Chef Kevin Des Chenes

00:00Welcome to Nashville Restaurant Radio, the tastiest hour of talk in Music City. Now here's your host, Brandon Styll. Hello Music City and welcome to Nashville Restaurant Radio. My name is Brandon Styll and today is a very special episode. This is a bonus episode where we are talking with Chef Kevin Deshains, otherwise known as Chef Kev D. And he is going to be bringing Toast Nashville here to Nashville. And I thought, hey, if you're going to Toast Nashville and you want to learn more about Toast Nashville, maybe you want to learn about one of the guys who's running it. So today we're talking with Chef Kev D. It's about a 30 minute conversation. And I really wanted to talk to him while I had him on the show.

01:01He's kind of a celebrity chef. He's a chef that's been on a bunch of TV shows. He's a private chef to celebrities. He's going around the country, the world doing these different events. And I thought, how do you get to do that? Like what were the things that you had to do to step outside of the restaurant? What was your restaurant background? So I wanted to learn all these really fun things. And he was more than willing to talk about them all. And so we had a lot of fun in this conversation. It's a quick interview, 30 minutes, no commercials, because the commercial today is you need to go to Toast Nashville. It's going to be held the weekend of April 19th, 20th, and 21st. There is a big chef's dinner on the 19th, the grand tasting on the 20th, 420. Yes, our friends Callie Sober will be there. So on 420, if you wanted to go to this event, you could enjoy a little THC beverage action while you're there. And this is just a great conversation. So without further ado, I think we're just going to jump right in here with Chef Kev D.

02:04Super excited today to welcome in Chef Kev D, Chef Kevin Deshane. Welcome to Nashville Restaurant Radio. Thank you for having me again. We're excited. Yeah. Welcome back to Nashville Restaurant Radio. As we did a teaser last week, if you didn't catch it, Kev is going to be coming to Nashville the weekend of April the 19th, the 20th, and 21st. And what they are going to be doing is Toast Nashville. It's a big event. It's a food extravaganza, and always. It's not just a grand tasting, which they're doing on Saturday night, but it's also a big chef's dinner Friday night. There's brunches on Saturday morning and there's brunches on Sunday morning. So let's get started. We've told everybody about Toast Nashville. Let's tell everybody about you. Give me like the elevator pitch. Who are you? Well, I'm Chef Kev D. Kevin Deshane, which I've shortened because nobody can spell it or pronounce it.

03:08So we've just shortened it to Chef Kev D. I've done so many morning shows and TV shows where they butchered it and changed it and spelt it wrong. So I just said, this is what we're doing. So yeah, I was a restaurant chef for 25 years all over New England, traveled, did the seasonal thing, Mount Snow, Block Island, Boston, and Cape Cod, just kind of honing my craft and owned restaurants up in Burlington, Vermont and down in Boston, Mass. And for about seven years, I've been a private chef, owned a private chef company where I traveled the country. I cooked for amazing people like Tom Lee Jones and Garth Brooks and John Legend and Gavin DeGraw and the Red Sox and the Patriots and get to do all kinds of fun events. So I was a chef in restaurants for many, many years and just I have three little babies at home now. And once those started to come along and we had to figure out how can we how can I still do what I love, but also be a dad and be around for my kids. So although I work as hard and travel, you know, I can be gone for two or three days, but I could be home for a week and then I'm gone for a few days and then I'm home for a week.

04:16So I'm walking them to school Monday through Thursday. I'm picking them up from school. I'm going to karate. I'm going to dance. So I'm getting to do all those dad things, but still do private dinners and travel to Nashville and do events like toast and down in Sobey and Vegas food and wine and all that kind of fun stuff. And I kind of have it down now where I'm home so much more. As you know, if you have a restaurant, you know, you see your kids on Tuesday morning, you're off and you'll see them again, maybe Monday or Tuesday again. And that's just it's a grind. I love it. I have a deep love for the restaurant and hospitality. That's how I came up. That's how I learned to cook and became a chef. I've owned them and run them. But this was the next logical step evolution to be able to still be a chef, do what I love, but be able to control it a little more. A hundred percent. I, you know, I felt every single thing you just now said, because I think that's the ultimate goal. You want that work life balance and so many times I don't think people understand restaurants are open seven days a week.

