Taste Events / Tong Talks / It’s Not Speed Dating | Ethan Kjesbo & Cass Burson

I've known Ethan and Cass for a while now, and every time I'm around them I walk away thinking the same thing — these guys just get it. Not just the event business, but the people side of this industry. That's what Taste Events is built on. They co-founded a curated B2B food service event company that takes everything broken about the trade show model and fixes it. We're talking 150–200 people, chain operators and suppliers who actually belong in the room together, and one-on-one meetings built around an intelligence dossier pulled from real conversations — not a generic booth pitch. The whole thing is designed so that when you sit down, it matters. We talked about how they built it, what made them realize "anti-trade show" was the wrong framing, and how they're keeping events fresh without losing what makes them special. We also got into NRA — what's trending on the floor (clean label is in, meat analogs are fading), how they work the show, and what actually gets done at Portillo's at midnight. Oh, and somewhere in there Ethan ate sardines on the show floor to start a conversation. Worked like a charm. He also runs a tin fish review account on TikTok called Tinnies with the Boys. I have no notes on that — just go follow it. Find Taste Events: LinkedIn: @TasteEvents Instagram: @TasteEvents Website: thetasteevents.com Timestamps [00:00] Cold open — Nutter Butter on TikTok is an acid trip [01:17] How Ethan and Cass got pulled deeper into food service [03:25] What a Taste Event actually is — the model explained [08:09] The intelligence dossier and why it's not speed dating [09:21] The extracurriculars — Taste Tour, dinners, and where the real magic happens [14:37] NRA reflections — Year 2, Portillo's at midnight, and trends on the floor [21:36] Tong Talks origin story — Hannah Lopez, a mic, and a pair of tongs [24:20] Good people, good times, good business — and how you protect that as you grow [29:26] Advice for anyone at a crossroads: if it makes you nervous, lean in [35:48] Next event info + where to find them Listen to the full episode and more! It would mean the world to me if you could leave a 5 star review on your listening platform to help grow and expand the Podcast. Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/55qBuFe9dQh5jLLdg0KLoL?si=08455ef88e554b91 Apple Podcast - https://apple.co/41RoTm4 YouTube:  https://youtube.com/@FellIntoFood Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fell-into-food/ Instagram: http://instagram.com/fell_into_food Facebook: https://facebook.com/fellintofood FellintoFood.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy