October 17, 2025 • 45 mins
The conversation today centers around the culinary journey of Chef Andy Nassar from Keel Farm, as he shares his insights on the art of cooking, mentorship, and the evolution of the restaurant industry. A particular highlight of our discussion is Chef Nassar's creative approach to traditional dishes, exemplified by his innovative take on bibimbap, which harmoniously blends Korean flavors with Southern barbecue influences. Additionally, we delve into the intricacies of another dish, moqueca, as he reflects on the cultural influences that shape his culinary style. Chef Nassar emphasizes the importance of passion and authenticity in cooking, advocating for a balance between creativity and the fundamental essence of food. Join us as we explore the passion that drives Chef Nassar and the future of dining at Keel Farm.
Takeaways:
- Chef Andy Nassar's culinary journey exemplifies the importance of passion and creativity in the kitchen.
- The integration of local ingredients and cultural influences is pivotal in Chef Andy's approach to menu development.
- Chef Andy emphasizes the significance of mentorship within the culinary industry to inspire the next generation of chefs.
- The podcast discusses how Chef Andy blends traditional dishes like bibimbap with local flavors to create unique culinary experiences.
- In the conversation, Chef Andy reflects on the balance of maintaining authenticity while pushing creative boundaries in cooking.
- The episode highlights the role of media and social platforms in shaping contemporary dining experiences and restaurant visibility.
Mentioned in this episode:
Aussie Select - Fully cooked, premium Australian lamb
Fully cooked, premium Australian lamb—ready to serve and packed with clean flavor.
RAK Porcelain USA -Tableware
We use RAK for all in-studio tableware—clean, durable, and designed for chefs.
Citrus America
Citrus America – Commercial-grade juicing systems built for speed and yield.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:40):
You've just stepped inside theWalk and Talk podcast, number one
in the nation for food lovers,chefs and storytellers.
I'm Carl Fiadini, your host,shining a light on the flavor, the
hustle, and the heart of the industry.
We're the official podcast forthe New York, California and Florida
restaurant shows, the PizzaTomorrow Summit, the US Culinary
Open at Napham, and the NorthAmerican media platform for the Burnt
(01:02):
Chef project, recorded at IbisImages Studios, where food photography
comes alive and I get thefirst bite.
Find out more info@thewalkandtalk.com.
Today we're sitting down withChef Andy Nassar of Keel and Curly.
Part chef, part builder, allheart, he's the kind of chef who
plates a dish the same way.
(01:23):
He frames a photo.
All about angles, light and balance.
From a food truck kitchen to afull winery restaurant, Andy's turning
a Florida farm into a placewhere food and wine sing together.
Walk and talk Media was on thefloor at the California Restaurant
show where we caught up withKelsey Fagan from Terra Slate, a
company that's redefining whatrestaurant menus can be.
(01:43):
Their menus are waterproof,tear proof, and sustainably made
from a single polyester basedmaterial that never cracks, frays,
or peels.
Each one is printed in a windpowered facility and built to last
for years.
Innovation that keeps yourmenus looking as sharp as your service.
We'll share a clip from thatconversation later in the episode.
Back here in Florida, ChefAndy's story is all about passion
(02:05):
over pretension.
He's mentoring young cooksthrough a shifting industry, balancing
high volume simplicity withreal creativity and keeping the soul
of cooking alive.
His philosophy is raw,reflective, and rooted.
In love for the craft.
Let's get into how we built it.
And what comes next.
Chef, welcome to the program.
Hey, thanks for having me.
(02:27):
Ah, let me tell you something.
I'm happy.
I'm super happy.
And that's because I got fed.
Well today.
You did phenomenal.
Thank you.
Heard that.
How was it for you today?
No, it was fun.
I don't do a lot of this typestuff, so it was nice to get out
(02:48):
of the kitchen and, and dosome fun things and stuff that I
wouldn't normally do everysingle day.
And then also just hanging outwith you guys, talking about stuff
that you, I guess, kind ofrelate to because you guys have been
in the industry as well.
Isn't it interesting to bedoing industry stuff but surrounded
by lights, cameras,microphones, all the action?
(03:13):
No.
Yeah, it was definitely different.
And it's fun because, youknow, the Conversations that we're
having earlier of like, hey,slow it down a little bit.
I'm like, well, we gotta, yougotta hurry up.
The ticket times are running late.
Like, you know, my mindset isnot filming as, as much as you guys
are, so I'm trying to adjust alittle bit to that.
And then also, you know, playball and make sure that I'm not ruining
(03:34):
the shot because I'm just tooworried about doing things too fast.
I'll give you props for yourfirst time doing this.
You did terrific.
Well, thank you.
Yeah.
And the food was phenomenal.
Like, I was really.
So I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I'mgonna say my, my favorite dish was,
was definitely the, the pork,but I didn't think it was gonna be
(03:56):
because I was so happy withthe shrimp dish.
Awesome.
Yeah, the, the, the pork dishyou're talking about is we did a
little bibimbap and I try toput a little bit of a plant city
spin on it.
So, you know, some of thefermentation or the sauce work on
it was gonna be a little bitmore barbecue, you know, as leaning
and then.
(04:17):
And I think it turned outpretty well.
And yeah, a little bit ofblend from the Asian and the Southern
all mixed into one.
For those that don't know whata bibimbap is, why don't you go ahead
and.
Yeah, so it's, it's not just afunny word.
It's a Korean dish thattypically gets served in like a little
hot pot where the rice kind ofgets crispy on the bottom and then
you kind of build it on top.
(04:38):
So it's a lot of accoutrementsof sesame vegetables, pickled vegetables,
you know, fermented kimchi,you know, pork, beef, whatever kind
of what kind of we want todeal with it.
And then obviously usuallytopped off with an egg and some sauce
work.
I'm all about barbecue, and Iwant you to talk about the simple
(05:01):
barbecue sauce you made andthen get into that dish now too.
With the pork.
Yeah.
So the barbecue sauce that weput on the beemat today was going
to be a gochugang.
Barbecue sauce is super simple.
I got some gochu Kang sauce,some rice wine vinegar, a little
bit of extra heat, and thenjust a store bought.
I think we like, we use sweetbaby rays around my house, so that's
(05:22):
what I had.
And we kind of blended together.
You had a little bit of thesweet heat and you still get that
Korean fermentation a littlebit along with it.
The whole thing was amazing.
Dish two.
Dish two was going to be moqueca.
It was going to be a moqueca.
My buddy, who I've workedalongside for many years, is Brazilian.
(05:44):
So there's a lot of times inmy life working side by side with
him where I would come to workand either ask questions or, hey,
what does your mom do?
What does your grandma do,back when you used to live in Brazil?
And then I would come into thework the next day and kind of execute
that dish and kind of give himsomething fun to eat.
That reminds me of home, butalso, like, challenges myself a little
(06:05):
bit of, now I can do somethingdifferent that I've never done before.
You've said you didn't grow up struggling.
So with that being said, whatdid fuel you?
What gave you that spark to get.
Into cooking in general?
Like, I just think having thespark is just something natural that
(06:25):
comes to me.
My.
I think everybody in my familyis very hardworking.
I think what I fought, myfather kind of instilled that into
all of us, where if we'regoing to do something, we got to
do it right, we're going to doit well.
And you put all your effortinto it, and you're just not mailing
it in.
So I think that's a goodquality to have when it comes to
cooking.
And then I just feel like mostof my life, I've always kind of,
(06:46):
you know, providing a littlebit for myself.
Whether my parents are at workor they're doing something else across
the house.
I was always cooking formyself, lunch and dinner wise.
So I think it just kind oftranslated into, well, if I'm going
to do it for myself, I mightas well learn how to do it.
Well, you are not the norm.
Typically, people get intothis business because that's the
only thing available.
(07:07):
And then from that initialentry point, the passion kind of,
kind of comes into play.
But with you, you have anobsession switch and you can't turn
it off.
Yeah, no, absolutely.
I, I will go home and watch,you know, Netflix series on cooking,
(07:27):
or I'll go on YouTube andspend hours just watching other people
cook.
Whether it's, you know, a foodpodcaster, blogger, you know, with
Matty Matheson, or bingingwith Babish like the famous guys.
Or it could just be like, youknow, somebody's.
Somebody's aunt at home that'sgot 10 views on their.
On their video.
Like, I'm, I'm.
I'm looking at everything andtrying to learn as much as I can,
(07:48):
because to me, learning is Fun.
I never really found thatinterest in school when I was in
high school or middle school,but it started sparking on me when
I went to culinary school of,hey, there's a lot of stuff I don't
know, and I would like to.
And I think that's kind ofwhere, ever since then, my life has
just translated me to learningmore and trying to be better at what
I'm doing.
Yeah, but what keeps that firegoing for you?
(08:13):
Just natural competitiveness,I guess.
I've always played sports, andI like to be good at what I do.
If I'm going to do something,I want to be the best.
And then, you know, in termsof a career, I want to be successful
in my career, so my family andmy kids have a better opportunity.
But who are you competing with?
Myself, I'm not.
I'm not worried about anybody else.
So when I have 25 years infood service sales.
(08:36):
Right, right.
I've always.
And I don't know if this wasright or wrong or whatever, but I
always had a secret person orcompany that I would secretly target,
and it was my motivation.
I wouldn't tell a soul.
Nobody knew about that person,the company, whatever.
It was only for me.
(08:57):
And that.
That was my propulsion, partof my propulsion, because I love
the industry, and I likeworking with chefs, and I love going
to new establishments and allof that.
But in order to stay motivatedin a sales capacity, I needed to
find somebody to target.
You don't have that at all.
(09:18):
No, I understand what you're saying.
I definitely get that.
It's kind of like the rivalryaspect of you want to have somebody
that's challenging and pushingyou just so you can keep up with.
I've always kind of felt likeI was, you know, whether it's because
of the location that I've beenat cooking, you know, that there's
not really anyonespecifically, that I feel like is
(09:40):
a rival with me because it'skind of.
I've been on an island.
Well, you know, I've got somefriends in the business that I always
try to be as good, if notbetter than them, but I don't necessarily
consider it a rivalry.
And more of, like, there's alot of times where we'll bounce off
ideas of each other, and it'slike, hey, this would be really cool.
