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Convene Series: Rethinking Event F&B: Waste, Allergens, and Real ROI With Tracy Stuckrath · PCMA Convene Podcast

• Convene Podcast Transcript Convene Series: Rethinking Event F&B: Waste, Allergens, and Real ROI With Tracy Stuckrath *Note: the transcript is AI generated, excuse typos and inaccuracies Magdalina Atanassova: This is Season 10 of the Convene Podcast brought to you by Louisville Tourism! Today my guest is Tracy Stuckrath, president and founder of thrive! meetings & events and host of the Eating at a Meeting podcast. Tracy is a leading voice on how to use F&B to drive engagement, nourish inclusion, and still protect your bottom line — grounded in her own lived experience navigating food allergies at events. In this conversation, we dig into how to move beyond “cost per plate” to real F&B ROI, how to reduce waste with better data, and how to negotiate smarter with venues, and design inclusive, allergen-aware menus in a changing regulatory landscape. Because as Tracy says, every guest matters — and every meal matters. We start now. Hi Tracy, welcome to the Convene podcast. Tracy Stuckrath: Thanks for having me. I'm excited to be here. Magdalina Atanassova: Yeah, me too. With both costs rising globally and budgets tightening, how should event professionals reframe the conversation from cutting F and B costs to maximizing F&B value? And what metrics beyond cost per plate should they be tracking to demonstrate ROI? Tracy Stuckrath: To start, I think it's really important to really understand your numbers and I have to tell you that a venue questioned me on this a couple of weeks ago when I was presenting and because I, we all know that not all, if you have 500 people, not all 500 people are coming to the conference. Right. And so but we have, I don't know how many of us really actually track those actual numbers. And I like to give a one example is that my client, we were doing a closing lunch and we all know that not everybody comes to a closing lunch either but, and we were in California and he wanted to order 450 people for lunch and I'm like no, let's look at the, the hotel pickup. And I did and it dropped by 50%. And then I said how many of those people live on the East Coast? And he's like why? I'm like, because they're all going to get on that 7am flight to get home because otherwise they don't get home till midnight or they have to take the red eye. And I only ordered food for 250 and we served 300 which you know, made it a little bit challenging on the hotel as well as my, those attendees a little bit disgruntled for a few minutes because it was an easy lunch to fix. But I, I ended up saving my client nearly $10,000 by not feeding, not ordering 150 more than what we needed. And so, and I'm guilty of this, I mean, but it's, it's really kind of paying attention and looking at the accuracy of your numbers and don't do roll ups or count Roll ups, not plates, and then double, you know, do counts at the door, like really count those numbers to get your history. And another one of my clients, she had five years of history that only 250, 50% of her attendees showed up for breakfast and lunch because the nature of her event was that all of those attendees get taken out by the sponsors for breakfast and lunch. And my CSM was like, no, you've got 500 people. You've got to order food for 500 people. And I'm like, no, here's our history for five years. And it proved itself again on that sixth year. That's the first thing I'm going to say, is really suggest that another thing in maximizing the cost that you said is really paying attention to what people eat as well. People eat what they eat and they don't eat because you're going to be ordering bagels for people who don't eat bagels, right? And you're spending probably an additional. Those bagels probably cost the hotel. They're charging you five bucks for those bagels. Let's talk about a quote that I, that I got from my friend Aurora Dawn Benson from Astrapto, who worked with the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention center, and the executive chef said that the annual food cost savings in bagels and toppings alone covered the cost of training on food waste management for their entire convention center catering team. That's huge, right? So really thinking about what we're eating, what our attendees eat and don't eat, and looking at it from a perspective of maximizing and serving only the food that our attendees do like to eat to provide a better experience. Magdalina Atanassova: I like this example and this quote. Just because, as you said, these are bagels. Not many people eat bagels. We touch here on dietary restrictions, right? Many of us are celiac or, you know, have other issues and we can't have everything that's on the buffet. And I feel that still many planners believe accommodating dietary restrictions significantly increases costs. And you just said exactly the opposite. But based on your experience, what's the real financial impact of inclusive menus? And what hidden costs are planners missing when they don't accommodate for dietary needs properly? Tracy Stuckrath: So the one that I like to do, the story I like to tell too on this is