October 25, 2024 ā¢ 43 mins
Inclusive Event Planning with Tracy Stuckrath
In this episode of Association Chat, we sit down with Tracy Stuckrath, host of the Eating at a Meeting podcast, to dive into the powerful role of food in event planning. Tracy shares insights on how thoughtful food choices can elevate member engagement, drive sustainability, and keep attendees safe. From crafting menus that meet dietary needs and preferences to smart ways of managing F&B budgets, Tracy offers practical advice for creating truly inclusive events.
š” Key Takeaways:
- How food and beverage choices can go beyond a checklist to genuinely include every attendee.
- Financially savvy tips to meet F&B minimums, like offering non-alcoholic options that boost alertness.
- Critical legal and ethical responsibilities under the ADA for accommodating attendees with dietary restrictions.
- Practical serving strategiesālike build-your-own stationsāthat ensure dietary flexibility and safety.
Controversial Accommodations
-
Associations should be willing toĀ refund attendeesĀ who cannot eat the food provided, even if it's included in the registration fee, potentially leading toĀ financial losses.
-
ProvidingĀ "whole, clean foods"Ā free from processed ingredients and excess sugar and salt may be seen asĀ imposing dietary preferencesĀ on attendees.
Legal and Ethical Considerations
-
United AirlinesĀ is being sued forĀ inaccessibilityĀ under theĀ Americans with Disabilities Act, highlighting the legal risks of not accommodating dietary needs.
-
There's often aĀ disconnectĀ between kitchen, sales, and front-of-house staff regardingĀ food labeling responsibilities, potentially endangering guests with allergies.
Ā
Creating inclusive food and beverage options at events is essential for enhancing member engagement, ensuring safety, and fostering a sense of belonging by accommodating diverse dietary needs.
- 00:00 š½ļø Tracy Stuckr emphasizes that inclusive food and beverage options at events are crucial for member engagement and belonging, as failing to accommodate dietary needs can harm the overall experience.
- Tracy Stuckr is an F&B inclusion advocate aiming to ensure all attendees at events can enjoy meals that accommodate their dietary needs.
- Food and beverage choices in association events significantly influence member engagement and create a sense of belonging, going beyond mere logistical considerations.
- A woman with an egg allergy received a dish with hollandaise sauce, which contains eggs, despite requesting an egg-free meal.
- Excluding individuals from meals at events, especially when their dietary needs are known, negatively impacts not only them but also the experiences of others around them.
- 04:59 š½ļø Creating inclusive food and beverage experiences at events is essential for belonging, requiring awareness of dietary needs, safety, and accessibility throughout the planning process.
- Creating inclusive food and beverage experiences at events is crucial for ensuring everyone feels they belong, especially in light of increasing awareness of dietary restrictions and safety concerns.
- Working with associations involves enhancing safety and awareness beyond just labeling, focusing on comprehensive education for event staff and pl
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
KiKi L'Italien (00:01):
Oh, here we are.
Welcome to Association Chat and onlinediscussion where we warm ourselves
by the virtual fire with topics ofthe day, welcoming thought leaders
and trailblazers alike to join up inthis online home for the community.
I'm the host of Association Chat, KiKiL'Italien, and today we're serving
(00:21):
up conversation with the CulinaryCrusader of Conference Cuisine,
Tracy Stuckrath.
That was
really hard for me to say, by the way.
I'm really impressed I just rolled out.
It was clunky, but it worked.
Tracy is an F& B inclusion Revolutionary,and she is also the mastermind
behind eating at a meeting podcast.
(00:43):
So this is sort of a collab cast, if youwill, where I'm going to invite Tracy up.
She's been shaking up howorganizations think about food
and beverages one plate at a time.
And her big goal, her big missionis to ensure that no attendee ever
has to skip a meal or feel leftout because of their dietary needs.
(01:05):
I have known Tracy.
For the brilliant human thatshe is for a long time now.
So this has been a long timecoming and I am so excited to
have her here with me today.
This is more than just acheckbox, but this has to do with.
being inclusive.
So maybe let's start there.
(01:25):
How can food and beverage choicesdramatically impact member
engagement and event success?
Tracy Stuckrath (01:34):
I'm going to give you an example from an association
event that I was at this weekend.
KiKi L'Italien (01:37):
Okay.
Tracy Stuckrath (01:37):
A woman put in the fact that she is allergic to eggs.
And she, the breakfast the firstday was served was eggs Benedict.
And she said, okay, I can'thave the eggs Benedict, which
you know, is the English muffin
KiKi L'Italien (01:52):
and
Tracy Stuckrath (01:53):
whatever else, the egg.
And then there's theHollandaise sauce on it, right?
Yeah.
So I got mine with the gluten freeEnglish muffin, which was fantastic.
She said, okay, I'm allergic to eggs.
They came back with a differentdish, but they poured the
Hollandaise sauce on top of it.
KiKi L'Italien (02:09):
Interesting.
I
Tracy Stuckrath (02:10):
can't eat this.
KiKi L'Italien (02:11):
Yeah.
And
Tracy Stuckrath (02:11):
she's it doesn't have any eggs.
No Hollandaise sauce is made with eggs.
And I'm a chef.
KiKi L'Italien (02:17):
I know
Tracy Stuckrath (02:17):
this for a fact.
And then they neverbrought her anything else.
KiKi L'Italien (02:21):
Oh my gosh.
And
Tracy Stuckrath (02:22):
so this is the opening breakfast of a association event.
And she's in her seventies andshe's been a chef for a long time.
And she advocates for thisassociation left and right.
And just to make her feelexcluded from that meal.
And people came up to me and said,Tracy, did you hear what happened to her?
KiKi L'Italien (02:42):
Yeah.
Tracy Stuckrath (02:42):
And I'm like, no, but now, so now I'm telling that story and
it's, it just makes you feel of, and thebig word that has come up in the last
couple of the days is othered becauseit wasn't taken into consideration
and thought through properly.
And it, she, she left breakfast hangry.
(03:03):
Because there was nothing forher there and, cause she, she had
also identified it in advance.
So why was there nothingprepared for her and done for it?
So it really does it, and, and sittingat that table, it's not just her.
experience that's been impacted.
It's everyone else at that table.
The other nine people sitting at thattable whose experiences have been impacted
(03:24):
because they're watching her not eat.
They're watching her be excludedfrom that event, from that
meal and worried about her,
And so it's not just making thatone person feel inadequate or
ashamed potentially of what Thatthey ask for, but it's everyone
else that is impacted by that.
(03:44):
And I think that you don't feel belong,you don't feel like you belong in
that environment because of that.
And I've experienced that same feelingat that same event on in other years.
KiKi L'Italien (03:57):
Yeah.
Tracy Stuckrath (03:58):
Why ask the question?
KiKi L'Italien (03:59):
And I think that the thing that we have to be aware of is, I, Yes,
it can be difficult to figure out how toaccommodate for so many different issues.
And definitely we're more awareof allergies now than ever
before, right now in the newswe've got McDonald's with the E.
coli outbreak and all of thiskind of stuff going on, people
(04:21):
dying because of this stuff.
And yeah.
When we are dealing with staff, whenwe're dealing with we're showing
up on site and we have servers whomaybe are under informed constantly
we are at risk or putting ourattendees at risk for getting hurt.
And it's no joke.
I am happy that there's more awarenessthere, but you work with associations
(04:45):
on a regular basis or differentorganizations and their events to keep
people safe and to better inform people.
Can you talk a little bit about some ofthat work that you do and where do you
really focus your attention when you'regoing in and working with associations?
I, cause I imagine thatit's not just labels, right?
(05:05):
It's labels.
But it's also so much else.
Tracy Stuckrath (05:09):
Oh, it is so much else.
And actually I'm giving a presentationtomorrow to an association to
the group of meeting planners.
And ironically, the HR team askedto sit in on it because they want
to see what else they can do.
And it is it's understandingthe dietary needs.
And I gave them a quiz and I asked,what are the top nine food allergies and
(05:29):
majority of them pick them correctly, butsome of them, did other things, but It's
understanding what the dietary needs are
KiKi L'Italien (05:37):
and
Tracy Stuckrath (05:37):
really what the top nine are food allergies.
But I do it into fivedifferent categories.
So I do food allergies, myfinger medical conditions
KiKi L'Italien (05:46):
for those who are listening there.
We have hand gestures thatare going along with that.
So there's there's a whole,you're not, you're missing
out on part of the experience.
Tracy Stuckrath (05:53):
Exactly.
So there's food allergies.
There's other medical conditions, whichwould be celiac disease, diabetes.
And then there's religiousor cultural based practices.
KiKi L'Italien (06:04):
Oh, yeah.
Tracy Stuckrath (06:05):
And then the lifestyle preferences or lifestyle choices.
And under that it canbe vegan, vegetarian.
It could be gluten non celiac gluten free.
It could be no alcohol, no caffeine,a variety of things like that.
And then the last one isphysical disabilities.
KiKi L'Italien (06:22):
All right.
And
Tracy Stuckrath (06:23):
because my biggest mantra as of late is the fact that we
want to make sure that everybody caneat the plate, have something in front
of them to eat, but I also want them tobe able to reach the plate and that's
physically meaning you utilizing theirwheelchair or scooter to get to the
event, but also can they reach the buffet?
(06:45):
I know there's so many that dovertical buffets, which look great,
but even just a regular chafingdish on a regular table, it's high.
And somebody in a wheel whoutilizes a wheelchair or
scooter cannot reach up and get.
And that's
KiKi L'Italien (07:01):
part of that's part of that inclusivity.
That's part of that accessibilitythat I don't think a lot of
people would necessarily think of.
I don't think that they, because when youlook at the way that we it's common to
complain about the setup for a buffet.
Like I, I'll go in and I'll see thereare so many different things like, Oh
my gosh, we're shoulder to shoulder.
There's no room to spread out.
(07:22):
Why don't they have the lineset up going different ways.
But who is thinking about people inwheelchairs, people in scooters, people
who are having to get up to these tables.
So it's so good that issomething that, you know, that.
You bring to the table that you'reable to remind people about that.
It's not just about what's on thetable, but it's also getting to
(07:44):
that table in the first place.
Tracy Stuckrath (07:45):
Exactly.
And that's what I start with, becausethen it's really thinking about it's
thinking through that and food andbeverages are number one expenditure.
And I'm going to, I will argue with anyassociation who's planning a meeting, food
and beverages are number one expenditure.
With an AV after that, right?
