Chef Vasisht Ramasubramanian (Chef V)

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01:05That is the Chandler James Retail Team. Give them a call today. Stay Cooled From Buy Qundy You're listening to Nashville Restaurant Radio the podcast that's not about food, it's about food people. Now here's your host, Brandon Styll and Crystal Deluna Bogan, Hey, this is Brandon And it's Crystal. Welcome to Nashville Restaurant Radio. Welcome back, Crystal. I'm back. Man. I'm alive. That's the question I think people were wondering. Yeah, I'm alive. And how are you doing? Yeah, good. Cafe is going really well. Cafe Cheesery opened about a month ago now. We've survived our first exhibition opening. The new exhibition that just opened is incredible.

02:08I missed the media day. You missed the media day, but you can still come. You can still come and try. So well, I don't even want to get into the exhibit because this is not about this. But yeah, it's a Cuban food that we're featuring because of the artists. So that's been so fun. So I spent my 19-year anniversary, which is on September the 16th. We came into the Cafe Cheesery. Amazing. It was so sweet. You guys had a little day date. We did have a day date. And then we went and did the Chicano print revolution. Revolution. Wow. Isn't it? I was like, yeah, it's really impactful. Still open to that exhibit. I highly recommend you go see that. Watching the presidential debate six days before that on September the 10th, hearing them ask the question, you want to just deport everybody who's illegal.

03:11How are you going to do that? And him not answering that question and then going to this thing and you go, oh, this is what would happen again to a millionth degree if you just, hey, we need to deport everybody. And it's like everybody in the world is going, you don't look like you're from around here. Get out of here. And it's like, what is this going to create? And that whole exhibit was so powerful. Yeah, it still is. It's still resonating. The types of people that have come and experienced it and bring their children to it and explain it to them. And just the different, and it being Latin heritage month, it's just such an impactful time to experience this kind of culture, especially for me being Mexican-American. So yeah, this whole ride of opening a cafe and a museum is like I've never experienced before. And I get to meet with the artists and the creators of these pieces of art and talk about food and how culinary arts are affecting their whole, you know, we want it to be a wholesome experience.

04:24The culinary arts, meaning the arts and the experience that the customer is getting. And I think it's something new that the Frist has not really ever had, especially since COVID. So I feel like we're really operating on all cylinders right now, which is really cool. It was so good. Oh, thank you. And it was so, so good. Hey, I don't, we have a guest here in studio. Yeah. Right now. We usually don't. Who may want to jump in. We do this intro and we talk and catch up. Chat, yeah. Right. I think we let Chef V jump in here. How are you doing, Chef? I'm doing great. Thank you so much for having me here on a podcast. This is fantastic. I'm having so much fun already. Just watching us sit over here talk. He's like, this is crazy. And you're talking about topics which are so interesting. Like you're talking about how art and food plays such a big role in the socioeconomic culture of this country. Being an immigrant myself, everything you just said about, hey, we just have a deport, right?

05:26Because we have one small issue. That's not how you need to tackle this. I truly believe America is the country where dreams are made. It's an amalgamation of so many different cultures. You have people from all over the world. That's what makes the idea of America so powerful. Yeah, we have our differences, but I think we can find a common ground. And art and food definitely plays a major role. It brings people together. And that's what my passion is. Art has been my passion always. And I fell in love with food culture for like 20 years now. And I've been pursuing that ever since. And that's taken me all over the world and let me experience the cultures. So when people ask me, what's your burning desire? I'm like, I want to experience culture. I want to experience the world. Yeah. And any opportunity I get to travel, I'm gonna take it. So in 10 days, I'm traveling to New Zealand. Wow. Have you been in New Zealand before? No, it's my first time. I'll be in Auckland for a project.

06:28But yeah, just chance that, okay, hey, do you want to go to New Zealand to open a restaurant? I'm like, yes, let's do it. What? Just make it happen. Wait, say more about that. What kind of restaurant? I never got that call. Oh, I know. I haven't got that call yet either. If you're in Auckland and you need somebody to talk in front of a microphone for you or something, or whatever, I'm in. So, okay, what's the restaurant? Tell us the story. Okay, so for those who don't know me, Brandon, I met you, what, 11 years ago when I first moved to Nashville from New York. I was the opening chef for Chow Hun. I think right after that, that's when I met you and I was opening The Hook with Dale. Yes, oh my gosh. Dale Levitzky. Dale Levitzky. Yeah, uh-huh. That's when I connected with you and then, yeah, I'd just been following you. And then I've been friends with your wife. That's right. You know, an amazing chef, yes. She is a pastry chef. That's how we met. We can talk about that a lot, but yeah, last gig I was the corporate executive chef for this Indian restaurant franchise called Honest.

07:31It's a family-owned business. My college roommate, his family started that in India. They started in 1975 and now, just in India, they have close to 100 restaurants. Oh, wow. And in 2016, they opened their first restaurant in Chicago. And since then, they kept getting busier. So when they were four restaurants in, that's when they got me in to be their corporate chef, you know, clean up everything, do the recipes, do all the SOPs, put everything in place. And- The fun stuff? All the fun stuff. I love an SOP, okay? They're the best. They're what shape our day in our lives. Yeah, it's having a very scientific approach to- Standard operating procedures for anyone that doesn't know. Okay, all right. That's, yeah, of course. You never know what level of- Oh, I just thought you were talking about SOPs. Yeah, SOPs, yeah. Oh, we just misspelled SOPs. But yeah, so I was part of them.

08:32And during COVID, when the world was shut down, we still got opportunities to open restaurants. We had to pivot a little bit, but just in that two years of shutdown, I opened close to 20 restaurants. Oh my gosh. And which is essentially one restaurant a month. And that is a lot of travel. So I was traveling to Australia, I was in Canada, all over the states. The biggest project we opened was in Seattle. It was a 5,000 square foot mega restaurant. And it's just doing phenomenal right now. So can I get into that a little bit? Yeah. If you're opening a restaurant every month, you can't invest any of your time in that restaurant for that time. You have a specific job to come in. And what is your job for that place? And then, because I get emotionally attached. Right. You know what I'm saying? I get in there and you want to teach all of those SOPs and you want to get everybody rowing in the same direction.

09:35But through that, you form so many relationships with all these people. And then you're like, all right, I'm out. I'll see you later. And then do you? No, I keep in touch with them too. And I still get calls from them. I still am in touch with them, though I'm not part of the organization. But I still am there willing to help. My job was planning. You know, going to culinary school, the first thing that teachers, mise en place, have everything in place and everything has a place. So everything is detailed. Okay, when we do the planning of the kitchen, like where rich equipment goes, what's the equipment we need, exact specific BTUs that you need for that equipment. What are the different plates? So everything was jot down, put down, and then checklist after checklist and keep following up. And once the project is ready to open, I used to do two or three visits before the restaurant is open. It would be just for a day or two, just go see what's missing, get things up and running. And then when the restaurant is open, that's when the magic happens when you start cooking.

