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Lawmakers hear from Camp Mystic investigators · Austin Signal

• 0:08
  It's day two of a special
• 0:09
  legislative hearing on the Camp
• 0:11
  Mystic tragedy.
• 0:12
  Investigators told lawmakers this
• 0:14
  week that camp operators were
• 0:15
  complacent when it came to safety
• 0:17
  protocols.
• 0:18
  We'll have updates on today's
• 0:19
  hearing. And affordability in
• 0:21
  Austin has always been a topic of
• 0:23
  conversation, but it's not just
• 0:25
  housing, it's about education,
• 0:26
  health, and the ability to work
• 0:28
  close to home.
• 0:29
  The City of Austin is taking up that
• 0:31
  conversation this week.
• 0:32
  We'll have a preview.
• 0:34
  Plus, Kendall Antonelli of
• 0:35
  Antonellis Cheese Shop stops by
• 0:37
  to share some of her favorite
• 0:38
  cheeses and gives us a little on
• 0:40
  the food scene here in Austin, ahead
• 0:42
  of the KUT Fest.
• 0:44
  The Austin Signal is a production
• 0:46
  of KUT News, hosted by
• 0:48
  Miles Bloxen.
• 0:49
  And some of the city's top chefs are
• 0:51
  partnering up with the students in
• 0:52
  Austin ISD's Culinary Arts and
• 0:54
  Hospitality program.
• 0:56
  We'll have more up next on
• 0:58
  Austin Signal.
• 1:07
  Hi there!
• 1:08
  It's Tuesday, April 28,
• 1:09
  2026.
• 1:10
  I'm your host Miles Bloxson.
• 1:12
  This is Austin Signal.
• 1:15
  Day two of a special legislative
• 1:16
  hearing on the Camp Mystic tragedy
• 1:18
  gets underway today here in Austin.
• 1:21
  Investigators told lawmakers
• 1:22
  yesterday that the camp operators
• 1:23
  were complacent when it came to
• 1:25
  safety protocols at the Christian
• 1:27
  Girls Summer Camp, where 28
• 1:29
  people died last summer amid
• 1:30
  historic flooding in the Hill
• 1:32
  Country.
• 1:33
  Today, testimony continues with
• 1:34
  lawmakers questioning the camp's
• 1:36
  owners this morning.
• 1:37
  KUT reporter Kailey Hunt is at
• 1:39
  the hearing and brings us an update.
• 1:41
  Good afternoon, Kailey.
• 1:43
  Hey, Miles.
• 1:44
  Great to have you.
• 1:45
  Can you give us just a quick recap
• 1:47
  of some key moments from yesterday's
• 1:49
  portion of the hearing?
• 1:51
  Yeah. So yes, sure.
• 1:52
  The public got to hear for
• 1:54
  the first time from
• 1:55
  Casey Garrett, she's the principal
• 1:57
  investigator that is
• 1:59
  helping out state lawmakers to find
• 2:01
  out what exactly happened at Camp
• 2:03
  Mystic during that historic
• 2:05
  flooding on July 4th.
• 2:08
  And so yeah, we got to hear from
• 2:09
  Garrett who also notably
• 2:11
  investigated the Robb
• 2:13
  Elementary School shooting in Uvalde
• 2:15
  a few years ago,
• 2:17
  and Garrett laid out a timeline of
• 2:19
  that July 3rd July
• 2:21
  4th timeline of the
• 2:23
  flooding and we
• 2:25
  heard from her testimony and then
• 2:27
  today we've kind of shifted into
• 2:29
  testimony from the Eastland family,
• 2:31
  the owners and operators of the
• 2:32
  camp.
• 2:33
  Yeah, so speaking of the Eastland
• 2:34
  family, and as you mentioned, they
• 2:36
  own and operate Camp Mystic, they
• 2:37
  testified and took questions from
• 2:39
  lawmakers. What were some of the
• 2:40
  takeaways from that?
• 2:42
  Yeah. So it's been pretty intense
• 2:44
  this morning.
• 2:46
  Testimony is still going.
• 2:47
  We've been going since 10 a.m.
• 2:50
  There was some
• 2:52
  very intense scrutiny
• 2:54
  and criticism from State
• 2:56
  Senator Charles Perry.
• 2:57
  He's a Lubbock Republican who
• 2:59
  helped author some of those new
• 3:02
  legislation requiring camp
• 3:03
  safety requirements last
• 3:06
  summer during the special session.
