In this powerful episode of the Walk-In Talk Podcast, Carl Fiadini is joined by two dynamic women reshaping the hospitality industry from the inside out.
Colleen Silk, founder of Hospitality Bites Media and North American Director of The Burnt Chef Project, opens up about mental health, motherhood, and how storytelling became her path to healing and advocacy. Plus—breaking news—Hospitality Bites is now officially part of the Walk-In Talk Media family!
Also in studio, Chef Ciji Castro of Domestic Gourmet brings the flavor and the feels with dishes rooted in her Puerto Rican and Cuban-American heritage—including a modern take on the classic Elena Ruz and ancestral pasteles.
Together, they unpack industry burnout, postpartum struggles, invisible illness, and how empathy, media, and honest conversation are changing the game.
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Elevate your dining experience with RAK Porcelain USA! As the exclusive tableware brand for the Walk-In Talk Podcast, RAK combines exceptional craftsmanship with innovative design. Whether you’re a chef, a restaurant owner, or a food enthusiast, RAK’s high-quality porcelain products will enhance every meal. Discover the artistry of food presentation and make every dining occasion special. Visit rakporcelain.com today and see how RAK can transform your table
The following brands and companies help us continue supporting the food industry - have a look below!
Walk-In Talk Podcast
Where kitchen culture meets raw storytelling.
Hosted by Carl Fiadini, founder of Walk-In Talk Media, this #1 Apple-ranked food podcast dives deep with chefs, restaurateurs, farmers, and frontline pros. From trade shows to short films, we bring the food world to life—one honest conversation at a time.
We’re the Official Podcast Partner for the NY, CA & FL Restaurant Shows, Pizza Tomorrow Summit, and U.S. Culinary Open.
Brand Partners:
RAK Porcelain USA
Metro Foodservice
SupraCut Systems
Aussie Select
Crab Island Seafood
Pass the Honey
The Burnt Chef Project
Citrus America
Walk-In Talk Media proudly serves as the North American media partner for The Burnt Chef Project, supporting mental health in hospitality.
📩 Partner or pitch a story: Carl@thewalkintalk.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
I couldn't even recognize myself in the mirror
and I felt so ashamed that I wasso broken.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Hello food fam.
This is the Walk Talk podcast,where you will find the perfect
blend of food fun and cookingknowledge.
I'm your host, carl Fiodini.
Welcome to the number one foodpodcast in the country and the
official podcast for the NewYork, california and Florida
restaurant shows, the PizzaTomorrow Summit and the US
Culinary Open at NAFM.
We're recording on site at IbisImages Studios, where food
(00:40):
photography comes alive and Iget to eat it.
Email us to learn more Info atthewalkintopcom.
Today's episode is one of thosethat goes beyond the plate.
We're talking purpose, people,passion.
Joining me is a powerhouse inhospitality media, someone who's
been on the front lines ofchanging how we view this
(01:02):
industry, our beloved industry.
She's a mompreneur, a creativeproducer and founder of
Hospitality Bites Media, a brandthat uplifts the human side of
hospitality.
Through her podcast,hospitality Bites, she sparked
honest conversations aroundmental health, burnout and
inclusivity, while offering anew vision of what sustainable
(01:25):
success in this industry canlook like.
I'm proud to say this isbreaking news, people.
I am proud to say thatHospitality Bites is now
officially part of the Walk Talkmedia family, and that is
correct.
You'll find Colleen's episodespublished right here on our feed
.
Her voice, her mission, hermovement.
It all aligns with everythingwe stand for here at Walk Talk
(01:50):
In studio today.
Let's talk food here for aminute, guys.
Oh my God.
In studio, bringing the heat tothe kitchen, is chef CG Castro,
founder of Domestic Gourmet.
Cg's story is all heart, fromher Cuban, puerto Rican-American
roots to her role as culinaryinnovator.
She's been cooking up somestuff here and it still smells
(02:12):
great and I love it.
She's going to talk about thebig flavor, the big food that
was prepared here in this studio.
Cg, welcome to the show.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
First things first.
All right, let's get this outof the way.
We had a chef that was supposedto be here today and you know
things happen in the industryand we had to reschedule A big
deal.
I put a, I put out a, a bolo, aCTA yeah, a bolo CTA to the you
know social media stratosphereand what happened.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
So my friend Jana Tamargo, she also follows you.
She's the founder of authenticfood and I don't think that she
knew that I have been followingyou for years.
She's like CG opportunityThursday and I think I it was
like 10 minutes after you posted, I'm like I'm available because
it just so happened thatmorning my nanny called and
she's like I'm available.
(03:10):
So the stars aligned and here Iam.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
It's the truth.
And, you know, just moments,moments after you reached out
and it was pretty quickly, we've, you know, we basically, you
know, got the check box markedreal fast, chef, chef ricardo
castro.
He's like, hey, you know what'sup.
And I'm like, oh, let's, let's,let's put you on a date coming
up.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
Man, um, they're great people, they are wonderful
, you know chef, rosanna, is awoman that I look to as one of
my first mentors.
Um, I met her years ago atsaver St Pete and then after the
pandemic, at the Addition Hotel.
There was an event calledFemmes in Food and I met her
(03:52):
there and she talked about howshe's been a pioneer in this
industry in Tampa Bay and she'savailable to mentor and I have
to say where I'm at today is inbig part because of her.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
They are a terrific bunch of people.
They are Salt of the earth anda culinary powerhouse.
I mean they do some amazingstuff.
If you haven't heard of ChefRosanna, she beat Bobby Flay.
She was the first female chefto beat Bobby Flay.
So just putting that out there,All right.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
And with a sort of Puerto Rican empanadas.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
And she brought them here.
She made them here.
Oh my God, they're so good.
Stop it, I can't eat anymore.
I don't fit into my clothes.
I just want everyone to realizethat I eat.
Well, all right, chef, what didyou make?
Speaker 3 (04:40):
today.
Today I made pasteles, which isan indigenous food to Puerto
Rico.
Domestic gourmet is.
I am passionate aboutpreserving ancestral cooking, so
I'm really honored to haveshowcased that today.
But also, you know, I'm a CPGbrand now and my whole angle is
(05:02):
creating this, these traditionalstaples, and making them
convenient for modern families.
So another dish that I didtoday was an elevated version of
the Elena Harus and that was tohonor our friends at Aussie
Select and their killer lamb.
I ate a lot of that thismorning and I'm so proud to say
(05:25):
that I'm going home with half aham.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
Tell the truth, you did not expect that that was
going to be as good as it was.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
No, you know I love, I love lamb and you know I have
to say you know 40% of the timethat I eat it.
Sometimes it's a little toogamey for me.
This was the cleanest ham, lambham, just the cleanest lamb
that I've had, but in like acold cut form.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
I could live off this stuff yeah, it's juicy and
tasty and it's really terrific.
Just, everybody knows whatwe're talking about.
It is a fully cooked, uh, cured.
You know lamb loin delicious,so you could do charcuterie.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
And it's clean.
It is so clean and it, you know, the thing about it is is like
I've been pulling back from coldcuts because of just all the
terrible ingredients in them andthey're not you know, they're
not the best choice and I havestage four endometriosis.
It's really important that Ieat clean and this is going to
satisfy my love of sandwichesand also not hurt me.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
What's more about the dishes today.
Speaker 3 (06:31):
Okay, so my idea for elevating the Elena Haroos was
to use this lamb ham and stillkind of prepare it similarly on
the media noche bread.
But I had some marmelada detoronja, which is true to my you
know to me who I am, as a Cuban, puerto Rican, american.
Um, I made a traditional Cubancandied grapefruit right, but
(06:55):
then I added the Puerto Ricanspices.
So, um, after that, with thepeel, I made the marmalade from
the juice, and I use the samespices, so I use that instead of
their typical strawberrypreserves.
And then we elevated the creamcheese with a nice melted brie.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
There's really not a lot to say about it, other than
the sandwich is gone.
I usually have leftovers.
Speaker 3 (07:14):
The sandwich is gone and so is most of the marmalade
guys.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
Yeah, I usually bring stuff home for my mother-in-law
.
She loves it.
Like when I on production days.
I walk in the door and she'slike production days.
I walk in the door and she'slike Carlo, you know, she's
looking at me like what do yougot?
And I'm, you know, sorry, sorry, mom, you're out of luck today.
Speaker 3 (07:29):
There's not a lot of marmelada left, but you should
take it to her.
She will enjoy it.
Then I made the pasteles.
So the pasteles.
It was important to me toshowcase that today, because it
is a piece of oral historytypically passed down from the
women in the family, and it'snot really something that you
can learn online, although manypeople have tried and some
(07:51):
people try to learn online.
This is something that istypically done once a year
before the holidays.
All the women in the familywill gather.
It takes typically two days tomake it's labor intensive.
A lot of love goes into it.
There's a lot of differentcomponents as well, but I just
happened to be ready.
Speaker 2 (08:09):
So when the photos that John did.
Speaker 3 (08:12):
I was so surprised by those.
Okay, so let me preface this.
Wait, what?
What do you mean?
Surprised, okay, okay, hold on.
But let me preface this bysaying that if you're not
familiar with a pasteles, it isthink of it as kind of like when
I tell people who don't knowwhat pastelas are but they know
what tamales are.
It's kind of like that, butmade with bananas green bananas,
and when you boil them is abrown rectangle.
(08:35):
It's not typically a beautifuldish, as much as it is delicious
.
So I did have some reservationsabout the photography, but I
felt like it was important forme, as someone who works really
hard to preserve ancestralcooking, to show something that
was authentic to my roots andthen, you know, also showcase
something that was modern.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
John you did it again .
Speaker 3 (08:58):
Oh my gosh, when I walked into that back room and
he was photographing, I couldnot believe it.
I had to call my husband in andjust show him, because I have
never seen a more gorgeousBastille in my whole life.
It was just.
You are so talented, sir.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
Look, he's blushing, do you see it?
Do you see it?
Look at him.
We did.
Speaker 3 (09:18):
I do have to say that we did get into a little bit of
a little bit of a scrabble here, because I know that this is a
hot button topic and that is toput ketchup or not to put
ketchup, and I know that this isgoing to really upset some
people, but I am team ketchup.
John is not.
Speaker 2 (09:37):
John is anti.
Like anything new it's gonna be, you know well, john is Puerto
Rican.
Speaker 3 (09:41):
He has every right to to stand on this on this hill.
But I will say that I said Igave him two and I said one with
ketchup, one without you know.
