October 4, 2025 • 37 mins
We have your Halloween plans and the best decorations around. We are talking to the GM of The Cauldron Bar, Carter Hodges and Founder of Van Oaks Props, Derek Young. Get your Halloween bites and your props. All that and more on KFIAM-640!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, it's Neil Savandra.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
You're listening to kfi EM six forty the fore Purport
on demand on the iHeartRadio app and Neil Savadri here
with the Fore Report, you know where we talk about
food and beverages and more every Saturday three hours just
to kind of celebrate food on these things and not
(00:21):
get wrapped up in the heaviness of the news during
the week. It's kind of a sanctuary celebrating these things
because who don't love going out and enjoying yourself having
a good meal, a good beverage and more and more.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
When I go out, I want an experience.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
I want to be surrounded by something that's playful, interesting,
with architecture and textures and all of these things. And
so we want to tell you about a place.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
Right now.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
Carter Hodges, the general manager of the Cauldron Bar in
Buena Park, is with us.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Hey Carter, Hey, how you doing.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
I'm well, sir, so I appreciate it for those listening.
Carter was going to try and make it out here
from Buena Park, but it's you know, much easier to
do a phone from there a phoner right now, because
of course it is peak season. We don't do a
whole lot of phone interviews, but man, I get it
making that drive and having to get back.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
So we appreciate you taking the time.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
Absolutely. I'm sorry I'm not there with you guys.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
Now another time for sure. Tell us a little bit
about the vibe. I've heard a bunch of great things.
I've seen pictures I've not been in as of yet.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
All right, we got to get you down here. Yeah,
Cauldron is it's an immersive dining experience. It's kind of
modeled after like a witch's house meets an old English
French tavern. We're known for Yeah, great atmosphere, great cocktails,
great bites, and we're we're right in the heart of Orange County,
directly across from Nottsberry Fartment. So it's a great spot
(01:55):
to stop at if you're in the area for tourism
or if you're local. And obviously anything Halloween related, we're
gonna get you covered.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
So what's the best way to experience it.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
I've gotta imagine, as we spoke about, it's going to
be slammed. How can people plan out? Do they make reservations?
Does it first come, first serve? How do they go
about experience the Cauldron.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
Yeah, so during this season September October, obviously not scary
farmers happening across the street from us, so there is
an influx of people. We do take reservations, but we
only take reservations up to about fifty percent capacity just
to allow for plenty of walk ins. So if you
are planning ahead, you can check out our website or
social media or Google or Yelp make those reservations. If not,
(02:40):
you're more than welcome to just stop in grab a
quick drink. Yeah, full bar service, full, We got two
dining rooms, they have a whole patio, and during the
season we also put a second bar outside of our patio,
so there's plenty of space for people.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
It's really cool checking out the website as we're chatting
Carter looking at the joining the Coven that people can
by being a part of your rewards offers, get cash
back on visits and things like that. Tell us a
little bit about that.
Speaker 3 (03:11):
Yeah, So anybody inducted into our Coven rewards system, Basically
you sign up, you get points every single visit you
make and they go immediately back to cash back rewards.
You can put in your birthday stuff, any of like
personal information. That way, we know if you're celebrating a birthday,
if you're celebrating an anniversary, we make sure to take
care of those. People will get you, you know, a
(03:33):
free birthday shot, a dessert, something on the house just
to celebrate.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
Oh that's great. And how long has the Cauldron been
in Buena Park there?
Speaker 3 (03:43):
So we opened in twenty eighteen, late twenty eighteen or
in our eighth season right now.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
Yeah, wow, that's a rough time.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
Yeah, oh yeah about it about a year until the
fit hit the shan so exactly.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (03:57):
Yeah, we're very fortunate that we not all stayed open
during the pandemic, but you know, we actually kind of
grew a bit thanks to social media, so it's been nice.
We've expanded since then, so twice the twice the capacity
for dining inside and we just read it our patio,
so trying to make sure we got enough space to
satisfy everybody.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
And what are one of the things that stands out
when people visit the Cauldron?
Speaker 1 (04:21):
What do they talk about the most to you?
Speaker 3 (04:24):
I mean, I think the first thing is probably the atmosphere,
just because it's the first thing you see when you
walked in before you even get a drink, before you
get food. It's really dark and intimate. The lighting is
all kind of moody, candlelit atmosphere. There's big wooden beams,
there's a fireplace with a bubbling cauldron in it. Lots
of little like interactive show moments, lots of little you know,
(04:46):
haunts and magical things happening kind of all around the bar.
