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Gastronomics

Alex Mayyasi

Gastronomics is about the business of food. In each episode, Planet Money author Alex Mayyasi talks to chefs, economists, and people with insights and stories about how economics shapes the modern menu.

Meet a trend forecaster who tracks thousands of menus to know exactly when restaurants should start serving yuzu lemonade or ube pancakes. Discover how Best Restaurant lists get made. And learn why billionaires like Bill Gates buy lots and lots of farmland.

Subscribe here, on YouTube, or any podcast player. And subscribe for email updates at gastronomicspodcast.com.

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8 episodes
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#7
Yesterday · 54 min
Can Private Equity Scale (Good) Bagels?
Private equity firms and venture capitalists are investing millions in new bagel shops. Can they bring great bagels to towns and cities across the country? Or are bagels the next investment bubble? Show Notes "Grip, Rip, Dip, Repeat. Grip, Rip, Dip, Repeat," Liz Dunn, New York Magazine https://www.grubstreet.com/article/popup-bagels-national-franchising.html "Inside the Venture-Backed Bagel Boom," Liz Dunn, Consumed https://consumed.substack.com/p/inside-the-venture-backed-bagel-boom Correction: The Love Island star with a PopUp Bagels schmear was Jen Terry. I don't think she ever cried on Love Island, though. "The Forgotten History of New York's Bagel Famines," Natasha Frost, Gastro Obscura, February 9, 2018 https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/bagel-union-strikes-new-york-city "Grip, Rip, and Scale," Gad Gallon, Gad's Newsletter, April 20, 2026 https://gadallon.substack.com/p/grip-rip-and-scale For more on Marriott Hotels and core competencies, see The Fissured Workplace: Why Work Became So Bad for So Many and What Can Be Done to Improve It, David Weil https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674975446 "Bagels Are a Bubble Now," Milena Pagán, Latent Heat, May 13, 2026 https://milenapagan.substack.com/p/they-want-the-same-food-in-every Boom: Bubbles and the End of Stagnation, Byrne Hobart and Tobias Huber https://www.stripe.press/boom
#6
September 2 · 59 min
Was the Price of Eggs a Conspiracy?
After the pandemic, eggs were the poster child for inflation. Experts said egg prices were high because of avian flu. But then, this summer, the Department of Justice charged Big Egg with an honest to God conspiracy. Show Notes This episode is sponsored by LMNT. Get a free 8-count Sample Pack of LMNT's most popular drink mix flavors with any purchase at DrinkLMNT.com/gastro Note: The egg companies in their settlement with the Department of Justice agreed to pay $3.3 million in fines and donate 53 million eggs (rather than "a few million [eggs]"). Also, Boris Yeltsin was impressed by the selection of pudding pops, not push pops. "Justice Department Requires Egg Producers to End Coordinated Benchmark Manipulation that Artificially Inflated Prices Across the Country," June 30, 2026 https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-requires-egg-producers-end-coordinated-benchmark-manipulation Kraft Foods Global, Inc. et al v. United Egg Producers https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/illinois/ilndce/1:2011cv08808/263305/713/ "Justice Department Sues Agri Stats for Operating Extensive Information Exchanges Among Meat Processors," Office of Public Affairs, September 28, 2023 https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/justice-department-sues-agri-stats-operating-extensive-information-exchanges-among-meat "Four Executives and Company Charged with Price Fixing in Ongoing Investigation into Broiler Chicken Industry," Office of Public Affairs, July 29, 2021 https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/four-executives-and-company-charged-price-fixing-ongoing-investigation-broiler-chicken "Kings Over the Necessaries of Life": Monopolization and the Elimination of Competition in America's Agriculture System, Basel Musharbash & Farm Action https://farmaction.us/kings-over-the-necessaries-of-life-monopolization-and-the-elimination-of-competition-in-americas-agriculture-system/ "To Defy the United States, Fidel Castro Built the World's Greatest Ice Cream Parlor," Alex Mayyasi, November 8, 2019 https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/ice-cream-in-havana "Hatching a Conspiracy: A BIG Investigation into Egg Prices," Basel Musharbash, March 7, 2025 https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/hatching-a-conspiracy-a-big-investigation "Fowl Play: How Chicken Genetics Barons Created the Egg Crisis," Basel Musharbash, March 23, 2025 https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/fowl-play-how-chicken-genetics-barons "The Egg That Cannot Be Priced," Footnote Capital, August 25, 2026 https://footnotecapital.substack.com/p/the-egg-that-cannot-be-priced
#5
August 25 · 44 min
How to Run Your Dream Restaurant Like a Business
