November 21, 2025 • 48 mins
The kitchen should feel like a home you’re invited into, and that’s exactly what we experienced with Mario Iaccarino of Casa Don Alfonso at the Ritz-Carlton, St. Louis. From Sorrento to Clayton, Mario shares how design, memory, and an open-kitchen stage turn dinner into a sensory journey—copper pans glowing, custom tiles whispering history, and wisteria captured in glass and paint. It’s hospitality you can see, smell, and taste.
We dig into the culinary mission that powers the room: safeguarding generational recipes from Southern Italy while honoring Mediterranean seasonality. The menu changes twice a year to mirror nature, with winter vegetables replacing summer favorites, except for the beloved eggplant parmigiana that never leaves. We explore how classics are reimagined with integrity—a feather-light parmigiano espuma gracing a house Caesar, a tiramisu included because guests crave it and done with precision, not shortcuts. Then comes a sweet new chapter: the Casa pastry boutique, where morning croissants, Sfogliatella, Babà, and Caprese cake meet Ritz-Carlton staples, inviting daily rituals from cappuccino to tea-time indulgence.
Mario also speaks to food as an investment in health, drawing on the Mediterranean diet’s proven benefits—extra virgin olive oil, fish, legumes, vegetables, and fruit driving longevity and heart health. From there, we switch gears to relationships and time: scheduling dates with partners, teams, and ourselves; saying yes to surprise nights out; and learning to take a small vacation from our routines to keep the spark alive. To cap the holiday mood, we share a practical guide to real Christmas trees—balsam or grand fir for that classic scent, Fraser for a clean piney note, and a few to avoid if you want aroma—plus local Missouri tree farms for a nostalgic outing.
If this conversation filled your cup, subscribe, share it with a friend who loves food and travel, and leave a review to help more listeners discover our show. What tradition are you savoring this season?
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_02 (00:30):
And your city show is here, and it's a happy hour
that you will not forget comingstraight from the Ritz-Carleton,
right here, the beautiful cityof Clayton.
It is love stories, localflavor, and a whole lot of
holiday cheer.
So we're going to pour glass,make your mocktail, your
cocktail, whatever it is thatyou love, have that with us as
you enjoy a travel journeythrough the Ritz-Carleton.
(00:52):
We've got some other fun thingstoo that we'll be talking about.
Like, do you know what holidayChristmas tree to get if you're
going to get a real one?
Because we made a mistake aboutthe wrong one and it didn't
smell.
Didn't smell like Christmas.
We're going to save you someheartache.
We are going to save you someheartache, that's for sure.
All right, well, before furtherado, I've got to say this right
because it's Marium.
(01:13):
Yum Yumperinum.
Something like that.
He says it so much.
Have a seat with us and join us.
Thank you so much.
Such a pleasure.
(01:34):
I'm so glad that we got thememo.
Got the memo on what you knowwhat we're um what we're wearing
here.
So this is so much fun.
Bobby Mitchell, which of coursewe've had on the show before,
and he brought us uh, I guess,some pizzas and some cocktails
and showed us around over thereum at your lovely bar.
And then this is so much funhaving our logo stamped on the
top of it.
(01:54):
So love it.
So you're coming all the wayfrom Italy to here right now.
SPEAKER_01 (02:01):
Let's see, this is uh this has become now my second
home in my heart because uh I'mum visiting St.
Louis since uh a few years, andum I really feel like uh the
this great sense of hospitality,which is the main character of
uh Midwest uh countries.
SPEAKER_02 (02:23):
That's right.
SPEAKER_01 (02:24):
And it's an honor for me that uh and uh uh let's
say a gift from God, which uhgave me the chance to realize
this project here in uh St.
Louis.
So, you know, I was very lucky.
SPEAKER_02 (02:37):
And I know I've I've got some specific questions to
ask you, but saying that, you'vecome from Italy, Sorrento, which
we were lucky enough to bethere.
Um, such a beautiful, oh mygosh, it's just absolutely
gorgeous there.
First of all, I want you to sayyour name correctly since I did
not give the beauty of it.
SPEAKER_00 (02:55):
Let's try.
Try it, ready?
Mario Mario Giaccarino.
SPEAKER_02 (02:59):
Giaccarino.
Giaccarino.
SPEAKER_00 (03:02):
It's very easy.
SPEAKER_02 (03:04):
So let's give a little brief about.
I mean, here you are, you are apartner here at the Casa Um Don
Alfonso, and you're over therein Sorrento.
How did, first of all, how didthis collaboration come
together?
And that we're lucky enough tohave you here.
SPEAKER_01 (03:20):
That's a beautiful question.
Let's say it was uh the year uh2018.
I received a call from a commonguest of uh Rit Scarlettum St.
Luis and Don Alfonso 1890 inSanta Agata, uh telling me that
uh Rit Scarlton St.
Luis was going to make arenovation of the entire uh
(03:42):
let's say ground floor space.
And I said thank you very muchfor the information, but you
know, I don't yeah, I didn'teven know where it was San Luis
on the map at that time.
Then I, you know, I after threeweeks I was flying here.
Uh and that was the moment whereI had realized uh digitally the
(04:03):
first uh idea in terms ofcontents of uh Casa Don Alfonso
project.
I came here and I presented touh all the people which were
involved in the project, likethe property, the managing
company, which is of course RitzCarlton under the big hat of uh
Marriott.
And I saw the eyes of thesepeople shining after five
(04:26):
minutes.
So I realized that I was goingto make another restaurant here.
That was happening in 2018.
Then uh once we had uhnegotiated the contract, uh we
started the renovation here.
So I was participating in therenovation of the entire space,
bringing uh inspiring this uhvery talented um architect
(04:48):
studio from Atlanta.
They came to Santa Gada to mymother's place, and were there
they stayed a week with us andthey uh you know and let them
discover the identity, thehistory, the architectural uh
history of this part of theworld, which is uh the part of
(05:08):
the Campania region.
We are talking about Amalficos,Sorrentokos, Southern Italy, the
Bay of Naples.
This is the place where uh uhhistorically, since 2000 years,
we have had so many influencesby so many cultures, and
finally, this is a hugecontainer of uh knowledge, of uh
(05:29):
heritage in terms of culinary,in terms of architecture, of
history.
And this is what uh Casa DonAlfonso contains in itself.
Casa Don Alfonso is uh inspiredby the um uh let's say we start
by the kitchen style.
The kitchen style, the structureof the kitchen want to reproduce
(05:54):
the style, the mood of theancient kitchen, of the ancient
villa of the Vesuvian area.
When we talk about the Vesuvianarea, we're talking about the
influences of the Arabic worldin terms of uh ceramic tiles.
As you can see here in Casa DonAlfonso, we have brought, we
(06:14):
have realized this um specificpattern for casa.
Uh it has been realized by theoldest uh tile maker of the
entire region.
So we're talking about acompany, a factory, which is uh
more than 250 years old.
(06:35):
So a huge heritage that you findon the wall of the kitchen of
Casa Don Alfonso.
You find the copper, the copperis typical was typically used in
the kitchen.
My grandmother's house, therewas a copper and iron.
So the kitchen of Casa DonAlfonso structurally tells you
(06:56):
about my memories, but mymemories not because it's my
memories, but because of uh mymemories is uh um telling you
about this huge heritage comingfrom the Arabic world, from the
Greek world, from the French,Spanish kingdom.
We had also appeared uh, youknow, the big connection with
(07:18):
the Austro-Hungarian uh kingdom.
So Napoli City and surroundingis a huge melting pot of so many
different cultures, and in CasaDon Alfonso, we tried to
recreate this uh mood whichcontains all these cultures
together in terms of structure.
Then the architect arrived in inuh in our garden in Santa Agata,
(07:43):
and they saw it was May, theywere very lucky because in May
there is this uh huge, beautifuluh wisteria flowers that uh they
give us the pleasure to show uponly about two weeks.
Perfect time all over the year.
When they saw that, they were sofascinated that they made a
(08:04):
surprise to me.
They realized the picture, socartons you can see by the wall.
Cartons uh you can uh you knowlightly see the Wisteria flowers
of the garden of Don Alfonso1990 in Italy.
And uh they also realized theseuh let's say glass Wisteria
(08:28):
flowers, too.
The painting has been uhrealized by a local artist in
Sorrento area.
SPEAKER_04 (08:35):
Really?
SPEAKER_01 (08:36):
It's funny because this lady, she's a very talented
lady, but she's not really likeuh interested in you know, she's
just painting and she evendoesn't know that she's in Casa
Don Alfonso.
SPEAKER_02 (08:50):
She's probably watching she knows now.
SPEAKER_01 (08:52):
You know what that is.
So every there is uh specific uhsigns in this place which want
to tell about a huge heritage.
This is in terms of structure,in terms of culinary, what we do
in Casa Don Alfonso, we try toum recreate, to reproduce this
huge heritage of the recipes ofthe generation of migrant
(09:16):
mothers.
SPEAKER_04 (09:17):
That's beautiful.
SPEAKER_01 (09:18):
It's a kind of big responsibility for us, and Casa
Don Alfonso is a bigresponsibility because Casa Don
Alfonso, of course, it's a dropin the ocean, for sure, but in
Casa Don Alfonso we try to keepalive this unique extraordinary
recipes which have been uhhanded on for generations in our
(09:42):
region and arrived until now.
The problem is the ladies, notbecause the ladies are worse
than before, the ladies in thelast 50 years, they don't have
any more of the time to spendtime in their kitchen.
Before the ladies had 10 timesmore time to my Nona spent every
(10:05):
day in the kitchen, all day.
So they were responsible tobring to the new generation this
uh beautiful heritage.
Now the ladies have no timeanymore, and uh we are losing
very quickly uh in the last 30years a huge amount of recipes
(10:28):
which are part of uh you knowthe humanity.
And our responsibility is to tryto keep alive these recipes by
divulgating to the world by youknow sharing with our dear
guests.
So Casa Don Alfonso's culinarymission is we want to express
(10:49):
the culinary tradition ofsouthern Italy, but we also
sometimes and normally we uhinclude in the menu like kind of
uh Italian flagship recipes.
Because we are a Mediterraneanrestaurant, first of all, but we
are also an Italian restaurant.
That's why you find the tiramisuon the menu.
(11:11):
Because uh, in the imaginationuh of the people, there cannot
be an Italian restaurant withouta tiramisu.
SPEAKER_04 (11:18):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (11:19):
So even if tiramisu is not part of our um culinary
tradition, it's uh tiramisu wasborn in uh in northern Italy,
but we are proud to you know topresent an amazing tiramisu on
the menu because we are anywayan Italian restaurant.
So this is the beauty of casa.
It's more than just a dinner ora lunch.
