Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
All right, Now you've brought in a box of something
and you've never done this before, Trey, I.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Brought donuts, hot fresh donut. I brought donuts. Who could
ask for anything more?
Speaker 3 (00:12):
Yes? What do we got?
Speaker 1 (00:13):
What do we got?
Speaker 3 (00:14):
Good?
Speaker 4 (00:15):
Humans? Be good humans? Begod humans, or we will think
you sucked humans, or we will think you suck.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Anybody who wants a donut, come come into the studio
and grab a donut. This is from my local Tasty
Donuts and Tarzana. No, they're not sponsoring us. Uh, but
you look at this, I mean all the hush right,
I'm gonna I'm gonna go for an old fashion. I'm
gonna I'm gonna go for a chocolate old fashion. I
didn't bring any napkins. You want something I don't like.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
I don't eat sweet you.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
I know, I don't, I know, but you still there's
a part of you, there's a part of me entertain
you old wants this.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
Oh yeah, but I can't. It's not only I can't,
but I just don't eat sweets. If that was like
a big block of cheese or do.
Speaker 5 (01:07):
You still want to be able to look at them
while we do this show?
Speaker 1 (01:09):
It doesn't bother me to look at them.
Speaker 5 (01:11):
No, yeah, but.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
Well, yeah, I don't know if our audience wants to
look at them. But here's the thing. I love donuts
and donut shops, I can tell. I love coffee shops.
I love diners, I love cafes and restaurants of all kinds.
And I know this is a.
Speaker 5 (01:24):
Shared love of ours.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
Oh yeah, I love restaurants, both dives, and some of
the finest restaurants are look I like a great steakhouse.
Oh yeah, yeah, great steakhouse and tied for Italian food.
Speaker 5 (01:40):
Anything for me to eat while we talk.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
No, not at all, not at all. In fact, why
don't we just all take a moment and just stare
at him, take time out of what it's going to
be a busy show, but watching him masticating a cake
on a donut cake.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
Okay, So, yes, restaurants we both love, but all different kinds. Yes,
so can you? Is it possible? And by the way,
these don't even have to still exist. They don't have
to be fancy.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
You know, you've spewed donut on me like three times already,
look at your microphone. No, no, no, this is part
of Little Man Eat Away and you.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
Is it possible for you, It's tough for me. Is
it possible for you to name your top five favorite restaurant? Yes,
that would be incredibly tough. Like I said, you know,
I can if you want.
Speaker 3 (02:28):
Know.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
There's one in particular I want to tell you about
for a very good reason. But I will say generally speaking,
like I said, Italian food. There's some wonderful Italian restaurants.
But I'm a big fan of a great steakhouse that
when you walk in, you smell the steak, you smell
the potatoes, smell atmosphere is everything to me as well.
(02:50):
So I will suggest to you I have not been
on Wilshire Boulevard. Here here in Los Angeles, there's a
new restaurant been opened by a year. It's called forty eight.
Speaker 5 (03:00):
Oh I still haven't been to this place.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
Oh my god. Now, along with the food, it's the
Master's Brothers, so you know the food's going to be amazing.
But along with the food, the icing on the cake
is the room itself. I've never been into a more
inviting airy experience. It is just an amazing thing. And
it's only been open a year, so everyone working there, yeah,
really good.
Speaker 5 (03:21):
Moods.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
You know, they're happy to.
Speaker 5 (03:23):
Be Perhaps they haven't worked in the hospitality industry very long.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
I don't know the restaurant I wanted to tell you about.
I do have a favorite, and it goes back to
me doing my improv group in Chicago.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
Oh so it's back there. We had heard, Yeah, it's
in Chicago. We had heard that there was this great restaurant.
It was a restaurant, bar lounge open late hours for
all the entertainers in Chicago.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
Yeah, you got to have a place like that.
Speaker 5 (03:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
Yeah, so the actors, the comedians, the musicians would all go.
So now it's just filled with artistic people. So after
one of our gigs one night, we decided to check
it out. And we're sitting there in the lounge having
a cocktail. Out of nowhere, a bell starts ringing a bell.
It kind of sounds like the kind of bell only
a little louder. But when you go into like a
shop and the thing's over the door. Okay, so that
(04:14):
was odd. I didn't know what it was about, but
everybody started kind of giggling. People around me kind kind
of giggling and laughing, and about thirty seconds later, a
woman walks out of the women's restroom and everybody stands
up and applot and cheers, Yeah, yeah, way to go.
(04:35):
So of course I had to ask the bartender. Yeah,
and I said, excuse me, but she's a celebrity, you know,
because I don't recognize it very question. She goes, I
don't know if she's a celebrity or not, but I
can't tell you. She's probably very new here. What's going on?
