May 9, 2025 • 42 mins
The sizzle of fat dripping onto hot embers, the aromatic smoke wafting upward, and the unmistakable char marks on a perfectly grilled steak – few things speak more directly to our primal connection with food than cooking over live fire. For Chef Aaron Brooks, this elemental approach to cooking bridges his Australian roots and his current home in Miami's vibrant culinary landscape.
Growing up on Australia's Gold Coast, Brooks found himself drawn to the kitchen rather than the famous surf breaks. Under his mother's guidance, he developed an appreciation for quality ingredients and the joy of bringing people together around a table. "Mom was always getting me to try new things," he recalls, describing how she embraced diverse cultural influences in her cooking. These early experiences laid the foundation for a culinary philosophy centered on simplicity, quality, and genuine hospitality.
Brooks' journey from backpacking Australian cook to executive chef took him through Four Seasons properties in Vancouver, Boston, and finally Miami, where he spent years leading Edge Steak and Bar before making the leap to Sunny's Steakhouse in the city's burgeoning Little River District. This transition allowed him to return to his passion: hands-on cooking with a focus on exceptional ingredients prepared over live fire.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
food is so important to culture.
I think if more people expandedon their uh, you know their
palate, I think that everyonewould get along a lot better.
Hello food fam.
(00:23):
This is the walk and talkpodcast, where you will find the
perfect blend of food fun andcooking knowledge.
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
(00:45):
photography comes alive and Iget to eat it.
Email us to learn more info atthewalkintalkcom.
Today's cooking segment washeartfelt.
Let me explain.
John and I have known eachother for over 35 years.
He's more than a friend, he'sfamily.
I'm lucky to have a handful ofbrothers in my circle and John
is certainly one of them.
(01:05):
My father, my dad loved to cook.
One of his favorite dishes minetoo, and the same for John was
his franchise.
So today we made it in hishonor using his recipe, and it
brought back a wave of happynostalgia for me.
It made me smile, john.
Great, really great job today.
(01:25):
You hit the mark, and Iactually remember the first time
I had a version of my popsfront chase was back in the
early 1980s.
We were camping out in theEverglades in Florida and I
might've been nine or 10 yearsold.
We went fishing and we caught,like this, really pretty bass,
(01:46):
you know, maybe four pounds,three pounds.
It was a good size fish.
Naturally, you know, he decidedhe wanted to cook it up.
It might have been planned insome capacity because he had the
butter, the lemons and some ofthe other ingredients.
It was delicious.
I was hooked.
Pops John.
I just want to tell you beforeI read the rest of this, you
(02:13):
really really caught the essenceof how he made that dish.
Today's guest Chef, aaron Brooks, is a global story rooted in
real passion.
Raised in a journey startedwith his mother's cooking and
took him across Australiathrough luxury kitchens with the
Four Seasons Hotels andultimately to Miami, where he
(02:36):
now leads Sunny Steakhouse inthe booming Little River
District.
Chef Aaron is also a proud lambambassador for Australia,
championing the incrediblequality and versatility of
Australian lamb and beef.
His style reflects his rootssimple, high-quality food cooked
over live fire which I love, Idig that so much Brightened with
(02:58):
bold flavors that fit Miami'svibrant culture.
Today we'll explore how Aaron'slove for tradition, travel and
authentic cooking fuels his work, his leadership style and his
vision for food that speaks toboth place and people.
Let's jump in, john.
Tell me what you did today man.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
So we did the franchise man.
We finally did it.
We've been talking about it fora long time.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
We finally did it yeah, very long time, at least a
year, about a year at least so.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
So you know, the first time, uh, I cooked that
with your dad.
I didn't get a recipe, I got aflanagan's cup.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
So, uh, he says wait a minute, wait a minute not
everyone is going to know whatthat means, okay, so flanagan's
cup flanagan's is uh like a Idon't know what a grill it's a
seafood grill.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Yep, yep so, and, and the best part of it is, you get
to leave with this big oldplastic cup.
That is great for when you'remowing the lawn and all that
good stuff, right.
But but it's also good because,um, you can take a sharpie and
mark the spots where, where allthe ingredients are supposed to
go.
And that's what I had.
I had a Flanagan's cup that wasmarked up and I didn't get a
(04:13):
recipe and that's all you needed, that's all you needed.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
So when I was looking for the recipe card for this,
you know, I have a whole stackof his files and recipes and all
that stuff.
Um, you know, I have a wholestack of his his uh files and
recipes and all that stuff and,uh, as it turns out, his
franchise is almost like to theletter from his mother, my
grandmother's franchise,expected right, which, well,
(04:38):
it's cool for me because I haveboth handwritten by each of them
at different times, you know,you know um different decades or
whatever.
So I thought that was prettycool too.
I should have brought that in.
I could take pictures.
Whose is the one that I got?
That's it.
That's my father.
Okay, yeah, but at the end ofthe day it's almost identical.
Super cool, though.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
Yeah, very cool.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
Yeah, we had to go shopping today and everything.
Man, like, we still haveanother dish to do after this,
which is, you know, normallywe're, you know, lined up ready
to rock and roll two dishes, butwhat are you going to cook up
next?
Speaker 2 (05:12):
The huli huli chicken .
Speaker 1 (05:13):
What is?
Speaker 2 (05:13):
it.
So me and Cindy went to AmeliaIsland last year for my birthday
and there's this little breweryover there and I never even
heard of this huli huli chickenbefore.
But little brewery over thereand I never even heard of this
huli huli chicken before.
But it's a.
It's a some kind of a Hawaiianbarbecue and, uh, I had wings
and they were amazing.
And I came home and I'msearching the internet trying to
(05:35):
find a recipe and we're gonnado it up.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
Well, I'm excited for that.
In the interim, let's uh, let'susher in our featured guest
today, chef Aaron.
How are you doing, chef?
Speaker 3 (05:46):
Doing great fellas.
How are you?
Speaker 1 (05:51):
I tell you, if I was any better, I don't know what I
would do it myself.
When I tell you that food is soimportant and the nostalgia of
food is real, I mean I justlived that today, as know we, we
, um, as you just heard in themonologue, father passes been a
couple of years now and decidedto like make a dish.
It was one of my favoritedishes, john's too and man, it
(06:16):
hit the mark.
And all of a sudden you juststart getting all these
different.
You know memories andeverything.
It's really cool.
Food is wonderful for the soul.
Speaker 3 (06:25):
It is yeah.
Speaker 1 (06:26):
So you're from down under.
Speaker 3 (06:28):
Yep, originally from Australia, queensland, the Gold
Coast, the sunny Gold Coast, abit like, well, much like
Florida, you know, in a sense ofthe weather, you know.
I think that's why when I movedhere I moved 15 years ago
Weather-wise it was a homecomingfor me.
It felt like I finally found aplace that was like what I grew
up in.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
Yeah, we have the same sort of animals that kill
you as well here.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
I think we got a few more.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
You do, no, you win.
Speaker 3 (06:55):
I love them a lot smaller and a lot deadlier.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
Yeah, listen, there's no question, but we are the
Australia of the United Statesin that regard.
We definitely have that monikerhere for sure.
Chef, you went from surf tostove.
Where you grew up on the GoldCoast, it's not necessarily
known for kitchens.
What kind of pulled you awayfrom the waves and into the
kitchen?
Speaker 3 (07:18):
Yeah, Well, it was probably.
You know, I'd be honest withyou.
It's probably the fact thateven though I grew up in a surf
town, I wasn't much of a surfer.
I wasn't a real beach goer.
You know, I like the warmweather and I like the vibe of
what the Gold Coast is serviceparadise but I was never really
a guy that would like get downto the beach with my mates and
(07:40):
go surfing, that sort of thing.
So I think that's sort of whatdrew me into the kitchen.
You know mom would be cookingat home and she dragged me in.
She was a cook professionallyand you know she'd get me in
there with her and we'd be doingsome stuff together.
And you know, I think that'syou know, huge, huge, huge
hospitality town as well, likethe Gold Coast, is driven by
tourism.
(08:01):
It was a career that I thinksort of steered me into it, not
only through my both my parentsand their, their upbringing in
in the hospitality industry.
My dad was a publican in inSydney.
He ran a pub in Sydney and youknow, I think it was, maybe it's
in our blood.
You know that we're in that,we're in, we're in tourism,
we're in hospitality.
We enjoy feeding people andshowing people a great time.
(08:22):
Maybe that's what got me intoit.
Speaker 1 (08:23):
Obviously, when we had our pregame call, you spoke
a lot about your mom's influence.
Take us into that kitchen withher.
What memories stuck with youand kind of helped shape where
you are today in your style.
Speaker 3 (08:37):
Well, she was always.
You know mom and dad.
You know both of them.
They were always ones thatloved to entertain, you know.
Have people at the house, youknow throw a party.
You know both of them.
They were always ones that loveto entertain.
You know have people.
Have people at the house, youknow.
Throw a party, you know.
Show people a great time.
It's a very Australian thing.
It's a cultural thing too togather.
You know.
Gather around a barbecue andgrill, you know whether it's
sausages or some prawns, somebeautiful, some beautiful fish
steaks.
You know and and entertain, Ithink, cause I was growing up in
(08:59):
that, in that culture ofentertaining, you know.
I think that's what drew meinto it.
You know mum was a great cook.
You know she cooked with dad atthe pub in Sydney and then, you
know, and later on, in otherrestaurants and kitchens.
