Taste Network's Brady Lowe - The Future of Food Events, and the Rise and Fall of Cochon 555

Today I have Brady Lowe, founder of Taste Network. Started in 2002, he’s currently on a mission to disrupt, and rethink the typical food marketing strategies, forge new online possibilities, and partner with and help promote sustainable, ethical, and delicious food and drinks from around the world. You might know Brady from the Cochon 555 events that he put on. But you might not know that he separated from the Cochon 555 brand a couple of years ago, which was one of the things I wanted to talk to him about. Building something that you love, and then letting it go, possibly seeing it go down in flames along the way. But Brady is still going strong with other aspects of Taste Network. We talk about the future of the food events industry, and discuss supply chain issues, especially as it related to farms in the early days of Covid. And a few years ago Brady came under fire for posting a racially insensitive photo from one of his events on Cochon’s Instagram page. There was a considerable fallout the days surrounding it, and I wanted to give Brady a couple of minutes to speak on that.Sponsor- The United States Personal Chef AssociationThe Covid pandemic has clearly redefined the world of dining. Despite over 110,000 restaurants closing around the country, people still want the ambiance and social connectivity that is so critical to the dining experience. Over the past 27 years, the world of the personal chef has grown in importance to fulfill those dining needs. While the pandemic certainly upended the restaurant experience, it provided an Avenue for personal chefs to close that dining gap. Central to all of that is the United States Personal Chef Association. Representing nearly 1,000 chefs around the US and Canada, USPCA provides a strategic backbone for those chefs that includes liability insurance, training, communications, certification, and more. One of the big upcoming events for USPCA is their annual conference scheduled July 7-10 at the Hyatt Regency Sarasota, FL. Featuring a host of speakers and classes, the conference is a way for chefs to hone their skills and network with like-minded businesspeople. For those who supply the industry, it’s a chance to reach not just decision-makers but the actual buyers of products. Contact Angela Prather at [email protected] extension 705https://www.uspca.com/===========Brady Lowe and Taste Network===========Taste NetworkBrady's InstagramDrinkRealSpain.com==========================CHEFS WITHOUT RESTAURANTS==========================If you enjoy the show, and would like to support it financially, check out our Patreon, or you can donate through Venmo or Buy Me a Coffee. Get the Chefs Without Restaurants NewsletterVisit Our Amazon Store (we get paid when you buy stuff)Chefs Without Restaurants Facebook pageChefs Without Restaurants private Facebook groupChefs Without Restaurants InstagramFounder Chris Spear’s personal chef business Perfect Little BitesGet in touchSupport the show