And he explained that in the women's restroom there is
a huge mural on the wall. This place, by the way,
(04:57):
was called West of Eden, West of Eden Eating, and
there's a huge mural in the in the woman's restroom
on the wall of Adam and Eve. Okay, now Adam
uh has a fig leaf, but it's not painted on,
it's an actual fig leaf covering his privates y. So
(05:18):
what happens the people love when new women come. The
woman goes in, she might get a little curious, so
she reaches down, lifts up the fig leaf, which, by
the way, is attached to a cord, and the cord
is attached to a bell outside the restroom. So every
time there's a very curious and woman in there just
(05:39):
wanting to check out what Adam's got going on. The
bell rings and we clap and we stand and we clap.
So that was a But also the food was delicious
and it was just like I said, a room, a
place for artists and and performers. That's incredible, isn't a
great ide?
Speaker 5 (05:55):
Love that?
Speaker 1 (05:55):
I love that?
Speaker 5 (05:56):
Yeah? I want to.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
I want to steal that. Somehow got you?
Speaker 3 (06:00):
Well?
Speaker 1 (06:00):
Favorite top five?
Speaker 5 (06:01):
Top five?
Speaker 2 (06:02):
Yeah, I can go top five, beginning with one that
doesn't exist anymore. It was in Tulsa. This was a
place that I loved as a kid called Crystal's Pizza.
I loved it because it had a movie theater inside
it where they would show old like Laurel and Hardy
movies and oh yeah, so you'd get uzza as a
kid and watch an old silent movie. Or here in
(06:23):
Hollywood not far from where we sit right now, Musso
and Frank many times, which is you know, certainly old
by la standards.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
Red vinyl, over one hundred years old, drouchy Italian waiters,
the kind of like like you know, you sit down
and you barely looked at the menu, and he comes
up with his fad with a red uniform monicles, what
do you want? And you go, well can I I'll
be back, and you have to you have.
Speaker 3 (06:49):
To know what you want.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
That's exactly right. A bit of pressure, but always a
great meal and a great vibe, great history. And I
know you and I both love that.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
Love that history because in the back door, if you
go through the parking lot and the back door, there
is the original menu that's correct. Baked potato correct ten cents,
that's correct, and t bone steak dollar twenty five.
Speaker 3 (07:06):
That's right.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
And one of I think Hollywood's first payphone is in
that restaurant. And you know it's one of those places
where wherever you said, like, oh, this is the Rolling
Stones table, Yeah, this is the whatever.
Speaker 1 (07:15):
Yeah, there's gonna be a oh this is the Brian
and Trade table. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
Well you know where we might have a table is
at my next favorite restaurant, which is also an old
beloved La Institution, which is Dantana's orst Hollywood. Yeah, I
know we both love that place. My late father in
law's name is on that menu, and.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
I'm there every other Friday night or Saturday or you know,
just it's just great. I love that it's so small
and ridiculous. It's a little teeny place. The bar is
bigger than most of the restaurant, and the and the chairs,
the booths are like two feet away from the bar.
But you it's hard to get a seat. It's hard
(07:52):
to get a seat because of the history. Frank Sinatra,
Sammy Davis Junior. You said, sit there drinking all night
and chain smoke and you will see celebrities.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
Yeah, there was an eagle song written at the bar.
Take it easy or one of those peaceful easy feelings,
one of those another restaurant. And this tends to be
a rule. I think this is my rule. But usually
the better the view, the worse the food. There are
notable exceptions to this, And for me, one of my
favorite restaurants of all time is the Jewels Vern at
the top of the Eiffel Tower.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
I'd never made it to the top. I was got
halfway up and the line was so long.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
And this place is unbelievable. And again, it couldn't be
more romantic or more beautiful. Yeah, so that's it. And
then I didn't know there was a restaurant up there,
Oh dude, And you got to make a reservation, like
a year in advance and it's great. And then the
last on my top five is a place in New
York City which is an Italian restaurant that's kind of subterranean.
It is subterranean, but it's called Skallinatella. And what I
(08:48):
know you would love about this place is the minute
you walk into this restaurant and sit down, they just
start bringing you food that you haven't even ordered. They
like slice some meats, and they have some vegetables and
they just start bringing things to the tables.
Speaker 5 (09:02):
You feel like you're in someone it's just going bad.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
Why are you giving this to me? That's fantastic.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
But it is that kind of thing, and I know
that you and I are aligned in this, Like, Okay,
what makes a great restaurant? Right to me, it's it
kind of boils down to three things obvious.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
The food.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
The food has to be great, right, but consistently great,
like you know each time you come in it's gonna be.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
Good, and to care about it. You can tell they
care exactly.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
Also consistently great service, right even if they're sort of
grouchy and they want you to get to your order, like.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
But they do that for the theme of it.