like, if I'm going to order you a filet, that's our meal, right? And we have 15 vegans. And we didn't even, we didn't ask about dietary needs. We have 15 vegans. You just paid. Let's just say $150 inclusive for that filet mignon meal. And now that's five of those meals that just went into the garbage can and you're having to work through and that chef is having to struggle through and design vegan meals on the fly. One of my podcast guests on the Eating in a Meeting podcast, she shared that she went to an event and they did not ask about dietary needs and they had so many requests that the hotel charged them $200,000 extra for last minute accommodations for that, and they couldn't get out of it. Right? And so those are the hidden costs of not paying attention to it. Right? But the. Well, actually, maybe those aren't so hidden, Right? Those are there, but the hidden costs are that your attendees are leaving your event and you've, you've designed this event to bring people together. That is the goal of it. To provide input, to provide education, to networking, whatever you're, you're wanting them to provide themselves for this event, and then you're forcing them to leave. And so when you're looking at it from that perspective, does that person's dollars matter to you? Does that person's participation matter to you? And if it does, then why are you wasting money spending on food that they're not going to be able to eat and then forcing them to leave your meeting and miss out on all of the opportunities of participation? So that's really kind of the hidden cost of that, because you might lose a fan and you might lose a member and you might lose if you're doing an incentive trip, because I'm sure a lot of your readers plan incentive trips. Do you think, Maggie, you're going to go and sell as many widgets next year as you did this year to win that trip? Probably not. And in this day and age when we're really looking at personalization and premiumization, people want to know that you hear them and you see them. And by managing dietary restrictions, you can really elevate that bar and make them feel welcome. Magdalina Atanassova: And I just can't imagine the struggle of that chef having to work around so many extra requests and the chaos in the kitchen and all that. There is this other part of the story, right? Venues face their own cost pressures, while planners demand more customization and all those dietary accommodations. So how should event professionals really approach F&B negotiations differently in 2026? And maybe what leverage points are they overlooking? Tracy Stuckrath: So I think the first question you need to ask when you're looking at a venue and do not sign that contract until you look at the food and beverage and have a conversation. Chef. And get their capabilities. But what are your capabilities of managing dietary needs? What are your capabilities of designing a menu that's free of, you know, peanuts and nuts or shellfish, Right? Because when I look at hotel menu and I'll just give the example of reception options, right? Majority of them are not vegan. Majority of them are barely, you know, they have, if they're vegetarian, it's because they have cheese on them, on every single one of them. I don't know why. And so let's make them dairy free, right? So there's not gluten free ones. There's not gluten free, dairy free ones. So having that conversation with that partner on designing your menus free from those needs so that those attendees can just fully participate without having to worry about it. And it's reducing your stress. My friend Martha, Chef Martha, she worked in, and this is not event oriented, but it really kind of illustrates the example. She came in, she's celiac herself and she was running a hospital cafeteria and she ended up spending a little bit more per year, but she ended up reducing her cost and generating more revenue. So she spent a little bit more on some different kinds of products. But in the end she ended up reducing saving money because she streamlined what she was purchasing. I think one example is like she said, we were serving five different types of sausage, right. And so streamlined it down to two. Right. And so she ended up saving money, but then in the end she ended up increasing revenue because more people were coming to eat in the, in the hospital cafeteria. Our properties and our catering partners need to think about how do we design and offer menus that are free from some of these items already. So we don't have to, they don't have to spend the time rethinking and redesigning menus or making personalized plates and planners asking zillions of questions because. Because nothing is labeled on the menus. And I want to mention a little bit about that too. In October in California, the Addi act was passed and it's the Allergen Disclosure in Dining Experience Act. And it is the first state in the country to require that all food facilities that have at least one location in California, but 20 globally, nationwide or globally must now label for the top nine allergens. And so it is going to require that our food facilities, and I'm saying hotel management companies, hey, you have one property in California, but you got 19 others