Latest / Forking Around with Flavor South Florida / Paula DaSilva: From Hell’s Kitchen to PGA National, a Recipe for Leadership

Transcript

Paula DaSilva: From Hell’s Kitchen to PGA National, a Recipe for Leadership · Forking Around with Flavor South Florida

0:02
Thank you. Welcome to Forking Around with Flavor
0:06
South Florida. I'm Kerri Paizzi, CEO of Flavor
0:09
South Florida. We are sitting down with entrepreneurs,
0:12
business owners, and influential community partners
0:14
to talk growth, trials, tribulations, and more.
0:17
These conversations lead into Flavor South Florida,
0:20
the region's largest restaurant month, happening
0:22
every September from the 1st through the 30th.
0:24
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 Altima
0:38
Caviar. Visit them at Altimacaviar .com. Today,
0:44
I'm excited to welcome Chef Paula DaSilva. Many
0:47
people first met Paula as runner -up on season
0:49
five of Hell's Kitchen, but her culinary journey
0:52
started long before television. Born in Brazil
0:55
and raised by a family of restauranteurs, Paula
0:58
developed a passion for hospitality at an early
1:01
age and has gone on to become one of South Florida's
1:04
most respected chefs. I'm so thrilled to have
1:07
you here. Thank you for being on. I'm thrilled
1:10
to be here. Thank you for having me. You are
1:12
the definition of like a badass boss lady. Like
1:15
you just are. You are incredible. I've been following
1:18
you and your story for a while. And you are actually,
1:22
my mom is a Hell's Kitchen like fanatic. You
1:26
were like, she was rooting so hard. This is a
1:28
while ago now. It is. It was 17 years ago that
1:31
it aired. When it first started, she was, she's
1:33
a loyal one from day one. And she was like, she
1:36
was so mad. I remember this when you didn't go
1:39
all the way. It's okay. And like, fast forward.
1:42
I'm like, oh, here she is. How cool is that?
1:44
So yeah, you've been on my radar for a while.
1:47
And then when you, I originally met you and now
1:50
you're at PGA National as the director of operations,
1:54
food and beverage director. And so. It's such
1:58
a full circle moment for me personally. And I'm
2:01
so thrilled because I want to hear your perspective
2:05
of your story and the industry and where you
2:07
got started, how you got started. And I want
2:10
to start with the beginning. Okay. So you are
2:14
born in Brazil, yeah? I was born in Brazil, yes.
2:17
And your family were chefs, family members? No,
2:22
not really. Actually, my mom and my dad in Brazil,
2:24
my mom was a seamstress. She took care of homes.
2:28
My dad actually worked for the Brazilian telephone
2:31
company. It wasn't until we came to the United
2:34
States when I was seven years old. That my mom
2:38
and dad, again, started just kind of jobs here
2:40
in hotels, jobs in housekeeping, cleaning houses.
2:44
And then one day they decided, you know what,
2:46
I don't. want to do this anymore. Let's open
2:49
up a little restaurant. And they found a little
2:50
town just outside of Boston called Medford. Medford,
2:53
if you're from there. Medford, if you're from
2:56
there. And they said, you know what, let's do
2:58
this restaurant. My mom was always a really good
3:00
cook. I'm a home cook, but neither one of them
3:03
were classically trained at all. They just sort
3:05
of took a stab in the dark, rented a spot, 20
3:07
seats or less or something like that. And my
3:10
brother, a sister, myself, we all just chipped
3:13
in and helped. did anything from cleaning tables,
3:16
busing tables to washing dishes and helping her
3:19
in the kitchen do basic stuff. And that's how
3:23
we kind of got our start in a restaurant. You
3:26
were little at this time. I was little. I was
3:28
10 when they opened their first restaurant. And
3:31
they went on to have that for about four years
3:33
until they decided that. My mother just didn't
3:36
like the cold anymore, didn't want to do the
3:39
seasons anymore. And she said, let's go to South
3:41
Florida. There's a big Brazilian population down
3:43
here in Deerfield Beach, in case you're not familiar,
3:46
and Pompano Beach. And so she found a spot, once
3:49
again, sort of storefront. I think things were
3:52
easier back then than they are now to open up
3:54
a restaurant. I mean, we're talking... you know,
3:56
30 years ago. And same thing, just here's a restaurant
4:00
and it was very typical Brazilian cuisine. And
4:02
we went off at it again until I was nearly 20
4:06
years old. They had a restaurant in Pompano,
4:08
another one in Delray Beach. They got bigger.
4:10
They kind of expanded a little bit more as we
4:12
got a little better at what we were doing and
4:14
they got a little better at what they were doing.
4:15
And it was really popular back then. There wasn't
4:17
too many Brazilian restaurants that many years
4:19
ago. So it was quite perfect timing. And I sort
4:22
of cut my teeth into really just I think what
4:26
I got the most out of it, of course, kitchen
4:28
experience, but I learned the foundations of
4:30
hard work. I saw that from my mom and dad for
4:33
many, many years. And you really just kind of,
4:36
it kind of was ingrained in not just myself,
4:39
my siblings as well, too, of really the foundation,
4:42
I think, of what. keeps me going now in this
4:45
industry is it doesn't really get easier I think
4:48
it just you just learn to adapt and and you got
4:51
to have some thick skin you got to really understand
4:54
the hard work that goes into this this industry
4:57
both front of the house back of the house and
5:00
so therefore it I think was fundamental for me
5:04
to have seen my parents have the restaurants
5:06
and to grow up in it and to spend a lot of time
5:08
in it and to see their hard work too. I think
5:11
that is so incredibly important i tell everyone
5:14
this you need to everyone everyone there should
5:17
be a life requirement you need to work in a restaurant
5:20
for a month right month yes i when i started
5:23
in restaurants i well i started in delhi in new
5:26
york when i was 14 and on long island so every
5:30
saturday every sunday there was a line i'm not
5:33
joking you out the door down the block Five,
5:36
six hours straight, running, running, running,
5:38
running, running. We didn't have time to go to
5:39
the bathroom, didn't have time to drink a coffee.
5:42
To this day, I still actually drink my coffee
5:45
a little bit lukewarm and my food a little on
5:47
the cooler side because that's, I think, what
5:49
I was used to. Always trying to grab that bite
5:51
in between working, right? And it's funny, like
5:54
super hot food, I can't. I got to wait for it
5:56
to cool off. Cool down. Because that's what I
5:58
have to do, right? Then after that, I started
6:00
working in a steakhouse also on Long Island.
6:03
We did 600 dinners every Saturday night. And
6:05
I started there as a hostess. And I'm sure as
6:09
you can imagine, when you're a hostess to 500,
6:14
600 angry, hungry people, you do have to have
6:17
thick skin, exactly what you said. I find it
6:21
so interesting in character building and just
6:24
people skills in general that when you're in
6:27
this industry, like I think people don't realize
6:30
all of that. Right. When they're coming to a
6:34
restaurant, they're coming in for a dining experience.
6:37
They're coming in for a good time. It's a happy
6:38
thing and it should be. Right. They're getting,
6:40
they're paying for experience. That's the experience
6:42
they're receiving. That's exactly how it should
6:45
be. So it's funny because when I see the other
6:48
side of it, And I see the servers running around
6:50
and I'm like, oh, they're in the weeds. My mind
6:52
is giving them a break. Right. Where my friend
6:55
who's never worked in a restaurant is just like,
6:56
our water is not full. Where's our water? I'm
6:58
like, water is coming. Water. I said water because
7:01
I'm from New York. I still can't get rid of that.