And you get a chance to see the witch that
haunts the cauldron and her little black cat. They make
appearances kind of all over the place.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
Oh wow, that's super cool.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
And you guys are set up for events and private
parties and things as well, right, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
So we do a handful of like corporate parties and
stuff like that, but our most popular thing for a
private event is going to be we have a kind
of a speakeasy style party room hidden behind a bookshelf,
so you kind of go in through the library, the
bookshelf swings open and you go into this big banquet table.
So people will host birthdays and special events back there.
(05:24):
But you know, even if you're not in the room, every.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
Seat in the house is great, and so you are.
Speaker 2 (05:31):
Let's see Tuesdays through Tuesday and Wednesdays you're four pm
to twelve am, and then Thursdays through Sunday it looks
like you're four pm to two am.
Speaker 3 (05:43):
That is correct. Yeah, for this season, just to match
you know, not scary farms hours and make sure that
we're getting everybody in for Halloween season, we extend our
Thursdays and Sundays. After Halloween, we cut back and we
go back to four to twelve on Thursdays and Sundays.
So Friday Saturday are are kind of our late night
bar hours. Yeah, we're we're always closed on Mondays though.
(06:04):
That's the one that's the one.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
Ticker and the only thing that you ask is uh,
people stick around for about ninety minutes during their dining
so that you can move people through there and everybody
gets a chance.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
Yeah, that's specific to just the table seating. We want
to make sure that everybody has a chance to do
full dinner service, but we encourage people to stay and
have a drink at the bar, hang out on the patio.
It's you know, if they're trying to you know, have
an extended stay, we're not going to kick them out.
Speaker 4 (06:33):
No, I like that.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
I mean sometimes it's good to remind people that in
these special places for everybody to have a shot at it.
But it doesn't mean like you're gonna like a big
alarm is going to go off and everybody's got to leave.
Is the uh is the wait staff and your team
there are they kind of play along with the vibe
or how does that work?
Speaker 1 (06:55):
Absolutely?
Speaker 3 (06:55):
Yeah. During this season specifically, we do seemed like cost
weeks and so the staff will really get in the
spirit and come dressed up.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
I think the.
Speaker 3 (07:04):
Majority of them are dressed up today. And we also
give a that Coven discount. It's a ten percent on
the whole tab if your party shows up in costume.
So that's a fun thing. A lot of people, you know,
join in.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
Oh wouldn't that be awkward if some group comes in
and they're just ugly and you're like, oh my god,
you get timpercent off and they're.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
Like, why, oh my god.
Speaker 2 (07:27):
I just say, luckily that you know of some meany's
I just take it. Yeah, just take it.
Speaker 3 (07:33):
No, we we have people that they'll find out about
the discount once they're already here and they're in you know,
normal street clothes and they go, oh no, I'm dressed
like a skater today. Do I get the discount?
Speaker 2 (07:42):
Yeah, I'm dressed like a homeless person. No, I saw
you wear that yesterday. All right, hey, ty, we come
back and want to talk to you about the drink
program and some things on the menu. My guess right
now is Carter Hodges from the Cauldron Bar in bent
A Park there right across the street from not Sperry Farm.
Easy to find of course, as we bring you some
(08:04):
really cool, fun vibed places obviously for the spooky holiday
coming up.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
So go nowhere and we'll talk some more.
Speaker 4 (08:12):
You're listening to The Fork Report with Nil Savedra on
demand from KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Thanks for hanging out today. It's the Fork Report, all
things food, beverage and beyond. Every Saturday, we come together
and we celebrate food, the people that make it, the
culture behind it. Right now, we're, you know, in October,
and I love the season as we roll through all
of the major holidays for the most part, and the
spooky time for fall and Halloween is one of my favorites,
(08:43):
and I love getting into.
Speaker 1 (08:45):
The food and the vibe of it.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
To help us with that today, Carter Hodges the GM
there at the Cauldron Bar in went A Park. It's
right across from Nottsberry Farm, so easy to find is
he's with us. We're talking about the private room. They
have themed events, all of the different things. How you
can join the Coven of course that is their rewards
(09:08):
club and all of that. But now we want to
get into the menu. So Carter, when it comes to
the drink program, I know you guys have mocktails in
the like, why don't you walk us through some of
the drink options.
Speaker 3 (09:21):
Yeah, So our core cocktail menu is a kind of
inspired by potions and you know, witches, brews and stuff
like that. Lots of twists on classic cocktails. One of
my favorites is it's kind of based loosely on like
a Sangreia margarita hybrid. It's called the Devil's Margarita.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
Is yeah, pretty.