across the country. You now have to follow this. This allergen labeling law. But the other part is the FDA food code was updated in 2022, and it says that unpackaged food must be labeled if the top nine. If it contains any of the top nine allergens. And 10 states have currently adopted that. They are still kind of in the process of implementing what that actually means and how it's done. But in those 10 states, we as planners now have a little bit of leverage, saying, hey, your food code says this, but the challenge is that a lot of those catering companies and food service companies don't know they're supposed to be doing it, because it's still being implemented. But in 2027, food code will come out probably the end of 2026 this year. And so it's going to have some more stuff in there about allergens as well. So it's coming, and we need to think about how we change how we're serving food and beverage. Magdalina Atanassova: I love that you're having this act being passed, because I think we've had this in Europe for quite a while, and it makes your life so much easier as an attendee, as a planner, you just know at a glance what's happening with your food. Tracy Stuckrath: Yeah. And that was the EU 1169, which was passed in 2014. And you all have 14 allergens that have to be labeled. We only have nine. And the difference between your two is that the European Union and the UK separate crustaceans and mollusks. Instead of just lumping them in shellfish, you have celery, mustard, sulfites, and lupine. Magdalina Atanassova: Yep. Tracy Stuckrath: And. And so, similar to the states, each country designs how those allergens are supposed to be labeled. So it does make a challenge when you're going from country to country. And here in the States, it's going to be different for each state. So. But it does. I. There's so many people that go to Europe and say, oh, my God, I can totally understand how to. What I can and can't eat. Magdalina Atanassova: Yeah, yeah, definitely. And that makes me think it's all data. Right. Yeah, you also started with that. Collect your data, know exactly what's happening in terms of numbers. So apart from headcounts and dietary restriction forms, what FMP data should planners be collecting and analyzing, and how can they use this information to reduce waste, also to improve satisfaction and to justify budgets? At the end of the day, looking. Tracy Stuckrath: At, like, I did some food waste audits with Aurora this summer and. Or last summer, I should say, and the data that we collected, it was very, very interesting. Like, we only like looked at one or two items, you know, on a, on a specific food function. And let's just go with bread, right? There was a basket of bread put on that, on the table for everybody to consume. And when we pulled it back, it was like, how many baskets of bread? I mean, there was a slew of bread left over. Aurora did notice though, in a conversation that I had with her the other day is that it actually matched the number of no shows. The amount of waste that was left over of that bread was similar to the percentage of no shows to that event. So really, that's really knowing your numbers as well is like, okay, hey, I ordered for 500, but I had 20 people not show up. Like, what? So looking, that's a data point. I'm like, I don't want you to have to dig in and look at how many rope baskets of rolls or pieces, pieces of rolls that you have left over. But really paying attention to your arrival, departure dates and if people are coming. Similar to that story I said about, you know, Californian flying there, asking people, are you coming to these food functions? Right? Your numbers might, they might say, yeah, no, and then show up. But that's not, that's one person, right? Looking at again what people are eating and not eating, which is something that we need to look at. But counting your numbers of people who are coming through the door and gathering, I mean, there's a big, there's a big conversation. You know, in meeting planner groups, do you count roll ups? Do you count plates? Don't count plates, count rollups. But to me, you're check is the number, the count at the door. Right. But also this is another example of, of knowing your numbers as well and considering where you are. The one of my clients did their event in, in Las Vegas. I think it was at Caesars for eight years straight. And then we went to the Rose and Shingle Creek and one of our lunches or receptions, the hotel was like, Tracy, your numbers are like 20% higher than what you told us. And but if you think about the environment in Las Vegas, there's five zillion restaurants right around your meeting space. And then the Rose and Shingle Creek, they have four smaller restaurants. And there's not restaurants within walking distance like there is in Vegas. So people were staying because they knew they could get a meal, right? And then we went back to Vegas and the number dropped. So it's really looking at your environments, not just the food and beverage count, but where you are having the meeting and what Access people have to outside food and beverage to pay attention to adjusting those numbers. Magdalina Atanassova: I can just hear those planners listening to us