7:03
So I think it's so great when. folks in hospitality
7:10
talk about this side of it because it is so detrimental
7:13
I feel like to growth sure you know both of our
7:16
children are teenagers yes and I think it would
7:19
be so beneficial for them to work in that industry
7:23
They do. So my daughter actually worked as a
7:26
hostess in one of our friends' restaurants at
7:28
Stage, Boca Raton. And just like you said, I
7:31
mean, she has people who come up and they're
7:33
like, I need a table. I want a table. And there's
7:35
a table right there, especially during the holiday
7:36
season. No one understands that if you don't
7:38
have a reservation in the middle of December
7:41
between Christmas and New Year's Eve, you're
7:43
probably not getting in anywhere, right? Especially
7:45
if you show up with a... party of six or eight
7:47
or ten and and and our son is just not in the
7:51
food and beverage industry yet doesn't have a
7:53
job yet but he will soon yet um but they both
7:56
they go out we go out a lot and they're super
7:59
understanding of an empathetic too right of what
8:03
happens in in real life in a restaurant they
8:06
don't need to feel our pain right no they don't
8:08
no they don't need to feel our pain but it is
8:10
a fact of this industry it's for you know the
8:13
c word covid we thought that Things are going
8:17
to get a little bit easier and people are being
8:18
more understanding, but it's not. And in fact,
8:20
the exodus that we saw that many years ago still
8:23
exists. And this industry continues to still
8:26
thrive, but it's still a struggle in many ways.
8:30
No, it's true. I feel like what I was going to
8:34
say to finish your sentence was it continues
8:37
to take a beating a lot of the times. But back
8:41
to working in the industry, I think it does teach
8:44
really. Great people skills and discipline and
8:50
just work. You know, I can't say that enough.
8:53
Like, I love people. I love meeting people. I
8:55
love talking to people. I love knowing people's
8:56
stories. And I know, I know for certain that
9:00
this is where this all stemmed from for me. So
9:03
with your family in the restaurant and your very
9:07
young child, looking back, what lessons from
9:10
those early days still influence how you lead
9:12
the kitchen now? And maybe how you input into
9:16
developed dishes today. Fast forward. Sure. I
9:19
think that, as I mentioned earlier, the morals,
9:22
the ethics of working, it's really ingrained
9:26
in my blood. You know, being present and really
9:29
leading by example, I think is something that
9:31
I think I do. I try to do for my team and being
9:35
available. When it comes to cooking and recipe
9:38
development, because I mentioned my mom and dad,
9:40
neither one of them were. classically trained
9:43
chefs. The food was very typical cuisine from
9:46
our state, Minas Gerais. But my mother knew flavors
9:49
really well. And I think that we never had a
9:52
bland meal, that's for sure. So I always led
9:56
with finding really good ingredients, especially
9:58
as I went to culinary school and then grew into
10:01
different roles at 3030 Ocean with Dean Max and
10:05
really learning about farms and local ingredients
10:08
and quality ingredients, right? Because I would
10:10
say that Perhaps in my parents' Brazilian restaurants,
10:14
we weren't using local farms. And I don't think
10:17
that we were using the highest, best ingredients.
10:19
So this came to me as a lesson a little bit later.
10:22
But really just cooking from the heart and passion.
10:25
And I think that when I reflect back, that's
10:28
all my mom and dad knew was heart and passion.
10:30
They certainly didn't have... culinary education.
10:33
They didn't have, you know, any classic training.
10:35
So that's what they led with. And that's, I think,
10:39
what sort of became how I continued to lead with
10:41
later on in my life. Of course, I went to culinary
10:43
school. I spent a lot of times, a lot of years
10:46
in summer staging in different restaurants, you
10:49
know, went on to open up many restaurants later
10:51
on in my life and reading many books. And back
10:55
then we read books. Back then we read recipe
10:58
books. And so that was sort of how I kind of
11:02
paved my way through. Yeah. What is your favorite?
11:06
You said your mom uses a lot of like spices and
11:09
flavors. What's your favorite Brazilian? inspiration
11:13
or flavor or dish I would say when it comes to
11:17
some of my favorite spices it's it's cumin it's
11:20
cilantro I love cooking with garlic a lot one
11:23
dish that sort of always brings me back to Brazil
11:25
is going to be the feijoada which is a typical
11:28
black bean stew with a lot of different pork
11:31
and pork cuts and you use a lot of the whole
11:34
pig I've never had that feijoada yeah and so
11:37
every It's commonly eaten on Saturdays. Okay.
11:41
So my mother would start this preparation like
11:43
on Wednesday. On Wednesday, she starts cleaning
11:45
the pig's feet and making a sausage and doing
11:47
the bacon and that stuff. Wait, where did she
11:49
get the pig from? We would get it broken down
11:52
in parts. Oh, okay. Did you go to the store and
11:55
buy it whole pig? No, we didn't do that. I'm
11:58
picturing this pig in your kitchen. Yes, yes.
12:01
No, we didn't get the whole pig. I don't know
12:03
that we had pig farms back then. Maybe we did,
12:06
but we didn't know about them. Then by Saturday,
12:08
we had this dish that had been cooking for 24
12:10
hours overnight in the stove and all the other
12:13
condiments that come along with it. And that's
12:16
a labor of love dish, like, you know, because
12:18
of all the prep work that goes into it. And,
12:21
you know, many others, I mean, moqueca, which
12:23
is a seafood stew, like a bouillabaisse, but,
12:25
you know, Brazilian style. So there was a lot
12:28
of layers of it that she was doing, which I don't
12:31
think back then I realized until I became an
12:34
older cook and culinarian and understanding what
12:37
we were doing. I thought she was making food.
12:39
But there was a lot. A lot of layers there that...
12:43
You just knew it tasted amazing. I just knew
12:46
it tasted good, right? I just knew it tasted
12:47
amazing. But there's a lot of depth there that
12:49
I don't think I came to acknowledge and appreciate
12:52
until later. I think for many years, because
12:54
I was in different restaurants, seafood restaurants,
12:57
steakhouses, all American -style restaurants,
12:59
I almost... It's not that I hid my Brazilian
13:02
heritage, but it was never... needed to be exposed
13:06
um until i would say probably in my mid -20s
13:09
when i thought well why don't i try this vinaigrette
13:12
with a steak i mean this is typical you know
13:15
condiment that we eat on a steak or why don't
13:17
i put some pork in the beans that i'm making
13:19
so it really came much much later as i you know
13:24
as any chef you you you're always developing
13:27
and you're always building upon what you knew
13:30
a year ago five years ago ten years ago and And
13:33
still to this day, it's I mean, Brazilian cuisine
13:36
is fascinating. It's huge. It's so much of it
13:40
that I don't know because I'm not there. I know
13:43
this is far for you, but there is a little place
13:46
up in Port St. Lucie. It's called Val's Brazilian
13:49
Grill. And I've been there a few times. And it's
13:53
so good. Yes. Oh, and then there's Texas Day
13:56
Brazil, but I don't count that. That doesn't
13:58
count, right? I mean, I don't know. I don't feel
14:01
like that does authentic Brazilian food to me.
14:03
But Val's, it's a husband and wife. The husband's
14:07
at the door. The wife is cooking. It's like that
14:10
to me is what I would think it's close to, you
14:12
know, a traditional Brazilian dish. Can I selfishly
14:17
ask if you could maybe put on a Brazilian themed
14:21
dinner night one night at the Butcher's Club?
14:23
Yeah, absolutely. I think Jeremy would love that.
14:26
I think I would love that. Yeah, I would love
14:28
that. And we have the steakhouse theme already
14:31
anyways, right? It's easy, right? And can you
14:34
make that stew that you're talking about? Yes,
14:37
the moqueca. Absolutely. I think that's a great
14:39
idea. We've had picanha on the menu a few times
14:41
there that they've put on. I didn't notice that.
14:45
What is your favorite dish at the Butcher's Club?
14:48
You can only pick one. Oh, jeez. Only one? Yep.
14:51
Oh, this is a tough one. Hmm. You know, okay,
14:56
do I get to pick a steak? I mean, okay, so let's
14:58
skip the steak. Skip the steak. Let's skip the
15:01
steak. That's the obvious answer. Because that's
15:02
the obvious. People are going to be like, oh
15:04
my God, I can't believe she picked the chicken.
15:05
But the chicken dish, chicken is so underrated,
15:09
okay? But when done right, it can be one of the...
