Latest / Forking Around with Flavor South Florida / Dallas Wynne: Balancing the Demands of Running a High-End Restaurant and Motherhood

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Dallas Wynne: Balancing the Demands of Running a High-End Restaurant and Motherhood · Forking Around with Flavor South Florida

0:02
Thank you. Welcome to Forking Around with Flavor
0:06
South Florida. I'm Keri Paisley, CEO of Flavor
0:09
South Florida. We are sitting down with entrepreneurs,
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business owners, and influential community partners
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to talk growth, trials, tribulations, and more.
0:17
These conversations lead into Flavor South Florida,
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the region's largest restaurant month, happening
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every September from the 1st through the 30th.
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If you're in hospitality or thinking about building
0:27
something meaningful in this industry, you're
0:29
in the right place. Pull up a chair and let's
0:31
get into it. This episode is sponsored by Ultima
0:38
Caviar. Visit them at ultimacaviar .com. Welcome
0:44
back to Forking Around with Flavor South Florida.
0:46
Today we are joined by Dallas Nguyen, the Director
0:49
of Operations for the Butchers Club at PGA National.
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We'll talk to her today about her culinary journey,
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her passion for great food, and what makes South
0:57
Florida's dining scene so exciting. Dallas, welcome
1:01
to the show. I'm so happy you're here. Thank
1:03
you so much for having me. I'm so excited to
1:05
be here. Adore you. And I think that after this
1:10
episode is through, our listeners will as well.
1:13
Oh, thank you. Because we all see you running
1:15
around that restaurant. We all see you every
1:17
day, every time we visit. And I really want to
1:21
uncover everything about you because you are
1:24
such a really awesome story and inspiration,
1:27
I think, to a lot of people, especially women,
1:30
young women in this industry. And I just, you
1:34
know, we're here to get to know you better. Thank
1:36
you, Keri. Yeah, I definitely get my steps in
1:38
in the Butcher's Club and the Lobby Bar running
1:41
around. And I have a great time while doing it.
1:43
You know, hospitality is just something I really
1:46
love doing. And it's great to meet so many amazing
1:48
people as well. Do you wear a Fitbit? I don't
1:51
wear a Fitbit. And I've considered it, but I
1:53
just go off my phone. And it's like about 12
1:56
,000 to 14 ,000 steps just in service. That's
1:59
solid. Yeah. That's solid. Yeah, it's nice. It's
2:02
like from 5 to 11, 6 hours. Nice little run around.
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I'm not hitting those steps. No, I mean, just
2:09
come work a shift with me. Do you work out too
2:11
or no? I'm trying to get back into it. It's part
2:13
of what I'm trying to balance right now in my
2:16
life. But that's like a quick resistance training,
2:19
like 30, 45 minutes at the end of my night. But
2:22
I say that the shift is my workout. I mean, it
2:26
is, right? You're lifting things too, right?
2:28
Oh, yeah. You're running around lifting big boxes,
2:29
putting things away. Those wine cases. Yeah,
2:32
absolutely. That's going to count for something.
2:35
I think so. Okay, so we're doing 15 ,000 steps.
2:37
steps a day at work and you running around after
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two small children, aren't you? I am. Yes. How
2:43
many steps are going on over there? You know,
2:45
so when I'm at home, I. really try to not have
2:49
my phone on me, actually, because I try to work
2:52
on separation of like church and state. It's
2:54
something that after having my second baby, I
2:57
really decided that I needed my home life to
2:59
be my home life. And that's always been a struggle
3:02
for me in my career. I've always been a workhorse
3:05
that whether I'm at home, I'm at work, I'm at
3:08
an event. I have to be on my phone checking my
3:11
emails, checking in with vendors, et cetera.
3:14
So when I'm at home, the phone tries to stay
3:17
down on the counter, plugged in, et cetera. So
3:19
I don't know how many steps go on at home. But
3:22
I have a 15 -month -old and a 5 -year -old, and
3:25
they are a blast. And now that the 15 -month
3:28
-old is walking, it's nonstop again. He's walking.
3:32
So those are really good ages. They are. It's
3:36
fun. So how many days? a week do your work. At
3:39
the Butcher's Club? Yeah, I'm there five days
3:41
a week. I typically take off Sunday, Monday,
3:43
but when there's holidays, et cetera, we obviously
3:47
have to be flexible in hospitality. So what are
3:49
your hours like? Paint a picture for me of a
3:52
regular day. Yeah, a regular Tuesday, Wednesday,
3:56
Thursday for me is normally about 1 to midnight,
4:00
maybe a little bit later. What time do you get
4:02
up in the morning? I wake up at 7 .30 every morning,
4:04
so not too early, but I try to make sure I'm
4:07
up early so that I still have a morning with
4:09
my kids. That's definitely something I've gotten
4:11
better at in the last few years. When I had my
4:14
first, I was in Miami, I would sleep in, I would
4:16
be waking up at 10, 11 o 'clock, getting dressed
4:21
in like 15 minutes and running to the restaurant
4:24
and be there until 3, 4 in the morning. But now
4:27
one of my priorities is waking up in the morning
4:29
and having that morning with my kids since I'm
4:32
not there at night for dinner and bedtime and
4:34
everything. That's nice. So where do you live
4:37
now? You're not Miami anymore. No, I moved to
4:40
Port St. Lucie about three years ago. A little
4:42
culture shock. Yeah, about a year into almost
4:46
a year working at. No. It was a few months after
4:49
working at the Butcher's Club. I was commuting
4:51
day in and day out for the first few months.
4:54
And then we decided to move up to Port St. Lucie.
4:57
My parents live in Stewart. I grew up in Palm
5:00
City. So for me, it was like reverse culture
5:03
shock because I had such culture shock moving
5:07
from little Palm City to Miami when I was 17.
5:12
And then I was there for a decade. difference
5:18
in the food culture and food scene between Port
5:21
St. Lucie and Miami? I miss Miami's food so much.
5:27
I do. I think Port St. Lucie has so much room
5:32
for growth. There's so many of us Miamians moving
5:35
to Port St. Lucie, right? There's so much room
5:39
for the growth of like more culturally diverse
5:42
foods and more independent restaurants. And I
5:46
love those mom and pop places, the holes in the
5:49
wall. And there definitely are some in Port St.
5:51
Lucie. But I want to see, you know. Chefs coming
5:55
up there and like really trying. I feel like
5:58
Port St. Lucie, Stewart, Jensen Beach, the Treasure
6:01
Coast has so much opportunity. They're trying.
6:05
They're trying. So when I acquired Flavor South
6:09
Florida, it was Flavor Palm Beach. Right. As
6:12
the founder had coined it that. And the reason
6:15
it became Flavor South Florida is because I had
6:17
Treasure Coast restaurants reaching out to me
6:19
and they were like. three, four years ago now,
6:21
and they said, hey, we want to do this. And I'm
6:23
like, well, that's silly. Why does Martin County,
6:25
Treasure Coast, St. Lucie not have a Restaurant
6:28
Month program? They should have it too. So low
6:30
and bold, rebranded. And I love that because
6:32
there are some really great ones. I want them
6:35
to be included. I'm like one of those people,
6:37
I get really bad FOMO, okay? So I never, ever,
6:40
ever want to give somebody else FOMO. And I always
6:43
want everybody to feel included and happy and
6:45
loved, right? And stop being crazy as that sounds,
6:48
but that's how. I felt about that when I was
6:51
expanding it and rebranding it because, you know,
6:53
it costs money to rebrand. You got to redo all
6:54
this, all this shit. And so like, that's, it's,
6:58
it's, it's not a small thing to do. I'm still
7:00
finding flavor beach floating around little places.
7:03
Damn, I have to fix that. But story for another
7:06
day. So I, I'm so happy because I think St. Lucie
7:10
Martin. And they're doing, they're trying, right?
7:13
We're trying. We're growing. We're building.
7:14
I know a lot of people, the folks in Martin County
7:16
and St. Lucie County are a little like resistant
7:19
to that. They're hesitant. They're a little resistant
7:21
to the growth. They're for sure hesitant. I get
7:22
it. I get it. I get it. We're not getting a bright
7:25
line up there. It's fine. We're all going to
7:27
move on in the world. It is what it is. But what
7:30
are your, like, give me a couple good picks,
7:32
I mean, of St. Lucie restaurants. Where do you
7:34
love to eat up there? I love Dolphin Bar. I'm
7:37
a big Dolphin Bar girl. You know, I like to sit
7:40
out on their patio and I love going there during
7:43
Flavors of South Florida. You know, I love the
7:46
like you walk in there and it just feels. They
7:48
do a good menu. They do. They do. It's like $35
7:51
for two courses or something crazy like that.