Speaker 5 (09:35):
There they do with love because they love.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
Yet No I'm not yes, whatever you want, bring it
to me, right, I don't care. You weren't very frightened
of you.
Speaker 5 (09:43):
You weren't consistently great service.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
And then the vibe, the vibe, the vibe, consistent vibes,
and we were just because we have this dining group
called the Diners Club and it's devoted to LA's culinary history.
We were just at a place last Saturday night, so
good called The Prints that opened in nineteen twenty seven
and in the mid Wilster area actually now Koreatown.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
I'd never been. I was so blown away by the vibe,
the yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
I mean it's just you knew the minute you walked in, like, oh,
this is a place I want to spend a few hours.
Speaker 1 (10:10):
And I'm not being judgmental about, you know, the clientele,
but that's part of the vibe. It's the clientele.
Speaker 3 (10:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (10:15):
That's why I like that restaurant in Chicago because it
was like all kind of kindred spirits. It was all artists,
it was all entertainers. Yeah yeah, and you felt free
in there.
Speaker 3 (10:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
So these are the places that we both love and
the door and enjoy. So when we come back. We're
about to take a break. Yeah, well this is a hook.
Get ready for the hook.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
Yeah, get ready for there's a hook. We are the
kings of homes.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
When we come back, we're gonna meet someone who actually
heard from heard about from one of our listeners.
Speaker 1 (10:42):
Yes, so good on you. Yes, thanks for having our website.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
Go to the website, yes, and tell us about people
like this. But when we come back, we're going to
meet someone who not only owns and operates a legendary
restaurant that has all three of those things, the great food,
the great service, and the great vibes, right, but he
also serves all of that up with a heaping helping
side of good humans, which I know makes it sound
(11:06):
like it's a cannibalistic restaurant.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
It's not that. That's that. Yeah, I'll lead them. If
they've got that Jon Mustard, pretty much anything, I'll'll catch
up on it.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
We're going to meet an incredible restaurant tour who does
incredible things, not just in his restaurant, but in his community.
Stick around. We'll be right back.
Speaker 3 (11:33):
Of a bigger we will.
Speaker 4 (11:42):
Thank you, suck.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
Welcome back to the Be Good Humans podcast. Here's a
little story for you. Okay. When our guest today left
his home in Italy to come to America in nineteen
eighty he had two hundred bucks in his pocket and oh,
by the way, he didn't speak one word of english Man.
And then finding employment in the hospitality industry, he went
(12:04):
from dishwasher to busboy, to server to general manager the stories,
and then in nineteen eighty seven he became the owner
of the acclaimed Anaheim White House restaurant. He owns the
white He owns the White House.
Speaker 5 (12:22):
That is one of the coolest restaurants in all of
the OC.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
Now that whole story I just said, Yeah, that's pretty
amazing stuff, right, but it doesn't even come close to
his greatest accomplishments there. Oh yeah, his accomplishments have earned
him much, much deserved global admiration. We are most honored
to welcome Sir Bruno. Sat me let me just say
(12:47):
before you get started. You heard me say, sir, it's sir.
He's been knighted Sir Bruno Serrato. But he's been knighted
twice twice twice two different governments. So I'm not sure
what do we call him, Sir Bruno or Sir sir Bruno. Oh,
I know, Sir Bruno squared.
Speaker 5 (13:04):
That's good.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
I just don't want to blow up because we've never
had royalty on the show. Oh my god, thank you,
thank you, sir Bruno, Chef Bruno, whatever you prefer to
be called.
Speaker 5 (13:13):
We are delighted.
Speaker 3 (13:14):
It's good.
Speaker 6 (13:16):
Thank you, yes, chef, yes, chef, yes, chef, Thank you
for being here and.
Speaker 1 (13:28):
Started well, by the way.
Speaker 5 (13:32):
With good reason.
Speaker 2 (13:33):
And I don't know if you've got the bell handy,
but like we should, we should really talk about these accomplishments.
Speaker 1 (13:40):
Because, by the way, let's begin with that, because it's
a good way to.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
Start this, I agree. Because hard enough to open a
restaurant anywhere much Let's okay, let's start out hard enough
to arrive in a country with two hundred dollars in
your pocket and not speak the language exactly. Then work
your way up through arrest the restaurant business, which is
incredibly challenging in all kinds of ways. Then own an
operate a restaurant, which is just mind bogglingly difficult in
(14:03):
a city or in an area like southern California. Right,
but then to do everything he's done, Get ready to
ring some bells right, because for his humanitarian work.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
Alone, which we're going to get into.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
Chef Bruno has earned local, national, international publicity. We are
talking about among his many honors. Chef Bruno is a
CNN hero. He as yes, Brian has correctly suggested, been
knighted not just by the Italian government, but knighted by
the Royal House of Savoy. He is an Ellis Island
Medal of Honor recipient. He has he has been papally
(14:37):
blessed in the Vatican. He's been blessed by the Pope,
by Pope Francis.