15:12
best dishes on the menu and so the chicken there's
15:15
a lot of depth there with the puree which you
15:18
know to make a really good classic potato puree
15:20
that you should see these guys in the kitchen
15:22
they're milling this thing and they're pushing
15:23
it through the sieve and just get it nice and
15:25
smooth and creamy and the butter and then the
15:27
the sauce that you know the truffle sauce that
15:30
they're making again just a ton of it's like
15:33
not just open up a can here's a sauce and there's
15:36
a stock so i to me i think it's one of the dishes
15:38
that require a lot of work for the end result
15:42
the chicken is sous vide and then it's seared
15:45
and then it's you know nice and crispy skin so
15:48
sure it is chicken but it's probably a dish that
15:51
there's a lot of work that goes into it our seafood
15:54
dishes are amazing as well too they just put
15:57
on a halibut dish spring inspiration spring peas
15:59
and once again just Anytime there's a composed
16:03
dish, I think this is where chefs are challenged
16:07
the most. Because, sure, cooking a great steak,
16:10
yeah, requires some level of skill. But you're
16:12
cooking a steak. If you get it right, great.
16:14
Get a decent amount of salt and pepper on it,
16:16
good. You slice it, good. Got the right temperature,
16:19
great. There it is. And then the customer is
16:22
going to choose their size. Do you want mac and
16:24
cheese? Do you want asparagus, mushrooms? Great.
16:27
Essentially, the customer is kind of... Building
16:30
the wrong plate, right? But when you have to
16:33
have composed dishes on a menu, that's when the
16:36
chef really needs to make sure that they're thinking
16:38
through all of the layers through and through.
16:41
So for the listeners, what Paula is talking about
16:44
is the truffle chicken dish at the Butcher's
16:46
Club. It is phenomenal. It's never dry. I'm a
16:50
little funny with my chicken when I eat out.
16:52
And that's one of the only places I will order
16:54
chicken. at a restaurant because it's the inside
16:58
is moist. There's truffle. And then the top is
17:02
always like crispy and delicious. And about,
17:04
you know, obviously those potatoes, but yeah.
17:07
So that is an incredible dish. And then, and
17:10
that is, um, executive, executive chef, Jeremy
17:13
Ford runs the butchers club in PGA national.
17:16
And next up you have. Honey Bell, which is led
17:19
by executive chef Lindsay Autry, also at PGA
17:22
National. What is your favorite dish there? Oh,
17:26
this is, well, okay. It's a salad. Okay, let
17:31
me think about it. It can be a salad. It can
17:33
be a salad, right? It is the Mediterranean salad.
17:37
And there's so many ingredients in there between
17:41
the pickled onions and the olives and the cheese
17:43
and the vinaigrette, the lemon vinaigrette. Like,
17:45
okay. fine you know we didn't make the lettuce
17:48
but we're buying great product yeah um and then
17:52
the lemon vinaigrette to me is just like just
17:55
great so i love eating the salad and honey belt
17:57
we have really great pizzas as well too for anybody
18:00
who doesn't know that we have real pizza oven
18:03
really great dough and ingredients for that so
18:06
in both restaurants they're super ingredient
18:08
driven and really quality driven you always just
18:11
kind of resort back to Making things simple,
18:15
but all of the work is just, you know, getting
18:18
done appropriately in order for you to have a
18:21
really great salad. In order for you to have
18:24
a really good, you know, pizza. See, you're like
18:27
me. I want a million ingredients in my dish.
18:30
And that's why I think I enjoy chef driven. restaurants
18:34
and concepts because i feel like even though
18:37
it's not always quite obvious that there's a
18:39
lot of ingredients put in it's down to the sauces
18:42
and the and the spices and the topping and i
18:45
mean there's just so many even even your caviar
18:49
service is extravagant in which everything's
18:52
homemade every obviously everything's homemade
18:53
delicious amazing but okay finally birdies your
18:57
diner Yes. I think a lot of people don't even
18:59
know Birdies is there. Probably not. And I tell
19:01
everybody, I'm like, go get the best. I'm going
19:04
to tell you my favorites in a second too, but
19:06
of all my concepts. But I think they have like
19:10
a really delicious egg sandwich. And this, again,
19:12
coming from a New Yorker, that's a big statement.
19:15
So what is your favorite dish at Birdies? So
19:18
Birdies, my favorite dish is going to be, let
19:23
me think about this one. Can I say the burger?
19:26
Yeah. Okay, I'm going to say the burger because
19:28
it's a really darn good burger. It's a smash
19:31
burger, and we just cook it. I love smash burgers,
19:35
and some people are like, I want an 8 -ounce
19:38
burger so I can cook it medium rare or whatever.
19:41
But I still find that a smash burger is way juicier.
19:43
We do it with really nice pickled onions and
19:46
chipotle mayonnaise on the burger. Our fries
19:49
are delicious that we use throughout the resort.
19:51
And Birdies is like, everyone that goes into
19:53
Birdies, they're just like, this is such a cool
19:54
little spot because they specifically designed
19:57
it to look like a diner. It's so cute. It's like
19:59
a 70s theme. Yes. So cute. It is. I love it.
20:04
And so Birdies does, you're right, people don't
20:07
know about it because of the location of it,
20:09
sort of on the other side of the resort, closer
20:11
to the golf shop as you're kind of getting out
20:13
to the golf courses. But they do a fantastic
20:16
breakfast there and a really, really great lunch
20:18
with a... Great view of the golf course, too.
20:22
Oh, I know. It's beautiful. A full bar at Birdie's.
20:23
So if you want to start crushing some Bloody
20:26
Marys early in the morning with your breakfast,
20:27
they have an amazing Bloody Mary, too. So PGA
20:30
just has some really, really fantastic restaurants.
20:34
as you mentioned, with our partnership with Chef
20:36
Jeremy Ford, Chef Lindsay Autry. And you're all
20:39
doing flavor this year. We're all doing flavor
20:42
this year. Honey Bell and the Butcher's Club.
20:45
Honey Bell and Butcher's Club. I'm thrilled about
20:46
every year. And every single year, you all are
20:51
like, when I look at the backside of my website,
20:53
you are clicked, clicked, clicked, clicked, clicked.
20:55
Good. That's awesome. You are definitely in the
20:57
top. People waiting for your menus. It's the
21:00
biggest chatter I get. Because all my friends
21:03
text me every September, where do you want to
21:05
go eat? I said, where do you want to go eat?
21:06
I'll go eat wherever. I want to go to the PGA.
21:08
I'm like, okay. So lo and behold, I'll be there.
21:12
20 times. You become a regular. We're going to
21:14
put you on the payroll soon. I'm totally fine.
21:15
I'm happy with that. I'm going to come work there.
21:18
That's my retirement plan. I'm going to be a
21:20
hostess with Jolynn at the Butcher's Club. Great.
21:23
We'll see you in December. I promise you I will
21:27
be there. You can't even tempt me with a better
21:29
time. So do you have any funny personal stories
21:33
about you? You had mentioned Chef Dean Max, who
21:36
I also want to get on the podcast. Yes. Hint,
21:38
hint, Dean. And Jeremy, who is supposedly coming
21:42
on soon. Yes. And Lindsay. Lindsay is coming
21:46
on. Good. Of course she is. I'm sure she's committed
21:49
because the other two boys can't figure out their
21:51
schedules. I love that you just said that. We
21:54
are not editing this out. Classic, classic. But
21:58
do you have any fun stories you have a history
22:00
with and a relationship and a friendship with
22:02
Lindsay, Jeremy, Dean? All of them. Give me a
22:05
fun story with one of them. Any of them. All
22:07
of them. All of them. I don't know if this is
22:10
radio appropriate or a podcast appropriate. You
22:13
know, so Jeremy actually was, as Dean was sort
22:17
of growing, expanding into the company at the
22:20
time, Dean was the executive chef of the restaurant.
