The "How we do small things" Podcast
The "How we do small things" Podcast
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Chef 2 Chef Jay Herman and Matthew Gilbert

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ÜBER DIESE EPISODE

What does it really take to create an extraordinary hospitality experience?

In the Season 2 premiere of How We Do Small Things, Joe and Executive Chef Jay sit down with Matthew Gilbert of Medinah Country Club for a wide-ranging conversation about food, leadership, creativity, culture, and the relationships that make private clubs special.

Despite operating at very different clubs, the conversation quickly reveals how universal the principles of great hospitality really are. From preparing years in advance for major events like the Presidents Cup to creating unforgettable culinary experiences, the group explores the enormous amount of work that happens behind the scenes to make hospitality look effortless.

But the conversation goes much deeper than food.

Matthew, Jay, and Joe discuss the importance of earning trust before introducing change, balancing a club's traditions with the need to continually evolve, and understanding that creativity only works when it is built on a foundation of consistency and credibility.

They also explore the unique relationship between a chef and general manager, why leaders can't be above doing any job, how positivity and negativity spread throughout an organization, and why authenticity from leadership gives everyone else permission to bring more of themselves to work.

Perhaps most importantly, the conversation comes back again and again to relationships. Members can find great food almost anywhere. What they can't easily find is the feeling of belonging somewhere—of knowing the chef, being remembered by the team, having someone notice the small details, and feeling genuinely cared for.

The episode closes with a conversation about mentorship, developing the next generation of hospitality professionals, and a reminder for young leaders: don't simply chase the biggest name or most prestigious property. Find great people to work for and learn from.

Because ultimately, the moments people remember aren't always the biggest ones.

They're often the small ones.

And how we do small things is how we do all things.

Management
Wirtschaft
Englisch
Vereinigte Staaten
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TRANSKRIPT 🔗

