Takeaways:

• The Walk and Talk podcast serves as a vital platform for food lovers and culinary professionals alike, highlighting the intricate narratives behind the culinary arts.
• Chef Freddie Money, the 2025 US Culinary Open champion, reflects on his journey, illustrating the significance of discipline and creativity in a professional kitchen.
• Traveling extensively allows chefs to immerse themselves in diverse culinary techniques and ingredients, fostering a broader understanding of gastronomy around the world.
• The evolution of the culinary industry emphasizes the importance of education and mentorship, ensuring the next generation of chefs is well-prepared for the challenges they will face.
• A Michelin-starred restaurant operates as a cohesive unit, where collaboration among chefs, servers, and beverage experts is paramount to delivering exceptional dining experiences.
• In culinary arts, one must appreciate the balance between creativity and tradition, ensuring that the essence of a dish remains true to its foundational elements.

Mentioned in this episode:

Metro Foodservice Solutions

Kitchen and back-of-house systems for better flow and function.

RAK Porcelain USA -Tableware

We use RAK for all in-studio tableware—clean, durable, and designed for chefs.

Aussie Select - Fully cooked, premium Australian lamb

Fully cooked, premium Australian lamb—ready to serve and packed with clean flavor.

Citrus America

Citrus America – Commercial-grade juicing systems built for speed and yield.

You've just stepped inside the Walk and Talk podcast, number one in the nation for food lovers, chefs and storytellers.

I'm Carl Fiordini, your host, shining a light on the flavor, the hustle, and the heart of the industry.

We're the official podcast for the New York, California and Florida restaurant shows, the Pizza Tomorrow Summit, the US Culinary Open at nafm, and the North American media platform for the Burnt Chef project, recorded at Ibis Images Studios where food photography comes alive and I get the first bite.

Find out more info@thewalkandtalk.com rolling.

Quiet on set.

Team Walk and Talk Media is here at Michelin rated Atlas in Atlanta.

Oh, my goodness.

This is the ring ceremony.

This is badass chef wa.

Welcome and thank you for this invitation to come here and be a part of this amazing experience of just sensory sounds, smells, all of the above.

And this place is absolutely gorgeous.

And it's really, it really puts a fire under me to, to create when you're just walking in the door and feeling the energy here that you, you actually give to everyone.

So thank you so much.

Oh, thank you for being here.

Of course.

Excited to, excited to chat to you today.

And it was an honor watching you win.

It was an honor watching this go down and kind of to be a part of the first, the first inaugural class, being the champion of the first one.

I think you set the president for everyone and it could have been a better chef.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Very privileged brother.

Okay, so you started off when most kids were trying to figure out what they wanted to do, you decided that you want to jump into a kitchen.

Like, instead of partying, instead of having fun as a normal teenager.

Tell us a little bit about that.

So I'm from the UK and at 16, you have a choice to start in the workforce or continue education at college.

So I dabbled at the college piece, but I couldn't find anything that really excited me and something that I saw a career path in.

I was a little bit of a mischievous kid, to say the least.

And I got a job in the kitchen just to get a job to, you know, make amines.

And the kitchen immediately was an exciting place because as a not so disciplined, mischievous teenager, the kitchen, you have a deadline at noon for lunch, you have a deadline at 6 for dinner, and no one's going to tolerate nonsense.

So it was that discipline that I needed.

Now on top of that, you have this ability to be creative.

So I quickly saw all of these things that a, I needed and I desired, like, I needed the discipline and I desired the creativity.

And that was all in one place.

And you got to eat some great food along the way.

So I was, I was hooked.

And the kitchen that I stepped into, Kensington Place, it was the first place that I applied to and the.

They gave me a job right away as a junior level chef.

So I was at the back peeling carrots over the sink, watching everything go down.

And that was exciting.

But I was looking at the team like, I could do that.

I think I could pick that up.

I could do that.