10:37Recipes, in Indian food, it's nothing about following recipe. Like you use your intuition to cook. And most Indian chefs, immigrant chefs, that's how they learn. And that's how the magic is that you need to feel the food. But I came from a very scientific background working with Jean Georges. It's like everything has to be measured by grams or milliliters and use scales for everything. So that's what I did, transferred all those ideas into recipes and paper so that anyone can use that. And there's consistency. And there's consistency. Consistency is the biggest key for any success of a restaurant. So if you have- Especially if you're opening hundreds of them. Yeah. Exactly. And it's a brand. They need to know that if I go to the one in Canada versus the one in Australia, that it's gonna taste the same. It is. And the food is vegetarian street food. So they were specialized in this one dish called pav bhaji or bhaji pav. It's like how po' boy is such an American cultural dish.

11:42It was created during difficult times. You have bread and whatever protein is available. It's easily available for the masses, not super expensive. And it's a phenomenon now. If you go to New Orleans, po' boy is a must have. So bhaji pav is something that was created in the 17th centuries when the American Civil War was happening. So there was a huge shortage of cotton because America was providing cotton all over the world. But that industry then shifted to India. And a lot of cotton was produced in India. And because there's so much production happening of cotton, then they needed mills to process the cotton. So we had the cotton mills in big cities like Mumbai. And because there's so many job opportunities in Mumbai, it attracted people from all over the country, all over the world to come and work there.

12:43And any mills, any factories, they have overnight shifts. They have the graveyard shift. And people needed to be fed there. And they didn't have a lot of money. So what do people eat? It's whatever is vegetables available, mix everything together, add some spices and serve it with bread. And every small restaurant owner had their own blend of spices. So that became like an emotional food for a lot of mill workers. And then everyone had their secret recipes, but a few of them did really well. And the family that I work for, they nail their spice recipe. I think they probably have the world's best pav bhaji. Oh, wow. And when it comes to volume, yeah, I say they have close to a hundred restaurants and that all focus on this one item there is pav bhaji. Wow. So I know, I know. And that's, I mean, we have nothing like that really in Nashville, right?

13:46Like, I mean- Hot chicken, right? So that's something that was- Well, I mean, the specific dish. Yeah, there is a restaurant opening, I think it's opening October 12th in Antioch, the same restaurant. Yep. I don't know much about that in detail, but- But they are serving that dish? They are. Any Indian restaurant, if you go, they will have that version of it. But honest, it specializes in that. Plus they have other vegetarian snacks and things like that. But Indian food is not just garlic naan and chicken tikka masala, right? Well, it's not it at all, apparently. That's not even a real Indian dish. I mean, it is, but it's created for British travelers, right? Exactly. So they missed India so much. So when they went back to their, the homeland, they're like, we miss our food. So what can we do here? Yeah, what do we have to work with here? They just made something- They just made their own stuff. And then yet it's, they call it Indian food, but it's not really, but that's how people associate because of the spices that's used.

14:49So Indian food from when Vivek was in here, he was telling me that there is no Indian restaurants per se in India, but that's mostly for travelers. I mean, people in India, they cook their own food in their own home. That's these traditional family meals that is a completely different thing than you mass produce for a bunch of travelers and tourists. Yes and no. I grew up in India. So I have a different image of India than what Vivek might have. He grew up in the States, right? His- But he lived in India for a while. He has, he's traveled. But I, for me, it's like I was born in India. I was, so half my decision-making life I've lived in India and the other half in America. So- So set the record straight. So Indian food, it's just like here, you have nostalgia, right? You associate with a food that you associate like grilled cheese, for example, and tomato soup is like something comforting, right?

15:54Yeah, comfort food, yeah. So like that, in India, there's idli. It's just you take one dish, which is steamed rice cake, right? There are so many restaurants that just revolve or it's centered around just one dish, it's idli with different chutneys or different spices and a stew, right? And that is what I grew up with. Okay. All right, and then you have pao bhaji, which is there on the streets, right? It's people are cooking in front of you. Yeah. And then you have something called dabili, you have the sandwich culture there too. And then samosas. And you have, India is religiously, you have the Hindus who don't eat meat. And then you have Muslims who eat meat. And then you have Christians who eat everything, right? And they all live harmoniously there. So I grew up in a society where my best friend was a Muslim.

16:57My other best friend was a Bengali. The other best friend, he was a Gujarati. I had Sikh friends, I had a Buddhist friend. My neighbor was a Buddhist. So, and every holiday, they all had their own food. Like during Ramzan, we had biryanis and lamb and goat meat. And in Bengali, when they have their holy, they made their version of snacks. And then Gujaratis, they are predominantly only vegetarians. So I grew up eating at their houses. I grew up eating and experiencing so much of just Indian without traveling. Yeah, culture from the families. Just my neighborhoods, right? And then once I grew up and I left home, that's when I realized India is huge. Huge, yeah. And every 50 kilometers you travel in any direction, the language changes, the culture changes, the food changes, the climate changes, right?

18:00And then it's, you cannot say that, okay, Indian food is just curries. It's just bread, it's just naan. Because naan was not a thing when I grew up. It was pakri, which is millet-based flatbreads, which is cooked on top of flat top. Tandoor was not in our everyday use. Yeah, because that's a very specific type of oven that you use and not everybody has that type of oven to make that kind of bread every day, yeah. Yeah, and that's what in Western restaurants you find is okay, it's just tandoor or curries. And that's not really Indian food, but that's what is popular in Indian American food. Well, they also know it's a business, so they know they need to sell the food to a certain type of people. And I mean, same with every culture, right? I mean, every Mexican restaurant, every Chinese food restaurant, every Thai restaurant. I feel like they all are like, well, this is what they want, so we're gonna give them what they want. Yeah, and it's business. But sometimes you have to do that, though. Culturally, I think it, but it's evolved.

19:00It's changed the culture of food and how we define, when someone says, I'm hungry for Indian food, and then they're really specifically thinking of a few dishes, you know? Right, right. And I, for me, I wanted to experience food, not just Indian food. So I love, when I came to the States, I went to the Culinary Institute of America, where I call it the Hogwarts of cooking school. Yes, it is. And they taught us everything. I was just exposed to ingredients, like on the bounty full of ingredients, and just like here, play with it. And that's when I truly fell in love with it. Oh, wow, I need to learn, I need to understand how do I use these ingredients. How old were you when you went to culinary school? I was 21. Okay, yeah, I was 18. So I also was like, I only knew certain, the food that my family gave me, you know? And that was like at the height of like, when chain restaurants were like at their peak, you know?

20:00Like when it was like so impressive that like you can go to an Applebee's and like every, in different cities and it all tasted the same. It was like amazing, you know, to immigrant culture, which is like, wow, you can get the same thing everywhere. Like, you know, that was like amazing to my dad, you know, who we grew up just eating from home. We ate out maybe once a week, if that, you know? So to not know that they were, you could eat meat raw. Like, I mean, like Mexicans, we cook our meat, you know? And so I never really grew up eating, you know, medium rare steaks. Like we just didn't. And so when I was in culinary school and I remember presenting my dad with this like, you know, I went and bought, you know, learned my little, you know, Palms puree recipe. And you know, you learn your very French techniques. And I cooked him like a mid rare steak. And he was like, cook this more. And I was like offended, you know, as a chef, you know? And it was just like, you know, we go through that whole culture shock of like, we actually learning French techniques now, you know?