Speaker 1 (14:40):
I'm going to try to get scheduled to have that happen.
Do you who do you call? Call? Give you to
that number after the show? All right, now, does he
come to you or is it in outsource?
Speaker 5 (14:50):
Brian, you're so far removed?
Speaker 2 (14:52):
Okay, humanitarian, get this a humanitarian award.
Speaker 5 (14:55):
Chef Bruno received on the steps of the US.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
Capitol, by the way, that was unfortunately on January sixth, No, no,
it was not to be.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
He was received the key of the city of Anaheim.
Hundreds of proclamations and awards. But here's the thing. We're
all that all of that dear big good humans listeners
and viewers. Is a tease, because we're going to start
back with the White House and work our way back.
Chef Bruno, what can you tell us?
Speaker 5 (15:26):
Now?
Speaker 2 (15:27):
We know that the White House, it's it's quite historic.
By the way, I think it's another ten years older
than Musso and Frank opened in nineteen oh nine, I believe.
Speaker 1 (15:34):
By the way, the exterior it's like these.
Speaker 5 (15:36):
Hence the name.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
It's a replica of the White House right open in
nineteen oh nine. But beyond that, what can you tell
us about the White House, Chef Bruno?
Speaker 6 (15:45):
Well, the the White House was a residence in nineteen
o nine, okay, a doctor if you was from Czech Republic. Yeah,
the ninth children all bedroom upstairs, leaving room Daniel downstairs.
It's so stunning, gorgeous, beautiful building, you know. I mean,
unfortunately I lost every team in two thousand and seven
(16:10):
because of the fire and uh twenty seventeen. Yeah, and
I had to rebuild and every team, but because there
was historico, I had to rebuild exactly the same.
Speaker 3 (16:21):
Way it was in nineteen or nine, which I did.
Speaker 1 (16:25):
How long did the renovation take?
Speaker 3 (16:27):
Almost two years?
Speaker 5 (16:29):
Wow?
Speaker 3 (16:29):
Yeah? In six months that Tika was and three marthly.
Speaker 6 (16:35):
The interior my style which is Italian, but the exterior is.
Speaker 3 (16:40):
Exactly the way it used to look like. It is tunny.
Speaker 6 (16:43):
Really while you walk in, especially at night with other light,
you say wow, wow, wow.
Speaker 5 (16:49):
It's beautiful.
Speaker 2 (16:50):
And by the way, this is a place that is
beloved not just by locals, but by all kinds of
visiting critically acclaimed dignitaries and hoopla like you've you've fed
presidents and celebrity star athletes, international athletes. Yeah, all kinds
of people. Why why do you think people are so
drawn to this restaurant.
Speaker 6 (17:07):
Well, when you see the photo the restaurant, and like
you mentioned earlier, you have to have the food, the service,
the vibe. But when you see the picture of the
restaurant building nineteen or nine, you want to go there.
It's as you have nothing else to say, You say,
I want to go and when you go there, you
want to take your friends the next time.
Speaker 3 (17:28):
Okay, So people's like I might take.
Speaker 6 (17:31):
My data of my mom or my friends because it's
such a unique experience to dine in a restaurant like this.
And after COVID, I had the garden outside and I
start to use the Daniel, and I am lucky enough
that I.
Speaker 3 (17:50):
Have almost one acre of the property.
Speaker 6 (17:52):
I was able to put twenty five table in the garden,
which not easy to see a restaurant with twenty five
twenty Yeah, it's that is also tunny too, because you
eat outside in the garden.
Speaker 3 (18:07):
And you look at the building right there next to you.
It's magical.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
And if I'm not mistaken, there's also like a bar
area on a balcony where you can eat and drink
and also watch fireworks from Disneyland.
Speaker 1 (18:18):
Okay, it's every night nine, all right, Well this is
we want to get into this now because you started
something so beautiful. You founded something so wonderful. It's called
Katerina's Club. Your mother her name was Katerina. So can
we go back to your mother is visiting you or
(18:41):
maybe she's living here now, but you guys go to
a you both go to visit a boys and girls club.
What happened at that moment?
Speaker 6 (18:50):
We were the Boys Girls Club at Nanaheim, which is
only five minutes live on my astronam, and a mom
was in vacation. That was eighteen total than five nineteen
years ago, and the Boys Girls Club is an old
kid like eight nine years old kid eighteen potato chips.