You know, retired homes, thosesort of things, and I think you
(09:22):
know, but I would always comehome and she would always have a
great feed on the table.
You know, home from school andyou could smell, I still
remember it.
You could smell corned beefsimmering on the stove with
vegetables and spices or roastleg of lamb in the oven lamb
shanks all the time lamb chops.
One of her favorite dishes tocook, I think, was crumbed
cutlets.
I was just talking to someoneabout that yesterday.
(09:42):
You talk about your franchise.
You're taking you back.
Uh, you know, crumbed cutletsfor me.
You know lamb chops, you know,beat out and then breaded, you
know, uh, pan fried.
That was something, uh, I grewup with.
That you don't often see, youknow, in the States, but uh, she
was.
She was awesome Cook, still is.
Still is to this day.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
I love that man and you know, not for nothing, chef,
I can totally dig anythingbreaded chicken, pork, lamb,
fried.
Oh man, a little lemon You're,you're talking, you're speaking
to my, uh, my palate, speakingof palate.
Speaker 3 (10:15):
And she was, she was such a and she was such an sorry
to cut you off because I'mstill, I'm thinking about.
I just went to see her lastyear and and you know, still
she's going on 88, you know, andshe's still in the kitchen, you
know, and just with a zest foradventure and flavors and trying
new things.
And I think that growing upwith mum she was always getting
me to try new things.
(10:36):
She was always trying newrecipes.
You know, culturally trying newthings.
You know Australian food ingeneral, if you go back, you
know a couple of hundred years,you know when.
You know settlers came and youknow food was coming to
Australia, very English and inits origins, you know.
But then, as you know, moreimmigration into the country.
(10:57):
You know more flavors, morecultures.
You know more.
You know eccentric dishes,hitting menus.
You know mum was always one toembrace those.
You know.
You know eccentric disheshitting menus.
You know mum was always one toembrace those.
You know, try new things.
So I think growing up andaround that as well just gave me
a zest to try, um, to try newthings and embrace lots of
different flavors embracinganything that has to do with
flavor, and especially if it'sprompted by family.
Speaker 1 (11:20):
For me, it's the most important thing the evolution
of your own palate.
You mentioned that your tasteshave simplified over the years.
What is good food to you today?
Speaker 3 (11:32):
I think good food to me is like well, it starts with
the product.
You know you've got to startwith amazing product.
You know like, wherever it'sbeen sourced from, you know it's
, it's got to be top notch.
You know whether it's the oliveoil you're using, the vinegars.
You know the.
The.
You know are the tomatoes super, super ripe and delicious?
Are the?
You know where.
You know where is the meat fromand you know how is it marbled
(11:53):
and how has it been.
You know cared for and and andand and.
Then how you treat it to put onthe plate, you know is another
thing you know has has respectbeing given to it when it's
being prepared.
And I think that's where youknow, as I, you know, get a
little bit longer in the tooth,a little bit older.
You know I start to think tomyself.
You know I just want really,really well-prepared, simple
food.
You know doesn't need, you know, a bunch of different
(12:15):
components or a bunch ofdifferent sources to really mask
, you know, hide, you know,maybe, imperfections in the
product.
So start with some greatproducts.
Read it well, you know, and youknow you got yourself a winner
right what starts in yourwalk-in right.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
You go into the cooler and if somebody's
organized like you can I, youknow.
I walk into the kitchen and Igo into the walk-in cooler.
I know what the food's going tobe by how that that kitchen is
arranged, how that cooler isarranged, how how the kitchen
flows.
You know simple stuff like that.
Jeff, you went from FourSeasons which is a stunning,
(12:51):
stunning property, that brand isfabulous to your own place, to
Sonny's, after a long successfulrun in the hotel business.
You kind of made the leap intoyour own thing.
What inspired the move and howhas it felt with your own
project?
Speaker 3 (13:08):
Listen, I got to say, you know four seasons.
I wouldn't be here today, youknow, in Miami, if it wasn't for
four seasons.
I was my backstory a little was.
You know, I was a backpacker.
I was an Aussie that wastraveling, wanted to travel the
world, conquer the world.
You know, go see a bunch ofdifferent countries, work, work
all over, and I landed in Canadawith a, with a backpack, and I
(13:30):
fell on the doorsteps of FourSeasons and they gave me a job
as a cook and I spent uh eightyears at that property in
Vancouver and they helped memove up the ranks.
You know uh mentorship, youknow uh succession planning
helping me.
My goal because I realized itwas such an amazing company, was
to become an executive chef ofa four seasons so, I think,
(13:53):
amazing company that lookedafter me and also took me.
I lived in Boston for a coupleof years.
I was working at the propertyin Boston and then eventually
down to here in Miami where itwas my first executive chef role
, where I took over the propertyin Brickell.
Here we launched a fantasticrestaurant into the community.
It was Edge Steak and Bar,another steakhouse concept.
I oversaw massive banquetfacilities, 24-hour room service
(14:18):
, pool operations as well aswell.
But I got to a point where Ijust wanted to.
I wanted to immerse myself backinto something I wouldn't say
smaller, because what we do hereis a monster.
You know, at Sonny's it's wherewe are cranking every single
night.
It's more hands-on.
You know, I'm not getting anyyounger.
I really wanted to make I'dbeen with hotels 20, about 25
(14:42):
years, I'd say and it was timeto do something, to fulfill a
dream, fulfill an idea that Ihad to go back into restaurants,
something I'd done in myearliest days of my career, my
early 20s, and then get backinto the thick of it, get back
into doing what I love.
(15:02):
More hands-on, I would say.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
Much more hands-on.
I would say much more hands-on,lots more, lots more mentorship
.
Chef, you mentioned about beinga backpacker.
What's a day in the life ofsomebody who's out there
backpack uh limited resourcesand just just out there doing
their thing?
Speaker 3 (15:17):
But my goal was to, uh, get off the island, so to
speak, go explore the world.
But you know it was a time inmy life where I really, you know
, didn't have a lot in my name.
You know, other than you know,the clothes on my back and a
dream to.
You know, get around and seenew things and meet new people.
You know, staying in hostelsand meeting other travelers.
(15:37):
You know, also, getting aroundand meeting locals, what a day
in their life is like, right,being free spirited.
Speaker 1 (15:44):
It's a blessing and a curse in my opinion.
You know I have a little bit ofthe free spirited vibe, but I
never let loose with it.
I always felt it would get mein a lot of trouble.
So I kind of, you know, Ialways kind of kept it in a
little bit.
I think that if you have theopportunity to do something like
that man, people should get outand do it.
Speaker 3 (16:05):
You know, the older we get, you know the more
commitments we have, whetherit's, you know, financial,
whether it's family, friends,children, those sort of things
you know.
And you know if you have theopportunity when you're younger
to do these things and jugglejuggle, you know a career and
where you want to go and whatyou want to do in life.
It's an amazing thing and tolook back on those memories and
those friendships and thoseexperiences, those life
(16:27):
experiences, it's irreplaceable.
Speaker 1 (16:29):
So you're in Miami, the culture there.
I'm from Miami, john's fromMiami, really familiar with the
vibes over there.
Latin American, caribbean,there's just so much.
How are you bringing all ofthose flavors, how are you
bringing that into your menu atsunny's?
Speaker 3 (16:48):
you know it's funny.
It's funny you say like, how,how, how am I bringing it into
the menu?
I think, you know, I start tothink about, like when I
originally moved here, you know,and what was brought into me I,
or when I was given theopportunity to move down here, I
really had.
No, it's funny, I leaned on avery good friend of mine I was
living in Boston at the time andhe's an amazing chef Uh, he's a
chef, joshua Smith.
(17:08):
He's done, done some phenomenalstuff.
He was the one that inspired mea lot when it came to meats and
proteins and charcuterie.
But long story short, I said tohim listen, I've been offered
this job in Miami and I, I go, II didn't know, I didn't know
much about the food down there.
Man, I don't know what I'mgoing to cook, what's going on
down there, and he's like fruitand food.
It's fruit and food.
(17:29):
And I leaned into that and Istarted to do some research and
I realized, yeah, there's a lotof that sweet fruit aspect that
goes into food, whether it wasmango salsas at the time, or
marinades using pineapple orpassion fruit.
And you know, and it took meback to my time in Australia,
(18:19):
you know, and it made me relateto it a lot more that you know
knowledge and also how familiarI am with cooking to climate,
but then lighter sauces andfresh, bright herbs and
ingredients.
It really made things somewhatseamless for me to move here to
cook in this climate, but thenalso learning so much about the
cultures around here.
(18:40):
Also learning so much about thecultures around here.
Speaker 1 (18:44):
So you're bringing that light fruit-based flavor
profile into cooking over fire.
Speaker 3 (18:54):
Yeah, you'll see a lot of it.
You know in our food that, um,you know that there will be, you
know, fruit chutneys or or moststarters made like we have a.
We have a duck, uh, a duckterrine on the menu.
Um, I love my charcuterie, Ilove terrines, pâtés, sausages,
any of that.
And so we have a dry-aged duckbreast on the menu, and so the
legs we take off, debone them,grind them, make the mosaic on
(19:14):
it.
It's just fantastic between theSicilian green Sicilian
pistachios, cured foie gras andthen the duck leg, but served
with a mango mostarda, sobringing that fruit component
into it that lightens up a dishthat is traditional, maybe a
little bit heavier from therichness of the foie gras.
But you know a lot of pepperson the menu, chard pickled, lots
of pickles and brightness oncrudos.
