June 27, 2024 • 60 mins
From dishwasher to corporate executive pastry chef and finalist on the Food Network's Spring Baking Challenge, Nickey Boyd's journey is a tale of grit, resilience, and exceptional talent. This week, Nickey joins us to share her inspiring story, recounting her rise through the culinary ranks and the challenges she overcame as a Jamaican-American woman in a male-dominated industry. Her entrepreneurial spirit and strategic approach to mastering her craft will leave you motivated and ready to tackle your own culinary dreams.
But that's not all—Chef Jeffery also introduces his innovative twist on the Florida classic, the grouper reuben. Picture a pan-seared grouper with a Latin spice kick, paired with togarashi slaw and topped with key lime mayonnaise and a hint of agave. As we chat with Jeff, we dive into broader themes of respect within the kitchen, particularly for pastry chefs, and the invaluable cama
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Hello, food Fam.
This is the Walk Talk podcastwhere you will find the perfect
blend of food fun and cookingknowledge.
I'm your host, carl Fiatini.
Welcome to the number one foodpodcast in the country.
We are recording on-site atIbis Images Studios, where food
photography comes alive and Iget to eat it First things first
(00:28):
.
Last week it was story time withrestaurant expert Krista Lepore
.
Everything from celebrityencounters to chefs to their
relationships Front of the house, back of the house very
interesting, check it out and beentertained.
Go back and listen.
I don't know about you, but Ilove feel-good stories and we
have one for you today.
(00:49):
Yes, our guest this week, nikkiBoyd, went from baker's
apprentice to corporateexecutive pastry chef to
recently becoming a finalist onthe Food Network's Spring Baking
Challenge.
You know this was an uphill trek.
Stay tuned.
Pastry chef Nikki Boyd is ondeck Chefs.
(01:09):
We've been using Metro hotboxes, shelving and even their
mobile prep cart around thestudio and we couldn't be
happier.
Thank you, aj and Brianna.
If you're planning onreorganizing your kitchen well,
life will be easier.
Be sure to contact our friendsat Metro.
(01:30):
Your partner in organizationand efficiency, jefferson so
like.
Don't you appreciate whereparts of the food industry is
heading.
I mean, 30 years ago it wasvery rare to have a female or a
person of color running kitchens.
Yesterday, chef Nikki and Ispent about an hour on the phone
, you know, just getting to knoweach other, building some
(01:52):
rapport, and her story is one tobe noticed.
I'm excited about this episode,super, super excited about this
episode.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
And I know.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
Side note, I'm super excited also about what you're
cooking today, and we have aguest in studio, chef Jason F
Lin.
He's cooking too.
Team Bronzy, yeah, that's right.
Nobody knows what you'retalking about, only some people.
What are you talking about?
They definitely do know.
They listen to the show.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
There's no listeners, we get no listeners every day.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
What is no listeners every day?
What is that?
Tell everybody.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
So what is it About?
Three weeks ago, about a monthago, we went to a competition in
Hastings, florida.
It's a bacon, cabbage, potatocompetition for the ACF, and it
was sustainability and no lights, no electricity.
Well, lights, yeah, no stoveelectrics, let's put it that way
(02:48):
and there's no running water.
So we had to come up withsomething and do it.
Uh, lance cook got uh silver,and then Jason and I got bronze,
so we call ourselves teambronze.
He says we're going to do this,we're going with that.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
And I told you not to come home but here you are,
You're here you know, yeah, allright so, but here you are.
Yet you you're here, you know.
Yeah, all right.
So what do you?
And you know what?
It was a fun episode too.
Let some people go back andlisten to the episodes, man,
like I don't know.
They're all good, I don't haveto tell you, but all right.
So listen, what are you cookingtoday?
Because you explained it to meand I'm ready.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
Well, I mean listen.
One of the things about floridais it really doesn't have an
identity for cuisine, like if wealways talked about it.
If I say cheesesteak, people goPhilly.
If I talk about thin crustpizza, it's like New York or
something else or like, maybeeven like New Hampshire with
Greek pizza, deep dish pizza,chicago or Detroit.
So there's no indigenous likefood for Florida.
(03:42):
But everyone calls a grouperruben florida.
So I did my own version of this.
We did some latin spiced panseared grouper.
Uh, I did a togriyashi slawcoast law to go on it.
So let me go back the originalgrouper ruben swiss cheese, rye
bread, thousand island dressingand a coast law seared, grilled
(04:04):
or blackened or fried grouper.
That's what you get locally.
Uh, those are the choices.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
So I wanted to take mine up a notch, so I did
togarashi, which is seven spicejapanese say that I don't know
anymore if you're pronouncingright after vietnamese like I
don't, you know what I mean he's, he's nodding his head.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
I'm saying leach you are leachy like Lychee.
Okay, wait, we already talkedabout that, because my neighbors
that are from Vietnam called it.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
Lychee, I have trust issues with you.
Okay, I'm just saying, I'mputting it out there.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
Well, you know I can't enunciate, that's fine.
I can cook, though.
You can throw down, definitelycook.
That's why I gravitated tocooking.
I didn't have to write or talk.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
How you're becoming a professional podcaster is
incredible to me, though.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
Well, you know, when you have disabilities, you just
keep on going.
Keep on trucking, be determinedto do something different with
your life.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
Challenge yourself.
You've got to keep on cooking,and you know at the end of the
day.
Chef Jason did give it a nod.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
I saw that the wheels of the bus just went off for
jason no, john's going.
Come on, get back on track.
So the toriyashi is a reallylayered spice from japan.
It's got black sesame, whitesesame seed, some other
different ingredients in there.
Kick it up a little bit.
I was going to do cajun, but Ifound I realized that my cajun
spice is in the studio, sothat's why I to.
(05:24):
It's on the shelf next to therefrigerator.
When Pooch was here, he neededit.
So then I had to switch withthat.
Then I did a key limemayonnaise to go into it with a
little agave to give it somesweetness to it.
And then I went with theThousand Island dressing.
I said, ah, we're doingmayonnaise ketchup, which is the
mother sauce in North CarolinaMayonnaise and ketchup.
(05:45):
And then there's their wicklepickles and then I chop that up,
put it in there, some shallotsto give it some spice, and then
instead of using Swiss cheeseI'm using Gruyere.
So I can't wait.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
I can't either.
Yeah, and then steak fries.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (06:02):
Yeah, look fries.
You know what I like fries.
Yes, yeah, Look fries.
You know what I like fries.
But to tell you the truth, atthis stage of my life.
I'm not wasting the space man.
Speaker 2 (06:09):
I know.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
You know, give me the protein.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
I want to, so you don't want me to do pasta next
week.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
That's different, because in that case, that's the
main player.
Oh, okay, yeah, give me themain player.
Is what I'm trying to say.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
Well, I'm also going to do some dishes for John,
because he gave me a list, sothat's why I'm going to do some
stuff for him, like chicken.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
Like chicken fronches .
Yeah, we're going to,definitely we're going to bring
good bread, though We've got tosop up that.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
You know who to go to for bread.
I mean, I can do it, but we allknow who's.
Even jason knows who we need toget the bread from.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
Yeah, amy of course you know she sent over our uh
happy podcast, uh podcast daytask text, which is nice.
Yep, amy, we're shouting youout.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
You know, I mean like uh between you and fiona, I
don't know well, I gotta give ahuge shout out real quick to my
buddy, chris cuby.
It's his birthday today, sohappy birthday to cuby, who's up
in connecticut working his buttoff.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
You know you should start doing like the uh, the
restaurant version of the happybirthday songs you know no I'm
kidding we're not doing thatever, god, no, um, all right,
without, without further ado.
I think I'm going to.
Uh, I think I'm going to bringon the cafe.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
part of the Cafe Con Leche group.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
Yeah, I think we're going to bring Chef Nikki on
Chef, are you there?
Speaker 3 (07:31):
Yeah, I'm here.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
Welcome to the program.
Speaker 3 (07:35):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
So first of all let me just say congratulations on
becoming a finalist on the FoodNetwork show.
That's awesome.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
That's how we do it here.
You know I mean it's kind of acool thing.
You know we're kind of a bigdeal, nikki.
So you know you got to justkind of roll with it.
Why don't you take I want youto take a minute and give the
airplane view of who you are,what you do and how you got
there.
Speaker 3 (08:03):
Okay, so I'm Nikki Boyd.
I am an executive pastry chef.
I'm originally from New York,brooklyn, jamaican background.
I currently live in Atlanta andI started out like anyone else,
trying to figure out mydirection, where to go, what to
(08:23):
do with my life, and at 30, Idecided I'm going to go to
culinary school and see wherethat brings me and from there I
just kind of worked my wayaround New York a little bit,
jersey, moved to Florida in themiddle of the pandemic, kind of
got my stride.
While I was there met myhusband, who's also a chef, and
(08:44):
we packed up and moved toAtlanta and here we are.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
And your father was a chef too, right?
Speaker 3 (08:50):
Yes, my dad is also a chef up in Nantucket.
Actually, my mom is a greathome cook.
She had all the great cookbooks, all of the new gadgets that
came out for home cooks to trynew things.
My mom had it all, and mygrandma wasn't much of a cook or
a baker, but I kind of learneda little thing or two from her
(09:11):
as well.
So a lot of my foundation islike from my family.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
And it's.
Which is amazing.
The fact is, you're surroundedby chefs.
You go to work, you're, it'sthe kitchen life.
You go home, you're married toit.
Yeah, it's, uh.
I can't escape it.
It's well, and why should youuh, especially when, clearly,
you know what you're doing,right?
(09:37):
I mean yeah, yeah, yeah I'dlike to think so.
Speaker 3 (09:40):
I have to remind people that often, like hey, I
kind of know what I'm doing, butyeah yeah, yeah, but you were
sort of a drifter in thebeginning.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
You know, it was only what, maybe 10 years that
you've been in the, actuallybeen in the business yeah,
pretty much Right.
So you were trying to findyourself and one day you said,
man, I should cook.
And then you went to thecommunity.
You went to um uh.
You went to uh the thecommunity uh college over there
(10:08):
in in Jersey, correct, yes, andyou said I'm going to do this
Now you were.
Were you a baker's apprenticebefore or after culinary school?
Speaker 3 (10:21):
After so, before culinary school, and I remember
exactly the last job I hadbefore going to culinary school.
After so, before culinaryschool, and I remember exactly
the last job I had before goingto culinary school I was a
dishwasher.
It was like a little kitcheninside of a school and I was a
dishwasher there.
I worked under another Blackwoman chef and I think that's
(10:41):
where I got my inspiration toreally take that step.
And just seeing how she likecommanded the kitchen and just
worked with grace, I was justlike huh, I kind of like that.
So after being that dishwasherI was like all right, I'm going
to enroll into culinary school.
And then after I graduated, orbefore I graduated is when I
started my apprenticeship.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
And apprenticeship you're.
You're basically in there, justyou're learning, you're not.
That's not even that'sapprenticeship.
You're not getting paid right.
Speaker 2 (11:12):
No, you can get paid, but no, you.
Generally it's like a stage youdon't get paid, yeah, so wow.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
And then, instead of going in you know the savory
route, you decided pastry.
How come Baking decided pastry?
Speaker 3 (11:26):
How come baking and pastry?
I think when I, while I was inculinary school and saw like the
different types of styles ofbaking, I was thinking more of
an entrepreneur, like what do Iwant to do for myself that can
make me money if I'm like bakingand I did like.
While I was in culinary schoolI did start doing like bake
(11:47):
sales kind of.
Or would bake for my church anddo cupcakes and little mini
cakes for people and I would doit for free, just to kind of get
my, get my foot in the door.
And I did like savory.
But I just figured in my mind,not knowing much about like the
culinary world.
In my mind I was just like, oh,I can start a business baking
cupcakes, rather than how wouldI start a business as a savory
(12:09):
chef?
Speaker 1 (12:11):
Right.
And what's amazing to me isbecause I, 10 years, is just
like a like, really just a blipon the screen and to go from
apprentice to you know regional,you know pastry chef for a
restaurant group, a sizablerestaurant group is pretty
(12:32):
amazing to me.
Not to mention, you know, youstart getting into the accolades
with you know magazine articlesand moving into food network
sort of status.
I mean that's pretty amazing.
What, what actually happened?
What was it that occurred thatbrought it from ham?
I'm in the kitchen over hereand all of a sudden, bam, I got.
(12:53):
I got the promotion and all ofa sudden, bam, I'm on the Food
Network.
How did that?
What?
What went down?
How did that go?
Speaker 3 (13:00):
And so after my apprenticeships and two of them
were in bakeries so I was like,okay, bakery seemed easy, early
mornings, I have the afternoonto myself, like it was fun.
But then it got kind of boring.
So after my last bakery job Iwas like, okay, let me try out a
restaurant now.
I got a job as a pastry cook ata restaurant in Jersey City and
(13:27):
I loved it.
I loved the detail that got putinto plating a dessert or being
able to come up with so manydifferent styles of desserts and
taking something simple andelevating it.
I love that aspect.
So from there I kind of justlatched on to whoever I could to
learn more.
And just every restaurant Iworked in after that it was just
like, okay, who's the bestperson in this restaurant aside
(13:48):
from my pastry chef?
Like who's the best that I canlatch on to learn from them?
And then keep going.
And I kind of just did that forlike, like my whole career.
And then now I had a goal too,like I've always had goals where
I'm like, hey, this is what Ieventually want to do, or this
year, this is the goal I'msetting for myself.
And while I was in JacksonvilleI was like how cool would it be
(14:10):
to be a corporate pastry chef,so where I'm running four or
five or multiple locations,different cuisines, and kind of
just pushing myself like outsideof my own limits, because
obviously I'm Jamaican so I havelike we have a certain style of
cooking and baking.
Then now here I am a pastrychef for a Japanese restaurant,
(14:31):
two Italian restaurants, asteakhouse.
