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Industry Innovators 2025: Michael Stavros

The vice president of business development at M Culinary Concepts has helped implement unique zero-waste efforts that consider the entire life cycle of food.

In addition to creating innovative dishes for events—like this clever taco housed in a Fritos bag—M Culinary and its partner, Waste Not, rescue more than 40,000 pounds of food annually, feeding tens of thousands of Arizonans contending with food insecurity. “We’re filling bellies, not landfills,” says Stavros.
In addition to creating innovative dishes for events—like this clever taco housed in a Fritos bag—M Culinary and its partner, Waste Not, rescue more than 40,000 pounds of food annually, feeding tens of thousands of Arizonans contending with food insecurity. “We’re filling bellies, not landfills,” says Stavros.
Photo: Courtesy of M Culinary Concepts

Michael Stavros M Culinary ConceptsPhoto: Courtesy of Michael StavrosMichael Stavros—commonly known to his peers as simply "Stavros"—is the vice president of business development at M Culinary Concepts in Phoenix. He's also the co-founder and immediate past president of Elite Catering + Event Professionals (ECEP), a membership-based collective.

How he got his start: Stavros discovered his passion for the culinary and events worlds while working in restaurants after opting not to pursue law school. The shift led to a development role at Aramark, where he contributed to the launch of its off-premise and premium catering division, Aventura. In 2010, he was recruited by M Culinary Concepts to serve as director of sales and marketing.

“Eventually, I returned to my favorite role—business development," he says. "I thrive on this because it encompasses relationship development, strategic partnerships, community outreach, and long-term planning. These are many of the same reasons I appreciate the work I do with ECEP, which was founded in 2021 from a desire for partnership and collaboration with colleagues and a need for advocacy on large and small scales.”

In 2018, Stavros became a partner at M Culinary Concepts, and in 2024, he became an employee-owner when the team shifted to an employee stock ownership plan. 

What sets his company apart: Stavros attributes M Culinary Concepts’ success to its entrepreneurial—or what he refers to as “intrapreneurial”—mindset; the company has expanded from fine dining into diverse sectors like workplace dining, emergency response, and hospitality consulting, for example. Most recently, Stavros was instrumental in launching a kosher kitchen in an effort to better serve M Culinary Concepts' clients. 

Stavros is quick to offer praise to others in the industry: “We were inspired and guided by Joann Roth-Oseary, who has one of the best kosher caterers I know in Los Angeles—Five Star Catering, a division of Someone’s in the Kitchen,” he says. (Fun fact: Roth Oseary is also one of our 2025 Industry Innovators!)

At the WM Phoenix Open, M Culinary provides hospitality catering to more than 200,000 people over six days.At the WM Phoenix Open, M Culinary provides hospitality catering to more than 200,000 people over six days.Photo: Courtesy of M Culinary ConceptsWhat innovation means to him: “Innovation happens when we see a need or opportunity, get excited for what’s next, then find a way to make it happen,” Stavros says. “For instance, we wanted to advance our sustainability measures beyond the typical use of compostable goods and recyclable containers. We went to the heart of what we do, which is serve great food, and then looked at our impact on the food cycle from a holistic vantage point—from creation to compost.” 

One of his biggest drivers, he notes, was the team's largest event of the year. "At the WM Phoenix Open, M Culinary provides hospitality catering to more than 200,000 people over six days. And because WM (formerly Waste Management) is committed to making Arizona’s signature spectator event the largest zero-waste event in the world, we took a hard look at food cycles and asked ourselves, ‘Where can we make the most positive impact?’”

Enter: bees. “Cross-pollinators such as bees are responsible for one out of every three bites of food we take," he explains. "When it was clear having our own bee colony wouldn’t be viable where we are located, we started to support organizations that raise and protect bee colonies." The team donates plant-based scraps to a local worm farm.The team donates plant-based scraps to a local worm farm.Photo: Courtesy of M Culinary Concepts

From there, the team began donating plant-based scraps to a nearby worm farm. "These scraps are used to make compost for growing worms that are fed to chickens that lay eggs that are sold to the public. Compost and mulch are also sold to growers, farmers, and landscapers. It’s truly the food cycle in action!”

The company also uses software systems to increase efficiency and reduce waste in the kitchen, and works with local food rescue organizations to pick up and distribute unserved food from its events. In total, M Culinary and its partner, Waste Not, rescue more than 40,000 pounds of food annually, feeding tens of thousands of Arizonans contending with food insecurity. “We’re filling bellies, not landfills,” says Stavros. “Innovation happens when we see a need or opportunity, get excited for what’s next, then find a way to make it happen,” Stavros says.“Innovation happens when we see a need or opportunity, get excited for what’s next, then find a way to make it happen,” Stavros says.Photo: Courtesy of M Culinary Concepts

Memorable moments: “WM Phoenix Open is always memorable, but there is another series of events that I find just as memorable for very different reasons," he says. "They may not be the biggest or the glitziest of affairs, but to me, they were such an innovative event model because it was a way to provide a higher-quality experience for a lower cost for multiple clients."

Over several holiday weekends during a five-year span, M Culinary produced back-to-back parties for two different clients at one venue. "We created one event on Saturday, then, using the same bones from that event, flipped it, reskinned it, and reset it for Sunday," he remembers. "This was not something we kept secret. The result was a greater economy of scale, giving both clients a higher-quality experience for their budget.”

On one of the weekends, he says, "we collaborated on menus and equipment to create a futuristic, galactic-themed event for 3,300 guests on Saturday with an international superstar DJ (let’s just say cake was thrown—IYKYK), then overnight flipped the entire look and menu to be a 1940s Hollywood canteen vibe with a live band and USO entertainment for 1,500 guests. That year we debuted our ‘Nacho Cheese on Draught’ station and toppings bar at both events. Guests pulled the branded local beer-tap handle and out poured craft beer-infused or bacon-smoked hot nacho cheese sauce over their tortilla chips or pretzel bites. It was an Insta moment.” M Culinary Concepts offers a 'Nacho Cheese on Draught' station.M Culinary Concepts offers a "Nacho Cheese on Draught" station.Photo: Courtesy of M Culinary Concepts

His all-time favorite food: Stavros loves the nostalgia and flavor that come together in the form of a roast beef sandwich, a staple on the North Shore of Massachusetts where he grew up. “You’ll find it from the metro Boston area to southern New Hampshire,” he says. “Step into your favorite mom-and-pop roast beef joint—likely owned by a fellow Greek!—and order me a ‘Supah Beef’ with extra sauce. No matter where you get one of these sandwiches, the formula for it is the same: warm rare roast beef sliced paper-thin to order, and served on an onion roll with tangy James River BBQ sauce, or ‘three-way’ with cheese, mayo, and sauce.”

His biggest hope for the F&B: industry: Stavros envisions a brighter future for the food and beverage industry, with a focus on holistic sustainability and attracting top talent. “What can we do to keep the best and brightest in this industry?” he asks, urging continued evolution in business practices and environmental responsibility.

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