January 31, 2025 • 37 mins
The latest podcast episode explores the inspiring journeys of Chef Cynthia Romstadt and Chef - turned Proteins Salesman, Curt Hicken, who share their insights on unique ingredients, culinary competition preparation, and the evolving role of women in the kitchen. Throughout the episode, they emphasize the importance of mentorship and the storytelling aspect of cooking, encouraging listeners to connect with food on a deeper level.
• Curt discusses his innovative dishes and unconventional ingredients like pine cones
• Cynthia shares her experiences as a female executive chef • Insights into preparing for the US Culinary Open and the pressure involved
• The significance of mentorship and guiding young chefs
• Emphasizes the evolving role of women in culinary arts
• Anecdotes about chaos in the kitchen provide laughter and lessons
• The podcast encapsulates how cooking is about journeys, stories, and connections
Thank you Peninsula Foodservice for providing the Creekstone Farm Bone-In Ribeye for our cooking segment!
Dish in Photo by:
Svetlana Hicken
Photo by:
John Hernandez
Introducing the SupraCut System - the automated solution that enhances safety, quality, and efficiency, cutting up to 120 perfect citrus wedges per minute, 6 times faster than manual. Patented tech delivers uniform slices, reducing waste and eliminating plastic, while the hygienic, contactless design lowers contamination and injuries, integrating seamlessly to transform your operations and improve profitability - get started at SupraCut.com and ask about risk-free trials.
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
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Hello food fan.
This is the Walk Talk podcast,where you will find the perfect
blend of food fun and cookingknowledge.
I'm your host, carl Fiatini.
Welcome to the number one foodpodcast in the country.
We're recording on site at IbisImages Studios, where food
photography comes alive and Iget to eat it.
Here's a humble request to givea follow on Instagram at
(00:29):
walkintalkshow, please, andthank you.
Tired of manual fruit cutting,I know I am.
Try Supercut System, anautomated solution that cuts 120
citrus wedges per minute.
With consistent slices and ahygienic design, it enhances
safety and efficiency.
Improve your operations atSupercutcom and ask about
(00:51):
risk-free trials.
Today we're excited to have ChefCynthia Ronstadt, executive
Chef at Colonial Country Club inFort Worth, texas, and a native
of Asheville, north Carolina.
Cynthia is a two-time goldmedalist in ACF pastry
competitions and was named toresort in Chef Magazine's 2024
(01:14):
40 Under 40.
She's also been selected forthe prestigious 2025 US Culinary
Open, where she will showcaseher talents alongside 11 other
top culinarians, and the WalkTalk podcast will be there to
capture everything.
But first let's get into whatJohn shot today with Peninsula
(01:35):
Food Services and also chef KurtHicken.
He cooked up a couple ofdoozies, kurt, welcome back.
And dude, you got the chopsThank you, you really do.
You didn't lose a step.
I know you haven't been in thekitchen and you know you haven't
been in the industry like thatin a while, but, dude, you throw
(01:57):
it down.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
Thank you, yes.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
Let's talk about what you did today, you dirty, dirty
dog.
What did you do today?
Speaker 2 (02:03):
We did a crispy Cantonese pork belly with kimchi
and a buckthorn berry sauce.
The trick with the crispyCantonese pork belly basically
it's like a chicharron but cutinto a larger steak size.
It's got that rich flavor to it.
But you're going with a spicykimchi.
And buckthorn berry is a tartberry that we mixed with a
(02:25):
little ginger and syrup.
They complement each other verywell, I believe.
And then we did that as wellwith a juniper berry dusted
bone-in 20-ounce creek stoneribeye with some fennel roasted
potatoes and some king pine conejam Very unique ingredient,
it's a European forest dish.
And the pine cone jam veryunique ingredient, it's a
(02:45):
european forest dish.
And the pine cone jam is arussian ingredient little mini
pine cones that you, you boiland water until they become
edible.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
Essentially, uh, more kurt, hold on a minute, hold on
.
I want everyone to understandsomething.
It's a pine cone.
Okay, it's a pine cone, exceptthey're little baby pine cones.
So it's like the, maybe thesize of the tip of a pinky or
something like that, and they'resoft and flavorful and I've
(03:15):
never seen anything or heard ofthat in my life.
You know, in my mind growing up, I've always wondered like, wow
, you know, like can we eat pinecones?
I think every kid probablymaybe thought of that.
But you can and we did today.
So people need to know that.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
It's a unique ingredient, definitely, and it's
most commonly used with adessert item, but I would use it
personally with a venison or abeef item, something you can
bring that heart, hearty flavorout and and extended because
it's sweet, um, like a glaze.
I like the ingredient.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
It had brought a lot to the steak, I think what you
picked today in terms ofingredients with the profile
layers, was right on.
Thank you again.
Like lately, I've been sayingthis these chefs have been
telling me on the phone hey,we're going to do this, that and
whatever.
And as they're telling me, I'mlike I don't know In my mind,
(04:11):
I'm like I don't, I don't knowhow that's going to work out.
I have faith in the people whowe work with, because everyone
is a abject professional andbad-ass in their own way.
So today was one of those daysand here it is again.
I'm just blown away andnaturally and you saw, I mean
(04:32):
you, you know you're here whilewe're doing the, the film work
and john's doing the photographyyou saw what this guy does.
You see what he does it'samazing.
I mean he brought the elevatedcaliber of the plate completely
I just don't know how the hellyou did pine cones today, man,
and you know it's funny, becauseon the table where we're
sitting, you know holding thepodcast, there's a dish of
(04:55):
actual pine cone pine cones, youknow, just for show and it's a
little apropos.
I think that was terrific.
You brought something elsetoday the borscht.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
Oh, I brought some borscht.
My wife is russian and she hadbeen promising carl some borscht
for quite some time and when he, when I called him to tell him
I had borscht, that's when heasked me to come to the show.
So I think it was kind of atrick.
Yeah, just to get the borscht,I was like you know, what.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
I don't know if this guy didn't make anything good,
but I know that bors's justgonna be good wifey.
Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.
I'm totally digging it, yeah,and I, and I ate the whole thing
too, like I.
I slurped down the entire.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
I think you did, I did.
I don't think you shared any no, I didn't.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
No, there might be something all right, but before
we move on and introduce ChefCynthia, before that, what gave
you the inspiration for the pinecone dish, specifically Like?
What were you thinking about toput that together?
Speaker 2 (05:54):
It was a combination of things.
My wife a big part of it.
You know I love to learndifferent foods and, being
married to a Russian person,their culinary is like their
alphabet it's grossly differentthan ours.
So I look at the things thatshe has and then when I saw it
and I tasted it, I thought, well, this is very wintery, it's got
(06:14):
to have something strong winterflavor.
And then the weather outsidewas cold and changing.
I said, you know, if we couldhave a piece of bison or a piece
of beef or venison, you know anice hearty, large-cut piece of
meat, this would be perfect withit.
And then, you know, I wastrying to find something to
taper between the flavors.
So that's where the juniperberry came in, was a middle,
(06:35):
kind of like a gin flavor,between the sweet glaze and the
hearty flavor of the beef.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
Well, we landed on that bone-increased on ribeye,
which I don't think is anyslouch.
That's pretty amazing too.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
That was an amazing cut of meat.
Speaker 1 (06:49):
Yeah, it was pretty Okay.
Well, I just one more time wantto say thank you.
That was really great what youdid today.
Absolutely thank you.
I think I might have you back.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
I can do that.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
Okay, all right.
This NAFM show in February inAtlanta where the US Culinary
Open will be held, thiscompetition, cooking competition
super, super excited.
We're going to have the wholewalk and talk media team at this
event photography, videography,the podcast, and it's going to
be amazing.
(07:20):
The podcast, and it's going tobe amazing.
We are the official podcast forthis event and we're just
really fortunate to partner withthese guys and over at NAFM as
well.
Thank you, chef Nick and ChefPolly, because you keep us
plugged in and we appreciatethat.
(07:41):
So I just wanted to put thatout there, everybody, and
without now further ado, chefCynthia, welcome to the program.
Speaker 3 (07:45):
Well, hello everyone.
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
My pleasure.
You know we had a really greatconversation last week leading
up to this our pregame powwow sothank you for that.
Are you excited about all this,or what I mean?
You have to be excited, right.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
It's really starting to hit me.
I mean, I want to say that I'mgetting sleep, but my brain is
just turning all the time.
The good part is we actuallyhad to turn in our final menus a
couple days ago, so theconceptual piece is done.
