Latest / Chef's PSA Podcast / Junior Borges: Food Critics, Brazilian Food, Mentoring Chefs, Restaurant Awards | Chef's PSA Podcast Ep. 124

Transcript

Junior Borges: Food Critics, Brazilian Food, Mentoring Chefs, Restaurant Awards | Chef's PSA Podcast Ep. 124 · Chef's PSA Podcast

0:00
Hello chefs. This is Chef's PSA podcast.
0:02
I'm your host, Andre Natera. Today's guest is Chef Junior
0:05
Borges. Good friend of mine, known him
0:07
for a long time. He's an outstanding chef and he
0:10
has multiple awards, including most recently being nominated
0:13
for outstanding Chef in the United States by the James Beard
0:16
Foundation. He's a member of the Culinary
0:18
Council for Mentor BKB, and he's just all around a really cool
0:22
guy. I think you'll really enjoy this
0:23
conversation. Stay tuned.
0:37
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1:13
That's good. To see you, man.
1:14
Good. To see you too.
1:15
Did you see the new list of the Michelin Key hotels?
1:18
I did. Yeah.
1:19
So it's interesting because obviously the stars are not
1:22
announced and I don't know when this podcast will come out, but
1:25
last week the announcement from Michelin came out.
1:28
All the keyed hotels in Texas got announced and some, you
1:31
know, I think it was all over the US, right?
1:34
I think it was like, yeah, Mexico, US and Canada, yeah.
1:38
So. Yeah, yeah, all over North
1:39
America. Yeah, for us in Texas, I'm
1:41
trying to think Hotel Emma got it 22 keys and.
1:44
I think we're like 20 hotel store all across Texas that got
1:48
a key and I believe there was only a handful that got 2.
1:54
I think it was. Two of a birds.
1:57
Properties. No one in Austin?
2:00
Oh yeah, the one in Fort Worth, the one in Austin and then Hotel
2:03
Emma in San Antonio. I.
2:04
Believe that was it. Yeah, yeah.
2:06
And then a lot of one key. So where I was at, where I was
2:09
at, they got one key. They would have got two if I was
2:11
if I was still there, they would have got 2.
2:13
But congratulations to everyone for sure.
2:17
It's it's interesting to see how Michelin's now doing the keed
2:19
hotels because for chefs, for a lot of people that like they
2:24
want to go the Michelin route and a lot of hotel chefs, they
2:28
don't have that option. I mean, some of them do, but a
2:30
lot of them don't. And this kind of validates, OK,
2:32
I'm in a, I'm in a high tier luxury hotel that can, you know,
2:36
obviously has good food, good service, or else they're not
2:39
going to be on Michelin's radar. But yeah, it's interesting to
2:41
see the people that got the keys and what's going to be really
2:44
interesting to see who gets the stars.
2:45
Do you have like? Yeah, I mean, I, I, I feel like
2:48
people always like after the last few months, right?
2:52
Like, I mean everyone kind of asked who do you think is going
2:55
to get it? Who do you think's going to get
2:56
at me? I don't know.
2:57
I think, I think I feel like is I feel it's going to be more I
3:02
feel like it's going to be a little bit more disappointment
3:05
than like kind of like the. I feel like it's going to be a
3:08
little some some some ego check. Yeah.
3:13
I do think that is a great thing though.
3:14
Like, I mean, like Michelin coming and and and whoever
3:18
doesn't get it, it doesn't mean that you're not doing the right
3:21
thing. And then the main like, and I
3:23
feel like, I feel like it's funny because I was saying this
3:27
to someone like about the Florida guide.
3:31
And I think the first year Tampa did not get one star.
3:35
And then I think like now two years later, like, I mean, that
3:39
is like four or five restaurants in Tampa that has a star.
3:42
Yeah. You know, Yeah.
3:44
So I think we are we're in like, you know, it's something that we
3:49
that I fought like I always wanted Michelin to come.
3:54
And I think it will elevate the game for sure.
3:57
And I think whoever doesn't get it this year, like will kind of
4:01
riot continue to push themselves to to, to get it next year and.
4:05
You know, there's rumors and I haven't verified these rumors,
4:09
so I I don't know if this is true or not, but there are
4:13
rumors that world's fifty best is doing a North America, a
4:16
North America list of 5050 best restaurants North America.
4:21
I don't know if that's true or not.
4:22
I've heard the rumor. I think I saw that they are they
4:25
did announce the 50 best bars North America, so that that's
4:29
official. I believe if I'm wrong, you
4:32
know, they could Fact Check me in the comments.
4:33
But I do think that the 50 best coming to the US, Michelin
4:39
coming to Texas, Obviously James Beard is already here.
4:42
And congratulations for your on your nomination too.
4:46
It's interesting to see that just because a chef might be in
4:50
the Michelin world, they might not be in the James Beard world.
4:53
Well, they might not be in the world's fifty best world.
4:55
Like all three of them kind of look a little bit different.
4:58
Yes, I mean, I think they're all and it kind of makes sense,
5:01
right. Like, I think, I think at the
5:02
end of the day, those are all great recognitions, but they're
5:05
all kind of, I think like the way the, the, the world is, the
5:09
way the economy works and how the money works.
5:13
Like this is all sponsorship opportunities.
5:18
You let no secrets like I mean, come on.
5:20
Dude, like I mean like, you know, like it's always like
5:22
great. It is of course.
5:24
Like imagine how much money white generates for 50 bass to
5:27
come to the US. So.
5:28
So it's a great thing. Don't take San Pellegrino off
5:31
your menu. But put it on your menu.
5:34
Put it on your menu right now. Go call San Pella Gruno.
5:38
Say we get lots of aquapana. Take 10 cases, Yeah.
5:42
Yeah, but yeah, I think I think it's it's a good thing.
5:46
Listen, I feel like Michelin coming, I have always I've
5:52
always felt that the talent in I've been in Texas now for 10
5:56
years and I feel like when I moved here 10 years ago, it was
6:01
definitely a completely different landscape, right?
6:05
Like in in Austin, Dallas, everywhere.
6:08
And I feel we have come so far. And even within those 10 years
6:13
that has been so much growth and talent and different places
6:19
opening and and the kind of like, you know, places that were
6:22
definitely more developed that I felt it was like, man, like we
6:26
have so much money here talent. So it's kind of like, why is
6:31
Michelin not coming? I like.
6:33
Yeah, no, I agree. I mean, we were just talking
6:36
before we started recording, we were talking about how there's
6:38
so many new chefs that I mean, I'm having AI live in Texas and
6:43
all I do is think about food and the chefs and, and I'm like,
6:47
there's so many new chefs that I don't even know that are doing
6:49
great things like, and it's like, wow, where'd this guy come
6:52
from? Where'd this girl come from?
6:53
I I don't know who they are, but boy, their food looks good.
6:56
And it looks, if you look at the food that people are putting out
6:58
today, like it would be, you know, the best restaurant in the
7:04
country 10 years ago, right? Food has evolved so much.
7:07
I was talking with Phillip Speer.
7:10
He was on the podcast a couple of episodes back.
7:12
We were saying how you for sure were on the on the radar for
7:17
sure. I, I think Meridian was one of
7:20
the best meals I've had, honestly.