(19:36):
You know a pineapple hot saucefor our oysters, really
delicious.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
I didn't think I was going to get hungry again so
quickly, but you're reallygetting me there.
I'm just uh, I'm putting it outthere.
So, but there's a differencebetween cooking over live fire
than on a stove in a pan.
Speaker 3 (19:53):
Explain that to the listeners both have their place,
you know.
Both have their place in.
You know it depends on the.
You know the, the flavorprofile you're going for when
you're cooking, whether you'rein a pan on a stove or, you know
, over live fire.
But for me, you know, to have apiece of protein, you know, and
grill it over charcoal or woodthat has, like, cooked down to
(20:15):
these beautiful, beautiful hotembers, you know, and in a
combination of, you know, fruitwith charcoal, you know,
grilling over that.
Just the flare-ups you'll getfrom a little bit of fat
dripping on the, on the, on theuh, on the charcoal, on these
hot embers, or or the um, thesmoke that comes up just from
the um, the, the embers alonewill just impart so much flavor
(20:37):
into that uh, into that protein.
You know, really, really adelicious way of cooking.
You know red meats, fish, youknow.
And then also fire, firemanagement.
You know it's a.
You know it's a delicious wayof cooking.
You know red meats, fish, youknow, and then also fire, fire
management.
You know it's a.
You know it's one thing to talkabout, like cooking over
flavors.
You can't just light somegrills and cook a piece of
protein.
You know, and it's going to begreat if you don't understand.
You know fire maintenance, youknow, and maintaining your
(20:57):
charcoal, maintaining yourembers, you know it can be, uh,
quite disastrous on any, anypiece of protein, be it how
sturdy it is, like a New Yorkstrip steak, or even a beautiful
piece of white flaky fish.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
Chef, what sort of grill are you cooking on for
your live fire?
Speaker 3 (21:14):
What you would sort of term as an open hearth.
Well, there's two separatesections to the grill.
One is a large open hearth areawith a firebox where we'll
start oak.
We'll start kiln-dried oak, butunderneath that's where embers
will drop down on top ofcharcoal and we'll move that
(21:34):
charcoal around through.
On the left-hand side we have alarge open hearth grill, and on
the right-hand side we have agrill that's called a mangal.
It's made by Jospa, a Spanishcompany.
It's a large stainless steelgrill that has these wells where
the charcoal grows.
That's specifically for ourmeats.
And then the left-hand side,where the embers are managed in
(21:57):
a different way.
That's where we cook ourseafood.
Our fish is cooked there.
Our duck as well is cooked overlive fire, over embers, because
those proteins require a littleless heat than what the red
meat does.
So it's managed in a differentfashion.
But yeah, it's an open hearth,not like a traditional like
(22:17):
Santa Maria, or a grill whereyou'd raise up and down with a
wheel on the side.
What you may have seen.
Speaker 1 (22:24):
So it makes a lot of sense that you are an Australian
beef and lamb advocate and thisis the sort of restaurant that
you're in.
It kind of pairs well together,does it not?
Speaker 3 (22:36):
Yeah, it does, it does.
This is the first restaurantthat I have run, first kitchen
I've run and been part of wherewe've cooked over live fire.
It's been a huge learning curvebut so rewarding.
Completing this project andmoving forward and still
learning to grow every day, howwe manage, how we cook our
proteins Flavors as well took meback to In Australia most
(22:58):
grills like growing up with gasbut my dad would bring out his
Weber and load it up withcharcoal and you know I still
remember like that's where I hadmy first taste of like charcoal
.
Cooking was over a Weber whenhe was cooking sausages, you
know, and just tasting and beinglike dad he's like.
Speaker 1 (23:12):
You know the flavor on these is like mind blowing
and it's just, and it's just asausage compared to like on a
gas grill.
Food is so important to culture.
I think if more people expandedon their you know their palate,
I think that everyone would getalong a lot better.
You know, try something new,try something different.
You know, learn about the placewhere that particular dish
(23:33):
might come from.
I think it's fascinating andthat kind of leads into Chef.
How are you bringing Australianbeef and lamb to your guests?
How are you introducing it?
Because it's a delicious.
They are delicious products anda lot of people kind of raise
an eyebrow to them.
You know they want domestic andand obviously what we produce
(23:56):
here in the country is terrific.
But I think that Australia is,the Australian product is
fabulous.
They do a really good job.
Speaker 3 (24:06):
Yeah, yeah, they do, you know, but we do, you know.
It's like I'm quite thetransplant now so but yeah, we
do, it's, it's, it's aphenomenal product.
I think we have a mix ofproteins on our menu from from
different locations our blackAngus program, our dry age.
We have a dry age menu fromdifferent locations, our Black
Angus program, our dry age.
We have a dry age Black Angusbone-in ribeye on the menu, you
know, and it's sourceddomestically and that product is
(24:26):
absolutely phenomenal.
The marbling in it.
It's a dry age prime product.
It's really really awesome.
But our Wagyu product, you knowand we've done a lot of research
and a lot of tasting I've eatena lot of red meat in my time.
Probably my wife's going to sayway too much.
Well, she does say way too much, but you know, someone's got to
do it right.
We've come to the conclusionthat, you know, the Aussie Wagyu
(24:46):
that we're getting is really,really a premium product, and
that's what we want to do.
We want to give our guests thebest right.
So we've got some great Aussmenu.
You know, australian lamb isphenomenal as well.
We're using a product calledgundagai lamb.
It's uh, the marbling isfantastic.
It's a young lamb.
It's a.
It's a beautiful, beautiful eyeon the saddle, but I look at it
.
I look at it a little bit likeyou know, when you go out to
(25:09):
drink red wine or white wine,you're having a glass of wine at
dinner.
Maybe one night you want to,you know, have a beautiful glass
of bordeaux.
You know some, uh, some nicelethbank bordeaux.
But then, you know, maybe thenext week you want to look
something a little bit more newworld.
You want some different flavorprofile but still same great
quality.
You know, phenomenal quality,but you're drinking a cab from
uh, from Napa, you know it's uh,it's really depending on where
your flavor profile is at andwhat sort of eating experience
(25:29):
you're looking for.
In a, in a of goes back to whatI mentioned earlier, which is
go out and eat food, go try newstuff and try, try new stuff.
And it's funny because I'll I'llgo out to see tables or I'll
(25:50):
meet people in the community andthey'll be like, listen, what's
the best steak you have on themenu?
I'm like that's it.
That's a tough one.
I'm like because best.
I think they're all the best.
I think that the every single,every single cut that we have on
the menu, whether it's ourdomestic prime hanger steak or
our ribeye or our Wagyu New York, they are all I would say best
(26:13):
in market.
But which is the best cut wehave on the menu?
It's really going to dependwhat sort of eating experience
you're looking at having thatevening.
Yeah, I think when I met thefolks from like I moved to Miami
about 15 years ago and a coupleof years in I bumped into some
folks from Aussie Beef and Lamband you know we were chatting
(26:34):
and they were telling me aboutall the product, the great
product that was coming into thecountry and, to be honest, a
lot of it was already on my menu.
I think, growing up withAustralian lamb, its flavor
profile for me and how I workwith it, has become quite easy.
And I think when I was asked tobe a lamb ambassador and just
spread the good word aboutAussie lamb.
It was pretty easy for mebecause I just love it so much.
(26:56):
It is a versatility, its flavorprofile and also I've been
working with it for much.
You know it is a it's, it's aversatility, it's flavor profile
, you know.
And also you know I've beenworking with it for years and
you know lamb is a protein.
You know that.
You know in Australia, you knowit's, it's on the dinner table.
You know two, three times aweek.
I remember growing up, um, andstill, even when I go back home,
there's always, you know, whenI go see my mates or family, you
(27:17):
know lambs, lambs on the dinnertable.
We're not so much here in theUS, so I think for me to you
know, put a, put a beautiful uhlamb dish in front of people and
show them hey, you know it's a,it's a protein that you know
deserves to be given a shot andyou know, have a good taste of
it, it's uh you know it's um andit was so easy to eat it.
Speaker 1 (27:45):
it didn't have a overly gamey flavor, it was soft
and it still kept the theintegrity of the lamb flavor.
It was really good.
Chef, have you ever had AussieSelect the cured lamb?
Cured lamb.
Speaker 3 (27:58):
I have.
I have had it.
It's a, it's a great product.
I was actually um, I workedwith, um, the founder of the
product, way back when, uh,because of my love of
charcuterie and I was I wasmaking a, uh, a lamb ham and
some lamb based charcuterieproducts and and we were tasting
them together and I rememberhaving conversations about how
(28:18):
awesome it would be to see, youknow, uh, lamb based charcuterie
or deli meats in the market,and you know I'm super excited
to see more of that out there.
And, uh, you know I'll tell youwhat that that pastrami makes a
bloody good Reuben, oh mygoodness.
Speaker 1 (28:33):
We did one here at the, at the studio, uh, you, uh,
you're referring to Jacquelineand you know she's awesome.
We, uh, we just introduced thewhole line of products here in
central Florida, uh, through acompany called Peninsula food
service, and it's in house andready to order.
Anyway, I have to tell you likethere's nothing bad about any
(28:55):
of them, they're all delicious,the tikka masala, all that stuff
.
We did a reuben and I'll findthe pictures, I'll send them to
you.
Just stupid, so delicious,juicy flavor, easy, oh my
goodness, I love it.
Speaker 3 (29:08):
try the, try the uh the ham.
