August 7, 2024 • 34 mins
What if you could uncover the secrets behind the careers of top culinary professionals? Join me, Coach Mikki, as I sit down with the remarkable David Page, president and executive producer of Page Productions, to discuss his journey from radio to television and his latest venture into podcasting with "Culinary Characters Unlocked." Discover David's passion for storytelling, particularly through engaging conversations with chefs and restaurateurs, and listen as he shares an enchanting anecdote about his first guest, the legendary Nancy Silverton, a pioneer of California cuisine and artisanal bread in America.
Our conversation also navigates the richness of regional cuisines, revealing how modern transportation and technology have made local flavors accessible far beyond their origins. Reflect on the significance of experiencing local foods in their native settings, like the unique taste of Jersey Shore oysters or South Georgia shrimp. Insights from my chat with Adrian Miller, a scholar of Southern and African-American food, provide a deeper understanding of Southern cuisine's diversity, from German-inspired Tennessee barbecue sauces to African-American-developed whole hog barbecue. This episode emphasizes the cultural stories embedded in the foods we cherish.
The adventure concludes with a tantalizing journey through the South, exploring the regional differences in beloved dishes like grits and cream of wheat, and a dive into the history of Gullah Geechee cuisine. Alongside fascinating travel stories, including a memorable dining experience in Ethiopia and a quirky tale about NATO's smallest army in Luxembourg, this episode is a testament to the vibrant world of food and culture. Get a sneak peek into David's upcoming podcast and the incredible guests he will feature, and don't forget to check out his website for more details.
We look forward to seeing you succeed! - www.KeepOnSharing.com - Code - KOS
www.CoachMikkiandFriends.com
Join my guests on my YouTube Channel
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, I'm Coach Mickey and I'm so glad that you've
joined us, and if this is yourfirst time joining us, come on
in and make yourself comfortable, and for those of you that join
us on a regular basis, we areso glad that you do.
And thank you so much forreaching out to my guests.
I know they appreciate it and Iappreciate it because I have my
guests on, so you have theopportunity to collaborate and
connect with these people andsee what they're doing, and I'm
(00:23):
excited because today is goingto be so much fun again, as we
always have.
However, this guest, David Page, has been on my podcast and he
has not been yet to be here onour YouTube channel, so this is
going to be fun and he's gotsome new and exciting things to
talk about and what he's doing,and I love this.
I love to bring on somebody whois moving on to a new venture
(00:46):
and we can give them thatsupport and help them.
And if you're not familiar whoDavid Page is, I'm going to tell
you a little bit about him.
David Page is the president andexecutive producer of Page
Productions.
Host and executive producer,Culinary Characters Unlocked.
He is an Emmy winning,international acclaimed
journalist, executive producerof food and loves to travel and
(01:09):
he is the creator on beloved,groundbreaking show of Diners,
Drives, Dives and Diner.
Oh my gosh, David, I'm justgoing to jump right in.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Diners, drive-ins and Dives there you go.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
Thank you, Put a temp though I mean mean you know,
you got a couple of the wordsright yeah, I know I'm having
one of those days first day withmy new tongue um I hope you got
the extended warranty at my ageI think it's running out oh god
anyway, the reason I have youon here today is because I'm
really excited because you aregoing to be launching a new
(01:47):
podcast that is going to be somuch fun, and it's on my
favorite subject, which isworking with culinary and
working with different chefs andchefs that are upcoming, and
I'm excited to hear about this.
So tell me, how did thistranspire?
How did this get started?
Speaker 2 (02:05):
Well, first of all, thank you for having me back
Always a pleasure.
It got started because it's thenext thing I've.
You know I've been doing thisfor God knows how long and I
started in radio.
I moved into television, then Iwrote a book the new frontier
is podcasting, which is really.
The new frontier is podcasting,which is really.
(02:27):
I say I started in television,I started in local radio and
podcasting is local radio 2.0.
It's being able to take journeysin your mind, painting the
pictures yourself, but it alsoallows for a less structured
conversation in which you can godeeper into things.
You know, I've been speaking tochefs for years
(02:47):
journalistically, but when youput a chef on a show like Diners
, it's to discuss what's goingon in front of you.
I wrote my book.
I talked to chefs, but it wasabout specific foods or foodways
.
I find chefs to be, andrestaurateurs and other people
in the culinary world to befascinating people and I wanted
(03:09):
an opportunity to just shoot thebull with them.
Think of sitting in a Europeanrestaurant and occupying that
table after you're done eating,a thing you don't get to do much
in the States because they wantto turn the tables.
There's more of a tradition ofleisurely dining in continental
(03:30):
Europe and the conversation youcan have at that point with
someone especially if it's thechef or someone else in the
culinary world that's wherethings get really interesting.
You know, how'd you become achef?
Why'd you become a chef?
What do you see going on in theworld of food?
And the stories are fascinating.
One of the, in fact, the premierepisode of the podcast dropping
(03:53):
August 27th on every podcastplatform will be, my guess will
be Nancy Silverton, a legend inLos Angeles, the country and the
world.
Frankly, she is credited as oneof the founding forces of
California cuisine.
She is often lauded for reallyturning Americans on to
(04:16):
artisanal bread.
She's won the James Beard Awardfor Best Chef, best Pastry Chef
, and is owner of the bestrestaurant in America.
Her current restaurant has aMichelin star.
She's extraordinary.
When I talked to her about herpast, you know I said were you
cooking growing up?
The answer is no.
(04:36):
She did not grow up as what wewould today call a foodie.
She got into the businessbecause in college she developed
a crush on the guy who wascooking in the dormitory, so she
asked him for a job as a ployto get together with him and
begin a relationship.
Well, the relationship didn'tlast very long, but she looked
(04:59):
up one day and said you know, Icould do this for a living, and
that's how she became one of theworld's greatest chefs.
Said you know, I could do thisfor a living, and that's how she
became one of the world'sgreatest chefs.
It's that kind of story that Ifind fascinating.
And there's something else, look.
To succeed in the food business, it's necessary to be
passionate, and not just ingeneral, although that doesn't
(05:22):
hurt.
It's necessary to be passionateabout pleasing people, about
making them happy.
Because, look, if you want tofind a tougher line of work, I
suppose fighter pilot or ditchdigger qualify, but this is
physically demanding work.
The chances of success areminimal.
(05:43):
Restaurants fail left and right, a process deeply exacerbated
by the pandemic and now deeplyinfluenced by food prices.
It's a tough way to make aliving.
You've really got to want to dothis, and I find these people
extremely interesting, and youwill too when you listen to the
(06:05):
podcast which, by the way,debuts August 27th on every
popular platform.
Culinary characters unlocked.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
I love it and you know I've always wondered that,
because I know being arestaurant owner, just in
general, takes a lot of time,commitment, you know, and now
you throw the passion in there,and that really sets up for
success.