Or, you know, he's my buddyRandy, who owns a food truck, and
he'll send me his menu beforehe executes it, and he's like, look
(10:02):
at this cool thing.
It's not like, hey, I want tobe better than him.
But it's like we have anappreciation for each other and we
understand because we're inthe same line of work.
But I don't, I feel like, Ifeel like I don't need another person.
I understand why that thatwould be a scenario in some people.
I just feel like I, you know,I've got enough personalities of
myself to compete.
(10:24):
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(10:47):
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(11:08):
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You tell your cooks to chasefulfillment, even if it's not working
(11:50):
for you.
At what moment did you realizethat leadership meant just letting
go?
I mean, I think that's a very,a very common saying is if, you know,
if you love something, youhave to be able to let it go as well.
I think that, you know, in theline of work that I'm in, whether
someone is, you know, changingtheir, their career path or maybe
(12:13):
this isn't their career andit's kind of just a stepping stone
in their life, I need to beable to support them in whatever
they choose to, whether,whether they want to go be a tattoo
artist, which is, you know, itkind of hits home here, or, you know,
some more artwork, or there'sa lot of venues that these, these
guys and girls that work forme want to explore.
And, and those aren't thingsthat I necessarily can offer.
(12:34):
I don't, I don't have any tiesto that, that line of work.
But I want them to be happy.
And I think ultimately, evenif they want to stay in a kitchen,
if they're not happy in thekitchen that we have, I don't want
them to be there.
And it's not like a spitefulway of me saying, like, hey, if you're
not happy, get out of here.
It's a, hey, I want you tofeel happy to go to work every day.
Because, because ultimately,like, you don't, you know, you've
(12:57):
been in the business longenough to know, like, if you're doing
the same thing over and overagain and you don't like it, it's
only going to cause issuesinternally for yourself.
It's not going to, you're notgoing to produce the best work that
you can do.
And then also, like, it's notsomething you want to take home with
you as well.
Like, you need to be happywhen you go to work.
You get the best work whenyou're happy.
You'd mentioned that one ofthe cooks actually wants to get into,
(13:20):
you know, tattooing, or he'sinto it now and he wants to kind
of, you know, continue with it.
If it's me, I'm setting upshop in the restaurant.
I mean, you know, you probablyget like half of your business right
through, right through theback door.
Yeah, I'm not sure the, thehealth department's super fond on,
on, you know, blood, needlesand food.
Do it right on the line, righton the pass right there.
(13:42):
We just, you know, we set itright up.
No, no, we, we bought, we,we've done some events where we try
to get some tattooers out andthere's a lot of red tape when it
comes to that kind of stuff inthe kitchens.
When we first started Walk andTalk media, we, this is before, like
TikTok and reels and, youknow, seven second memory swiping,
you know, death scroll.
(14:02):
We actually had a show and itwas about a 30 minute show, and one
of the segments was calledKitchen Inc.
I saw an opportunity for chefsto tell their stories through what
they, you know, what they haveon their body.
I don't have any tattoos, butI respect the art of it.
And yeah, man, I think that's,I just think it's pretty cool either
way.
(14:23):
No, I think, I think thetattoo industry, the music industry
and then the service industry,I would say specifically kitchen,
part of the service industry,are all very similar.
And the people that theyattract, and you've got the outcast
or the people who don't wantto wake up early or it seems like
(14:45):
they have the same group ofpeople that hang out in those three
professions, and they're verysimilar, whether there's some crossover
or not or, you know, but it iskind of cool to see that night.
You know, I've got sometattoos, and I love tattoos.
We just hopefully can get somemore with.
Coming up.
Imagine this lineup.
A barber, a chef, and.
(15:05):
And a tattoo artist.
You don't know who's who.
You wouldn't be able to do well.
That's the chef, that's thebarber, and that's the tattoo.
Everybody looks the same, andthey all.
And they all have aprons onand, you know, tattoos everywhere.
So there's no distinguishing.
You never know.
I don't know who's cooking myomelette tomorrow morning, but, you
know, it's going.
To, you know, I'm going to have.
A sweet fade, too.
What can I tell you?
And there's probably somelineups that, you know, the barber
(15:26):
is going to work in a kitchen.
At the end of the day, like,it's cross just crossing over.
So building a kitchen from afood truck.
From a truck.
What's something that you'velearned working in these tight quarters
that kind of shaped how you'llrun your new kitchen at Keel?
Um, yeah.
So, you know, the kitchen thatwe have right now, it's.
(15:47):
It's very tight and it's, youknow, small and hot, and we produce
so much out of.
Out of what we have.
So, like, it's incredible.
And I try to remind the staff,like, this is not, you know, some
of them that haven't worked inother kitchens, this is their first
one.
I try to remind them, like,hey, what you guys are doing is amazing
because, you know, Carrabba'swill run, you know, it's.
(16:10):
It's local and it's pious,kind of.
So they run twice as manystaff, and their kitchen is twice
as big, and they're doing lessnumbers than us.
So it's like, hey, man, we're.
We're knocking stuff out with less.
You know, we're in the processof building the kitchen, and, you
know, obviously there's some,you know, delays with the county
and the state, you know, allthe building and all that stuff,
(16:30):
that's way above my pay grade.
But I think that the fact thatwe are able to do this out of the
kitchen that we have now willonly make the next kitchen better,
because they already.
They already can handle it.
So now we're giving them moretools to execute different items
and better items in My opinion.
(16:50):
And they're not going to feelthe stress of it because they've
got more things to help them with.
You know, we can only fitseven in our kitchen comfortably.
Know if I have a kitchen thatcan fit 10, that's way less work
and way more time that peoplecan actually spend on their dishes
to make them really, really,really popping.
Were you at Keel when thesmall truck was there?
(17:12):
No, that was Kenny's truck.
Kenny.
Kenny still works there.
He's one of my older guys andhe's a prep guy.
He's part time now, but he wasa chef when the whole truck.
So I've heard some horror stories.
And, you know, he, I give, Igive Kenny a lot of props of, you
know, making things work when,when sometimes it was not easy.
(17:32):
So as you're expanding Keelinto this new frontier of food, how
do you create dishes thatcomplement wine and still work for
a team of 19 year olds?
It's a high volume.
You guys are doing a lot of volume.
You're busy.
You got kids in there.
Mean, that's the, that's thenature of the industry.
Yeah.
(17:53):
How are you dealing with that?
Um, I think, I think just the,the mentorship of it where, you know,
I can explain.
They can obviously eat thefood that we're producing and they
can, they can see, you know,what, what's going with what, you
know, obviously they can'tdrink the wine because they're not
21.
Some of them aren't.
Some of them are.
But I think that having the,the literature available to them,
(18:15):
which, you know, we've hadexcellent folks front of house employees,
and Andrew, our president ofoperations up front is, is amazing
with explaining things to, youknow, to even me where I don't, you
know, I don't drink a wholelot, so sometimes he might have to
fill me in on some things.
And, and, and I think that's,that's how you make it a very successful
kitchen by giving them theopportunity to learn these things
(18:37):
and then implement it.
When it, when it comes down toit, I think the, the just having
the knowledge and giving it tothem, making sure that if they have
questions, we have that answers.
Clay and Carmen have done whata job on that place.
I mean, it was always cool,but now it's like the place to be.
It's a completely differentvibe and feel.
(19:01):
And I don't think thatthere's, I don't even think that
the ceiling is even close tobeing scratched yet.
Like there's no.
The certain, like there'sstill so much more room to grow.
Keel.
Yeah, no, I completely agree.
Clay and Carmen do a greatjob, and they're, you know, they're.
They're always close by if weneed them.
(19:22):
You know, Wendy is our CEO aswell, and they do a great job of.
Of keeping me on my toes andkeeping me busy whether.
Whether we have a privatedinner or, you know, we have harvest
days every single weekend inOctober where they're, you know,
at one point when the Rayswere in the playoffs, I was using
this as an example of, hey, wehad more people on our property than
(19:42):
the Rays at their baseball game.
You know, then maybe.
I don't know if that's a veryhigh bar to set.
You know, I love the racemyself, but, you know, I think we
had over 5,000, 6,000 peopleon one weekend.
And.
And that just says.
Says a lot about what we'redoing, whether, you know, we're not
just a restaurant, we're notjust a winery.
We're a place to bring yourfamily and enjoy yourself.
I mean, listen, you're hittingmore home runs than they are.
(20:04):
That's all I'm saying.
Well, yeah, currently, wherethey're out, so, you know, there's
always next year.
You know what I'm saying?
And by the way, Wendy is.
She's my.
That's my girl.
She is phenomenal.
And like, the workload and thethings that she's like, she's accomplished
a lot over there, too.
Hats off to Wendy.
She's.
She's terrific.
Yeah, no, I think I, you know, just.
(20:24):
I think everybody that we haveis in the right position to where
they need to be for us to allbe successful.
I think I heard there was aScorsese quote.
Not that I'm a huge Scorsesefan, but, you know, they're asking
him, like, you know, questionsabout how he.
How he does his movies.
And it's, It's.
It, you know, I hire the rightpeople for the right job.
(20:45):
He's like, I. I can do Lights,but I'm not the best person at Lights.
So I'm going to hire the bestperson at Lights, and I'm going to
do my job the best of my abilities.
And I feel like that's a verysimilar thing in the restaurant industry
where, like, you know, I. I'm not.
I'm.
Okay.
I love being in the front house.
Just, you know, I love me inthe kitchen, but I love being the
front house, too, you know, totalk to guys.
Am I the best?
(21:05):
No, we have the best in theFront and that's why I'm in the back,
because I'm the best in the back.
And we have everybody in theposition that they need to be to
win.
Put your quarterback ondefense because you need them throwing
the ball.
You've talked aboutpretentiousness and trend inflation.
What's the line betweenpushing creativity and losing authenticity.
Yeah, I think that there's anovercorrection in terms of pretentiousness
(21:29):
where people kind of sticktheir nose up at things.
You know, I was, we weretalking earlier about like, I love
Taco Bell.
Like, you know, if I, if I goto some of these, you know, big time
chefs or you know, the onesthat are serving nice Michelin star
meals, like they're pro.