(11:40):
If we give ourselves the time toenjoy and to uh get out of our
job, our problems, and we focuson what we are eating and escape
for a while, we can jump into adream where we are enjoying and
experiencing transported toItaly, a huge uh world which is
(12:02):
the Mediterranean area, finally.
And uh this is when I sayMediterranean, I'm saying about
Southern Italy, I'm saying aboutGreek, Tunisia, Morocco, and all
this Lebanon, which is anotherextraordinary country, where we
get inspired inspiration torealize the culinary project of
(12:23):
Casadon Alfonso.
So and I'm very proud and I'mvery, very happy to you know to
be the ambassador of this uhthis culture.
But believe me, I can say uh I'mhaving a great experience
because uh St.
Luis uh guest, okay, RichSlarton is uh visited by all
over people from all over theworld in St.
(12:44):
Louis because of the this uhhuge amount of business that
there is around the Claytonarea.
But St.
Luis people are verysophisticated people, and uh
believe it or not.
Very, very curious.
SPEAKER_02 (12:59):
At least two of us.
SPEAKER_01 (13:00):
They go deep inside the questions, and uh it's so
fascinating for me to to sharewith uh this uh this amazing
community what is my myheritage, no?
SPEAKER_02 (13:11):
We're honored to have you sit here, and as we
look around and you're talkingabout the style, something
you've done is you've opened upthe kitchen where we can
experience what's happening backthere.
Tell us the reasoning behindthat.
SPEAKER_01 (13:24):
The reason behind that because uh in the in in its
name, casa is a house, is ahome.
This is my home where I want toshare with my guest, with our
guest, of course.
I'm saying my because you knowI'm uh you know I feel like uh
it's uh part of my history.
(13:45):
But casa kitchen uh has to be inthe center of the restaurant
because uh it has to be like atheater where the guests can
enjoy the handcraft part of ouruh job that otherwise you don't
see that.
You just receive a plate and youlose the maybe 70% of the beauty
(14:10):
while you are sitting there.
If you're sitting at the kitchencounter, we have a lot of people
they like to stay at the kitchencounter.
It's like uh enjoying a movie,right?
A beautiful movie in uh in theMediterranean.
And the kitchen is whereeveryone gathers and still does
gather in the kitchen, so havingthat of the focal point, you can
see all the beautiful things anduh the mistakes sometimes or
(14:34):
whatever.
It's real life.
What's happening there, it's notfake, it's totally real.
And uh I think uh, you know, uhin this moment of the history of
the humanity, uh, to enjoy reallife and to take away our mobile
phones, it's uh a good way totake a big part of our time
(14:56):
being on our phones, doesn't it?
SPEAKER_03 (14:59):
Yes, yes.
I love the fact that it's kindof I get to experience what you
experience as a child from yourthese recipes from back with
with your grandmother and and uhNona.
And uh and uh I get toexperience that.
I it's like you welcomed me intoyour home, it's like you welcome
me into your home, and I get toexperience all of these great
(15:20):
menu items that were done.
And these recipes were thingsthat didn't happen overnight.
SPEAKER_02 (15:25):
These are recipes I just think they're coming from
your heritage is really.
SPEAKER_03 (15:28):
These are recipes that took experimentation after
and back, like you said, whenthey spent so much time in the
kitchen back then, they were itwas like science projects.
I mean, family gathered.
SPEAKER_02 (15:39):
It would be two days to get ready for um a
preparation of a meal.
I mean, everything was handmade.
There was not when I sayhandmade, there was every
ingredient was was created.
SPEAKER_01 (15:49):
Caitlin Gordon, you said you touched a very
important point because uhsometimes even in in Don Alfonso
in Italy, the main question isuh how long did you get to you
to realize this recipe?
And I say it depends, from 500years to 2000 years, because uh
the recipe is a result of uhgenerations.
(16:10):
Then, of course, a new recipe,but a new recipe we take always
inspiration by by something wehave uh experienced when we were
a child.
We have a farm, organic farm isin 35 years in uh in uh in our
uh region where we get inspiredby the nature.
What I brought here also, it'svery important, is uh the sense
(16:32):
of seasonality that the world islosing.
So uh we change the menu, youknow, we cannot change the menu
four times a year.
Operationally speaking, it's socomplicated.
So, what we have decidedtogether since the beginning is
that we change the menu twice ayear, so we put together the
let's say the spring and thesummer, and we put together the
(16:55):
autumn and the and the and thewinter so that we can really
strictly follow the sense ofseasonality in terms of produce.
Sure, it's fresh.
I tell you, I give you anexample.
You will never find, I give youthis specific example because uh
then I tell you why.
(17:15):
You will never find uh aneggplant in our menu in the
middle of the winter because theeggplant is a summertime
ingredient.
Okay, you will never find uhzucchini in the winter, you will
never find a sweet pepper in thewinter.
In the winter you will findcauliflowers, uh broccolini,
(17:36):
broccoli, spinaches, uh,cabbage.
So we try to follow the sense ofuh seasonality except for the
eggplant parmigiana, becauseeggplant parmigiana is like uh
you enter uh in a Japaneserestaurant and you don't find
the tuna.
SPEAKER_04 (17:55):
Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_01 (17:57):
So eggplant parmigiana is uh we keep on in
the menu all year long.
We know that in the winter thereis this is not the season of a
um eggplant, but we cannot uh Icannot take out of the menu the
eggplant parmigiana because thisis like uh you know the king of
the story, right?
(18:18):
And we want to share with theguests all year long, even if uh
it's not the best moment of theyear in the winter, but you
know, it's such a huge um such ahuge experience in terms of
flavor.
SPEAKER_02 (18:32):
People expect it and want it, and so exactly, but the
presentation is everything aswell.
I mean, I I will be honest, thisis the prettiest, I should say,
most beautiful Caesar salad thatI have ever been able to
experience.
The dressing and the perfectlittle dollops, and um, so it's
more the taste, of course, weknow that comes first, that's so
(18:54):
important, but also thepresentation, the way you bring
it out, is not like anythingelse where you know you might
experience it most places.
SPEAKER_01 (19:02):
So Caesar salad is not part of our tradition, but
how we can uh have a restaurantin the United States, it is
impossible.
So we try to make a um avariation of uh on uh yes,
Caesar salad, adding uh mayomade with the same ingredients
of the classical uh Caesar saladsauce sauce.
(19:23):
We made an espuma with uhparmigiano, uh beautiful
crouton.
SPEAKER_02 (19:28):
So that's the idea of you know, we just says
everything, it makes it evenbetter as well.
SPEAKER_01 (19:32):
Even on the new menu, uh and that's what we want
to talk about.
SPEAKER_02 (19:35):
The new menu, also the casa pastry uh boutique.
I want to hear about that aswell.
SPEAKER_01 (19:41):
Yes, I tell you the story.
Okay.
Uh when I was in March, and uh Ihave to be very thankful to uh
Rich Scarlton um managementbecause uh uh since the
beginning, I have to tell yousomething first of all, because
uh I have to thank you so much,uh Rich Scarleton World.
Because uh, since the first dayuh I uh landed in this place, I
(20:06):
uh received such uh an amazingand unique hospitality that I
have never received anywhereelse in the world.
Rich Scarlton uh represents whatit means, hospitality.
SPEAKER_02 (20:19):
Absolutely, 100%.
No one makes a bed like them.
SPEAKER_01 (20:22):
Without any you know, without any compromise.
With the guest is always andforever the king.
Yes.
This is what Rich Scarlton wasteaching the entire world.
That's my personal opinion.
And um and it's not happening uhsince two years, it's happening
(20:43):
since a while.
So I found the right place interms of uh humans to realize
Casa Don Alfonso project.
But what uh um how we came toboutique, to the boutique
corner, uh, and every everythingI was asking, uh I'm always
asking or proposing or you know,trying to let's say let's do
(21:06):
something different.
They are really very um quick inuh operating what uh uh it comes
in my mind.
And the story is that in March Iwas here and I was walking
around uh the the restaurant.
I said, why we cannot share withour guest a corner?
(21:27):
I was thinking uh uh inspired bya very famous brand, and I know
I I cannot say I might say that,but uh you know there is
beautiful uh macaron bench shopslike this.
And I say, why we don't realizea Casa Don Alfonso corner
boutique where we can try toshare with our guests uh the
(21:53):
culture, the tradition ofNeapolitan pastry.
I say, why not?
SPEAKER_02 (21:58):
I'm glad that you asked that question.
SPEAKER_01 (22:00):
Mouth uh only six months ago, after two weeks, uh
you know the management calledme, Mario, this is a good idea,
we want to, and then you know,just the time to uh call
architect and uh you knowmanufacture and everything, that
finally uh Casa Boutique uh isuh going to be open.
(22:24):
Uh we should they should openCasa Boutique Corner in uh at
the beginning between thebeginning and the middle part of
December, where the guest ofRich Carlton, the local guests,
the resident people here aroundClayton, uh will have the
possibility in the morning toenjoy all about croissant and
(22:49):
all about beautiful pastryconcerning the breakfast
moments.
Then from 10 o'clock around inthe morning, they will have the
possibility to experience asingle portion of beautiful
dessert coming from theMediterranean and Neapolitan
tradition, also including someclassical Rich Kaltan pastry.
(23:17):
So the guests will have thechance to experience from one
side the Neapolitan culture,from the other side the
classical Richz Kalton mood.
And then during all the daythere will be, you know, small
sandwiches.
And uh you know, until the endof the day, whenever you come
(23:37):
here, you will see thisbeautiful display where there
will be um, I'll give you anexample, uh Sicilian cannoli,
Neapolitan Baba, or um, youknow, Capri Cetart made with
almonds, sometimes with thelemon, sometimes with the
chocolate.
It will be anyway changing theproposal so that we can uh give
(23:58):
the most beautiful experiencepossible.
SPEAKER_03 (24:01):
I'd gain 10 pounds just.
Yeah, yeah, I know.
SPEAKER_01 (24:04):
Then we have realized a lot um a proposal of
cakes.
So you can come here and youchoose your cake, you see your
cake, and uh you can bring homeSicilian cassata.
Imagine you arrive at home for ayou know family celebration, you
uh can bring home an originalSicilian cassata.
(24:27):
We brought our executive pastrySheffield 10 days to train the
people to realize the authenticum pastry from, let's say,
southern Italy.
SPEAKER_03 (24:38):
That's the first thing we did when we landed.
So when we went to Rome and welanded in Rome, the first thing
we did was we got a room, thenwe went downstairs, we found the
first place we could sit, have acappuccino and have it have a
pastry.
Beautiful was the first thing wedid.
And it was like just set themood and the tone for
everything.
So that's what you can do, youcan set the tone for everyone's
(25:00):
day.