7:22
So I could say this now, like I would say in the past few years,
7:27
especially when you opened it, I think that was the best meal I
7:29
had in Texas, arguably. Yeah.
7:32
I mean, our, our, I mean, I was like, damn.
7:34
And you know, what's funny is a lot of other chefs would say the
7:37
same thing. Like, we, you know, we all talk
7:38
shit behind behind the scenes. Like, yeah, meridians.
7:41
No, it, it was, it was, it wasn't amazing.
7:44
It was an amazing project, that's for sure.
7:46
And I think the people that were there was were incredible.
7:49
I was extremely honored and proud to be able to kind of like
7:54
cook this food that has I was presentation representing like
7:58
my culture and, and, and have a take on Brazilian cuisine that
8:02
most people don't, don't, didn't know and still kind of don't
8:06
really know, right. Like, I mean, and, and, and I
8:09
think be able to kind of had done that.
8:11
And I felt that when we open like the first year or so, man,
8:16
we are, we're we're doing like it felt good, right, Like it
8:20
felt that like we had the team was kind of getting stronger and
8:24
better and there was a a connection between the front and
8:26
the back and, and, and, and it was a good, it was a good thing.
8:30
They were telling why the stories and relating what the
8:33
concept was. But in and and now we've, we,
8:37
we're lucky, right? We're we're having all these
8:39
people coming into the restaurant and, and saying how
8:43
great it was and people from Chicago, from Miami, from New
8:46
York and, and all, and I'm like, man, like this restaurant could
8:50
be in in New York and would be successful, could be in Chicago,
8:54
it could be successful. So.
8:55
So for a lot of people that don't know Brazilian food, and I
8:58
know we we've talked about this, but did was it difficult to
9:02
start to introduce? Because correct me if I'm wrong,
9:06
but this was the first time that you were able to say this is
9:08
this is me, right? This is my food.
9:11
This is a combination of what I've done in my career and I'm
9:14
and I'm showcasing my Brazilian heritage.
9:16
Was that difficult to introduce to Dallas?
9:18
It was a little bit, it was kind of like, I think it was a little
9:21
difficult to even sort of grasp, right?
9:24
Like I think like I, you know, like we, we, we started when the
9:30
start kind of developing. I knew that it was like, OK, I
9:33
wanted this is I got this clean slate to create a concept.
9:38
And I'm like, wow, if I'm going to create a concept, I need to
9:41
kind of put myself on the plate. And, and it's, it's a process,
9:46
right? Like, I mean, when you were a
9:47
young chef, as soon as you kind of get that first position, you
9:50
were cooking a lot of the stuff that that you learn from the
9:53
previous restaurant that you worked, right?
9:56
All the other stories that you have or the OR the if you're a
9:58
sous chef or CDC or whatever, like you're doing that food very
10:03
close to where to what you know. Then I think like years by being
10:08
a had been an executive chef had creating concepts, how to work
10:12
under different concepts and and and and get to enough experience
10:17
to kind of like now I'm able to do this.
10:19
I think I was at that point in my life, I felt I was
10:23
comfortable enough to say like, OK, this is me, but this is also
10:27
my first time doing it. So so I think like to you're
10:30
right, like it was a little bit of like, OK, is it people going
10:33
to understand this is it? Is it going to be weird?
10:36
This this toasted yuca flour, the fat Offa right?
10:41
Like is it going to be weird? Take texture for people like,
10:45
you know, like for me, it's not because I grew up eating right,
10:47
but it's kind of like that was something that I kind of kept
10:51
thinking, but also even even thinking terms of how eclectic
10:55
the menu was. It was really a representation
10:59
of my my history as a chef, right?
11:03
Like my experiences as a cook coming up and the places that I
11:08
work and the techniques that I learned.
11:10
But also it was a little bit of kind of a representation what
11:14
Brazilian culture is, which a lot of people don't know.
11:18
Right. Yeah.
11:19
So for people that don't know what, what are some of the
11:22
things that in Brazil you grew up eating?
11:24
What does the food culture look like?
11:26
Well, I mean, I right, like, I mean, I'm half my family comes
11:30
from Bahia, which is the the the, the biggest, I think one of
11:34
the largest African concentrations outside of
11:37
Africa. So, so it's really the, the,
11:39
the, the, the so engraved in the culture, the cuisine of that
11:44
region, the religion of that region, the practices, all that.
11:48
So I grew up kind of eating that food, but also I grew up in Rio,
11:52
which is like, right, a melting pot of all these different
11:56
cultures. So Brazil has the 4th largest
12:00
Italian population outside of Italy, the number one Japanese
12:04
population outside of Japan. So we have obviously why we're
12:10
colonized by Portuguese. So that is a lot of European
12:15
kind of style of cooking and just this style of eating as a
12:19
whole, right? Like me, all the restaurants in
12:21
Rio open at 7:00 PM and they close at 9:30, OK.
12:26
Like, you know, like, I mean, because no one, no one eats
12:29
dinner at 5:00. Like, you know, like it's just
12:32
like a very sort of like European way to to eat it.
12:36
So introducing all those things in Meridian, that was important
12:39
for me to sort of like, but it was, it's still like, I mean, I
12:43
remember a critic riding once. I was like, oh, this food is not
12:46
Brazilian enough. Like, who are you to say that
12:48
this is not Brazilian enough? You know what I mean?
12:51
Like you're like, you're I'm the Brazilian, you know, like I
12:53
actually grew up eating this shit.
12:55
Yeah. So it's like, so it's kind of
12:56
like, you know, like it's weird, like, you know.
12:58
Do you feel, do you feel pressure from that like the
13:00
critics that were pushing you saying this isn't Brazilian up
13:02
when they don't know? Listen, it was I think it was
13:04
only once that someone kind of said that I think there was
13:07
still some people kind of come into the restaurant.
13:10
Most listen, most of the people love the restaurant and even
13:14
this, this, this, this critic itself, like he loved the
13:17
restaurant. I know he did and I know he he
13:19
appreciated what I was doing. And it's kind of like no, later
13:22
on he kept like kind of giving us like, you know, some good,
13:25
some good feedback and and whatnot.
13:26
But but I think like overall, right, all the response was
13:30
amazing. I think there was still like
13:32
this kind of misconception for most people.
13:35
They're like, oh OK, am I eating?
13:37
Brazil is it? Spicy food is it?
13:39
Brazilian food, I have no idea. I thought I was eating like
13:42
pasta with like, you know, like pork ragu and I'm like, yes,
13:47
this is my food. But it's like with kind of like
13:50
this Brazilian lens, you know? Yeah, So but it it, it, it was,
13:54
it was, it was unique. It was kind of special.
13:57
And I think like it's definitely something that I want to kind of
14:01
bring it back. And even for the future projects
14:04
that that that that that I have going on, like it will be
14:07
sprinkled here and there, right? Like, I think until really like
14:12
that is a a place that I can call really like this is a
14:15
Brazilian restaurant. I don't know if that's going to
14:18
happen, but maybe we'll. So I have a question.
14:21
So I, I, I like to ask a lot of chefs what their creative
14:24
process is. But when you were opening
14:27
Meridian and you had a lot of time, 'cause I remember we were,
14:29
I, I remember we did the mentor dinner.