You know, I'm just likeanything else, however, but to
take something where you'vestarted, you know, as her story,
where she just started cookingand then realized she could make
(06:35):
a life out of it and go on tomake it into a career and then
excel into becoming a Michelinstar chef and then having a
number one restaurant, I mean,that's a lot of work, time and
commitment, and hearing thosestories is always inspiring, you
know, whether it's through therestaurant or that, but I do
know for a fact that food is avery difficult career to be
(06:57):
involved with.
There's so many, so manydifferent people available to do
it.
You have other guests that arecoming on too.
I mean and you said some ofthem were maybe upcoming,
upcoming chefs and people thatare working in this field.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
Yeah, I talked to Christina Lin, who won a 2020
for James Beard Award as bestchef in the Midwest.
She has two restaurants.
She is the of vietnameseimmigrants.
She has a southeast asianrestaurant in minneapolis which
is not only I was going to sayjust, but I don't mean to demean
(07:34):
the cuisine in any way it's notonly vietnamese, it is her
fusionistic take on foods fromall over Southeast Asia,
indonesia, thailand, yes,vietnam and it's for her work
there that she just won theJames Beard Award.
She began in the food businesswith no experience in the food
(07:58):
business, partnered with herhusband, who had no experience
in the food business, and theyjust decided one day let's get
into the food business.
So they looked around anddecided to open a, a food truck.
Uh, many successful brick andmortar start as a food truck
because financially it's a hellof a lot easier, although the
regulations in some places arestill byzantine.
(08:19):
They decided to start a foodtruck and they went looking for
a cuisine to feature and theychose arepas, which are a
generally South American,colombian, I think, peruvian
cornmeal bund sandwich, and theymade a go of that, turned that
(08:41):
into a brick and mortar to gowith that.
Turn that into a brick andmortar.
And then, because it'sMinneapolis and a food truck
doesn't really work in 30 below,they would spend the winters
elsewhere.
Uh, for example, backpacking oneyear through Southeast Asia and
to some extent rediscoveringher parents' cuisine although
(09:03):
she ate plenty of it at home,but also discovering the
cuisines of other countries.
And she brought that back anddecided yes, it's time to open
something featuring that kind offood.
And you know the difficultiesin doing that are who the hell
in Minneapolis has cookedSoutheast Asian food?
(09:25):
Every chef that comes in, astrained as they are, needs to be
retrained from the beginning inan entirely different kind of
cooking.
It's not simple.
You know there's this view thatyou throw some stuff in a wok
(09:45):
or I guess wok is the morecorrect pronunciation throw in
some coconut milk and ta-da, yougot Southeast Asian cooking.
It's not like that.
It is a highly complex bunch ofcuisines, I said to her.
I said you know, let's talkVietnam, let's talk Vietnam.
Yes, I certainly know there wasa North Vietnam and a South
Vietnam, because I grew up witha draft number the last year
(10:11):
they were drafting for theVietnamese war and luckily I was
not called.
But all I know about Vietnameseculture is.
There was North Vietnam, therewas South Vietnam, now there's
Vietnam, I said.
But every country, every culturehas more than a national
cuisine.
They have regional cuisines.
(10:32):
You know, we talk here aboutItalian food generally,
referring to the red sauce-basedsouthern Italian stuff that
came and it's wonderful foodthat came here with an early
wave of Italian immigrants inthe 1800s.
In fact, the different regionsof Italy all have different
foods, as do the differentregions of all countries,
(10:54):
because initial regionalcuisines are based on what grows
there or what can be huntedthere, and it's different in
Calabria than it is in Venice.
Well, it's the same in Vietnam,as Christina explained to me.
Yes, there is a generallynorthern cuisine and there is a
generally southern cuisine, butthere are also individual
(11:17):
cuisines, such as themountainous regions or the
Mekong Delta, where it's evenmore seafood-based than in the
rest of the country.
So one of the things I want toget into is, beyond what we, you
know, there's more toVietnamese cuisine than Pho and
Banh Mi, and that's the kind ofinformation that fascinates me.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
Well, I know you have traveled a lot of the world
because in our prior podcast wehad, we had covered a lot of
that when you were, you know,from your first book and and I
so I know that you had you'refamiliar with a lot of it,
because you even shared a lot ofthose experiences from the
foods that you had had anopportunity to, to take part of.
And it makes a lot of sensebecause even for me, I've
(12:04):
traveled a lot of the world, butalso even just here in the
United States, I mean, look,you've got Southern cuisine when
you go to Southern Louisiana.
Speaker 2 (12:13):
I mean I'm going to back up Define Southern cuisine.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
Oh yeah, okay.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
Very regional cuisines that differ by location
.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
You're right.
You're right, I by location,you're right, you're right.
Speaker 2 (12:27):
I was going to say that I had an opportunity to
have alligator.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
Well, you're not going to get alligator in
California, but it's so it makessense, like in every other
country for the same thing.
But what a gift to have someonewho could take all those
flavors and meats and spices andthen present them and bring
them to give you a true taste ofthat culture.
You know, someplace you wouldnever get a chance to experience
(12:50):
it, and in Minnesota, my gosh.
I mean, where are you going toget that in Minnesota?
But how?
Speaker 2 (12:55):
wonderful.
Well, but see, you're gettinginto interesting territory here,
which is and remind me to goback and talk about Southern
cuisine in my conversation withAdrian Miller but what you're
seeing in the country now is, tosome extent, a homogenization
of regional cuisines, because itused to be that if you wanted
Memphis barbecue, you prettymuch had to go to Memphis, and
(13:17):
if you wanted Central Texasbrisket you had to go to Central
Texas.
But with freezing and airshipping and the Internet and
growing mobility in the countrywhen I say growing mobility, I
mean over the past 75 years yeah, you can now get versions of
(13:38):
what used to be regional out ofthose regions.
And on the one hand, you know,if I live on the Jersey Shore,
if I want some brisket, yes, Ican go get it.
It's not going to be anywherenear as good as the brisket that
I get at Louie Miller'sBarbecue in Taylor, texas, which
is the best I've ever had.
So it's you know what's betteravailability or perfection?
(14:01):
Um, I still like the romance ofeating what comes from a
particular place in thatparticular place, and the
chances are they're going to doit better.
And and you know it's so uniqueto some people New Orleans is
legendary for oysters.
Well, it is, in my view, forsome oyster dishes Fried oysters
(14:26):
, barbecued oysters those aregreat out of the Gulf Coast, but
if I'm eating oysters on thehalf shell, I find Gulf Coast
oysters, because of the warmnessof the water, to be less briny
and less tasty than the oystersI can get right here off the
Jersey Shore.
(14:46):
Now what's hilarious is thatwhen you go to happy hour around
where I live, which is atourist area, the local oysters
the Delaware bays are up on thehappy hour board for a buck each
, and the imported oysters fromthe Pacific Northwest or the
Gulf, those are two and threebucks.
Well, the best oyster on theboard is still the Delaware Bay
(15:10):
because it's local and easilyavailable, hence mildly cheaper.