And after three months of being there, I found out that it was a pretty famous restaurant and the chef was a pretty famous guy.

So I, you know, I'd obviously coincidentally, accidentally on purpose maybe landed in a really good place.

And the chef at the time, the chef is called Rowling Lee and he's a, he's a very well known chef in the uk and we were speaking about education and learning the fundamentals.

And he said to me, look, you can go to culinary school and you should do that and you should do the exams, but I'll teach the curriculum throughout the year.

So I did get the education required from culinary school, but I learned that really hands on in the kitchen because I found at that time, like one month in culinary school versus one month in the kitchen, the amount I learned was far, far more.

And the chef Roli, he said to me, stay with me for three years and you can go work anywhere in the world.

So still being mischievous teenager after a year and a half, I was like, chef, I've been with you for three years now.

I'm ready to move on.

And he was like, of course, of course, of course.

But he's sort of, I think, found that rather amusing.

But that kitchen did lead to an opportunity to go work in Spain.

And I worked in Spain at the height of the molecular gastronomy, you know, El Bulli, Ferran, Adria, Paco Roncero, when that was really at its peak.

And there I learned, you know, all the, all the fun tricks and techniques that are almost sort of classic now because this is some nearly 20 years ago, I'm showing my age.

But so that was really interesting because I went from like a classic British kitchen to a hyper modern Spanish kitchen.

And I noticed some differences there.

I noticed that in the UK at that time, it was all the restaurants were from my perception, from my seat at that time almost in silos in the Spanish kitchens.

Everyone was working together and we did a dinner in the laboratory of Paco Roncero.

I was the assistant one day, and it was for the Spanish Bacusdor competitor.

And all the top chefs in Spain were sat around that table in that laboratory, and I was like, wow, everybody's here from all over the country at the top of their game to support this guy who's entered the book of store.

So it was a clear sign immediately that that whole country's working together to rise to raise the level of gastronomy, and which they've done and they did very successfully.

So it's kind of inspiring to see that it was.

No one was working in a silo.

Everyone was working together and proud to work together.

And that was an amazing experience.

Spain after, after all of that, after those few years there where I still didn't master Spanish, but I picked it up pretty well.

Very well.

After a few beers, I moved back to the UK and I spent a long time at the Dorchester Hotel under some great chefs like Henry Brosi, Brian Hewson, Alan Ducasse, Jocelyn Hairland.

And there I really sort of honed my craft because I went from ultra modern back to fine dining, French cuisine, and back to the fundamentals.

So I kind of like did it opposite what you would imagine you should do traditionally, right?

Learn the fundamentals, master the fundamentals, and then you learn all the tricks.

So I kind of did it in a different way, which again, again, was amazing.

I spent six years there and after, after, after sort of those.

There was lots of little things in between stages in Copenhagen, Noma maybe, or Stage per se, whatever it was, I, a fat duck like I, I peppered in lots of extracurricular learning activities.

But those two marks and moments in my career in Spain and then in London with, with.

With the Dorchester Hotel and Ducasse, those are the sort of the anchors of, of my learning and my career also working for the French.

I had the opportunity to go to go to France and work throughout all the Ducasse restaurants in Paris, the bistros, the Michelin stars, and, and see all of that.

So, like, I was just constantly learning and I was like craving that knowledge, I guess.

So I always said, like my teens were, what am I doing here?

Figuring it out.

Okay, let's do it.

20s, extended apprenticeship.

And then in my 30s, I became, I became a chef.

And I think at that point in time I'd had enough knowledge in lots of different areas of gastronomy that to be able to put together what my food looks like, what, what is my repertoire.

And so that's what I've been building in my 30s.

Amazing.

Yeah.

Was your family involved in this?

Were they supportive of it or did they want you to maybe take a actual career path that wasn't as rugged and wasn't so much about relying on chance, you know, being in the right place, the right time, so much as.

Whereas the kitchens can sometimes be, sometimes talent gets overlooked because of nepotism or what have you.

