Mike Gabel laughs anytime he sees food scientists depicted as wearing lab coats and looking through microscopes. It’s not how he sees himself and the work that he does. In fact, he claims that in his 20-year career as a food scientist, he’s never even used a microscope. Instead, Mike helps food entrepreneurs develop products and bring them to market. 

Mike is the Director of the Food Innovation Center here at CSU Spur, which has the goal of supporting food innovators through various services and by creating a place for their ideas to be fostered and grow. He has led innovation teams at Windsor Foods, ConAgra Foods, and recently at Barilla where he spent five years at their headquarters in Parma, Italy.

He sat down to talk about his passion for food sciences, his career journey, and the secret behind how Jelly Belly makes their jellybeans taste exactly like the foods they intend to replicate.

Sign up to be a CSU Spur Taste Bud here