We both be happy.
And when I'm into the studioI'm like where's the?
Speaker 2 (09:56):
did you try it?
Did you try it?
Speaker 3 (09:58):
no, he did not try the one with ketchup gosh all
right, look, you are welcomeback to this place.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
Thank you Anytime.
Thank you that you feel likebringing any of these things or
anything you want to cook in thefuture.
I appreciate that, yes,absolutely, you're more than
welcome.
Okay, let's welcome Colleen tothe program.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
Hello, I'm just like sitting here listening to this
food and I'm like, man, thatsounds like a much better day
than mine.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
Well, you know, this is the life we've chosen and,
you know, I don't feel bad.
I don't feel bad Like we'reliving the dream here, colleen.
Okay, like this is a dream.
Speaker 1 (10:36):
It sounds like it.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (10:38):
I had crackers for lunch.
I'm like, oh my goodness.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
Would you call me?
So listen, here's the thing,colleen.
Let's start with how did wemeet?
We met at NAFM and it wasreally.
It was really.
It was like a blessing that wemet.
And do you remember what?
Do you remember what went down?
Do you know the story?
(11:26):
All right, well, I know I did.
I told my ambassador friendsfrom Canada and UK.
I said we need to go over, talkto those guys.
Let's bring them story, becausethis was just back in February
that we were at this trade show.
And you know John and Pooch,and you know Glenn and some of
the others, the gang, we, jordan, we were out there.
Just, you know, it's like youget your head down to the
grinder and you're working and I, I know that we were all
(11:46):
dehydrated.
You came through with like fourcases of water, you know, and
uh, and you just I don't know ifit was you or Jamie, somebody
just dropped them off and and uh, like hey, here you go, guys.
Speaker 1 (11:59):
And that's where our beautiful relationship started
it was simple, right, just doingthe kind of thing of hey, I
think we look dehydrated, we'vegot this offering.
We kind of have the same vibe.
Let's just drop off and seewhat happens.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
I want to start with Burn Chef Project, Before we get
into Hospitality Bites.
What led you to get into BurnChef?
Speaker 1 (12:23):
Well, it was actually through Hospitality Bites.
Two of my former guests one wasfrom the UK, one was from
Canada.
They were ambassadors, jim andShell, and they had two very
different experiences of whythey joined and the more I
learned about it, I wasessentially blown away that
there was an organization thatwas working to train people to
learn about how to handle issueswithin a restaurant industry,
(12:46):
something I had never seenbefore.
At this point, I was trying tofigure out what I want to do
with my life.
I had a daughter at home.
I had recently suffered amiscarriage and I said I want to
go all in on what they're doing.
I need a purpose beyond myself,and that's essentially what
happened.
I reached out, I applied and didthe coursework, joined in 2022.
(13:07):
And then things slowly startedto evolve throughout my work,
with them wanting to find abigger purpose in the United
States, and that's how itstarted to grow.
A bunch of us started tonetwork together on LinkedIn
Instagram, and then they put acall out together on LinkedIn
Instagram, and then they put acall out for people to attend
(13:28):
NAFM and Tom, our leader out ofCanada, made it happen, and that
was the first time a lot of usmet in person in North America,
so it took from 2020 tillFebruary for all of us to meet.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
Well, I'm glad that that happened, and Tom's a good
dude too.
I appreciate him very much.
Spark the idea for you to jumpinto the world of media.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
So, like everyone in the restaurant industry, my
income came to a screeching halt, and I used to fly back and
forth from Charleston to Chicagofor work to help operate and
run a restaurant.
Well, I also was pregnant, lostmy income, spent the entire
pregnancy in lockdown, and whenthe world reopened for me in
(14:07):
2021, it was that summer.
A lot of people that I knew inthe industry were not doing well
, and there was this huge uptick, though, of media content,
where people were infatuatedwith what's going on in the food
world.
I think it's a level of comfortthat people were looking for.
They missed dining out, theywanted to watch people cook, and
(14:27):
you see the celebrity statusexplode from you know where.
And one thing that wasn'thappening, though, is people
weren't talking about therepercussions of not being
together within our industry.
So many of us are people peopleand we need each other to
thrive.
I had lost a friend.
I attended a meeting with theChow Network, and we talked
(14:50):
about a lot of us losing peopleduring the pandemic because they
were left to their own vicesunfortunately, a lot of
alcoholism, drug use, simplydepression and I didn't want to
be sitting on the sidelineswhile this was happening, so I
just started talking about thenot perfect stuff.
Not that the industry wasbroken, that it's all bad, but
(15:13):
there's a lot of things thatneeded to be discussed and I had
some friends on the show andnext thing I know people were
interested in talking about thenot perfect side of the industry
.
I leaned into being vulnerable,I leaned into storytelling, the
ability to get people to tellme things they typically
wouldn't say, and then it justsort of took off and that's how
(15:34):
I got guests from the UK andCanada.
I was going to Ireland andAustralia.
You know, just really wonderfulto get a global community with
like-minded people that want toshare their experiences within
hospitality.
Speaker 2 (15:47):
You describe yourself as a hospitality hustler.
What does that mean to youtoday versus 10 years ago?
Speaker 1 (15:55):
10 years ago, colleen hospitality hustler was living
the restaurant life.
The rinse-repeat cycle eat,drink, sleep, little industry,
never giving to myself.
A lot of us have that work inthe restaurant industry.
We are all about it.
We want to give everything wehave to it.
Screeching Halt came for me 10years ago, had to really
(16:15):
reevaluate who I was as a person, as a woman, what I wanted to
be.
I wanted to be a leader.
I wanted to be a better versionof myself.
I wanted to be a leader.
I wanted to be a better versionof myself.
So Hostility Hustler today issomeone that found their ability
to give back in the hospitalityindustry by creating their own
lane.
I've created my own, opened myown doors.
(16:36):
I've broken open.
I like to say I'm breaking downdoors and, depending on how you
view it, I'm making as manyconnections as possible.
I'm breathing life into mybusiness to the best of my
ability, truly making my ownpath.
So the hospitality hustlertoday is someone that is
successful, proud of themselves.
I'm really encouraged at what'sgoing to happen.
Hospitality hustler 10 yearsago she needed a lot of work.
(16:56):
She was not giving to herselfin any way, shape or form.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
There's a long way to go in our industry, but there's
been changes.
There's a long way to go in ourindustry, but there's been
changes.
What have you seen since youstarted?
Hospitality Bites Media.
Speaker 1 (17:09):
We started it four years ago.
Now there seems to be a lotmore voices that are unafraid to
talk about how things used tobe.
I use like air quotes, sayingwe're the adults in the room now
, and a lot of us are parents oror seasoned parents.
We had to be home with our kidsduring the pandemic.
We really reevaluated what theindustry was like and how
unhealthy it was for us, and weare now the adults in the room,
(17:32):
so we want to make a change.
So, should our children enterit, or the next generation
that's coming up in culinaryschool, we're making a safer,
more sustainable place.
So it's really interesting thatfour years ago, not everyone
wanted to talk about this sortof thing, where now people are
confident saying I'm sober and Ioperate in the industry and I
feel a bit safer to do so.
It isn't as this.
(17:54):
Well, I guess we had a goodmoment in 2020 and we're all
taking care of ourselvespandemic life and what that was
like and getting back to work.
We're addressing what it wasand we're making changes and
people are putting their moneywhere their mouth is.
Truly.
We're not just saying we wantto make it a healthier place.
People are investing on makingit a healthier place.
Whether it's equipment orcoursework that we offer at the
(18:16):
Burned Chef Project, Cal Ben'sfriends, people are investing in
their employees, which isincredible.
Speaker 2 (18:21):
Colleen the Burned Chef Project.
It's a big deal.
It's all over the world.
Are you guys affiliated orconnected with any other
self-help resources that are outthere?
Speaker 1 (18:35):
we our founder, chris .
He actually sits on the boardat chow, which is the culinary
hospitality outreach wellnessprogram.
They started in colorado andnow they're across the nation
and we have several ambassadorsthat attend ben's friends
community that meets bothvirtually and in person.
More organizations that weconnect with and work together.
(18:56):
It's only for the better.
It's not a competition to helppeople, and so the more that we
can find and work together, it'sonly for the better.
It's not a competition to helppeople, and so the more that we
can find.
There's other greatorganizations that we're
starting to learn about, here inthe US specifically, that are
of the same mindset.
So we are hoping to helpamplify, working together, these
other organizations.
Speaker 2 (19:14):
Well, I think that's amazing and if anything that we
can do as your North Americanmedia partner to help promote
any of that, obviously we wantto be a part of it.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
We appreciate them and we do have this hope of
creating a bigger project no punintended for 2026.
Have a ton more activations.
Get people out into the field,in the restaurants, in the
hospitality sector, alongsideour friends at the other
organizations.
So trust me, you're in theplans.
Speaker 2 (19:43):
We've had guests ranging from rising chefs to
industry veterans.
Do you have any stories thatkind of stuck with you that are
important to you, that you wantto talk about?
Speaker 1 (19:52):
One story in particular was from a guest and
he's from New York.
He was a chef and he was at upuntil a year ago.
He was running a not-for-profitorganization and he told me
that his wake up call, so tospeak, was him in his car,
covered in vomit outside of hiscar and not remembering that he
(20:14):
had been there, and he afterworking a long shift.
So he had spent the night inhis car and he was woken up, I
believe, by a police officer andhe shared that story and his
social media manager was on thecall too.
And I'm looking at him and hegoes exactly, he goes.
Do you know how hard it was forme to look at myself?
And then I had to go into workthe way that I was, because it
(20:37):
was time to go and I wanted tosee the rock bottom, but it
wasn't.
And those types of stories.
His story, when he shared that,was like there isn't just a one
rock bottom.
These things pile on for peopleand our industry is really good
at piling on, and he's so openand so vocal about how hard that
was for him to get help.
(20:57):
He wanted to make a difference.
He didn't want other chefs tobe going home or going to their
cars or going to a ditch,feeling the same way, and I
really appreciated him sharingthat, especially with an
employee of his on the call.
You know, it's not always easyto share our worst side of
ourselves with people that workfor us, we work alongside them,
(21:19):
but it's so important, I think,to many of us to do that, and
his story is just one of those.
That really is, man.
You thought you had it rough.
That just sounds awful, buthe's doing something with it and
his story 100% has stuck withme the last couple of years.
His story obviously was one thatjust sits with you and it makes
you think about that.
