• Off the clock, Graham is in the Northern California wilderness with some combination of two-legged and four-legged companions
• Fueled by strong coffee, interesting problems, creative people, and more coffee

Graham’s instinct is to dig for answers.

Why something works. Why people do things that make no sense on paper.

That insatiable curiosity is exactly why he leads The Culinary Edge, CORE’s consultancy for chain restaurant growth.

While some think of restaurant innovation as pretty interiors or clever graphics, Graham starts somewhere less glamorous: the precise problem, the human need, the financial reality.

Earlier in his career, Graham cut his teeth on unforgiving design challenges for PepsiCo, Starbucks, Nivea, and PayPal. No room for half-baked products.

For 20+ years, he’s pushed to find where brand ambition collides with everyday reality. Before concepts land on thousands of menus, they’re refined until they can stand on their own in the chaos of a Friday night kitchen.

Favorite meal of all time? Pizza fritta from a street vendor in Napoli’s Spanish Quarter. Tomatoes and cheese, sealed in dough and fried. Proof that well-designed food can be simple and still stop you in your tracks.