At this point we can't changeanything that we've submitted.
If we do, we have to haveapproval.
(08:22):
Knowing that I know what I'mdoing now, I know what dishes
I'm doing and that doesn'tchange.
That helps me sleep a little.
I'm getting pretty excited.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
That has to be a truckload of pressure off of
your shoulders.
And what I mean is right,because in the end, you've got
this situation where what am Igoing to cook?
How is it going to work?
What am I doing?
And I think that's the biggest,that's probably the biggest
question mark, because you'vebeen cooking for a long time
Like you know what you can do.
(08:50):
So let me ask you this, this,this I've asked so far.
I've had a handful of the othercompetitors on the program and
I ask everyone the same thing.
You've got beer chefs, michelinchefs, you've got food network
winners.
Does that change how youapproach this competition?
Does that affect you on yourpsyche in any way?
Speaker 3 (09:14):
Initially, yes, I started looking at everyone I
was competing against.
I'm like, oh man, when Istarted thinking of ideas I was
trying to be like them almostand I had to take a step back
and be like you know what.
You've made it this far basedon who you are.
I really want to representmyself and my own style in this
competition and kind of justremain an individual and not
(09:37):
follow in anybody's footsteps,necessarily.
But yeah, it's a lot to take in, it's a lot of pressure, and
seeing who all I'm up against ispretty cool.
Actually, I'm really excited tosee everything that they make.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
Yeah, I'm super excited for this too.
Obviously, you know I'm aneater and this is like right up
my alley.
What are you doing to prep forthis competition?
How are you training for this?
Speaker 3 (10:01):
So we're doing full-blown practice rounds start
to finish just like we would bein the arena kitchen.
You know, trying to perfect ourtiming, perfect, perfect, every
move that we're making.
As far as efficiency andsanitation, the Comey that I
have is just fantastic.
She's a little fireball like meand you know we're just totally
(10:22):
grooving to the point where wedon't even have to talk.
You know she's.
She's handing me tools likewe're.
You know we're just totallygrooving to the point where we
don't even have to talk.
You know she's.
She's handing me tools likewhere you know where I'm a
surgeon and she's my nurseassistant and like we're not
even talking to each other.
You know it's like violentservice and she knows my next
step and it's just.
It's really cool and the moreand more we practice, the better
and better it gets.
So we probably got another fiveor six full practice rounds
(10:42):
scheduled before the big day.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
Is this somebody that you've worked with in the past?
Speaker 3 (10:52):
Yes, she does work for me.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
She's one of my line cooks here, so I've worked with
her for a year and a half now.
Yeah, you've already gotbuilt-in camaraderie, like you
already got the system.
Speaker 3 (10:57):
Yeah, I'm really fortunate.
I mean, we do have that ageparameter.
Our company has to be under theage of 23.
You know, I have one personthat qualified and I couldn't
ask for a better person.
So she's killing it.
Speaker 1 (11:09):
Yeah, I mean 23,.
That leaves me out by like acouple of decades.
Yeah, that's, that's terrible,let's.
Let's talk James Beardfoundation dinners.
You've done a couple of themand I have to believe that in
and of itself that has to benerve wracking, am I wrong?
Speaker 3 (11:25):
No, you're not wrong.
Where I work, colonial CountryClub has been selected for the
last two years to host theFriends of James Beard benefit
for the state of Texas, which isobviously a huge validation for
the legacy that Colonial hasand the reputation for quality
that we have.
And so being a part of thatentire process I mean it's
(11:49):
months of planning was just socool to be able to network with
restaurant chefs that I wouldn'tusually have the opportunity to
work with local industryleaders, other vendors and just
the foodies that bought ticketsto come.
I mean, it was just, it was anincredible experience.
We had almost 300 people herethat bought a ticket for a five
(12:09):
course meal and before that wehad 20 local chefs doing
different activation stationsduring the cocktail hours.
So you know, hosting that andputting it on from start to
finish was a big task, but itwas a ton of fun at the same
time.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
I intend to go to one of these dinners at some point.
I feel like there's one comingup here in Jacksonville or St
Augustine one of the two.
I got to check that out.
Speaker 3 (12:34):
You know, being a country club chef and being able
to be accepted into that worldor be a part of that world.
It's almost like a careerdefining moment.
So it's very unique.
I don't know that it'll everhappen again and it's just
really cool to be a part of.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
Well, the foundation itself.
It's a pretty cool.
They do a lot of great, greatthings.
What you're doing at the USCulinary Open with your Comey
female, Comey female executivechef.
A lot of things are changing inthe industry and the Beard
Foundation is there for it.
How do you feel the landscapeis changing for women in
culinary roles?
Speaker 3 (13:07):
I do see more and more women in this executive
chef position, which I love tosee.
I mean, I'm still seeing a lotof young chefs be savory chefs,
young females being savory chefs.
I think the industry in itsentirety, you know, has a fair
amount of challenges anddisadvantages when it comes to
work-life balance, and burnoutdoesn't necessarily discriminate
(13:29):
against gender.
But I think, you know, men andwomen both bring different and
unique traits and values to thetable and, at the end of the day
, as long as we're putting ourstrengths forward for the
betterment of the team, you know, that's what it's all about.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
You know, and I thought it was really great, you
won those two ACF pastry eventsand I asked I said are you that
a pastry chef that became asavory exec or how did that work
?
And you said no, I'm a savorychef and I happen to know a
little bit of pastry and I thinkthat would be considered like a
nail in the coffin of the oldkind of guard in that regard.
Speaker 3 (14:06):
Oh yeah, totally the old kind of guard in that regard
.
In that regard, oh yeah,totally yeah, I think part of
being a female.
In the beginning of my career Iwas pushed more by my chefs to
to work towards the bakery or onthe bakery side of things, and
it did take some time for me toearn my chops and in the kitchen
.
I can remember being on a grillstation for 4th of July at
(14:26):
Cherokee Town and Country Clubin Atlanta, georgia.
We're cooking for, I want tosay, like 4,000 people.
I was 20 years old and there'sprobably 15, 20 grills lining
down this putting grain.
And I'm looking around and I'mlike I'm the only chick out here
.
You know, I'm the only oneflipping burgers on 4th of July.
That's a female.
And I look at chef Walker andI'm like I'm the only girl and
(14:47):
he's like you're not a girl,you're a chef.
And ever since that day I waslike oh okay, just a chef, y'all
.
Speaker 1 (14:54):
Yeah, and you're working grill usually got you in
the garbage or something likethat.
You know what I mean, so that's, that's amazing.
Yeah, and I just want to make amention too.
So I've done a lot of businesswith chefs in general, from
country clubs to independence tocorporate whatever.
And when you're talking aboutcountry clubs, that's a you know
(15:16):
, it's, that's like old school,it isn't.
It isn't like some you knowindie restaurant somewhere and
it's you know hip, you know kindof everybody's tatted up on
their forearms with you knowknives and pigs and whatever.
It's.
Everything is different in theclub and it's.
I don't want to, I don't wantto say it like that, but at the
end of the day, what you did toget to where you are should be
commended and is really amazing.
Speaker 3 (15:38):
Well, you know it's 2025 and I tell the guys in the
in the men's grill, I I'd walkright in there Like you're
eating my food.
It's 2025.
I think I can come in here nowand I do.
I mean, I have, I was raised bya single dad and I have three
brothers and I'm just, you know,comfortable talking to guys and
(15:58):
you know they're they'redressed.
Speaker 1 (16:02):
True story.
Hey, listen, I don't want anytrouble over here, cynthia.
Okay, I don't want any trouble,chef, I don't want any trouble.
What inspires you Like, whatcuisine is it that brings you
passion, and how are you goingto take that passion into the US
Culinary Open?
Speaker 3 (16:18):
Well, I've learned a lot about Latin cuisine having
moved to Texas.
Like you said, I'm originallyfrom North Carolina.
I didn't grow up with a lot ofculture.
I grew up on a dirt road in themountains.
My parents made hamburgerhelper and tuna helper and
shaking big pork chops growingup.
So pretty much as soon as I gotmy license I started driving to
(16:41):
downtown Asheville.
I started really venturing out.
Everyone in my family thinksI'm kind of crazy because I'm
the only one that's moved out ofNorth Carolina.
I've always been interested indifferent foods and it's just
been a really, really coolexperience, especially with the
staff that I have here, learningabout their cuisine.
The Latin flavors, you know.
They're just so bold and freshand vibrant.
