Cooking Your Way Through Life

Main character energy, and why nobody is bigger than the program.

Fair warning: my mic went out during this episode, so you will hear the adjustment lol. I left it in because it proved the point of the whole conversation. No matter how much we think we are the main character, we are not. Even my own episode had to adjust around a mic issue, which is a pretty perfect reminder to stay humble.

We talk about how we are all here together as an ensemble, and how that is what makes everything work so well. Everybody plays a part, and the story is better because of the people around you.

On the culinary side I get into the main course and why it is nothing without support. The best entree still needs the sides, the sauce, the seasoning, and the team behind it, and people are no different.

Who has been a supporting character in your story? Tell me wherever you are listening.

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Tricks or treats, and which one are you in someone else's life?

For spooky season I took this episode old school and filmed it in black and white. It is a Halloween episode with a lot more depth than the theme suggests.

We talk about being a treat versus being a trick, and about attracting tricks versus treats into your own life. Sometimes we think we are a treat for someone, but in reality we are the trick too lol. It takes some honest reflection, and I think you will see yourself in it.

On the culinary side I get into how sometimes we have to trick people into trying new things. People are set in their ways, especially with food, and a little trickery can open someone up to a flavor they would have refused if you had told them upfront.

Grab a Halloween snack and settle in.

So which one are you, a trick or a treat? Tell me wherever you are listening.

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Things we pretend to like, a few confessions, and why you should never trust a single bite.

This episode almost did not make it. I lost about 70% of the content I filmed in Atlanta, and this conversation with Jamal was part of it. So while I was in Athens, Greece, Jamal and Lexi hopped on with me online and we recorded it all over again. I am so glad we did.

We get into all kinds of things we pretend to like, including some things I found out Lexi pretends to like for Jamal lol. A few of these confessions caught me completely off guard, and I think you will recognize yourself in some of them.

On the culinary side we talk about why the first taste of something should not be the only taste. If you have only tried something once, or only had it prepared one way, how do you really know you do not like it? Sometimes a different method or a different cook is all it takes to change your mind.

Listen to the full episode, and then go follow Jamal and Lexi.

What do you pretend to like? Tell me wherever you are listening.

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Overrated vs underrated hot takes on all kinds of things, and a guest who is not shy about sharing his opinions.

This week I am joined by Asher, and for an episode called Overrated and Underrated I knew he was going to have plenty to say lol. Asher has a deep background in food and beverage as a former bar owner, general manager, and F&B professional, and today he works in Destinations and Operations at Celebrity Cruises.

This is a fun one and we cover a lot of ground. We talk about what everybody loves that we think is overrated, what is underrated and deserves more attention, and whether people really like certain things or are just following the hype. We also dig into whether social media has made us genuinely like things or just convinced us we are supposed to, and the things we used to roll our eyes at until we changed our minds.

On the culinary side we go behind the bar and behind the menu. We break down the $25 cocktail vs the $12 cocktail and how price, presentation, and reputation shape what we expect before we even taste it. Then we get into the menu item that sells vs the one the staff loves, and what popularity does and does not tell you.

There is also a quick-fire round where Asher calls things overrated, underrated, or properly rated and has to defend every answer. Brunch, espresso martinis, all-inclusive resorts, buffets, cruise ship food, and more.

What is overrated and underrated in your world? Tell me wherever you are listening.

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Things I learned way too late and why I am not calling it regret because that is not what this is.

There is a real difference between regretting something and wishing you had a piece of knowledge earlier. Today is a solo episode and it is fully in that second space. If you know better you do better and I stand on that completely. The frustration is not that I eventually learned these things. It is that I could have used them sooner.

I talk about the idea that growth is not a straight path and it was never meant to be. You are going to fail. You are going to have to learn some things more than once. And the only thing that actually determines where you end up is whether you keep going.

On the culinary side I bring it into the kitchen and connect the lessons to how we develop as cooks and what it looks like to apply a growth mindset to the food we make every day.

I also want to hear from you. What do you think you learned way too late? Drop it wherever you are listening because this is the kind of conversation that is better when more people are in it.

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What are you cheap about and where do you think the more expensive option is actually worth every penny?

Today I am joined by Kathleen, also known as Chef Leen, and this one was a long time coming. Me and Kathleen first met in Boston when we were both training to work for America's Test Kitchen with Holland America Cruise Lines and a lot has changed since then. She now has two beautiful little girls with her husband Chris and catching up before we got into the episode made this conversation feel extra special from the jump.