14:31
I think we did another dinner. So I felt like maybe you had
14:34
almost, I mean, my old podcast, you were even a guest on my, on
14:37
my first podcast, right. So what was almost like a year
14:40
in pre opening? It was about a year and a half
14:43
almost in pre opening. So what?
14:45
What, what is the creative process in your mind, 'cause you
14:48
have a year and you're, I don't know, are you writing ideas?
14:51
Are you are you in books? How do you go from from, OK, I'm
14:55
going to, I'm going to put my identity on a plate.
14:58
What does the process look like for you to get those ideas to
15:01
final completion? I think it's different from dish
15:05
to dish. There were certain dishes that
15:09
kind of like I knew sort of exactly what I wanted and I
15:13
think we nailed the right right in the head.
15:16
Like one of those was like this tapioca fritter, right?
15:19
Like how I feel like we wanted to do that.
15:21
Why don't you have a snack a section on the menu?
15:24
There was a snack section. I was like, let's make either
15:29
copy cooling house or cure something house.
15:32
We're all we going to get some really nice kind of prosciutto
15:35
or ham or something. And there was going to be
15:38
basically this little plate of this crispy fritters with all
15:43
these different Brazilian cheeses that kind of
15:45
incorporated there some some ham.
15:48
We're going to make our own hot sauce is going to have some
15:51
Pickles. That is going to change
15:52
basically what the what we get from the farm, you know, and
15:56
that we kind of like nailed, right, like right in the head I
16:00
had, but then there was some other dishes there were kind of
16:04
a little bit more difficult, right?
16:05
Like I knew that I wanted to do a Mocheka.
16:08
What is that for? Me Mocheka is a a dish that I
16:11
grew up eating. It's a, it's a fish Stew that
16:14
comes from Bahia, something that my my grandmother used to make
16:17
all the time. And, and it's normally when you
16:21
sit at a restaurant and you order Mokeka, it's kind of like
16:24
rice comes in as like, you know, the, the fish kind of like
16:28
steaks. Why there's still bones in it.
16:30
And some of them they're like, you know, like that kind of it's
16:33
the broth, it's kind of oily, it's herbs all over the place.
16:37
It's kind of like almost like, you know, a hot pot kind of
16:39
thing. You know, it's served
16:41
traditionally on like a a clay pot.
16:44
Like, you know, like it's, it's very sort of homey, but it's
16:47
delicious, right? Like has all the Peppers and
16:49
onions and tomatoes kind of like, you know, stewed up in
16:53
there by all pieces. So how to kind of do that dish
16:57
and have a representation of that dish, but also elevated
17:01
that dish to a more fine dining and still have that.
17:05
I think that was one of the, the, the, the most difficult
17:08
dishes for me because I had a very clear image of what that
17:14
dish was and what my, one of my I want to represent for like my
17:19
grandmother, but how I needed to elevate that.
17:22
So that process took a couple times us doing it.
17:27
Do we puree this? Do we don't puree this?
17:29
Do we kind of add this? Do we don't do we kind of like,
17:31
I mean, so we went through these phases until we kind of got to a
17:34
point where we like, no, this is this is good, this is it.
17:37
Do you ever feel the, the pressure to live up to, OK, this
17:44
is this, this dish is important to, to my grandmother, like you
17:48
said earlier, did you feel pressure to, to, to deliver it
17:51
in a certain way, but also make sure it fully represents the
17:57
style of restaurant in Dallas and all that?
17:59
It was, it was a little bit of a pressure.
18:01
Again, it was a little bit of a pressure, especially because it
18:04
started to kind of come with like almost every, I mean,
18:07
literally every week there were like Brazilians, Indiana, the
18:10
restaurant. Yeah.
18:11
So that was kind of almost a little bit of the truth.
18:13
I didn't realize there was a big Brazilian.
18:15
Yeah, I didn't realize either until like we opened and then I
18:18
would like there's all these Brazilians come out of come out
18:20
of nowhere. And.
18:21
And so I think for me, it was cool because it felt was really
18:26
like nice for them to kind of like give them, man, like this
18:29
is awesome. I felt like I'm I was at home.
18:32
Yeah. I felt like, you know, and there
18:34
was this dish. There was it's one of my
18:36
favorite snacks on the beaches. It's just a simple like cheese
18:39
on the stick that gets grilled and on the beach in Brazil they
18:43
kind of offer you with like some dry oregano or some honey.
18:47
So we kind of did like a hot honey and like put some more.
18:50
We had a big garden. So we picked, you know, herbs
18:54
everyday. We had like this really nice
18:55
oregano and like came on this little grill kind of with smoke
19:00
and kind of representation like of that beach vibe.
19:03
And like the Brazilians would be like, man, I feel like I'm on
19:05
the beach, right. Yes, OK.
19:07
So, so that was a good like. And you had a really good bread
19:10
program too. Yeah, we got amazing, amazing
19:12
bread programs do. You think bread?
19:15
Well, maybe let me revise while I ask this question.
19:17
How important do you think bread is to the dinner service?
19:21
I think is extremely important. I, I, I think my also, that was
19:27
one of the things there because I grew up, right?
19:30
My memory growing up was going to this restaurant and you order
19:36
the Colvair, which is like was kind of a very Portuguese
19:39
European thing where like you order comes the bread or some
19:43
crackers and comes like couple butter, maybe a oil thing, some
19:47
kind of chicken liver mousse, like some of the spreads, some
19:50
almost kind of like a little bread course, you know, like you
19:52
just have a little array of things.
19:55
So I wanted to kind of do something like that and I had a
20:00
guy named David Madrid, which was amazing, Hyde Baker and he
20:03
he kind of like, you know, we. I kind of got him in the
20:06
project. We, we were talking about this
20:08
for a while and then was like, man, like I want to make like
20:11
different breads almost every day, right?
20:13
Like and kind of like changing the bread throughout the week.
20:15
So many times. I feel like no restaurant does
20:18
this. No one kind of like, you know,
20:20
have that ability to sort of like put this much emphasis and
20:25
focus. Most of them don't even bake.
20:26
Bread exactly right. Yeah, yeah.
20:28
I mean, but yeah. But I think a lot, a lot of the
20:30
creative just kind of answer your question, like as a whole,
20:33
a lot of the creative aspect of it was things like how do I
20:37
bring things from memory, from like history of me growing up,
20:43
but also things of like that I can also learn working
20:48
restaurants. But I think for me it was how to
20:51
bridge those and still give people something delicious.
20:55
Yeah. At the end of the day, like for
20:57
me, what was important was to give, to make sure.
21:01
I think that's what sometimes a lot of chefs kind of forget.
21:05
They're like, you are cooking for the guests and you are not
21:08
cooking for yourself, right. You know what I mean?
21:10
Like so, so, so, so how to kind of like how to kind of like
21:15
give, how to kind of take this concept and take this food and
21:21
be yours, but at the same thing be in a way, we're like, man,
21:24
this person, like when this tapioca fritter with ham and hot
21:28
sauce, we're like, we made it. And a guy that, you know, my,
21:33
my, my, my facility, like my little brother, like, you know,
21:36
this guy Justin Mosley, that worked for me for seven years,
21:39
you know, as a total. And he was part of the prod, the
21:42
creative process from the beginning.