7:53
It's so good. And like I'm happy to be there
7:55
anytime. And like it just to me is like the epitome
7:58
of like a South Florida restaurant. Like I love
8:01
that. And I love that like when I walk in there.
8:04
That's what I feel like. It's like homey, but
8:06
elevated. And I love that. Well, they also have
8:08
Conky Joe's. You go there, too. I love Conky
8:11
Joe's as well. Yeah. And then other than that,
8:13
you know, with two kids, I like like my dune
8:15
dog and like my little like restaurants like
8:18
that. I like right here in Jupiter, the lighthouse.
8:22
The whole little like they have a burger shack
8:25
in there and the little ice cream store like
8:27
like to throw my kids in little situations like
8:30
that, you know. Well, there's a really good museum.
8:33
There's a lot of things for kids to do up in
8:35
that area. There is. It's very family friendly.
8:37
Have you taken them to Hudson's on the river?
8:39
I have. They have a lot of spots like for like
8:42
kids games and stuff. And right there, they have
8:45
a little checkerboard. And yeah, Hudson's is
8:47
my go to for when I have a girlfriend's visit
8:49
and we want to go to like a little brunch or
8:51
something. Cause that's also like, it's right
8:53
on the water. It's pretty good. Great food. I
8:55
love that you can do like sushi or a burger.
8:57
Like I'm in, that's great. I agree. I, there's
9:00
a place up in Orlando at city walk. It's called
9:02
cowfish. And Jack and I always go there because
9:05
he gets a burger and I get the sushi. I'm like,
9:06
when, when? Yeah. Great concept. Sushi burgers.
9:08
It is. You're going to like one of those things.
9:10
Exactly. So actually I'll ask you this question.
9:13
If you have to choose sushi or burger. I'm going
9:16
sushi. Me too. Yeah. Me too. All day long. My
9:18
husband's going burger. My kids are going burger.
9:21
long. I'm going sushi. No, not a real tough fight
9:24
for me. So at PJ national downstairs from you
9:28
is a sushi by boo. Have you been there? I have
9:31
recently, actually, I don't know what took me
9:33
so long, but I recently went and it was amazing.
9:38
The chefs are so fun. They're so talented. The
9:40
fish is so fresh. I had a great time and I'm
9:43
like, I would come here all the time if I wasn't
9:45
working. Do you have a favorite piece that you
9:50
Ooh. From there? I do. I don't know if I would
9:55
say I have a favorite piece because I've been
9:58
slid like a few extra pieces here and there that
10:01
were so good and I can't remember what was on
10:04
them, but I haven't had a single bad bite there.
10:06
Okay. I am literally obsessed with the miso cod
10:10
one. Oh, so good. Yeah. I could eat that. Like
10:14
every day for the rest of my life. I agree. That
10:16
one's so good. Another fave of mine that's a
10:18
little random little thing here is these truffle
10:20
jalapeno poppers at the Butcher's Club. Oh, addicting.
10:24
Also could eat those for every day for the rest
10:26
of my life. I know. I don't know what kind of
10:30
like what is happening in that little tiny popper.
10:33
Yeah. But it's the most delicious little burst
10:36
of flavor in the entire world. Yeah, it's sorcery.
10:40
Makes me so happy. What they're doing back there
10:42
to make those. It's a secret because I think
10:45
I don't know what they're doing. You know, I
10:47
love every single time I have one. I'm like happy
10:50
thinking about it. So, well, wait, let me back
10:54
up, though, for a second. Jumping into dessert
10:57
is something about a snickerdoodle cookie. Yes.
11:01
Tell me something about a snickerdoodle cookie.
11:03
So back in, well, I guess 2017, when we were
11:08
opening Stubborn Seed, we decided we had to have
11:13
a signature cookie. Previously, I was at Ariette
11:18
and I kind of had a signature cookie there. And
11:21
then at Michael's Genuine, Hedy had her signature
11:24
cookie. So going into Stubborn Seed's opening,
11:27
we were like, we have to have. signature cookie
11:30
Jeremy wanted to be like okay you're at this
11:33
fine dining concept but you can end your meal
11:36
with cookies and milk like let's do it so I was
11:39
kind of thinking I wanted to do something that
11:43
was relatable but also a little different. So
11:46
I came up with these brown butter snickerdoodle
11:49
cookies with a hazelnut chanduja inside topped
11:53
with some Maldon salt, cinnamon sugar, and the
11:56
whole idea behind it was buttered toast with
11:59
Nutella. And that was kind of the thought process
12:03
behind it. Yeah. So the cookie dough, brown butter,
12:09
a little cinnamon. So you have like a little
12:11
nuttiness like your toasted bread and then stuffed
12:14
with that rich hazelnut chocolate. It really
12:16
all pairs so well together. And they took off.
12:19
It became a thing. And it was a blast. It was
12:22
so much fun. And it was never our intention for
12:25
the cookie to stay the same. And then we couldn't
12:27
change it after it took off. No, you can't change
12:30
it. Yeah, so it has made its way after Stubborn
12:35
Seed to the Butcher's Club. Jeremy has continued
12:38
to serve it at Stubborn Seed Vegas, and it's
12:43
been all over the place. Oh, it's making its
12:44
way around the country. It has made its way around.
12:48
All right, all right, all right. So let's back
12:49
up for the listeners. So you are at Stubborn
12:52
Seed in Miami. Yes. And working with Chef Jeremy
12:55
Ford. He's the exec chef for Stubborn Seed in
12:58
Miami and also at the Butcher's Club in Palm
13:00
Beach Gardens at PG National. When was this that
13:04
you, is this where you started your culinary
13:06
journey? And where did your culinary journey
13:09
start? Were you like a baker first by trade or
13:12
do you just? bake as a hobby? No. So I actually
13:16
started working in restaurants when I was 15
13:20
at Willoughby Golf Club in Stewart. No way. I
13:24
know exactly where that's hilarious. I know exactly
13:26
where that is. I know. I know. I went to Martin
13:28
County High School and I honestly had no clue
13:32
as a high schooler like what I wanted to do.
13:34
Some people know their whole life. I kind of
13:36
thought like maybe I'll do psychology, like maybe
13:39
I'll go to UM. Who knows? And I wasn't really
13:42
sure. But My elective for my freshman year was
13:46
culinary and I ended up. Absolutely loving it.
13:52
I am a very competitive person at Nature, and
13:55
we got the opportunity to compete at States,
13:58
and I just kind of fell in love with it, being
14:00
on the competition team. And I had the most wonderful
14:04
instructor, Chef Southwick. Love him so much.
14:08
He really helped me grow my passion for cooking.
14:12
I always love to cook with my mom. My mom will
14:14
tell you I cooked with her in the kitchen since
14:16
I could stand. It was always something fun for
14:19
me, but I never thought of it as a career. And
14:22
as soon as I could, he helped me get a job at
14:24
Willoughby Golf and Country Club. And I had an
14:27
amazing, amazing mentor there, Stacy. And she
14:32
was just like a bad bitch. Like I was 15 years
14:36
old looking up to this woman who was so successful.
14:39
She graduated from Johnson and Wales. She studied
14:42
abroad. She was now an executive sous chef at
14:46
a country club. She was so young too. I think
14:48
she was like, 22 like and I just got to look
14:52
up to her and be like I want to be like you like
14:55
you're a badass and so that kind of drove my
14:58
my desire for hospitality even more and when
15:03
I was at Willoughby Golf and Country Club I was
15:05
not doing desserts I did desserts because it
15:08
was part of my job but I was doing hotline, garmage,
15:13
prep, anything they'd let me do. And when I went
15:17
to college, I decided to go to Johnson and Wales
15:19
and kind of follow in Stacey's footsteps. Yeah,
15:22
I was like, she went here. I want to go there.
15:25
She actually took me to my first campus visit.
15:28
Oh, wow. Yeah, and introduced me to instructors
15:31
and everything. It was so cool to really have
15:35
people that, and my parents were so supportive
15:37
of as well. So like I had a circle of people
15:40
that were just rooting for me in hospitality
15:42
and really gave me a leg up. So when I moved
15:45
to Miami, I was at Johnson and Wales. And shortly
15:47
after being there, I already knew I wanted to
15:49
work for Michael Schwartz. You know, I was in
15:52
college in 2012 and Michael Schwartz had Michael's
15:57
Genuine and he had just opened up his first Harry's
16:00
Pizzeria. he was the guy you know he's literally
16:05
still the guy people are still talking about
16:07
him exactly but this is like when design district
16:09
is coming up like it wasn't as big as it is now
16:13
you know and he was so fantastic and I was like
16:16
I want to work for him and I applied so many
16:18
times without a call I did without a call and
16:22
then there was like a job fair and I was like
16:24
I'm going I'm gonna do this and when I talked
16:27
to I remember he was like, you don't have enough
16:33
experience for Michael's Genuine. Why don't you
16:35
start off at Harry's Pizzeria? And I was like,
16:37
I'll take anything to work for Michael Schwartz.