The topic is something everybody has an opinion on. We talk about the things we absolutely refuse to spend money on even when we can afford to, the things we think other people are cheap about that are actually worth more, and whether being cheap and being financially responsible are even the same thing because I think those two get confused more than people realize.

We also get into the moments where we used to be cheap about something until we finally spent the money and realized the cheaper version was actually costing us more in the long run. That one hits different when you start adding it up.

On the culinary side we talk about where price and quality are not always the same thing in the kitchen. There are ingredients and tools where the budget option works perfectly fine and others where spending a little more changes the entire result. Knowing the difference is the real skill and it applies to a lot more than just cooking.

Loads of funny stories, real talk, and two chefs who have known each other long enough to say exactly what they think.

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Things I will never do again, lessons I only needed once, and a petty rapid fire list of never-agains that I think you are going to relate to more than you expect.

This is a solo episode and I want to say upfront that this is not a regret episode. Regretting something and being glad you did it while knowing you are never doing it again are two completely different things. The older you get the longer that second list becomes and today we are going through all of it together.

We talk about the things that were worth doing exactly once, experiences that had real value without deserving a repeat. We get into the lessons people warned me about that I still had to go through personally before they clicked, because some knowledge only comes through experience no matter how clearly someone explains it to you.

We also get into the moment when trying again stops being persistence and starts being ignoring an answer that life has already given you more than once. That line is one of the most important things you can learn to recognize.

And then I give you my completely unserious never-again list because not everything needs to carry a lesson. Some things are just petty and funny and I am keeping it that way.

On the culinary side I connect it all to the kitchen, the lessons no instructor can brand into your brain until experience does it for you, and the idea that chefs are always allowed to take a dish off the menu. So are you.

Drop your never-again list wherever you are listening. Serious and ridiculous both welcome.

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Unpopular opinions, real talk, and two people who are not afraid to say what they actually think.

Me and Warren sat down in Athens, Greece for this one and covered everything from Dubai Chocolate and Brunch to Nepotism, Garlic Powder, Steak Sauce, and a whole lot more in between. Warren flew in from London to hang out in Greece with me and getting to record this episode here made it one of my favorites from the whole trip.

When it is me and Warren together the energy is always right and this conversation was no different. We are not trying to be canceled and we are not saying any of this to be provocative. These are just our honest opinions on things that not everyone agrees with and we think those conversations deserve to happen out loud.

You might agree with us on some of it. You might think we are completely wrong on all of it. Either way I want to hear your take because the whole point of this episode is to open the conversation not close it.

Come with your own unpopular opinions. We can debate it.

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This one was too fun not to share as a bonus episode.

When I film batches of podcast episodes I like to ask everyone the same question and this time around I gave everyone one million dollars. The only catch was that they had to spend every single dollar within 7 days. No savings accounts. No Roth IRAs. No hiding it anywhere safe. You have to spend it and you have 7 days to figure it out.

We all say what we would do if we won the lottery or came into money but putting a real number and a real deadline on it changes the conversation completely. What you think you would do and what you actually would do are two very different things and this episode proves that in the most entertaining way possible.

Today you are hearing from Warren, CSM Rob, TJ, Spencer, Jamal and Lexi, Chef Louis, Ayla, Alyssa, Chef Patrick, and Asher. Every single one of them had something different to say and every single one of them surprised me in some way.

Fair warning. You are going to spend your own million while you listen to this one. I already know it.

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Me and Chef Louis go back to 2011 and my very first cruise ship contract out in Hawaii. From that moment we built something that has lasted and today he is the Chef and Owner of The Canterbury Kitchen in Americus, Georgia with his amazing wife Sumner. Watching him build that has been one of the most genuinely inspiring things I have seen from someone I have known this long.

Today we are talking about cravings and we are not keeping it in the kitchen. We crave all kinds of things in life. Food obviously but also vacations, connection, rest, and change. Cravings are information and most of us move past them without stopping to ask what they are actually telling us.

On the culinary side we break down what your body is communicating to you through the specific foods you crave and why. There is real meaning behind those patterns and once you understand it you start looking at what you reach for in a completely different way.

Two chefs who have known each other since Hawaii, a lot of laughs, and a conversation that is going to make you listen to yourself a little more closely.

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