The tourists tend to go for themore expensive stuff that
doesn't come from here.
If you're someplace, eat whatthey produce.
Don't eat shrimp up here.
They're frozen and probablyfrom Indonesia.
Eat shrimp when you go to SouthGeorgia or when you go to
(15:33):
Louisiana.
Again, we live in a tourist area.
There is an active fishing portclose to my home and we bring
in here we I'm not the fishermen, but they bring in here the
best scallops I've ever had.
Starting this time of year,they bring tuna in here.
I don't see tourists orderinglocal tuna, they don't know
(15:55):
better, but it's phenomenal.
I made pokey at home.
In fact, this time my wife madeit.
I usually make it, but my wifemade it out of local tuna and it
was unbelievable.
It was extraordinary.
Eat local.
Now let me.
I remember you were going totell me you didn't tell me to
jump back to Adrian Miller.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
I was waiting for you to finish.
I'm sorry.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
I just kept going Okay.
Speaker 1 (16:18):
I love your passion.
I love your passion.
Speaker 2 (16:19):
I love your passion, I care deeply and I hope it
comes across in the podcast.
Adrian Miller was a Clintonadministration official, a
lawyer, a scholar, who turnedhis scholarly interests to food,
specifically the food of theSouth and the subset within that
(16:42):
of African-American food, andhe takes me on a phenomenal
journey through the variationsof both, and they're not
necessarily the same, althoughAfrican-American cooking clearly
underpins virtually all of whatbecame more broadly known as
Southern cooking.
And he's fascinating, he youknow it's the stories of how
(17:08):
food developed in the Southcover so much territory from a
barbecue sauce invented inTennessee by German immigrants
so that they could be remindedof the tangy flavors of German
dishes like sauerbraten, towhole hog barbecue, which was
(17:29):
pretty much developed byenslaved African-Americans, to
the differences between lowcountry cooking in the Carolinas
and New Orleans, cooking whichto some extent starts with
similar ingredients but ends upsignificantly different because
(17:54):
of the way the dishes evolvedover time and because of
specifically which ingredientswere available where.
Speaker 1 (18:05):
It's funny how you were saying this, and a story
came to mind for me, based onthe different regions that
you're from.
I'm originally from New Yorkand at the time the person I was
married to was from the South.
Well, the first time I went tohis house and I had met his
parents, we had gone back, itwas in Atlanta they had made
breakfast.
Now, I was not familiar withgrits, I was only familiar with
(18:29):
cream of wheat.
So here he's his family servesgrits.
Now, in the South, in grits youuse butter and salt.
Well, unbeknownst to me, youknow, unbeknownst to me, and you
know, unbeknown to me, I'vegrabbed the sugar and the milk,
and I thought they would be.
Speaker 2 (18:45):
I thought their heads were going to explode by the
way, there are places, there areplaces in the south, where,
where you do put sugar in grits,apparently not where you were,
you're talking about, about many, many, many years ago.
Speaker 1 (19:00):
So I think everybody's evolved now, but
just to tell you the difference.
And then I've come to love.
I love shrimp and grits oh mygosh, I had that down in
Savannah and then you get thatlow boil where they just take
that big pot and they just dumpit on your table and you're like
you just share it family styleand I love it.
See, this is why I love talkingto somebody like you, because
(19:28):
you've experienced, you'vetraveled, you know this, and I
think people just they don't getout of their comfort zone
enough when it comes to food.
They want the same thing, thesame place, and it's like, come
on, try something different.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
But what's fascinating is how much I don't
know Talking to Adrian Miller,for example.
Was it Adrian, or wait a second, let me much I don't know
Talking to Adrian Miller, forexample.
Was it Adrian?
Or wait a second, let me.
I don't think it was.
Who was I talking to?
Give me one?
Oh, I think.
Where is his name?
Oh, I'm so sorry, I've losttrack of who it was.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
Come back to it.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
Okay, no, talking to an expert on gulagichi cooking,
which really is the foundationof cooking in Charleston and the
Lowcountry, I expressed mybelief that shrimp and grits was
a quintessential gulagichi dishand he said well, we eat it.
But, frankly, if you walk intoa gulagichi home which simply
(20:26):
means they are descendant ofenslaved peoples you're more
likely to be offered fish andgrits Fried fish served atop
grits.
That shrimp and grits yes,they're popular, but that was
never.
Grits yes, they're popular, butthat that was never the
keystone dish, even though it'snow been adopted increasingly by
white Southerners as, um, youknow, a cornerstone meal.
(20:50):
And when I was in Charlestonnot that long ago, I enjoyed
shrimp and grits, not havingheard yet about fish and grits.
Uh, but that's on my bucketlist for next time.
Speaker 1 (21:02):
That's pretty awesome , I would say.
Out of all the places thatyou've traveled and all the food
that you've had an opportunityto experience, what would you
say is your favorite and yourfavorite ones that you've
actually had?
Speaker 2 (21:13):
Well, look, there is the old analogy you know who's
your favorite child?
Now I only have one child, sothat's simple.
But I can't pick a favorite,but I can discuss some
extraordinary moments.
Speaker 1 (21:27):
Very great.
Speaker 2 (21:41):
Okay, of a rather spicy meat stew or braise, that
you picked up with these kind ofspongy pancakes, sort of the
way you would eat a Mexicanbreakfast.
Let's say that was prettyextraordinary.
Not only was the food amazing,but I've never been to a more
(22:04):
physically interesting orprettier place than Ethiopia, so
that was pretty cool.
We had a meal in Luxembourg.
We were I was with NBC News atthe time and was looking for a
way to tell.
I got assigned a preview storyfor a NATO summit and that.
(22:25):
Just Google that and it'll, andjust a big warning sign will
flash.
Boring, boring, boring.
Because every story about aNATO summit is done out of
Brussels and you talk about thepolitical BS.
I had no interest.
So what I said to myself wasand this was shortly after
Germany had unified andsolidified its place as a
(22:49):
unified country in NATO Ithought to myself okay, we're
going to do a NATO summit.
Who is the smallest army in NATO?
Turned out that was Luxembourg.
The army was so small, theyonly had 600 members.
The guy in charge of it was acolonel, they didn't even have a
general, and the minister, thedefense minister, had two jobs.
(23:13):
He was also the agricultureminister.
So I said hey, fred, hold on,my dog is blocked in getting
here.
Come on, fred, here you go,there you go, you can do it.
I'll move the green screen.
Come on, freddy, okay, theworld's cutest beagle.
Well, there he is, okay.
Um, and it turned out thedefense minister was the
(23:37):
agriculture minister.
So I said let's go see what thestory is with nato's smallest
army.
Uh, and we went there and, likelike we were with the defense
minister while he was being theagriculture minister, on, like
the dairy day parade, he was ona float throwing small cartons
of milk to the audience.
(23:58):
And it was a legitimate story,because what I learned there was
that the Luxembourgers, havingbeen overrun by the Germans in
World War II, weren't sothrilled with the idea of
Germany as part of NATO.
