February 25, 2025 • 35 mins
Bill Burden and his daughter Jennifer Rolander explore the deep connections of family, legacy, and leadership that define their business journey. Their conversation reveals how childhood experiences shaped their professional paths and the critical importance of mentorship in family-run enterprises.
• Bill's journey in Burden China from childhood involvement
• Jennifer's early influences and desire for the family business
• The significance of family values in business practices
• The blend of science and craftsmanship in production
• Importance of mentorship and knowledge transfer
• Lessons learned from working together as a family
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Confessions Beyond the Food.
I'm your host, nancy Redland.
Let's dig in and get inspired.
Hi, welcome back to ConfessionsBeyond the Food.
Today, I have the incredibleopportunity to sit down with not
just one, but two powerhouseguests Bill Burden and Jennifer
(00:24):
Rollander.
This conversation is superspecial because it's not just
about food service.
It's about legacy, leadershipand family.
Welcome, bill and Jennifer.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Hi, hi, nancy Hi.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
So Bill Burden is the former president of Texan China
and was the owner of BurdenChina.
He's known for his leadership,kindness and humility, and Bill
has shaped not just a companybut also countless careers and
relationships in the industry.
And also joining him is hisdaughter, jennifer Rollender.
(01:01):
She was recently on our podcastand today we're bringing her
back for something even morespecial, diving into their
shared experiences, lessonslearned and what it truly takes
to make an impact on thisbusiness.
So what do y'all say?
Do y'all want to dive in?
Speaker 2 (01:18):
We're ready to go, let's do it.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
Let's do this, okay.
So I first want to start offwith Bill, like you know, with
Burden China.
So it was a family business,prior, correct, correct.
And so tell me about how yougot roped into it.
Was it not at first sight, orwas it just like I had to do it?
Speaker 2 (01:41):
No, I never had to do it, like I had to do it.
No, I never had to do it.
But you know, as, when you havea family business, as kids we
were, my dad had started thebusiness just after the war, in
like 45 or 46.
And so as kids, you know, we'dhave to put things in bags and
(02:06):
take, peel labels off of stuff,whatever had to be done.
So it was something I starteddoing when, you know, I was
probably seven or eight yearsold.
I at one time had thought I wasgoing to go on to electronic
engineering, and then I ran intosomething called physics and I
(02:27):
decided that electronicengineering maybe wasn't going
to be my calling, and so that'swhat I kind of.
I at college I started takingmore marketing and business
administration classes that Inever really enjoyed going to
school.
So I finally I'd been to.
(02:47):
I went to Cal Poly, pomona, andI'd been there about three
years and I went to my dad and Isaid you know, I don't want to
go to school anymore, I'd ratherstart work and study.
He goes well, welcome aboard.
There it was.
(03:08):
It was never anything that Iwas pushed into, but I was
always working at the companyall through my youth teenage
years, a young adult of it.
Speaker 3 (03:20):
And then I followed suit, because I did the same
thing Worked as a kid for Birdand China.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
Yeah, and you kind of discussed that in our last
podcast, jennifer.
But growing up specificallyaround your dad's career in the
beginning, did you see yourselffollowing his footsteps?
I?
Speaker 3 (03:39):
don't think I really thought about it much and I
think it's kind of the same wayis here was my grandfather
running this business.
I was always around it and youknow, playing office, and I
loved it.
I mean that's what I used to do.
I used to play office and, youknow, get the in triplicate.
You know where they had thecarbon and stuff like that.
I mean I used to even do thatat home.
(04:02):
I played office at home, soobviously it was in me.
I wanted to do business there,home.
I played office at home, soobviously it was in me.
I wanted to do business.
There was obviously somethingthere.
But I mean I had full, I had adesk and I had two phones and I
created a catalog and I would bein my room and entertain myself
playing office and having abusiness.
That's amazing, yeah.
So I just now I was thinkingabout that.
It's really funny.
(04:23):
So I think it definitely was inmy blood because that was what
I enjoyed doing and I lovedgoing to the company and
decorating mugs.
I mean I challenged, I was likeI was speedy on decorating a
champion.
I was the champion ofdecorating mug.
So I think it was just innate.
(04:43):
It was just there, and so thatbusiness sense just kept going,
and then it just made sense towork for the company, and then
my mom started working, and soit was the three of us you know
as a family working together.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
Yes, and that's.
It's funny that you say that,jennifer.
I thinking back.
I too played office and my dadwas an entrepreneur, and so I
did the same thing, where Iwould go to his office and play
office at home with my sister,although we have like a store,
so it was clothes, but samething, right Photos plates.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
Yeah, I was doing furniture, china, all tabletop
stuff.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
Give her all the old order books and things from the
office and she'd bring all thatstuff and she'd be upstairs and
all of a sudden she'd comedownstairs and we're in the
family room watching tv orsomething and she's got her
border book and she what can Iget you?
And you know what are you atprices.
Speaker 3 (05:40):
I do it's hilarious such a salesperson.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
I love it.
And you guys literally haveclay running through your.