Could be me.
I could have been that person.
I personally got a DUI in 2015and I could have been on the
(21:43):
side of the road and I reallytake a lot of pride that people
trust me with stories like thatand they feel comfortable enough
to share with me their rockbottom, like I said, and I can
share back my rock bottom.
We kind of commiserate overthat.
Like I said, and I can shareback my rock bottom.
You know, we kind ofcommiserate over that and we
just hope that it makes peoplefeel seen and there's an impact
or a little bit of a ripple tomaybe make someone okay.
(22:05):
I want to reach out and gethelp to them or I want to find
their organization that they'rea part of.
It's only been truthfully.
I feel so empowered and soprivileged to have people share
their stories like that with me.
Speaker 2 (22:22):
Let's talk about your mompreneur life.
How do you balance theemotional intensity of raising a
family and still beingconnected to the food industry?
Speaker 1 (22:29):
If you'd asked that question eight months ago, I
would have told you I'mcompletely broken.
I had such a stark differencebetween my two children and what
that postpartum looked likenavigating the industry With my
daughter.
The world was shut down, butwhen it came back up I was out
there working.
I was even helping a friend runa restaurant.
I would bring my daughter tothe restaurant.
(22:50):
She thought it was normal to bein a pub.
It was easy.
It felt normal because I wantedher to see her mom at work.
Fast forward to last year, Icouldn't even recognize myself
in the mirror and I felt soashamed that I was so broken.
I didn't.
Friends were encouraging.
Why don't you just go get a joband wait tables a couple days a
week, just so you're out of thehouse and socializing?
(23:12):
I didn't even feel comfortablethat I could socialize with
people, and that's what I'mgreat at.
I'm great at talking.
I didn't even know how to dothat.
I was afraid of breaking everyday.
I was afraid of embarrassingmyself and when you're a mom,
(23:32):
everyone depends on you.
It's just this weirdexpectation and when you feel
like you can't give it to yourchildren back and you can't give
it to your business.
You feel like an utter failure.
And I felt like a completefailure last year.
I was trying so hard to keeppushing through with my podcast.
I was trying to continue withBurnt Chef and at one point I
felt that I wasn't even worthbeing here and that's when I
said, okay, I need to dosomething with this, and I used
(23:55):
all of that mom strength that Ifelt I didn't have last year to
go all in on moving this podcastforward, moving forward
documentaries, sharing my story.
So the next mompreneur likeChef on the Line, when you're
killing it in the industry, Ialso know how hard it is and how
you're killing it at home too,and I want people and women to
feel the same way that I feelnow and if they felt the way I
(24:17):
felt a year ago.
Speaker 3 (24:26):
I understand that too .
Wow, I have to tell you thatit's very emotional hearing you
talk because, um you know, Ithink that you are a very
powerful woman and um, and Ithink that you are absolutely
incredible and the work thatyou're doing is just.
It's an incredible example foryour children, for your family
and for everyone who knows you,because I think, for women in
particular no offense, guys,you're going to have to sit this
(24:48):
one out.
I think that you know, as momand women, we have to carry the
load and carry it effortlessly.
You said we have to be therefor everybody and if we don't,
then we're not a good mother,and if we acknowledge our
failure or our struggles, thenthat opens a whole nother can of
(25:10):
worms.
So there is, I think.
As women, it's a natural tosuffer in silence and suffer
alone and not admit that we arestruggling.
And the fact that you, you know, not only were able to admit it
to yourself, so that you couldchange your path, but also admit
(25:31):
it on a global scale, publicly,is such a gift, because I know
right now and it makes meemotional, because I've been
there where you needed to hear amessage and you heard it.
It was exactly what you needed.
That's what you just did rightnow.
Thank you, you're welcome.
Speaker 1 (25:52):
I really appreciate that you actually mentioned that
you suffered throughendometriosis a documentary
called Unhospitable and I'mtalking about all the things
that women suffer through insilence within the industry.
You know, a lot of us start asteenagers and we're going
through those changes.
We go through changes ourentire lives and one thing that
people don't understand isendometriosis, pcos, postpartum
(26:15):
pumping all the P words that noone wants to talk about.
Speaker 3 (26:17):
Yeah, anemoscarages.
You know I empathize with youon that one.
Speaker 1 (26:28):
Thank you, wait and it's I.
I've learned that through thisdocumentary and making this and
sharing my story which I don'tfeel comfortable watching myself
on camera which I have learnedit is hard to share your story
and see it back.
It makes you relive thosemoments.
It's very triggering and see itback it makes you relive those
moments.
It's very triggering.
I truly believe 100% that youfeel it feels out of body when
you watch yourself back andreshare it and be like, wow, I
lived through that and.
But I'm here today because,truly, the person I saw a year
(26:50):
ago, I don't even recognize her.
I, my husband, did it, mychildren didn't, and I have not
been this happy in a really longtime.
And creating this documentaryand hoping to create resources
to have people understand whatwomen are going through and how
we're suffering through pain insilence when they're on the line
, if they're a chef, justeducating.
(27:10):
This is what it feels likebeing able to offer a break,
offer water.
Are you eating healthy?
You said it.
I mean, you hit the nail on thehead about what your diet looks
like.
These are all things I'm hopingto accomplish and my podcast is
how it got me there.
I felt so, wow, I can do this.
I can share stories and thankgoodness for Carl believing in
(27:32):
me to bring my podcast there andhelp amplify not just my
documentaries but my podcastthrough Walk Talk, so it's just
a really wonderful full circlemoment.
I'm very privileged that you'reon the line that on this call,
with carl too likewise for therecord you can come back, arl.
Speaker 2 (27:50):
Welcome back, gentlemen thank you, I I'm back
for the Colleen when we met.
Speaker 1 (27:57):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (27:58):
And you shared a little bit about.
You know who you are, whereyou're going, what you're doing,
and you shared a little bit ofyour story with me and the way
that you delivered the message,the way that you delivered the
information.
I received it very well and,you know, I feel like I'm good
reading people.
I've always said that's one ofmy superpowers.
(28:19):
You seem so sincere and yourmessage and everyone has someone
that they can identify withthat has the same sort of
challenges that you have.
It just so happens that we workin media and now there's a way
that what we do can literally orpotentially help somebody.
(28:42):
So I feel like the.
I feel like it was meant to be.
I feel like there was somedivine guidance that puts you
where we are and you know we'regoing to.
I think we're going to do, youknow, the good work together.
Speaker 3 (28:55):
I agree, you can't tell that I'm smiling, being
that you have found your wayback to happiness, though that's
very powerful, that's importanttoo, you know, to share the
struggles, but also share thatyou can find your way back.
Speaker 1 (29:08):
Exactly and I did not believe I could.
So that's what's so wild.
Watching my video content backfrom the first portion
documentary, I see how broken Iwas.
I'm like, oh my gosh, I can'tbelieve I lived through that.
But here I am and I'm superhonored and proud that I made it
and that sounds super.
I know catastrophic.
I made it, but I did becausethat's how bad I was In a
(29:33):
documentary.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
Can you give us a preview of what you're doing?
Speaker 1 (29:37):
Absolutely.
I decided I wanted to go intodocumentary space from visual
storytelling.
I wasn't really a movie kid buffgrowing up, but as I got older
I liked watching documentarieson TV and my husband gifted me
something for Christmas and Ilearned about documentary
storytelling and how watchingsomeone share their story
(29:58):
physically makes you change, itmakes you feel something and I
really leaned into that side ofstorytelling.
So the first up is Unhospitable, which is about women's health
and hospitality history, and myhope is not just creating the
documentary but also create freeresources that go back to the
restaurant industry and how totalk about these types of
(30:19):
female-based medical issues thata restaurant industry that's
predominantly actually inleadership roles are male,
although it's 50% women.
They don't know how to talkabout that.
That's not their fault.
They've never lived it and Ireally want people to feel that
they can have a conversationwithout offending and be a
better leader, chef, manager,operator within the industry.
(30:41):
So it's more than documentarystorytelling and making people
feel something and people feelseen, but make a change and do
something with it.
Don't just have a voice thatcreate real, powerful change.
What do?
Speaker 2 (30:52):
you think is super important right now, that's not
being talked about.
Is super important right now,that's not being talked about.
Speaker 1 (30:58):
For me personally, because this is what I've lived.
It's what it's like to bepregnant in the industry and
then returning to work.
There is so much talk about thebaby, when the baby is born,
that is often overlooked thatthe person that gave this child
life has gone through enormouschanges.
(31:19):
And a lot of women inrestaurants and hospitality
sector.
They don't get paid time off.
They may not even qualify forFMLA because of the hours they
work.
If they work part-time, theirrestaurant isn't obligated to
give them FMLA, so they're goingback to work within weeks of
having a baby.
It takes nine months to grow oneand you really should not be
(31:42):
lifting a keg when it goes out.
You should not be runningaround the restaurant and not
taking the water breaks that youneed or taking time to sit down
.
The physical toll that yourbody has been through is
something that's trulyindescribable.
Some people have tried toexplain pumping like running a
marathon during the day.
That exerts that much energy.
So can you imagine having torun a marathon on top of running
(32:04):
a marathon, of being in arestaurant?
It doesn't make sense.
So my hope is that when peoplesee someone that's expecting in
the industry, they have a planin place.
So should they choose to returnto work?
If they need to return to work,when?
If they need to return to workright away, what does that look
like?
Do you have modified schedules,modified job descriptions for
(32:25):
that person?
They are a bartender and theyare eight months pregnant.
Are you able to break them toget off their feet, like these
are all things that I hope toaccomplish and maybe you will
not uncomfortable to talk aboutit.
It happens every day.
Your partner, your wife, yourmother they've all lived it.
Have they all ran a restaurantat the same time?
I don't necessarily know thatand I want people to understand
(32:47):
that we want to be there.
We're not disabled, althoughit's called disability when you
take time off after a baby,which blows my mind.
We're not disabled.
We are abled bodies that areproducing another life, but just
in a bit more accommodations,because we love what we do.
Speaker 2 (33:01):
I mean, obviously you have had a rough go at certain
points in your life and throughthose challenges and through the
struggle you have found anoutlet in media.
You have found an outlet inmedia.
How has those challenges putyou in a place mentally?
Speaker 1 (33:27):
be able to talk about it now today on air, I think
because I was the person that Ineeded, is how I'm doing it.
I so desperately needed a rolemodel in my early 20s, when I
was very confused in theindustry.