So it's like just doingsomething that I know would push
me past what I think I know andjust keep learning.
And that's how I got to whereI'm at now.
Speaker 1 (14:43):
That's so cool and you know part of our
conversation.
Yesterday we were on the phonefor about an hour and it you
know I don't know that we'regoing to take it exactly there,
but it got pretty hot.
So obviously you're a femaleand you know African-American.
Coming up in this industryisn't easy and we all recognize
(15:11):
that.
And the fact is you blew it upLike you didn't just like, hey,
I'm going to make a go of it.
And here I am.
No, no, no, no, no.
You said, hey, I know X, butnow I'm going to learn Y, z, a,
b, c, d through the whole letterchain.
So now you're learning it allin your category in pastry and
(15:33):
baking.
That's fantastic, but howchallenging was that?
Oh, of course You're verywelcome.
How challenging was it in yourexperience, from the beginning
to where you are now?
Speaker 3 (15:49):
Um, so it came with a lot of challenges.
Like I wouldn't say that youknow me being female or my skin
color is what made thechallenges happen, but, um, it
definitely played a part.
And once I got into a positionor a role that played a part in
when I was in culinary school, Iwas like learning next to
(16:12):
people who were fresh out ofhigh school.
So, you know, the opportunitiesfor them were different than
they were for me, because at thetime, like I lived alone, I had
to pay rent, I had to pay bills, I had to take care of myself,
as opposed to these 17, 18 yearolds who live with their mom and
can go like work, work forpennies, work for like $5 an
hour, $10 an hour, whatever theminimum wage was back then,
(16:35):
whereas me I'm like, okay, Ican't do that.
Even though these are the toprestaurants in the city, I can't
work for pennies.
I need to work to be able tosurvive and live.
So it was hard to go into akitchen where all of the people
were younger than me, andsometimes my boss was younger
than me, and I'm just like, allright, well, I'm here to learn,
(16:55):
so teach me whatever you canteach me.
But then, as I got further in mycareer, is when all of the
other obstacles came, where it'sjust like oh well, you don't
know anything because you didn'twork here or you didn't go to
this school or you're.
No one ever came out and saidI'm old, but you know, they
treat you that way, where it'sjust like I don't know, but it's
(17:17):
like I feel like I thought itwould get easier the further I
got and I feel like it kind ofgot harder because obviously,
when you're at a lower level,people treat you like you're at
a lower level.
But then when you, once you getup to a higher level or in a
better role, you would thinkthey start treating you better
or respecting you more and theystill treat you like you're a
(17:38):
lower level person.
So I think that's where, like,the obstacles and the hardships
came in, where I'm just like, ohdamn, okay, cool.
And I think that's where mydrive also came from, where it's
just like all right, well,since you want to treat me like
this, I'm going to show you thatI'm better than you.
And it's not even just like aI'm cocky kind of situation.
It's like, no, I worked my buttoff to get to where I am.
(18:00):
So I'm going to demand respectwithout even saying it, like my
resume is going to speak foritself, like you're going to see
that even if you're a savorycook, I can cook better than you
, you know.
So I had to like really pushmyself to that point of no one's
going to give me respect.
I have to, like I have torespect myself enough, but I
also have to demand it in how Iwork.
Speaker 2 (18:23):
Yeah, it's funny, excuse me, I know it's funny
because last week we weretalking to somebody.
We're talking to the front ofthe house and the back of the
house, the wall.
Not many people talk about thewall within the kitchen.
How do you balance the savoryside and the pastry side when
you're in your restaurants like?
Speaker 1 (18:43):
there's.
There's a different mindset.
Speaker 2 (18:44):
Those cooks are totally different than pastry
cooks absolutely like in everyrestaurant.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
It's a universal thing that in every restaurant
I've ever worked in, pastry wasthe least respected.
They would.
They would eat our prep likeeveryone would eat our prep and
think it was OK.
They would use our station ifwe're not there and leave it
dirty or just a whole bunch ofthings.
That would happen where, and Ithink that's where my people
(19:11):
call it me being aggressive.
That would happen where, and Ithink that's where my people
call it me being aggressive andI don't know how to take that.
But this is where, like, likeright now I have about five,
five employees at all thelocations I work at and I have
to keep beating into their head.
Like, listen, guys, like, if youdon't demand respect from these
people, they're going to walkover you.
They're going to come to yourstation and just take things
without asking you.
They're going to, like, talk toyou crazy.
(19:33):
They're going to eat your prep.
They're going to do all thethings because to everyone else,
pastry is kind of like at thebottom of the food chain where,
honestly, we are not.
We are the last people that theguests experience, we're the
last meal they have and we makethe lasting impression, aside
from the server.
So it's like we should be likemore respected than we are.
(19:56):
So I think what I started doingwas just like, like I said,
like demanding that respect,like letting them know, like
listen, at the end of the day, Ican do your job, but you can't
do mine, so this is where we'renot the same and that's like
where I was going with that,because a lot of times you see
what, like we talk about.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
when a restaurant loses sales, the first thing to
go is marketing.
What's the second department togo, like?
Speaker 3 (20:22):
pastry.
Pastry, oh yeah, when I wasdoing rid of the pastry chef and
they'll teach one of the linecooks how to plate a dessert, or
they'll even like they'll.
Speaker 2 (20:32):
They'll get rid of the entire dessert um the entire
pastry department and they'llstart buying desserts and have a
line cook plate it so I was atthe american culinary federation
I don't remember where we wereat a national convention and
duff was on stage and we wereasking questions and I asked the
question.
There's two, what I feel thereare two, um, lost art forms, or
(20:53):
one that's losing and one thatwe've lost.
One is butchering and the otherone is pastry chefs.
And he looked at me like I wascrazy.
But think about this you justsaid, if you have, sales are
down, the pastry chef goes, thenwhere do they turn to when the
pastry chef goes and they can'thave the consistency, yeah, they
buy it, they buy it and then doit.
(21:15):
So the buying aspect of itthey're looking at it the ROI,
it's a lot easier to go to yourbroadliner and go hey, just give
me four of these chocolatecakes, seven of those, and
whatever it is, and that's allit is.
Speaker 1 (21:25):
I mean my opinion, and I could be wrong on this,
but it seems to me pastry andbaking it's more science than
you know.
Speaker 2 (21:33):
A hundred percent.
Speaker 1 (21:34):
Yeah, yeah.
So if you're looking at it fromthat perspective, there should
be equal respect or more.
You know they're likealchemists in there.
You know what I mean.
You know why, exactly, and.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
I'll tell you why because I love both.
No-transcript you are wireddifferently than anything that
(22:17):
you can possibly think of.
Speaker 1 (22:19):
Well, you know, when you look at it, though you
you're talking about, I can seewhere you would, where you would
buy from your supplier if youhad a giant banquet, or you know
there's.
Speaker 2 (22:33):
I see that there's areas, applications, where you
would want to do that right I'msorry, I'm laughing because I
wish that happened to me whenthey sold tiramisu for 600
people, right, no, but then Ihad to make it yes, that's a
party right there, but but whenyou're talking, when you're
talking about a restaurant, youknow, or just like your your
standard size, uh, eatery man,make, make him make it because
(22:56):
it tastes better.
Speaker 1 (22:56):
Like you can't compare.
You know, when you have a good,when you have a good pastry
chef, you can't compare qualityto something that you're going
to bring in from your broadlinerlike, give me a break.
Speaker 2 (23:05):
Like you can't do that and I'll be honest with you
, my favorite chef's tableepisodes are the ones about
pastry and Jody Rocha, the Rochabrothers.
There's no other.
There's no, he see, there's noother.
He's one of the best pastrychefs in the world.
Speaker 1 (23:20):
And it like so when we we've done a lot of video,
I'd walk and talk media, youknow, or different series and
everything.
And the best, some of the bestfootage is pastry.
It's beautiful Shows like thecolors that can't like with with
your video, your camera doesn'tget better.
Speaker 2 (23:39):
I look at John.
Tell them what John said whenwe were looking at the rack
catalog.
Speaker 1 (23:42):
Well, I didn't, I didn't catch it.
Speaker 2 (23:44):
You want to say it.
He said we were looking atsomething, I was looking at a
square plate, and then they hadthis round the dessert had
squares and they had squared itoff, but one was like a log,
like cylinder, cylinder, and hegoes that's plate would be great
with Robert's desserts.
Speaker 3 (24:04):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 2 (24:08):
But that's like the, the intricacies, like that's
what I mean.
Pastry is in a differentwavelength, like all chefs are
wired differently.
The guys like Jody Rocha, likeStefan Raymer from Walt Disney,
henri from the Chocolate Guy,those guys are completely on
another level than most people,than most people.
(24:30):
So what I think about sorry,what I think about pastry must
be going around.
It's like listen, I have anexcuse, I'm an old Jewish guy.
Speaker 1 (24:45):
I'm like I'm looking around.
I'm like, do I have to editthis today?
Like what?
Speaker 2 (24:49):
the hell is going on here.
Speaker 3 (24:50):
Oh my God, I feel like we're in a nursing home.
Do you need some water?
Speaker 2 (24:53):
No, it's not water.
It's not water, it's calledallergies.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
It's summer in Florida.
It's called nursing home is thenext stop.
That's what it's called.
Speaker 2 (25:02):
That's what my doctor said yesterday or two days ago.
Speaker 1 (25:07):
Get back on track.
Speaker 2 (25:08):
So, anyways, pastry is where the different mindset
is, but when you have somebodythat can bind the two of them.
So do you do savory, chef, orno?
Speaker 3 (25:18):
I used to.
I don't care to work the lineever and I've done it.
Actually, one of my jobs Iwanted to try out a country club
because I'm like all right,I've worked in restaurants, I'm
tired of working service, tiredof getting off at midnight.
So I worked at a country clubin Jacksonville and they were
(25:38):
being bought and they were likeokay, we don't want a pastry
chef.
So you either work savory oryou have to find a new job.
And I was like I am not workingsavory.
And in between me, finding anew job, I had to.
So I had to learn saute, I hadto butcher meat, I had to break
down chickens and all that andit's like all right, cool, it's
(25:58):
not a terrible thing.
But I do take my pastrymentality and bring it to savory
where it's like I can make youa dish that might look like a
dessert, but it's not, it'ssomething savory.
But it's also the way my mindworks with flavors.
Like I incorporate a lot ofsavory into my desserts.
So if I'm making somethingsavory, I'll incorporate
something sweet or what youthink would be sweet, but I'll
(26:22):
like add a different twist to itthat you like it'll like it'll
be a mind boggler, like you'lleat it.
You'll be like, wow, what am Ieven freaking eating, you know?
But yeah, no, I'm good onsavory like my husband's a no,
I'm good on savory Like myhusband's a savory chef.
So I'm good on all of that.
Like we, we compare ideas, webrainstorm together, but I think
I'm good on all of that.
Speaker 2 (26:43):
What about, um, the show itself, what I did
recognize that episode of thespring, uh, spring breaking
championship.
Those were some really goodcompetitors.
The spring, uh, spring breakingchampionship, those were some
really good competitors.
Oh, absolutely, I mean like I,I had alex, number one.
I there's every time.
I saw alex, up until wherethings started going a little
(27:03):
bit south for him, and then Iwas like okay, what about steven
?
And then what about robert?
And I'm like there's nikki,there's nikki in the background,
all you heard was nikki, yourfavorite profiles nikki, your
favorite, and that's all weheard, so talk about some of
that.
Speaker 3 (27:17):
And that's how I felt about it too.
Like I remember in the veryfirst episode, after seeing how
everyone baked, cause I loveFrench, french techniques and
French cuisine.
So when I met Alex and startedseeing how he bakes like he's
old school French and I was like, yep, he's my biggest
competition, like I didn't seeanyone else.
(27:37):
It was like the entire time.
It was like every time theyasked me who do you think your
biggest competition is?
Alex, like everyone was great,but I know, because I know my
style and what I like to do andwhat I'm pushing myself to do,
I'm pushing myself to do.
I'm like Alex is it?
And I want to, like I learned alot from Alex.
Like he's amazing and he wassuch a good competitor where
(27:58):
it's just like hey, alex, do youhave a recipe for this?
And he's like sure, you know.
So, yeah, like, yeah, he was it.
Like that's why I was surprisedthat I even made it as far as I
did, but also made it as far asto have to do a bake-off with
him and beat him out.
I was just like what is liferight now?
Speaker 2 (28:16):
In fact, it was tiramisu that you beat him out
on.
Speaker 3 (28:20):
I'm so sick of freaking tiramisu.
You know what?
I'm so sick of tiramisu.
Speaker 1 (28:26):
Hold on a second, I am too.
Even though it's delicious, I'msick of eating it.
I've had it all my life, youknow, and yeah, but wait a
minute, I'm talking abouthomemade stuff.
I'm not talking about you know,I'm talking about homemade.
Awesome, delicious tiramisu.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
I don't want to eat it anymore no, but I was going
to say is remember when we're indallas for the world food
championship and the family um,russell's mom made that tiramisu
that deconst, deconstructedtiramisu.
That was one of the besttiramisu's.
Speaker 1 (28:52):
I've ever eaten.
Yeah, yeah, I recognize thedeliciousness of it.
I just don't want it anymore.
I don't want cannolis anymore.
Speaker 2 (29:01):
Oh my God, If my friend Don Rizzo heard that, he
would just literally you tellRizzo.
Speaker 1 (29:05):
Donnie Rizzo.
You tell Rizzo that I said thatI'm tired of cannolis and I'm
tired of tiramisu and you're notgoing to change my mind, he'll
eat yours, trust me.
Don't you stay away from myfood.
I don't like either.
Speaker 3 (29:16):
I don't like Italian food at all.
Sorry, sorry guys, I'm not afan.
Speaker 2 (29:22):
She's more into ackee and saltfish and bimmy.
Speaker 1 (29:24):
Wait a minute, wait a minute, slow down, nicky, nicky
, nicky, nicky.