05:17A lot of times lunch and dinner, it's 14 shifts a week, some places open breakfast, lunch and dinner. But even for just open dinner, you know, seven nights a week as a leader, you feel some level of responsibility to be there all the time. A hundred percent. And thing and dishwashers are breaking and deliveries are coming in, whether you're open to your clothes, there's prep to be done. There's things to be painted, light bulbs to be changed, TVs to be fixed. And for some reason, you're the only one who can see those things. Yes. Isn't it amazing? Yes. It's, it's an endless. It really is. If you own a restaurant, you could be in there 24 hours a day, seven days a week, just doing things and cleaning and fixing and changing and moving furniture and doing all this stuff. So it is a love, but it is a grind. So I'm happy to put over two decades of that into that and, and having owned them and just doing all those things. And don't even forget about the books and the payroll and all that stuff that you have to worry about as well, as well as a physical restaurant. So I get to do fun guest chef dinners in restaurants all over the country.

06:21So that's kind of how I get my restaurant fixed. Get in there for a weekend and do my own menu or do a residency like I'm doing another one in Charleston for a few days where I go down and cook in these restaurants. I get to work with the crew. We get, you know, I'm on the line. So I kind of get that fix for a week or so at a time. And then I'm not there again for six months. You're living the dream, baby. That's it took 30 years of hard work. But here we are. Let's talk about how you made that happen, because I think there's a lot of people who are chefs that are grinding out. This is a lifestyle that you've created for yourself that where I'm not grinding out 70 hours a week in the kitchen. What was that first break that you had? Because you've made so many countless TV appearances on different shows and you're all over the place working with celebrities from working from going from working into a restaurants to that first step as to, hey, I'm going to get on TV. What did you was that a conscious did just somebody come to you and say, you should be on TV. How did you make that first initial transition? Yeah. So I'll preface it by saying I was always a chef first.

07:24I wasn't I never got into the business to want to be on TV. When I got into the business, no, the chef wasn't a rock star. Nobody cares about there's no food network. They didn't want the chef out there touching tables. You were in the back. You're doing your thing. Nobody cared. Thankfully, around 2013, that started to evolve. Food network started to get really big. I was a chef at a restaurant in Boston. I was a mile away from Fenway. It was a great farm to table restaurant. I was really enjoying it. I did a show called Chef wanted with Anne Burrell, and I started to do different appearances and events and festivals and people would start to recognize me. But often I'd have people come into the restaurant and say, you know, could you come and cook for me on my yacht for a week or can you come to the ski mountain for a weekend? And I always had to say no, because I'm attached to a restaurant. So I would be like, if it's a Tuesday, I can come and do it for you. So like I said, we got pregnant with my daughter and I was just struggling with how am I going to make this work? You know, and thankfully, I've started to get enough of those inquiries where I was like, I'm just going to take the leap.

08:28I have done some food network stuff. I've got this 25 years of restaurant background. I'm going to start a private chef company. I'm just going to I'm just going to take those calls. You're going to do it now. Yeah, I can always go back to a restaurant should I ever need to. So I have the fallback for that. So kind of a safety net. But I have to tell you, as a private chef, that first year, you're really worried about bringing in the money. I'm responsible for that now. So you're saying yes to everything. If it's a if it's a two top two hours away, you're going to do it. Yeah. If it's a tent, if it's this, it's that you're just yes, yes, yes, yes. So thankfully, after that first year of just hustling and grinding, you start to get some repeat customers, you start to get some corporate events that are on the schedule every year. And it starts to get bigger and bigger. And, you know, in the private chef world, word of mouth is huge. So if I'm doing a dinner party for 20 people, sure as heck, there's three or four people that are planning events that you're going to go and do their events from and then so on and so forth. So to anybody who's, you know, kind of starting out in this world.

09:30And I had a great conversation with Chef Alex, you know, who you know as well, because he's kind of doing his own thing now. He's at Caesar's sometime, but he's still and he was like, how do you make it all work and how do we make this happen? It's just you got to believe in yourself and you just got to go out there and grind just like anything and good things will happen. So I have some I have some clients that I had, you know, from seven or eight years ago, or I'm still doing the company Christmas party or their dinner party every New Year's Eve or whatever it may be. But those things start to build and you get things on your calendar year in and year out and you get OK, you can breathe a little. I mean, I still work just as hard, but I can move the pieces around. I can plan a little better. I can schedule. So, you know, and then for the last six or seven years, just I've done more TV stuff. I did a great food truck race with Tyler Florence. We did a whole season of that, made the whole all the way to the finals. That was an amazing experience. Six weeks in a food truck along the West Coast, three thousand miles driving through the desert from Vegas to Phoenix to Coachella and Stagecoach, you know, to Yuma, Arizona to L.A.