22:22
I was a chef de cuisine and he was spending less
22:24
and less time with me. So at the time we said,
22:27
I need to have a sous chef with me here, you
22:29
know, to be able to help have oversight of the
22:31
restaurant. So Jeremy was the first sous chef
22:35
that we ever hired and essentially the first,
22:38
manager that i had to manage right i was managing
22:40
cooks but he was the first manager for sous chef
22:43
that i had to manage in my uh role and i remember
22:46
meeting jeremy you know coming straight down
22:49
out of jacksonville what was this how long ago
22:51
this was let me think back on this 20 22, uh,
22:57
geez, 20 years ago. I mean, yeah, I think Jeremy
23:01
was like 21 years old and I don't know, was he
23:03
like 50 now? And I'm kidding. He's not 50. It
23:05
was a while ago. He was a baby. He was 21. I
23:08
was probably in my mid twenties. Right. And so
23:10
we, we both, Gene, Dean and I fell in love with
23:13
Jeremy. His energy that he has now is passion
23:16
like existed back then, even as a young, as a
23:19
young cook, as a young guy. And, and I remember
23:22
he just. We would just get busy, and the first
23:25
time I saw him having a tamper tantrum in the
23:28
kitchen and kicking the stove and slamming the
23:31
doors, and I'm like, whoa, whoa, whoa. Did he
23:35
think he was like Gordon Ramsay? Yes. He's having
23:38
Gordon Ramsay vibes. He's having Gordon Ramsay
23:39
vibes. He came up in that, in an environment
23:43
like that, as he was a young cook, where he was
23:45
training, and so he saw all that. Sure, and we
23:47
got... I got frustrated, too. And, you know,
23:50
I had my own Gordon Ramsay moments in the kitchen
23:53
a lot. Some of these old chefs will tell you.
23:55
But I was like, oh, my God, this guy is going
23:58
to have a tampon tantrum. I got to stop that.
24:00
We're not going to be slamming the stove because
24:01
they're going to break and we're not going to
24:02
have it. But just phenomenal chefs. Lindsay as
24:06
well. Lindsay and I never worked together. in
24:08
any restaurants, but we ran along the same group
24:13
of chefs, same events in Miami and Broward and
24:18
Palm Beach. And through that, we were able to
24:20
form our relationship and our friendship. I remember
24:23
meeting Lindsay, it was actually at 1500 degrees.
24:25
I was doing a lunch with Michelle Bernstein and
24:27
she worked for many years with Michelle and we
24:30
did a lunch together. And that was the first
24:31
time I think that I met Lindsay. And this is
24:33
going back also probably 17 years ago or something
24:36
like that. And we just stayed. in contact dean
24:38
as i mentioned earlier dean was one of my first
24:41
mentors uh you know in culinary i started working
24:44
with dean i was 19 years old maybe actually 20
24:47
i was 20 years old and 20 years later y 'all
24:49
are doing collab dinners together like seven
24:51
years later i know but what a great community
24:54
of that you all have and built and I know Jeremy
24:59
has said to me so many times that you are such
25:02
an incredible mentor to him and Dean as well.
25:05
And it's so nice that you're all doing the same
25:08
thing, but you're all cheering each other on
25:11
and you're all learning from each other ultimately
25:13
from different aspects of things. Absolutely.
25:17
I played a game with David Burke. Do you know
25:20
David? Of course. He was on here and on their
25:23
show. And the game was... Who is the biggest
25:27
celebrity in your phone and let's call them right
25:29
now live on air. That's not the game I'm giving
25:32
you. Our game is a different one and I just thought
25:35
of it. We're not going to call Lindsay because
25:37
she is traveling. Yes. But we both call Jeremy
25:41
right now at the same time. Okay. We have to
25:43
see who he one answers for or two calls back
25:46
first. Okay. My bet's on you. Okay. So here,
25:52
let's go ahead. Let's call. Let's see. I think
25:53
he's in Las Vegas now. Oh, I think you're right.
25:55
He's not going to answer any of us. I can tell
25:57
you that much. Here we go. Let's see. Hold on.
25:59
Did you beat me to it? Oh, it's voicemail. Let
26:02
me see. Voicemail. What time is it in Vegas right
26:13
now? He's probably on a private jet, maybe flying
26:17
back home, and maybe that's why he's not answering.
26:19
He's got a private jet. Did you know that? No.
26:21
No, I'm kidding. News to me. So, yeah, there
26:25
you go. There's typical. We just went straight
26:27
to voicemail, both of us. Both rejected. Unbelievable.
26:30
Moving on. Speaking of celebrities. Because you
26:33
are a celebrity chef. What is the biggest misconception
26:37
that people have about chefs who come from reality
26:40
TV? And tell us a little bit about your experience
26:43
on Hell's Kitchen. And what was that like? This
26:48
episode is sponsored by Altima Caviar. Experience
26:51
exceptional. Visit them at Altimacaviar .com.
26:56
I think one of the biggest misconceptions is
26:58
that there's one that they can't cook. I think
27:00
especially with Hell's Kitchen and the beginning
27:02
stages of Hell's Kitchen, there was a lot of
27:04
just riffraff that they were bringing on the
27:06
show. Half of them weren't real cooks and chefs
27:08
or anything like that. I think the second one
27:10
is that we've achieved whatever, wherever we
27:14
might be because of the TV show. And while I
27:18
think that there is some truth to that and, you
27:20
know, some chefs really. catapult by being on
27:24
a show whether it's Hell's Kitchen or especially
27:26
Top Chef I still think that many talented chefs
27:29
would still be where they are even without the
27:33
show right I'll use Jeremy as an example because
27:35
obviously of our connection relationship and
27:38
he winning Top Chef, huge for him, huge. But
27:43
I still have no doubt that I think even if Jeremy
27:45
didn't win Top Chef or didn't even go on Top
27:47
Chef, I still think because of his talent, there's
27:51
no doubt that he could still be where he's at
27:54
right now with these restaurants. You know, going
27:57
on a show, you're not learning to cook. You either
27:59
know it or you don't. And the same thing I think
28:02
applies with me on Hell's Kitchen. It was a fantastic
28:05
experience. I wouldn't repeat that. now or, you
28:09
know, in this stage of my life. But I think because
28:12
the show was still so new and there was a lot
28:15
of hype around it, I would never undo that I
28:18
did it. It was a fabulous experience, I think,
28:20
not only just to see the production that goes
28:22
behind TV. I think that's fascinating. What I
28:24
learned out of it was really the ability of basically
28:28
how much crap I can put up with and how much
28:30
stress I can put up with. There were days we
28:32
weren't sleeping at all or one hour of sleep.
28:35
So the pressure is intense. And I think that,
28:37
as I mentioned, I don't think I came out of there
28:40
a better cook. I certainly learned a lot of the
28:43
standards of Gordon Ramsay. He's a fantastic
28:45
chef. Anybody who says the guy doesn't know how
28:47
to cook and he's just a TV chef is... crazy met
28:51
him and he's so i think he's really nice i think
28:53
he's a nice really nice guy i think he's great
28:55
guy he's extremely charismatic really handsome
28:58
looking guy in person very charismatic very friendly
29:01
very nice but he's he's a chef he's massively
29:05
intense and passionate yeah um and he shows that
29:08
and he he's another one that's just Crazy talented.
29:12
And it's a really cool experience. And I don't
29:15
think it's for everybody. I do think that people
29:17
who go on these TV shows, these cooking shows,
29:20
they need to realize what outcome are they looking
29:22
for? Because if you go on there and you make
29:24
a fool of yourself, it's out there for the world
29:27
to see and future employers and whatnot. So I
29:30
think they need to always keep that in the back
29:32
of their mind too, right? We also have Paul Niederman
29:35
on. He was also on Hell's Kitchen. And it's so
29:37
interesting to hear the... that side of it because
29:41
I think people think the same thing TV it's so
29:43
glamorous but it's grueling it's grueling I mean
29:46
when I was in high school I took theater and
29:49
I did a few auditions in New York City but really
29:53
you can't I got some small little parts here
29:56
and there but extras but really they would call
30:01
me at 6 a .m. and say we need you in the city
30:05
which was 45 minutes from my house or so We need
30:08
you in the city by 8 a .m. with your portfolio,
30:12
with your headshots, with hair and makeup done.