Like get, make some, make somebraised lamb, like some braised
lamb shoulder, and then get theham and make yourself like a
lamb Cuban sandwich oh my God,delicious.
Stop it.
Speaker 1 (29:21):
You know, I'm sitting here, I'm full.
I I ate like like four giantpieces of uh, of this um
franchise, plus like a I don'tknow a quarter pound of pasta,
and I'm sitting here talking toyou and like I can eat again
right now.
I.
I have a problem, chef.
I have a problem, chef.
You.
You've said something to methat that hit Chef.
(29:42):
I have a problem, chef.
You said something to me thathit home.
I found this to be just awonderful outlook on mentorship.
You said it was a byproductrather than something formal.
Can you explain that?
Speaker 3 (30:01):
Yeah, I think, like when we originally chatted a
while back.
You know, you asked me if Iconsidered myself a mentor and
it's like you know, I don't know.
I don't know.
I just try to, you know, leadby example and be the best I can
and pass my knowledge on to.
You know, all these amazing,you know hungry minds that I
work with, you know, and if theygravitate towards me and find
me to be a mentor and that's thedirection the relationship goes
(30:22):
, then you know, really, I'mjust, as far as I'm concerned,
I'm just doing my job, you know.
You know I love to help out.
You know young professionalsthat you know want to advance
their careers or, you know, putthemselves forward and want to
learn more.
But, that being said as well,it's like you know.
I've found as well that youknow, put themselves forward and
(30:42):
want to learn more.
But, that being said as well,it's like you know.
I've found as well that youknow some folks don't have the
you know, the gusto to reallyput themselves out there to.
You know they want to learnmore, but maybe they don't have
the voice or the personality toreally, you know, get in front
of the chefs and ask questions.
So, you know, a lot of timeit's like, hey, seeing someone
that maybe has been on the samestation for a while, you know,
you pull them aside and be like,hey, you happy, you want to try
something new, you know, do youwant to see?
(31:03):
Well, yeah, I have been, but Ihaven't had the opportunity to
really bring it up or I didn'twant to bring it up, like you
know but that's what we're therefor.
Speaker 1 (31:13):
You've got to read the room a bit as well.
Environment and then progress.
Speaker 3 (31:18):
Yeah, yeah, and I sort of do have, you know, the
opinion that you know you haveto.
You know, if you really wantsomething from life, you know if
you don't ask for it, if youdon't go out and get it, it's
not going to come to you asquick as you know what it could
and you know.
So I sort of you know Iencourage the team to be, you
know, outspoken and ask forthings they're looking for, or
(31:46):
whether it's learning orpromotions or growth.
You know, but you know, as aleader as well, you have to
understand not everyone's goingto be like that and you've got
to.
You've got to, you know, beinvolved in their development as
well and ask the question,because maybe they don't even
know what they're capable of.
But maybe you can see it if you, if you spend a bit of time you
know with them andunderstanding what the, what the
capabilities are.
Speaker 1 (32:00):
Family food and the restaurant life.
It takes balance.
Chef, what are you doing tomake sure that you're, you know,
firing on all cylinders at homeand at work?
Speaker 3 (32:11):
Yeah, listen, it ain't easy.
You know it ain't easy,especially, like you know,
working in a, in a busyoperation like this, you know,
or even when I was at the hotelextremely busy operation, you
know, and you know in anexecutive role, in a leadership
role, and you've got a lot ofpeople relying on you, not only
the guests, but you know yourteam, you know decision-making,
(32:32):
you can be on 24-7 and sometimesyou can be so focused on that
that you miss the things thatare the most important to you,
and that's your family, that'syour friends, the kids growing
up.
It can be easy to fall intothat, so I find you've always
got to be conscious of it and mywife's very respectful and very
(32:52):
supportive of what I'm doing.
But at the same time, we haveopen conversation that, hey, you
know if I'm missing somethingand the kids need something from
me or what have you that?
You know.
We have that dialogue and Ithink it's just about being
present when you are there, youknow, and also making the time.
So you know, but it's not easy,but you know, when you do have
(33:16):
the time, make it important andbe present.
It's funny.
I was listening to you, fellas,talking earlier about
Flanagan's and your Flanagan'sCups and you know, I think one
day when I'm, you know, moved onor the kids have moved away or
what have you, they'll rememberit.
It always tends to be one ofour spots that we go to.
It's like our family spot thatwe go to is Flanagan's, and they
(33:44):
always walk out with theirgreen cups as well.
Speaker 1 (33:45):
So I think it's a south florida thing.
You know, families, familiesend up at flanagan's one day or
another.
You know what I mean?
Oh, my goodness, it's, itreally is a thing.
And you know, uh, you know I'mnot a young guy anymore, but I
mean, I've been going toflanagan's since, uh gosh, since
the 80s.
Speaker 3 (33:54):
You know, it's been a long time I'm saying like to
all this press here forFlanagan's.
You know all this push forFlanagan's.
I don't know if they need it,because every time I go to
Flanagan's I have to wait for atable.
The place is packed.
Speaker 1 (34:03):
Seriously, I mean listen, I ain't going to lie.
Whenever I go to Flanagan's Iget a full rack of ribs, the
coleslaw, and I just enjoy thehell out of that.
Speaker 3 (34:15):
And yes, I'm like it is a.
It is a fish, it's a fish house, like it's a fish, a seafood
restaurant, but like you gothere, it's all.
It's all about those ribs.
Speaker 1 (34:22):
It's the ribs.
Yeah, but you know like so ifyou were going to.
So most people outside of SouthFlorida have no idea what
Flanagan's is, so if you weregoing to look it up, I mean it's
in the name Flanagan's Seafoodand day.
I don't know that I've ever hadseafood at Flanagan's, it's
always been the ribs.
(34:42):
I only go there for the ribs.
Speaker 3 (34:44):
Yeah, man, yeah, it's the ribs, but it's our go-to.
If we have family come to town,it's like we're there, but
that's the thing.
It's about spending timetogether, finding things that
make the kids happy, and it'sall about being present, you
know, just being present.
Speaker 1 (35:01):
When somebody walks into your restaurant, into
Sonny's, what experience are youhoping that they take with them
?
Speaker 3 (35:13):
It's not.
It can't just be a great meal,it has to be more than that.
Well, I think, from start tofinish, like when you walk into
Sonny's, like, it's an oasis thegreenery, the trees.
There's a massive banyan treeright in the middle of the
restaurant with uh lights andyou can see into the kitchen the
flames on the charcoal.
There's so many great vantagepoints, whether you're in the
dining room or in our courtyard,where you can see what's going
on in the kitchen, where themagic's happening.
(35:34):
But it's not like we don't, wedon't just put a really good
feed in front of you, be it our,you know.
You know the Wagyu steaks, thebeautiful local fish, you know
the crudos, the oysters.
You know Treasure Coast oystersfrom Florida here, you know,
and whatever it is that we putin front of you is going to be
delicious.
But a lot of it is about thevibe of this room, the music and
our staff, our team, thehospitality that is shown.
You know, we have a bit of a.
(35:57):
I guess the motto that we sayyou know, coming to sunny should
be like the best dinner partyyou've ever been to, and that's
the hospitality we try to showis that, you know, it doesn't
matter whether you're a super PXguest, a local here for the
first time, and everyone here isgoing to get treated like
they've been welcomed into myhome, you know, or our house
here.
So you know we're here to showthem all a good time.
(36:18):
You know, and I think it's therestaurant that Miami needed,
the restaurant that Miami wants,and it's, you know, it's going
to be around for a long time andyou know, I hope we're leading
the charge on, on.
You know what a great diningexperience should feel and look
like.
Speaker 1 (36:30):
You have, you have to answer this one question and
you have to answer the questionwhat is your favorite dish on
the menu?
Speaker 3 (36:39):
Favorite dish on the menu.
Favorite dish on the menu.
It's the.
We have a New York steak on themenu right now that I, you know
I keep talking about it.
It's a WX Rangers Valley 7 PlusMarvel Score Wagyu steak and I
would say it's probably thesingle most amazing piece of
(36:59):
steak that we have on the menu.
That is like just such a crowdpleaser.
It melts in your mouth.
It's so awesome.
I'm going to sneak it in righthere, right now, because I don't
know what the time's like.
But I'm going to say we have amenu soon as well.
These Aussie lamb chops thatwe're going to chuck on the menu
with a romesco sauce andgrilled Jimmy Nardello peppers
salsa verde.
That dish is one I think thatis going to, that I would go to
(37:22):
for an over again.
But if you're talking about, ifyou're talking about grilling
and red piece of meat, it's theNew York.
But if you know these lambchops that are going to go on
the metal they get on the menu,they're going to replace our
lamb saddle.
Awesome, I'm excited aboutabout that.
That's going to be on the onthe menu in about a week or so.
Speaker 1 (37:37):
Chef, I'm thrilled that there's Romanesco on there.
Anything, any dish withRomanesco on it is good for me.
How do people find you on thesocial media?
Speaker 3 (37:50):
Listen, they can check out Sonny's MIA at Sonny's
MIA on Instagram.
That's S-U-N-N-Y-S.
Sonny's, like the sun or thesunshine we have in Florida.
Or check me out.
It's Chef Aaron Brooks at ChefAaron Brooks, both on Instagram.
Check us out, give me a follow.
Come see us at the restaurant.
Come have a great piece of meator fish Kudos, yeah.
Speaker 1 (38:10):
Listen, I'm going to figure out a time.
