Best Served Fast is a Q&A show where we celebrate the Unsung Hospitality Heroes. Join Chef Jensen Cummings as he talks to industry leaders about the people that have been there through the trials and triumphs of their lives and careers. On this episode of Best Served Live, our host Jensen Cummings sits down with Vaughan Dugan to discuss his restaurant Kapow Noodle Bar, his growth from dishwasher to promoter, to entrepreneur, building a corporation without sacrificing quality, his early adoption of eco-friendly practices and integrating technology to improve workflow and profits and how he and his wife became more strategic over the years as "serial entrepreneurs."

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Best Served HIGH is a Q & A show where we focus on Hospitality Industry Good Health. Join Chef Jensen Cummings every Sunday as he talks to industry leaders about mental health, physical health, wellness, nutrition and surviving the hospitality industry. On this episode of Best Served HIGH our host Jensen Cummings sits down with Jon Hinman of Hinman's Bakery, Denver, CO, to discuss mental health and substance abuse in the culinary industry and his organization CHOW which works to support people in the industry who are struggling.

  Top Five Takeaways 

1. In the hospitality industry, there are many people who suffer from mental health issues and substance abuse but no one talks about it. John’s organization CHOW is dedicated to having the conversation.

 2. John’s past with mental health issues which lead to alcoholism and going to rehab twice helped educate his decision to create CHOW with Alexandra Palmerton. 

3. Having DUIs and passing out in the kitchen are rites of passage and things to be proud of in the culinary industry. This culture needs to change.  

4. “We come into the kitchen with wounds on our hearts that we don’t know how to deal with so we bandage them. For me it was alcohol, for other people it’s other stuff. Then suddenly you relate more to the bandage than to the wound.”

 5. CHOW meets on Zoom on Monday nights at 6 pm, Fridays at 6 pm, and Wednesdays at 2:30 pm

Our host Jensen Cummings had the pleasure of interviewing Asori Soto, the filmmaker of Cuban Food Stories, after a showing of the film by Flatirons Food Film Festival. Cuban Food Stories documents Asori Soto’s return to Cuba, after living in the United States for the last decade, to reconnect with his homeland through culture, people and most importantly food. After the film Jensen and Asori discuss Cuban cuisine, food bringing people together, and reconnecting with your culture.

Top 5 Takeaways

1. “It’s Complicated when you’re in Cuba in the countryside and there’s a lot of people watching propaganda for years, sometimes they see you as the enemy, and if you’re not going straight forward and talking politics and are just like hey, I want to see what you cook, I want to see how its your life, they feel like you are really talking to them not taking advantage of them. I think we were all getting to know each other in the film and that was the main thing to ring people together.” 7:27

2. As a human being what is luxury for you? For Asori it is a simple feeling, eating a fish on the beach with a friend that was caught and cooked right there. Meeting beautiful people, and eating very fresh, authentic delicious food that is awfully close to us as primates.

3. The film shown in Miami and Havana, two different audiences. People in Havana were extremely interested in it because they do not get to travel around the island, and they don’t know how other people around the island live and didn’t know how they cooked. They felt like they were discovering the island. People in Miami are very anti-Cuba, Asori was scared he would get eaten alive in Q&A. After they saw the film and saw their country in another light then the political light and they were crying and very touched.

4. “I feel like an insider that lives outside, I feel like I reconnected and I made new and reconnected with friends and I feel like they are a very important part of my life right now and if I didn’t make the film I don’t think they would be apart of my life right now. And I really appreciate that.” 33:00

5. “Not only the passion of restaurant people but restaurant people are resilient, from the moment you start a restaurant you know it’s going to be tough, it’s not sexy. They are resilient and work there ass off for little profit margins. The resilience and hard work are not something you can compare to.” 38:30

On this episode of Best Served Cares, our host Jensen Cummings sits down with Claudine Pepin of the Jacques Pepin Foundation to talk about about eating local and seasonal food, pouring champagne over her dad, Jacques Pépin, bronzed head, and the time José Andrés's daughter wanted to learn how to make an omelet from Jacques over Zoom.

 Top Five Takeaways

 1. The Jacques Pepin Foundation supports existing community kitchens around the country to give them the resources they need to teach underserved adults about the culinary industry and give them the education to enter into the culinary industry. 

2. Claudine thinks that eating locally is better for the economy and for people than eating organically. 

3. There is so much to be learned from your communities and connecting local people to local businesses and food is so important. 

4. “We’ve always spoke to eating seasonal and eating local. I just think that people weren’t listening. I think the people that were listening didn’t think they had the means or they weren’t cooking enough. Well, now you are home and cooking.” 

5. They are promoting cooking at home and COVID has changed the world so that there is more cooking happening at home.

On this episode of Best Served Fresh, our host Jensen Cummings sits down with Ace Linne-Speidel of Satchel & Rose, Loveland, CO

On this episode of Best Served Live, our host Jensen Cummings sits down with Robert Egger, Community Kitchen Originator.

In this episode you will hear from icons like Chef Edward Lee of 610 Magnolia The LEE Initiative, Garrett Oliver ofThe Brooklyn Brewery, Debbie Gold of Amy Morton's Stolp Island Social and meet a couple new humans in hospitality with Liliana Myers of Safta Restaurant and Silvia Hernandez of Comal Heritage Food Incubator.

On this episode of Best Served Live, our host Jensen Cummings sits down with Russell Jackson of Reverence, NYC.

On this episode of Best Served Live, our host Jensen Cummings sits down with Ryan McCaskey of Acadia, Chicago, IL to discuss Michelin stars, custom cakes, and how Ryan's places of zen are Maine and a Grateful Dead show.   

Top Five Takeaways 

1. Ryan wanted Acadia to be the culmination of his career. The goal was to build a restaurant that is memorable to people.  

2. “One cool thing about hospitality is that it brings people together and we have human interaction.” 

3. Ryan is constantly pushing himself to be better. Asking himself, how can I be a better person? How can I be a better boss? How can I help my community? 

4. “We wanted to create a culture of giving a shit. We know our staff. We know about their problems. It has to be about people at the end of the day.” 

5. Ryan reminds everyone to be better people, to continue to help our communities, to stay curious, to not take things for granted, and to not be satisfied with the status quo.

On this episode of Best Served Live, our host Jensen Cummings sits down with Caroline Glover of Annette Scratch Kitchen to discuss reopening after COVID, how her kitchen staff will jump out of the kitchen to help guests, and the James Beard awards.  

Top Five Takeaways 

1. Caroline’s restaurant Annette is under a same pay model where everyone is paid the same wage.  

2. “What a novel idea to communicate and listen. It’s all about communication.” 

3. “I definitely feel like our pay model is laying the groundwork for kindness.” Caroline learned that kindness is a better quality than experience in the same pay model.  

4. Two of the weaknesses of the model are that Caroline or her husband has to be at the restaurant every single day and the cliquiness and top dog relationships of her team in the beginning.  

5. “The beautiful thing is that people can feel it. They might not realize why they feel that way. It’s because the whole restaurant is working together to make sure that they have a great experience, not just one person.”