(17:04):
They really do inspire me, andso of course we do our Tex-Mex,
but we do a fun version ofelevated comfort food with some
Latin flair as well.
But I always tell people tooI'm pantry inspired.
I like to just create withthings that I'm surrounded by.
That's kind of how my grannytaught me how to cook growing up
(17:27):
.
She raised me until I was 12.
All I remember is having arefrigerator that's full of
condiments and somehow she wouldput out like the five course
meal every night and I'm like Idon't even know where that came
from.
So now I kind of feel like that.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
Yeah, but I'm not going to let you off the hook on
the question though.
All right, so let me put itlike this what are you cooking
at home?
Like?
All right, so let me put itlike this what are you cooking
at home?
Like what's your go-to.
But then, if you go out to eat,what are you ordering?
Speaker 3 (17:49):
Well, if I'm cooking at home, I'm probably making
some kind of taco or tostada,and if I'm going out to eat, I
am ooh well, I'm always gettingdessert, that is for sure, and a
margarita.
All right, so we're all Allright so that's the beginning of
the end.
Speaker 1 (18:06):
We're all hanging out .
Speaker 3 (18:07):
I'm just saying I love Vietnamese food.
I love really fresh flavors,fresh produce, the crunchy bean
sprouts I mean the Vietnamesefood is right up my alley, Even
when I lived in Atlanta.
There's so many great placesfor Vietnamese food, so that's
probably my favorite cuisine ofall time my favorite cuisine of
(18:31):
all time.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
Every single, I'm going to say 19 out of 20 chefs
are going to pick an Asiancuisine as their favorite
whether it's Korean or.
Vietnamese.
Speaker 3 (18:36):
There's a lot of French influence in Vietnamese
food, so you could say French aswell.
Speaker 1 (18:41):
I guess you know, I guess you could say that we have
their baguettes and their pâtés.
Yeah, and I'm not.
You know who's going to judge.
Who would judge such a thing?
So we know what your favoritesare.
How are you bringing that intothe competition?
Speaker 3 (18:54):
My menu is definitely progressive flavors, starting
with the appetizer and leadinginto the entrees.
I feel that they're very unique.
I feel that they're very unique.
(19:22):
I feel that what I'm bringingto the table is a nice blend of
visual the look of everything,the textures of everything, the
colors, and trying not to repeatthat in each course, but making
sure that all three still tellthe same story.
So I'm really proud of the menuthat we've created.
We've put a ton of time into it.
I do want to keep it a secret.
I don't want anybody to knowwhat my theme is right now, but
(19:43):
I do have a very specific themefor my menu and I'm really,
really excited to showcase it.
Speaker 1 (19:49):
So you came to win this thing.
Your goal is to walk away witha victory right.
Speaker 3 (19:54):
We all have a chance.
I don't want to sit here andsay that anybody's better than
the other.
We all have a chance at thisthing.
I think it's going to come downto tens of points.
I really do.
I think it's going to be areally close competition.
It's going to be harder for thejudges than it is going to be
for the participants.
I'm so excited to see whateverybody does and I'm really
(20:15):
excited to be a part of it andjust to be on the same level as
everybody.
Just to be considered on thesame level as everybody is
really, really validating andexciting.
Speaker 1 (20:25):
I'm so motivated by competitions.
I wish I was.
Well, I don't wish I was a chef.
I don't wish that I grew up inthe kitchen, I was in the front
of the house and it was adifferent life.
With that said, thesecompetitions, I wish I can be
involved in them because it'sexciting to me.
We have chefs that come throughhere at the studio every week
(20:47):
and we get to see all sorts ofamazing dishes and different
just different creations,different inspirations and
passions from all the differentpersonalities.
Right, I would love to get allthese guys and gals together and
do a competition walk and talkstyle.
That would be amazing, becausethen at least I could be a part
of the thing.
You know what I mean.
That would be pretty.
Speaker 2 (21:07):
You're looking at me you're looking at me, Kurt.
Right, that would be something.
That would be something youwant to jump in.
That's a great idea.
Speaker 1 (21:15):
You want to get on that.
Yeah, you guys want you downtoo.
I mean, listen, I know you gotall your work ahead of you here
for the US Culinary Open, but Imean, maybe we could put that
together.
Speaker 3 (21:24):
Yeah, I've got.
All the time in the world I cangive you some recipes.
That was a joke.
Yeah, of course it was heylisten.
I'll take any help I can get.
Speaker 1 (21:36):
No see, chris is trying to get me in trouble over
here somehow.
Speaker 2 (21:39):
That's what he did to me last week.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
That's true.
Well, you deserve it.
Speaker 3 (21:42):
I just wish I was there to try your food today,
because it all sounds amazing.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
Wait till you see the pictures.
I'm not sure how much everybodyfollows along.
You know all the participantswho are in this competition.
Everybody's very busy and weappreciate the time that you cut
out for us on the podcast here.
But I have to tell you like,because everyone is so busy, I
am not sure how much of ourcontent everyone has able has
(22:08):
been able to consume.
When you go and scroll ourinstagram and you know to go
kind of check out our what we,what we do here and what john
does specifically, it's prettyamazing.
This guy is probably in the topfive food photographers in the
country and I mean that that andI'm not.
You know I have no reason tothrow flowers at you.
(22:31):
I'm staring right at him rightnow.
I would never do that.
I've known him for too long togive him any flowers, but he
deserves this and I feel like ifpeople would see the end
product, wow, there'd be a linearound the block over here and
that's what I told you, cynthia.
I said I want to get you tothis, to the studio.
Man.
I want to get, I want tocapture what you do and blow it
(22:53):
up.
Speaker 3 (22:54):
I would love that, and food photography is not easy
.
That is a very hard thing to do.
Well, chefs are trying to do itwith their cell phones every
day.
Compared to what you do, it'slike, oh my, my gosh, it's a
totally different world it'sfunny.
Speaker 1 (23:08):
I, you know I follow a lot of chefs, obviously on
social.
You know, you see what they doand you you can tell that these
plates that they're putting out,that they're gorgeous.
You can see it in the, in theiriphone snapshot.
You see that it's a reallypretty dish.
But then when you come to anactual studio and you see it
executed properly, with theright equipment and knowledge
(23:31):
and all this stuff, you want toeat the photo.
Let's talk legacies.
What culinary legacy would youlike to leave?
Speaker 3 (23:39):
I'm in a fun new phase of my career where I you
know, I just turned 36 and I'mto the point where I'm
transitioning into being more ofa mentor.
I'm feeling that phase in mylife kind of take over.
So I'm experiencing for thefirst time really watching cooks
develop, watching them becomelead line cooks to sous chefs
(24:01):
and watching them grow anddevelop not only like in their
cooking skills but also in theirmaturity and their leadership
and just being good people.
That has been the most fun partof my entire career so far.
It's just watching people growup, developing people underneath
me.
And I also love teachingcooking classes here at the club
(24:22):
kids cooking classes.
You know, when I was in highschool I worked at the Young
Chefs Academy and did the littlepizza birthday parties where I
taught the kids how to makepizza and I just I just love
that element of the job wherenot only do I get to cook but I
also get to teach people andit's just really fun.
Speaker 1 (24:38):
I don't know that there's a better answer that a
chef could provide.
You want to pass on the legacy,you want to show people the
correct ways of doing things andmaybe you can bridge a gap to
some.
You know young, up and comingculinary and instead of making
all the wrong decisions andchoices, you can possibly lead
(25:02):
them and turn them into somebodywho is going to lead the next
generation down the road.
Speaker 2 (25:07):
Absolutely.
I couldn't agree more.
I think that our job as chefsnowadays it's a whole different
world and if we can inspireyoung people to come into the
industry now but come in with adifferent mindset, I don't want
people to be scared of me as achef.
I don't want it to be the worldwhere you're yelling and
screaming, but instead the worldwhere you're bringing people
together and you're developingand you're coming up with ideas
(25:29):
and you know I love to learnthings from my dishwashers and
from other people you know belowme and and just change the
mindset I.
I know there's chef shows thatyou see out on TV, that you know
there's a lot of yelling andscreaming and and throwing stuff
around.
That's not the impact we wantto show as a chef.
If the kitchen's crashing,diffuse it before it's a dining
(25:49):
room, and if the dining room andthe servers are crashing,
diffuse it before it gets to thekitchen, so we can bring that
to a nice palette.
And if we can instill that inour kids and and then get them
motivated to be.
Do this as opposed to get intoit for money, because this, this
is a great field and you canmake a lot of money in it.