WEBVTT
00:00:05.519 --> 00:00:08.000
This is the How We Do a Small Things Podcast.
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Leadership through the lens of hospitality.
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We love the limits of hospitality and service to others.
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And it's functionally service through leadership.
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This podcast explores the world of hospitality, climate clubs, industry trends, and all things big and small that will have a meaningful impact on the lives of others.
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Because how we do small things is how we do all the things.
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This is actually the first episode one of season two that we're calling this.
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Oh okay.
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Cool.
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And we've got uh Matthew Gilbert from Medina Country Club up in Chicago, Illinois.
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Yep.
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And Chef J, our executive chef here.
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Um, and Matthew and I connected on a podcast several weeks ago, and then I was up in your neck of the woods.
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I grew up in that area, so obviously I'm very familiar with Medina.
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Um, but I think you and your GM have a lot of the same similarities and relationships that that Jay and I have.
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We've been together a long time, and I just thought it would be cool to get um get you guys together and kind of brainstorm and just shoot the shit.
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I think it's fun.
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Yeah, I do.
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Yeah.
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Wait, I caught up with Matt the other day, and I tell you what, I mean, we're uh we we think along the same lines from being this far apart and never you know uh didn't know each other.
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Right.
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And and just in the in the conversation that we had, it's our our goals, our end game is uh is is just alike.
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Well, one one of the things I want to talk about, maybe we use this to just kind of get us kicked off here, is um the more I spend talking to other managers, whether it's GMs or club managers or chefs or golf pros, um, regardless of the level of club and the type of club, the concepts and the the principles and how we operate and how we think as hospitality professionals is all pretty much the same.
00:02:23.039 --> 00:02:24.000
Yeah, it's universal.
00:02:24.400 --> 00:02:24.639
Yeah.
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Um and you guys, Medina and Matt, why don't you give us a little bit of background uh on Medina?
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But you guys are looked at, I mean, you're one of the most exclusive storied clubs in the country, you know.
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Um different, very different club than we're at here at Countryside.
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But um, I think a lot of you know how we think is is pretty much the same.
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Um so why why don't you give us a little bit about uh kind of history of Medina, how long you've been there and kind of your background.
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We've got uh we've got Golf Kitchen magazine here.
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So oh boy.
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Nice, nice.
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Awesome, yeah, totally.
00:03:03.039 --> 00:03:04.879
Um, I I I think you're totally right.
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And and Chef was so awesome to talk to you the other day.
00:03:07.840 --> 00:03:15.599
Well, it gives me, you know, faith and in the world and humanity that, you know, we keep on meeting people of like mind in this way.
00:03:15.759 --> 00:03:18.719
You know, meeting you, Joe, not long ago, and then you now chef.
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And I mean, this has just been a great year for exactly that.
00:03:21.919 --> 00:03:30.879
You know, there's times where I think that in within our club worlds, we're sort of cut, you know, it's like our our heads down uh to use your term in the do the next thing mode.
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When you're in that mode, sometimes you're not, you know, it's like the your world comes down to this.
00:03:36.080 --> 00:03:44.400
And it can be, it can sometimes feel discouraging or or overwhelming um to think that you're kind of in this by yourself, even if you're with your big team.
00:03:44.479 --> 00:03:57.280
Um, and then there's there's other times like like this year for me, where I've just met so many people like you, just awesome, open-minded people who are trying their best uh to create a culture of excellence, but doing it in a way that's that's kind and respectful to everybody.
00:03:57.439 --> 00:04:02.080
And you know, that's that's very inspiring to me every time I'm reminded of that.
00:04:02.240 --> 00:04:04.400
Actually, the world is full of people like us too.
00:04:04.639 --> 00:04:10.400
Uh so yeah, no, Medina, obviously, uh, you know, it's one of those big deals in the golf world clubs.
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Um, I'm very honored to be a part of it, uh, very proud to be a part of it.
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The membership here is fantastic.
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Um, our club was founded in 1924.
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Uh, a lot of clubs of that age are a little older in our country, but of course, our country being as young as it is, that seems like a very old club.
00:04:26.560 --> 00:04:29.759
And celebrating our centennial, uh, we pushed it one year.
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It was going to be in 24, obviously, but we were unveiling course three that year after a long renovation.
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Uh, course three is the PGA played course, the one that we're about to utilize for the uh President's Cup.
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So getting that ready in 24 was a big deal.
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We decided to push the Centennial Party to 1920 uh to uh 2025 in order to be able to really focus on it.
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It was an awesome year, um, and and the celebration itself was just epic.
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I probably have never done anything quite as epic as that, um, at least within the club world.
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So that was really neat.
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And then this year we're hosting the President's Cup.
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I'm sure we'll talk a little bit about that.
00:05:03.279 --> 00:05:09.360
So within the realm of golf, you know, we're very known nationally and also around the world.
00:05:09.439 --> 00:05:11.920
And it's neat in F and B to be associated with that.
00:05:12.000 --> 00:05:18.480
But I have to be honest, um, we don't want to rest on anyone else's laurels, let alone our own.
00:05:18.720 --> 00:05:23.360
And so, food and beverage wise, I oversee food and beverage, um, food and beverage director in chef.
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So the service team too.
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And none of us want to coast on the coattails of the excellence of our golf program alone.
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Uh, so we're proud of that.
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We're proud to be adjacent to it, but we aspire just like you do, you know, to be the best in the world as a hospitality team, culinary team, and a service team.
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And so uh that's the mission that I've been on for the last seven years.
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I joined in in 2019 in November, uh, just before the COVID pandemic started.
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So I had just long enough to like get my foot in the door and then boom, you know, that all happened, which was a complicating factor, but in a lot of ways, honestly, it was it was good to be able to redefine certain things and start the program going in a in a different direction.
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Uh, that I'm very proud of at this point.
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I'm very proud of the team.
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At this time of year, we're 230, 240 people in food and beverage, event sales, setups team, dishwashers, you know, the whole the whole group is is quite large.
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And it's just an honor to be a part of this team that for the most part is really on the right uh on the right track for that hospitality experience, that humanity experience that we aspire to giving our members here.
00:06:30.079 --> 00:06:30.480
Yeah.
00:06:30.720 --> 00:06:34.959
I I failed to mention that you know, you are in your season right now.
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Obviously, we're opposite, right?
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With with with the times of year.
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So first of all, thanks for taking the time.
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Exactly.
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Um but you know, you're you know what it's go ahead.
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Sorry, go for it.
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This time of year, normally we would be on the downside.
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You know, like really last week we did our world of wine, which is you know, 650 people, it's a massive production with lots of you know, 40 vendors in the house, each pouring four to six uh different bottles.
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So it's an awesome opportunity for our members to try just a crap ton of wine.
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Um, and we do a lot of really creative food live cooked outside with that, and that's usually kind of the the the signal that we're almost done.
00:07:13.680 --> 00:07:18.079
You know, it really carries through October, but it starts to the taper down.
00:07:18.240 --> 00:07:22.959
And this so I felt that relief for a few minutes, you know, the day after that event.
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And then I was reminded by the specter and the phantom that is this looming uh president's cup.
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And it's it's gonna be awesome.
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But that in itself has been the last two and a half years of planning.
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So normally, yes, we're coming out of, we're beginning to come out of season at this point.
00:07:37.120 --> 00:07:39.839
November's quite chill for us up until Thanksgiving.
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We we power up for the holidays just like everybody does.
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And then um January, February, and March are our strat.
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We call that the strategy time of year, right?
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Where we're building, we're working, um, but it's it's not operationally busy.
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We're we're we're brainstorming, we're creating strategy, we're leveling up for the next season.
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But that's a time where we also get to breathe.
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Our children once again remember what we look like and all that stuff.
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Um, so we're still a ways from that.
00:08:03.040 --> 00:08:04.720
But uh yeah, it's been an awesome summer.
00:08:04.800 --> 00:08:09.759
All the things from you know, September got moved into the summer months too, because we're clearing out September for this tournament.
00:08:09.839 --> 00:08:13.279
So it was even busier than a normal year during these three months.
00:08:13.439 --> 00:08:14.639
Uh, it's all gone very well.
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You know, the team is holding up quite well.
00:08:16.639 --> 00:08:21.519
I can tell they're ready for a little break and they get a little one before the tournament starts, but really not too much.
00:08:21.680 --> 00:08:22.000
Right.
00:08:22.160 --> 00:08:23.600
Well, it's it's comforting.
00:08:23.680 --> 00:08:37.759
I think anytime I connect with um managers uh opposite times of year, because we're in our uh planning mode now, but we just had a leadership retreat last week, and and I think all of us are kind of like, oh no, it's coming.
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You know, we're we're getting ready to gear up.
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Um, and whenever you can kind of brainstorm with with managers across the country in opposite seasons, it's just it's a little comforting to me because you know, someone like yourself, because we got through it, it's okay, you'll get through yours, you know.
00:08:53.919 --> 00:08:55.279
Um yes.
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How much so how much activity comes to the club with with the presence cup?
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Like what's what's that like?
00:09:02.159 --> 00:09:04.799
I mean, it's it's completely taken over.
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Um, and even now, like so officially that handover happens four weeks from today.
00:09:10.480 --> 00:09:16.399
So we're four weeks out from the handover of our clubhouse and property being handed over fully to the PGA.
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That'll happen at midnight on the 18th, going into the 19th of September.
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So at that time, we kind of work for them, right?
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We're coming to work here, but we're going through their security checkpoints.
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We're parking off site and taking their shuttles in.
00:09:29.679 --> 00:09:30.879
So that's four weeks away.
00:09:30.960 --> 00:09:39.519
But that said, I'm gonna say that the um the disruption or the work that really started physically here was April 1st of this year.
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And that was like within the first week of April.
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There were 90 semis that came on property with just tons and tons of stuff to start dropping it.
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Um, currently, right now, and even when you were here a couple of weeks ago, you saw a lot of the hospitality suites being built.
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The the stands are for the most part constructed.
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And so that's been going on over the past four months.
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Um, in a way that, you know, it's it's pretty funny driving around right now.
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There's all kinds of different vehicles zipping around and forklifts and you know, scooters and all these different things.
00:10:08.480 --> 00:10:13.919
So the disruption to the members, you know, that has started uh quite a while ago now.
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Um, the planning for this, as I mentioned, there is a gentleman who runs the PGA side of it here in Chicago, uh, Joey Chitwood, and he came on property like almost three calendar years prior to the event.
00:10:25.120 --> 00:10:27.440
So we met him really a long time ago.
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He had an office in the building for a while.
00:10:29.440 --> 00:10:33.919
They they built an office here um not long after where they they currently work.
00:10:34.480 --> 00:10:42.159
Um but I guess my point is the presence of the PGA on a tournament of this size, it's not like they show up the spring before and go for it.
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It's like the groundwork is being laid down for for literally years.
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And um, you know, our conversations with them started at that time.
00:10:49.200 --> 00:10:52.960
So operational, I've made all the menus for it in January, actually.
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You know, everything for the most part has been written for a long time, which gives us somewhat of a sense of of calm going into this.
00:10:59.519 --> 00:11:08.720
But that said, you know, it just the the six months before it really just ramps up and and we feel the presence big time and are prepared to hand over very shortly.
00:11:09.039 --> 00:11:09.440
Right.
00:11:09.679 --> 00:11:32.639
One of the things that always impresses me about you guys, uh, you know, on the the food end of the business is how far in advance you're you're planning, you know, and really from the outside looking in, I'm always perceiving that the goal is when you get to the day, whatever the day is, everything's done and you're just working your plan and it just happens, it unfolds.
00:11:32.960 --> 00:11:35.200
That's exactly that's that's the only way to do it.
00:11:35.440 --> 00:11:35.679
Yeah.
00:11:36.000 --> 00:11:41.519
I mean, probably one of the biggest events we did here was uh last November, our grand reopening.
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We were closed for two years uh to renovate.
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Um we were working out of trailers.
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Um 300 square foot kitchen.
00:11:49.200 --> 00:11:50.000
Uh yeah.
00:11:50.240 --> 00:11:51.440
Well, awesome.
00:11:52.240 --> 00:11:56.000
And then it was, you know, we did this giant blowout event.
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Um, you know, that you guys really started planning probably two tw two years in advance.
00:12:01.519 --> 00:12:01.759
Exactly.
00:12:01.840 --> 00:12:02.000
Yeah.
00:12:02.080 --> 00:12:05.519
As soon as we went into the trailer, we started thinking about how to get back into the clubhouse.
00:12:05.600 --> 00:12:05.759
Yeah.
00:12:06.000 --> 00:12:10.320
Because it was we knew after that first week we don't want to stay in this yeah.
00:12:10.559 --> 00:12:12.320
So uh we had to, yeah.
00:12:12.480 --> 00:12:15.200
I mean, it was uh yeah, it was two years.
00:12:15.679 --> 00:12:26.080
And I think I think most most um I think a lot of the members, and uh I might be making this up, but it's just my perception over the years, is like they think that the food service end just happens.
00:12:26.159 --> 00:12:26.480
Uh-huh.
00:12:26.720 --> 00:12:30.240
You know, like because because everyone's everyone knows how to cook, right?
00:12:30.399 --> 00:12:30.639
Right.
00:12:30.799 --> 00:12:32.000
Everyone eats food, right?
00:12:32.320 --> 00:12:40.320
You know, so it's like, well, home, I just I stop at Publix on the way home, um, or whatever the grocery store is, and I grab dinner and I go home and I make it.
00:12:40.399 --> 00:12:46.000
And you guys are thinking like weeks and months and years ahead to uh to you know execute these giant events.
00:12:46.320 --> 00:12:59.120
Yeah, I couldn't imagine a a PGA tour stop because so you do all this work for, like you said, two and a half, three years, and it's it's one week in essence of Yeah, it it is.
00:12:59.200 --> 00:13:03.519
In this case, it's um we're also hosting the junior presidents cup, which is the week prior.
00:13:03.600 --> 00:13:10.399
So and then there's a couple outings for the PGA folks, uh the two days after the tournament ends.
00:13:10.480 --> 00:13:11.440
So Monday and Tuesday.
00:13:11.519 --> 00:13:17.200
Imagine that operationally, you know, you finish this like crusher week, the tournament ends on Sunday, and you're like, now we get to chill.
00:13:17.279 --> 00:13:20.960
And it's like the next two days are yeah outings back to back.
00:13:21.519 --> 00:13:29.679
So it's all in, it's really about a two-week stretch, including those outings, and then the pre-prep for the the junior president's cup, which starts the week prior.
00:13:29.840 --> 00:13:34.960
Um, and that starts right before we hand the club over to the PGA and then finishes after we have.
00:13:35.039 --> 00:13:40.000
So we're gonna handle some of the food and beverage for that, but really not very much, to be honest.
00:13:40.080 --> 00:13:41.600
So it's like we're hosting them both.
00:13:41.759 --> 00:13:48.799
Um, the work is more on the ground side and the golf side uh for the junior president's cup, but yes, it's a two-week to your point.
00:13:48.879 --> 00:13:54.399
You know, it's it's two and a half, let's say, years of of planning for just a two-week section.
00:13:54.480 --> 00:13:56.960
Um, and then and then it's like the circus leaves town.
00:13:57.120 --> 00:13:57.919
It was that way too.
00:13:58.000 --> 00:14:02.799
It was a year and a half, it was 18 months for our centennial party last year.
00:14:02.960 --> 00:14:05.919
And it was a$1.1 million night.
00:14:06.159 --> 00:14:09.600
So that quantity of money did include our club.
00:14:09.759 --> 00:14:11.360
Our club has, and it is brilliant.
00:14:11.440 --> 00:14:22.879
Like so, Nick Novelli, who's our photographer and and a historian here at the club, together with Emily, who you met, she's our our communications director, um, and a bunch of other people were involved, but they really spearheaded it.
00:14:22.960 --> 00:14:28.879
It was the creation of a centennial book that's just the most beautiful, you know, coffee table book you can imagine.
00:14:29.440 --> 00:14:35.600
A lot of that couple hundred thousand dollars, probably, maybe three hundred thousand of the one point one went to that book.
00:14:35.679 --> 00:14:43.360
So to be fair, the party wasn't that entire quantity of money, but all the rest of it was just for that one one crazy night.
00:14:43.440 --> 00:14:48.960
And it was amazing on the on the food side, you know, since we're kind of we're chefing it up a little bit, I'll talk just for a second about what we did there.
00:14:49.039 --> 00:14:51.600
Like we did what was called fire in the sky.
00:14:51.679 --> 00:14:52.960
That was kind of the main attraction.
00:14:53.120 --> 00:15:05.279
And we put, we have these big 24 by 48 uh Yoder grills, and we lifted those uh with with lifts up onto a 15-foot-high platform, and then we put pyrotechnics.
00:15:05.360 --> 00:15:07.919
There's a guy, Ron Onesti, who was handling all the music.
00:15:08.000 --> 00:15:13.039
There was a bunch of big name music acts here, and uh, he loves food, and then I'm a chef that loves music.
00:15:13.200 --> 00:15:16.480
So when we connected, I was like, brother, can you can you help me turn this?
00:15:16.559 --> 00:15:18.639
I want this to be just like a rock and roll show too.
00:15:18.799 --> 00:15:22.000
And so he got like pyrotechnics, which we put up by the grills.
00:15:22.080 --> 00:15:32.639
So the grill guys up there, they had you know bottles of cheap whiskey that they could pour on the grill at any time to make it blow up, and then they could stomp on this button and it would shoot, it would literally shoot, you know, pyrotechnics on either end.
00:15:32.720 --> 00:15:35.360
Oh, and then they were grilling beautiful beef cuts up there.
