December 30, 2024 • 16 mins
In this special New Year's episode of Bread for the People, host Jim Serpico reflects on using AI tools like ChatGPT and Google Gemini to boost productivity and streamline tasks in his personal and professional life. Jim also offers a year-end recap of the most memorable moments and guests of 2024, including entrepreneurs like Siler Chapman (starting at 00:08:15), Kirk Mauriello (starting at 00:11:30), Joe Carlucci (starting at 00:14:45), Leo Spizzerri (starting at 00:18:10), and Christy Alia (starting at 00:20:00). The episode highlights the importance of passion, innovation, and community in the world of baking and invites listeners to share their experiences and New Year's plans. Additionally, the Year-End Deep Dive sections were created using AI tools and voices, adding a unique touch to the recap.
00:00 Introduction and New Year Greetings
00:45 Embracing AI in Daily Life
01:43 Using AI for Productivity
05:32 Recap of 2024 Podcast Highlights
06:47 Special Year-End Deep Dive
07:24 Entrepreneurial Success Stories
10:50 Heartwarming and Inspiring Journeys
13:40 Celebrating Diversity in the Culinary World
15:13 Final Thoughts and New Year Wishes
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/jim-serpico-bread-for-the-people-sourdough-pizza-life--5704379/support.
00:00 Introduction and New Year Greetings
00:45 Embracing AI in Daily Life
01:43 Using AI for Productivity
05:32 Recap of 2024 Podcast Highlights
06:47 Special Year-End Deep Dive
07:24 Entrepreneurial Success Stories
10:50 Heartwarming and Inspiring Journeys
13:40 Celebrating Diversity in the Culinary World
15:13 Final Thoughts and New Year Wishes
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/jim-serpico-bread-for-the-people-sourdough-pizza-life--5704379/support.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
Happy New Year everybody. Jim surperco bread for the people.
I hope you have some good plans for New Year's Eve.
I'll be with my family. I want to thank you
all for staying with me and listening to over one
hundred episodes, having a great time doing the podcast, and
(00:35):
I plan to continue it in twenty twenty five, looking
forward to what's happening there. So this is gonna be
a short one. I wanted to talk a little bit
about AI and how I use AI, and I'm wondering
if you guys use AI in your business, and if so,
(00:55):
how do you use it in your personal life, and
if so how, Please please please get in touch with
me over Instagram or email and let me know. I'm
really curious. I embrace AI. I love it. I use
a whole bunch of AI tools and it's certainly making
(01:15):
my life easier. I'm not one of these people who
believe it's going to take over the world. I do
think it will change things. The jobs will change, maybe
some jobs will be eliminated, and I might make an
illustration on that, but I do think it's going to
take an awful long time to eliminate the human interaction
(01:41):
and overseeing of what's going on with AI. But I
can tell you for right now, I'm using it as
a productivity tool, a writing tool, and I find it
really helpful. Now, before I start talking about that again,
I thank you for listening. If you have rated the show,
(02:01):
I would really appreciate you jumping on to iTunes or
Apple podcasts and give me a rating and let people
know what you think of the show. The more ratings
I have and hopefully you like the show and give
it a five star rating, the easier it is for
me to book prominent guests and good guests for this show.
(02:22):
So I appreciate you, guys, and if you would go
on to iTunes or Apple podcasts and rate the show,
it means a lot to me. So how do I
use AI.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
Listen?
Speaker 1 (02:35):
There's a couple tools I use. Obviously, Chat GPT is
one of them, and Google Gemini is another. They're very similar.
But my son is studying overseas in the spring in Madrid.
My wife and I are planning on going over there,
maybe taking a few days, and we're trying to.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
Figure out what to do.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
You know, with my son, we're not so familiar with
the geography in Europe and what's close. So we plugged
it into chat GPT and we said, we have five days,
we're flying from New York, and within twenty seconds, it
pops up this itinerary with the time of night to fly,
where we're going to land, what we should do when
we land, the area of the city of Madrid. We
(03:21):
should stay a day and a half later, get on
a plane and go to Portugal. This is what you
do in Portugal. I mean, it was just mind blowing
for social media captions. As I run my bread business,
I'll know what I'm trying to say, and I'll put
in a general caption that I'm thinking of and I'll
(03:42):
pop it into chat GPT and it comes up with
some variations on what I wrote, and I like to
look at those. It often uses best practices on what
to post. Another way I use AI is for this podcast.