30:15
I was 18. I think I was right in like a finished,
30:18
just finished high school. And that TV world,
30:21
it's, you know, Hollywood is pretty. It is. But
30:25
it's rough. And I couldn't, well, I couldn't
30:27
do it for a couple of reasons. Like, you know,
30:29
my schooling got in the way, unfortunately. And
30:31
unless I. was able to really not do that. You
30:36
have to put it all in. You have to go all in
30:38
or it's not going to work. It's dog eat dog.
30:40
And if I did go on like a reality show or a competition
30:44
of any sort, which I never will, it would be
30:48
like, first of all, I don't know. I think it's
30:52
Love Island stuff. There's so many now. Yes,
30:55
there's a lot. But I think it's better from what
30:59
I've heard if you are the runner up and not the
31:01
winner. and I don't know if this is true or not
31:04
with Hell's Kitchen, but I believe with American
31:06
Idol and The Voice, because your contract is,
31:09
if you win, they own you for like years. And
31:13
it's a really, really bad deal apparently. But
31:16
if you're runner up, you still got the same,
31:19
like you still got the exposure you were looking
31:21
for, right? 100%. And you're not like stuck into
31:24
those. crazy contracts with people for years
31:28
yeah so I think it's better to be a runner -up
31:30
is it yeah yeah listen I think for me I was very
31:33
content and very proud of myself for finishing
31:37
in second place and I think there was you know
31:40
some things that happened along with that TV
31:42
is TV but you're right I think that you know
31:44
it really is what you make of it and and for
31:47
me I was super fine and and happy with the outcome.
31:52
Therefore, it didn't phase my ability to sort
31:55
of continue on my endeavor to continue cooking
31:58
and then to continue, you know, at the time,
32:00
I didn't dream of being a director of food and
32:03
beverage and even think about that far. It just
32:06
propelled me to continue to work harder and to
32:10
just continue to hone my craft and just do this
32:16
i mean this is like this this is this passion
32:18
just never leaves me even to this day when i
32:21
you know cook at home i cook at home often you
32:24
do i do i cook at home often What's your favorite
32:27
dish to make at home? Oh my gosh. They're going
32:28
to be like, it's chicken. It's chicken, not chicken.
32:34
It's summertime right now, so I love grilling.
32:36
Yeah. Throwing something on the grill, but keep
32:38
things simple. Like my wife loves it. Like I
32:40
have to have like three or four different vegetables.
32:43
What's her favorite thing that you make? Vegetables.
32:45
Oh my God. Vegetables? Yeah. Anything with vegetables.
32:48
Now she's, Carissa, your wife is a chef as well,
32:51
but she's in pastry. Is that correct? Yes. She's
32:54
a pastry chef. Very tough. How did you two meet
32:57
within the food world? Or was that just a weird
32:59
coincidence that you're both into the food scene
33:01
or to the restaurant world? A little bit of both.
33:03
So I actually hired her brother as a cook, one
33:06
of my cooks way back when. And he worked for
33:09
me for many years. He went on to work for me
33:11
as a cook all the way up to a sous chef. And
33:13
I don't know, it might have been even close to
33:15
10 years that he and I have been working together
33:17
in various restaurants. And then one day... went
33:21
up with him to where the way they lived in central
33:23
Florida. And I met her. Um, I knew he had a sister,
33:27
but I didn't, you know, really know too much
33:30
about her. So fast forward, Carissa moved down
33:33
South Florida and she always was into baking
33:37
and and in pastries she had a little sort of
33:40
side job in central florida when she was you
33:42
know raising her kids and i had to open up a
33:44
restaurant in ball harbor in a hotel that i was
33:47
partnering with and i was consulting for and
33:49
the pastry chef was leaving so as we were taking
33:51
over this this hotel and this restaurant pastry
33:54
chef is like hey i'm out of here in in a month
33:56
and i'm like oh okay so i chris and i were already
34:00
living together and i said guess what Oh, that's
34:04
so funny. You're coming with me and I need you
34:06
to learn from this pastry chef as much as possible.
34:08
She's leaving in a month and you're going to
34:11
take over. I don't know what's going to happen.
34:14
you're kidding me. I can't do this. I'm like,
34:15
no, no, you can do it. And I need you to do it
34:19
because I don't have a backup person. I don't
34:21
have another choice. I don't have a backup plan
34:22
here. So you're in. So I go to it and I was like,
34:25
here you go. And I said to the pastry chef, I'm
34:27
like, here you go. Teach her everything that
34:29
you can in a month. She's so good at what she
34:31
does. She's extremely talented. I think for her,
34:35
it just comes like naturally. Pastry chefs, savory
34:39
chefs are like, two, it's like, you know, two
34:42
different things. And she's very good at what
34:44
she does. I really need to come over to your
34:47
house for dinner and, and dessert. Yes. Dessert
34:50
too. We don't do a lot of dessert. Well, you
34:52
know why? She's a mess. So pastry chefs are also
34:55
a mess. I mean, when she makes bread, there's
34:57
like flour everywhere. And I'm like, you know,
35:00
revert back to when I'm, when I was like cleaning
35:02
up after my mother the entire time. So my mother
35:04
was a messy cook too, by the way. So Carissa's
35:07
like, I think that's all, it's a pastry chef
35:09
thing. Like they, Literally, they just make a
35:12
big mess. Not a lot. Well, no, it's the opposite.
35:16
You do have to measure with baking. You don't
35:18
really have to measure with cooking. If I'm leaning
35:22
toward myself being one or the other, I think
35:24
I'm a better baker. I'm a good cook. Don't get
35:26
me wrong. I'm a good cook. But maybe I have chef
35:30
qualities in me because every time that I do,
35:32
I can't just make it simple. Because I like to
35:35
obviously dine out. I have set high standards
35:39
for myself. So what I find I do now when I cook
35:43
at home is I'm plating and I'm decorating my
35:46
damn plate in my kitchen. And it looks beautiful.
35:49
By the time I'm done making the dish with all
35:51
the layers of what we were talking about before,
35:54
I don't even want to eat it anymore. I don't
35:56
even want to eat it. I take a picture, put it
35:57
on my Instagram call every day. Seriously, I
36:00
do eat it. But it's like people are always like,
36:02
do you cook? I'm like, I love, I'm very artsy.
36:04
So I love. If somebody wanted to hire me as like
36:08
a plater, I'd do the best job for me ever. A
36:11
stylist. If I could just be in the kitchen, give
36:14
me the dish, give me the chicken, I'm going to
36:16
make it really pretty. I know how to turn a tomato
36:19
into a rose. Do you know how to do that? Maybe
36:23
a long time ago we had to learn that stuff. Yeah,
36:26
I remember when everybody had the fruit and everything
36:29
was all carved out. I could turn a lot of vegetables
36:31
into a lot of flowers. talent with that so I'm
36:37
always making like these little pretty arrangements
36:39
next time you come to the butcher's club we're
36:41
gonna I want to put this to the test actually
36:44
we did that ceviche class one time at the butcher's
36:47
club there was a ceviche making class and I my
36:50
team we won because you carved out a flower tomato
36:54
I did carve out a tomato that day we I think
36:57
we really won because my friend Elida who's Dominican
37:00
she's Really good at making ceviche. I'm going
37:03
to have a little help there. But we crushed it.
37:07
That was so fun. We actually crushed it. That's
37:10
awesome. So when you're looking for cooks, chefs,
37:15
even management, what qualities are you looking
37:20
at them for as a person? tells you this person
37:27
has potential. This person is like how you saw
37:30
Jeremy like 20 years ago. What are those qualities
37:35
for you? There's a few of them, right? I think
37:37
it's like this, like we're talking right now.