I was in a very unhealthyrelationship and everyone around
me knew that it was, but no onesaid anything.
And, as a mother now, if mydaughter was ever in something
(33:48):
where her coworkers were awarethat she was in a dangerous
situation and didn't sayanything, I'm heartbroken.
And as a leader in thehospitality industry I've held
very high titles I want to makesure that people in the industry
hear my voice.
If you are a leader, thesethings are still happening.
It is our job to make it asafer, more sustainable place,
(34:11):
and I'm a lot more clear on whatthat looks like.
It's about training properly.
It's about providing breaks.
It's about providing outlets tomental health services,
encouraging exercising, findingother ways to engage with each
other outside of work andthrough the media sector of it
(34:32):
all.
It's my platform and I'm owningthat, and I'm not as
embarrassed to share what adegenerate I was in my 20s, but
I was also a really broken youngwoman that could have used
someone like me leading thecharge, instead of what I had
with some other people, and thechallenges that I'm facing now
in motherhood are very relevantto people that are in leadership
(34:54):
roles, and I want them to knowthat I'm here and I see them,
and I will keep sharing storiesso everyone feels seen in some
capacity it's not just my voice,but those that are coming on my
show that there's a widevariety of diversity from
different sectors of theindustry too, and that's the
other beautiful part about mypodcast is I don't just simply
talk to restaurant people orchefs.
(35:16):
I talk to literary agents, Italk to media personalities, I
talk to bilingual boilerplatemakers for people's websites.
That's how niche I go in someof these guests.
So everyone is seen somewhere.
I feel, yeah, it's when you ask.
I kind of take my breath awayby that question.
(35:37):
I don't know why.
That was hard to answer for me.
I believe in this so much thatI want to do it right and I want
to be with the right people,and that's why I'm happy that
Walk Talk believes in this too,and I'm looking forward to what
the future looks like.
Speaker 2 (35:50):
What you're saying, colleen, is that you're making
yourself available to be asupport system for those who
need it, but also, this is likeyour, it's your own, you are
your own counselor.
You're also hearing yourselftalking about some of these
things and it helps you to kindof navigate through, through
(36:11):
some of the, some of thestruggles, some of of what's
left over from even, you know,15 years ago definitely we are
all trauma bonded in therestaurant industry and all of
us have had some sort of trauma,that have worked in it and we
get along with each other, evenif we've never met.
Speaker 1 (36:29):
Because of that, we just understand that, hey, you
probably went through somethinglike I did and for me, I
definitely need to work throughsome of those things I
experienced and not beembarrassed because I'm not
alone in that.
I thought I was alone in a lotof those things I experienced
and not be embarrassed becauseI'm not alone in that.
I thought I was alone in a lotof these things, but that is not
the case Across the globe.
Everybody in the restaurantindustry speaks the same
(36:49):
language, no matter where youare, and I feel that so much now
when I have people on my showor just through my work at the
Burt Chef Project.
It's so cathartic for me.
Speaker 3 (36:59):
So I'm curious to know what was the catalyst to
start the Burt Chef Project.
Speaker 1 (37:05):
So our founder, Chris Hall.
He started taking photos, trulyin black and white, in the UK
of people in the industry.
It started as a photo projectand it took off.
People were fascinated by thiscontrast of light and dark, of
what it's like in the industry.
And then he started doingpublic speaking and talking
about his own struggles.
He actually was not a chef oranything like that.
(37:28):
He sold to chefs.
He was a rep.
So he understood the world froma different side.
The more he talked about it,the more he's like oh, there's
something here.
There's a lot of people thatare in a dark place.
They're not doing.
Okay.
That was six years ago and nowit's a global organization,
(37:49):
literally of ambassadors onevery continent, including
Antarctica.
It's incredible what can happenin six years.
And through the BernsteinProject he realized that
coursework was really needed,where we could go and talk to
culinary schools, universities,talk about really triggering
things that happen in theindustry substance misuse, how
to manage your money, all thethings that you need to set up
for success.
That may not have been talkedabout before.
(38:09):
That is the Burn Chef Project,started by one guy in the UK
taking pictures.
It's truly remarkable.
Speaker 3 (38:15):
That is remarkable.
Thank you for sharing.
Oh yeah, I want to spread themessage, and I am a listener
who's hearing about this for thefirst time today.
Speaker 2 (38:27):
Well, not only that, colleen, correct me if I'm wrong
.
You're looking to expand yourambassadorship here in North
America, correct?
Speaker 1 (38:42):
up applications in October.
We have a core team right now.
We've got about 20 ambassadorsin the US, about, I think, 20 in
Canada.
Now the hope is that we will bein different regions where we
can then do activations whetherthat's at a conference, whether
that's at your local restaurantassociation and host different
events where we do theseeducational training that we
also can train people in thatthey can then take into their
establishment.
It's all about passing thebaton to the next person to
(39:05):
spread the word and then on thewebsite there's a phone number
1-800, a toll-free number foranywhere in the world your
language to call.
That will connect you to amental health crisis counselor.
It may not be readily availablewithin the minutes, but it will
happen shortly thereafter.
There's also a text option onWhatsApp.
So if you go totheburnstackprojectcom, there's
(39:26):
free resources right now thatpeople can have access to that
don't even have to be a part ofthe Burnstack Project movement.
Speaker 3 (39:31):
It's incredible, helene, I want to know you.
I definitely you know.
I'm an ambassador for theEndometriosis Foundation of
America, which was founded byPadma Lakshmi and Dr Sechkin.
Dr Sechkin saved my life twoyears ago, so you know we will
have to talk after this.
Yeah, I'm, I'm here to help aswell, and and, um, you know, I
(39:54):
know better than anybody.
You know what it's like to likeI.
I walk red carpets, regularlybeen in media and spotlight for
years, and I would have anepisode actually just in April,
going to Cherry Bomb's Jubilee.
My husband had to nurse meevery single night back to
health because now my hormonesare a wreck and I would have
migraines and I would bevomiting, and he would be there
(40:15):
with the water, with the etcetera, with the crackers, get
me up, get me into hair andmakeup and get me back on.
At that time it was a pinkcarpet, so, like nobody has any
idea what we've gone through.
And then there's no empathybecause these are invisible,
right?
So every time you see me, yousee a perfect 10.
You don't see, you know how Iwas six in the morning or two in
(40:36):
the morning, so so I'm sothankful that you know you're in
this space and you're out there, um, you know, talking about
this and and being there forother women to be like, hey,
this is, this is, this is notnormal, we don't have to suffer.
And then bringing the messageto men who are in leadership and
who are who do have theplatforms to turn around and be
(40:58):
like hey, listen, you know, wecan provide this for you too
platforms to turn around and belike hey, listen, you know we
can provide this for you too.
Speaker 1 (41:08):
Right, this is not against you, you or I.
This is a we collective in theindustry.
I want everyone to feel thatthey can have the conversation
and not be embarrassed by it.
No one should be embarrassedabout everyday real life things.
These are just, it's what weexperience and I feel more
comfortable if you like oh, Iunderstand you're going through,
can I help?
This is why yeah, this is whyit's so important.
Is that, um, the restaurantindustry leaders that listen to
(41:29):
this, or chefs listen to this,or that are part of just the
food media world?
You can't hide away from itbecause so many people are
talking about it now.
It's just, it's sometimes it'sa blip in, like, oh, it's a blip
in time, Everyone's talkingabout it and it goes away.
I really don't want to go away.
That is truly my goal.
Is that?
So your story that you justshared is so loud everywhere
(41:53):
that you can't go intorestaurant Like, hey, did you
hear about this chef that wentthrough this?
She's out of Florida and weshould probably talk about this.
That's that is my goal.
So I hear you loud and clear togive you a little bit of hope,
hopeful uplifting.
When I shared a bit of mymiscarriage from behind the bar
and I shared it to a few men inthe industry, it was like I
(42:14):
brought tears to some toughcookies and brought them down
and they I never thought aboutthat.
And I go, and 70% of women thatsuffer a miscarriage while
they're at work don't tellanybody.
And it happens in therestaurant industry a lot.
I just happened to be behindthe bar and I was on full
display of like oh no, what'shappening, and so I have a lot
of shame with that, but a lot of.
(42:34):
I feel very proud to be able tosay that and not cry, but I'm
getting other people's emotionsgoing that they never once
thought about something likethat.
So your story I'm telling you.
Well, that does matter andpeople are going to hear it.
Speaker 2 (42:48):
Now that Hospitality Bites is with Walk Talk Media,
what can our collective audienceexpect from you?
Speaker 1 (42:58):
Well, they can expect you as one of my guests, which
is very exciting to get you onthe other side, so I'm really
actually excited about that, tohave you share a bit of your
story.
No, truthfully, it's about whatthey're gonna.
What they should expect arepeople from all different parts
of the industry and alldifferent backgrounds, sharing
their ebbs and flows and whatit's like.
(43:20):
Whether they started inculinary school, were they born
into the industry like so manyof us.
Some of the not great stuff,but also really highlight what
their successes are and how theynavigated that and what their
hope is for the future.
That is what I love about theshow is I really try to navigate
in about an hour a life storyto the best of their ability,
and I think that it fits reallywell with the walk and talk crew
(43:42):
.
You bring the visuals, youbring the wonderful
conversations there, and I'mjust taking those people that
are your listeners and givingthem a different ride of a
journey through the hospitalityindustry.
Speaker 2 (43:53):
Well, I honestly I'm super excited.
You know we've been talkingabout expanding our portfolio,
if you will, for over a year andyou're the first, so I mean
this is a big deal.
Speaker 1 (44:08):
It's a big deal for me.
Speaker 2 (44:09):
Yeah, it's a big deal for all of us because we're
growing and the opportunitiesfor good people to be a part of
what I feel is good work.
It's really great.
It's satisfying, it feels nice,it's humbling.
All of it's very cool.
I would love to be a guest onyour show.
(44:30):
Most people don't care if I'm aguest on somebody's show or not
.
I don't know.
Nobody asked me anything.
Speaker 1 (44:35):
I hear.
Speaker 2 (44:36):
I know you do.
Thank you.
We're having an air hug rightnow.
Okay, air hugs, perfect, allright, let's um, let's figure
out, let's figure out whenthat's actually going to be.
Uh, we can do that offline inthe meantime.
Perfect, uh, how do chef?
Speaker 3 (44:57):
how do people find you?
I'm at domestic gourmeteverywhere.
Speaker 2 (45:00):
Love that, colleen.
