The Quiet Work of Belonging in Hospitality with Marina Baronas and Chef Carl Riding

Belonging is not something you arrive at. It is something you build.

In this episode of Walk-In Talk Media, Carl Fiadini sits down in studio with Marina Baronas, hospitality leader and author of A New Life, A New Menu: An Almanac of Belonging. Raised across Lithuania, Russia, and Azerbaijan, Marina came to the United States at nineteen without speaking English and built a life through the unseen work of hospitality. Her journey moves through kitchens, dining rooms, leadership, motherhood, burnout, and reinvention, offering an honest look at service as lived experience, not performance.

Joining the conversation is Chef Carl Riding, who came up through hotels and kitchens before stepping away from the line to build Crab Island Seafood, a small, independent, chef-driven company producing elevated crab dips. Together, they explore dignity in invisible labor, identity beyond titles, redefining success without leaving hospitality, and why this industry continues to feel like home even after it takes its toll.

This episode is for anyone who has carried their roots across borders, worked until they were unseen, or searched for belonging inside the hospitality industry.

---

What to Expect From This Episode

• Immigration, identity, and finding belonging through hospitality

• The emotional cost of invisible labor and long-term burnout

• Front of house and back of house perspectives shaped by hotels and kitchens

• Redefining success without walking away from the industry

• Why hospitality continues to feel like home, even after reinvention

---

Brand Partners

Crab Island Seafood
https://www.crabislandseafooddip.com

Metro Foodservice Solutions
https://www.metro.com

RAK Porcelain USA
https://www.rakporcelain.com/usa

Pass the Honey
https://www.passthehoney.com

---

Trade Show & Event Partners

New York Restaurant Show
https://www.nyrestaurantshow.com

California Restaurant Show
https://www.californiarestaurantshow.com

Florida Restaurant Show
https://www.flrestaurantshow.com

Pizza Tomorrow Summit
https://www.pizzatomorrow.com

U.S. Culinary Open (NAFEM Show)
https://www.usculinaryopen.com

---

Cause Partners We Support

The Burnt Chef Project
.css-j9qmi7{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-flex-direction:row;-ms-flex-direction:row;flex-direction:row;font-weight:700;margin-bottom:1rem;margin-top:2.8rem;width:100%;-webkit-box-pack:start;-ms-flex-pack:start;-webkit-justify-content:start;justify-content:start;padding-left:5rem;}@media only screen and (max-width: 599px){.css-j9qmi7{padding-left:0;-webkit-box-pack:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;justify-content:center;}}.css-j9qmi7 svg{fill:#27292D;}.css-j9qmi7 .eagfbvw0{-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;color:#27292D;}