I would assume that they'renot going to Taco Bell as often as
I am.
(21:49):
But, you know, I don't know.
They are probably as bad orworse as what we, where we are in
our levels.
Yeah, yeah.
Because the pressure.
So like I, I could, I couldappreciate this and I can, I can
totally add to this.
I was a high performingsalesperson and sales management.
(22:12):
Right.
In sales management.
And the more pressure and themore growth that you're looking for
and the more people that youemploy and the more bars and goals
that are there, the morestress there is.
I'm a stress eater.
So for me, I'm driving around,it's easy for me to hit a drive through.
I'm going to eat it rightthere in the parking lot and I'm
(22:33):
going to stuff myself.
And that's.
I've done it.
I've done this forever.
I think I have a hold of it now.
I think I've gotten control of that.
But, you know, I get it.
Like, I understand.
And there's nothing sweeterthan hitting a drive through.
It just, it's so satisfying.
I know it's garbage food.
I know that there's chemicals.
(22:53):
I know all of that.
But why, but it kind of hitson my point.
Why is it, why is it garbage food?
Just in the sense ofhealthiness as.
You'Re referring to, or whenbusiness decided to put all efforts
into having shelf life onproduct, that's when all of the chemicals
(23:14):
started getting put into whatwe eat.
Obviously, when you're talkingabout scaling and you're talking
about, let's say, you know,the golden arches.
Right.
How many thousands ofrestaurants are there?
Right.
Their locations areeverywhere, all over the world.
You have to have consistencyand you need to be in.
It needs to be done in a waywhere it's so scalable that means
(23:38):
they have to, they figured outways to extend for the shelf life
for these products and thatgoes into grocery stores and alike,
all of it.
So for me, I get it.
I understand profitability, Iunderstand scaling, I understand
all of that.
Is it bad?
I don't know.
(24:00):
I've been eating this stuffsince at least 15 on my own after
I got my first job.
Before that I never ate,hardly ever had fast food.
It was always home cooked meals.
Know, I'm very, I was veryblessed with, with my family and
the cooking, but Itransitioned into fast food at 15
years old and I never looked back.
(24:21):
So we'll see.
I'm, I'm 51.
If I can get to 80, then youknow what, maybe it wasn't so bad
after all.
I mean, I think, I think it's,it, it's not healthy for you.
But I, I, I never classifyanything that I, that I eat or ingest
as garbage food because liketo me I really like it.
Like it's not garbage to me.
(24:42):
Like it's delicious.
And I think that's where, likemaybe the, the terminology I think
is different between the twoof us.
Where, you know, I, maybethat's why I say pretentiousness.
Like if it's good.
I don't, it doesn't matter tome if it's, if it's cheap or if a
kid made it or an adult, likeit's across the line.
It's just, that's my standard,don't get me twisted.
(25:04):
I, I love eating the foodbecause it tastes good.
And people who say that itdoesn't, they don't know what they're
talking about.
And that's the truth.
The problem is what's in it.
That's when I say garbage.
Not, not flavor profiles or ifit's satisfying or whatever.
No, it's, it's just not healthy.
And I know that if I were to,you know, there was a time when I
(25:28):
would eat three times, fourtimes a week, you know, a lot each
day.
Right.
I saw in real time, fast time,how much weight you can put on by
doing that.
It's simply not healthy.
But that's not the point.
It's delicious.
And it used to be inexpensive.
(25:49):
Now I mean, you're spending 15or $20 for a stupid little thing
and you don't even get full on.
Yeah, no, I, that's where kindof, where does fully circle back
to the original question is,you know, pretentiousness in, in
the food or the profitabilityLike, I.
To me, it is whether it'sexpensive food or cheap food, if
it's good and it makes mehappy, that's kind of where I. I
(26:12):
hold my bar and my standard,you know, if food.
Food makes me happy.
And too, what you said, thatis stress eating.
Like, there's a reason whypeople do stress heat.
It's because that is a comfort.
You know, that's why the termcomfort food is around.
And food is.
Is something that providesone, you know, nutrition or substance,
but also, like, emotional,unfortunately, it's emotionally supportive
(26:34):
sometimes where you can have,you know, food that reminds you of
your childhood and that makesyou feel better.
Or you, you know, if your mompassed away and you are eating black
beans and rice or whatever,you know, that that reminds you of
her, and that's going to giveyou nourishment not just for your
body, but for, like, your soul.
That's a major truth bomb.
How do you catch yourself fromgetting too comfortable?
(26:57):
You've mentioned thatcomplacency kills creativity.
I try not to.
I usually set standards andtimelines on places that I want to
be at.
Whether it's physically at orif I'm staying at one spot and doing
the same thing over and overand over again, it's either got to
(27:17):
get better or change.
Whether we're changing themenu or we're creating a whole different
style or an idea, it's something.
It just has to change.
So we are not doing the samething over and over again.
Once I feel like I'm doing thesame thing over and over again, it's
not bringing me joy, then Iknow I can't be bringing joy to other
people through my food becauseI'm not experiencing that.
(27:40):
And I think ultimately, like,selfishly, everything is revolving
around me when it comes to my cooking.
So if I don't have that, youknow, quote, unquote, love in my
dish, I don't really feel likethe customer is going to get it.
And if I'm not providing lovethrough the food, then, Then.
Then they might as well go tothe Taco Bell's and the McDonald's.
Like, that's, you know, it'sgood food and there's no love in
(28:02):
it.
It's just getting what you get.
Like, I need to providesomething more than just, you know,
meat and bread or, you know,whatever dish I'm doing has got to
be inspired.
Otherwise, I don't want to bedoing what I'm doing because I'm
not happy.
And I feel like we haven'tGotten to that point where I'm not
happy, but, like, I want tomake sure that I still stay on par
with just growing and learningand then doing cool stuff.
(28:23):
And that's the cool thingabout my progression, is there's
so much opportunity to keeplearning and doing cool things that
I don't see it ever runningout anytime soon.
One of the biggest killers iswhen leadership loses their vision,
loses their momentum, losestheir drive, because that trickles
down to the rest of the team,to its, you know, smallest denominator.
(28:48):
No, hey, that's a thousand percent.
You know, the.
The standard that I try to,you know, show my staff is, you know,
I'm here, you know, on thebusiest days of the week where we're
getting our, you know, buttkicked in or, you know, our.
We have so many tickets on our screen.
Like, I am in the middle.
I am directing the team.
Like, I am here in thetrenches with you because.
(29:10):
Because I have to set thatexample of, like, hey, I'm here with
you guys, making sure thatyou're good, because I know if I
have your back, you're goingto have my back.
And I really, really feel thatmentality has to be shared amongst
every restaurant.
You know, I don't want to be achef that's walking around my clipboard
taking orders and, you know,barking orders and pointing and people
doing stuff like, I'm choppingonions, I'm, you know, dropping the
(29:34):
fryer or boiling it out.
Like, at no point in mycareer, whether I was just starting
out to where I'm at right now,like, I was the lowest and I'm the
highest right now.
Like, I'm still.
I'm still dropping fryers, andI'm still boiling them out or doing
the flat top if I need to.
Like, there's no.
You can't be above anythingbecause then once other people think
you're above something,they're not going to respect you
(29:55):
enough to where they're goingto give you what they need to give
you.
Puerto Rican and Lebanese roots.
Do you see these flavorssneaking into your menu subconsciously,
or do you kind of keep themseparate by design?
I don't think they sneak in,but I don't think I'm, like, purposely
not doing it.
I just don't.
(30:15):
Those are things that I wouldlike to explore.
I've done poor, like, Cuban food.
I. I worked at a Cubansandwich shop, and we did a lot of
Cuban inspired food.
And just being a chef inFlorida in general, I. I have a decent
background in that style of Food.
But I like.
I like to explore differentthings where I don't know.
You know, I'm really super, ifyou ask anybody, I'm super into Asian
(30:36):
and Mexican cuisine.
And that's kind of like my wheelhouse.
Doesn't mean I don't likecooking some African food every now
and then or.
Or figuring out, you know, whydo, you know, the Europeans do things
this way, the French cooking.
Like, I've.
I've got a lot of tools acrossthe board.
I don't think.
I don't think I'm a master ofany cuisine per se.
Like, I wouldn't say, like,Andy is a blah, blah chef, but I
(30:59):
just want to be good at everything.
So I have versatility.
And I don't know enough aboutLebanese cuisine.
You know, my.
My father never really cookedtoo many Lebanese dishes because
he didn't know enough about it either.
So, like, it's not like Icould say, hey, you know, my.
My heritage, I'm the expert at.
I like, there's a lot ofthings about my heritage I don't
know, and that's fine.
(31:19):
But I'm also super quick toadmit, like, I would love to learn
more, and that eventually will happen.
I need to connect you withRona Bashur.
She's a baker, and she'sactually Lebanese, Puerto Rican as
well.
It seems like that's a popular blend.
And I don't.
I don't know why.
Like, I know a lot of Lebanesepeople that are married to Puerto
Rican people.
(31:40):
Strangely, I had never heardthat before in my life until coming
to Tampa.
Yeah, I don't.
That.
I'm not.
I'm not exactly sure, but I dosee it a lot.
I feel like Ronan's awesome,sweetest woman on the planet, Rona's
Cookies and More is her company.
And she's a baker.
She does a terrific job.
Kiehl isn't going anywhereanytime soon.
It's a staple now in our area here.
(32:03):
In the spirit of mentorshipand longevity, what do you want your
cooks to take away from yourkitchen besides technique?
I mean, there's life lessonsand there's all sorts of things.
And when you're at a placelike Keele that is having this larger
appeal now that's gettingoutside of Plant City, that's getting
(32:27):
outside of their territory.
What life lessons do you wantthese kids to leave with?
I think we kind of touched onit a little bit before is we want
to make sure that our guys arehappy and they're doing what they
love, whether it's with us or not.
But I also want to explain tothem, you know, the.
(32:47):
The importance of working hardand making the extra effort, because
across the board, whetheryou're cooking or you're, you know,
taking the trash out orthere's so many professions that
every profession is.
If you.
The harder you work, thebetter you're going to get, and the
more.
The more willing you are tomake yourself uncomfortable and do
(33:10):
the things that.