Were they worried about that?

Well, I think, but at that moment in time in the uk, like it was Gordon Ramsay boiling point that was emerging and still being a chef was kind of like, I don't know if people thought that was of very serious job or a job that could really take you places, because very few, very few did at that time.

But I think my family's always been extremely supportive and most likely happy that I'd found something that I enjoy and that's going to keep me out of trouble and keep me focused.

So I think, you know, you can't have everything and, and they got that.

But no, they've been super supportive throughout.

And we're all foodies like my grandmother used to live in, in Menorca.

So we grew up going, exploring and chasing flavors around parts of Spain.

And we've, we've all the whole family's into food, into good eating.

How about your peers when you decided to make the career path where you had to dedicate a lot of time and effort into something.

Most 16, 17 year olds, they're off in the clouds doing whatever they're doing.

Were your peers supportive of you or they kind of looked at you as an outcast?

Well, I've always had a really tight knit group of friends.

We've all, we, we've been friends really since like, we're, you know, yay high.

So they've always been supportive.

This was, this gave them the opportunity to come to nice restaurants and me to cook nice things at home and at parties.

But you did, I did miss a lot.

Like, you have to, you have to remember, like, people come to dinner, to parties to celebrate, you know, have those moments.

And so for us on the other side of the, on the other side of the pass, that means sometimes you miss a birthday, you miss a celebration, you miss a Christmas, whatever it may be.

And that's a sacrifice that you just need to make.

And, and if you fight it, it's going to be difficult, it's going to be challenging because there's no doubt you're going to miss some of those moments.

Thankfully, everybody in my life's always been fairly understanding, or at least they tell me they have been.

But without a doubt, yeah, there's some things that I've missed that I wish I hadn't, but I try not to dwell on that and be grateful for where I am.

And I think, like I said before my 20s, from my extended apprenticeship, like, you had to earn that.

It's not easy, you know, it's, it's, it doesn't come easy.

There's a, there's a lot, a lot of hard work that goes into it.

A lot of sacrifice and serious dedication to, to be able to get to a level where you can operate something like this.

And now with the custodians of this amazing Michelin star restaurant, that's a huge responsibility.

Like, I wouldn't be able to do that if I'd not taken it seriously.

Are you a father yet?

Not yet.

Not yet.

Gotcha.

So the reason I asked is because I found it very easy to compartmentalize, you know, not working on my birthday or relatives birthdays or whatever it may be, but once I had children, it was harder and harder for me to compartmentalize, like, oh, I'll just, you know, not worry about a holiday knowing that they're missing that holiday.

And, you know, that was the fondest thing about holidays is growing up.

It's whimsical, you know.

Yeah.

And so that's another tough part of chef's career, especially someone in the caliber of your.

Where you're at, where it's just, you know, it's just.

So this is the reason I was asked.

Well, it's, it's a, it's a good point.

And no doubt I'll build a family.

My wife's probably soon, she's going to say, but it's a, is, it is a good point.

Like, and, you know, go back to the sort of the scary horror stories you've seen in a kitchen of pots and pans and screaming and shouting and all that stuff.

Like, I think all of those things happen if you're not in real control and panic.

And so someone that panics isn't in control.

And I think in the, in our industry we've moved above and beyond that.

We've got tons of knowledge, we've got tons of technology and lots of things that can help us be more organized, which should result in us having a bit more free time.

And like in, in our world, like our philosophy is education, innovation.

So really I should be training.

And we are, we're training people to, to do that job because there's a moment in time we're gonna have to pass the baton.

You know, if I walked out the door, if I wanted to go to a birthday tomorrow, would the kitchen still operate?

Yes, because we've trained everybody and groomed everybody to be able to do that, and that's important to us.

Not so I can get a day off.

It's actually important because we want to become educators and teach people as good or better than we learn.

And if we're not doing that, then.

We'Re not building a legacy.