I have an editing program called descript. It is a
text based editor, So instead of editing audio and video
(04:07):
in waveforms like I do in Premiere Pro, this edits
based on a transcript. So if you want to delete
a paragraph, you simply delete the paragraph inside the transcript
and whil it disappears from the audio track. It also
chooses promotional highlights of the podcast. So if I wanted
(04:31):
to do a video clip, I could ask it to
generate five highlights of the conversation I just had, and
it spits out video clips with captions in the proper
aspect ratio to put on an Instagram reel.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
It's pretty wild.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
You know, you have to tweak these things, but I
definitely find it helpful. I've played with a social media calendar.
I've asked Google Gemini to generate a social media account
for my company. I think it's pretty great.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
You know, it.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
Makes you think about things. It gives me a place
to start, and then, you know, I tweak it, but
it certainly makes life a lot easier than the way
it used to be when I was just, you know,
doing this completely on my own. At least I have
a place to start from. And sometimes this stuff is
great and sometimes it's just okay, but you know what,
it's helping me, and it's helping my life now. I
(05:34):
wanted to recap the best of the podcast from twenty
twenty four, so I used a program to generate a
best of for this podcast. It's an AI program I
pasted a few transcripts from the year into this program,
(05:57):
and what you're about to hear is an AI podcast.
The people are not real people, it's AI voices. They
sound pretty good, ask if you ask me. There's a
couple things out a little weird, but I'm really curious
to see what you guys think about it. Again, I
(06:17):
put in about eight transcripts of Bread for the People
and created this highlight reel and recap. So as we
head into the new year, check out this AI episode
of Bread for the People. I really wish you guys
a healthy and happy new year. Thanks for hanging in
(06:40):
with me, and I'm looking forward to hanging out with
you guys in twenty twenty five.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
Hey, everyone, welcome to a special year end deep dive
into some of the highlights from Jim Cirpico's Bread for
the People.
Speaker 3 (06:54):
We're gonna revisit some of the best moments and guests
from this past year in case you missed any or
you just want to relive some of those great insights
and conversations.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
Yeah, we know you guys are busy out there, maybe
needing your own dough or tossing pizzas, or maybe even
just trying to get dinner on the table.
Speaker 3 (07:11):
So we're going to serve up a condensed version of
bread for the people twenty twenty four, all the flavor,
none of the gluten.
Speaker 4 (07:18):
Just kidding, we love gluten.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
Of course. So where do we want to start? I
think we got to kick things off with Silo Chapman, right,
pizza acrobatics champion turned mobile pizza empire builder.
Speaker 3 (07:28):
Oh. Absolutely, His story with King of Fire Pizza is
a classic bread for the people tale, taking a passion
and honestly some serious skills and turning it into a
thriving business.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
I loved his insights about how he built that brand. Yeah,
especially with the food truck, you know, creating that sense
of scarcity, making sure people knew his pizza was only
available at a certain times.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
It's so smart, right, He really played up the limited
supply angle.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
And it totally works. I mean he actually said if
you give it to them and say you're only going
to get it at this time, this time to this time,
and oh, by the way, we have limited supplies, no
one you can go back and get more dough, people
come out of the woodworks for you.
Speaker 3 (08:08):
That's such a great quote. It really captures that fear
of missing out. You know, people want what they think they.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
Can't have for sure, and it's clearly working for him,
right Yeah, started with one food truck and now he's
got a whole fleet of him plus a brick and
mortar location. Talk about some serious dough.
Speaker 4 (08:27):
It really is.
Speaker 3 (08:28):
And it's that entrepreneurial spirit that we see again and
again on Bread for the people, you know, that drive
to share your passion with the world and make.