16:39
Like this is who I want to work for. And I got
16:42
a job working at Harry's Pizzeria. My stage was
16:45
during Art Basel. So it was chaos. And I remember
16:49
the guy that I was staging under walked out and
16:52
I had been there for just a few hours. So I was
16:55
like. what am I doing and I just kind of kept
16:58
trucking and at the end of the night that sounds
17:01
crazy yeah at the end of the night the chef was
17:03
like that's you're hired like yeah can you start
17:06
tomorrow that guy walked out oh man I'll be here
17:10
yeah you will yeah so I just kind of got my foot
17:13
in the door at Harry's less than a year at Harry's
17:17
the corporate chef gave me the opportunity to
17:20
move Over to Michael's Genuine. And he was like,
17:23
listen, I know you want to be there. The only
17:25
thing I have open right now is in pastry. And
17:29
I was like, I don't want that. And I was so,
17:32
like, bummed. Really? And I was like, I don't
17:35
want to do pastry. And I remember calling my
17:37
mom and being like. They want me to do pastry.
17:41
Like, I don't want to be, like, another female
17:42
pastry chef. Like, it's so stereotypical. And
17:46
I was, like, really bummed about it. And my mom
17:48
was like, why are you being like this? Like,
17:51
take this opportunity. Go learn it. You don't
17:53
have to stick with pastry forever. But you have
17:56
the opportunity to work for Hedy Goldsmith, who
17:58
is, you know, a phenomenal James Beard. pastry
18:02
chef and you can go learn from her so at least
18:04
make yourself stronger and go learn it so I went
18:08
back to him the next day and I was like I will
18:10
take it but move me to the hotline when you can
18:13
you know and I took it and I went yeah and you
18:17
know what it changed my whole life so I went
18:19
and I learned from Hedy and I met one of my best
18:23
friends in the entire world Devin Braddock who
18:25
is a badass pastry chef she's so phenomenal and
18:28
we were both able to like learn and grow in that
18:31
department and really become part of a team that
18:36
was so cool. Everyone at Michael's Genuine was
18:39
like, I've called it for so long, like boot camp,
18:42
because there's so many chefs that come out of
18:45
the Michael's Genuine umbrella that just go on
18:47
to do amazing things. And I was really lucky
18:50
to work there. And how old were you when this
18:54
was happening? I was 18, 19, 20. I was there
18:59
for like three years. Yeah, 18, 19, 20. You needed
19:02
to take that spot. Yeah, absolutely. And now,
19:05
are you more inclined? Are you like more like
19:09
pastry chef now? So I was very lucky that after
19:13
Michael's Genuine, I was offered an opportunity
19:16
to be a executive sous chef for Terry's Catering
19:21
in Miami as a pastry chef. And I was kind of
19:24
like, oh, goodness, this whole pastry thing is
19:26
going to keep going. But I really had a goal
19:30
to be an executive chef. by the time I was 25.
19:33
So I was like, if I take an executive sous chef
19:36
role, like I'm one step closer. So I got my first
19:39
executive sous chef role before I was 21. And
19:42
I took that and then the pastry kept going. And
19:46
then I got a call from Michael Beltran when he
19:48
was opening up Ariette. And he was like, come
19:50
be my executive pastry chef. And I was 21 at
19:53
the time. And I was like, I'm going to get that
19:56
executive title before 25. And I remember telling
20:01
Beltran no because I was so scared. I was so
20:05
scared. I was literally freshly 21. And I was
20:09
like, I can't. I can't do this. And I sat on
20:12
it for like a week. And then I called him and
20:14
I was like, did you fill the role? He's like,
20:16
no, I was hoping you'd call me back. Oh, wow.
20:19
And he gave me the first opportunity as like
20:22
an executive pastry chef. And we opened Ariette.
20:26
And it was so fantastic. And that's like a core
20:29
memory for me. Ariette became such a family and
20:33
it was so tight knit. And that was my first time
20:37
being in that kind of leadership role and that
20:40
fine dining and working for, I was working side
20:44
by side with Beltran, who is so passionate. And
20:46
it was really cool. It was, it was. fiery and
20:50
crazy and restaurant openings are chaotic. And,
20:53
you know, I was trying to figure out how to be
20:55
a leader. So it was an amazing opportunity. And
20:59
then after Ariette, I got the opportunity to
21:01
join Jeremy Ford. And that's kind of where everything
21:04
kicked off again for me. How did you wind up
21:07
a stubborn seed then? Did they like find you
21:09
or did you find them? I got a DM. I got a DM
21:13
and it was from a mutual friend of Jeremy and
21:17
I. And they were like, hey, Jeremy's opening.
21:19
I didn't know Jeremy. We had never met. I only
21:21
knew him because I knew he was on Top Chef, which
21:24
I have never even watched still to this day.
21:26
Did you watch his episode? No, I won't watch
21:28
it. Do you want to know? I did actually watch
21:31
his episode about two years ago, I think. Because
21:35
why were we doing that? We were doing something
21:39
with flavor. I think it was around the kickoff
21:40
party time. I was like, I should watch this episode.
21:44
I think I probably should. And I did. I threw
21:45
it on. And I don't have much feedback. It was
21:48
good. Whatever. He won. I think the sweetest
21:52
part for me personally, knowing him, was that
21:55
his mom was there. So that was nice to see. Yeah,
22:01
you should just watch it. I know. I'll do it
22:04
eventually. I'll do it eventually. But I decided
22:09
to I was not looking to leave Ariad. I was so
22:11
happy. I loved where I was at. But I was like,
22:15
wow, I haven't interviewed in a really long time,
22:17
like a really long time. Because when I moved
22:20
to Terry's, that had been a few years. And that
22:23
was the last time I really took on an interview.
22:25
And I was like. I should like try to dust off
22:29
some cobwebs and see how this goes. And then
22:31
I met Jeremy and Joe. And I had never met either
22:36
of them. And walking in as, oh, God, 2017. I
22:41
don't even know how old I was at that point.
22:44
But walking in to meet with them and sitting
22:47
down. With zero expectations, not knowing what
22:51
I was getting myself into, I walked out of there
22:54
with the feeling of, like, I have to work with
22:56
these two chefs. Like, I need to be next to them.
23:01
I need to be in a kitchen with them because they're
23:02
so passionate. You weren't terrified? No, I wasn't
23:05
scared at all, honestly. At that moment? No,
23:08
no. I was just like, that's what I want. I want
23:10
to be pushed. I want to learn more. And I want
23:14
to give this a shot. And as much as I absolutely
23:16
loved Ariat, I still love Ariat. I still love
23:19
Beltran. I was like, I need to. give this a go
23:22
and went in as his executive pastry chef. So
23:26
pastry again. But I learned so much. And Jeremy
23:30
and the team there gave me so many opportunities
23:33
to grow, not just only as a pastry chef, but
23:36
Jeremy always had me involved in decisions on
23:39
the entire menu. And we were so collaborative
23:41
that it really gave me the strength back to know
23:45
that I was still strong in pastry and savory.
23:48
And it was such a... fun project and then covid
23:53
came yeah covid did do that didn't it yeah and
23:57
it was like we served out of a window carry time
24:00
ago it does i'm like is that a fever dream exactly
24:04
i'm like having bad flashbacks i'm like did that
24:07
actually happen right right it literally feels
24:10
like one of those things where it's like did
24:11
we all collectively dream that because like what
24:14
was that you know because people like they they
24:17
So you suppressed traumas. Yeah. That was, I'm
24:20
not joking. That was a traumatic time. For two
24:22
weeks, I was like in my house. We remember we
24:25
were like, yeah, like I was like getting those
24:28
little wipeys and wiping off my groceries and
24:31
all sorts of stuff. Yeah, that was like traumatic
24:34
times. My son was home from school. I'm trying
24:37
to homeschool him. I'm like, hey, welcome to
24:40
third grade. I'm your teacher now. Welcome. It
24:43
was bad. I had to hire a nanny because I couldn't
24:46
get work done. I worked from home. Everyone's
24:48
like, what does it matter to you? You work from
24:49
home anyway. I'm like. I literally, operative
24:52
word, I work from home. Can't do anything. I
24:54
can't do this with my eight -year -old running
24:55
around going, Mommy, look, I can sit on my head
24:58
during the day. I'm on Zooms all day, you know?