We're not building a legacy, or we're not building succession plan or an alumni of great talented chefs of the next generation of chefs.

And they have to learn that it doesn't come easy.

So, you know, you're going to work Christmas, mate, if you want to get there.

Speaking of not coming easy, I was going to ask you, you know, you mentioned that the industry has evolved into not so much of, I don't want to say chaos, but yet a chef being very verbal and aggressive in some ways.

And I personally feel like that really raised me and hardened me in the kitchens, having chefs that were that way.

I choose not to be that way.

I'm sure I have in the past, but I feel as though we're making an evolution into softening the discipline, and it's harder to find more people.

How do you feel about that?

So, yeah, have.

Have I. I've been through some tough, tough kitchens.

And that gives you thick skin and it keeps you on track.

It keeps you quick, disciplined, and all of those things.

But, you know, being at the top, the pressure's real.

Like if.

If we are serving an overcooked piece of fish or a cold steak, well, that guest is going to complain.

We are going to pay for their bill, and that's going to hurt the business.

They're not going to come back.

And that's the beginning of the end.

Right?

So you have to, you know, we have to be firm but fair.

So we're not, like I said about control.

Like, we're in control.

There has to be a level of respect at all levels.

Like, I'm going to show up to work on time.

I'm going to.

I'm responsible for cooking the fish.

A.

Have we taught them how to do it and have we reinforced that training that's on us?

And now that person needs to realize that they've been given that responsibility and they need to take it seriously, because if they don't and the fish is overcooked or the fish is cold, and the guest complains and the guests and we take care of their bill.

Like, that's like all of that hard work for us to pay.

That doesn't make sense.

So are we like the olden days of, you know.

No, we're not.

But you have to be disciplined.

You have to be, you have to be firm, because the real pressure is maintaining the accolades that we've got is maintaining the, the amazing food that we do and really pleasing the guests.

That's keeping all of this alive.

And if, if, if, if those things are abused, then none of this possible and it's all a bit silly.

True.

I'm sure the bills here are more expensive than other builders, kind of transitioning in for a little bit of that.

But it's like, you know, every chef has a night that nearly broke them.

The chaos, the burn.

We also live off of that.

We thrive off of that.

But at the same time, that's.

Brother, have you had, you know, can you tell us one of those stories or many, many stories?

I'm sure.

But how is that, that time in your lifetime where you, you felt that you were going to give up?

What inspired you to keep going?

Well, there's been many times, many times, and I'm sure there's.

I'm sure there's going to be a few more.

But again, if you let that negative control your thoughts, I don't think you're able to make progress.

If you're able to stop and say, wow, that mistake is actually an opportunity.

It's a learning opportunity for myself and for the team.

We acknowledge that.

So at the end of every shift, there's a debrief and then the debrief.

It's okay, what went wrong?

How can we do that better?

And that's a team effort because we are a team.

It's not an individual.

It's a team effort.

Tomorrow we're not going to make that mistake again.

We're not going to make that mistake again in the future.

And, and then we, we overcome those sort of things.

And they're, they're endless because you get to this point of perfection where you're chasing perfection or in pursuit of perfection.

And so you're, you start being really focused on these details that you would say, that's insanity.

But for us, it's like we're just constantly trying to find areas of improvement.

But, yeah, bad services had them try, try and avoid them.

And it's always like, how can you avoid them?

Well, better recipes, better training, better reps, whatever it may be, there's There's.

There's always reflection that can help us avoid that problem in the future.

At this caliber of performing, what do you say resonates more?

You know, obviously, anyone can be a great cook, but they can't be, you know, a chief in the brigade system is the chef.

He is the more of a leader of anything.

At the end of the day, he may not do any cooking at this point in his career.

What do you say is more valuable at this echelon?

Is it being the leader or is it being.

Being the talented cook?

I. I think it's being the leader and visionary because there's.

In our restaurant, and I'm sure many operate like this, but this is something that we've come to terms with that or come to realize is there's four pillars to success, right?

