Happy Thursday,

Build or buy. This has come up almost daily in conversation.

I have been meeting with restaurant operators frequently, and a common theme across many of them I am seeing is that they are building their own software solutions. I am seeing some really impressive builds. But more importantly, we are experiencing a pivotal shift in what is possible for restaurant operators.

You'll hear more about this in several upcoming meez podcast episodes as well. There is still a lot for us as tech providers to build and provide to operators, and we are seeing enormous opportunities to do more with less.

One thing that is also becoming clear is that data, especially structured, clean data, and in our case, structured recipe data, is a critical element to unlocking a lot of the workflows and reporting that we're seeing operators build.

More to come on this, but needless to say, the need for MCPs is becoming crystal clear to enable AI-forward folks to do more with their tech stack. I can't wait to share more about this soon.

Chef Vojtech is in the mix again this week, sharing his tips on avocado seeds. And Mother's Day is this Sunday. What is everyone making?

My wife loves the recipe I'm sharing today. Something I developed at Make, the sandwich shop we opened years back in Union Square NYC. It's a play on spinach and artichoke dip, and you should make sure to go all out and get the best Parm you can get!

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🎙️ The meez Podcast

Free Money and Explaining GPOs with Rich Kemp

This week, I sat down with Rich Kemp, my old PFG rep from my Aurify days.  He is now in the GPO world at Buyers Edge Platform. Rich has 25 years on the distribution side and now sits inside a network running $75 billion in food spend across 500+ manufacturers and 175,000 line items.

We unpacked how group purchasing actually works (and why most operators don't fully get it), then got into the debate Matt and I keep having: will any of these AI efficiencies actually push food costs down, or is that savings going to evaporate before it ever shows up on your invoice?

• What a GPO actually is, and why it's not just for big chains
• Rebates, price deviations, and where the savings really come from
• Why distributors get unfairly blamed for prices going up
• AI in farming, distribution, and if procurement will ever lower your COGS
• The five-year inflation argument that won't go away
• How Buyers Edge plays across independents, multi-unit groups, and healthcare

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👉 Listen to the full episode

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🤔🌶️ Hot Take

Build or Buy Is Now a Restaurant Decision

Build or buy is now a real decision every restaurant can add to the tool belt.

I'm seeing operators stand up some seriously powerful tools that are starting to replace parts of their tech stack. This is only going to keep happening, and it's a beautiful thing to see. The bar gets raised for everyone, and you learn fast what's replicable, what's hard to replicate, and what should be built bespoke to your operation.

Permissions, security, and scalability will be a challenge. That'll get figured out.

My prediction on what gets replaced first: anything that's mostly reporting on data sitting in other systems. BI dashboards, custom analytics views, "insight" layers.

Claude Code can spin those up in a weekend now. Same with tools that just shuffle data between apps.

Three questions to ask before you decide:

• Is the system creating proprietary data, or just ingesting it from somewhere else?
• Is it used daily by line-level teams? (UI speed at high volume is hard, and behaviors are even harder to change, especially if what they have is working.)
  • Some would call this a 'system of action'
• Is the tech too complex or too deeply integrated to realistically replicate?

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👉 Chime in with your thoughts on LinkedIn

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📔 Chef Notes

Stop Throwing Away Your Avocado Seeds

How many avocado seeds did you throw away this week?

On the episode with Vojtech Vegh last week, he was preaching the gospel of avocado seeds. I've never actually cooked with one, but it tracks. He says the seed is the healthiest part of the avocado (any dietitian out there, chime in, is he right?).

Apparently, it works well in smoothies, though I'd love to watch someone chop one of those things without losing a finger. Tea is the safer play, and the flavor lands somewhere near nutmeg.

There's absolutely a startup waiting to happen here. Someone needs to start collecting all the avocado seeds and selling the powder for shakes. Toss in a little ashwagandha and mark that baby up :)

👉 Watch the clip on LinkedIn

👉 Watch on Instagram

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Recipe:

Spinach & Artichoke Dip Sandwich

Speaking of build or buy... artichokes.

There's something therapeutic about cleaning a case of globe artichokes. But there are so many great cooked artichoke products out there now that it's often better to just buy them already peeled and cooked. (Check out Caprichos del Paladar artichokes, they are stellar)

This is a recipe from Make, the sandwich shop we started in Union Square. The key is the best possible Parmigiano Reggiano you can find (I'm partial to Valserena Solo di Bruna). Otherwise, it's a stupid simple dish, juxtaposing the highly crafted parm with the undisputed king of cream cheese, Philly :). I know that sounds sacrilegious, but it works.

If you're feeling froggy, throw a little mortadella or prosciutto cotto on top right at the end, just to warm through.

👉 Get the recipe on meez

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Want to Be a Guest on The meez Podcast?

We are always looking for operators, chefs, and food industry leaders who have a story to tell.

👉 Apply to be a guest

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