25:00
No, 100%. Holy moly. But restaurants took such
25:04
a, obviously, the biggest beating and toll on
25:07
that. No, so scary. Restaurants are. You know,
25:11
you have to, you have to like navigate there.
25:12
All of a sudden it's like, oh, you're going to
25:14
get COVID if you go to a restaurant. Why, why
25:15
am I getting COVID if I go to a restaurant? And
25:17
now looking back, none of it makes any sense.
25:19
Like, it's like, oh, okay. So I'm getting rest.
25:21
I'm getting COVID if I go to a restaurant, but
25:23
not if I go to a. It's the grocery store. Right.
25:26
Well, I, whatever. Yeah, no, it was so weird.
25:29
And it was like, no one knew what was happening.
25:32
Right. And we pushed through for a while. You
25:34
were at stubborn seed at the time. Okay. I was
25:36
at stubborn seed and I had just found out I was
25:38
pregnant, like right before the world shut down,
25:40
you know? So it was, it was scary. And then when
25:45
we ultimately found out that we were going to
25:47
be closed for an unforeseen amount of time, I
25:50
was like. I've got to do something. And I kept
25:53
cooking out of my house. And my husband and I
25:55
sold baked goods out of our apartment in Midtown.
26:00
And thankfully, it went really well. And I had
26:03
so much support. And then I got a call from another
26:06
chef friend who wanted me to go work for him
26:08
with David Grutman. And I grew. And I took on
26:12
that opportunity. I was there for a little bit.
26:15
And then ultimately, I ended up back with Jeremy.
26:18
Interesting. David Grutman, he's a powerhouse.
26:21
He is. I've never met him. Obviously, I follow
26:24
him and all his adventures. Like, that's an impressive
26:28
story. Yes. Insane. Like, Root Hospitality is
26:32
a name. It's a huge, known name. Yeah, I feel
26:36
like you can go anywhere and... People know who
26:39
David Grutman is. They either know David Grutman
26:42
or they know Groot. They know one or the other.
26:44
Exactly. And a lot of people are, like, scared
26:49
of him, right? He's intimidating. Really? But,
26:51
man, he knows what he's doing. And I have so
26:55
much respect for him. And, you know. He really
27:00
is like the king of nightclubs in Miami. And
27:03
then he expanded into restaurants and he's been
27:06
able to really come up with some fantastic concepts
27:10
that are really fun to dine at. And like Poppy
27:13
Steak, yeah, they have the beef case and they
27:15
do the crazy, you know, performances and the
27:19
white gloves and the sparklers. The food is fantastic.
27:24
Oh, yeah. It's so good. For sure. So he knows
27:27
what he's doing. What is his background? Is it
27:29
like he was a club promoter? It was a start as
27:32
a club promoter. OK. Yeah. That lines up. That
27:35
checks out for me. Yeah. Yeah. Because I grew
27:37
up in New York. I knew a lot of. And that actually.
27:39
Is he from New York? I feel like he gives me.
27:41
Well, I guess he gives me Miami vibes, too. But
27:43
yeah, I know. You know, I wish I knew the answer
27:46
to that. But I mean, he came up in South Florida.
27:49
Yeah. Just got to get him on. Yeah. He just came
27:50
out with a book. He's really doing things. So
27:54
that is awesome. So then you left with him and
27:58
you went back to stubborn seed still in the same
28:01
position or new? So I didn't go back to stubborn.
28:03
I called Jeremy and I was like, listen, I need
28:08
like big brother advice, you know, and we went
28:13
to Carbone and had dinner and we were just talking
28:16
and I was like, listen, like I have a kid. I
28:22
want to be closer to my parents. But Miami has
28:26
given me everything I have in my career. And
28:28
Miami was the best thing I ever did for my career.
28:30
And I was able to really grow in this field.
28:33
I think I need out. So I started interviewing
28:36
for spots in New York and L .A. And I didn't
28:39
really know what I was doing. And I got some
28:41
cool opportunities presented to me. And I was
28:43
like, Jeremy, what do I do? He was like, what
28:46
do you mean, what do you do? Come to the Butcher's
28:48
Club. Come to Palm Beach. I need an executive
28:53
chef and you need to come. And I was like, I
28:58
didn't think about this before calling you. Wow.
29:01
Okay. Yeah. And that's what you always really
29:04
wanted. Yeah. It was literally what I had always
29:07
wanted. And I was like, I've got to take this.
29:11
Yeah. And really quickly, my husband and I just
29:15
decided like, I will be close to my parents.
29:18
I, my kids will be close to his grandparents.
29:22
We'll get out of the hustle and bustle of Miami.
29:24
Like, let's do it. And I went to the Butcher's
29:27
Club as their executive chef. Wow. Yeah. And
29:31
that was pretty quickly after. So that was pretty
29:34
quickly after they opened, right? It was a little
29:38
over a year they had been open when I went. But
29:41
fast forward here. Yeah. You have quite the story
29:45
and journey for. Someone of your age. So now
29:51
you went from executive chef to what's the next
29:56
position? This episode is sponsored by Ultima
30:00
Caviar. Experience exceptional. Visit them at
30:03
ultimacaviar .com. So after Executive Chef, I
30:08
kind of bounced around in the hotel a little
30:10
bit while retaining the Executive Chef title.
30:12
But Joseph Fisher, the GM of the hotel at the
30:15
time, he really helped me. grow and learn new
30:21
things and that was my first hotel role so you
30:24
don't get many opportunities to be within the
30:26
same four walls essentially and see all these
30:30
different departments running and so I was able
30:33
to spend a little bit of time in so many different
30:35
departments. And then, you know, he came up with
30:39
this idea after we lost our GM of the Butcher's
30:42
Club, who was ironically moving to Miami. He
30:46
was like, why don't you take on this role with
30:50
the Butcher's Club where you're overseeing the
30:52
front of the house and the back of the house?
30:55
And I was like, let's do it. Like, I love a challenge.
30:59
I love everything about. restaurants as a whole.
31:03
Like I love the hospitality that goes into it.
31:06
And it seemed like such a fun challenge. So then
31:09
I was able to take on the current role that I
31:11
have, which is director of operations of the
31:13
Butcher's Club. Wow. That is insanely impressive.
31:22
Thank you. It really is. It really, really to
31:25
just keep your drive. And in the midst of all
31:29
this, you had your second baby. I did, yeah.
31:32
Shortly after receiving a promotion a few months
31:36
later, I found out I was having baby number two.
31:39
And so now I have two little boys. Yeah. I mean,
31:42
and that in itself and your second one, your
31:45
baby is like your little unbelievable twin copy
31:49
pasted you. Sorry to your husband. I apologize.
31:53
No, I tell him his genes didn't even try. Didn't
31:56
even try. Not even not even an attempt. Yeah.
31:58
He's like Cuban brown hair, brown eyes. And both
32:01
boys are blonde hair, blue eyes, fair skin. And
32:04
I'm like. They couldn't have at least like gotten
32:06
your tan, like something. It's funny. So my son,
32:10
you know, one of his electives, he just got,
32:12
he just chose for our high school. He got scheduled
32:14
the other day. It was culinary. That's so exciting.
32:17
Like, well, at least you'll, I mean, look at
32:19
very little minimum, you'll learn how to boil
32:21
water and use a knife and maybe like, maybe make
32:27
your own sandwich. He's going to be able to cook.
32:29
I know I'm teasing him at this point, but he's
32:32
like, I'm hungry. I'm hungry. I'm hungry. I'm
32:34
like, You're 14. Do you know how to go make a
32:38
sandwich? Listen, when I met my husband, he lived
32:41
off of boiled hot dogs. He doesn't even do that,
32:44
man. He was like, I'll make my own dinner tonight.
32:48
I'm like, what are you doing? He's like, I'm
32:49
going to make some spaghetti. So I'm like, oh.
32:52
There you go. By the way. By the way. He is a
32:56
bougie little baby. And so I took him there,
33:01
as you know, for his birthday because you were
33:03
so gracious and made it so special for him. He,
33:06
once upon a time, he and I went to the Butcher's
33:09
Club for dinner. He saw the flying tomahawk.
33:12
Oh, yeah. You have this whole flaming situation
33:15
going on. I believe, don't quote me if I'm wrong,
33:18
for around $400. Yes, correct. But it feeds a
33:20
lot of people. And it's fantastic. It's a little
33:22
show. It comes to your table, table side. Fire.
33:25
Swing in. It's all to do. Well, my son was sitting
33:29
there with a table next to us. We ordered it.
33:30
And he goes, hey, mommy. Yes, honey. Is that
33:33
my steak? No, honey, that's not your steak. I
33:37
want that steak. And he was 12 at the time. Yeah.