Speaker 2 (08:36):
It work and in Seiler's case, make it delicious. Yeah, okay,
let's switch gears a bit. Another episode that really resonated
with listeners, especially our restaurant owner folks out there, was
the one with Kirk Moriello and his company Profit Cookers.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
Oh yeah, virtual kitchens, right, maximizing those delivery profits. I
remember thinking Kirk's guarantee was pretty bold, a thirty percent
profit margin or higher. Just been working with his company's
big promise, it is, but he really broke down the
challenges facing restaurant owners, especially these days, you know, trying
to keep up with the changing landscape of the industry.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
And all the hats they have to wear, right, yeah, cooking, prepping, marketing, delivery, logistics.
It's a lot, and.
Speaker 3 (09:17):
That's where the whole idea of the virtual kitchen comes in.
You're outsourcing certain aspects of your business.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Letting someone else handle those complexities. Yeah, focusing on what
you do.
Speaker 3 (09:25):
Best, exactly, adapting to the times, right, Okay.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
I had to bring up this next episode because it
was one of my personal favorites. It was a bit
of a departure from the usual format. Jim went solo
this time and shared some hilarious stories from a trip
he took with his wife and a few other couples.
Speaker 3 (09:40):
Oh yeah, from red Rocks to recipe secrets, right, I
remember that one.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
It was a fun episode, so funny, but you know,
even amidst all the laughs, there was some real wisdom
in there, especially when he started talking about traveling with
friends and partners. Right.
Speaker 4 (09:54):
It can be a real test of a relationship, can't it.
Speaker 3 (09:57):
All those unexpected situations and figuring out how to navigate
them together.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
It's like a pressure cooker for sure, but it can
also be incredibly bonding. Like that story he told about
inside shoes.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
Oh, I remember that his friend Tom had a dedicated
pair of shoes just for wearing inside the house and.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
Then his wife admitted she had inside shoes too. Who knew?
Speaker 4 (10:17):
It was so funny?
Speaker 3 (10:18):
And then remember the advice he gave for anyone thinking
about getting married, travel with that person for at least
a week and make sure that this person is not
fucking grease.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
Oh my gosh. Yes, delivered to a gym's classic humor,
But there's definitely some truth in there. Travel can reveal
a lot about a person and about a relationship.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
It's all about seeing how you handle those unexpected moments together, right,
the good, bad, and the inside shoes.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
Absolutely. Speaking of good and bad, let's shift gears to
a guest whose story was both heartwarming and inspiring. Joe Carlucci,
the world record pizza toasser and owner of Valentinis Pizzeria.
Speaker 3 (10:54):
Oh Joe, his journey is a real testament to resilience,
starting from scratch, facing setbacks but never giving up.
Speaker 2 (11:03):
He went through some tough times, that's for sure. That
bad business partners, you name it.
Speaker 3 (11:08):
He really credits that move to Alabama as a turning point,
finding that sense of community, building a strong.
Speaker 2 (11:13):
Team, and focusing on those quality ingredients. Yeah, that love
for pizza really shines through in everything he does and.
Speaker 3 (11:20):
The way he talked about his daughter so touching. It's
clear she's his driving force.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
I remember that quote, my daughter is my lifeline. Like
without my daughter, there's no reason for me to be
on this earth. That's just how I feel. She's everything
to me.
Speaker 3 (11:33):
You can really feel the love, can't you, And that
passion that goes beyond just pizza. It's about family, community,
creating something special for the people you care about.
Speaker 2 (11:41):
It really is. Now, speaking of passion, let's talk about
Joshua Grange, the creator of Dope. You know that silicon
scrubbing bar for Baker's.
Speaker 3 (11:48):
Wait a minute, the same Joshua Grange who's also professional guitarist,
the one who's played with like Beck.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
The one and only. It's amazing how these seemingly separate
passions can actually compliment each other.
Speaker 4 (12:00):
Right, What is it.
Speaker 3 (12:01):
About baking and rock and roll? Maybe it's that creative
energy they both.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
Require, definitely, But Joshua actually talked about how his ear
training in music helps him in baking, Like being able
to recognize subtle differences in pitch and tone actually translates
to being able to recognize nuances in dough texture.
