Burger King’s award winning chef dishes on menu innovation, inspiration, and hacks

For more than 30 years, Amy Alarcon has served as a chef at some of America’s favorite restaurant chains, from Church’s Chicken to Taco Cabana and Arby’s. But it was at Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen that Alarcon established herself as a major influence on the way Americans eat, overseeing for 18 years the development of some of that chain’s most popular menu items, including its iconic Chicken Sandwich.

Alarcon’s time at Popeyes included three wins at the restaurant industry’s premier MenuMasters Awards, which recognize culinary excellence.

Related: Nominate your restaurant for the 30th MenuMasters Awards; nominations due by November 30.

Today, Alarcon is vice president of culinary for Burger King, where she’s helping the nation’s eighth-largest restaurant chain reestablish itself as a leader in menu innovation.

In the first ever episode of the MenuMasters Spotlight podcast series, powered by Nation’s Restaurant News and sponsored by Ventura Foods, Alarcon joins NRN editor in chief Sam Oches for an in-depth conversation on her career and her approach to menu innovation, and to reflect on the ways in which her MenuMasters Awards wins have supercharged her role as a corporate chef.

Related:MenuMasters winning chef Grant Achatz reflects on a career of constant innovation

Stream the conversation with Alarcon above.