And if it's your number oneexpenditure, why do we spend the
least amount of time focused on it?
(08:06):
Why aren't we being strategic in designingit and looking at the dietary needs?
So then that's my next step is let'slook at the dietary needs that you have
that had been requested in the past.
How do you incorporate those intothe overall menu So there are no
other plates having to be designed.
And then, and when is thatconversation being had?
Is it being, it should be in the RFP.
(08:29):
It should be in your site visits,having conversations with chefs.
And it should be through the entireplanning process so that you, because
those dietary needs as registrationscome in, you have to really think through
how you're going to incorporate that.
And then.
Especially if you have differentfood functions and some people are,
you're going to, you're going toone and I'm going to another and
(08:50):
yeah, I don't want to order food foryou that you're not going to eat.
We, in the labeling.
KiKi L'Italien (08:56):
Yeah, we were just, we just actually we didn't really get
a chance to see each other at IMAX.
We were just at the same event andyou were busy and talking and teaching
about all of these different things.
One of the things that Iam constantly impressed.
So I'm going to start with when I'mhearing you talk and I'm learning
(09:16):
from you listening to your podcastis you bring real life stories, real
life examples into our awareness.
Or and I'm constantly learning about that.
So recently you were talkingabout the Disney story.
So can you maybe share a littlebit about that and some lessons
that people can get from that,torn from the headlines, ripped.
Tracy Stuckrath (09:37):
Yep, exactly.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Law and order, but with a different twist.
So a year ago this month a doctor fromNew York went to Disney and she and her
husband did a lot of research on wherethey were going to eat because she has an
allergy to milk and an allergy to nuts.
KiKi L'Italien (09:52):
And
Tracy Stuckrath (09:52):
so they did their due diligence and Disney.
Has a reputation for being very goodand managing food allergies in the food
allergy world And our community and sothey did their due diligence and they
went to this restaurant called raglan roadand informed the server of her allergies.
I think she also informedbefore she got there as well.
(10:14):
Need to confirm that, but went over themenu multiple times with the server, asked
the question before when it was plated andput in front of her, are there no nuts?
Are there no milk?
And they said, we guaranteethere's none of that in here.
She ate the meal.
Within an hour, she wasn't feeling well.
She administered herself an EpiPenand unfortunately passed away.
(10:37):
And she had gone off with her hut.
She was with her mother and herhusband had gone off somewhere else.
So she was with her mom.
When this happened, sheadministered the EpiPen herself.
And so her husband finds outlater that she's passed away.
And so what has come of it?
He filed a wrongfuldeath suit in February.
And I think just to get the awareness ofwhat happened, not for exorbitant, things.
KiKi L'Italien (11:01):
Yeah.
Tracy Stuckrath (11:02):
Disney came back and said in, in April, I believe
that they were just the landlord.
They had nothing to do with this.
And it was the restaurant'sresponsibility.
The restaurant now has a bigsign on their thing that says,
Hey, we're not a nut free.
We're not a milk free,allergen free environment.
And then in August of this year,Disney came back and said he signed
up for a free one month trialof Disney plus four years ago.
(11:27):
And in that contract of terms andconditions, it says you cannot sue us.
You can only go to arbitration,
KiKi L'Italien (11:32):
which by the way, guys, if we're thinking about this you're like,
Oh yeah, I'm going to have Disney plus.
And you're not thinking that you'resigning away your rights to sue every
Tracy Stuckrath (11:41):
single thing ever
KiKi L'Italien (11:42):
related to Disney, which is crazy.
But that was
Tracy Stuckrath (11:45):
dismissed.
Wasn't it?
Didn't they like.
They pulled it back a week laterbecause I think everybody picked it up.
So in my conversation on eatingin a meeting, I had a disability
rights attorney, Mary Vargas.
I had Ryan Gambala, who isrepresents restaurants and hotels.
In their food safety practices.
And then I had Joshua Grimes fromour world of meeting event and events
(12:08):
and representing the meeting planner.
And so we had this really thoughtfulconversation and none of them are
related to the case, but we reallytalked about it from three different
angles of how this impacts meetings andevents, and I really do think, because
it is going to go to court, I really dothink it's going to have an impact and
while they weren't attending an event.
(12:29):
She did do the right thing.
She notified the restaurant thatshe was, she has food allergy.
She went over it again with the chef orthe server when it was presented to her.
And so that is meeting professionalsand association professionals.
If you're asking these questions,what are you doing following
up with your catering partners?
Because you are their voice.
(12:51):
You're asking the question, which youshould for financial reasons and whatever.
You should be asking the questions,but then you are the conduit
to making sure that happens.
And so what questions are you asking?
If you're catering partners, what,how are you asking about labeling?
Are they labeling everything accurately?
What are those labels done?
(13:11):
Can you proof them?
And not that you are theend all be all the chef is.
But it also comes down to servicepractice, service methods, cooking
KiKi L'Italien (13:19):
methods.
And you like to get back there.
I'm sorry if I'm pointing at himlike that, you like to get back there
and if you can, I know how you are.
You love to teach that team andmake sure that they are educated so
they know what goes into this sauce.
Thank you.
So they know where thereare potential allergens.
(13:40):
I want to bring over acomment I saw from someone.
Oh, it's covering us up.
Let me shrink our little heads over here.
Those of you who are listening,I'm doing something visually.
So like I'm bringing up this commentfrom Dan, who says as a host, as a
hospitality professional, you are correct.
And it is not that hard to createmenus that are inclusive of most
(14:01):
dietary requests, or at least haveviable options ready to serve.
, the requests will only grow in the future.
Thanks for covering this.
Thank you, Dan, actually,for finding this.
Dean.
Tracy Stuckrath (14:11):
It is growing.
There are 13 million Americans.
with food allergies and 26million of them are adults.
KiKi L'Italien (14:19):
Yeah.
Tracy Stuckrath (14:20):
And and that means only 7 million of them are kids, but those
kids grew up to be adults and adults arehaving more adult onset food allergies.
And so it's not somethingthat's going to go away.
And and it's even that, the storythat I told at the very beginning, not
taking into consideration that, Hey,Hollandaise sauce is made with eggs.
KiKi L'Italien (14:43):
Yeah.
Tracy Stuckrath (14:43):
And thinking through that entire process.
And even an example of anevent I did, I manage food and
beverage for clients as well.
So I will come on in and plantheir whole menu and their budget
and then manage it on site.
And they had, one of the menussaid like it was a Peppadoo
pepper stuffed with goat cheese.
And then when it cameout, it was on a crostini.
(15:05):
I'm like, one, why do you needto put it out on a crostini?
A Peppadoo pepper cansit by itself, right?
KiKi L'Italien (15:10):
Yeah.
Tracy Stuckrath (15:10):
But nowhere in the description.
Did it say that it was served on bread?
And so you confirmed that it wasgluten free, but then you now
served it on a crusty gluten.
So that whole, where's the chef'sconversation across the board to making
sure that those, because the sales teams,they are the ones that print the menus.
(15:32):
Yeah.
KiKi L'Italien (15:32):
Yeah.
Tracy Stuckrath (15:33):
Yeah.
And so there's a really big disconnectfrom the catering team and I'm going
to say in the most, in most instances,I'm not going to say every single
place, but in most instances there'sa disconnect between the kitchen,
KiKi L'Italien (15:45):
stales,
Tracy Stuckrath (15:47):
and front of the house staff because front of the house staff
is responsible for making the labels.
And if it's not on the banquetevent order, or if it's not
been checked, how do we know?
And I've had servers, or I've had chefsyell at me going, I make the food.
I'm not responsible for labeling it.
(16:07):
And then servers saying I don't cook.
How would I know that?
KiKi L'Italien (16:11):
It's so frustrating.
And cause this is really somethingthat is precarious like for so many
people, especially their health andmaybe even their lives depend on it.
And yet there's this cavalierattitude that seems to be.
Oh, I, I pervasive, but maybepeople are working on it.
(16:33):
Maybe it's getting a little bit better.
What do you think?
Do you think that it's gettingany better over the years?
You've been watching this for a while.
Tracy Stuckrath (16:41):
It is getting better, but there's still a lot of work to do.
And I believe, and a couple ofmonths ago, Sue from meetings
net asked me a question about.
Individuals who have long lists of dietaryneeds, like one page sheets, right?
And
KiKi L'Italien (16:56):
yeah,
Tracy Stuckrath (16:57):
people are asking for more customization of it.
And at an event, I think it's a littlebit too hard, but if it's a one off
or whatever, figuring it out, you needto be very upfront about your dietary
needs and it, and if it's really is lifethreatening versus a preference, right?
And.
but we need to be paying attentionto how wholesome our food is and
(17:21):
how true to nature our food isversing versus processed foods.
KiKi L'Italien (17:27):
And when we know
Tracy Stuckrath (17:28):
more about when our food contains fewer ingredients,
that we know what they are versus avariety of words that we can't say,
then it's a lot easier to control.
So I was going to
KiKi L'Italien (17:40):
ask you about that.
Sorry to interrupt.
I know you're fine.
Yeah.
I was going to ask you about that.
And you're answering the question, likeas far as guidance, are there some go
to rules or some go to favorite recipes.
And I'm hearing clean food, whole food.
Are there some things that you tend torecommend though, to people that you're
like, this is going to be a crowd pleaser.
(18:02):
And it's most likely notgoing to kill your attendees.
Tracy Stuckrath (18:06):
I think it would be hard to eliminate all top nine
allergens from everything, right?
I tree nuts, peanuts, fish, shellfish,soy, and I said egg wheat, right?
So eliminating all those nine fromevery single menu is going to be
near impossible and not very easy.
(18:28):
healthy or, not very easy to do.
So looking at it from a wholeholistic perspective and trying
to focus on foods that are wholefoods, like you said, and clean.
We can still have the Mexican buffet,but let's look how it's prepared, right?
Is it a build your own taco station?
(18:50):
Is it, or, and, Or is ita lot of processed foods?
And I have been warned by usingthe word processed foods is like
a can of chickpeas is processed.
But is it overly processed?
Does it have excess sugar in it?
Does it have excess salt in it?
So where are we looking for that?
And talking to chefs about,doing clean and clean meeting
(19:10):
whole foods kind of foods.
It's healthier for everybody.
Across the board, cause it's, youdon't want to give everybody sugar.
Because they're going to, they'regoing to get this high and
they're going to crash, right?
And you want people to be payingattention and, absorbing the knowledge
and the information that you're givingthem at the event and being able
to do something with it afterwards.