Speaker 3 (09:39):
Standard like margarita on the bottom and then a float
of red wine on the top. You get a really
cool color separation. It's oh that's also and a great cocktail. Yeah.
Our I mean, our most famous probably is the Naughty Kid.
We had to play into like the local you know
history here with Boys and Berry. So it's a Boys
and Berry cotton candy in the martini glass and then
(10:00):
like a lemon drop base and you pour that over
the cotton candy and it all kind of dissolves and
mixes in and gives you a boys and Verry lemon
drop martini.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
Oh my gosh, that sounds gorgeous. What a fun kind
of visual. I mean, even you know when you're going
to go to the nth degree, like floating wine on
top of a drink, or in this case, watching two
different textures, colors and flavors come together. There's a little
feater involved with these beverages.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
Absolutely. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (10:30):
A lot of us actually come from Feeder. The owner
Laura Hannaman, she is a former creative director from Nottsberry Farm.
She was there for about twenty years. But her background
is feeder and scenic design and all that stuff. So
that's why it's so heavily themed. Oh I love Yeah,
why a lot of our stuff leans theatrical.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
Now during it obviously during this time of the year,
a place called the Cauldron. And again the Cauldron is
right across the street from you know, there went a
park rightcas street from from Knotsberry Farm, which is really
cool now that you share with the designer and maker
and creator.
Speaker 1 (11:08):
Of all this.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
But what about different parts of the season. Are people
still coming in and enjoying the vibe? And you know,
do you do like special events throughout the year.
Speaker 3 (11:24):
Yeah, yeah, so we're we're themed like the Cauldron year round,
but we do lots of seasonal overlays. Coming up this winter,
we're gonna do kind of a Pagan Christmas Crampis themed
overlay with a big seasonal menu and extra decor and stuff, which.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
Will be fun.
Speaker 3 (11:39):
We do, Yeah, a bunch of limited menus. We do
a Tipsy tea time. They're all tea based inspired cocktails
like high tea, little finger sandwiches and bites that go
along with those. We do a program called Wicked Elixers.
They're like DIY cocktails. It's kind of like a potion
making kit you get to do at the table. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
Tons of limited.
Speaker 3 (11:59):
Menu stuff like that. So to keep up with us
on social media to know when those are happening.
Speaker 2 (12:03):
And as far as the food menu, is it entrees
or is it small plates? More towards a bar vibe.
Speaker 3 (12:14):
Yeah, So the original concept was just bar service with
great bar food, but obviously through the growth of the company,
and through expanding it's become a lot more sit down dining.
So our core menu, there are a handful of entrees,
but kind of in general we encourage sharing and almost
pop a style, you know, order a bunch of stuff
for the table and sample all of it.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
Sure, our core menu.
Speaker 3 (12:34):
Is all inspired by like French and Creole cuisine, lots
of familiar stuff with a little bit of a twist.
And then we do a seasonal menu for every month,
so there's specials that happen every months. Right now, we're
leading into obviously Fall and Halloween and pumpkin stuff like that.
Speaker 2 (12:50):
You know, I'm looking as I go through the entire menu.
I mean, let's be honest, what person does not does
their eyes don't zoom in And you see the word sliders,
So looking at the combination with your French dip sliders
and your croake monsieur sliders and this type of thing
that looks fabulous. All of these housemade bacon jam, all
(13:13):
the cheeseboards, these are really they're you know, you're not
just reheating crap in the back and throwing it on
a plate. This looks like really fun, well thought out eats.
Speaker 3 (13:25):
Yeah, yeah, exactly. We definitely pride ourselves on the food.
We're ninety nine percent is you know, from scratch every
single morning. So we tell people if you see a
specialty're in just in Maxture, you come in and get
it right away because you never know when it's going
to sell out. And it's not like we can throw
something in a microwave and you know, get it out
to you right away when we're sold out. It takes
you know, hours and hours to prep that stuff every morning.
Speaker 2 (13:46):
So I also, you know, going over the cocktail list here,
I'm a sucker for the browns.
Speaker 1 (13:53):
I love a good bourbon.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
And the fact that you have a paper plane on
your cocktail menu and have it so forward like this
is pretty rare. I had to tell the specs give
the specs to a bartender the other day who didn't
know what one that what it was and this was
and they were serving good drinks. But that's a fun
(14:17):
combination there, the bourbon and brimstone while four roses gray bourbon, thyme, honey,
lemon and mint. That sounds sexy too. I mean really,
this is like, this is just a really fun menu
that seems you know, smart, So walk us through. We
(14:39):
only have about a minute or so. You enter the
front door. What is the first thing you see at
the Cauldron there in Buena Park.