33:41
I go, I'm not getting you that steak. You can
33:44
sit down and you can have a hamburger and enjoy
33:47
it because you're 12, right? So you all are so
33:51
accommodating and amazing that his birthday you
33:54
put a filet mignon. It was probably an eight
33:57
ounce filet mignon on the little hanger where
34:00
you would normally put the tomahawk. Yeah. And
34:03
then they fired it. And my son was so, so happy.
34:08
He's like, I'm like, look, you got your flaming
34:10
fiery steak. It's like, and so now. Every time
34:16
I was like, what do you want to do this weekend
34:18
that's going to be fun? Whenever I say, what
34:21
do you want to do that's fun? These are the answers
34:22
I get. Are you ready? I'm ready. Kid you not.
34:25
Let's go to Universal. I hear that one too. We
34:28
have annual passes. I mean, I know I'm a lot,
34:31
but I can't go there all the time. Another one
34:34
is let's go to Grandpa's house, which is over
34:37
in Tampa. And this is like, okay, can we go to
34:41
the park? Like, why are we driving two, three
34:43
hours? Universal, Grandpa's house, whatever.
34:45
Third one is, can we go to Butcher's Club? Okay,
34:49
that's the most attainable one for me and easiest
34:51
one to coordinate. Sure. Well, yeah, sure. Let's
34:54
go. Well, I'm going to give him my phone number
34:56
because we need to get him in there more often.
34:57
Girl, you do not want that. He will text you.
35:00
He has his own phone. And you're like, don't
35:01
worry. I'm making your mom's reservation right
35:03
now. He will blow your phone up. He'll be polite
35:05
about it. And he will be super proper about it.
35:09
You know, he is so polite. Right? He is. He's
35:11
pretty cute. He's very well spoken. Like, I'm
35:14
not surprised with... how well -spoken he is
35:17
because you're his mom. Oh, thanks. Well, he's
35:19
got to be 14. He's 14. Yeah, 14, and he is well
35:23
-spoken, and he's not intimidated by a crowd.
35:26
No, not at all. It's so impressive. Thank you.
35:29
It really is. I always also try to make him shake
35:34
people's hands, open the door, especially for
35:37
women. That's so important, yeah. If we're walking
35:38
through a doorway somewhere, I'll stop. I will
35:41
stop at the doorway, and I stand there and wait,
35:43
and I look at him. Yeah, I do the same thing
35:46
with my five -year -old. It's important. And
35:48
he knows. And I don't even have to be aggressive
35:51
about it anymore because he's gotten used to
35:53
doing that. And, you know, I thank you for saying
35:57
that because it's tricky with these kids, you
35:59
know? Oh, yeah. They're a work in progress. But
36:01
what I wanted to say was I'm very happy to report
36:04
back now at our most recent visit was instead
36:07
of a steak, he gave me a little curveball. Spicy
36:14
Rigatoni is his new favorite. Oh, there we go.
36:17
And that is my actual favorite, my current favorite,
36:20
because you all changed the menu here from time
36:22
to time. Yes, it almost came off the menu. We
36:24
just put a new cost addition on. Please don't
36:26
take it off. But we kept it. We kept it. It was
36:27
a can't go anywhere moment. You just almost traumatized
36:34
me because I can't. Now Jack will. Everything
36:38
will be destroyed and ruined. Yeah. Then we'd
36:40
have to do the tomahawk for Jack. Yeah, we can't
36:43
do that. We're going to do spicy rigatoni with
36:46
the burrata on top. There we go. Why would you
36:49
take that off? I think it's underrated. I think
36:51
people don't realize it's there. I think they
36:53
don't think to order that at a really awesome
36:55
steakhouse. I'm going to just tell everybody,
36:57
I want the spicy. This is a movement right here,
37:00
right now. I want the spicy rigatoni to stay
37:01
on the menu. Please go there to the Butcher's
37:03
Club and order it. I agree. Please. I'm begging
37:06
you. Anyway, moving on. So, you know, the Butchers
37:13
Club recently received the Michelin recommendation
37:16
for the first time two years ago. Just retained
37:19
it again this year. I mean, that's something
37:22
to talk about. That's something to be really,
37:25
really freaking proud of, right? It is. It's
37:27
such an honor. And that's under your leadership.
37:29
You realize that, right? Thank you, Keri. Thank
37:32
you. The team is so phenomenal, honestly. We
37:35
have such a great team. So many of our team members
37:39
have been there for years at this point. We rarely
37:43
ever have a new server, a new cook, a new anything
37:47
because our team is so tight -knit and it's so
37:52
cool to be able to continue. to grow and polish
37:57
what we're doing and introduce new steps of service
38:00
or implement new wine service or these new dishes
38:06
that come out. And over the years, we've really
38:10
learned what the guests that are coming to the
38:13
Butcher's Club are looking for. And I think that's
38:16
what's so important is we're not trying to be
38:19
anybody else. We just want to be the best steakhouse.
38:24
We want to be the best steakhouse that you can
38:26
go to where you're like, man, if you don't live
38:30
here, like I next time I'm in Florida or Palm
38:33
Beach, I have to go to the Butcher's Club, you
38:35
know, or if you're local, I want you to just
38:38
like dream about our burger and dream about our
38:40
spicy rigatoni. Oh, I do. One of our cocktails.
38:43
You know, we have a fantastic beverage program.
38:46
So that's what I want for the Butcher's Club
38:49
is just like the desire to be there, you know.
38:52
So you're very wise because one of the things
38:55
I tell restaurant owners when I'm working with
38:58
them and doing consulting with them is they want
39:01
to – when they're struggling and sales are low
39:05
and it's summer, everybody scrambles. They want
39:07
to reinvent the wheel. They want to go outside
39:09
their concept. Like I give you an example of
39:13
a fine dining restaurant that says, oh, we're
39:17
really slow. That wants to throw a Super Bowl
39:20
party. That's not your angle. Your angle, any
39:25
successful restaurant, to what you just said,
39:28
the real successful ones, they do not divert.
39:32
And I tell everybody over and over and over and
39:34
over again, do what you do and do it best. Period.
39:38
Yeah. Period. No matter what industry, really.
39:40
But I find it very important, specifically in
39:43
the restaurant industry, because if you're a
39:45
French restaurant. Don't be trying to serve tacos
39:48
on Cinco de Mayo. Yeah, no, exactly. That's my
39:50
point, right? I think that was a better example
39:53
of where people go, oh, should I be doing it?
39:56
No, you shouldn't be doing this. Don't do it.
39:57
You shouldn't be doing this. You should be sticking
40:01
to you, what you do best, your concept, and that's
40:05
it. That's it. Don't make it. I love the size
40:08
of your menu. Don't overcomplicate it. I feel
40:11
like when it gets overcomplicated, that's when
40:13
restaurateurs fail. Don't get me wrong. I love
40:16
a Cheesecake Factory, but that's for Cheesecake
40:18
Factory. That's for Cheesecake. That's for Cheesecake
40:21
for me. I mean, they have some pasta dishes that's
40:24
pretty solid. Hey, they're happy hours. I just
40:26
want their cheesecake. Solid. You know, speaking
40:30
of cocktails, so I recently had this pea cocktail.
40:34
I posted on my Instagram stories about it. And
40:37
it's also, I told... And Jupiter Magazine interviewed
40:42
me and asked me what was a really interesting,
40:44
unique cocktail I had. And, of course, it came
40:47
to mind. Yeah. It's called the Peas and Thank
40:50
You. How cute is that? Peas and Thank You. It's
40:53
pretty darn cute. It's a good name. And everyone's
40:57
like, so I've had it a few times now. So then
40:59
I brought some friends in there a couple weeks
41:02
ago and I ordered it. And they're like, what
41:03
is that? And if I tell you the amount of DMs
41:06
I got when I posted in my stories, people are
41:09
like. do you really having a cocktail with peas?
41:12
I'm like, yeah, like that's, it was 50, 50. Ew,
41:16
that's gross. Yeah. Or, oh, wow. I really need
41:18
to try that. Yeah. And I'm with it. Oh, how we
41:21
need to try that. So I. Side note, I actually
41:25
like low -key love baby food. It doesn't taste
41:29
like baby food, okay? I just thought of it. Cut
41:32
it. Cut it. Because that's what people were expecting
41:36
when they were DMing me. They said, does it taste
41:39
like the Pease baby food? For sure. I'm like,
41:42
literally no. Not at all. Because it's a snap
41:46
peas, so it's sweeter. Yeah. And then it's with
41:48
a gin. And a clarified something. Oh, look at
41:51
you. You know this cocktail. I'm getting so close.