• 3:08
  He called into question
• 3:10
  the ability of the Eastlands.
• 3:13
  To operate the camp in the future.
• 3:15
  Here's what he had to say.
• 3:17
  Legally, y'all probably get to stay
• 3:19
  in existence. But I will tell you
• 3:20
  from this guy's perspective, and I
• 3:22
  don't know what my other members
• 3:23
  are, whatever statute
• 3:25
  tweaks,
• 3:27
  whatever laws we make, or whatever
• 3:29
  rules we have to devise,
• 3:32
  y' all will not be an operator next
• 3:34
  session, next season,
• 3:37
  if I can have anything to say with
• 3:39
  that.
• 3:40
  I just have to ask, Kailey, this is,
• 3:42
  you know, it's a lot going on.
• 3:43
  What did it feel like to be in the
• 3:44
  room today?
• 3:47
  You know, all
• 3:49
  I can say is just it's very intense.
• 3:51
  You know even just as I was
• 3:52
  preparing to speak
• 3:54
  with y'all just now within the last
• 3:56
  few moments, I see,
• 3:58
  you know, parents of
• 4:01
  children who died at Camp Mystic
• 4:03
  coming out of the hearing room,
• 4:06
  walking down the hallway, just
• 4:07
  crying and upset by some of
• 4:09
  the testimony that they're hearing.
• 4:11
  So yeah, emotions are very high
• 4:13
  here.
• 4:15
  I can only imagine, and who else are
• 4:17
  we expecting to hear from today as
• 4:19
  this hearing continues?
• 4:21
  Yeah, so once the Eastland
• 4:23
  family is done testifying and
• 4:26
  answering questions from lawmakers
• 4:27
  on this investigative committee,
• 4:29
  we can expect to hear from some
• 4:31
  representatives from the Texas
• 4:32
  Department of
• 4:34
  Health Services.
• 4:36
  They're the ones who are responsible
• 4:38
  for granting
• 4:40
  and giving out licenses to
• 4:42
  camps like Camp Mystic to operate
• 4:44
  during the summertime.
• 4:45
  And then we can also expect to here
• 4:47
  from Texas Department of Emergency
• 4:49
  Management Officials.
• 4:51
  In fact, I just saw Chief Nimkid
• 4:53
  here in the hallway as well.
• 4:55
  So looking forward to hearing from
• 4:57
  some state agencies.
• 4:58
  And then they also alluded to maybe
• 5:00
  hearing from, you know,
• 5:02
  parents and families of campers,
• 5:04
  both victims and survivors.
• 5:06
  What do you feel like?
• 5:07
  Families need at this
• 5:09
  moment.
• 5:13
  You know, I think
• 5:15
  one of the
• 5:17
  big goals of these
• 5:20
  hearings and having them play
• 5:22
  out so publicly is
• 5:24
  the opportunity for
• 5:26
  everyone who has been impacted by
• 5:29
  those deadly July 4th floods,
• 5:31
  especially at Camp Mystic, to have
• 5:33
  an opportunity and
• 5:35
  chance to
• 5:37
  say what they need to say and to
• 5:38
  share their stories and their
• 5:40
  experiences and what they
• 5:42
  hope. To have going
• 5:44
  forward into the future.
• 5:46
  We've been speaking with KUT's
• 5:47
  Kailey Hunt, who is at the
• 5:49
  legislative hearing on the Camp
• 5:51
  Mystic tragedy, and she'll continue
• 5:52
  to follow this story.
• 5:53
  Kailey, thanks so much for the
• 5:55
  update.
• 5:56
  Thanks, Miles.
• 6:11
  We've all seen the headlines that
• 6:12
  rents in Austin have dropped since
• 6:14
  pandemic era highs.
• 6:16
  Still, affordability remains an
• 6:17
  issue here, whether we're talking
• 6:19
  access to housing, good paying jobs,
• 6:21
  and even access to basic needs.
• 6:23
  Tomorrow, the city will host a fair
• 6:25
  housing and economic mobility
• 6:26
  conference to discuss these issues
• 6:28
  and their solutions.
• 6:30
  Joining me now is Lindsay Wilson,
• 6:32
  director of the city's equity and
• 6:34
  inclusion office, which is hosting
• 6:35
  the conference.
• 6:37
  Lindsay, welcome to Austin Signal.
• 6:39
  Well, thank you, Miles, for having
• 6:40
  me. I am excited to be
• 6:42
  here and talk a little bit about the
• 6:44
  Fair Housing and Economic Mobility
• 6:47
  Conference.