I thought we were pals.
Hello, so listen.
By the way, my grandmother'soxtail would compete with your
oxtail.
No, no, no oh yeah, I'm tellingyou right now.
Speaker 3 (29:42):
No, I won't say my oxtail, but I don't think your
grandmas can compare to my mom'sor my dad's.
Speaker 1 (29:47):
My grandmother's oxtail.
I'm sorry Listen, everybody whowas making oxtail were poor.
And guess what?
Speaker 2 (29:55):
they all taste.
Speaker 1 (29:56):
They all taste good and my grandma's was fantastic
let me tell you something.
Speaker 2 (30:00):
I'm not making oxtail now because it's not well, now,
no, no, now it's another.
Speaker 1 (30:03):
Now it's another story, but I'll tell you.
Speaker 3 (30:06):
if you want really good oxtail, you have to go to
nantucket, go to stubbies and mydad is there whipping some up
If you want some good oxtailthat's where you can go.
Speaker 2 (30:16):
When you come down back to Miami you can go over to
my wife's uncle Alfred.
He's the chef over in an Asianrestaurant and he has the best
Jamaican oxtail probably I'veever had Hands down.
Speaker 1 (30:32):
That's why I knew about Aki and saltfish.
This sounds like a lot ofchallenges going on here.
That's real all right, let'sbring it back.
Let's bring it back to the foodnetwork.
So that was what in a?
So in your life, do you, do yourank or rate this food network
experience?
Um, is it in the top tier, wasit?
It just like?
Okay for you, like what?
(30:53):
What was that about?
Speaker 3 (30:55):
It was definitely top tier, like it was definitely
one of those things where, asidefrom all of the craziness that
happened around it, I can lookback and really be like wow,
like I accomplished somethingthat I set my mind to, and it's
not just a per, like yes, it's apersonal goal, but it's a goal
that I was able to showcase on,literally on national TV, you
(31:18):
know.
So it's definitely one of thosethings where I can like be like
I was on food network.
You know a lot of people can'tsay that.
Speaker 2 (31:28):
Talk about like getting in from beating Alex and
the social social media aspectof it, because I saw some stuff
going around on social media.
I mean there's got to be tonsof drama this because it got bad
, where one of the judges had tocome out and actually say yeah,
it got, it got rough.
Speaker 3 (31:46):
Um, I you know, I think people they watch from
this, this view, where it's like, oh well, alex was better the
entire season and now theypretty much made it seem like
the network made me beat Alexand it's like, no, if you pay
attention and if all thesepeople who had so much to say
(32:08):
were true fans, they would knowfrom way back when, when the
freaking show started, that eachbake is a new bake.
So no one's comparing, hey.
So alex did great this entireseason, but he had one bad bake.
Let's make him win rather than.
Or nikki was kind of, you know,up and down and boom, here it
(32:29):
is.
How did she beat alex?
It's it's, every single bake isa different bake.
So for us, going into that bakeoff, it's just like.
Like I didn't know where mymind was.
I just knew I was there for areason.
I know I'm like I'm gonna dowhat I've been doing.
I'm gonna do what I do everyday in my kitchen and that's put
out good desserts.
Make something that is meputting myself on a plate, and
(32:51):
that's what I did.
Make something that is meputting myself on a plate, and
that's what I did.
You know, like alex is verytraditional.
I'm very untraditional, so youknow it's like, okay, here's a
key lime pie, cool, you're gonnaget a key lime pavlova, because
I'm gonna like that's how Ibake, that's my style, you know.
So, getting to that point andbeating him, it was like I was
(33:12):
shocked.
He was, he was fine with it.
We hugged it out, we talked itout, all that.
He's just like.
You deserve this.
The internet took it to a wholedifferent level.
Alex was better than Nikki.
Nikki shouldn't have won, nikkionly won because she's Black
and that's what from.
And I know I kind of didn't paytoo much attention to the
comments that were being madeeven before we got to that point
(33:33):
.
I think at one point, when wewere top five and the Food
Network posted our picture ontheir page, I had someone
comment like oh, I want any ofthose people to win except Nikki
.
She looks ignorant.
And it's like you're judging mebased off of what you see on TV
, which I don't know what peoplesaw to think I was ignorant, to
think I was mean.
(33:53):
There were people that said Iwas a bitch to Robert and it's
like how, how are you gettingthat from a few clips that you
see every now and then.
So I think people just go inwith a bias.
It's a good thing and a badthing.
You have people that go in witha bias, like, okay, I'm a brown
person, I I'm gonna root forthe person that is brown because
they're a good representationof me.
(34:14):
So then on the flip side, onthe negative side, you have the
people who do the same thing,where it's like I'm definitely
not rooting for this personbecause she's black.
So it's.
It's the sad reality and thethings that came from it the,
the comments.
People literally like put thesethings as their post on social
media, to the point where, likeI was upset because I'm just
(34:35):
like in a moment where I make itto the finale, the top three,
and I should be celebrating, I'mhere like blocking people from
trying to send me messages, likehate messages, or blocking
comments, or like just kind ofspeak in my mind without
directly coming at these folks,because, at the end of the day,
like they don't deserve myexplanation, but still I need,
(34:56):
like I wanted to express how Iwas feeling about it yeah, but
it wasn't just the two, you justwasn't just you, it was also
the other two also had it too.
Speaker 2 (35:03):
They was.
It was like a whole setup forit.
From what I understand becausethat's what the judge said you
got there because, based uponwhat you produced and how you
produced it, and then went backto the rules, yeah, nikki,
yesterday we talked a little bitabout this and you said it
right.
Speaker 1 (35:21):
You know, in competitions, in life and
whatever, get judged by what youput out.
Yeah, yeah, and I feel likeyou're right on the money there,
there's going to be ignorantpeople from every side, from
every color, from every religion, from every everything.
And you know, unfortunately now, with the advent of smartphones
(35:44):
and social media, all of thesepeople have a voice and and or
an outlet, I should say, tovoice some sometimes very, you
know, um, very ridiculous orinsulting opinions, and that's
what we deal with.
I mean, I do, and I told youthis too yesterday I scour the
(36:05):
comment sections constantly, allover, because I just kind of
want to get a feel for whatpeople think.
Now, the only challenge is younever know, like, if these are.
You don't even know what's realanymore.
If these are bots, if it's made, you know like, is it paid for?
Like nobody knows anything.
Social media is like a blackhole.
(36:26):
You know what I mean.
It just sucks up everythingLike galaxies.
You don't even.
It's like galaxies, you don'teven it's.
Speaker 3 (36:33):
And it's like like we talked about yesterday.
You know we can think that,okay, it's social media, block
it out, it's just bots, it'sfake, it's whatever.
But the reality is a lot ofwhat the a lot of the things
that were being said are thingsthat I've either either heard
from other people in person orhave experienced.
(36:54):
You know, like I told youyesterday, like I had a white
chef tell me he didn't thinkthat I had two college degrees
because he had none, pretty muchinsinuating like, hey, because
I don't have it as a white man,then you shouldn't have it.
And I've had that.
And I read between the lines.
Sometimes I'm way off,sometimes I'm on point, because
(37:17):
it's like when you hear itenough, it's just like, well
damn, why can't I have anythingLike I had.
I've been to Nantucket multipletimes.
I love Nantucket and we allknow Nantucket is not for not
for cheap, broke people.
So because my dad lives there,I used to visit it a lot and I
remember I brought back a bottleof wine from the vineyards up
(37:38):
there.
I brought back a bottle of winefor one of my chefs and he
literally looked at me and waslike how have you gone to
Nantucket and I have not beenyet.
I'm like what do you mean?
Like my dad lives there, I hangout there every summer, like,
and in that moment I was kind oflike naive to what he was
saying, but it was just like ohokay, now I get it Like.
(37:59):
So it's a thing that happensoften and, like I said, we can
look at what is said on theinternet and kind of just like
be like oh no, maybe it was justbots, it's fake, it's not real,
it's just internet trolls.
But it's the reality that thethings that were said on the
internet is what people think oreven say out of their mouth in
person.
Speaker 1 (38:20):
It's stupid, the whole thing is stupid.
Speaker 3 (38:23):
Oh, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (38:24):
You know, because the truth is we all have to share
and I'm keeping it culinary tooright now.
We all have to share, and I'mkeeping it culinary too right
now.
But we all have to share inthis thing, gosh, any saute,
(38:49):
whatever, being a server, yourknucklehead host or hostess,
like whoever, everybody has tokind of, we all live together
and we all have to work togetherand we all have to get along.
But you know, I want to takethis back to what I said in the
opening monologue, because it'sa feel good story.
The reality is you, you, youhave beaten odd, odd over odd.
(39:12):
You, you, you have beaten odd,odd over odd, over odd over odd.
You, you've come a long way andyou know, I remember 30 years
ago how the kitchen was.
You know I was, I was young, um, I was more than 30 years now.
Golly man, I hate doing math, Ihate math.
So obviously that's why I waslaughing.
Yeah, that's where you'relaughing.
Speaker 2 (39:30):
So you're thinking you're in your 20s or 30s and
you're not.
Speaker 1 (39:35):
When I was 15 is when I started as a busboy or
whatever, 35 years ago.
Yeah, shut up, yeah, but Iremember, just from back then
and being in the business, Iremember how it was and I
remember you didn't see femalechefs, you didn't see persons
chefs, you didn't see persons ofcolor as chefs.
(39:56):
In fact, most of the kitchenswere Caucasian-ish.
You know, they wereMale-dominated, yeah,
male-dominated.
So, but now you go, any kitchenyou go to today is very diverse
, you know, and you can say youknow, and spirits, you know
(40:19):
cocktails and whatnot.
All of these things bringpeople together and I think
we've come such a long way andI'm thrilled that of where we
are today.
I mean, it's not perfect,nothing's ever going to be
perfect but man, we've reallycome a long way.
So this is a.
This is in spite of the, inspite of the negativity that,
nikki, that you dealt with onthe show over there.
(40:43):
Man, it's so awesome and it ispositive.
So congratulations again onthat.
Speaker 3 (40:50):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (40:51):
You know I'll go back to, and I have this saying, and
Jason's going to shake his headwhen he hears it Racism is the
religion of the ignorant bottomline.
If we all teach other about ourcultures and our differences,
then there is none and we don'thave to fear it.
We break down barriers and theway to do that is at a table in
community.
When you do it because you'vedone it all your life, battling
(41:11):
it, as you were stating, it'snot just on the show, you just
were.
You.
I didn't see it, I was naive toit, but then you've gone
through it, you.
Some of the greatest storiesyou hear about people, the
greatest chefs, is the trialsand tribulations that they did
(41:32):
to get to where they're at andthat you've.
Yeah, so congrats, thank you.
Speaker 3 (41:33):
I am, especially with something I said yesterday was
um, like one thing I always lookat is like how does me and I
said this uh, what's your name,carl, sorry, um, I said, I said
how.
Like one thing I always look atwhenever, especially when I'm
like in a situation like wherepeople are judging me based off
(41:55):
how I look, or am I qualified ordo I belong in the room,
because you know they are in theroom too like one thing I look
at is how does me being me stopanyone from being them?
Like how does me being likeawesome, you know, because
that's what I, that's what Ipresent.
Like I walk into a room like Iown it and it's not to be cocky,
(42:16):
but it's to say like hey, I'mhere, you know, like my presence
is here.
Like I walk in and with likesuch poison grace to where it's,
just like I'm going to walkinto every room like I belong
there, because I know there'speople looking at me like I
don't.
So I always wonder, like, howdoes me being like overly
(42:36):
zealous about what I do, mebeing, you know, passionate
about my work, me beingpassionate about being a strong
black woman how does that stopanyone from being them, you know
.
So it's it's it's sad, it's sad, but, like we said, it's
positive.
You know, I, I look at a lot of.
Speaker 1 (42:54):
I think I can.
I can, I think I can lay down alittle bit of an answer to that
, because obviously, yeah,there's ignorant people who do
look at you, know genders andcolors and all that stuff, but I
think universally there's a lotof people who, when you do have
passion and positivity and thatmeans you have confidence, they
(43:16):
automatically hate you, nomatter who you are, because they
don't.
Speaker 2 (43:19):
Insecurities in themselves Exactly.
Speaker 1 (43:21):
They can't process the fact that they are lower
than you and that doesn't matter.
It doesn't matter who you are,where you come from.
If you possess those traits,they look at you and they hate
you.
Now they may not outright hateyou, but secretly they do, and I
think that's a big part of it.
Speaker 2 (43:40):
What was the?
What was the winning like areward for those part of it?
What was the winning reward forthose, steve, and who won?
What was the prize?
Speaker 3 (43:47):
For winning the show $25,000.
Speaker 2 (43:53):
So I'm going to say I watched the Great British
Baking Show.
It's great.
There is no prize except a dishand I get to be the baker for
that season, so there's nomonetary amount.
What I was surprised about withyour episode specifically with
a $25,000 reward on the lineright, our award on the line.
You guys got along so great Wasthat like that was not acted
out.
That was you guys just like youbonded correct.
Speaker 3 (44:16):
Yeah, we, we all definitely bonded on, like cause
we were there for so long, wewere there for so long, having
to see each other all the time,like so we had.
We had no choice and like I'man introvert, I I'm a hermit all
I need is a cup of coffee or aglass of wine and a good tv show
.
Leave me alone.
I will be locked in my room.
(44:37):
And for the first couple dayswe were filming, I literally did
that while everyone was goingout and hanging out and getting
to know each other.
I was like nope, I don't wantto know anyone, I'm here for a
purpose and that's it.
But then, as I started talkingto everyone, we started like
sharing our work, stories andthings like that.
We started like developing thisfriendship where we are still
(45:00):
friends, like we all still talk.
But yeah, it was all real, likeit's.
At the end of the day, it wasjust like all right, we know
we're here for a reason, we knowwe're competing, um, somebody
has to win.