That nobody else wants to do,that's going to give you a giant
leg up on other people.
And I feel like that's howI've gotten.
Where I've gone is just, youknow, I don't typically turn things
down, and I just want to doeverything I can to.
To get the job done.
And I think that sometimespeople, you know, laziness can set
in or, you know, complacency.
You know, you got to make surethat everybody at all times is always
(33:33):
giving 110.
And it's kind of cliche, butit's just.
It is the truth.
The harder you work, the moreit's going to benefit you.
When the new kitchen opens,what's the dish that's going to define
the next chapter for you?
There's got to be one thatsays, hey, this is who we are now.
No, the terminology that I'vebeen throwing around is elevated
(33:55):
redneck.
I want to have these countryroots of something that the local
demographic of our Plant Cityand Dover and Sefner, you know, there's.
That demographic is going tobe different than the St. Pete and
Clearwater and even Orlando crew.
Like, there's different.
You know, it doesn't make thembad or it's just different.
(34:15):
You know, these guys love home cooking.
And, you know, one of thestaples in Plant City is, like, Fred's
like that.
It's very successful becausethey do what they do, and they do
it well.
The barbecue and the Mac andcheeses and the collard greens and
those things are great.
I eat them all the time.
But how do I turn thosefamiliar ideas into something that
excites me?
(34:36):
And like, we did a dish today,whether you did a country bibimbap,
there's gonna be a heavierinfluence of barbecue and smoked
meats moving forward.
Hopefully that, first of all,that dish should be on the menu.
Keel, Clay, Wendy, everybody.
If you're listening to this,put that dish on the menu.
(34:58):
Change the name, but put thedish on the menu.
I mean, you're talking abouteggs, mushrooms.
You're talking about barbecue pork.
It's fantastic.
My God, it was fantastic.
Thank you.
All right, chef, this was yourfirst time doing media.
Did you think the vibe herewas pretentious?
(35:19):
Do you think it was laid back?
Talk a little bit about yourday today.
No, no, it was definitely not.
Neither of those things.
I don't, I don't think thatyou guys would be doing a good job
if, if it was.
I think you, you make peoplefeel comfortable, and I certainly
felt comfortable as soon as Icame in.
Obviously, you know, speakingand, and, you know, almost having
(35:39):
somewhat of a speech atcertain points, like, you know, I'm
gonna fumble over my words or,you know, have anxiety and, and I
think those are just, thoseare things that just come with, with
practice and, and eventually,hopefully I'll get better at them.
But, you know, ultimately Ithink it was a super fun experience
and we did, we did some fun things.
And obviously the pictures andthe videos are, you know, from what
(36:00):
I've seen, look amazing.
So I'm super excited about that.
Cause that's just cool stuffthat I can post and share with my
friends and family.
Isn't media needed now for,for the food industry?
Oh, it's absolutely.
If you don't, then, like, ifyou don't have an Instagram or a
Facebook or, you know, even Idon't have TikTok, I kind of, I kind
of look down on TikTok myself,but, but I understand the value in
(36:20):
it.
Those things are just, youknow, you have to have them, you
know, because, you know, Idon't, I don't know how your kids
are younger, but like, youknow, if I say six, seven, like,
you know, that's going todrive the kids crazy.
And I'm sure, like therestaurant, the restaurant industry
has to lean into these, thesefads and the trends because that's
(36:41):
what's going to attract thepeople to come in.
But is this a fad or a trend?
I think cameras and video.
Well, no, no, no.
But using the fads and thetrend through the media, you know,
the media is.
The media's kind of alwaysbeen there but not utilized as much
as it should.
That's why, you know, when thelast time you worked in a restaurant,
like, was what did you have a salary?
(37:03):
Salary?
Social media, like manager?
Like, dude, the last time Iworked in a restaurant, I mean, there
were.
I don't even know what to.
Was there social media?
There was, There wasn't even MySpace.
Yeah.
Nothing existed.
There was no proo.
Anything.
Like, even, like, you're luckyif your restaurant had cameras outside.
(37:24):
Like, you know what I mean?
Like it didn't exist.
Yeah, your, your Googlereviews were just on pieces of paper
and turning them in and therewas no Google.
Yeah, well, that's what I mean.
Like there's no way to get the feedback.
But I think that.
Wait a minute, just to putthis in perspective, right?
And a lot of things don't change.
Like the technology changesand the trends might change a little
(37:45):
bit, but the industry itself,the mechanics of it doesn't change.
We didn't have the Internet,it was hardly there.
Okay, so it was newspapers, itwas TV and that's really what you
had.
Radio, obviously, but that's it.
There was no like, oh, I'mgonna directions, a map or something
(38:07):
like that.
No, it was like paper maps, man.
But to your point, that thatwas me.
That's.
That is media as well just did that.
But it's not.
But it isn't.
It isn't today's media.
It's.
Everything is predicated on.
If you don't have.
If I can't listen, I do this myself.
If I look up a company andthere's no Instagram, I'm not interested
anymore.
What are you hiding?
(38:28):
Or you're not there yet, orit's, you're not good, you're, you
know, you're fake or whatever.
You have to have a presence.
I don't even care about yourwebsite anymore.
It doesn't even matter.
What are your socials?
Let me see.
I want to get into it.
I want to see what it is.
I want to get there quick.
Let me see.
Digest and make decisions.
That's what it is.
And then I'm go see if Amazonhas it.
I don't know.
That's just the way.
That's, that's the way itworks, man.
You know what I mean?
(38:49):
Not food.
I'm just saying in general.
But no, no, 0.8.
I think that is a thousandpercent true.
The operations are still.
You still have to have goodservice, you still have to have a
good product.
You still have to have, youknow, employees that the customers
are going to want to come inand see.
You know, we've got someregulars that come in at certain
days because they want to seethat server or they want to have
(39:10):
this certain thing on aTuesday because they always do.
Like that's not going to change.
What's going to change is howdo we get the new people, the younger
crowd, the people that.
We're a winery, so alcohol isa big part of our business.
So how do we get the 19 yearold in two years when they start
drinking legally, we have ourcustomer bases, the 40 to 60, they're
(39:35):
never gonna stop coming.
I don't, I don't believe so at least.
But how do we get the peoplethat are coming up and that's gonna
be through the TikTok and theInstagram and all that crazy stuff.
There's one thing in today'sfood industry that I absolutely cannot,
I don't know how it exists forthe entire history of food and gratuity.
(39:57):
Well, the server would drop acheck and walk away and leave.
And then you figure out whatyou're going to leave under no pressure
or anything.
And you know, I mean, ifyou're not a cheapo, you leave a
good tip, right?
Or if the server was at leastdecent, you leave a good, you know,
good tip.
This whole thing with, theycome over with the device and they
(40:19):
stand over you, you know, whenthey, when they, when they drop the
check and the device andthey're waiting for you as you get
to pick, you know, 15, 18, 20,whatever, it's like, get the hell
out of here.
Don't stand over my shoulder.
Don't stand at this table.
Who taught you how to do this?
I don't know where that comesfrom, but when I was coming up, you
(40:39):
were.
The rest of the restaurantwould ostracize you if you did that.
Not to mention the customer,the guest would tell you to get the
hell out of here.
Yeah, I mean, unfortunately, Ithink that the QR menus and the,
that we use toast, the tablets and.
Hey, let me turn this around.
It's going to ask you a couple questions.
(41:00):
I know what it's going to askme, but how do we, as people in charge
of the restaurant, that's agood challenge for myself and Andrew
and anybody else that'stalking to our staff is how do we
implement these new devicesand these new things that are inevitable
they're going to happen, buthow do we utilize them to the point
where they don't feel likethey're being pressured and they
(41:22):
don't feel uncomfortable and,you know, you gotta, there's certain
ways to do things the correctway and that will make, you know,
so the older generation is notsuper feel uncomfortable where, you
know, I didn't mean to callyou the older generation, but, you
know, the, you know, thetablet, like the tablet in your face,
it's gonna happen.
So how do you, how do you makeit work where the people don't feel
(41:42):
uncomfortable about it?
Put it down and walk away.
No.
Yeah, yeah, that's that's it.
Like, but that's all part of training.
My standard fare gratuity is 20.
Like, my baseline is 20%.
And then it'll go up fromthere because, you know, you're.
You're good or not, you know, whatever.
And I still don't even golower than that typically, ever.
Even if the.
Even if the service wasn't upto standard, you know, I just.
(42:04):
Okay, you're good.
20%.
But when somebody stands infront of me and I don't do it, but
I want to, because I'm not cheap.
I want to do the lowest orother and give them, like, just to
just.
And I'm going to say, nexttime, walk away.
You get more.
I've never done that.
But to truth be told, that'sin my heart.
But I think if you.
But if you.
I think you could do that ifyou're respectful enough about it.
(42:25):
Like, hey, like, but I'm not a douchebag.
Like, but I don't think that is.
I think it is.
I. I put myself in their shoes.
And, you know, and.
And unless you have a.
If you get a server multipletimes and they're just not good,
okay, it's a different story.
And that's.
And I.
Me, just because of who I amand where I've come from, I would.
I'd pull the jam aside.
I'd be like, hey, you know,look at this.
(42:45):
But any other time, I givepeople the benefit of the doubt,
because you know what?
I have a. I have bad days allthe time, and I don't want somebody
to, you know, if.
If I do something dumb or.
Or have an attitude, and Idon't mean to.
I want somebody to judge meforever on that little happenstance.
So I give everybody the benefit.
Benefit of the doubt.
But damn, put.
(43:06):
Put down the tablet and walk away.
If you're a server and you'relistening to this, for all things
holy, put it down and walk away.
I'll.
I'll have to relay.
Relay that conversation to mystaff and.
Make sure that meeting.
Yeah, next.
Next staff meeting.
Drop that.
Drop it like a bomb.
Yeah.
I mean, my thing is making.
Making sure that we're feelingcomfortable and the guests are comfortable.
(43:28):
And I think at the end of theday, like, that's what's going to
cause the most success, andthat's what we're after.
Jeff, my man.
My main man, Andy.
Dude, you did great today, bythe way.
I just wanted you to know thatyou did fantastic.
I appreciate it.