• 6:47
  And speaking of the conference, I
• 6:48
  think most folks probably have an
• 6:50
  idea of what fair housing is, right?
• 6:53
  But access to affordable housing
• 6:54
  without discrimination, but exactly
• 6:56
  what do we mean when we say economic
• 6:58
  mobility?
• 6:59
  Oh, that's a great question.
• 7:01
  And one that I'm glad that you
• 7:02
  started with, really, because
• 7:04
  typically when people think about
• 7:05
  economic mobility, they may think
• 7:07
  income are climbing up
• 7:09
  a ladder.
• 7:11
  What we've learned both
• 7:13
  through our quality of life studies,
• 7:15
  but also some intentional engagement
• 7:17
  that we've had internally across
• 7:19
  city departments is we're
• 7:21
  talking way beyond income.
• 7:22
  We're talking about access and
• 7:25
  opportunity.
• 7:26
  Right. And so when we say economic
• 7:28
  mobility, it's leading with systems,
• 7:30
  but really focus on are
• 7:32
  our residents, are our
• 7:34
  Austinites able to
• 7:37
  meet basic needs,
• 7:39
  financial stability, and live
• 7:40
  a high dignified
• 7:43
  life, right?
• 7:45
  Where housing's within reach.
• 7:47
  Right.
• 7:49
  About quality of life exactly
• 7:51
  so big picture
• 7:53
  what is the goal of this conference
• 7:55
  and who is this geared toward and
• 7:57
  who can benefit from attending
• 7:58
  because it seems like everybody
• 8:00
  you're spot on there, right?
• 8:02
  And so April is Fair Housing Month,
• 8:04
  so that's the fair housing component
• 8:06
  of it. But we know that
• 8:08
  it goes beyond fair housing.
• 8:10
  And so when you ask the question
• 8:12
  around who can benefit from
• 8:14
  it, we were really intentional
• 8:16
  this year that we invited
• 8:18
  a variety of stakeholders.
• 8:19
  So you'll have everyone from
• 8:21
  community members to businesses,
• 8:25
  philanthropic organizations,
• 8:27
  Independent School District are
• 8:29
  educational.
• 8:30
  Uh individuals and
• 8:32
  so it was it was really a
• 8:35
  intentional and collaborative effort
• 8:37
  on the basis of
• 8:39
  both my team Austin
• 8:41
  Equity and Inclusion as well as
• 8:44
  Austin Housing uh
• 8:45
  to serve as a convener to
• 8:48
  pull everyone together to have some
• 8:49
  of these intentional conversations.
• 8:52
  I love that and it's much needed.
• 8:53
  What are some of the panels and
• 8:55
  speakers that attendees can expect
• 8:57
  to hear from?
• 8:57
  Absolutely.
• 8:58
  And so we have over 50
• 9:00
  speakers.
• 9:01
  Oh!
• 9:02
  Yes.
• 9:02
  And so over 50 speakers,
• 9:05
  over 10 different breakout sessions,
• 9:07
  and really a
• 9:09
  little bit of something for
• 9:10
  everyone. Everything from legal
• 9:12
  updates around evictions
• 9:14
  and support animal
• 9:16
  rules, HUD guidance,
• 9:18
  to crime-free
• 9:20
  multi-housing program.
• 9:22
  Of course, we have
• 9:24
  the very, For now don't
• 9:26
  laugh. We're now miles joining us
• 9:29
  and you are will be moderating
• 9:30
  the keynote panel And
• 9:33
  so the keynote panel, again,
• 9:34
  we're talking about economic
• 9:36
  mobility, very intentional.
• 9:38
  We will have United
• 9:40
  Way there.
• 9:41
  We will communities
• 9:43
  and schools.
• 9:45
  We will asset funders,
• 9:47
  a grassroot organization,
• 9:50
  GAVA, mills on
• 9:52
  wheels.
• 9:53
  And so again, it's really an
• 9:55
  intentional gathering to
• 9:57
  pull all of our stakeholders
• 9:58
  together because we recognize we all
• 10:00
  have a role.
• 10:01
  Where can people go to find out
• 10:03
  more and register for this event?
• 10:05
  Because I don't think you want to
• 10:06
  miss it, right?
• 10:07
  I wouldn't want to miss it, but
• 10:09
  to your question, they can
• 10:11
  absolutely go to speakupaustin.org
• 10:15
  slash fair housing
• 10:17
  to register.