Speaker 3 (19:09):
No more things that you can see a kid do
it right.
Speaker 6 (19:12):
But Mike Baker, the director of the club, said, you
don't know that is probably his only dinner today.
Speaker 3 (19:20):
I said, what are you talking about?
Speaker 6 (19:22):
He said, well, we have a lot of children, low
income kids like you see at the Boys Girls Club
most of the time. But we also have a lot
of kids that live with family in a motel. So
what do you mean they live in a motel? Say yeah,
I said, when you see motel sign on the street,
it's not just for one night sleepy over your tourists.
(19:43):
Some people use that as a residence. But it's don't
even kitchen in the room. I mean mom cannot even
cooked for them. And besides the motel room, sometimes you'll
find lyudo gardic et cetera, et cetera translate to mama.
But that situation that putito chip kids and has an
(20:05):
Italian mouths of babluno, why don't you do a pasta
for the kids?
Speaker 3 (20:10):
That was the first day first club nineteen years ago.
Speaker 1 (20:14):
Okay, so from that one warm meal that your mother
ordered you ordered you, like any good mother, will drive
back to your restaurant and get this kid some pasta
from that one meal. He Now we are talking to
a chef, ladies and gentlemen that serves over well over
five thousand underprivileged children, not every year, not every month,
(20:39):
but every single.
Speaker 2 (20:41):
Day in like ninety different centers.
Speaker 3 (20:44):
Right.
Speaker 2 (20:44):
This is unbelievable, and and for good reason, sadly, because
there's roughly four hundred thousand residents in Orange County alone
who are struggling to meet their food needs on a
regular basis. One in fifty kids are at risk of
hunger each month, and so Chef Bruno, I don't know
if you knew this at the time, but you obviously
(21:05):
plugged into a very deep need that you have continued
to me.
Speaker 3 (21:09):
Yeah, I mean I remember I start with one kid.
Speaker 6 (21:12):
We went to fifty one hundred, two hundred meals a day,
one thousand meals a day, and now we have five
thousand meals every day, and it's like at the top,
we keep going, going, going, And two months ago I
did a big celebration the rest and I invited two
hundred kids, a lot of kids to also see my restaurant. Sure,
(21:34):
I have a celebrity, regular customer president. But I want
to give hope to those kids. If I came to
this country poor, two hundred bucks in my packet. If
I can do it, you can do it. I mean
when they come to the rest and I just love it.
But the celebration was to celebrate the ten million meals.
Speaker 1 (21:53):
So ten million meals.
Speaker 3 (21:56):
In nineteen years.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
I have I have some numbers here and I think
I think these are the latest ones, but they haven't
been updated yet. Okay, but I'm going to use his number.
Over ten million meals served to date, unbelievable, one hundred
and forty sites in over thirty cities. That number's probably
gone up since this was written. Nearly three hundred families
relocated in another program that he started. Another program, another
(22:20):
program called Welcome Home. We're going to talk about that.
And more than eight hundred and fifty students have participated
in another program he founded, Hospitality Academy.
Speaker 3 (22:31):
Viva Lapasta. Oh my god, Viva pasta. That's what Mam
always say. Cool.
Speaker 2 (22:37):
Well, well, Chef Bruno, Look, I mean, I know you're
a devout Catholic who's been blessed by the Pope.
Speaker 5 (22:42):
Literally but are you Are you sure.
Speaker 2 (22:43):
You're not trying to replace the pope or are you
vying for saintanhood here.
Speaker 3 (22:47):
I'm busy. I'm too busy. I do have time to
keep going to home.
Speaker 1 (22:54):
You get our vote for saying even if.
Speaker 6 (22:56):
I'm going next weekend, I have to go to home
for a special Oh showed it.
Speaker 1 (23:01):
So now it's Chef Bruno, Sir Bruno, and I think
Saint Bruno.
Speaker 2 (23:06):
Let's go ahead and to the list of monoz to
be Okay, well, let's not do that.
Speaker 3 (23:11):
Let me wait, let me wait.
Speaker 1 (23:13):
So as if feeding you know, five thousand underprivileged, underprivileged
children daily, uh, through Katerina's club isn't enough. You didn't
stop there, No, sir, you did not. You decided to
do more, and that's what you came up with. First
Welcome Home and then secondly Hospitality Academy. Let's talk about
(23:34):
welcome home first, sir.
Speaker 6 (23:35):
Well, welcome home. Amazing story. The same the actor of
that club, Mike Baker. One time I was at the
club with kids. I went to Micas and Mike. There's
two kids of the day. They never smile. It's always
they look like the bad mood. Is any TV can
do for them. So let me tell you the story.
(23:57):
Bruno time live in the motel, six of them for children.
