- Randy Garutti
- Chief Operating Officer, Shake Shack
- Posted: 05/27/10 | Recorded at Gel 2010
Shake Shack is insanely popular in New York - and soon, in other cities as well - and for good reason: it's a good experience, from the food to the service to (yes) the line. As Shake Shack's COO, Randy Garutti is responsible for the growth, performance and excellence of the business. Here he walks us through some of the ingredients in the Shack's success.
(Gel 2010 attendees were lucky enough to taste Shake Shack custard during the break after Randy's talk!)
- John La Puma
- Author, ChefMD's Big Book of Culinary Medicine
- Posted: 04/06/10 | Recorded at Gel Health '09
Food as medicine. Eating right can be delicious and can give such strong health benefits as to reduce the need for, or even replace, expensive medicine. Dr. John La Puma, known online and on-air as ChefMD, describes some simple steps to enjoy better health with better food.
See also:
• Twitter: @johnlapuma
• Website: drjohnlapuma.com
• ChefMD's Big Book of Culinary Medicine, by John La Puma
- Marion Nestle
- NYU professor and author of "Food Politics"
- Posted: 08/18/09 | Recorded at Gel 2009
- 3 comments
What you should eat, and what companies want you to eat, are not necessarily the same thing. Food expert Marion Nestle explains how we got to this point, and what you can do to choose the healthiest food.
See also:
• Marion's quote in The Atlantic
• List of cute organic brands quietly owned by much larger companies
• Nestle's books - Food Politics and What to Eat
• Video of Marion Nestle on the Colbert Report (Aug. 19, 2009)
- Graham Hill
- Founder, Treehugger
- Posted: 07/23/09 | Recorded at Gel 2009
Three easy steps to reduce your carbon footprint: Graham Hill delivers a simple, straightforward, and, yes, achievable path to cutting our impact in half. He also reveals the number of showers equivalent to a pound of beef.
- Danny Meyer
- Restaurateur, author
- Posted: 04/14/09 | Recorded at Gel 2007
Hospitality is the key element of success, argues New York restaurateur Danny Meyer. He should know: his restaurants are consistently the highest-ranked in Zagat's New York survey. Go to Union Square Cafe, Gramercy Tavern, Shake Shack, or any of Danny's other restaurants and you'll have an opportunity to see how hospitality forms a good experience.
After watching this Gel video, take a look at Danny's book Setting the Table, where he explains his thoughts on hospitality in more detail. Recommended.
See also: Two very different types of good experience (and Cipriani)
- John Williams
- Founder, Frog's Leap winery
- Posted: 02/24/09 | Recorded at Gel 2007
- 1 comment
Frog's Leap creates outstanding wines - but that's just the beginning. For almost 30 years, John Williams has built an organization that creates good outcomes for customers, employees, and the earth. (Frog's Leap was organic from the beginning, well before it became trendy.) Case study in "creating good" in many ways simultaneously.
See also:
• Video of Garrett Oliver, Brewmaster of the Brooklyn Brewery (from Gel 2008)
• In Napa, Some Wineries Choose the Old Route (NYTimes Aug '08)
- Garrett Oliver
- Brewmaster of the Brooklyn Brewery
- Posted: 02/10/09 | Recorded at Gel 2008
- 5 comments
Authenticity plays a central role in brewing good beer. Garrett Oliver, world-renowned brewmaster, explains how beer is like bread - there's a big difference between the real and the fake - and how it's possible to create a great product while growing a responsible, sustainable business.
See also Garrett's book: The Brewmaster's Table
- ES
- Sister, The Order of St. Helena
- Posted: 02/10/09 | Recorded at Gel 2007
- 3 comments
Sister Ellen Stephen, or ES as she's also known, talks about "food and spirit" from her perspective as an Anglican nun. Her wide-ranging exploration of community (also shown in her books Vessel of Peace and Together and Apart) make this a talk well worth watching.
- Phoebe Damrosch
- Author, "Service Included"
- Posted: 12/16/08 | Recorded at Gel 2008
- 2 comments
Phoebe was the first female head captain at Thomas Keller's prestigious New York restaurant Per Se. Here she describes the experience of entering the dining-and-hospitality field, then learning to deliver world-class service to some of the world's most discerning customers. Her book Service Included also describes her experience at Per Se.