But if if you're doing it forthe money, you're not going to
make money, if you're doing itbecause you love it, then
(26:10):
money's going to come Well saidCynthia, you agree?
Speaker 3 (26:15):
Absolutely 100%.
Speaker 1 (26:18):
A lot of times, the people that we get in the
kitchen staff and not even justthe kitchen, the people who go
work at restaurantstraditionally have issues.
Could be a number of things, buttypically speaking, they end up
working in the food businessand a lot of times those
personalities are rough.
(26:39):
And because they're rough, Ithink that as leaders, you need
to be rough in order to controland then you need to nurture.
I don't know that you can startnurturing somebody who's
already jagged.
You know, somebody told mewho's very successful has led a
(27:00):
lot of people.
This is just a metaphor, butyou have to bloody somebody's
nose to get them to payattention, but then you are the
one that hands them the toweland the Band-Aid and by doing
that they learn that there'sconsequences and that they have
to listen.
Now, I'm not saying thatthrowing pans at somebody is a
(27:21):
good thing at all, but you know,I feel like the kitchen is
still a rough place to be well,I think it is, and I agree that
you do have to be strong, butyour strengths can come in
different ways.
Speaker 2 (27:37):
for me, I went through a pretty bad accident
towards the end of my career andthat's how I got out of this,
but I realized that I'm notsaving lives.
I'm cooking somebody a dinner,and so I don't have to yell at
you, I can just send you home.
It's not like I don't know howto do your station and work it
and do it better, and when youshow that calm demeanor and that
calm response to somebody whenthey're acting out of line, it
(28:02):
resonates through your wholestaff that this guy's no joke.
I mean, he doesn't mind doing myjob and he can do it better
than me and I can't make.
I can't rattle him and get himmad when you show that you're
losing your temper, throwingthings, getting mad, screaming
you've lost already because theygot under your skin.
Dude, you're nothing, go home.
(28:23):
I you know put it.
Or I used to tell people when Iworked in new orleans I had a
couple chefs want to take meoutside and I'll back afterwards
, but I said take that chef coatoff and put a dishwasher jacket
on and they hated that, I meanlike no dude, you're not a chef,
not, not actually not cookinglike that.
You're not making stew, you'resautéing so do it right or go
(28:44):
put a dishwasher jacket onyou're not yelling at somebody,
I guess you're subtly demeaningthem in a way that puts them
down in front of all theircoworkers without you raising
your voice and showing you'rebeing a little upset by this.
Instead, you're in control.
Speaker 1 (29:02):
Chef Cynthia thoughts .
Speaker 3 (29:04):
Yeah, you know, I think my first instinct is to
always hold somebody's hand orbaby them and then they're not
gonna learn anything that way.
I do think it's good to letsomebody essentially burn one
time, you know, go down inflames, you know.
It's good for a sous chef tohave to go out and apologize to
a member for an undercookedkid's burger.
You know, that's how I got towhere I am, that's what seasoned
(29:26):
me.
My chef never held my hand.
I was responsible foreverything that I prepared and I
had to answer to it.
They have to go through theexact same thing.
They have to get burned acouple times.
They've got to learn theirlessons the hard way.
I'm there to support.
Obviously I want to preventthose situations as much as
possible with training and withoversight.
But eventually you know it doeshappen where we're in the human
(29:49):
error business and you knowreal life experience is the best
way to learn.
Speaker 1 (29:55):
And then carry yourself properly through the uh
, through the challenge.
Well said, we're going to seguenow into John.
You didn't know we're doingthis today, but we're doing
walking confessions.
We're bringing it back, chefCynthia, all right.
So, listen, being in thebusiness, you get all sorts of
things that happen.
Right, there's cuts and burnsand things that blow up and
sharp knives, and it's not apleasant place to be sometimes
(30:18):
in the back of the house.
Our segment, walk-inconfessions kind of talks and
gets into some of thosesituations, and I know that you
have some interesting things tosay.
Speaker 3 (30:28):
It was a Saturday afternoon.
We had anywhere from five to$10,000 worth of beef,
tenderloin, crab, cans of crabeverything on the dumb waiter
coming up from the storeroom tothe main kitchen and we lose
power and it trips the dumbwaiter and it's stuck in between
floors.
We're calling maintenance,we're trying to get in touch
with somebody.
(30:49):
No one's really available.
I finally get in touch with oneof the maintenance guys but
he's on vacation.
He can't come fix it and he'slike look, there's only one
solution to this.
If you need to get that foodoff of here right now, that's to
hotwire the dumbwaiter.
He's like I'm going to talk youthrough it, but this is what
(31:09):
you've got to do.
You've got to take this onewire.
You've got to touch the end youknow one end to 19 and one end
to 26 and yell down the hall forsomebody to push the button
while you're holding both thewires.
Speaker 1 (31:18):
You're trying to land an airplane.
Speaker 3 (31:20):
Exactly, it worked.
We got food and I hotwired adumbwaiter and I felt, I felt
cool.
Speaker 1 (31:28):
And then after your shift, you went, hotwired a
Toyota and you drove off intothe sunset, right?
Is that what happened thatnight?
Speaker 3 (31:34):
Oh yeah, well, it wasn't a Toyota, but yeah.
Speaker 1 (31:37):
Okay, I love it.
Kurt, I know you must have astory.
Speaker 2 (31:41):
I was running a Houston in Atlanta and some guy
came in with his girlfriend andher wife actually, and they were
having dinner and sitting atthe table together and you know,
I've got all my somewhatthuggish line cooks working and
they all think they're so toughand such.
And the girl told the guy thatshe was, you know, seeing
(32:02):
another guy and the guy got upand and and pulled the gun and
shot across the dining room andI'm watching all these cooks
hiding underneath counters andinside the dishwasher.
Across the room in the diningroom there's a gunshot and you
guys are hiding underneathcanned goods and behind stuff in
my kitchen.
Speaker 1 (32:21):
I would have went straight to the walk-in.
Speaker 2 (32:25):
I guess I figured one guy I said because that's where
I went is uh, you know, there'sno way out.
So if he comes back, there's noway out, he goes.
You know, if he came back hereyou'd be stuck okay, yeah, true
story.
Speaker 1 (32:36):
I mean, is this like a?
Dumb guy that I am was this aserial killer or was just like a
rando?
There's a crazy jealous husbandyeah, straight to the walk-in,
this guy but you don't know whatit is all you hear is a gunshot
.
Speaker 2 (32:49):
You know you're not at the table seeing who's
shooting you.
Just all of a sudden you hear agunshot inside a nice
restaurant and he's what's?
Speaker 1 (32:56):
this is a little bit as long as you don't hear a
whisper in your ear that sayshello, clarice, I think you're
okay so the police were thereand they shot him over the top
of this giant spear that came.
Speaker 2 (33:08):
So it was, it was.
It was a bit of.
It was crazy for a houston'srestaurant.
Speaker 1 (33:12):
It's a true story well, no, I mean listen, it's
all over the news.
So, first of all, houston's issuch a nice place.
Yeah, it really is a beautifulplace, no matter where where you
are in the country.
Speaker 2 (33:23):
The wildest part of the story and this adds to the
story is you go in any otherrestaurant and the art on the
wall is just some cheap art.
You go into Houston's.
This sphere weighed a coupletons and was flown in from Asia.
It was a $100,000 piece of art.
There's blood splatter all overit.
(33:44):
All the art on the walls isreal art.
There's blood splatter all overit and all the art on the walls
is real art.
And so this kind of experienceinside a restaurant that's like
that it was.
You know it's, it's.
This is no James Beardrestaurant, but they just do
really well at everything we doand they don't cut any corners.
They don't cut any corners intheir, their decor, their food
(34:05):
quality and all that.
So it was a pretty interesting.
Speaker 1 (34:08):
Well, here's the plot twist that sphere, that hundred
thousand dollar piece of art isnow worth 2.5 million.
Okay, there's your plot twist,cynthia.
I'm so appreciative of yougiving us time coming on the
show and and kind of talking, uhindustry with us.
How do people find you?
Speaker 3 (34:28):
So I'm on Instagram.
My handle is CCCCYNDFW.
Of course, I have Facebook andLinkedIn Cynthia Romstadt, and
that's it.
Speaker 1 (34:40):
Everybody out there.
Go check out Chef Cynthia.
She is a badass and I can'twait for John to get a hold of
the food you're going to becooking up over at the NAFM show
.
It's going to be amazing.
Kurt, how do people find you?