I actually can't wait to startdoing the video on this.
It's gonna be.
It's gonna be dope.
(43:49):
How do we find you?
What's.
What's the social.
So you can look us up at KeelFarms FL on Instagram, Keel Farms
on Facebook, and I'm KillFarms, I believe is on Tick Tock
as well.
We just.
We're all.
We're everywhere.
Check us out.
We're a great place.
We do much more than just wineand food.
We're.
We're.
We're an event place.
(44:09):
Yeah.
And by the way, we did.
We were picked up by theCentral Florida Film Festival for
our Gulf Trip Tiger documentary.
And part of that was shot atKeel, uh, for the Blueberry segment.
So hats off to all of us for that.
It's pretty dope, John, as always.
You're freaking.
You're kind of a dork, I know,but I love you, man.
(44:31):
I'm only kidding.
All right, we are out.
You've just stepped inside theWalk and Talk podcast, number one
in the nation for food lovers,chefs and storytellers.
I'm Carl Fiadini, your host,shining a light on the flavor, the
hustle, and the heart of the industry.
We're the official podcast forthe New York, California and Florida
restaurant shows, the PizzaTomorrow Summit, the US Culinary
Open at Napham, and the NorthAmerican media platform for the Burnt
(01:02):
Chef project, recorded at IbisImages Studios, where food photography
comes alive and I get thefirst bite.
Find out more info@thewalkandtalk.com.
Today we're sitting down withChef Andy Nassar of Keel and Curly.
Part chef, part builder, allheart, he's the kind of chef who
plates a dish the same way.
(01:23):
He frames a photo.
All about angles, light and balance.
From a food truck kitchen to afull winery restaurant, Andy's turning
a Florida farm into a placewhere food and wine sing together.
Walk and talk Media was on thefloor at the California Restaurant
show where we caught up withKelsey Fagan from Terra Slate, a
company that's redefining whatrestaurant menus can be.
(01:43):
Their menus are waterproof,tear proof, and sustainably made
from a single polyester basedmaterial that never cracks, frays,
or peels.
Each one is printed in a windpowered facility and built to last
for years.
Innovation that keeps yourmenus looking as sharp as your service.
We'll share a clip from thatconversation later in the episode.
Back here in Florida, ChefAndy's story is all about passion
(02:05):
over pretension.
He's mentoring young cooksthrough a shifting industry, balancing
high volume simplicity withreal creativity and keeping the soul
of cooking alive.
His philosophy is raw,reflective, and rooted.
In love for the craft.
Let's get into how we built it.
And what comes next.
Chef, welcome to the program.
Hey, thanks for having me.
(02:27):
Ah, let me tell you something.
I'm happy.
I'm super happy.
And that's because I got fed.
Well today.
You did phenomenal.
Thank you.
Heard that.
How was it for you today?
No, it was fun.
I don't do a lot of this typestuff, so it was nice to get out
(02:48):
of the kitchen and, and dosome fun things and stuff that I
wouldn't normally do everysingle day.
And then also just hanging outwith you guys, talking about stuff
that you, I guess, kind ofrelate to because you guys have been
in the industry as well.
Isn't it interesting to bedoing industry stuff but surrounded
by lights, cameras,microphones, all the action?
(03:13):
No.
Yeah, it was definitely different.
And it's fun because, youknow, the Conversations that we're
having earlier of like, hey,slow it down a little bit.
I'm like, well, we gotta, yougotta hurry up.
The ticket times are running late.
Like, you know, my mindset isnot filming as, as much as you guys
are, so I'm trying to adjust alittle bit to that.
And then also, you know, playball and make sure that I'm not ruining
(03:34):
the shot because I'm just tooworried about doing things too fast.
I'll give you props for yourfirst time doing this.
You did terrific.
Well, thank you.
Yeah.
And the food was phenomenal.
Like, I was really.
So I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I'mgonna say my, my favorite dish was,
was definitely the, the pork,but I didn't think it was gonna be
(03:56):
because I was so happy withthe shrimp dish.
Awesome.
Yeah, the, the, the pork dishyou're talking about is we did a
little bibimbap and I try toput a little bit of a plant city
spin on it.
So, you know, some of thefermentation or the sauce work on
it was gonna be a little bitmore barbecue, you know, as leaning
and then.
(04:17):
And I think it turned outpretty well.
And yeah, a little bit ofblend from the Asian and the Southern
all mixed into one.
For those that don't know whata bibimbap is, why don't you go ahead
and.
Yeah, so it's, it's not just afunny word.
It's a Korean dish thattypically gets served in like a little
hot pot where the rice kind ofgets crispy on the bottom and then
you kind of build it on top.
(04:38):
So it's a lot of accoutrementsof sesame vegetables, pickled vegetables,
you know, fermented kimchi,you know, pork, beef, whatever kind
of what kind of we want todeal with it.
And then obviously usuallytopped off with an egg and some sauce
work.
I'm all about barbecue, and Iwant you to talk about the simple
(05:01):
barbecue sauce you made andthen get into that dish now too.
With the pork.
Yeah.
So the barbecue sauce that weput on the beemat today was going
to be a gochugang.
Barbecue sauce is super simple.
I got some gochu Kang sauce,some rice wine vinegar, a little
bit of extra heat, and thenjust a store bought.
I think we like, we use sweetbaby rays around my house, so that's
(05:22):
what I had.
And we kind of blended together.
You had a little bit of thesweet heat and you still get that
Korean fermentation a littlebit along with it.
The whole thing was amazing.
Dish two.
Dish two was going to be moqueca.
It was going to be a moqueca.
My buddy, who I've workedalongside for many years, is Brazilian.
(05:44):
So there's a lot of times inmy life working side by side with
him where I would come to workand either ask questions or, hey,
what does your mom do?
What does your grandma do,back when you used to live in Brazil?
And then I would come into thework the next day and kind of execute
that dish and kind of give himsomething fun to eat.
That reminds me of home, butalso, like, challenges myself a little
(06:05):
bit of, now I can do somethingdifferent that I've never done before.
You've said you didn't grow up struggling.
So with that being said, whatdid fuel you?
What gave you that spark to get.
Into cooking in general?
Like, I just think having thespark is just something natural that
(06:25):
comes to me.
My.
I think everybody in my familyis very hardworking.
I think what I fought, myfather kind of instilled that into
all of us, where if we'regoing to do something, we got to
do it right, we're going to doit well.
And you put all your effortinto it, and you're just not mailing
it in.
So I think that's a goodquality to have when it comes to
cooking.
And then I just feel like mostof my life, I've always kind of,
(06:46):
you know, providing a littlebit for myself.
Whether my parents are at workor they're doing something else across
the house.
I was always cooking formyself, lunch and dinner wise.
So I think it just kind oftranslated into, well, if I'm going
to do it for myself, I mightas well learn how to do it.
Well, you are not the norm.
Typically, people get intothis business because that's the
only thing available.
(07:07):
And then from that initialentry point, the passion kind of,
kind of comes into play.
But with you, you have anobsession switch and you can't turn
it off.
Yeah, no, absolutely.
I, I will go home and watch,you know, Netflix series on cooking,
(07:27):
or I'll go on YouTube andspend hours just watching other people
cook.
Whether it's, you know, a foodpodcaster, blogger, you know, with
Matty Matheson, or bingingwith Babish like the famous guys.
Or it could just be like, youknow, somebody's.
Somebody's aunt at home that'sgot 10 views on their.
On their video.
Like, I'm, I'm.
I'm looking at everything andtrying to learn as much as I can,
(07:48):
because to me, learning is Fun.
I never really found thatinterest in school when I was in
high school or middle school,but it started sparking on me when
I went to culinary school of,hey, there's a lot of stuff I don't
know, and I would like to.
And I think that's kind ofwhere, ever since then, my life has
just translated me to learningmore and trying to be better at what
I'm doing.
Yeah, but what keeps that firegoing for you?
(08:13):
Just natural competitiveness,I guess.
I've always played sports, andI like to be good at what I do.
If I'm going to do something,I want to be the best.
And then, you know, in termsof a career, I want to be successful
in my career, so my family andmy kids have a better opportunity.
But who are you competing with?
Myself, I'm not.
I'm not worried about anybody else.
So when I have 25 years infood service sales.
(08:36):
Right, right.
I've always.
And I don't know if this wasright or wrong or whatever, but I
always had a secret person orcompany that I would secretly target,
and it was my motivation.
I wouldn't tell a soul.
Nobody knew about that person,the company, whatever.
It was only for me.
(08:57):
And that.
That was my propulsion, partof my propulsion, because I love
the industry, and I likeworking with chefs, and I love going
to new establishments and allof that.
But in order to stay motivatedin a sales capacity, I needed to
find somebody to target.
You don't have that at all.
(09:18):
No, I understand what you're saying.
I definitely get that.
It's kind of like the rivalryaspect of you want to have somebody
that's challenging and pushingyou just so you can keep up with.
I've always kind of felt likeI was, you know, whether it's because
of the location that I've beenat cooking, you know, that there's
not really anyonespecifically, that I feel like is
(09:40):
a rival with me because it'skind of.
I've been on an island.
Well, you know, I've got somefriends in the business that I always
try to be as good, if notbetter than them, but I don't necessarily
consider it a rivalry.
And more of, like, there's alot of times where we'll bounce off
ideas of each other, and it'slike, hey, this would be really cool.
Or, you know, he's my buddyRandy, who owns a food truck, and
he'll send me his menu beforehe executes it, and he's like, look
(10:02):
at this cool thing.
It's not like, hey, I want tobe better than him.
But it's like we have anappreciation for each other and we
understand because we're inthe same line of work.
But I don't, I feel like, Ifeel like I don't need another person.
I understand why that thatwould be a scenario in some people.
I just feel like I, you know,I've got enough personalities of
myself to compete.
(10:24):
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We want to bring your menu'svision to life.
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Put it to the test and it'llcome back looking good as new.
You tell your cooks to chasefulfillment, even if it's not working
(11:50):
for you.
At what moment did you realizethat leadership meant just letting
go?
I mean, I think that's a very,a very common saying is if, you know,
if you love something, youhave to be able to let it go as well.