KiKi L'Italien (19:31):
And engage with each other and maybe not have to rely on those
really horrible, like evening networkingevents where they're like getting too
much alcohol or too much this just to tryto keep going so that they can make it
through the conference log or whatever,
Tracy Stuckrath (19:48):
or have to leave.
To go get something to get their food.
KiKi L'Italien (19:52):
Yeah.
Tracy Stuckrath (19:53):
And so now they've paid how much money to go to your conference.
And now they're having, and Iwas having a conversation with
somebody about this yesterday.
They've paid your registration fee.
Let's say it's a thousand dollars.
And it says it comes with lunchand breaks and dinners and
receptions that include food.
So if your registration fee includesfood and you don't accommodate them,
(20:16):
Are you willing to give them their moneyback for the food and beverage that
they did not eat or they could not eat?
So are you willing to reduceyour revenue, which can be offset
by the cost of the food, right?
Are you willing to reduce your revenueand then send those people off site?
KiKi L'Italien (20:33):
Fascinating.
Has anyone ever done anything like that?
Tracy Stuckrath (20:37):
There was actually, there was a rant in a Facebook group
this like a couple of weeks agoabout somebody, a planner really
perturbed by all the dietary requests.
And once she said the chef wanted toquit his job because he didn't want to
do this anymore and such, but she's we'rejust going to send everybody off site.
I said okay, that's a thought, butdepending on where you are and how many
(20:58):
people you have, one, are there enoughrestaurants within walking distance?
of your venue to send them all.
Are you going to inform all of thoserestaurants that they're going to be
inundated over and above their normallunch rush with all of your attendees?
Two are you, are their menu,are there restaurants that
(21:19):
actually accommodate your guests?
What if you have a large contingencyof Jewish participants or,
so how are you managing that?
And then that's reducing your revenueto, it's a catch 22 and because it's also
reducing the amount of people who arethen connecting at your event together.
And if that's the reason you'rebringing them together, then why
(21:39):
are you sending them off site?
KiKi L'Italien (21:40):
What are some of the cool things that you've seen in
some of the, like maybe some of thetrends or some of the I don't know.
Have you seen any sort of innovativeideas that you thought, Oh
yeah, this is the way to do it.
This is if only every event would do this.
Tracy Stuckrath (21:56):
If only every event would label correct, would label it.
And I say correctly, would labelwith ingredients and with allergens.
That would be my dream first and foremost.
But I think thinking through havingstations, having build your own
stations really helps because, andif you're not doing build your own
stations, make sure that you'relabeling for the allergens, but you
can make people want customization.
(22:18):
And when you do your build yourown stations, that really does
allow for customization, right?
Hey, I want the meat and I wantthe fish, or I just want the
cauliflower right on my tacos.
Tacos are perfect formaking your own thing.
But can and The people who, my friendMurray Hall, the chef up in Toronto,
he, his philosophy on building aplated dish is start with the sides,
(22:44):
make sure that they're gluten freeand they're dairy free, which would
then probably make them vegan, right?
If you're starting with your potatoesand your carrots and whatever, right?
And then the entree.
is the add on,
KiKi L'Italien (22:57):
right?
Tracy Stuckrath (22:58):
And so that's the last thing put on the plate and it should
be the smallest proportion when you'relooking at nutritional information.
But so then you can add the beef oryou can add the chicken or you can
add the cauliflower steak, right?
So that's a really good way to thinkthrough and how to design your menus.
And I think that's athoughtful way to do that.
KiKi L'Italien (23:17):
Ooh, we have another great comment over here.
The chef is responsible formaking sure every item is listed
correctly, including buffet signs.
You can't pass that to anyone else.
You are correct.
Processed food may not listeverything correctly or the
ingredients checked correctly.
by the chefs or cooks.
The most affordable venues oftenlack the professionalism in the
(23:40):
kitchen due to their budgets.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Tracy Stuckrath (23:42):
Yeah.
Dan I agree with you.
I'm like, I want and an example wouldbe that next year I'm doing an event.
This year, my client negotiated the dayof the week menu to, to be, 58 per person.
And then for 2025, you did not.
And so I'm looking at the menu andthe price for buffet at this hotel is
(24:05):
anywhere from 85 to 92 per person beforethe 24 percent gratuity and the tax.
KiKi L'Italien (24:12):
Oh my gosh.
Tracy Stuckrath (24:13):
Yeah.
So the 85 lunch is now 110 per person.
KiKi L'Italien (24:17):
Wow.
Tracy Stuckrath (24:18):
And my client's Tracy and I told him, I was like,
just lunch increased the budgetby a hundred thousand dollars.
KiKi L'Italien (24:24):
That is insane.
Doing
Tracy Stuckrath (24:25):
everything exactly the same ex.
I know.
And so I went to the chef and Isaid, okay, I can't ha lunch can't
be more than 63 bucks a person.
And he's okay, I can do that.
But now I'm Dan, I'm worried aboutwhat that $63 lunch is going to
look like compared to the $85 lunch.
And, but he's no, we can do that.
We're and KiKi, it blew me away.
(24:46):
They're like, you're gonnabe really easy to work with.
And I'm like.
Are you sure?
And they're like, you setout all of your expectations.
Cause I said, I want my menus labeled.
I want to proof them two weeks out.
I want non alcoholicbeverage options on the bar.
KiKi L'Italien (25:00):
Yeah.
And
Tracy Stuckrath (25:01):
I want, these menus, I want inclusive menus and I
don't know what it is, but the seat,the general manager of that hotel.
had seen my list that meetingsnet meetings today put together.
And he's Oh, I read your article, Tracy.
And then chef came prepared.
Here's where I source my meat from.
Here's where I get my fish from.
This is what we do.
(25:22):
And I'm like, okay,
KiKi L'Italien (25:24):
this is nice.
Yeah, that is
Tracy Stuckrath (25:26):
nice.
So we'll see how it comes out.
But just by that, if youput that information in your
RFP, see how they respond.
KiKi L'Italien (25:34):
Yeah.
I wonder if that could be somethingthat I feel like that's achievable.
I feel like that's, that should bea goal for all of us, for all of our
meetings, any association leaderslistening to this right now and
thinking, okay, we've got our annualmeeting that we have every year.
How can we make it better?
This is where a great place to improveupon and just to show your care to
(25:58):
show that you are, conscientiousdo your due diligence too.
I feel like that's just the,we should all be doing that.
It's achievable.
Tracy Stuckrath (26:07):
I think it is totally achievable if you're thinking through
it strategically from the get go.
Yeah.
And having those conversationsand I was on a conversation last
week, even about sustainabilityaspects of food and beverage, right?
Managing waste.
How are we giving food to thecommunity if we have excess?
I'm from that top.
From IMAX from Trevor Liu, actually,he said, let's stop talking about our
(26:30):
waste that we're giving our waste away.
Let's, if we know we're going toover order, let's talk about how
we're going to give it to some
KiKi L'Italien (26:38):
instead of
Tracy Stuckrath (26:38):
throwing our waste to them.
So really thinking throughthat giving aspect of that.
But Hang on.
I'm just processing
KiKi L'Italien (26:45):
what you just said, because that is such a
great, that's the power of words.
That's the power by changing your words.
And everyone, if you are notfollowing Trevor Lou, he is amazing.
Restaurant tour dedicated events,professional just a fascinating
human, but and he has a cookbook andyou can like, you can get that too.
(27:06):
Double happiness, I think.
I think so.
Yeah.
So it's cool.
But anyway I love that the intentionbehind the words and just shifting
perspective, just that shiftcan make such a huge difference.
Tracy Stuckrath (27:20):
Completely because you're looking at the people in your community
differently then and you're lookingabout the people in your own audience
differently too and thinking throughhow you're going to provide not only for
your association, for your membership,and then for your the community
that you're supporting with that.
revenue that you're bringing to the city.
If you know the economic impact thatyou have on that city based on your
(27:43):
convention, then you should alsobe looking at the economic impact
that your food choices make andprovide to the community as well.
KiKi L'Italien (27:52):
I love that.
And I think that that's thatengaging with the community, having
a better impact, really thinkingabout in a deeper way about the way
that your meeting is impacting theenvironment that you're going into.
And certainly sustainability hasbeen huge on everyone's minds, but
I love that concept of giving ratherthan thinking of it as throwing
(28:13):
something away or getting rid of waste.
I want to go back to the economy ofall of it and the financial aspects
of it, because that's definitelysomething that is, that's something
such a driver of many decisions.
And it's something I don't hearanyone complaining or talking
about paying less for things.
It's only that meetings having meetings,it's costing more, everything costs
(28:37):
more, whether it's a V or food.
So you were talking about it earlierabout how some of these shocking.
Discoveries sad, unfortunatediscoveries where it's like you show
up and like suddenly the buffet thatyou ordered last year is, sometimes
double, a lot of times I'm hearinghorror stories similar to that.
So, oh yeah.
(28:57):
That and like coffee was never, we neverthought of coffee as the cheap thing at
a meeting, but it's even more expensive.
It's a, even more of a premium now.
What are some of the ways that you'readvising people To think about this
in different ways to cut costs.
Cause everyone's looking forthe, I don't know, key, the
secrets, the tips and tricks.
Are there any Tracy that we can use?
Tracy Stuckrath (29:19):
My biggest one is know your numbers, like really ask
the question, pay attention okay.
So my client that I'm doing thatevent next year, but two years
ago we were in Palm desert.
And he, my client said, okay,we're going to have 450 people
based on a registration.
We're going to have 450people for our closing lunch.
And I'm like, I looked at the room pickupand our room drop pickup went from 600
KiKi L'Italien (29:45):
to 300.
I'm
Tracy Stuckrath (29:45):
like, okay, that's less than the 400.
And I know people will be leaving.
But then I asked him, I said, how manyof those people live on the East coast?
And he said, why?
I said because they'regoing to get on the 7 a.
m.
Flight home because otherwisethey have to take the red eye.
And so they're all going to leave.
So I ordered instead of the four50, I actually ordered two 50
KiKi L'Italien (30:07):
and we
Tracy Stuckrath (30:07):
ended up serving 300.
So I still saved, even thoughwe went over by, and it was an
easy salad with chicken on it.
So it was easy to redo or, and theyhad extras in the back of course,
but instead of spending 150 150 extraplates, one that's food waste, right?
And at what, 45, $50 a person.
(30:30):
I save my clan a lot of money.
So one is really knowing yournumbers and that's looking at the
historical data that you have.