Speaker 3 (12:19):
Wow, that's fascinating. It makes you wonder what other unexpected
connections we.
Speaker 2 (12:23):
Might be missing, right, Like maybe those air guitar skills
are actually secretly helping us shape our loaves. I'm just kidding,
or am I?
Speaker 4 (12:31):
You know what, I'm not going to rule anything out anymore.
Speaker 3 (12:34):
Speaking of connections, we can't forget Keith Lombardo from Barbecue King.
That episode was a masterclass in building a strong team.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
Oh man, Keith is all heart and his dedication to
his employees, It's truly inspiring.
Speaker 4 (12:46):
Remember that quote.
Speaker 3 (12:47):
He treats everyone like family and tries to take care
of them sometimes more than I can you take care
of himself.
Speaker 2 (12:52):
That says it all, doesn't It's not just about the food.
It's about creating a positive impact on the lives of
the people around you. And that comes through and everything
they do at Barbecue King.
Speaker 4 (13:02):
I totally agree.
Speaker 3 (13:02):
You can feel that genuine care and it creates that
loyalty both with employees and customers.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
Exactly Now, before we wrap up this first part of
our deep dive, I want to make sure we mention
a couple more memorable episodes.
Speaker 4 (13:14):
Oh, there are so many good ones. Where do we
go from here?
Speaker 2 (13:16):
Well, we got to give a shout out to Leo Spitziri.
His conversation with Jim was a deep dive into the
nitty gritty of pizza making.
Speaker 4 (13:23):
A true pizza nerd out session.
Speaker 2 (13:26):
It really was everything from tomato varieties to equipment choices
to dough maintenance. It was a gold mine of information,
especially for those who are serious about making great pizza
at home.
Speaker 4 (13:37):
I must listen for any aspiring pizzi elo.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
And last, but not least, we have to mention Christi Ilia,
founder of Women's Pizza Month.
Speaker 3 (13:45):
Her episode was so powerful, celebrating the contributions of women
in the pizza world.
Speaker 2 (13:50):
From chefs and entrepreneurs to food writers and activists. There
are so many incredible women making their mark on the industry.
Speaker 3 (13:58):
It was a great reminder that the culinary world is
richer and more vibrant because of the diversity of voices
and experiences within it.
Speaker 2 (14:05):
And that's something worth celebrating all year round.
Speaker 3 (14:07):
Absolutely, Wow, what a year it's been on bread for
the people right, so many great stories and guests. It
really gets you fired up about the whole world of baking.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
It really does, and I think one of the things
I appreciate most about Jim's show is it's about so
much more than just recipes and.
Speaker 3 (14:23):
Techniques, right, It's the people behind the food, those personal
journeys and connections that really make it special.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
Those are the things that stick with you. It's that
human element.
Speaker 3 (14:31):
It's about the passion, the creativity, the challenges and the triumphs.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
And that sense of community that food creates. H whether
it's gathering around a table with loved ones or just
walking into a bakery where everyone knows your name exactly.
Speaker 4 (14:45):
And I think that's what makes Bread for the People
so special.
Speaker 3 (14:48):
It's a community of like minded folks who just really
love good food and good company.
Speaker 2 (14:54):
And we're so grateful to all of you for being
a part of it. That's why we wanted to create
this deep dive episode, you know, Yeah, as a little
thank you to all of our loyal listeners out there.
Speaker 3 (15:03):
Absolutely consider it a little slice of appreciation from our
oven to yours.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
Oh that's a good one. I'm gonna have to steal that.
Speaker 4 (15:12):
Go for it, Spread the love, spread the dough.
Speaker 2 (15:14):
So as we wrap up this deep dive into the
world of Bread for the People, I want to leave
you with something to think about. Yeah, you know, as
we head into the new.
Speaker 3 (15:23):
Year, something to rise to, like a fresh loaf of
sourdo exactly?
Speaker 2 (15:26):
I love that? But seriously, what really stuck with you
from this year's episodes. Was it like a business tip
that got those entrepreneurial wheels turning.
