Perhaps no other industry has been hit harder in 2020 than hospitality. For chefs and restaurant industry staff, it’s been a year of pivoting and in many cases, rethinking the current models of food service. Chef Levon Wallace of Nashville, Tennessee took the pandemic as a welcome opportunity to experiment in his home kitchen. Before he knew it, the tasty treats he made for his kids turned into a new fast-casual concept that has found a lot of love (and plenty of mustard) in his city and beyond.  In this episode, we’ll talk about how the industry has had to adapt through the pandemic, the growth of fast-casual, the future of gastronomy, and the lessons we can take from the disruptions of 2020.  You’ll hear why it’s important to source food locally, and how to cultivate symbiotic relationships between chef’s and growers.  What we covered in this episode The concept behind Fat Belly Pretzels (4:28) How a business was born during the pandemic (6:33) Why adapting during the pandemic came naturally (9:59) Rethinking the industry post-pandemic (12:12) The European history of the pretzel (15:14) An outlook on the future of gastronomy (18:51) The differences between working for private or fast casual restaurants and being an entrepreneur (23:26) The connections between food and culture (29:01) Sourcing food responsibly and working with local producers (34:20) Simplicity and location as inspiration (36:37) A creative collaboration of Southern American, African, and Chinese influences (43:26) Nashville foodie hotspots you should add to your list How kitchens have become better with inclusion (51:08) Foraged flavors of the south (53:48) Series of rapid-fire questions Links to other episodes in Nashville Conversation with Chef Matt Bolus from the 404 Kitchen #gallery-1 { margin: auto; } #gallery-1 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 25%; } #gallery-1 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-1 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */ Cookie – Fatbelly Pretzel Pretzel by Chef Levon Wallace Chocolate Pretzel Babka – Fatbelly Pretzel Pimento Cheese Pretzel Babka by Chef Levon Wallace Click to tweet I decided to do what I know how to do best, which is doing something for someone else. That usually works nine times out of ten to get me out of any kind of situation. Click To Tweet It's that human connection, and who doesn't love a hot pretzel? It's kind of hard to get bummed out when you get a hot pretzel. Click To Tweet What's important to me in food are things that are handmade, homemade, simple, and good food made from real ingredients. Click To Tweet In the foodservice industry that's all we do is pivot. All we've ever done is adapt. You adapt and you overcome. Click To Tweet We went through a Renaissance period. And after the Renaissance comes the Age of Enlightenment. I'm excited for what the future of gastronomy will be, and I'm willing to accept that it may not be what it used to be, but I know that whatever it is, it will continue to inspire and grow. Click To Tweet Social media Fatbelly Pretzel Instagram Facebook Twitter Social media Chef Levon Wallace Instagram Twitter Facebook Linkedin Links mentioned in this episode Fatbelly Pretzel