And another association I worked with andthat was this summer, my event manager at
the hotel was like, Tracy, you have 500people registered for your conference.
Why are you only ordering food for two 50?
We had my client, it was his first timeclient, but she had historical data from
(30:52):
five years to show how many people hit.
She had actually served forevery single meal function
from, for the last five years.
KiKi L'Italien (31:00):
Oh my gosh.
Tracy Stuckrath (31:00):
So she knew to only order.
Half the number of people and thenumbers were accurate on this round.
So really paying attention to thatand it's counting the rollups, right?
It's doing counting at the door, if youcan, or tickets, whatever way you want
to do it, but also, so knowing that, andthen also switching to on consumption
(31:22):
items for your breaks, don't order.
Desserts for 350 people, for yourbreak breaks, use it on consumption.
You will see the number of itemsthat are purchased actually.
And so your numbers can comedown on that instead of paying 17
for a break, you're paying eightbucks by only what's consumed.
(31:44):
And then also your coffee.
A lot of the, in the, some of the Facebookgroups that are out there for planners
have cut decaf and tea from their menus.
Interesting.
They're only serving, wow.
The caffeine and the decaf and the teaare on request and they've been able
to drop their costs a lot on that.
But again, it's lookingat your numbers on that.
(32:07):
And then alcohol too, if you can.
Do it on consumption.
Like you do not want to payfor per person for a bar.
If you can tell,
KiKi L'Italien (32:20):
do you want to talk a little bit about that?
Cause alcohol, I know it hasbecome more and more of a topic.
I know in the event space.
And in finally now I'm hearingmore and more association.
professionals talk about it too.
What does it look like if we were tooffer networking opportunities, receptions
(32:41):
where people weren't forced to just havewater or soda, as opposed to all of that.
Mixed drinks and stuff like thatwith lots and lots of alcohol.
And this idea of the mocktail, a signaturemocktail or something to make to allow
people not to feel othered and not to feellike they don't belong or don't fit in.
(33:05):
So talk to us about that.
Tracy Stuckrath (33:07):
Yeah.
So that is a whole nother way.
to think about your bar andyou can have your full bar.
I'm not telling you totake your full bar away.
I'm telling, asking you to improveupon it and add alcohol free
options and to that menu item.
And that could be your athletic beer.
It could be your ritual gin, which is anon alcoholic gin, and creating a curated
(33:34):
pre batched, if you want non alcoholic.
cocktail.
KiKi L'Italien (33:39):
And
Tracy Stuckrath (33:40):
it is, it gives me, it gives all of us the ability
to still walk around with the samekind of glassware and participate
that or have something in your hand.
Because we all know going to aparty, no matter what, you always
have something in your hand.
You feel awkward without havingto do it's something, right?
Yeah, exactly.
(34:01):
And even at my event in June, this oneguy, he came up and he ordered an athletic
beer and he had no idea who I was.
And I was just standing theretalking to the bartender.
He's God, these association things.
He's I like my alcohol, but I needto do a non alcoholic version in
between my regular version of beer
KiKi L'Italien (34:18):
because I need to
Tracy Stuckrath (34:18):
be able to stay focused.
And even a woman that I intervieweda couple of years ago on eating
in a meeting She's neurodivergent.
She's autistic.
She's I'm already neurodivergent.
So why am I going to add somethingthat's going to impede my perception,
KiKi L'Italien (34:33):
right?
Tracy Stuckrath (34:34):
Inhibit my perception.
But I want to say that adding theseto your venue or to your menu for
the bars, will actually help youmeet your food and beverage minimum.
Think about it.
And you're trying tomeet a minimum anyways.
If you're offering it, might as welldo it with some other things that are
also keeping your attendees alert.
(34:55):
But the non alcoholic mocktails,or cocktails alcohol free
cocktails, are still 16.
KiKi L'Italien (35:03):
Yeah.
Tracy Stuckrath (35:03):
Because they're curated and they're so they're still there.
And so you will still meet yourfood and beverage minimum with them.
So why not go ahead and offer them?
KiKi L'Italien (35:12):
Yeah.
Yeah, absolutely.
Oh my gosh.
Tracy Stuckrath (35:16):
It makes people, I remember this is a long time ago, KiKi.
This was 2003 probably.
And I was at a convention in Las Vegas.
I'm a corporate planner.
And I'm in the booth the next morning.
I'm there.
Cause that's what I'm doing.
I'm running the booth and oneof my sales guys comes in and
he's yeah, I took out my client.
We were drunk all night.
We danced and then I'm like,I do not want to hear that.
(35:38):
I don't want to hear how you
like totally got our clients drunk.
And you think that's awesome.
And because you should bealert, you should be on time
in the booth the next day.
You should be selling the booth.
You should be selling our productsand I don't want you to be in.
Discombobulated from the alcohol.
KiKi L'Italien (35:58):
And I think that, this is venturing into some other topics,
but I think that we've become more awareof some of the horrible things that
can happen when too much alcohol isconsumed at our events and the liability.
of because we have such a responsibility.
We associations, we organizations hostingthese events have a responsibility for
(36:22):
the safety and care of our, attendees andover consumption of alcohol, obviously.
Leads to a lot of different complicationsand not the least of which is sometimes
assaults and things like that can happen.
And so that's also something I feel likethere's more awareness around it now.
(36:43):
It's something where I even thinkthat younger generations are coming
into the workplace are not as Idon't want to say like party hardy.
I sound so old, but likethey're not so driven to drink.
As some of us olds maybe we'refamiliar with in the early
days of attending conferences.
(37:05):
I'm not going to say that for everyconference because certain industries
that's still happening, but I definitelysee where things like the sands bars
and things like that, where, you'renot, it's not as focused on alcohol
and it's more because of, wellness.
It's more because of tryingto avoid unsafe conditions.
(37:27):
And I just think thatpeople are more aware now,
Tracy Stuckrath (37:29):
yeah.
And some stats to back that upis I think it's about 45 percent
of Gen Z has never had alcohol.
KiKi L'Italien (37:36):
Yeah,
Tracy Stuckrath (37:36):
that's nice.
And that's a huge number.
If you're thinking about themcoming into your workforce.
But the other stat is like 94 percentof people who are buying the non
alcoholic drinks still drink alcohol.
So they're doing what that guy was doing.
I want to have a, I want tohave a Budweiser, but then
I want to have an athletic.
Yeah.
And so he's buying both.
(37:58):
And so if you can capture that 94percent of people and not just give
them a bottle of water, but you canupload okay, so you're selling a
bottle of water for seven bucks, right?
But your cock, your beer is 12 bucks.
So why not sell him that alcohol,that non alcoholic beer for
12 versus the 5, the 7 soda?
(38:21):
Or that non alcohol free cocktail, right?
I love those.
KiKi L'Italien (38:25):
Oh my gosh.
Tracy Stuckrath (38:26):
I'm so glad that you So it's a financial,
it's a financial opportunity.
KiKi L'Italien (38:29):
Yeah, I'm so glad that you joined me today.
It's just been so great andit's been a long time in coming.
We need to do this more.
I love the collab cast idea.
If people have not gone over andfollowed eating at a meeting podcast
podcast, they need to go check it outbecause you just, you have great guests.
You are constantly giving good ideas.
(38:51):
And I don't know, I feellike that's something that.
I'm just better informed and know alittle bit more about what's going,
what's moving and shaking in the world.
When I follow you and listen to you.
Thank you.
Tracy Stuckrath (39:03):
I appreciate that.
And likewise with the Association Chat.
I love going in there and seeingwhat people are talking about.
I'm always searching for foodconversations as well, but it's
like I had a conversation witha guy yesterday that runs not a
transportation company that's helping us.
And I'm like, Oh, but you could do this.
And, and I love just collaboratingwith people and learning what they're
(39:23):
learning and what they're experiencing.
And I'm taking somethingfrom your playbook.
And with my eating at a meetingfacebook group, I'm doing your weekly
I don't know what do you call yours?
The weekly, the AC
KiKi L'Italien (39:37):
Insider.
Yeah, it's the recap discussion.
And actually today we're having it again.
It's every Thursday atthree o'clock Eastern time.
Okay.
And and and that's, that iswhere everyone comes together.
It's not streamed, it's not recorded.
It's just.
conversation, and it's usually pullingfrom, we'll kick off with a hot topic
(39:57):
from the group for that week justto get things rolling, but really it
can be about anything that the groupdecides that they want to focus on.
Tracy Stuckrath (40:06):
I'm doing my first one in the eating meeting group on
November 1st, which is next Friday.
And I've had a bunch of people sign upand it, and mine's called table talks.
KiKi L'Italien (40:14):
So how are you doing this?
So people are signing up ahead of time.
Who's going to be there and, or yes,
Tracy Stuckrath (40:19):
I, I just put it in the Facebook group as an event.
So I know, but, and I gavethem the link to zoom.
Yeah, because I do, but I wantto have that conversation.
Cause I, we all need to learn from eachother because I am not the end all be
all in knowing things about food andbeverage, but I want people, but I learned
from everybody and I'm a sponge in that.
(40:40):
Yeah,
KiKi L'Italien (40:40):
I feel if we're not constantly learning especially these
days it's just, we all get stronger,but we need to stay on top of things.
Just because so much ischanging so very quickly.
That, how are we gonna, how arewe going to stay on top of it?
And how are we going to innovate andhow are we going to help each other out?
Where we as a collective aresolving some of the biggest problems
(41:02):
that our world has ever faced.
So how are we going to solve the bigand the small problems if we don't
come together and talk about them?
Tracy Stuckrath (41:09):
Exactly.
Yeah.
And then if food allergies and dietaryrestrictions annoy you to no end,
then find somebody who, it doesn'tand figure out what they're doing
that makes it not so annoying tothem, and and figure out how you can
legally protect yourself as well.
Because we didn't even get into that,
The legal, because food allergiesand celiac come under the
(41:29):
Americans with Disabilities Act.
So providing options for them, we haveto provide a reasonable accommodation.
For them.
KiKi L'Italien (41:37):
Interesting.
Interesting.
Oh, gosh, I can foresee that we'regoing to have another conversation.
Tracy.
Yeah,
Tracy Stuckrath (41:43):
it's well.
And so the Disney case is one.
And then there's a caseagainst United Airlines,
KiKi L'Italien (41:48):
a pilot
Tracy Stuckrath (41:48):
who has celiac disease.
And they, he cannot eat safely whenhe's on duty and they, for every
employee, they deduct the food, the costof food from their paycheck whenever
they're working, but when he can't eatsafely and then he goes and buys his
own food, they won't reimburse him.
