We study to understand, we practice to learn, and we produce to truly know. These are foundational steps in building competence and confidence, but they also unlock the possibility to create and innovate. Moving the business of food forward requires both a commitment to those critical foundations and the wherewithal to question, push forward, think creatively, and innovate a product or process that is new and exciting. It all begins with those foundations that we teach in our kitchens and classrooms – their importance can never be diminished.

Join our conversation with Chef Robert Dumas, the Food Science Innovation Coordinator at the University of Maine. From Louisiana kitchens to a tour of duty on a Navy submarine, through the Presidential White House Mess where he participated in servicing the staff and president during the Obama years, to his current position that helps to bring innovation in food to the economy of Maine, Dumas represents a perfect example of the importance of the foundations to the process of creativity and innovation. You won’t want to miss this interview.