I think that, you know, in theline of work that I'm in, whether
someone is, you know, changingtheir, their career path or maybe
(12:13):
this isn't their career andit's kind of just a stepping stone
in their life, I need to beable to support them in whatever
they choose to, whether,whether they want to go be a tattoo
artist, which is, you know, itkind of hits home here, or, you know,
some more artwork, or there'sa lot of venues that these, these
guys and girls that work forme want to explore.
And, and those aren't thingsthat I necessarily can offer.
(12:34):
I don't, I don't have any tiesto that, that line of work.
But I want them to be happy.
And I think ultimately, evenif they want to stay in a kitchen,
if they're not happy in thekitchen that we have, I don't want
them to be there.
And it's not like a spitefulway of me saying, like, hey, if you're
not happy, get out of here.
It's a, hey, I want you tofeel happy to go to work every day.
Because, because ultimately,like, you don't, you know, you've
(12:57):
been in the business longenough to know, like, if you're doing
the same thing over and overagain and you don't like it, it's
only going to cause issuesinternally for yourself.
It's not going to, you're notgoing to produce the best work that
you can do.
And then also, like, it's notsomething you want to take home with
you as well.
Like, you need to be happywhen you go to work.
You get the best work whenyou're happy.
You'd mentioned that one ofthe cooks actually wants to get into,
(13:20):
you know, tattooing, or he'sinto it now and he wants to kind
of, you know, continue with it.
If it's me, I'm setting upshop in the restaurant.
I mean, you know, you probablyget like half of your business right
through, right through theback door.
Yeah, I'm not sure the, thehealth department's super fond on,
on, you know, blood, needlesand food.
Do it right on the line, righton the pass right there.
(13:42):
We just, you know, we set itright up.
No, no, we, we bought, we,we've done some events where we try
to get some tattooers out andthere's a lot of red tape when it
comes to that kind of stuff inthe kitchens.
When we first started Walk andTalk media, we, this is before, like
TikTok and reels and, youknow, seven second memory swiping,
you know, death scroll.
(14:02):
We actually had a show and itwas about a 30 minute show, and one
of the segments was calledKitchen Inc.
I saw an opportunity for chefsto tell their stories through what
they, you know, what they haveon their body.
I don't have any tattoos, butI respect the art of it.
And yeah, man, I think that's,I just think it's pretty cool either
way.
(14:23):
No, I think, I think thetattoo industry, the music industry
and then the service industry,I would say specifically kitchen,
part of the service industry,are all very similar.
And the people that theyattract, and you've got the outcast
or the people who don't wantto wake up early or it seems like
(14:45):
they have the same group ofpeople that hang out in those three
professions, and they're verysimilar, whether there's some crossover
or not or, you know, but it iskind of cool to see that night.
You know, I've got sometattoos, and I love tattoos.
We just hopefully can get somemore with.
Coming up.
Imagine this lineup.
A barber, a chef, and.
(15:05):
And a tattoo artist.
You don't know who's who.
You wouldn't be able to do well.
That's the chef, that's thebarber, and that's the tattoo.
Everybody looks the same, andthey all.
And they all have aprons onand, you know, tattoos everywhere.
So there's no distinguishing.
You never know.
I don't know who's cooking myomelette tomorrow morning, but, you
know, it's going.
To, you know, I'm going to have.
A sweet fade, too.
What can I tell you?
And there's probably somelineups that, you know, the barber
(15:26):
is going to work in a kitchen.
At the end of the day, like,it's cross just crossing over.
So building a kitchen from afood truck.
From a truck.
What's something that you'velearned working in these tight quarters
that kind of shaped how you'llrun your new kitchen at Keel?
Um, yeah.
So, you know, the kitchen thatwe have right now, it's.
(15:47):
It's very tight and it's, youknow, small and hot, and we produce
so much out of.
Out of what we have.
So, like, it's incredible.
And I try to remind the staff,like, this is not, you know, some
of them that haven't worked inother kitchens, this is their first
one.
I try to remind them, like,hey, what you guys are doing is amazing
because, you know, Carrabba'swill run, you know, it's.
(16:10):
It's local and it's pious,kind of.
So they run twice as manystaff, and their kitchen is twice
as big, and they're doing lessnumbers than us.
So it's like, hey, man, we're.
We're knocking stuff out with less.
You know, we're in the processof building the kitchen, and, you
know, obviously there's some,you know, delays with the county
and the state, you know, allthe building and all that stuff,
(16:30):
that's way above my pay grade.
But I think that the fact thatwe are able to do this out of the
kitchen that we have now willonly make the next kitchen better,
because they already.
They already can handle it.
So now we're giving them moretools to execute different items
and better items in My opinion.
(16:50):
And they're not going to feelthe stress of it because they've
got more things to help them with.
You know, we can only fitseven in our kitchen comfortably.
Know if I have a kitchen thatcan fit 10, that's way less work
and way more time that peoplecan actually spend on their dishes
to make them really, really,really popping.
Were you at Keel when thesmall truck was there?
(17:12):
No, that was Kenny's truck.
Kenny.
Kenny still works there.
He's one of my older guys andhe's a prep guy.
He's part time now, but he wasa chef when the whole truck.
So I've heard some horror stories.
And, you know, he, I give, Igive Kenny a lot of props of, you
know, making things work when,when sometimes it was not easy.
(17:32):
So as you're expanding Keelinto this new frontier of food, how
do you create dishes thatcomplement wine and still work for
a team of 19 year olds?
It's a high volume.
You guys are doing a lot of volume.
You're busy.
You got kids in there.
Mean, that's the, that's thenature of the industry.
Yeah.
(17:53):
How are you dealing with that?
Um, I think, I think just the,the mentorship of it where, you know,
I can explain.
They can obviously eat thefood that we're producing and they
can, they can see, you know,what, what's going with what, you
know, obviously they can'tdrink the wine because they're not
21.
Some of them aren't.
Some of them are.
But I think that having the,the literature available to them,
(18:15):
which, you know, we've hadexcellent folks front of house employees,
and Andrew, our president ofoperations up front is, is amazing
with explaining things to, youknow, to even me where I don't, you
know, I don't drink a wholelot, so sometimes he might have to
fill me in on some things.
And, and, and I think that's,that's how you make it a very successful
kitchen by giving them theopportunity to learn these things
(18:37):
and then implement it.
When it, when it comes down toit, I think the, the just having
the knowledge and giving it tothem, making sure that if they have
questions, we have that answers.
Clay and Carmen have done whata job on that place.
I mean, it was always cool,but now it's like the place to be.
It's a completely differentvibe and feel.
(19:01):
And I don't think thatthere's, I don't even think that
the ceiling is even close tobeing scratched yet.
Like there's no.
The certain, like there'sstill so much more room to grow.
Keel.
Yeah, no, I completely agree.
Clay and Carmen do a greatjob, and they're, you know, they're.
They're always close by if weneed them.
(19:22):
You know, Wendy is our CEO aswell, and they do a great job of.
Of keeping me on my toes andkeeping me busy whether.
Whether we have a privatedinner or, you know, we have harvest
days every single weekend inOctober where they're, you know,
at one point when the Rayswere in the playoffs, I was using
this as an example of, hey, wehad more people on our property than
(19:42):
the Rays at their baseball game.
You know, then maybe.
I don't know if that's a veryhigh bar to set.
You know, I love the racemyself, but, you know, I think we
had over 5,000, 6,000 peopleon one weekend.
And.
And that just says.
Says a lot about what we'redoing, whether, you know, we're not
just a restaurant, we're notjust a winery.
We're a place to bring yourfamily and enjoy yourself.
I mean, listen, you're hittingmore home runs than they are.
(20:04):
That's all I'm saying.
Well, yeah, currently, wherethey're out, so, you know, there's
always next year.
You know what I'm saying?
And by the way, Wendy is.
She's my.
That's my girl.
She is phenomenal.
And like, the workload and thethings that she's like, she's accomplished
a lot over there, too.
Hats off to Wendy.
She's.
She's terrific.
Yeah, no, I think I, you know, just.
(20:24):
I think everybody that we haveis in the right position to where
they need to be for us to allbe successful.
I think I heard there was aScorsese quote.
Not that I'm a huge Scorsesefan, but, you know, they're asking
him, like, you know, questionsabout how he.
How he does his movies.
And it's, It's.
It, you know, I hire the rightpeople for the right job.
(20:45):
He's like, I. I can do Lights,but I'm not the best person at Lights.
So I'm going to hire the bestperson at Lights, and I'm going to
do my job the best of my abilities.
And I feel like that's a verysimilar thing in the restaurant industry
where, like, you know, I. I'm not.
I'm.
Okay.
I love being in the front house.
Just, you know, I love me inthe kitchen, but I love being the
front house, too, you know, totalk to guys.
Am I the best?
(21:05):
No, we have the best in theFront and that's why I'm in the back,
because I'm the best in the back.
And we have everybody in theposition that they need to be to
win.
Put your quarterback ondefense because you need them throwing
the ball.
You've talked aboutpretentiousness and trend inflation.
What's the line betweenpushing creativity and losing authenticity.
Yeah, I think that there's anovercorrection in terms of pretentiousness
(21:29):
where people kind of sticktheir nose up at things.
You know, I was, we weretalking earlier about like, I love
Taco Bell.
Like, you know, if I, if I goto some of these, you know, big time
chefs or you know, the onesthat are serving nice Michelin star
meals, like they're pro.
I would assume that they'renot going to Taco Bell as often as
I am.
(21:49):
But, you know, I don't know.
They are probably as bad orworse as what we, where we are in
our levels.
Yeah, yeah.
Because the pressure.
So like I, I could, I couldappreciate this and I can, I can
totally add to this.
I was a high performingsalesperson and sales management.
(22:12):
Right.
In sales management.
And the more pressure and themore growth that you're looking for
and the more people that youemploy and the more bars and goals
that are there, the morestress there is.
I'm a stress eater.
So for me, I'm driving around,it's easy for me to hit a drive through.
I'm going to eat it rightthere in the parking lot and I'm
(22:33):
going to stuff myself.
And that's.
I've done it.
I've done this forever.
I think I have a hold of it now.
I think I've gotten control of that.
But, you know, I get it.
Like, I understand.