Great cooking is an art, and people make pilgrimages to restaurants that make us feel a certain way. But a restaurant is also a business. A notoriously hard business. So how do chefs and restaurateurs create these special experiences without going broke? I talk with Louis Lin and Jolyn Chen about opening their dream restaurant: Xiao Ye in Portland, Oregon. Show Notes "After Becoming Housemates, Romance Entered the Picture," Alix Wall, NYT https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/18/fashion/weddings/after-becoming-housemates-romance-entered-the-picture.html "Only the Bad Die Young: Restaurant Mortality in the Western US," Tian Luo and Philip B. Stark https://arxiv.org/pdf/1410.8603 You can find Xiao Ye on Instagram at @xiaoyepdx or visit their website at www.xiaoyepdx.com
#4
July 29 · 33 min
Why a China Scholar Started a Tea Business
The state of tea in the United States is something of a national embarrassment. Josh Freedman started a tea business so more Americans can try and buy great teas from China and Taiwan. And to better understand China's economy and unique form of 'capitalism with communist characteristics.' Show Notes The Beijing tea market we discuss is called Maliandao. You can find Josh's Taiwan Travelogue teas at https://phtea.substack.com/ or follow him on Instagram at @phtea_time.
#3
July 9 · 41 min
How top chefs unknowingly do R&D for Applebee's
Imagine for a moment that you are a head chef. Not at The French Laundry or Alinea. Not at a local diner or greasy spoon. No. You're the head chef at a big chain like Applebee's or Cheesecake Factory. And it's your job to oversee a menu that will be used at hundreds of locations. Or thousands. Your menu needs to satisfy customers in the suburbs and appeal to diners who live in foodie cities. It needs to have classics and comfort food, but also fun, new dishes and drinks that reflect new tastes and trends. So how do you decide what to add—and when? My guest today is Lizzy Freier. Lizzy is a trend forecaster who leads the menu research team at Technomic. And for more than 15 years, she's helped national restaurant chains answer questions like these. In other words … Lizzy predicts the future. The future popularity of yuzu and imitation meat and hot sauces that are sweet and spicy, or "swicy." Show Notes "An expected end-of-year federal ban puts hemp businesses in jeopardy" by Molly Ashford, All Things Considered https://www.npr.org/2026/02/18/nx-s1-5668495/an-expected-end-of-year-federal-ban-puts-hemp-businesses-in-jeopardy "What the Hell Happened to Wendy's?" by Adam Chandler, Slate https://slate.com/life/2026/04/wendys-near-me-location-closures-menu.html
#2
June 27 · 33 min
Aldi Is Unbundling the Grocery Store
Aldi, the cheap and quirky grocery store chain, is opening so many stores in the U.S. that it's on track to become the 2nd largest grocery chain within a few years. How is Aldi matching or beating Walmart and Costco's low prices without the huge stores, warehouses, and economies of scale those chains have used to drive down prices? And how has a chain best known for ultra-budget, bare-bones stores also become beloved, inspiring a cult-like following? Show notes In the interview, we say that Karl Albrecht is the younger brother, but he's actually the older brother. "The Curious Cult of Aldi" by Deena Shanker and Tim Loh https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2026-01-06/german-grocer-aldi-built-an-american-empire-on-discounts-and-deals "How to Succeed in Business by Bundling – and Unbundling" by Justin Fox https://hbr.org/2014/06/how-to-succeed-in-business-by-bundling-and-unbundling "Retail Markups and Discount-Store Entry" by Lauren Chenarides, Miguel I. Gómez, Timothy J. Richards & Koichi Yonezawa https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11151-023-09926-w#Sec16 "Meet the Proud Shoppers of Aldi's 'Aisle of Shame'" by Sara Murphy https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/aisle-of-shame-aldi "Inside Quince's Quest to Sell Luxury Goods for Less," WSJ https://www.wsj.com/podcasts/the-journal/inside-quinces-quest-to-sell-luxury-goods-for-less/7dab529b-1767-4d45-bd14-671663455b1c "Is Trader Joe's the 'Quince' of food?" Eating Patterns https://lesleysykes.substack.com/p/is-trader-joes-the-quince-of-food "Snack Maker Sues Aldi Grocery Chain Over Look-Alike Product Packaging," NYT https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/01/business/mondelez-aldi-packaging-lawsuit.html "We Need to Talk About Trader Joe's," Adam Reiner https://tastecooking.com/we-need-to-talk-about-trader-joes/ Music by Jay Cowit. Artwork by Jared Bartman.
#1
June 10 · 29 min
The secret life of the Domino's pizza tracker
You are probably familiar with the Domino's pizza tracker. What you may not know is that it is one of the most influential design innovations of all time. Its subtle brilliance has inspired apps and websites ranging from Uber to TurboTax. There are pizza trackers everywhere for those with eyes to see. Learn more about Gastronomics or subscribe to the newsletter at gastronomicspodcast.com
April 7 · 1 min
Introducing Gastronomics
Gastronomics is about the business of food. In each episode, host Alex Mayyasi talks to chefs, economists, and people with insights and stories about how economics shapes the modern menu. Meet a trend forecaster who tracks thousands of menus to know exactly when restaurants should start serving yuzu lemonade or ube pancakes. Discover how Best Restaurant lists get made. And learn why billionaires like Bill Gates buy lots and lots of farmland. Subscribe here, on YouTube, or any podcast player. And subscribe for email updates at gastronomicspodcast.com.

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