41:53
I'm so close. I listen. I listen. So it has Meyer
41:57
lemon. It has a snow pea cordial. And then it's
42:01
topped with a salted cucumber foam that is just,
42:04
like, I feel like I love that, like, salty. That's
42:07
what's good, the salted cucumber. Yeah, salty
42:09
gin, herbaceous. It's such a good cocktail. We
42:12
have a fantastic bar team. Paul Costa heads the
42:17
bar team and he is so creative without like stepping
42:22
out of that boundary of like, that's too weird.
42:26
Like I like that he's willing to push the boundary
42:28
a little bit. Like the peas and thank you definitely
42:30
pushes it. Not everyone is going. To order it.
42:34
Some people are going to be like, that is gross.
42:36
And I don't want that. No, that's ridiculous.
42:39
It's absolutely not gross. Does not taste like
42:41
baby food. You need to try it. But there's like
42:43
a pawpaw punch on our menu that is so delicious.
42:47
And it's like the perfect balance of sweet. We
42:51
have a caviar martini on our menu right now.
42:54
There's so many cool things on that beverage
42:56
menu. Is that the one that's served in the ice
42:58
block? It's served in a fish. So it's like in
43:01
a little fish. With an herb oil and then a mother
43:04
of pearl spoon with caviar. So if you like a
43:08
dirty martini, you will love it. I try to encourage
43:12
when guests are ordering the cocktail, like,
43:15
don't just order because it's cool. Like, let's
43:17
find the right one for you. You know, if you're
43:20
not a martini drinker, like, don't order the
43:22
caviar martini because you want to put it on
43:25
your Instagram. Like, you're not going to like
43:26
it, you know. I love it. It's right up my alley.
43:29
Speaking of which. I love a martini. I love a
43:34
dirty martini. I love caviar martini. Speaking
43:37
of caviar, do you eat caviar? I love caviar.
43:39
Big caviar fan, yeah. Me too, me too. So our
43:42
friends at Ultima Caviar, they have sponsored
43:45
this episode. Brought us some goodies. And I
43:49
asked them if they would be so kind to pop these
43:52
suckers open for us in advance. Amazing. To make
43:55
life a little bit easier. Yeah, those caviar
43:57
keys can be a little tricky. They are really
44:00
tricky. Thank you. So I'm going to give you some
44:02
to try. I'm going to have some to try. Thank
44:06
you, thank you. And we can just enjoy our caviar
44:08
because, so you're saying your caviar goes with
44:11
the martini and it comes in a little presentation
44:14
glass, right? Yeah, it comes on one of these
44:16
spoons just like this and just sits on your little.
44:19
martini there and it's actually a burrata fat
44:21
washed martini so what yes it's called burrata
44:25
and pearls and it is just wait a minute i'm too
44:28
consumed with this peas drink that i'm neglecting
44:30
the caviar drink i have oh that is so good i'm
44:34
gonna fix my life which one do you have i have
44:37
let's see i don't know which one i have either
44:40
i have the persicus i have us i don't know you
44:44
have osatra yeah de de la sombra Listen, I butcher
44:49
anything I pronounce. Yeah, here, we'll switch.
44:52
We'll do a little trade. I really like that one.
44:54
But eat it. It's lunchtime. It's time to eat
44:57
the caviar. So, Paul, you said. Paul is your...
45:00
He's our lead mixologist at the Butcher's Club.
45:04
He's amazing. He is so great. He's awesome. He's
45:07
got like 25 kids. He's so amazing. Does he drink?
45:12
He does not drink. So isn't that crazy? So does
45:16
he taste what he's making? He does. And if you're
45:20
ever visiting us and you see Paul spit out a
45:23
drink, it's not because it's gross. It's because
45:28
he will literally straw test it and dispose of
45:32
it. He does not drink at all. That's wild. It
45:35
is. And he's so good at what he does. He just
45:38
really knows. Flavor profiles and balance and
45:42
everything. He's really talented. I got to tell
45:45
you, that's funny. Because Brody, he's the general
45:49
manager of Hudson's on the River. He is in charge
45:51
of their beverage program there. They have really
45:54
cool cocktails as well. They do, yeah. Brody
45:56
doesn't drink. And Brody's wild. Brody's probably
46:00
the only person I would put on par with Paul
46:02
as far as creativity and cocktails. Yeah, he
46:06
doesn't drink. And you don't either, do you?
46:08
I don't either. Yeah, I think I'm a little more
46:09
lenient. We're like, I'll take a sip of wine
46:12
to try it. Like, that's a huge part of my role,
46:14
right? Is making sure we're curating the best
46:17
beverage menu that we can. So I am not a spitter
46:21
like Paul is. You just take it. Yeah, yeah. I
46:29
will definitely take a sip of wine or a sip of
46:32
a cocktail. Did you just not like it? Did you
46:34
never drink? No. So my husband, who was also
46:38
a bar manager, that's how we met. He was the
46:40
bar manager at Stubborn Seed, actually. He quit
46:43
drinking about four years ago. And when he quit
46:47
drinking, I was like, this isn't fun without
46:50
you. I don't want to do this without you. And
46:53
I honestly... just gradually stopped. And then
46:57
it's been a few years now where I really don't
47:00
drink at all. The only time I'm drinking is if
47:02
I'm trying a cocktail or trying a wine. Yeah.
47:05
I mean, even when I went to Sushi Baibu, like
47:09
I was ordering their great little mocktails and
47:11
I still have a great time. I still love trying
47:14
new things and getting to try, you know, it's
47:18
great to see mixologists and restaurants embracing
47:22
the NA beverage. trend as well. And so it's still
47:26
fun. It's not even a trend. No. Because honestly,
47:29
I was just reading, I have much to say on this
47:32
topic. I was just reading the other day that
47:35
52 % of Americans are not drinking right now.
47:39
Wow. 52%. So my question to you is, are you seeing
47:45
that on your side of things in sales? Yes, we
47:48
definitely are. So It fluctuates, right? I think
47:52
we're in a little bit of a different category
47:54
because we're such a celebratory outlet. When
47:58
people really come to, they're on vacation, they
48:02
might be letting a little more loose than they
48:04
usually are, or they're celebrating a birthday,
48:08
an anniversary, etc. But we actually have crafted
48:12
mocktails on our menu as well. We have an NA
48:16
beer, we have an and a champagne and a white
48:21
wine and a red wine, we have options on our menu.
48:26
So, and I always love when someone orders one
48:29
of our mocktails and then they're like, can you
48:31
add vodka? And it happens all the time. That's
48:35
me, I do that. And I honestly love it because
48:37
I'm like, that's how good our mocktails are.
48:39
Like they are not an afterthought. I always look,
48:42
I do, I look at the mocktail list also and I
48:45
ask people to add vodka because I find that like,
48:49
I don't know. I feel like the mocktails are usually
48:51
presented as a little more like it's usually
48:53
cucumber. It's usually a light. There's one of
48:55
those types. Yeah. It's a cucumber, lime, whatever.
48:57
Yeah, we have one. Right. The cucumber. I want
48:59
that with vodka. Yeah. Because so and it's funny,
49:02
too, because I don't I don't drink at home and
49:05
not for any reason. I just don't enjoy drinking
49:07
at home. Yeah. And there's like bottles of I
49:10
have a bottle of 1942 sitting on my kitchen counter
49:12
since my birthday last year. So, you know. I
49:17
love to drink out. I do love a martini when I'm
49:20
out. I do love a good craft cocktail, a creative
49:22
one. I like tequila. I, what I enjoy. Yeah. I
49:26
don't like wine. I don't care about wine. I want
49:29
nothing to do with wine. I don't know. I don't
49:31
care about any of that. I mean, I have some bubbles
49:33
here, but like, I just, I don't care. It's, that
49:37
doesn't excite me at all. I mean, if you say
49:40
my hands it to me, I'm not going to say no. I'll
49:42
just have a little sip of it. But I know some
49:44
of my girlfriends, they're just, they can drink
49:46
like, All the wine and all, and they all, Prosecco,
49:48
Prosecco. I'm like, oh. Yeah. I don't know. I
49:51
feel like it's going to give me a headache or
49:52
something. And I just really very much appreciate
49:55
a craft behind a cocktail, a really good tequila,
49:59
or even a really good gin. I've been doing a
50:02
lot of some gin lately. Yeah. And I like learning
50:05
about the actual, you know, how the products
50:08
are made and things like that. Yeah, the botanicals.
50:10
Yeah, I'm really into that. So I feel like for
50:14
me, it's empty calories too. It's like. Yeah.
50:16
If I'm going to drink, I want to at least maybe
50:19
catch a little buzz at 100 calories a drink.