00:15:35.440 --> 00:15:37.600
We made, we made uh not not not me.
00:15:37.679 --> 00:16:05.440
I conceptualized it, and then a third-party guy, actually, just wacky genius, made this contraption of like Dutch ovens that were chained on a chain to a large pulley, and you could pull the lever and the Dutch oven would swing over, and so you put the stakes off the grill in the Dutch oven, push the lever back, and it would go over the edge of the platform, and then you let go of the chain and it would slide down, and then the guys at the bottom would pull the stakes out and carve them on at ground level and serve them down there.
00:16:05.600 --> 00:16:05.919
Oh my god.
00:16:06.080 --> 00:16:07.600
So we called that fire in the sky.
00:16:07.759 --> 00:16:11.279
Uh, we had flying fish, which emulated the Pikes Place market in Seattle.
00:16:11.360 --> 00:16:14.960
So our one of our seafood companies, awesome Wabash seafood, they're they're fantastic.
00:16:15.120 --> 00:16:16.720
Uh, they agreed to train their guys.
00:16:16.799 --> 00:16:19.840
It was more likely that they would be able to catch fish than than us.
00:16:20.159 --> 00:16:21.519
So they trained their team.
00:16:21.600 --> 00:16:26.399
They wore the yellow overalls that they wear at that market, and they were throwing fish all over the place.
00:16:26.480 --> 00:16:28.720
So our members were taking pictures of that.
00:16:29.200 --> 00:16:36.559
There were seven stations, and each one of them had some sort of really extravagant presentation and or experiential aspect to it.
00:16:36.720 --> 00:16:53.039
Um, so for$1.1 million, I mean, like that was really, we were able to spend that in a way that I'm pretty sure that our members will never, they would probably tell you that in their lives up until now, and very likely until they, you know, kick the bucket, eventually they they won't see anything like that again here.
00:16:53.120 --> 00:16:54.960
So yeah, it was really neat to be a part of that.
00:16:55.039 --> 00:17:04.160
But to your point, Chef, 18 months of preparation, and then boy, that whole month, we were looking at the weather apps like three weeks out, because this was in early July, right?
00:17:04.240 --> 00:17:08.000
Which in Chicago is a time where it's just super volatile with storms.
00:17:08.240 --> 00:17:11.920
And like every morning it was like, all right, the you know, 12 day, like we look good.
00:17:12.000 --> 00:17:14.240
And then the 11 day was like, we don't look good.
00:17:14.400 --> 00:17:17.839
And there's no moving this indoors, there's no way to put it under a tent.
00:17:17.920 --> 00:17:19.839
Like it was either gonna happen or not.
00:17:20.000 --> 00:17:33.599
And and down to the morning of like I woke up that morning and it was just really humid, but it was totally clear, and it looked like we might get some light showers in the afternoon, but the evening was looking good, and it's like it clouded up in the afternoon, but it didn't rain.
00:17:33.759 --> 00:17:38.319
We ended up having this just picture perfect night with like this beautiful sunset.
00:17:38.400 --> 00:17:39.200
I mean, that's awesome.
00:17:39.359 --> 00:17:44.000
You know, we were like we were being smiled down upon um when it came down to it.
00:17:44.079 --> 00:17:50.000
So 18 months, a lot of stress getting getting it there, but executing it.
00:17:50.079 --> 00:17:53.839
I couldn't, I mean, just afterwards for days, I was like, I can't believe that all worked, you know.
00:17:53.920 --> 00:17:55.039
Yeah, it's such a great feeling.
00:17:55.680 --> 00:17:59.519
It's like you put in so much time getting ready for one day, and then it's over.
00:17:59.759 --> 00:18:07.200
Well, and you know, events like what we do on a regular basis is all about creating experiences and memories.
00:18:07.279 --> 00:18:17.119
And you know, you and I talked about this, but like I always like to think we're going into our season, like, is there one event that is going to be a core memory for our members?
00:18:17.279 --> 00:18:23.279
You know, like they're gonna go through six months of season and they're gonna have you know a blast at everything we do.
00:18:23.359 --> 00:18:29.119
But a lot of it is like, okay, I was at the club last night and it was just it was a great experience, right?
00:18:29.279 --> 00:18:36.160
But is there one, you know, I always try and think like, is there one event this year that's gonna like that's gonna stay with them forever, you know?
00:18:36.480 --> 00:18:36.799
Right.
00:18:37.039 --> 00:19:04.559
Um I want to switch gears though because um I want to talk about I'm interested from both of you guys um on the creativity aspect and bringing that into the club environment, okay, and kind of putting your own fingerprint on what we do and how the relationship between your position and my position helps with that.
00:19:04.720 --> 00:19:06.079
And here's where I'm coming from.
00:19:07.119 --> 00:19:10.000
Um you guys obviously have a hundred-year history.
00:19:10.160 --> 00:19:15.839
We're we have a four we're celebrating 40 years this year, which I don't think is anything to shake a stick at.
00:19:15.920 --> 00:19:27.440
I mean, it's not a hundred years, but um, and you know as well as I do, um, you guys are both, you know, chefs from as in in your nature is is creativity.
00:19:28.160 --> 00:19:43.119
Um but in the club industry, you often deal with, you know, this is the way we've always dealt with things, and or this is the way we've always done things, and this is the this is how we've always, you know, this is what our menus have looked like, and this is what the these events have always looked like.
00:19:43.359 --> 00:19:43.519
Right.
00:19:44.079 --> 00:19:52.640
And one of the things Jay and I I think why we click is uh and Jay's been with me since 2013.
00:19:53.680 --> 00:19:59.279
Um and you know, when when I met Jay, I'm like, okay, this is the chef that's gonna follow me wherever I go.
00:19:59.519 --> 00:20:12.880
So um, and really our relationship is, you know, I'll just throw out some crazy idea and and Jay'll throw out crazy ideas, and then we just both we'll we'll shake hands and we'll we'll see at the event.
00:20:12.960 --> 00:20:14.240
Let's make it happen, you know.
00:20:14.559 --> 00:20:32.880
However, on the member side, you know, sometimes, you know, there's there's a little bit of anxiety, like, oh, we've never done events like that, or that's not how we used to do those buffets, or that's not how Thanksgiving was, or um, you know, we're kind of going through some of that now where the club is very different than it was 30 years ago.
00:20:33.119 --> 00:20:52.880
So I wanna, I'm interested in like the relationship between your positions and and the general manager role and how how you view that and how it's important to what you guys do, but also how that can help you kind of bring your own creativity into the into the club and the experience for the members.
00:20:53.279 --> 00:21:01.839
Um, but also kind of uh keeping the the history of the club, you know, respecting that history of the club and how things have been.
00:21:01.920 --> 00:21:02.400
You know what I mean?
00:21:02.480 --> 00:21:03.839
You see what I'm getting to here?
00:21:04.079 --> 00:21:04.319
Yeah.
00:21:05.039 --> 00:21:07.119
So I I yeah, Chef, Chef, you go first.
00:21:07.599 --> 00:21:07.839
Go first.
00:21:08.160 --> 00:21:09.119
Yeah, so it's easy.
00:21:09.279 --> 00:21:16.000
So, you know, with with Joe, it's just, you know, whatever thing you can think of, you know, he'll he'll get behind you.
00:21:16.079 --> 00:21:24.640
I mean, as long as it's sound, I mean, you know, as long as it's and the creativity is easy because it's I don't know, like I I dream about food.
00:21:24.720 --> 00:21:29.440
I don't know about you, but I I I literally will dream about food and wake up and be like, oh yeah, I'm gonna try that.
00:21:29.599 --> 00:21:40.240
And it may be something that is so left field, you know, like we did that dining in the dark, yeah, and and trying to get people to trust that, you know, the membership, they're like, Well, we've never done this.
00:21:40.319 --> 00:21:43.200
I've never put a sleep mask on and ate anything.
00:21:43.440 --> 00:21:50.559
And, you know, trying to get the other sensors, sensory uh, you know, perception of what they're eating without looking at it.
00:21:50.960 --> 00:21:53.200
And so, like, you had to get people to trust you.
00:21:53.440 --> 00:21:59.680
And, you know, I think that's what you know, Joe gets behind you get behind it, behind my ideas that oh, yeah, we could.
00:22:00.079 --> 00:22:08.880
To trust you and and you know and you'll talk it up and and and and get the comfort level of the club behind us in the ideas that we're doing.
00:22:08.960 --> 00:22:11.440
So I mean that's the that's what I like the best.
00:22:11.519 --> 00:22:15.119
I mean it's just I think it really needs I mean it's a partnership, really.
00:22:15.440 --> 00:22:15.680
Exactly.
00:22:16.240 --> 00:22:19.680
Like um uh I I can't do what you do.
00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:23.200
Well you well I no, I know I can't do what you do, you know.
00:22:23.279 --> 00:22:24.960
So I think there needs to be a partnership there.
00:22:25.039 --> 00:22:34.400
But yeah, I mean it's like you know, you guys are you bring the creative idea, you know, and then it's like on the front end when you're trying to explain to members like, oh no, this is gonna be fun.
00:22:34.559 --> 00:22:35.519
Well, we've never done that before.
00:22:35.680 --> 00:22:37.440
No, just trust us, it's gonna be fun.
00:22:37.519 --> 00:22:37.759
Right.
00:22:37.920 --> 00:22:43.039
Like there's a certain type of element there that needs to, you know, come across.
00:22:43.359 --> 00:22:43.519
Right.
00:22:43.599 --> 00:22:56.480
And and the longevity, I think, with us being together and us here at this club is is that trust membership is is is is is the basic you know ingredient to everything.
00:22:56.640 --> 00:22:57.200
Yeah, for sure.
00:22:57.519 --> 00:22:58.079
Just trust that word.
00:23:00.799 --> 00:23:02.079
So no, I I love that.
00:23:02.160 --> 00:23:02.480
I love that.
00:23:02.640 --> 00:23:07.839
Well, and I don't want to weird your listeners out, um, but I I'd also dream a lot about food and kitchen scenarios.
00:23:08.000 --> 00:23:18.000
And I had one real weird one um a few nights ago that that really I think reflects my whatever the word is, uh unease or or paranoia about the future of AI and stuff.
00:23:18.640 --> 00:23:33.920
And uh so it was a situation in which I was going to or I was like attending it, or maybe I was part of it the first time ever that somebody had a food experience where they like ate food without actually eating it.
00:23:34.079 --> 00:23:39.599
So somehow AI was delivering a food experience to this group of people, but there was no actual food.
00:23:39.759 --> 00:23:41.759
And I woke up and I'm just like, whoa.
00:23:43.359 --> 00:23:44.319
How do we do that?
00:23:45.200 --> 00:23:46.079
Yeah, exactly.
00:23:46.240 --> 00:23:48.319
So anyway, that's probably weird and tangential.
00:23:48.480 --> 00:23:51.519
But uh, my answer to the question, and and it's it's twofold.
00:23:51.759 --> 00:23:57.039
Um, it's uh for me, it starts with the word that you were saying there, chef, and that's trust.
00:23:57.119 --> 00:24:01.519
And and I've been through this several times on different podcasts, so I won't go through it in its entirety.
00:24:01.599 --> 00:24:05.279
But for me, what we owe a membership as chefs when we come on board.
00:24:05.359 --> 00:24:09.759
And if we come on board with a with a GM that's already a person we've worked with before, that makes it a lot easier.
00:24:09.920 --> 00:24:17.519
But um, in either case, what I I really believe that we owe our membership is a period in which we don't do a whole lot of change.
00:24:17.680 --> 00:24:29.759
You know, we do a lot of time, spend a lot of time observing what exists currently, and maybe there's some emergency things that need to be changed quickly, but mostly we're seeing what what resonates, what doesn't resonate, what do members really love?
00:24:29.920 --> 00:24:39.200
And a lot of times those are things that, like from our chef experience standpoint, like if we looked at things walking in the door and we're like, we should do away with this, this, this, and this.
00:24:39.359 --> 00:24:42.000
A lot of times that doesn't line up with the member values, right?
00:24:42.079 --> 00:24:52.480
Like the things that they like or or love may not be the ones that we do, or we would ax things on first glance, but it turns out no, you can never ax that, right?
00:24:52.720 --> 00:25:03.039
Um, and getting to know the members, asking a lot of questions uh in the first year or six months or however long you want to say for me, it's a year because like this place is is giant and there's a lot of members.
00:25:03.119 --> 00:25:17.680
And so it took a while for me to be able to confidently say kind of vox populi-wise, this these are the values of the biggest demographic andor the biggest demographics, and then begin to to make some make some changes or adjustments.
00:25:17.759 --> 00:25:22.480
And so it's like earning that trust is delivering in the that circle part.
00:25:22.559 --> 00:25:24.880
Like so, I always draw a diagram of two circles.
00:25:24.960 --> 00:25:27.119
There's a big circle on the outside and a small one on the inside.
00:25:27.200 --> 00:25:30.960
The small one is the comfort zone that exists within that membership when you arrive.
00:25:31.119 --> 00:25:31.279
Right.
00:25:31.440 --> 00:25:34.000
And my my approach to that is just drilling that.
00:25:34.079 --> 00:25:36.960
So here it was meat and potatoes, like they love mashed potatoes.
00:25:37.200 --> 00:25:48.720
So for the first year, I did like 46 kinds of mashed potato, you know, different cheeses in it, different things in the mashed potatoes, or just really nice moussoline French style, like things that they loved but they hadn't had before.
00:25:48.960 --> 00:25:49.839
And same with beef.
00:25:49.920 --> 00:25:54.319
We brought in Meats by Linz, um, all prime program, like beautiful, beautiful stuff.
00:25:54.480 --> 00:25:55.920
Uh, it was during the uh COVID.
00:25:56.079 --> 00:26:04.160
And so we were able to do a butcher to go program with access to$2 million worth of dry edge product that they all of a sudden had no home for, Linz.
00:26:04.400 --> 00:26:11.279
And so we were able to get that at just amazing prices, share it with the membership, educate them, and drill that bullseye.
00:26:11.359 --> 00:26:19.680
And then the outside circle, like in between the inside circle and the outside circle, is what I refer to with my chefs as like the magic happens in that zone.
00:26:19.839 --> 00:26:27.279
And so the outside circle, it represents what your the outside edge of what your members would ever try, even if trust existed, right?
00:26:27.440 --> 00:26:36.160
So they're probably never gonna love balut, they're probably not gonna love pickled Vietnamese snake in a jar, they're probably not gonna love yak meat, right?
00:26:36.319 --> 00:26:51.920
Right, those are things that are outside of that bigger circle, but in between the the the small one in the center and that one, as a chef, there's if you know, chef, if if if a member comes to you and they tell you five things they like, you can think of 15 more things that they've never had that they'll love.
00:26:52.079 --> 00:26:52.400
Exactly.
00:26:52.559 --> 00:26:56.640
And they look at you like you're some kind of freaking Gandalf wizard or whatever, right?
00:26:56.799 --> 00:27:01.599
And so that's what we did is once we earned that year of trust, we began to work outwards.
00:27:01.680 --> 00:27:03.920
I came here from from China, right?
00:27:04.000 --> 00:27:07.519
A lot of them were like, Oh, this new chef's gonna serve the chicken with the head on it.
00:27:07.680 --> 00:27:09.759
And I'm from Montana, so I would never do that.
00:27:09.839 --> 00:27:12.799
Like, I'm a beef and potatoes guy at heart too, right?
00:27:13.039 --> 00:27:14.480
But that's what they were worried about.
00:27:14.640 --> 00:27:16.000
So it was exactly what you said.
00:27:16.160 --> 00:27:18.559
It was about establishing trust, which takes time.
00:27:18.720 --> 00:27:18.880
Yeah.
00:27:19.279 --> 00:27:27.759
So once you do that, you know, that's that that's where you can begin to introduce things that, like, if you just came in the door and introduced them, they'd be like, nice to meet you.
00:27:27.920 --> 00:27:28.640
We're gonna pass.
00:27:28.799 --> 00:27:28.960
Yeah.
00:27:29.119 --> 00:27:42.240
Well, and uh, there's this element of perception too, like um, because our members were very much the same when he said very meat and potatoes, yep, classic club fair, like club sandwiches, Rubens, hot dogs, like chicken francais.
00:27:42.400 --> 00:27:43.119
Chicken francais.
00:27:43.200 --> 00:27:45.119
Oh my god, they love chicken francais, you know.
00:27:45.200 --> 00:27:50.799
Yeah, um, but then you know, the the first two weeks he was here, I had members saying the food is a hundred times better.
00:27:50.960 --> 00:27:51.839
This new chef is awesome.
00:27:52.000 --> 00:27:54.240
I was like, you know, he hasn't even stepped foot on the line.
00:27:54.480 --> 00:27:56.000
Like the same guys are cooking it.
00:27:56.160 --> 00:27:58.079
It stood there, the same guys, you know.
00:27:58.319 --> 00:28:05.279
And from my my position, you know, I very well in that situation could say, okay, chef, they love you.
00:28:05.519 --> 00:28:06.640
Let her rip.
00:28:06.960 --> 00:28:12.880
But again, the perception from the members is new chef, the food just tastes better, even though the same team's preparing it.
00:28:12.960 --> 00:28:15.920
Like nothing, and he was in this observation mode, right?
00:28:16.160 --> 00:28:17.920
Which was probably a good year, year and a half.
00:28:18.240 --> 00:28:18.559
Absolutely.
00:28:18.880 --> 00:28:28.240
And I think about what we do today now at the club is like off the wall different than what we we inherited here.
00:28:28.559 --> 00:28:44.079
Yeah, from what we I mean, as many menu changes and item changes that that we do compared to the rotation that was here before, like every six weeks, they'd get the same menu from you know five weeks, yeah, four generations ago.
00:28:44.240 --> 00:28:45.920
But it's the same thing over and over.
00:28:46.160 --> 00:28:47.279
No, nothing different.
00:28:47.440 --> 00:28:52.799
So you know that in six weeks it's going to change to this menu because that's what it was after this menu before.
00:28:53.200 --> 00:28:56.079
And I don't, you know, I just can't operate like that.
00:28:56.160 --> 00:29:04.799
You know, I just I I that's why I love the clubs because every day can literally be a different day and you can do something different all the time.
00:29:05.279 --> 00:29:07.359
Yeah, you know, and and it is a different day.
00:29:08.240 --> 00:29:14.559
Exactly, you know, and it they're not they're accustomed now to to having change, I hope.
00:29:14.720 --> 00:29:18.640
I mean, there's a few items that you know, like you need to bring back this.
00:29:18.720 --> 00:29:22.160
You remember that one dish you did three years ago with the sea bass?
00:29:23.680 --> 00:29:29.519
No, no, I don't because I've done uh 20 different dishes with sea bass since then.
00:29:29.680 --> 00:29:39.759
So you know, but you you gotta try and remember and bring back some of these old classics that you know they they obviously got some you know core memory from, which is great.
00:29:40.079 --> 00:29:52.400
One of the one of the things these guys, I don't know how it started, but um I know I didn't start it, but there's there's uh throughout the club, it just naturally is permanent permeated is the quote unquote secret menu.
00:29:52.640 --> 00:29:58.640
Um so it's like all the old classics that are never gonna be on the menu again, but if you ask about them, we'll do them anyways.
00:29:58.880 --> 00:29:59.279
Absolutely.
00:29:59.519 --> 00:30:02.079
You know, and we we call that the the off menu menu.
00:30:02.319 --> 00:30:03.680
Okay, so you so you have one too.
00:30:04.160 --> 00:30:04.480
Exactly.
00:30:04.559 --> 00:30:05.680
All right, every club does that.
00:30:06.240 --> 00:30:07.839
Yeah, awesome, awesome.
00:30:08.079 --> 00:30:15.200
Um, one of the things to your point about the the when you're new, like that's actually hilarious because it works that way for you.
00:30:15.279 --> 00:30:17.839
Like you haven't done anything, and everyone thinks the new guy's a genius.
00:30:17.920 --> 00:30:18.319
Yeah, right.
00:30:18.480 --> 00:30:26.400
But also there's those people that are like, there's always, you know, if it's a big membership or not, there's like one percent that thinks you're a genius no matter what you do.
00:30:26.559 --> 00:30:31.440
Like you could put mud from the golf course on the on the plate, and they're like, amazing.
00:30:31.680 --> 00:30:37.920
And then there's the opposite of like you could have the best thing ever, and they're like, the chef we hired is an idiot, right?
00:30:38.160 --> 00:30:38.400
Exactly.
00:30:38.559 --> 00:30:40.799
And so, like, I definitely experienced that coming in the door.
00:30:40.960 --> 00:30:54.799
They're like, the Christmas menus, we were serving some crazy, we were serving like really thin New York strip for 240 people, which they ended up being like bulletproof, and you know, the knives they had were just like they couldn't even cut them.
00:30:54.960 --> 00:30:57.519
So just picture all these people out there like sawing away.
00:30:57.680 --> 00:31:02.000
And you know, I had been there for just a little while, and it's like this new chef can't cook steak, you know.
00:31:02.079 --> 00:31:02.880
And I'm like, no.
00:31:03.599 --> 00:31:06.559
Um, but the the you know, over time that all gets worked out.
00:31:06.640 --> 00:31:10.880
The the the one what I want to say about the GM relationship from my perspective.
00:31:11.039 --> 00:31:19.119
Um, so working with Mark Gallaudet, I mentioned him to you, he's a GM now in Florida too, um, and was the GM of a place out in uh Scottsdale prior.
00:31:19.440 --> 00:31:24.480
But before that, he was a longtime chef, came up, you know, just super old school.
00:31:24.640 --> 00:31:34.559
Um, and he was, I met him in Hong Kong, uh, Robert Saraji, who was the reason I ended up in at Medina, he was our GM over in Hong Kong and brought uh Mark in.
00:31:34.640 --> 00:31:40.319
And so working together, the three of us there, um, when Robert left, he ended up coming to Medina.
00:31:40.559 --> 00:31:51.680
And between the American Club in Hong Kong and then here, I went with Mark to a resort property uh for just under three years in rural Idaho, uh, Whitetail Club, and then the Shorelodge Resort.
00:31:51.759 --> 00:31:53.440
We've we managed both at the same time.
00:31:53.680 --> 00:31:56.720
And then from there, he came here, and then I came here.
00:31:56.799 --> 00:32:00.880
Uh, and I brought several people from my leadership team from Idaho with me.
00:32:01.119 --> 00:32:02.880
And so that was very much a situation.
00:32:03.039 --> 00:32:06.079
My relationship to Mark is a lot like the two of yours.
00:32:06.319 --> 00:32:11.039
Um, but then we had one rung at the time he was the assistant general manager here.
00:32:11.119 --> 00:32:16.400
We had one rung higher with Robert, and then we had a couple rungs lower on the headcount chart for me.
00:32:16.559 --> 00:32:21.039
Uh, and that's what I like to call vertical integration, which is kind of a beverage term.
00:32:21.279 --> 00:32:37.519
But when you have vertical alignment philosophically, starting from, you know, the Josiah position and then down to the chef or food and beverage director, and then down to maybe the sous chefs, like the ability to operate just becomes so much easier.
00:32:37.680 --> 00:32:41.519
Like a lot of the friction or a lot of the resistance of needing to explain things.
00:32:41.680 --> 00:32:51.200
Like if you come into a club as a chef and you need to get to know the GM, the assistant general manager, the clubhouse manager, and you're like trying to explain your reasoning for things, you're working to earn that trust.
00:32:51.279 --> 00:32:54.240
It's like you guys have already established the trust years ago.
00:32:54.319 --> 00:32:54.559
Yeah.
00:32:54.960 --> 00:33:03.440
And so that alignment uh allows you as a duo or trio to move into a new environment and impact change, affect change super, super fast.