and be like, oh, I have so many things on site and now I have to count all these people coming through the door. Is there a quick solution you can give them to manage the stress of it all? Tracy Stuckrath: I think the one thing that we need to pay attention to is the fact that food and beverages are number one expense. But it's usually the thing that we think about the last minute because we have those customized or those standard menus that we have, like, hey, let's do the Mexican on this day or the day of the week menu. They're already built in. We're not really thinking about it, but it is our number one expense. And from your study from the PCMA Convene Meetings Market Survey in November of 2024. So it's, you know, just a year old. It's its biggest expense items in 2025, event budget food and beverage was 73%. And that is actually in line with the Event Industry Council study. And that food and beverage is 29% of the budget direct spend. And we spend about $191 per person on food and beverage. And that's actually in millions overall, the whole thing, but which is $100 more than we spend per person on AV. Yes, we have to think about AV and how it's working and all of these other things, but we really need to think strategically about our food and beverage. And I think if we do that, we can reduce that stress. And if we start incorporating the dietary needs into our overall menu planning and understanding the actual numbers that we have, I think that we can reduce that stress of figuring out how much extra we're going to pay. Magdalina Atanassova: Right. Tracy Stuckrath: And kind of going back to cost too. I want to say that we need to make sure that our food and beverage menus from those properties and any conversations that we have are put into as addendums to our contracts. Because some we're booking events five years out. And not that you're going to get today's food and beverage costs five years out from now, but at least you can say, hey, I'm going to increase it. It's only going to increase by 3 to 5% right. Over the course of those four or five years or whatever it is. But then also we need to make sure that those event planner guides that some of our properties are doing and the menus that have page 38 that have all of the quote unquote extra fees that come with managing food and beverage. Like, is there a plating fee, Is there a seating fee, Is there an outdoor fee? Right. We need to either negotiate those and, or make sure that those costs are documented in our contracts and budgeted for so that we know that we're not stressing out about those in the long run when we're getting our bill and arguing. I didn't know that cost was there. Magdalina Atanassova: Yeah. And I can just add here at the moment of recording this, the meetings market survey that we usually hold every year. The date is ready, but it's not released. It's going to be released in just a couple of weeks. So I can just sneak in the numbers here. So for 2025, the question we asked again, what will be the biggest expense item in your budget next year? 65% said food and beverage, followed by a 58% audio visual, which is in line. It's slightly changed, but again, food and beverage holds the first place. Definitely. Tracy Stuckrath: Yeah. Magdalina Atanassova: At the same time, planners in the same survey say that they are hoping that they'll be able to trim the most from F&B. 41% said that they're hoping that that will be the item that they can cut the most from. Tracy Stuckrath: Well, and, and, and there's gotta be some strategic ways to think through that. And that's talking to your chefs in advance. And, and I'll give you an example of. Here's a way to trim. We all negotiate that 10% discount, right. In our budgets or in our contracts for hotels. But my client two or three years ago, when he was negotiating 2024 contract, he negotiated that day of the week menu to be $58, when it was normally like 75 or 80. So he negotiated it down to 58. He did not do that for the 2025 contract. So when I put the budget together, those lunches started at $82 a person, and we had four lunches, and it increased our budget just for lunch by $100,000. And he's like, Tracy, I can't do that. And so I am now then going back to chef and saying, hey, can you. I only have $63 per person, you know, plus plus to do this. And so what we did is we cut a protein off the buffet. We cut, you know, he was able to trim some things down. We removed the dessert completely from lunch, which cut 10 bucks off the budget, off the menu. And then, you know, and whether we served it as an afternoon break or we, you know, we did on consumption items. But that's ways to think through it, right? To say, hey, this is only what I have. And I think that $63 instead of the 82, it was more than that 10% discount. It may be a big win for you on your contract that you got 10% off the food and beverage. But at the same time, you need to look at what you actually want to spend on food and beverage and say, this is what I have. What can you give me? And it might be better for your budget to do it that way than to, you know, try to figure out what that 10% discount is on, you know, overall. And then negotiate the price of your coffee, negotiate the