So this is, he's, United isbeing sued under the ADA for
KiKi L'Italien (42:12):
accessibility.
So that to me,
Tracy Stuckrath (42:14):
those two cases will have a lot of impact on a meetings in general,
but I think it's memberships, lookingat memberships and employee status.
or employee.
KiKi L'Italien (42:25):
It's something the association executives need
to be aware of and be watching.
Yeah, for sure.
Oh my gosh.
Thank you.
I want to say thanks for joining me today.
And I hope that you'll join me again.
Tracy Stuckrath (42:39):
Yes, ma'am.
And you need to come on to mine.
KiKi L'Italien (42:42):
I do.
I, and I will be there.
I will do it.
Okay.
I just kicked Tracy off becauseI had to, but Tracy, thank you
so much for joining me today.
I don't know about all of you, but Igot an enormous amount of value from
just listening to Tracy, share herstories and give us examples about ways
that we can improve some of the thingsthat are happening at our meetings when
(43:05):
we're eating, drinking, and sleeping.
At a meeting.
So please follow Tracy's podcast, joinher Facebook group, go be a part of
these conversations that she's starting.
Cause I think that they'regoing to be really good.
And as always keep askingquestions to learn every day.
Why?
Because as Joseph Campbell oncesaid, the cave you fear to enter
holds the treasure you seek.
(43:28):
Have a great rest of the week, everyone.
Oh, here we are.
Welcome to Association Chat and onlinediscussion where we warm ourselves
by the virtual fire with topics ofthe day, welcoming thought leaders
and trailblazers alike to join up inthis online home for the community.
I'm the host of Association Chat, KiKiL'Italien, and today we're serving
(00:21):
up conversation with the CulinaryCrusader of Conference Cuisine,
Tracy Stuckrath.
That was
really hard for me to say, by the way.
I'm really impressed I just rolled out.
It was clunky, but it worked.
Tracy is an F& B inclusion Revolutionary,and she is also the mastermind
behind eating at a meeting podcast.
(00:43):
So this is sort of a collab cast, if youwill, where I'm going to invite Tracy up.
She's been shaking up howorganizations think about food
and beverages one plate at a time.
And her big goal, her big missionis to ensure that no attendee ever
has to skip a meal or feel leftout because of their dietary needs.
(01:05):
I have known Tracy.
For the brilliant human thatshe is for a long time now.
So this has been a long timecoming and I am so excited to
have her here with me today.
This is more than just acheckbox, but this has to do with.
being inclusive.
So maybe let's start there.
(01:25):
How can food and beverage choicesdramatically impact member
engagement and event success?
Tracy Stuckrath (01:34):
I'm going to give you an example from an association
event that I was at this weekend.
KiKi L'Italien (01:37):
Okay.
Tracy Stuckrath (01:37):
A woman put in the fact that she is allergic to eggs.
And she, the breakfast the firstday was served was eggs Benedict.
And she said, okay, I can'thave the eggs Benedict, which
you know, is the English muffin
KiKi L'Italien (01:52):
and
Tracy Stuckrath (01:53):
whatever else, the egg.
And then there's theHollandaise sauce on it, right?
Yeah.
So I got mine with the gluten freeEnglish muffin, which was fantastic.
She said, okay, I'm allergic to eggs.
They came back with a differentdish, but they poured the
Hollandaise sauce on top of it.
KiKi L'Italien (02:09):
Interesting.
I
Tracy Stuckrath (02:10):
can't eat this.
KiKi L'Italien (02:11):
Yeah.
And
Tracy Stuckrath (02:11):
she's it doesn't have any eggs.
No Hollandaise sauce is made with eggs.
And I'm a chef.
KiKi L'Italien (02:17):
I know
Tracy Stuckrath (02:17):
this for a fact.
And then they neverbrought her anything else.
KiKi L'Italien (02:21):
Oh my gosh.
And
Tracy Stuckrath (02:22):
so this is the opening breakfast of a association event.
And she's in her seventies andshe's been a chef for a long time.
And she advocates for thisassociation left and right.
And just to make her feelexcluded from that meal.
And people came up to me and said,Tracy, did you hear what happened to her?
KiKi L'Italien (02:42):
Yeah.
Tracy Stuckrath (02:42):
And I'm like, no, but now, so now I'm telling that story and
it's, it just makes you feel of, and thebig word that has come up in the last
couple of the days is othered becauseit wasn't taken into consideration
and thought through properly.
And it, she, she left breakfast hangry.
(03:03):
Because there was nothing forher there and, cause she, she had
also identified it in advance.
So why was there nothingprepared for her and done for it?
So it really does it, and, and sittingat that table, it's not just her.
experience that's been impacted.
It's everyone else at that table.
The other nine people sitting at thattable whose experiences have been impacted
(03:24):
because they're watching her not eat.
They're watching her be excludedfrom that event, from that
meal and worried about her,
And so it's not just making thatone person feel inadequate or
ashamed potentially of what Thatthey ask for, but it's everyone
else that is impacted by that.
(03:44):
And I think that you don't feel belong,you don't feel like you belong in
that environment because of that.
And I've experienced that same feelingat that same event on in other years.
KiKi L'Italien (03:57):
Yeah.
Tracy Stuckrath (03:58):
Why ask the question?
KiKi L'Italien (03:59):
And I think that the thing that we have to be aware of is, I, Yes,
it can be difficult to figure out how toaccommodate for so many different issues.
And definitely we're more awareof allergies now than ever
before, right now in the newswe've got McDonald's with the E.
coli outbreak and all of thiskind of stuff going on, people
(04:21):
dying because of this stuff.
And yeah.
When we are dealing with staff, whenwe're dealing with we're showing
up on site and we have servers whomaybe are under informed constantly
we are at risk or putting ourattendees at risk for getting hurt.
And it's no joke.
I am happy that there's more awarenessthere, but you work with associations
(04:45):
on a regular basis or differentorganizations and their events to keep
people safe and to better inform people.
Can you talk a little bit about some ofthat work that you do and where do you
really focus your attention when you'regoing in and working with associations?
I, cause I imagine thatit's not just labels, right?
(05:05):
It's labels.
But it's also so much else.
Tracy Stuckrath (05:09):
Oh, it is so much else.
And actually I'm giving a presentationtomorrow to an association to
the group of meeting planners.
And ironically, the HR team askedto sit in on it because they want
to see what else they can do.
And it is it's understandingthe dietary needs.
And I gave them a quiz and I asked,what are the top nine food allergies and
(05:29):
majority of them pick them correctly, butsome of them, did other things, but It's
understanding what the dietary needs are
KiKi L'Italien (05:37):
and
Tracy Stuckrath (05:37):
really what the top nine are food allergies.
But I do it into fivedifferent categories.
So I do food allergies, myfinger medical conditions
KiKi L'Italien (05:46):
for those who are listening there.
We have hand gestures thatare going along with that.
So there's there's a whole,you're not, you're missing
out on part of the experience.
Tracy Stuckrath (05:53):
Exactly.
So there's food allergies.
There's other medical conditions, whichwould be celiac disease, diabetes.
And then there's religiousor cultural based practices.
KiKi L'Italien (06:04):
Oh, yeah.
Tracy Stuckrath (06:05):
And then the lifestyle preferences or lifestyle choices.
And under that it canbe vegan, vegetarian.
It could be gluten non celiac gluten free.
It could be no alcohol, no caffeine,a variety of things like that.
And then the last one isphysical disabilities.
KiKi L'Italien (06:22):
All right.
And
Tracy Stuckrath (06:23):
because my biggest mantra as of late is the fact that we
want to make sure that everybody caneat the plate, have something in front
of them to eat, but I also want them tobe able to reach the plate and that's
physically meaning you utilizing theirwheelchair or scooter to get to the
event, but also can they reach the buffet?
(06:45):
I know there's so many that dovertical buffets, which look great,
but even just a regular chafingdish on a regular table, it's high.
And somebody in a wheel whoutilizes a wheelchair or
scooter cannot reach up and get.
And that's
KiKi L'Italien (07:01):
part of that's part of that inclusivity.
That's part of that accessibilitythat I don't think a lot of
people would necessarily think of.
I don't think that they, because when youlook at the way that we it's common to
complain about the setup for a buffet.
Like I, I'll go in and I'll see thereare so many different things like, Oh
my gosh, we're shoulder to shoulder.
There's no room to spread out.
(07:22):
Why don't they have the lineset up going different ways.
But who is thinking about people inwheelchairs, people in scooters, people
who are having to get up to these tables.
So it's so good that issomething that, you know, that.
You bring to the table that you'reable to remind people about that.
It's not just about what's on thetable, but it's also getting to
(07:44):
that table in the first place.
Tracy Stuckrath (07:45):
Exactly.
And that's what I start with, becausethen it's really thinking about it's
thinking through that and food andbeverages are number one expenditure.
And I'm going to, I will argue with anyassociation who's planning a meeting, food
and beverages are number one expenditure.
With an AV after that, right?
And if it's your number oneexpenditure, why do we spend the
least amount of time focused on it?
(08:06):
Why aren't we being strategic in designingit and looking at the dietary needs?
So then that's my next step is let'slook at the dietary needs that you have
that had been requested in the past.
How do you incorporate those intothe overall menu So there are no
other plates having to be designed.
And then, and when is thatconversation being had?
Is it being, it should be in the RFP.
(08:29):
It should be in your site visits,having conversations with chefs.
And it should be through the entireplanning process so that you, because
those dietary needs as registrationscome in, you have to really think through
how you're going to incorporate that.
And then.
Especially if you have differentfood functions and some people are,
you're going to, you're going toone and I'm going to another and
(08:50):
yeah, I don't want to order food foryou that you're not going to eat.
We, in the labeling.
KiKi L'Italien (08:56):
Yeah, we were just, we just actually we didn't really get
a chance to see each other at IMAX.
We were just at the same event andyou were busy and talking and teaching
about all of these different things.
One of the things that Iam constantly impressed.
So I'm going to start with when I'mhearing you talk and I'm learning
(09:16):
from you listening to your podcastis you bring real life stories, real
life examples into our awareness.
Or and I'm constantly learning about that.
So recently you were talkingabout the Disney story.
So can you maybe share a littlebit about that and some lessons
that people can get from that,torn from the headlines, ripped.
Tracy Stuckrath (09:37):
Yep, exactly.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Law and order, but with a different twist.