Yeah, when they come in here andget a pastry in the morning and
some of the things.
SPEAKER_01 (25:04):
You can enjoy a tea time here in casa in the
afternoon and enjoy thisbeautiful.
This is a very, very uh in allover Europe, wherever if even if
you go in this beautiful uhhistorical cafe in Vienne or in
uh in Munich or in Paris or inRome, as you said, in Naples.
In Naples there is thisbeautiful uh old uh historical
(25:28):
bar cafe called Gambrinus, whichis an institution.
If you go in Naples and you'reenjoying visiting the museum,
you have to stop there in uhthis place and enjoy a
Neapolitan's Foyatella.
This is what we we uh we want todo here.
SPEAKER_02 (25:45):
So experience that you're providing.
Yes.
Really be able to have a tasteof Italy but and the gorgeous
city of Clayton.
I mean, it's it's it'sdefinitely um one of kind.
There's nothing else like thisaround, and bringing your vision
and your passion here to theRitz has definitely changed a
(26:07):
complete new vibe.
I mean, it truly is.
I mean, I remember the firsttime we walked in and the that
um had just opened, and we werein all, we actually did a story
on your restaurant, it's been inour magazine.
We'll have to give you copies totake with you, but uh I I don't
have that copy, but I'll makesure you get copies of the story
sent to you digitally.
Um, but that's the first thingwe did.
(26:28):
We were so wild when we came in.
We sat at the bar, they made usa drink which had the Britz
Carlton uh stamp on it, not ourlogo, and we were so impressed,
and we immediately had to do astory on it.
When you walk in, your your yoursoul brightens up when you when
you walk in here.
SPEAKER_01 (26:45):
Yes, very much so.
Inside this place, even myself,yes.
When I come after six months,and I leave as soon as I leave
my luggage, I'm not tiredanymore.
Yeah, I just want to be herebecause I need to to start to
breath the the the perfume, theyou know, this beautiful uh uh
(27:05):
perfume coming from the kitchen.
SPEAKER_02 (27:07):
And uh I can smell the truffle oil coming from that
plate right there, I'm sure.
Is it this one?
So gorgeous plates.
There's gonna be um some newitems that will be for the
holiday that we'll be able toexperience.
Of course, we cannot wait toexperience the new pastry
boutique, which will beabsolutely incredible.
It's not just the holiday, ofcourse, is what's around the
corner, but it's an everydayexperience that you'll receive
(27:31):
when you come into the Casa delAlfonso, which you say so much
better than I do.
I don't even want to, I don'teven want to talk anymore if
you're listening to.
It's like I feel like this dull,boring voice after sitting here
speaking with you.
We love your passion.
We can't thank you enough fortaking some time and and really
helping others to understandwhat the experience is when you
come to the roots Carleton andwalk into the Casa del Alfonso.
(27:54):
It's absolutely beautiful andbreathtaking.
And I can't wait to see what youkeep doing.
I'm sure we're not finished.
Yeah, when it opens up.
Yeah, add us a pastry.
SPEAKER_01 (28:03):
Next, uh, I mean, from uh starting from uh
Wednesday, we um um presentingthe new menu for the winter
season, and I'm super happybecause uh, you know, we could
uh once again uh um realizedishes which uh tell an history.
Every single dish uh tells anhistory behind, and of course,
(28:27):
in Casa Don Alfonso, in mypersonal opinion, I eat pizza
almost every day.
You can have a great pizzabecause uh, you know, the dough
we realize is uh part of anotherhuge heritage.
And uh pizza dough is changingevery day, the recipe is
complicated because of theweather conditions are changing,
(28:48):
and uh I was super happy tocheck this time that the pizza
is really great, so I invite uhuh you to try.
We have amazing original uhmodern style of dough from
Napoli City, so pizza, and uhI'm really happy what we're
(29:09):
doing here now in Kaz in termsof a pizza experience to I'm
pretty sure I made some funnynoises, didn't I, when I had it
last?
SPEAKER_02 (29:17):
It was really good, and you know that's the that is
something that we experiencedwhen we're in Italy, is that
what you've brought here, whenyou are there and you're having
wine and you're eating pizza andyou're having pasta, never once
did I my stomach hurt.
A lot of times America tends towant to Americanize too much and
(29:39):
keeping the the ingredientsfresh, using the um fruits and
vegetables that are in season,that are organically made.
I mean, it's complete change inhow you experience.
And I love the way you talkabout the food because food
should be an experience, notsomething we just consume and
we're hungry.
It it's a time to To toexperience with someone you're
(30:01):
with, or even if you're alone,if it's a date all by yourself,
to be able to really indulge inyourself and be able to
experience food and know thateverything that you're bringing
to the table comes fromheritage, it comes from passion
and experience throughouthundreds of years.
That's I mean, what how muchbetter can it get?
SPEAKER_01 (30:19):
I think the food, our intend the food, we can say
food, the way we eat is thehugest investment on ourselves,
on our body.
You're right.
Whatever we uh put in our bodyis going to be our heritage in
terms of health.
So what we I feel to say that uhthis is uh we need to give a
(30:46):
huge attention to the quality ofproduce we use, but above all
what we are eating every singleday of our life, it's important,
you know.
And in a Mediterranean idea, uhwe can say that uh you know the
Mediterranean diet has beenrecognized as the way of uh
(31:08):
eating which gives the yi thebest result in terms of health,
in terms of heart disease uhavoidance.
So I could be here for manyhours to tell you about that,
but uh it's so important that uhfor everyday uh food we need to
(31:31):
make the biggest investment interms of uh time, we need to
understand what is good for usand what is not good for us for
everyday food and for our kids.
This is the biggest gift we cangive to our kids to teach them
to eat in a specific way.
(31:53):
And uh I'm not going to enter inthat, but uh basically we are
convinced that not Mario'sconvinced the um worldwide uh
scientific community that extravirgin olive oil is proved that
it's bringing uh it's a miracleof the nature in terms of uh you
know cleaning uh the the veinsand then uh the we need maybe I
(32:18):
would not say that let's try toeat more dried vegetables than
meat every day.
Let's try to eat more fish andvegetables and fruit every day
than other things.
So uh if we pay attention tothat, we can make the biggest
gift to our future generation uhto avoid a lot of problems when
(32:42):
they reach our age.
SPEAKER_02 (32:44):
Mario, thank you so much for spending some time
bringing your passion to the InYour City show, allowing people
to really understand what isbehind this beautiful
restaurant, thank you, pastryboutique, the gorgeous uh bar
that you have over there.
There's just so much to offerwhen you come in.
So even if you're not staying atthe Ritz-Carleton, that does not
mean that you cannot come in andenjoy all that Caso del Afonso
(33:08):
has to offer.
Mario Iaccarino uh from Italy,sitting right here, his
beautiful creation here.
We thank you so much for sharingit with us and the experience
that we're able to have.
And we cannot wait to taste thepastry.
Absolutely.
SPEAKER_01 (33:24):
I really appreciate that you were coming here and
spent time with me.
And uh it was an honor from you.
SPEAKER_02 (33:31):
So we always say cheers during our show.
We always cheers the end, butwhat we'd like to say is salute
would be the salute would be thecorrect way, right?
So let's definitely give acheers with you.
SPEAKER_01 (33:43):
Uh doing his best.
SPEAKER_02 (33:45):
Thank you.
Thank you.
Okay, so to a beautiful holiday,to a happy new year, and to the
continued success of your CaseDel Afonso.
Thank you so much, Mario, forspending time with us.
SPEAKER_01 (33:57):
Salute.
I can say Viva San Luis.
SPEAKER_02 (34:00):
Oh, yes, thank you.
What is another one?
Chinchin?
SPEAKER_01 (34:03):
Chinchin, we send it in chinchin.
Okay, there you go.
SPEAKER_02 (34:06):
Chinchin.
Take a drink to I have no ideawhat I'm having, but it's a
delicious.
SPEAKER_01 (34:14):
So is this.
He is a yeah, Mr.
Bobby's an angel.
Oh, he is.
SPEAKER_02 (34:18):
He is, he is fantastic.
Thank you.
This is great.
Look at that.
SPEAKER_01 (34:23):
Thank you.
SPEAKER_02 (34:25):
Right here at the Ritz-Carlton in St.
Louis.
We've had the pleasure ofexperiencing Ritz-Carlton's uh
in California, Chicago, nothinglike it right here in Clayton,
Missouri.
We're so glad that we can be apart of it, and this is where we
live.
So thank you.
SPEAKER_00 (34:40):
Thank you very much.
SPEAKER_02 (34:40):
Wonderful.
Garden was a pleasure.
SPEAKER_00 (34:43):
Thank you.
SPEAKER_02 (34:43):
Thank you.
Oh my gosh.
Incredible interview with MarioJaccarino.
I mean, incredible.
And the fact that he's invitedus to come and stay with him
when we go to Italy.
Oh man.
Um, should we plan it next week?
I'm so ready.
It's gonna be amazing, and we'redefinitely going to do that.
And you know, talking withMario, talking about the beauty
(35:05):
of food, the culture, theheritage, the love, the passion
that's brought into it, that'sthe same, that's the same way
you need to be with yourself,with your partner.
Um, we really want to get backinto bringing the relationship
back into our show.
And we don't just mean therelationship with another
(35:25):
person.
That relationship can be withyourself, which that's probably
one of the hardest relationshipspeople have is with themselves.
We're so hard on ourselves.
We really are.
We're terribly hard on oursociety wants us to be.
Yeah.
And sometimes we don't, wehaven't.
SPEAKER_03 (35:39):
You're not like this, and you know.
SPEAKER_02 (35:40):
Right.
And and sometimes we haven'tfound that perfect person.
Gosh, I was single for 11 yearsafter being married before I met
you.
I mean, you know, there timelife changes, uh, you know, it's
evolving all the time around us.
And something that we wantpeople to think about is that
you're not alone.
Sometimes it takes a while tofind that perfect person.
(36:01):
Sometimes there's some peoplethat love being alone, and
that's okay too.
But having a relationship, whatwe want to say is you have the
right to have a love story,whether it's with someone, with
your work, with your business,with yourself.
It's really important toschedule dates.
And that means with your, ifyou're a leader at work,
(36:23):
schedule time with the peoplethat work for you.
If you're in a relationship oryou're married, or you you have
your partner, schedule dates.
If you're alone and you'resomebody that's not in a
relationship, schedule a datewith yourself, or make a date
and don't tell her until like anhour before.
Like yes.
And you know what?
(36:44):
It was so much fun.
Gordon walked in and he said,Um, I hope you uh aren't upset.
Um, but I have tickets to Caseyin the Sunshine Van.
And I'm like, I dropped mypurse, I went like this because
I was exhausted, and thethoughts of going somewhere
sounded absolutely awful.