price of sodas, negotiate the price of water bottles and well, eliminate water bottles in general. But you know, you. Because what a Soda can costs 10, $9 plus plus. So negotiate that down. AD: In Louisville, the most powerful moments don’t happen at a podium — they happen around the table. Louisville’s bourbon and culinary culture is built into the destination experience — helping planners create meetings with unforgettable moments guests actually talk about. From immersive tastings to chef-led storytelling, the f&b experience brings the city to life for attendees. Learn more at GoToLouisville.com/meet. Magdalina Atanassova: So with increasing food allergies and litigation concerns, what F&B risk management practices will be non negotiable in 2026 and what's your framework for planners to assess and mitigate F&B related liability? Tracy Stuckrath: So I gotta pull my Tyra Hill, Tyra Warner hat. I mean, I am not a lawyer, so I'm just gonna give you some suggestions. But also Tyra and I can talk about that together. I need to pull her back on the show because I mentioned, you know, food labeling is gonna be required in California and it's been required in the EU and the UK and it's coming into the states. The ways to mitigate this are to ask the right questions upfront when you're talking to your catering partners and to know what you've got yourself. So one is you have to ask the questions of your attendees. And we do also have to pay attention to the my data, my health laws that are coming per state. I think Washington state has one that we have to watch how we're managing the information we're collecting because that food allergies and celiac disease and other things are considered health data. So just like we follow GDPR, we need to pay attention to how we're managing that data, but also looking at what. So we're going to ask the questions of our attendees so that we have a better idea of how many different dietary needs that we need to manage. We need to make sure that we're labeling and we need to be confirming with the chefs that, that the chefs are reconfirming and not just the executive chef and not the executive banquet chef, but even the line cooks confirming the labeling. Right. Because that's one of the challenges is the back of the house cooks the food and the front of the house makes the labels. So we need to make sure that we're putting in our contracts that there is a labeling review process that happens 10 days out or whatever. Because typically those labels are made the day of. Right. So there's no time for review. So I'm really highly suggesting that we do that at least 10 days out and have a review with the chef and a cross referencing it. I would also put in our contracts to our attendees saying we are working with our catering partners to label our food properly, to incorporate the dietary needs into our events. And. But know that XYZ Convention center is not a allergen free environment, right. Or a celiac disease free environment. And so we need to say that to our attendees so that it's, I'm going to say, mitigate our risk. Right, Mitigate our attendee, our planner risk. But the more policies and procedures that you have in place around labeling, the more you're going to reduce your risk or reduce your liability. Yeah, your liability risk. One attorney that I had on my podcast, Ryan Gambala, he represents restaurants and this was really interesting that he said, and he teaches restaurants how to manage this. And he said once anyone on property has been notified that Maggie has a celiac or has an allergy, the entire venue is now considered on alert and must provide for that. And so even if it's the busboy or the server walking by, you know, now you're on alert. So we need to make sure that we're putting the information in our contracts about that before we sign it. And before. And then when we do our BEOs, we need to outline saying all menus should be labeled for the top nine allergens, plus any that some of our attendees have. I like to do that, adding that in there as well. So it needs to be on both places because the BEO is what the front of the house uses, you know, is their bible to know what if it's not on the BEO, they don't know to do it. And so you need to make sure that it's spelled out. And the other part too is on your BEOS. When you're looking at it, it typically says, here's the continental breakfast, right? And it lists everything out on the continental breakfast. We need to be labeling those things on the BEO as well. But then at the bottom it usually sometimes says 25 vegan, you know, 10 gluten free, whatever. We need to make sure that those items are listed out as what they are as well. Instead of just listing 25 vegans because Chef could not come to work that day and that kitchen doesn't know what to make. Right. So we need to make sure that it's spelled out in that capacity as well. And I know that's more details, it's more pages into our BEO, but the more direct that we are in managing that, the more we can reduce our liability. Magdalina Atanassova: So a couple of things here. First of all, I'll link in the show notes, direct links to the shows that you mentioned on your podcast because I think they're very important and it's