December 24, 2019

Brother Luck – Embracing your Fears!

47 minutes

“The first time I did a Top Chef Colorado, says Chef Brother Luck from Four by Luck in Colorado Springs, that was more about anger. I was angry at myself for losing the show. And I understood why. I was disappointed in myself. Coming back for the second season and doing Top Chef, Kentucky was a decision that I probably shouldn’t have made. I was so quick to want to validate myself from losing the previous season and feeling like it was unfinished that. I went back and I wasn’t in a good mental place. And in the end, I think that’s where a lot of young chefs don’t understand, is you have to take care of your mental health.”

What we covered in this episode

From depression to raising awareness for mental heath issues

Chef Brother Luck shares his “big lesson” after being on multiple cooking TV shows like Beat Bobby Flay, Chopped, and Last Chance Kitchen.

Cooking on television isn’t real. It’s entertainment.

Chef Brother Luck takes us to the time when he was told “pack you knives and go!” when he lost Last Chance Kitchen.

The elimination from Bravo’s Top Chef was the beginning of some important life changes for Chef Brother Luck.

Chef Brother Luck had a very traumatic childhood. “I never realized how much that was going to affect me as a man. I built up a lot of anger from all that pain. And you can only hold that in for so long.”

“And all it takes is one fracture of a scenario to break it and it’s coming out. You don’t know how to handle that. And I think that was where I was at at that point in my life when when I got kicked off Top Chef, Kentucky. Losing the show was the trigger.”

“That was a really hard time. And I was one of the fortunate ones to say, you know, I need help. And I want to go talk to my therapist. I need to be around people that actually care about me because I felt used at that time. And I think when you’re in a situation where you feel used or taken advantage of, you’re gonna shut down. And that’s exactly what I was doing.”

His therapist diagnosed him with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) about two years ago, which stemmed from experiences like the passing of his father and violence in his childhood.

Chef Brother Luck came to realize that sharing his story helps other chefs and cooks struggling with the same challenges.

“When someone’s dealing with depression or insecurities or not feeling like they belong or they’re looking for validation, the answer isn’t to ask them “are you OK?” I think the answer is to share your own story so they don’t feel alone.”

“I think we don’t have a labor shortage right now. We have bad leaders. So we have to change our our culture. So I think that’s where it starts.”

Read Chef Brother Luck’s essay about mental health and depression (link to article in the “link mentioned in this episode” section below)

From cooking for necessity to owning Four by Luck restaurant in Colorado Springs

“I never wanted to be a chef until they told me I was good at cooking. And that compliment is what I became hungry for. I wanted that attention. I spent my whole career chasing that approval of that male role model.”

Chef Brother Luck mentions the benefits of Griffith Center for Children, C-CAP, and Pro-Start programs.

The cuisine at Four by Luck is continuously influenced by four main providers who supply the ingredients “The Hunter, The Gatherer, The Fisherman, The Farmer”

Influenced by a recent trip he made to Japan, Chef Brother Luck transcribed the love that Japan has for nature, menus celebrating the four seasons into his local region in Southern Colorado.

“It’s not about which ingredient is the best each season. It’s about the transformation of the ingredient from the season.”

For Chef Brother Luck at Four by Luck, cooking is about survival. The story of each ingredient as it transforms through the season is what it’s about.

Favorite ingredients: Huitlacoche, pronounced weet-la-COH-cheh, is a fungus that grows on ears of corn, and, green chilies.

For Chef Brother Luck creativity happens because of techniques.

He describes his creative process behind the signature dish Tempura Poppers.

Chef Brother Luck describes the food scene in South Colorado.

5 rapid-fire questions!

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I’ve had a very traumatic childhood. I never realized how much that was going to affect me as a man. I built up a lot of anger from all that pain. And you can only hold that in for so long.

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I have an addictive personality. That’s who I am. And whether it was being an addict to alcohol or drugs or for me, it’s work. So it’s easy to drown myself in the world work.

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When someone’s dealing with depression or insecurities or not feeling like they belong or they’re looking for validation, the answer isn’t to ask them “are you OK?” I think the answer is to share your own story so they don’t feel alone.

Click To Tweet

When you watch social media, you’re watching everyone’s greatest hits. No one’s posting the bad stuff that happened to them today. They’re talking about the great stuff and we measure ourselves against that. So I think it starts from me with social media being real.

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I think we don’t have a labor shortage right now. We have bad leaders. So we have to change our culture. So I think that’s where it starts.

Click To Tweet

For me, cooking started at a very young age out of necessity. But then it became the supplement of the male role model from the street hustler or the gangbanger to now the chef and the toques.

Click To Tweet

I never wanted to be a chef until they told me I was good at cooking. And that compliment is what I became hungry for. I wanted that attention. I spent my whole career chasing that approval of that male role model.

Click To Tweet

For me, it’s not about which ingredient is the best each season. For me, it’s about the transformation of the ingredient from the season.

Click To Tweet

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Chef Brother Luck

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Restaurant Four by Luck

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Links mentioned in this episode

Four by Luck

Chef Brother Luck’s Essay about Mental Health and Depression

Griffith Center for Children

C-CAP

Pro-Start program

...more

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By Emmanuel Laroche - Show Host

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