50:22
Otherwise, I'm just going to drink water and
50:24
that's going to be that. No, and I totally agree
50:26
with you on that. And I think that kind of had
50:28
a big part of why I stopped drinking because
50:33
like drinking, I was drinking to drink. I was
50:38
like I don't want to just like – because why
50:39
have a drink for no reason? But then, you know
50:42
– living in Miami for so long being in the party
50:46
scene and everything like it was hard to judge
50:49
for me like okay am I gonna get buzzed or am
50:51
I about to get fucked up right right right well
50:53
and that's the thing they have they need these
50:55
little like blow things now for people like you
50:57
see on the key no Yeah, there's a keychain. It's
51:01
literally a breathalyzer on a keychain. Oh, my
51:04
goodness. I think everybody should have one.
51:05
Yeah. I mean, it's a hundred million times that
51:07
people are like, yeah, I'm good. I'm fine. I'm
51:10
going to get one for behind the bar. I'm like,
51:11
do you need another round? No, I'm not even kidding.
51:15
When I lived on Long Island, there was this divy
51:18
bar and there was a big giant breathalyzer machine
51:21
on the wall. You paid like a dollar, I think,
51:23
or 20. Oh, God, no, I don't even know how much
51:25
it was. And they gave, and there were straws.
51:27
Yeah. And you took your straw and go. My friends
51:30
and I would be like, I mean, I was 20. Yeah,
51:32
yeah, yeah. 22. And we was in there like, all
51:36
right, who's driving home? Who's getting the
51:38
high? And we all would go up to the little thing
51:40
and blow it. Yeah. And honestly, though, thank
51:42
God, though. Yeah. I mean, that was probably
51:44
a really good idea for that little. And the machine
51:46
would be like green or red. Right, right, right.
51:48
Like, you're good or you're not good. And of
51:50
course. That's fun. It is fun. It's great. I
51:53
think it's fantastic. I am. I'm very much opposed
51:56
to drinking and driving. I'm very verbal. I'm
51:59
very vocal about that with people like get an
52:02
Uber, leave your car, like whatever. And yeah,
52:08
it's oh, it's pretty crazy because this whole
52:11
like machine and the little thing and I'm like,
52:13
you know, I mean, I'm not even gonna lie. I'm
52:14
gonna tell you a real true story right now. Like
52:16
there's plenty enough. that I drank too much
52:19
at the Butcher's Club. And then I walked up to
52:21
the front desk and I said, Got a room. Hi. I
52:24
need to sleep here. Yeah, you're so responsible
52:27
about that, though. Because I don't want to be
52:30
drunk. I'm not going to drive if I've drank too
52:32
much. I'm just not. And I think that's important
52:35
to recognize too. And like part of our job in
52:37
hospitality is helping you recognize that. And
52:40
that can be really difficult. Like people do
52:42
not want to hear your cutoff, right? No. They
52:45
take offense to it. They can feel embarrassed
52:48
by it. But like. Your bartenders won't cut me
52:50
off because they know I'm going to. You're going
52:51
to get a room. I'm just going to go sleep. You
52:53
know. Even if you were sold out. We know we're
52:55
like Carrie staying here. Literally. Because
52:57
even if you were. If the hotel was like now we're
52:59
sold out. I would just sleep on the couch in
53:00
the lobby and hope for the best. You can come
53:03
to my house. Just lock me into the butcher's
53:05
bar right there. We're both Treasure Coast girlies.
53:09
Nah, we won't have to get that far. It'll be
53:11
okay. No, no. It's all good. Don't ask Victoria
53:14
about my tequila night. Happens in the butcher's
53:20
club, stays in the butcher's club. So the industry
53:25
has evolved a lot over the years. What changes
53:28
have you seen for women? in the profession that
53:33
have evolved and changed over those years? That
53:38
is a great question. And I think the biggest
53:42
change I've seen is that it's no longer a surprise
53:46
when a woman is the leader in a kitchen or in
53:49
a restaurant. Yeah. Honestly. I love that. For
53:54
sure. I absolutely love that. I don't think anyone
53:56
bats an eye at it anymore. And coming up in the
54:00
industry, It was rare, and that's why it was
54:03
so important for me to have Stacey to look up
54:06
to from the very beginning because everyone else
54:10
I saw in my career for so long was a male, and
54:15
they were badasses, and I had great mentors,
54:18
but it's really cool that now it is not few and
54:23
far between. Yeah. You know, and that's awesome.
54:26
I love that, you know, it's no longer a... I
54:30
don't really consider it male dominated anymore.
54:33
Like the women are in this. I agree. I agree.
54:36
And there's so many amazing female chefs, leaders,
54:39
managers, director of ops. You know, we had Paula
54:43
De Silva on also a really badass leader coming
54:47
from a chef background. Yeah. And there's so
54:50
many. There's just so many. I can't even, I mean,
54:52
I could begin the list, but you have Lindsay
54:54
Autry, Michelle Bernstein, Robin down in, I can't
54:58
pronounce her name ever, Aldamarva. I'm saying
55:02
it wrong, but she's real cool too. I mean, there's
55:04
so many. Yeah, there is. There is. And that's
55:06
really cool. Like now the girls and the women
55:10
coming up in the industry, like it's, it's not
55:13
like. Like they're going to have their Stacey,
55:16
you know, they're going to have their Stacey
55:18
because they're everywhere. You're their Stacey.
55:20
You know, you have to know that they're you're
55:24
the one that's being looked up to now because
55:26
of look at all you accomplished. Look how far
55:28
you came and what you did in this industry. That's
55:31
so sweet, Carrie. It's true. You're that you're
55:33
that person for somebody, you know, for probably
55:36
most of your staff and you don't even realize.
55:38
I love my team. My team is phenomenal. They are.
55:42
And I think everyone seems real happy. Everyone
55:45
seems to really enjoy their job and do what they're
55:47
doing. But it takes a good leader for that to
55:50
be. The only reasons I've ever quit jobs in my
55:53
life was because my boss sucked. Really, at the
55:59
end of the day, my boss was not a good leader.
56:02
And it's unfortunate because every single thing
56:04
about the job, the pay, my coworkers, everything
56:07
else, I'm like, I can't, man. I can't do this.
56:10
And there's not a lot of jobs I quit. Only a
56:13
few in my life where I was like, I just can't
56:18
be here anymore. One time I left a job because
56:20
I was pregnant. And one time I left a job because
56:22
I moved to Florida. It's like those were the
56:24
reasons I left. Not usually because of my awesome
56:27
boss, but it takes a real leader to keep your
56:31
employees happy every day coming. It all trickles
56:37
down. You know, I've had really great bosses,
56:40
and I've had some pretty terrible ones also,
56:44
you know? But I've been very lucky that I think
56:47
the great really outshine the bad for me. And,
56:51
you know, gosh, if you saw me back in my Michael's
56:56
Genuine days with Devin Braddock, we were terrors.
56:59
Oh, I know. We were not nice. We thought it was
57:04
what you had to do was to yell and to scream
57:07
and to slam things and call for hands as loud
57:11
as you could. And it was dog eat dog. Oh, I know.
57:16
I was in it, too. And so it's like now that that
57:21
toxicity that like the mean chef. profile it
57:26
doesn't fly anymore you know and like I look
57:29
back and I'm like oh my god if you know me from
57:31
Michael's Genuine like I promise I don't behave
57:33
like that anymore kind of like we're now doing
57:36
gentle parenting in the kitchen We're going to
57:40
use our intervoices now, everybody. I am going
57:43
to use that from now on. Like, yeah, we totally
57:46
transitioned to gentle parenting. We did. That's
57:49
what we did. I mean, I feel like as an industry.
57:52
Industry, that's what we did. Like, okay, everybody
57:55
put your knives down now. It's time to smile.
57:59
Hey, guys, I know it's really busy. I totally
58:02
understand that. I really need that Caesar salad,
58:05
okay? That's a great game we could play. You're
58:09
like, what you used to say versus what you said.
58:13
It's like Caesar salad on the fly now. Caesar
58:16
salad. Versus. Guys, I could really use that
58:20
Caesar salad for table 302. Please. Please. I'm
58:25
asking nicely. Please behave. Does anyone need
58:28
a Coca -Cola, a water? I'm the cool boss. I'm
58:33
the cool boss. Amazing. Amazing. I love that.
58:37
I always feel like I'm like, I'm a cool mom.
58:39
But then in reality, I'm not. Yeah, I'm definitely
58:42
not. He tells me I'm not. I'm not cool. I'm actually
58:45
on the contrary. I'm cringe. I didn't know this
58:48
about myself. This is new information. Yeah,
58:52
my five year old doesn't think I'm the worst
58:54
yet, but I'm sure I'll start to hear it soon.
58:58
I can't kiss my kid on the cheek. That's embarrassing.
59:02
And, you know, it's funny. He'll call me mommy.