You and I we're going to getyou up to the studio here in
Tampa and we're going to do somereally, really good cooking
photography film and the wholenine yards.
I hope you're up for that,cause we're going to make it
happen.
Speaker 3 (38:23):
Hey, you got a grill, you got a grill, you got a
grill, I'm coming, we goteverything man.
Speaker 1 (38:27):
We're professionals here in the in the food media
game, brother, all right.
So listen, I sincerelyappreciate you being on the show
, john, you are fantastic.
I, I man, seriously man,brother, for life.
All right, you did, you didfantastic.
Today we are out.
food is so important to culture.
I think if more people expandedon their uh, you know their
palate, I think that everyonewould get along a lot better.
Hello food fam.
(00:23):
This is the walk and talkpodcast, where you will find the
perfect blend of food fun andcooking knowledge.
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
(00:45):
photography comes alive and Iget to eat it.
Email us to learn more info atthewalkintalkcom.
Today's cooking segment washeartfelt.
Let me explain.
John and I have known eachother for over 35 years.
He's more than a friend, he'sfamily.
I'm lucky to have a handful ofbrothers in my circle and John
is certainly one of them.
(01:05):
My father, my dad loved to cook.
One of his favorite dishes minetoo, and the same for John was
his franchise.
So today we made it in hishonor using his recipe, and it
brought back a wave of happynostalgia for me.
It made me smile, john.
Great, really great job today.
(01:25):
You hit the mark, and Iactually remember the first time
I had a version of my popsfront chase was back in the
early 1980s.
We were camping out in theEverglades in Florida and I
might've been nine or 10 yearsold.
We went fishing and we caught,like this, really pretty bass,
(01:46):
you know, maybe four pounds,three pounds.
It was a good size fish.
Naturally, you know, he decidedhe wanted to cook it up.
It might have been planned insome capacity because he had the
butter, the lemons and some ofthe other ingredients.
It was delicious.
I was hooked.
Pops John.
I just want to tell you beforeI read the rest of this, you
(02:13):
really really caught the essenceof how he made that dish.
Today's guest Chef, aaron Brooks, is a global story rooted in
real passion.
Raised in a journey startedwith his mother's cooking and
took him across Australiathrough luxury kitchens with the
Four Seasons Hotels andultimately to Miami, where he
(02:36):
now leads Sunny Steakhouse inthe booming Little River
District.
Chef Aaron is also a proud lambambassador for Australia,
championing the incrediblequality and versatility of
Australian lamb and beef.
His style reflects his rootssimple, high-quality food cooked
over live fire which I love, Idig that so much Brightened with
(02:58):
bold flavors that fit Miami'svibrant culture.
Today we'll explore how Aaron'slove for tradition, travel and
authentic cooking fuels his work, his leadership style and his
vision for food that speaks toboth place and people.
Let's jump in, john.
Tell me what you did today man.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
So we did the franchise man.
We finally did it.
We've been talking about it fora long time.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
We finally did it yeah, very long time, at least a
year, about a year at least so.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
So you know, the first time, uh, I cooked that
with your dad.
I didn't get a recipe, I got aflanagan's cup.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
So, uh, he says wait a minute, wait a minute not
everyone is going to know whatthat means, okay, so flanagan's
cup flanagan's is uh like a Idon't know what a grill it's a
seafood grill.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Yep, yep so, and, and the best part of it is, you get
to leave with this big oldplastic cup.
That is great for when you'remowing the lawn and all that
good stuff, right.
But but it's also good because,um, you can take a sharpie and
mark the spots where, where allthe ingredients are supposed to
go.
And that's what I had.
I had a Flanagan's cup that wasmarked up and I didn't get a
(04:13):
recipe and that's all you needed, that's all you needed.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
So when I was looking for the recipe card for this,
you know, I have a whole stackof his files and recipes and all
that stuff.
Um, you know, I have a wholestack of his his uh files and
recipes and all that stuff and,uh, as it turns out, his
franchise is almost like to theletter from his mother, my
grandmother's franchise,expected right, which, well,
(04:38):
it's cool for me because I haveboth handwritten by each of them
at different times, you know,you know um different decades or
whatever.
So I thought that was prettycool too.
I should have brought that in.
I could take pictures.
Whose is the one that I got?
That's it.
That's my father.
Okay, yeah, but at the end ofthe day it's almost identical.
Super cool, though.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
Yeah, very cool.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
Yeah, we had to go shopping today and everything.
Man, like, we still haveanother dish to do after this,
which is, you know, normallywe're, you know, lined up ready
to rock and roll two dishes, butwhat are you going to cook up
next?
Speaker 2 (05:12):
The huli huli chicken .
Speaker 1 (05:13):
What is?
Speaker 2 (05:13):
it.
So me and Cindy went to AmeliaIsland last year for my birthday
and there's this little breweryover there and I never even
heard of this huli huli chickenbefore.
But little brewery over thereand I never even heard of this
huli huli chicken before.
But it's a.
It's a some kind of a Hawaiianbarbecue and, uh, I had wings
and they were amazing.
And I came home and I'msearching the internet trying to
(05:35):
find a recipe and we're gonnado it up.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
Well, I'm excited for that.
In the interim, let's uh, let'susher in our featured guest
today, chef Aaron.
How are you doing, chef?
Speaker 3 (05:46):
Doing great fellas.
How are you?
Speaker 1 (05:51):
I tell you, if I was any better, I don't know what I
would do it myself.
When I tell you that food is soimportant and the nostalgia of
food is real, I mean I justlived that today, as know we, we
, um, as you just heard in themonologue, father passes been a
couple of years now and decidedto like make a dish.
It was one of my favoritedishes, john's too and man, it
(06:16):
hit the mark.
And all of a sudden you juststart getting all these
different.
You know memories andeverything.
It's really cool.
Food is wonderful for the soul.
Speaker 3 (06:25):
It is yeah.
Speaker 1 (06:26):
So you're from down under.
Speaker 3 (06:28):
Yep, originally from Australia, queensland, the Gold
Coast, the sunny Gold Coast, abit like, well, much like
Florida, you know, in a sense ofthe weather, you know.
I think that's why when I movedhere I moved 15 years ago
Weather-wise it was a homecomingfor me.
It felt like I finally found aplace that was like what I grew
up in.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
Yeah, we have the same sort of animals that kill
you as well here.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
I think we got a few more.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
You do, no, you win.
Speaker 3 (06:55):
I love them a lot smaller and a lot deadlier.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
Yeah, listen, there's no question, but we are the
Australia of the United Statesin that regard.
We definitely have that monikerhere for sure.
Chef, you went from surf tostove.
Where you grew up on the GoldCoast, it's not necessarily
known for kitchens.
What kind of pulled you awayfrom the waves and into the
kitchen?
Speaker 3 (07:18):
Yeah, Well, it was probably.
You know, I'd be honest withyou.
It's probably the fact thateven though I grew up in a surf
town, I wasn't much of a surfer.
I wasn't a real beach goer.
You know, I like the warmweather and I like the vibe of
what the Gold Coast is serviceparadise but I was never really
a guy that would like get downto the beach with my mates and
(07:40):
go surfing, that sort of thing.
So I think that's sort of whatdrew me into the kitchen.
You know mom would be cookingat home and she dragged me in.
She was a cook professionallyand you know she'd get me in
there with her and we'd be doingsome stuff together.
And you know, I think that'syou know, huge, huge, huge
hospitality town as well, likethe Gold Coast, is driven by
tourism.
(08:01):
It was a career that I thinksort of steered me into it, not
only through my both my parentsand their, their upbringing in
in the hospitality industry.
My dad was a publican in inSydney.
He ran a pub in Sydney and youknow, I think it was, maybe it's
in our blood.
You know that we're in that,we're in, we're in tourism,
we're in hospitality.
We enjoy feeding people andshowing people a great time.
(08:22):
Maybe that's what got me intoit.
Speaker 1 (08:23):
Obviously, when we had our pregame call, you spoke
a lot about your mom's influence.
Take us into that kitchen withher.
What memories stuck with youand kind of helped shape where
you are today in your style.
Speaker 3 (08:37):
Well, she was always.
You know mom and dad.
You know both of them.
They were always ones thatloved to entertain, you know.
Have people at the house, youknow throw a party.
You know both of them.
They were always ones that loveto entertain.
You know have people.
Have people at the house, youknow.
Throw a party, you know.
Show people a great time.
It's a very Australian thing.
It's a cultural thing too togather.
You know.
Gather around a barbecue andgrill, you know whether it's
sausages or some prawns, somebeautiful, some beautiful fish
steaks.
You know and and entertain, Ithink, cause I was growing up in
(08:59):
that, in that culture ofentertaining, you know.
I think that's what drew meinto it.
You know mum was a great cook.
You know she cooked with dad atthe pub in Sydney and then, you
know, and later on, in otherrestaurants and kitchens.
You know, retired homes, thosesort of things, and I think you
(09:22):
know, but I would always comehome and she would always have a
great feed on the table.
You know, home from school andyou could smell, I still
remember it.
You could smell corned beefsimmering on the stove with
vegetables and spices or roastleg of lamb in the oven lamb
shanks all the time lamb chops.
One of her favorite dishes tocook, I think, was crumbed
cutlets.
I was just talking to someoneabout that yesterday.
(09:42):
You talk about your franchise.
You're taking you back.
Uh, you know, crumbed cutletsfor me.
You know lamb chops, you know,beat out and then breaded, you
know, uh, pan fried.