You can't do the food without the wine.

You can't do the wine without the food.

Nothing's going to happen without the service.

And then all of this is important to have a great ambiance.

So food, service, beverage, and ambiance.

So the kitchen team is working with a bigger team to make sure that this is all.

All happening.

And.

And, yeah, we just focus on improving those areas the whole time, really.

Answer say, we already asked that one.

You don't expect that anyway.

100% of it, you knew that.

But I'm just.

You've answered so many questions already.

Kind of got to go through your list.

Yeah.

So traveling has a way of humbling chefs.

What country or kitchen taught you that you didn't know as much as you thought you did?

So travel.

This is an amazing job for travel.

And one of the best ways to experience a culture is through the food.

So when we go traveling, which I've been blessed to, you know, see all corners of the globe, I'm going for food, and we're going to explore new things and new techniques.

And that moment in Spain, you know, when I was on the line, I was with guy from Denmark, guy from the States, guy from Hong Kong, guy from Australia, girl from Germany, whatever.

The.

The whole team there was from all over the world, because they.

There was a moment in time to go and absorb this new molecular astronomy and learn those things.

So I made friends from all over the world after that.

It's okay, I'm in Hong Kong.

Hey, I'll call my buddy up there.

Or, hey, I'm in Australia.

So not only has travel been fun, but I've got.

I've got friends all over the world, and we're communicating the Whole time and exchanging.

And then when I go and visit these places, they show you around and you get to see it from a different lens because it's not from the tourist book, it's from the local.

So I've been really blessed.

See some awesome places and peculiar places.

Sure.

We were in Kazakhstan last year that we tried some interesting food there.

Or Sri Lanka had some amazing cuisine, very unfamiliar.

You go to Australia, it's a little bit more familiar.

Right.

So, yeah, travel awesome.

And you learn something.

I learn something every time I go, whether that's new ingredient or a new technique or a new flavor or, oh, I didn't think that could go with that.

But it does.

And then you bring that back to your restaurant, and it's like, okay, well, maybe this note from Japan is going to work with this note from Canada.

I don't know.

I'm just saying it out loud.

And that's where you come up with these interesting flavor combinations which, without experiencing it, you may not, you know, you may not have found.

And rather than experience someone else's version of it, you're actually getting it from the horse's mouth, per se.

Exactly.

And that's why, you know, someone's asked, well, why are all these different techniques and flavors on the menu?

And it's like, well, because I live them.

I haven't picked up a book and be like, that might go well with that.

No, it's like, there's a reason why.

And that's captured through travel.

At what point in your career did the menu start becoming a testimonial of your experiences?

Really good question.

And I think as we're speaking now, it's a story that, you know, we could.

We could do a better job at telling, I think.

Or we should film the documentary.

I do.

Hear, hear if the food scene here is conversation.

What are you trying to say that no one else has heard yet?

Well, Atlanta is an amazing culinary destination, you know, so much so that it's recognized now by the Michelin guide.

Atlanta has been so welcoming to me, and the food scene here is awesome.

Like, you can, again, you can taste all corners of the globe here.

And then you can really taste and see some amazing Southern.

You know, Southern chefs here are doing some great stuff.

The farmers are awesome.

But, you know, it's.

When you start taking a deep dive into it, it's wildly impressive.

So, you know, I'm going to do what I'm doing in this culinary landscape is.

Is what's true to me.

And like I said, through my experiences over the globe and utilizing the amazing ingredients that we have on our doorstep here in Atlanta is how, you know, how I'm, how I'm doing my part in regards to like the bigger mission, like training and educating the chefs in our team is like the utmost importance to us.

Like we have to train them as good or better than we were taught.

And, and that's something that we're really proud of here and going to continue to do.

Speaking of the staff that you train, are they from all over the world or they're primarily here, Atlanta based now.

Now we have around 50 on our team in the back.

And a couple years ago we set up an intern and externship program.

