Rags To Dishes

In this weeks edition of R2D Spencer Bennett joins the crew to talk the talk.. well not all of it NYC will be another episode. Working for a handful of restaurants in Atlanta, Spencer learned from notorious TopChef winner Richard Blais. Spence grew in a "Kill & Advance" environment that conditioned him to rise to different heights in cooking.. so much so that Richard Blais totally named a restaurant after him. From slanging pizza in San Francisco to now Chef de Cuisine for Providence pizza titan's "Pizza Marvin" Spencer gets into the grimy and sometimes rewarding depths of the service industry as well as how T.I. likes his Waygu Beef cooked.

James Beard nominated chef friends, Nikhil Naiker & Luke Mersfelder join the squad for a seafood packed episode of laughs. Nikhil talks about the new experience of having his own business in the food world, where Luke is in a different space leaving from his reign as Chef of Bywater. Both products of the teachings of notorious Providence chefs Nikhil & Luke talk about what it was like working for the likes of James Mark (North) and Ben Sukle (Birch) and how their influence shaped their careers. ALOT of laughs about Squid, Onlyfans, Brainspikes, Food Nostalgia, among other some important some random topics that surround us in the service industry in the Northeast.

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Nico Chace joins the crew this week to talk his industry experience. Get him from the greeks because Nico has beef with his first employers all the way back to Europe itself. Painting a picture of the pretty chill workplace with some weird norms at the famous Plant City and on to becoming Sous Chef of the now deceased Masa Taqueria. (RIP)

Stream: Ratsnake & Dogwalker

Olivia Smith returns for a second appearance with friend and former colleague Megan Johnson to give the dish on what its like to work full-time in the Wedding corner of the service industry. From angry mothers to creepy conmen event workers, this episode will tell you everything you need to know about the behind the scenes of weddings and the way people are treated by usually the families of those getting married. Multiple crimes listed in this episode whether it be DJ Victor's SA or some crazy juice head groom's attempted murder?

Tune in for a fun ride right before wedding SZN begins!

"Jon Cook" joins the crew as someone has finally stepped up to talk about working for a specific Artisanal Bagel place that used to call Providence, RI home. "Jon" also brings other experiences into play as comparison. From childhood food hustles to caramel processing plants and bartending Mr. Cook teaches us a bit about rock climbing as well as a debate about the lowest form of potato accompany this tale of the bagel spot!

In this weeks episode of R2D the crew is joined by a truly unique character in Guinevere Furtado, and of course she's a baker. Guin's been running the vegan baking scene in Providence for a minute now and shares some truly picturesque experiences to how tough being a service industry worker can be. The crew discuss' baking in detail and the personality of a baker and how it can be very different when placed on a team as opposed to baking alone. Guin also has some dirt.. Some tough goes of it at certain places forcing her to quit or leave and the experiences of dealing with those issues and finding a way to leave and say "Fuck it im not happy here so im not working here" Not all  dark and deep as Guin also brings a very joyous charm to the usual witty banter of the R2D podcast crew as Max learns what gatekeeping is as well as other goofs along the way

In this weeks edition of R2D.. TUBA! Tim Brennan returns for the first time in two years with another legend of The Establishment itself Maggie Kain. Maggie gives the crew a quick rundown of her early years in the game in Cincinnati serving Hot Browns as well as some other juicy stories. Maggie then with the help of her 3 former expos relives some of her most insane shifts ever worked over at the famous establishment and gave a deeper insight into how it was during COVID-19. From throwing soup at a wall to people eating food right out of the window this episode is jam packed with laughs and witty banter from the crew.

In this edition of R2D, the crew is joined by Trent Tetreault. A kitchen manager at Plant City, Trent reveals a long line of working in the service industry with an interesting job history that takes the podcast down a route that it hasn't been before. Working 3rd shift in a casino running Buffett is an angle that hasn't been touched on the podcast and from the nap rooms to being tipped with mystery pills, Trent paints a great picture. The Cheesecake Factory, coffee shops, and a more clear definition of what Emo Skramz music is the episode speaks for itself

In this weeks edition of R2D Julian Forgue.. Yes THE Julian Forge of Julians joins the crew for a unique conversation and history lesson about the industry and the city of Providence. A self proclaimed "Egg Marine" Julian opened one of the cities most popular and sought after restaurants in all of Rhode Island in 1994. Today Julian is somewhat banned from his own (no longer his) establishment. A controversial figure in the Providence food scene, Julian gives us his story. From origins of the restaraunt, to his favorite Jedi, and taking advice from Buddy Cianci himself Julian is truly a one of a kind human. 

On this weeks edition of R2D, Oliver Marcionetti joins the crew to talk industry.  Oliver talks his days dishwashing and prepping clamcakes at local seafood shack Monahans and how he was able to transition over to FOH once he was hired at the legendary Turtle Soup in Narragansett. Bouncing around during college in Vermont he also bartended, served, and worked catering for weddings during his tenure in the industry. The crew talks Ice cream limitations as well as how to get butts in seats in a downtown beach community.  From meeting Maggie Gyllenhaal working the airport bartending shift, to dealing with the difficulties of managing a restaurant, Oli has a handful of experience in the world of food and drinks