59:05
Like he usually calls mommy. He's like, mommy,
59:06
can I have a sandwich? Right. But then if we're
59:09
in public somewhere or anywhere for that matter,
59:11
if somebody goes, mom, can I have a sandwich?
59:14
I go, my name is mommy. And he's like, now it's
59:18
a kind of a running joke between us. I'm like,
59:20
whatever. You can call me whatever you want,
59:21
I guess, at this point. But what am I going to
59:23
do about it? This is not calling me Carrie. That's
59:26
cool. Yeah. But. He is, like I said, he is sweet.
59:29
It's just, like, this teenage, like, stuff is
59:32
going on now. Oh, yeah. That's why I want him
59:34
to go work at a restaurant because, like, oh,
59:37
man. I mean, even with the gentle parenting restaurant
59:40
mode we're in right now, he's still, that's still
59:43
going to be rough. It's tough. I can tell you
59:45
I remember my very, very first day at Willoughby
59:49
Golf and Country Club. Like, I went home, and
59:52
they were so kind to me, so it was not like I
59:54
got. yelled at or anything like that but I went
59:58
home I sat at my kitchen table and they had given
1:00:03
me I literally this was so long ago and I can
1:00:06
picture it they gave me a prime rib in a box
1:00:09
to take home after like as a good job you didn't
1:00:12
eat today so like you should probably eat something
1:00:14
and I sat at my kitchen table crying about how
1:00:18
bad my feet hurt and how tired I was and I that
1:00:23
was the first time that I was really like this
1:00:26
is what it's like to work your butt off. And
1:00:28
that was day one in hospitality. And I was crying
1:00:33
at the kitchen table, eating my prime ribs, shoving
1:00:35
it into my mouth, out of a to -go box. And my
1:00:38
mom was just like, you have to get up and do
1:00:41
it again tomorrow. It's kind of wild because
1:00:44
now your body doesn't hurt you because when you're
1:00:46
on the field, here's why. It's so interesting
1:00:48
to me. So when I worked at the Daigle store in
1:00:51
New York all the years that I did, I was on my
1:00:53
feet for 8, 10, 12 hours a day on those stupid
1:00:56
mats. And when the mats were picked up and the
1:00:58
floor was being cleaned, now you're on the floor.
1:01:00
Now that really hurts when you're just on the
1:01:02
floor for like that little hour when they're
1:01:03
mopping the floor. But after time, you get used
1:01:07
to it. Your body gets conditioned. And your back,
1:01:10
after a while, your back doesn't feel it anymore.
1:01:12
If you don't feel it, your legs don't feel it.
1:01:13
You're just doing it, right? After I moved to
1:01:17
Florida for a couple of years, first couple of
1:01:19
years, to pacify my little homesickness, I would
1:01:23
fly up every Yom Kippur. Nobody even knows this.
1:01:26
I did this. Oh, my goodness. Because it was a
1:01:28
kosher bagel store and they were slammed. So
1:01:30
I was like, hey, call my boss. We're friends
1:01:33
to this day. And I was like, do you need help
1:01:35
at Yom Kippur? I'll come up and make these platters.
1:01:38
I did all the catering, 300 fish platters, whatever.
1:01:41
Oh, my goodness. I love that. And I still will.
1:01:43
I mean, if he calls me, if I go, maybe I'll go
1:01:44
this October and do it. I don't know. He hasn't
1:01:47
asked me yet. This is your time to call Carrie
1:01:49
to go make the platters. He hasn't asked me yet.
1:01:51
I'll do it. I would do it. But on that note,
1:01:54
what I noticed the last time I did it was not,
1:01:57
it was like two years ago. It was recently I
1:01:59
did it. Right after Flavor, I left it. I went
1:02:01
to Flavor. I swear to God, I went up and made
1:02:03
the platters at the Deli. And people were like,
1:02:06
and I was a little fresh breath of air. And I
1:02:08
was like, hi, everybody. Because everybody's
1:02:09
burnt out, tired. Customers are cranky. And I'm
1:02:12
like, hi, good morning. And they're like, you're
1:02:14
so happy. I'm like, I'm leaving in three days.
1:02:16
What do I care? This is fun for me. This is fun.
1:02:18
And it is fun. But what I noticed was, damn,
1:02:22
did my body hurt. I did not. I couldn't. I was
1:02:26
like, I called him after my shift was done. And
1:02:28
I was like, my back hurts so bad. He's like,
1:02:31
you're getting old. I'm like, what do I do? He's
1:02:33
older than me. And I'm like, uh -uh, dude, uh
1:02:37
-uh. This is not how it used to be. Something's
1:02:39
going on here. My back hurts. My calves hurt.
1:02:42
My everything hurts. I was like, oh. Your body
1:02:45
gets used to it. It's terrible. Yeah, I wear
1:02:48
heels all day, every day. They're chunky heels.
1:02:51
You have to go chunky. But, like, my feet literally
1:02:55
don't hurt me anymore. Like, they just don't.
1:02:58
I don't know if they're numb at this point or
1:03:01
they're just used to it. You just get used to
1:03:03
it. I'm good. I do love my chiropractor. I love
1:03:07
a good adjustment. Saves my lower back sometimes,
1:03:10
you know. But, yeah, pretty much used to it at
1:03:12
this point. I hope after this many years. So
1:03:15
rough. But, warn you now, if you take a hiatus
1:03:18
at any point and go back, it's going to hurt
1:03:20
all over again. Oh, yeah. All right. I have some
1:03:23
questions here. We're going to play a little
1:03:25
game. Okay. So I'm going to give you 10 questions.
1:03:30
You have to answer them as fast as you can without
1:03:31
even thinking about it. Okay. Ready? Favorite
1:03:35
ingredient to use right now? Miso. Steak or seafood?
1:03:42
Steak. One ingredient you refuse to waste? Caviar.
1:03:46
Good answer. Favorite guilty pleasure food? Flanagan's.
1:03:52
Rib rolls specifically. Okay. Sweet or savory?
1:03:58
Savory. Early prep shift or late night dinner
1:04:01
service? Late night. Most underrated ingredient
1:04:06
sourced in Florida? Ooh. I don't know if mangoes
1:04:12
are underrated, but I love mangoes. I would call
1:04:15
them a little underrated. So when we have like
1:04:17
fresh farm mangoes, stop it. Like you cannot
1:04:21
get a better mango. I would say that that's an
1:04:23
underrated one. One chef that you would love
1:04:27
to cook for? Thomas Keller. Oh, great answer.
1:04:32
Cast iron or grill? Cast iron. It's all I have
1:04:35
in my house. What's always at home in your refrigerator?
1:04:41
Milk. So much milk for the kids. Regular milk?
1:04:46
Yeah. Cow's milk. 2 % whole milk? Whole milk.
1:04:49
Stocked up all the time. They go through like
1:04:52
a gallon a day. Oh, that sounds terrible. That
1:04:57
sounds terrible. It's rough. All right. Well,
1:05:01
we are going to wrap up with one question here.
1:05:08
I'm going to show you a photo of this. Just based
1:05:14
on the photo and the photo alone with no other
1:05:16
context, I would like you to give her a piece
1:05:20
of advice. Oh, OK. OK. OK. Ready? Oh, that's
1:05:28
going to make me cry. Literally teary eyed, but
1:05:32
just be confident in your abilities. There will
1:05:36
always be people who. Don't think you can hack
1:05:39
it in a kitchen or in a restaurant, and you can,
1:05:43
and you're a badass bitch. With tears in my eyes.
1:05:48
You are a badass bitch. Oh, thank you. I adore
1:05:53
you, and I thank you so much for coming on. Go
1:05:55
visit Dallas at The Butcher's Club, located at
1:05:58
PGA National, for the most delicious, in my opinion,
1:06:02
spicy rigatoni you'll ever have. Yes. And dirty
1:06:07
martinis. Mocktails. All of it. All of the above.
1:06:10
And I can't wait to have you in again. And I
1:06:13
hope to see everyone in soon. And Jack, we're
1:06:15
ready for your next filet mignon. Or spicy rigatoni.
1:06:19
Or both. Yes. Thanks for joining me on Forking
1:06:24
Around with Flavor South Florida. If you're in
1:06:26
the industry, a business owner, or just want
1:06:28
a better understanding of what goes into keeping
1:06:30
restaurants alive and thriving, make sure you
1:06:32
subscribe and share this episode with someone
1:06:34
who should hear it. Flavor South Florida takes
1:06:36
place every September from the 1st through the
1:06:39
30th between Palm Beach County and the Treasure
1:06:41
Coast. You can find all the amazing dining deals
1:06:43
and participating restaurants at flavorsouthflorida
1:06:46
.com. Until next time, keep supporting local
1:06:49
and keep forking around.