So we have, we have our core team.

Amazing.

From mostly all over the country since our Michelin star.

It's awesome to see how much attention we're getting.

It's like, wow, you've heard of us.

And it's quite humbling.

But we do have an externship internship program which brings in students from all over the world.

So we have about 14 students at any one time, some from the Culinary Institute of America and then.

And some from all corners of the globe.

And again, very humbling.

Like they chose us and it was an interesting process because we had to write, I had to write a curriculum for the year which basically when they decide to do an internship with us, it takes them through all the fundamentals of the kitchen, whether it's bakery, fish, butchery, butchery, cooking, plating, you name it.

Like they, they get to see that in, in the 12 months that they're here.

So it's a, it's a basically a 12 month internship.

Yeah.

Beautiful.

I was, I was privileged enough to do what in Minneapolis?

Have a one year ACF apprenticeship and live in the hotel.

So I don't know if these guys get to live in a hotel, but this place is way nicer than them.

Hilton was.

But so do you find to any aspiring chefs out there or really people that are chefs as of now?

Did you find that, for instance, once you got to the Michelin plateau.

Not plateau, should I say, you know, keep on going.

But Michelin level.

Once you got to the Michelin level, do you find that the checkbooks open up from food and beverage directors?

Do you find that you're able to be way more creative or have, have more carte blanc than you would normally if it was the process of getting there?

Yeah, I would say so.

And naturally speaking, you would.

But I just do.

A lot of time people feel trapped within a budget and within their creative realm.

But once you get to a pinnacle, it's like, and you get to do whatever you want to do or, you.

Know, restaurant business is tough business.

We're privileged to be busy.

So that keeps us, keeps us on track.

And you know, the food's flowing through the kitchen.

The, there's.

If you have a quiet restaurant, it's, it's tougher to manage.

You've got waste to think about.

You've got.

Well, we always have ways to think about, but you have to really have your finger on the, on the pulse day to day.

And it's a scary place to be.

But we're fortunate enough to be, to be very busy.

So that's down to our great guests and our team that's creating great experiences and great food.

What is the way to get a reservation these days?

We've got a 10 month wait list.

Wow.

I'm joking.

We don't.

After I sign you, I believe you too.

I mean, no, we Release our reservations 60 days in advance and, and we're busy.

So you know, we've got an amazing tasting seven days a week.

Five days a week.

Five days a week in Atlas.

And you know, that's saying worth touching on five days a week is a great place for us to be because we have, we have an A team.

We don't have two teams.

Seven days a week would put us in a situation where we may be a little bit more volatile because we have an A team and A and a B team, for lack of a better term.

But we have one solid team.

So everybody's knows their responsibilities is really consistent in that sense.

We can control our purchasing, we can control our prep, control our guest experience.

So yeah, one A team is, is my preference.

How many people are in the kitchen during service?

All 50 or.

No, no, no.

So we go to a prep team.

Prep team comes in 8am we'll do team meeting at 8, talk about the events that are coming out, talking about what's coming in, what fish is arriving and all of that jazz.

And then the teams are divided up into, you know, their specialities.

And then the evening team will come in around two and get ready for dinner.

And that hour there's a good exchange.

3 o', clock, family meal, 4:30 pre shift.

Like the day is very regimented.

And then when you look into those teams, their days are very regimented with their prep lists, with their recipes, with their.

So there's, there's a method to the madness and it all comes together nicely.

But you know, it's all down to organization and planning, which 16 years old was not my forte, but now it's like of the utmost importance that it is super, super organized.

When you mentioned, you know, what fish is coming in, where are you sourcing from?

All over the world.

Are you trying to keep it local or.

Well, in vegetables.

Vegetables are all local.

And we work with some amazing farms.

And I went to them.

It's a program that took a little while to get to, but effectively went to them and said, this is what historically we've purchased and this is what we've quantity wise and so forth.

What can you grow for us?