37:40
I think for me, interviews are critical that
37:42
we're able to flow and have good conversations,
37:44
not question number one and question number two
37:47
and become so robotic. I think there needs to
37:49
be chemistry, especially when we get into management
37:51
positions and we're working very closely. They
37:55
have to lead a team. I look for people who are
37:57
moldable too, especially if it's a younger position
38:00
like a sous chef or a food and beverage restaurant
38:03
manager where they're coming in. I always said
38:06
this and it's still true to this day. I will
38:10
hire anybody who is just hungry, who's passionate,
38:12
who has a great positive attitude over somebody
38:15
who has 20, 30, 40 years of experience in some
38:19
of the... best restaurants, hotels in the world,
38:21
because that doesn't always translate into people
38:25
who are able to lead other people in a good,
38:28
positive way. It might be that you have the best
38:31
technical acumen and the best culinary skills
38:34
and you know all about wines and you know all
38:36
about restaurant service. However, you're not
38:39
a nice person, then this is a difficult quality
38:42
to work with. So I would say really just kind
38:45
of understanding what their needs are too. How
38:49
do they manage? How do they take feedback? How
38:52
do they take criticism? Because this happens
38:54
all the time, not only from our guests who are
38:57
very open to sharing about how their experience
39:00
was. And if it's a negative experience as a leader,
39:02
you have to be able to suck it up. I always try
39:06
to take a negative experience and turn it into
39:08
a positive learning experience for anyone that
39:14
works under me. And I think that's very important
39:18
to take the criticism and not be angry about
39:24
it or hurt by it. Just always find the lesson
39:26
in it, I feel like. And yeah, I think that's
39:29
great. You have great leadership qualities. And
39:32
also being a woman in this industry, it's a very
39:36
male -heavy industry. We know that. That's facts.
39:39
I should have looked up the actual percentage,
39:42
but I'm sure it's very high. Have you ever come
39:46
into any challenges along the way in your journey
39:50
in being a woman in this field? Because I imagine
39:53
that would be tough being a leader and a woman
39:55
in the restaurant industry over the last 30 years.
39:59
Are there any instances or are there any times
40:04
that you recall that were just really challenging?
40:07
Yes. And I think they came a little bit later,
40:09
too, in different positions. And I'm thankful
40:13
that it did come in later because in the beginning,
40:16
I really did have some pretty good mentors. And
40:18
you're right. It was very male dominated when
40:21
I started this. I was 19 years old when I started
40:23
working in a professional kitchen. I was the
40:25
youngest female sous chef at the age of 22 years
40:28
old in this big hotel company. And then I went
40:31
on to be the second female executive chef. at
40:36
the Ritz -Carlton brand in the company at the
40:38
time when I was named executive chef at the Ritz
40:41
-Carlton in Fort Lauderdale. That's a huge feat.
40:44
That's a huge accomplishment. Yes. That's huge.
40:47
Right. And then even as a director of food and
40:49
beverage, when I moved on to that role, it also
40:51
was very uncommon to have females in this role,
40:55
too. So, you know, to answer your question, yes,
40:59
I have gone through my share of challenges. And
41:01
I think that it stems from people who are insecure
41:04
in their roles. Right. And here's the stigma
41:07
that, you know, people agree or disagree. Strong
41:10
women who are very firm in their tone or in their
41:13
stance or how they deliver the message can come
41:16
up. off as being bitchy as opposed to just being,
41:19
you know, a strong leader. Right, but if a man
41:21
comes off... A man says the same thing. Says
41:23
the same thing. He's assertive and he's a leader.
41:25
And it's okay. I hope and think that that is
41:29
changing as we evolve and... progress in in the
41:34
world i hope we hope right and i think that for
41:38
me and i think in my role i've always used it
41:40
as you know as an executive committee member
41:42
in the hotels that i've been at and at pga i
41:45
really use that platform to speak up and speak
41:47
out for not only my managers but for for this
41:51
position i am a very passionate person about
41:54
everything that i do i am intense i can come
41:57
off sometimes with a little bit of a tone or
41:59
however but at the end of the day i'm a And I
42:03
think in any leadership position that we're in,
42:05
it does take a little bit of backbone. It does
42:07
take some courage to be able to use your voice.
42:10
It does sometimes upset other people and it ruffles
42:12
some feathers. But I don't think that we get
42:15
anywhere without just being with just being status
42:17
quo. And I don't say this in a way of having
42:19
to be mean or rude because that's something that
42:22
I don't particularly think that I lead in this
42:25
way. I do lead with passion. I do lead with intensity
42:28
and I do lead with really high expectations.
42:31
But I really try to make sure that it's always
42:33
done with my heart first and with empathy and
42:36
with really understanding people and their needs.
42:38
Sure, at times, like any other human being, there
42:41
is a little bit of frustration too. And this
42:43
happens in every position. But I do think for
42:46
women, we still have a long way to go. I think
42:48
we've come a long way. And there's been so many
42:51
female chefs, celebrity chefs ahead of me that
42:54
have helped pave the way for me and paved the
42:57
way for many other women. the way for I hope
43:01
so I think I try to do that I hope that I that
43:04
I'm part of changing that way because at the
43:06
end of the day it's not an easy industry and
43:08
I think just to make it harder on anyone regardless
43:11
of the reason why their gender their race their
43:14
sexuality we're just burdening you know ourselves
43:18
for no reason yeah I mean it perfectly said and
43:22
I love how you spoke about the type of leader
43:25
you are And that you lead by example and integrity.
43:29
Those are important words in any industry. It's
43:33
funny because I've known you a couple of years
43:35
now. And your demeanor to me is always very,
43:39
very even, very calm, very friendly. And I adore
43:44
you. And I can't even picture in my head what
43:48
Chef Paula in the kitchen, like under the stress
43:52
moments. I'm like, I don't want to. to really
43:55
get on your bad side, people say it to me too.
43:58
And I'm like, it's so, it takes a lot for me.
44:00
And you and I are both Pisces. Yes. So we have
44:04
a lot of similarities. I love when you, when
44:08
you post on your Instagram, the Pisces things,
44:09
I'm like, girl, I feel you. I feel you because
44:11
we are a special creature. We really are. I mean,
44:14
we can, we can do a whole episode about being
44:16
a, about being a Pisces. Oh, the intuition is
44:20
rough. I'm feeling people's feelings before they're
44:23
feeling it. I tell people that all the time.
44:26
There's something in there. I get weird things
44:30
happen to me. Like I'll text people that I haven't,
44:33
like all of a sudden they pop in my head. I'm
44:35
like, hey, I was just thinking about you. How's
44:37
everything going? And they're like, oh, my mom
44:38
just died yesterday. I'm like, I freaking knew
44:41
it. I knew that. I knew something happened. Sure.
44:43
That's what happens with me. It's crazy. Right?
44:47
I feel you. What zodiac is Carissa? She's a Cancer.
44:51
Oh, so that's a really good. It's a good sign.
44:54
That's a good match. Yes, it is. So I would say
44:56
90 % of the men I have ever dated in my life,
44:59
in my whole life since teenager. Cancers. Cancers.
45:03
Yeah, they're, they're great. They're nice people.
45:05
They're really sweet. And, and again, that's
45:08
a great, good job. 10 out of 10 on that whole
45:11
Zodiac matchup. I love it. I love a good Zodiac
45:13
match. Now, if I date like a, uh, like a, like
45:17
a. What are they called? Aquarius. Which one?
45:22
Oh, like a Leo? I couldn't date a Leo. Gemini.
45:24
Those guys are rough. I don't think that would
45:27
work for me. A lot of attention. Yes. See? There's
45:30
something to this. There's something to this.
45:32
I think so, too. There is. Well, we're going
45:34
to play a little game, but in the meanwhile,
45:36
I'm also going to give you a little gift. Okay.
45:38
So the podcast is sponsored by Altima Caviar.
45:41
I don't know if you've had it, but I have us
45:44
ready here. with champagne and i'm gonna i can't
45:47
wait top you off there and just we've had it
45:49
here for a second i've been shipping away i don't
45:51
know if you are but get a little fizzy there
45:53
for you thank you and um yeah so they're so awesome
45:58
they've been dropping me off caviar to the studio
46:00
well that's nice and uh i know it's a terrible
46:03
way to spend my day i mean i can't believe that
46:05
i'm all i'm here this is such hard work i have
46:07
to i know this is you eat caviar and drink this
46:11
is rough And then you have a little spoon on
46:13
the backside of your bag there. Spoon here. So
46:16
you can like travel, take your caviar mother
46:17
wherever you need to go. Spoon, put that there.