important to share that knowledge with our community. Right. And the other thing, how important or do you apply the same kind of vigilance for those dining rooms where you feed the stuff? Right. Because that's also very important. And I, I feel sometimes as a person going to work at, you know, U.S. based events, sometimes food is not properly labeled. And I'm always wondering if I'm getting something that's gluten free because I can't consume gluten or if it's dairy free. So are these new changes going to apply also for that part of the event, back of the house? Tracy Stuckrath: Yes, it should apply a hundred percent to the back of the house. There was. Do you know who Mike Tiricchio is? He's a sport. He's a sportscaster for NBC and he like does all sports. But he was at the Kentucky Derby this year and he was in the green room and ate something. And on air people were on Twitter, people were like, something is wrong with Mike Tirchchio. You need to have, you need to take care of him, take him off of the air. He was having an allergic reaction to nuts and he's anaphylactic to nuts. And so he, this was pre running of the race, right? So it was a couple of hours beforehand. But there was something in the food that wasn't labeled or he didn't see the label, whatever it was because it wasn't fully disclosed. But he did have an allergic reaction. And like think about that as your AV tech or as your MC or you know, your staff person. Right. Anyone that could have that happen to them is going to impact the production of your event. So how do we make sure. And the thing about him too is that because he was on the Today show after the fact talking about it and, and thankfully, you know, they administer EpiPens and everything and they took good care of, he said, the Kentucky toe bridge, who could care of him. And he was on the Today show as the guest host for the week. And he said, hey, if we're having any cooking demonstrations while I'm there, we need to make sure that they're free of nuts. And so the company knew. Right. And so where did that kind of fall through in that? There was a case that came about last year, just thinking through talking about celiac, that there was a pilot who has celiac, and they were, for every employee, when they're traveling, did, I guess, deduct some money from their paycheck to feed them while they're traveling. And he couldn't eat any of the food that they were providing, wherever they get the food, and they would not reimburse him for the meals that he was buying that were safe for him. And so he sued them. It settled out of court in July, so we'll never know about it. But just the fact that it came about. But that. Because here in the States, unlike in the EU and the uk, food allergies, celiac disease, all are covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act. So individuals that have those conditions, or any other condition that impacts their bodily functions, whether it's breathing, their skin, the gastrointestinal tract. Right. Any of that, they have civil rights protections to get a meal that's a reasonable accommodation to meet their needs so as not to harm or kill them. So it does play into that. Like you're an employee. Right. So it does impact that. And you're on work. And actually, I think it's in the uk, there is the. It's an act that says if you get harmed while at work, even if you're a company doing work in the UK or a UK company doing work outside, if you get harmed during work, you could be sued for failing to make that person whole or safe. Magdalina Atanassova: Yeah, I believe we have that in the EU as well. I am pretty sure we have it here in Bulgaria. So should be something also covered in the eu. Yeah, definitely. I mean, you have to be provided with good working conditions, safe working conditions. I mean, that's the basic underlining now that we're moving in that very digital and technological stage in our lives. Do you think technology actually can help with all these things we're highlighting now, showing us better what ingredients are in our food or how to manage waste better, what's out there that's worth the investment? Tracy Stuckrath: I mean, there's apps that we can use when we're going to the grocery store to scan food. Magdalina Atanassova: Right. Tracy Stuckrath: That won't really help us when we're looking at buffet menus, but there are some companies that are working with restaurants. There's Foodini that's working with restaurants to label their food. And for the, for the Addy act in California, right. Looking at how they can label that, my friend Tess sent me some digital labeling cards that are easier to utilize so they can easily be changed out versus printed. I think that was in Bahamas that she saw that for food waste, there's a couple of different companies that are really kind of managing that. A lot of the back of the house is weighing the food. You know, like, hey, here's how much waste that we had. And we're, let's minimize that kind of waste that we're doing. So it's helping them realize how much waste that they actually have by pound or ounce. And Aurora and I like to like kind of combine that with the actual visual of looking at how many, you know, rolls are left over. Right? Because