So a year ago this month a doctor fromNew York went to Disney and she and her
husband did a lot of research on wherethey were going to eat because she has an
allergy to milk and an allergy to nuts.
KiKi L'Italien (09:52):
And
Tracy Stuckrath (09:52):
so they did their due diligence and Disney.
Has a reputation for being very goodand managing food allergies in the food
allergy world And our community and sothey did their due diligence and they
went to this restaurant called raglan roadand informed the server of her allergies.
I think she also informedbefore she got there as well.
(10:14):
Need to confirm that, but went over themenu multiple times with the server, asked
the question before when it was plated andput in front of her, are there no nuts?
Are there no milk?
And they said, we guaranteethere's none of that in here.
She ate the meal.
Within an hour, she wasn't feeling well.
She administered herself an EpiPenand unfortunately passed away.
(10:37):
And she had gone off with her hut.
She was with her mother and herhusband had gone off somewhere else.
So she was with her mom.
When this happened, sheadministered the EpiPen herself.
And so her husband finds outlater that she's passed away.
And so what has come of it?
He filed a wrongfuldeath suit in February.
And I think just to get the awareness ofwhat happened, not for exorbitant, things.
KiKi L'Italien (11:01):
Yeah.
Tracy Stuckrath (11:02):
Disney came back and said in, in April, I believe
that they were just the landlord.
They had nothing to do with this.
And it was the restaurant'sresponsibility.
The restaurant now has a bigsign on their thing that says,
Hey, we're not a nut free.
We're not a milk free,allergen free environment.
And then in August of this year,Disney came back and said he signed
up for a free one month trialof Disney plus four years ago.
(11:27):
And in that contract of terms andconditions, it says you cannot sue us.
You can only go to arbitration,
KiKi L'Italien (11:32):
which by the way, guys, if we're thinking about this you're like,
Oh yeah, I'm going to have Disney plus.
And you're not thinking that you'resigning away your rights to sue every
Tracy Stuckrath (11:41):
single thing ever
KiKi L'Italien (11:42):
related to Disney, which is crazy.
But that was
Tracy Stuckrath (11:45):
dismissed.
Wasn't it?
Didn't they like.
They pulled it back a week laterbecause I think everybody picked it up.
So in my conversation on eatingin a meeting, I had a disability
rights attorney, Mary Vargas.
I had Ryan Gambala, who isrepresents restaurants and hotels.
In their food safety practices.
And then I had Joshua Grimes fromour world of meeting event and events
(12:08):
and representing the meeting planner.
And so we had this really thoughtfulconversation and none of them are
related to the case, but we reallytalked about it from three different
angles of how this impacts meetings andevents, and I really do think, because
it is going to go to court, I really dothink it's going to have an impact and
while they weren't attending an event.
(12:29):
She did do the right thing.
She notified the restaurant thatshe was, she has food allergy.
She went over it again with the chef orthe server when it was presented to her.
And so that is meeting professionalsand association professionals.
If you're asking these questions,what are you doing following
up with your catering partners?
Because you are their voice.
(12:51):
You're asking the question, which youshould for financial reasons and whatever.
You should be asking the questions,but then you are the conduit
to making sure that happens.
And so what questions are you asking?
If you're catering partners, what,how are you asking about labeling?
Are they labeling everything accurately?
What are those labels done?
(13:11):
Can you proof them?
And not that you are theend all be all the chef is.
But it also comes down to servicepractice, service methods, cooking
KiKi L'Italien (13:19):
methods.
And you like to get back there.
I'm sorry if I'm pointing at himlike that, you like to get back there
and if you can, I know how you are.
You love to teach that team andmake sure that they are educated so
they know what goes into this sauce.
Thank you.
So they know where thereare potential allergens.
(13:40):
I want to bring over acomment I saw from someone.
Oh, it's covering us up.
Let me shrink our little heads over here.
Those of you who are listening,I'm doing something visually.
So like I'm bringing up this commentfrom Dan, who says as a host, as a
hospitality professional, you are correct.
And it is not that hard to createmenus that are inclusive of most
(14:01):
dietary requests, or at least haveviable options ready to serve.
, the requests will only grow in the future.
Thanks for covering this.
Thank you, Dan, actually,for finding this.
Dean.
Tracy Stuckrath (14:11):
It is growing.
There are 13 million Americans.
with food allergies and 26million of them are adults.
KiKi L'Italien (14:19):
Yeah.
Tracy Stuckrath (14:20):
And and that means only 7 million of them are kids, but those
kids grew up to be adults and adults arehaving more adult onset food allergies.
And so it's not somethingthat's going to go away.
And and it's even that, the storythat I told at the very beginning, not
taking into consideration that, Hey,Hollandaise sauce is made with eggs.
KiKi L'Italien (14:43):
Yeah.
Tracy Stuckrath (14:43):
And thinking through that entire process.
And even an example of anevent I did, I manage food and
beverage for clients as well.
So I will come on in and plantheir whole menu and their budget
and then manage it on site.
And they had, one of the menussaid like it was a Peppadoo
pepper stuffed with goat cheese.
And then when it cameout, it was on a crostini.
(15:05):
I'm like, one, why do you needto put it out on a crostini?
A Peppadoo pepper cansit by itself, right?
KiKi L'Italien (15:10):
Yeah.
Tracy Stuckrath (15:10):
But nowhere in the description.
Did it say that it was served on bread?
And so you confirmed that it wasgluten free, but then you now
served it on a crusty gluten.
So that whole, where's the chef'sconversation across the board to making
sure that those, because the sales teams,they are the ones that print the menus.
(15:32):
Yeah.
KiKi L'Italien (15:32):
Yeah.
Tracy Stuckrath (15:33):
Yeah.
And so there's a really big disconnectfrom the catering team and I'm going
to say in the most, in most instances,I'm not going to say every single
place, but in most instances there'sa disconnect between the kitchen,
KiKi L'Italien (15:45):
stales,
Tracy Stuckrath (15:47):
and front of the house staff because front of the house staff
is responsible for making the labels.
And if it's not on the banquetevent order, or if it's not
been checked, how do we know?
And I've had servers, or I've had chefsyell at me going, I make the food.
I'm not responsible for labeling it.
(16:07):
And then servers saying I don't cook.
How would I know that?
KiKi L'Italien (16:11):
It's so frustrating.
And cause this is really somethingthat is precarious like for so many
people, especially their health andmaybe even their lives depend on it.
And yet there's this cavalierattitude that seems to be.
Oh, I, I pervasive, but maybepeople are working on it.
(16:33):
Maybe it's getting a little bit better.
What do you think?
Do you think that it's gettingany better over the years?
You've been watching this for a while.
Tracy Stuckrath (16:41):
It is getting better, but there's still a lot of work to do.
And I believe, and a couple ofmonths ago, Sue from meetings
net asked me a question about.
Individuals who have long lists of dietaryneeds, like one page sheets, right?
And
KiKi L'Italien (16:56):
yeah,
Tracy Stuckrath (16:57):
people are asking for more customization of it.
And at an event, I think it's a littlebit too hard, but if it's a one off
or whatever, figuring it out, you needto be very upfront about your dietary
needs and it, and if it's really is lifethreatening versus a preference, right?
And.
but we need to be paying attentionto how wholesome our food is and
(17:21):
how true to nature our food isversing versus processed foods.
KiKi L'Italien (17:27):
And when we know
Tracy Stuckrath (17:28):
more about when our food contains fewer ingredients,
that we know what they are versus avariety of words that we can't say,
then it's a lot easier to control.
So I was going to
KiKi L'Italien (17:40):
ask you about that.
Sorry to interrupt.
I know you're fine.
Yeah.
I was going to ask you about that.
And you're answering the question, likeas far as guidance, are there some go
to rules or some go to favorite recipes.
And I'm hearing clean food, whole food.
Are there some things that you tend torecommend though, to people that you're
like, this is going to be a crowd pleaser.
(18:02):
And it's most likely notgoing to kill your attendees.
Tracy Stuckrath (18:06):
I think it would be hard to eliminate all top nine
allergens from everything, right?
I tree nuts, peanuts, fish, shellfish,soy, and I said egg wheat, right?
So eliminating all those nine fromevery single menu is going to be
near impossible and not very easy.
(18:28):
healthy or, not very easy to do.
So looking at it from a wholeholistic perspective and trying
to focus on foods that are wholefoods, like you said, and clean.
We can still have the Mexican buffet,but let's look how it's prepared, right?
Is it a build your own taco station?
(18:50):
Is it, or, and, Or is ita lot of processed foods?
And I have been warned by usingthe word processed foods is like
a can of chickpeas is processed.
But is it overly processed?
Does it have excess sugar in it?
Does it have excess salt in it?
So where are we looking for that?
And talking to chefs about,doing clean and clean meeting
(19:10):
whole foods kind of foods.
It's healthier for everybody.
Across the board, cause it's, youdon't want to give everybody sugar.
Because they're going to, they'regoing to get this high and
they're going to crash, right?
And you want people to be payingattention and, absorbing the knowledge
and the information that you're givingthem at the event and being able
to do something with it afterwards.
KiKi L'Italien (19:31):
And engage with each other and maybe not have to rely on those
really horrible, like evening networkingevents where they're like getting too
much alcohol or too much this just to tryto keep going so that they can make it
through the conference log or whatever,
Tracy Stuckrath (19:48):
or have to leave.
To go get something to get their food.
KiKi L'Italien (19:52):
Yeah.
Tracy Stuckrath (19:53):
And so now they've paid how much money to go to your conference.
And now they're having, and Iwas having a conversation with
somebody about this yesterday.
They've paid your registration fee.
Let's say it's a thousand dollars.
And it says it comes with lunchand breaks and dinners and
receptions that include food.
So if your registration fee includesfood and you don't accommodate them,
(20:16):
Are you willing to give them their moneyback for the food and beverage that
they did not eat or they could not eat?
So are you willing to reduceyour revenue, which can be offset
by the cost of the food, right?
Are you willing to reduce your revenueand then send those people off site?
KiKi L'Italien (20:33):
Fascinating.
Has anyone ever done anything like that?
Tracy Stuckrath (20:37):
There was actually, there was a rant in a Facebook group
this like a couple of weeks agoabout somebody, a planner really
perturbed by all the dietary requests.
And once she said the chef wanted toquit his job because he didn't want to
do this anymore and such, but she's we'rejust going to send everybody off site.
I said okay, that's a thought, butdepending on where you are and how many
(20:58):
people you have, one, are there enoughrestaurants within walking distance?
of your venue to send them all.