Speaker 3 (15:34):
Or maybe one of those personal stories you know, the
ones that really hit you in the fields, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
Those are the best. Or maybe it was just a
renewed appreciation for all the hard work and passion that
goes into you know, every crust, every crumb, every delicious bite.
Speaker 3 (15:48):
We'd love to hear what resonated with you, guys. What
were your big aha.
Speaker 2 (15:51):
Moments, who inspired you? And most importantly, what are you
baking up in twenty twenty five, any big plans or
projects on the horizon.
Speaker 3 (15:58):
Jim will be back next year with more amazing guests,
more inspiring conversations. But in the meantime, we encourage you
to keep exploring, you know, keep that sour dough starter
alive and kicking.
Speaker 2 (16:10):
Pushing those boundaries, keep learning, and keep sharing your passion
with the world.
Speaker 4 (16:14):
Because that's what Bread for the People is all about.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
For all of us here at the Deep Dive, we
want to wish you a happy healthy and delicious New Year.
Keep on baking everyone,
Happy New Year everybody. Jim surperco bread for the people.
I hope you have some good plans for New Year's Eve.
I'll be with my family. I want to thank you
all for staying with me and listening to over one
hundred episodes, having a great time doing the podcast, and
(00:35):
I plan to continue it in twenty twenty five, looking
forward to what's happening there. So this is gonna be
a short one. I wanted to talk a little bit
about AI and how I use AI, and I'm wondering
if you guys use AI in your business, and if so,
(00:55):
how do you use it in your personal life, and
if so how, Please please please get in touch with
me over Instagram or email and let me know. I'm
really curious. I embrace AI. I love it. I use
a whole bunch of AI tools and it's certainly making
(01:15):
my life easier. I'm not one of these people who
believe it's going to take over the world. I do
think it will change things. The jobs will change, maybe
some jobs will be eliminated, and I might make an
illustration on that, but I do think it's going to
take an awful long time to eliminate the human interaction
(01:41):
and overseeing of what's going on with AI. But I
can tell you for right now, I'm using it as
a productivity tool, a writing tool, and I find it
really helpful. Now, before I start talking about that again,
I thank you for listening. If you have rated the show,
(02:01):
I would really appreciate you jumping on to iTunes or
Apple podcasts and give me a rating and let people
know what you think of the show. The more ratings
I have and hopefully you like the show and give
it a five star rating, the easier it is for
me to book prominent guests and good guests for this show.
(02:22):
So I appreciate you, guys, and if you would go
on to iTunes or Apple podcasts and rate the show,
it means a lot to me. So how do I
use AI.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
Listen?
Speaker 1 (02:35):
There's a couple tools I use. Obviously, Chat GPT is
one of them, and Google Gemini is another. They're very similar.
But my son is studying overseas in the spring in Madrid.
My wife and I are planning on going over there,
maybe taking a few days, and we're trying to.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
Figure out what to do.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
You know, with my son, we're not so familiar with
the geography in Europe and what's close. So we plugged
it into chat GPT and we said, we have five days,
we're flying from New York, and within twenty seconds, it
pops up this itinerary with the time of night to fly,
where we're going to land, what we should do when
we land, the area of the city of Madrid. We
(03:21):
should stay a day and a half later, get on
a plane and go to Portugal. This is what you
do in Portugal. I mean, it was just mind blowing
for social media captions. As I run my bread business,
I'll know what I'm trying to say, and I'll put
in a general caption that I'm thinking of and I'll
(03:42):
pop it into chat GPT and it comes up with
some variations on what I wrote, and I like to
look at those. It often uses best practices on what
to post. Another way I use AI is for this podcast.
I have an editing program called descript. It is a
text based editor, So instead of editing audio and video
(04:07):
in waveforms like I do in Premiere Pro, this edits
based on a transcript. So if you want to delete
a paragraph, you simply delete the paragraph inside the transcript
and whil it disappears from the audio track. It also
chooses promotional highlights of the podcast. So if I wanted
(04:31):
to do a video clip, I could ask it to
generate five highlights of the conversation I just had, and
it spits out video clips with captions in the proper
aspect ratio to put on an Instagram reel.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
It's pretty wild.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
You know, you have to tweak these things, but I
definitely find it helpful. I've played with a social media calendar.