21:44
And, and I remember when we did that, he kind of like, oh man,
21:48
yes, who's not going to like this?
21:50
His cheese, fried cheese with ham and hot sauce.
21:53
Yeah, right. Get the fuck out of here.
21:55
You know, like, yeah, it's delicious.
21:56
It's kind of like, you know, like, yeah, it's.
21:58
But it's like, it's still like that's that kind of resemblance
22:00
and that kind. I think it's important when you
22:03
create something to kind of imagine how people are going to
22:06
feel when they eat it. So during that time and, and not
22:08
just during that time, but also throughout your career, there's
22:12
and, and I felt this as well, there's the pressure of the
22:14
critics and specifically in this time.
22:16
So you were nominated for outstanding chef James Beard.
22:18
I think you were D magazine's best restaurant, best chef.
22:21
I mean, it was like boom, boom, boom.
22:23
You, you were stacking up awards.
22:25
Did you ever feel pressure to, to keep like, OK, what's the
22:32
next one? What's the next award that we're
22:34
going to rack up? Like you have to live up to the,
22:36
you have to live up to the pressure that you're getting
22:40
from sometimes it's yourself. Yeah, I think it's a combination
22:44
of things, right. Like I remember, I remember when
22:47
I was in New York and working for a, a, a big high profile
22:52
chef and a, a big celebrity chef.
22:54
And we I was part of the opening of a restaurant and and he was
23:00
there every day, like working and cooking with us and changing
23:04
dishes and tweaking things and all that.
23:07
And, and I remember until we got like a three star review from
23:11
the New York Times, right, which at the time, this is, you know,
23:14
this is like 15, so 16 years ago, like, you know, it's a big
23:19
deal. It was almost before Michelin
23:21
was even was Michel. I mean, Michelin was still
23:24
there, but was already there, but kind of before was really
23:28
like, you know, that New York Times had still such a huge
23:31
like, you know, cloud in the city and getting a three star
23:35
review was amazing, right? Like, I mean, it was kind of
23:38
like, I mean, there was very few restaurants that that that had
23:40
that. Now remember the day after the
23:43
review came out, the day that the review came out, we toast.
23:47
And then he said something that I always kind of like stay with
23:50
me. Like when it comes to that, he's
23:52
like, well, great job, everyone amazing.
23:55
We're so proud. Now the work gets even harder.
23:59
Yeah, 'cause now I got to prove to everyone that we are three.
24:03
Stars, yeah, basically earn it every day.
24:05
Yes, you got to earn it every. Day, you know what I mean?
24:06
Yeah, yeah. So it's kind of like so I think
24:08
it's like in the pressure. The pressure I think was more to
24:11
kind of like live up to like these people are coming here
24:14
right. They have heard about it.
24:16
So how can we how can we deliver this experience?
24:20
How can we deliver the food? How can we make them like, you
24:22
know, like what they feel like? Oh yeah, I heard of this place
24:26
and, and it delivered. Right.
24:28
I mean, for people that listen to this podcast, they'll know I
24:31
told the story. And also for me was a guest on
24:36
the show and we told the story on that podcast.
24:38
But we were at dinner and I'm like almost 99% certain the
24:43
person that was sitting next to us was as an inspector, right?
24:46
So it's like they're looking at their phone, they're listening
24:48
to our conversation. And I, I remember I'm thinking
24:52
like, like this person's an inspector.
24:54
And then as soon as they got up to go to the restroom, you're
24:56
like, I bet you it was like, yeah, yeah, we're both thinking
24:58
the same thing. They were ordering coffee.
25:00
I'm looking at their phone and they're scrolling food.
25:02
He's outside taking pictures of this, Yeah.
25:05
Yeah, yeah. It's funny how you could spot
25:06
them when you've been in the game long enough, and especially
25:10
having to deal with critics. There's nothing worse than
25:13
getting that phone call of saying, hey, the photographer's
25:16
on their way and they they have some fact checking questions
25:19
coming up. It's like, shit, what did they
25:20
order? And like, OK, they ordered this,
25:22
this, they want to take photos of this.
25:23
OK, that's what they ate. Pulled the checks.
25:25
Who was it? Who was the server?
25:27
Right. You're going back in your mind
25:29
and then you're asking them, do you remember this table?
25:31
How did you not catch? It Yeah, yeah, yeah.
25:33
Oh my God, yeah. It's funny because I feel like I
25:35
feel like you don't really have that much.
25:37
I think that's with Michelin. It's it's still anonymous,
25:40
right? But but I feel like that kind
25:43
of, I feel like that I felt a lot like that in New York and I
25:48
feel like in Texas was different.
25:50
Yeah. Like, you know, for a long time
25:52
where like you kind of knew who everyone was, right?
25:55
Right. Like, I mean, yes, they may use
25:57
a different name, but it's like, but it's not like that they are
25:59
kind of putting getting it disguised or anything.
26:02
Like I mean that it it, it was still easy enough to find to see
26:06
who they are, right? Did you have?
26:09
Because I know I did. Did you have like contingency
26:11
plans, like if a food critic comes in, This is the this is
26:14
what we do. Not so much I think like I think
26:18
kind of it it it, it would be bullshit of me saying that like
26:24
we treated every. Everyone's avip.
26:26
Everyone's like, you know, like like like, of course it's like,
26:30
you know, of course as a chef like you, you are going to put
26:33
more attention to that table. You are going to kind of like,
26:36
but I don't think the like we we did it, we did anything extra.
26:41
We did anything kind of like we're just like, hey guys, just
26:45
make sure this stuff is tight, right?
26:46
Just make sure that like, you know, like if you put eyes on
26:49
it, taste that everything. Make sure like, you know what I
26:52
mean? Like make sure you get the like
26:54
the the seller piece of the fish, not the tail piece, right?
26:58
Yeah, just those little things, right?
27:00
Like, I mean kind of like, you know, the, the, the, the and,
27:05
but not that like it was anything super special, right?
27:08
Like I feel, I feel especially because I think that that there
27:12
are so many chefs that kind of like, and so many people that
27:14
kind of does that, especially when they realize that that is a
27:17
critic, right? And then you kind of like start
27:19
to like, oh, OK, like let me send this.
27:22
Let me send that, let me send this, right?
27:24
And, and, and I think like having friends, the work critics
27:31
and people that like, I have talked and they're like, no, we
27:33
don't want that, right, Right. And even like when you, when you
27:36
talk to, to TK and stuff like that, like when the people don't
27:40
know. So he's like, no, like you don't
27:42
need to send TK caviar. He owns a caviar company.
27:45
Yeah. He has.
27:47
He has eaten enough caviar. He wants what he ordered.
27:50
Exactly. Yeah.
27:50
Like that's it. Just give him what he wants.
27:53
And that's like, though you don't need to give him anything
27:55
extra. Like, you know, like it's hard.
27:57
It's hard to kind of like really, really to restrain.
28:00
To restrain, yeah. So here's a funny story.