Speaker 1 (45:13):
So it is what it is the show producers probably
hated the fact that you all gotalong.
You know they know, they lovedit, do they really?
Because usually they, they lookfor the, they look for that,
that, um, that angle.
Speaker 2 (45:25):
You know to push some shows yeah, a lot of shows do
yeah yeah.
Speaker 3 (45:30):
But yeah, even if you look at like some of the
previous seasons, like a lot ofthem got along as well, like a
lot of them like if they're ineach other's cities, they'll go
hang out and things like likethey like I used to look at it
like that too, like how are theyfriends?
Like they're supposed to becompeting for money, but then I
got into it and it's like okay,like I see how I I thought we
were friends until you hit mewith it.
Speaker 1 (45:50):
You don't like the italian food thing like I.
I was.
I forgot your name.
I said I didn't like italianfood.
Speaker 3 (45:54):
I ain't saying I don't like italian people.
Oh, I'm just not.
I'm not a fan of, I'm not a fanof Italian food.
I'm more of a rice person, so Ilike Asian food, I love curries
, I love anything with a saucethat the rice soaks up, and I
guess this is for me, being theislander.
But I love anything with riceand you put a meat or something
(46:16):
with the sauce on top and it'sjust spicy, sweet, all that.
That's what I like, so nothingagainst it's just flavor, sweet,
all that.
Speaker 2 (46:25):
That's what I like, so nothing against.
It's just flavor.
The flavors are different.
Man, scotch bonnets bring awhole nother flavor, bro, I'm
out of here Exactly.
I can't even do that for them.
I can't bring scotch bonnetsauce in here because they don't
think they can handle it.
What are you talking about?
That one couldn't, he can't Ican't talking about I have guava
and cucumber in mind bro, bringit on all right, I got the
(46:48):
plants popping them off, so I'llbring it.
What am I afraid of you?
Good to get, bring it, you justwant to eat?
Speaker 1 (46:53):
yeah, feed me, damn.
What are we talking about, oh?
Speaker 2 (46:56):
I have a question for you, since you're a baker and
you're jican Cassava pudding.
Can you make cassava pudding?
Speaker 3 (47:04):
I can.
Speaker 2 (47:06):
I need that recipe on the fly.
That is like the dopest stuff.
No, no, no.
Speaker 1 (47:10):
Forget the recipe on the fly.
She's got to come here and makeit.
Okay, get her butt down here,then she's in Atlanta.
It's not even that far, yeahit's fine, it's Less than that.
Speaker 2 (47:22):
It's like six hours to South Carolina, Nikki you
going to come down and cook orbake Sure?
Speaker 1 (47:26):
Or bring some cassava pudding, or bring cassava Well,
yeah, bring the pudding.
But then we're going to do somereal beautiful colorful.
Speaker 2 (47:34):
You have no idea about the cassava.
It will change your life.
It's that good.
Speaker 3 (47:39):
I love cassava pudding.
Speaker 1 (47:43):
I'm not down for any more life changes, man, you know
what I mean.
Like I just I'm looking forsome smooth sailing.
You know what I mean?
Speaker 2 (47:46):
like that's what I'm looking for at this stage, you
know, oh yeah oh, really yeahyeah, I'm tired of like
christopher cross now instead offood fighters.
Speaker 1 (47:54):
Yeah no, always food fighters, man.
But you know, we'll do a littlecrisscross, christopher cross
as well.
You know a little sailingawayailing away to where I'm
going.
Oh my God, take me away.
Nikki Chef, what's next for you?
Speaker 3 (48:11):
I don't know.
I feel like I've reached anarea and a stage in my life
where I'm content Whatever comesnext, like comes next.
Like I've reached the parts ofmy goals where I was just like
I'm like all right, this is whatI want to do, this is what I
want to achieve, this is what Iwant to accomplish, like little
(48:33):
things too.
I remember when I moved toAtlanta, I was like I want to be
an eater.
I didn't do anything special tobe an eater other than just
exist and boom.
Like they reached out to melike hey, we would like to do an
article on you, and I'm justlike wow, so I think I've
reached where I've wanted to go.
Now, anything else that comesby is just a bonus and I'm
(48:55):
excited to see what else fallsin my lap or what else knocks on
my door or anything.
I'm, I'm, I'm open.
How does?
Yeah, I don't know what's next.
How does that?
Speaker 2 (49:05):
the win, or how does it being on the, the network and
the show, how has that affectedthe life at home, the dynamic,
anything like?
How does he handle the like?
Speaker 3 (49:17):
uh, the pr for you he loves it like my husband like.
So the way we met husband.
Like so the way we met.
There's a short story.
The way we met was when I movedto Jacksonville, florida.
He was, um, he was one of thechefs at one of the restaurants
I applied for and he hired me.
We never worked together, we wedidn't date and work together
(49:38):
or anything Like.
He hired me.
By the time I started workinghe was already gone from that
job.
He moved on to something elseand we stayed in contact and
started dating.
Ever since then, he always so.
Anywhere we went anywhere hemet people.
He's like this is the bestpastry chef in Jacksonville and
he always like just put my nameout there, put my name in rooms
(49:59):
that I wasn't in.
So he like, from day one he sawthe potential in me and saw
that I would do great things.
So now that we're actuallyliving it like he's just sitting
in it and just smiling likegood, I'm finally happy that
people can see in you what I sawday one when I hired you.
So and I put him on too likehe's he's at a point in his
(50:21):
career where he's just like Idon't need any of that, I don't
need any accolades, I don't needto be recognized Cause I did my
, I did my part, I paid my dues.
I'm good, I just want to cook.
But every now and then, like ifsomeone says hey, do you have
anyone you want to recommend foran article or for a story or
whatever I'd definitely throwhis name in there, because we've
got to win together.
Speaker 1 (50:43):
The food scene in Jacksonville.
St Aug Augustine is prettystrong.
It's a super foodie town, is itSt Augustine is?
Did I miss something?
Speaker 2 (50:56):
Jacksonville is a little less.
Speaker 1 (50:59):
Jacksonville has some areas.
It's South Atlanta.
Speaker 3 (51:02):
They're getting there .
Speaker 1 (51:05):
St Augustine Is a foodie town and I was shocked at
that too.
I started going up to StAugustine a few years back and
started to Get to know Some ofthe local chefs Over there and
it's pretty serious.
It's like the community, thepeople who actually live there.
(51:25):
It's a real foodie town.
Speaker 2 (51:29):
There's actually a baker up there.
She was on the the dr zeus bakeoff and she's been oh, rebecca
reed, yes rebecca, thank you, Icouldn't remember that is my
home, so funny story.
Speaker 3 (51:40):
She's the one that threw my name at the people at
Food Network for them to reachout to me for the show.
Speaker 2 (51:46):
She told me that story because I was telling her
about how we had Robert on thepodcast when I was in Hastings
where we talked about bronzyteam bronzy.
That's where I met her.
She was actually doing baconlike a dessert but it was savory
.
She was the only one doing adessert with bacon, making it
savory Popcorn and all this Likeit was a trail mix, but it was
(52:07):
really good and everyone elsewas doing something with it.
It was a savory dish and she'sjust a.
What's her name?
Rebecca.
We need to get her on the show.
She wants to come on the show.
She's been on several cookingchampionships, yes.
Speaker 3 (52:24):
She champions, she.
Um, she won chop sweets a whileback and then she was a
finalist on the dr seuss show.
But yeah, she and I are reallygood friends like we.
Every now and then we'll text,but we're both like super busy
so we keep missing each other.
Speaker 1 (52:32):
But yeah, that's my girl nikki, that tell me the
truth, though she's got thegoods she can throw down, oh
absolutely dude.
Speaker 2 (52:39):
Yes you, this dr zeus was no.
Like they had to make worlds.
Dr zeus themed stuff and theyhad.
There was three competitors pereach team.
One was a baker, one was asugar person, the other one yeah
, god, it was, and these guyshad to work and they just met
that day.
It wasn't like they picked themand they were like okay you
three.
Exactly you were, it's liketaking cafe con leche and adding
a sugar in it.
(52:59):
You know that kind of's.
You'd have no idea what youwere doing with it.
But she, she's really talented,really talented.
Like I said you put savory and apastry chef together as one,
you're not gonna there.
There's no stopping that person.
There's just so.
The flavor profiles they comeup with is just so deep, so
complex.
It's ridiculous, and that's oneof the reasons why I wanted to
(53:22):
get into pastry myself, becausehaving that science behind the
flavor and how the reactions goand then some of the things you
can do in there mind-blowing Ithink you should get into pastry
.
No you want me to bake for you?
Speaker 1 (53:34):
Yeah, that's exactly what I want.
Speaker 2 (53:36):
No, Nikki, did you just hear what I said?
He just wants me to bake forhim.
Speaker 1 (53:40):
Yeah for the show.
To bake for him.
Yeah For him.
That's for the show.
Speaker 3 (53:42):
For him, that's the best practice Bake for someone
you know and they'll be brutallyhonest with you.
Like you got to do it.
Speaker 1 (53:48):
See, Nikki.
See, you redeemed yourself,Nikki.
Speaker 2 (53:51):
Oh wow, we're back.
Speaker 1 (53:54):
We are back.
Speaker 2 (53:55):
Yeah, but I can't do any Italian stuff, sorry,
whatever.
Speaker 1 (54:00):
Nikki, won't let me Listen.
I'm not going to go to you forItalian stuff.
Speaker 2 (54:03):
Yeah, and you know the Cuban stuff.
Speaker 1 (54:04):
You can go to your mother-in-law, that's right, I
don't need to worry about this.
Speaker 2 (54:07):
By the way, did you tell her that the flan was
really good?
Speaker 1 (54:10):
I did and you know.
By the way, john, the entirefamily was blown away by the
pictures, the photography of theflan.
Speaker 2 (54:19):
Amazing.
Speaker 3 (54:27):
Yeah, I don't know if nikki knew that we had a battle
, flan we had.
Speaker 2 (54:29):
It was really a battle, yeah, like a battle of
flan royale.
Speaker 1 (54:31):
Nobody, because it was so different, I did a smoked
flan.
No, no, no, wait, a minute,hold on time out, wait, nikki,
wait, stop, stop, stop, stop,everybody stop.
Let's get this correct.
My mother-in-law, an old Cubanwoman, made a traditional flan
and it was fantastic, as usual.
As per usual.
Speaker 2 (54:51):
By the way, she doesn't listen to the show.
Speaker 1 (54:53):
No, but Jeff, he decided to do something really
funky and he did a smoked flan.
Now, it was not like a flan atall, but it was effing amazing.
It was really delicious but itwas not flan.
So did you know to say who wonthe flan?
(55:13):
Like no, my mother-in-law did.
Speaker 3 (55:16):
of course she did it was a rule, though it depends on
the rules true?
Speaker 1 (55:21):
well, that's true too .
Look at the end of the day,you're going to have to come to
the table with a traditionalflan.
If you want to.
I can't because I'm nottraditional.
See, that's what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (55:31):
Here's the reason why I wasn't born and raised in a
Cuban household.
I don't have the traditions ofit.
So when you're talking about it, I don't want to.
I don't want to do an injusticeto a cuisine.
I'll take bits and pieces andmake it my own cuisine, as in
smoked flan, and then I.
That's why I asked robert forhis flan recipe.
(55:53):
I have a flan recipe, but myrecipe didn't have cream cheese,
and so I wanted to take it tothe next level.
I will never bastardize anothercuisine.
I can't.
I want to show respect to it asmuch as I can, and I just shut
him up.
I did I don't have to say thatRight there, I don't see it Mic
drop.
Somebody call him.
Speaker 3 (56:11):
Honestly, I think I would have smoked something too.
That sounds like it's up myalley.
Speaker 2 (56:25):
Like I would have definitely pulled out the
smoking gun and smoked a flan.
I actually froze the cream.
Speaker 3 (56:29):
Here's what I did I actually?
Froze the cream cheese andliterally threw it on the smoker
and let it smoke, what yep huh.
Speaker 1 (56:32):
Okay, nikki, I'm not.
I'm not lying to you when Itell you that it was delicious I
didn't like it because you're,you're judging.
No, you're a weird, you'reyou're self-deprecating.
No, no, it's notself-deprecating.
Speaker 2 (56:44):
It's because what I didn't like about it had a shell
that was too thick on the onthe top of it, the dome.
I wanted something that hadthat crunch to it, like almost
brulee not, but there was crunch, I know, but it was just too,
you know, and I had saltedcaramel too on it.
Speaker 1 (56:57):
That's what I did you see what I'm, you see what I
gotta do here, you know, do here.
I have to roll up a newspaper,hit him on the nose and say you
lost.
Speaker 2 (57:07):
But now here I am with a towel and I'm wiping his
face and saying no, it wasdelicious man.
Version 3.0.
Speaker 1 (57:14):
Man golly, I tell you what.
Speaker 2 (57:16):
Version 3.0.
Speaker 1 (57:17):
Where's my newspaper?
Speaker 2 (57:18):
I've got to do it again.
I want to perfect it the waythat I want it.
All I've got to do it again.
Speaker 1 (57:22):
I want to perfect it the way that I want it.
All right enough.
Enough Silence.
All right, listen.
All right, nick chef we've gotto get you here at some point
and we're going to do reallycool stuff.
Speaker 2 (57:36):
Not August or September, it's too hot.
Speaker 1 (57:38):
Well, yeah, but at the end of the day, we need to
get John and Nikki together.
Speaker 2 (57:43):
Oh yeah, the food photography.
Oh, forget it.
Speaker 1 (57:46):
All right, nikki, how does everybody find you?
What's your preferenceInstagram?
What is it?
Speaker 3 (57:52):
Yes, instagram is where you'll find me, chef
underscore Nikki.
Underscore Nikki is spelledN-I-C-K-E-Y and that's where
you'll see all of my things, allmy pictures, little reels,
stuff I do at work.
Speaker 1 (58:10):
It's going to be fun.