I've asked Google Gemini to generate a social media account
for my company. I think it's pretty great.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
You know, it.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
Makes you think about things. It gives me a place
to start, and then, you know, I tweak it, but
it certainly makes life a lot easier than the way
it used to be when I was just, you know,
doing this completely on my own. At least I have
a place to start from. And sometimes this stuff is
great and sometimes it's just okay, but you know what,
it's helping me, and it's helping my life now. I
(05:34):
wanted to recap the best of the podcast from twenty
twenty four, so I used a program to generate a
best of for this podcast. It's an AI program I
pasted a few transcripts from the year into this program,
(05:57):
and what you're about to hear is an AI podcast.
The people are not real people, it's AI voices. They
sound pretty good, ask if you ask me. There's a
couple things out a little weird, but I'm really curious
to see what you guys think about it. Again, I
(06:17):
put in about eight transcripts of Bread for the People
and created this highlight reel and recap. So as we
head into the new year, check out this AI episode
of Bread for the People. I really wish you guys
a healthy and happy new year. Thanks for hanging in
(06:40):
with me, and I'm looking forward to hanging out with
you guys in twenty twenty five.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
Hey, everyone, welcome to a special year end deep dive
into some of the highlights from Jim Cirpico's Bread for
the People.
Speaker 3 (06:54):
We're gonna revisit some of the best moments and guests
from this past year in case you missed any or
you just want to relive some of those great insights
and conversations.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
Yeah, we know you guys are busy out there, maybe
needing your own dough or tossing pizzas, or maybe even
just trying to get dinner on the table.
Speaker 3 (07:11):
So we're going to serve up a condensed version of
bread for the people twenty twenty four, all the flavor,
none of the gluten.
Speaker 4 (07:18):
Just kidding, we love gluten.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
Of course. So where do we want to start? I
think we got to kick things off with Silo Chapman, right,
pizza acrobatics champion turned mobile pizza empire builder.
Speaker 3 (07:28):
Oh. Absolutely, His story with King of Fire Pizza is
a classic bread for the people tale, taking a passion
and honestly some serious skills and turning it into a
thriving business.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
I loved his insights about how he built that brand. Yeah,
especially with the food truck, you know, creating that sense
of scarcity, making sure people knew his pizza was only
available at a certain times.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
It's so smart, right, He really played up the limited
supply angle.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
And it totally works. I mean he actually said if
you give it to them and say you're only going
to get it at this time, this time to this time,
and oh, by the way, we have limited supplies, no
one you can go back and get more dough, people
come out of the woodworks for you.
Speaker 3 (08:08):
That's such a great quote. It really captures that fear
of missing out. You know, people want what they think they.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
Can't have for sure, and it's clearly working for him,
right Yeah, started with one food truck and now he's
got a whole fleet of him plus a brick and
mortar location. Talk about some serious dough.
Speaker 4 (08:27):
It really is.
Speaker 3 (08:28):
And it's that entrepreneurial spirit that we see again and
again on Bread for the people, you know, that drive
to share your passion with the world and make.
Speaker 2 (08:36):
It work and in Seiler's case, make it delicious. Yeah, okay,
let's switch gears a bit. Another episode that really resonated
with listeners, especially our restaurant owner folks out there, was
the one with Kirk Moriello and his company Profit Cookers.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
Oh yeah, virtual kitchens, right, maximizing those delivery profits. I
remember thinking Kirk's guarantee was pretty bold, a thirty percent
profit margin or higher. Just been working with his company's
big promise, it is, but he really broke down the
challenges facing restaurant owners, especially these days, you know, trying
to keep up with the changing landscape of the industry.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
And all the hats they have to wear, right, yeah, cooking, prepping, marketing, delivery, logistics.
It's a lot, and.
Speaker 3 (09:17):
That's where the whole idea of the virtual kitchen comes in.
You're outsourcing certain aspects of your business.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Letting someone else handle those complexities. Yeah, focusing on what
you do.