Well, guess what?
(37:04):
She had a great time.
It was the best time ever.
SPEAKER_03 (37:06):
So did the ladies behind us.
SPEAKER_02 (37:08):
They were doing the woo, the kick in it.
SPEAKER_03 (37:10):
They were back in 1972, cheerleading time.
SPEAKER_02 (37:13):
They were the they were the woo girls.
Yeah, woo.
But it but it was so fun.
And gosh, KC, I think he's 74.
He sat on stage, which is put ona little bit of, you know,
weight.
Uh he said it was during COVID,but we know how long ago that
was.
Yeah.
But I'm gonna tell you what, Icould not have done what he did.
He danced, he spun around incircles, he sang, he played
(37:36):
instruments.
I mean, it was incredible.
SPEAKER_03 (37:38):
I could have not entertainer.
SPEAKER_02 (37:40):
I was in a chair going, you know, and doing a
little moving and grooving in mychair, and I was tired.
SPEAKER_03 (37:46):
And you know what?
He actually sat and talked for acouple minutes with people.
Quite funny.
And you know, it was verypersonal, personal, yeah, to
talk the way he talked to us,and you could tell he really
loved what he does and he lovesperforming for people.
Yeah, he loves it.
SPEAKER_02 (37:59):
The dancers were great.
I mean, it was really I lovesmiling.
SPEAKER_03 (38:04):
It was fun.
I didn't realize he's never beenmarried, and he's got such
everything about him is sopersonal.
You don't know what his networth is, you don't know what
anything is.
SPEAKER_02 (38:14):
He's kept everything on paper, let's put it that way.
I wonder if he has a cell phonebecause that really keeps that
what footprint they call it, youknow, off of him.
But great, great show.
And then we had the luxury ofanother date.
Um, our friends Kevin and TracyKester have started a band.
Uh, are they in their 50s?
I mean, it's never too late.
That's my big word.
It's about time.
(38:35):
It's never too late to go atwhat you love.
Yes, don't wait.
And they've started a bandtogether.
I think this might be the firstband they've had together.
Keys and Kevin's an incredibleguitar player.
Tracy loves to sing, she has abeautiful voice.
And they decided, hey, let's dothis.
So we went and watched TwistedFiction.
They were fabulous.
(38:56):
Uh, so maybe Gordon will show alittle clip of him up on stage,
but nope, it wasn't easy gettinghim up there.
It's very hard to get him to getup on stage anymore, which
everyone misses it.
So you did fabulous.
I mean, you you always dofabulous.
Again, she tells me that aboutwhat?
No, we're too hard on ourselves.
You were amazing.
Dude, your voice is incredible.
(39:16):
I don't know when you're gonnafigure that out and quit
worrying about it so much.
But but anyway, you do need totake time.
And they say it keeps loveintentional, it's not
accidental.
You're saying that you matter,we matter, uh, and meaning as a
leader in your business orrelationship or for yourself.
It protects your relationship,of course, from becoming stale.
(39:38):
And in our uh case, a lot oftimes we tend to be in a
business with each other.
Talk about work about work allthe time.
I talk about work too much,probably.
I'm I'm probably the one thatreally does that.
It's like got to turn it.
Remember the movie What AboutBob?
SPEAKER_03 (39:51):
And uh Bill Murray played this crazy guy who always
needed a psychiatrist next tohim.
And the advice that was given tohim was take a vacation.
Just take a vacation from yourlife.
From your life.
No kidding.
That's very hard to do.
We need to do that in ourrelationships.
(40:13):
We need to learn how to putthings aside and just focus on
the people that are in themoment.
Right.
And a solo date, okay?
SPEAKER_02 (40:19):
You're by yourself, you're not in a relationship,
but you want to get out thereand do stuff.
A solo date is one of the mostpowerful acts of self-love.
It says, I deserve, I amdeserving, I deserve space and I
deserve joy.
Heck yeah, absolutely, 100%.
Um, it strengthens thefoundation and definitely brings
less stress to the life, uh, toyour life.
(40:40):
And then, of course, it keepsthe spark alive, um, especially
you know within yourrelationships and yourself.
I mean, how good does it feelwhen you go somewhere and you
maybe reluctantly didn't want togo and you went and you're like,
so glad I did.
Right.
So keep a love story going,whether it's with yourself
relationship or it's with yourteam at work.
Don't not do it.
(41:03):
Right?
Just do it, as Nike would say.
Is that a commercial for them?
They owe us now for saying that.
SPEAKER_03 (41:08):
There's our new shirt.
Don't not do it.
No, it's the don't not do itshirt.
SPEAKER_02 (41:12):
There's so many things that I'm experienced that
I've never done before.
I wish that I wasn'texperiencing so much on top of
each other because it's likehaving a great meal.
You just you want to sit downand you want to enjoy it and you
don't want to be rushed.
And sometimes when you do toomuch, you get too busy, you
can't really sit back and enjoywhat you're doing.
(41:33):
So, you know, just launching thechildren's book and then coming
soon, I've got the it's abouttime anthology, which is all
about it's never too late.
And I want to be able to enjoythat.
SPEAKER_03 (41:43):
Exactly.
SPEAKER_02 (41:43):
I want to enjoy that experience.
And sometimes you got to slowdown a little bit to do that.
So, but um, so anyway,relationships are so important.
Keep that love story alive.
So, on another note, the holidayseason is approaching, and um, I
think we were we were talkingabout the Christmas trees.
And did I mention the trees thatyou're supposed to buy?
Because I think we mentionedwhen we started the show about
(42:04):
you can buy the wrong tree.
We were so excited to do a realChristmas tree.
Yeah, and we got home, we'relike, I had to buy things that
hung on the tree to make itsmell like a Christmas tree
because it didn't have anysmell.
SPEAKER_03 (42:19):
And if you still have a house that has berber
carpeting, don't buy a real treebecause it'll get stuck in the
berber carpeting.
SPEAKER_02 (42:29):
I don't want to do that.
So balsam fur, that is thestrongest, most classic
Christmas tree smell.
Um, Fraser fur, fresh, cleanpiney scent, the Douglas fir,
which I hadn't heard of.
That's the sweet, fruity,evergreen aroma.
And the grand fur, that's thevery intense aroma.
That has a beautiful glossyneedle.
(42:52):
I don't know what's making itglossy, but there's shiny,
gorgeous needles on that.
All right.
And then, so what do you think?
I think we got the Fraser fur,is what we end up getting.
Yes.
But we're going to get eitherthe um grand fur or the balsam
fur this time.
We're gonna make it.
SPEAKER_03 (43:10):
But it doesn't say anything.
It does.
It's got a good aroma.
SPEAKER_02 (43:14):
But we want the intense, we want total intense
aroma.
And the noble fur, that's along-lasting fur smell, but it's
a little more subtle.
Maybe, you know, some peopledon't like a lot of aroma or
fragrance and that.
Okay, here's what not to buy.
This is what we did the whitepine, the scotch pine, and the
blue spruce.
(43:35):
Those are out unless, unless youdon't want to smell, but you
want the real tree.
SPEAKER_04 (43:40):
Right.
SPEAKER_02 (43:40):
But why would you want a real tree and not be able
to smell it?
Exactly.
Okay, now guess what we have?
Are you ready to go buy yourtree?
Sure.
Okay, so I think we went toCountry Pine's Christmas farm,
nostalgic, huge big red barn.
You can have apple cider and allthe hot chocolate and a lot,
they have ornaments andexperience too, going down and
picking out your tree.
(44:00):
Yeah.
Yeah.
That we were a little lazy, I'mnot gonna lie.
We were cold.
We stayed pretty close to thered barn, and we actually took a
tree that was already cut down.
So, you know, but that's how wewent to experience it.
That was our date model.
I don't have my pickup truckanymore, so no.
What do we get?
We'll have to do it to the top.
You could rent a pickup truckfor a day.
We could rent a pickup truck forthe day.
(44:22):
Okay.
SPEAKER_04 (44:22):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (44:22):
I'm ready for a new Christmas tree.
Or a fresh, I should say,Christmas tree, a real one.
So Heritage Valley uh tree farm,that's in Washington, Missouri.
That's choose and cut, where youpick your tree.
So you can do that.
It's a historic setting, 75acres there for this one.
The mirror, if I'm saying itright, tree farm, that's
M-E-E-R-T, the Mirritt TreeFarm, that's in uh Festus,
(44:43):
Missouri.
Massive selection, tens ofthousands of trees that you can
pick from there.
The Country Pines Christmas TreeFarm, that's the one we went to.
That's in Wright City, verynostalgic, like we had
mentioned.
And then, of course, um you cango to uh let's see.
Uh nope, that's a tree.
You can go to the Eckert.
Somebody's wrong.
(45:05):
So see what happens when youit's like having a teleprompter.
If you put it, it'll read it.
Um, the Eckertz Farm.
They are actually having aChristmas tree.
Cut your own Christmas tree.
It actually started already onNovember 15th.
Um, and going through, I guessif they, I don't know if they'll
run out, run out or not, butthey've got many photo sessions.
(45:25):
They have breakfast with Santa,um, the Newfoundland draft
Christmas trees, which I have noidea what that is, so we'll have
to check that out.
But you can go out to Bellevilleand go to Eckers Farm.
So there's uh four places foryou to be able to enjoy getting
a real Christmas tree.
So, and if you don't feel likedoing um any of that, um then
you can put up your fake tree.
SPEAKER_03 (45:46):
The silver tree with the little wheel that had the
colors on it.
Remember that?
I do remember that.
SPEAKER_02 (45:51):
I almost want to what about the tinsel trees?
Yeah like the they didn't havethe light on it, but the the
tinsel tree, and then puttingthe tinsel all over it, and
you'd make your own popcorn toto stream around it.
I mean, it just makes you feellike you're just a little kid
again.
Trees are so different now, likein and I'm I'm at fault as well.
I love a decorated, beautifulChristmas tree.
SPEAKER_03 (46:13):
White hair in Cottleville has tons of
decorated trees.
You can just actually go on andsay, I want that tree with the
way it is.
SPEAKER_02 (46:19):
What's fun is if you go after Christmas and you
happen to find a few beautifullydecorated trees that didn't
sell, and you just go home withall the ornaments and everything
on it and half price, yeah, evenbetter.
So you can use your tree now andthen get one after Christmas.
But but um, but what I wasgetting at is that I do love a
gorgeously decorated tree.
And but that old fashioned whereyou you know make the stuff that
(46:41):
goes around it and you put allyour trees.
SPEAKER_03 (46:46):
Kelly's that person that'll I'll put an ornament up
and she'll move it.
SPEAKER_02 (46:49):
It's not in the right spot.