21:03And food is very personal. So I wouldn't take it like your dad said. Oh, but when you're 18 and you're in culinary school, you think you know everything. So, you know, you're like, I'm a chef now. So obviously we've evolved to, you know, I didn't have my customer service background yet. So, but I mean, 21, that's so young to be impressionable. I'm like, you know, you're just open your eyes to this new world of food. I think it's almost a perfect time. You know, I've talked to a lot of people when I went to culinary school and I've heard a lot of different variations of it. I've heard it was a waste of time. I've heard, I learned more working in an actual kitchen, but. All of it's true. I love what you just said though. I got there and I think isn't everything that you do about mindset. Because you can walk into it and go, I gotta do this. Or you can walk in and see, the two words are awe and wonder. You know, you see all these ingredients and you were inspired and challenged by that. And you went, oh my gosh, this whole world has opened up to me that I didn't even know.

22:06I want to learn all these ingredients. Or I want to learn which ones work together in life. Yeah. And any opportunity I got to work or do volunteer stuff or any big name chefs who came, like, I'm jumping in. I'm just gonna learn. And after I graduated from culinary school, I was on a student visa. So for me, the first thing was, okay, I need to learn. But at the same time, I need to have the proper documents to stay here. So I worked, I took a job with the Hilton Hotels in Florida, in Marco Island. And it was not what I was expecting. In hotels, it was okay. What were you expecting? Food, it was, you open a bag, you heat it up. It's like cater, like the banquet caterings, right? Yeah. And I didn't feel super comfortable there. So I told my chef, I'm sorry, but I need to leave. So I quit my job within two weeks and I moved to New York City. I didn't have a place to stay. I didn't have a job. I didn't even tell my parents that I'm moving to New York. Oh my God. I had $400 in my bank account.

23:08I told my friend, hey, but I need help. Can I just sleep on your couch? And he said, yeah, sure. And I interviewed at Tabla at that time and at ABC Kitchen, only two places where they said, they responded saying, okay, come for a stage. Tabla said no. And then later on, few months down, they found out that they're closing. So good thing. Yeah, it wasn't you. It wasn't me. It wasn't personal. Yes. That's when ABC Kitchen was just opening. And then the chef is like, all right, I like you. Come back tomorrow, eight o'clock and you're gonna start. I'm like, which position? Like, I don't know, just come. Wow. And the first day I came, I thought I was gonna be a prep cook. I have no experience cooking in a busy New York restaurant. They put me straight on the line. Oh my God. That made me nervous. Oh yeah, it hurt for you right now. I was. It was so, there would be times, but I took it as a path. I like, I enjoyed doing that. I used to wake up at 5.30 every morning, be at the restaurant by 6.30.

24:12The shift starts at seven, but I'd be there half an hour early, do all the mise en place. It would be, it would be tough because you have to take care of your prep friends too because they, your whole day depends on them. So I had to cook them breakfast, make sure the potatoes are punched properly. You have like enough for the whole day. Blanch the potatoes, cook the potatoes, deep fry them, have them, and then have the station ready. It was, I'm talking about it now, like, wow, that was so intense. And it all happened because of time management, right? And that's something we learned in culinary school. And that's something I learned from my mentors being chefs. Like, chef, though I worked a fortune on George, that's his brand, chef Dan Kluger, chef Ross Mendoza, they are the ones who actually trained, they mentored me, like how to actually do time management. And not just cook good food, but how do you cook it efficiently and effectively and consistently, like day in, day out. And that led me to be the AM lead cook and then did the PM lead cook.

25:15And then within a year, I got promoted to be the sous chef. Amazing. And then they were opening the second location called ABC Casino, which was Latin American inspired. So I was the opening sous chef for that. And right after that opening happened, Chef Jean George, he does catering for the Formula One race in Singapore. It's a night race, like it's a 10 day affair. And when he does that, it's almost like a retreat for all his corporate and executive chefs. All the chefs from Vegas, Paris, Tokyo, New York, they all go there just to have fun and cook too. And I was the only new sous chef who was invited to do that. And I was like, this is an amazing experience. I didn't say, I didn't even bat an eye, like yes, I'm doing it. Oh my God, yeah. Like of course. You have moved to Singapore, not moved, traveled to Singapore, worked with the world's best chefs and see Formula One race in real life.

26:22That was a phenomenal experience. And then once I came back from that experience, I got more contacts and I wanted to do something more than just Chef Jean George, great experience. Just more than Chef Jean, I want to be more than Chef Jean George. I'm not going to be stuck in this Chef Jean George world. I want to go to a great chef. I want to work, I want to. So what I- Run it back, Vy, run it back. No, I didn't meant to say just Chef Jean George. I understand, just giving you chefs. He wanted more opportunity in a different space. And that's what the chef there said too, is hey. There's only so much room to grow in a certain organization. Can I pause you for a second? Because you said something a second ago that really resonated with me and I wanted to go back to that. You said you moved to New York, you had $400 in your pocket. You asked a friend to sleep on a couch and you got this job at ABC Kitchen. You didn't know what you were going to do. You walked in the door and they were putting you on the line.

27:23I think there was a crazy amount of gratitude and fear and excitement and just your attitude towards that. I think there was some really important stuff that I want to point out that you did. So you came in, you're humble, and you said, I'm grateful for this opportunity and you made the most out of it. You didn't come in and go, of course I need to be a lion. I went to CIA and you need to listen to me. I need to be this person. And then you recognize that the prep cooks were the ones that are prepping everything you need and your preparation is so important because during execution, you have to be ready. But then the idea of, I want to make them their breakfast and I want to make them food where they appreciate. That's it, man. That is the thing. I see so many people come in with these. Baseline of hospitality. Expectations, do you know who I am? Do you know where? It's like, I don't, I don't know who you are. Come in and show me. Show me what you got. And if somebody came into my restaurant and acted that way and had that mentality, and I love it when they do, but it's rare.

28:26I think more people need to walk in with that understanding of the ecosystem of a kitchen that I got to take care of the people around me. And I'm, look, I'm a small part in this thing, but in order for me to be successful, I have to make sure everybody around me is successful as well. And there's an attitude there. And I just, I heard you say that and you kind of just went past it. And I wanted to say like, I think that's the immigrant mentality. I was just gonna say that. That's the immigrant mentality because that is something where you're like, I have to earn this. It's not something that I've been given. So, and I think innately you, I mean, obviously you have it. You came to this country. Like I felt that in me too. Like I was always kind of like, you know, don't make too much noise, but make sure that I'm doing a good job. You know, like I don't, this isn't about me. This is about working hard. And as long as I get here early and be the last one to leave, like I just want to do a good job, you know? And that is so rare now to see that in line cooks.

