Episode Details

Well if it sounds a bit different, it certainly looks different on our YouTube site - we’re together, live, in person for the first time every on our podcast!

And what an episode!  Our special guest is Jo-Ann McArthur, President at Nourish Food Marketing back on the podcast to talk about her 2022 Trend Report, and on our Trying Stuff segment Cracker Barrel Signature shredded cheeses from our friends at Lactalis!

But first, let’s get to it - fresh off out of the lab, a year in the making, the smartest minds in food economics from four universities coast to coast, Canada’s 2022 Food Price Report!  

Take us through the tradecraft, tell us how you did in terms of predicting 2021, and take us through the forecast for 2022

Next, Ontario government smackdown….Tim Hortons behind the scenes reveals concerns over staffing - Ontario Labour Minster says…just pay your people better….props to Ontario who eliminated what our guest last week Cory Mintz basically called the hold-over of a broken model - eliminating the sub-minimum wage rate for tip employees

Let's talk turkey - are you worried some Canadians might be deprived of their Holiday seasonal feast?

That’s a wrap - be sure and check out our YouTube channel for bonus content and to see us live here at the Clio Club in Toronto - smash that subscribe button, tell your friends and give us a review on your favourite podcast platform

We’ll be back next episode, our last of the year, with Trying Stuff featuring Just Egg and if all goes well our special guest will be the President of St. Hubert chicken to reveal whether he is a dunker or pourer of the gavy….

I’m Michael LeBlanc, president of Maven Media, host of the all new Last Request Barbecue YouTube show, and…

About Us

Dr. Sylvain Charlebois is a Visiting Professor in Food Policy and Distribution at McGill University and a Professor in Food Distribution and Policy in the Faculty of Management at Dalhousie University in Halifax. He is also the Senior Director of the Agri-food Analytics Lab, also located at Dalhousie University.

Known as “The Food Professor”, his current research interest lies in the broad area of food distribution, security and safety. He is one of the world’s most cited scholars in food supply chain management, food value chains and traceability with over 775 published peer-reviewed journal articles. Dr. Charlebois is also an editor for the prestigious Trends in Food Science Technology journal. 

He co-hosts The Food Professor podcast, discussing issues in the food, foodservice, grocery and restaurant industries and which is the most listened Canadian management podcast in Canada. 

Every year since 2012, he has published the now highly anticipated Canadian Food Price Report, which provides an overview of food price trends for the coming year. Furthermore, his research has been featured in several newspapers and media groups, nationally as well as internationally. He has testified on several occasions before parliamentary committees on food policy-related issues as an expert witness. He has been asked to act as an advisor on food and agricultural policies in many Canadian provinces and other countries.

With extensive experience collaborating with businesses, governments, and NGOs, Dr. Charlebois combines academic rigor with practical expertise, making him one of the most influential voices in the global agri-food landscape. His work continues to advance the understanding of food systems, fostering innovation and resilience in a rapidly evolving industry. In 2025, he received t