In this episode I chat with owner of Houston's beloved cocktail bar Julep, Alba Huerta. Alba was inducted in the Tales of the Cocktail Dame Hall of Fame in 2012, named Bartender of the Year in 2014 by Imbibe magazine and one of Houston’s 50 Most Fascinating People by the Houston Chronicle. In 2015, Food & Wine selected her as one of ten rising-star female mixologists and Thrillist named her one of the Best Bartenders in America. She was also the featured mixologist at the Southern Foodways Alliance’s 2013 Symposium and again in 2015, after which she was elected to serve as a board member. Alba has also been named one of the incomparable The Cherry Bombe 100 and released her first cocktail book named after her flagship bar ‘Julep’ in 2018.

In our episode we chat about the struggles of making time for yourself or taking time off as business owner, fear and the release of fear through the challenges of 2020, sobriety, and stepping into the spotlight. If you'd like to get to know her better, you can follow Alba on IG at @albaworksit. 

This week my guest is Mary Allison Wright. A fellow Chattanooga native, Mary and her husband McLain moved to Denver 9 years ago to pursue careers in the Food & Beverage industry. Mary has served both as Membership Director and an Advisor to the board of the Colorado Chapter of the United States Bartending Guild, is a graduate of the Beverage Alcohol Resource Program (BAR 5-DAY), and in addition to her recent roles as the Wine Director of the recently shuttered restaurant Morin and The Proper Pour bottle shop, she is the current Owner of Door Prize, Yacht Club, and a Facilitator at Jelly Bone. While each has its own identity, a common influence throughout is her commitment to genuine hospitality, sustainability, and equity within the industry and beyond. A conscious commitment to health and wellness in her daily life is what allows her to stay focused, energized, and show up for herself and her team. Morin was awarded Wine Enthusiast Top 100 Wine Lists 2019 and Mary was recently named a semifinalist for The Art of Plating Rising Talent Award.

In this episode we chat about Imposter Syndrome, the importance of setting routines, finding balance and acceptance when traveling, and so much more. You can find Mary on IG at @eatdrinkbemaryandmclain, and you can reach out to her at [email protected] 

To kick off Women's History Month I chatted with Hassel Aviles, co-founder of Not 9 to 5, a non-profit organization empowering hospitality, food and beverage service workers by mobilizing education and support for mental health and substance use. Since 2018, Not 9 to 5 has been promoting harm reduction practices and helps to connect the hospitality workforce to mental wellness resources. With over 20 years of experience in marketing and leadership in the food and beverage industry, Hassel Aviles has built a career in hospitality, events and entrepreneurship.These days, Hassel's passion for the industry is seen through her work as Executive Director of Not 9 to 5 and principal consultant heading all hospitality and culinary  projects at Reunion Inc., an Ovare Group-owned business transformation consultancy.

For more information please visit Not 9 to 5,  Primary Concerns, and MHFA. 

In this episode I chat with Mary Palac, long time bar manager of Paper Plane in San Jose, CA. In our conversation we touched on topics surrounding accountability for not just others but also for ourselves, struggles with anxiety surrounding recognition and wanting to be the best that we can be, and of course how to make our industry a better place to live & work. 

Mary was born in the Philippines but grew up in the Bay Area, California. She has worked in hospitality for nearly 20 years and has been bartending for over 12 years. She is a founding member of USBG Silicon Valley, and an alumna of the TOTCF CAP program, BAR 5 Day, Camp Runamok, and many other industry programs. She was the Season 7 Ms. Speed Rack CA, and 2 time BARMANIA champion. Her recipes and views have been featured in several national publications, including Liquor.com, PUNCH, Saveur, and USA Today. She was featured in the documentary Rum Rising with liquor.com and Appleton Rum. In 2019 she was honored with a commendation from the City of San Jose for her contributions to the city’s food and beverage community, and in 2020 was named a Top 4 Honoree for American Bartender of the Year through the TOTCF Spirited Awards. She has travelled all over the world to visit bars and distilleries in order to explore the world of spirits. Her home bar is Paper Plane in San Jose, CA.

In this episode of Focus on Health I catch up with hospitality activist and F&B veteran about the history of tipping culture, the emotional labor of working in F&B, accountability, and so much more. 

Ashtin Berry is a hospitality activist, sommelier, mixologist and beverage consultant that creates more than cocktails: She creates change. Combining over fifteen years in the industry with a sociology degree from University of Chicago, Berry has become a top activist and educator on the frontlines of hospitality and humanity; creating safer, more inclusive spaces to have real, intersectional conversations.

In 2018, she founded Radical XChange, an experience-based agency that promotes intersectionality through event series, like the acclaimed symposium Resistance Served honoring Black hospitality workers. Berry also founded America’s Table in 2020, a movement to raise political awareness around the needs of hospitality workers after COVID-19. 

In this episode I chat with Mony Bunni, Kristina Magro, and Laura Kelton of Support Staff. While all three women are seasoned F&B industry veterans, they have more recently shifted their focus to providing support and resources to their community of hospitality workers by founding Support Staff. Support Staff is a community of hospitality professionals working alongside mental health professionals, and community organizers to change the structures of the hospitality industry. Support Staff’s goals are to break down the stigmas surrounding mental health, give employers tools to better support their employees, and give hourly employees tools to better advocate for their well-being. To learn more about their work, make sure to head to their website linked here. 

In this episode I catch up with Toronto-based Chef, Ariel Coplan. From a young age, Ariel Coplan has had a love affair with the food and beverage industry. Early in his career, Ariel worked around the world in renowned restaurants. He later brought his knowledge and experience back to Toronto and opened the now-closed, Thoroughbred Food & Drink. Opening his own restaurant taught him many valuable lessons. The most important, mental health. He was determined to create change and began to have thoughtful discussions focused around mental health with his old friend, Hassel Aviles. Together, they launched Not 9 to 5 in 2018.

Through lived experience, Ariel went through a metamorphosis of questioning the status quo of, "oui chef" mentality and depression. But he empowered himself to change, make improvements and dismantle the destructive nature of the industry. To learn more about what they're working on, head to www.not9to5.org. 

In this episode I chat with F&B industry veteran, personal trainer, and current Neuroscience student, Ray Padilla. Throughout his career he's worked in bars, restaurants, and delicatessens in both Monterey, CA and Aspen, CO. His fascination with the biochemistry associated with exercise, as well as nutrition and the different ways of organizing the body, led him to pursue a degree in neuroscience in Denver. Ray enlightened me on how truly important sleep and rest is for our working bodies, how important it is to work opposing muscles, and we bonded over our love of water. 

In this episode of Focus on Health I catch up with Alex Negranza. While he started his career as a barista in Seattle, he eventually found his way to Houston where he spent years working for and alongside Bobby Hugel. He's been named an Eater Young Gun, Wine Enthusiast 40 under 40, and Imbibe's Bartender of the Year. These days he has joined the opening team of MARCH Restaurant in Houston. In our episode he reflects on learning to be a good leader and taking care of his team while not losing the magic we create for the guest experience .

In this episode I chat with Valentino Longo, a Rome native who has bartended in Rome, London, and Miami. Now located in Miami, Valentino is the Head Bartender at the Four Seasons. He's competed in and won multiple national bartending titles, including the 2020 title of Most Imaginative Bartender. Since the competition he's launched the Shosin Art Club, an online platform bringing professional bartenders together to explore any and all bar-related topics as well as the ability to learn from world-class professionals in the spirits industry. Val and I discuss the importance of setting schedules for yourself to have better balance, how it's okay to want to be the best bartender in the world as long as you learn how to take care of yourself while working towards that goal, and how important it is to say no.