29:29You know? I'm a big fan of idioms. There's one saying squeaky wheel gets the oil, but I'm like as an immigrant, like squeaky mouse gets eaten. So. And on that note, we'll take a quick break to hear a word from our sponsors. Sharpies Bakery is a locally owned and family operated wholesale bakery providing bread to Nashville's best eateries. They've been operating in Nashville since 1986, providing high quality fresh bread daily for restaurants, catering companies, hospitals, and universities. Their bread is free from preservatives and artificial additives. Learn more at sharpies.com. That's C-H-A-R-P-I-E-R-S.com. Or you can give Erin Mosso a call directly. Her number is 615-319-6453. That's Sharpies Bakery. Y'all today we are talking as always about SuperSource. And you know, one cool thing about SuperSource is did you know that they develop most of their cleaning products and chemicals in their in-house facility?

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32:46If you call today to ask for a quote, we will be sure to give $50 in your name to the Giving Kitchen. Just give me a call. Area code 863-409-9372. We specialize in insuring the hospitality space. We want to be sure to give back. We look forward to hearing from you. So you have to toot your own horn, but there's a time and place for that. Well, you have to earn that, though. Exactly. You can't just come in that way. You have to show them that you can do it. And you get invited to go to Singapore. Yeah. That's what happens. Yeah, to everyone. I asked my chef, hey, can you connect me with your chef friends in the restaurant business? It's all about connection. Can I just go and do a starch? And I just go do a starch for a few hours. And then they're like, chef would like, here, sit down, have dinner on us. So get free meals that way, but also experience. I mean, that is like gold experience. Exactly. For me, that's what was my passion. I didn't care about money at all at that point. It was, okay, I needed to save money so I can pay the lawyer so I can get my visa done and just keep working, right?

33:49And then money comes much later. I did not go around behind money at all. I still think I don't, but now that I have a kid and I have a house and mortgage to pay, I need to figure out what to do. Oh, that's why I'm like, all right. Now you're a provider. You're not just providing for yourself. Now you have a family. Right. Okay, what do I do? Let's start a business. This is a country where it's the land of opportunities. Right? Start my own business. So that's what got me to create this brand. The FlavorSmith. The FlavorSmith. The FlavorSmith, that's a great name. Okay, let's talk about that because this is gonna be your empire. Let's talk about it. Oh, I like that. Thank you. You guys are wondrous. Are you doing wonders for my ego right now? Empire, wow. Just started this brand. We're cheerleaders. We're cheerleaders. I love it. About the restaurant community in Nashville, or in general, restaurants, people who you know, they are always there to support you, to push you, take you to the next level. I really feel that way here, right? Like I've always felt that way here.

34:50In this specific city. I feel like it's really like, what do you need? What do you need? I have it. Come and pick it up. Like kind of a mentality. It was great in New York too. I loved it there. Like you said, if you're running out of ingredients, just call the next door chef. They're like, hey, can I get this? And they're like, yeah, come on. And then you'll figure it out later on. When I first came to Nashville, it was different. I think it was just up and coming at that time. What, 11 years ago? It felt a little different. Really? It did. I think we all have different experiences too. It felt a little different when? 11 years ago. 11 years ago. And then I haven't been in the Nashville food scene for the past six years. So I can't really comment much about things right now. But now that I'm back, I'm meeting new chefs. I lead the restaurant NoCo. Yeah, John and Wilson. Yeah, Chef Junior. And Chef Junior. And amazing stuff. Yeah. And then you have Bon Mise. You have Chef Levon who does the fat belly.

35:54Yeah. These are amazing stuff. And these are all established, distinguished chefs in their own right doing their brand. They are helping me connect with people who they know in their network and they're helping me connect. So it's all about, I just started this as a small hey, side passion project set at a farmer's market, make that extra money. So just take my family on vacation. Then it's evolved. Now people supporting me. Instead of making 200 bottles at a time, I'm able to do 2,000. Now I have the next level is okay, how do I do 10,000 bottles? And people are connecting me with the right people who will be like, okay, this is what you need. This is what you need to get into distribution. This is what you need to do. The Copac or these are the permits you need. I'm like, wow, I didn't realize there's so much support without even asking. Yeah. Because I really feel that people wanna help truly help people here. It's a very, the Southern hospitality of, and we're all in the hospitality industry. Like you succeeding doesn't make me succeed less.

36:55And I think that that only, and if you think that's true, you're probably not in business here anymore. I just really don't feel like you're mentally doing well. Just by blowing someone else's candle doesn't make your candle shine. Well, I think that you said it earlier. You're an artist. There's a creative side to being a chef. And what you're doing is you're taking a passion that comes from inside of you and you're creating something that's vulnerable and you're giving it to other people and you're sharing it in the world. It's hard to compete at that. It's like winning a Grammy. It's like when you're doing that, that's something you're doing from your soul that you're sharing with everybody that is a business. But if somebody else is doing it on the street, you encourage them because that's a really cool thing that they're doing if they're doing it the right way. And so I think a lot of the community is around people who are all kind of artists who are like, no, I love your art. This is really cool what you're creating for people. It's hard to go, don't go enjoy that art, enjoy my art, because that's not in your DNA.

37:59Right. Well, and this industry is hard enough and we're pinching, we're stacking pennies and our margins are razor thin, especially now. I mean, it's not, we need all the help we can get. If there is some way that you can tell me about a system that I'm using to utilize it better, that could save me thousands of dollars. That's huge for a small business, maybe not to a huge hotel. But, and I think that's with all these hotels kind of coming in, because I have a hotel background as well. When I first started working, I worked for Disney and then I worked for Four Seasons. And you just don't, you have your specific job and you do your specific, you don't see the big picture as in when you work for a small business. And I think we see the big picture and we see this kind of like scary doomsday, like nothing's getting better, prices are just getting worse and there's so much downtown and how do we compete? And there's all these kind of huge players now in Nashville and we all feel like we kind of need to stick together a little bit just to kind of like, how can we help each other, you know?

39:07Yeah, and it's what I've learned about doing business is it's not just about what you know, it's who you know too. And you need to surround yourself with people who are there to support you, right? Yeah, I mean, that's all, like some of us have, some of us are having the worst day ever. Like, you know, some, you never know who. And I feel like we've all maybe a text message from someone specific that you're like, I really respect them, wow, what do they think about this situation that I'm in? Or a coffee, you know, a coffee meeting with somebody really could change your perspective and trajectory of your small business. It does, yeah. And any meetings, personal meetings can change your perspective on how you think life is going. And then, oh yeah, I didn't think about it this way. And then your approach to solving that problem changes. Yeah, I mean, we've, and I love being on the, you know, the end of where someone has a problem and I'm like, well, maybe looking at it from this perspective, because I'm not in the problem, helps you.