46:21
So yeah, just dig in and tell me what you think
46:24
about that. Okay, here, I'm going to open this
46:26
because I want to try to open it. Okay, go for
46:28
it. I don't remember having these little things
46:31
when, I don't know, I just remember using like
46:33
my hand or butter knife or something. I feel
46:36
like you're going to do it. I struggle. And then
46:38
you just, you get it up in there and then you
46:39
turn. Yeah. Like it's the weirdest little popping
46:42
thing. See? She did it. She did it. This is the
46:48
new, this is the caviar challenge. I'm starting
46:50
a caviar challenge. Hello. This goes to show
46:53
that I just used a butter knife back then. Well,
46:56
while you're doing that, I wanted to tell you.
46:57
Mom's struggling with this. Let's not show this.
47:00
Okay. There's one open. Did I edit that out?
47:02
Okay. Perfect. Edit out the struggle. But yeah,
47:07
have a whole bite. Have some caviar. Have some
47:09
champagne. And then I'm going to start a gift.
47:11
Cheers. Cheers. I'm going to start a game with
47:14
you. Should I chug this glass? Will it make it
47:18
more fun? You can chug. You can sip. We can eat
47:22
caviar. I just pulled a spoon out of nowhere.
47:27
And you know, many health benefits to caviar,
47:32
people. Many health benefits. I actually want
47:35
to try this one. She said, wait, this one's from
47:37
Spain. Oh, this is so good. This is the Spanish
47:40
one. I want to try this. Now, which one is this
47:42
one? This is the Spanish one. Oh, I don't think
47:46
I've tried this one. I think I like that one
47:56
better. Like the Spanish one? Yeah. It's a little
47:58
brinier, right? Yeah, I like briny ones. It's
48:02
so good. That is really good. What a terrible
48:06
way to spend an afternoon. Thank you. This is
48:08
the worst. Thank you, Altima Caviar. Yeah. Cheers
48:12
to them. So let's do some rapid fire questions
48:17
here. Just some quickies. So you're going to
48:20
answer really fast. Don't think about it too
48:22
hard. Favorite ingredient to cook with? Garlic.
48:26
One Brazilian dish everyone should try? Feijoada.
48:30
I knew you were going to say that. Most underrated
48:33
South Florida seafood? Local oysters. Oh, interesting.
48:38
Okay. Sweet or savory? Savory. One chef that
48:44
you would love to cook with? Eric Ripert. One
48:48
chef you would love to cook for? Nancy Silverton.
48:51
What is your guilty pleasure fast food order?
48:58
Taco Bell. Oh, me too. Me too. Do I ever have
49:02
the, the Doritos, the Dorito one. I haven't had
49:05
it in a really long time. Oh, those are my favorite.
49:07
Everyone asks, I'll go back to the questions,
49:09
but everyone asks me like, what do you eat when
49:12
you're, when you're like the same thing? What
49:14
do you, when you're rushing around? I'm like,
49:15
I love me some Taco Bell. Yes. I know it's awful,
49:18
but only, I think it was like. I was not sober
49:21
ever having Taco Bell. Well, who is? I don't
49:23
know. Who really is sober having Taco Bell? I
49:25
don't think you can be sober. You have a lunch
49:27
meeting at Taco Bell. Right, yes. Imagine. People
49:30
are like mortified when I tell them that. They're
49:31
like, but you own restaurants. You go to all
49:33
the fancy places. I'm like, I still eat Taco
49:35
Bell sometimes. Yeah, yeah. A little fast food.
49:37
I also have a teenage son. That's fair. Right.
49:41
What is one food item that you are kind of over?
49:47
Like a trending item. trending item that I'm
49:51
kind of over. I think like foams or something,
49:55
you know, I don't know that that technique adds
49:59
too much to a dish. So I would say just kind
50:03
of the extra foam part of it. Foam on a dish.
50:07
Just get rid of it. Who cares? We don't need
50:09
it. I don't need it. I don't think it's doing
50:12
anything. Half the time it's bland. You can't
50:15
put some things in it because it won't charge
50:17
properly. It just no foam. Okay, fair answer.
50:21
If you weren't a chef, what would you be doing?
50:27
I love photography. And I think they, you know,
50:32
go hand in hand, I think with what we do now.
50:34
But I always was into photography a lot. I didn't
50:36
become a really good one. So I kind of gave up
50:38
on it. And I think if it was a second option,
50:41
I would be a therapist. Same. I would absolutely
50:45
be a therapist. But there's a lot of psychology
50:47
behind working in a restaurant. Yes. Tell me
50:50
about it. I should have a couch in the kitchen
50:53
in the office. I know. That's a whole thing.
50:56
That's a whole thing. You've got to know everybody's
50:58
problems, everything. I think you and I would
51:00
actually both make really good therapists, to
51:01
be honest. So that's good. I think I'm nosy,
51:04
too, a little bit, kind of. I don't know. Aren't
51:06
we all? Aren't we all? You've traveled a bit.
51:10
Yes. Where's your favorite? You can't say Brazil.
51:12
Okay. other favorite place to eat food in the
51:16
world? I would say Italy. I've only been to Italy
51:20
once. I want to go back. I found the food to
51:24
just be so good. Plus, when I was in Italy, I
51:27
really was into a lot of dry aging and salamis
51:31
and charcuterie and all of that. And I took a
51:34
trip to Norcia, which is in northern central
51:36
Italy. And it was the home of charcuterie kind
51:41
of where it began i visited some really cool
51:44
shops you know you eat a tomato in italy and
51:47
it's like oh this is what a tomato should feel
51:50
like and should taste like so i love europe i'm
51:54
in love with europe we were just recently in
51:57
spain we were in portugal and i fell in love
51:59
with portugal too portugal cuisine i think european
52:03
food and european culinary and european ingredients
52:06
the way that everything is produced there and
52:09
raised and grown and farmed is eons ahead of
52:13
us. Unfortunately, yes. It's a very different
52:17
experience. I can relate to here, too. For instance,
52:20
my first time going to Maine and going to Portland,
52:23
and I ate lobster, Maine lobster, which I've
52:28
been needing lobsters for a long time. As a cook,
52:30
I would fly in Maine lobsters all the time to
52:33
South Florida. You're like, wow, this is really
52:34
good. But when you eat a lobster in portland
52:37
maine and maine i haven't yet you're like you
52:39
haven't oh my god you haven't been to maine you're
52:42
kidding i'm really trying to go and i want to
52:45
go in the summer but i'm in flavor prep during
52:47
the summer so it's really hard for me to travel
52:48
the timing is terrible but go but yeah it's on
52:51
my list it just it brings you to a whole different
52:55
realm of what you thought you knew with food
52:57
yeah it's like catching a fresh fish right like
52:59
you catch a fresh fish and you you cook it you
53:02
make ceviche you grill it whatever it is completely
53:05
different than what we you know think of fresh
53:09
so yeah i would i would have to say it's my european
53:11
countries it's it's italy it's spain it's it's
53:14
portugal my most recent trip i just love it i
53:17
love that you with the position that you're in
53:20
and appreciate the food in europe because i feel
53:25
like a lot of folks now what restaurants i frequent
53:28
they are doing a farm to table. I feel like everyone's
53:32
getting a little more aware of, of what we're
53:34
putting in our bodies. And it's, it is, it's
53:36
a struggle because it's expensive. The food is
53:38
expensive. I just heard the other day, correct
53:40
me if I'm wrong. Romaine is at $150 a case right
53:42
now. So what does that put your salad to? You
53:44
get X amount of salads out of one case for Romaine
53:47
and people are wondering why their salad's $25.
53:49
Right. Because the freaking lettuce is $150.
