Chefs to Watch: Sodexo corporate chef brings B&I dining back to life with fresh ideas

As a child growing up in the California mountains, Senior Culinary Director Melody Miranda played “restaurant,” with herself as head chef, siblings as front-of-the-house staff and her parents as customers. Her first signature item was toasted croutons. Later, as a young adult, she worked at a bed and breakfast and then Baskin Robbins, where she honed her cake-decorating skills.

Flash-forward to today, Miranda recently moved back to Northern California, where she’s sharing the edible elements of nature with her own family and thinking about getting into foraging with all the cool stuff available, like herbs in the front yard.

That hyper-fresh attitude is serving her well in her work to connect the dots between Sodexo and The Good Eating Co., which Sodexo hopes will infuse its B&I operations with a breath of fresh air, and the things corporate clients are looking for these days: Fresh, delicious food that’s full of flavor and gets them interested, whether they’re working from home, returning to offices or in a hybrid model.

Miranda also talks about some of her new inspirations, including fermentation and canning.

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