Q&A with Culinary Agents, An Aspiring LinkedIn For The Hospitality Industry [Video]

A recent National Restaurant Association study found that in January 2014 hospitality job openings were at an all-time high since 2007, clocking in at 534,000 – up from a monthly average of 450,000 in 2013. The same study found that roughly 40% of restaurant operators say that they anticipate recruiting and retaining employees to be more difficult in 2014 than it was in 2013.

Culinary Agents helps job seekers fill these openings and enables restaurants to retain the best talent. With over 12,000 members, including big-name chefs like Mario Batali and Daniel Boulud, the startup offers a professional network, professional resources and a job matching service for the hospitality industry, a la LinkedIn.

Earlier this year Culinary Agents raised a $500,000 in seed funding from RRE Ventures, Correlation Ventures and a group of angels year. And in January, we caught up with founder and CEO Alice Cheng to learn more about her startup’s technology and fundraising strategy. You can read the full interview here.

At our January Food+Tech Meetup “How New Tech is Transforming Restaurants,” Cheng presented Culinary Agents’ mission and business model (video below), which includes an audience Q&A that dives deeper into the startup’s user acquisition and plans for growth.

Culinary Agents – Food+Tech Meetup from Food Tech Connect on Vimeo.