Are you going to inform all of thoserestaurants that they're going to be
inundated over and above their normallunch rush with all of your attendees?
Two are you, are their menu,are there restaurants that
(21:19):
actually accommodate your guests?
What if you have a large contingencyof Jewish participants or,
so how are you managing that?
And then that's reducing your revenueto, it's a catch 22 and because it's also
reducing the amount of people who arethen connecting at your event together.
And if that's the reason you'rebringing them together, then why
(21:39):
are you sending them off site?
KiKi L'Italien (21:40):
What are some of the cool things that you've seen in
some of the, like maybe some of thetrends or some of the I don't know.
Have you seen any sort of innovativeideas that you thought, Oh
yeah, this is the way to do it.
This is if only every event would do this.
Tracy Stuckrath (21:56):
If only every event would label correct, would label it.
And I say correctly, would labelwith ingredients and with allergens.
That would be my dream first and foremost.
But I think thinking through havingstations, having build your own
stations really helps because, andif you're not doing build your own
stations, make sure that you'relabeling for the allergens, but you
can make people want customization.
(22:18):
And when you do your build yourown stations, that really does
allow for customization, right?
Hey, I want the meat and I wantthe fish, or I just want the
cauliflower right on my tacos.
Tacos are perfect formaking your own thing.
But can and The people who, my friendMurray Hall, the chef up in Toronto,
he, his philosophy on building aplated dish is start with the sides,
(22:44):
make sure that they're gluten freeand they're dairy free, which would
then probably make them vegan, right?
If you're starting with your potatoesand your carrots and whatever, right?
And then the entree.
is the add on,
KiKi L'Italien (22:57):
right?
Tracy Stuckrath (22:58):
And so that's the last thing put on the plate and it should
be the smallest proportion when you'relooking at nutritional information.
But so then you can add the beef oryou can add the chicken or you can
add the cauliflower steak, right?
So that's a really good way to thinkthrough and how to design your menus.
And I think that's athoughtful way to do that.
KiKi L'Italien (23:17):
Ooh, we have another great comment over here.
The chef is responsible formaking sure every item is listed
correctly, including buffet signs.
You can't pass that to anyone else.
You are correct.
Processed food may not listeverything correctly or the
ingredients checked correctly.
by the chefs or cooks.
The most affordable venues oftenlack the professionalism in the
(23:40):
kitchen due to their budgets.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Tracy Stuckrath (23:42):
Yeah.
Dan I agree with you.
I'm like, I want and an example wouldbe that next year I'm doing an event.
This year, my client negotiated the dayof the week menu to, to be, 58 per person.
And then for 2025, you did not.
And so I'm looking at the menu andthe price for buffet at this hotel is
(24:05):
anywhere from 85 to 92 per person beforethe 24 percent gratuity and the tax.
KiKi L'Italien (24:12):
Oh my gosh.
Tracy Stuckrath (24:13):
Yeah.
So the 85 lunch is now 110 per person.
KiKi L'Italien (24:17):
Wow.
Tracy Stuckrath (24:18):
And my client's Tracy and I told him, I was like,
just lunch increased the budgetby a hundred thousand dollars.
KiKi L'Italien (24:24):
That is insane.
Doing
Tracy Stuckrath (24:25):
everything exactly the same ex.
I know.
And so I went to the chef and Isaid, okay, I can't ha lunch can't
be more than 63 bucks a person.
And he's okay, I can do that.
But now I'm Dan, I'm worried aboutwhat that $63 lunch is going to
look like compared to the $85 lunch.
And, but he's no, we can do that.
We're and KiKi, it blew me away.
(24:46):
They're like, you're gonnabe really easy to work with.
And I'm like.
Are you sure?
And they're like, you setout all of your expectations.
Cause I said, I want my menus labeled.
I want to proof them two weeks out.
I want non alcoholicbeverage options on the bar.
KiKi L'Italien (25:00):
Yeah.
And
Tracy Stuckrath (25:01):
I want, these menus, I want inclusive menus and I
don't know what it is, but the seat,the general manager of that hotel.
had seen my list that meetingsnet meetings today put together.
And he's Oh, I read your article, Tracy.
And then chef came prepared.
Here's where I source my meat from.
Here's where I get my fish from.
This is what we do.
(25:22):
And I'm like, okay,
KiKi L'Italien (25:24):
this is nice.
Yeah, that is
Tracy Stuckrath (25:26):
nice.
So we'll see how it comes out.
But just by that, if youput that information in your
RFP, see how they respond.
KiKi L'Italien (25:34):
Yeah.
I wonder if that could be somethingthat I feel like that's achievable.
I feel like that's, that should bea goal for all of us, for all of our
meetings, any association leaderslistening to this right now and
thinking, okay, we've got our annualmeeting that we have every year.
How can we make it better?
This is where a great place to improveupon and just to show your care to
(25:58):
show that you are, conscientiousdo your due diligence too.
I feel like that's just the,we should all be doing that.
It's achievable.
Tracy Stuckrath (26:07):
I think it is totally achievable if you're thinking through
it strategically from the get go.
Yeah.
And having those conversationsand I was on a conversation last
week, even about sustainabilityaspects of food and beverage, right?
Managing waste.
How are we giving food to thecommunity if we have excess?
I'm from that top.
From IMAX from Trevor Liu, actually,he said, let's stop talking about our
(26:30):
waste that we're giving our waste away.
Let's, if we know we're going toover order, let's talk about how
we're going to give it to some
KiKi L'Italien (26:38):
instead of
Tracy Stuckrath (26:38):
throwing our waste to them.
So really thinking throughthat giving aspect of that.
But Hang on.
I'm just processing
KiKi L'Italien (26:45):
what you just said, because that is such a
great, that's the power of words.
That's the power by changing your words.
And everyone, if you are notfollowing Trevor Lou, he is amazing.
Restaurant tour dedicated events,professional just a fascinating
human, but and he has a cookbook andyou can like, you can get that too.
(27:06):
Double happiness, I think.
I think so.
Yeah.
So it's cool.
But anyway I love that the intentionbehind the words and just shifting
perspective, just that shiftcan make such a huge difference.
Tracy Stuckrath (27:20):
Completely because you're looking at the people in your community
differently then and you're lookingabout the people in your own audience
differently too and thinking throughhow you're going to provide not only for
your association, for your membership,and then for your the community
that you're supporting with that.
revenue that you're bringing to the city.
If you know the economic impact thatyou have on that city based on your
(27:43):
convention, then you should alsobe looking at the economic impact
that your food choices make andprovide to the community as well.
KiKi L'Italien (27:52):
I love that.
And I think that that's thatengaging with the community, having
a better impact, really thinkingabout in a deeper way about the way
that your meeting is impacting theenvironment that you're going into.
And certainly sustainability hasbeen huge on everyone's minds, but
I love that concept of giving ratherthan thinking of it as throwing
(28:13):
something away or getting rid of waste.
I want to go back to the economy ofall of it and the financial aspects
of it, because that's definitelysomething that is, that's something
such a driver of many decisions.
And it's something I don't hearanyone complaining or talking
about paying less for things.
It's only that meetings having meetings,it's costing more, everything costs
(28:37):
more, whether it's a V or food.
So you were talking about it earlierabout how some of these shocking.
Discoveries sad, unfortunatediscoveries where it's like you show
up and like suddenly the buffet thatyou ordered last year is, sometimes
double, a lot of times I'm hearinghorror stories similar to that.
So, oh yeah.
(28:57):
That and like coffee was never, we neverthought of coffee as the cheap thing at
a meeting, but it's even more expensive.
It's a, even more of a premium now.
What are some of the ways that you'readvising people To think about this
in different ways to cut costs.
Cause everyone's looking forthe, I don't know, key, the
secrets, the tips and tricks.
Are there any Tracy that we can use?
Tracy Stuckrath (29:19):
My biggest one is know your numbers, like really ask
the question, pay attention okay.
So my client that I'm doing thatevent next year, but two years
ago we were in Palm desert.
And he, my client said, okay,we're going to have 450 people
based on a registration.
We're going to have 450people for our closing lunch.
And I'm like, I looked at the room pickupand our room drop pickup went from 600
KiKi L'Italien (29:45):
to 300.
I'm
Tracy Stuckrath (29:45):
like, okay, that's less than the 400.
And I know people will be leaving.
But then I asked him, I said, how manyof those people live on the East coast?
And he said, why?
I said because they'regoing to get on the 7 a.
m.
Flight home because otherwisethey have to take the red eye.
And so they're all going to leave.
So I ordered instead of the four50, I actually ordered two 50
KiKi L'Italien (30:07):
and we
Tracy Stuckrath (30:07):
ended up serving 300.
So I still saved, even thoughwe went over by, and it was an
easy salad with chicken on it.
So it was easy to redo or, and theyhad extras in the back of course,
but instead of spending 150 150 extraplates, one that's food waste, right?
And at what, 45, $50 a person.
(30:30):
I save my clan a lot of money.
So one is really knowing yournumbers and that's looking at the
historical data that you have.
And another association I worked with andthat was this summer, my event manager at
the hotel was like, Tracy, you have 500people registered for your conference.
Why are you only ordering food for two 50?
We had my client, it was his first timeclient, but she had historical data from
(30:52):
five years to show how many people hit.
She had actually served forevery single meal function
from, for the last five years.
KiKi L'Italien (31:00):
Oh my gosh.
Tracy Stuckrath (31:00):
So she knew to only order.
Half the number of people and thenumbers were accurate on this round.
So really paying attention to thatand it's counting the rollups, right?
It's doing counting at the door, if youcan, or tickets, whatever way you want
to do it, but also, so knowing that, andthen also switching to on consumption
(31:22):
items for your breaks, don't order.
Desserts for 350 people, for yourbreak breaks, use it on consumption.
You will see the number of itemsthat are purchased actually.
And so your numbers can comedown on that instead of paying 17
for a break, you're paying eightbucks by only what's consumed.
(31:44):
And then also your coffee.
A lot of the, in the, some of the Facebookgroups that are out there for planners
have cut decaf and tea from their menus.
Interesting.
They're only serving, wow.
The caffeine and the decaf and the teaare on request and they've been able
to drop their costs a lot on that.
But again, it's lookingat your numbers on that.
(32:07):
And then alcohol too, if you can.
Do it on consumption.
Like you do not want to payfor per person for a bar.
If you can tell,
KiKi L'Italien (32:20):
do you want to talk a little bit about that?