And there's nothing sweeterthan hitting a drive through.
It just, it's so satisfying.
I know it's garbage food.
I know that there's chemicals.
(22:53):
I know all of that.
But why, but it kind of hitson my point.
Why is it, why is it garbage food?
Just in the sense ofhealthiness as.
You'Re referring to, or whenbusiness decided to put all efforts
into having shelf life onproduct, that's when all of the chemicals
(23:14):
started getting put into whatwe eat.
Obviously, when you're talkingabout scaling and you're talking
about, let's say, you know,the golden arches.
Right.
How many thousands ofrestaurants are there?
Right.
Their locations areeverywhere, all over the world.
You have to have consistencyand you need to be in.
It needs to be done in a waywhere it's so scalable that means
(23:38):
they have to, they figured outways to extend for the shelf life
for these products and thatgoes into grocery stores and alike,
all of it.
So for me, I get it.
I understand profitability, Iunderstand scaling, I understand
all of that.
Is it bad?
I don't know.
(24:00):
I've been eating this stuffsince at least 15 on my own after
I got my first job.
Before that I never ate,hardly ever had fast food.
It was always home cooked meals.
Know, I'm very, I was veryblessed with, with my family and
the cooking, but Itransitioned into fast food at 15
years old and I never looked back.
(24:21):
So we'll see.
I'm, I'm 51.
If I can get to 80, then youknow what, maybe it wasn't so bad
after all.
I mean, I think, I think it's,it, it's not healthy for you.
But I, I, I never classifyanything that I, that I eat or ingest
as garbage food because liketo me I really like it.
Like it's not garbage to me.
(24:42):
Like it's delicious.
And I think that's where, likemaybe the, the terminology I think
is different between the twoof us.
Where, you know, I, maybethat's why I say pretentiousness.
Like if it's good.
I don't, it doesn't matter tome if it's, if it's cheap or if a
kid made it or an adult, likeit's across the line.
It's just, that's my standard,don't get me twisted.
(25:04):
I, I love eating the foodbecause it tastes good.
And people who say that itdoesn't, they don't know what they're
talking about.
And that's the truth.
The problem is what's in it.
That's when I say garbage.
Not, not flavor profiles or ifit's satisfying or whatever.
No, it's, it's just not healthy.
And I know that if I were to,you know, there was a time when I
(25:28):
would eat three times, fourtimes a week, you know, a lot each
day.
Right.
I saw in real time, fast time,how much weight you can put on by
doing that.
It's simply not healthy.
But that's not the point.
It's delicious.
And it used to be inexpensive.
(25:49):
Now I mean, you're spending 15or $20 for a stupid little thing
and you don't even get full on.
Yeah, no, I, that's where kindof, where does fully circle back
to the original question is,you know, pretentiousness in, in
the food or the profitabilityLike, I.
To me, it is whether it'sexpensive food or cheap food, if
it's good and it makes mehappy, that's kind of where I. I
(26:12):
hold my bar and my standard,you know, if food.
Food makes me happy.
And too, what you said, thatis stress eating.
Like, there's a reason whypeople do stress heat.
It's because that is a comfort.
You know, that's why the termcomfort food is around.
And food is.
Is something that providesone, you know, nutrition or substance,
but also, like, emotional,unfortunately, it's emotionally supportive
(26:34):
sometimes where you can have,you know, food that reminds you of
your childhood and that makesyou feel better.
Or you, you know, if your mompassed away and you are eating black
beans and rice or whatever,you know, that that reminds you of
her, and that's going to giveyou nourishment not just for your
body, but for, like, your soul.
That's a major truth bomb.
How do you catch yourself fromgetting too comfortable?
(26:57):
You've mentioned thatcomplacency kills creativity.
I try not to.
I usually set standards andtimelines on places that I want to
be at.
Whether it's physically at orif I'm staying at one spot and doing
the same thing over and overand over again, it's either got to
(27:17):
get better or change.
Whether we're changing themenu or we're creating a whole different
style or an idea, it's something.
It just has to change.
So we are not doing the samething over and over again.
Once I feel like I'm doing thesame thing over and over again, it's
not bringing me joy, then Iknow I can't be bringing joy to other
people through my food becauseI'm not experiencing that.
(27:40):
And I think ultimately, like,selfishly, everything is revolving
around me when it comes to my cooking.
So if I don't have that, youknow, quote, unquote, love in my
dish, I don't really feel likethe customer is going to get it.
And if I'm not providing lovethrough the food, then, Then.
Then they might as well go tothe Taco Bell's and the McDonald's.
Like, that's, you know, it'sgood food and there's no love in
(28:02):
it.
It's just getting what you get.
Like, I need to providesomething more than just, you know,
meat and bread or, you know,whatever dish I'm doing has got to
be inspired.
Otherwise, I don't want to bedoing what I'm doing because I'm
not happy.
And I feel like we haven'tGotten to that point where I'm not
happy, but, like, I want tomake sure that I still stay on par
with just growing and learningand then doing cool stuff.
(28:23):
And that's the cool thingabout my progression, is there's
so much opportunity to keeplearning and doing cool things that
I don't see it ever runningout anytime soon.
One of the biggest killers iswhen leadership loses their vision,
loses their momentum, losestheir drive, because that trickles
down to the rest of the team,to its, you know, smallest denominator.
(28:48):
No, hey, that's a thousand percent.
You know, the.
The standard that I try to,you know, show my staff is, you know,
I'm here, you know, on thebusiest days of the week where we're
getting our, you know, buttkicked in or, you know, our.
We have so many tickets on our screen.
Like, I am in the middle.
I am directing the team.
Like, I am here in thetrenches with you because.
(29:10):
Because I have to set thatexample of, like, hey, I'm here with
you guys, making sure thatyou're good, because I know if I
have your back, you're goingto have my back.
And I really, really feel thatmentality has to be shared amongst
every restaurant.
You know, I don't want to be achef that's walking around my clipboard
taking orders and, you know,barking orders and pointing and people
doing stuff like, I'm choppingonions, I'm, you know, dropping the
(29:34):
fryer or boiling it out.
Like, at no point in mycareer, whether I was just starting
out to where I'm at right now,like, I was the lowest and I'm the
highest right now.
Like, I'm still.
I'm still dropping fryers, andI'm still boiling them out or doing
the flat top if I need to.
Like, there's no.
You can't be above anythingbecause then once other people think
you're above something,they're not going to respect you
(29:55):
enough to where they're goingto give you what they need to give
you.
Puerto Rican and Lebanese roots.
Do you see these flavorssneaking into your menu subconsciously,
or do you kind of keep themseparate by design?
I don't think they sneak in,but I don't think I'm, like, purposely
not doing it.
I just don't.
(30:15):
Those are things that I wouldlike to explore.
I've done poor, like, Cuban food.
I. I worked at a Cubansandwich shop, and we did a lot of
Cuban inspired food.
And just being a chef inFlorida in general, I. I have a decent
background in that style of Food.
But I like.
I like to explore differentthings where I don't know.
You know, I'm really super, ifyou ask anybody, I'm super into Asian
(30:36):
and Mexican cuisine.
And that's kind of like my wheelhouse.
Doesn't mean I don't likecooking some African food every now
and then or.
Or figuring out, you know, whydo, you know, the Europeans do things
this way, the French cooking.
Like, I've.
I've got a lot of tools acrossthe board.
I don't think.
I don't think I'm a master ofany cuisine per se.
Like, I wouldn't say, like,Andy is a blah, blah chef, but I
(30:59):
just want to be good at everything.
So I have versatility.
And I don't know enough aboutLebanese cuisine.
You know, my.
My father never really cookedtoo many Lebanese dishes because
he didn't know enough about it either.
So, like, it's not like Icould say, hey, you know, my.
My heritage, I'm the expert at.
I like, there's a lot ofthings about my heritage I don't
know, and that's fine.
(31:19):
But I'm also super quick toadmit, like, I would love to learn
more, and that eventually will happen.
I need to connect you withRona Bashur.
She's a baker, and she'sactually Lebanese, Puerto Rican as
well.
It seems like that's a popular blend.
And I don't.
I don't know why.
Like, I know a lot of Lebanesepeople that are married to Puerto
Rican people.
(31:40):
Strangely, I had never heardthat before in my life until coming
to Tampa.
Yeah, I don't.
That.
I'm not.
I'm not exactly sure, but I dosee it a lot.
I feel like Ronan's awesome,sweetest woman on the planet, Rona's
Cookies and More is her company.
And she's a baker.
She does a terrific job.
Kiehl isn't going anywhereanytime soon.
It's a staple now in our area here.
(32:03):
In the spirit of mentorshipand longevity, what do you want your
cooks to take away from yourkitchen besides technique?
I mean, there's life lessonsand there's all sorts of things.
And when you're at a placelike Keele that is having this larger
appeal now that's gettingoutside of Plant City, that's getting
(32:27):
outside of their territory.
What life lessons do you wantthese kids to leave with?
I think we kind of touched onit a little bit before is we want
to make sure that our guys arehappy and they're doing what they
love, whether it's with us or not.
But I also want to explain tothem, you know, the.
(32:47):
The importance of working hardand making the extra effort, because
across the board, whetheryou're cooking or you're, you know,
taking the trash out orthere's so many professions that
every profession is.
If you.
The harder you work, thebetter you're going to get, and the
more.
The more willing you are tomake yourself uncomfortable and do
(33:10):
the things that.
That nobody else wants to do,that's going to give you a giant
leg up on other people.
And I feel like that's howI've gotten.
Where I've gone is just, youknow, I don't typically turn things
down, and I just want to doeverything I can to.
To get the job done.
And I think that sometimespeople, you know, laziness can set
in or, you know, complacency.
You know, you got to make surethat everybody at all times is always
(33:33):
giving 110.
And it's kind of cliche, butit's just.
It is the truth.
The harder you work, the moreit's going to benefit you.
When the new kitchen opens,what's the dish that's going to define
the next chapter for you?
There's got to be one thatsays, hey, this is who we are now.
No, the terminology that I'vebeen throwing around is elevated
(33:55):
redneck.
I want to have these countryroots of something that the local
demographic of our Plant Cityand Dover and Sefner, you know, there's.