Speaker 3 (09:25):
Best, exactly, adapting to the times, right, Okay.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
I had to bring up this next episode because it
was one of my personal favorites. It was a bit
of a departure from the usual format. Jim went solo
this time and shared some hilarious stories from a trip
he took with his wife and a few other couples.
Speaker 3 (09:40):
Oh yeah, from red Rocks to recipe secrets, right, I
remember that one.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
It was a fun episode, so funny, but you know,
even amidst all the laughs, there was some real wisdom
in there, especially when he started talking about traveling with
friends and partners. Right.
Speaker 4 (09:54):
It can be a real test of a relationship, can't it.
Speaker 3 (09:57):
All those unexpected situations and figuring out how to navigate
them together.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
It's like a pressure cooker for sure, but it can
also be incredibly bonding. Like that story he told about
inside shoes.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
Oh, I remember that his friend Tom had a dedicated
pair of shoes just for wearing inside the house and.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
Then his wife admitted she had inside shoes too. Who knew?
Speaker 4 (10:17):
It was so funny?
Speaker 3 (10:18):
And then remember the advice he gave for anyone thinking
about getting married, travel with that person for at least
a week and make sure that this person is not
fucking grease.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
Oh my gosh. Yes, delivered to a gym's classic humor,
But there's definitely some truth in there. Travel can reveal
a lot about a person and about a relationship.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
It's all about seeing how you handle those unexpected moments together, right,
the good, bad, and the inside shoes.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
Absolutely. Speaking of good and bad, let's shift gears to
a guest whose story was both heartwarming and inspiring. Joe Carlucci,
the world record pizza toasser and owner of Valentinis Pizzeria.
Speaker 3 (10:54):
Oh Joe, his journey is a real testament to resilience,
starting from scratch, facing setbacks but never giving up.
Speaker 2 (11:03):
He went through some tough times, that's for sure. That
bad business partners, you name it.
Speaker 3 (11:08):
He really credits that move to Alabama as a turning point,
finding that sense of community, building a strong.
Speaker 2 (11:13):
Team, and focusing on those quality ingredients. Yeah, that love
for pizza really shines through in everything he does and.
Speaker 3 (11:20):
The way he talked about his daughter so touching. It's
clear she's his driving force.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
I remember that quote, my daughter is my lifeline. Like
without my daughter, there's no reason for me to be
on this earth. That's just how I feel. She's everything
to me.
Speaker 3 (11:33):
You can really feel the love, can't you, And that
passion that goes beyond just pizza. It's about family, community,
creating something special for the people you care about.
Speaker 2 (11:41):
It really is. Now, speaking of passion, let's talk about
Joshua Grange, the creator of Dope. You know that silicon
scrubbing bar for Baker's.
Speaker 3 (11:48):
Wait a minute, the same Joshua Grange who's also professional guitarist,
the one who's played with like Beck.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
The one and only. It's amazing how these seemingly separate
passions can actually compliment each other.
Speaker 4 (12:00):
Right, What is it.
Speaker 3 (12:01):
About baking and rock and roll? Maybe it's that creative
energy they both.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
Require, definitely, But Joshua actually talked about how his ear
training in music helps him in baking, Like being able
to recognize subtle differences in pitch and tone actually translates
to being able to recognize nuances in dough texture.
Speaker 3 (12:19):
Wow, that's fascinating. It makes you wonder what other unexpected
connections we.
Speaker 2 (12:23):
Might be missing, right, Like maybe those air guitar skills
are actually secretly helping us shape our loaves. I'm just kidding,
or am I?
Speaker 4 (12:31):
You know what, I'm not going to rule anything out anymore.
Speaker 3 (12:34):
Speaking of connections, we can't forget Keith Lombardo from Barbecue King.
That episode was a masterclass in building a strong team.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
Oh man, Keith is all heart and his dedication to
his employees, It's truly inspiring.
Speaker 4 (12:46):
Remember that quote.
Speaker 3 (12:47):
He treats everyone like family and tries to take care
of them sometimes more than I can you take care
of himself.
Speaker 2 (12:52):
That says it all, doesn't It's not just about the food.
It's about creating a positive impact on the lives of
the people around you. And that comes through and everything
they do at Barbecue King.
