On this episode of The Mess Hall, Mike and Maeve share the hospitality moments that stood out on a trip to Tampa, from a bubble-wrap save in the Columbia Restaurant gift shop to a $50 tableside mozzarella that was well worth the price. Then wine and spirits data expert Alli Meyer joins us to dig into what's really happening with alcohol: whether Gen Z is drinking, how brand proliferation and inventory gluts hurt the category, why wine lists and shelves stopped focusing on what things taste like, why sweet and flavored products get looked down on when people clearly want them, and why smaller bottle sizes might be the fix we're not pushing hard enough. Plus, Alli answers our five questions

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode of The Mess Hall, Mike and Maeve dig into the freshest data from their 2026 Consumer Needs Mid-Year Update Survey. They share the findings that surprised them most: why younger consumers say 2026 has gone better than expected and what that streak of American optimism means for food innovation, plus they unpack consumer confusion around ultra-processed foods. Then they sit down with convenience store expert Frank Beard to ask what America can actually learn from the Japanese konbini. Frank makes the case that great food doesn't have to mean "bougie" food, that the real opportunity isn't out-competing fast food but filling America's missing street food gap, and that pride is what separates a truly successful store from one that's just offering gas station food 2.0. Plus, Beard offers his take on the trends people are only pretending to like.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode of The Mess Hall, Mike and Maeve check in on their 100 Recipe Challenge, a year-long project to cook 100 new recipes from cookbooks they've collected. They compare progress, debate the merits of following recipes to the letter versus trusting your gut, share their favorite and least favorite dishes so far, and go down a rabbit hole on the quest for the perfect pancake. Then they sit down with Beth Kimmerle, founder and CEO of Attribute Analytics, to explore the science of sensory evaluation and how her trained taste panels help food companies translate aroma, texture, taste, and emotion into actionable data. Beth digs into why texture has emerged as the new strategic focus in food innovation, why consumers can tell when their favorite products have quietly changed, and how the explosion of data and AI is reshaping -- and sometimes paralyzing -- product development. The conversation ranges from the National Restaurant Association Show floor to the future of underleveraged senses like sound and smell, the rise of ASMR-driven food discovery, and whether we'll eventually evolve a sixth sense (or grow an antenna) to keep up with a world where almost everything else can be faked.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.