• 10:18
  All right, we've been speaking with
• 10:19
  Lindsay Wilson, Director of the City
• 10:21
  of Austin's Equity and Inclusion
• 10:22
  Office. Thanks so much for joining
• 10:24
  me here on the Austin Signal.
• 10:26
  Thanks for having me.
• 10:27
  Of course.
• 10:40
  We're coming up on a break, but
• 10:42
  don't go too far.
• 10:43
  The KUT Fest starts on Friday,
• 10:45
  and we're covering a wide range of
• 10:46
  topics, including Austin's famous
• 10:49
  food scene.
• 10:50
  Kendall Antonelli from Antonello's
• 10:51
  Cheese Shop will join us for the
• 10:53
  fest. And we're gonna have a short
• 10:55
  preview of that panel coming
• 10:57
  up.
• 10:58
  And Austin ISD culinary
• 11:00
  students are pairing with Michelin
• 11:02
  chefs. That's all coming up next,
• 11:04
  right here on Austin
• 11:06
  Signal.
• 11:29
  This is Austin Signal, welcome back.
• 11:31
  The Austin culinary and hospitality
• 11:33
  scene has exploded in recent years.
• 11:35
  Restaurant bars, tasting rooms
• 11:37
  are all an integral part of not
• 11:39
  only the Austin area's identity,
• 11:41
  but the economy.
• 11:42
  As part of a larger conversation
• 11:44
  that will be going on at the KUT
• 11:46
  Fest this weekend, joining us
• 11:47
  now is one of the guests of the
• 11:49
  panel, Kendall Antonelli from
• 11:51
  Antonellis Cheese.
• 11:52
  Ow, ow.
• 11:53
  Thanks so much for joining me
• 11:55
  today, Kendall.
• 11:56
  I'm super excited to be with you.
• 11:58
  So Kendall, you're gonna get a lot
• 12:00
  of me this week. As you know, I'll
• 12:01
  be hosting the still cooking panel
• 12:03
  at KUT Fest, and I don't wanna give
• 12:05
  too much away to the audience before
• 12:07
  our conversation this weekend, but I
• 12:08
  have to know, when you decided to
• 12:10
  open your business, why Austin?
• 12:13
  You know, uh, well, my husband
• 12:15
  and I went on our honeymoon and it
• 12:16
  was day two of the honeymoon and
• 12:18
  John turned to me and said, I'm
• 12:19
  going to quit my job and do
• 12:20
  something in cheese.
• 12:21
  And I was like, right?
• 12:22
  What? Uh, like, can I annul at
• 12:24
  this point? No. And he left a really
• 12:26
  lucrative job.
• 12:27
  Uh, and then we chose cheese.
• 12:29
  We thought we'd do it for a year or
• 12:30
  two and, uh instead
• 12:32
  here we are 16 years later.
• 12:34
  Yeah. Is not e-
• 12:34
  So how much have you
• 12:36
  seen the food scene grow in Austin
• 12:38
  since you've opened up your cheese
• 12:40
  shop?
• 12:40
  A lot.
• 12:41
  I mean, we, for better and for
• 12:43
  worse, and I'm more of a
• 12:44
  positive-leaning person.
• 12:45
  I'm not really a negative Nancy,
• 12:47
  except sorry, Nancy's out there.
• 12:48
  I won't, I won't use that expression
• 12:49
  anymore.
• 12:50
  But I like to live with, live with
• 12:52
  positivity.
• 12:53
  That being said, a lot of our
• 12:54
  favorite places have closed.
• 12:56
  And, you know, people always jump on
• 12:58
  social media and say, no, they were
• 12:59
  doing so well.
• 13:00
  And I think that's one of the things
• 13:02
  we can talk about in this panel is
• 13:03
  there's this perception of success.
• 13:05
  We have a huge perception of
• 13:07
  success and we've been
• 13:08
  non-profitable for two years
• 13:09
  straight writing out a deficit.
• 13:11
  We're really very open about it, so
• 13:12
  that's fine.
• 13:13
  But it has changed a lot,
• 13:15
  places have closed.
• 13:16
  There's also always fresh
• 13:18
  blood and fresh spirit and fresh
• 13:20
  ideas and people starting something
• 13:21
  new. And so I haven't seen that
• 13:23
  stop yet either.