Has to be cohesively puttogether, everything has to make
sense, and then the ornamentsthat your kids made for you that
maybe won't aren't as pretty asthey once were because they're
38 and 28, and you know, they'vebeen through the times and the
in the Christmas pale.
They're at the back of the tree,you know, where the where you
don't see it, but they're there.
SPEAKER_03 (47:12):
The store-bought ornaments in the front, weekends
and all the time.
SPEAKER_02 (47:17):
What an absolutely bella, beautiful for Bella show
that we had.
Loved Mina Mario, cannot wait togo to Italy to visit him there.
This gorgeous cappuccino that'sbeen waiting for us to take a
drink, and how fun! As you cansee, it has our logos, city
lifestyle, and in your city onthe top of them, which is super
cool.
We're gonna say cheers to you,but one more time we're gonna
(47:39):
give a little salute.
Salute, salute, is that it?
Saluti, cheers, chen chan.
And your city show is here, and it's a happy hour
that you will not forget comingstraight from the Ritz-Carleton,
right here, the beautiful cityof Clayton.
It is love stories, localflavor, and a whole lot of
holiday cheer.
So we're going to pour glass,make your mocktail, your
cocktail, whatever it is thatyou love, have that with us as
you enjoy a travel journeythrough the Ritz-Carleton.
(00:52):
We've got some other fun thingstoo that we'll be talking about.
Like, do you know what holidayChristmas tree to get if you're
going to get a real one?
Because we made a mistake aboutthe wrong one and it didn't
smell.
Didn't smell like Christmas.
We're going to save you someheartache.
We are going to save you someheartache, that's for sure.
All right, well, before furtherado, I've got to say this right
because it's Marium.
(01:13):
Yum Yumperinum.
Something like that.
He says it so much.
Have a seat with us and join us.
Thank you so much.
Such a pleasure.
(01:34):
I'm so glad that we got thememo.
Got the memo on what you knowwhat we're um what we're wearing
here.
So this is so much fun.
Bobby Mitchell, which of coursewe've had on the show before,
and he brought us uh, I guess,some pizzas and some cocktails
and showed us around over thereum at your lovely bar.
And then this is so much funhaving our logo stamped on the
top of it.
(01:54):
So love it.
So you're coming all the wayfrom Italy to here right now.
SPEAKER_01 (02:01):
Let's see, this is uh this has become now my second
home in my heart because uh I'mum visiting St.
Louis since uh a few years, andum I really feel like uh the
this great sense of hospitality,which is the main character of
uh Midwest uh countries.
SPEAKER_02 (02:23):
That's right.
SPEAKER_01 (02:24):
And it's an honor for me that uh and uh uh let's
say a gift from God, which uhgave me the chance to realize
this project here in uh St.
Louis.
So, you know, I was very lucky.
SPEAKER_02 (02:37):
And I know I've I've got some specific questions to
ask you, but saying that, you'vecome from Italy, Sorrento, which
we were lucky enough to bethere.
Um, such a beautiful, oh mygosh, it's just absolutely
gorgeous there.
First of all, I want you to sayyour name correctly since I did
not give the beauty of it.
SPEAKER_00 (02:55):
Let's try.
Try it, ready?
Mario Mario Giaccarino.
SPEAKER_02 (02:59):
Giaccarino.
Giaccarino.
SPEAKER_00 (03:02):
It's very easy.
SPEAKER_02 (03:04):
So let's give a little brief about.
I mean, here you are, you are apartner here at the Casa Um Don
Alfonso, and you're over therein Sorrento.
How did, first of all, how didthis collaboration come
together?
And that we're lucky enough tohave you here.
SPEAKER_01 (03:20):
That's a beautiful question.
Let's say it was uh the year uh2018.
I received a call from a commonguest of uh Rit Scarlettum St.
Luis and Don Alfonso 1890 inSanta Agata, uh telling me that
uh Rit Scarlton St.
Luis was going to make arenovation of the entire uh
(03:42):
let's say ground floor space.
And I said thank you very muchfor the information, but you
know, I don't yeah, I didn'teven know where it was San Luis
on the map at that time.
Then I, you know, I after threeweeks I was flying here.
Uh and that was the moment whereI had realized uh digitally the
(04:03):
first uh idea in terms ofcontents of uh Casa Don Alfonso
project.
I came here and I presented touh all the people which were
involved in the project, likethe property, the managing
company, which is of course RitzCarlton under the big hat of uh
Marriott.
And I saw the eyes of thesepeople shining after five
(04:26):
minutes.
So I realized that I was goingto make another restaurant here.
That was happening in 2018.
Then uh once we had uhnegotiated the contract, uh we
started the renovation here.
So I was participating in therenovation of the entire space,
bringing uh inspiring this uhvery talented um architect
(04:48):
studio from Atlanta.
They came to Santa Gada to mymother's place, and were there
they stayed a week with us andthey uh you know and let them
discover the identity, thehistory, the architectural uh
history of this part of theworld, which is uh the part of
(05:08):
the Campania region.
We are talking about Amalficos,Sorrentokos, Southern Italy, the
Bay of Naples.
This is the place where uh uhhistorically, since 2000 years,
we have had so many influencesby so many cultures, and
finally, this is a hugecontainer of uh knowledge, of uh
(05:29):
heritage in terms of culinary,in terms of architecture, of
history.
And this is what uh Casa DonAlfonso contains in itself.
Casa Don Alfonso is uh inspiredby the um uh let's say we start
by the kitchen style.
The kitchen style, the structureof the kitchen want to reproduce
(05:54):
the style, the mood of theancient kitchen, of the ancient
villa of the Vesuvian area.
When we talk about the Vesuvianarea, we're talking about the
influences of the Arabic worldin terms of uh ceramic tiles.
As you can see here in Casa DonAlfonso, we have brought, we
(06:14):
have realized this um specificpattern for casa.
Uh it has been realized by theoldest uh tile maker of the
entire region.
So we're talking about acompany, a factory, which is uh
more than 250 years old.
(06:35):
So a huge heritage that you findon the wall of the kitchen of
Casa Don Alfonso.
You find the copper, the copperis typical was typically used in
the kitchen.
My grandmother's house, therewas a copper and iron.
So the kitchen of Casa DonAlfonso structurally tells you
(06:56):
about my memories, but mymemories not because it's my
memories, but because of uh mymemories is uh um telling you
about this huge heritage comingfrom the Arabic world, from the
Greek world, from the French,Spanish kingdom.
We had also appeared uh, youknow, the big connection with
(07:18):
the Austro-Hungarian uh kingdom.
So Napoli City and surroundingis a huge melting pot of so many
different cultures, and in CasaDon Alfonso, we tried to
recreate this uh mood whichcontains all these cultures
together in terms of structure.
Then the architect arrived in inuh in our garden in Santa Agata,
(07:43):
and they saw it was May, theywere very lucky because in May
there is this uh huge, beautifuluh wisteria flowers that uh they
give us the pleasure to show uponly about two weeks.
Perfect time all over the year.
When they saw that, they were sofascinated that they made a
(08:04):
surprise to me.
They realized the picture, socartons you can see by the wall.
Cartons uh you can uh you knowlightly see the Wisteria flowers
of the garden of Don Alfonso1990 in Italy.
And uh they also realized theseuh let's say glass Wisteria
(08:28):
flowers, too.
The painting has been uhrealized by a local artist in
Sorrento area.
SPEAKER_04 (08:35):
Really?
SPEAKER_01 (08:36):
It's funny because this lady, she's a very talented
lady, but she's not really likeuh interested in you know, she's
just painting and she evendoesn't know that she's in Casa
Don Alfonso.
SPEAKER_02 (08:50):
She's probably watching she knows now.
SPEAKER_01 (08:52):
You know what that is.
So every there is uh specific uhsigns in this place which want
to tell about a huge heritage.
This is in terms of structure,in terms of culinary, what we do
in Casa Don Alfonso, we try toum recreate, to reproduce this
huge heritage of the recipes ofthe generation of migrant
(09:16):
mothers.
SPEAKER_04 (09:17):
That's beautiful.
SPEAKER_01 (09:18):
It's a kind of big responsibility for us, and Casa
Don Alfonso is a bigresponsibility because Casa Don
Alfonso, of course, it's a dropin the ocean, for sure, but in
Casa Don Alfonso we try to keepalive this unique extraordinary
recipes which have been uhhanded on for generations in our
(09:42):
region and arrived until now.
The problem is the ladies, notbecause the ladies are worse
than before, the ladies in thelast 50 years, they don't have
any more of the time to spendtime in their kitchen.
Before the ladies had 10 timesmore time to my Nona spent every
(10:05):
day in the kitchen, all day.
So they were responsible tobring to the new generation this
uh beautiful heritage.
Now the ladies have no timeanymore, and uh we are losing
very quickly uh in the last 30years a huge amount of recipes
(10:28):
which are part of uh you knowthe humanity.
And our responsibility is to tryto keep alive these recipes by
divulgating to the world by youknow sharing with our dear
guests.
So Casa Don Alfonso's culinarymission is we want to express
(10:49):
the culinary tradition ofsouthern Italy, but we also
sometimes and normally we uhinclude in the menu like kind of
uh Italian flagship recipes.
Because we are a Mediterraneanrestaurant, first of all, but we
are also an Italian restaurant.
That's why you find the tiramisuon the menu.
(11:11):
Because uh, in the imaginationuh of the people, there cannot
be an Italian restaurant withouta tiramisu.
SPEAKER_04 (11:18):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (11:19):
So even if tiramisu is not part of our um culinary
tradition, it's uh tiramisu wasborn in uh in northern Italy,
but we are proud to you know topresent an amazing tiramisu on
the menu because we are anywayan Italian restaurant.
So this is the beauty of casa.
It's more than just a dinner ora lunch.
(11:40):
If we give ourselves the time toenjoy and to uh get out of our
job, our problems, and we focuson what we are eating and escape
for a while, we can jump into adream where we are enjoying and
experiencing transported toItaly, a huge uh world which is
(12:02):
the Mediterranean area, finally.
And uh this is when I sayMediterranean, I'm saying about
Southern Italy, I'm saying aboutGreek, Tunisia, Morocco, and all
this Lebanon, which is anotherextraordinary country, where we
get inspired inspiration torealize the culinary project of
(12:23):
Casadon Alfonso.
So and I'm very proud and I'mvery, very happy to you know to
be the ambassador of this uhthis culture.
But believe me, I can say uh I'mhaving a great experience
because uh St.
Luis uh guest, okay, RichSlarton is uh visited by all
over people from all over theworld in St.
(12:44):
Louis because of the this uhhuge amount of business that
there is around the Claytonarea.
But St.