10:37Just an amazing, amazing experience. But that, you know, I wouldn't have been able to done that if I was stuck in a restaurant. You can't leave a restaurant for six weeks. So there's there's I think there's this perception that, oh, well, you just get to go have all the fun. And it's like, this is not easy. And you've got to put yourself out there. I mean, you said it. I started doing a lot of events. I started as Toast Nashville. I mean, what a great way. You know, my executive chef from Mayor Bowl is going to be coming to the event, Toast Nashville. And I said, I said, hey, I'm out of town that weekend. We're doing a retreat that weekend, a leadership retreat. And I said, I can't be there. I said, but I would like if you would like to go and these are the chefs that you're going to be around. He went, I'd be honored, man. Like, hell, yeah. I want to get out there and do this. And it wasn't just a, oh, man, I got to do this thing. He was like, man, I want to be there. I want to be there. I want to be out talking to the guests. And like, I think that's the mentality you got to have. And so many people are like, man, I don't you either do or you don't.

11:39And it seems like you've got to want it. Yeah, I mean, honestly, a lot of if you're a hustler and you're in your hard worker and yes, kind of we're, quote unquote, celebrity chefs. Now we get to be on TV and do a lot of fun stuff and work for celebrities and athletes and all that. But at the same time, a small event like this where there's a grand tasting for 300 ish people, you're going to book some clients, you're going to get people to come from your restaurant. You know, who knows? Rocco de Spirito walks up to your table and you have the best bite of food and you make a connection. And next thing you know, you guys are working together or there's a sponsor that you want to bring into your restaurant. There's so much that can come from things like this because it's all kind of your people, right? A hundred percent. It's wine, it's beer, it's restaurants, it's other chefs. And, you know, I have a group of chefs that we are constantly texting each other about events is like, I can't do this. Can you do that? And going back and forth and we're throwing each other work. And so a lot of good stuff can come from these events, whether it's sponsorships or just relationships or, hey, we're going to do this again next year.

12:40Do you want to be on board? So there's a lot of positive stuff that can happen for these events. You know, I want to throw something else out there because I don't think this is thank you for sharing all of them. And this isn't typically what we talked about, but I've got you here. And I think this is really fascinating. And a lot of people are curious about this. But I was mentioning the other day to somebody, I said, you know, it's so important, no matter where you are, that you recognize you're making impressions because you might in your brain think that you're always being interviewed, no matter what you're doing in life. Somebody's creating a memory about you. But at one of these events, you can think, hey, I'm not in the restaurant. I'm going to bring a bottle of bourbon. I'm going to have some nips on it while I'm there and I'm going to have a good time. Or you could say, hey, I'm going to be in front of a lot of amazing people and I'm going to show up and be a freaking pro. And I'm going to make this thing happen. I'm going to make some impressions tonight. I think that's what the mindset going into these type of events. If you're a chef leaving, isn't it all about mindset? And you're always interviewing. Rocco walks up to your table. If you're drunk and sitting back there, that's not it. But if you're, hey, chef, it's great to see you and you have that energy.

13:43He may go, wow, this guy's got something. This guy's the person. And he starts recruiting at that point. But you've got to be in that mindset and be ready to go and be in a pro. A hundred percent. And you've got to look at it as a business. I would say advice is definitely bring that bottle of bourbon, but wait till the end of the night, right? And share some. You have a couple pops at the end of the night. Totally acceptable. It is the industry that we live in. But you really view it as a business. You get there, you know, when, OK, we killed this. We've been here for three hours is a half hour left. OK, I can have a glass of wine and wine and start shaking that. You know, I don't deter that at all. I mean, that's one of the perks. But that is for you're absolutely right about. You have to view it as a business. I'm going to have fun. Absolutely. But from that fun, like what opportunities can we get from this? You know, whether it's just pictures for your Instagram or your restaurant or things that, you know, will elevate what you're doing in your world, like there's a lot of things that if you view it as a business.