40:11You know, and I think a lot of this podcast does that. Like, me and Brandon kind of see, we listen to a lot of people and we get to hear a lot of stories and problems and how people have solved them or are trying to solve them. And then we can kind of be like, oh, well, this guy did it this way. Maybe you could try this, you know, like, and I feel like we kind of are this like little conduit to like help people, because we get to sit here with people for like, Let's share that with everybody. An hour, yeah, and like, you know, I don't know. It's all about helping people, right, so. So you've got this great network of people. You're talking about the flavorsmith with people and you get a lot of people helping you build it up and we want to do the same thing. So let's talk about it. How did this begin? I call, during the pandemic. Pandemic baby. Exactly, right, like a lot of great ideas started during the pandemic, good businesses. It was one of those, like, okay, I'm home. I want to do something, be creative. So I started fermenting chili peppers and then. As one does. Everyone does, right? Everyone does that. Yeah, everyone does that. I started smoking meat. Yeah, amongst other things.

41:13No, just kidding. And a podcast. Yeah. And so that people like the flavors. I put it on Instagram. I just sold instantly. I'm like, okay, I might have something here. And wanted to use my experience traveling all my exposure to different flavors and ingredients. I'm like, all right, let's start a condiment business. See how it goes. And start selling at farmer's market. Got good reviews. People came back again, again. Now getting into grocery stores. And then met with the chefs at the Nissan Stadium. So they tried the products. They loved it. And they are using it in their recipes. And. Amazing. So you do, so do you, so what I'm looking at is these are 12 ounce squeeze bottles of condiment sauces. But do you also do for. Do food service as well. Food service as well. Yes. All right. Eight ounce bottles. These are eight ounce bottles, eight ounce bottles.

42:14Yes. It's a 12 ounce by weight. So honey, the matrix. Okay. I'm looking, I'm like they're 12 ounce volume. But by weight. Or eight ounce by volume. 12 by weight. So it's a different products. Especially when it's honey. I had to put it by weight. And it's made with pure natural sweeteners. So. Can I open this? Yes, please. I'm excited about the hot maple. That is the best seller. I want to put that one on one of my charcuterie boards. Please do try it with the chip. It's one of my favorites. It's also the best seller. It's maple from Vermont. Chipotle from Mexico. Do completely geographic. Man, just opening this thing. Smell that. Oh my God. Like just the scent. I was like whoa. It almost smells like a Mexican soup or something. Like it has that like sweet kind of like. Please do. Yeah, I do. It reminds you of barbecue. But there's no traditional barbecue ingredients in it.

43:14There's no. But the chipotle is smoked. Smoking. Yeah, jalapeno kind of flavor. You know that like very like roasted. Okay, so we are going to try the hot maple with North American organic maple syrup. We're eating these on chips. They're called Corners. Yeah. Pop Corners. Sorry, they're crunchy. I'm going to edit the crunchy out. Hey, people like some. That's good podcasting. Eating chips. You know, just on. Yeah, snack market is. Well, now we know that you're actually eating something. Yeah, I like the sweetness and it has a perfect smoky spice to it. Like it's not overpowering. Like so I feel like this would go really well with cheese or some kind of like griddle cake or you know, some kind of. Fried chicken. Obviously fried chicken. I call it like a bacon sauce. You can just dip your bacon in it. Or like in a grilled cheese with bacon. Oh yeah. Chick-fil-A is doing a maple grilled chicken bacon sandwich with maple flavor.

44:15I mean, I like to say they copied my idea. I mean, obviously they did, obviously. But that happened like recently. So this. What is this one, the hot honey? Now we're going hot honey. This is the hot honey. Now I've cheated on this one. I've already had this. Okay. I stole a bottle from you the other night. Right. I gave it to you. You didn't steal it. I gave it to you. It was. Is there tamarind? I was like, I'm taking this. He was like, okay. It does not. It has calabrian pepper. I love calabrian pepper. So it's just like the Mexican candy, right? The tamarind candy. Tamarindos. It tastes like that, but it's just pure Tennessee honey. Oh my God. This does not taste like every hot honey. It does not. I'm telling you right now, this is no Mike's hot honey. It's not. This has a depth of flavor. Like I said, it has that kind of like deep sugar flavor where it's like that tamarind, that kind of like raw sugar. For me, when it's an alchemy of food, it's about that too, like a science involved in that. So it's like heating up the honey to a specific temperature and then adding the peppers at the right temperature, getting the pH up to a certain level.

45:22So having a very scientific approach to the recipe. So it has had some trial and error. Getting the caramel, the complex sugar flavor. It's not just honey. It's not just honey. There's your tag. And it's local honey? Local to Tennessee? It is local Tennessee honey. It is? Yes, so I'm able to, for now I'm able to work with a few apiaries who are able to provide me with the honey whenever I need them. But the honey market is also something I've learned is. It is. It's crazy. It's crazy. It's great. I love that. You're about to like dip your toe into a bunch of industries. You probably never really. I did not. Just the maple business is humongous. There's like documentaries on like people stealing maple, like those big maple. Like it's like cartel level, like stuff. Honey is getting there too. You better be careful. You also, what you have here in front of us are singles, like not singles, but they're small table side. You could put these on a table and people could use them themselves. But you also sell like big, like the big pack.

46:24You have larger. That is more for food service. Food service containers. We have the two, the small, this is retail and then the food service. Right. How big is the honey that you saw? We have a half gallons for now. So he has half gallons of all these sauces, by the way. So you can. For restaurants. That's my, my approach is getting and trying to restaurant owners. See who's distributing for you. I'm working with creation gardens. Okay. What chefs want. What chefs want. Sorry. Yes. What chefs want and also getting in the radar of slightly bigger distributors. So they're pretty damn big. Yeah. I'm also a sponsor on the podcast. Yes. That's the thing with connections, right? One of my bosses, when I was at Barcelona, he is currently the, the, the lead for VIN Las Vegas. Oh my God. Ever heard of it? Wait, hot, is that hot? The honey mustard. That is, that's my personal favorite. Brandon's not listening to you anymore, by the way. He's just trying to eat the sauces. Hey, that's good. We're here for a tasting, right?

47:25We don't really do a lot of tastings on the show. Nobody brings us food. Really? No. Well, it's, it's a podcast. I have so many friends on the show. I don't know. I'm just throwing it out there. Nobody brings us food. I think you should make it a rule, like, hey, if you want to come and podcast, bring your restaurant. I mean, if you want some real time, you know. You bring, you bring food. It's my favorite. I bring food. She brought some blueberry muffins the other day. Yeah, I did. They were the best. It was the best muffin I've ever eaten. Thank you. It's a blueberry marzipan muffin. Oh wow. Oh my God. Marzipan is. Yeah, so I, I, I don't, I'm not doing vanilla in the recipe at all. I'm doing almond, almond extracts, but I, I making the almond extract and then I am doing like a marzipan crumble on top. I love it. You gotta come bring the kids to the cafe. One of my favorite marzipan products is a stolen. It's a Christmas thing. I love that so much. It has stolen vibes on the top. We were at Buttermilk Ranch the other night for an American Culinary Federation meeting. Yes. And it was cooking with cannabis was the topic. Right. So there was an interesting, the gentleman who was doing the topic was great.