• 13:24
  And one thing that has been
• 13:25
  successful for you is the try
• 13:27
  before you buy method, which I
• 13:29
  love. And I'm thinking of like
• 13:30
  wineries of the Hill Country or
• 13:32
  the breweries or of course, like I
• 13:34
  said, your cheese shop.
• 13:35
  What is it about this business
• 13:37
  model that you think makes it work?
• 13:39
  Yeah. Cause I love it.
• 13:40
  Look, cheese, let's be honest,
• 13:42
  cheese can be scary,
• 13:44
  at least like pre-pandemic.
• 13:45
  Now everybody and their grandma owns
• 13:46
  like a charcuterie biz on social
• 13:48
  media, but pre- pandemic cheese
• 13:51
  had this like poo poo pinkies
• 13:53
  up.
• 13:54
  Now we've owned bougie, we like
• 13:56
  bougie things, but it really seemed
• 13:58
  inaccessible.
• 13:59
  And our whole goal was to make it
• 14:00
  fun, approachable, playful,
• 14:02
  and sexy, if you will.
• 14:03
  Somebody said, you mean passionate?
• 14:05
  And I was like, no, sexy.
• 14:06
  Like you look at my cheese case and
• 14:07
  you want to jump in the cheese case
• 14:08
  because it's sexy.
• 14:10
  Yeah, that's what I'm saying.
• 14:11
  So the best way to do
• 14:13
  that is not for me to tell somebody
• 14:14
  why it's good. It's for them to let
• 14:16
  their own pallets guide them.
• 14:18
  And you bought cheese today for me
• 14:19
  today. So let's do this.
• 14:22
  OK, I'm going to do this a little
• 14:23
  bit differently than normal.
• 14:24
  So what I brought, I wish I could
• 14:25
  like ASMR this, y'all.
• 14:27
  I mean, here, look, this is me
• 14:28
  opening up some crackers.
• 14:30
  Why? Because it's really hard to do
• 14:31
  in this now. I'm touching
• 14:32
  everybody's crackers.
• 14:33
  Okay. Now that I open the crackers,
• 14:35
  don't touch those.
• 14:36
  Don't touch the crackers? No,
• 14:37
  because if you put the cheese on the
• 14:39
  cracker, girl, you're just gonna
• 14:40
  taste the crackers.
• 14:40
  Okay. And I want you to taste the
• 14:41
  cheese naked. Okay.
• 14:43
  Oh, naked cheese, let's do this. You gotta get
• 14:43
  intimate with the cheese.
• 14:45
  So, I'm gonna give you a bite of
• 14:46
  this cheese. I'm not gonna tell you
• 14:47
  what it is, and I've never done it
• 14:48
  this way before.
• 14:49
  This cheese, for people to know,
• 14:51
  it's scooped like an ice cream
• 14:52
  scoop.
• 14:53
  It's bright white.
• 14:55
  And now I'm going to ask you three
• 14:56
  questions. Is it A, B, or C?
• 14:58
  Does it taste buttery and
• 15:00
  grassy?
• 15:01
  Does it taste nutty
• 15:03
  and rich, or does it taste
• 15:06
  tangy and citrus zesty?
• 15:08
  I feel like it's buttery and grassy.
• 15:10
  Oh, okay.
• 15:11
  Well, let's do one more.
• 15:13
  Let's do this.
• 15:14
  Okay, try this cheese.
• 15:15
  And I'm gonna ask you the same same
• 15:17
  three.
• 15:18
  So is that one buttery and grassy,
• 15:21
  nutty or tangy
• 15:23
  and citrusy?
• 15:26
  Well, she's
• 15:29
  It's interesting how your mind has
• 15:30
  to process.
• 15:31
  And this is actually you don't
• 15:33
  have to know this stuff.
• 15:34
  We do cheese tasting classes I was
• 15:36
  not actually laying up for this, but
• 15:37
  you really have to train your palate
• 15:39
  to kind of pick up these flavor
• 15:41
  profiles So, okay.
• 15:42
  So wait, give me my options again
• 15:43
  for this one. Okay first buttery
• 15:46
  and grassy No, second nutty
• 15:48
  and rich or
• 15:50
  third tangy
• 15:52
  acidic citrusy
• 15:54
  It seems like it could be a bit more
• 15:55
  tangy to me.
• 15:57
  All right. Well, let's go there.
• 15:59
  So choice A, I would have
• 16:00
  gone, that's a fresh cheve, a fresh
• 16:02
  goat's milk cheese.