00:33:03.839 --> 00:33:09.440
And so that here was, I think that kind of still the earning of trust takes as long as it takes.
00:33:09.519 --> 00:33:11.039
Like you can't speed that process up.
00:33:11.119 --> 00:33:12.720
It's like getting a haircut, right?
00:33:12.799 --> 00:33:17.680
Like once your hair is cut, you cannot, if it's too short, you got to grow that back out at the speed that your hair grows.
00:33:17.920 --> 00:33:18.880
Some of us, some of us.
00:33:20.160 --> 00:33:21.119
Come in, come on, man.
00:33:21.200 --> 00:33:21.920
Yeah, it's okay.
00:33:22.400 --> 00:33:23.359
Sorry about that.
00:33:23.920 --> 00:33:25.599
Analogy doesn't work with us.
00:33:25.759 --> 00:33:27.200
Uh but I get it.
00:33:27.759 --> 00:33:29.279
But but you get my point, right?
00:33:29.359 --> 00:33:32.640
Like, so so even if you are an aligned team, you still have to earn the trust.
00:33:32.720 --> 00:33:41.599
But once you do, you know, putting your game plan into place at a new property is so much easier and faster if you guys already have the trust.
00:33:41.680 --> 00:33:46.960
Because I would need to, like with Dave Schneider, he he replaced uh Robert, and he's a fantastic GM.
00:33:47.039 --> 00:33:48.640
I couldn't be happier with our GM.
00:33:48.720 --> 00:33:52.000
He's fantastic, but I still had to earn his trust and he had to earn mine too.
00:33:52.160 --> 00:33:52.319
Right.
00:33:52.480 --> 00:33:57.119
And so that was something that it didn't really slow us down too much because we were both just like jamming.
00:33:57.519 --> 00:34:07.759
But that to answer Joe's uh your question about that relationship, from my point of view, yes, it's crucial, but I need to earn my GM's trust to allow me to do my thing.
00:34:08.000 --> 00:34:15.119
And the last part of my answer is that it's very the trust is about showing the members that you're doing what you're doing for them.
00:34:15.280 --> 00:34:15.440
Right.
00:34:15.679 --> 00:34:18.000
Like all of what we're here to do is is for them.
00:34:18.079 --> 00:34:19.599
It's not for me, it's not for us.
00:34:19.760 --> 00:34:24.719
Like if there's a harmonious win-win situation, then it's also for me too, right?
00:34:25.039 --> 00:34:26.320
But first, it's for them.
00:34:26.400 --> 00:34:31.519
And I think that's where a lot of chefs, our industry, as we know, is full of just a-holes, right?
00:34:31.599 --> 00:34:36.079
Or or people who are very talented, but they're very, they're high on their own stench.
00:34:36.159 --> 00:34:38.800
You know, they they think that they're God's gift to everybody.
00:34:38.880 --> 00:34:46.079
And you can't come into a club environment and and thrive, let alone survive, if you're there to tell them what they should want.
00:34:46.239 --> 00:34:48.960
Like in a club, we're here to give you what you want.
00:34:49.119 --> 00:34:50.320
You dictate that.
00:34:50.480 --> 00:34:50.719
Right.
00:34:50.880 --> 00:34:54.719
And there are a lot of things on the menu that probably as chefs, we wish we didn't have to cook.
00:34:54.800 --> 00:34:54.960
Yeah.
00:34:55.199 --> 00:34:58.079
Um, or a lot of chefs get hung up with like cooking kids' food.
00:34:58.239 --> 00:35:00.880
For me, the most important dish on the menu is the chicken nuggets.
00:35:00.960 --> 00:35:01.760
And you guys know why.
00:35:01.840 --> 00:35:03.199
I don't need to explain why.
00:35:03.519 --> 00:35:21.519
But showing that in real in a way that feels real to the members, that to me is the key to being able to do elaborate, fun things that allow us to be as creative as we want to is first earning the trust by showing them that everything we do, even when we're excited about it, it's for their well-being.
00:35:21.599 --> 00:35:27.679
Yeah, you know, it's for their bellies, it's for their visual and old factory enjoyment, all that stuff is for them.
00:35:27.920 --> 00:35:33.119
So, so follow-up comment and a then a then a a a question on that.
00:35:33.280 --> 00:35:52.239
So the the follow-up comment is I think um keeping the focus on everything being for the members, you know, and and and providing what they know they want, what the members know they want, allows us to continue to, you know, kind of dabble in the things that they don't know that they want, right?
00:35:52.480 --> 00:35:53.920
That creative stuff, right?
00:35:54.159 --> 00:35:54.400
Right.
00:35:54.639 --> 00:36:04.480
So I think both to your points, like that foundation is that initial trust and saying, okay, look, we know you like this item, we know you like that item, we know you like the format of this event.
00:36:04.559 --> 00:36:19.840
It's been this way forever, and we're gonna continue to do that and respect the history and whatever, and you know, that's majority likes that, but building that baseline allows us to, there's this whole element of food and experiences that they don't even know that they want because they've never had them before.
00:36:20.000 --> 00:36:20.320
Right.
00:36:20.559 --> 00:36:35.920
And I think oftentimes where we can get ourselves hung up is like, you know, like you know, to your point, Matthew, it's like, well, I've been cooking for years, I'm an executive chef, I I know what I'm doing, I'm creative, like this is what we're gonna do.
00:36:36.079 --> 00:36:48.880
And if you don't have that trust with them providing what they like the usual stuff, right, you can't step foot into that realm of like, oh, we didn't even know that we wanted this, right?
00:36:49.039 --> 00:36:49.440
Right.
00:36:49.920 --> 00:37:09.199
Um, and then the follow-up question I have for both of you is from a um you know a food and beverage chef perception or point of view, what are the members don't what what do they not realize is part of your job?
00:37:11.119 --> 00:37:20.800
Well, I I I think the number the number one thing is they think that I cook every meal for every person every single time that they walk in the door.
00:37:21.440 --> 00:37:24.000
I mean, that's that's the baseline.
00:37:24.239 --> 00:37:29.440
And and unfortunately, that's that's not the job.
00:37:29.760 --> 00:37:31.440
That's not the executive chef's job.
00:37:31.920 --> 00:37:40.079
It's you know, I I supervise, I train, I I make sure, I facilitate, you know, everything that you do.
00:37:40.239 --> 00:37:55.199
I mean, and it's um you know, but that's the biggest misconception from the majority of the membership, I think, is is unfortunately yes, it's my recipes, yes, it's it's the style I want, yes, it's the presentation I want.
00:37:55.519 --> 00:38:02.559
And and you know, but that comes down to me training my frontline staff that that says this is how we do it.
00:38:02.800 --> 00:38:02.960
Yeah.
00:38:03.280 --> 00:38:07.840
So that that to me is probably the biggest, biggest thing.
00:38:10.000 --> 00:38:12.480
Yeah, no, I would I would definitely agree with you.
00:38:12.639 --> 00:38:16.960
I think that I would add to it what goes on beyond, you know, behind the door.
00:38:17.119 --> 00:38:20.079
Like I think that's one thing for me from since day one here.
00:38:20.320 --> 00:38:30.000
There was sort of well, I don't I don't want to throw anyone under bus, really, but there was a kind of a feeling when I got here that like members weren't allowed in the kitchen and like they shouldn't come back here.
00:38:30.159 --> 00:38:36.079
And and I think in a club, the members at any time should be able to go in the kitchen, like it's their kitchen, right?
00:38:36.400 --> 00:38:38.079
And they need to do that appropriately.
00:38:38.239 --> 00:38:42.159
Like if they storm the Bastille or whatever, like that wouldn't be cool.
00:38:42.239 --> 00:38:46.079
But they they also should be able to just from and this is a trust thing too, right?
00:38:46.159 --> 00:38:50.159
Like, if we're keeping them out, why is it because of cleanliness?
00:38:50.239 --> 00:39:02.320
Yeah, in in the case of many places, that's why um we're we're embarrassed to show what's going on in there, um, or the behavior of people, and that's why we know uh open open kitchens are a challenge for some teams, right?
00:39:02.559 --> 00:39:15.039
But an open kitchen forces you to be very honest about things, an open kitchen for forces you to um train your team to have the proper decorum, to do the right things, to know about their volume and the way that that sounds out there.
00:39:15.280 --> 00:39:21.519
So we treated our our inside kitchen like an open kitchen, uh, prepare to have people come in here a lot.
00:39:21.679 --> 00:39:27.199
You know, we want them to we want to welcome them in, to show them what we have if they want to look in the coolers, which they never do.
00:39:27.280 --> 00:39:29.920
They never would, but if they wanted to, we would let them.
00:39:30.159 --> 00:39:32.480
And uh so part of that was a trust builder.
00:39:32.559 --> 00:39:43.599
But the other part of it is for me, I'm very motivated as becoming an old guy here to make sure that everybody on the member side understands just what goes into delivering these experiences.
00:39:43.760 --> 00:39:46.400
It's hard and it's very time consuming.
00:39:46.480 --> 00:39:53.840
There are a lot of people back there putting to your point, Chef, like you know, you get credit for everything and you're also at fault for everything.
00:39:54.000 --> 00:40:00.079
So so this is the like benefit and burden of wearing the the crown.
00:40:00.159 --> 00:40:04.159
You know, we we a lot of times we say, pesa la corona, like in the in the kitchen.
00:40:04.239 --> 00:40:05.760
It's like the crown is heavy, right?
00:40:05.840 --> 00:40:06.000
Right.
00:40:06.159 --> 00:40:14.960
That's something that we say a lot with our with our leadership team because they're everybody wants to be in charge until they're in charge, and then they're like, Oh god, like these are hard decisions, right?
00:40:15.199 --> 00:40:19.440
Um, but but but so it's cool because like everywhere I go, people are like Shaf, this is awesome.
00:40:19.519 --> 00:40:30.880
You did this, and uh it's like I always say, how thankful am I that I have 90 incredible people putting their hearts into everything behind the door, right?
00:40:31.039 --> 00:40:31.360
Absolutely.
00:40:31.599 --> 00:40:36.400
And so our interest is to try to get the members to understand what's going on back there.
00:40:36.559 --> 00:40:40.960
I love when they come in there and see how hard everybody's working because they walk out and they're like, I had no idea.
00:40:41.039 --> 00:40:42.000
We do these videos.
00:40:42.079 --> 00:40:53.199
Um, a lot of times I'll do a Mother's Day video where our all of our ladies on the team will like in in their language, their home language, whether that's Spanish or Mongolian or uh English, they'll say happy Mother's Day to the members.
00:40:53.360 --> 00:40:59.519
And then we'll do a tour of I'll just take footage of people preparing because that's 1,200 people that we feed.
00:40:59.679 --> 00:41:01.280
And then we do the same for Thanksgiving.
00:41:01.360 --> 00:41:04.880
So I'll always put together a four to five minute video on Thanksgiving.
00:41:05.039 --> 00:41:13.440
And it's like it's people working, and it's like just incredible quantities of turkeys and potatoes and sweet potatoes and herbs and bread and stuffing and all this stuff.
00:41:13.599 --> 00:41:17.519
And then as the video is going, I'll list the weights of what we ordered.
00:41:17.599 --> 00:41:24.480
So, like 780 pounds of butternut squash, 1300 pounds of Yukon gold potatoes, and then I'll send it out.
00:41:24.559 --> 00:41:27.280
I always get it out the day after, um, right away.
00:41:27.360 --> 00:41:32.400
You got to do it right on the on the heels of Thanksgiving, otherwise, people switch into Christmas mode.
00:41:32.559 --> 00:41:33.440
But they freak out.
00:41:33.599 --> 00:41:38.320
I get more emails about that video than anything else, where people are just like, thank you so much.
00:41:38.559 --> 00:41:42.719
We had no idea, you know what I mean, what what what how hard that was.
00:41:42.880 --> 00:41:45.199
And we do food for 1700 on that day.
00:41:45.280 --> 00:41:47.039
So wow, for me, it's it's that.
00:41:47.119 --> 00:41:51.280
I think a lot of times people are sort of to your point, it's like, wow, they just whipped up Easter.
00:41:51.360 --> 00:41:58.400
Yeah, you know, they just whipped up some some some some you know, a seven-course tablet out menu on New Year's Eve or whatever.
00:41:58.480 --> 00:42:01.599
And you know, on one hand, I want it, I want us to make it look easy.
00:42:01.679 --> 00:42:03.119
That's a point of pride if we can do that.
00:42:03.199 --> 00:42:11.039
But at the same time, big part of my job is to educate our membership on on all the names back there, the the origins that these people come from, right?
00:42:11.199 --> 00:42:13.360
The things that they they're passionate, right?
00:42:13.440 --> 00:42:16.159
It's not just me, it's not just our leadership team that are visible.
00:42:16.320 --> 00:42:20.960
So show them that as much as possible because I I don't think most members understand that.
00:42:21.280 --> 00:42:28.719
We just recorded a video, it's dropping uh Monday with our um Italian pizza chef who's from Milan.
00:42:29.039 --> 00:42:29.679
Milan, yeah.
00:42:29.840 --> 00:42:31.199
Uh he speaks no English.
00:42:31.360 --> 00:42:37.920
So Jay and I came up with, I mean, well, I mean, Jay translates through or or communicates through Google Translate.
00:42:38.000 --> 00:42:38.559
Yeah.
00:42:38.719 --> 00:42:41.199
Um, but I I came up with a list of questions.
00:42:41.360 --> 00:42:45.760
I translated them all, and we we did a kind of a video interview for the members.
00:42:46.320 --> 00:42:53.760
Um, and then I'm, you know, I'm doing subtitles and that drops Monday, but I that's such a good point, and we're so big on that.
00:42:54.000 --> 00:42:58.320
Um, especially this year, um, with the kitchen being brand new.
00:42:58.400 --> 00:43:04.719
I mean, we've had members tour the kitchen constantly, it's like a revolving door, they want to see what's going on back there.
00:43:05.039 --> 00:43:25.519
Um, and I worked with a chef probably 15 or 20 years ago who was, you know, you're when you think of a chef, uh, your typical personality in terms of very strong-willed, um, could be very loud, uh, enjoyed staying in the kitchen because that's where the work happened.
00:43:26.000 --> 00:43:26.639
Comfort zone.
00:43:26.880 --> 00:43:33.840
And I would say to him, I mean, I was I was a young manager, I was in my 20s, and I'd be like, Chef, you gotta go out in the dining room.
00:43:33.920 --> 00:43:35.199
He's like, I don't go out in the dining room.
00:43:35.280 --> 00:43:37.440
I don't think, you know, that's the work happens back here.
00:43:37.519 --> 00:43:38.719
And I'm like, but you don't understand.
00:43:38.880 --> 00:43:41.519
When you walk into the dining room, it's like Oz.
00:43:42.000 --> 00:43:48.800
Like the wizard came out from behind, and it could be the worst night in the world, but when they see the chef, they're like, the chef is here.
00:43:48.960 --> 00:43:50.719
Yeah, everything is okay.
00:43:50.960 --> 00:43:58.719
You know, and I think from you guys, like having that personality to one, be personable and want to engage with the members.
00:43:58.880 --> 00:43:59.599
Um, I don't know that.
00:44:00.400 --> 00:44:08.960
Every executive chef realizes how much of an impact that makes, you know, and helps us, you know, me and our front house team do their jobs.
00:44:09.280 --> 00:44:22.719
Um one of the creative things we're doing this year, uh, and I think chef's excited about it, but we just, in fact, just yesterday, we're we're we're selling five, um, five, is it five or six?
00:44:23.039 --> 00:44:23.440
Five.
00:44:24.159 --> 00:44:26.880
We've got five dates that we're selling.
00:44:26.960 --> 00:44:33.519
Uh we're calling it an exhibition table, where we're putting a table of four in the kitchen in front of the line.
00:44:33.760 --> 00:44:37.519
Um and it's gonna be pricey, uh very pricey.
00:44:37.840 --> 00:44:39.280
Uh it's gonna be worthwhile.
00:44:39.519 --> 00:44:40.639
There's no there's a value to it.
00:44:40.880 --> 00:44:43.440
There's no menu, like we determine the menu.
00:44:43.599 --> 00:44:55.199
Um, obviously, we're gonna do uh, you know, make sure there's no allergies or anything, but everything's included, all the drinks you can handle, um, nine or ten or maybe more courses.
00:44:55.440 --> 00:45:07.119
But the idea is that one, they get to see like four lucky members get to see exactly what it looks like on a Friday night where it's when it's chaos in there.
00:45:07.280 --> 00:45:10.800
And and it and it they will go out and tell the story to the rest of the members.
00:45:10.880 --> 00:45:17.039
They will say, You have no idea what it takes to do a la carte for three or four hundred, you know?
00:45:17.280 --> 00:45:23.119
And then two, um, and this is what I'm looking for, is I think it keeps our team on their toes.
00:45:23.280 --> 00:45:23.679
Oh, absolutely.
00:45:23.920 --> 00:45:25.920
You know, because again, we don't have an open kitchen.
00:45:26.000 --> 00:45:27.679
Uh you guys don't have an open kitchen.
00:45:27.920 --> 00:45:31.920
It is easy to fall into that mode of like, I can say what I need to say.
00:45:32.159 --> 00:45:32.400
Right.
00:45:32.559 --> 00:45:35.599
Um, I can just wipe this onto the floor, cut some corners here.
00:45:36.079 --> 00:45:40.880
I mean, it's human nature, it happens, but like we we have these five dates scheduled.
00:45:40.960 --> 00:45:42.880
Um, and I and I know they're gonna sell out.
00:45:43.039 --> 00:45:43.920
Oh, it's gonna be awesome.
00:45:44.159 --> 00:45:47.199
And it's one of the things, again, talk about small things.
00:45:47.280 --> 00:45:49.599
Like we're talking an experience for four people.
00:45:49.760 --> 00:45:52.079
It's probably the biggest thing I'm looking forward to this year.
00:45:52.400 --> 00:45:54.239
I think it's gonna be so much fun.
00:45:56.719 --> 00:45:57.360
No doubt.
00:45:57.440 --> 00:45:59.360
No, that's that's awesome that you're doing that.
00:45:59.519 --> 00:46:01.679
That will be very special for the members.
00:46:01.840 --> 00:46:02.559
Yeah, no doubt.
00:46:02.719 --> 00:46:13.039
It it's interesting in our in our culture, and and I think we're all kind of old enough to have watched what culinary TV did to the reputation of chefs in general.
00:46:13.119 --> 00:46:16.320
You know, like we what you said about Oz, it that's totally true.
00:46:16.400 --> 00:46:20.960
You know, it just for some reason there's a cultural interest in what chefs think.
00:46:21.119 --> 00:46:25.039
I mean, often we're not certainly me, you know, the smartest person.
00:46:25.199 --> 00:46:29.840
Um uh, but but everybody's interested in in what is the chef thinking and doing.
00:46:29.920 --> 00:46:31.199
And that's that's really neat.
00:46:31.280 --> 00:46:33.920
It creates this sort of vibe, right?
00:46:34.000 --> 00:46:37.760
And in the club, I mean, just everybody wants to talk about the bear, probably chef.
00:46:37.840 --> 00:46:39.280
Um, you're tired of talking about it.
00:46:39.360 --> 00:46:41.679
Yeah, um, just all these shows, you know, it it's awesome.
00:46:41.760 --> 00:46:46.159
Yeah, I'm not I'm not tired of talking about the bear in that there's interest from the members.
00:46:46.320 --> 00:46:48.960
So as long as they have interest, I'm happy to talk about it, right?
00:46:49.119 --> 00:46:52.400
Um, but it but it's very interesting, and not all cultures are like that.
00:46:52.480 --> 00:47:01.360
Um, you know, Peruvian culture, when I was down there, there's some some Latin cultures where it's like you wouldn't want um, it was like this actually in Hong Kong a bit too.
00:47:01.440 --> 00:47:12.239
Like those were those were jobs that maybe you as parents you wouldn't want your daughter to marry a cook for the sake of your future, you know, economically and socially.
00:47:12.480 --> 00:47:23.119
Um, and so we're in a special place where I think we have to be careful with it, you know, it's just like any form of power, there's like a lot of responsibility with how you represent being a chef.
00:47:23.199 --> 00:47:28.480
And we know that there's just a lot of jackasses out there as chefs doing really things that I'm like, oh my god.
00:47:28.639 --> 00:47:38.800
But uh in the club environment, yes, I think, and chef, tell me if you agree, like there is a a persona that I for sure have in this in this club.
00:47:38.880 --> 00:47:43.920
And it it's like you can't be too crazy, you know, like chefs are supposed to be a little bit crazy, right?
00:47:44.000 --> 00:47:46.719
But in the club environment, you can't be too, too crazy, right?
00:47:46.800 --> 00:47:51.119
So you need to be a little edgy, but you can't be like, yeah.
00:47:51.360 --> 00:47:58.480
Um yeah, and so there's like this really interesting, my my kids would call it aura that a chef has to have.
00:47:58.559 --> 00:48:03.360
And within the club world, it's a little bit different, but it's almost enhanced more too.
00:48:03.440 --> 00:48:04.960
It's like our chef, right?
00:48:05.039 --> 00:48:10.719
The membership want to be proud of their chefs and the things that their culinary program does.
00:48:10.880 --> 00:48:14.960
So there's an outsized interest in in culinary, I think, in our country.
00:48:15.119 --> 00:48:19.840
Um, and but certainly in in the kitchens here, there's a lot of interest in everything we're doing.
00:48:20.000 --> 00:48:20.800
I'm thankful for it.
00:48:20.880 --> 00:48:21.920
Don't I'm not complaining.
00:48:22.079 --> 00:48:25.920
It's just kind of an interesting phenomenon that results in us having a very active life.
00:48:26.079 --> 00:48:29.599
And yeah, I do feel like part of the chef's job in a club.
00:48:29.760 --> 00:48:35.599
Like if you don't want to in a hotel or in a in a freestanding restaurant, if you don't want to touch tables, like, okay.
00:48:35.760 --> 00:48:36.000
Right.
00:48:36.239 --> 00:48:40.400
But I really think in a club, we that has to be like that would be on the job description.
00:48:40.559 --> 00:48:47.119
If I was writing the the JD for my replacement, that would definitely be something that you should have to do.
00:48:47.280 --> 00:48:50.559
And and if you if you're not good at it, a lot of chefs are introverted.
00:48:50.880 --> 00:48:53.039
You know, I was by nature as a young guy introverted.
00:48:53.280 --> 00:48:55.360
These are things I had to learn, but you can learn that.
00:48:55.440 --> 00:49:01.840
And mostly it's just practice, it's getting used to it, approaching tables, talking to them, knowing that it's not a confrontation.
00:49:01.920 --> 00:49:10.079
You know, a lot of times I think introverted people, it's like I only go to the table when there's a problem, like something's been overcooked, and I go out and I stand tall while they dress me down.
00:49:10.239 --> 00:49:12.880
Um, no, what to your point, what they want is a story.
00:49:12.960 --> 00:49:15.360
You know, come tell me a story, tell me about these ingredients.
00:49:15.440 --> 00:49:18.079
Why are you excited about what's on the menu tonight?
00:49:18.320 --> 00:49:22.960
And if you embrace that and do it, you are doing a huge service to your club.
00:49:23.039 --> 00:49:23.199
Yeah.
00:49:23.360 --> 00:49:26.159
And I think if you're not doing it, it's a bit of a disservice.
00:49:26.480 --> 00:49:33.519
Well, I that I think that goes into the the intangible piece of what we are here to do.
00:49:33.679 --> 00:49:36.960
Um, and I, Matthew, I think you and I talked about this when I was up there.
00:49:37.119 --> 00:49:46.239
Like, you know, you join a club, you're a member, you join a club, you know, you stroke a check for whatever the membership fee is, and then you don't walk away with anything.
00:49:46.320 --> 00:49:48.480
Like there's nothing that you're leaving with.
00:49:48.880 --> 00:49:58.639
You know, what you're joining is this feeling, this culture, this atmosphere, this the ability to, as you said, the ability to say our chef.
00:49:59.280 --> 00:50:10.639
You know, oh, I spoke to Chef Jay last night, or I can call our chef directly and you know, request something special, or our chef came to the table, or you know what I mean?
00:50:10.719 --> 00:50:19.360
Where you can't you don't do that at just a freestanding operation, you know, you don't have it's not your chef at right.
00:50:19.599 --> 00:50:28.320
But it's you know what I also think is it's because they signed that check and they they became part of this group, they they are our captive audience, and that's 100%.