it's. Nobody really understands, like, hey, that's 500 pounds of rolls versus that was 5,000 rolls that got thrown away. So whatever kind of you look at it. But there are some technologies out there that are working to do it. And one of my other recent guests, Foodsteps, is doing a lot of analysis with like, I know one that I just saw on their LinkedIn profile was Levy restaurants in the UK and what they're doing to help them manage the waste and minimizing the waste that they're doing. So there are programs out there that or organizations out there that are helping companies do it. As far as labeling is concerned, it's so hard because I'm like, to me, hotels have 800 different recipes and that's just an example, right? And those 800 recipes could be used in a variety of different ways for 15 different events in this on the same day in the same venue. Whereas going to Applebee's, they've got the same recipes that are going to be used in, day in and day out, right. So it does make it to me a little bit harder when we're thinking about catering and what we're doing and how we're going to, how we're going to make sure that the information is accurate from here to here. The other one is Galley, which is a food service management platform that restaurant, a hotel can implement. And it helps them manage their pricing it per ounce of food. And it's connected to all of the different management systems. And then it can also track the allergens and then print the labels out. So there's a variety of things out there. But I think it does require we as planners, it needs our partners to be utilizing these systems. Right. It's not just us as planners and attendees. We can't use them if we don't have them. Planner wise, though, if you're talking about labeling and a variety of things like that, put menus on the app, you know, on your event app, list them and list them coded. And make sure if you're coding them, whether it's a number or a VG or a V, please provide a key to what those letters are. Like an N. There was an N on a buffet menu the other day or label the other day. And I said to the server, does that N? What does that N mean? Magdalina Atanassova: Yes. Tracy Stuckrath: He goes, well, that means it contains nuts or doesn't contain nuts. And then I go over here and there's a banana nut, rough and on the same exact buffet, and there's an N on it. So I'm like, you just contradicted what you said. So is it. So we also have to make sure that the labeling is consistent and accurate because that will keep somebody from eating anything, because it's not. There's no key, there's no explanation. The servers can't answer the questions in the back of the house. And then. And I actually grabbed a picture of myself waiting at a buffet with my plate while everyone else is sitting, because while I'm waiting to find out answers. Magdalina Atanassova: Been there many times. Tracy Stuckrath: Yeah, yeah. So it's, I think, putting. And one, one client said, well, I don't want to put the menus out there because, you know, they don't let them know what they, they're going to eat. And then I might leave and they might not come to our event. And I said, but at the same time, it gives you a better peace of mind to know, do I need to eat something before I go? Do I need to plan around that? I'm going to stay for 30 minutes and network and then go get dinner. And so making sure that we have the knowledge as attendees to make the decisions that are safe for ourselves. And it's not just people with food allergies. It's individuals who are neurodiverse. Right. Or who are visually impaired. Can we provide the information to them in advance so that we can come prepared to our events? Why do we do a no before you go? Right. We want everybody to have the information. Same thing should be about the food and beverage. Magdalina Atanassova: Is there some minimal viable transparency that you foresee coming in 20, 26 and beyond, information like that? Tracy Stuckrath: Everybody wants to know where the food comes from. Everybody wants to know what's in their food and we need to be transparent. And I think that food service companies are seeing it and understanding it at. On the restaurant side of the world. I'm not sure how much it's translating yet to convention centers and hotels. It is translating to universities and schools because there's a lot more information about vegan and vegetarian and, you know, labeling. I was at one school the other day and I thought it was cool, but also odd at the same time. I did see a big sign that said halal. And that line was long to come go to the cafeteria line. And then there was a kosher section that was in the corner in the cafeteria and it was blocked off with wooden screens. And it said, no outside utensils can come in here. You know, serving utensils and everything. And kept it. It was a little obtrusive in the, in the wooden thing. And then there was a little tiny section that had a glass door to get in for gluten free. Magdalina Atanassova: And. Tracy Stuckrath: But it only had five items on it. It had like three items from the salad bar and, and then some rice and something else. And I'm like, it just confused me. Why can I not have everything that's on the salad bar