14:44And this is why, you know, honestly, I get to do a lot of these big events because there are some chefs who are just interested in coming and doing a one off event and never they never follow up. They never care about doing it again. I'm a big picture guy. If I see something that I think is good, like this toast Nashville, you know, for analog, like I said, I did a show called Speakeasy and what's another show with Gavin DeGraw and Peter Frampton and Drew Holko. And I said, this is a beautiful room. I'd love to do this type of event here. And now here we are, like four years later, and it's happening. And we have Robert Irvine, we have Rocco, Manit and Alex and myself and all these restaurants and brands that are fighting to get in because I have that big picture. Like, had I just gone in and cooked for Gavin and we did front and center on PBS and never went back there, it would have been a cool one off thing. But what's the point? Like, what else can we do? What are we going to get from this? How can we do more business together? How can you do something bigger? Work with Gavin somewhere else, come back to analog and do more events.

15:46So that kind of stuff is always swirling around. Like, what else can we do? This was really fun and successful. What else can we do from it? And who can we connect? And there's some young chefs that are coming in that I'm really excited about who are super excited to be part of it. Like, Chef Gerard, he's amazing. He was there last year. He killed it with a bunch of cool dishes. He's back again. Chef Gerard? Yes. He's at a restaurant called Butterfly Brunch and Events. And he's here in town. I believe it's in Nashville. Yes. And he came and did like four dishes at his table last year and just blew it out of the water. Had food when everybody else was gone. So, of course, somebody like that, he gets that invite back because he came and he killed it. He looked at it as an opportunity to come and show off his craft. And sure as heck, he'll get invited to do it every year if he continues to do what he's doing. Is it Gerard Wilcher? Yes. Yes. Yes. I love that dude, man. Yeah. His last name escaped me. But amazing guy, amazing chef.

16:47He brings it. You know, he's there to, hey, you got some big name chefs here, but what about me? Here's what I can do. And, you know, doing four different dishes at a table. Come on. Who does that? Nobody does that anymore. So, good on him that he's willing to do that hard work. And so you have... He's a hustler, man. He will get out there and do any. And I just saw him at Tennessee Flavors the other day. I used to work with him and he used to be the executive chef at the Aquarium Restaurant here in Nashville, right? This is a Landry's location and I sold them produce. I was a sales manager at Fresh Point and we hit it off. I like the guy. We both hit it off. And we had a new rep and I kind of hazed her and I feel terrible for saying this on the show. But I said, do you do me a favor? Will you call her and just just be like, I'm unhappy with this delivery situation and I'm unhappy. And I put like this complicated situation he put on speakerphone and we we messed through. It was really fun. But he's always just like a fun. And we immediately told her, hey, we're just kidding. We're right here. But she was brand new and it was it was great.

17:48He is that goes back to the fact that early in your career, you're hustling, you're doing everything, you're everything. You're doing that grind to let those opportunities come because, you know, you can get opportunities. But if you're not prepared, it's going to be a one and done situation. I can get an opportunity to go cook on a 300 foot yacht with Kevin Bacon. If I go there, everybody hates the food and I don't show up and do get drunk or whatever. Am I going to get invited back? Is he going to tell his friends? Is Tommy Lee Jones' wife going to call me and say, come cook with us on set? Think that stuff doesn't happen when you don't focus and treat it like a business. And that stuff has happened to you. You were cooking on Kevin Bacon's yacht. Well, I wasn't supposed to bring that up. Edit that out. But Tommy Lee Jones, for sure, have worked with many times. Amazing guy and couple. His wife's amazing. And just that was just an example of things like that. That happened that you have to go there and crush it because there's so so many chefs in the world that can get an opportunity. But what you do with that opportunity, even one of these shows, if you go on there, win, lose or draw, if you kick ass, make friends with the producer, your food is great. You're going to get more opportunities from it.

19:00If you are the fifth one caught, first one caught winner, none of that matters except what you do with it. Right. So, you know, all the shows that I've ever done, whether I've won or been a finalist or been thrown off early, I still have producers in my phone and casting directors and people that are always reaching out to me because they know that, you know, I look at it like a sport. I'm I'm bringing my A game no matter what. If I lose and that stinks, the best chef doesn't always win. But what can you get from that? Like, who can we meet? What other shows are you going to do? They asked me back as a judge, even though I didn't win because it was such a good episode and the food was so good, it was just one of those things. So, you know, just I'm not here to preach, but do your best and grind and good things will happen. Well, producers recognize talent, too. They recognize charisma and they recognize professionalism. And a lot of times you think celebrity chefs, there's some there's some distinct celebrity chefs out there because they are pros. When you put them in front of a camera, they know what to do.

