What separates a good cook from a great chef? According to Chef George “Skip” Guthrie, it comes down to three things: People, Product, and Profitability.

On this episode of Cooked with Eric Reed, presented by Midwest Professional Reps, Eric welcomes his former culinary school instructor and longtime St. Louis culinary professional, Chef Skip Guthrie.

With a career spanning the United States Marine Corps, prestigious hotels, professional bakeries, culinary education, and even cannabis-infused edibles, Chef Skip has no shortage of stories or wisdom to share.

00:00 – Introduction: The Three Ps of Being a Chef
00:24 – Meet Chef George “Skip” Guthrie
02:50 – Santa Claus Stories with Chef Skip
05:02 – How Skip Became a Culinary Instructor
07:31 – Lessons Beyond the Culinary Classroom
10:40 – Teaching Pizza and Learning by Doing
13:21 – Why Great Chefs Make Great Teachers
16:33 – Cook vs. Chef: People, Product & Profitability
19:25 – Food Waste, Portion Control & Kitchen Lessons
22:00 – Wild Stories from Military Foodservice
25:05 – Teaching Through Mistakes and Experience
26:18 – Is Culinary School Worth the Money?
28:12 – Adapting to Different Kitchens and Customers
30:41 – Restaurant Lessons: Portions, Timing & Efficiency
33:36 – What Culinary Education Is Missing
35:47 – Kitchen Design Starts Below the Floor
37:14 – Building Kitchens That Set Cooks Up for Success
39:00 – Global Culinary Careers and Apprenticeships
41:06 – How Technology Is Changing Professional Kitchens
44:14 – Why Chefs Must Keep Learning
45:12 – The Value of Technical Education
47:03 – Understanding the Why Behind Kitchen Equipment
49:11 – Smarter Refrigeration and Kitchen Layouts
52:21 – A Kitchen That Plates 1,000 Meals in 20 Minutes
53:43 – Bartending as a Professional Craft
56:02 – The Most Important Advice for New Cooks
59:22 – Final Thoughts and Stories with Skip
59:53 – St. Louis Food Festivals and Culinary Culture
1:03:29 – Closing Remarks

Watch the entire episode on YouTube @MidProReps

Follow Eric, Chad and Midwest Professional Reps on Social Media @MidProReps

Take the Restaurant to the Customer: The Power of Mobile Cooking

On Episode 6 of Cooked with Eric Reed, Eric is joined by John Wilson of Marra Forni for a conversation about mobile cooking equipment and the opportunities it creates for foodservice operators, rep groups, dealers and manufacturers.

John shares how mobile Marra Forni ovens are being used everywhere from the Super Bowl, U.S. Open and Kentucky Derby to tailgates, catering events, festivals, pop-ups and country clubs.

Eric and John also discuss why bringing equipment directly to an operator can be more valuable than a traditional showroom demonstration, how mobile cooking can create new revenue opportunities, and what operators need to know before taking their menu outside the kitchen.

The episode wraps with an up-close look at Midwest Professional Reps’ Marra Forni NP130 mobile brick oven, including its construction, fuel options, controls, customization and the technology behind modern brick-oven cooking.

CHAPTERS

00:00 — Welcome to Cooked Episode 6
Eric introduces John Wilson and the topic of mobile cooking.

02:05 — Meet John Wilson of Marra Forni
John talks about his background, Marra Forni and the versatility of brick ovens beyond pizza.

03:21 — Why Take Equipment to the Customer?
How rep groups can use mobile equipment to demonstrate products inside an operator's actual environment.

04:39 — Turning a Mobile Oven Into a Sales Tool
John explains why taking an oven on the road can create opportunities instead of waiting for them.

06:43 — Real-World Equipment Demonstrations
Why letting customers cook with equipment in their own operation can answer the question: “Will this actually work for us?”

08:53 — Mobile Ovens at Major Sporting Events
Marra Forni at the Super Bowl, U.S. Open, Kentucky Derby, tailgates and other major events.

10:16 — The Marra Forni Mobile Oven Rental Program
How operators use rental ovens for events, including one loyal customer making a long-distance trip for a Chicago pop-up.

12:05 — From Pizza Festivals to 200+ Employee Events
How mobile ovens create memorable demonstrations — and what happens when everybody wants a whole pizza.

14:24 — How Restaurants & Operators Use Mobile Ovens
Catering, weddings, graduations, food trucks, pop-ups and more.

15:05 — One Oven, Multiple Revenue Opportunities
How a country club moves one mobile oven between golf tournaments, the pool, happy hour and even drive-through pizza pickup.

16:48 — Take the Restaurant to the Customer
Why mobile equipment allows operators to bring the food and experience directly to where customers are.

17:24 — Test Your Product Before the Event
Why operators need to understand their dough, proteins, cooking times, workflow and preheating before serving guests.