And you know, they pointed outso this isn't all so great.
(24:25):
So there was a politicalelement to the story.
Um, anyway, we're shooting andit was great, and we're
exhausted, we're tired, I don'tknow why we're covered with mud,
I don't know where we've beenthat day, and driving back from
the French border to Luxembourgcity, and you're thinking to
yourself could this story getany longer?
Driving back from the Frenchborder to Luxembourg city.
(24:45):
We're hungry and we see a signfor a restaurant.
So it's me, my correspondentand uh and our crew sounding and
uh, picture.
And we pull up this kind ofprivate driveway to an old stone
building.
We walk in and I suddenlyrealized we have made a big
mistake.
This is as white tablecloth arestaurant as you're going to
(25:08):
find.
We're in mud-covered jeans.
This isn't going to work andI'm thinking maybe we should
leave.
And the owner sees us and comesout.
And the owner is an expatriatefrom Tucson who was so thrilled
to see us that he delivered oneof the finest meals of my life,
complete with his own privatestock champagne.
(25:30):
That was a very specialexperience.
I had one in Hong Kong, and mywork was Europe, africa and the
Middle East.
I went to Hong Kong with mywife and daughter for the
Beijing Olympics, the equestriangames of those Olympics, which
I think was 2016,.
(25:51):
But I got to double check.
Anyway, the equestrian gameswere held in Hong Kong, the
illusion being the explanationbeing so that all of China could
be included.
The reality is no one wastaking a million dollar horse
into mainland China for fear ofequine illness.
Anyway, and my daughter not atOlympic level, but was a
(26:12):
successful, competitiveequestrian.
So we went to Hong Kong for thegames.
Anyway, while we're there, Idecide we need to find a
restaurant.
No visitor has ever been in Atruly local place and I
convinced the concierge at thehotel that I knew what I was
doing.
I was serious, and he sent usoff to a place.
(26:35):
We got there and the entrancewas down a flight of stairs and
you walk in and it's thismassive room filled with
communal tables.
We're the only Caucasians inthe place.
It's a cacophony of was itMandarin?
I'm not sure what Chinesedialect was mostly spoken in
(26:57):
Hong Kong, anyway.
So we find ourselves a seat at atable and we finally get
noticed and served.
Now the first thing they bringto your table is some bowls with
tepid water, a bowl with tepidwater in it and some spoons or
bowls with, anyway, the ideabeing that you are supposed to
(27:18):
wash your own spoon in this bowlof tepid water.
Ok, I'll take the risk.
Water.
Okay, I'll take the risk.
Then what it turns out to be isit's like a dim sum parlor in
the United States, only massive.
I say the United States, newYork, philly, san Francisco well
, you know places withsignificant Chinatowns and
(27:40):
people are coming around withthe wicker baskets full of dim
sum and we're pointing and we'rehaving a great time.
Wicker baskets full of dim sum,and we're pointing and we're
having a great time, and onebasket comes by and I point at
it and suddenly from the tablebehind me and to my right, an
elderly gentleman pops up andsays and now no one has spoken
to us.
No, no, no guests there.
(28:11):
This guy speaks up and says andI quote that not for you.
Now, of course, and first ofall, thank you, sir, for trying
to protect me from making agustatory mistake, because it's
pretty clear, americans are very, very timid when it comes to
food choices.
But now I had to try it.
It turns out it was duck foot,which ain't my favorite, but it
was fine.
(28:31):
I mean, it had a unique texture, not a whole lot of flavor.
I mean, duck foot and eggplantare the same thing in that
they're relatively tasteless andthey serve as a flavor delivery
system for something else.
But the moment of this guytrying to guide me away from
(28:56):
something he presumed I wouldnot like.
How do you get a better mealthan that?
Speaker 1 (29:03):
That's awesome.
I love it.
Oh, can I throw in one more?
Yes, absolutely.
You know what Actually I'mgoing to give you.
We got five minutes.
I'm going to let you wrap upthe last five minutes and I
definitely have to have you back.
I want to have you back toshare some more stories.
Speaker 2 (29:18):
I would love to come back.
Speaker 1 (29:19):
Thank you, and also what you're doing, because and
again give a shout out aboutyour podcast before we wrap it
up and then tell your story,because I want people to be able
to reach out to you, because Iknow they're going to want to
hear more, especially with whatyou're sharing here.
Speaker 2 (29:31):
I would be delighted to come back.
Ok, quick story.
I was in Iraq before the firstIraq war.
I was there for a long time.
The food was awful Of courseit's Iraq.
The food was awful of courseit's Iraq.
The government throws me outbefore the war starts, which I
was disappointed about.
But they kicked me out and backin the day they were loose
(29:56):
about travel.
So I booked my travel throughthe Rome Bureau and I said
listen, I'm dead.
I want to stop in Rome for acouple of days.
On the way back to my home basein Frankfurt, could you book me
in to the Hassler, which at thetime was one of the top 10
hotels in the world?
It's the one at the top of theSpanish steps.
Keep an eye on the clock.
Cut me off if I have to.
(30:17):
You're good, you're good.
Anyway, I said please tell themthat I have been living without
vegetables for quite a while,without vegetables for quite a
while.
And after I check in could theydeliver a caprese to my room?
You know caprese, sliced tomatoand mozzarella and basil.
So I check into the Hassler,which is just an extraordinary
(30:38):
hotel, and I get to my room andseconds later they wheel in a
room service cart with thebiggest silver platter I've ever
seen in my life and they takethis filigree top off and it is
the biggest caprese I've everseen.
And I think to myself I can'tpossibly eat this.
But it was the freshestmozzarella mozzarella, to be
(30:58):
correct and the freshest Italiantomatoes and I gorged the whole
thing down.
I had tomato juice.
It was perfect.
Now my podcast CulinaryCharacters Unlocked.
You can get it atculinarycharactersunlockedcom or
any of your favorite podcastplatforms, including, of course,
apple and YouTube.
(31:18):
And some of the early guests.
I've got Dan Barber, who is theabsolute cutting edge of
redefining American eating atthis point.
I've got Drew Nieporent, whopartnered with Robert De Niro to
open Nobu and Tribeca Grill.
I've got Marvin Lender, one ofthe three brothers who brought
(31:41):
the bagel to all of America.
I've got Tony Gemignani, a13-time international pizza
winner.
I've got great people and I'vegot some people you haven't
heard of that you're going towant to look for after you hear
them talk to me.
That's Culinary CharactersUnlocked twice a week.
First episode, august 27th.
Did I get in before the clockran out?
Speaker 1 (32:01):
You are good, you are good I am.
I'm excited for you.
I think it's going to bewonderful.
I'm definitely going to belistening to your podcast
because again you are, you'recovering my food.
I mean, it was one of the greatthings and plus, to have all
these wonderful people on.
Please, please, please,everybody, reach out.