28:02
When Leslie Brenner was the critic at Dallas Morning News,
28:05
she came into the restaurant. And what I would do, once we
28:07
recognize the critic, I would hold the table next to them and
28:10
then plant someone next so they could text me like, OK, they're
28:14
they're this is what they're saying about your sauce or yes,
28:16
whatever the case may be. But she was done with the meat
28:20
course and she sent it back and I'm in the back looking at it
28:23
and I'm like, how was it done? Because I'm verifying that
28:25
everything was looking looking good.
28:27
And I take a piece and I'm I'm fucking with the plate.
28:30
And then the server comes around the corner.
28:31
He's like, she wants that to go. And I've already like, I've
28:34
already destroyed the steak and I'm cutting into it.
28:37
I'm like, oh shit. And so I was like, what?
28:39
Hit the panic button? But what I used to do is I
28:41
always cook 2. Portions.
28:43
Two portions. I was like, oh, we have the and
28:45
so we cut. We cut it to make it look like
28:47
just like she put it in the box. That was funny.
28:50
Yeah, I do want to ask you a question.
28:53
So you talked about Justin and he a phenomenal chef, right?
28:56
Like I, I, I also agree he's super, super talented and so
29:03
shout out to him if he's listening.
29:05
What do you do? Because obviously you're
29:07
involved with mentor BKB as well.
29:09
How important is mentorship? First question.
29:12
And then the second question, what do you do to mentor the
29:15
young culinarians that you work with?
29:19
It's a, it's a good question. I feel like it's a mentorship,
29:24
right? Like you can only mentor someone
29:26
that wants to be mentored, right?
29:29
Right. Like, I mean, it's kind of the
29:31
you cannot teach anyone that thinks that they already know
29:34
something or thinks that like, you know, like what they or or
29:37
not put in the work to learn that or to do that.
29:43
I think like the I got the opportunity.
29:46
Why did the to, to, to have worked with people like Justin
29:51
and I can name like a couple other chefs.
29:55
So I have a bunch of other chefs that I feel like a proud to say
29:58
that people that had to work under me or with me that now are
30:02
like, well, executive chefs throughout throughout Dallas
30:05
and, and, and people that are like, you know, like even
30:08
directors and some other like, you know, big groups and things
30:12
like that. And I think like it is awesome
30:15
to see that. I think like a lot of the
30:17
mentorship comes from them. Like the way I don't love
30:23
micromanaging people. I think like the level, the way
30:28
I work the best is by collaboration and kind of like,
30:33
and, and really instill people like, I mean, that is the right
30:38
way, way of doing things, the right way to sort of like go
30:41
about if it's a technique, if it's how you playing, if it's
30:45
how you kind of act, it's how you talk to people, like all
30:49
those things, right? It's not just about the cooking.
30:53
I think it's kind of like it's about everything else.
30:55
So I, there's a lot of people that know how to cook, right?
30:58
So, so, so, so, so I think for me, it's kind of like touching
31:03
and let them see like, OK, this is how I deal with this purveyor
31:08
here. I deal with this with this front
31:10
of the house person and kind of be able to sort of like bridge
31:13
and kind of like teaching them that that is why we're doing
31:16
this and why we're kind of like looking at this way, right?
31:20
That is a better way. Like put yourself in my in my
31:22
position. Look from here the same way I'm
31:24
looking from their position. So I think like when you start
31:27
to kind of like having them sort of like look here and then
31:32
you're also looking here and you kind of like start pushing them
31:36
to sort of do, right. Like, I mean, they got to do the
31:39
job. And I think it's like someone
31:42
like Justin was someone that Justin's one of the hardest
31:46
working people I know, right? Like, I mean, he is extremely
31:50
dedicated, like extremely passionate about food.
31:54
So if we're having a discussion about something, he's also
31:58
trying to figure out what's the best way to do it.
32:00
He's coming to the table with something.
32:03
I think like somebody that is just sitting and just kind of
32:06
like, I'm just going to sit here and take it.
32:09
You're not going to get it right?
32:11
Like it's the same way I think for me.
32:12
Like, I mean, the amount of times I ask of my chef will kind
32:15
of try to come and be there, be ready, be present.
32:19
Like I'm not going to kind of get taught anything if I'm not
32:24
set up on my station, right? Like, I mean, there was one time
32:28
a cook kind of complaining and end up eventually leaving the
32:31
restaurant because he wasn't he wasn't getting enough
32:37
opportunity to sort of move up to a station after six months,
32:41
right? And we're like, well, there is
32:45
still a lot of things that you need to accomplish here.
32:47
Like if every other day a chef needs to come and cut chives for
32:52
your station, then why are we talking about you creating a
32:58
dish? Right.
33:00
You know, like, and I think those are like the things that
33:03
kind of like it's hard to for the for the generation to kind
33:06
of like really get like kill, kill at your job, do everything
33:12
that you can do at your job before.
33:15
You think you could do my job? Before you exactly, right before
33:18
you think like, you know, you have like all this other stuff.
33:20
It's like, I love the passion and I love like that it's but
33:24
it's like I think sometimes like people look at like, no, I'm
33:28
passionate. I'm driven about this.
33:29
But it's like, but you're putting your a lot of your
33:31
energy on things that are not. What when you start cooking,
33:37
like when you go from zero to culinary school, like
33:40
everything's new, your learning curve is like you're, you're
33:42
learning about ingredients that you didn't even know existed.
33:45
And then you get, you know, every day in cooking school or
33:48
in your first job, you're learning it's a new dish.
33:50
And I could take this home. And, and then you get to the
33:53
real world and it's like, no, no, you're not learning a new
33:56
dish every day, just these five, every day, these five dishes.
33:59
And so sometimes a new cook is frustrated, like, well, when do
34:03
I get to do my dish? Because they were in, they were
34:05
in school where they got to create.
34:06
It's like, no, no, this isn't school.
34:09
Or, or I'm tired of cooking the same dish all over again, you
34:12
know? Yes.
34:14
But that is something to be said about consistency.
34:16
Yeah. Is you think about, like, right.
34:18
Like, I mean, Hill Stone, they don't change their menu every
34:21
every, every, every every week. Yeah.
34:24
And they're extremely profitable.
34:26
I was talking to this guy and he was, he runs this fine dining
34:29
restaurant and he was telling me, you know, he changes the
34:31
menu. I don't know if you said like
34:32
every week or something like that.
34:34
And I'm like, man, I don't. For me, that's like, wow, kudos
34:37
to you for doing that. That's, I know that's a
34:39
challenge, but there's something to be said also like have some
34:43
greatest hits. So the customer comes back.
34:45
We were talking about that earlier.
34:46
Like, so they come back, they're familiar, they know what to
34:48
expect. They're not shocked with
34:50
everything new every single week.
34:54
I do want to ask you, so you were talking about mentorship
34:57
when you were coming up in the kitchen, like when you were a
35:00
young cook. What was the mentorship like
35:03
back in those New York City kitchens when you were starting
35:06
to come up? I mean, it's a little different,
35:08
right. Like, I mean, I'm, I'm kind of a
35:10
still part of the little bit of the old school way of, of, of
35:14
how things were in that environment.
35:17
I think for me, especially being a black immigrant, like, you
35:23
know, like in New York 20 plus years ago, like he was a little
35:28
different. Yeah.