How do people find you?
I'm at domestic gourmeteverywhere.
Speaker 1 (45:03):
Love that Colleen how do people find you
Hospitalitybitescom or at CAsilk or hospitality bites and
how do people find out about theburnt chef project?
I encourage you to visit theburnt chef projectcom or visit
us on social media on all nativeplatforms at the burnt chef
project.
Speaker 2 (45:20):
Are we going to get Tom on the show anytime soon, or
what?
Let's bring the canadian downabsolutely I feel like we need
some canadian action here on theshow.
I mean, it's been a while I cantry to work on my uh, my accent
, you know just throw in the ahe's a cowboy canadian okay,
yeah, you know something likethat.
All right, um, listen, chef.
By the way.
(45:40):
Uh, you are coming back andyou're going to do some other
food.
Okay, that's going to happen.
Speaker 3 (45:46):
Yeah, I feel like I want to be on Hospitality Bites
to talk more about the burpprocess.
Speaker 2 (45:51):
We're going to make that happen.
Ladies, it's been a pleasure.
We are out.
I couldn't even recognize myself in the mirror
and I felt so ashamed that I wasso broken.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Hello food fam.
This is the Walk Talk podcast,where you will find the perfect
blend of food fun and cookingknowledge.
I'm your host, carl Fiodini.
Welcome to the number one foodpodcast in the country and the
official podcast for the NewYork, california and Florida
restaurant shows, the PizzaTomorrow Summit and the US
Culinary Open at NAFM.
We're recording on site at IbisImages Studios, where food
(00:40):
photography comes alive and Iget to eat it.
Email us to learn more Info atthewalkintopcom.
Today's episode is one of thosethat goes beyond the plate.
We're talking purpose, people,passion.
Joining me is a powerhouse inhospitality media, someone who's
been on the front lines ofchanging how we view this
(01:02):
industry, our beloved industry.
She's a mompreneur, a creativeproducer and founder of
Hospitality Bites Media, a brandthat uplifts the human side of
hospitality.
Through her podcast,hospitality Bites, she sparked
honest conversations aroundmental health, burnout and
inclusivity, while offering anew vision of what sustainable
(01:25):
success in this industry canlook like.
I'm proud to say this isbreaking news, people.
I am proud to say thatHospitality Bites is now
officially part of the Walk Talkmedia family, and that is
correct.
You'll find Colleen's episodespublished right here on our feed
.
Her voice, her mission, hermovement.
It all aligns with everythingwe stand for here at Walk Talk
(01:50):
In studio today.
Let's talk food here for aminute, guys.
Oh my God.
In studio, bringing the heat tothe kitchen, is chef CG Castro,
founder of Domestic Gourmet.
Cg's story is all heart, fromher Cuban, puerto Rican-American
roots to her role as culinaryinnovator.
She's been cooking up somestuff here and it still smells
(02:12):
great and I love it.
She's going to talk about thebig flavor, the big food that
was prepared here in this studio.
Cg, welcome to the show.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
First things first.
All right, let's get this outof the way.
We had a chef that was supposedto be here today and you know
things happen in the industryand we had to reschedule A big
deal.
I put a, I put out a, a bolo, aCTA yeah, a bolo CTA to the you
know social media stratosphereand what happened.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
So my friend Jana Tamargo, she also follows you.
She's the founder of authenticfood and I don't think that she
knew that I have been followingyou for years.
She's like CG opportunityThursday and I think I it was
like 10 minutes after you posted, I'm like I'm available because
it just so happened thatmorning my nanny called and
she's like I'm available.
(03:10):
So the stars aligned and here Iam.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
It's the truth.
And, you know, just moments,moments after you reached out
and it was pretty quickly, we've, you know, we basically, you
know, got the check box markedreal fast, chef, chef ricardo
castro.
He's like, hey, you know what'sup.
And I'm like, oh, let's, let's,let's put you on a date coming
up.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
Man, um, they're great people, they are wonderful
, you know chef, rosanna, is awoman that I look to as one of
my first mentors.
Um, I met her years ago atsaver St Pete and then after the
pandemic, at the Addition Hotel.
There was an event calledFemmes in Food and I met her
(03:52):
there and she talked about howshe's been a pioneer in this
industry in Tampa Bay and she'savailable to mentor and I have
to say where I'm at today is inbig part because of her.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
They are a terrific bunch of people.
They are Salt of the earth anda culinary powerhouse.
I mean they do some amazingstuff.
If you haven't heard of ChefRosanna, she beat Bobby Flay.
She was the first female chefto beat Bobby Flay.
So just putting that out there,All right.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
And with a sort of Puerto Rican empanadas.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
And she brought them here.
She made them here.
Oh my God, they're so good.
Stop it, I can't eat anymore.
I don't fit into my clothes.
I just want everyone to realizethat I eat.
Well, all right, chef, what didyou make?
Speaker 3 (04:40):
today.
Today I made pasteles, which isan indigenous food to Puerto
Rico.
Domestic gourmet is.
I am passionate aboutpreserving ancestral cooking, so
I'm really honored to haveshowcased that today.
But also, you know, I'm a CPGbrand now and my whole angle is
(05:02):
creating this, these traditionalstaples, and making them
convenient for modern families.
So another dish that I didtoday was an elevated version of
the Elena Harus and that was tohonor our friends at Aussie
Select and their killer lamb.
I ate a lot of that thismorning and I'm so proud to say
(05:25):
that I'm going home with half aham.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
Tell the truth, you did not expect that that was
going to be as good as it was.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
No, you know I love, I love lamb and you know I have
to say you know 40% of the timethat I eat it.
Sometimes it's a little toogamey for me.
This was the cleanest ham, lambham, just the cleanest lamb
that I've had, but in like acold cut form.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
I could live off this stuff yeah, it's juicy and
tasty and it's really terrific.
Just, everybody knows whatwe're talking about.
It is a fully cooked, uh, cured.
You know lamb loin delicious,so you could do charcuterie.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
And it's clean.
It is so clean and it, you know, the thing about it is is like
I've been pulling back from coldcuts because of just all the
terrible ingredients in them andthey're not you know, they're
not the best choice and I havestage four endometriosis.
It's really important that Ieat clean and this is going to
satisfy my love of sandwichesand also not hurt me.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
What's more about the dishes today.
Speaker 3 (06:31):
Okay, so my idea for elevating the Elena Haroos was
to use this lamb ham and stillkind of prepare it similarly on
the media noche bread.
But I had some marmelada detoronja, which is true to my you
know to me who I am, as a Cuban, puerto Rican, american.
Um, I made a traditional Cubancandied grapefruit right, but
(06:55):
then I added the Puerto Ricanspices.
So, um, after that, with thepeel, I made the marmalade from
the juice, and I use the samespices, so I use that instead of
their typical strawberrypreserves.
And then we elevated the creamcheese with a nice melted brie.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
There's really not a lot to say about it, other than
the sandwich is gone.
I usually have leftovers.
Speaker 3 (07:14):
The sandwich is gone and so is most of the marmalade
guys.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
Yeah, I usually bring stuff home for my mother-in-law
.
She loves it.
Like when I on production days.
I walk in the door and she'slike production days.
I walk in the door and she'slike Carlo, you know, she's
looking at me like what do yougot?
And I'm, you know, sorry, sorry, mom, you're out of luck today.
Speaker 3 (07:29):
There's not a lot of marmelada left, but you should
take it to her.
She will enjoy it.
Then I made the pasteles.
So the pasteles.
It was important to me toshowcase that today, because it
is a piece of oral historytypically passed down from the
women in the family, and it'snot really something that you
can learn online, although manypeople have tried and some
(07:51):
people try to learn online.
This is something that istypically done once a year
before the holidays.
All the women in the familywill gather.
It takes typically two days tomake it's labor intensive.
A lot of love goes into it.
There's a lot of differentcomponents as well, but I just
happened to be ready.
Speaker 2 (08:09):
So when the photos that John did.
Speaker 3 (08:12):
I was so surprised by those.
Okay, so let me preface this.
Wait, what?
What do you mean?
Surprised, okay, okay, hold on.
But let me preface this bysaying that if you're not
familiar with a pasteles, it isthink of it as kind of like when
I tell people who don't knowwhat pastelas are but they know
what tamales are.
It's kind of like that, butmade with bananas green bananas,
and when you boil them is abrown rectangle.
(08:35):
It's not typically a beautifuldish, as much as it is delicious
.
So I did have some reservationsabout the photography, but I
felt like it was important forme, as someone who works really
hard to preserve ancestralcooking, to show something that
was authentic to my roots andthen, you know, also showcase
something that was modern.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
John you did it again .
Speaker 3 (08:58):
Oh my gosh, when I walked into that back room and
he was photographing, I couldnot believe it.
I had to call my husband in andjust show him, because I have
never seen a more gorgeousBastille in my whole life.
It was just.
You are so talented, sir.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
Look, he's blushing, do you see it?
Do you see it?
Look at him.
We did.
Speaker 3 (09:18):
I do have to say that we did get into a little bit of
a little bit of a scrabble here, because I know that this is a
hot button topic and that is toput ketchup or not to put
ketchup, and I know that this isgoing to really upset some
people, but I am team ketchup.
John is not.
Speaker 2 (09:37):
John is anti.
Like anything new it's gonna be, you know well, john is Puerto
Rican.
Speaker 3 (09:41):
He has every right to to stand on this on this hill.
But I will say that I said Igave him two and I said one with
ketchup, one without you know.
We both be happy.
And when I'm into the studioI'm like where's the?
Speaker 2 (09:56):
did you try it?
Did you try it?
Speaker 3 (09:58):
no, he did not try the one with ketchup gosh all
right, look, you are welcomeback to this place.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
Thank you Anytime.
Thank you that you feel likebringing any of these things or
anything you want to cook in thefuture.
I appreciate that, yes,absolutely, you're more than
welcome.
Okay, let's welcome Colleen tothe program.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
Hello, I'm just like sitting here listening to this
food and I'm like, man, thatsounds like a much better day
than mine.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
Well, you know, this is the life we've chosen and,
you know, I don't feel bad.
I don't feel bad Like we'reliving the dream here, colleen.
Okay, like this is a dream.
Speaker 1 (10:36):
It sounds like it.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (10:38):
I had crackers for lunch.
I'm like, oh my goodness.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
Would you call me?
So listen, here's the thing,colleen.
Let's start with how did wemeet?
We met at NAFM and it wasreally.
It was really.