Speaker 3 (24:02):
Mom and dad.
Speaker 6 (24:03):
They believe in the motelity one room for over twelve years.
Speaker 3 (24:08):
As like what.
Speaker 6 (24:10):
Twelve years in one room? I say, yeah, and they
just don't teach you. Like I mentioned earlier, I mean
I said about why what because the problem of the
motel family cannot afford first and last month deposits, which
that was maybe two thousands, two thousand, five hundredes that
(24:30):
I mean, I came up with an idea, Well, if
I do pay first the last month raising money for it,
maybe I can move them out. It takes me three
months to talk to the parents because they don't want
me to talk to me because they keep saying, what
does he want from us?
Speaker 3 (24:48):
What does he want from us? Nobody never help us. Right.
Speaker 6 (24:51):
Finally the boy was able to tell mom and dad
don't book as a good man, very good guys, if
you should talk to him the beautiful restaurant. Let's go
to this restaurant. We feel comfortable. And they came and
that's what they paid the first the last month, moved
them out, changed life completely and every time then not
(25:14):
find a family. They need they have to qualify or
obviously they have to have a job because they need
to pay the rent. They don't have to be drug
or alcoholic. We have a qualification system. Yesterday my girls
in office coming up and say, just Watchever, we just
qualify two people to family and we moved them out
(25:36):
this week. And I mean every time we have a family,
they needed to be helped.
Speaker 3 (25:44):
That's what we are here for.
Speaker 6 (25:45):
Because we give them food, we give them home, and
I give them job with the hospitality program, and you give.
Speaker 1 (25:54):
Them hope, which is just extraordinary.
Speaker 6 (25:56):
Life change is amazing, life change. I can't describe all
my situations I have with children with mother, with father
sig mother, single father kids.
Speaker 3 (26:08):
Yeah, they live in a car. They can't afford it
to pay the rent, but they can't afford to pay
first the last month because to save three four five
thousand dollars.
Speaker 1 (26:18):
Don't easy for Yeah, you know, so God at this
point would be saying, hey, hey, hey Bruno, Uh that's
cool man. You've done enough. You're making me look really
really really good. You know over chief appreciate it, but
thanks a lot. But no, you went even further. You
started you founded another program called Hospitality Academy. This I
(26:42):
love as well.
Speaker 2 (26:44):
This is in conjunction with the Anaheim School District.
Speaker 6 (26:46):
Right we students from any high school district is ted
to bring me kids every time I need some. Sometimes
we don't have enough. I'm still looking for somewhere now
and like to have more kids follow the program because
I thought so after I mentioned, you know the past
that the welcome home. I say, if a kid can
(27:07):
make two three, four hundred dollars a month, it can
help mom and.
Speaker 3 (27:10):
Dad, sure, or it can help himself.
Speaker 1 (27:13):
Sure.
Speaker 6 (27:13):
I mean it's cool to see kids. A few of
them get hired by us because sometimes we did that
stal Buzzboy always a waiter. I mean, few of them
to work for me after years that we moved them out,
or we teach them.
Speaker 1 (27:28):
And I was going to ask you, chef, how many
of these people that you were helping, the kids you
were feeding, the people you were housing, the children you
are educating, how many of these people keep in contact
with you? And I mean your phone must be ringing
off the book with thank you and appreciations and all
day long.
Speaker 6 (27:49):
One of the biggest moments was, like I mentioned earlier,
celebrate the ten million me or so. Two months ago,
the first kid, Billy now he's twenty twenty one, came
up and show up at the restaurant.
Speaker 3 (28:05):
We look at each other, We both Clyde. That's it.
I have nothing else to say.
Speaker 1 (28:12):
Well, that leads me into four words that you were
quoted in saying, uh and I don't know there's a
better way to describe you. And the four words you said,
where my soul is rich.
Speaker 3 (28:28):
Yeah, same as my mountain. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (28:31):
I mean you you have planted so many seeds, chef,
and and really like created so much hope for so
many people. And nothing stops this man, including because you
mentioned it earlier. The fire in twenty seventeen, two million
dollars worth of damage. This was it would bring anybody
to their knees.
Speaker 1 (28:50):
And one of his staff actually told reporters this, you've
learned about it about four o'clock in the morning. Yeah,
and you're you're driving to racing there. It took half
the time it usually does to get to and you
see your beloved restaurant that's burning down, and your first thought,
according to a staff member, and I one hundred percent
(29:12):
believe this is how am I going to feed the kids.
Speaker 2 (29:15):
And and that thought is what drove him. Not two
days later, with the help of uh, you know, some
other local restaurants rallying around and some churches getting involved,
two days later he went right back to feeding hungry kids.
I'm sure while the restaurant was still smoldering.