35:28
I like, I mean and and where I'm still kind of combination of
35:34
learning, learning, learning to speak English, getting
35:38
direction, executing in my job, getting yelled at, not quite
35:42
understanding why I get yelled. At Had you cooked in Brazil or
35:45
did? You start, you started cooking,
35:46
I started cooking like professionally when I got here.
35:49
So I think those things are very different and I think, but I
35:56
always kind of write just had this attitude of just putting my
35:59
head down and work as hard as I could, right?
36:02
I think as this that that hustle of New York City and and not be
36:08
able to cut it right. Like I had to make it happen.
36:11
Like I had no other choice. Like it's not like I had my
36:14
parents house to go to. It's not like I had like any any
36:18
sort of backup plan. Like I need this job, I need to
36:21
make this money to pay my rent. So, so so I think like all those
36:28
things like play factors of having some sort of attitude
36:34
that kind of right, like, I mean, I'm here like I'm going to
36:37
doesn't matter how shit I'm getting, like I'm still going to
36:41
kind of like, you know, do this job.
36:44
And there was like one time where I think I told you the
36:48
story. I think maybe it wasn't a group
36:51
and maybe I told you the story once, but, but I think like
36:55
where I was working right at this really high profile
36:58
restaurant and, and, and I was working hot apps and was at this
37:05
big kitchen, 20, almost like 30 people in the kitchen, you know,
37:09
like, and, and the chef kept asking for, for sweet breads.
37:15
And there was the, the harder, the, the longest pickup on the
37:19
hot apps, right. So the cook, the, the, the
37:22
dishwasher, I had two ovens. 1 was stay at like 150° while my
37:26
plates, yeah, it was stay at, I had like, you know, A5 5600°
37:31
oven, like just banging shit up. So the guy asked for, for the
37:36
chef asked for like the sweetbreads and I'm, I start
37:39
cooking, blah, blah, blah. He's like yelling over there.
37:41
The other side. I grabbed the plate.
37:43
The plate was cold and I'm like I cannot play hot food in a cold
37:48
plate. So I put in the hot oven thought
37:50
I had time to like do something else when I went to grab the
37:53
plate and he's like yelling at me like give it to me, give it
37:57
to me, give it to me right. I grabbed the plate was
37:59
scorching hot. I played it have no other idea.
38:03
And then he he reached over before I was able to say that
38:06
the plate was hot and he burned himself and he was like, and
38:12
he's like yell like kind of like, you know, like they're in
38:15
Paia kitchen stopped. And it was like this moment.
38:21
I'm like, oh, shit, I lost my job, right, You know, And and he
38:27
looked at me and he's like, you asking burn me.
38:33
Yeah, you know, like, and then and then I was like, Oh my God.
38:37
Like he's like chef, I'm so sorry.
38:40
Like, you know, and he's like, don't sorry me.
38:42
Like I want to punch you in the face.
38:44
I want to like, you know, this is like start laying onto me,
38:47
you know, and this was like a sip.
38:49
Is this the head chef? Or he was, he was, he was the
38:52
executive chef. And then he was a chef owner,
38:54
you know, got it. And the chef owner walks into
38:57
the kitchen. He's like, what happened?
38:58
And he's like, he happened. Pointing at you like this.
39:02
This yeah. And I'm like, Oh my God.
39:05
Like, you know, like, and then all the.
39:06
It was such a hostile kind of environment, right?
39:09
Like. And all.
39:09
By the way, are you still, are you cooking?
39:11
I mean, are you trying to like Refire?
39:13
There's still things happening, right?
39:15
There's still tickets coming, there's still food in the
39:17
window, like and, and like it was 7:30 PM.
39:22
So it's still like in the peak, great peak of the the rush,
39:26
right? And and there was something, I
39:29
think there was a moment, I think that if I want to tell,
39:32
there was like a moment where like I'm kind of like, man, this
39:36
is where things kind of maybe like turn.
39:39
I was able to like, no, I'm able to sustain.
39:41
This was after he called. I mean, he basically I made this
39:45
decision of like, I'm going to not give this guy one more
39:52
reason to yell at me. I'm going to cook everything.
39:56
I'm going to fucking have a perfect night.
39:58
And and every throughout the whole night, he will ask for
40:01
stuff. Here it is blah, blah.
40:03
What it is here it is. Everything is like tight, tight,
40:06
tight. At the end of the night, he kind
40:07
of comes to me and he's like, he's like, are you coming back
40:10
tomorrow? And I was like, yeah, I mean,
40:13
it's my job. My name is on the schedule.
40:15
Like I'll be here. And he's like, well, don't ever
40:18
burn me again. And I'm like, it never happened
40:20
again. And then at that point on I
40:22
became like. One of his favorite cooks.
40:25
Yeah. And it was like, it's such like,
40:27
Riot looking back is like, in that moment, it's such a messed
40:32
up way. I didn't really understood.
40:34
Part of me is kind of like thought of like, he was a test,
40:38
right? To see, like, did I pass?
40:40
Did I sustain the kind of like the pressure of Himialayami of
40:45
producing good food and still be able to come back the next day?
40:50
Is he healthy? Not really right.
40:53
But he kind of taught me something.
40:54
He taught me like this resilience and and did it kill
40:58
you? It did Yeah, right.
41:00
And it kind of like at home. But it's like it it's just a
41:03
weird thing that I think like it's it's not at all like what
41:07
we how we're supposed to do it now, right?
41:09
But it's also like, but it also that has been moments, right,
41:13
Like this kind of in the kitchen.
41:15
There was like one time where he, he.
41:18
Same same chef. Same chef, yeah.
41:21
And I I had Ryan was irresponsible of this whole kind
41:27
of section of the restaurant was like, you know, the front of the
41:29
restaurant after months later and, and we needed to cut
41:34
butternut squash and for some reason the chef wanted to cut
41:39
the, the, the, the butternut squash like perfect 1 by 1 by 1
41:44
on the bandsaw. For some reason.
41:47
That was like the directive. So we shaft that's what's going
41:50
to happen, right, right. So I show this, this cook how
41:56
was and then and then laughed. She she kind of went and
42:02
finished, you know, like and finished the, the, the, the,
42:05
the, the, the squash. I went back upstairs to the
42:07
kitchen. Maybe 15 minutes later.
42:11
I see like him kicking the door and coming with like half of the
42:17
garbage in his hand with like all the bottom of this, the
42:21
butternut squash that basically this cook only cut the top part
42:25
of the butternut squash and, and, and throw everything in the
42:29
garbage. So he came in, he was like, who
42:31
did this? Who does this?
42:33
Who throws this food in the garbage?
42:35
And then like, he kind of yells and goes on and on.
42:39
And then that night, me and this other cook, we're going because
42:44
the company had other restaurants.
42:45
So we're going to go to eat at this other restaurant for dinner
42:49
that night. Like, you know, we had vouchers
42:51
and all that. So we went to eat and we got
42:53
there. And then like the, the, the
42:56
chef's like, oh, we heard, we heard what happened, like, you
42:59
know, today. And I'm like, well, like, Oh my
43:00
God, like so weird. Like all you mean you heard like
43:03
all this? Does chef know you're here?
