This Chef Uses Memes to Call Out His Industry — and He’s Turning Online Influence into Real Change

Eli Sussman, a James Beard Award-nominated chef and owner of Gertrude's in Brooklyn, uses humorous social media posts and memes to spotlight the realities of hospitality. As a chef, operator, and content creator, he’s built a career that blends hospitality with digital influence.

Watch now to learn about the drive to keep opening restaurants, an unexpected collaboration, and the rise to meme royalty.

Sponsored by:

• TOAST AllIn1 Restaurant POS

Chapters:

[02:41] - Journey and Failures

[10:03] - Mentorship and Community

[13:43] - The Power of Memes

[23:35] - Collaboration with Baldor Specialty Foods

[29:46] - Lessons from Fast Casual Dining

SPONSORS:

RESTAURANT INFLUENCERS IS PRESENTED BY TOAST —

Restaurant Influencers is brought to you by Toast, the powerful restaurant point of sale and management system that helps restaurants improve operations, increase sales and create a better guest experience.

• Toast AllIn1 Restaurant POS

Episode Links:

Alo’s Ann Arbor

Eli Sussman Instagram

Eli Sussman LinkedIn

Eli Sussman Merch Shop

Talkin In The Walkin Instagram

Talkin In The Walkin YouTube

Baldor Specialty Foods

Key Takeaways:

Humor Can Build a Digital Brand: Unfiltered humor from Eli Sussman helped turn industry critiques into opportunities, such as his collab with Baldor Speciality Foods, where jokes about late deliveries led to a merch partnership.

Disrupting the Industry with Memes: Calling out restaurant industry issues, from unpaid stages to outdated hierarchies, Eli Sussman uses eye-catching memes to garner attention.

Failure is a Learning Opportunity: Eli Sussman’s fast-casual Samesa restaurant didn’t scale as planned, but its closure made him a better owner and leader, paving the way for new ventures like Alo's.

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ABOUT ELI SUSSMAN —

Eli Sussman is a chef, restaurateur, and digital creator. Sussman is the executive chef and partner of Gertrude’s in Brooklyn which received a glowing New Yorker review and was included in the New York Times Top 8 dishes of 2023. He was a semifinalist for the James Beard Rising Star Award, was awarded a Zagat 30 under 30, is a chef ambassador for No Kid Hungry, and is the author of four cookbooks. He has appeared multiple times on the Today Show and Food Network, and has contributed to Food & Wine, Saveur and Bon Appétit.

ABOUT RESTAURANT INFLUENCERS —

Restaurant Influencers is a weekly video podcast series presented by Entrepreneur Media and Cali BBQ Media. Every week host and restaurant owner Shawn Walchef (@shawnpwalchef) talks with business leaders like Shaquille O’Neal, Rob Dyrdek, Emeril Lagasse, Mayim Bialik, Jon Taffer, Robert Irvine, Toast co-founder Aman Narang, and more, about their secrets to Smartphone Storytelling, marketing, branding, and how to show up where customers are engaging online.

Published by Entrepreneur Media

Produced by Cali BBQ Media