Listen again.
Congratulations on the FoodNetwork.
Congratulations on everything.
You're awesome.
We're going to wrap up now.
Chef Jason, thanks for comingin.
I can't wait to see what you'recooking up here today.
Also, Bacon-wrapped filet.
Bacon-wrapped filet.
All right, john's giving me theroll.
All right, jeff, john, jason,nikki, everybody.
(58:36):
Thank you and we are out.
Thanks,
Hello, food Fam.
This is the Walk Talk podcastwhere you will find the perfect
blend of food fun and cookingknowledge.
I'm your host, carl Fiatini.
Welcome to the number one foodpodcast in the country.
We are recording on-site atIbis Images Studios, where food
photography comes alive and Iget to eat it First things first
(00:28):
.
Last week it was story time withrestaurant expert Krista Lepore
.
Everything from celebrityencounters to chefs to their
relationships Front of the house, back of the house very
interesting, check it out and beentertained.
Go back and listen.
I don't know about you, but Ilove feel-good stories and we
have one for you today.
(00:49):
Yes, our guest this week, nikkiBoyd, went from baker's
apprentice to corporateexecutive pastry chef to
recently becoming a finalist onthe Food Network's Spring Baking
Challenge.
You know this was an uphill trek.
Stay tuned.
Pastry chef Nikki Boyd is ondeck Chefs.
(01:09):
We've been using Metro hotboxes, shelving and even their
mobile prep cart around thestudio and we couldn't be
happier.
Thank you, aj and Brianna.
If you're planning onreorganizing your kitchen well,
life will be easier.
Be sure to contact our friendsat Metro.
(01:30):
Your partner in organizationand efficiency, jefferson so
like.
Don't you appreciate whereparts of the food industry is
heading.
I mean, 30 years ago it wasvery rare to have a female or a
person of color running kitchens.
Yesterday, chef Nikki and Ispent about an hour on the phone
, you know, just getting to knoweach other, building some
(01:52):
rapport, and her story is one tobe noticed.
I'm excited about this episode,super, super excited about this
episode.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
And I know.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
Side note, I'm super excited also about what you're
cooking today, and we have aguest in studio, chef Jason F
Lin.
He's cooking too.
Team Bronzy, yeah, that's right.
Nobody knows what you'retalking about, only some people.
What are you talking about?
They definitely do know.
They listen to the show.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
There's no listeners, we get no listeners every day.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
What is no listeners every day?
What is that?
Tell everybody.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
So what is it About?
Three weeks ago, about a monthago, we went to a competition in
Hastings, florida.
It's a bacon, cabbage, potatocompetition for the ACF, and it
was sustainability and no lights, no electricity.
Well, lights, yeah, no stoveelectrics, let's put it that way
(02:48):
and there's no running water.
So we had to come up withsomething and do it.
Uh, lance cook got uh silver,and then Jason and I got bronze,
so we call ourselves teambronze.
He says we're going to do this,we're going with that.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
And I told you not to come home but here you are,
You're here you know, yeah, allright so, but here you are.
Yet you you're here, you know.
Yeah, all right.
So what do you?
And you know what?
It was a fun episode too.
Let some people go back andlisten to the episodes, man,
like I don't know.
They're all good, I don't haveto tell you, but all right.
So listen, what are you cookingtoday?
Because you explained it to meand I'm ready.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
Well, I mean listen.
One of the things about floridais it really doesn't have an
identity for cuisine, like if wealways talked about it.
If I say cheesesteak, people goPhilly.
If I talk about thin crustpizza, it's like New York or
something else or like, maybeeven like New Hampshire with
Greek pizza, deep dish pizza,chicago or Detroit.
So there's no indigenous likefood for Florida.
(03:42):
But everyone calls a grouperruben florida.
So I did my own version of this.
We did some latin spiced panseared grouper.
Uh, I did a togriyashi slawcoast law to go on it.
So let me go back the originalgrouper ruben swiss cheese, rye
bread, thousand island dressingand a coast law seared, grilled
(04:04):
or blackened or fried grouper.
That's what you get locally.
Uh, those are the choices.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
So I wanted to take mine up a notch, so I did
togarashi, which is seven spicejapanese say that I don't know
anymore if you're pronouncingright after vietnamese like I
don't, you know what I mean he's, he's nodding his head.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
I'm saying leach you are leachy like Lychee.
Okay, wait, we already talkedabout that, because my neighbors
that are from Vietnam called it.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
Lychee, I have trust issues with you.
Okay, I'm just saying, I'mputting it out there.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
Well, you know I can't enunciate, that's fine.
I can cook, though.
You can throw down, definitelycook.
That's why I gravitated tocooking.
I didn't have to write or talk.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
How you're becoming a professional podcaster is
incredible to me, though.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
Well, you know, when you have disabilities, you just
keep on going.
Keep on trucking, be determinedto do something different with
your life.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
Challenge yourself.
You've got to keep on cooking,and you know at the end of the
day.
Chef Jason did give it a nod.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
I saw that the wheels of the bus just went off for
jason no, john's going.
Come on, get back on track.
So the toriyashi is a reallylayered spice from japan.
It's got black sesame, whitesesame seed, some other
different ingredients in there.
Kick it up a little bit.
I was going to do cajun, but Ifound I realized that my cajun
spice is in the studio, sothat's why I to.
(05:24):
It's on the shelf next to therefrigerator.
When Pooch was here, he neededit.
So then I had to switch withthat.
Then I did a key limemayonnaise to go into it with a
little agave to give it somesweetness to it.
And then I went with theThousand Island dressing.
I said, ah, we're doingmayonnaise ketchup, which is the
mother sauce in North CarolinaMayonnaise and ketchup.
(05:45):
And then there's their wicklepickles and then I chop that up,
put it in there, some shallotsto give it some spice, and then
instead of using Swiss cheeseI'm using Gruyere.
So I can't wait.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
I can't either.
Yeah, and then steak fries.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (06:02):
Yeah, look fries.
You know what I like fries.
Yes, yeah, Look fries.
You know what I like fries.
But to tell you the truth, atthis stage of my life.
I'm not wasting the space man.
Speaker 2 (06:09):
I know.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
You know, give me the protein.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
I want to, so you don't want me to do pasta next
week.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
That's different, because in that case, that's the
main player.
Oh, okay, yeah, give me themain player.
Is what I'm trying to say.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
Well, I'm also going to do some dishes for John,
because he gave me a list, sothat's why I'm going to do some
stuff for him, like chicken.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
Like chicken fronches .
Yeah, we're going to,definitely we're going to bring
good bread, though We've got tosop up that.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
You know who to go to for bread.
I mean, I can do it, but we allknow who's.
Even jason knows who we need toget the bread from.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
Yeah, amy of course you know she sent over our uh
happy podcast, uh podcast daytask text, which is nice.
Yep, amy, we're shouting youout.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
You know, I mean like uh between you and fiona, I
don't know well, I gotta give ahuge shout out real quick to my
buddy, chris cuby.
It's his birthday today, sohappy birthday to cuby, who's up
in connecticut working his buttoff.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
You know you should start doing like the uh, the
restaurant version of the happybirthday songs you know no I'm
kidding we're not doing thatever, god, no, um, all right,
without, without further ado.
I think I'm going to.
Uh, I think I'm going to bringon the cafe.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
part of the Cafe Con Leche group.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
Yeah, I think we're going to bring Chef Nikki on
Chef, are you there?
Speaker 3 (07:31):
Yeah, I'm here.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
Welcome to the program.
Speaker 3 (07:35):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
So first of all let me just say congratulations on
becoming a finalist on the FoodNetwork show.
That's awesome.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
That's how we do it here.
You know I mean it's kind of acool thing.
You know we're kind of a bigdeal, nikki.
So you know you got to justkind of roll with it.
Why don't you take I want youto take a minute and give the
airplane view of who you are,what you do and how you got
there.
Speaker 3 (08:03):
Okay, so I'm Nikki Boyd.
I am an executive pastry chef.
I'm originally from New York,brooklyn, jamaican background.
I currently live in Atlanta andI started out like anyone else,
trying to figure out mydirection, where to go, what to
(08:23):
do with my life, and at 30, Idecided I'm going to go to
culinary school and see wherethat brings me and from there I
just kind of worked my wayaround New York a little bit,
jersey, moved to Florida in themiddle of the pandemic, kind of
got my stride.
While I was there met myhusband, who's also a chef, and
(08:44):
we packed up and moved toAtlanta and here we are.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
And your father was a chef too, right?
Speaker 3 (08:50):
Yes, my dad is also a chef up in Nantucket.
Actually, my mom is a greathome cook.
She had all the great cookbooks, all of the new gadgets that
came out for home cooks to trynew things.
My mom had it all, and mygrandma wasn't much of a cook or
a baker, but I kind of learneda little thing or two from her
(09:11):
as well.
So a lot of my foundation islike from my family.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
And it's.
Which is amazing.
The fact is, you're surroundedby chefs.
You go to work, you're, it'sthe kitchen life.
You go home, you're married toit.
Yeah, it's, uh.
I can't escape it.
It's well, and why should youuh, especially when, clearly,
you know what you're doing,right?
(09:37):
I mean yeah, yeah, yeah I'dlike to think so.
Speaker 3 (09:40):
I have to remind people that often, like hey, I
kind of know what I'm doing, butyeah yeah, yeah, but you were
sort of a drifter in thebeginning.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
You know, it was only what, maybe 10 years that
you've been in the, actuallybeen in the business yeah,
pretty much Right.
So you were trying to findyourself and one day you said,
man, I should cook.
And then you went to thecommunity.
You went to um uh.
You went to uh the thecommunity uh college over there
(10:08):
in in Jersey, correct, yes, andyou said I'm going to do this
Now you were.
Were you a baker's apprenticebefore or after culinary school?
Speaker 3 (10:21):
After so, before culinary school, and I remember
exactly the last job I hadbefore going to culinary school.
After so, before culinaryschool, and I remember exactly
the last job I had before goingto culinary school I was a
dishwasher.
It was like a little kitcheninside of a school and I was a
dishwasher there.
I worked under another Blackwoman chef and I think that's
(10:41):
where I got my inspiration toreally take that step.
And just seeing how she likecommanded the kitchen and just
worked with grace, I was justlike huh, I kind of like that.
So after being that dishwasherI was like all right, I'm going
to enroll into culinary school.
And then after I graduated, orbefore I graduated is when I
started my apprenticeship.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
And apprenticeship you're.
You're basically in there, justyou're learning, you're not.
That's not even that'sapprenticeship.
You're not getting paid right.
Speaker 2 (11:12):
No, you can get paid, but no, you.
Generally it's like a stage youdon't get paid, yeah, so wow.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
And then, instead of going in you know the savory
route, you decided pastry.
How come Baking decided pastry?
Speaker 3 (11:26):
How come baking and pastry?
I think when I, while I was inculinary school and saw like the
different types of styles ofbaking, I was thinking more of
an entrepreneur, like what do Iwant to do for myself that can
make me money if I'm like bakingand I did like.
While I was in culinary schoolI did start doing like bake
(11:47):
sales kind of.
Or would bake for my church anddo cupcakes and little mini
cakes for people and I would doit for free, just to kind of get
my, get my foot in the door.
And I did like savory.
But I just figured in my mind,not knowing much about like the
culinary world.
In my mind I was just like, oh,I can start a business baking
cupcakes, rather than how wouldI start a business as a savory
(12:09):
chef?
Speaker 1 (12:11):
Right.
And what's amazing to me isbecause I, 10 years, is just
like a like, really just a blipon the screen and to go from
apprentice to you know regional,you know pastry chef for a
restaurant group, a sizablerestaurant group is pretty
(12:32):
amazing to me.
Not to mention, you know, youstart getting into the accolades
with you know magazine articlesand moving into food network
sort of status.
I mean that's pretty amazing.
What, what actually happened?
What was it that occurred thatbrought it from ham?
I'm in the kitchen over hereand all of a sudden, bam, I got.
(12:53):
I got the promotion and all ofa sudden, bam, I'm on the Food
Network.
How did that?
What?
What went down?
How did that go?
Speaker 3 (13:00):
And so after my apprenticeships and two of them
were in bakeries so I was like,okay, bakery seemed easy, early
mornings, I have the afternoonto myself, like it was fun.
But then it got kind of boring.
So after my last bakery job Iwas like, okay, let me try out a
restaurant now.
I got a job as a pastry cook ata restaurant in Jersey City and
(13:27):
I loved it.
I loved the detail that got putinto plating a dessert or being
able to come up with so manydifferent styles of desserts and
taking something simple andelevating it.
I love that aspect.
So from there I kind of justlatched on to whoever I could to
learn more.
And just every restaurant Iworked in after that it was just
like, okay, who's the bestperson in this restaurant aside
(13:48):
from my pastry chef?
Like who's the best that I canlatch on to learn from them?
And then keep going.
And I kind of just did that forlike, like my whole career.
And then now I had a goal too,like I've always had goals where
I'm like, hey, this is what Ieventually want to do, or this
year, this is the goal I'msetting for myself.
And while I was in JacksonvilleI was like how cool would it be
(14:10):
to be a corporate pastry chef,so where I'm running four or
five or multiple locations,different cuisines, and kind of
just pushing myself like outsideof my own limits, because
obviously I'm Jamaican so I havelike we have a certain style of
cooking and baking.
Then now here I am a pastrychef for a Japanese restaurant,
(14:31):
two Italian restaurants, asteakhouse.
So it's like just doingsomething that I know would push
me past what I think I know andjust keep learning.
And that's how I got to whereI'm at now.
Speaker 1 (14:43):
That's so cool and you know part of our
conversation.
Yesterday we were on the phonefor about an hour and it you
know I don't know that we'regoing to take it exactly there,
but it got pretty hot.
So obviously you're a femaleand you know African-American.
Coming up in this industryisn't easy and we all recognize
(15:11):
that.
