TD Ameritrade’s Taste of the Futures: Episode #2 From Futures to Table
Futures trading and fine dining—two worlds that rarely meet, yet they share the same heartbeat. A balance of risk and reward. A game of precision, of anticipating the next move, of knowing when to hedge and when to go all in. In TD Ameritrade’s Taste of the Futures: Episode #2, Jamie McDonald steps into Chicago, the birthplace of the American futures market, but this time, the trading floor isn’t made of marble and screens—it’s the kitchen of Noah Sandoval, award-winning chef and owner of Oriole. Here, flavors are the currency, ingredients the assets, and every dish a high-stakes investment in taste.
Chef Noah Sandoval meticulously plates a dish at Oriole, showcasing the precision and balance that mirrors risk management in trading. Featured in TD Ameritrade’s Taste of the Futures – Episode #2.
The Art of Managing Risk—In a Portfolio and a Plate
Standing in front of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME Group), Jamie lays the groundwork: Futures stabilize the prices of everyday commodities—oats, beef, pork, wheat. They are the invisible forces keeping the cost of food predictable, ensuring that what lands on your plate doesn’t fluctuate wildly from one season to the next.
Jamie McDonald walks through Chicago, the birthplace of the American futures market, exploring how trading strategies shape industries beyond Wall Street. Featured in TD Ameritrade’s Taste of the Futures – Episode #2.
Inside Oriole’s kitchen, Sandoval explains how a chef thinks like a trader. Some dishes are high risk—a foie gras and blueberry pairing that pushes boundaries, challenges palates. Others are safe bets—butter, salt, truffles, flavors so universally loved they never miss. The key, in both trading and cooking, is balance.
Jamie sees the connection immediately. A chef’s menu is a portfolioA portfolio is a curated collection of work, projects, or achievements that showcase skills, expertise, and creativity. It is used to demonstrate an individual’s or organization’s capabilities to potential clients, employers, or collaborators.—diverse, measured, constantly adjusted. The same way a trader hedges against volatility, a chef builds a menu that offsets risk.
The Invisible Hand of Futures in Every Bite
Corn. Wheat. Beef. These aren’t just ingredients—they are assets that trade on the futures exchange, determining what a restaurant pays long before a dish is plated. Sandoval doesn’t buy in bulk, but his suppliers do, meaning the futures market quietly dictates his costs. A sudden spike in beef prices? A dish disappears from the menu. A stable price? The steak remains.
Chef Noah Sandoval and Jamie McDonald discuss the role of futures in restaurant pricing at Oriole in TD Ameritrade’s Taste of the Futures – Episode #2.
Planning ahead is essential. Right now, Sandoval is thinking about next year’s white asparagus. The menu is crafted a year in advance, just as traders look ahead, anticipating market movements, protecting against the unknown.
Futures: The Price Stability You Didn’t Know You Needed
A soy milk latte. A steak dinner. A plate of pasta. These are markets in motion. Every time you order, you’re engaging with a financial system that has worked for centuries to keep prices stable. Futures ensure that your morning coffee costs roughly the same today as it did last month, allowing businesses, from coffee shops to Michelin-starred kitchens, to operate with confidence.
A trader analyzes futures contracts on TD Ameritrade’s trading platform, showcasing the real-time decision-making process behind futures trading. Featured in TD Ameritrade’s Taste of the Futures – Episode #2.
But here’s the real twist—you’re not just benefiting from futures trading; you can use it yourself. With tools like micro E-mini futures, investors can hedge risk in their own portfolios, just as restaurants hedge against price swings in their supply chain.
A Recipe for the Market—And the Future
Cooking and trading—two disciplines built on timing, precision, and calculated risk. The ingredients of a great trade? Not so different from the ingredients of a great dish. Both require foresight, strategyStrategy is a structured and goal-oriented plan designed to achieve specific objectives by leveraging resources and actions in an organized and intentional manner. It serves as a roadmap for success across various disciplines, from business to marketing., and an understanding of how every small decision shapes the bigger picture.
TD Ameritrade’s Taste of the Futures reveals the unseen connections that shape our world.
From the CME to the kitchen at Oriole, Episode #2 reminds us that whether we’re trading markets or crafting menus, the right balance is everything.
Because in the end, the futures market, much like a Michelin-starred dish, is all about the perfect blend of risk and reward.
Bon appétit.
A finished plate at Oriole, illustrating how futures trading influences the ingredients that make it to the table. Featured in TD Ameritrade’s Taste of the Futures – Episode #2.
