyone planning safe and memorable events
Who has been a guest on Eating at a Meeting
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Kayla King
Gabby Hemond
Rob Husted
Addie Lao
Dr Robin Lao
Podcast Authority Score: 47 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
94
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
0
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Questions about Eating at a Meeting
Who hosts Eating at a Meeting?
Tracy Stuckrath host the show. Published by Tracy Stuckrath, CFPM, CMM, CSEP, CHC.
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The show publishes daily, based on its RSS feed.
Does Eating at a Meeting take guests?
Yes. Guests have been identified in episode analyses.
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