I've loved how you said thatclay running through your veins
yeah, yeah, that's right well.
Also, bill, it's interestingthat you said with your
background, your sciencebackground, because you gave, I
think, the best training on onchina and dinnerware I've ever
(06:07):
had.
And I mean really I've beenaround a ton of different
factories on China and I stilllove your informational videos,
so did a lot of your sciencebackground change.
Did that, I mean, play into anyof this too?
Speaker 2 (06:25):
Well, I think it did.
From the standpoint of therewas a certain amount of you know
, technical thing that I wasalways kind of interested in
electronic engineering.
I used to build radios, I builta color, we had a TV tv,
(06:47):
obviously when we were, when wewere first married, and I built
a color tv from a kit and so wehad a.
I remember we I finally got itfinished and we had a friends
over and it was like turn it onis that's ain't gonna work and
(07:07):
yeah, it worked and it did, yeah, and that tv for a long time.
It was a lot of fun.
But yeah, I think thatbackground kind of helped with
the technical part because eventhough ceramics is, you know,
still hands and clay, you knowthat sort of thing there is a
lot of technical back end tothat in designing bodies and
(07:32):
glazes and what differentchemicals do.
So you kind of need to have alittle bit of that engineering
type background.
It kind of helps.
I never was a ceramic engineer,but I had a couple of guys that
we had as consultants a guyfrom England called George Vardy
and he was classically trainedin the UK as a ceramic engineer,
(07:56):
and another guy that worked forTuxton named Leo Suzuki and he
was a Japanese trained in Japan.
And oh man, these guys werereally knowledgeable and they
taught me a ton about ceramicsand how things work and why this
happens and what to look for,you know.
(08:18):
So I had some really goodpeople that I knew along the way
.
That helped with that.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
So you guys that are eating on plates, it's a lot
more than just some clay.
There's a lot that goes into it.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
I mean, I've always yeah, we're still lifting and
flipping.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
Checking to see if there's any chips.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
Is there something?
Speaker 1 (08:43):
wrong.
Sir, I've noticed your glaze is.
You know it's not doing verywell like you probably need to
take this one conversation.
Yeah, always the critics right,and so I mean I thought it was
fascinating when you took us tochina, when texas took us to
china to actually see the plantand see the lab and the testing
(09:08):
and to really understand theingredients that go in affects
how the color.
I mean there's just so manyvariables and I thought that was
.
Welcome to Confessions Beyond the Food.
I'm your host, nancy Redland.
Let's dig in and get inspired.
Hi, welcome back to ConfessionsBeyond the Food.
Today, I have the incredibleopportunity to sit down with not
just one, but two powerhouseguests Bill Burden and Jennifer
(00:24):
Rollander.
This conversation is superspecial because it's not just
about food service.
It's about legacy, leadershipand family.
Welcome, bill and Jennifer.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Hi, hi, nancy Hi.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
So Bill Burden is the former president of Texan China
and was the owner of BurdenChina.
He's known for his leadership,kindness and humility, and Bill
has shaped not just a companybut also countless careers and
relationships in the industry.
And also joining him is hisdaughter, jennifer Rollender.
(01:01):
She was recently on our podcastand today we're bringing her
back for something even morespecial, diving into their
shared experiences, lessonslearned and what it truly takes
to make an impact on thisbusiness.
So what do y'all say?
Do y'all want to dive in?
Speaker 2 (01:18):
We're ready to go, let's do it.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
Let's do this, okay.
So I first want to start offwith Bill, like you know, with
Burden China.
So it was a family business,prior, correct, correct.
And so tell me about how yougot roped into it.
Was it not at first sight, orwas it just like I had to do it?
Speaker 2 (01:41):
No, I never had to do it, like I had to do it.
No, I never had to do it.
But you know, as, when you havea family business, as kids we
were, my dad had started thebusiness just after the war, in
like 45 or 46.
And so as kids, you know, we'dhave to put things in bags and
(02:06):
take, peel labels off of stuff,whatever had to be done.
So it was something I starteddoing when, you know, I was
probably seven or eight yearsold.
I at one time had thought I wasgoing to go on to electronic
engineering, and then I ran intosomething called physics and I
(02:27):
decided that electronicengineering maybe wasn't going
to be my calling, and so that'swhat I kind of.
I at college I started takingmore marketing and business
administration classes that Inever really enjoyed going to
school.
So I finally I'd been to.
(02:47):
I went to Cal Poly, pomona, andI'd been there about three
years and I went to my dad and Isaid you know, I don't want to
go to school anymore, I'd ratherstart work and study.
He goes well, welcome aboard.
There it was.
(03:08):
It was never anything that Iwas pushed into, but I was
always working at the companyall through my youth teenage
years, a young adult of it.
Speaker 3 (03:20):
And then I followed suit, because I did the same
thing Worked as a kid for Birdand China.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
Yeah, and you kind of discussed that in our last
podcast, jennifer.
But growing up specificallyaround your dad's career in the
beginning, did you see yourselffollowing his footsteps?
I?