All the links will be downbelow If you're looking at the
(32:22):
YouTube channel to reach out toDavid and we know where his
podcast is and where you canfind it, along with also his
website, and then if you arelistening to this on Coach,
mickey and Friends, all of thatwill be into the description.
As you guys know, click whereyou can see the link when you
click on his name and I'll takeyou right to where you need to
go to hear more of David Page.
So, david, thank you so muchfor being with us today.
(32:46):
I am looking forward to havingyou back.
I'm looking forward to hearingyour podcast, seeing your
success.
Thank you so much for beinghere.
Speaker 2 (32:52):
Becky, thanks for having me Always a pleasure.
I'd be delighted to come back.
Speaker 1 (32:57):
All right, you guys.
Thanks again for being here.
I look forward to seeing youagain on our next podcast.
Until then, remember, the mostcourageous thing you can do is
be yourself.
Until then, we'll see you.
Hey, I'm Coach Mickey and I'm so glad that you've
joined us, and if this is yourfirst time joining us, come on
in and make yourself comfortable, and for those of you that join
us on a regular basis, we areso glad that you do.
And thank you so much forreaching out to my guests.
I know they appreciate it and Iappreciate it because I have my
guests on, so you have theopportunity to collaborate and
connect with these people andsee what they're doing, and I'm
(00:23):
excited because today is goingto be so much fun again, as we
always have.
However, this guest, David Page, has been on my podcast and he
has not been yet to be here onour YouTube channel, so this is
going to be fun and he's gotsome new and exciting things to
talk about and what he's doing,and I love this.
I love to bring on somebody whois moving on to a new venture
(00:46):
and we can give them thatsupport and help them.
And if you're not familiar whoDavid Page is, I'm going to tell
you a little bit about him.
David Page is the president andexecutive producer of Page
Productions.
Host and executive producer,Culinary Characters Unlocked.
He is an Emmy winning,international acclaimed
journalist, executive producerof food and loves to travel and
(01:09):
he is the creator on beloved,groundbreaking show of Diners,
Drives, Dives and Diner.
Oh my gosh, David, I'm justgoing to jump right in.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Diners, drive-ins and Dives there you go.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
Thank you, Put a temp though I mean mean you know,
you got a couple of the wordsright yeah, I know I'm having
one of those days first day withmy new tongue um I hope you got
the extended warranty at my ageI think it's running out oh god
anyway, the reason I have youon here today is because I'm
really excited because you aregoing to be launching a new
(01:47):
podcast that is going to be somuch fun, and it's on my
favorite subject, which isworking with culinary and
working with different chefs andchefs that are upcoming, and
I'm excited to hear about this.
So tell me, how did thistranspire?
How did this get started?
Speaker 2 (02:05):
Well, first of all, thank you for having me back
Always a pleasure.
It got started because it's thenext thing I've.
You know I've been doing thisfor God knows how long and I
started in radio.
I moved into television, then Iwrote a book the new frontier
is podcasting, which is really.
The new frontier is podcasting,which is really.
(02:27):
I say I started in television,I started in local radio and
podcasting is local radio 2.0.
It's being able to take journeysin your mind, painting the
pictures yourself, but it alsoallows for a less structured
conversation in which you can godeeper into things.
You know, I've been speaking tochefs for years
(02:47):
journalistically, but when youput a chef on a show like Diners
, it's to discuss what's goingon in front of you.
I wrote my book.
I talked to chefs, but it wasabout specific foods or foodways
.
I find chefs to be, andrestaurateurs and other people
in the culinary world to befascinating people and I wanted
(03:09):
an opportunity to just shoot thebull with them.
Think of sitting in a Europeanrestaurant and occupying that
table after you're done eating,a thing you don't get to do much
in the States because they wantto turn the tables.
There's more of a tradition ofleisurely dining in continental
(03:30):
Europe and the conversation youcan have at that point with
someone especially if it's thechef or someone else in the
culinary world that's wherethings get really interesting.
You know, how'd you become achef?
Why'd you become a chef?
What do you see going on in theworld of food?
And the stories are fascinating.
One of the, in fact, the premierepisode of the podcast dropping
(03:53):
August 27th on every podcastplatform will be, my guess will
be Nancy Silverton, a legend inLos Angeles, the country and the
world.
Frankly, she is credited as oneof the founding forces of
California cuisine.
She is often lauded for reallyturning Americans on to
(04:16):
artisanal bread.
She's won the James Beard Awardfor Best Chef, best Pastry Chef
, and is owner of the bestrestaurant in America.
Her current restaurant has aMichelin star.
She's extraordinary.
When I talked to her about herpast, you know I said were you
cooking growing up?
The answer is no.
(04:36):
She did not grow up as what wewould today call a foodie.
She got into the businessbecause in college she developed
a crush on the guy who wascooking in the dormitory, so she
asked him for a job as a ployto get together with him and
begin a relationship.
Well, the relationship didn'tlast very long, but she looked
(04:59):
up one day and said you know, Icould do this for a living, and
that's how she became one of theworld's greatest chefs.
Said you know, I could do thisfor a living, and that's how she
became one of the world'sgreatest chefs.
It's that kind of story that Ifind fascinating.
And there's something else, look.
To succeed in the food business, it's necessary to be
passionate, and not just ingeneral, although that doesn't
(05:22):
hurt.
It's necessary to be passionateabout pleasing people, about
making them happy.
Because, look, if you want tofind a tougher line of work, I
suppose fighter pilot or ditchdigger qualify, but this is
physically demanding work.
The chances of success areminimal.
(05:43):
Restaurants fail left and right, a process deeply exacerbated
by the pandemic and now deeplyinfluenced by food prices.
It's a tough way to make aliving.
You've really got to want to dothis, and I find these people
extremely interesting, and youwill too when you listen to the
(06:05):
podcast which, by the way,debuts August 27th on every
popular platform.
Culinary characters unlocked.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
I love it and you know I've always wondered that,
because I know being arestaurant owner, just in
general, takes a lot of time,commitment, you know, and now
you throw the passion in there,and that really sets up for
success.
You know, I'm just likeanything else, however, but to
take something where you'vestarted, you know, as her story,
where she just started cookingand then realized she could make
(06:35):
a life out of it and go on tomake it into a career and then
excel into becoming a Michelinstar chef and then having a
number one restaurant, I mean,that's a lot of work, time and
commitment, and hearing thosestories is always inspiring, you
know, whether it's through therestaurant or that, but I do
know for a fact that food is avery difficult career to be
(06:57):
involved with.
There's so many, so manydifferent people available to do
it.
You have other guests that arecoming on too.
I mean and you said some ofthem were maybe upcoming,
upcoming chefs and people thatare working in this field.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
Yeah, I talked to Christina Lin, who won a 2020
for James Beard Award as bestchef in the Midwest.
She has two restaurants.
She is the of vietnameseimmigrants.