Luis people are verysophisticated people, and uh
believe it or not.
Very, very curious.
SPEAKER_02 (12:59):
At least two of us.
SPEAKER_01 (13:00):
They go deep inside the questions, and uh it's so
fascinating for me to to sharewith uh this uh this amazing
community what is my myheritage, no?
SPEAKER_02 (13:11):
We're honored to have you sit here, and as we
look around and you're talkingabout the style, something
you've done is you've opened upthe kitchen where we can
experience what's happening backthere.
Tell us the reasoning behindthat.
SPEAKER_01 (13:24):
The reason behind that because uh in the in in its
name, casa is a house, is ahome.
This is my home where I want toshare with my guest, with our
guest, of course.
I'm saying my because you knowI'm uh you know I feel like uh
it's uh part of my history.
(13:45):
But casa kitchen uh has to be inthe center of the restaurant
because uh it has to be like atheater where the guests can
enjoy the handcraft part of ouruh job that otherwise you don't
see that.
You just receive a plate and youlose the maybe 70% of the beauty
(14:10):
while you are sitting there.
If you're sitting at the kitchencounter, we have a lot of people
they like to stay at the kitchencounter.
It's like uh enjoying a movie,right?
A beautiful movie in uh in theMediterranean.
And the kitchen is whereeveryone gathers and still does
gather in the kitchen, so havingthat of the focal point, you can
see all the beautiful things anduh the mistakes sometimes or
(14:34):
whatever.
It's real life.
What's happening there, it's notfake, it's totally real.
And uh I think uh, you know, uhin this moment of the history of
the humanity, uh, to enjoy reallife and to take away our mobile
phones, it's uh a good way totake a big part of our time
(14:56):
being on our phones, doesn't it?
SPEAKER_03 (14:59):
Yes, yes.
I love the fact that it's kindof I get to experience what you
experience as a child from yourthese recipes from back with
with your grandmother and and uhNona.
And uh and uh I get toexperience that.
I it's like you welcomed me intoyour home, it's like you welcome
me into your home, and I get toexperience all of these great
(15:20):
menu items that were done.
And these recipes were thingsthat didn't happen overnight.
SPEAKER_02 (15:25):
These are recipes I just think they're coming from
your heritage is really.
SPEAKER_03 (15:28):
These are recipes that took experimentation after
and back, like you said, whenthey spent so much time in the
kitchen back then, they were itwas like science projects.
I mean, family gathered.
SPEAKER_02 (15:39):
It would be two days to get ready for um a
preparation of a meal.
I mean, everything was handmade.
There was not when I sayhandmade, there was every
ingredient was was created.
SPEAKER_01 (15:49):
Caitlin Gordon, you said you touched a very
important point because uhsometimes even in in Don Alfonso
in Italy, the main question isuh how long did you get to you
to realize this recipe?
And I say it depends, from 500years to 2000 years, because uh
the recipe is a result of uhgenerations.
(16:10):
Then, of course, a new recipe,but a new recipe we take always
inspiration by by something wehave uh experienced when we were
a child.
We have a farm, organic farm isin 35 years in uh in uh in our
uh region where we get inspiredby the nature.
What I brought here also, it'svery important, is uh the sense
(16:32):
of seasonality that the world islosing.
So uh we change the menu, youknow, we cannot change the menu
four times a year.
Operationally speaking, it's socomplicated.
So, what we have decidedtogether since the beginning is
that we change the menu twice ayear, so we put together the
let's say the spring and thesummer, and we put together the
(16:55):
autumn and the and the and thewinter so that we can really
strictly follow the sense ofseasonality in terms of produce.
Sure, it's fresh.
I tell you, I give you anexample.
You will never find, I give youthis specific example because uh
then I tell you why.
(17:15):
You will never find uh aneggplant in our menu in the
middle of the winter because theeggplant is a summertime
ingredient.
Okay, you will never find uhzucchini in the winter, you will
never find a sweet pepper in thewinter.
In the winter you will findcauliflowers, uh broccolini,
(17:36):
broccoli, spinaches, uh,cabbage.
So we try to follow the sense ofuh seasonality except for the
eggplant parmigiana, becauseeggplant parmigiana is like uh
you enter uh in a Japaneserestaurant and you don't find
the tuna.
SPEAKER_04 (17:55):
Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_01 (17:57):
So eggplant parmigiana is uh we keep on in
the menu all year long.
We know that in the winter thereis this is not the season of a
um eggplant, but we cannot uh Icannot take out of the menu the
eggplant parmigiana because thisis like uh you know the king of
the story, right?
(18:18):
And we want to share with theguests all year long, even if uh
it's not the best moment of theyear in the winter, but you
know, it's such a huge um such ahuge experience in terms of
flavor.
SPEAKER_02 (18:32):
People expect it and want it, and so exactly, but the
presentation is everything aswell.
I mean, I I will be honest, thisis the prettiest, I should say,
most beautiful Caesar salad thatI have ever been able to
experience.
The dressing and the perfectlittle dollops, and um, so it's
more the taste, of course, weknow that comes first, that's so
(18:54):
important, but also thepresentation, the way you bring
it out, is not like anythingelse where you know you might
experience it most places.
SPEAKER_01 (19:02):
So Caesar salad is not part of our tradition, but
how we can uh have a restaurantin the United States, it is
impossible.
So we try to make a um avariation of uh on uh yes,
Caesar salad, adding uh mayomade with the same ingredients
of the classical uh Caesar saladsauce sauce.
(19:23):
We made an espuma with uhparmigiano, uh beautiful
crouton.
SPEAKER_02 (19:28):
So that's the idea of you know, we just says
everything, it makes it evenbetter as well.
SPEAKER_01 (19:32):
Even on the new menu, uh and that's what we want
to talk about.
SPEAKER_02 (19:35):
The new menu, also the casa pastry uh boutique.
I want to hear about that aswell.
SPEAKER_01 (19:41):
Yes, I tell you the story.
Okay.
Uh when I was in March, and uh Ihave to be very thankful to uh
Rich Scarlton um managementbecause uh uh since the
beginning, I have to tell yousomething first of all, because
uh I have to thank you so much,uh Rich Scarleton World.
Because uh, since the first dayuh I uh landed in this place, I
(20:06):
uh received such uh an amazingand unique hospitality that I
have never received anywhereelse in the world.
Rich Scarlton uh represents whatit means, hospitality.
SPEAKER_02 (20:19):
Absolutely, 100%.
No one makes a bed like them.
SPEAKER_01 (20:22):
Without any you know, without any compromise.
With the guest is always andforever the king.
Yes.
This is what Rich Scarlton wasteaching the entire world.
That's my personal opinion.
And um and it's not happening uhsince two years, it's happening
(20:43):
since a while.
So I found the right place interms of uh humans to realize
Casa Don Alfonso project.
But what uh um how we came toboutique, to the boutique
corner, uh, and every everythingI was asking, uh I'm always
asking or proposing or you know,trying to let's say let's do
(21:06):
something different.
They are really very um quick inuh operating what uh uh it comes
in my mind.
And the story is that in March Iwas here and I was walking
around uh the the restaurant.
I said, why we cannot share withour guest a corner?
(21:27):
I was thinking uh uh inspired bya very famous brand, and I know
I I cannot say I might say that,but uh you know there is
beautiful uh macaron bench shopslike this.
And I say, why we don't realizea Casa Don Alfonso corner
boutique where we can try toshare with our guests uh the
(21:53):
culture, the tradition ofNeapolitan pastry.
I say, why not?
SPEAKER_02 (21:58):
I'm glad that you asked that question.
SPEAKER_01 (22:00):
Mouth uh only six months ago, after two weeks, uh
you know the management calledme, Mario, this is a good idea,
we want to, and then you know,just the time to uh call
architect and uh you knowmanufacture and everything, that
finally uh Casa Boutique uh isuh going to be open.
(22:24):
Uh we should they should openCasa Boutique Corner in uh at
the beginning between thebeginning and the middle part of
December, where the guest ofRich Carlton, the local guests,
the resident people here aroundClayton, uh will have the
possibility in the morning toenjoy all about croissant and
(22:49):
all about beautiful pastryconcerning the breakfast
moments.
Then from 10 o'clock around inthe morning, they will have the
possibility to experience asingle portion of beautiful
dessert coming from theMediterranean and Neapolitan
tradition, also including someclassical Rich Kaltan pastry.
(23:17):
So the guests will have thechance to experience from one
side the Neapolitan culture,from the other side the
classical Richz Kalton mood.
And then during all the daythere will be, you know, small
sandwiches.
And uh you know, until the endof the day, whenever you come
(23:37):
here, you will see thisbeautiful display where there
will be um, I'll give you anexample, uh Sicilian cannoli,
Neapolitan Baba, or um, youknow, Capri Cetart made with
almonds, sometimes with thelemon, sometimes with the
chocolate.
It will be anyway changing theproposal so that we can uh give
(23:58):
the most beautiful experiencepossible.
SPEAKER_03 (24:01):
I'd gain 10 pounds just.
Yeah, yeah, I know.
SPEAKER_01 (24:04):
Then we have realized a lot um a proposal of
cakes.
So you can come here and youchoose your cake, you see your
cake, and uh you can bring homeSicilian cassata.
Imagine you arrive at home for ayou know family celebration, you
uh can bring home an originalSicilian cassata.
(24:27):
We brought our executive pastrySheffield 10 days to train the
people to realize the authenticum pastry from, let's say,
southern Italy.
SPEAKER_03 (24:38):
That's the first thing we did when we landed.
So when we went to Rome and welanded in Rome, the first thing
we did was we got a room, thenwe went downstairs, we found the
first place we could sit, have acappuccino and have it have a
pastry.
Beautiful was the first thing wedid.
And it was like just set themood and the tone for
everything.
So that's what you can do, youcan set the tone for everyone's
(25:00):
day.
Yeah, when they come in here andget a pastry in the morning and
some of the things.
SPEAKER_01 (25:04):
You can enjoy a tea time here in casa in the
afternoon and enjoy thisbeautiful.
This is a very, very uh in allover Europe, wherever if even if
you go in this beautiful uhhistorical cafe in Vienne or in
uh in Munich or in Paris or inRome, as you said, in Naples.
In Naples there is thisbeautiful uh old uh historical
(25:28):
bar cafe called Gambrinus, whichis an institution.
If you go in Naples and you'reenjoying visiting the museum,
you have to stop there in uhthis place and enjoy a
Neapolitan's Foyatella.
This is what we we uh we want todo here.
SPEAKER_02 (25:45):
So experience that you're providing.
Yes.
Really be able to have a tasteof Italy but and the gorgeous
city of Clayton.
I mean, it's it's it'sdefinitely um one of kind.