And in turn, they've been able to take on about 60 to 70% of that, which is amazing.

So vegetables, hyper local, fish, meat.

Again, depending on what's best.

Market's best can come from various places, but we're super focused on quality.

Fresh is best.

So fine dining.

Looks, tastes, smells, seems elegant.

Explain the back of the house in the organizing of the chaos.

Yeah, I thrive off creativity.

So the dishes and the process in which we take to design those dishes is very detailed.

And it starts with the format of our menu.

We start with a caviar dish, then a vegetable dish, then a egg or a pasta, shellfish, poultry, beef.

And anyway, there's.

There's a framework to how we structure that menu.

And then when you take the next step is what techniques are using throughout those dishes, what temperatures using throughout those dishes, what colors are using throughout those dishes and so forth.

And then it becomes really complicated because everything has to have its unique point of difference, as I say, so everything has to be completely different.

So I have this, like I said, it's almost to the point of insanity, this matrix, which, you know, we'll talk about the ingredients, we'll talk about the color, the plate, the cutlery, the temperature, the technique, you name it, it's on there.

And so we can cross reference to make sure that there's nothing the same.

So each dish delivers a very, very unique experience and has its own voice.

And this is seasonal, Craig?

Yes, it's a lot of work.

Um, and, you know, we want to create a moment where there's, you know, there's a. Wow.

Um, at the beginning of the menu with our snacks, there's a lot of fun techniques, and I think there's a lot of influence from time in Spain with a burst here or something that dissolves fun textures and so forth.

But again, a little journey of techniques throughout my career.

And we have that at the end of the meal as well.

And Then in the middle, what I learned with working at the Dorchester with Ducasse is don't forget they came to eat.

So, you know, if it's a piece of turbot with a beautiful sauce and a perfectly cooked vegetable, like, there's nothing wrong with that.

That's what it's about.

So we don't want to drift too far away from the truth.

And there won't be a thousand things going on with a thousand different, you know, smoke and bubbles on one plate, because it's about great ingredients, great produce married together with the brilliant sauce as the main part of the meal.

We can have fun left and right with these snacks and introduce fun techniques, but those techniques need to have their own voice.

And when you put them all on one place, it kind of gets.

It gets lost.

Are you at the point now where you were actually giving an homage to some of your mentors on the menu?

Not so much.

Maybe a technique, and obviously it's always an homage to your training and who.

Who mentored you.

But specific dishes are there.

You know, their names behind specific dishes.

Now, at this point, I think there is.

There is definitely some techniques that.

That I can give a shout out to, to, you know, a great chef that's.

That's taught us that we'll put our own spin on it.

There's a dessert from Alan Ducasse, the Rum Barber, which is a soap sponge, Chantilly cream, and a rum of your choice.

It's so simple, but it's mastery.

So we'll do that.

And that's a little nod to the boss at a point.

But, yeah, throughout your career, yeah, you pick up tips and tricks from lots of people and lots of mentors or friends or restaurants or colleagues.

And.

And yes, those will sometimes make their way in, for sure.

Do you ever look at a dish and think, I've gone too far, or maybe I need to slow things down and not be so uber creative and maybe just give people a great meal dining experience.

You know, make maybe saying everything doesn't have to be one or two bites.

Maybe let me give them a heavy dish or a full ensemble of multiple proteins or something on a dish.

Well, you know, I'm lucky that.

That I oversee a few concepts.

So.

Atlas on Michelin Star Restaurant Garden Room Nami.

So.

And our restaurant group has a really broad portfolio of concepts, so I can, you know, release that creative energy and in various places.

But, yeah, I just go back to, don't forget, they came to eat.

So when Chef Nick called your name at the US Culinary Open, were the first people you thought of, the people that supported you to get to that point, or was it the people who didn't support you?

Yeah, I was in shock.

It was an amazing moment.

And it was.

Yeah.

So obviously it's a huge honor and so grateful and humbled by it.

Yeah.

I think the supporters.