53:52
Right. It's like. So it's like, what do you want
53:54
to do? You want to sacrifice the quality or what
53:56
do you want to do there? So it's like for you
54:00
to be in the position you're in to make these
54:01
really actually educated decisions of what's
54:04
our best game plan here, it's rough. It's rough
54:08
to keep your product to standard you want it
54:10
to be, right? And impressive when you can do
54:14
it at the cost that the customer or the diner
54:17
is comfortable with. Even during flavor, you
54:21
all do, I want to say your menu is $65 for three
54:24
courses. It's three courses of quality ingredients.
54:28
Right. You know, and really at the end of the
54:31
day, your profit margin, you're not making $65
54:34
on that menu. That's not your profit margin because
54:36
the quality behind the product you're pulling
54:38
in is not that. Correct. Yeah. So it's just.
54:44
It's really, really impressive that you do what
54:48
you do to the capacity that you do it. Yeah,
54:49
it's a balance, right? We're not a charity. We're
54:54
a business. But at the same time, how much of
54:57
that can you pass on to the customer, too, without
55:00
having sticker shock? It is a fine line. It is.
55:04
It is. I do consulting for some restaurants and
55:07
one of them came to me. I looked at her menu.
55:10
I looked at her. I looked at her P -Mix. For
55:12
the listeners, it's basically a product mix of
55:16
what they're selling and how much of it they're
55:18
selling and such like that. I looked at her P
55:19
&L. I looked at a bunch of her. I said, well,
55:22
you have to raise your prices. That's the first
55:25
thing I said to her. I said, what are you doing?
55:29
Her food cost was at like 56%. And I'm like,
55:32
it's a family owned, you know, she's just trying
55:35
to be the nice guy. I'm like, you might be the
55:37
nice guy, but you're going to go out of business
55:38
doing it this way. Right. Because she was putting
55:40
importing goods, importing products, really quality
55:43
ingredients, but not charging enough. I'm like,
55:45
you know, you have to, there's that, there's
55:48
that fine line. There's just a fine line. But
55:50
now they're so far from that, like. you know
55:52
cost of food where they should be 35 36 40 whatever
55:55
they need to be at that it's a big jump and that's
55:58
why it's important that businesses you know assess
56:00
their menus every six months every year and then
56:04
do smaller increases versus a sticker shock right
56:07
all of a sudden it's you're jumping up a dollar
56:09
every quarter you're gonna notice that like i
56:12
mean literally though here's the funny thing
56:14
i just yesterday noticed my netflix When I signed
56:19
on for Netflix 100 years ago, $7 .99 a month,
56:22
I don't know how, but right now it's at $22 a
56:25
month. And I'm like, when did it go to that?
56:27
Because I looked, but then I went and looked.
56:30
I actually looked. It went up like three months
56:32
ago. I didn't notice because it went from $20
56:34
to $22. I'm like, well, Netflix is doing it.
56:36
The gas prices are what they are. Why can't restaurants
56:38
do it? You have to. You have to raise your prices
56:40
to offset. You got to do it. And it's just, I
56:44
really want people to really take into account.
56:48
what the costs incur and what you're really,
56:50
really getting. You're not just getting a food
56:52
on a plate and a dish. You're getting an experience.
56:54
You're getting, I mean, for me, it's like, oh,
56:57
I don't have to prep it. I don't have to wash
56:59
it. I don't have to do my dishes. You're getting
57:01
a whole service. And then you're not just getting
57:03
a plate either. A food, right? Oh, yeah. I find
57:06
that, as I mentioned earlier, we cook a lot at
57:08
home, but Sunday night is kind of like cleaning
57:10
out the fridge day. And then I'm like, we just
57:13
throw away like... three or four meals worth
57:17
of stuff because we're cooking it and we think
57:21
that we're going to eat it all. We don't, we
57:22
put it in the fridge. We think we're going to
57:23
have leftovers. We don't, we don't eat it. And
57:25
really as a, as a, as a home, you know, cooking
57:28
at home can have a larger cost than people think.
57:32
Oh, a hundred percent. When I find out, when
57:35
I realized I go to the grocery store and I've
57:37
spent all this money and a week later I'm throwing
57:38
this stuff out. And I don't, I'm not a leftover
57:41
person. Every day I want to eat something different.
57:44
Right. Really. I mean, and I know people that
57:47
love their leftovers and that's fine. There's
57:48
nothing wrong with that either. I'm just not
57:51
because like I'm not in the mood for it. Right.
57:53
Again, yesterday I was in the mood for chicken,
57:55
but today I'm in the mood for sushi. Right. You
57:57
know, so. That's why I like going to PJ National
58:01
because I get different cuisines. I get to do
58:03
sushi one night and chicken the next day or steak
58:06
the next day. Yes. And then fried Lindsay's chicken.
58:10
Lindsay's fried chicken. It's all different.
58:11
Love it. Love it. Awesome. All right. We are
58:14
going to unfortunately wrap up because I can
58:17
talk to you forever and ever. But we're going
58:19
to close with this one question. I'm going to
58:23
show you a picture of this woman. Okay. And you
58:26
just based on her photo and her photo alone.
58:28
Without any other context? Uh -huh. I want you
58:31
to give her some words of advice. Okay. Okay?
58:35
Okay. Okay. Aw. That's such a cool picture. Who's
58:44
that? Funny you found out. That's me. That's
58:46
actually my 30th birthday. Is that your 30th?
58:49
Yes. That was my 30th birthday. You got somebody
58:54
there with you. That's such a unique picture
58:58
that you found. So I'm with Leah. That's a really
59:01
dear friend of mine that I met when I started
59:03
working for Marriott International. So I was
59:05
19. So this is a long time ago. And Leah was
59:08
a cocktail server there. What an amazing person
59:11
she was. You can see in the pictures. No longer
59:13
with us, unfortunately. We lost Leah some years
59:17
ago due to breast cancer. But yeah, that was
59:20
a 30 -year -old Paula De Silva there with long
59:24
hair. I almost had to double take. I'm like,
59:26
is that Paula? No. Yes, I know. I was like, this
59:31
is the photo. I found some other ones. Yes. This
59:35
was my runner up. Look at you here. 1 ,500 degrees.
59:38
There you are. So 1 ,500 degrees. This was my
59:40
first executive chef role. This was at the Eden
59:43
Rock in Miami. What a fun time. I was so passionate
59:47
about this restaurant. This was Labor of Love
59:50
by Adrian Grenier was one of my chefs. And Tony
59:54
Coddington was one of my chefs too. And this
59:57
was a special time. That's very cool. It was.
1:00:01
What advice would you give to her? The 30 year
1:00:04
old Paula. My advice that I would give to my
1:00:11
30 year old self would be. Let things go. Don't
1:00:17
take everything so seriously. And I think I heard
1:00:21
that actually today in a podcast. I actually
1:00:23
think it was my way here. And it was. Is it a
1:00:27
tragedy or is it an inconvenience? And if it's
1:00:31
just an inconvenience. It's not important. And
1:00:35
I think that's the advice that I would give myself.
1:00:37
I think that's great advice because I think people
1:00:39
make mountains out of the molehills. Yes. As
1:00:43
you said that, I was thinking that, yeah, most
1:00:46
things are just that, just an inconvenience.
1:00:49
So let's leave with that. Let's do it. And let's
1:00:53
remind the folks that it's probably not a tragedy.
1:00:56
It's just an inconvenience. We're going to finish
1:01:00
up. Thank you so much. What a fun time. I really
1:01:03
appreciate this today. Me too. Me too. Thanks
1:01:05
for joining me on Forking Around with Flavor
1:01:07
South Florida. If you're in the industry, a business
1:01:10
owner, or just want a better understanding of
1:01:12
what goes into keeping restaurants alive and
1:01:14
thriving, make sure you subscribe and share this
1:01:16
episode with someone who should hear it. Flavor
1:01:18
South Florida takes place every September from
1:01:21
the 1st through the 30th between Palm Beach County
1:01:23
and the Treasure Coast. You can find all the
1:01:25
amazing dining deals and participating restaurants
1:01:27
at Flavorsouthflorida .com until next time keep
1:01:31
supporting local and keep forking around