There's nothing else like thisaround, and bringing your vision
and your passion here to theRitz has definitely changed a
(26:07):
complete new vibe.
I mean, it truly is.
I mean, I remember the firsttime we walked in and the that
um had just opened, and we werein all, we actually did a story
on your restaurant, it's been inour magazine.
We'll have to give you copies totake with you, but uh I I don't
have that copy, but I'll makesure you get copies of the story
sent to you digitally.
Um, but that's the first thingwe did.
(26:28):
We were so wild when we came in.
We sat at the bar, they made usa drink which had the Britz
Carlton uh stamp on it, not ourlogo, and we were so impressed,
and we immediately had to do astory on it.
When you walk in, your your yoursoul brightens up when you when
you walk in here.
SPEAKER_01 (26:45):
Yes, very much so.
Inside this place, even myself,yes.
When I come after six months,and I leave as soon as I leave
my luggage, I'm not tiredanymore.
Yeah, I just want to be herebecause I need to to start to
breath the the the perfume, theyou know, this beautiful uh uh
(27:05):
perfume coming from the kitchen.
SPEAKER_02 (27:07):
And uh I can smell the truffle oil coming from that
plate right there, I'm sure.
Is it this one?
So gorgeous plates.
There's gonna be um some newitems that will be for the
holiday that we'll be able toexperience.
Of course, we cannot wait toexperience the new pastry
boutique, which will beabsolutely incredible.
It's not just the holiday, ofcourse, is what's around the
corner, but it's an everydayexperience that you'll receive
(27:31):
when you come into the Casa delAlfonso, which you say so much
better than I do.
I don't even want to, I don'teven want to talk anymore if
you're listening to.
It's like I feel like this dull,boring voice after sitting here
speaking with you.
We love your passion.
We can't thank you enough fortaking some time and and really
helping others to understandwhat the experience is when you
come to the roots Carleton andwalk into the Casa del Alfonso.
(27:54):
It's absolutely beautiful andbreathtaking.
And I can't wait to see what youkeep doing.
I'm sure we're not finished.
Yeah, when it opens up.
Yeah, add us a pastry.
SPEAKER_01 (28:03):
Next, uh, I mean, from uh starting from uh
Wednesday, we um um presentingthe new menu for the winter
season, and I'm super happybecause uh, you know, we could
uh once again uh um realizedishes which uh tell an history.
Every single dish uh tells anhistory behind, and of course,
(28:27):
in Casa Don Alfonso, in mypersonal opinion, I eat pizza
almost every day.
You can have a great pizzabecause uh, you know, the dough
we realize is uh part of anotherhuge heritage.
And uh pizza dough is changingevery day, the recipe is
complicated because of theweather conditions are changing,
(28:48):
and uh I was super happy tocheck this time that the pizza
is really great, so I invite uhuh you to try.
We have amazing original uhmodern style of dough from
Napoli City, so pizza, and uhI'm really happy what we're
(29:09):
doing here now in Kaz in termsof a pizza experience to I'm
pretty sure I made some funnynoises, didn't I, when I had it
last?
SPEAKER_02 (29:17):
It was really good, and you know that's the that is
something that we experiencedwhen we're in Italy, is that
what you've brought here, whenyou are there and you're having
wine and you're eating pizza andyou're having pasta, never once
did I my stomach hurt.
A lot of times America tends towant to Americanize too much and
(29:39):
keeping the the ingredientsfresh, using the um fruits and
vegetables that are in season,that are organically made.
I mean, it's complete change inhow you experience.
And I love the way you talkabout the food because food
should be an experience, notsomething we just consume and
we're hungry.
It it's a time to To toexperience with someone you're
(30:01):
with, or even if you're alone,if it's a date all by yourself,
to be able to really indulge inyourself and be able to
experience food and know thateverything that you're bringing
to the table comes fromheritage, it comes from passion
and experience throughouthundreds of years.
That's I mean, what how muchbetter can it get?
SPEAKER_01 (30:19):
I think the food, our intend the food, we can say
food, the way we eat is thehugest investment on ourselves,
on our body.
You're right.
Whatever we uh put in our bodyis going to be our heritage in
terms of health.
So what we I feel to say that uhthis is uh we need to give a
(30:46):
huge attention to the quality ofproduce we use, but above all
what we are eating every singleday of our life, it's important,
you know.
And in a Mediterranean idea, uhwe can say that uh you know the
Mediterranean diet has beenrecognized as the way of uh
(31:08):
eating which gives the yi thebest result in terms of health,
in terms of heart disease uhavoidance.
So I could be here for manyhours to tell you about that,
but uh it's so important that uhfor everyday uh food we need to
(31:31):
make the biggest investment interms of uh time, we need to
understand what is good for usand what is not good for us for
everyday food and for our kids.
This is the biggest gift we cangive to our kids to teach them
to eat in a specific way.
(31:53):
And uh I'm not going to enter inthat, but uh basically we are
convinced that not Mario'sconvinced the um worldwide uh
scientific community that extravirgin olive oil is proved that
it's bringing uh it's a miracleof the nature in terms of uh you
know cleaning uh the the veinsand then uh the we need maybe I
(32:18):
would not say that let's try toeat more dried vegetables than
meat every day.
Let's try to eat more fish andvegetables and fruit every day
than other things.
So uh if we pay attention tothat, we can make the biggest
gift to our future generation uhto avoid a lot of problems when
(32:42):
they reach our age.
SPEAKER_02 (32:44):
Mario, thank you so much for spending some time
bringing your passion to the InYour City show, allowing people
to really understand what isbehind this beautiful
restaurant, thank you, pastryboutique, the gorgeous uh bar
that you have over there.
There's just so much to offerwhen you come in.
So even if you're not staying atthe Ritz-Carleton, that does not
mean that you cannot come in andenjoy all that Caso del Afonso
(33:08):
has to offer.
Mario Iaccarino uh from Italy,sitting right here, his
beautiful creation here.
We thank you so much for sharingit with us and the experience
that we're able to have.
And we cannot wait to taste thepastry.
Absolutely.
SPEAKER_01 (33:24):
I really appreciate that you were coming here and
spent time with me.
And uh it was an honor from you.
SPEAKER_02 (33:31):
So we always say cheers during our show.
We always cheers the end, butwhat we'd like to say is salute
would be the salute would be thecorrect way, right?
So let's definitely give acheers with you.
SPEAKER_01 (33:43):
Uh doing his best.
SPEAKER_02 (33:45):
Thank you.
Thank you.
Okay, so to a beautiful holiday,to a happy new year, and to the
continued success of your CaseDel Afonso.
Thank you so much, Mario, forspending time with us.
SPEAKER_01 (33:57):
Salute.
I can say Viva San Luis.
SPEAKER_02 (34:00):
Oh, yes, thank you.
What is another one?
Chinchin?
SPEAKER_01 (34:03):
Chinchin, we send it in chinchin.
Okay, there you go.
SPEAKER_02 (34:06):
Chinchin.
Take a drink to I have no ideawhat I'm having, but it's a
delicious.
SPEAKER_01 (34:14):
So is this.
He is a yeah, Mr.
Bobby's an angel.
Oh, he is.
SPEAKER_02 (34:18):
He is, he is fantastic.
Thank you.
This is great.
Look at that.
SPEAKER_01 (34:23):
Thank you.
SPEAKER_02 (34:25):
Right here at the Ritz-Carlton in St.
Louis.
We've had the pleasure ofexperiencing Ritz-Carlton's uh
in California, Chicago, nothinglike it right here in Clayton,
Missouri.
We're so glad that we can be apart of it, and this is where we
live.
So thank you.
SPEAKER_00 (34:40):
Thank you very much.
SPEAKER_02 (34:40):
Wonderful.
Garden was a pleasure.
SPEAKER_00 (34:43):
Thank you.
SPEAKER_02 (34:43):
Thank you.
Oh my gosh.
Incredible interview with MarioJaccarino.
I mean, incredible.
And the fact that he's invitedus to come and stay with him
when we go to Italy.
Oh man.
Um, should we plan it next week?
I'm so ready.
It's gonna be amazing, and we'redefinitely going to do that.
And you know, talking withMario, talking about the beauty
(35:05):
of food, the culture, theheritage, the love, the passion
that's brought into it, that'sthe same, that's the same way
you need to be with yourself,with your partner.
Um, we really want to get backinto bringing the relationship
back into our show.
And we don't just mean therelationship with another
(35:25):
person.
That relationship can be withyourself, which that's probably
one of the hardest relationshipspeople have is with themselves.
We're so hard on ourselves.
We really are.
We're terribly hard on oursociety wants us to be.
Yeah.
And sometimes we don't, wehaven't.
SPEAKER_03 (35:39):
You're not like this, and you know.
SPEAKER_02 (35:40):
Right.
And and sometimes we haven'tfound that perfect person.
Gosh, I was single for 11 yearsafter being married before I met
you.
I mean, you know, there timelife changes, uh, you know, it's
evolving all the time around us.
And something that we wantpeople to think about is that
you're not alone.
Sometimes it takes a while tofind that perfect person.
(36:01):
Sometimes there's some peoplethat love being alone, and
that's okay too.
But having a relationship, whatwe want to say is you have the
right to have a love story,whether it's with someone, with
your work, with your business,with yourself.
It's really important toschedule dates.
And that means with your, ifyou're a leader at work,
(36:23):
schedule time with the peoplethat work for you.
If you're in a relationship oryou're married, or you you have
your partner, schedule dates.
If you're alone and you'resomebody that's not in a
relationship, schedule a datewith yourself, or make a date
and don't tell her until like anhour before.
Like yes.
And you know what?
(36:44):
It was so much fun.
Gordon walked in and he said,Um, I hope you uh aren't upset.
Um, but I have tickets to Caseyin the Sunshine Van.
And I'm like, I dropped mypurse, I went like this because
I was exhausted, and thethoughts of going somewhere
sounded absolutely awful.
Well, guess what?
(37:04):
She had a great time.
It was the best time ever.
SPEAKER_03 (37:06):
So did the ladies behind us.
SPEAKER_02 (37:08):
They were doing the woo, the kick in it.
SPEAKER_03 (37:10):
They were back in 1972, cheerleading time.
SPEAKER_02 (37:13):
They were the they were the woo girls.
Yeah, woo.
But it but it was so fun.
And gosh, KC, I think he's 74.
He sat on stage, which is put ona little bit of, you know,
weight.
Uh he said it was during COVID,but we know how long ago that
was.
Yeah.
But I'm gonna tell you what, Icould not have done what he did.
He danced, he spun around incircles, he sang, he played
(37:36):
instruments.
I mean, it was incredible.
SPEAKER_03 (37:38):
I could have not entertainer.