Speaker 3 (03:39):
don't think I really thought about it much and I
think it's kind of the same wayis here was my grandfather
running this business.
I was always around it and youknow, playing office, and I
loved it.
I mean that's what I used to do.
I used to play office and, youknow, get the in triplicate.
You know where they had thecarbon and stuff like that.
I mean I used to even do thatat home.
(04:02):
I played office at home, soobviously it was in me.
I wanted to do business there,home.
I played office at home, soobviously it was in me.
I wanted to do business.
There was obviously somethingthere.
But I mean I had full, I had adesk and I had two phones and I
created a catalog and I would bein my room and entertain myself
playing office and having abusiness.
That's amazing, yeah.
So I just now I was thinkingabout that.
It's really funny.
(04:23):
So I think it definitely was inmy blood because that was what
I enjoyed doing and I lovedgoing to the company and
decorating mugs.
I mean I challenged, I was likeI was speedy on decorating a
champion.
I was the champion ofdecorating mug.
So I think it was just innate.
(04:43):
It was just there, and so thatbusiness sense just kept going,
and then it just made sense towork for the company, and then
my mom started working, and soit was the three of us you know
as a family working together.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
Yes, and that's.
It's funny that you say that,jennifer.
I thinking back.
I too played office and my dadwas an entrepreneur, and so I
did the same thing, where Iwould go to his office and play
office at home with my sister,although we have like a store,
so it was clothes, but samething, right Photos plates.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
Yeah, I was doing furniture, china, all tabletop
stuff.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
Give her all the old order books and things from the
office and she'd bring all thatstuff and she'd be upstairs and
all of a sudden she'd comedownstairs and we're in the
family room watching tv orsomething and she's got her
border book and she what can Iget you?
And you know what are you atprices.
Speaker 3 (05:40):
I do it's hilarious such a salesperson.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
I love it.
And you guys literally haveclay running through your.
I've loved how you said thatclay running through your veins
yeah, yeah, that's right well.
Also, bill, it's interestingthat you said with your
background, your sciencebackground, because you gave, I
think, the best training on onchina and dinnerware I've ever
(06:07):
had.
And I mean really I've beenaround a ton of different
factories on China and I stilllove your informational videos,
so did a lot of your sciencebackground change.
Did that, I mean, play into anyof this too?
Speaker 2 (06:25):
Well, I think it did.
From the standpoint of therewas a certain amount of you know
, technical thing that I wasalways kind of interested in
electronic engineering.
I used to build radios, I builta color, we had a TV tv,
(06:47):
obviously when we were, when wewere first married, and I built
a color tv from a kit and so wehad a.
I remember we I finally got itfinished and we had a friends
over and it was like turn it onis that's ain't gonna work and
(07:07):
yeah, it worked and it did, yeah, and that tv for a long time.
It was a lot of fun.
But yeah, I think thatbackground kind of helped with
the technical part because eventhough ceramics is, you know,
still hands and clay, you knowthat sort of thing there is a
lot of technical back end tothat in designing bodies and
(07:32):
glazes and what differentchemicals do.
So you kind of need to have alittle bit of that engineering
type background.
It kind of helps.
I never was a ceramic engineer,but I had a couple of guys that
we had as consultants a guyfrom England called George Vardy
and he was classically trainedin the UK as a ceramic engineer,
(07:56):
and another guy that worked forTuxton named Leo Suzuki and he
was a Japanese trained in Japan.
And oh man, these guys werereally knowledgeable and they
taught me a ton about ceramicsand how things work and why this
happens and what to look for,you know.
(08:18):
So I had some really goodpeople that I knew along the way
.
That helped with that.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
So you guys that are eating on plates, it's a lot
more than just some clay.
There's a lot that goes into it.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
I mean, I've always yeah, we're still lifting and
flipping.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
Checking to see if there's any chips.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
Is there something?
Speaker 1 (08:43):
wrong.
Sir, I've noticed your glaze is.
You know it's not doing verywell like you probably need to
take this one conversation.
Yeah, always the critics right,and so I mean I thought it was
fascinating when you took us tochina, when texas took us to
china to actually see the plantand see the lab and the testing
(09:08):
and to really understand theingredients that go in affects
how the color.
I mean there's just so manyvariables and I thought that was
.
Popular Podcasts
True Crime Tonight
If you eat, sleep, and breathe true crime, TRUE CRIME TONIGHT is serving up your nightly fix. Five nights a week, KT STUDIOS & iHEART RADIO invite listeners to pull up a seat for an unfiltered look at the biggest cases making headlines, celebrity scandals, and the trials everyone is watching. With a mix of expert analysis, hot takes, and listener call-ins, TRUE CRIME TONIGHT goes beyond the headlines to uncover the twists, turns, and unanswered questions that keep us all obsessed—because, at TRUE CRIME TONIGHT, there’s a seat for everyone. Whether breaking down crime scene forensics, scrutinizing serial killers, or debating the most binge-worthy true crime docs, True Crime Tonight is the fresh, fast-paced, and slightly addictive home for true crime lovers.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.