It was like a blessing that wemet.
And do you remember what?
Do you remember what went down?
Do you know the story?
(11:26):
All right, well, I know I did.
I told my ambassador friendsfrom Canada and UK.
I said we need to go over, talkto those guys.
Let's bring them story, becausethis was just back in February
that we were at this trade show.
And you know John and Pooch,and you know Glenn and some of
the others, the gang, we, jordan, we were out there.
Just, you know, it's like youget your head down to the
grinder and you're working and I, I know that we were all
(11:46):
dehydrated.
You came through with like fourcases of water, you know, and
uh, and you just I don't know ifit was you or Jamie, somebody
just dropped them off and and uh, like hey, here you go, guys.
Speaker 1 (11:59):
And that's where our beautiful relationship started
it was simple, right, just doingthe kind of thing of hey, I
think we look dehydrated, we'vegot this offering.
We kind of have the same vibe.
Let's just drop off and seewhat happens.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
I want to start with Burn Chef Project, Before we get
into Hospitality Bites.
What led you to get into BurnChef?
Speaker 1 (12:23):
Well, it was actually through Hospitality Bites.
Two of my former guests one wasfrom the UK, one was from
Canada.
They were ambassadors, jim andShell, and they had two very
different experiences of whythey joined and the more I
learned about it, I wasessentially blown away that
there was an organization thatwas working to train people to
learn about how to handle issueswithin a restaurant industry,
(12:46):
something I had never seenbefore.
At this point, I was trying tofigure out what I want to do
with my life.
I had a daughter at home.
I had recently suffered amiscarriage and I said I want to
go all in on what they're doing.
I need a purpose beyond myself,and that's essentially what
happened.
I reached out, I applied and didthe coursework, joined in 2022.
(13:07):
And then things slowly startedto evolve throughout my work,
with them wanting to find abigger purpose in the United
States, and that's how itstarted to grow.
A bunch of us started tonetwork together on LinkedIn
Instagram, and then they put acall out together on LinkedIn
Instagram, and then they put acall out for people to attend
(13:28):
NAFM and Tom, our leader out ofCanada, made it happen, and that
was the first time a lot of usmet in person in North America,
so it took from 2020 tillFebruary for all of us to meet.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
Well, I'm glad that that happened, and Tom's a good
dude too.
I appreciate him very much.
Spark the idea for you to jumpinto the world of media.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
So, like everyone in the restaurant industry, my
income came to a screeching halt, and I used to fly back and
forth from Charleston to Chicagofor work to help operate and
run a restaurant.
Well, I also was pregnant, lostmy income, spent the entire
pregnancy in lockdown, and whenthe world reopened for me in
(14:07):
2021, it was that summer.
A lot of people that I knew inthe industry were not doing well
, and there was this huge uptick, though, of media content,
where people were infatuatedwith what's going on in the food
world.
I think it's a level of comfortthat people were looking for.
They missed dining out, theywanted to watch people cook, and
(14:27):
you see the celebrity statusexplode from you know where.
And one thing that wasn'thappening, though, is people
weren't talking about therepercussions of not being
together within our industry.
So many of us are people peopleand we need each other to
thrive.
I had lost a friend.
I attended a meeting with theChow Network, and we talked
(14:50):
about a lot of us losing peopleduring the pandemic because they
were left to their own vicesunfortunately, a lot of
alcoholism, drug use, simplydepression and I didn't want to
be sitting on the sidelineswhile this was happening, so I
just started talking about thenot perfect stuff.
Not that the industry wasbroken, that it's all bad, but
(15:13):
there's a lot of things thatneeded to be discussed and I had
some friends on the show andnext thing I know people were
interested in talking about thenot perfect side of the industry
.
I leaned into being vulnerable,I leaned into storytelling, the
ability to get people to tellme things they typically
wouldn't say, and then it justsort of took off and that's how
(15:34):
I got guests from the UK andCanada.
I was going to Ireland andAustralia.
You know, just really wonderfulto get a global community with
like-minded people that want toshare their experiences within
hospitality.
Speaker 2 (15:47):
You describe yourself as a hospitality hustler.
What does that mean to youtoday versus 10 years ago?
Speaker 1 (15:55):
10 years ago, colleen hospitality hustler was living
the restaurant life.
The rinse-repeat cycle eat,drink, sleep, little industry,
never giving to myself.
A lot of us have that work inthe restaurant industry.
We are all about it.
We want to give everything wehave to it.
Screeching Halt came for me 10years ago, had to really
(16:15):
reevaluate who I was as a person, as a woman, what I wanted to
be.
I wanted to be a leader.
I wanted to be a better versionof myself.
I wanted to be a leader.
I wanted to be a better versionof myself.
So Hostility Hustler today issomeone that found their ability
to give back in the hospitalityindustry by creating their own
lane.
I've created my own, opened myown doors.
(16:36):
I've broken open.
I like to say I'm breaking downdoors and, depending on how you
view it, I'm making as manyconnections as possible.
I'm breathing life into mybusiness to the best of my
ability, truly making my ownpath.
So the hospitality hustlertoday is someone that is
successful, proud of themselves.
I'm really encouraged at what'sgoing to happen.
Hospitality hustler 10 yearsago she needed a lot of work.
(16:56):
She was not giving to herselfin any way, shape or form.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
There's a long way to go in our industry, but there's
been changes.
There's a long way to go in ourindustry, but there's been
changes.
What have you seen since youstarted?
Hospitality Bites Media.
Speaker 1 (17:09):
We started it four years ago.
Now there seems to be a lotmore voices that are unafraid to
talk about how things used tobe.
I use like air quotes, sayingwe're the adults in the room now
, and a lot of us are parents oror seasoned parents.
We had to be home with our kidsduring the pandemic.
We really reevaluated what theindustry was like and how
unhealthy it was for us, and weare now the adults in the room,
(17:32):
so we want to make a change.
So, should our children enterit, or the next generation
that's coming up in culinaryschool, we're making a safer,
more sustainable place.
So it's really interesting thatfour years ago, not everyone
wanted to talk about this sortof thing, where now people are
confident saying I'm sober and Ioperate in the industry and I
feel a bit safer to do so.
It isn't as this.
(17:54):
Well, I guess we had a goodmoment in 2020 and we're all
taking care of ourselvespandemic life and what that was
like and getting back to work.
We're addressing what it wasand we're making changes and
people are putting their moneywhere their mouth is.
Truly.
We're not just saying we wantto make it a healthier place.
People are investing on makingit a healthier place.
Whether it's equipment orcoursework that we offer at the
(18:16):
Burned Chef Project, Cal Ben'sfriends, people are investing in
their employees, which isincredible.
Speaker 2 (18:21):
Colleen the Burned Chef Project.
It's a big deal.
It's all over the world.
Are you guys affiliated orconnected with any other
self-help resources that are outthere?
Speaker 1 (18:35):
we our founder, chris .
He actually sits on the boardat chow, which is the culinary
hospitality outreach wellnessprogram.
They started in colorado andnow they're across the nation
and we have several ambassadorsthat attend ben's friends
community that meets bothvirtually and in person.
More organizations that weconnect with and work together.
(18:56):
It's only for the better.
It's not a competition to helppeople, and so the more that we
can find and work together, it'sonly for the better.
It's not a competition to helppeople, and so the more that we
can find.
There's other greatorganizations that we're
starting to learn about, here inthe US specifically, that are
of the same mindset.
So we are hoping to helpamplify, working together, these
other organizations.
Speaker 2 (19:14):
Well, I think that's amazing and if anything that we
can do as your North Americanmedia partner to help promote
any of that, obviously we wantto be a part of it.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
We appreciate them and we do have this hope of
creating a bigger project no punintended for 2026.
Have a ton more activations.
Get people out into the field,in the restaurants, in the
hospitality sector, alongsideour friends at the other
organizations.
So trust me, you're in theplans.
Speaker 2 (19:43):
We've had guests ranging from rising chefs to
industry veterans.
Do you have any stories thatkind of stuck with you that are
important to you, that you wantto talk about?
Speaker 1 (19:52):
One story in particular was from a guest and
he's from New York.
He was a chef and he was at upuntil a year ago.
He was running a not-for-profitorganization and he told me
that his wake up call, so tospeak, was him in his car,
covered in vomit outside of hiscar and not remembering that he
(20:14):
had been there, and he afterworking a long shift.
So he had spent the night inhis car and he was woken up, I
believe, by a police officer andhe shared that story and his
social media manager was on thecall too.
And I'm looking at him and hegoes exactly, he goes.
Do you know how hard it was forme to look at myself?
And then I had to go into workthe way that I was, because it
(20:37):
was time to go and I wanted tosee the rock bottom, but it
wasn't.
And those types of stories.
His story, when he shared that,was like there isn't just a one
rock bottom.
These things pile on for peopleand our industry is really good
at piling on, and he's so openand so vocal about how hard that
was for him to get help.
(20:57):
He wanted to make a difference.
He didn't want other chefs tobe going home or going to their
cars or going to a ditch,feeling the same way, and I
really appreciated him sharingthat, especially with an
employee of his on the call.
You know, it's not always easyto share our worst side of
ourselves with people that workfor us, we work alongside them,
(21:19):
but it's so important, I think,to many of us to do that, and
his story is just one of those.
That really is, man.
You thought you had it rough.
That just sounds awful, buthe's doing something with it and
his story 100% has stuck withme the last couple of years.
His story obviously was one thatjust sits with you and it makes
you think about that.
Could be me.
I could have been that person.
I personally got a DUI in 2015and I could have been on the
(21:43):
side of the road and I reallytake a lot of pride that people
trust me with stories like thatand they feel comfortable enough
to share with me their rockbottom, like I said, and I can
share back my rock bottom.
We kind of commiserate overthat.
Like I said, and I can shareback my rock bottom.
You know, we kind ofcommiserate over that and we
just hope that it makes peoplefeel seen and there's an impact
or a little bit of a ripple tomaybe make someone okay.
(22:05):
I want to reach out and gethelp to them or I want to find
their organization that they'rea part of.
It's only been truthfully.
I feel so empowered and soprivileged to have people share
their stories like that with me.
Speaker 2 (22:22):
Let's talk about your mompreneur life.
How do you balance theemotional intensity of raising a
family and still beingconnected to the food industry?
Speaker 1 (22:29):
If you'd asked that question eight months ago, I
would have told you I'mcompletely broken.
I had such a stark differencebetween my two children and what
that postpartum looked likenavigating the industry With my
daughter.