That was something, uh, I grewup with.
That you don't often see, youknow, in the States, but uh, she
was.
She was awesome Cook, still is.
Still is to this day.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
I love that man and you know, not for nothing, chef,
I can totally dig anythingbreaded chicken, pork, lamb,
fried.
Oh man, a little lemon You're,you're talking, you're speaking
to my, uh, my palate, speakingof palate.
Speaker 3 (10:15):
And she was, she was such a and she was such an sorry
to cut you off because I'mstill, I'm thinking about.
I just went to see her lastyear and and you know, still
she's going on 88, you know, andshe's still in the kitchen, you
know, and just with a zest foradventure and flavors and trying
new things.
And I think that growing upwith mum she was always getting
me to try new things.
(10:36):
She was always trying newrecipes.
You know, culturally trying newthings.
You know Australian food ingeneral, if you go back, you
know a couple of hundred years,you know when.
You know settlers came and youknow food was coming to
Australia, very English and inits origins, you know.
But then, as you know, moreimmigration into the country.
(10:57):
You know more flavors, morecultures.
You know more.
You know eccentric dishes,hitting menus.
You know mum was always one toembrace those.
You know.
You know eccentric disheshitting menus.
You know mum was always one toembrace those.
You know, try new things.
So I think growing up andaround that as well just gave me
a zest to try, um, to try newthings and embrace lots of
different flavors embracinganything that has to do with
flavor, and especially if it'sprompted by family.
Speaker 1 (11:20):
For me, it's the most important thing the evolution
of your own palate.
You mentioned that your tasteshave simplified over the years.
What is good food to you today?
Speaker 3 (11:32):
I think good food to me is like well, it starts with
the product.
You know you've got to startwith amazing product.
You know like, wherever it'sbeen sourced from, you know it's
, it's got to be top notch.
You know whether it's the oliveoil you're using, the vinegars.
You know the.
The.
You know are the tomatoes super, super ripe and delicious?
Are the?
You know where.
You know where is the meat fromand you know how is it marbled
(11:53):
and how has it been.
You know cared for and and andand and.
Then how you treat it to put onthe plate, you know is another
thing you know has has respectbeing given to it when it's
being prepared.
And I think that's where youknow, as I, you know, get a
little bit longer in the tooth,a little bit older.
You know I start to think tomyself.
You know I just want really,really well-prepared, simple
food.
You know doesn't need, you know, a bunch of different
(12:15):
components or a bunch ofdifferent sources to really mask
, you know, hide, you know,maybe, imperfections in the
product.
So start with some greatproducts.
Read it well, you know, and youknow you got yourself a winner
right what starts in yourwalk-in right.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
You go into the cooler and if somebody's
organized like you can I, youknow.
I walk into the kitchen and Igo into the walk-in cooler.
I know what the food's going tobe by how that that kitchen is
arranged, how that cooler isarranged, how how the kitchen
flows.
You know simple stuff like that.
Jeff, you went from FourSeasons which is a stunning,
(12:51):
stunning property, that brand isfabulous to your own place, to
Sonny's, after a long successfulrun in the hotel business.
You kind of made the leap intoyour own thing.
What inspired the move and howhas it felt with your own
project?
Speaker 3 (13:08):
Listen, I got to say, you know four seasons.
I wouldn't be here today, youknow, in Miami, if it wasn't for
four seasons.
I was my backstory a little was.
You know, I was a backpacker.
I was an Aussie that wastraveling, wanted to travel the
world, conquer the world.
You know, go see a bunch ofdifferent countries, work, work
all over, and I landed in Canadawith a, with a backpack, and I
(13:30):
fell on the doorsteps of FourSeasons and they gave me a job
as a cook and I spent uh eightyears at that property in
Vancouver and they helped memove up the ranks.
You know uh mentorship, youknow uh succession planning
helping me.
My goal because I realized itwas such an amazing company, was
to become an executive chef ofa four seasons so, I think,
(13:53):
amazing company that lookedafter me and also took me.
I lived in Boston for a coupleof years.
I was working at the propertyin Boston and then eventually
down to here in Miami where itwas my first executive chef role
, where I took over the propertyin Brickell.
Here we launched a fantasticrestaurant into the community.
It was Edge Steak and Bar,another steakhouse concept.
I oversaw massive banquetfacilities, 24-hour room service
(14:18):
, pool operations as well aswell.
But I got to a point where Ijust wanted to.
I wanted to immerse myself backinto something I wouldn't say
smaller, because what we do hereis a monster.
You know, at Sonny's it's wherewe are cranking every single
night.
It's more hands-on.
You know, I'm not getting anyyounger.
I really wanted to make I'dbeen with hotels 20, about 25
(14:42):
years, I'd say and it was timeto do something, to fulfill a
dream, fulfill an idea that Ihad to go back into restaurants,
something I'd done in myearliest days of my career, my
early 20s, and then get backinto the thick of it, get back
into doing what I love.
(15:02):
More hands-on, I would say.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
Much more hands-on.
I would say much more hands-on,lots more, lots more mentorship
.
Chef, you mentioned about beinga backpacker.
What's a day in the life ofsomebody who's out there
backpack uh limited resourcesand just just out there doing
their thing?
Speaker 3 (15:17):
But my goal was to, uh, get off the island, so to
speak, go explore the world.
But you know it was a time inmy life where I really, you know
, didn't have a lot in my name.
You know, other than you know,the clothes on my back and a
dream to.
You know, get around and seenew things and meet new people.
You know, staying in hostelsand meeting other travelers.
(15:37):
You know, also, getting aroundand meeting locals, what a day
in their life is like, right,being free spirited.
Speaker 1 (15:44):
It's a blessing and a curse in my opinion.
You know I have a little bit ofthe free spirited vibe, but I
never let loose with it.
I always felt it would get mein a lot of trouble.
So I kind of, you know, Ialways kind of kept it in a
little bit.
I think that if you have theopportunity to do something like
that man, people should get outand do it.
Speaker 3 (16:05):
You know, the older we get, you know the more
commitments we have, whetherit's, you know, financial,
whether it's family, friends,children, those sort of things
you know.
And you know if you have theopportunity when you're younger
to do these things and jugglejuggle, you know a career and
where you want to go and whatyou want to do in life.
It's an amazing thing and tolook back on those memories and
those friendships and thoseexperiences, those life
(16:27):
experiences, it's irreplaceable.
Speaker 1 (16:29):
So you're in Miami, the culture there.
I'm from Miami, john's fromMiami, really familiar with the
vibes over there.
Latin American, caribbean,there's just so much.
How are you bringing all ofthose flavors, how are you
bringing that into your menu atsunny's?
Speaker 3 (16:48):
you know it's funny.
It's funny you say like, how,how, how am I bringing it into
the menu?
I think, you know, I start tothink about, like when I
originally moved here, you know,and what was brought into me I,
or when I was given theopportunity to move down here, I
really had.
No, it's funny, I leaned on avery good friend of mine I was
living in Boston at the time andhe's an amazing chef Uh, he's a
chef, joshua Smith.
(17:08):
He's done, done some phenomenalstuff.
He was the one that inspired mea lot when it came to meats and
proteins and charcuterie.
But long story short, I said tohim listen, I've been offered
this job in Miami and I, I go, II didn't know, I didn't know
much about the food down there.
Man, I don't know what I'mgoing to cook, what's going on
down there, and he's like fruitand food.
It's fruit and food.
(17:29):
And I leaned into that and Istarted to do some research and
I realized, yeah, there's a lotof that sweet fruit aspect that
goes into food, whether it wasmango salsas at the time, or
marinades using pineapple orpassion fruit.
And you know, and it took meback to my time in Australia,
(18:19):
you know, and it made me relateto it a lot more that you know
knowledge and also how familiarI am with cooking to climate,
but then lighter sauces andfresh, bright herbs and
ingredients.
It really made things somewhatseamless for me to move here to
cook in this climate, but thenalso learning so much about the
cultures around here.
(18:40):
Also learning so much about thecultures around here.
Speaker 1 (18:44):
So you're bringing that light fruit-based flavor
profile into cooking over fire.
Speaker 3 (18:54):
Yeah, you'll see a lot of it.
You know in our food that, um,you know that there will be, you
know, fruit chutneys or or moststarters made like we have a.
We have a duck, uh, a duckterrine on the menu.
Um, I love my charcuterie, Ilove terrines, pâtés, sausages,
any of that.
And so we have a dry-aged duckbreast on the menu, and so the
legs we take off, debone them,grind them, make the mosaic on
(19:14):
it.
It's just fantastic between theSicilian green Sicilian
pistachios, cured foie gras andthen the duck leg, but served
with a mango mostarda, sobringing that fruit component
into it that lightens up a dishthat is traditional, maybe a
little bit heavier from therichness of the foie gras.
But you know a lot of pepperson the menu, chard pickled, lots
of pickles and brightness oncrudos.
(19:36):
You know a pineapple hot saucefor our oysters, really
delicious.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
I didn't think I was going to get hungry again so
quickly, but you're reallygetting me there.
I'm just uh, I'm putting it outthere.
So, but there's a differencebetween cooking over live fire
than on a stove in a pan.
Speaker 3 (19:53):
Explain that to the listeners both have their place,
you know.
Both have their place in.
You know it depends on the.
You know the, the flavorprofile you're going for when
you're cooking, whether you'rein a pan on a stove or, you know
, over live fire.