And the fact is you blew it upLike you didn't just like, hey,
I'm going to make a go of it.
And here I am.
No, no, no, no, no.
You said, hey, I know X, butnow I'm going to learn Y, z, a,
b, c, d through the whole letterchain.
So now you're learning it allin your category in pastry and
(15:33):
baking.
That's fantastic, but howchallenging was that?
Oh, of course You're verywelcome.
How challenging was it in yourexperience, from the beginning
to where you are now?
Speaker 3 (15:49):
Um, so it came with a lot of challenges.
Like I wouldn't say that youknow me being female or my skin
color is what made thechallenges happen, but, um, it
definitely played a part.
And once I got into a positionor a role that played a part in
when I was in culinary school, Iwas like learning next to
(16:12):
people who were fresh out ofhigh school.
So, you know, the opportunitiesfor them were different than
they were for me, because at thetime, like I lived alone, I had
to pay rent, I had to pay bills, I had to take care of myself,
as opposed to these 17, 18 yearolds who live with their mom and
can go like work, work forpennies, work for like $5 an
hour, $10 an hour, whatever theminimum wage was back then,
(16:35):
whereas me I'm like, okay, Ican't do that.
Even though these are the toprestaurants in the city, I can't
work for pennies.
I need to work to be able tosurvive and live.
So it was hard to go into akitchen where all of the people
were younger than me, andsometimes my boss was younger
than me, and I'm just like, allright, well, I'm here to learn,
(16:55):
so teach me whatever you canteach me.
But then, as I got further in mycareer, is when all of the
other obstacles came, where it'sjust like oh well, you don't
know anything because you didn'twork here or you didn't go to
this school or you're.
No one ever came out and saidI'm old, but you know, they
treat you that way, where it'sjust like I don't know, but it's
(17:17):
like I feel like I thought itwould get easier the further I
got and I feel like it kind ofgot harder because obviously,
when you're at a lower level,people treat you like you're at
a lower level.
But then when you, once you getup to a higher level or in a
better role, you would thinkthey start treating you better
or respecting you more and theystill treat you like you're a
(17:38):
lower level person.
So I think that's where, like,the obstacles and the hardships
came in, where I'm just like, ohdamn, okay, cool.
And I think that's where mydrive also came from, where it's
just like all right, well,since you want to treat me like
this, I'm going to show you thatI'm better than you.
And it's not even just like aI'm cocky kind of situation.
It's like, no, I worked my buttoff to get to where I am.
(18:00):
So I'm going to demand respectwithout even saying it, like my
resume is going to speak foritself, like you're going to see
that even if you're a savorycook, I can cook better than you
, you know.
So I had to like really pushmyself to that point of no one's
going to give me respect.
I have to, like I have torespect myself enough, but I
also have to demand it in how Iwork.
Speaker 2 (18:23):
Yeah, it's funny, excuse me, I know it's funny
because last week we weretalking to somebody.
We're talking to the front ofthe house and the back of the
house, the wall.
Not many people talk about thewall within the kitchen.
How do you balance the savoryside and the pastry side when
you're in your restaurants like?
Speaker 1 (18:43):
there's.
There's a different mindset.
Speaker 2 (18:44):
Those cooks are totally different than pastry
cooks absolutely like in everyrestaurant.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
It's a universal thing that in every restaurant
I've ever worked in, pastry wasthe least respected.
They would.
They would eat our prep likeeveryone would eat our prep and
think it was OK.
They would use our station ifwe're not there and leave it
dirty or just a whole bunch ofthings.
That would happen where, and Ithink that's where my people
(19:11):
call it me being aggressive.
That would happen where, and Ithink that's where my people
call it me being aggressive andI don't know how to take that.
But this is where, like, likeright now I have about five,
five employees at all thelocations I work at and I have
to keep beating into their head.
Like, listen, guys, like, if youdon't demand respect from these
people, they're going to walkover you.
They're going to come to yourstation and just take things
without asking you.
They're going to, like, talk toyou crazy.
(19:33):
They're going to eat your prep.
They're going to do all thethings because to everyone else,
pastry is kind of like at thebottom of the food chain where,
honestly, we are not.
We are the last people that theguests experience, we're the
last meal they have and we makethe lasting impression, aside
from the server.
So it's like we should be likemore respected than we are.
(19:56):
So I think what I started doingwas just like, like I said,
like demanding that respect,like letting them know, like
listen, at the end of the day, Ican do your job, but you can't
do mine, so this is where we'renot the same and that's like
where I was going with that,because a lot of times you see
what, like we talk about.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
when a restaurant loses sales, the first thing to
go is marketing.
What's the second department togo, like?
Speaker 3 (20:22):
pastry.
Pastry, oh yeah, when I wasdoing rid of the pastry chef and
they'll teach one of the linecooks how to plate a dessert, or
they'll even like they'll.
Speaker 2 (20:32):
They'll get rid of the entire dessert um the entire
pastry department and they'llstart buying desserts and have a
line cook plate it so I was atthe american culinary federation
I don't remember where we wereat a national convention and
duff was on stage and we wereasking questions and I asked the
question.
There's two, what I feel thereare two, um, lost art forms, or
(20:53):
one that's losing and one thatwe've lost.
One is butchering and the otherone is pastry chefs.
And he looked at me like I wascrazy.
But think about this you justsaid, if you have, sales are
down, the pastry chef goes, thenwhere do they turn to when the
pastry chef goes and they can'thave the consistency, yeah, they
buy it, they buy it and then doit.
(21:15):
So the buying aspect of itthey're looking at it the ROI,
it's a lot easier to go to yourbroadliner and go hey, just give
me four of these chocolatecakes, seven of those, and
whatever it is, and that's allit is.
Speaker 1 (21:25):
I mean my opinion, and I could be wrong on this,
but it seems to me pastry andbaking it's more science than
you know.
Speaker 2 (21:33):
A hundred percent.
Speaker 1 (21:34):
Yeah, yeah.
So if you're looking at it fromthat perspective, there should
be equal respect or more.
You know they're likealchemists in there.
You know what I mean.
You know why, exactly, and.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
I'll tell you why because I love both.
No-transcript you are wireddifferently than anything that
(22:17):
you can possibly think of.
Speaker 1 (22:19):
Well, you know, when you look at it, though you
you're talking about, I can seewhere you would, where you would
buy from your supplier if youhad a giant banquet, or you know
there's.
Speaker 2 (22:33):
I see that there's areas, applications, where you
would want to do that right I'msorry, I'm laughing because I
wish that happened to me whenthey sold tiramisu for 600
people, right, no, but then Ihad to make it yes, that's a
party right there, but but whenyou're talking, when you're
talking about a restaurant, youknow, or just like your your
standard size, uh, eatery man,make, make him make it because
(22:56):
it tastes better.
Speaker 1 (22:56):
Like you can't compare.
You know, when you have a good,when you have a good pastry
chef, you can't compare qualityto something that you're going
to bring in from your broadlinerlike, give me a break.
Speaker 2 (23:05):
Like you can't do that and I'll be honest with you
, my favorite chef's tableepisodes are the ones about
pastry and Jody Rocha, the Rochabrothers.
There's no other.
There's no, he see, there's noother.
He's one of the best pastrychefs in the world.
Speaker 1 (23:20):
And it like so when we we've done a lot of video,
I'd walk and talk media, youknow, or different series and
everything.
And the best, some of the bestfootage is pastry.
It's beautiful Shows like thecolors that can't like with with
your video, your camera doesn'tget better.
Speaker 2 (23:39):
I look at John.
Tell them what John said whenwe were looking at the rack
catalog.
Speaker 1 (23:42):
Well, I didn't, I didn't catch it.
Speaker 2 (23:44):
You want to say it.
He said we were looking atsomething, I was looking at a
square plate, and then they hadthis round the dessert had
squares and they had squared itoff, but one was like a log,
like cylinder, cylinder, and hegoes that's plate would be great
with Robert's desserts.
Speaker 3 (24:04):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 2 (24:08):
But that's like the, the intricacies, like that's
what I mean.
Pastry is in a differentwavelength, like all chefs are
wired differently.
The guys like Jody Rocha, likeStefan Raymer from Walt Disney,
henri from the Chocolate Guy,those guys are completely on
another level than most people,than most people.
(24:30):
So what I think about sorry,what I think about pastry must
be going around.
It's like listen, I have anexcuse, I'm an old Jewish guy.
Speaker 1 (24:45):
I'm like I'm looking around.
I'm like, do I have to editthis today?
Like what?
Speaker 2 (24:49):
the hell is going on here.
Speaker 3 (24:50):
Oh my God, I feel like we're in a nursing home.
Do you need some water?
Speaker 2 (24:53):
No, it's not water.
It's not water, it's calledallergies.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
It's summer in Florida.
It's called nursing home is thenext stop.
That's what it's called.
Speaker 2 (25:02):
That's what my doctor said yesterday or two days ago.
Speaker 1 (25:07):
Get back on track.
Speaker 2 (25:08):
So, anyways, pastry is where the different mindset
is, but when you have somebodythat can bind the two of them.
So do you do savory, chef, orno?
Speaker 3 (25:18):
I used to.
I don't care to work the lineever and I've done it.
Actually, one of my jobs Iwanted to try out a country club
because I'm like all right,I've worked in restaurants, I'm
tired of working service, tiredof getting off at midnight.
So I worked at a country clubin Jacksonville and they were
(25:38):
being bought and they were likeokay, we don't want a pastry
chef.
So you either work savory oryou have to find a new job.
And I was like I am not workingsavory.
And in between me, finding anew job, I had to.
So I had to learn saute, I hadto butcher meat, I had to break
down chickens and all that andit's like all right, cool, it's
(25:58):
not a terrible thing.
But I do take my pastrymentality and bring it to savory
where it's like I can make youa dish that might look like a
dessert, but it's not, it'ssomething savory.
But it's also the way my mindworks with flavors.
Like I incorporate a lot ofsavory into my desserts.
So if I'm making somethingsavory, I'll incorporate
something sweet or what youthink would be sweet, but I'll
(26:22):
like add a different twist to itthat you like it'll like it'll
be a mind boggler, like you'lleat it.
You'll be like, wow, what am Ieven freaking eating, you know?
But yeah, no, I'm good onsavory like my husband's a no,
I'm good on savory Like myhusband's a savory chef.
So I'm good on all of that.
Like we, we compare ideas, webrainstorm together, but I think
I'm good on all of that.
Speaker 2 (26:43):
What about, um, the show itself, what I did
recognize that episode of thespring, uh, spring breaking
championship.
Those were some really goodcompetitors.
The spring, uh, spring breakingchampionship, those were some
really good competitors.
Oh, absolutely, I mean like I,I had alex, number one.
I there's every time.
I saw alex, up until wherethings started going a little
(27:03):
bit south for him, and then Iwas like okay, what about steven
?
And then what about robert?
And I'm like there's nikki,there's nikki in the background,
all you heard was nikki, yourfavorite profiles nikki, your
favorite, and that's all weheard, so talk about some of
that.
Speaker 3 (27:17):
And that's how I felt about it too.
Like I remember in the veryfirst episode, after seeing how
everyone baked, cause I loveFrench, french techniques and
French cuisine.
So when I met Alex and startedseeing how he bakes like he's
old school French and I was like, yep, he's my biggest
competition, like I didn't seeanyone else.
(27:37):
It was like the entire time.
It was like every time theyasked me who do you think your
biggest competition is?
Alex, like everyone was great,but I know, because I know my
style and what I like to do andwhat I'm pushing myself to do,
I'm pushing myself to do.
I'm like Alex is it?
And I want to, like I learned alot from Alex.
Like he's amazing and he wassuch a good competitor where
(27:58):
it's just like hey, alex, do youhave a recipe for this?
And he's like sure, you know.
So, yeah, like, yeah, he was it.
Like that's why I was surprisedthat I even made it as far as I
did, but also made it as far asto have to do a bake-off with
him and beat him out.
I was just like what is liferight now?
Speaker 2 (28:16):
In fact, it was tiramisu that you beat him out
on.
Speaker 3 (28:20):
I'm so sick of freaking tiramisu.
You know what?
I'm so sick of tiramisu.
Speaker 1 (28:26):
Hold on a second, I am too.
Even though it's delicious, I'msick of eating it.
I've had it all my life, youknow, and yeah, but wait a
minute, I'm talking abouthomemade stuff.
I'm not talking about you know,I'm talking about homemade.
Awesome, delicious tiramisu.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
I don't want to eat it anymore no, but I was going
to say is remember when we're indallas for the world food
championship and the family um,russell's mom made that tiramisu
that deconst, deconstructedtiramisu.
That was one of the besttiramisu's.
Speaker 1 (28:52):
I've ever eaten.
Yeah, yeah, I recognize thedeliciousness of it.
I just don't want it anymore.
I don't want cannolis anymore.
Speaker 2 (29:01):
Oh my God, If my friend Don Rizzo heard that, he
would just literally you tellRizzo.
Speaker 1 (29:05):
Donnie Rizzo.
You tell Rizzo that I said thatI'm tired of cannolis and I'm
tired of tiramisu and you're notgoing to change my mind, he'll
eat yours, trust me.
Don't you stay away from myfood.
I don't like either.
Speaker 3 (29:16):
I don't like Italian food at all.
Sorry, sorry guys, I'm not afan.
Speaker 2 (29:22):
She's more into ackee and saltfish and bimmy.
Speaker 1 (29:24):
Wait a minute, wait a minute, slow down, nicky, nicky
, nicky, nicky.
I thought we were pals.
Hello, so listen.
By the way, my grandmother'soxtail would compete with your
oxtail.
No, no, no oh yeah, I'm tellingyou right now.
Speaker 3 (29:42):
No, I won't say my oxtail, but I don't think your
grandmas can compare to my mom'sor my dad's.
Speaker 1 (29:47):
My grandmother's oxtail.
I'm sorry Listen, everybody whowas making oxtail were poor.