48:28And he was, the audience was fun. But afterwards I was talking to chef V and we were trying these different sauces, but Alyssa again, Jerry, who's one of my favorite people, she was over there. She made these little fried chicken sandwiches, like on these biscuits that was like this multi-layered, flaky biscuit with this fried chicken was so juicy and perfect. And I was over there and he goes, oh, you got to put some of this on there. The hot honey mustard. That hot honey mustard on the fried chicken sandwich was just like, I didn't know I needed that in my life at the moment. But when I tried it, I was like, girl, I want all the condiments, like give me all the sauces. Right. This is like my vibe. So everyone has their secret sauce, right? Every chef or everyone had like, hey, what is that one ingredient that you put in your dish and it's like, just takes it to the next level, becomes an instant stardom. Yes. So Tabasco has been tough. I'm like, all right, let me see if I can create those inspiring. That's so interesting. Where do you want to go next?

49:28I want to go salsa verde because I imagine the stardom might overpower the rest of my palate. By the way, you don't start with hot, Brendan. You end with hot, but like, it's okay. We went the opposite. Well, I thought that the sweet of the honey and the maple would be. Yeah. I mean, these are all a little bit spicy. So like, yeah. It just have a, just a whisper of the heat. For me, it's a balance. That's what I learned from chefs. Balance. Balance of flavors. I don't know what I'm doing. Well, you know, a lot of people. I need to work on the packaging. A lot of people say, because I have a pastry chef background, but I'm savory chef. Like I was pushed into savory. I always say, and then ended up being forced into it. Now I'm a line cook. Did you want to try with us? Are you just watching? I've been trying this. Are you kidding? He's probably like, I'm good. I just try to be polite. Well, you know when you're cooking all day, you don't want to eat that food. All you want is like fast food at the end of the night. Or my mom's food. Chip cheers. Chip cheers. I like that. Salsa verde, it's your cilantro line. Oh my God. So I spent time in LA with my, you know, the last gig.

50:33So tacos were my thing. And LA has the best taco taco culture. And the salsa verde, which is like fermented chili, hot sauce that they give in like every taco truck. I need to do something like that. This is like not just salsa verde. That's delicious. This is beyond. This is like a deep, rich. My wife would like that on her eggs in the morning. There's no sugar in it. On a chilaquiles or like some kind of like, I mean in LA, every coffee shop, breakfast place has a chilaquiles on the menu. Right. And a horchata coffee of some kind. It's just like, I'm from Los Angeles, but like going back, I always have my favorite little spots I go to. Right, yeah. And then you try to go to the trendy ones you hear about just as like, what are they doing? You know, can we do some, you know, whatever. But what I notice, everybody has some kind of breakfast nacho, you know, chilaquiles and then horchata coffee.

51:33Like this on any of those dishes would like level up Los Angeles if anybody's listening, wants to level up there. And that is one thing with sales. People look at the brand, okay, the name salsa verde and then like, okay, there's a big, big party. Well, you either know. You're like, I always tell that to my team when we're selling people on flavors. It's like, you want to hit key flavors when you're, because if someone like does not want a certain flavor, you want to give it to them right away upfront so they can be like, I don't, that's not what I want to eat. You know, I'm not in the mood for that. I'm not in the mood for that, you know, but I hear salsa verde, I'm like, okay. I already know acidic, not too spicy. Like, you know, there's like an acidity there that I want. Right. And then I have to put some Indianess in it. So it has some cumin, some turmeric and honey is I think is the- Did you say Indianess? Yeah. I like that. I got to put some Indianess in it. Hashtag Indianess. All right, you ready? Let's do another. Oh, shit. Brandon is filming himself eating. This is, I'm going to film us doing it. He thinks the internet one should see this.

52:34Sriracha, it is, it's a cult following for Sriracha. I thought you were doing a video. Okay. Okay. Sorry. Let's do a video now. I can find that picture on Instagram somewhere. If I have time. If I remember to, I can log into the Instagram now. He gave me the password. Okay. Yeah. Okay. Do you have a social media manager too? Are you doing that yourself? No, this is the manager. You're looking at the manager. We have no team. We have no team. I put we, like, we were so excited. Like it was either her or me. I do this. I mean, we all do this, right? We are like, oh, let me, let me touch back with the team. The team is one other person. And it's like, you know. I mean, that's corporate language. Yeah. You want to feel more. I'll never forget. Sriracha is great. Tom. I can't think of Tom's last name. Tom Morales.

53:36Okay. Who started his Tomcats. My mouth is so full of flavor right now. My brain isn't working. Hey, that's my point. You use flavor to heat. Sriracha is like nothing I've ever tasted. Just want to put that up. He wanted to start this. He wanted to do movie sets. And so when he did, when he pitched his first movie. OG food guy. The OG, like we want to do food trucks. He pitched it as like, we're this big company. So on the side of his one and only truck he had, he put number six. So smart. Like truck number six. So that when they saw it, they're like, oh, the guy has six trucks. This is great. One, two, three, four, five out there. Maybe 79. I was getting number six. So how many, how many does he have? So smart. It was like, it was the only one. And he goes, and it worked. And then I was able to buy more trucks. But that was my first truck was number six. Wow. So smart. I like that. Just a little thing. Just like this. No, you gotta take it till you make it. Fuck. Yeah. No, it's the, the team. Our team. Yeah. Yeah, we have. Well, I loved every single one of those sauces.

54:36They're all, but I mean. My mouth is having a party right now. I know. It's a lot, it's a lot of mouth flavors. So let me tell you what I use the hot honey for. So I, like I said, I stole one from the other night. He was like, yes, that's there. And I'm like, I'm going to take it. And he's like, okay. And I was like, I'm just going to have this. I put it in my coffee. Oh, okay. You know what I put it on. I like a little spice in my coffee and the sweetness is great. It is. Yeah. The coffee is a great thing. What did you put it on? Ice cream. Ooh. Yeah. Tillamook is one of my favorites. Okay. Tillamook is like my favorite. Vanilla? Sponsor me. Tillamook sponsor my life, please. I, they sponsored me to do a couple of things once. And I'm like, can you sponsor everything I do? They make the best ice cream. They do. The best cheese. The best cheese. They have the chocolate hazelnut ice cream. I haven't tried that one yet. Oh man. With the hot honey in there. It's just. With the, oh, okay. With the chocolate. Yeah. It's almost like more of that. Chocolate brownie. I put that on chocolate brownie too. Yeah. My dad, he's, my parents are visiting.