• 16:03
  It's bright white. You know it
• 16:04
  visually because it's bright white
• 16:05
  and goats can't process the beta
• 16:07
  carotenes and grass.
• 16:08
  But it is known for being tangy,
• 16:10
  minerally bright, acidic,
• 16:12
  citrus zest flavors.
• 16:14
  So that one is more often
• 16:16
  characteristically that.
• 16:18
  The second cheese you just tried is
• 16:20
  Pleasant Ridge Reserve made by
• 16:21
  Uplands Cheese, one of the most
• 16:23
  award-winning cheeses in the United
• 16:24
  States.
• 16:25
  And that one is made from
• 16:27
  grass fed cows.
• 16:29
  You can also tell it's yellow in
• 16:30
  color and that's because of those
• 16:32
  beta carotenes in the grass.
• 16:33
  And that's known for being really
• 16:34
  buttery and grassy.
• 16:35
  Wow
• 16:36
  That being said, you know what?
• 16:37
  Your palate is your own.
• 16:38
  So we'll teach you what flavor
• 16:40
  descriptors are and you can work on
• 16:41
  them, but also you just taste and
• 16:43
  eat what you like, taste what you're
• 16:44
  like. And then I always love it
• 16:46
  when people say, well, you didn't
• 16:47
  taste this, you're wrong.
• 16:49
  They've actually, science has showed
• 16:50
  that your palate is like a
• 16:51
  thumbprint. It's unique to you.
• 16:53
  So we all taste sweet, salt,
• 16:55
  sour, umami,
• 16:57
  all in different places on our
• 16:58
  tongue. And so, yeah, it may not
• 16:59
  taste that way to you I am now
• 17:01
  seeing food a lot more
• 17:03
  differently. And that's what,
• 17:05
  you... When we eat food, people just
• 17:07
  pop it and take it back.
• 17:08
  And instead for us, it's all five
• 17:10
  senses.
• 17:11
  It's audible. If a cheese squeak
• 17:12
  doesn't squeak, is it a cheese curd?
• 17:14
  And it's the same thing as like a
• 17:16
  tortilla chip. It feels like it
• 17:17
  tastes different when it doesn't
• 17:18
  break in your mouth and crunch.
• 17:20
  Nothing has changed about the taste
• 17:21
  of it. It just has a different
• 17:23
  sensation of taste and flavor
• 17:25
  based off of it being stale.
• 17:27
  So yeah, use all your senses when
• 17:28
  you're, it's a fun experience if you
• 17:30
  can slow down, which I'm not good
• 17:31
  at. You can tell I'm a fast talker.
• 17:33
  But if you can slow down and eat
• 17:35
  your food the same way you might at
• 17:37
  the beginning of a wine tasting or
• 17:38
  and use all your senses, it's a
• 17:40
  whole different experience.
• 17:41
  Kendall, mind blown.
• 17:43
  Now, before I let
• 17:45
  you go, as someone who's been in
• 17:47
  business for 16 years,
• 17:48
  right? Where do you see the future
• 17:50
  of Austin's food scene heading?
• 17:53
  That's a tough one.
• 17:54
  I mean, I kind of hinted at it
• 17:55
  earlier that things grow,
• 17:57
  things die, things close.
• 17:59
  But people are always coming up with
• 18:01
  new ideas. And now I think,
• 18:03
  at least in theory and
• 18:05
  in some practice, we're creating new
• 18:07
  avenues to access capital,
• 18:09
  so new businesses maybe that were
• 18:10
  always there are getting a different
• 18:12
  leg up because more people are
• 18:13
  seeing them in certain ways.
• 18:14
  So I'm excited always
• 18:16
  for the future.
• 18:17
  That being said, we have a lot of
• 18:19
  challenges to overcome.
• 18:20
  It's paid labor in the industry.
• 18:22
  It's people willing to pay for real
• 18:24
  food. It's the fact that organic
• 18:25
  food costs more than something that
• 18:27
  doesn't have any real food in it at
• 18:29
  all. None of those are easy to solve
• 18:30
  questions, but it impacts us
• 18:32
  all the way around.
• 18:34
  We've been speaking with Kendall
• 18:35
  Antonelli, founder and president of
• 18:37
  Antonellis Cheese.
• 18:38
  She will be joining me at KUT Fest
• 18:40
  this Saturday, along with Erin
• 18:41
  Franklin of Franklin's Barbecue and
• 18:43
  Tevelle Bristol-Joseph of Emerin Rye
• 18:46
  on the panel, Still Cooking.