That demographic is going tobe different than the St. Pete and
Clearwater and even Orlando crew.
Like, there's different.
You know, it doesn't make thembad or it's just different.
(34:15):
You know, these guys love home cooking.
And, you know, one of thestaples in Plant City is, like, Fred's
like that.
It's very successful becausethey do what they do, and they do
it well.
The barbecue and the Mac andcheeses and the collard greens and
those things are great.
I eat them all the time.
But how do I turn thosefamiliar ideas into something that
excites me?
(34:36):
And like, we did a dish today,whether you did a country bibimbap,
there's gonna be a heavierinfluence of barbecue and smoked
meats moving forward.
Hopefully that, first of all,that dish should be on the menu.
Keel, Clay, Wendy, everybody.
If you're listening to this,put that dish on the menu.
(34:58):
Change the name, but put thedish on the menu.
I mean, you're talking abouteggs, mushrooms.
You're talking about barbecue pork.
It's fantastic.
My God, it was fantastic.
Thank you.
All right, chef, this was yourfirst time doing media.
Did you think the vibe herewas pretentious?
(35:19):
Do you think it was laid back?
Talk a little bit about yourday today.
No, no, it was definitely not.
Neither of those things.
I don't, I don't think thatyou guys would be doing a good job
if, if it was.
I think you, you make peoplefeel comfortable, and I certainly
felt comfortable as soon as Icame in.
Obviously, you know, speakingand, and, you know, almost having
(35:39):
somewhat of a speech atcertain points, like, you know, I'm
gonna fumble over my words or,you know, have anxiety and, and I
think those are just, thoseare things that just come with, with
practice and, and eventually,hopefully I'll get better at them.
But, you know, ultimately Ithink it was a super fun experience
and we did, we did some fun things.
And obviously the pictures andthe videos are, you know, from what
(36:00):
I've seen, look amazing.
So I'm super excited about that.
Cause that's just cool stuffthat I can post and share with my
friends and family.
Isn't media needed now for,for the food industry?
Oh, it's absolutely.
If you don't, then, like, ifyou don't have an Instagram or a
Facebook or, you know, even Idon't have TikTok, I kind of, I kind
of look down on TikTok myself,but, but I understand the value in
(36:20):
it.
Those things are just, youknow, you have to have them, you
know, because, you know, Idon't, I don't know how your kids
are younger, but like, youknow, if I say six, seven, like,
you know, that's going todrive the kids crazy.
And I'm sure, like therestaurant, the restaurant industry
has to lean into these, thesefads and the trends because that's
(36:41):
what's going to attract thepeople to come in.
But is this a fad or a trend?
I think cameras and video.
Well, no, no, no.
But using the fads and thetrend through the media, you know,
the media is.
The media's kind of alwaysbeen there but not utilized as much
as it should.
That's why, you know, when thelast time you worked in a restaurant,
like, was what did you have a salary?
(37:03):
Salary?
Social media, like manager?
Like, dude, the last time Iworked in a restaurant, I mean, there
were.
I don't even know what to.
Was there social media?
There was, There wasn't even MySpace.
Yeah.
Nothing existed.
There was no proo.
Anything.
Like, even, like, you're luckyif your restaurant had cameras outside.
(37:24):
Like, you know what I mean?
Like it didn't exist.
Yeah, your, your Googlereviews were just on pieces of paper
and turning them in and therewas no Google.
Yeah, well, that's what I mean.
Like there's no way to get the feedback.
But I think that.
Wait a minute, just to putthis in perspective, right?
And a lot of things don't change.
Like the technology changesand the trends might change a little
(37:45):
bit, but the industry itself,the mechanics of it doesn't change.
We didn't have the Internet,it was hardly there.
Okay, so it was newspapers, itwas TV and that's really what you
had.
Radio, obviously, but that's it.
There was no like, oh, I'mgonna directions, a map or something
(38:07):
like that.
No, it was like paper maps, man.
But to your point, that thatwas me.
That's.
That is media as well just did that.
But it's not.
But it isn't.
It isn't today's media.
It's.
Everything is predicated on.
If you don't have.
If I can't listen, I do this myself.
If I look up a company andthere's no Instagram, I'm not interested
anymore.
What are you hiding?
(38:28):
Or you're not there yet, orit's, you're not good, you're, you
know, you're fake or whatever.
You have to have a presence.
I don't even care about yourwebsite anymore.
It doesn't even matter.
What are your socials?
Let me see.
I want to get into it.
I want to see what it is.
I want to get there quick.
Let me see.
Digest and make decisions.
That's what it is.
And then I'm go see if Amazonhas it.
I don't know.
That's just the way.
That's, that's the way itworks, man.
You know what I mean?
(38:49):
Not food.
I'm just saying in general.
But no, no, 0.8.
I think that is a thousandpercent true.
The operations are still.
You still have to have goodservice, you still have to have a
good product.
You still have to have, youknow, employees that the customers
are going to want to come inand see.
You know, we've got someregulars that come in at certain
days because they want to seethat server or they want to have
(39:10):
this certain thing on aTuesday because they always do.
Like that's not going to change.
What's going to change is howdo we get the new people, the younger
crowd, the people that.
We're a winery, so alcohol isa big part of our business.
So how do we get the 19 yearold in two years when they start
drinking legally, we have ourcustomer bases, the 40 to 60, they're
(39:35):
never gonna stop coming.
I don't, I don't believe so at least.
But how do we get the peoplethat are coming up and that's gonna
be through the TikTok and theInstagram and all that crazy stuff.
There's one thing in today'sfood industry that I absolutely cannot,
I don't know how it exists forthe entire history of food and gratuity.
(39:57):
Well, the server would drop acheck and walk away and leave.
And then you figure out whatyou're going to leave under no pressure
or anything.
And you know, I mean, ifyou're not a cheapo, you leave a
good tip, right?
Or if the server was at leastdecent, you leave a good, you know,
good tip.
This whole thing with, theycome over with the device and they
(40:19):
stand over you, you know, whenthey, when they, when they drop the
check and the device andthey're waiting for you as you get
to pick, you know, 15, 18, 20,whatever, it's like, get the hell
out of here.
Don't stand over my shoulder.
Don't stand at this table.
Who taught you how to do this?
I don't know where that comesfrom, but when I was coming up, you
(40:39):
were.
The rest of the restaurantwould ostracize you if you did that.
Not to mention the customer,the guest would tell you to get the
hell out of here.
Yeah, I mean, unfortunately, Ithink that the QR menus and the,
that we use toast, the tablets and.
Hey, let me turn this around.
It's going to ask you a couple questions.
(41:00):
I know what it's going to askme, but how do we, as people in charge
of the restaurant, that's agood challenge for myself and Andrew
and anybody else that'stalking to our staff is how do we
implement these new devicesand these new things that are inevitable
they're going to happen, buthow do we utilize them to the point
where they don't feel likethey're being pressured and they
(41:22):
don't feel uncomfortable and,you know, you gotta, there's certain
ways to do things the correctway and that will make, you know,
so the older generation is notsuper feel uncomfortable where, you
know, I didn't mean to callyou the older generation, but, you
know, the, you know, thetablet, like the tablet in your face,
it's gonna happen.
So how do you, how do you makeit work where the people don't feel
(41:42):
uncomfortable about it?
Put it down and walk away.
No.
Yeah, yeah, that's that's it.
Like, but that's all part of training.
My standard fare gratuity is 20.
Like, my baseline is 20%.
And then it'll go up fromthere because, you know, you're.
You're good or not, you know, whatever.
And I still don't even golower than that typically, ever.
Even if the.
Even if the service wasn't upto standard, you know, I just.
(42:04):
Okay, you're good.
20%.
But when somebody stands infront of me and I don't do it, but
I want to, because I'm not cheap.
I want to do the lowest orother and give them, like, just to
just.
And I'm going to say, nexttime, walk away.
You get more.
I've never done that.
But to truth be told, that'sin my heart.
But I think if you.
But if you.
I think you could do that ifyou're respectful enough about it.
(42:25):
Like, hey, like, but I'm not a douchebag.
Like, but I don't think that is.
I think it is.
I. I put myself in their shoes.
And, you know, and.
And unless you have a.
If you get a server multipletimes and they're just not good,
okay, it's a different story.
And that's.
And I.
Me, just because of who I amand where I've come from, I would.
I'd pull the jam aside.
I'd be like, hey, you know,look at this.
(42:45):
But any other time, I givepeople the benefit of the doubt,
because you know what?
I have a. I have bad days allthe time, and I don't want somebody
to, you know, if.
If I do something dumb or.
Or have an attitude, and Idon't mean to.
I want somebody to judge meforever on that little happenstance.
So I give everybody the benefit.
Benefit of the doubt.
But damn, put.
(43:06):
Put down the tablet and walk away.
If you're a server and you'relistening to this, for all things
holy, put it down and walk away.
I'll.
I'll have to relay.
Relay that conversation to mystaff and.
Make sure that meeting.
Yeah, next.
Next staff meeting.
Drop that.
Drop it like a bomb.
Yeah.
I mean, my thing is making.
Making sure that we're feelingcomfortable and the guests are comfortable.
(43:28):
And I think at the end of theday, like, that's what's going to
cause the most success, andthat's what we're after.
Jeff, my man.
My main man, Andy.
Dude, you did great today, bythe way.
I just wanted you to know thatyou did fantastic.
I appreciate it.
I actually can't wait to startdoing the video on this.
It's gonna be.
It's gonna be dope.
(43:49):
How do we find you?
What's.
What's the social.
So you can look us up at KeelFarms FL on Instagram, Keel Farms
on Facebook, and I'm KillFarms, I believe is on Tick Tock
as well.
We just.
We're all.
We're everywhere.
Check us out.
We're a great place.
We do much more than just wineand food.
We're.
We're.
We're an event place.
(44:09):
Yeah.
And by the way, we did.
We were picked up by theCentral Florida Film Festival for
our Gulf Trip Tiger documentary.
And part of that was shot atKeel, uh, for the Blueberry segment.
So hats off to all of us for that.
It's pretty dope, John, as always.
You're freaking.
You're kind of a dork, I know,but I love you, man.
(44:31):
I'm only kidding.
All right, we are out.
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