Speaker 2 (34:57):
Hicken Kurt with Kurt with a C H-I-C-K-E-N-C-U-R-T.
Speaker 1 (35:03):
All right everybody.
Thank you very much today forbeing here and doing all that
you do.
John, Kurt, Chef, Cynthiaynthia, you're all amazing.
We are out.
Hello food fan.
This is the Walk Talk podcast,where you will find the perfect
blend of food fun and cookingknowledge.
I'm your host, carl Fiatini.
Welcome to the number one foodpodcast in the country.
We're recording on site at IbisImages Studios, where food
photography comes alive and Iget to eat it.
Here's a humble request to givea follow on Instagram at
(00:29):
walkintalkshow, please, andthank you.
Tired of manual fruit cutting,I know I am.
Try Supercut System, anautomated solution that cuts 120
citrus wedges per minute.
With consistent slices and ahygienic design, it enhances
safety and efficiency.
Improve your operations atSupercutcom and ask about
(00:51):
risk-free trials.
Today we're excited to have ChefCynthia Ronstadt, executive
Chef at Colonial Country Club inFort Worth, texas, and a native
of Asheville, north Carolina.
Cynthia is a two-time goldmedalist in ACF pastry
competitions and was named toresort in Chef Magazine's 2024
(01:14):
40 Under 40.
She's also been selected forthe prestigious 2025 US Culinary
Open, where she will showcaseher talents alongside 11 other
top culinarians, and the WalkTalk podcast will be there to
capture everything.
But first let's get into whatJohn shot today with Peninsula
(01:35):
Food Services and also chef KurtHicken.
He cooked up a couple ofdoozies, kurt, welcome back.
And dude, you got the chopsThank you, you really do.
You didn't lose a step.
I know you haven't been in thekitchen and you know you haven't
been in the industry like thatin a while, but, dude, you throw
(01:57):
it down.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
Thank you, yes.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
Let's talk about what you did today, you dirty, dirty
dog.
What did you do today?
Speaker 2 (02:03):
We did a crispy Cantonese pork belly with kimchi
and a buckthorn berry sauce.
The trick with the crispyCantonese pork belly basically
it's like a chicharron but cutinto a larger steak size.
It's got that rich flavor to it.
But you're going with a spicykimchi.
And buckthorn berry is a tartberry that we mixed with a
(02:25):
little ginger and syrup.
They complement each other verywell, I believe.
And then we did that as wellwith a juniper berry dusted
bone-in 20-ounce creek stoneribeye with some fennel roasted
potatoes and some king pine conejam Very unique ingredient,
it's a European forest dish.
And the pine cone jam veryunique ingredient, it's a
(02:45):
european forest dish.
And the pine cone jam is arussian ingredient little mini
pine cones that you, you boiland water until they become
edible.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
Essentially, uh, more kurt, hold on a minute, hold on
.
I want everyone to understandsomething.
It's a pine cone.
Okay, it's a pine cone, exceptthey're little baby pine cones.
So it's like the, maybe thesize of the tip of a pinky or
something like that, and they'resoft and flavorful and I've
(03:15):
never seen anything or heard ofthat in my life.
You know, in my mind growing up, I've always wondered like, wow
, you know, like can we eat pinecones?
I think every kid probablymaybe thought of that.
But you can and we did today.
So people need to know that.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
It's a unique ingredient, definitely, and it's
most commonly used with adessert item, but I would use it
personally with a venison or abeef item, something you can
bring that heart, hearty flavorout and and extended because
it's sweet, um, like a glaze.
I like the ingredient.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
It had brought a lot to the steak, I think what you
picked today in terms ofingredients with the profile
layers, was right on.
Thank you again.
Like lately, I've been sayingthis these chefs have been
telling me on the phone hey,we're going to do this, that and
whatever.
And as they're telling me, I'mlike I don't know In my mind,
(04:11):
I'm like I don't, I don't knowhow that's going to work out.
I have faith in the people whowe work with, because everyone
is a abject professional andbad-ass in their own way.
So today was one of those daysand here it is again.
I'm just blown away andnaturally and you saw, I mean
(04:32):
you, you know you're here whilewe're doing the, the film work
and john's doing the photographyyou saw what this guy does.
You see what he does it'samazing.
I mean he brought the elevatedcaliber of the plate completely
I just don't know how the hellyou did pine cones today, man,
and you know it's funny, becauseon the table where we're
sitting, you know holding thepodcast, there's a dish of
(04:55):
actual pine cone pine cones, youknow, just for show and it's a
little apropos.
I think that was terrific.
You brought something elsetoday the borscht.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
Oh, I brought some borscht.
My wife is russian and she hadbeen promising carl some borscht
for quite some time and when he, when I called him to tell him
I had borscht, that's when heasked me to come to the show.
So I think it was kind of atrick.
Yeah, just to get the borscht,I was like you know, what.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
I don't know if this guy didn't make anything good,
but I know that bors's justgonna be good wifey.
Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.
I'm totally digging it, yeah,and I, and I ate the whole thing
too, like I.
I slurped down the entire.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
I think you did, I did.
I don't think you shared any no, I didn't.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
No, there might be something all right, but before
we move on and introduce ChefCynthia, before that, what gave
you the inspiration for the pinecone dish, specifically Like?
What were you thinking about toput that together?
Speaker 2 (05:54):
It was a combination of things.
My wife a big part of it.
You know I love to learndifferent foods and, being
married to a Russian person,their culinary is like their
alphabet it's grossly differentthan ours.
So I look at the things thatshe has and then when I saw it
and I tasted it, I thought, well, this is very wintery, it's got
(06:14):
to have something strong winterflavor.
And then the weather outsidewas cold and changing.
I said, you know, if we couldhave a piece of bison or a piece
of beef or venison, you know anice hearty, large-cut piece of
meat, this would be perfect withit.
And then, you know, I wastrying to find something to
taper between the flavors.
So that's where the juniperberry came in, was a middle,
(06:35):
kind of like a gin flavor,between the sweet glaze and the
hearty flavor of the beef.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
Well, we landed on that bone-increased on ribeye,
which I don't think is anyslouch.
That's pretty amazing too.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
That was an amazing cut of meat.
Speaker 1 (06:49):
Yeah, it was pretty Okay.
Well, I just one more time wantto say thank you.
That was really great what youdid today.
Absolutely thank you.
I think I might have you back.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
I can do that.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
Okay, all right.
This NAFM show in February inAtlanta where the US Culinary
Open will be held, thiscompetition, cooking competition
super, super excited.
We're going to have the wholewalk and talk media team at this
event photography, videography,the podcast, and it's going to
be amazing.
(07:20):
The podcast, and it's going tobe amazing.
We are the official podcast forthis event and we're just
really fortunate to partner withthese guys and over at NAFM as
well.
Thank you, chef Nick and ChefPolly, because you keep us
plugged in and we appreciatethat.
(07:41):
So I just wanted to put thatout there, everybody, and
without now further ado, chefCynthia, welcome to the program.
Speaker 3 (07:45):
Well, hello everyone.
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
My pleasure.
You know we had a really greatconversation last week leading
up to this our pregame powwow sothank you for that.
Are you excited about all this,or what I mean?
You have to be excited, right.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
It's really starting to hit me.
I mean, I want to say that I'mgetting sleep, but my brain is
just turning all the time.
The good part is we actuallyhad to turn in our final menus a
couple days ago, so theconceptual piece is done.
At this point we can't changeanything that we've submitted.
If we do, we have to haveapproval.
(08:22):
Knowing that I know what I'mdoing now, I know what dishes
I'm doing and that doesn'tchange.
That helps me sleep a little.
I'm getting pretty excited.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
That has to be a truckload of pressure off of
your shoulders.
And what I mean is right,because in the end, you've got
this situation where what am Igoing to cook?
How is it going to work?
What am I doing?
And I think that's the biggest,that's probably the biggest
question mark, because you'vebeen cooking for a long time
Like you know what you can do.
(08:50):
So let me ask you this, this,this I've asked so far.
I've had a handful of the othercompetitors on the program and
I ask everyone the same thing.
You've got beer chefs, michelinchefs, you've got food network
winners.
Does that change how youapproach this competition?
Does that affect you on yourpsyche in any way?
Speaker 3 (09:14):
Initially, yes, I started looking at everyone I
was competing against.
I'm like, oh man, when Istarted thinking of ideas I was
trying to be like them almostand I had to take a step back
and be like you know what.
You've made it this far basedon who you are.