00:50:28.800 --> 00:50:35.360
So we no matter what you do, you're you're gonna have to interact with them because they're here multiple times.
00:50:35.519 --> 00:50:39.679
You know, it's not a freestanding restaurant where you may go one time and never go back.
00:50:39.760 --> 00:50:44.480
Yeah, that we're an establishment that they're paying for, so they're gonna use us, right?
00:50:44.639 --> 00:51:03.599
And and I think any reac any interaction that you have, and and I've had some great interactions, and yes, I've stood at tables and and and taken it, you know, one side down the other side, and and you know, and I we move forward, but they come in the next week and they've had the greatest experience of their life.
00:51:03.920 --> 00:51:08.320
So I mean it's you you take the good and the bad with that, but it's it's our captive audience.
00:51:08.400 --> 00:51:15.119
And if you're not present and you're not in that dining room and they don't know who you are, then they've got no respect for you, I think.
00:51:15.280 --> 00:51:18.960
You know, it's it's it's you gotta be there, you gotta show them.
00:51:19.119 --> 00:51:36.960
And and the little bit of craziness that you let out, like I tell I literally stood in front of a room of of our uh one of our wine dinners, and I said, This next course, I can't explain it real well, but I had a dream about it, and I want you to experience my dream.
00:51:37.360 --> 00:51:38.960
And that's all I said about it.
00:51:39.519 --> 00:51:44.559
And when I came out after that course, they're like, This is the best thing we've ever had.
00:51:44.880 --> 00:51:49.679
And it's you know, whatever it was, it was just, you know, I was like, okay, that's my crazy.
00:51:49.760 --> 00:51:59.360
That's that's where my you know, that's how I let it leak out, you know, it's just in a in a controlled environment where it's let's try something different, you know.
00:51:59.519 --> 00:52:01.360
So I love I love that.
00:52:01.519 --> 00:52:05.440
And uh really, it's like part of the intangible is the relationships that we have.
00:52:05.920 --> 00:52:08.480
And imagine saying, like, I love that you said that, Treff.
00:52:08.719 --> 00:52:10.159
That's the kind of thing I would say too.
00:52:10.320 --> 00:52:15.039
Um, but imagine if you didn't have a pre-existing rapport with that room and you said that, right?
00:52:15.199 --> 00:52:18.239
Like that would be like they're gonna be like, what is this guy?
00:52:18.639 --> 00:52:19.440
Who's this weirdo?
00:52:19.519 --> 00:52:22.800
You know, like I came here for some beef and carrots, you know, not agreeing.
00:52:23.119 --> 00:52:23.440
Exactly.
00:52:23.599 --> 00:52:32.239
Um, but but if you if you develop a rapport, and as we always talk in Medina about the currency, the ultimate currency at Medina is the relationship currency, right?
00:52:32.400 --> 00:52:35.039
So tenure often reflects that, right?
00:52:35.360 --> 00:52:38.960
But for me, that's more important than tenure, it's more important than your skill set.
00:52:39.039 --> 00:52:43.360
It's can you can you have relationships with everybody that feel good, right?
00:52:43.440 --> 00:52:50.159
And if you can, as the years pass, you become someone who is near and dear to folks in a way that then you can talk like that.
00:52:50.239 --> 00:52:52.079
And they're like, wow, chef had a dream.
00:52:52.159 --> 00:52:55.119
Like it was, and they're telling that story long after they leave, right?
00:52:55.199 --> 00:53:00.320
I'm sure they're talking about your dream right months and years after you stopped even thinking about it, right?
00:53:00.400 --> 00:53:00.559
Right.
00:53:00.719 --> 00:53:03.440
But part of that intangible is the relationship aspect.
00:53:03.519 --> 00:53:04.559
And I fully agree, Joe.
00:53:04.639 --> 00:53:14.960
Yeah, we did talk about this at length, so I won't uh beat any kind of dead horse, but you know, we know that these folks can get any product they want at any time in any part of the world.
00:53:15.119 --> 00:53:21.920
Like they have the ability to jet set today, tomorrow, the next day to any place that that we could pull product from.
00:53:22.079 --> 00:53:30.400
And so what we feel at Medina, you know, we we calibrate each event um with our team going into it based on what's today's feeling.
00:53:30.559 --> 00:53:40.239
So, so when when you said we're delivering a feeling, we've completely embraced that for the last three years on the front end back of house side to the point where we actually say, okay, today's different than yesterday.
00:53:40.639 --> 00:53:42.320
Last night was a bit more formal.
00:53:42.480 --> 00:53:48.079
We needed to facilitate the fun, but we needed to do that in a way that had a little bit of seriousness to it.
00:53:48.320 --> 00:53:49.760
Today we're gonna be warm.
00:53:49.920 --> 00:53:57.039
There's a bunch of children here, we're gonna get down on one knee when we see one, we're gonna fist bump the the kids, we're gonna give them a candy cane, whatever it is.
00:53:57.280 --> 00:54:01.519
Today's vibe is about making the children and the moms happy, let's say, right?
00:54:01.679 --> 00:54:05.280
And last night it was a bourbon dinner or it was a very high-end wine dinner.
00:54:05.360 --> 00:54:10.159
And so we were we were more serious, and we were making this group of gentlemen and their guests happy.
00:54:10.400 --> 00:54:15.679
So the product is the product, and we, of course, as chefs, we procure the best we possibly can.
00:54:16.000 --> 00:54:19.360
Um, but ultimately we want them to walk away feeling something.
00:54:19.760 --> 00:54:24.079
Like I experienced something in this club environment that I wouldn't have been able to get anywhere else.
00:54:24.239 --> 00:54:28.639
That's our our main thing is to to deliver experiences like that.
00:54:28.800 --> 00:54:32.079
So yeah, it's all intangible from my point of view.
00:54:32.159 --> 00:54:41.039
They of course you want them to eat good stuff, but they need to walk away feeling something, or else, yeah, is$150,000 worth it?
00:54:41.199 --> 00:54:41.360
Yeah.
00:54:41.519 --> 00:54:41.599
Right.
00:54:41.760 --> 00:54:41.920
Right.
00:54:42.079 --> 00:54:45.599
You gotta deliver something that feels like it's a good value for them.
00:54:45.840 --> 00:55:05.599
Well, and that, you know, when you said the when you said currency, you know, and and the relationships, um, there are times, and I'm I'm thinking about your series that you're doing, you know, the food, food is humanity, and and how much of a human element um is all about what we do, and humans are imperfect.
00:55:05.760 --> 00:55:12.400
Like to me, I I say it all the time, like we're gonna try and be excellent, but we like perfection is impossible, right?
00:55:12.559 --> 00:55:15.440
Like we are humans are imperfect by nature, you know.
00:55:15.519 --> 00:55:28.239
So if you're focused on building that currency and building those relationships, um the times when you're going to have to ask for forgiveness or where things are subpar, because it's gonna happen.
00:55:28.400 --> 00:55:33.280
I'm sure you guys have had nights of service where you're like, well, that didn't go great.
00:55:33.440 --> 00:55:37.360
Um, and the reason for that is because everyone is human.
00:55:37.519 --> 00:56:08.239
And I mean, one of the things I think about all the time, and Jay's heard me say it a million times, is how many hands, and you know, this isn't gonna sound it's not meant to sound weird, but how many hands are involved in a dish from the time it come, you know, raw product comes in the door, gets inventoried, put away, pulled out, prepared, plated, picked up by a food runner, you know, garnished and to the table, right?
00:56:08.320 --> 00:56:17.360
Like there's so much that has to line up perfectly for the member to put their fork in that steak, put it in their mouth, and be like, wow, you know what I mean?
00:56:17.599 --> 00:56:19.519
And oftentimes they forget about that.
00:56:19.599 --> 00:56:27.920
And all those elements, from you know, the time we receive it to the time it goes into the member's mouth, they're all human elements, right?
00:56:28.239 --> 00:56:43.519
And there will be a time, probably multiple times a week, maybe, where it's something doesn't work out, you know, and and you're gonna have to go to that member and say, listen, you know that's not the norm for us, you know.
00:56:43.760 --> 00:56:46.159
I'm sorry, whatever the situation may be, you know.
00:56:46.639 --> 00:56:56.239
Um, so that human, I just I go back to that human element that is like so, you know, ridiculously like to me, that is the foundation of everything we do.
00:56:57.599 --> 00:57:01.199
Yeah, yeah, I I think uh food is humanity.
00:57:01.280 --> 00:57:02.480
I'm loving doing this.
00:57:02.559 --> 00:57:07.599
I didn't I didn't set out to do anything, but at this point in time, like I'm enjoying it so much.
00:57:07.679 --> 00:57:11.119
I I got to interview uh Jimmy Koontz the other day.
00:57:11.199 --> 00:57:13.599
Um, he was here, he's one of our guest chefs for the President's Cup.
00:57:13.679 --> 00:57:17.119
So he came in advance to see the space and we worked out his menu, which is super ambitious.
00:57:17.199 --> 00:57:18.880
It's gonna be unreal.
00:57:19.119 --> 00:57:22.400
But here's a person, uh, so he's the son, everybody probably knows this.
00:57:22.480 --> 00:57:26.239
He's the son of Gray Koontz from Lespinas and Cafe Gray in New York.
00:57:26.400 --> 00:57:30.719
Um, you know, the legendary chef he was in Hong Kong too and from Singapore originally.
00:57:30.800 --> 00:57:36.159
So he comes from an incredible pedigree, um, culinary-wise, uh, and his business is called the Truffleist.
00:57:36.320 --> 00:57:37.599
So he makes all these truffle products.
00:57:37.679 --> 00:57:40.000
But more than anything, this is a human being.
00:57:40.079 --> 00:57:51.519
I've never been around, or I have been around a few in all the years, a few like him on the level of enthusiasm about food and about what he does, and about people too.
00:57:51.599 --> 00:57:54.320
So, right, like those are, in my opinion, are connected.
00:57:54.559 --> 00:57:57.760
But sitting there with them, and our interview was two hours long.
00:57:57.840 --> 00:58:06.320
There were times where I was just like, I was just like laughing uh from joy of watching him talk about something that he was doing, right?
00:58:06.559 --> 00:58:22.480
And so I say that because I think the part of the club thing, too, and and I know that this is so inside baseball and weird, and and I'm I'm getting older, so I'm probably more sentimental and stuff, but the humanity part of this really inspires me uh so much more than I like two decades, three decades ago.
00:58:22.559 --> 00:58:27.599
I had I wasn't thinking like this, and now I'm old and I'm a dad, so I can be cringe and not care.
00:58:28.000 --> 00:58:31.199
But the energy that we give to people, right?
00:58:31.360 --> 00:58:37.920
So the club environment is also about, and when we would talk about Kikubadi, the handing out of energy, you know, you and I talked about that.
00:58:38.000 --> 00:58:38.400
Yeah, yeah.
00:58:38.559 --> 00:58:40.079
I think about that a lot.
00:58:40.320 --> 00:58:48.480
When people come, I think a lot of staff members think when wealthy people come to be a part of a club, we're the help and we give them what they want.
00:58:48.639 --> 00:58:49.199
Yeah.
00:58:49.440 --> 00:59:00.800
The way I see club membership is a group of people who are actively looking to participate in a human community, doing very human things with people they love and care about, right?
00:59:00.960 --> 00:59:03.119
And that's all energy oriented.
00:59:03.440 --> 00:59:08.800
And so one of the things I try, I can't help but be enthusiastic naturally too.
00:59:08.880 --> 00:59:18.400
So, like when I go to tables, I'm like trying knocking things over because I'm gesturing all wild and just getting really excited about bison or mushrooms or whatever it is, right?
00:59:18.480 --> 00:59:20.000
I can't help but do that.
00:59:20.159 --> 00:59:29.119
Um, but a lot of our team, one of the things that I try to get them to do is break out of their shell of maybe they're nervous to act like that in front of people.
00:59:29.199 --> 00:59:32.960
They feel as though we're here to be serious and we're in fine dining or whatever it is.
00:59:33.119 --> 00:59:34.960
We need to deliver a serious experience.
00:59:35.039 --> 00:59:41.199
And it's like there's this perfect pocket of form-wise doing it the right way.
00:59:41.679 --> 00:59:46.239
Um, but you can also be an enthusiastic person, and that's contagious.
00:59:46.400 --> 00:59:52.000
So, what I loved about my conversation with Jimmy, we had this whole thing about negativity is contagious, right?
00:59:52.079 --> 01:00:03.679
And we we live in a in a me over we society in which there's kind of like some reinforcement for the negative, you know, it's cooler to be a crap talker than it is to be a positive person, right?
01:00:04.239 --> 01:00:08.639
Um, and so it's contagious, but so is positivity.
01:00:08.880 --> 01:00:21.760
And what I've realized is that any given night, like as the chef, I can walk around to all these tables and and and and be that enthusiastic, passionate person about food, and it leaves the room feeling different, right?
01:00:22.000 --> 01:00:32.400
And that's not a me being a special person thing, anyone can do that, but it's like giving permission to other people to be excited about something.
01:00:32.559 --> 01:00:37.199
Like if our service team is excited about any of the food that's on the menu, we'll sell it all, right?
01:00:37.360 --> 01:00:37.679
Exactly.
01:00:37.920 --> 01:00:50.880
The description by itself might sell a bunch of dishes, but if one, even if one server really likes it, they could blow through the entire 13 specials or 22 specials on one busy Friday or Saturday night just because of their enthusiasm.
01:00:50.960 --> 01:00:56.719
And so I feel like that's something in a club too, that people people are like looking for positive energy.
01:00:56.880 --> 01:01:00.480
People are looking to be, of course, respected and heard and treated well and stuff like that.
01:01:00.639 --> 01:01:19.679
But more than that, we have the opportunity to to like really invest in those relationships in an enthusiastic and positive way that like people would give almost any amount of money to receive that, yeah, feel that because most places in life, and most places, especially in our me over we society, they don't feel like that.
01:01:19.840 --> 01:01:28.639
They're they're they're downer places where service is like you're you're you're bothering somebody when you order a sandwich or when you do whatever, it's like, oh, I'm so sorry you have to put your phone down for a second.
01:01:28.800 --> 01:01:33.360
And so in our environment, it's like, we are so excited that you are here today, you know, like that.
01:01:33.440 --> 01:01:36.559
We don't have to say it, but that energy says it and it's it's really special.
01:01:36.719 --> 01:01:40.880
So that's one of the things that I'm trying to really empower our group to do that in a professional way, to your point.
01:01:41.119 --> 01:01:53.360
But from you, you know, from the leadership standpoint, like when you guys have that type of perception from the top down and you're looking at things that way, it will naturally permeate uh into all everyone else.
01:01:53.599 --> 01:01:56.079
I mean, for for years, Jave's known me a long time.
01:01:56.239 --> 01:02:00.239
For years, I came up through a very high-end club.
01:02:00.400 --> 01:02:08.400
Um, you know, we used to wear jackets and ties, you know, men used to have jackets and ties, and servers wore vests, and I mean it was very high-end.
01:02:08.800 --> 01:02:15.199
And I am a very personally a very unorthodox general manager, you know.
01:02:15.360 --> 01:02:27.199
And for years, up and up and really until probably eight or nine years ago, I always personally always felt like, okay, this is the way the industry says I'm supposed to be in my position.
01:02:27.519 --> 01:02:33.760
And I felt so weird trying to be like this, like, you know, peg in a square hole.
01:02:34.000 --> 01:02:40.239
And, you know, really when we, you know, we just started uh it was probably a pelican.
01:02:40.320 --> 01:02:41.519
I was just like, you know what?
01:02:42.320 --> 01:02:51.679
I'm what makes me enthusiastic is being me and as quirky as I can be, and as uh as non-GM as I as I am.
01:02:51.920 --> 01:03:08.159
Oh yeah, to watch Joe serve tables is interesting, but but as you know that that that feeling permeates to everyone else, and like when people can be who they are and just kind of be comfortable being who they are, um, they're more enthusiastic about what they're doing.
01:03:08.320 --> 01:03:08.880
Oh, for sure.
01:03:09.039 --> 01:03:14.800
You know, like it's just like Yeah, it's no you're comfortable in your own skin, so you might as well share it.
01:03:15.039 --> 01:03:17.280
Yeah, you know, I mean it's so it's so important.
01:03:17.440 --> 01:03:25.840
I guess my point is it's so important from the the leadership, you know, for from the higher up um, you know, on the hierarchy, like you know, your position.
01:03:25.920 --> 01:03:33.599
If you're just and especially in your kitchens, um, you guys have very diverse backgrounds, diverse people, right?
01:03:33.679 --> 01:03:38.880
Like you want them to be enthusiastic about sharing their backgrounds and their culture.
01:03:39.039 --> 01:03:39.679
And right.
01:03:40.000 --> 01:03:43.199
Well, and that's and that's I think that's the key word is the culture, you know.
01:03:43.280 --> 01:03:47.519
Like when we came here, it was to what you were saying, Matt, is it was negative.
01:03:47.679 --> 01:03:55.679
I mean, it was it was one guy in the kitchen that set the tone or set the mood for the entire day's worth of service.
01:03:55.840 --> 01:03:59.679
And and when I came in, I was like, man, I I I can't I can't do this.
01:03:59.760 --> 01:04:07.199
I can't, I can't be put down every single day because one guy is just negative about everything we're doing.
01:04:07.360 --> 01:04:08.639
And we're an anchor.
01:04:08.800 --> 01:04:13.119
Yeah, we're doing we're doing great things and we're having fun doing it.
01:04:13.360 --> 01:04:20.639
And you know, we're all getting along, and you know, yeah, there's it's a team thing, but it's not front of the house against back of the house.
01:04:20.719 --> 01:04:22.400
You know, it's it's our team.
01:04:22.639 --> 01:04:28.480
So let's let's work this together and and whatever yesterday happened yesterday, that was yesterday.
01:04:28.639 --> 01:04:29.599
Today's a new day.
01:04:30.000 --> 01:04:43.760
You know, and that's the philosophy that I I keep bringing up is with the staff is you know what yesterday I may have come at you because I'm passionate about what I do and how things happen and and what I'm expecting.
01:04:44.480 --> 01:04:48.400
And and feelings may have gotten hurt, but that was yesterday.
01:04:49.199 --> 01:04:50.719
Today is a brand new day.
01:04:50.960 --> 01:04:58.239
Let's start over, let's let's do it again, and let's have fun doing this and not uh and not be negative about it.
01:04:58.320 --> 01:05:12.400
Let's just, you know, I try and say it's positive and crazy, you know, like sometimes you just gotta come off the wall with some stuff, you know, out of pocket stuff just as somebody, you know, to get a a reaction from somebody to change the world.
01:05:12.559 --> 01:05:25.280
Yeah, you know, and and and we try I try and do that at lineup, you know, they they all look at me and I I say something that just is so left field that they're all like what?
01:05:26.480 --> 01:05:33.440
And then and then it just you know it just resets, you know, so we can uh we can move forward and and have a better day about it, you know.
01:05:33.519 --> 01:05:36.400
So that's what I'm you you're so you're so right.
01:05:36.480 --> 01:05:46.800
And you know, being the guardians of the energy and and having it be be positive and keep it positive, like the term we use for the the opposite here is an energy vampire.
01:05:46.960 --> 01:05:47.440
Yeah, right.
01:05:47.760 --> 01:05:47.920
Yeah.
01:05:48.239 --> 01:05:59.599
And and going back to my term of um you know the contagion, the contagiousness of energy, be it positive or negative, um, the danger of energy vampires, especially if they're charismatic in any way.
01:06:00.320 --> 01:06:12.800
If they're a charismatic person that's a shit talker, you've got a big problem because people, it's like two, it's like two hundred percent to one hundred percent the draw of negative to positive in our society.
01:06:12.960 --> 01:06:16.400
Like it's easy so much easier to be a shit talker, right?
01:06:16.559 --> 01:06:19.360
Just sit in the peanut gallery and throw eggs at stuff.
01:06:19.599 --> 01:06:23.119
It's so much easier than being the person that actually has to go do something, right?
01:06:23.599 --> 01:06:35.840
Um, so if you have a charismatic energy vampire, boy, is that problematic in your kitchen, in your service team, because people are gonna hear the things that that charismatic person says and be like, yeah, you know what?
01:06:35.920 --> 01:06:36.480
He's right.
01:06:36.719 --> 01:06:38.000
This is bullshit.
01:06:38.239 --> 01:06:41.840
And before you know, you've got this growing cancer.
01:06:42.400 --> 01:06:45.119
It's like the poison in the well spreads through the water.
01:06:45.280 --> 01:06:46.000
Cancer, right?
01:06:46.079 --> 01:06:46.639
Yeah, exactly.
01:06:46.800 --> 01:06:47.920
Great, great analogy.
01:06:48.079 --> 01:06:50.639
So, you know, counteracting that is so important.
01:06:50.719 --> 01:06:58.800
And the from the very top level, in our case in the kitchen, us, but then the GM, we we're signaling verbally a certain number of things, right?
01:06:59.039 --> 01:07:02.159
But non-verbally, we're signaling thousands of things, yeah.
01:07:02.239 --> 01:07:02.400
Right.
01:07:02.559 --> 01:07:09.360
And so our actions throughout the day are modeling the behavior the way we um, you know, get along with other department heads.
01:07:09.519 --> 01:07:13.519
So it's like, oh, the the freaking grounds guy is an idiot, right?
01:07:13.599 --> 01:07:24.480
And and so we all think that, and then I talk to him like he's an idiot, he talks to me as an idiot, and the 120 grounds people and 240 F and B people see that as a green light to hate each other.
01:07:24.559 --> 01:07:25.199
Yeah, right.
01:07:25.440 --> 01:07:26.719
Um, so all that stuff.
01:07:26.960 --> 01:07:29.199
I also want to qualify something I said before too.
01:07:29.360 --> 01:07:38.079
Like, and I uh Chef, I think you probably agree, like when we're talking about a dream going onto a plate or we're being kind of goofy or enthusiastic.
01:07:38.159 --> 01:07:39.840
And um, I can imagine, Mr.
01:07:39.920 --> 01:07:46.480
Joe, one of the things I love about you is that you really you talk with your hands, like I'm editing our video, and it's all just of you, right?
01:07:46.559 --> 01:07:51.840
So it's like I'm trying to change the screen size to accommodate your your Italian in me.
01:07:52.719 --> 01:07:53.519
I I love it.
01:07:53.599 --> 01:07:58.159
It's like you just you're so you know magnetic to watch because of the movement.
01:07:58.239 --> 01:08:01.760
Uh, but I can imagine you out there trying to, you know, you're knocking over water glasses at the end of the day.
01:08:01.920 --> 01:08:02.480
Oh, yeah, absolutely.
01:08:02.639 --> 01:08:04.320
You know, clear, clear a table or whatever.
01:08:04.400 --> 01:08:04.639
Yeah.
01:08:04.800 --> 01:08:11.119
But but I think like it's a line that I have here, it's part of our internal kitchen medina way um pillars.
01:08:11.280 --> 01:08:16.560
Um, and it's it's essentially a line that I call capability and credibility.
01:08:16.800 --> 01:08:23.760
So a lot of times when you're a young manager and you're trying to earn the respect of your team, you're trying to make friends with them.
01:08:23.920 --> 01:08:28.960
You're trying to maybe you're tit for tatting a little bit, where it's like, well, I'll be lax on this.
01:08:29.279 --> 01:08:32.720
So, and then you, but you guys respect me as your leader, right?
01:08:33.279 --> 01:08:40.319
And what I always preach, and I I want to make sure I'm always doing this myself, but in the kitchen, it works no other way.
01:08:40.399 --> 01:08:45.680