Speaker 3 (29:31):
I think the day one day, one day, we never lost.
Speaker 5 (29:34):
One day one day.
Speaker 6 (29:36):
Yeah, well I was lucky. The Bishop of Ascani, you
know the christ Cathedral. Yeah, he said, well, Noll, just
find out to come TV because the news was all
over the country. He said, if you need a kitchen,
you welcome to use our kitchen. I said, thank you,
b shop May. We used the kitchen for a year
(29:57):
and a half. We never lost one day to cook
for the kids. And that was you know, sometimes I
just tell people sometimes when Gradgity happened to you, people
get in alcohol long suicide. I mean, you have so
many stories. Sure, when Gradgity happened, my medication was to
serve the kids pasta. They kind of make me forget
(30:21):
and I lost every team I was still doing the
same team fit in the kids past That was an amazing,
an amazing situation to be in. Some locations, cooking faster
for the kids. I was forgetting then. I didn't have
anymal wrestle, didn't have any job.
Speaker 1 (30:36):
Chef, can you speak, because we want to throw props
to work. Props are obviously very very do can you
talk about your your your staff and team of volunteers
that somehow pull this off daily. The logistics say, mind boggling.
Speaker 6 (30:52):
But I have an amazing food behind me from A
to Z. People work with me, work for me for
long time. My chef thirty five years, my GM thirty
four years, my back end of toty seven years, and
we're still all young and beautiful and years.
Speaker 3 (31:14):
And years together.
Speaker 6 (31:16):
But remember, you cannot do anything by yourself if you
don't have an amazing crew behind you.
Speaker 3 (31:22):
Yeah, and uh.
Speaker 6 (31:24):
The crew behind me at the restaurant, Akaterina's Club and
the Catherine Department amazing. I will never change the crew
for nothing else in the world. And the one who
give me those trying to keep doing what they do
also just unbelievable.
Speaker 2 (31:41):
So really, like I think you've left Brian and I
with with two main questions. Number one, when we come
to the White House, and we are absolutely coming to
the White House now, what is the specialty we must order? Like,
what's the thing that we have to have?
Speaker 3 (31:57):
Well, one of my I guess cup behind them TiSER.
Speaker 6 (32:02):
When I was a buzzboy general manager, I woke in
the French Cristan called Levi and rose it was the
best French Crestland's no there anymore.
Speaker 3 (32:13):
He had the escagoa.
Speaker 1 (32:16):
We have an ongoing quest between the two of us
because in our group, all our friends were the only
two people who cherish a good es cargo.
Speaker 3 (32:26):
Better than faris we are we?
Speaker 1 (32:30):
Okay? Well, I swear to God.
Speaker 3 (32:32):
That's item another idem. But did a special Ravioli? Loved Ravioli?
Speaker 6 (32:37):
I did it from when Stephanie a long time ago
and when loved so much as she's a nam girls.
Speaker 3 (32:44):
As you know, we decided to put them on the manual.
Speaker 6 (32:48):
And uh, I did a something that hiated myself by mistake.
I did a I do a poach salmon so with
the white chocolate mashed potato. Oh wow, that is a
big big seals.
Speaker 1 (33:02):
What kind of meshed potato is white chocolate? You heard
him correctly, chocolate meshed potato. I'm in, I'm in okay.
So look look you guys, you could learn more about
the restaurant and all of its amazing dishes in history
at Anaheim Whitehouse dot com. You can also learn more
about Sir slash Chef slash Saint Bruno and how to
(33:25):
read his incredible book, by the way, which is called
The Power of Pasta. You can learn all of that
at Chef Brunoserado dot com. But far more importantly, Chef,
if people want to get involved in helping support your
many incredible missions, whether it's Katerina's Club or or the
Welcome Home Program or the Hospitality Academy, I'm guessing the
(33:46):
best place for them to go would be Katerina's Club
dot org.
Speaker 3 (33:49):
Is that right, perfectly?
Speaker 2 (33:52):
Katerina's Club dot org. We're also going to post a
link on our Big Good Humans podcast site so you
can get all the details there.
Speaker 1 (33:58):
And as your mud would say, Viva Lapasta, and now
as we and our listeners would say, Viva la Bruno.
Speaker 2 (34:08):
Yeah, I mean you're the reason. You are the reason
we wanted to do this kind of a show in
the first place, Chef, because well, that and the free
food we might get. Well, yeah, we're going for the escargo.
But truthfully, as you said, yourself so eloquently, like when
times are down and when things are ugly around you,
you got to double down and triple down on your
efforts to put some love into the universe. And you, sir,
(34:29):
hate your.
Speaker 1 (34:31):
Soul is rich. Thank you so much for being here
with us, and we hope, we hope to have.
