Hidden Apron Radio

Arun Motillal is an entrepreneur who helps run his family business, Galaxy Foods in Richfield, MN which has been operating for the last 28 years. They serve about 60,000 families a year and sell everything West Indian/Indo-Caribbean from actual food (jerk seasoning, ginger beer, fresh meats, etc.) to lifestyle products and religious items. Prior to that, Arun worked for Securian Financial Group as a Field Marketer for seven years and Target as a Business Process Consultant for another three-plus years

Arun has the perfect combination of economist, marketer, salesman, and philosopher in a market that we wouldn't normally consider as “perfect” yet he and his family run their business “perfectly”.

He provides a laser-like focus on how to market and present your business or passion given specific constraints and presents business complexities as simple “truths”. If you feel like the term “customer service” or a “customer-centric” approach is getting too…clichéd…definitely give this episode a listen. We also dissect the rarely questioned belief that all businesses MUST grow. It almost seems un-American to question whether your business should grow and it’s more surprising to hear someone say they’d rather focus on one location vs. figure out multi-year scaling plans. Arun provides a great answer to the question: “When is enough, enough”?

We cover:
- His background as a Guayanese and how that shaped his business.
- How the little things like product placement, packaging, down to how you stand in your store affect the customer experience.
- How to approach different demographics with the same products and services while still providing a unique experience.
- And of course more of his…”human-centric” approach to business.

More information can be found at hiddenapron.com/podcast, contact us at [email protected], or catch us on Instagram @hidden_apron.

Amy Besa is a writer, speaker, and veteran restaurateur. Together with her husband Romy, she has led her restaurants - Cendrillon in the mid-90s and Purple Yam today - into critical acclaim long before Filipino food became the latest "food trend".

Her book, Memories of Philippine Kitchens, was the first Filipino cookbook I've read and along with her many posts on social media, formed the basis for a lot of what I know about Filipino food today.

In this inspiring and heartfelt conversation recorded right in Purple Yam, Amy talks about heady and philosophical concepts such as authenticity, romance, cultural appropriation/preservation, and our responsibility to understand our food, in a simple yet profound way.

Give this episode a listen for a glimpse into one of the most hopeful and wise takes on our food today!

More information can be found at hiddenapron.com/podcast, contact us at [email protected], or catch us on Instagram @hidden_apron.

It's been a minute since I've done a solo commentary (other people are more awesome!) so switching things up a bit this time around. I recently spoke at my day job about my work around food: why people should cook and how we can start cooking. I cover the things I've done to make cooking easier, more fun, and more effective personally and during our Hidden Apron dinners. A lot of the ideas here are not original at all but I think many of them often get overlooked for flashier "cooking show" content that isn't designed to set up beginners and busy folk for success in their kitchens. If you've always wanted to start cooking but find it too daunting/difficult/unnecessary, listen on as I touch on everything from:

- Why we eat the way we eat in America
- The bare minimum kitchen essentials (emphasis on minimum)
- The problem with how recipes are written today and the ONE recipe you need
- A different (read: more fundamental) way to look at cooking
- Tackling the weekly dinner

More information can be found at hiddenapron.com/podcast, contact us at [email protected], or catch us on Instagram @hidden_apron.

Most people know Josh as the long-haired wunderkind who captured hearts while competing as a finalist on Season 2 of Master Chef Junior. What most people are unaware of is Josh's near-obsessive love for food and wisdom that's beyond his years.

Gracing us with his presence on our 10th episode, Josh shares with us how he found opportunities to chase his dreams, his unique approach to cooking and eating food, why we all need to cook, and why adults' perceptions of kids are the very thing keeping kids from having a truly healthy (and delicious!) relationship with food and their kitchens.

When not doing homework, Josh is working in some of the most prestigious kitchens across the nation (and even in Paris!), throwing down at various food & wine festivals (NYC, SoBe, Hawaii, etc.), and cooking the family dinner 4x a week. Want a mind-blowing look at how kids can transform the way we eat? Listen on!

More information can be found at hiddenapron.com/podcast, contact us at [email protected], or catch us on Instagram @hidden_apron.

Eric is a fourth-generation back-to-the-land farmer. Eric grows hops under his company Mighty Axe Hops and is selling to top breweries in Minnesota from Fulton Beer, Day Block Brewing, and more.

Inspired by the ideas of educators/farmers Eduard Lindeman & Wendell Berry, he designed a first of its kind cooking and food systems course and contributed to a Food Systems Major, among the first in the country while he was studying at the University of MN. During these experiences at University, Eric was a founding member of Urban Oasis, a sustainable food center, which won a competitive $1 million grant award to bring cooking classes, an incubator kitchen, and locally-sourced catering to Saint Paul's East Side communities. He then started Sandbox Center for Regenerative Entrepreneurship, a beginning farmer incubator to address America's need for new farmers. He currently serves as a Vice Curator of the Minneapolis Hub of the Global Shapers, facilitator of Minnesota Young Food Professionals, and board member at Environmental Initiative. He is a TEDx Speaker, Minneapolis Saint Paul Business Journal 40 Under 40 Honoree.

His first book, "A Collection of Sorts", which explores the complex beauty in the life of a young farmer, is in progress.

We cover: his current operations in hops, how he got started in farming, creating a major while he was in college, the need for there to be more (and younger farmers), and much more.

More information can be found at hiddenapron.com/podcast, contact us at [email protected], or catch us on Instagram @hidden_apron.

We're back in business and sharing this conversation that's been years in the making! I first reached out to Hillary back when I was looking to start my own blog and we've just recently re-connected to talk about her experiences both in blogging and her current day hustle as Chicory's Marketing Manager.

It's a double whammy of an episode as we cover the basics of blogging - what are the biggest drivers of "success" (it's the little things!), and some things to consider before you enter the fray - as well as how data can change the way we buy food, cook, and eat via Chicory's technology that allows people to shop their favorite recipes online.

This is a must listen for bloggers who are struggling to find a consistent practice (ie. me) as well as data geeks (ie. also me) out there who want to see how data-driven insights can revolutionize everything from recipe development to how brands create food products.

More information can be found at hiddenapron.com/podcast, contact us at [email protected], or catch us on Instagram @hidden_apron.

I met Chelsey during a happy hour full of us run-of-the-mill

We talk about:

This is Part 2 of our conversation with Ayesha Vera-Yu, social entrepreneur and nerd farmer. Check out our first episode that covers her forays into organic farming but if you don't mind jumping into the middle of the action, listen on!

We talk about:
- what to consider when buying "organic"
- the poverty mindset and why education is key to lifting rural farmers out of poverty
- a more equitable, compassionate, and healthy way to shop/cook/eat
- staying centered and sane while doing emotional and back-breaking work

More information can be found at hiddenapron.com/podcast, contact us at [email protected], or catch us on Instagram @hidden_apron

This the first of our Commentary Episodes which we'll alternate releases with our usual interviews. Our hope is that through these shorter, commute-friendly episodes, we can bring the latest news in the food world to you without you having to sift through the deluge out there. After all, information overload is just as big, if not bigger, a problem than the lack thereof!

For this first one, I'm sharing my experiences at the Just Food Conference which covered a range of topics aimed at finding ways to make healthy, local food available to underserved communities, thus helping create more just societies. Needless to say the day was inspiring, thought-provoking, and forced me to confront some of the most pressing issues facing food today at the local level.

Listen on for a short recap on how changemakers are preventing burnout, youth are addressing food deserts, farmers are using food to end racism, and what the "local food movement" should really mean.  Be sure to check out the show notes for links to the groundbreaking work these folks are doing!