But for me, you know, to have apiece of protein, you know, and
grill it over charcoal or woodthat has, like, cooked down to
(20:15):
these beautiful, beautiful hotembers, you know, and in a
combination of, you know, fruitwith charcoal, you know,
grilling over that.
Just the flare-ups you'll getfrom a little bit of fat
dripping on the, on the, on theuh, on the charcoal, on these
hot embers, or or the um, thesmoke that comes up just from
the um, the, the embers alonewill just impart so much flavor
(20:37):
into that uh, into that protein.
You know, really, really adelicious way of cooking.
You know red meats, fish, youknow.
And then also fire, firemanagement.
You know it's a.
You know it's a delicious wayof cooking.
You know red meats, fish, youknow, and then also fire, fire
management.
You know it's a.
You know it's one thing to talkabout, like cooking over
flavors.
You can't just light somegrills and cook a piece of
protein.
You know, and it's going to begreat if you don't understand.
You know fire maintenance, youknow, and maintaining your
(20:57):
charcoal, maintaining yourembers, you know it can be, uh,
quite disastrous on any, anypiece of protein, be it how
sturdy it is, like a New Yorkstrip steak, or even a beautiful
piece of white flaky fish.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
Chef, what sort of grill are you cooking on for
your live fire?
Speaker 3 (21:14):
What you would sort of term as an open hearth.
Well, there's two separatesections to the grill.
One is a large open hearth areawith a firebox where we'll
start oak.
We'll start kiln-dried oak, butunderneath that's where embers
will drop down on top ofcharcoal and we'll move that
(21:34):
charcoal around through.
On the left-hand side we have alarge open hearth grill, and on
the right-hand side we have agrill that's called a mangal.
It's made by Jospa, a Spanishcompany.
It's a large stainless steelgrill that has these wells where
the charcoal grows.
That's specifically for ourmeats.
And then the left-hand side,where the embers are managed in
(21:57):
a different way.
That's where we cook ourseafood.
Our fish is cooked there.
Our duck as well is cooked overlive fire, over embers, because
those proteins require a littleless heat than what the red
meat does.
So it's managed in a differentfashion.
But yeah, it's an open hearth,not like a traditional like
(22:17):
Santa Maria, or a grill whereyou'd raise up and down with a
wheel on the side.
What you may have seen.
Speaker 1 (22:24):
So it makes a lot of sense that you are an Australian
beef and lamb advocate and thisis the sort of restaurant that
you're in.
It kind of pairs well together,does it not?
Speaker 3 (22:36):
Yeah, it does, it does.
This is the first restaurantthat I have run, first kitchen
I've run and been part of wherewe've cooked over live fire.
It's been a huge learning curvebut so rewarding.
Completing this project andmoving forward and still
learning to grow every day, howwe manage, how we cook our
proteins Flavors as well took meback to In Australia most
(22:58):
grills like growing up with gasbut my dad would bring out his
Weber and load it up withcharcoal and you know I still
remember like that's where I hadmy first taste of like charcoal
.
Cooking was over a Weber whenhe was cooking sausages, you
know, and just tasting and beinglike dad he's like.
Speaker 1 (23:12):
You know the flavor on these is like mind blowing
and it's just, and it's just asausage compared to like on a
gas grill.
Food is so important to culture.
I think if more people expandedon their you know their palate,
I think that everyone would getalong a lot better.
You know, try something new,try something different.
You know, learn about the placewhere that particular dish
(23:33):
might come from.
I think it's fascinating andthat kind of leads into Chef.
How are you bringing Australianbeef and lamb to your guests?
How are you introducing it?
Because it's a delicious.
They are delicious products anda lot of people kind of raise
an eyebrow to them.
You know they want domestic andand obviously what we produce
(23:56):
here in the country is terrific.
But I think that Australia is,the Australian product is
fabulous.
They do a really good job.
Speaker 3 (24:06):
Yeah, yeah, they do, you know, but we do, you know.
It's like I'm quite thetransplant now so but yeah, we
do, it's, it's, it's aphenomenal product.
I think we have a mix ofproteins on our menu from from
different locations our blackAngus program, our dry age.
We have a dry age menu fromdifferent locations, our Black
Angus program, our dry age.
We have a dry age Black Angusbone-in ribeye on the menu, you
know, and it's sourceddomestically and that product is
(24:26):
absolutely phenomenal.
The marbling in it.
It's a dry age prime product.
It's really really awesome.
But our Wagyu product, you knowand we've done a lot of research
and a lot of tasting I've eatena lot of red meat in my time.
Probably my wife's going to sayway too much.
Well, she does say way too much, but you know, someone's got to
do it right.
We've come to the conclusionthat, you know, the Aussie Wagyu
(24:46):
that we're getting is really,really a premium product, and
that's what we want to do.
We want to give our guests thebest right.
So we've got some great Aussmenu.
You know, australian lamb isphenomenal as well.
We're using a product calledgundagai lamb.
It's uh, the marbling isfantastic.
It's a young lamb.
It's a.
It's a beautiful, beautiful eyeon the saddle, but I look at it
.
I look at it a little bit likeyou know, when you go out to
(25:09):
drink red wine or white wine,you're having a glass of wine at
dinner.
Maybe one night you want to,you know, have a beautiful glass
of bordeaux.
You know some, uh, some nicelethbank bordeaux.
But then, you know, maybe thenext week you want to look
something a little bit more newworld.
You want some different flavorprofile but still same great
quality.
You know, phenomenal quality,but you're drinking a cab from
uh, from Napa, you know it's uh,it's really depending on where
your flavor profile is at andwhat sort of eating experience
(25:29):
you're looking for.
In a, in a of goes back to whatI mentioned earlier, which is
go out and eat food, go try newstuff and try, try new stuff.
And it's funny because I'll I'llgo out to see tables or I'll
(25:50):
meet people in the community andthey'll be like, listen, what's
the best steak you have on themenu?
I'm like that's it.
That's a tough one.
I'm like because best.
I think they're all the best.
I think that the every single,every single cut that we have on
the menu, whether it's ourdomestic prime hanger steak or
our ribeye or our Wagyu New York, they are all I would say best
(26:13):
in market.
But which is the best cut wehave on the menu?
It's really going to dependwhat sort of eating experience
you're looking at having thatevening.
Yeah, I think when I met thefolks from like I moved to Miami
about 15 years ago and a coupleof years in I bumped into some
folks from Aussie Beef and Lamband you know we were chatting
(26:34):
and they were telling me aboutall the product, the great
product that was coming into thecountry and, to be honest, a
lot of it was already on my menu.
I think, growing up withAustralian lamb, its flavor
profile for me and how I workwith it, has become quite easy.
And I think when I was asked tobe a lamb ambassador and just
spread the good word aboutAussie lamb.
It was pretty easy for mebecause I just love it so much.
(26:56):
It is a versatility, its flavorprofile and also I've been
working with it for much.
You know it is a it's, it's aversatility, it's flavor profile
, you know.
And also you know I've beenworking with it for years and
you know lamb is a protein.
You know that.
You know in Australia, you knowit's, it's on the dinner table.
You know two, three times aweek.
I remember growing up, um, andstill, even when I go back home,
there's always, you know, whenI go see my mates or family, you
(27:17):
know lambs, lambs on the dinnertable.
We're not so much here in theUS, so I think for me to you
know, put a, put a beautiful uhlamb dish in front of people and
show them hey, you know it's a,it's a protein that you know
deserves to be given a shot andyou know, have a good taste of
it, it's uh you know it's um andit was so easy to eat it.
Speaker 1 (27:45):
it didn't have a overly gamey flavor, it was soft
and it still kept the theintegrity of the lamb flavor.
It was really good.
Chef, have you ever had AussieSelect the cured lamb?
Cured lamb.
Speaker 3 (27:58):
I have.
I have had it.
It's a, it's a great product.
I was actually um, I workedwith, um, the founder of the
product, way back when, uh,because of my love of
charcuterie and I was I wasmaking a, uh, a lamb ham and
some lamb based charcuterieproducts and and we were tasting
them together and I rememberhaving conversations about how
(28:18):
awesome it would be to see, youknow, uh, lamb based charcuterie
or deli meats in the market,and you know I'm super excited
to see more of that out there.
And, uh, you know I'll tell youwhat that that pastrami makes a
bloody good Reuben, oh mygoodness.
Speaker 1 (28:33):
We did one here at the, at the studio, uh, you, uh,
you're referring to Jacquelineand you know she's awesome.
We, uh, we just introduced thewhole line of products here in
central Florida, uh, through acompany called Peninsula food
service, and it's in house andready to order.
Anyway, I have to tell you likethere's nothing bad about any
(28:55):
of them, they're all delicious,the tikka masala, all that stuff
.
We did a reuben and I'll findthe pictures, I'll send them to
you.
Just stupid, so delicious,juicy flavor, easy, oh my
goodness, I love it.
Speaker 3 (29:08):
try the, try the uh the ham.
Like get, make some, make somebraised lamb, like some braised
lamb shoulder, and then get theham and make yourself like a
lamb Cuban sandwich oh my God,delicious.
Stop it.
Speaker 1 (29:21):
You know, I'm sitting here, I'm full.
I I ate like like four giantpieces of uh, of this um
franchise, plus like a I don'tknow a quarter pound of pasta,
and I'm sitting here talking toyou and like I can eat again
right now.
I.
I have a problem, chef.
I have a problem, chef.
You.
You've said something to methat that hit Chef.
(29:42):
I have a problem, chef.