I really want to representmyself and my own style in this
competition and kind of justremain an individual and not
(09:37):
follow in anybody's footsteps,necessarily.
But yeah, it's a lot to take in, it's a lot of pressure, and
seeing who all I'm up against ispretty cool.
Actually, I'm really excited tosee everything that they make.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
Yeah, I'm super excited for this too.
Obviously, you know I'm aneater and this is like right up
my alley.
What are you doing to prep forthis competition?
How are you training for this?
Speaker 3 (10:01):
So we're doing full-blown practice rounds start
to finish just like we would bein the arena kitchen.
You know, trying to perfect ourtiming, perfect, perfect, every
move that we're making.
As far as efficiency andsanitation, the Comey that I
have is just fantastic.
She's a little fireball like meand you know we're just totally
(10:22):
grooving to the point where wedon't even have to talk.
You know she's.
She's handing me tools likewe're.
You know we're just totallygrooving to the point where we
don't even have to talk.
You know she's.
She's handing me tools likewhere you know where I'm a
surgeon and she's my nurseassistant and like we're not
even talking to each other.
You know it's like violentservice and she knows my next
step and it's just.
It's really cool and the moreand more we practice, the better
and better it gets.
So we probably got another fiveor six full practice rounds
(10:42):
scheduled before the big day.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
Is this somebody that you've worked with in the past?
Speaker 3 (10:52):
Yes, she does work for me.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
She's one of my line cooks here, so I've worked with
her for a year and a half now.
Yeah, you've already gotbuilt-in camaraderie, like you
already got the system.
Speaker 3 (10:57):
Yeah, I'm really fortunate.
I mean, we do have that ageparameter.
Our company has to be under theage of 23.
You know, I have one personthat qualified and I couldn't
ask for a better person.
So she's killing it.
Speaker 1 (11:09):
Yeah, I mean 23,.
That leaves me out by like acouple of decades.
Yeah, that's, that's terrible,let's.
Let's talk James Beardfoundation dinners.
You've done a couple of themand I have to believe that in
and of itself that has to benerve wracking, am I wrong?
Speaker 3 (11:25):
No, you're not wrong.
Where I work, colonial CountryClub has been selected for the
last two years to host theFriends of James Beard benefit
for the state of Texas, which isobviously a huge validation for
the legacy that Colonial hasand the reputation for quality
that we have.
And so being a part of thatentire process I mean it's
(11:49):
months of planning was just socool to be able to network with
restaurant chefs that I wouldn'tusually have the opportunity to
work with local industryleaders, other vendors and just
the foodies that bought ticketsto come.
I mean, it was just, it was anincredible experience.
We had almost 300 people herethat bought a ticket for a five
(12:09):
course meal and before that wehad 20 local chefs doing
different activation stationsduring the cocktail hours.
So you know, hosting that andputting it on from start to
finish was a big task, but itwas a ton of fun at the same
time.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
I intend to go to one of these dinners at some point.
I feel like there's one comingup here in Jacksonville or St
Augustine one of the two.
I got to check that out.
Speaker 3 (12:34):
You know, being a country club chef and being able
to be accepted into that worldor be a part of that world.
It's almost like a careerdefining moment.
So it's very unique.
I don't know that it'll everhappen again and it's just
really cool to be a part of.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
Well, the foundation itself.
It's a pretty cool.
They do a lot of great, greatthings.
What you're doing at the USCulinary Open with your Comey
female, Comey female executivechef.
A lot of things are changing inthe industry and the Beard
Foundation is there for it.
How do you feel the landscapeis changing for women in
culinary roles?
Speaker 3 (13:07):
I do see more and more women in this executive
chef position, which I love tosee.
I mean, I'm still seeing a lotof young chefs be savory chefs,
young females being savory chefs.
I think the industry in itsentirety, you know, has a fair
amount of challenges anddisadvantages when it comes to
work-life balance, and burnoutdoesn't necessarily discriminate
(13:29):
against gender.
But I think, you know, men andwomen both bring different and
unique traits and values to thetable and, at the end of the day
, as long as we're putting ourstrengths forward for the
betterment of the team, you know, that's what it's all about.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
You know, and I thought it was really great, you
won those two ACF pastry eventsand I asked I said are you that
a pastry chef that became asavory exec or how did that work
?
And you said no, I'm a savorychef and I happen to know a
little bit of pastry and I thinkthat would be considered like a
nail in the coffin of the oldkind of guard in that regard.
Speaker 3 (14:06):
Oh yeah, totally the old kind of guard in that regard
.
In that regard, oh yeah,totally yeah, I think part of
being a female.
In the beginning of my career Iwas pushed more by my chefs to
to work towards the bakery or onthe bakery side of things, and
it did take some time for me toearn my chops and in the kitchen
.
I can remember being on a grillstation for 4th of July at
(14:26):
Cherokee Town and Country Clubin Atlanta, georgia.
We're cooking for, I want tosay, like 4,000 people.
I was 20 years old and there'sprobably 15, 20 grills lining
down this putting grain.
And I'm looking around and I'mlike I'm the only chick out here
.
You know, I'm the only oneflipping burgers on 4th of July.
That's a female.
And I look at chef Walker andI'm like I'm the only girl and
(14:47):
he's like you're not a girl,you're a chef.
And ever since that day I waslike oh okay, just a chef, y'all
.
Speaker 1 (14:54):
Yeah, and you're working grill usually got you in
the garbage or something likethat.
You know what I mean, so that's, that's amazing.
Yeah, and I just want to make amention too.
So I've done a lot of businesswith chefs in general, from
country clubs to independence tocorporate whatever.
And when you're talking aboutcountry clubs, that's a you know
(15:16):
, it's, that's like old school,it isn't.
It isn't like some you knowindie restaurant somewhere and
it's you know hip, you know kindof everybody's tatted up on
their forearms with you knowknives and pigs and whatever.
It's.
Everything is different in theclub and it's.
I don't want to, I don't wantto say it like that, but at the
end of the day, what you did toget to where you are should be
commended and is really amazing.
Speaker 3 (15:38):
Well, you know it's 2025 and I tell the guys in the
in the men's grill, I I'd walkright in there Like you're
eating my food.
It's 2025.
I think I can come in here nowand I do.
I mean, I have, I was raised bya single dad and I have three
brothers and I'm just, you know,comfortable talking to guys and
(15:58):
you know they're they'redressed.
Speaker 1 (16:02):
True story.
Hey, listen, I don't want anytrouble over here, cynthia.
Okay, I don't want any trouble,chef, I don't want any trouble.
What inspires you Like, whatcuisine is it that brings you
passion, and how are you goingto take that passion into the US
Culinary Open?
Speaker 3 (16:18):
Well, I've learned a lot about Latin cuisine having
moved to Texas.
Like you said, I'm originallyfrom North Carolina.
I didn't grow up with a lot ofculture.
I grew up on a dirt road in themountains.
My parents made hamburgerhelper and tuna helper and
shaking big pork chops growingup.
So pretty much as soon as I gotmy license I started driving to
(16:41):
downtown Asheville.
I started really venturing out.
Everyone in my family thinksI'm kind of crazy because I'm
the only one that's moved out ofNorth Carolina.
I've always been interested indifferent foods and it's just
been a really, really coolexperience, especially with the
staff that I have here, learningabout their cuisine.
The Latin flavors, you know.
They're just so bold and freshand vibrant.
(17:04):
They really do inspire me, andso of course we do our Tex-Mex,
but we do a fun version ofelevated comfort food with some
Latin flair as well.
But I always tell people tooI'm pantry inspired.
I like to just create withthings that I'm surrounded by.
That's kind of how my grannytaught me how to cook growing up
(17:27):
.
She raised me until I was 12.
All I remember is having arefrigerator that's full of
condiments and somehow she wouldput out like the five course
meal every night and I'm like Idon't even know where that came
from.
So now I kind of feel like that.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
Yeah, but I'm not going to let you off the hook on
the question though.
All right, so let me put itlike this what are you cooking
at home?
Like?
All right, so let me put itlike this what are you cooking
at home?
Like what's your go-to.
But then, if you go out to eat,what are you ordering?
Speaker 3 (17:49):
Well, if I'm cooking at home, I'm probably making
some kind of taco or tostada,and if I'm going out to eat, I
am ooh well, I'm always gettingdessert, that is for sure, and a
margarita.
All right, so we're all Allright so that's the beginning of
the end.
Speaker 1 (18:06):
We're all hanging out .
