From IBM Statistician to Kroger Food Safety Chef | Chef John live at GEHA 2026

Chef John does food safety and regulatory compliance for Kroger’s Atlanta division — 182 stores across Georgia, Alabama, and South Carolina. Recorded live at GEHA 2026 on Lake Lanier.He started at IBM as a statistician, took a buyout, and IBM paid for Johnson & Wales. Now he’s the chef who still cooks for TV — and the guy who trains store leaders as Certified Food Protection Managers.In this conversation:How Kroger’s FAST system (Food at Safe Temperatures) puts sensors every four feet and alerts when a case goes above 41°FFreezing day-of-expiration product for Second Harvest instead of throwing it away.A mobile grocery store for food deserts, built with the Georgia Department of AgricultureWhy Chipotle, Blue Bell, and Boar’s Head still sit in the back of consumers’ mindsWet-aging a ribeye in cryovac, sear hot, finish at 250°F to 133Feeding 3,500 people at South Beach Food & Wine — with food safety first What industry should actually do at state EH associations instead of treating inspectors like “the cops”Live from GEHA 2026, Lake Lanier, Georgia.Beyond Data Management, powered by HS GovTech.Chapters00:00 Intro — live at GEHA00:40 “If I told them my last name…”01:45 182 stores, three states04:12 IBM statistician → Johnson & Wales06:32 Shrink, food banks, Second Harvest09:19 FAST sensors every 4 feet11:35 Chipotle, Blue Bell, Boar’s Head13:49 CFPM training for every store leader15:47 Mobile grocery store / food deserts23:50 How Chef John cooks a ribeye28:13 King’s Hawaiian / 3,500 covers29:17 Super Bowl and World Cup food safety33:41 Everybody has a camera35:02 Recipe on the front, food safety on the backLinksAFDO Crucial Conversations — https://www.afdo.org/training/GEHA 2026Send us Fan MailPlease remember to like and subscribe - and reach out to us with your stories and show ideas [email protected]