55:36My dad puts that on everything. My mom is like. I put that show on everything. What's that? Yeah. Was that Dijon, right? What's that mustard? Poupon. No, I'm thinking this is Frank's Red Hot Sauce. That's their line. I put that show on everything. That's a great marketing line. Okay, okay. But the Poupon is like Poupon. I've been thinking, what is. Pardon me. What is red jalapeno? I think a Fresno. Is it a Fresno? Is it different? It is not Fresno. So you have jalapenos, which are green, right? And then let it. Yeah. Oh, ripen. Go further, ripen. Okay. It becomes red. They sit on the vine too long. Once you smoke that and you harvest it and then smoke it, that becomes chipotle. Yes. And then you have, you soak that in adobo sauce. It's chipotle in adobo. So it's jalapeno, but you take it to the next level. Before it's smoked. Before it's smoked is red jalapeno. And they are much fruity. Yeah, because the sugars have been developing. Right. And it does not. I've never worked with a red jalapeno. It's Fresno. That's not a Fresno. It's Fresno is different. Yeah, Fresno is different.

56:37They are different. That's a different flavor profile? Very different flavor profile. Okay. It's very, very different. I mean, there's a million different kinds of peppers, but that's not common. And red jalapenos is my favorite. I like red jalapeno. Can you buy those anywhere? You can't. K&S sells it. Really? They have everything. K&S, but they are, I'm not able to procure a hundred, 500 pounds at a time. So it's been a little challenge. I have to get it. I bet. You could just grow them. No, that's a whole other business. Yeah. So I'm able to source out good quality. Good quality. They're surprisingly easy to grow in the season. Jalapenos. It is, but. And they produce so much. In his backyard. Yeah, it's a lot of care. Take the swing set out. Let's put the red jalapenos. But you said you had kids. Yeah, I have a kid, but it's like extra work. And farming itself is like such a big thing. And to focus on that. There's no slight to the farmers where you're just like, just farm it. I have grown, I have grown a lot. Peppers is the one thing I like to grow, because it's so fun.

57:37You're talking about growing like two plants of something in his backyard. I had six. I had six plants. That's half a dozen for one guy. I have 32 plants in my house. My daughter is like, I'll probably have 32 plants. No more plants. Oh, she's like giving you a. Yeah, she's like, why do you keep buying plants? I'm like. Are you a plant mom? You're a plant mom? What do they call like plant babies everywhere? I guess so. It's like I have, just like plants. I like to be in, I like to talk to my plants. Yeah, no. It's like therapy for me. I have trained my daughter to do that at a very young age because I told her like it nurtures and just how they're living, breathing. So she used to have to like go around and talk to them. Yeah, it does make a difference. You know, I feel like it does. There's been scientific experiments about that. It works for me. I don't know about these reports and stuff that science has conducted, but like it's peaceful and I know spend time with my plants. But when it comes to peppers, then it'll be a different. And now he doesn't even need a therapist. Yeah. Plant therapy.

58:38I talk to the fern if I'm sad and I talk to this one if I'm excited. So red jalapeno is not a Fresno. It's a red jalapeno. I'm using Mirin, Japanese vinegars and honey as a sweetener. So you're using honey in a lot of everything. All these have honey, except for maple. Maple has maple. And if you let me do R&D, I'd be the happiest person. I want to work with sorghum next. I want to work with agave, make condiments and flavors with that. I feel like, yeah, that's kind of like your platform. You're using these natural sweeteners and putting your flavors into them. Right, and that's my approach. But I would also work on the business aspect, make sure it's scaling, it's growing, I have the distribution, I have the marketing, I have all that. I have this awesome Jamaican line cook and he, I use demerara sugar for a burnt demerara caramel sauce for one of the coffees we make at the cafe.

59:43And so he was telling me that they put that on everything in Jamaica. That's the sugar that they use for a lot of, so a demerara Jamaican hot sauce will be so good. This one out there. There's not a lot of options for that, but a fruity kind of something would be so good. If I get those ingredients, I would love to play with it. Because it's like your sugar profiles is like, okay, this is my maple, this is my honey, you know? The world is your sweet oyster. It's awesome. I'm sorry I keep looking at my phone over a million things happening at my house right now and I'm like, sorry, they needed answers right now. Nobody else could see this and nobody knows that, but I know, but I feel like I'm being rude right now. Well, I was covering that up. I was trying to distract him with my recipe ideas. I'll edit this out. Said so many times.

01:00:43So what are your goals? What, in a perfect world, people hear you talk about this, they talk about your passion, the amazing quality of this stuff, and the flavors are absolutely incredible. In a perfect world, if somebody hears this, what would you want them to respond? Well, I need to serve this in my restaurant. I wanna help him get this in another city. I wanna, how can we help you in this endeavor? Because I'd love to see you just blow up. Does anyone know anybody at Costco? Costco is like three, I think two years from now. I need to, I believe. You don't have the volume to be able to supply it. Shark Tank, hello, knock knock, Shark Tank. So I don't know if I can say this on here. I was approached. Are you on Shark Tank? I've applied, I'm not sure if I'm gonna get in, but what I've learned in this journey is that being an entrepreneur, it's like who you know, right? You connect, you throw, you ask the universe, hey, this is what I want, and somehow you get connected. So Damon John's team reached out. No big deal.

01:01:44I'm like, okay, if I'm, in my head, like okay, if I'm getting attention like this, then I need to focus. So my approach has been not be in front of media, big moguls, things like that, but have a very strategic partnership. So I'm reaching out to CPG funds. There are a few that I've reached out to, they're showing interest, but everyone is like, oh, you're really young, it's not even a year old. So you be in our radar, we'll bring you in all the conferences to keep doing what you're doing, and then we'll take you to the next level. So I'm getting that support, I'm getting that direction, and I'm working, getting mentorship from some well-known big players in the business. Someone who was the first employee for Impossible Food. Oh, amazing. Is willing to talk to me, and the chief marketing officer for French's Mustard. Ever heard of French's Mustard?

01:02:44Oh, French's Mustard, you have, oh my God. No, she's being facetious. Because it's like everywhere. That's like, isn't that like the biggest, kind of? It is, right? And it's the industry which they have had. Heinz is a conglomerate. It's, yeah, I can't even think about them. That's like Coca-Cola, like they were going way too. They own the Steelers. And so, if you ask me what my 10-year goal from is, from today is BBB, like see it, they brand, right? Or for now. They just got acquired. By PepsiCo. By PepsiCo. He's like, I would like to be acquired by PepsiCo for $2.3 billion. B billion, with a B. That is phenomenal. But they have done that groundwork. It's not like overnight. Yes, absolutely. Oh no, not overnight at all, no. And that's what I believe. I believe in organic growth rather than, okay, just open the floodgates. Yes, it's gonna happen at some point, but I need to be ready for it. Being coming from more of operations part, I want to make sure I have all my bases covered.

01:03:46I need to know where the production is gonna happen. I need to know what the scale that the production. Yeah, do you even have the capability? Right, so that's what I'm doing interviews. Not really interviews, but meeting with the different producers, manufacturers, who have their connections, who will help me get in front of their distributors. So it's happening. It's taking its time. What I would like for this brand to be is, like any brand, be a household name. People try this and like, wow, this is amazing. This is definitely a game changer. This is healthy. This is tasty. This could be the next big thing in the food world. Yeah, and like gifts. I feel like condiments are such a huge gift in the gift market. It is. That's such a huge. Right, so fourth quarter is all about the gifting. So have nice packaging for those too. So Porterfly and few other food shows that we're gonna be participating in, can get those there.