The world was shut down, butwhen it came back up I was out
there working.
I was even helping a friend runa restaurant.
I would bring my daughter tothe restaurant.
(22:50):
She thought it was normal to bein a pub.
It was easy.
It felt normal because I wantedher to see her mom at work.
Fast forward to last year, Icouldn't even recognize myself
in the mirror and I felt soashamed that I was so broken.
I didn't.
Friends were encouraging.
Why don't you just go get a joband wait tables a couple days a
week, just so you're out of thehouse and socializing?
(23:12):
I didn't even feel comfortablethat I could socialize with
people, and that's what I'mgreat at.
I'm great at talking.
I didn't even know how to dothat.
I was afraid of breaking everyday.
I was afraid of embarrassingmyself and when you're a mom,
(23:32):
everyone depends on you.
It's just this weirdexpectation and when you feel
like you can't give it to yourchildren back and you can't give
it to your business.
You feel like an utter failure.
And I felt like a completefailure last year.
I was trying so hard to keeppushing through with my podcast.
I was trying to continue withBurnt Chef and at one point I
felt that I wasn't even worthbeing here and that's when I
said, okay, I need to dosomething with this, and I used
(23:55):
all of that mom strength that Ifelt I didn't have last year to
go all in on moving this podcastforward, moving forward
documentaries, sharing my story.
So the next mompreneur likeChef on the Line, when you're
killing it in the industry, Ialso know how hard it is and how
you're killing it at home too,and I want people and women to
feel the same way that I feelnow and if they felt the way I
(24:17):
felt a year ago.
Speaker 3 (24:26):
I understand that too .
Wow, I have to tell you thatit's very emotional hearing you
talk because, um you know, Ithink that you are a very
powerful woman and um, and Ithink that you are absolutely
incredible and the work thatyou're doing is just.
It's an incredible example foryour children, for your family
and for everyone who knows you,because I think, for women in
particular no offense, guys,you're going to have to sit this
(24:48):
one out.
I think that you know, as momand women, we have to carry the
load and carry it effortlessly.
You said we have to be therefor everybody and if we don't,
then we're not a good mother,and if we acknowledge our
failure or our struggles, thenthat opens a whole nother can of
(25:10):
worms.
So there is, I think.
As women, it's a natural tosuffer in silence and suffer
alone and not admit that we arestruggling.
And the fact that you, you know, not only were able to admit it
to yourself, so that you couldchange your path, but also admit
(25:31):
it on a global scale, publicly,is such a gift, because I know
right now and it makes meemotional, because I've been
there where you needed to hear amessage and you heard it.
It was exactly what you needed.
That's what you just did rightnow.
Thank you, you're welcome.
Speaker 1 (25:52):
I really appreciate that you actually mentioned that
you suffered throughendometriosis a documentary
called Unhospitable and I'mtalking about all the things
that women suffer through insilence within the industry.
You know, a lot of us start asteenagers and we're going
through those changes.
We go through changes ourentire lives and one thing that
people don't understand isendometriosis, pcos, postpartum
(26:15):
pumping all the P words that noone wants to talk about.
Speaker 3 (26:17):
Yeah, anemoscarages.
You know I empathize with youon that one.
Speaker 1 (26:28):
Thank you, wait and it's I.
I've learned that through thisdocumentary and making this and
sharing my story which I don'tfeel comfortable watching myself
on camera which I have learnedit is hard to share your story
and see it back.
It makes you relive thosemoments.
It's very triggering and see itback it makes you relive those
moments.
It's very triggering.
I truly believe 100% that youfeel it feels out of body when
you watch yourself back andreshare it and be like, wow, I
lived through that and.
But I'm here today because,truly, the person I saw a year
(26:50):
ago, I don't even recognize her.
I, my husband, did it, mychildren didn't, and I have not
been this happy in a really longtime.
And creating this documentaryand hoping to create resources
to have people understand whatwomen are going through and how
we're suffering through pain insilence when they're on the line
, if they're a chef, justeducating.
(27:10):
This is what it feels likebeing able to offer a break,
offer water.
Are you eating healthy?
You said it.
I mean, you hit the nail on thehead about what your diet looks
like.
These are all things I'm hopingto accomplish and my podcast is
how it got me there.
I felt so, wow, I can do this.
I can share stories and thankgoodness for Carl believing in
(27:32):
me to bring my podcast there andhelp amplify not just my
documentaries but my podcastthrough Walk Talk, so it's just
a really wonderful full circlemoment.
I'm very privileged that you'reon the line that on this call,
with carl too likewise for therecord you can come back, arl.
Speaker 2 (27:50):
Welcome back, gentlemen thank you, I I'm back
for the Colleen when we met.
Speaker 1 (27:57):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (27:58):
And you shared a little bit about.
You know who you are, whereyou're going, what you're doing,
and you shared a little bit ofyour story with me and the way
that you delivered the message,the way that you delivered the
information.
I received it very well and,you know, I feel like I'm good
reading people.
I've always said that's one ofmy superpowers.
(28:19):
You seem so sincere and yourmessage and everyone has someone
that they can identify withthat has the same sort of
challenges that you have.
It just so happens that we workin media and now there's a way
that what we do can literally orpotentially help somebody.
(28:42):
So I feel like the.
I feel like it was meant to be.
I feel like there was somedivine guidance that puts you
where we are and you know we'regoing to.
I think we're going to do, youknow, the good work together.
Speaker 3 (28:55):
I agree, you can't tell that I'm smiling, being
that you have found your wayback to happiness, though that's
very powerful, that's importanttoo, you know, to share the
struggles, but also share thatyou can find your way back.
Speaker 1 (29:08):
Exactly and I did not believe I could.
So that's what's so wild.
Watching my video content backfrom the first portion
documentary, I see how broken Iwas.
I'm like, oh my gosh, I can'tbelieve I lived through that.
But here I am and I'm superhonored and proud that I made it
and that sounds super.
I know catastrophic.
I made it, but I did becausethat's how bad I was In a
(29:33):
documentary.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
Can you give us a preview of what you're doing?
Speaker 1 (29:37):
Absolutely.
I decided I wanted to go intodocumentary space from visual
storytelling.
I wasn't really a movie kid buffgrowing up, but as I got older
I liked watching documentarieson TV and my husband gifted me
something for Christmas and Ilearned about documentary
storytelling and how watchingsomeone share their story
(29:58):
physically makes you change, itmakes you feel something and I
really leaned into that side ofstorytelling.
So the first up is Unhospitable, which is about women's health
and hospitality history, and myhope is not just creating the
documentary but also create freeresources that go back to the
restaurant industry and how totalk about these types of
(30:19):
female-based medical issues thata restaurant industry that's
predominantly actually inleadership roles are male,
although it's 50% women.
They don't know how to talkabout that.
That's not their fault.
They've never lived it and Ireally want people to feel that
they can have a conversationwithout offending and be a
better leader, chef, manager,operator within the industry.
(30:41):
So it's more than documentarystorytelling and making people
feel something and people feelseen, but make a change and do
something with it.
Don't just have a voice thatcreate real, powerful change.
What do?
Speaker 2 (30:52):
you think is super important right now, that's not
being talked about.
Is super important right now,that's not being talked about.
Speaker 1 (30:58):
For me personally, because this is what I've lived.
It's what it's like to bepregnant in the industry and
then returning to work.
There is so much talk about thebaby, when the baby is born,
that is often overlooked thatthe person that gave this child
life has gone through enormouschanges.
(31:19):
And a lot of women inrestaurants and hospitality
sector.
They don't get paid time off.
They may not even qualify forFMLA because of the hours they
work.
If they work part-time, theirrestaurant isn't obligated to
give them FMLA, so they're goingback to work within weeks of
having a baby.
It takes nine months to grow oneand you really should not be
(31:42):
lifting a keg when it goes out.
You should not be runningaround the restaurant and not
taking the water breaks that youneed or taking time to sit down
.
The physical toll that yourbody has been through is
something that's trulyindescribable.
Some people have tried toexplain pumping like running a
marathon during the day.
That exerts that much energy.
So can you imagine having torun a marathon on top of running
(32:04):
a marathon, of being in arestaurant?
It doesn't make sense.
So my hope is that when peoplesee someone that's expecting in
the industry, they have a planin place.
So should they choose to returnto work?
If they need to return to work,when?
If they need to return to workright away, what does that look
like?
Do you have modified schedules,modified job descriptions for
(32:25):
that person?
They are a bartender and theyare eight months pregnant.
Are you able to break them toget off their feet, like these
are all things that I hope toaccomplish and maybe you will
not uncomfortable to talk aboutit.
It happens every day.
Your partner, your wife, yourmother they've all lived it.
Have they all ran a restaurantat the same time?
I don't necessarily know thatand I want people to understand
(32:47):
that we want to be there.
We're not disabled, althoughit's called disability when you
take time off after a baby,which blows my mind.
We're not disabled.
We are abled bodies that areproducing another life, but just
in a bit more accommodations,because we love what we do.
Speaker 2 (33:01):
I mean, obviously you have had a rough go at certain
points in your life and throughthose challenges and through the
struggle you have found anoutlet in media.
You have found an outlet inmedia.
How has those challenges putyou in a place mentally?
Speaker 1 (33:27):
be able to talk about it now today on air, I think
because I was the person that Ineeded, is how I'm doing it.
I so desperately needed a rolemodel in my early 20s, when I
was very confused in theindustry.
I was in a very unhealthyrelationship and everyone around
me knew that it was, but no onesaid anything.
And, as a mother now, if mydaughter was ever in something
(33:48):
where her coworkers were awarethat she was in a dangerous
situation and didn't sayanything, I'm heartbroken.
And as a leader in thehospitality industry I've held
very high titles I want to makesure that people in the industry
hear my voice.
If you are a leader, thesethings are still happening.
It is our job to make it asafer, more sustainable place,
(34:11):
and I'm a lot more clear on whatthat looks like.
It's about training properly.
It's about providing breaks.
It's about providing outlets tomental health services,
encouraging exercising, findingother ways to engage with each
other outside of work andthrough the media sector of it
(34:32):
all.
It's my platform and I'm owningthat, and I'm not as
embarrassed to share what adegenerate I was in my 20s, but
I was also a really broken youngwoman that could have used
someone like me leading thecharge, instead of what I had
with some other people, and thechallenges that I'm facing now
in motherhood are very relevantto people that are in leadership
(34:54):
roles, and I want them to knowthat I'm here and I see them,
and I will keep sharing storiesso everyone feels seen in some
capacity it's not just my voice,but those that are coming on my
show that there's a widevariety of diversity from
different sectors of theindustry too, and that's the
other beautiful part about mypodcast is I don't just simply
talk to restaurant people orchefs.