43:05
I was like, ah, I was like, no, like normally I would tell him
43:08
like, you know, like that, that we will go there.
43:10
But like that day wasn't the day to tell him that we were going
43:13
anywhere. And then like, we ordered the
43:17
food and then basically like, here comes, here comes like the
43:21
main course and they brought out the main course and they brought
43:24
this, this beautiful copper pot with like a butternut squash
43:28
puree. And like, you know, it kind of
43:31
put us like love chef. And so like, you know, like that
43:35
was kind of like, and, and it was such like when we got back
43:38
to the restaurant the next day, he walked in and we look at him
43:42
and, and the cook was like, chef, I got the message.
43:45
Would never happen again. Yeah, yeah.
43:47
Like I was just like funny things like that.
43:49
That kind of happened throughout that you are like you kind of
43:52
just mold, right? You'll be watching you pay
43:54
attention, you know. It's funny how you're talking
43:56
about how you got dressed down in the old days.
43:59
You know that you, the chef, would dress you down and then
44:01
are you going to come back the next day?
44:03
You know, I used to, I used to kick box.
44:04
I used to box and fight. And I remember once and
44:07
sparring, I got knocked out, this guy head kicked me and like
44:11
I was out and you know, everyone's like, oh, you OK.
44:13
And I'm like, yeah, yeah, I'm fine, I'm fine.
44:15
And they're like, no more sparring for you today.
44:16
I went home and then I, I'm working.
44:19
So I didn't show up to the gym for like 2 weeks.
44:22
And then I go back and like we thought you quit.
44:24
It's like, but it was the same thing.
44:26
Like sometimes they, they, they push you a little bit hard in
44:28
the gym and like, hey, we knocked him out just to see if
44:31
he's going to come back tomorrow.
44:32
Kitchens were the same way. So I understood that a little
44:35
bit when I was coming up. So for a lot of chefs out there,
44:38
and I think some of us are very good at this.
44:40
I think I'm good at this, you're good at this, where we have a
44:43
strong network of chefs. Like it's like you pick up the
44:45
phone, I'm going to call someone like, hey, I'm in town, let's go
44:47
to dinner, let's go hang out, whatever.
44:50
But I also know a lot of chefs are like lone wolf's, like they
44:53
don't know anybody. They don't reach out to anybody.
44:56
How important is it as a chef to have a strong network of other
44:59
chefs in the community? I mean, I think it's, it's, it's
45:03
extremely important. I feel like if you're a lone
45:06
wolf, I don't think you're necessarily doing the right job.
45:10
I don't think you're kind of really, I think a rest.
45:12
I think a chef it's, it's important for its community.
45:16
If that means it's your community locally community,
45:19
right? Like if your restaurant or your
45:21
city, but also as a chef community, right?
45:24
Like I think like be able to sort of have that network
45:27
because at the end of the day, like, but I mean, I was proud to
45:30
say that I have people that worked at Meridian and now
45:32
they're like at a mix in New York and they're French Laundry
45:36
and they are like, you know, like some other great
45:39
restaurants in, in the country. And, and, and, and a lot of that
45:43
were because, right, like either through mentor or through just
45:47
making a phone call and like, you know, like, and getting
45:49
someone, someone those opportunities.
45:52
I mean, they had to prove themselves, but, but it's still
45:55
like proud for me to say that like they work, they work at my
45:58
restaurant and then they went to work at some 3 Michelin star
46:02
restaurants and, and, and they're successful and they are
46:05
doing well, right? Like, and I think like all that
46:07
is because of network and connections and things like
46:10
that. And I think is extremely
46:11
important. Well, it's funny cuz like, I
46:14
mean, there's the things that we talk about on the podcast,
46:16
There's things that we talk about off the podcast and
46:19
there's also some news comes out or someone's looking for a job.
46:24
It's like I have this group chat and then I have that group chat.
46:26
It's like you, me, you and Matt and 1:00.
46:28
And it's like I have another one like Gabe and Rico.
46:31
And it's like you have like several groups that you're like,
46:33
hey, who knows? Or do you know anybody for this?
46:36
And I think we. Yeah, I was hitting you up
46:37
right. Yeah.
46:38
Like when you have a strong network, it's like, hey, does
46:41
anyone know where I could buy this?
46:42
Has anyone ever worked with this person?
46:44
Yes, and, and and if you have a strong network, I think, I mean
46:47
I think I saw you on a plane the other day.
46:51
Was that was that weird a year? Was that a year a year or so
46:54
ago? Like yeah, it was again, right.
46:57
This opportunity is I got to to meet, you know, being part of
47:02
mentor and all that and some all these events and cherries.
47:06
I got to meet. I got to spend time right with
47:09
Thomas Keller, with Danielle Blude and all these guys and
47:13
also meet like Ming Tsai and and and a bunch of other chefs.
47:17
So I was planning to go this was like about a year and a half
47:21
ago. I was planning almost two years
47:23
ago. I was planning to go to the Lyon
47:25
for the book whose door right. And I had kind of already
47:29
actually bought by ticket and all that.
47:32
Then one day I got a just a a text message from.
47:37
Me. You're in New York at the.
47:38
Time I was, no, I was in Dallas. This was like about two years
47:40
ago, right? And I was like, I got a text
47:43
message from, from Ming Tsai. And I was like, it's like Chef
47:50
Siri Leon. It was very like weird.
47:53
Like it was kind of like a weird text message.
47:55
It was kind of like fly to Leon or something.
47:58
And I was like, what are you talking about?
48:00
And I'm like, yeah, chef. Like I, I am, I'm going.
48:04
And he's like, no, no, no, call me.
48:07
And I'm like, so I call him and he's like, OK, this.
48:11
What are you going to do? You need to be in New York City.
48:14
Like, I don't know what kind of travel arrangements you have,
48:17
but you fly to New York this day.
48:22
Yeah, You need to be in New York on Thursday by 6:00 PM.
48:26
We're going to go to restaurant in Niao for dinner.
48:29
And then after the Niao, we're going to get in the car and
48:32
we're going to go to the to the airport and we're going to get a
48:36
private jet and we're going to fly to Leon.
48:39
And I was like, what? And I'm like, is this a joke?
48:43
And I was like, I was like, sure.
48:45
I was like, are you in? I'm like, sure.
48:47
He's like, send me a passport. OK, So it's kind of like just
48:51
did that. And then and then, yeah, there
48:52
was an amazing kind of like made the trip, right?
48:57
Got you New York. My bags were actually did not
49:02
make on the plane. So I was freaking out.
49:04
And I was like, Oh my God, like, you know, I'm going to miss
49:06
this, this this private jet, I'm going to miss like this.
49:09
So got that sorted out, which the restaurant, we all had
49:12
dinner and then we got on the plane in the car and and and and
49:16
basically went to the airport was like a group of ten of us.
49:19
And it was Danielle Ming and Melissa Rodriguez.
49:25
Like, you know, some other chefs kind of like, you know, I think
49:28
there was like us as a chefs and then like the other kind of
49:31
like, you know, people and it was amazing.
49:35
We just like flew to Leon. But then the biggest, the best
49:38
part of the whole thing was really like, right.