Speaker 3 (14:47):
First thing you see is the main dining room, our
large bar, all these wooden beams that kind of frame
the bar out and the fireplace but we call it
the lounge. But that's the overstuffed couches of the cauldron
and the fire underneath it. There's a big mirror and
there's some spirits that appear in that mirror, and that's
I think people's first go to photo right there.
Speaker 1 (15:07):
Oh that's awesome.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
Carter Hodges the GM there at the Cauldron Bar there
in Buena Park. If you want to find out more,
you go the Cauldronbar dot com. The Cauldronbar dot com
is where you can find more information. What a treat,
Thanks brother. I appreciate you, Carter for coming on. And
I know it's a busy time for you out there.
(15:29):
We hope to get you guys maybe on the off
season to come in and maybe we can try some
sample some of the food and talk about it more
at length. But I really appreciate you taking the time.
It sounds like a really special place and if you're
looking for something special the Cauldron Bar there in Buena Park.
So thanks Carter, I appreciate your time.
Speaker 3 (15:49):
Thank you so much. Neil.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
All right, my friend, have a great day all right
as well.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
Just sounds like a fun place and it is going
on the list of places I want to check out
very soon.
Speaker 4 (16:00):
You're listening to The Fork Report with Nil Savedra on
demand from KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
Hey everybody, it's the Fork Report, all things Food, beverage
and beyond. I am your well fed host, Neil Savadra.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
How do you do?
Speaker 3 (16:15):
It?
Speaker 2 (16:16):
Is the season, man, I love the minute we get.
We started Halloween season last week and we're gonna be
theming all the shows as we go through all the holidays,
of course, because there's just so many cool things to
do over the holidays here in Southern California, and you know,
when it comes to Halloween, there's a lot of different
(16:37):
parts of it. You've heard me talk about this on
the air. I love decorating the house for all the
different seasons. I will probably bring out a good number
of things for Halloween this year because it lands on
a Friday, so I'll do the house. I'm prepping already
right now for my kids' school haunted house that I
(16:58):
am not overseen this year, but I am dedicated to
building some props for it, and my buddy Derek Young
who owns Van Oaks Props, which has I mean, there
are so many great free resources to begin with, just
be able to watch the videos on YouTube Van Oaks
Props that if you want to know anything about tombstones,
(17:21):
this man is the master.
Speaker 1 (17:23):
In my eyes. It's nice to see you again, my friend.
Always good to be here. So you just you post
it today.
Speaker 2 (17:29):
Every Saturday you post at nine am, yes, and today
was no different. So that's one of the first things
I do on a Saturday is I watch that as
I'm prepping for the show. And it was the last
tombstone of your current haunt because you're going to be
moving out of Southern California and selling off a lot
(17:49):
of this stuff.
Speaker 5 (17:50):
That is correct, Yeah, we're actually selling off pretty much everything.
The plan really is to start over in a way
to do things that I maybe didn't have the skills
at the time to pull off, and given an opportunity
to rethink how everything is put together and how things
(18:13):
are wired and the scale of things. I mean, you
can take a really nerdy deep dive into Halloween.
Speaker 1 (18:20):
And I look forward to doing it.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
Yeah, that's got to be kind of exciting to have
a blank canvas again.
Speaker 5 (18:26):
Absolutely, there's few opportunities for me to do that, considering
that we've decorated our house the same way for fourteen years.
And some of that was just because I like the
theme of sort of the traditional haunted mansion esque style cemetery, sure,
but also just budgetary reasons. People are always looking for
(18:48):
a cheap and easy way to decorate that is unique
to them, that won't break the budget, and doing what
we've done has always been sort of like a good
way to kind of marry those two desires. I want
to do something creative, but I don't want to do
it where it's really expensive either.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
So is you know with Derek, he your theme is
a cemetery. That's what you do the Van Ouk cemetery. Correct.
And when you started fourteen years ago on this particular
project where you're inspired by someone else's decorations at their
home for the holidays, for Halloween, and you said, you
(19:29):
know what, I'm an artist, I'm a designer.
Speaker 1 (19:32):
I want to do this for us.