Like the chef has to be better at any kitchen task than everyone else.
01:08:46.000 --> 01:08:49.840
It's a little bit like warlords, you know, in in in Africa or something like that.
01:08:50.000 --> 01:08:55.279
Like, if the guy that gets to be the warlord can't beat the rest of them, then they kill him and the next guy's the warlord, right?
01:08:55.600 --> 01:09:01.760
Like in the kitchen, you have to, as the chef, be able to demonstrate your capability every day.
01:09:01.920 --> 01:09:08.479
You're only as good as your last hot dog, hamburger, chicken nugget, foie gras, uh, sweetbreads, whatever it may be.
01:09:08.720 --> 01:09:14.399
And so, capability and credibility, this is a relationship in the kitchen that's very visceral, right?
01:09:14.479 --> 01:09:19.600
Like, if you're not capable, then you're not credible as my as my chef and as my leader.
01:09:19.920 --> 01:09:24.399
You may be a good cook, you may have the name on the jacket, but I don't respect you.
01:09:24.560 --> 01:09:25.279
Yeah, right.
01:09:25.359 --> 01:09:27.279
I don't want to follow you and I won't call you chef.
01:09:27.439 --> 01:09:31.680
Like the term chef, we could do a whole episode about yeah what does that actually mean, right?
01:09:32.159 --> 01:09:39.439
So it's very important when we're when we can only be goofy and have fun and do all these things, like we talked about trust before.
01:09:39.520 --> 01:09:40.399
So you got to earn that first.
01:09:40.479 --> 01:09:43.600
But you know what else you have to earn is you have to earn credibility.
01:09:44.159 --> 01:09:46.399
And that's something that you can lose pretty quickly.
01:09:46.560 --> 01:09:49.359
You can cash in on existing credit, right?
01:09:49.439 --> 01:09:51.119
And say, Oh, we made a mistake tonight.
01:09:51.199 --> 01:09:53.760
I'm so sorry, but you can only do that so many times.
01:09:54.000 --> 01:09:54.239
Right.
01:09:54.560 --> 01:10:01.439
And if you if you start to deliver anything subpar and then you're also goofy, woo, yeah, that will tank you faster than anything else.
01:10:01.600 --> 01:10:08.880
So I feel like for whoever's listening, it's like I don't want the perception to be like, oh, you know, Matt and Jay and these guys are just goofballs up here.
01:10:09.119 --> 01:10:20.880
It's like you have to work so hard to earn, first of all, that credibility and maintain the credibility, and then you get to be a bit of a comedian, or then you get to focus on the energy exchange.
01:10:21.039 --> 01:10:25.279
All that stuff comes after you've built a foundation of quality.
01:10:25.439 --> 01:10:27.920
That's where the product matters more than anything, right?
01:10:28.079 --> 01:10:34.239
Like all those things that we're sort of dismissing when we talk about energy, it's like can't lose sight of the importance of those first.
01:10:34.479 --> 01:10:53.119
And I've I've always seen one of the one of the biggest ways to continue to build and protect that credibility is when I mean when you are not above any job in terms of um listen, when we're when we're in the shit, we're all rolling our sleeves up and getting down there.
01:10:53.279 --> 01:11:28.800
And if that means, you know, I'm hot to your point, you gotta do any be able to do any job as good as as good as the guy doing it or better, that might mean hopping into the dish pit one night, you know, or you know, I've I've I've spent nights this season expoing, um you know, or busting tables, like that that type I've always found that you know when when your team knows that they can count of count on you because you can do the job to help them in the times of struggle, um, you're you're building credibility that I mean just absolutely.
01:11:28.960 --> 01:11:36.399
Yeah, that was the that was a big thing when when I first started here was the chef before never would work the line.
01:11:36.720 --> 01:11:40.720
Or or is as simple as put away product when it came in.
01:11:40.960 --> 01:11:43.520
And you know, like I was small things, man.
01:11:43.600 --> 01:11:45.520
Those small things make a big difference, right?
01:11:46.079 --> 01:11:48.800
Just you know, if it's sitting on the floor, let's pick it up, you know.
01:11:48.880 --> 01:11:51.439
Let's and you watch me do it a thousand times a day, you know.
01:11:51.520 --> 01:11:53.199
So it's that's all I'm asking.
01:11:53.279 --> 01:11:59.039
It's just our RG RGM walks around picking up garbage all day.
01:11:59.520 --> 01:12:06.880
Like he one of his one of our principles that came from him is it's called keep the campus clean or keep the park clean if we're outside.
01:12:07.039 --> 01:12:15.279
And this gentleman almost obsessively, it's like constantly just it's like a cigarette butt and a pencil from the scorecards that was over there.
01:12:15.359 --> 01:12:16.800
And oh, here's a couple broken T's.
01:12:16.880 --> 01:12:24.479
And anywhere he goes, he's got either a little bag like in Japan, like we talked about, yeah, or just in his hand, like seven or eight pieces of garbage.
01:12:24.640 --> 01:12:29.039
And so on one line, you know, one level, you're like, why is the GM always holding garbage?
01:12:29.199 --> 01:12:34.079
But what he's doing is walking around setting the tone of exactly what you just said.
01:12:34.560 --> 01:12:42.720
Nobody, nobody is above picking up garbage and cleanliness right next to godliness, uh Hemingway, a clean, well-lit place.
01:12:42.880 --> 01:12:47.119
Like we can look across all of our world at the values of having a clean place.
01:12:47.279 --> 01:12:51.920
So imagine the person that's the first to aspire towards cleanliness being the one at the top of the chain.
01:12:52.000 --> 01:12:53.279
For sure, like you, Joe.
01:12:53.439 --> 01:12:58.079
Um, you know, that's so powerful in the eyes of others in terms of establishing credibility.
01:12:58.239 --> 01:13:00.960
And all of our team is like, oh God, like if he's out there picking it.
01:13:01.039 --> 01:13:03.439
So you see that like 17 people like running around picking up garbage.
01:13:04.079 --> 01:13:09.840
I've I've always I look at the club, I like to say, you know, it's the members' clubs.
01:13:10.000 --> 01:13:11.119
It's the members' club.
01:13:11.199 --> 01:13:13.279
They're just letting me borrow it for the time I'm here.
01:13:13.439 --> 01:13:15.920
And I I hope that I hope that that's a long time.
01:13:16.159 --> 01:13:34.720
But again, there's this, there's this high level of responsibility um for really it starts at the top and then it permeates down into each level, you know, the executive level, but we are we are caring for the club, we're caring for the property, but we're also caring for the culture and the atmosphere, right?
01:13:34.800 --> 01:13:41.279
You know, and it's it's it's our duty to um for the time that I'm borrowing it to take care of it.
01:13:41.359 --> 01:13:44.560
I want to leave this club better than how I found it.
01:13:44.800 --> 01:13:47.039
I want to leave people better than how I found them.
01:13:47.199 --> 01:13:49.760
We talked about this at our leadership retreat, you know.
01:13:50.079 --> 01:13:56.640
People come and go in our culture, in our uh, in our work culture, um, and change sucks.
01:13:56.800 --> 01:14:00.239
You never want to lose people, especially good ones, but they're gonna move on.
01:14:00.479 --> 01:14:12.640
As long as we are comfortable and confident knowing that they left the club better than how they joined the club, they got something positive from it from their experience here, then that's all we can do.
01:14:12.720 --> 01:14:14.560
And it's the same thing with members.
01:14:14.720 --> 01:14:16.960
Um, and it's even a day-to-day basis.
01:14:17.039 --> 01:14:20.640
I don't remember which one of you said uh, you know, tomorrow's a new day.
01:14:20.960 --> 01:14:24.640
We took we've started talking a lot about uh Hakanae, right?
01:14:24.720 --> 01:14:28.159
The beauty of impermanence, and today will never happen again.
01:14:28.239 --> 01:14:37.760
Yeah, so whether it was a bad day or a great day, if it was a bad day, learn from it and take comfort knowing that it's over, it's not gonna happen again.
01:14:37.920 --> 01:14:46.159
If it was a great day, rest in it and appreciate it and be present in it because it was a great day and it's not gonna happen again.
01:14:46.239 --> 01:14:51.600
Like today, the the the present time is all you have, and tomorrow's a new day.
01:14:52.159 --> 01:15:01.760
You know, so as long as you're leaving the day better than how you found it, and and and the day left you better than how you were when you started it, like that's all you can ask of people, right?
01:15:03.439 --> 01:15:04.560
Members and employees.
01:15:04.720 --> 01:15:06.079
Yeah, 100%.
01:15:06.960 --> 01:15:09.119
Let me hit you guys with a few rapid fires.
01:15:09.279 --> 01:15:10.079
You cool?
01:15:10.399 --> 01:15:10.960
Tear it off.
01:15:11.279 --> 01:15:16.239
And I I want to be I want to be cognizant of the time, uh Matthew, because I know you you guys got a lot going on.
01:15:16.479 --> 01:15:17.760
We're in the dead of summer here.
01:15:17.840 --> 01:15:21.439
So yeah, we got I got to make I gotta make a pizza today.
01:15:21.520 --> 01:15:23.680
So uh a pizza, one pizza?
01:15:23.920 --> 01:15:24.239
Probably.
01:15:25.439 --> 01:15:36.880
All right, um let's do uh um what do you got what do you fear most about being an executive chef in your role?
01:15:37.039 --> 01:15:38.560
What what scares you most?
01:15:39.359 --> 01:15:40.079
You go first.
01:15:41.520 --> 01:15:42.319
Me go first.
01:15:42.479 --> 01:15:44.319
Yeah, what scares me?
01:15:44.880 --> 01:15:45.680
Gosh.
01:15:46.960 --> 01:15:51.359
I don't want to sound like a I don't want to sound weird, but I don't know.
01:15:51.439 --> 01:15:52.640
I I can't think of anything.
01:15:52.880 --> 01:15:55.279
Um okay, here's one.
01:15:55.439 --> 01:15:58.720
Um not scare, but lament a little bit.
01:15:58.880 --> 01:16:06.319
And chef, there was something you said probably 40 minutes ago that that touched on this too, and it's what an executive chef does.
01:16:06.720 --> 01:16:09.279
Like, I don't really cook very much anymore.
01:16:09.359 --> 01:16:09.840
Yeah.
01:16:10.159 --> 01:16:18.159
And a part of that is okay because I'm gonna be 50 in a couple years and my back's all jacked up.
01:16:18.399 --> 01:16:21.119
Um, you know, it takes it out of you.
01:16:21.279 --> 01:16:22.960
Like this is my 35th year.
01:16:23.119 --> 01:16:27.119
This fall will be the beginning of my 35th year of doing this professionally.
01:16:27.359 --> 01:16:32.720
So on one hand, it's like, okay, if I'm not lugging pork butts out to the smoker, that's that's okay.
01:16:32.880 --> 01:16:44.159
Um, but I guess I I do fear uh and moving into the food and beverage director role, like that cut down way more, even still on how much I I get to cook.
01:16:44.319 --> 01:16:46.800
So I won't I won't pose it as fear.
01:16:46.880 --> 01:16:50.159
You know, the the fear I guess would be that I don't cook anymore.
01:16:50.640 --> 01:17:05.119
Um, but what I will say is on the occasions that I do get to cook right now, the joy of that is like imagine if you could only eat, like let's say you loved ice cream, and you could only eat a bowl of ice cream once a month.
01:17:05.359 --> 01:17:13.760
When you eat that bowl of ice cream, you eat it slow, you savor every aspect of it, and you're just like, I remember why I love ice cream so much.
01:17:13.920 --> 01:17:15.119
You know, so good answer.
01:17:15.439 --> 01:17:18.560
Anytime I cook, I'm just like, everybody's like, You're so happy, you know.
01:17:18.800 --> 01:17:19.680
Like, I really am.
01:17:19.840 --> 01:17:21.600
Like, this is what I got into this for.
01:17:21.840 --> 01:17:28.239
I didn't get into this for to be a computer guy or a you know, a lot of the things I get to do now are super cool still.
01:17:28.479 --> 01:17:32.159
They're just a different, it's a different part of the chef experience, right?
01:17:32.239 --> 01:17:50.720
Yeah, and so like I think fear, I fear, I guess that's it would be fearing losing the hands-on, the actual dough vegetables in the oil, in the you know, fabricating meats, blood everywhere, you know, like uh that's what I got into this for.
01:17:50.800 --> 01:17:54.399
That's what we get into this for as chefs, and and I love it more than anything.
01:17:54.560 --> 01:17:56.319
Um, but I don't do it very much anymore.
01:17:56.399 --> 01:17:59.439
And that's probably something that will continue to taper off.
01:17:59.520 --> 01:18:09.199
My my hope is that once we have this bloody uh tournament year over after the centennial and after the course through renovation, 2027 might be a year in which I actually can cook more than I did this year.
01:18:09.279 --> 01:18:10.159
Yeah, you know.
01:18:10.399 --> 01:18:14.239
Um, but eventually that's that's something that that does come to an end.
01:18:14.319 --> 01:18:19.039
So back on the Hakanai, you know, fleeting, fleeting existence level.
01:18:19.279 --> 01:18:26.239
It's like anytime I do cook, I I realize that that's probably somewhat somewhere out there, there's a count of the times I'll get to cook.
01:18:26.319 --> 01:18:26.479
Right.
01:18:26.640 --> 01:18:27.520
And they're ticking down.
01:18:27.680 --> 01:18:27.920
Right.
01:18:28.000 --> 01:18:28.159
Yeah.
01:18:28.319 --> 01:18:32.800
And so scary, but at the same time, so much more enjoyable to recognize that.
01:18:32.880 --> 01:18:33.039
Sure.
01:18:33.199 --> 01:18:35.279
And every we talk about being in the present.
01:18:35.439 --> 01:18:38.399
Boy, every time I get to cook now, I'm just I'm a hundred percent there.
01:18:38.560 --> 01:18:44.880
All the worries of tomorrow and all the things from yesterday are gone, and I'm just like, yeah.
01:18:45.039 --> 01:18:48.239
Um, which really, from a Zen sense, is what cooking is about anyway.
01:18:48.319 --> 01:18:52.079
If you're present when you're cooking, what comes out of that is a magical thing.
01:18:52.239 --> 01:18:57.520
If you're if you're vacant, your mind is elsewhere, it's the combination of ingredients with heat applied.
01:18:57.600 --> 01:18:58.399
Yeah, it's exactly.
01:18:58.560 --> 01:19:14.239
Yeah, and I and I just to add to that, I mean, it's I I think you you have the same, we we have the same mindset, but the the the one the one ingredient that is on no recipe, but in our world, it's in every recipe is love.
01:19:15.119 --> 01:19:23.279
And you have to put love into or passion into what you're doing to get the the results that you're looking for, if you ask me.
01:19:23.439 --> 01:19:23.840
You're right.
01:19:24.000 --> 01:19:27.119
It's it's ingredients and add heat is is a recipe.
01:19:27.760 --> 01:19:37.039
But for me to cook for you, it's it's I'm putting my passion, my my persona, my my love of what I do into that dish.
01:19:37.199 --> 01:19:38.720
So, and I want you to enjoy that.
01:19:38.800 --> 01:19:44.560
Yeah, you know, so I guess if I lost that, that lost that passion, yeah, that would be my biggest fear.
01:19:44.640 --> 01:19:47.520
And and I I don't foresee any reason.
01:19:47.760 --> 01:19:48.479
Yeah, exactly.
01:19:48.560 --> 01:19:54.079
At that point, I I I'll go sit on a beach someplace and and you know, play in the sand.
01:19:54.159 --> 01:19:55.680
I don't know what else to do after that, you know.
01:19:55.840 --> 01:19:59.279
Well, and without with without the love, without the passion, also this job is not worth it.
01:19:59.439 --> 01:19:59.680
Exactly.
01:19:59.840 --> 01:20:01.920
I think that's why so many, so many people bail out, you know.
01:20:02.000 --> 01:20:04.560
They're not gonna be able to do is hard.
01:20:06.159 --> 01:20:08.239
Yes, you know, the job triages.
01:20:08.479 --> 01:20:15.039
So going to culinary schools, let's say you're talking to a hundred students, and I'm like, seven of you will do this long term.
01:20:15.359 --> 01:20:15.520
Right.
01:20:15.680 --> 01:20:17.840
And that's not being negative, that's just being realistic.
01:20:18.000 --> 01:20:23.279
Like, this is something that if you don't have the love and the passion, you're not gonna do this for 10, 20, 30, 40 years.
01:20:23.359 --> 01:20:23.600
Yeah, right.
01:20:23.760 --> 01:20:24.079
No way.
01:20:24.239 --> 01:20:24.479
Yeah, right.
01:20:24.640 --> 01:20:27.199
Um, no, and that what I what you just said, I love that, Chef.
01:20:27.439 --> 01:20:30.319
Here I call that two, two plus two equals five.
01:20:30.479 --> 01:20:38.479
You know, so when we're talking about cooking, it's and this comes back to Joe's the intangible that we talked about when we were together here, and then already early today.
01:20:38.720 --> 01:20:42.880
The intangible aspect of making magical food is love.
01:20:43.439 --> 01:20:45.680
And two plus two can equal five.
01:20:45.920 --> 01:20:50.239
It has to on the highest level, or otherwise it's not high level, right?
01:20:50.479 --> 01:21:00.000
But yeah, if if you don't love it, if the people who are doing it are not putting, that's the other thing I call it with our members, is there's so many people behind the door putting their heart into what they do.
01:21:00.159 --> 01:21:02.960
What I mean by that is exactly what you just said.
01:21:03.279 --> 01:21:15.600
You wouldn't note this as a layperson or as a diner, you wouldn't note this food as being any more special than the best ingredient present if it wasn't for those people putting the heart.
01:21:15.760 --> 01:21:24.239
And so as a leader, if if I could cook everything for 1100 families, yeah, so 3,500 people, well, how awesome would that be?
01:21:24.319 --> 01:21:25.920
They would all feel the love from me.
01:21:26.159 --> 01:21:27.039
But I don't cook it.
01:21:27.119 --> 01:21:29.439
We just didn't say we don't cook very much.
01:21:29.680 --> 01:21:35.359
So how do you get all the other people to two two plus two equals five for you and the members?
01:21:35.439 --> 01:21:38.239
That's one of the biggest, um, you know, biggest part of the parts of the mission.
01:21:38.319 --> 01:21:39.279
So I love that you said that.
01:21:39.359 --> 01:21:40.000
That's totally true.
01:21:40.079 --> 01:21:42.720
And so and most people don't think about it like that, right?
01:21:43.039 --> 01:21:54.159
But it's yeah, you take 10 people, same ingredients, you'll end up with 10 different dishes, and you'll know immediately who had that intangible ingredient ingredient on top of the ingredients or not.
01:21:54.560 --> 01:22:02.079
During small side story, but during COVID, we were doing uh market days where we were selling bread, uh soups that we made here.
01:22:02.159 --> 01:22:12.319
Um salads, cards, yeah, and we would, you know, we'd we do they were all takeout to go, and Jay would print up uh ingredient stickers to put on everything.
01:22:12.399 --> 01:22:19.199
And I uh love was always listed as an ingredient on on our you know, takeout soups and all of it.
01:22:19.279 --> 01:22:20.479
I thought that was cool.
01:22:20.720 --> 01:22:24.000
Um favorite cuisine or style of cooking?
01:22:25.600 --> 01:22:26.319
You gotta go first.
01:22:27.039 --> 01:22:35.119
I went over and and so you know, I I'm I'm from the Midwest also, so meat and potatoes is is my thing, you know.
01:22:35.279 --> 01:22:46.159
But but style of cooking and and I've had a couple people ask me this, and this is it's gonna sound a little corny, I guess, but my favorite thing to cook is a memory.
01:22:46.399 --> 01:22:46.720
Okay.
01:22:47.039 --> 01:23:02.000
And I like I like to make something that you had as a child or as a you know, as a as a an event that brought people together, as as a memory that you had that said, oh, this takes me back to the day that I had this.
01:23:02.159 --> 01:23:02.479
Okay.
01:23:02.640 --> 01:23:08.720
And my mom or my grandmother or whoever that cooked in your world, you know, brought that back.
01:23:08.880 --> 01:23:10.720
That's the dish that I want to make.
01:23:10.880 --> 01:23:11.119
Yeah.
01:23:11.279 --> 01:23:14.479
Is is that I can bring back that memory for you.
01:23:14.720 --> 01:23:17.359
And, you know, with our membership, it's it's an older membership.
01:23:17.600 --> 01:23:25.760
So if I bring back something that, you know, somebody from the past that is not with us anymore, but it tastes just like how Nana used to make it.
01:23:25.920 --> 01:23:28.720
Yeah, that that to me is my favorite thing to cook.
01:23:28.960 --> 01:23:35.119
You know, I don't know if you know this, but you did that for me probably probably 10 or 12 years ago.
01:23:35.359 --> 01:23:36.239
That awesome.
01:23:36.479 --> 01:23:37.119
That's awesome.
01:23:37.279 --> 01:23:42.960
We we we we don't have, I mean, we do now, but it's it's relatively recent.
01:23:43.119 --> 01:23:47.680
We never had real, true, good Italian beef sandwiches here, right?
01:23:47.760 --> 01:23:52.880
Like Portillos, dude, like that's my Emma and I went twice when we were there.
01:23:52.960 --> 01:23:54.159
Like, that's my jam.
01:23:54.399 --> 01:23:59.279
And we were talking about Italian beef, and and you this was at Pelican, Pelican Reserve.
01:23:59.439 --> 01:24:03.520
You brought in, I don't know, I don't know where you got it, and and we put on the menu, I think.
01:24:03.680 --> 01:24:09.199
And I remember having a beef sandwich saying, like, this is it, like you took me home, man.
01:24:09.439 --> 01:24:10.880
That's that's funny.
01:24:10.960 --> 01:24:11.680
That just came up.
01:24:11.840 --> 01:24:13.199
Chef, how about you?
01:24:13.840 --> 01:24:16.319
Well, I I'm gonna build on that answer first.
01:24:16.720 --> 01:24:18.479
Love that about the club world, right?
01:24:18.560 --> 01:24:22.960
Like it again, when we are calibrating our team mindset towards events.
01:24:23.039 --> 01:24:28.560
So, you know, Easter is one, Mother's Day is one, um, whatever the event may be.
01:24:28.640 --> 01:24:31.359
We're talking about what the feeling we want to deliver is.
01:24:31.680 --> 01:24:35.439
In the holidays, that's probably the one that I talk the most about with people.
01:24:35.520 --> 01:24:39.039
Is like, and there's two aspects of it there's triggering nostalgia.
01:24:39.119 --> 01:24:45.920
And my my favorite um state dependent memory example in film is ratatouille.
01:24:46.079 --> 01:24:57.840
And I think all chefs love the that one scene where the a-hole frickin' food critic guy has that one bite and just transforms into a child on the swing and his mom's there.
01:24:58.079 --> 01:25:01.039
Like, that's like I cried when I when I first saw that.
01:25:01.279 --> 01:25:02.880
I've watched that a hundred times.
01:25:02.960 --> 01:25:06.000
I just watch it over and I'm like, that's brilliant.
01:25:06.239 --> 01:25:13.199
Like that, the way that that was captured was like we talk about it, but that's a visual rep perfect visual representation of what that looks like.
01:25:13.920 --> 01:25:18.720
And it's like, so we can aspire towards that, we should aspire towards that with Thanksgiving.
01:25:18.880 --> 01:25:23.920
You know, all throughout Christmas, we'll put cinnamon sticks in our in our in our chafers, like in the water.
01:25:24.000 --> 01:25:26.640
So it kind of like exudes this like cinnamon aroma.
01:25:26.880 --> 01:25:31.760
Um, so much of those things are are scent-oriented or flavor-oriented, as we know.
01:25:32.000 --> 01:25:33.840
Certainly, sounds too with the music.
01:25:33.920 --> 01:25:39.680
So, like creating that kind of experience, we're trying to like trigger the the cues of nostalgia.
01:25:39.760 --> 01:25:49.680
Yeah, and in a club, it's like again, that's a feeling that people that's priceless to feel that joy is is worth more than any membership times 10, right?
01:25:49.840 --> 01:25:54.319
Most people of means would pay anything to feel that, especially repeatedly.
01:25:54.479 --> 01:25:56.479
And so to be able to deliver that's awesome.
01:25:56.640 --> 01:26:05.439
The other thing we have the opportunity to do, and I just am I feel so lucky for us and our team to be in the position to do this, is what I call creating future nostalgia.
01:26:05.920 --> 01:26:07.760
And so that's the members' children.
01:26:07.840 --> 01:26:11.359
This is a generational club, it's a wonderful place because the grandpa's there.
01:26:11.680 --> 01:26:12.640
We've got a lot of that too.
01:26:13.039 --> 01:26:14.000
We've got a ton here.
01:26:14.239 --> 01:26:15.279
You you have that too.
01:26:15.359 --> 01:26:27.039
So you you know that should the world not end for one reason or another, the next those kids are gonna be that seven-year-old kid is gonna be the president of this club in 50 years or whatever.