(35:16):
I talk to literary agents, Italk to media personalities, I
talk to bilingual boilerplatemakers for people's websites.
That's how niche I go in someof these guests.
So everyone is seen somewhere.
I feel, yeah, it's when you ask.
I kind of take my breath awayby that question.
(35:37):
I don't know why.
That was hard to answer for me.
I believe in this so much thatI want to do it right and I want
to be with the right people,and that's why I'm happy that
Walk Talk believes in this too,and I'm looking forward to what
the future looks like.
Speaker 2 (35:50):
What you're saying, colleen, is that you're making
yourself available to be asupport system for those who
need it, but also, this is likeyour, it's your own, you are
your own counselor.
You're also hearing yourselftalking about some of these
things and it helps you to kindof navigate through, through
(36:11):
some of the, some of thestruggles, some of of what's
left over from even, you know,15 years ago definitely we are
all trauma bonded in therestaurant industry and all of
us have had some sort of trauma,that have worked in it and we
get along with each other, evenif we've never met.
Speaker 1 (36:29):
Because of that, we just understand that, hey, you
probably went through somethinglike I did and for me, I
definitely need to work throughsome of those things I
experienced and not beembarrassed because I'm not
alone in that.
I thought I was alone in a lotof those things I experienced
and not be embarrassed becauseI'm not alone in that.
I thought I was alone in a lotof these things, but that is not
the case Across the globe.
Everybody in the restaurantindustry speaks the same
(36:49):
language, no matter where youare, and I feel that so much now
when I have people on my showor just through my work at the
Burt Chef Project.
It's so cathartic for me.
Speaker 3 (36:59):
So I'm curious to know what was the catalyst to
start the Burt Chef Project.
Speaker 1 (37:05):
So our founder, Chris Hall.
He started taking photos, trulyin black and white, in the UK
of people in the industry.
It started as a photo projectand it took off.
People were fascinated by thiscontrast of light and dark, of
what it's like in the industry.
And then he started doingpublic speaking and talking
about his own struggles.
He actually was not a chef oranything like that.
(37:28):
He sold to chefs.
He was a rep.
So he understood the world froma different side.
The more he talked about it,the more he's like oh, there's
something here.
There's a lot of people thatare in a dark place.
They're not doing.
Okay.
That was six years ago and nowit's a global organization,
(37:49):
literally of ambassadors onevery continent, including
Antarctica.
It's incredible what can happenin six years.
And through the BernsteinProject he realized that
coursework was really needed,where we could go and talk to
culinary schools, universities,talk about really triggering
things that happen in theindustry substance misuse, how
to manage your money, all thethings that you need to set up
for success.
That may not have been talkedabout before.
(38:09):
That is the Burn Chef Project,started by one guy in the UK
taking pictures.
It's truly remarkable.
Speaker 3 (38:15):
That is remarkable.
Thank you for sharing.
Oh yeah, I want to spread themessage, and I am a listener
who's hearing about this for thefirst time today.
Speaker 2 (38:27):
Well, not only that, colleen, correct me if I'm wrong
.
You're looking to expand yourambassadorship here in North
America, correct?
Speaker 1 (38:42):
up applications in October.
We have a core team right now.
We've got about 20 ambassadorsin the US, about, I think, 20 in
Canada.
Now the hope is that we will bein different regions where we
can then do activations whetherthat's at a conference, whether
that's at your local restaurantassociation and host different
events where we do theseeducational training that we
also can train people in thatthey can then take into their
establishment.
It's all about passing thebaton to the next person to
(39:05):
spread the word and then on thewebsite there's a phone number
1-800, a toll-free number foranywhere in the world your
language to call.
That will connect you to amental health crisis counselor.
It may not be readily availablewithin the minutes, but it will
happen shortly thereafter.
There's also a text option onWhatsApp.
So if you go totheburnstackprojectcom, there's
(39:26):
free resources right now thatpeople can have access to that
don't even have to be a part ofthe Burnstack Project movement.
Speaker 3 (39:31):
It's incredible, helene, I want to know you.
I definitely you know.
I'm an ambassador for theEndometriosis Foundation of
America, which was founded byPadma Lakshmi and Dr Sechkin.
Dr Sechkin saved my life twoyears ago, so you know we will
have to talk after this.
Yeah, I'm, I'm here to help aswell, and and, um, you know, I
(39:54):
know better than anybody.
You know what it's like to likeI.
I walk red carpets, regularlybeen in media and spotlight for
years, and I would have anepisode actually just in April,
going to Cherry Bomb's Jubilee.
My husband had to nurse meevery single night back to
health because now my hormonesare a wreck and I would have
migraines and I would bevomiting, and he would be there
(40:15):
with the water, with the etcetera, with the crackers, get
me up, get me into hair andmakeup and get me back on.
At that time it was a pinkcarpet, so, like nobody has any
idea what we've gone through.
And then there's no empathybecause these are invisible,
right?
So every time you see me, yousee a perfect 10.
You don't see, you know how Iwas six in the morning or two in
(40:36):
the morning, so so I'm sothankful that you know you're in
this space and you're out there, um, you know, talking about
this and and being there forother women to be like, hey,
this is, this is, this is notnormal, we don't have to suffer.
And then bringing the messageto men who are in leadership and
who are who do have theplatforms to turn around and be
(40:58):
like hey, listen, you know, wecan provide this for you too
platforms to turn around and belike hey, listen, you know we
can provide this for you too.
Speaker 1 (41:08):
Right, this is not against you, you or I.
This is a we collective in theindustry.
I want everyone to feel thatthey can have the conversation
and not be embarrassed by it.
No one should be embarrassedabout everyday real life things.
These are just, it's what weexperience and I feel more
comfortable if you like oh, Iunderstand you're going through,
can I help?
This is why yeah, this is whyit's so important.
Is that, um, the restaurantindustry leaders that listen to
(41:29):
this, or chefs listen to this,or that are part of just the
food media world?
You can't hide away from itbecause so many people are
talking about it now.
It's just, it's sometimes it'sa blip in, like, oh, it's a blip
in time, Everyone's talkingabout it and it goes away.
I really don't want to go away.
That is truly my goal.
Is that?
So your story that you justshared is so loud everywhere
(41:53):
that you can't go intorestaurant Like, hey, did you
hear about this chef that wentthrough this?
She's out of Florida and weshould probably talk about this.
That's that is my goal.
So I hear you loud and clear togive you a little bit of hope,
hopeful uplifting.
When I shared a bit of mymiscarriage from behind the bar
and I shared it to a few men inthe industry, it was like I
(42:14):
brought tears to some toughcookies and brought them down
and they I never thought aboutthat.
And I go, and 70% of women thatsuffer a miscarriage while
they're at work don't tellanybody.
And it happens in therestaurant industry a lot.
I just happened to be behindthe bar and I was on full
display of like oh no, what'shappening, and so I have a lot
of shame with that, but a lot of.
(42:34):
I feel very proud to be able tosay that and not cry, but I'm
getting other people's emotionsgoing that they never once
thought about something likethat.
So your story I'm telling you.
Well, that does matter andpeople are going to hear it.
Speaker 2 (42:48):
Now that Hospitality Bites is with Walk Talk Media,
what can our collective audienceexpect from you?
Speaker 1 (42:58):
Well, they can expect you as one of my guests, which
is very exciting to get you onthe other side, so I'm really
actually excited about that, tohave you share a bit of your
story.
No, truthfully, it's about whatthey're gonna.
What they should expect arepeople from all different parts
of the industry and alldifferent backgrounds, sharing
their ebbs and flows and whatit's like.
(43:20):
Whether they started inculinary school, were they born
into the industry like so manyof us.
Some of the not great stuff,but also really highlight what
their successes are and how theynavigated that and what their
hope is for the future.
That is what I love about theshow is I really try to navigate
in about an hour a life storyto the best of their ability,
and I think that it fits reallywell with the walk and talk crew
(43:42):
.
You bring the visuals, youbring the wonderful
conversations there, and I'mjust taking those people that
are your listeners and givingthem a different ride of a
journey through the hospitalityindustry.
Speaker 2 (43:53):
Well, I honestly I'm super excited.
You know we've been talkingabout expanding our portfolio,
if you will, for over a year andyou're the first, so I mean
this is a big deal.
Speaker 1 (44:08):
It's a big deal for me.
Speaker 2 (44:09):
Yeah, it's a big deal for all of us because we're
growing and the opportunitiesfor good people to be a part of
what I feel is good work.
It's really great.
It's satisfying, it feels nice,it's humbling.
All of it's very cool.
I would love to be a guest onyour show.
(44:30):
Most people don't care if I'm aguest on somebody's show or not
.
I don't know.
Nobody asked me anything.
Speaker 1 (44:35):
I hear.
Speaker 2 (44:36):
I know you do.
Thank you.
We're having an air hug rightnow.
Okay, air hugs, perfect, allright, let's um, let's figure
out, let's figure out whenthat's actually going to be.
Uh, we can do that offline inthe meantime.
Perfect, uh, how do chef?
Speaker 3 (44:57):
how do people find you?
I'm at domestic gourmeteverywhere.
Speaker 2 (45:00):
Love that, colleen.
How do people find you?
I'm at domestic gourmeteverywhere.
Speaker 1 (45:03):
Love that Colleen how do people find you
Hospitalitybitescom or at CAsilk or hospitality bites and
how do people find out about theburnt chef project?
I encourage you to visit theburnt chef projectcom or visit
us on social media on all nativeplatforms at the burnt chef
project.
Speaker 2 (45:20):
Are we going to get Tom on the show anytime soon, or
what?
Let's bring the canadian downabsolutely I feel like we need
some canadian action here on theshow.
I mean, it's been a while I cantry to work on my uh, my accent
, you know just throw in the ahe's a cowboy canadian okay,
yeah, you know something likethat.
All right, um, listen, chef.
By the way.
(45:40):
Uh, you are coming back andyou're going to do some other
food.
Okay, that's going to happen.
Speaker 3 (45:46):
Yeah, I feel like I want to be on Hospitality Bites
to talk more about the burpprocess.
Speaker 2 (45:51):
We're going to make that happen.
Ladies, it's been a pleasure.
We are out.
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