She has a southeast asianrestaurant in minneapolis which
is not only I was going to sayjust, but I don't mean to demean
(07:34):
the cuisine in any way it's notonly vietnamese, it is her
fusionistic take on foods fromall over Southeast Asia,
indonesia, thailand, yes,vietnam and it's for her work
there that she just won theJames Beard Award.
She began in the food businesswith no experience in the food
(07:58):
business, partnered with herhusband, who had no experience
in the food business, and theyjust decided one day let's get
into the food business.
So they looked around anddecided to open a, a food truck.
Uh, many successful brick andmortar start as a food truck
because financially it's a hellof a lot easier, although the
regulations in some places arestill byzantine.
(08:19):
They decided to start a foodtruck and they went looking for
a cuisine to feature and theychose arepas, which are a
generally South American,colombian, I think, peruvian
cornmeal bund sandwich, and theymade a go of that, turned that
(08:41):
into a brick and mortar to gowith that.
Turn that into a brick andmortar.
And then, because it'sMinneapolis and a food truck
doesn't really work in 30 below,they would spend the winters
elsewhere.
Uh, for example, backpacking oneyear through Southeast Asia and
to some extent rediscoveringher parents' cuisine although
(09:03):
she ate plenty of it at home,but also discovering the
cuisines of other countries.
And she brought that back anddecided yes, it's time to open
something featuring that kind offood.
And you know the difficultiesin doing that are who the hell
in Minneapolis has cookedSoutheast Asian food?
(09:25):
Every chef that comes in, astrained as they are, needs to be
retrained from the beginning inan entirely different kind of
cooking.
It's not simple.
You know there's this view thatyou throw some stuff in a wok
(09:45):
or I guess wok is the morecorrect pronunciation throw in
some coconut milk and ta-da, yougot Southeast Asian cooking.
It's not like that.
It is a highly complex bunch ofcuisines, I said to her.
I said you know, let's talkVietnam, let's talk Vietnam.
Yes, I certainly know there wasa North Vietnam and a South
Vietnam, because I grew up witha draft number the last year
(10:11):
they were drafting for theVietnamese war and luckily I was
not called.
But all I know about Vietnameseculture is.
There was North Vietnam, therewas South Vietnam, now there's
Vietnam, I said.
But every country, every culturehas more than a national
cuisine.
They have regional cuisines.
(10:32):
You know, we talk here aboutItalian food generally,
referring to the red sauce-basedsouthern Italian stuff that
came and it's wonderful foodthat came here with an early
wave of Italian immigrants inthe 1800s.
In fact, the different regionsof Italy all have different
foods, as do the differentregions of all countries,
(10:54):
because initial regionalcuisines are based on what grows
there or what can be huntedthere, and it's different in
Calabria than it is in Venice.
Well, it's the same in Vietnam,as Christina explained to me.
Yes, there is a generallynorthern cuisine and there is a
generally southern cuisine, butthere are also individual
(11:17):
cuisines, such as themountainous regions or the
Mekong Delta, where it's evenmore seafood-based than in the
rest of the country.
So one of the things I want toget into is, beyond what we, you
know, there's more toVietnamese cuisine than Pho and
Banh Mi, and that's the kind ofinformation that fascinates me.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
Well, I know you have traveled a lot of the world
because in our prior podcast wehad, we had covered a lot of
that when you were, you know,from your first book and and I
so I know that you had you'refamiliar with a lot of it,
because you even shared a lot ofthose experiences from the
foods that you had had anopportunity to, to take part of.
And it makes a lot of sensebecause even for me, I've
(12:04):
traveled a lot of the world, butalso even just here in the
United States, I mean, look,you've got Southern cuisine when
you go to Southern Louisiana.
Speaker 2 (12:13):
I mean I'm going to back up Define Southern cuisine.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
Oh yeah, okay.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
Very regional cuisines that differ by location
.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
You're right.
You're right, I by location,you're right, you're right.
Speaker 2 (12:27):
I was going to say that I had an opportunity to
have alligator.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
Well, you're not going to get alligator in
California, but it's so it makessense, like in every other
country for the same thing.
But what a gift to have someonewho could take all those
flavors and meats and spices andthen present them and bring
them to give you a true taste ofthat culture.
You know, someplace you wouldnever get a chance to experience
(12:50):
it, and in Minnesota, my gosh.
I mean, where are you going toget that in Minnesota?
But how?
Speaker 2 (12:55):
wonderful.
Well, but see, you're gettinginto interesting territory here,
which is and remind me to goback and talk about Southern
cuisine in my conversation withAdrian Miller but what you're
seeing in the country now is, tosome extent, a homogenization
of regional cuisines, because itused to be that if you wanted
Memphis barbecue, you prettymuch had to go to Memphis, and
(13:17):
if you wanted Central Texasbrisket you had to go to Central
Texas.
But with freezing and airshipping and the Internet and
growing mobility in the countrywhen I say growing mobility, I
mean over the past 75 years yeah, you can now get versions of
(13:38):
what used to be regional out ofthose regions.
And on the one hand, you know,if I live on the Jersey Shore,
if I want some brisket, yes, Ican go get it.
It's not going to be anywherenear as good as the brisket that
I get at Louie Miller'sBarbecue in Taylor, texas, which
is the best I've ever had.
So it's you know what's betteravailability or perfection?
(14:01):
Um, I still like the romance ofeating what comes from a
particular place in thatparticular place, and the
chances are they're going to doit better.
And and you know it's so uniqueto some people New Orleans is
legendary for oysters.
Well, it is, in my view, forsome oyster dishes Fried oysters
(14:26):
, barbecued oysters those aregreat out of the Gulf Coast, but
if I'm eating oysters on thehalf shell, I find Gulf Coast
oysters, because of the warmnessof the water, to be less briny
and less tasty than the oystersI can get right here off the
Jersey Shore.
(14:46):
Now what's hilarious is thatwhen you go to happy hour around
where I live, which is atourist area, the local oysters
the Delaware bays are up on thehappy hour board for a buck each
, and the imported oysters fromthe Pacific Northwest or the
Gulf, those are two and threebucks.
Well, the best oyster on theboard is still the Delaware Bay
(15:10):
because it's local and easilyavailable, hence mildly cheaper.
The tourists tend to go for themore expensive stuff that
doesn't come from here.
If you're someplace, eat whatthey produce.
Don't eat shrimp up here.
They're frozen and probablyfrom Indonesia.
Eat shrimp when you go to SouthGeorgia or when you go to
(15:33):
Louisiana.
Again, we live in a tourist area.
There is an active fishing portclose to my home and we bring
in here we I'm not the fishermen, but they bring in here the
best scallops I've ever had.
Starting this time of year,they bring tuna in here.
I don't see tourists orderinglocal tuna, they don't know
(15:55):
better, but it's phenomenal.
I made pokey at home.
In fact, this time my wife madeit.
I usually make it, but my wifemade it out of local tuna and it
was unbelievable.
It was extraordinary.
Eat local.
Now let me.
I remember you were going totell me you didn't tell me to
jump back to Adrian Miller.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
I was waiting for you to finish.
