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Bret Thorn

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  • 2 min

New on the menu: Two seafood stews and fried milk shark

🍴 Bret Thorn, Senior Food & Beverage Editor for Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality, has guided F&B trends since 1999. Host of "In the Kitchen with Bret Thorn" podcast, he covered New York City’s restaurant scene for The New York Sun from 2005-2008. Before that, Thorn worked in Thailand as a writer (1992-1997) and ABC News runner in 1989. He's a Tufts University magna cum laude graduate, a Phi Beta Kappa member, and studied French cooking at Le Cordon Bleu. His editorial work earned him the 2006 Jesse H. Neal Award and a presidency at IFEC in 2005. Thorn authored food entries for Oxford Encyclopedia (2012) and Oxford Companion (2015), and was inducted into Disciples d’Escoffier in 2014.
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  • 2 min

New on the Menu: crackling pork and titanic shrimp

🍝 Bret Thorn, Senior Food & Beverage Editor for Nation's Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality since 1999, also writes for the New York Sun (2005-2008) and previously worked in Thailand as a journalist (1992-1997). He is a Tufts University magna cum laude history graduate (1990), studied at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris (1986), and reported for ABC News during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. Thorn won the 2006 Jesse H. Neal Award, was IFEC president in 2005, and was inducted into the Disciples d'Escoffier in 2014. He lives in Brooklyn, NY.
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  • 5 min

Sprinkles founder Candace Nelson traces her career path from corporate America to ‘Queen of Cupcakes’

🍰 Candace Nelson, founder of Sprinkles and Pizzana, and a TV personality featured on Food Network's "Cupcake Wars" and Netflix's "Sugar Rush," shared her entrepreneurial journey at CREATE: The Event for Emerging Restaurateurs. She authored "Sweet Success: A Simple Recipe to Turn your Passion into Profit," a best-selling book given to conference attendees. Sprinkles, known for its gourmet cupcakes, debuted in Beverly Hills during the low-carb craze and had lines out the door from day one, selling out before noon. After selling Sprinkles to KarpReilly, Nelson opened Pizzana, an artisanal pizza concept with seven locations, and is now expanding through a loyalty program and seeking new investments with CN2 Ventures.
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  • 2 min

New on the Menu: Two shrimp dishes and Angelo Sosa’s fluke

🍝 Bret Thorn, Senior Food & Beverage Editor for Nation’s Restaurant News since 1999 and Restaurant Hospitality since 2016, reports on food and beverage trends and guides F&B coverage. Hosts "In the Kitchen with Bret Thorn" podcast. Wrote for The New York Sun (2005-2008), Manager magazine, and Asia Times in Thailand (1992-1997). Covered Tiananmen Square for ABC News in 1989. Thorn's NRN column won the 2006 Jesse H. Neal Award. Inducted into Disciples d’Escoffier in 2014. Authored entries for the Oxford Encyclopedia (2012) and Companion to Sugar and Sweets (2015). Lives in Brooklyn, NY. Email: [email protected] Social media: LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.
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New on the Menu: Two salmon dishes and prawn curry

🍴 Bret Thorn, Senior Food & Beverage Editor for Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality, reports on food and beverage trends. He hosted "In the Kitchen with Bret Thorn" podcast and authored columns for The New York Sun (2005-2008) and Nation’s Restaurant News. Thorn joined Nation’s Restaurant News in 1999 post his five-year stint in Thailand writing for Manager magazine and Asia Times newspaper. He won the 2006 Jesse H. Neal Award and was president of the International Foodservice Editorial Council in 2005. A magna cum laude Tufts University graduate with history, he also studied at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris and in China during college years, witnessing the Tiananmen Square events in 1989. Thorn wrote for the Oxford Encyclopedia and was inducted into the Disciples d’Escoffier in 2014. Email: [email protected] Social media profiles include LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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  • 3 min

Indianapolis-based Cunningham Restaurant Group stresses scratch cooking and hospitality

🍴 Cunningham Restaurant Group operates 44 restaurants in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. Founded in 1997 in Brownsburg, Indiana, with Boulder Creek Dining Company, it expanded to include Charbonos, Stonecreek Dining Company (5 locations), Bru Burger Bar, and various other brands. The company embraces local sourcing and scratch cooking. Vida's chef Thomas Melvin was a James Beard Foundation semifinalist in 2022 and 2024. The group is launching Shin Dig in Indianapolis and a Bru Burger in Fort Wayne, as well as a new catering service, in the fall. They have a centralized downtown Indianapolis headquarters with facilities including a test kitchen and a USDA-certified greenhouse.
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  • 2 min

New on the menu: Two halibuts and a PSL Espresso Martini

🍴 Bret Thorn, Senior Food & Beverage Editor for Nation's Restaurant News since 1999 and Restaurant Hospitality since 2016, won the 2006 Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Award. Host of "In the Kitchen with Bret Thorn" podcast, he covered New York City's restaurant scene for The New York Sun from 2005 to 2008. A magna cum laude Tufts University graduate and a member of Phi Beta Kappa, he also studied at Le Cordon Bleu and in China. Bret was inducted into the Disciples d'Escoffier in 2014.
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