You said something to me thathit home.
I found this to be just awonderful outlook on mentorship.
You said it was a byproductrather than something formal.
Can you explain that?
Speaker 3 (30:01):
Yeah, I think, like when we originally chatted a
while back.
You know, you asked me if Iconsidered myself a mentor and
it's like you know, I don't know.
I don't know.
I just try to, you know, leadby example and be the best I can
and pass my knowledge on to.
You know, all these amazing,you know hungry minds that I
work with, you know, and if theygravitate towards me and find
me to be a mentor and that's thedirection the relationship goes
(30:22):
, then you know, really, I'mjust, as far as I'm concerned,
I'm just doing my job, you know.
You know I love to help out.
You know young professionalsthat you know want to advance
their careers or, you know, putthemselves forward and want to
learn more.
But, that being said as well,it's like you know.
I've found as well that youknow, put themselves forward and
(30:42):
want to learn more.
But, that being said as well,it's like you know.
I've found as well that youknow some folks don't have the
you know, the gusto to reallyput themselves out there to.
You know they want to learnmore, but maybe they don't have
the voice or the personality toreally, you know, get in front
of the chefs and ask questions.
So, you know, a lot of timeit's like, hey, seeing someone
that maybe has been on the samestation for a while, you know,
you pull them aside and be like,hey, you happy, you want to try
something new, you know, do youwant to see?
(31:03):
Well, yeah, I have been, but Ihaven't had the opportunity to
really bring it up or I didn'twant to bring it up, like you
know but that's what we're therefor.
Speaker 1 (31:13):
You've got to read the room a bit as well.
Environment and then progress.
Speaker 3 (31:18):
Yeah, yeah, and I sort of do have, you know, the
opinion that you know you haveto.
You know, if you really wantsomething from life, you know if
you don't ask for it, if youdon't go out and get it, it's
not going to come to you asquick as you know what it could
and you know.
So I sort of you know Iencourage the team to be, you
know, outspoken and ask forthings they're looking for, or
(31:46):
whether it's learning orpromotions or growth.
You know, but you know, as aleader as well, you have to
understand not everyone's goingto be like that and you've got
to.
You've got to, you know, beinvolved in their development as
well and ask the question,because maybe they don't even
know what they're capable of.
But maybe you can see it if you, if you spend a bit of time you
know with them andunderstanding what the, what the
capabilities are.
Speaker 1 (32:00):
Family food and the restaurant life.
It takes balance.
Chef, what are you doing tomake sure that you're, you know,
firing on all cylinders at homeand at work?
Speaker 3 (32:11):
Yeah, listen, it ain't easy.
You know it ain't easy,especially, like you know,
working in a, in a busyoperation like this, you know,
or even when I was at the hotelextremely busy operation, you
know, and you know in anexecutive role, in a leadership
role, and you've got a lot ofpeople relying on you, not only
the guests, but you know yourteam, you know decision-making,
(32:32):
you can be on 24-7 and sometimesyou can be so focused on that
that you miss the things thatare the most important to you,
and that's your family, that'syour friends, the kids growing
up.
It can be easy to fall intothat, so I find you've always
got to be conscious of it and mywife's very respectful and very
(32:52):
supportive of what I'm doing.
But at the same time, we haveopen conversation that, hey, you
know if I'm missing somethingand the kids need something from
me or what have you that?
You know.
We have that dialogue and Ithink it's just about being
present when you are there, youknow, and also making the time.
So you know, but it's not easy,but you know, when you do have
(33:16):
the time, make it important andbe present.
It's funny.
I was listening to you, fellas,talking earlier about
Flanagan's and your Flanagan'sCups and you know, I think one
day when I'm, you know, moved onor the kids have moved away or
what have you, they'll rememberit.
It always tends to be one ofour spots that we go to.
It's like our family spot thatwe go to is Flanagan's, and they
(33:44):
always walk out with theirgreen cups as well.
Speaker 1 (33:45):
So I think it's a south florida thing.
You know, families, familiesend up at flanagan's one day or
another.
You know what I mean?
Oh, my goodness, it's, itreally is a thing.
And you know, uh, you know I'mnot a young guy anymore, but I
mean, I've been going toflanagan's since, uh gosh, since
the 80s.
Speaker 3 (33:54):
You know, it's been a long time I'm saying like to
all this press here forFlanagan's.
You know all this push forFlanagan's.
I don't know if they need it,because every time I go to
Flanagan's I have to wait for atable.
The place is packed.
Speaker 1 (34:03):
Seriously, I mean listen, I ain't going to lie.
Whenever I go to Flanagan's Iget a full rack of ribs, the
coleslaw, and I just enjoy thehell out of that.
Speaker 3 (34:15):
And yes, I'm like it is a.
It is a fish, it's a fish house, like it's a fish, a seafood
restaurant, but like you gothere, it's all.
It's all about those ribs.
Speaker 1 (34:22):
It's the ribs.
Yeah, but you know like so ifyou were going to.
So most people outside of SouthFlorida have no idea what
Flanagan's is, so if you weregoing to look it up, I mean it's
in the name Flanagan's Seafoodand day.
I don't know that I've ever hadseafood at Flanagan's, it's
always been the ribs.
(34:42):
I only go there for the ribs.
Speaker 3 (34:44):
Yeah, man, yeah, it's the ribs, but it's our go-to.
If we have family come to town,it's like we're there, but
that's the thing.
It's about spending timetogether, finding things that
make the kids happy, and it'sall about being present, you
know, just being present.
Speaker 1 (35:01):
When somebody walks into your restaurant, into
Sonny's, what experience are youhoping that they take with them
?
Speaker 3 (35:13):
It's not.
It can't just be a great meal,it has to be more than that.
Well, I think, from start tofinish, like when you walk into
Sonny's, like, it's an oasis thegreenery, the trees.
There's a massive banyan treeright in the middle of the
restaurant with uh lights andyou can see into the kitchen the
flames on the charcoal.
There's so many great vantagepoints, whether you're in the
dining room or in our courtyard,where you can see what's going
on in the kitchen, where themagic's happening.
(35:34):
But it's not like we don't, wedon't just put a really good
feed in front of you, be it our,you know.
You know the Wagyu steaks, thebeautiful local fish, you know
the crudos, the oysters.
You know Treasure Coast oystersfrom Florida here, you know,
and whatever it is that we putin front of you is going to be
delicious.
But a lot of it is about thevibe of this room, the music and
our staff, our team, thehospitality that is shown.
You know, we have a bit of a.
(35:57):
I guess the motto that we sayyou know, coming to sunny should
be like the best dinner partyyou've ever been to, and that's
the hospitality we try to showis that, you know, it doesn't
matter whether you're a super PXguest, a local here for the
first time, and everyone here isgoing to get treated like
they've been welcomed into myhome, you know, or our house
here.
So you know we're here to showthem all a good time.
(36:18):
You know, and I think it's therestaurant that Miami needed,
the restaurant that Miami wants,and it's, you know, it's going
to be around for a long time andyou know, I hope we're leading
the charge on, on.
You know what a great diningexperience should feel and look
like.
Speaker 1 (36:30):
You have, you have to answer this one question and
you have to answer the questionwhat is your favorite dish on
the menu?
Speaker 3 (36:39):
Favorite dish on the menu.
Favorite dish on the menu.
It's the.
We have a New York steak on themenu right now that I, you know
I keep talking about it.
It's a WX Rangers Valley 7 PlusMarvel Score Wagyu steak and I
would say it's probably thesingle most amazing piece of
(36:59):
steak that we have on the menu.
That is like just such a crowdpleaser.
It melts in your mouth.
It's so awesome.
I'm going to sneak it in righthere, right now, because I don't
know what the time's like.
But I'm going to say we have amenu soon as well.
These Aussie lamb chops thatwe're going to chuck on the menu
with a romesco sauce andgrilled Jimmy Nardello peppers
salsa verde.
That dish is one I think thatis going to, that I would go to
(37:22):
for an over again.
But if you're talking about, ifyou're talking about grilling
and red piece of meat, it's theNew York.
But if you know these lambchops that are going to go on
the metal they get on the menu,they're going to replace our
lamb saddle.
Awesome, I'm excited aboutabout that.
That's going to be on the onthe menu in about a week or so.
Speaker 1 (37:37):
Chef, I'm thrilled that there's Romanesco on there.
Anything, any dish withRomanesco on it is good for me.
How do people find you on thesocial media?
Speaker 3 (37:50):
Listen, they can check out Sonny's MIA at Sonny's
MIA on Instagram.
That's S-U-N-N-Y-S.
Sonny's, like the sun or thesunshine we have in Florida.
Or check me out.
It's Chef Aaron Brooks at ChefAaron Brooks, both on Instagram.
Check us out, give me a follow.
Come see us at the restaurant.
Come have a great piece of meator fish Kudos, yeah.
Speaker 1 (38:10):
Listen, I'm going to figure out a time.
You and I we're going to getyou up to the studio here in
Tampa and we're going to do somereally, really good cooking
photography film and the wholenine yards.
I hope you're up for that,cause we're going to make it
happen.
Speaker 3 (38:23):
Hey, you got a grill, you got a grill, you got a
grill, I'm coming, we goteverything man.
Speaker 1 (38:27):
We're professionals here in the in the food media
game, brother, all right.
So listen, I sincerelyappreciate you being on the show
, john, you are fantastic.
I, I man, seriously man,brother, for life.
All right, you did, you didfantastic.
Today we are out.
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