I'm sorry.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
I just kept going Okay.
Speaker 1 (16:18):
I love your passion.
I love your passion.
Speaker 2 (16:19):
I love your passion, I care deeply and I hope it
comes across in the podcast.
Adrian Miller was a Clintonadministration official, a
lawyer, a scholar, who turnedhis scholarly interests to food,
specifically the food of theSouth and the subset within that
(16:42):
of African-American food, andhe takes me on a phenomenal
journey through the variationsof both, and they're not
necessarily the same, althoughAfrican-American cooking clearly
underpins virtually all of whatbecame more broadly known as
Southern cooking.
And he's fascinating, he youknow it's the stories of how
(17:08):
food developed in the Southcover so much territory from a
barbecue sauce invented inTennessee by German immigrants
so that they could be remindedof the tangy flavors of German
dishes like sauerbraten, towhole hog barbecue, which was
(17:29):
pretty much developed byenslaved African-Americans, to
the differences between lowcountry cooking in the Carolinas
and New Orleans, cooking whichto some extent starts with
similar ingredients but ends upsignificantly different because
(17:54):
of the way the dishes evolvedover time and because of
specifically which ingredientswere available where.
Speaker 1 (18:05):
It's funny how you were saying this, and a story
came to mind for me, based onthe different regions that
you're from.
I'm originally from New Yorkand at the time the person I was
married to was from the South.
Well, the first time I went tohis house and I had met his
parents, we had gone back, itwas in Atlanta they had made
breakfast.
Now, I was not familiar withgrits, I was only familiar with
(18:29):
cream of wheat.
So here he's his family servesgrits.
Now, in the South, in grits youuse butter and salt.
Well, unbeknownst to me, youknow, unbeknownst to me, and you
know, unbeknown to me, I'vegrabbed the sugar and the milk,
and I thought they would be.
Speaker 2 (18:45):
I thought their heads were going to explode by the
way, there are places, there areplaces in the south, where,
where you do put sugar in grits,apparently not where you were,
you're talking about, about many, many, many years ago.
Speaker 1 (19:00):
So I think everybody's evolved now, but
just to tell you the difference.
And then I've come to love.
I love shrimp and grits oh mygosh, I had that down in
Savannah and then you get thatlow boil where they just take
that big pot and they just dumpit on your table and you're like
you just share it family styleand I love it.
See, this is why I love talkingto somebody like you, because
(19:28):
you've experienced, you'vetraveled, you know this, and I
think people just they don't getout of their comfort zone
enough when it comes to food.
They want the same thing, thesame place, and it's like, come
on, try something different.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
But what's fascinating is how much I don't
know Talking to Adrian Miller,for example.
Was it Adrian, or wait a second, let me much I don't know
Talking to Adrian Miller, forexample.
Was it Adrian?
Or wait a second, let me.
I don't think it was.
Who was I talking to?
Give me one?
Oh, I think.
Where is his name?
Oh, I'm so sorry, I've losttrack of who it was.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
Come back to it.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
Okay, no, talking to an expert on gulagichi cooking,
which really is the foundationof cooking in Charleston and the
Lowcountry, I expressed mybelief that shrimp and grits was
a quintessential gulagichi dishand he said well, we eat it.
But, frankly, if you walk intoa gulagichi home which simply
(20:26):
means they are descendant ofenslaved peoples you're more
likely to be offered fish andgrits Fried fish served atop
grits.
That shrimp and grits yes,they're popular, but that was
never.
Grits yes, they're popular, butthat that was never the
keystone dish, even though it'snow been adopted increasingly by
white Southerners as, um, youknow, a cornerstone meal.
(20:50):
And when I was in Charlestonnot that long ago, I enjoyed
shrimp and grits, not havingheard yet about fish and grits.
Uh, but that's on my bucketlist for next time.
Speaker 1 (21:02):
That's pretty awesome , I would say.
Out of all the places thatyou've traveled and all the food
that you've had an opportunityto experience, what would you
say is your favorite and yourfavorite ones that you've
actually had?
Speaker 2 (21:13):
Well, look, there is the old analogy you know who's
your favorite child?
Now I only have one child, sothat's simple.
But I can't pick a favorite,but I can discuss some
extraordinary moments.
Speaker 1 (21:27):
Very great.
Speaker 2 (21:41):
Okay, of a rather spicy meat stew or braise, that
you picked up with these kind ofspongy pancakes, sort of the
way you would eat a Mexicanbreakfast.
Let's say that was prettyextraordinary.
Not only was the food amazing,but I've never been to a more
(22:04):
physically interesting orprettier place than Ethiopia, so
that was pretty cool.
We had a meal in Luxembourg.
We were I was with NBC News atthe time and was looking for a
way to tell.
I got assigned a preview storyfor a NATO summit and that.
(22:25):
Just Google that and it'll, andjust a big warning sign will
flash.
Boring, boring, boring.
Because every story about aNATO summit is done out of
Brussels and you talk about thepolitical BS.
I had no interest.
So what I said to myself wasand this was shortly after
Germany had unified andsolidified its place as a
(22:49):
unified country in NATO Ithought to myself okay, we're
going to do a NATO summit.
Who is the smallest army in NATO?
Turned out that was Luxembourg.
The army was so small, theyonly had 600 members.
The guy in charge of it was acolonel, they didn't even have a
general, and the minister, thedefense minister, had two jobs.
(23:13):
He was also the agricultureminister.
So I said hey, fred, hold on,my dog is blocked in getting
here.
Come on, fred, here you go,there you go, you can do it.
I'll move the green screen.
Come on, freddy, okay, theworld's cutest beagle.
Well, there he is, okay.
Um, and it turned out thedefense minister was the
(23:37):
agriculture minister.
So I said let's go see what thestory is with nato's smallest
army.
Uh, and we went there and, likelike we were with the defense
minister while he was being theagriculture minister, on, like
the dairy day parade, he was ona float throwing small cartons
of milk to the audience.
(23:58):
And it was a legitimate story,because what I learned there was
that the Luxembourgers, havingbeen overrun by the Germans in
World War II, weren't sothrilled with the idea of
Germany as part of NATO.
And you know, they pointed outso this isn't all so great.
(24:25):
So there was a politicalelement to the story.
Um, anyway, we're shooting andit was great, and we're
exhausted, we're tired, I don'tknow why we're covered with mud,
I don't know where we've beenthat day, and driving back from
the French border to Luxembourgcity, and you're thinking to
yourself could this story getany longer?
Driving back from the Frenchborder to Luxembourg city.
(24:45):
We're hungry and we see a signfor a restaurant.
So it's me, my correspondentand uh and our crew sounding and
uh, picture.
And we pull up this kind ofprivate driveway to an old stone
building.
We walk in and I suddenlyrealized we have made a big
mistake.
This is as white tablecloth arestaurant as you're going to
(25:08):
find.
We're in mud-covered jeans.