Cause alcohol, I know it hasbecome more and more of a topic.
I know in the event space.
And in finally now I'm hearingmore and more association.
professionals talk about it too.
What does it look like if we were tooffer networking opportunities, receptions
(32:41):
where people weren't forced to just havewater or soda, as opposed to all of that.
Mixed drinks and stuff like thatwith lots and lots of alcohol.
And this idea of the mocktail, a signaturemocktail or something to make to allow
people not to feel othered and not to feellike they don't belong or don't fit in.
(33:05):
So talk to us about that.
Tracy Stuckrath (33:07):
Yeah.
So that is a whole nother way.
to think about your bar andyou can have your full bar.
I'm not telling you totake your full bar away.
I'm telling, asking you to improveupon it and add alcohol free
options and to that menu item.
And that could be your athletic beer.
It could be your ritual gin, which is anon alcoholic gin, and creating a curated
(33:34):
pre batched, if you want non alcoholic.
cocktail.
KiKi L'Italien (33:39):
And
Tracy Stuckrath (33:40):
it is, it gives me, it gives all of us the ability
to still walk around with the samekind of glassware and participate
that or have something in your hand.
Because we all know going to aparty, no matter what, you always
have something in your hand.
You feel awkward without havingto do it's something, right?
Yeah, exactly.
(34:01):
And even at my event in June, this oneguy, he came up and he ordered an athletic
beer and he had no idea who I was.
And I was just standing theretalking to the bartender.
He's God, these association things.
He's I like my alcohol, but I needto do a non alcoholic version in
between my regular version of beer
KiKi L'Italien (34:18):
because I need to
Tracy Stuckrath (34:18):
be able to stay focused.
And even a woman that I intervieweda couple of years ago on eating
in a meeting She's neurodivergent.
She's autistic.
She's I'm already neurodivergent.
So why am I going to add somethingthat's going to impede my perception,
KiKi L'Italien (34:33):
right?
Tracy Stuckrath (34:34):
Inhibit my perception.
But I want to say that adding theseto your venue or to your menu for
the bars, will actually help youmeet your food and beverage minimum.
Think about it.
And you're trying tomeet a minimum anyways.
If you're offering it, might as welldo it with some other things that are
also keeping your attendees alert.
(34:55):
But the non alcoholic mocktails,or cocktails alcohol free
cocktails, are still 16.
KiKi L'Italien (35:03):
Yeah.
Tracy Stuckrath (35:03):
Because they're curated and they're so they're still there.
And so you will still meet yourfood and beverage minimum with them.
So why not go ahead and offer them?
KiKi L'Italien (35:12):
Yeah.
Yeah, absolutely.
Oh my gosh.
Tracy Stuckrath (35:16):
It makes people, I remember this is a long time ago, KiKi.
This was 2003 probably.
And I was at a convention in Las Vegas.
I'm a corporate planner.
And I'm in the booth the next morning.
I'm there.
Cause that's what I'm doing.
I'm running the booth and oneof my sales guys comes in and
he's yeah, I took out my client.
We were drunk all night.
We danced and then I'm like,I do not want to hear that.
(35:38):
I don't want to hear how you
like totally got our clients drunk.
And you think that's awesome.
And because you should bealert, you should be on time
in the booth the next day.
You should be selling the booth.
You should be selling our productsand I don't want you to be in.
Discombobulated from the alcohol.
KiKi L'Italien (35:58):
And I think that, this is venturing into some other topics,
but I think that we've become more awareof some of the horrible things that
can happen when too much alcohol isconsumed at our events and the liability.
of because we have such a responsibility.
We associations, we organizations hostingthese events have a responsibility for
(36:22):
the safety and care of our, attendees andover consumption of alcohol, obviously.
Leads to a lot of different complicationsand not the least of which is sometimes
assaults and things like that can happen.
And so that's also something I feel likethere's more awareness around it now.
(36:43):
It's something where I even thinkthat younger generations are coming
into the workplace are not as Idon't want to say like party hardy.
I sound so old, but likethey're not so driven to drink.
As some of us olds maybe we'refamiliar with in the early
days of attending conferences.
(37:05):
I'm not going to say that for everyconference because certain industries
that's still happening, but I definitelysee where things like the sands bars
and things like that, where, you'renot, it's not as focused on alcohol
and it's more because of, wellness.
It's more because of tryingto avoid unsafe conditions.
(37:27):
And I just think thatpeople are more aware now,
Tracy Stuckrath (37:29):
yeah.
And some stats to back that upis I think it's about 45 percent
of Gen Z has never had alcohol.
KiKi L'Italien (37:36):
Yeah,
Tracy Stuckrath (37:36):
that's nice.
And that's a huge number.
If you're thinking about themcoming into your workforce.
But the other stat is like 94 percentof people who are buying the non
alcoholic drinks still drink alcohol.
So they're doing what that guy was doing.
I want to have a, I want tohave a Budweiser, but then
I want to have an athletic.
Yeah.
And so he's buying both.
(37:58):
And so if you can capture that 94percent of people and not just give
them a bottle of water, but you canupload okay, so you're selling a
bottle of water for seven bucks, right?
But your cock, your beer is 12 bucks.
So why not sell him that alcohol,that non alcoholic beer for
12 versus the 5, the 7 soda?
(38:21):
Or that non alcohol free cocktail, right?
I love those.
KiKi L'Italien (38:25):
Oh my gosh.
Tracy Stuckrath (38:26):
I'm so glad that you So it's a financial,
it's a financial opportunity.
KiKi L'Italien (38:29):
Yeah, I'm so glad that you joined me today.
It's just been so great andit's been a long time in coming.
We need to do this more.
I love the collab cast idea.
If people have not gone over andfollowed eating at a meeting podcast
podcast, they need to go check it outbecause you just, you have great guests.
You are constantly giving good ideas.
(38:51):
And I don't know, I feellike that's something that.
I'm just better informed and know alittle bit more about what's going,
what's moving and shaking in the world.
When I follow you and listen to you.
Thank you.
Tracy Stuckrath (39:03):
I appreciate that.
And likewise with the Association Chat.
I love going in there and seeingwhat people are talking about.
I'm always searching for foodconversations as well, but it's
like I had a conversation witha guy yesterday that runs not a
transportation company that's helping us.
And I'm like, Oh, but you could do this.
And, and I love just collaboratingwith people and learning what they're
(39:23):
learning and what they're experiencing.
And I'm taking somethingfrom your playbook.
And with my eating at a meetingfacebook group, I'm doing your weekly
I don't know what do you call yours?
The weekly, the AC
KiKi L'Italien (39:37):
Insider.
Yeah, it's the recap discussion.
And actually today we're having it again.
It's every Thursday atthree o'clock Eastern time.
Okay.
And and and that's, that iswhere everyone comes together.
It's not streamed, it's not recorded.
It's just.
conversation, and it's usually pullingfrom, we'll kick off with a hot topic
(39:57):
from the group for that week justto get things rolling, but really it
can be about anything that the groupdecides that they want to focus on.
Tracy Stuckrath (40:06):
I'm doing my first one in the eating meeting group on
November 1st, which is next Friday.
And I've had a bunch of people sign upand it, and mine's called table talks.
KiKi L'Italien (40:14):
So how are you doing this?
So people are signing up ahead of time.
Who's going to be there and, or yes,
Tracy Stuckrath (40:19):
I, I just put it in the Facebook group as an event.
So I know, but, and I gavethem the link to zoom.
Yeah, because I do, but I wantto have that conversation.
Cause I, we all need to learn from eachother because I am not the end all be
all in knowing things about food andbeverage, but I want people, but I learned
from everybody and I'm a sponge in that.
(40:40):
Yeah,
KiKi L'Italien (40:40):
I feel if we're not constantly learning especially these
days it's just, we all get stronger,but we need to stay on top of things.
Just because so much ischanging so very quickly.
That, how are we gonna, how arewe going to stay on top of it?
And how are we going to innovate andhow are we going to help each other out?
Where we as a collective aresolving some of the biggest problems
(41:02):
that our world has ever faced.
So how are we going to solve the bigand the small problems if we don't
come together and talk about them?
Tracy Stuckrath (41:09):
Exactly.
Yeah.
And then if food allergies and dietaryrestrictions annoy you to no end,
then find somebody who, it doesn'tand figure out what they're doing
that makes it not so annoying tothem, and and figure out how you can
legally protect yourself as well.
Because we didn't even get into that,
The legal, because food allergiesand celiac come under the
(41:29):
Americans with Disabilities Act.
So providing options for them, we haveto provide a reasonable accommodation.
For them.
KiKi L'Italien (41:37):
Interesting.
Interesting.
Oh, gosh, I can foresee that we'regoing to have another conversation.
Tracy.
Yeah,
Tracy Stuckrath (41:43):
it's well.
And so the Disney case is one.
And then there's a caseagainst United Airlines,
KiKi L'Italien (41:48):
a pilot
Tracy Stuckrath (41:48):
who has celiac disease.
And they, he cannot eat safely whenhe's on duty and they, for every
employee, they deduct the food, the costof food from their paycheck whenever
they're working, but when he can't eatsafely and then he goes and buys his
own food, they won't reimburse him.
So this is, he's, United isbeing sued under the ADA for
KiKi L'Italien (42:12):
accessibility.
So that to me,
Tracy Stuckrath (42:14):
those two cases will have a lot of impact on a meetings in general,
but I think it's memberships, lookingat memberships and employee status.
or employee.
KiKi L'Italien (42:25):
It's something the association executives need
to be aware of and be watching.
Yeah, for sure.
Oh my gosh.
Thank you.
I want to say thanks for joining me today.
And I hope that you'll join me again.
Tracy Stuckrath (42:39):
Yes, ma'am.
And you need to come on to mine.
KiKi L'Italien (42:42):
I do.
I, and I will be there.
I will do it.
Okay.
I just kicked Tracy off becauseI had to, but Tracy, thank you
so much for joining me today.
I don't know about all of you, but Igot an enormous amount of value from
just listening to Tracy, share herstories and give us examples about ways
that we can improve some of the thingsthat are happening at our meetings when
(43:05):
we're eating, drinking, and sleeping.
At a meeting.
So please follow Tracy's podcast, joinher Facebook group, go be a part of
these conversations that she's starting.
Cause I think that they'regoing to be really good.
And as always keep askingquestions to learn every day.
Why?
Because as Joseph Campbell oncesaid, the cave you fear to enter
holds the treasure you seek.
(43:28):
Have a great rest of the week, everyone.
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