I worked for a.

When I was taking on a job in the past, I had a few people come to me and they were like, don't go and work there.

It's a nightmare.

It's so difficult.

You're going to work all hours, and the chef's not a pleasant person.

Anyway, I did it.

I didn't listen to any of them.

And what I realized was the chef was difficult, but he had standards, and everybody that was complaining failed.

So it was an eye opener to me that I shouldn't listen to that because they weren't successful.

Their reaction is to apply and blame or deflect maybe.

Yeah.

So as a result of them not being successful, the, you know, the instinct is to try and burn the house down.

But my perspective was, was completely different.

It was.

I won't name them, but amazing chef, amazing restaurant.

And if you worked hard, you would learn an awful lot.

Yeah.

If you jerked off and, or if you didn't take it seriously, you weren't going to be successful.

So back to your question.

If there is.

Yeah.

Am I, am I tough?

Yes.

But I'm tough about the standards and tough about getting it right for our guests.

And, and I've tried.

We try and do that in the most inspirational way possible, and we're lucky to have such an amazing team that appreciates that.

But you also, when you, when you come to a restaurant of that standard, like any sports team, you have to, you have to be able to play, otherwise you're not on the team.

So once you get to a point where you get so many awards, I think people don't realize how hard it is to get to that point.

They see the shine, they see the glamour, they see the bright lights.

But what do you have to tell everyone, especially aspiring chefs, about the dedication and hard work it takes to get to a point of a Michelin star and to win a competition like the US Culinary Open?

I've been in the kitchen for over 20 years now, and you can't rush it.

You have to learn the fundamentals.

You have to learn the foundations.

And these building blocks will allow you to, you know, be creative.

But, you know, it's interesting because let's say I fast forward and became a chef with very Little experience.

Well, I'm setting myself up for failure because I can't answer all the questions that my team is going to ask me.

I can't train.

I don't have a big repertoire.

I did a private chef job, you know, in my 20s, and I quickly realized after a week of doing breakfast, lunch, and dinner, I had no more recipes to cook, and they wanted something different every day.

I was like.

So I've been through a lot of moments throughout my career that.

That.

That have made sense to keep going and keep learning.

Now, you can never stop learning in the kitchen because, you know, gastronomy is that, you know, like we spoke about over earlier, you know, there's so many different kinds of cuisine in this world.

Like, where do you stop?

So that's why, like, for me, it's been important to understand the kind of food that.

That I want to serve and then refine that repertoire there.

But to young chefs, yeah, there's.

There's so much to learn, and you can't rush it.

And those building blocks are really important, because once you've learned the skills and the techniques, then you need to learn about the food cost and the scheduling and all the other things that come with it.

And it's really important as well that the team below you are able to learn from you.

So if you've rushed that, you won't be able to teach, because that's really what it is that we're doing here.

We're teaching, and we're training.

I'm not cooking the fish every night.

That's knowledge that's been handed down and trained to those guys and girls.

We're designing.

We're the architects now, and orchestrating how it all happens.

But I can't do any of that.

Had I not lived it and then, and had I rushed it, we definitely wouldn't be here today.

So don't rush it.

When your career is over and you decide to retire, do you want people to remember you for the awards and accolades you gained or for the scars and burns that you received?

I think a little bit of both.

You know, I like to get.

I'm a worker.

I'm.

I don't forget where I came from, and I'm extremely humbled to have won some amazing accolades.

But I still think there's ways to go and there's room to grow, and I learned that through the graft.

I'm not afraid to roll up my sleeves and work, and I don't think that's ever gonna not be the case, because, again, they came to eat.

I'm a chef.

Let's not drift too far away from the truth here.

I'd love to be known as a.

As a.

As a good leader and a mentor.

And it's interesting to see how, like, as you get older, that kind of starts to happen naturally.

But what.

What drives me is the.

That education and innovation every day.

Chef, we appreciate the time you spent with us.

Thank you.