This isn't going to work andI'm thinking maybe we should
leave.
And the owner sees us and comesout.
And the owner is an expatriatefrom Tucson who was so thrilled
to see us that he delivered oneof the finest meals of my life,
complete with his own privatestock champagne.
(25:30):
That was a very specialexperience.
I had one in Hong Kong, and mywork was Europe, africa and the
Middle East.
I went to Hong Kong with mywife and daughter for the
Beijing Olympics, the equestriangames of those Olympics, which
I think was 2016,.
(25:51):
But I got to double check.
Anyway, the equestrian gameswere held in Hong Kong, the
illusion being the explanationbeing so that all of China could
be included.
The reality is no one wastaking a million dollar horse
into mainland China for fear ofequine illness.
Anyway, and my daughter not atOlympic level, but was a
(26:12):
successful, competitiveequestrian.
So we went to Hong Kong for thegames.
Anyway, while we're there, Idecide we need to find a
restaurant.
No visitor has ever been in Atruly local place and I
convinced the concierge at thehotel that I knew what I was
doing.
I was serious, and he sent usoff to a place.
(26:35):
We got there and the entrancewas down a flight of stairs and
you walk in and it's thismassive room filled with
communal tables.
We're the only Caucasians inthe place.
It's a cacophony of was itMandarin?
I'm not sure what Chinesedialect was mostly spoken in
(26:57):
Hong Kong, anyway.
So we find ourselves a seat at atable and we finally get
noticed and served.
Now the first thing they bringto your table is some bowls with
tepid water, a bowl with tepidwater in it and some spoons or
bowls with, anyway, the ideabeing that you are supposed to
(27:18):
wash your own spoon in this bowlof tepid water.
Ok, I'll take the risk.
Water.
Okay, I'll take the risk.
Then what it turns out to be isit's like a dim sum parlor in
the United States, only massive.
I say the United States, newYork, philly, san Francisco well
, you know places withsignificant Chinatowns and
(27:40):
people are coming around withthe wicker baskets full of dim
sum and we're pointing and we'rehaving a great time.
Wicker baskets full of dim sum,and we're pointing and we're
having a great time, and onebasket comes by and I point at
it and suddenly from the tablebehind me and to my right, an
elderly gentleman pops up andsays and now no one has spoken
to us.
No, no, no guests there.
(28:11):
This guy speaks up and says andI quote that not for you.
Now, of course, and first ofall, thank you, sir, for trying
to protect me from making agustatory mistake, because it's
pretty clear, americans are very, very timid when it comes to
food choices.
But now I had to try it.
It turns out it was duck foot,which ain't my favorite, but it
was fine.
(28:31):
I mean, it had a unique texture, not a whole lot of flavor.
I mean, duck foot and eggplantare the same thing in that
they're relatively tasteless andthey serve as a flavor delivery
system for something else.
But the moment of this guytrying to guide me away from
(28:56):
something he presumed I wouldnot like.
How do you get a better mealthan that?
Speaker 1 (29:03):
That's awesome.
I love it.
Oh, can I throw in one more?
Yes, absolutely.
You know what Actually I'mgoing to give you.
We got five minutes.
I'm going to let you wrap upthe last five minutes and I
definitely have to have you back.
I want to have you back toshare some more stories.
Speaker 2 (29:18):
I would love to come back.
Speaker 1 (29:19):
Thank you, and also what you're doing, because and
again give a shout out aboutyour podcast before we wrap it
up and then tell your story,because I want people to be able
to reach out to you, because Iknow they're going to want to
hear more, especially with whatyou're sharing here.
Speaker 2 (29:31):
I would be delighted to come back.
Ok, quick story.
I was in Iraq before the firstIraq war.
I was there for a long time.
The food was awful Of courseit's Iraq.
The food was awful of courseit's Iraq.
The government throws me outbefore the war starts, which I
was disappointed about.
But they kicked me out and backin the day they were loose
(29:56):
about travel.
So I booked my travel throughthe Rome Bureau and I said
listen, I'm dead.
I want to stop in Rome for acouple of days.
On the way back to my home basein Frankfurt, could you book me
in to the Hassler, which at thetime was one of the top 10
hotels in the world?
It's the one at the top of theSpanish steps.
Keep an eye on the clock.
Cut me off if I have to.
(30:17):
You're good, you're good.
Anyway, I said please tell themthat I have been living without
vegetables for quite a while,without vegetables for quite a
while.
And after I check in could theydeliver a caprese to my room?
You know caprese, sliced tomatoand mozzarella and basil.
So I check into the Hassler,which is just an extraordinary
(30:38):
hotel, and I get to my room andseconds later they wheel in a
room service cart with thebiggest silver platter I've ever
seen in my life and they takethis filigree top off and it is
the biggest caprese I've everseen.
And I think to myself I can'tpossibly eat this.
But it was the freshestmozzarella mozzarella, to be
(30:58):
correct and the freshest Italiantomatoes and I gorged the whole
thing down.
I had tomato juice.
It was perfect.
Now my podcast CulinaryCharacters Unlocked.
You can get it atculinarycharactersunlockedcom or
any of your favorite podcastplatforms, including, of course,
apple and YouTube.
(31:18):
And some of the early guests.
I've got Dan Barber, who is theabsolute cutting edge of
redefining American eating atthis point.
I've got Drew Nieporent, whopartnered with Robert De Niro to
open Nobu and Tribeca Grill.
I've got Marvin Lender, one ofthe three brothers who brought
(31:41):
the bagel to all of America.
I've got Tony Gemignani, a13-time international pizza
winner.
I've got great people and I'vegot some people you haven't
heard of that you're going towant to look for after you hear
them talk to me.
That's Culinary CharactersUnlocked twice a week.
First episode, august 27th.
Did I get in before the clockran out?
Speaker 1 (32:01):
You are good, you are good I am.
I'm excited for you.
I think it's going to bewonderful.
I'm definitely going to belistening to your podcast
because again you are, you'recovering my food.
I mean, it was one of the greatthings and plus, to have all
these wonderful people on.
Please, please, please,everybody, reach out.
All the links will be downbelow If you're looking at the
(32:22):
YouTube channel to reach out toDavid and we know where his
podcast is and where you canfind it, along with also his
website, and then if you arelistening to this on Coach,
mickey and Friends, all of thatwill be into the description.
As you guys know, click whereyou can see the link when you
click on his name and I'll takeyou right to where you need to
go to hear more of David Page.
So, david, thank you so muchfor being with us today.
(32:46):
I am looking forward to havingyou back.
I'm looking forward to hearingyour podcast, seeing your
success.
Thank you so much for beinghere.
Speaker 2 (32:52):
Becky, thanks for having me Always a pleasure.
I'd be delighted to come back.
Speaker 1 (32:57):
All right, you guys.
Thanks again for being here.
I look forward to seeing youagain on our next podcast.
Until then, remember, the mostcourageous thing you can do is
be yourself.
Until then, we'll see you.
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