And guess what?
Speaker 2 (29:55):
they all taste.
Speaker 1 (29:56):
They all taste good and my grandma's was fantastic
let me tell you something.
Speaker 2 (30:00):
I'm not making oxtail now because it's not well, now,
no, no, now it's another.
Speaker 1 (30:03):
Now it's another story, but I'll tell you.
Speaker 3 (30:06):
if you want really good oxtail, you have to go to
nantucket, go to stubbies and mydad is there whipping some up
If you want some good oxtailthat's where you can go.
Speaker 2 (30:16):
When you come down back to Miami you can go over to
my wife's uncle Alfred.
He's the chef over in an Asianrestaurant and he has the best
Jamaican oxtail probably I'veever had Hands down.
Speaker 1 (30:32):
That's why I knew about Aki and saltfish.
This sounds like a lot ofchallenges going on here.
That's real all right, let'sbring it back.
Let's bring it back to the foodnetwork.
So that was what in a?
So in your life, do you, do yourank or rate this food network
experience?
Um, is it in the top tier, wasit?
It just like?
Okay for you, like what?
(30:53):
What was that about?
Speaker 3 (30:55):
It was definitely top tier, like it was definitely
one of those things where, asidefrom all of the craziness that
happened around it, I can lookback and really be like wow,
like I accomplished somethingthat I set my mind to, and it's
not just a per, like yes, it's apersonal goal, but it's a goal
that I was able to showcase on,literally on national TV, you
(31:18):
know.
So it's definitely one of thosethings where I can like be like
I was on food network.
You know a lot of people can'tsay that.
Speaker 2 (31:28):
Talk about like getting in from beating Alex and
the social social media aspectof it, because I saw some stuff
going around on social media.
I mean there's got to be tonsof drama this because it got bad
, where one of the judges had tocome out and actually say yeah,
it got, it got rough.
Speaker 3 (31:46):
Um, I you know, I think people they watch from
this, this view, where it's like, oh well, alex was better the
entire season and now theypretty much made it seem like
the network made me beat Alexand it's like, no, if you pay
attention and if all thesepeople who had so much to say
(32:08):
were true fans, they would knowfrom way back when, when the
freaking show started, that eachbake is a new bake.
So no one's comparing, hey.
So alex did great this entireseason, but he had one bad bake.
Let's make him win rather than.
Or nikki was kind of, you know,up and down and boom, here it
(32:29):
is.
How did she beat alex?
It's it's, every single bake isa different bake.
So for us, going into that bakeoff, it's just like.
Like I didn't know where mymind was.
I just knew I was there for areason.
I know I'm like I'm gonna dowhat I've been doing.
I'm gonna do what I do everyday in my kitchen and that's put
out good desserts.
Make something that is meputting myself on a plate, and
(32:51):
that's what I did.
Make something that is meputting myself on a plate, and
that's what I did.
You know, like alex is verytraditional.
I'm very untraditional, so youknow it's like, okay, here's a
key lime pie, cool, you're gonnaget a key lime pavlova, because
I'm gonna like that's how Ibake, that's my style, you know.
So, getting to that point andbeating him, it was like I was
(33:12):
shocked.
He was, he was fine with it.
We hugged it out, we talked itout, all that.
He's just like.
You deserve this.
The internet took it to a wholedifferent level.
Alex was better than Nikki.
Nikki shouldn't have won, nikkionly won because she's Black
and that's what from.
And I know I kind of didn't paytoo much attention to the
comments that were being madeeven before we got to that point
(33:33):
.
I think at one point, when wewere top five and the Food
Network posted our picture ontheir page, I had someone
comment like oh, I want any ofthose people to win except Nikki
.
She looks ignorant.
And it's like you're judging mebased off of what you see on TV
, which I don't know what peoplesaw to think I was ignorant, to
think I was mean.
(33:53):
There were people that said Iwas a bitch to Robert and it's
like how, how are you gettingthat from a few clips that you
see every now and then.
So I think people just go inwith a bias.
It's a good thing and a badthing.
You have people that go in witha bias, like, okay, I'm a brown
person, I I'm gonna root forthe person that is brown because
they're a good representationof me.
(34:14):
So then on the flip side, onthe negative side, you have the
people who do the same thing,where it's like I'm definitely
not rooting for this personbecause she's black.
So it's.
It's the sad reality and thethings that came from it the,
the comments.
People literally like put thesethings as their post on social
media, to the point where, likeI was upset because I'm just
(34:35):
like in a moment where I make itto the finale, the top three,
and I should be celebrating, I'mhere like blocking people from
trying to send me messages, likehate messages, or blocking
comments, or like just kind ofspeak in my mind without
directly coming at these folks,because, at the end of the day,
like they don't deserve myexplanation, but still I need,
(34:56):
like I wanted to express how Iwas feeling about it yeah, but
it wasn't just the two, you justwasn't just you, it was also
the other two also had it too.
Speaker 2 (35:03):
They was.
It was like a whole setup forit.
From what I understand becausethat's what the judge said you
got there because, based uponwhat you produced and how you
produced it, and then went backto the rules, yeah, nikki,
yesterday we talked a little bitabout this and you said it
right.
Speaker 1 (35:21):
You know, in competitions, in life and
whatever, get judged by what youput out.
Yeah, yeah, and I feel likeyou're right on the money there,
there's going to be ignorantpeople from every side, from
every color, from every religion, from every everything.
And you know, unfortunately now, with the advent of smartphones
(35:44):
and social media, all of thesepeople have a voice and and or
an outlet, I should say, tovoice some sometimes very, you
know, um, very ridiculous orinsulting opinions, and that's
what we deal with.
I mean, I do, and I told youthis too yesterday I scour the
(36:05):
comment sections constantly, allover, because I just kind of
want to get a feel for whatpeople think.
Now, the only challenge is younever know, like, if these are.
You don't even know what's realanymore.
If these are bots, if it's made, you know like, is it paid for?
Like nobody knows anything.
Social media is like a blackhole.
(36:26):
You know what I mean.
It just sucks up everythingLike galaxies.
You don't even.
It's like galaxies, you don'teven it's.
Speaker 3 (36:33):
And it's like like we talked about yesterday.
You know we can think that,okay, it's social media, block
it out, it's just bots, it'sfake, it's whatever.
But the reality is a lot ofwhat the a lot of the things
that were being said are thingsthat I've either either heard
from other people in person orhave experienced.
(36:54):
You know, like I told youyesterday, like I had a white
chef tell me he didn't thinkthat I had two college degrees
because he had none, pretty muchinsinuating like, hey, because
I don't have it as a white man,then you shouldn't have it.
And I've had that.
And I read between the lines.
Sometimes I'm way off,sometimes I'm on point, because
(37:17):
it's like when you hear itenough, it's just like, well
damn, why can't I have anythingLike I had.
I've been to Nantucket multipletimes.
I love Nantucket and we allknow Nantucket is not for not
for cheap, broke people.
So because my dad lives there,I used to visit it a lot and I
remember I brought back a bottleof wine from the vineyards up
(37:38):
there.
I brought back a bottle of winefor one of my chefs and he
literally looked at me and waslike how have you gone to
Nantucket and I have not beenyet.
I'm like what do you mean?
Like my dad lives there, I hangout there every summer, like,
and in that moment I was kind oflike naive to what he was
saying, but it was just like ohokay, now I get it Like.
(37:59):
So it's a thing that happensoften and, like I said, we can
look at what is said on theinternet and kind of just like
be like oh no, maybe it was justbots, it's fake, it's not real,
it's just internet trolls.
But it's the reality that thethings that were said on the
internet is what people think oreven say out of their mouth in
person.
Speaker 1 (38:20):
It's stupid, the whole thing is stupid.
Speaker 3 (38:23):
Oh, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (38:24):
You know, because the truth is we all have to share
and I'm keeping it culinary tooright now.
We all have to share, and I'mkeeping it culinary too right
now.
But we all have to share inthis thing, gosh, any saute,
(38:49):
whatever, being a server, yourknucklehead host or hostess,
like whoever, everybody has tokind of, we all live together
and we all have to work togetherand we all have to get along.
But you know, I want to takethis back to what I said in the
opening monologue, because it'sa feel good story.
The reality is you, you, youhave beaten odd, odd over odd.
(39:12):
You, you, you have beaten odd,odd over odd, over odd over odd.
You, you've come a long way andyou know, I remember 30 years
ago how the kitchen was.
You know I was, I was young, um, I was more than 30 years now.
Golly man, I hate doing math, Ihate math.
So obviously that's why I waslaughing.
Yeah, that's where you'relaughing.
Speaker 2 (39:30):
So you're thinking you're in your 20s or 30s and
you're not.
Speaker 1 (39:35):
When I was 15 is when I started as a busboy or
whatever, 35 years ago.
Yeah, shut up, yeah, but Iremember, just from back then
and being in the business, Iremember how it was and I
remember you didn't see femalechefs, you didn't see persons
chefs, you didn't see persons ofcolor as chefs.
(39:56):
In fact, most of the kitchenswere Caucasian-ish.
You know, they wereMale-dominated, yeah,
male-dominated.
So, but now you go, any kitchenyou go to today is very diverse
, you know, and you can say youknow, and spirits, you know
(40:19):
cocktails and whatnot.
All of these things bringpeople together and I think
we've come such a long way andI'm thrilled that of where we
are today.
I mean, it's not perfect,nothing's ever going to be
perfect but man, we've reallycome a long way.
So this is a.
This is in spite of the, inspite of the negativity that,
nikki, that you dealt with onthe show over there.
(40:43):
Man, it's so awesome and it ispositive.
So congratulations again onthat.
Speaker 3 (40:50):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (40:51):
You know I'll go back to, and I have this saying, and
Jason's going to shake his headwhen he hears it Racism is the
religion of the ignorant bottomline.
If we all teach other about ourcultures and our differences,
then there is none and we don'thave to fear it.
We break down barriers and theway to do that is at a table in
community.
When you do it because you'vedone it all your life, battling
(41:11):
it, as you were stating, it'snot just on the show, you just
were.
You.
I didn't see it, I was naive toit, but then you've gone
through it, you.
Some of the greatest storiesyou hear about people, the
greatest chefs, is the trialsand tribulations that they did
(41:32):
to get to where they're at andthat you've.
Yeah, so congrats, thank you.
Speaker 3 (41:33):
I am, especially with something I said yesterday was
um, like one thing I always lookat is like how does me and I
said this uh, what's your name,carl, sorry, um, I said, I said
how.
Like one thing I always look atwhenever, especially when I'm
like in a situation like wherepeople are judging me based off
(41:55):
how I look, or am I qualified ordo I belong in the room,
because you know they are in theroom too like one thing I look
at is how does me being me stopanyone from being them?
Like how does me being likeawesome, you know, because
that's what I, that's what Ipresent.
Like I walk into a room like Iown it and it's not to be cocky,
(42:16):
but it's to say like hey, I'mhere, you know, like my presence
is here.
Like I walk in and with likesuch poison grace to where it's,
just like I'm going to walkinto every room like I belong
there, because I know there'speople looking at me like I
don't.
So I always wonder, like, howdoes me being like overly
(42:36):
zealous about what I do, mebeing, you know, passionate
about my work, me beingpassionate about being a strong
black woman how does that stopanyone from being them, you know
.
So it's it's it's sad, it's sad, but, like we said, it's
positive.
You know, I, I look at a lot of.
Speaker 1 (42:54):
I think I can.
I can, I think I can lay down alittle bit of an answer to that
, because obviously, yeah,there's ignorant people who do
look at you, know genders andcolors and all that stuff, but I
think universally there's a lotof people who, when you do have
passion and positivity and thatmeans you have confidence, they
(43:16):
automatically hate you, nomatter who you are, because they
don't.
Speaker 2 (43:19):
Insecurities in themselves Exactly.
Speaker 1 (43:21):
They can't process the fact that they are lower
than you and that doesn't matter.
It doesn't matter who you are,where you come from.
If you possess those traits,they look at you and they hate
you.
Now they may not outright hateyou, but secretly they do, and I
think that's a big part of it.
Speaker 2 (43:40):
What was the?
What was the winning like areward for those part of it?
What was the winning reward forthose, steve, and who won?
What was the prize?
Speaker 3 (43:47):
For winning the show $25,000.
Speaker 2 (43:53):
So I'm going to say I watched the Great British
Baking Show.
It's great.
There is no prize except a dishand I get to be the baker for
that season, so there's nomonetary amount.
What I was surprised about withyour episode specifically with
a $25,000 reward on the lineright, our award on the line.
You guys got along so great Wasthat like that was not acted
out.
That was you guys just like youbonded correct.
Speaker 3 (44:16):
Yeah, we, we all definitely bonded on, like cause
we were there for so long, wewere there for so long, having
to see each other all the time,like so we had.
We had no choice and like I'man introvert, I I'm a hermit all
I need is a cup of coffee or aglass of wine and a good tv show
.
Leave me alone.
I will be locked in my room.
(44:37):
And for the first couple dayswe were filming, I literally did
that while everyone was goingout and hanging out and getting
to know each other.
I was like nope, I don't wantto know anyone, I'm here for a
purpose and that's it.
But then, as I started talkingto everyone, we started like
sharing our work, stories andthings like that.
We started like developing thisfriendship where we are still
(45:00):
friends, like we all still talk.
But yeah, it was all real, likeit's.
At the end of the day, it wasjust like all right, we know
we're here for a reason, we knowwe're competing, um, somebody
has to win.
Speaker 1 (45:13):
So it is what it is the show producers probably
hated the fact that you all gotalong.
You know they know, they lovedit, do they really?
Because usually they, they lookfor the, they look for that,
that, um, that angle.
Speaker 2 (45:25):
You know to push some shows yeah, a lot of shows do
yeah yeah.
Speaker 3 (45:30):
But yeah, even if you look at like some of the
previous seasons, like a lot ofthem got along as well, like a
lot of them like if they're ineach other's cities, they'll go
hang out and things like likethey like I used to look at it
like that too, like how are theyfriends?
