Kalsec and Menu Matters: Trends and Tastings 2025

Join us in the city for an inspiring evening at the 4th annual Trends & Tastings dinner, hosted by Kalsec and Menu Matters. Get an exclusive look at the latest food and flavor insights from trend expert Mike Kostyo, and experience how these trends come to life through a curated menu led by Chef Anna Cheely of Kalsec, showcasing dishes elevated with Kalsec’s flavor innovations.

Date November, 4th

Time: 6 pm Central Time

Location:

1071 W Division St Floor 3

Chicago, IL 60642 (Goose Island)

Overview:

• Apply new perspectives from the tasting menu experience to inform your own product development, menu design, and/or innovation strategies.

• Experience how trend insights translate into real-world applications through a curated tasting menu crafted with Kalsec flavor innovations.

• Be among the first to explore Mike Kostyo’s trend forecast for 2025 and uncover the consumer and culinary forces that will shape the year ahead.

5:30pm CST Doors Open

6:00pm -7:40pm CST Trends and Tastings Presentation

7:40pm - 8:00pm CST Q&A/Networking

Seats are limited—reserve your spot today!

Event hosted at the Charlie Baggs Culinary Innovation Center (park in either of the two parking lots attached)

Speakers:

Mike Kostyo has been a leading voice in food industry trends and insights for over a decade, known for digging through the messy information landscape to uncover unique insights that help brands think differently. Viewing food through a human-first, anthropological lens—shaped by his master's degree in gastronomy—Mike brings depth and expertise to industry research and analysis. He excels at collaborative problem-solving with clients, bringing high energy, humor and a personal touch to every project.

His cross-disciplinary background, ranging from magazine journalism to advertising to political communications, allows him to communicate complex trends and ideas with clarity and impact, earning him coverage in the New York Times, a featured profile on Huffington Post (“This Food Trendologist Knows What We’ll Be Eating Before Anyone Else”), on NBC Nightly News, as a recurring guest on Fusion TV’s The AV Club Show, and even as a judge on Food Network’s Eating America. He is also a sought-after speaker who has presented to over a hundred industry events on topics like innovation and AI, as well as his still-talked-about “How to Be Weird” presentation.

Based in Chicago, Kostyo is also a freelance writer who regularly contributes to food industry publications. In addition to his gastronomy degree from Boston University, he has certificates in the culinary arts, baking arts, wine, and artisan cheese production and he proudly serves on the advisory committee for the Arkansas Food Innovation Center at the Market Center of the Ozarks.

Anna Cheely is Senior Culinary Innovation Manager at Kalsec and Secretary of the Research Chefs Association. She works in Kalsec’s Taste and Sensory Innovation department, where she creates culinary-based solutions for customers ranging from seasoning and sauce manufacturers to CPG companies. Anna began her career in New York restaurants before earning a Master of Science in Sensory and Food Science from the University of Georgia.

At Kalsec, she bridges global culinary trends with consumer insights to develop clean-label, scalable solutions. She leads cross-functional innovation projects, from prototypes to commercialization, applying authentic, kitchen-inspired flavor systems using Kalsec’s proprietary extracts and tools. Anna draws on the ingredients and flavors of Southern cuisine as well as her travels around the world, making food exciting, approachable, and inspiring—one bite at a time.

Offering 2 CEUs for RCA members

Event Contact: Anna Cheely    acheely@kalsec.com

RCA Disclosures:

Contact Information: By registering for this event, you consent to the sharing of your contact information (such as name, email address, and company) with the event’s sponsors. This information will be shared exclusively with sponsors for purposes related to the event and will not be shared with other attendees or third parties.

Photographs and Videos: During this event, RCA may take photographs and/or video of you which may be posted to social media and on the association’s website. By registering for and attending this event, you agree to the use of image in photographs and/or video for this purpose. Additionally, other event attendees may take photographs and post said photographs to social media. RCA shall not be responsible for photographs taken and/or shared by other event attendees.

Session Recordings: This session may be recorded for the purpose of education, training, and use in RCA’s Learning Library. The recording will be used for this stated purpose and shall not be used for any other purpose. Do not share information that you do not wish to be recorded.  If you are uncomfortable being recorded, please refrain from speaking and submit questions via email.