• 18:48
  We'll have a link with more info
• 18:50
  at kut.org slash
• 18:52
  signal. Kendall, thanks so much for.
• 18:54
  Being with me today.
• 18:55
  Thank you and just remember you said
• 18:56
  on that panel still cooking but for
• 18:57
  those of you who don't want to cook
• 18:58
  you can just eat some cheese.
• 19:01
  And continuing our conversation
• 19:02
  about the impact in the hospitality
• 19:04
  scene, our next guests are students
• 19:06
  in future culinary scene hopefuls
• 19:08
  who are part of Austin ISD's
• 19:10
  Culinary Arts and Hospitality
• 19:12
  Program.
• 19:13
  And tomorrow they will be shoulder
• 19:14
  to shoulder with renowned Austin
• 19:16
  chefs helping to execute a
• 19:18
  menu they helped build as part of
• 19:20
  the annual give back gig.
• 19:22
  A fundraiser to help sustain
• 19:23
  programs focused on developing
• 19:25
  the next generation of Austin's
• 19:27
  hospitality workforce.
• 19:28
  Joining us now are Leilani
• 19:30
  Martinez, Dina Munoz,
• 19:32
  Arlo Irving, and Cerise Mazariegos.
• 19:35
  Welcome to Austin Signal.
• 19:37
  Thanks for having us.
• 19:39
  And accompanying them is their
• 19:40
  instructor who leads the culinary
• 19:42
  and hospitality program, Jayma
• 19:44
  Vaughn. Jayma thanks for being here.
• 19:46
  Thank you, Miles, for having us.
• 19:47
  We are excited to be here.
• 19:49
  I want to start with you, Jaima.
• 19:51
  Tell us about this program.
• 19:53
  Yeah, I can talk all day about this
• 19:55
  program because it
• 19:57
  is based around really,
• 19:59
  really brilliant students.
• 20:01
  But beyond that, it is
• 20:04
  a partnership that has been
• 20:05
  at Travis Early College High School
• 20:07
  since 2001 with
• 20:09
  Austin ISD, with
• 20:11
  Austin Hotel and Lodging
• 20:12
  Association, and with Visit
• 20:14
  Austin.
• 20:15
  And we're proud to serve the
• 20:17
  students in our community and
• 20:19
  to eventually give back to the
• 20:21
  community in the hospitality and
• 20:22
  tourism scene. So it's a great
• 20:24
  program and I'm excited to be here
• 20:25
  to talk about it today and our cool
• 20:27
  upcoming event.
• 20:28
  Yes, and speaking of the upcoming
• 20:30
  event, what is this gift bag?
• 20:32
  So, the Give Back gig is in its
• 20:34
  third year.
• 20:35
  It was the brainchild
• 20:37
  of the Visit Austin Education
• 20:39
  Foundation.
• 20:40
  That is the branch from Visit Austin
• 20:42
  that works with
• 20:44
  local community partners like Travis
• 20:46
  High School and like Austin
• 20:47
  Community College, Good Works,
• 20:49
  Urban Roots, to give back
• 20:51
  to community members who are
• 20:53
  wanting to thrive in
• 20:55
  the hospitality and tourism and
• 20:57
  restaurant scene. Um, so the
• 20:59
  give back gig is where we
• 21:01
  take these great, incredible
• 21:03
  culinary students from Travis Early
• 21:05
  College High School and we
• 21:06
  partner them with
• 21:08
  celebrity chefs from the
• 21:10
  Austin area.
• 21:11
  Wow. A couple of years ago,
• 21:13
  something really incredible happened
• 21:14
  in Austin and that is that the
• 21:16
  Michelin Guide came to Austin.
• 21:18
  And this was big, huge news
• 21:20
  in the hospitality and culinary
• 21:21
  scene in Austin.
• 21:23
  So students who maybe wanted to
• 21:25
  work with the Michelins chef before
• 21:27
  that had to leave the state.
• 21:29
  They had to go to Chicago, they had
• 21:31
  to go to New York to try to get that
• 21:32
  experience.
• 21:33
  But because of the Give Back gig and
• 21:35
  those chefs partnering with us,
• 21:37
  our students can do that in their
• 21:38
  own hometown and then they can stay
• 21:40
  in their hometown.