19:01 — Inside the Marra Forni NP130 Mobile Oven
A closer look at the full brick oven, construction, burners and mobile setup.

20:36 — It's More Than a Pizza Oven
Using the brick hearth oven for proteins, sausage, pork tenderloin and other menu items.

22:23 — Gas, Wood, Coal & Combination Fuel Options
A breakdown of the different ways Marra Forni ovens can be configured.

23:37 — Programmable Controls & Automatic Preheating
How operators can program the oven to turn on and reach temperature before the kitchen crew arrives.

24:18 — Hand-Built & Fully Customizable
How Marra Forni ovens are insulated, tiled and customized with an operator's colors, lettering and logo.

25:58 — How Much Does a Mobile Brick Oven Weigh?
Eric gets the answer: this setup is serious equipment.

26:31 — Combining Ancient Cooking With Modern Technology
How Marra Forni brings modern controls and consistency to a cooking method that's been around for centuries.

27:46 — The Best — and Worst — Things to Cook in a Brick Oven
John talks steaks, pizza and how quickly a brick oven can expose inexperience.

28:23 — Closing Thoughts

Watch the entire episode on YouTube @MidProReps

Follow Eric, Chad and Midwest Professional Reps on Social Media @MidProReps

Designing a commercial kitchen is a lot more complicated than picking out equipment and deciding where the fryers go.

On Episode 5 of Cooked with Eric Reed, Eric sits down with Jason from Rapids Foodservice Contract & Design to break down what really goes into designing a restaurant, bar, school kitchen, food hall, or other commercial foodservice operation.

With more than 20 years in foodservice design, Jason shares lessons learned from real projects—including the importance of understanding an operator's menu, service model, workflow, budget, timeline, permitting requirements, equipment needs, and long-term goals.

Eric and Jason discuss why one of the first questions in kitchen design should always be "What's your menu?", how the "circle of flow" can improve efficiency, and why designing around the way employees actually move through a kitchen or bar can have a major impact on an operation.

They also get into:

• Setting realistic expectations for restaurant buildouts
• Why budgets and timelines almost always change
• Designing around menu and service style
• Creating efficient kitchen and bar workflow
• Planning storage and refrigeration for changing menus
• Working with manufacturers and foodservice reps
• Using relationships as a resource when you don't know the answer
• AI's role in design and why human conversations still matter
• Halton hood systems and a real-world St. Louis food hall project
• A kitchen design project that became nearly impossible to solve

Whether you're opening your first restaurant, renovating an existing kitchen, designing a foodservice operation, or working in the equipment industry, this conversation offers a behind-the-scenes look at the decisions that can make—or break—a commercial kitchen project.

Cooked with Eric Reed is presented by Midwest Professional Reps.

Follow Midwest Professional Reps and Cooked with Eric Reed on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok.

Have a commercial kitchen horror story or a lesson you learned the hard way? Drop it in the comments.

CHAPTERS

00:00 – Intro: Cooked with Eric Reed
00:15 – Meet Jason from Rapids Foodservice Contract & Design
02:34 – How Jason Got Into Foodservice Design
04:46 – Why Asking Customers Questions Matters
07:16 – Where a Commercial Kitchen Design Project Starts
08:00 – Setting Realistic Expectations for Restaurant Owners
10:21 – Eric's Kitchen Design Nightmare
11:24 – Why Your Menu Has to Drive the Kitchen Design
12:16 – Menu, Service Style, Beverages, Budget & Timeline
15:01 – Something Will Always Go Wrong During a Buildout
15:48 – A $10,000 Inspection Surprise
17:02 – How Often Does a Restaurant Actually Have a Finished Menu?
17:31 – Designing School Kitchens for Changing Food Programs
19:19 – What Every Operator Should Know Before Building
21:29 – The "Circle of Flow" in Commercial Kitchen Design
23:24 – Designing Bars Around the Cocktail Life Cycle
25:10 – Designing Efficient Bartender Workstations
28:18 – Manufacturer Checklists & Kitchen Design Tools
30:13 – Why Conversation Can Beat a Checklist
31:17 – AI Note-Taking & AI in Foodservice Design
33:00 – What AI Can't Replace in Restaurant Design
36:31 – What Designers Need From Manufacturers
37:05 – Why Great Manufacturer Reps Matter
39:43 – Knowing Who to Call Is a Superpower
41:19 – Better Equipment & Production Estimates
43:21 – Jason's Favorite Manufacturer to Work With
44:50 – How Halton Solved a St. Louis Food Hall Problem
47:59 – The Kitchen Design Project Jason Wishes Went Differently
51:29 – Final Thoughts & Outro

Watch the entire episode on YouTube @MidProReps

Follow Eric, Chad and Midwest Professional Reps on Social Media @MidProReps