Speaker 3 (18:07):
I'm just saying I love Vietnamese food.
I love really fresh flavors,fresh produce, the crunchy bean
sprouts I mean the Vietnamesefood is right up my alley, Even
when I lived in Atlanta.
There's so many great placesfor Vietnamese food, so that's
probably my favorite cuisine ofall time my favorite cuisine of
(18:31):
all time.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
Every single, I'm going to say 19 out of 20 chefs
are going to pick an Asiancuisine as their favorite
whether it's Korean or.
Vietnamese.
Speaker 3 (18:36):
There's a lot of French influence in Vietnamese
food, so you could say French aswell.
Speaker 1 (18:41):
I guess you know, I guess you could say that we have
their baguettes and their pâtés.
Yeah, and I'm not.
You know who's going to judge.
Who would judge such a thing?
So we know what your favoritesare.
How are you bringing that intothe competition?
Speaker 3 (18:54):
My menu is definitely progressive flavors, starting
with the appetizer and leadinginto the entrees.
I feel that they're very unique.
I feel that they're very unique.
(19:22):
I feel that what I'm bringingto the table is a nice blend of
visual the look of everything,the textures of everything, the
colors, and trying not to repeatthat in each course, but making
sure that all three still tellthe same story.
So I'm really proud of the menuthat we've created.
We've put a ton of time into it.
I do want to keep it a secret.
I don't want anybody to knowwhat my theme is right now, but
(19:43):
I do have a very specific themefor my menu and I'm really,
really excited to showcase it.
Speaker 1 (19:49):
So you came to win this thing.
Your goal is to walk away witha victory right.
Speaker 3 (19:54):
We all have a chance.
I don't want to sit here andsay that anybody's better than
the other.
We all have a chance at thisthing.
I think it's going to come downto tens of points.
I really do.
I think it's going to be areally close competition.
It's going to be harder for thejudges than it is going to be
for the participants.
I'm so excited to see whateverybody does and I'm really
(20:15):
excited to be a part of it andjust to be on the same level as
everybody.
Just to be considered on thesame level as everybody is
really, really validating andexciting.
Speaker 1 (20:25):
I'm so motivated by competitions.
I wish I was.
Well, I don't wish I was a chef.
I don't wish that I grew up inthe kitchen, I was in the front
of the house and it was adifferent life.
With that said, thesecompetitions, I wish I can be
involved in them because it'sexciting to me.
We have chefs that come throughhere at the studio every week
(20:47):
and we get to see all sorts ofamazing dishes and different
just different creations,different inspirations and
passions from all the differentpersonalities.
Right, I would love to get allthese guys and gals together and
do a competition walk and talkstyle.
That would be amazing, becausethen at least I could be a part
of the thing.
You know what I mean.
That would be pretty.
Speaker 2 (21:07):
You're looking at me you're looking at me, Kurt.
Right, that would be something.
That would be something youwant to jump in.
That's a great idea.
Speaker 1 (21:15):
You want to get on that.
Yeah, you guys want you downtoo.
I mean, listen, I know you gotall your work ahead of you here
for the US Culinary Open, but Imean, maybe we could put that
together.
Speaker 3 (21:24):
Yeah, I've got.
All the time in the world I cangive you some recipes.
That was a joke.
Yeah, of course it was heylisten.
I'll take any help I can get.
Speaker 1 (21:36):
No see, chris is trying to get me in trouble over
here somehow.
Speaker 2 (21:39):
That's what he did to me last week.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
That's true.
Well, you deserve it.
Speaker 3 (21:42):
I just wish I was there to try your food today,
because it all sounds amazing.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
Wait till you see the pictures.
I'm not sure how much everybodyfollows along.
You know all the participantswho are in this competition.
Everybody's very busy and weappreciate the time that you cut
out for us on the podcast here.
But I have to tell you like,because everyone is so busy, I
am not sure how much of ourcontent everyone has able has
(22:08):
been able to consume.
When you go and scroll ourinstagram and you know to go
kind of check out our what we,what we do here and what john
does specifically, it's prettyamazing.
This guy is probably in the topfive food photographers in the
country and I mean that that andI'm not.
You know I have no reason tothrow flowers at you.
(22:31):
I'm staring right at him rightnow.
I would never do that.
I've known him for too long togive him any flowers, but he
deserves this and I feel like ifpeople would see the end
product, wow, there'd be a linearound the block over here and
that's what I told you, cynthia.
I said I want to get you tothis, to the studio.
Man.
I want to get, I want tocapture what you do and blow it
(22:53):
up.
Speaker 3 (22:54):
I would love that, and food photography is not easy
.
That is a very hard thing to do.
Well, chefs are trying to do itwith their cell phones every
day.
Compared to what you do, it'slike, oh my, my gosh, it's a
totally different world it'sfunny.
Speaker 1 (23:08):
I, you know I follow a lot of chefs, obviously on
social.
You know, you see what they doand you you can tell that these
plates that they're putting out,that they're gorgeous.
You can see it in the, in theiriphone snapshot.
You see that it's a reallypretty dish.
But then when you come to anactual studio and you see it
executed properly, with theright equipment and knowledge
(23:31):
and all this stuff, you want toeat the photo.
Let's talk legacies.
What culinary legacy would youlike to leave?
Speaker 3 (23:39):
I'm in a fun new phase of my career where I you
know, I just turned 36 and I'mto the point where I'm
transitioning into being more ofa mentor.
I'm feeling that phase in mylife kind of take over.
So I'm experiencing for thefirst time really watching cooks
develop, watching them becomelead line cooks to sous chefs
(24:01):
and watching them grow anddevelop not only like in their
cooking skills but also in theirmaturity and their leadership
and just being good people.
That has been the most fun partof my entire career so far.
It's just watching people growup, developing people underneath
me.
And I also love teachingcooking classes here at the club
(24:22):
kids cooking classes.
You know, when I was in highschool I worked at the Young
Chefs Academy and did the littlepizza birthday parties where I
taught the kids how to makepizza and I just I just love
that element of the job wherenot only do I get to cook but I
also get to teach people andit's just really fun.
Speaker 1 (24:38):
I don't know that there's a better answer that a
chef could provide.
You want to pass on the legacy,you want to show people the
correct ways of doing things andmaybe you can bridge a gap to
some.
You know young, up and comingculinary and instead of making
all the wrong decisions andchoices, you can possibly lead
(25:02):
them and turn them into somebodywho is going to lead the next
generation down the road.
Speaker 2 (25:07):
Absolutely.
I couldn't agree more.
I think that our job as chefsnowadays it's a whole different
world and if we can inspireyoung people to come into the
industry now but come in with adifferent mindset, I don't want
people to be scared of me as achef.
I don't want it to be the worldwhere you're yelling and
screaming, but instead the worldwhere you're bringing people
together and you're developingand you're coming up with ideas
(25:29):
and you know I love to learnthings from my dishwashers and
from other people you know belowme and and just change the
mindset I.
I know there's chef shows thatyou see out on TV, that you know
there's a lot of yelling andscreaming and and throwing stuff
around.
That's not the impact we wantto show as a chef.
If the kitchen's crashing,diffuse it before it's a dining
(25:49):
room, and if the dining room andthe servers are crashing,
diffuse it before it gets to thekitchen, so we can bring that
to a nice palette.
And if we can instill that inour kids and and then get them
motivated to be.
Do this as opposed to get intoit for money, because this, this
is a great field and you canmake a lot of money in it.
But if if you're doing it forthe money, you're not going to
make money, if you're doing itbecause you love it, then
(26:10):
money's going to come Well saidCynthia, you agree?
Speaker 3 (26:15):
Absolutely 100%.
Speaker 1 (26:18):
A lot of times, the people that we get in the
kitchen staff and not even justthe kitchen, the people who go
work at restaurantstraditionally have issues.
Could be a number of things, buttypically speaking, they end up
working in the food businessand a lot of times those
personalities are rough.
(26:39):
And because they're rough, Ithink that as leaders, you need
to be rough in order to controland then you need to nurture.
I don't know that you can startnurturing somebody who's
already jagged.
You know, somebody told mewho's very successful has led a
(27:00):
lot of people.
This is just a metaphor, butyou have to bloody somebody's
nose to get them to payattention, but then you are the
one that hands them the toweland the Band-Aid and by doing
that they learn that there'sconsequences and that they have
to listen.
Now, I'm not saying thatthrowing pans at somebody is a
(27:21):
good thing at all, but you know,I feel like the kitchen is
still a rough place to be well,I think it is, and I agree that
you do have to be strong, butyour strengths can come in
different ways.