01:26:27.439 --> 01:26:31.520
Um, and then and his kids are gonna be as the president, he's gonna be bringing them to things.
01:26:31.680 --> 01:26:34.560
Um, and then he's the grandpa, and that kid's kids, right?
01:26:34.720 --> 01:27:02.159
So when there's children in any event, what our goal is is to do things for them, subtle and less subtle in certain cases, that will help for them 40 years from now to feel those exact same things and think about what I tell our team is like some person after you're dead could think smell something and think of you, or you're gonna be an old 78-year-old person, and this person now is an adult, and they smell or taste something and they think about you.
01:27:02.239 --> 01:27:04.239
Like, yeah, that's incredible, right?
01:27:04.560 --> 01:27:07.680
And so we have this incredible potential to create future nostalgia.
01:27:07.760 --> 01:27:13.439
So I love that you said that because it is a really special thing, and food to have the ability to deliver that is is incredible.
01:27:13.600 --> 01:27:18.079
Um, the quick answer to my question, I know these are supposed to be rapid fire, is Thai food.
01:27:18.319 --> 01:27:32.159
So I I would, if I was on a desert island, um, I would either eat a bowl of forest mushrooms that have been cooked with slivered garlic, thyme, sea salt, black pepper, and blue cheese.
01:27:32.319 --> 01:27:33.600
That would be one thing.
01:27:34.079 --> 01:27:39.439
Or I would have the entire Thai menu at my disposal uh for life.
01:27:39.600 --> 01:27:41.199
So I just love Thai food.
01:27:41.279 --> 01:27:43.119
Um, I love Vietnamese food.
01:27:43.359 --> 01:27:47.520
Uh living in China, I like I like regional Chinese food, love Japan Japanese food.
01:27:47.600 --> 01:27:48.079
Yeah.
01:27:48.319 --> 01:27:55.439
Um the Middle East, I the way I think about cooking for myself and for my kids is a little bit like how I think about music.
01:27:55.520 --> 01:27:59.199
And and a lot of people know I came up in a musical family and not so much of a food family.
01:27:59.359 --> 01:28:04.479
So Music for me is is the original passion in my heart and and food is right there with it.
01:28:04.720 --> 01:28:08.960
Um, but that that musical passion for me, it's like, what do I feel like right now?
01:28:09.119 --> 01:28:12.399
You know, so the mood music is a mood-oriented thing for me.
01:28:12.479 --> 01:28:14.159
I like so many different kinds of music.
01:28:14.319 --> 01:28:20.239
When I'm coming here today to get ready for this, I want to get jazzed up, I put on death metal, you know, and I drive 85 miles an hour.
01:28:20.399 --> 01:28:20.720
Nice.
01:28:20.880 --> 01:28:27.600
Uh, when I'm driving home, I'm putting on some some down tempo trip hop, you know, and I'm just chilling to some beats and I don't have to think about it.
01:28:27.680 --> 01:28:31.279
And it, you know, so it's like food for me is very mood-oriented.
01:28:31.359 --> 01:28:32.319
What do I feel like eating?
01:28:32.479 --> 01:28:43.119
So living in the Middle East for a long time, like I love Syrian and Lebanese meza, Egyptian food is fantastic, North African, Moroccan, um, Spanish food, I just love so much.
01:28:43.199 --> 01:28:45.760
Of course, you know, French-oriented anything is awesome.
01:28:45.920 --> 01:28:50.560
Uh, and then being married into a family, uh, a Latin family for 16 years.
01:28:50.720 --> 01:28:52.720
Like, I love the flavors of Peru.
01:28:53.039 --> 01:29:01.680
Um lived in a bunch of places in South America that I just I think those those styles of cuisine are so different, yeah, but also brilliant and very interesting.
01:29:01.920 --> 01:29:05.439
So, and then of course, yeah, freaking Mexican food I could eat also all the time.
01:29:05.520 --> 01:29:08.079
I I love I love Latin flavors so much.
01:29:08.239 --> 01:29:11.920
Um anything, but it's mood, you know, it's sort of mood oriented.
01:29:12.000 --> 01:29:15.520
If you had me only having one though, it would be it'd be Thailand.
01:29:15.760 --> 01:29:19.840
So I was gonna ask, you know, last your last meal ever.
01:29:20.079 --> 01:29:20.479
Yeah.
01:29:20.640 --> 01:29:25.760
Oh and you may have answered it with your desert desert islands, but your last meal ever, what are you having?
01:29:26.079 --> 01:29:28.079
Oh, I was just asked this last night, actually.
01:29:28.159 --> 01:29:31.840
And it was a tomahawk steak sitting on a pepperoni pizza.
01:29:32.960 --> 01:29:33.520
Whoa.
01:29:35.600 --> 01:29:35.920
Okay.
01:29:36.399 --> 01:29:36.800
All right.
01:29:37.920 --> 01:29:39.600
Yeah, that's that's where I'm at.
01:29:39.760 --> 01:29:42.479
That's that's that's where I was last night, and I'm still there today.
01:29:42.880 --> 01:29:43.119
Okay.
01:29:43.680 --> 01:29:44.720
Um, how about this?
01:29:44.800 --> 01:29:45.439
How about this one?
01:29:47.199 --> 01:29:51.359
Formal training or coming up through the ranks on the job?
01:29:52.159 --> 01:29:54.079
What do you what what's better?
01:29:54.239 --> 01:29:56.000
Are is one better?
01:29:56.319 --> 01:29:57.520
The one that you prefer?
01:29:57.680 --> 01:30:00.479
You guys were both you guys both went to culinary school.
01:30:00.640 --> 01:30:00.880
Yep.
01:30:01.199 --> 01:30:11.600
Um, I I came up through I I always like to ask this question because one of the things I've always been self-confident over is I came up just through the I didn't I didn't finish college.
01:30:11.760 --> 01:30:15.840
Um, I only went for 15 minutes and uh I just worked my way up.
01:30:16.000 --> 01:30:24.399
So I'm always curious, like to me I I guess the it depends on the person.
01:30:25.039 --> 01:30:42.720
If the if the person is uh is is willing to uh is a student of life and and can and can learn and pick up things um without the uh formality of it, then I think that that education is priceless.
01:30:42.960 --> 01:30:43.199
Yeah.
01:30:43.359 --> 01:30:54.560
I mean, I think you know, if you need you know, in in my world when I grew up was you have to go to college and it doesn't matter what it is, yeah, you have to do something and get a piece of paper.
01:30:55.039 --> 01:30:55.840
And so I did.
01:30:55.920 --> 01:31:00.319
I went to culinary school, which was probably the easiest college because I had a passion for food.
01:31:00.479 --> 01:31:05.840
You know, I I I've cooked, you know, before I went to school and and ever since.
01:31:06.079 --> 01:31:10.560
So but I've worked with both and I've worked with uh you know great chefs.
01:31:10.720 --> 01:31:22.479
My my Sioux chef never went to culinary school, yeah, but I put him hands down with some of the he's probably the top three cooks I've ever worked with in my entire career.
01:31:22.720 --> 01:31:32.479
And I've worked with some great people that but he he is old school, learned from scratch, came up the hard way, and and is a phenomenal guy.
01:31:32.640 --> 01:31:36.239
I mean, he's just yeah, you know, so uh it's hard to say.
01:31:36.319 --> 01:31:38.159
I mean, I it depends on the person.
01:31:38.800 --> 01:31:39.279
Jeff?
01:31:40.640 --> 01:31:42.159
That's a that's an awesome question.
01:31:42.239 --> 01:31:44.079
I couldn't agree more with what you just said, Chef.
01:31:44.159 --> 01:31:51.520
Um, so Mark Gallaudet, who I mentioned, uh my my mentor of of many years, and my best friend, um, one of my best friends for sure.
01:31:51.920 --> 01:31:57.920
He came up without any culinary and or you know, just all school of hard knocks.
01:31:58.239 --> 01:32:00.720
Um, ended up being one of the main chefs at Ocean Reef.
01:32:00.800 --> 01:32:01.199
You guys know that.
01:32:01.520 --> 01:32:01.840
Oh, yeah.
01:32:01.920 --> 01:32:02.239
Oh yeah.
01:32:02.399 --> 01:32:05.279
Um, he was he was chef of the Jonathan Club in Los Angeles.
01:32:05.600 --> 01:32:09.039
So for me, it's it's absolutely dependent on the person.
01:32:09.199 --> 01:32:11.920
And there's a type of person that school would not be good for.
01:32:12.079 --> 01:32:15.439
I think that that he probably wouldn't have that wouldn't have been good for him.
01:32:15.520 --> 01:32:22.159
Uh, but then if you don't, you have to have good mentors and good teachers that that are you have to be learning the right ways of doing things.
01:32:22.239 --> 01:32:25.279
Because as we know in this industry, there's all kinds of shoemaking going on.
01:32:25.359 --> 01:32:30.159
And if you're around a shoemaker chef, um, that's what you're gonna learn to make shoes.
01:32:30.239 --> 01:32:30.399
Yeah.
01:32:30.640 --> 01:32:38.960
So I think you really need to have, he had some great mentors coming up, and therefore, combined with the fact that he means he's a marine, you know, that didn't hurt.
01:32:39.039 --> 01:32:42.720
Like he's a hard-charging guy and was gonna figure it out regardless.
01:32:42.800 --> 01:32:47.680
Um, and he's a great example of a of a whole category of people that I know who have done it that way.
01:32:47.840 --> 01:32:51.279
Having gone to school myself, I'm very proud that I went to New England Culinary Institute.
01:32:51.359 --> 01:32:52.000
It's it's gone now.
01:32:52.079 --> 01:32:53.840
Um, Neki is what it was called in its day.
01:32:53.920 --> 01:33:01.279
At the time, it was the main rival of the CEA, which is CIA, which has only thrived, you know, since then and is doing great.
01:33:01.359 --> 01:33:02.640
Um, while Neki went out.
01:33:02.720 --> 01:33:08.000
Neki was really based on a Frenchman's sort of personality and personal dream.
01:33:08.239 --> 01:33:10.960
Um, and so while he was there, it was amazing.
01:33:11.119 --> 01:33:13.840
Once he retired, that wasn't able to sustain.
01:33:13.920 --> 01:33:16.560
And I like I was felt lucky to be there while he was there.
01:33:16.640 --> 01:33:18.319
I was in in the heart of that time.
01:33:18.479 --> 01:33:19.840
So I had a great experience.
01:33:19.920 --> 01:33:23.520
I don't talk about it very much really, um, just because I'm freaking old and that was a long time ago.
01:33:23.680 --> 01:33:27.680
But uh, a lot of the things that happened during that time were um were epic.
01:33:27.920 --> 01:33:39.680
And I think two things it allows, well, but more than two, but the two that I'll say, it allows you access to a lot of things that without school, it would take a long time for you to experience.
01:33:39.840 --> 01:33:44.399
So, like learned smoking, um, learned how to make maple syrup.
01:33:44.479 --> 01:33:46.159
This was in Vermont that I went to school.
01:33:46.319 --> 01:33:58.800
Learned how to um carve ice, learned, you know, so all these things that like if I didn't go, I wouldn't have learned those probably unless I was around a person who knew or thought it out, you know.
01:33:58.960 --> 01:34:00.800
Um, so you just have all these resources.
01:34:00.880 --> 01:34:07.119
You have the Harry Potter library of all the you know culinary stuff that you could ever want, and you have access to that.
01:34:07.359 --> 01:34:15.279
The second thing are people, you know, you're around a const a concentration of passionate people, at least if it's a good school.
01:34:15.439 --> 01:34:15.680
Yeah.
01:34:15.840 --> 01:34:19.199
And that translates to to the passion in the moment.
01:34:19.439 --> 01:34:24.239
Um, but also it results in great as long as you don't act stupid.
01:34:24.399 --> 01:34:28.079
If you, you know, act a fool, you can definitely not get what I'm about to say.
01:34:28.239 --> 01:34:39.840
But the network or the beginnings, if you're younger, the beginnings of a network, um, the network that I have now, a lot of those core connections started at that school and at that time.
01:34:39.920 --> 01:34:40.159
Yeah.
01:34:40.319 --> 01:34:41.600
And that was very valuable.
01:34:41.760 --> 01:34:47.359
But to Chef's point, a lot of the kids that were at that school, they were spending so much money and they totally sucked.
01:34:47.439 --> 01:34:48.079
They didn't care about it.
01:34:48.159 --> 01:34:48.319
Right.
01:34:48.479 --> 01:34:49.920
They didn't want to, you know what I mean?
01:34:50.079 --> 01:34:57.600
So, and then here, but the other side of that is uh I used to travel around my last job in Idaho, there was nobody to recruit there.
01:34:57.760 --> 01:35:04.960
So we we traveled all over the country, going to I was at CIA a bunch of times, Johnson and whales a bunch of times, all over the Johnson and Whale map.
01:35:05.199 --> 01:35:08.159
And uh, you know, so you're around the best schools, whatever.
01:35:08.399 --> 01:35:11.039
I would say now we don't recruit from those schools at all.
01:35:11.119 --> 01:35:14.239
There's five programs here in Chicagoland that we work with.
01:35:14.560 --> 01:35:33.760
And because of Chef's point about the individual, the people that we bring in from those schools, including one that's a high school program, it's called Technology Center of DuPage for juniors and seniors, those individuals are as good, if not better, than many of the C CIA students and Johnson O'Will students and NECI students that I've had interactions with in the past.
01:35:33.840 --> 01:35:36.159
So it's about choosing the right individuals.
01:35:36.319 --> 01:35:41.119
And if any school is big enough, there's gonna be the segment of people who who who are just there.
01:35:41.279 --> 01:35:50.640
And then there's gonna be the segment of small segment, but if you can tap into it of people who are super passionate and driven, and they're gonna be what they're gonna be regardless.
01:35:50.800 --> 01:35:52.640
Yeah, school, no school, right?
01:35:52.720 --> 01:35:53.760
Like they're they're going for it.
01:35:53.840 --> 01:35:55.119
So you got to find those people.
01:35:55.199 --> 01:36:05.520
That's that's the key to it, in my opinion, is talent selection is a is a slow and thorough process on whatever level, but definitely within the culinary school world, that's true.
01:36:05.680 --> 01:36:09.600
So yeah, that long, long-winded answer, as I always am long-winded.
01:36:10.000 --> 01:36:13.119
It's uh depends on the person, is the fastest way to say it.
01:36:13.279 --> 01:36:14.640
There's there's merits to both.
01:36:14.800 --> 01:36:19.760
I'm glad I did go to school, but I wouldn't hang my head on that degree or that experience.
01:36:20.079 --> 01:36:38.319
I'm I'm finally in, you know, realizing in my 40s and having Emma start high school this week, I was always so kind of self-conscious because I I always found myself in in my professional career in the room, surrounded by so much experience.
01:36:38.560 --> 01:36:42.000
And um, I was always the young guy in the room.
01:36:42.159 --> 01:36:51.279
Um, and I was always super self-conscious that I didn't take the college route, but something you said, Chef Matt, um, some people just aren't made for it.
01:36:51.359 --> 01:37:02.560
And I'm finally realizing like I wasn't designed to be in a classroom, I was designed to be in the rooms that I found myself in because I was I was surrounded by so many awesome mentors.
01:37:02.640 --> 01:37:10.319
And I'm I'm just thankful that I really um absorbed the the thoughts and the the experience.
01:37:10.479 --> 01:37:17.920
And um, you know, I'm finally settling into the in into this, like, all right, I can let go, I need to let go of that, right?
01:37:18.079 --> 01:37:20.640
Yeah, um, I wasn't designed for it, you know.
01:37:21.039 --> 01:37:22.960
Yeah, but you've you've earned your seat at the table.
01:37:23.039 --> 01:37:25.680
I mean, well, but it's it is something I you know I think about.
01:37:25.760 --> 01:37:34.880
I'm always interested in, you know, especially you know, when I when I sit with other managers and leaders who you know have really successful careers, like is that something that's important, you know?
01:37:35.039 --> 01:37:39.199
And I I think you're both right, you know, it depends on the person, you know, for sure.
01:37:39.520 --> 01:37:44.319
Joe, Joe, have you had uh have you had um great mentors in in your life?
01:37:44.399 --> 01:37:48.479
What are have you can you talk about a couple mentor experiences that that you had?
01:37:48.800 --> 01:37:49.760
Oh, I mean, sure.
01:37:49.840 --> 01:37:57.520
I mean, coming up through the company I worked uh really kind of started my career and spent almost 17 years with.
01:37:57.680 --> 01:38:03.520
Um, I just had lunch uh a week ago with the former CEO of of that company.
01:38:03.600 --> 01:38:10.079
And at the height of the the housing market, it was a billion-dollar publicly traded company.
01:38:10.319 --> 01:38:12.880
Um we developed, we were housing developers.
01:38:12.960 --> 01:38:17.760
So we we built and managed lifestyle communities all over the state of Florida.
01:38:18.000 --> 01:38:20.000
Um, some really large ones.
01:38:20.239 --> 01:38:25.279
Um, and you know, he's one that had a, you know, David Fry had a huge impact on my career.
01:38:25.359 --> 01:38:26.560
And I met him.
01:38:26.880 --> 01:38:29.119
Um, I was parking cars.
01:38:29.359 --> 01:38:38.319
Uh, I was like an 18-year-old valet um at one of the clubs we managed, and he had come in for lunch from the corporate office.
01:38:38.399 --> 01:38:40.560
Um, and of course, I was like, oh, David's here.
01:38:40.720 --> 01:38:42.640
Oh, yeah, my best behavior, you know.
01:38:42.800 --> 01:38:43.920
But the club was dead.
01:38:44.000 --> 01:38:52.800
It was the middle of summer, and I was out front reading uh Raving Fans, which um was a customer service book, and it was kind of part of the company culture.
01:38:52.880 --> 01:38:58.960
And he took note of that and sent me a handwritten letter through interoffice mail like a couple weeks later.
01:38:59.039 --> 01:38:59.760
I still have it.
01:39:00.000 --> 01:39:00.399
Wow.
01:39:00.640 --> 01:39:04.720
Um, and that's something that made a huge, huge impact on me.
01:39:04.800 --> 01:39:07.119
Um, that I still talk about, I still think about.
01:39:07.279 --> 01:39:11.840
And one of the things I I just gave one of our food runners a book yesterday.
01:39:12.239 --> 01:39:13.279
Jay and I were talking.
01:39:13.359 --> 01:39:15.680
He's I walked through the service area, he's always on his phone.
01:39:15.760 --> 01:39:17.279
I was like, man, get off your phone.
01:39:17.520 --> 01:39:18.239
Get off your phone.
01:39:18.399 --> 01:39:19.680
Like, come on, you're better than that.
01:39:19.840 --> 01:39:21.279
You've got so much potential.
01:39:21.439 --> 01:39:22.319
Get off your phone.
01:39:22.560 --> 01:39:23.520
I was like, Do you read?
01:39:23.600 --> 01:39:24.800
He's like, Yeah, I guess I read.
01:39:24.960 --> 01:39:30.319
So I bought a I bought a book for him that you know I loved, um, changed my career, seven habits.
01:39:30.399 --> 01:39:31.439
And I brought it into him yesterday.
01:39:31.520 --> 01:39:32.399
I'm like, here's my gift to you.
01:39:32.479 --> 01:39:32.960
I'm like, here.
01:39:33.199 --> 01:39:33.600
Read this.
01:39:33.680 --> 01:39:39.279
I'm like, I was I I was caught reading a book like 30 years ago, and it changed the the direction of my career.
01:39:39.439 --> 01:39:40.560
I'm like, here you go.
01:39:40.640 --> 01:39:42.560
I'm I'm giving you, I'm giving you something here.
01:39:42.720 --> 01:39:46.079
But yeah, I mean, there were so many that that were impactful.
01:39:46.239 --> 01:39:53.119
And some of them, I'll tell you, some of the ones that were um that were the most difficult to work with.
01:39:53.680 --> 01:40:03.920
Um, I think about uh gentleman, Eddie Delessandro, who was one of our senior VPs, a really old school golf guy, he was so tough.
01:40:04.319 --> 01:40:08.640
Um and made like forced us to look at things a different way.
01:40:08.720 --> 01:40:10.560
But I'll tell you what I learned the most from him.
01:40:10.640 --> 01:40:14.000
And after he retired, turned out to be one of my best friends.
01:40:14.239 --> 01:40:32.159
Um, so I think from a mentor standpoint, um, sometimes the people who you think are supposed to be mentors might truly be mentors, but oftentimes the ones who you look at and say, That person's really tough to work with, right?
01:40:32.399 --> 01:40:36.560
Or or they're hard on me, those are the true mentors.
01:40:36.960 --> 01:40:39.119
You know, and you just can't see it at the time.
01:40:39.600 --> 01:40:42.479
Yeah, they see the best in you, they see the best in you, and they want them.
01:40:43.199 --> 01:40:44.000
Yes, 100%.
01:40:44.399 --> 01:40:46.640
Yeah, and it's been it's been countless for me.
01:40:46.800 --> 01:40:47.920
Yeah, countless.
01:40:48.960 --> 01:40:50.479
Last question I have for you guys.
01:40:50.720 --> 01:40:52.239
Yeah, it's oh go ahead, Matt.
01:40:52.319 --> 01:40:52.720
Go ahead.
01:40:53.279 --> 01:40:59.760
No, that was I was gonna say that the if I was given a young person advice right now, that would be it.
01:41:00.000 --> 01:41:02.960
Find find someone that's good to learn from.
01:41:03.119 --> 01:41:07.119
Yeah, like that, whether you go to school or not, like seek that out.
01:41:07.199 --> 01:41:12.319
And if in your town, like I'm from frickin' Bozeman, Montana, you know, there wasn't a whole lot of options there.
01:41:12.560 --> 01:41:14.239
And so I went outward, right?
01:41:14.399 --> 01:41:20.000
Like if you if you can't find one within a few blocks of your house, don't be like, Oh, there's nobody.
01:41:20.079 --> 01:41:22.640
Yeah, go find someone, like it's worth it.
01:41:22.800 --> 01:41:28.239
If you really want to do this and you think that you're in it to win it, like find a person or a series of people.
01:41:28.399 --> 01:41:31.600
Like that's such I wish I had that advice when I was young.
01:41:31.680 --> 01:41:32.000
I had them.
01:41:32.399 --> 01:41:44.640
To your point, you know, to your point, you know, especially if you're younger looking to get into our industry, there's always so much kind of uh prestige centered around the property or the club.
01:41:44.880 --> 01:41:58.159
And really what you want to go find is the person you're gonna work for, not necessarily the, you know, and I'm not to pick on Medina, but you know, you obviously are someone that a young person should go work for.
01:41:58.239 --> 01:42:13.600
But if you weren't, if the wrong guy was in your shoes, someone may be drawn to Medina because it's Medina, but you end up working for the wrong person, you know, that is just for whatever reason, isn't really doesn't have your best interest in mind, you know.
01:42:13.680 --> 01:42:23.920
So sometimes I think some of the younger professionals or your younger folks getting into our industry, they get so hung up on the the club itself, the name of the club.
01:42:24.560 --> 01:42:32.640
You know, and there I believe there's something to learn from every situation, no matter what, you know, even the work, even the bad ones.
01:42:32.880 --> 01:42:36.720
But um go when to your point to go find a mentor.
01:42:36.960 --> 01:42:50.239
Um when you're when you're getting into the world and you're you're looking at getting that first or second job, um, don't be so focused on the property or the club, be focused on the the leaders, you know, who you're gonna be working for.
01:42:51.039 --> 01:43:00.479
So last question we ask everybody on on the on the podcast is uh uh podcast called How We Do Small Things.
01:43:00.560 --> 01:43:10.159
So I always like to ask, what small thing have you seen, experienced, or done recently that made a big impact?
01:43:12.239 --> 01:43:12.560
Wow.
01:43:13.119 --> 01:43:24.479
Come on, you can't say wow, you're I know I I've done this a hundred times, and every time it's it it's to me, it's every everything, you know, it's it's everybody jumps in.
01:43:24.560 --> 01:43:33.359
So it's like all the small things are you know, it's it's almost commonplace now that for for small things to happen that people just yeah, they assume them.
01:43:33.520 --> 01:43:36.079
They just like, oh that's that's just how we do it now.
01:43:36.399 --> 01:43:38.640
You know, because it's uh it's the right thing to do.
01:43:38.880 --> 01:43:57.600
So it's I mean it's it's everything from, you know, we had uh we we had a uh a a girl go on vacation to Columbia two days before the earthquakes hit to the town uh of Khalid, which they happened in.
01:43:58.319 --> 01:44:02.239
And so I reached out just to see how you're doing.
01:44:02.479 --> 01:44:03.359
You know, what do you need?
01:44:03.840 --> 01:44:06.720
And and she was fine, everything was great, her family's great.
01:44:07.039 --> 01:44:13.039
And she's like, Oh, I need an extra week because we're setting up a restaurant down here and we need to help these people.
01:44:13.600 --> 01:44:15.760