20:01They show up on time. And producers are always looking for more people like that, more talent. Everyone wants to find the new person. And these events are the things that you do to get out there and really showcase some of that. Or what if you get a PR agent and have them submit? I think there's this whole thing. I want to be a celebrity chef. And I think I kind of want to dispel some of the rumors. It's easy and that these guys just walked into this thing. But also, what are things people can do? If that is one of your goals, what can you do? So that's kind of the line of questioning. As I've got you here, I thought it'd be fun to talk about this. Yeah, become a chef first. Work in a restaurant. If you want to go to culinary school, great. But work in that restaurant. Get that background. Look at a chef like Chef Manit. Amazing chef, amazing personality. But she has all these restaurants. So she's in there doing the grind. She has great chef cuisines and sous chefs that run a lot of stuff for her. But she's also very hands on. So to have that background first, meaning, you know, you can throw me in front of a camera and I can make a recipe, a five minute clip on the road show or the Today show, no matter what, give me ingredients, whatever it is.

21:11And so it's because I have that 25 years of restaurant experience, not because I said, hey, I want to get on Hell's Kitchen. So I'm just going to start cooking. Like, if that's what you want to do, then great. But the the people that I've seen be able to sustain are chefs first. And all the TV stuff, especially for me, like all the TV stuff is like a bonus. If I get asked to do a show or to do a competition and do a food festival, things like that, like, that's a huge bonus for me. But I'm a private chef first. So the events that I do, that's my bread and butter. That's my sweet spot. If I get asked to do something amazing. Thank you very much. Huge bonus. But I'm not in it to do that kind of stuff. I'm not actively like casting or doing all this kind of stuff. So go be a chef, even if it's for a couple of years, work online, work different stations. That way, when you're in front of the camera, you know what you're doing. And there's so many. I've seen it so many times, or either you have a really good personality or you're a really good cook, which can't do both.

22:12So to be comfortable in front of a camera is takes a little while to get used to. It does. Of course, you know, my first morning show in 2010, I was probably nervous, didn't talk much, just cooked in my thing. But now it's I don't even think about the cameras. I'm having a comment just like you were having conversations. With the host of the show. And we're just cooking and eating and drinking and doing our thing. Having fun. Kathy Lee and Hoda in front of five million people don't even look at the cameras. I'm just here with these guys. And this is what's happening. And if you focus on that, those are the best segments and clips. So, you know, if you have that base, whether it doesn't matter if you're a chef, if you're anything in life, get that hone your craft. So when it comes time and you get that shot, then you can really produce. There it is for when you get that shot. I think that's the thing. I don't think people realize when they're getting that shot and that shot happens in the most random moments. But you have to be executing at a high level when that moment happens.

23:14I think that's the thing I'm talking about, like in learning that, being ready. Anyway, I look at look at Chef Alex, 100% amazing chef, amazing guy. Had he not been in restaurants and done all the things he'd done prior to winning his show, who knows if he would have made it that far? Probably not. There's no way in hell because he understands the calamity, the organized chaos that happens in a kitchen at eight o'clock on a Friday night. And that's what happens at Hell's Kitchen. When you get slammed, you got to be able to handle that. You got to be able to handle the highs and lows of a kitchen. You don't if you don't learn that, if you don't know actively standing back there behind the burners, behind the grill, what that feels like, what that pressure feels like, you're never going to succeed in a show like that. Right. And now because he went through all that and he had that base and then he won the show. Now he's killing it and he's getting to be able to do more if he wants and hang out with his kids a little bit more and do that kind of stuff. So, yeah, I mean, that's just a great example. He is killing it. I love I love seeing him kill it because he absolutely deserves it. He's an amazing guy. Yes, good guy.