Speaker 2 (27:37):
for me, I went through a pretty bad accident
towards the end of my career andthat's how I got out of this,
but I realized that I'm notsaving lives.
I'm cooking somebody a dinner,and so I don't have to yell at
you, I can just send you home.
It's not like I don't know howto do your station and work it
and do it better, and when youshow that calm demeanor and that
calm response to somebody whenthey're acting out of line, it
(28:02):
resonates through your wholestaff that this guy's no joke.
I mean, he doesn't mind doing myjob and he can do it better
than me and I can't make.
I can't rattle him and get himmad when you show that you're
losing your temper, throwingthings, getting mad, screaming
you've lost already because theygot under your skin.
Dude, you're nothing, go home.
(28:23):
I you know put it.
Or I used to tell people when Iworked in new orleans I had a
couple chefs want to take meoutside and I'll back afterwards
, but I said take that chef coatoff and put a dishwasher jacket
on and they hated that, I meanlike no dude, you're not a chef,
not, not actually not cookinglike that.
You're not making stew, you'resautéing so do it right or go
(28:44):
put a dishwasher jacket onyou're not yelling at somebody,
I guess you're subtly demeaningthem in a way that puts them
down in front of all theircoworkers without you raising
your voice and showing you'rebeing a little upset by this.
Instead, you're in control.
Speaker 1 (29:02):
Chef Cynthia thoughts .
Speaker 3 (29:04):
Yeah, you know, I think my first instinct is to
always hold somebody's hand orbaby them and then they're not
gonna learn anything that way.
I do think it's good to letsomebody essentially burn one
time, you know, go down inflames, you know.
It's good for a sous chef tohave to go out and apologize to
a member for an undercookedkid's burger.
You know, that's how I got towhere I am, that's what seasoned
(29:26):
me.
My chef never held my hand.
I was responsible foreverything that I prepared and I
had to answer to it.
They have to go through theexact same thing.
They have to get burned acouple times.
They've got to learn theirlessons the hard way.
I'm there to support.
Obviously I want to preventthose situations as much as
possible with training and withoversight.
But eventually you know it doeshappen where we're in the human
(29:49):
error business and you knowreal life experience is the best
way to learn.
Speaker 1 (29:55):
And then carry yourself properly through the uh
, through the challenge.
Well said, we're going to seguenow into John.
You didn't know we're doingthis today, but we're doing
walking confessions.
We're bringing it back, chefCynthia, all right.
So, listen, being in thebusiness, you get all sorts of
things that happen.
Right, there's cuts and burnsand things that blow up and
sharp knives, and it's not apleasant place to be sometimes
(30:18):
in the back of the house.
Our segment, walk-inconfessions kind of talks and
gets into some of thosesituations, and I know that you
have some interesting things tosay.
Speaker 3 (30:28):
It was a Saturday afternoon.
We had anywhere from five to$10,000 worth of beef,
tenderloin, crab, cans of crabeverything on the dumb waiter
coming up from the storeroom tothe main kitchen and we lose
power and it trips the dumbwaiter and it's stuck in between
floors.
We're calling maintenance,we're trying to get in touch
with somebody.
(30:49):
No one's really available.
I finally get in touch with oneof the maintenance guys but
he's on vacation.
He can't come fix it and he'slike look, there's only one
solution to this.
If you need to get that foodoff of here right now, that's to
hotwire the dumbwaiter.
He's like I'm going to talk youthrough it, but this is what
(31:09):
you've got to do.
You've got to take this onewire.
You've got to touch the end youknow one end to 19 and one end
to 26 and yell down the hall forsomebody to push the button
while you're holding both thewires.
Speaker 1 (31:18):
You're trying to land an airplane.
Speaker 3 (31:20):
Exactly, it worked.
We got food and I hotwired adumbwaiter and I felt, I felt
cool.
Speaker 1 (31:28):
And then after your shift, you went, hotwired a
Toyota and you drove off intothe sunset, right?
Is that what happened thatnight?
Speaker 3 (31:34):
Oh yeah, well, it wasn't a Toyota, but yeah.
Speaker 1 (31:37):
Okay, I love it.
Kurt, I know you must have astory.
Speaker 2 (31:41):
I was running a Houston in Atlanta and some guy
came in with his girlfriend andher wife actually, and they were
having dinner and sitting atthe table together and you know,
I've got all my somewhatthuggish line cooks working and
they all think they're so toughand such.
And the girl told the guy thatshe was, you know, seeing
(32:02):
another guy and the guy got upand and and pulled the gun and
shot across the dining room andI'm watching all these cooks
hiding underneath counters andinside the dishwasher.
Across the room in the diningroom there's a gunshot and you
guys are hiding underneathcanned goods and behind stuff in
my kitchen.
Speaker 1 (32:21):
I would have went straight to the walk-in.
Speaker 2 (32:25):
I guess I figured one guy I said because that's where
I went is uh, you know, there'sno way out.
So if he comes back, there's noway out, he goes.
You know, if he came back hereyou'd be stuck okay, yeah, true
story.
Speaker 1 (32:36):
I mean, is this like a?
Dumb guy that I am was this aserial killer or was just like a
rando?
There's a crazy jealous husbandyeah, straight to the walk-in,
this guy but you don't know whatit is all you hear is a gunshot
.
Speaker 2 (32:49):
You know you're not at the table seeing who's
shooting you.
Just all of a sudden you hear agunshot inside a nice
restaurant and he's what's?
Speaker 1 (32:56):
this is a little bit as long as you don't hear a
whisper in your ear that sayshello, clarice, I think you're
okay so the police were thereand they shot him over the top
of this giant spear that came.
Speaker 2 (33:08):
So it was, it was.
It was a bit of.
It was crazy for a houston'srestaurant.
Speaker 1 (33:12):
It's a true story well, no, I mean listen, it's
all over the news.
So, first of all, houston's issuch a nice place.
Yeah, it really is a beautifulplace, no matter where where you
are in the country.
Speaker 2 (33:23):
The wildest part of the story and this adds to the
story is you go in any otherrestaurant and the art on the
wall is just some cheap art.
You go into Houston's.
This sphere weighed a coupletons and was flown in from Asia.
It was a $100,000 piece of art.
There's blood splatter all overit.
(33:44):
All the art on the walls isreal art.
There's blood splatter all overit and all the art on the walls
is real art.
And so this kind of experienceinside a restaurant that's like
that it was.
You know it's, it's.
This is no James Beardrestaurant, but they just do
really well at everything we doand they don't cut any corners.
They don't cut any corners intheir, their decor, their food
(34:05):
quality and all that.
So it was a pretty interesting.
Speaker 1 (34:08):
Well, here's the plot twist that sphere, that hundred
thousand dollar piece of art isnow worth 2.5 million.
Okay, there's your plot twist,cynthia.
I'm so appreciative of yougiving us time coming on the
show and and kind of talking, uhindustry with us.
How do people find you?
Speaker 3 (34:28):
So I'm on Instagram.
My handle is CCCCYNDFW.
Of course, I have Facebook andLinkedIn Cynthia Romstadt, and
that's it.
Speaker 1 (34:40):
Everybody out there.
Go check out Chef Cynthia.
She is a badass and I can'twait for John to get a hold of
the food you're going to becooking up over at the NAFM show
.
It's going to be amazing.
Kurt, how do people find you?
Speaker 2 (34:57):
Hicken Kurt with Kurt with a C H-I-C-K-E-N-C-U-R-T.
Speaker 1 (35:03):
All right everybody.
Thank you very much today forbeing here and doing all that
you do.
John, Kurt, Chef, Cynthiaynthia, you're all amazing.
We are out.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
True Crime Tonight
If you eat, sleep, and breathe true crime, TRUE CRIME TONIGHT is serving up your nightly fix. Five nights a week, KT STUDIOS & iHEART RADIO invite listeners to pull up a seat for an unfiltered look at the biggest cases making headlines, celebrity scandals, and the trials everyone is watching. With a mix of expert analysis, hot takes, and listener call-ins, TRUE CRIME TONIGHT goes beyond the headlines to uncover the twists, turns, and unanswered questions that keep us all obsessed—because, at TRUE CRIME TONIGHT, there’s a seat for everyone. Whether breaking down crime scene forensics, scrutinizing serial killers, or debating the most binge-worthy true crime docs, True Crime Tonight is the fresh, fast-paced, and slightly addictive home for true crime lovers.