SPEAKER_02 (37:40):
I was in a chair going, you know, and doing a
little moving and grooving in mychair, and I was tired.
SPEAKER_03 (37:46):
And you know what?
He actually sat and talked for acouple minutes with people.
Quite funny.
And you know, it was verypersonal, personal, yeah, to
talk the way he talked to us,and you could tell he really
loved what he does and he lovesperforming for people.
Yeah, he loves it.
SPEAKER_02 (37:59):
The dancers were great.
I mean, it was really I lovesmiling.
SPEAKER_03 (38:04):
It was fun.
I didn't realize he's never beenmarried, and he's got such
everything about him is sopersonal.
You don't know what his networth is, you don't know what
anything is.
SPEAKER_02 (38:14):
He's kept everything on paper, let's put it that way.
I wonder if he has a cell phonebecause that really keeps that
what footprint they call it, youknow, off of him.
But great, great show.
And then we had the luxury ofanother date.
Um, our friends Kevin and TracyKester have started a band.
Uh, are they in their 50s?
I mean, it's never too late.
That's my big word.
It's about time.
(38:35):
It's never too late to go atwhat you love.
Yes, don't wait.
And they've started a bandtogether.
I think this might be the firstband they've had together.
Keys and Kevin's an incredibleguitar player.
Tracy loves to sing, she has abeautiful voice.
And they decided, hey, let's dothis.
So we went and watched TwistedFiction.
They were fabulous.
(38:56):
Uh, so maybe Gordon will show alittle clip of him up on stage,
but nope, it wasn't easy gettinghim up there.
It's very hard to get him to getup on stage anymore, which
everyone misses it.
So you did fabulous.
I mean, you you always dofabulous.
Again, she tells me that aboutwhat?
No, we're too hard on ourselves.
You were amazing.
Dude, your voice is incredible.
(39:16):
I don't know when you're gonnafigure that out and quit
worrying about it so much.
But but anyway, you do need totake time.
And they say it keeps loveintentional, it's not
accidental.
You're saying that you matter,we matter, uh, and meaning as a
leader in your business orrelationship or for yourself.
It protects your relationship,of course, from becoming stale.
(39:38):
And in our uh case, a lot oftimes we tend to be in a
business with each other.
Talk about work about work allthe time.
I talk about work too much,probably.
I'm I'm probably the one thatreally does that.
It's like got to turn it.
Remember the movie What AboutBob?
SPEAKER_03 (39:51):
And uh Bill Murray played this crazy guy who always
needed a psychiatrist next tohim.
And the advice that was given tohim was take a vacation.
Just take a vacation from yourlife.
From your life.
No kidding.
That's very hard to do.
We need to do that in ourrelationships.
(40:13):
We need to learn how to putthings aside and just focus on
the people that are in themoment.
Right.
And a solo date, okay?
SPEAKER_02 (40:19):
You're by yourself, you're not in a relationship,
but you want to get out thereand do stuff.
A solo date is one of the mostpowerful acts of self-love.
It says, I deserve, I amdeserving, I deserve space and I
deserve joy.
Heck yeah, absolutely, 100%.
Um, it strengthens thefoundation and definitely brings
less stress to the life, uh, toyour life.
(40:40):
And then, of course, it keepsthe spark alive, um, especially
you know within yourrelationships and yourself.
I mean, how good does it feelwhen you go somewhere and you
maybe reluctantly didn't want togo and you went and you're like,
so glad I did.
Right.
So keep a love story going,whether it's with yourself
relationship or it's with yourteam at work.
Don't not do it.
(41:03):
Right?
Just do it, as Nike would say.
Is that a commercial for them?
They owe us now for saying that.
SPEAKER_03 (41:08):
There's our new shirt.
Don't not do it.
No, it's the don't not do itshirt.
SPEAKER_02 (41:12):
There's so many things that I'm experienced that
I've never done before.
I wish that I wasn'texperiencing so much on top of
each other because it's likehaving a great meal.
You just you want to sit downand you want to enjoy it and you
don't want to be rushed.
And sometimes when you do toomuch, you get too busy, you
can't really sit back and enjoywhat you're doing.
(41:33):
So, you know, just launching thechildren's book and then coming
soon, I've got the it's abouttime anthology, which is all
about it's never too late.
And I want to be able to enjoythat.
SPEAKER_03 (41:43):
Exactly.
SPEAKER_02 (41:43):
I want to enjoy that experience.
And sometimes you got to slowdown a little bit to do that.
So, but um, so anyway,relationships are so important.
Keep that love story alive.
So, on another note, the holidayseason is approaching, and um, I
think we were we were talkingabout the Christmas trees.
And did I mention the trees thatyou're supposed to buy?
Because I think we mentionedwhen we started the show about
(42:04):
you can buy the wrong tree.
We were so excited to do a realChristmas tree.
Yeah, and we got home, we'relike, I had to buy things that
hung on the tree to make itsmell like a Christmas tree
because it didn't have anysmell.
SPEAKER_03 (42:19):
And if you still have a house that has berber
carpeting, don't buy a real treebecause it'll get stuck in the
berber carpeting.
SPEAKER_02 (42:29):
I don't want to do that.
So balsam fur, that is thestrongest, most classic
Christmas tree smell.
Um, Fraser fur, fresh, cleanpiney scent, the Douglas fir,
which I hadn't heard of.
That's the sweet, fruity,evergreen aroma.
And the grand fur, that's thevery intense aroma.
That has a beautiful glossyneedle.
(42:52):
I don't know what's making itglossy, but there's shiny,
gorgeous needles on that.
All right.
And then, so what do you think?
I think we got the Fraser fur,is what we end up getting.
Yes.
But we're going to get eitherthe um grand fur or the balsam
fur this time.
We're gonna make it.
SPEAKER_03 (43:10):
But it doesn't say anything.
It does.
It's got a good aroma.
SPEAKER_02 (43:14):
But we want the intense, we want total intense
aroma.
And the noble fur, that's along-lasting fur smell, but it's
a little more subtle.
Maybe, you know, some peopledon't like a lot of aroma or
fragrance and that.
Okay, here's what not to buy.
This is what we did the whitepine, the scotch pine, and the
blue spruce.
(43:35):
Those are out unless, unless youdon't want to smell, but you
want the real tree.
SPEAKER_04 (43:40):
Right.
SPEAKER_02 (43:40):
But why would you want a real tree and not be able
to smell it?
Exactly.
Okay, now guess what we have?
Are you ready to go buy yourtree?
Sure.
Okay, so I think we went toCountry Pine's Christmas farm,
nostalgic, huge big red barn.
You can have apple cider and allthe hot chocolate and a lot,
they have ornaments andexperience too, going down and
picking out your tree.
(44:00):
Yeah.
Yeah.
That we were a little lazy, I'mnot gonna lie.
We were cold.
We stayed pretty close to thered barn, and we actually took a
tree that was already cut down.
So, you know, but that's how wewent to experience it.
That was our date model.
I don't have my pickup truckanymore, so no.
What do we get?
We'll have to do it to the top.
You could rent a pickup truckfor a day.
We could rent a pickup truck forthe day.
(44:22):
Okay.
SPEAKER_04 (44:22):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (44:22):
I'm ready for a new Christmas tree.
Or a fresh, I should say,Christmas tree, a real one.
So Heritage Valley uh tree farm,that's in Washington, Missouri.
That's choose and cut, where youpick your tree.
So you can do that.
It's a historic setting, 75acres there for this one.
The mirror, if I'm saying itright, tree farm, that's
M-E-E-R-T, the Mirritt TreeFarm, that's in uh Festus,
(44:43):
Missouri.
Massive selection, tens ofthousands of trees that you can
pick from there.
The Country Pines Christmas TreeFarm, that's the one we went to.
That's in Wright City, verynostalgic, like we had
mentioned.
And then, of course, um you cango to uh let's see.
Uh nope, that's a tree.
You can go to the Eckert.
Somebody's wrong.
(45:05):
So see what happens when youit's like having a teleprompter.
If you put it, it'll read it.
Um, the Eckertz Farm.
They are actually having aChristmas tree.
Cut your own Christmas tree.
It actually started already onNovember 15th.
Um, and going through, I guessif they, I don't know if they'll
run out, run out or not, butthey've got many photo sessions.
(45:25):
They have breakfast with Santa,um, the Newfoundland draft
Christmas trees, which I have noidea what that is, so we'll have
to check that out.
But you can go out to Bellevilleand go to Eckers Farm.
So there's uh four places foryou to be able to enjoy getting
a real Christmas tree.
So, and if you don't feel likedoing um any of that, um then
you can put up your fake tree.
SPEAKER_03 (45:46):
The silver tree with the little wheel that had the
colors on it.
Remember that?
I do remember that.
SPEAKER_02 (45:51):
I almost want to what about the tinsel trees?
Yeah like the they didn't havethe light on it, but the the
tinsel tree, and then puttingthe tinsel all over it, and
you'd make your own popcorn toto stream around it.
I mean, it just makes you feellike you're just a little kid
again.
Trees are so different now, likein and I'm I'm at fault as well.
I love a decorated, beautifulChristmas tree.
SPEAKER_03 (46:13):
White hair in Cottleville has tons of
decorated trees.
You can just actually go on andsay, I want that tree with the
way it is.
SPEAKER_02 (46:19):
What's fun is if you go after Christmas and you
happen to find a few beautifullydecorated trees that didn't
sell, and you just go home withall the ornaments and everything
on it and half price, yeah, evenbetter.
So you can use your tree now andthen get one after Christmas.
But but um, but what I wasgetting at is that I do love a
gorgeously decorated tree.
And but that old fashioned whereyou you know make the stuff that
(46:41):
goes around it and you put allyour trees.
SPEAKER_03 (46:46):
Kelly's that person that'll I'll put an ornament up
and she'll move it.
SPEAKER_02 (46:49):
It's not in the right spot.
Has to be cohesively puttogether, everything has to make
sense, and then the ornamentsthat your kids made for you that
maybe won't aren't as pretty asthey once were because they're
38 and 28, and you know, they'vebeen through the times and the
in the Christmas pale.
They're at the back of the tree,you know, where the where you
don't see it, but they're there.
SPEAKER_03 (47:12):
The store-bought ornaments in the front, weekends
and all the time.
SPEAKER_02 (47:17):
What an absolutely bella, beautiful for Bella show
that we had.
Loved Mina Mario, cannot wait togo to Italy to visit him there.
This gorgeous cappuccino that'sbeen waiting for us to take a
drink, and how fun! As you cansee, it has our logos, city
lifestyle, and in your city onthe top of them, which is super
cool.
We're gonna say cheers to you,but one more time we're gonna
(47:39):
give a little salute.
Salute, salute, is that it?
Saluti, cheers, chen chan.
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