24:16OK, you didn't know that interview is going to take this turn, did you? Hey, I'm ready for anything. So this tell me, let's jump into some some other things. What is your specialty? What are you known for? What are you known for cooking? What's the best thing? It's the most generic question you can ask somebody. But what's the best thing you cook? What do you love cooking the most? And then what do you cook for yourself? So I when I was in restaurants, I guess I would have been known for in New England, local seasonal cuisine, a lot of seafood and tons of lobsters and, you know, all that New England stuff that, you know. But because I'm a private chef now and it may be Nashville one day and Atlantis with Robert Irvine last week and the week before that was in Las Vegas doing an event. So because it's a different menu every night, because it's a different group of people, because I'm dealing with different produce and purveyors, it really has to be some a little bit of everything.

25:17And that's a generic answer. But right now, as a private chef, I have to be able to do everything. What am I known for? I have a couple of dishes that are like the hits, as I call them. I have a ginger seared scallop, which I made on today's show, which everybody loves. I'm so sick of making it, but I know it's going to be a home run. You got to play the hits, man. Yeah, I got a braised short rib with soy chili glaze that I do often that people really love. So there's a handful of those. You know, everybody has their kind of secret dishes, sweet spots that they use a lot. But the reason I love being a private chef and event producer now is it can be different every night. I can fly to Florida and say, OK, what's in season? What are we using? And it could be baby bok choy, X, Y and Z. This is what we're using today. And then go to Austin and use something completely different. You know, maybe the same dish, same protein, but I'm doing a different veg, different starch, different sauce. So it's kind of all over the map. But, you know, the short ribs, the scallops, those are kind of the greatest hits, you know, when you travel, are you like, have you seen the movie Up in the Air or In the Air, Up in the Air?

26:17Do you like, are you obsessed with travel points and where you stay and Southwest points or wherever? Because you just rattled off some places you've traveled. Do you have somebody who does that for you? Is that like a major part to you? Because I do when I travel, I'm like, I have to be under this and this and this. So my wife is always on me. You need to get this credit card. You need to stay with this airline, get all these points. But I am always I don't care what airline. I fly. It's all about the time that I can get on site. The fastest you can get there. If it's Delta and I can get there at eight o'clock in the morning, that's what I'm taking. If it's JetBlue and it gets me there and gets me back for it. So, you know, as far as travel, I just did a stretch Portland, Oregon to Miami, to Vegas, to Austin, to L.A., down to Charleston Food and Wine, and then to Atlantis for Paradise Island Food and Wine with Wyclef and Robert Irvine and JJ and all those awesome chefs. And then back here. So that was like three weeks.

27:18I did all that. But it happens in clusters, you know, like this time of year. And then the fall gets like that where I'm kind of everywhere for a couple of weeks. But then I'll be home for two weeks. Like I took this, you know, I'm through Easter. I'm off and my birthday was last week. So I took two weeks off to just be with the kids and do my thing. But no, to your to your question, I don't I use Expedia just because it's easiest to see everything. But I'm just like, what is the closest? Do I need a kitchen? So it's an Airbnb or is it just a hotel by the airport? Or do I have a couple of days on each end? It's really situational to what I need for that actual event. Because everything is timing. You're like Hilton Diamond for life with that much traveling. You're like, no, I only stayed Hilton's because I get there. They know me. I get the special upgrade room and all that stuff. I didn't know. I mean, just some people are and some people aren't. I'm doing an event in Huntsville, Alabama, next week with another celebrity chef. I won't name him. You could figure it out. But we were going back and forth about timing.

28:19And he's like, I only fly American, brother. Sorry. This is how much it costs. This doesn't care. He doesn't care about timing. He can only fly American. That's it. That works for a lot of people. So that's OK. So it's a thing with him. It's a thing with a lot of people, it is. But I am more hung up on the time that I'm going to be there. How can I be home with my kids more? So if it means I'm taking a red eye to get home to them or a red eye when they're in bed so I can get there the next morning. That's more what I'm focused on, the timing of the events and how does it all work for that particular situation? What do you have in your hand? You're like waving something around. Is that a pencil or a drumstick? Drumstick. I'm like, what is it? It looks like a drumstick or a really long pencil. Do you play drums? Well, a little bit, but I got my son a drum set for his for Christmas and it's right over the corner. So I just picked up. How is OK. How is that working out? How old is your son? Six. So how old are your kids? You got three to six and seven to six. I have eight and ten year old boys in my wife.