Speaker 3 (34:35):
You on again.
Speaker 5 (34:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (34:36):
Absolutely, I'd be here anytime you want me, and we
will be at the White House. Yeah, very soon, within
the month.
Speaker 5 (34:43):
We're gonna come down.
Speaker 6 (34:44):
For the rest before I'm going to a home. She's
thirty ninety, the best gorgeous woman in the world. It's
called Sophia.
Speaker 1 (34:57):
No, you're going to Sophia la Wren's birthday party in Rome.
Speaker 3 (35:01):
Who is Wow?
Speaker 2 (35:03):
Yeah, you are living your very best life, sir say
blessed by the Pope.
Speaker 5 (35:07):
I know, I know.
Speaker 6 (35:11):
She love what they do, and be honest, she love
what they do. Song my friend too. I love what
they do with my charity. Spoke my charity. And this
is a special girl. They do home always.
Speaker 3 (35:26):
They will love me to be there, and I could
not sit down to Sophia.
Speaker 1 (35:29):
Please tell Sophia that happy birthday for us, and that
you know she owes me like fifty bucks, so if
you could maybe with that her Yeah, don't tell me that.
Speaker 2 (35:39):
Thank you very much for joining us, sir, It's been
an absolute honor and privilege.
Speaker 3 (35:42):
Thank you, Thank you. Chio.
Speaker 4 (35:53):
We will take you suck.
Speaker 1 (35:56):
Welcome back to the Big Good Humans podcast. That was amazing,
so amazing. Now, you know, we research these the guests
if they're kind enough to want to come on our
show and we want to kind of know what we're
talking about. We just stopped chewing for ten seconds. It's
a doughnuts. You know you're gonna eat another and especially
hungry now.
Speaker 5 (36:16):
Talking about ascargo and pasta and everything else. Come on.
Speaker 1 (36:18):
But in the research that I know you felt the
same thing that that that I did. It was like
what really? Yeah, really have I been living under a rock?
Speaker 5 (36:29):
I don't.
Speaker 1 (36:29):
All these interviews he's done on size unbelievable. I mean,
he's unbelievable. He is a saint. He is truly, truly
an amazing, amazing person. And as a side note for
those of you who aren't watching this on on YouTube
or wherever you watch the video or podcast, uh, he's
doing this interview from his kitchen, which Apropos right, but
(36:52):
the most heartwarming thing to me is that his kitchen
is so humble. It's like the size of you know,
your in the house you grew up in.
Speaker 2 (37:01):
Warm, humble, sweet like I just wanted to sit at
the table with him, and it was a.
Speaker 1 (37:05):
Toaster oven on the thing, you know, an air fry.
I mean just it was so sweet of him.
Speaker 2 (37:10):
Just unbelievable and we are blessed to have had him
in our presence, as we also feel the same way
about you.
Speaker 5 (37:18):
Guys.
Speaker 2 (37:18):
Thank you for being with us. But yeah, okay, I'll
be the young We are delighted to have you here.
Speaker 1 (37:24):
Yeah, I mean, not as much as him.
Speaker 5 (37:25):
We also thank.
Speaker 2 (37:27):
You for following us on the socials and by the way,
we especially thank you because one of our listeners again
turned us on to yeah Chef Bruno, And this is
why we encourage you so much to go to be
Good Humans podcast dot com. Tell us about the good
humans in your lives. Tell us all of your pointers.
Speaker 1 (37:46):
Sean, do we have the name of the nice lady
who sent us a story about Chef Bruno?
Speaker 2 (37:52):
Wait to put Sean on the spot. He'll have it
within seconds. Thank you for all of your support, and
do please go to Begod Humans podcast dot com. I'm
not only to get a direct link to Katerina's club
dot org in the ways that you can support, I'm
trying to stall as much as I can for you
here Sean.
Speaker 1 (38:09):
Lorian Gibbs Gibbs, Thank you, Lorian Gibbson, Thank you.
Speaker 2 (38:12):
Look what happened. Look at the gift you just gave it.
I know you are awesome, so uh Viva La Gibson,
Viva La Gibson and Viva La Escargo and Viva La
Good Humans. We really appreciate you being with us. We
will see you next time.
Speaker 1 (38:24):
Be Good Humans. Bye bye, Good Humans.
Speaker 4 (38:29):
Be good Humans. Be good Humans, or we will thank
you suck.
Speaker 2 (38:36):
Be Good Humans is executive produced by Brian Phelps, Trey Callaway,
and Grant Anderson, with the associate producers Sean Fitzgerald and Clementine
Callaway and partnership with straw Hut Media.
Speaker 1 (38:44):
Please like, follow, and subscribe, and remember be Good Humans.