So the I was like, You got you got it.
01:44:15.840 --> 01:44:17.439
Whatever you need, you know, just let me know.
01:44:17.600 --> 01:44:28.479
So I mean it's just it's little things that you know, she's trying to help others and just you know, you find out about things that that people are doing outside, yeah, which is is so great.
01:44:28.640 --> 01:44:31.760
Yeah, you know, so those that's the little things that we're doing.
01:44:33.199 --> 01:44:33.600
Matt?
01:44:33.840 --> 01:44:36.720
Yeah, she probably told a lot of people about that too.
01:44:36.800 --> 01:44:44.960
You know, like that people on your level, you know, you're probably looking the mirror and you're like, it's just me, you know, Chef Jay, or not Chef Jay.
01:44:45.039 --> 01:44:46.720
You're just like, it's just me, Jay, right?
01:44:46.880 --> 01:44:47.520
I do that all the time.
01:44:47.600 --> 01:44:51.199
I'm like, oh, that's goofy ass Matt in the mirror right there.
01:44:51.439 --> 01:44:59.359
But in the eyes of other people, you know, a card or a phone call or even an email or a text message in a situation like that, it's like that's a big deal.
01:44:59.439 --> 01:45:09.279
They're they're putting that card on the refrigerator, you know, like they're they're showing that text message to their mom and they're hey, my my boss thought of me, right?
01:45:09.439 --> 01:45:23.520
Yeah, and I feel like I feel like the at the at the crux of what we're sort of talking about with the small things is a is a recognition of self um somehow on a on a level that matters to that person, you know.
01:45:23.840 --> 01:45:27.680
And so, yeah, I think my my example, and I have a couple of them.
01:45:27.760 --> 01:45:30.880
I because you when I interviewed you, you told me that you're gonna do this.
01:45:31.119 --> 01:45:31.840
I remember that.
01:45:32.800 --> 01:45:39.199
Um, but it we we went through a whole period, and I'm sure so many clubs have because it's an incredible book by an incredible person.
01:45:39.279 --> 01:45:42.720
Um, and reasonable hospitality made a big mark on us here.
01:45:42.800 --> 01:45:50.319
Um, like so many people in the CMAA, we watched him speak in in Las Vegas a few years ago, and that was uh, you know, impactful for sure.
01:45:50.399 --> 01:45:54.239
And so uh our leadership team read the book shortly thereafter.
01:45:54.399 --> 01:45:58.239
Um, a lot of the people on the middle leadership team now have too.
01:45:58.399 --> 01:46:03.199
And there's a couple of terms that we like from that book, and we're just blatantly ripping them off.
01:46:03.279 --> 01:46:08.479
I don't think he would mind, but um, pulling a legend and then the term dreamweaver.
01:46:08.560 --> 01:46:11.840
These are ones that we've worked into our vocabulary as well.
01:46:12.159 --> 01:46:14.000
Um, and it's it's it's cool.
01:46:14.079 --> 01:46:29.359
Like we're certainly not there on the level I would like to be, and I know that we're capable of because this often feels like extra, you know, doing extra, turning that feeling of extra into normal is where we're at right now with our team.
01:46:29.439 --> 01:46:30.560
And again, it's a very large team.
01:46:30.640 --> 01:46:33.600
There's like 24 people in the leadership meeting every Thursday afternoon.
01:46:33.680 --> 01:46:38.640
And so when I'm talking about this, there's varying levels of like, oh yeah, let's do that, and huh?
01:46:38.800 --> 01:46:40.560
Um, you know, different reactions.
01:46:40.960 --> 01:46:48.239
So uh recently we had a really cool one, and it was our our Samolye, um, who's here we're we call him the beverage manager.
01:46:48.319 --> 01:46:56.880
His name is Taylor Nissen, and he worked together with Nicole O'Neal, who's who's very got the high currency of social um, you know, longevity here.
01:46:56.960 --> 01:47:03.920
She was a caddy and then worked in the golf team, worked as uh the manager of the banquet service team, and then the aula card service team, and now works in event sales.
01:47:04.000 --> 01:47:07.119
So just knows how everybody thinks and how everything works.
01:47:07.199 --> 01:47:11.439
And so we had a um, they just came off the wait list, actually.
01:47:11.600 --> 01:47:18.640
So the our wait list members have certain access, and and it's like finally when you come off the wait list, because it's like five years, everyone's like, wow.
01:47:18.800 --> 01:47:20.560
Um, so this gentleman reaches out.
01:47:20.640 --> 01:47:21.439
I really like him.
01:47:21.520 --> 01:47:31.680
Uh, and and I was CC'd, but it was too Taylor about making a uh originally it was he found out they they tried to make a reservation in our fine dining restaurant to celebrate his wife's birthday.
01:47:32.319 --> 01:47:40.720
And uh it happened that that night we were doing, I had mentioned earlier in the podcast, the uh world of wine, which is like 650 members.
01:47:40.800 --> 01:47:44.399
We plan for it far in advance, and we close our restaurant to do that.
01:47:44.560 --> 01:47:50.880
Like the all-day dining stays open, but the the fine dining, we use that team to produce that food and also serve all those members.
01:47:51.039 --> 01:47:55.600
And so they were really disappointed, wanted to celebrate you know her birthday here at the club, really disappointed.
01:47:55.680 --> 01:47:57.039
So he reached out to Taylor.
01:47:57.279 --> 01:48:01.760
Hey, you know, we just found out we're not gonna be able to celebrate my wife's birthday at the club.
01:48:01.840 --> 01:48:03.680
Um, but I heard it's world of wine.
01:48:03.760 --> 01:48:05.119
Would we be able to bring some friends?
01:48:05.199 --> 01:48:07.520
And so Taylor's like, yeah, absolutely.
01:48:07.680 --> 01:48:08.880
What are you what are you looking to do?
01:48:09.039 --> 01:48:10.399
Oh, 14 people, right?
01:48:10.560 --> 01:48:13.039
So it's like, oh, that's it's a big group.
01:48:13.279 --> 01:48:14.479
But yeah, absolutely.
01:48:14.560 --> 01:48:33.039
So he sets it up and he had mentioned somewhere down in the email chain that what she normally did, this was gonna be the first year that they were there at the club, was have a mastro's um buttercake with uh vanilla bean ice cream, was the way that she liked to set to celebrate.
01:48:33.119 --> 01:48:40.319
And this year, it was like set way down in the text, and this year we're gonna forego that in order to spend our first year's birthday at the club.
01:48:40.800 --> 01:48:42.880
And so then she didn't get to do what she wanted.
01:48:43.039 --> 01:48:44.960
Okay, in that case, fine, we'll still come.
01:48:45.039 --> 01:48:45.920
Don't worry about the birthday.
01:48:46.000 --> 01:48:47.279
We'll but we would like to attend.
01:48:47.439 --> 01:48:47.680
Cool.
01:48:47.760 --> 01:48:49.039
So we said set it up.
01:48:49.279 --> 01:48:55.199
And so Taylor, without without telling anybody, you know, he reached out to Nicole and they lined it up.
01:48:55.359 --> 01:48:59.039
So um they they went and got a uh a Mastro's cake.
01:48:59.279 --> 01:49:11.600
They they brought it, they did the the whole, you know, birthday candle uh card configuration, and then in front of everybody, as the night uh progressed, and everyone got more or less blitzed on wine, so they're all in a very good mood.
01:49:11.840 --> 01:49:18.000
The whole team, you know, celebrated her birthday and you know, and she cried and and and he cried, and it was just one of those situations.
01:49:18.159 --> 01:49:20.000
It's I guess it's almost kind of cliche.
01:49:20.239 --> 01:49:24.399
Like we can think of a thousand examples like that, but it made a really big deal.
01:49:24.960 --> 01:49:27.199
Not cliche at all, you know, it's just it.
01:49:27.279 --> 01:49:34.880
Like, you know, it's something it's a comment that's way down, but far down in the text, and like um it would it wouldn't have been a big deal.
01:49:34.960 --> 01:49:41.279
I think what's neat with some of the small things is it wouldn't be a big deal if it was if it didn't happen.
01:49:41.520 --> 01:49:42.880
Yeah, do you know what I mean?
01:49:42.960 --> 01:49:46.479
Like it's a bigger deal that it happens than if it doesn't happen.
01:49:46.640 --> 01:49:51.600
Like, if it didn't happen, it was like uh nope, like it wouldn't even think about it, wouldn't even be a topic of conversation.
01:49:51.840 --> 01:49:56.880
But the fact that someone picks up on it right and makes it happen, that's what makes it a big deal.
01:49:57.119 --> 01:49:58.399
That's hospitality, yeah.
01:49:58.720 --> 01:49:59.840
100% a couple years ago.
01:50:00.159 --> 01:50:03.279
Ago, we we had a guy, Mickey, on the team, assistant manager.
01:50:03.439 --> 01:50:09.279
And uh his brother-in-law or some-in-law um had a baseball card shop in Chicago.
01:50:09.439 --> 01:50:12.560
And it was in summer, it was close to the all-star weekend.
01:50:12.720 --> 01:50:15.520
And he worked in the all-day dining area where there's a lot of kids.
01:50:15.680 --> 01:50:23.600
And so this one kid was gonna and his brother were gonna come and celebrate their birthday, not as a function in the club, but just at the restaurant.
01:50:23.760 --> 01:50:28.159
And I think that they were asking if they could get like a brookie or one of the desserts with a candle.
01:50:28.399 --> 01:50:30.479
And they were gonna come in the next week.
01:50:30.640 --> 01:50:41.039
And uh through the conversation, you know, it was all-star weekend, and so they he he the Mickey figured out that these kids were just obsessed with baseball and and specifically two players.
01:50:41.199 --> 01:50:48.479
So he asked what were the the players of each, you know, one of them said his, and then he asked the other brother, and then he found out that they were, you know, they're gonna come back later.
01:50:48.560 --> 01:50:49.279
Cool, let us know.
01:50:49.359 --> 01:50:52.800
Um, we're so excited to help with the candle for your birthday.
01:50:53.039 --> 01:51:06.239
And then, of his own volition, without telling anybody, over the weekend, he went to his his family-in-law's uh baseball card shop, got their rookie cards at his own expense, those two players, and then brought them back.
01:51:06.319 --> 01:51:09.600
And when those two came kids came in, he presented them to him.
01:51:09.680 --> 01:51:10.239
That's so cool.
01:51:10.399 --> 01:51:16.720
Uh, to each kid, and the you know, in that case, the kids are excited, it was the yeah, parents that cried, right?
01:51:16.880 --> 01:51:21.439
It was like the sentiment of that was not, you know, the kids don't understand why that's special.
01:51:21.520 --> 01:51:24.239
It's just oh, awesome, that's my favorite player.
01:51:24.399 --> 01:51:28.479
The parents immediately recognized how much probably went into that.
01:51:28.640 --> 01:51:33.199
And the beautiful thing, again, a lot of times it's like when you know it's happening, it's pretty it's cool.
01:51:33.279 --> 01:51:39.760
Like for me, it's like I observe these things in action a lot of the times, but sometimes I don't find out about them until afterwards.
01:51:39.920 --> 01:51:43.119
And I'm just like, holy shit, man, thank you.
01:51:43.359 --> 01:51:45.359
Like that was that was so awesome.
01:51:45.439 --> 01:51:50.000
And he's like, I was trying to be a dream weaver and pull a legend, and I'm like, Yeah.
01:51:50.399 --> 01:51:54.399
Um, so if we could somehow, like if we could somehow get everyone to think like that.
01:51:54.479 --> 01:51:56.239
The last one I just want to do because it's cool.
01:51:56.319 --> 01:51:59.680
Uh, so we have a member, I won't, I won't say her name, although she wouldn't mind if I did.
01:51:59.760 --> 01:52:02.640
She she's so fantastic, she's so unique.
01:52:02.800 --> 01:52:13.520
And one of the things that that we love about her is she always comes in wearing, you know, like those Kentucky Derby women's hats or like southern, southern bell hats that have like flowers on them.
01:52:13.600 --> 01:52:17.520
It's like it's a hat, but there's a lot going on up on that hat.
01:52:17.920 --> 01:52:25.840
And so, and actually, our our policy, we recently um readjusted our our our dress code for the membership.
01:52:26.000 --> 01:52:31.680
Our policy actually preserved the term fashion forward hats for women because of her.
01:52:31.840 --> 01:52:37.520
Like there's really no one else in the club that would wear that, but because she wears those, we want her to be able to wear them anywhere, right?
01:52:37.600 --> 01:52:38.640
Because it's so special.
01:52:38.960 --> 01:52:41.760
So she was she had a she had a cousin or something in town.
01:52:41.840 --> 01:52:49.439
She's she's a little bit older and wanted to do a family birthday party and reached out and you know, just it was a reservation in our in our find I new restaurant.
01:52:49.520 --> 01:52:50.239
That was it.
01:52:50.479 --> 01:52:54.800
But she's a person that we all just, you know, again, this is a recognition of the self, right?
01:52:54.960 --> 01:53:11.439
Pulling a legend is all about like finding something about a person's self that is deeply meaningful to them, and then trying to work to deliver an unexpected, intangible experience, or maybe sometimes slightly tangible, that corresponds to that recognition of the self.
01:53:11.600 --> 01:53:13.600
So in this case, it was just crazy.
01:53:13.840 --> 01:53:18.079
Uh, our our chef creoso you met, his wife is um a pastry chef as well.
01:53:18.159 --> 01:53:28.000
She works with our pastry chef as the assistant, and so they made we got a picture of one of her hats from a like unrelated event.
01:53:28.239 --> 01:53:32.399
They made a cake in the shape of exact shape of her hat.
01:53:32.560 --> 01:53:33.199
I could see you.
01:53:33.520 --> 01:53:38.800
And uh and then we also knew her we also knew her favorite um fish.
01:53:38.960 --> 01:53:40.960
She really likes you know, specific fish.
01:53:41.039 --> 01:53:54.720
And so that night, again, we had a five-week window to get ready for this or whatever, but on that night, we made the special fish for her, but we also put it on the menu as her name's you know, fish.
01:53:54.880 --> 01:54:01.760
Like it was it was her name and then the you know, sea bass with and it was the ingredients, artichokes, like the things that she likes with it.
01:54:02.000 --> 01:54:06.239
And so when we presented the fish dish to her, the first thing that she got was the fish dish.
01:54:06.319 --> 01:54:13.199
She was belt bowled over, and then I said, The other thing I just want you to know is that the entire dining room tonight is gonna enjoy Mrs.
01:54:13.439 --> 01:54:16.560
Blank's, you know, and she was just like, What?
01:54:16.640 --> 01:54:17.760
You know, yeah, that's awesome.
01:54:19.199 --> 01:54:22.640
And then the cake shows up a couple of courses later, you know what I mean?
01:54:22.720 --> 01:54:27.279
And it was just like I don't know, it made me so happy to see her so happy.
01:54:27.439 --> 01:54:30.399
Her family was just astounded, like, you know what I mean?
01:54:30.479 --> 01:54:31.920
And it was just a it's a recognition.
01:54:32.000 --> 01:54:36.239
I think those small moments a lot of times are a recognition of a person's inner self.
01:54:36.319 --> 01:54:43.600
Yeah, that with uh I love that in in unreasonable hospitality, how hard they worked to find information about people.
01:54:43.760 --> 01:54:51.680
I think we would call it internet stocking at this point, but they would like literally they'd internet stock the people who are on the books for that night to try to find anything.
01:54:51.840 --> 01:54:59.039
And one of the things I always talk about in clubs is how lucky we are to have access to people's we know about everybody.
01:54:59.600 --> 01:55:00.399
We know that Mrs.
01:55:00.640 --> 01:55:02.079
Whatever loves the color you have.
01:55:02.560 --> 01:55:04.319
You get to build the relationships with them.
01:55:04.720 --> 01:55:09.840
So it's like you know, you get to build that relationshiping those elements of self.
01:55:10.079 --> 01:55:10.399
Yeah.
01:55:10.720 --> 01:55:17.760
And even without having the database of our members, you know, the fact that you see them on a regular basis, you get to.
01:55:17.840 --> 01:55:23.039
I mean, I had uh I had um this is a small thing that I experienced.
01:55:23.199 --> 01:55:32.960
Um, I've I've had a number of members ask how Emma's first couple weeks of high school is, you know, and I said, uh, you know, it's it's an adjustment, you know, she's adjusting.
01:55:33.039 --> 01:55:43.920
And one in particular sent me a note um late one night and just said, you know, I I've been thinking about Emma, and you know, I know I'm sure she's overwhelmed, bigger school.
01:55:44.000 --> 01:55:46.880
I just want to let you know, you know, it'll all work out.
01:55:47.039 --> 01:55:50.560
She's gonna do great, and just off hours, getting an email.
01:55:50.800 --> 01:55:52.880
It was like nine o'clock at night, you know.
01:55:53.119 --> 01:56:06.319
Um, and I was just like, wow, you know, it made me feel like I was being thought about in ways other than just well, Joe's the general manager, and he he works between these hours and these hours, and he has no life away from countryside, you know.
01:56:06.560 --> 01:56:08.319
Um, yeah, that's it's neat stuff.
01:56:08.479 --> 01:56:09.680
That's it's neat stuff.
01:56:09.920 --> 01:56:12.000
So but cool, man.
01:56:12.239 --> 01:56:13.119
Awesome.
01:56:13.359 --> 01:56:15.199
Well, this was fun.
01:56:16.479 --> 01:56:18.079
Thank you for the generous amount of time.
01:56:18.319 --> 01:56:18.720
Thank you guys.
01:56:18.800 --> 01:56:23.439
Yeah, no, it's super great to get to know you more and uh and uh hope you two stay in touch.
01:56:23.600 --> 01:56:24.960
You and I are definitely gonna stay in touch.
01:56:25.199 --> 01:56:27.279
We're gonna we're gonna talk, we're gonna talk a lot more.
01:56:27.520 --> 01:56:28.399
Um we will.
01:56:28.560 --> 01:56:30.079
But no, this was this was cool, man.
01:56:30.159 --> 01:56:36.720
Yeah, any any any leaving uh anyone anyone want to leave any leave us with any thoughts or do we cover it all?
01:56:37.039 --> 01:56:38.640
Uh it's so much.
01:56:38.880 --> 01:56:40.000
No, it's there's so much.
01:56:40.159 --> 01:56:43.199
I I would just say as a as a leaving thought.
01:56:44.880 --> 01:56:45.279
Sorry.
01:56:45.439 --> 01:56:52.000
Go chef, tell them what we kind of talked about the other day about that next generation.
01:56:52.159 --> 01:56:54.640
I feel like that was something I hope we talk about a little bit today.
01:56:55.199 --> 01:57:04.079
It doesn't have to be long, but I really respect the the first conversation I had with Chef, you know, included something uh that I really I love to hear, and it matters a lot to me too.
01:57:04.319 --> 01:57:08.399
Do you want to just talk about your investment in the up and coming generation?
01:57:08.720 --> 01:57:43.199
Yeah, the uh the FGCU event we did with the uh hospitality program and how we did that uh round robin kind of contest of yeah of you know, this is kind of the the different items that you can expect to do in a kitchen and and and to see these kids, you know, like you know, I was telling Matt about flaying fish, and and you can absolutely tell that some people this was their very first time ever seeing a whole fish and flaying it just by the way they uh you know held the knife or or looked at the the fish and they're like, Oh my gosh, what am I doing?
01:57:43.439 --> 01:57:51.199
And so we just you know, you just take the time to to show them and be like this, you know it it was such a I to me that was a great experience.
01:57:51.359 --> 01:58:20.239
It it helped my soul to see that these kids you know, the the passion that some of these kids had uh for this industry, which uh which helps me because you know, I'm uh I'm over fifty, and I know that I've probably only got hopefully 10 more years or 15 more years in this business, but I need somebody that's going to do uh what I do it to fill those shoes, you know.
01:58:20.479 --> 01:58:24.640
So to see that next generation come up is is is awesome for me.
01:58:24.720 --> 01:58:38.319
And and how many people were at that uh event, you know, there was 25 or 30 kids um that all have that want to get into hospitality, which which to me was was fantastic, you know.
01:58:39.119 --> 01:58:44.479
Um and and I know that some of them before they left, they're like, How do I how do I become a part of your team?
01:58:45.039 --> 01:59:09.600
And and you know, and that just says we we only interacted for three hours or four hours, but they knew then that they wanted to to join what we have here because we we I mean I I think we have a special uh club here that we get to do different stuff and and and the leadership here to me is uh is you know it's it's easy, you know, it's not it's not overbearing, it's not micromanaging, it's it's it's an easy situation.
01:59:09.760 --> 01:59:14.239
So um, you know, I was just so happy to see these kids, you know.
01:59:14.479 --> 01:59:31.359
Yeah, I think that's uh I mean I think that's an unwritten duty of um those of us in in these roles is is to is to think about and invest in that next generation because they have to absolutely have to um they're gonna be needed, right?
01:59:31.760 --> 01:59:32.319
You know.
01:59:33.840 --> 01:59:34.560
Yeah, so good.
01:59:34.960 --> 01:59:35.439
Cool stuff.
01:59:35.760 --> 01:59:43.840
No, I I really liked it because I think a lot of chefs, older chefs like us, have a hard time relating to this young generation and they kind of write them off, you know.
01:59:44.000 --> 01:59:46.960
Yeah, lazy, addicted to the phones and all that stuff.
01:59:47.119 --> 01:59:55.039
And and my experience is that it takes a little bit different approach, but um, and it may take a little more effort on the front end from the chef.
01:59:55.199 --> 01:59:58.319
But if you do that, you know, this is an awesome young group.
01:59:58.479 --> 01:59:58.720
Yeah.
01:59:58.880 --> 01:59:59.600
And for sure.
01:59:59.840 --> 02:00:02.239
The future is the future is is secure.
02:00:02.399 --> 02:00:18.720
We but I also feel as though chefs should focus, especially as they get older, on that mentorship component and on helping um the youngsters to find their footing in this industry because it it's different than it used to be when we were young.
02:00:18.880 --> 02:00:20.880
And uh in ways it's harder.
02:00:20.960 --> 02:00:25.119
Um it's a tougher industry to be able to like, I can't afford life if I'm a cook.
02:00:25.279 --> 02:00:27.279
We're we're very close to that line right now.
02:00:27.439 --> 02:00:27.600
Right.
02:00:27.840 --> 02:00:29.199
Um, so what's in it for them?
02:00:29.279 --> 02:00:30.800
We have to make sure that they understand.
02:00:30.880 --> 02:00:34.720
And and uh I I really appreciate that responsibility, take it very seriously.
02:00:34.800 --> 02:00:39.840
I'm so thankful for the chefs that I have in the kitchen who are doing more of the heavy lifting on that now than me.
02:00:40.159 --> 02:00:42.239
Um, but I loved hearing you say that, chef.
02:00:42.319 --> 02:00:46.800
Uh I look forward to being a part with you and a bunch of other, like we started the podcast.
02:00:46.880 --> 02:00:48.720
There's a bunch of like-minded people out there.
02:00:48.880 --> 02:00:54.399
Let's let's do this together for the well-being of the next uh the next crop coming up.
02:00:54.479 --> 02:00:57.600
And I can't wait to see what they do with the world of culinary.
02:00:57.840 --> 02:00:58.239
Awesome.
02:00:58.319 --> 02:00:59.680
Yeah, something to look forward to.
02:00:59.840 --> 02:01:03.359
Well, that's a good uh good way to land land this plane.
02:01:04.000 --> 02:01:04.640
Cool.
02:01:05.119 --> 02:01:05.840
Thanks, guys.
02:01:06.319 --> 02:01:06.560
Thank you.
02:01:06.880 --> 02:01:07.439
That was awesome.
02:01:07.520 --> 02:01:08.239
Thanks, appreciate it.
02:01:08.399 --> 02:01:11.199
Thanks, Jeffs, and uh it was good.
02:01:11.359 --> 02:01:12.159
Good good stuff.
02:01:12.479 --> 02:01:13.359
Chefs soon.
02:01:13.600 --> 02:01:14.399
See you later.
02:01:19.199 --> 02:01:20.319
Thanks for listening.
02:01:20.479 --> 02:01:25.439
We so very much appreciate the time our listeners give to hearing us ramble about the business we love.
02:01:25.680 --> 02:01:26.640
Hospitality.
02:01:26.880 --> 02:01:32.479
And remember, sometimes the best medicine for the challenges of life is simply doing something small for someone else.
02:01:33.119 --> 02:01:38.079
Something to do with something or experience that made a big impact.

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