out here, which is like 25 items. Right. You only gave me four options and then you only gave me rice and, and chicken to eat. And so again, let's. I do like the fact that it was kind of in its own little area, but at the same time, you showed me that I'm not worth the rest of all of this food. Magdalina Atanassova: That reminds me so much of saying, you're a vegan vegetarian a few years ago and then being served to the side of every other. Of every meat dish being like, okay, thank you. But you know, I need to be fed as well. Tracy Stuckrath: Yeah. And it was weird because everything else on all the buffets, it had the allergen things, but it never. Nothing was labeled gluten free or anything. My challenge with the gluten free thing is like, there's a salad bar. You have no bread on that salad bar at all. I don't even think there were croutons. So it's not like the cross contamination is going to happen from those serving utensils that are on that thing. Right. And you're not making bread fresh in that room so that the flour is floating into the air. So to me, the risk is minimal on that. And, and my friends, a couple of my friends who are celiac, I mean, you are. So let me Know, I'm like, am I thinking, is it. Am I thinking too much that, like, hey, let's eat off the regular buffet? If we design it the way that maybe the bread is every, like, even the croutons are in a separate section. Right. And you're not making it there because I'm assuming you want to eat off, you know, have availability to eat everything else too. Magdalina Atanassova: Yeah. To be honest with you, I'm not celiac, so I'm. I have reactions with gluten, especially when I come to your side of the world. It depends. So if I go Asia, I can eat everything that's gluten has gluten in it. And I'm fine in Europe. I have to be more careful going to the U.S. I always, always, always avoid gluten because it is really reacting there. Wow. Tracy Stuckrath: Interesting. Magdalina Atanassova: Yes. So I guess it just the fact how the food is being prepared or processed and, you know, the raw ingredients and what are the. In each country, you know, the laws and how they are protecting the food and all that. But it's. Yeah, it's definitely interesting. I love going to Asia for that reason. I can just eat. Tracy Stuckrath: That's interesting. Wow. Okay. Magdalina Atanassova: Yeah. Tracy Stuckrath: Okay, a question. Magdalina Atanassova: Do you want to do a rapid fire round like you like to do on your podcast? Have it really rapid. So. Tracy Stuckrath: Okay, I could do that. Magdalina Atanassova: Okay. So a quick win. What's one F and B change planners can make tomorrow that costs nothing, but it improves outcomes. Tracy Stuckrath: Asking the question if people have dietary restrictions and following up on it biggest misconception. Magdalina Atanassova: What F&B best practice needs to die in 2026? Tracy Stuckrath: Ordering without asking the questions and ordering without thinking through the dietary needs of our attendees. Magdalina Atanassova: Yes, Crystal ball. What F&B requirement will be standard by 2030? That seems radical. Tracy Stuckrath: Today labeling is standard and that there are actually consistencies across the states and like, everything is the same. Like a stoplight. Right. I want all the icons to be the same and so that no matter where you go, you know what you're looking at. Magdalina Atanassova: Can we make this standard for the whole world? Tracy Stuckrath: Yes, please. Yeah. Because even in the EU, like one country says number one is shellfish and then the other one number one is gluten. Magdalina Atanassova: Right. Tracy Stuckrath: So you can't. That's the one thing that I think the EU failed in that law. Magdalina Atanassova: Yeah. Because they leave it always open to each member state. Magdalina Atanassova: Excellent. Magdalina Atanassova: Was there anything we didn't mention that we definitely should before we wrap up. Tracy Stuckrath: Planners and suppliers need to be partners on food and beverage, and that means talking to the chefs, not being gated by the CSM, you know, and I know there's some chefs out there that don't necessarily want to talk to the people, but it's really, really important because it's that two cans and the string. Right. The translation gets lost in what you want to accomplish. And I think it's really important to get everybody that's in the food and beverage wheel to understand what that is, and that's chefs and line cooks and CSMs and even the brokers that are negotiating our contracts. Magdalina Atanassova: I love it. And I have to say, coming up on this season, we have a conversation with the chef so we can hear that perspective as well. Tracy Stuckrath: Nice. Awesome. Magdalina Atanassova: Thank you so much for your time. You're welcome. Tracy Stuckrath: Thank you. Appreciate it. Magdalina Atanassova: Remember to subscribe to the Convene Podcast on your favorite listening platform to stay updated with our latest episodes. We want to thank our sponsor, Louisville Tourism. Learn more at GoToLouisville.com/meet. For further industry insights from the Convene team, head over to PCMA.org/convene. My name is Maggie. Stay inspired. Keep inspiring. And until next time.