• 21:41
  They can go to Austin Community
• 21:43
  College, major in culinary arts,
• 21:45
  and continue to work their
• 21:46
  way up with local chefs
• 21:48
  who've been recognized by the
• 21:50
  Michelin Guide.
• 21:51
  No, it is really cool to be able to
• 21:53
  work with the best of the best when
• 21:54
  you're, you know, in high school.
• 21:56
  So speaking of that, let's turn to
• 21:57
  some of our brilliant students.
• 21:59
  First, I have Leilani, why
• 22:01
  are you interested in the culinary
• 22:02
  arts?
• 22:03
  Well I'm interested in the culinary
• 22:05
  arts because I can be creative
• 22:07
  with food and honestly
• 22:09
  you can never make mistakes when it
• 22:11
  comes to food you can probably like
• 22:13
  learn from it or make something new
• 22:14
  that you like and I just like
• 22:16
  that I get to make food
• 22:18
  for people that for my loved
• 22:20
  ones and they get to
• 22:22
  taste some of my foods.
• 22:24
  I love that, and Cerise.
• 22:26
  What have you already learned about
• 22:27
  the culinary arts as a student?
• 22:30
  Well, a basic answer is that
• 22:31
  I've learned knife skills and
• 22:33
  different ways to cook
• 22:35
  different foods, but
• 22:38
  a more in-depth answer
• 22:40
  would be that I have learned
• 22:42
  the importance of
• 22:44
  networking and knowing
• 22:46
  the right people and being
• 22:48
  involved in the community and
• 22:50
  the importance of working well
• 22:52
  with others and doing
• 22:54
  your best to help everybody.
• 22:56
  That skill set will take you far in
• 22:58
  any career. So those are good things
• 23:00
  to learn.
• 23:01
  And then up next I have Arlo,
• 23:03
  what do you hope to learn from this
• 23:04
  event? Because you're gonna be next
• 23:05
  to like superstar chefs.
• 23:07
  Well, to build off Cerise and
• 23:09
  Ms. Vaughan, to say that networking
• 23:11
  and having these opportunities with
• 23:13
  these great, amazing people who
• 23:15
  already have so much experience in
• 23:17
  this industry, and to be there
• 23:18
  and to have that opportunity
• 23:21
  just makes your view of
• 23:22
  the future just so much brighter and
• 23:25
  allows you to build connections
• 23:26
  early and get into
• 23:28
  not just the culinary scene but the
• 23:30
  hospitality scene and
• 23:31
  make a successful career out of your
• 23:33
  life.
• 23:33
  And Dina, how do you help to use the
• 23:35
  things that you've learned in the
• 23:37
  future?
• 23:38
  Well, since I'm graduating soon,
• 23:40
  I think that I'm gonna use like the
• 23:41
  networking skills and the
• 23:42
  communications because
• 23:45
  I'm going to be communicating with
• 23:46
  a lot of people because I am going
• 23:48
  into nursing.
• 23:48
  So I'm just gonna use what I've
• 23:50
  learned about my internships
• 23:52
  and my internships when I did human
• 23:54
  resources.
• 23:55
  I learned more about what
• 23:57
  it's like to work with other people
• 23:59
  and knowing how to,
• 24:01
  I guess, react to how other
• 24:03
  people react to certain things that
• 24:05
  I probably would react
• 24:06
  differently to.
• 24:08
  Yeah, I think I'm just gonna take
• 24:10
  more the skills on
• 24:12
  communication rather than like
• 24:15
  cooking skills.
• 24:16
  We've been speaking with AISD
• 24:18
  students Leilani Martinez,
• 24:20
  Dina Munoz, Arlo Irving,
• 24:22
  and Cerise Macerriegos, and their
• 24:23
  instructor, Jama Vaughn.
• 24:25
  We'll have a link with more info at
• 24:27
  kut.org slash signal and
• 24:29
  in the podcast show notes.
• 24:31
  Thank you so much for being here,
• 24:32
  guys.
• 24:33
  Thank you!
• 24:36
  That's it for us here on Austin
• 24:38
  Signal.
• 24:39
  Thanks so much for hanging out with
• 24:40
  us. Serena Sevilla is our technical
• 24:42
  director.
• 24:43
  Alexa Hart is our producer.
• 24:44
  Christian Cabrera is our managing
• 24:46
  producer.
• 24:47
  I'm Miles Bloxson.
• 24:48
  And for my buddy, Jerry Quijano.
• 24:50
  Austin Signal is back tomorrow.
• 24:52
  I hope you have a beautiful day.