Like they're supposed to becompeting for money, but then I
got into it and it's like okay,like I see how I I thought we
were friends until you hit mewith it.
Speaker 1 (45:50):
You don't like the italian food thing like I.
I was.
I forgot your name.
I said I didn't like italianfood.
Speaker 3 (45:54):
I ain't saying I don't like italian people.
Oh, I'm just not.
I'm not a fan of, I'm not a fanof Italian food.
I'm more of a rice person, so Ilike Asian food, I love curries
, I love anything with a saucethat the rice soaks up, and I
guess this is for me, being theislander.
But I love anything with riceand you put a meat or something
(46:16):
with the sauce on top and it'sjust spicy, sweet, all that.
That's what I like, so nothingagainst it's just flavor, sweet,
all that.
Speaker 2 (46:25):
That's what I like, so nothing against.
It's just flavor.
The flavors are different.
Man, scotch bonnets bring awhole nother flavor, bro, I'm
out of here Exactly.
I can't even do that for them.
I can't bring scotch bonnetsauce in here because they don't
think they can handle it.
What are you talking about?
That one couldn't, he can't Ican't talking about I have guava
and cucumber in mind bro, bringit on all right, I got the
(46:48):
plants popping them off, so I'llbring it.
What am I afraid of you?
Good to get, bring it, you justwant to eat?
Speaker 1 (46:53):
yeah, feed me, damn.
What are we talking about, oh?
Speaker 2 (46:56):
I have a question for you, since you're a baker and
you're jican Cassava pudding.
Can you make cassava pudding?
Speaker 3 (47:04):
I can.
Speaker 2 (47:06):
I need that recipe on the fly.
That is like the dopest stuff.
No, no, no.
Speaker 1 (47:10):
Forget the recipe on the fly.
She's got to come here and makeit.
Okay, get her butt down here,then she's in Atlanta.
It's not even that far, yeahit's fine, it's Less than that.
Speaker 2 (47:22):
It's like six hours to South Carolina, Nikki you
going to come down and cook orbake Sure?
Speaker 1 (47:26):
Or bring some cassava pudding, or bring cassava Well,
yeah, bring the pudding.
But then we're going to do somereal beautiful colorful.
Speaker 2 (47:34):
You have no idea about the cassava.
It will change your life.
It's that good.
Speaker 3 (47:39):
I love cassava pudding.
Speaker 1 (47:43):
I'm not down for any more life changes, man, you know
what I mean.
Like I just I'm looking forsome smooth sailing.
You know what I mean?
Speaker 2 (47:46):
like that's what I'm looking for at this stage, you
know, oh yeah oh, really yeahyeah, I'm tired of like
christopher cross now instead offood fighters.
Speaker 1 (47:54):
Yeah no, always food fighters, man.
But you know, we'll do a littlecrisscross, christopher cross
as well.
You know a little sailingawayailing away to where I'm
going.
Oh my God, take me away.
Nikki Chef, what's next for you?
Speaker 3 (48:11):
I don't know.
I feel like I've reached anarea and a stage in my life
where I'm content Whatever comesnext, like comes next.
Like I've reached the parts ofmy goals where I was just like
I'm like all right, this is whatI want to do, this is what I
want to achieve, this is what Iwant to accomplish, like little
(48:33):
things too.
I remember when I moved toAtlanta, I was like I want to be
an eater.
I didn't do anything special tobe an eater other than just
exist and boom.
Like they reached out to melike hey, we would like to do an
article on you, and I'm justlike wow, so I think I've
reached where I've wanted to go.
Now, anything else that comesby is just a bonus and I'm
(48:55):
excited to see what else fallsin my lap or what else knocks on
my door or anything.
I'm, I'm, I'm open.
How does?
Yeah, I don't know what's next.
How does that?
Speaker 2 (49:05):
the win, or how does it being on the, the network and
the show, how has that affectedthe life at home, the dynamic,
anything like?
How does he handle the like?
Speaker 3 (49:17):
uh, the pr for you he loves it like my husband like.
So the way we met husband.
Like so the way we met.
There's a short story.
The way we met was when I movedto Jacksonville, florida.
He was, um, he was one of thechefs at one of the restaurants
I applied for and he hired me.
We never worked together, we wedidn't date and work together
(49:38):
or anything Like.
He hired me.
By the time I started workinghe was already gone from that
job.
He moved on to something elseand we stayed in contact and
started dating.
Ever since then, he always so.
Anywhere we went anywhere hemet people.
He's like this is the bestpastry chef in Jacksonville and
he always like just put my nameout there, put my name in rooms
(49:59):
that I wasn't in.
So he like, from day one he sawthe potential in me and saw
that I would do great things.
So now that we're actuallyliving it like he's just sitting
in it and just smiling likegood, I'm finally happy that
people can see in you what I sawday one when I hired you.
So and I put him on too likehe's he's at a point in his
(50:21):
career where he's just like Idon't need any of that, I don't
need any accolades, I don't needto be recognized Cause I did my
, I did my part, I paid my dues.
I'm good, I just want to cook.
But every now and then, like ifsomeone says hey, do you have
anyone you want to recommend foran article or for a story or
whatever I'd definitely throwhis name in there, because we've
got to win together.
Speaker 1 (50:43):
The food scene in Jacksonville.
St Aug Augustine is prettystrong.
It's a super foodie town, is itSt Augustine is?
Did I miss something?
Speaker 2 (50:56):
Jacksonville is a little less.
Speaker 1 (50:59):
Jacksonville has some areas.
It's South Atlanta.
Speaker 3 (51:02):
They're getting there .
Speaker 1 (51:05):
St Augustine Is a foodie town and I was shocked at
that too.
I started going up to StAugustine a few years back and
started to Get to know Some ofthe local chefs Over there and
it's pretty serious.
It's like the community, thepeople who actually live there.
(51:25):
It's a real foodie town.
Speaker 2 (51:29):
There's actually a baker up there.
She was on the the dr zeus bakeoff and she's been oh, rebecca
reed, yes rebecca, thank you, Icouldn't remember that is my
home, so funny story.
Speaker 3 (51:40):
She's the one that threw my name at the people at
Food Network for them to reachout to me for the show.
Speaker 2 (51:46):
She told me that story because I was telling her
about how we had Robert on thepodcast when I was in Hastings
where we talked about bronzyteam bronzy.
That's where I met her.
She was actually doing baconlike a dessert but it was savory
.
She was the only one doing adessert with bacon, making it
savory Popcorn and all this Likeit was a trail mix, but it was
(52:07):
really good and everyone elsewas doing something with it.
It was a savory dish and she'sjust a.
What's her name?
Rebecca.
We need to get her on the show.
She wants to come on the show.
She's been on several cookingchampionships, yes.
Speaker 3 (52:24):
She champions, she.
Um, she won chop sweets a whileback and then she was a
finalist on the dr seuss show.
But yeah, she and I are reallygood friends like we.
Every now and then we'll text,but we're both like super busy
so we keep missing each other.
Speaker 1 (52:32):
But yeah, that's my girl nikki, that tell me the
truth, though she's got thegoods she can throw down, oh
absolutely dude.
Speaker 2 (52:39):
Yes you, this dr zeus was no.
Like they had to make worlds.
Dr zeus themed stuff and theyhad.
There was three competitors pereach team.
One was a baker, one was asugar person, the other one yeah
, god, it was, and these guyshad to work and they just met
that day.
It wasn't like they picked themand they were like okay you
three.
Exactly you were, it's liketaking cafe con leche and adding
a sugar in it.
(52:59):
You know that kind of's.
You'd have no idea what youwere doing with it.
But she, she's really talented,really talented.
Like I said you put savory and apastry chef together as one,
you're not gonna there.
There's no stopping that person.
There's just so.
The flavor profiles they comeup with is just so deep, so
complex.
It's ridiculous, and that's oneof the reasons why I wanted to
(53:22):
get into pastry myself, becausehaving that science behind the
flavor and how the reactions goand then some of the things you
can do in there mind-blowing Ithink you should get into pastry
.
No you want me to bake for you?
Speaker 1 (53:34):
Yeah, that's exactly what I want.
Speaker 2 (53:36):
No, Nikki, did you just hear what I said?
He just wants me to bake forhim.
Speaker 1 (53:40):
Yeah for the show.
To bake for him.
Yeah For him.
That's for the show.
Speaker 3 (53:42):
For him, that's the best practice Bake for someone
you know and they'll be brutallyhonest with you.
Like you got to do it.
Speaker 1 (53:48):
See, Nikki.
See, you redeemed yourself,Nikki.
Speaker 2 (53:51):
Oh wow, we're back.
Speaker 1 (53:54):
We are back.
Speaker 2 (53:55):
Yeah, but I can't do any Italian stuff, sorry,
whatever.
Speaker 1 (54:00):
Nikki, won't let me Listen.
I'm not going to go to you forItalian stuff.
Speaker 2 (54:03):
Yeah, and you know the Cuban stuff.
Speaker 1 (54:04):
You can go to your mother-in-law, that's right, I
don't need to worry about this.
Speaker 2 (54:07):
By the way, did you tell her that the flan was
really good?
Speaker 1 (54:10):
I did and you know.
By the way, john, the entirefamily was blown away by the
pictures, the photography of theflan.
Speaker 2 (54:19):
Amazing.
Speaker 3 (54:27):
Yeah, I don't know if nikki knew that we had a battle
, flan we had.
Speaker 2 (54:29):
It was really a battle, yeah, like a battle of
flan royale.
Speaker 1 (54:31):
Nobody, because it was so different, I did a smoked
flan.
No, no, no, wait, a minute,hold on time out, wait, nikki,
wait, stop, stop, stop, stop,everybody stop.
Let's get this correct.
My mother-in-law, an old Cubanwoman, made a traditional flan
and it was fantastic, as usual.
As per usual.
Speaker 2 (54:51):
By the way, she doesn't listen to the show.
Speaker 1 (54:53):
No, but Jeff, he decided to do something really
funky and he did a smoked flan.
Now, it was not like a flan atall, but it was effing amazing.
It was really delicious but itwas not flan.
So did you know to say who wonthe flan?
(55:13):
Like no, my mother-in-law did.
Speaker 3 (55:16):
of course she did it was a rule, though it depends on
the rules true?
Speaker 1 (55:21):
well, that's true too .
Look at the end of the day,you're going to have to come to
the table with a traditionalflan.
If you want to.
I can't because I'm nottraditional.
See, that's what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (55:31):
Here's the reason why I wasn't born and raised in a
Cuban household.
I don't have the traditions ofit.
So when you're talking about it, I don't want to.
I don't want to do an injusticeto a cuisine.
I'll take bits and pieces andmake it my own cuisine, as in
smoked flan, and then I.
That's why I asked robert forhis flan recipe.
(55:53):
I have a flan recipe, but myrecipe didn't have cream cheese,
and so I wanted to take it tothe next level.
I will never bastardize anothercuisine.
I can't.
I want to show respect to it asmuch as I can, and I just shut
him up.
I did I don't have to say thatRight there, I don't see it Mic
drop.
Somebody call him.
Speaker 3 (56:11):
Honestly, I think I would have smoked something too.
That sounds like it's up myalley.
Speaker 2 (56:25):
Like I would have definitely pulled out the
smoking gun and smoked a flan.
I actually froze the cream.
Speaker 3 (56:29):
Here's what I did I actually?
Froze the cream cheese andliterally threw it on the smoker
and let it smoke, what yep huh.
Speaker 1 (56:32):
Okay, nikki, I'm not.
I'm not lying to you when Itell you that it was delicious I
didn't like it because you're,you're judging.
No, you're a weird, you'reyou're self-deprecating.
No, no, it's notself-deprecating.
Speaker 2 (56:44):
It's because what I didn't like about it had a shell
that was too thick on the onthe top of it, the dome.
I wanted something that hadthat crunch to it, like almost
brulee not, but there was crunch, I know, but it was just too,
you know, and I had saltedcaramel too on it.
Speaker 1 (56:57):
That's what I did you see what I'm, you see what I
gotta do here, you know, do here.
I have to roll up a newspaper,hit him on the nose and say you
lost.
Speaker 2 (57:07):
But now here I am with a towel and I'm wiping his
face and saying no, it wasdelicious man.
Version 3.0.
Speaker 1 (57:14):
Man golly, I tell you what.
Speaker 2 (57:16):
Version 3.0.
Speaker 1 (57:17):
Where's my newspaper?
Speaker 2 (57:18):
I've got to do it again.
I want to perfect it the waythat I want it.
All I've got to do it again.
Speaker 1 (57:22):
I want to perfect it the way that I want it.
All right enough.
Enough Silence.
All right, listen.
All right, nick chef we've gotto get you here at some point
and we're going to do reallycool stuff.
Speaker 2 (57:36):
Not August or September, it's too hot.
Speaker 1 (57:38):
Well, yeah, but at the end of the day, we need to
get John and Nikki together.
Speaker 2 (57:43):
Oh yeah, the food photography.
Oh, forget it.
Speaker 1 (57:46):
All right, nikki, how does everybody find you?
What's your preferenceInstagram?
What is it?
Speaker 3 (57:52):
Yes, instagram is where you'll find me, chef
underscore Nikki.
Underscore Nikki is spelledN-I-C-K-E-Y and that's where
you'll see all of my things, allmy pictures, little reels,
stuff I do at work.
Speaker 1 (58:10):
It's going to be fun.
Listen again.
Congratulations on the FoodNetwork.
Congratulations on everything.
You're awesome.
We're going to wrap up now.
Chef Jason, thanks for comingin.
I can't wait to see what you'recooking up here today.
Also, Bacon-wrapped filet.
Bacon-wrapped filet.
All right, john's giving me theroll.
All right, jeff, john, jason,nikki, everybody.
(58:36):
Thank you and we are out.
Thanks,
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