29:19I was like, I'm just going to buy him a guitar. I want them to start learning a thing. And he said, I want to learn drums. And I was like, oh, no, I'm not doing that shit. I don't want a drumming house. How is that working out? Well, actually have them in the garage now. So it's not awful. And he goes in spurts when he'll go out there and play a bunch and then he won't touch it for weeks. But like spring will come again and he'll play a lot more. So then he's very young. So it hasn't been bad. No complaints. I can see your wife. Yeah, honey, I'm on this three week tour. I'll be back in two weeks. Oh, here's a drum set for Kenny. Like, what the hell are you doing? Like giving him a drum set and then you're leaving. He's got lots of energy. So I figure musically, let's get him a way to get an outlet for that. All right. I know you got to go, man. Thank you. I don't know what we covered today. I thought it was fun talking to you. And I appreciate the insight that you gave us into kind of your life. And I had a different agenda.

30:22I wanted to kind of share how you get there and the work that you've had to do to get there and let people know that it ain't easy and you got to be putting it in all the time, wherever you can, and to make it happen. So thank you for all that. Yeah, hard work, consistency. Don't be afraid to get a no, because who cares, right? Move on to the next thing. They say no, they say no, but you got to shoot your shot, whether it's a festival or an event or a client that you're trying to get. Worst thing that can happen is they can say no and you can move on. That's the biggest thing. You know, I hope to teach my kids, like, don't be afraid of failure. Don't be afraid to get a no. Get out there and do your thing. And then you're going to get some yeses mixed in with the no's. And that's going to, you know, create more opportunity for you. You miss a hundred percent of the shots you don't take. Exactly. That's it. All right. We typically do a Gordon food service final thought. I feel like that kind of was a final thought. Sure. Would you like to say anything else? Do you want to finish us off with a final thought? Maybe about Toast Nashville or anything that you want to say, whatever you want to say to our listeners.

31:26Yeah, my final thought on Toast Nashville is that it's going to be an amazing weekend. We have some amazing chefs, vintage wines, craft beers, tons of good bourbon and spirits. And then, you know, it's about the experience. You want to come and experience a chef's dinner where Robert Irvine is coming out, Rocco di Spirito is coming out, I'm coming out, Manit's coming out. We're talking about our dishes and what's in them and answering questions about how to make them. And could you sub shrimp for halibut and things like that? Like, you don't get a lot of time to a lot of chances to ask those questions and have somebody directly answer them to. So it's all about the experience and the pairings and the brunches. And it's just going to be an amazing weekend at Toast Nashville and Analog and the Hutton and Evelyn's and Manit's restaurant. Couldn't be more proud to be back for the second year. And we hope to see you all there. Toast-nashville.com Toast-nashville.com And I want you out there to look for the post talking about this episode.

32:26There's going to be a actual Instagram post on Nashville underscore restaurant, underscore radio on Instagram. And I want you to find that post because we're going to be giving away tickets to this event and they're going to be there's going to be a little thing you can do on Instagram. And then we'll pick a of several winners at random. We have a bunch of tickets. There's a bunch of different events. And we're going to be hooking you up. And there's not. And that's pretty special because there's not a ton of tickets to go around because this is a boutique style event where, you know, we're only putting 300 people into this room with all these chefs and vendors and wines and restaurants. So to be given some away is a pretty big deal. I'm pretty excited about it. I'm pretty excited to be able to share this with our listeners. And Chef Kev D, thank you so much for joining us today. And best of luck with this event. I'm excited you're coming to Nashville and thank you for doing this in our city. Thank you so much for having me. I couldn't be more happy to be there. All right. Wonderful. Big thank you to Chef Kev D for joining us here on the show.

33:28And thank you, Chef Kev D and Robert Irvine and Rocco and Alex Blue for bringing Toast Nashville here to Nashville. And I don't want to leave out Manit Shahan there. If you would like to go to this event, all you have to do is you have to go to Instagram and you can follow Nashville Restaurant Radio and you have to follow Toast Nashville. And then you can post which you got to say which one you want to go to and who you want to bring. So tag a friend and tell us which event you want to go. Do you want to go to the Friday night event, the Saturday night or a brunch event? And we got tickets to all of it. We're going to we're going to hook you up with these things. So follow us on Instagram. Go find that post. Tell us who you want to take. And we'll be announcing winners this weekend. So there you go. That's your way to get your VIP pass into Toast Nashville right here from Nashville Restaurant Radio. Hope you guys are being safe out there. Love you guys. Bye.