01:04:47And online is another big thing. Currently, I am working with few co-packers and I think it's gonna be three week lead time for me. Okay. So I have, whatever I have currently, I think I'll be able to sell that for the next two weeks or so. Oh, wow. And I think that's, it's all good timing because I'll be in New Zealand for the next few weeks so I can have this ball rolling before I go. And then when I come back, things should be. Yeah. You know, hit the ground running. If I wanna buy this today, where do I go? You can do it online, of course. Or there are a few stores. On your website. On the website. What's the website? www.theflavoursmith.com. Theflavoursmith.com, okay. And grocery stores like Smokin' Oaks on Eighth Avenue. Okay. So they are carrying it. Green Door Gourmet. Love it, Sylvia, yes. And Gammon's Market in Hendersonville.

01:05:47Okay. I have a few retail outlets like that. And online boutique stores. I'm also on this platform called FAIR. How do you spell FAIR? F-A-I-R-E. Okay. It's wholesale for boutique mom and pop grocery stores. And I'm not on Amazon yet. That's huge, right? Amazon is huge, but again. But it's also a whole thing. It's a, yeah. I wanna take some time before I make that decision to get on Amazon. But small, local for now. And then if I go into a restaurant, where can I get your sauces featured? I'm working with a few restaurants. I'm not sure, I can tell that. Huey's Kitchen. Yeah. They tried the sriracha. They wanted to bring that. The Titan Stadium the next time. Excuse me, the Titan Stadium. Nissan Stadium. Yeah, the Nissan Stadium. Where the Titans play. The Titans, yeah. Right. Yeah. And. They didn't say that that's where they win, but that's where they play. That's where they play games. It's gonna happen.

01:06:48That's where they play the games. Oh my God. It's so rowdy downtown when there's home games. So with football, I had, so when I first moved to New York, that year, the Jets, yeah, the Jets, right? Yeah. They won the Super Bowl. And then I did my. Well, that wasn't the Jets. New York? The Giants. The Giants. Yeah, so it wasn't the Jets. I won the Super Bowl along. Joe Namath, I think, was the last one to win. The Giants, yeah. And then I was, I did my internship in New Orleans, and that's where the Giants won. So are you saying you're good luck? I'm good luck. So when I came to Nashville, the Predators. So you're trying to say the Titans are gonna win the Super Bowl. It's 2017. The Predators, they came to the finals, right? So yeah. Wow. I bring good luck to the sports teams. Well, if you're a chef out there, and you've heard this, and we have a lot of chefs and restaurant owners who listen to this show, if you're a decision-making guy and you want to sample this, or you wanna try it, you can reach out to Chef Vee. Do you wanna give out your email address?

01:07:50Sure, let's do the company address. Sure. So it's info, I-N-F-O, at theflavorsmith.com. That's The Flavorsmith, F-L-A-V-O-R-S-M-I-T-H, just like it sounds. If you're a restaurant and you wanna just, hey, look, I use hot honey. This sounds delicious. I wanna order it. What chefs want? You can just go ahead and order their product right now. They have it in stock. Not yet, working with them. What chefs want? They have it in stock soon. Very soon. It is that new. So free. I'm sure they're about to get flooded with phone calls, like, hey, you need to start stocking this now. I mean, that's how they stock stuff when their customers need it, they stock it for us. So the salsa verde, you have sriracha, you have hot honey, hot honey mustard, and hot maple. The hot maple was the one that was really delicious. I'm gonna put that on the board. You can go to theflavorsmith.com. This is the alchemy of food. And this has been so much fun having you here today, Chef V. First podcast. It's the first podcast ever. If you are a podcaster out there and you're listening to this and you wanna book Chef V to come on your podcast and help promote the Flavorsmith, you should do that.

01:08:57Info at theflavorsmith.com, right? Thank you. And let's get you out there with many places we possibly can. I would love to see you just as, cause dude, the product is there. This is delicious. And this is one of the best things I've had. It's all about marketing now. That still have the flavors dancing in my mouth. It is so good. I took you on a flavor journey. You did. It was so good. And I just, you're a great dude. I love having you in and I love just what you've done for the community here in Nashville and working with all these chefs and everything you've done. And it's a pleasure to know you. And we have one final thing that you get to do before you leave. And what is that? The Gordon Food Service final thought. I said it. He usually, he says it. You wanna just, why don't you do it? Describe it. No, I know I just, I knew that one part. This is the Gordon Food Service final thought. Do it, Brandon. Whatever you wanna say, as long as you wanna say it, you get to take us out. So a final word, wisdom. Anything. Summise the interview, a promotional, a shout out, a shout out to somebody else.

01:10:00Whatever you want to say, you get to say it. So I. She likes to record it. Okay. So when people ask me, hey, how are you doing? My favorite thing to say is I get by with a little help from my friends. And it's all about building the community, supporting each other. I don't know, you put me on the spot. Every single time. That's the point. That's what makes this so fun. So community and how important it is to you. I love that. So be better, be a good neighbor to your friends. Be a good neighbor, not to mention, cause it's all honey based. Oh. Yeah. That's right. Bad dad jokes all around. You're on fire. Thank you, Cheve for joining us today. It's been an honor and a pleasure. And Crystal, so good to have you back. I'm back. I'm back with all my bad jokes. I love your jokes. I miss seeing your face.

01:11:00This is great. I know. Okay. I'm back now though. It's open, right? He has opened like hundreds of restaurants. I can do it. I did one. This is not my first one, obviously. It's not, but this is your baby. I've seen you grow from one truck to so many. Well, yeah. And then, yeah, three restaurants to one restaurant. I mean, I've opened up closed them, you know? Hey, that's- They opened and closed. You know? That's how it works. It's business. And you're still doing, I think you're doing great. Yeah. We love your restaurants. No pressure. It's so scary opening a new place. Lots of people depend on my ideas to survive on there. You know, whatever. That's true. That's a true leader there. We're gonna talk about that more next week on Nashville Restaurant Radio. Thank you guys. Thank you so much. Well, thank you for listening today. I do wanna say, Chef V texted me after the fact. And what he wrote on the door when he signed the famous door was, what is truly yours shall never be withheld from you. Chef V, the flavorsmith.

01:12:01And he goes, that's what I meant to say as my final thought. What is truly yours shall never be withheld from you. And I love that. And so I wanted to share that with you as his final thought, another one. And I wanna thank you guys for listening. We will be back soon. Let me know what you thought about those Gordon food service interviews. I had so much fun doing those and we'd love to do some more of those. We are gonna be doing, we're happy to interview you at your restaurant. If you like to be on the show, send me a DM at Brandon underscore NRR is me on Instagram. Or you can message us at Nashville Restaurant Radio on Instagram. So we'd love to hear from you. If you would like to be on the show, we are loving to talk to you. So hope you guys have a wonderful week coming up this week and hope you had a nice fall break and we will see you again real soon. Hope you guys are being safe out there. Love you guys.

01:13:02Bye.