49:40
And Danielle Brook brought a bunch of champagne on the plane.
49:44
So we were drinking champagne and flying to Leon liking on
49:47
this private jet, right? I was mind blowing, like I
49:50
couldn't believe that this was happening landed and a group of
49:55
us were all staying different hotels.
49:58
And so with ten of us on the plane, we got our try to kind of
50:03
figure out from the cars where we're going to go.
50:06
And then Long story short, I got in the car with Danielle.
50:10
And then I thought it was like, I'm not staying in the same
50:12
hotel that he is. And then I was like, hey, chef,
50:15
are you going to drop me off at the at the at the hotel?
50:18
And because he was saying that like, I'm going to go see my
50:21
parents. And I was like, OK, you're going
50:23
to drop me off at the hotel, You're going to go see your
50:25
parents. And he's like, no, no, no, You
50:27
come into my house. I'm like, what?
50:30
I was like, no, yeah, you, you, you hungry?
50:33
You had lunch at my house. I could not believe it.
50:36
I was like, I felt like the whole drive there, I felt it was
50:41
like them, 'cause there's funny, there's Anthony Bourdain
50:44
episode. But like, he goes to Leo and he
50:46
goes to the house with his dad and all that.
50:48
And, and that was that was me. I felt like that was my
50:52
experience. It was just me, Danielle.
50:53
And then like we got there and this the house where he was born
50:57
and his mom and his dad was there, his brother, his sister
51:02
and Danielle and, and myself and.
51:05
That's a bucket. List and that was like, you
51:07
know, we're sitting like this this this home that has been his
51:10
family forever and we eating smoked salmon and mosh salad all
51:16
this stuff that like, you know, grow in the garden and like, you
51:20
know, his mom is 95 years old and she was like cooking duck
51:24
breast and then like, you know, we're eating this meal and
51:27
drinking like pear Brandy that they make over there.
51:30
Like I was like, couldn't believe it.
51:33
This is this is an experience that people can't even pay for.
51:35
Like no, that you can't even pay for.
51:37
There was no, there was no, there was no price on it.
51:38
There was no price on it, right. And it was funny because at that
51:41
night we went to we had a big reception at a restaurant, Paul
51:47
Baku's. Yes.
51:48
And, and, and then the Al was given their opening remarks and
51:52
he's like, Oh yeah, it's a great trip, blah, blah, blah.
51:55
Took junior at my to my house today.
51:57
The entire restaurant look at me is like, who is this guy?
52:02
Like, like, you know, like, like then the other doesn't take me
52:05
to his house. So it was like, so yeah, I felt
52:07
really special and I I thank him.
52:10
I was like chef, like this is so it remind me of like going to my
52:13
grandmother's house, like right, like me eating that of like
52:17
homey food and and and just being with family, like, you
52:21
know, it wasn't, it wasn't an amazing experience.
52:24
It wasn't experience to to bucket list.
52:26
So, yeah, bucket list for sure. So, so network's important.
52:29
It is, yeah, network's important.
52:31
It'll open so many doors for people listening like your, your
52:34
network, Like a lot of people say it's like, it's not what you
52:38
know, it's who you know. It's like that.
52:40
You'll understand that a lot more when you get into positions
52:43
where you need favors. But I think that that is that is
52:46
the right way to network too. I agree.
52:49
Right, I think sometimes I think like by treating each one with
52:55
respect, with integrity, helping people, right, like being like a
53:01
good person, like I think it will get you like, you know,
53:05
like I think like just by now working, just by being at things
53:09
doesn't necessarily mean that you're getting the right
53:11
network, right? Right.
53:12
I think by kind of like sort of a lot of the times I've been in
53:17
rooms, right, like where, where I, I was part of the, the, the,
53:22
the, the judges to select the Team USA for, for Bukusdor and
53:28
Jeff. Hayashi went.
53:29
No, with Stephanie. Stephanie OK, Yeah.
53:31
And, and sometimes I mean, even being in that room, I'm like
53:35
looking around, I'm like, Oh my God, like I'm in this room with
53:37
like Thomas and Danielle and, and, and, and William Bradley
53:42
and like, you know, and Paul Bartoloda and like, you know,
53:45
and like Josiah Citron, like, I mean, all these guys, like, you
53:49
know, like David Jason, like, I mean, Oh my God, like, you know,
53:52
like, I mean, it's like people that like, and I can't even
53:55
believe I'm there. And then it was funny 'cause I
53:58
had done a little demo for like, you know, one of the sponsors
54:01
for like some, some beef with like a little PDPD sauce.
54:05
So it's kind of like a non Brazilian thing, right?
54:08
And, and I had some leftover and then Matt Peters was like, Oh
54:11
yeah, everyone's hungry. Should just feed that to the
54:14
group. And I'm like, what?
54:15
I'm going to feed that to the group.
54:16
It's like, yeah, just fucking like put that steak in there.
54:19
It's like, I'll go over there, I'll cut it for you.
54:21
And I was like, OK, so it's like we go over there and heat it up
54:24
the stuff and put it in front of them.
54:26
And like, instead of like, again, like, why?
54:28
Like just food, Just food, all chefs, all people, but it's just
54:35
like simple food and they're all over there eating right, Like
54:38
this is delicious. This is great, like right, like
54:41
for me and and it's just like simple things, right?
54:44
It's not like I was trying to push anything.
54:45
I was trying to cut a light like, and it's just like, huh,
54:47
who did this? Huh, Junior did it.
54:48
It was like awesome. Like this is great, right?
54:51
You know, like it's like cool, right?
54:53
Like it's those like little moments that like you don't, you
54:55
don't really. I don't take for granted because
54:58
that's not, you know what I mean?
55:00
Like, I could never imagine that like, you know, for someone like
55:03
me that, you know, 23 years ago I didn't even speak English and,
55:09
and yeah, I am, you know. So everyone that comes on chef's
55:14
PSAI always ask them this questions like if you had one
55:16
chef's PSA for people that are listening, what advice would you
55:19
give to people right now? It's kind of like a loaded
55:24
question, but I think it's man, I mean, I, I do sometimes I look
55:30
back, right? And I think of the people that
55:31
like have worked with me and how I work.
55:33
I think like, just put your head down, just do the right thing.
55:39
Just work hard, you know, and just be good to people.
55:45
I think like try to take your time for things.
55:52
I think sometimes you people rush a lot.
55:56
You like you know what I mean? I think even like I tell young,
55:59
young shots and like man, you only sorry, you only you only 20
56:04
years old, but you only right, like you only 30 years old.
56:10
Like there's still so much that you can still learn and do
56:14
before you go sign up on this on this restaurant deal, right?
56:18
So I think like taking the right, taking the time to do, to
56:22
do the right thing. Listen first, right?
56:26
Like and and and and and. Just put your head down and
56:31
work. And for people that want to
56:32
follow you, where can they find you?
56:34
Chef Junior Borges. Yeah, pretty easy.
56:36
On Instagram to find. You.
56:37
Yeah, they're fine for that. Good man, it was good seeing
56:39
you. Good to see you too, man.
56:40
Alright brother. Thank you.
56:41
Thank you. Well, I hope you enjoyed the
56:43
show. If you want to support the show,
56:44
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57:09
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