Speaker 4 (13:02):
I totally agree.
Speaker 3 (13:02):
You can feel that genuine care and it creates that
loyalty both with employees and customers.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
Exactly Now, before we wrap up this first part of
our deep dive, I want to make sure we mention
a couple more memorable episodes.
Speaker 4 (13:14):
Oh, there are so many good ones. Where do we
go from here?
Speaker 2 (13:16):
Well, we got to give a shout out to Leo Spitziri.
His conversation with Jim was a deep dive into the
nitty gritty of pizza making.
Speaker 4 (13:23):
A true pizza nerd out session.
Speaker 2 (13:26):
It really was everything from tomato varieties to equipment choices
to dough maintenance. It was a gold mine of information,
especially for those who are serious about making great pizza
at home.
Speaker 4 (13:37):
I must listen for any aspiring pizzi elo.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
And last, but not least, we have to mention Christi Ilia,
founder of Women's Pizza Month.
Speaker 3 (13:45):
Her episode was so powerful, celebrating the contributions of women
in the pizza world.
Speaker 2 (13:50):
From chefs and entrepreneurs to food writers and activists. There
are so many incredible women making their mark on the industry.
Speaker 3 (13:58):
It was a great reminder that the culinary world is
richer and more vibrant because of the diversity of voices
and experiences within it.
Speaker 2 (14:05):
And that's something worth celebrating all year round.
Speaker 3 (14:07):
Absolutely, Wow, what a year it's been on bread for
the people right, so many great stories and guests. It
really gets you fired up about the whole world of baking.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
It really does, and I think one of the things
I appreciate most about Jim's show is it's about so
much more than just recipes and.
Speaker 3 (14:23):
Techniques, right, It's the people behind the food, those personal
journeys and connections that really make it special.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
Those are the things that stick with you. It's that
human element.
Speaker 3 (14:31):
It's about the passion, the creativity, the challenges and the triumphs.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
And that sense of community that food creates. H whether
it's gathering around a table with loved ones or just
walking into a bakery where everyone knows your name exactly.
Speaker 4 (14:45):
And I think that's what makes Bread for the People
so special.
Speaker 3 (14:48):
It's a community of like minded folks who just really
love good food and good company.
Speaker 2 (14:54):
And we're so grateful to all of you for being
a part of it. That's why we wanted to create
this deep dive episode, you know, Yeah, as a little
thank you to all of our loyal listeners out there.
Speaker 3 (15:03):
Absolutely consider it a little slice of appreciation from our
oven to yours.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
Oh that's a good one. I'm gonna have to steal that.
Speaker 4 (15:12):
Go for it, Spread the love, spread the dough.
Speaker 2 (15:14):
So as we wrap up this deep dive into the
world of Bread for the People, I want to leave
you with something to think about. Yeah, you know, as
we head into the new.
Speaker 3 (15:23):
Year, something to rise to, like a fresh loaf of
sourdo exactly?
Speaker 2 (15:26):
I love that? But seriously, what really stuck with you
from this year's episodes. Was it like a business tip
that got those entrepreneurial wheels turning.
Speaker 3 (15:34):
Or maybe one of those personal stories you know, the
ones that really hit you in the fields, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
Those are the best. Or maybe it was just a
renewed appreciation for all the hard work and passion that
goes into you know, every crust, every crumb, every delicious bite.
Speaker 3 (15:48):
We'd love to hear what resonated with you, guys. What
were your big aha.
Speaker 2 (15:51):
Moments, who inspired you? And most importantly, what are you
baking up in twenty twenty five, any big plans or
projects on the horizon.
Speaker 3 (15:58):
Jim will be back next year with more amazing guests,
more inspiring conversations. But in the meantime, we encourage you
to keep exploring, you know, keep that sour dough starter
alive and kicking.
Speaker 2 (16:10):
Pushing those boundaries, keep learning, and keep sharing your passion
with the world.
Speaker 4 (16:14):
Because that's what Bread for the People is all about.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
For all of us here at the Deep Dive, we
want to wish you a happy healthy and delicious New Year.
Keep on baking everyone,
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