Speaker 5 (19:34):
Yeah, Weirdly enough, when I was in high school, there
was a haunt in Studio City called the Hallowed Haunting Grounds,
and many people who decorate for Halloween in and around
southern California will tell you that they kind of kicked
off the craze of people really going kind of overboard
with their Halloween decorations. And for me, I visited one
(19:55):
year and was kind of forever changed after that because
I hadn't ever considered the thought that I could decorate
in a way that wasn't just something I bought from
the store.
Speaker 2 (20:08):
Sure, which is fine in its own right, but if
you're a creative type, you want to yeah, well.
Speaker 5 (20:14):
And there's something about being an individual and sort of
scratching a creative itch, and those are the types of
things that I'm constantly looking for. And when I finally
had a yard of my own to decorate, they were
the direct reference point for me because they did everything
that Disneyland did, but they did it out of their
(20:37):
garage essentially, and I just thought that was the coolest thing,
you know, But prior to that had never crossed my
mind that it was even possible.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
And so you start.
Speaker 2 (20:50):
The first thing you said was Okay, the direction I'm
going is a cemetery. Yes, so you knew that much
that that was what you're going to start with in
the front yard.
Speaker 1 (20:59):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (21:00):
It always seemed to me like doing something like a
cemetery was something that could be added to year after year,
but was also something that would be good for people
of all ages. I know a lot of people are
into gore and extreme haunts and jump scares and things
(21:21):
like that, and there's room for that, but it's not
it's not something that's good for everybody. And yeah, that's
not my scene either. I want people to be, you know,
to be spooky, sure, but I don't have like body
parts laying around my house or Yeah, and it's not
a slight to anyone who decorates in that way.
Speaker 1 (21:42):
It's not my personal because there's an audience for it.
Speaker 5 (21:45):
Yeah, but I think about it in the way that, like,
you know, I decorate the house so that people in
the neighborhood can come and enjoy it. And we live
in a neighborhood with young children, or at least we did,
you know, they're they're all in high school or college now.
But I was creating in part for them, sure, because
it should be accessible for everyone. You know, if you're
(22:07):
somebody like me who doesn't like being startled, there's got
to be a flavor for me too. And this was
more my speed, and so I just really went all
in on creating this very.
Speaker 1 (22:23):
Moody, spooky.
Speaker 5 (22:26):
Tableau essentially that allowed the visitor's minds to do all
of the heavy lifting. I will create the atmosphere and
then I will let you run wild with it. Is
that statue a real person? What is that sound I'm
hearing over there? Is the thunder and lightning? Real or manufactured?
(22:47):
Are any of these tombstones actually real tombstone? I mean,
you can kind of go down the list of things
that it could be in anyone's mind. But the beauty
of it is that my interpretation of it will be
different from yours, and yours from someone else's.
Speaker 1 (23:00):
You know, I love Again.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
You can find out more at van oaksprops dot com
vanoxprops dot com. That'll, you know, that'll be your portal
to all of it, whether you go to is Etsy
stuff and you see stuff that you want to purchase,
whether you want to maybe go and find out about
the silent auction that he's doing now for the things
that he's not going to need come November, uh after
(23:26):
this year here, So he's selling off a lot of
these props as well. But if you want to learn more,
go to Van Oaks Props and you can find his
YouTube stuff and all of that. One of the things
that I love on your YouTube is that when you
revisit something, all I made this years ago, and I
know more now and I have better.
Speaker 1 (23:45):
Ideas of how I want to change it.
Speaker 2 (23:46):
What was one prop one part of the scene of
your specific cemetery that you change that you were like,
now that fits my vision more.
Speaker 5 (23:57):
I don't know that it was ever necessarily not fitting
the vision. It just wasn't completed to the degree that
I wanted or that my skills allowed for. Most recently,
just because it's top of mind, we have two very
large fake brick columns with big lanterns on top that
(24:20):
every year someone will assume they are real and lean
against them, only to find that they will move.
Speaker 2 (24:25):
I've seen them in person. I would do that myself.
They're beautiful, and you.
Speaker 5 (24:31):
Know, we've had them for quite a few years. When
my wife and I first made them, they looked the part,
but they were a bit too clean, and I think
part of my esthetic is more of a really lived
in older cemetery that's maybe not being tended to.
Speaker 2 (24:53):
You want to change the term lived in, I don't.
I don't know if it should be lived in. If
it's yeah, you want it to be to have that
the grunge factor.
Speaker 1 (25:06):
Even the one, the latest one in this video is.
Speaker 2 (25:09):
Up today, it's only a fourteen year old technically, so
you had to you had to weather it for that
many years, and not the one that was you know,
in the seventeen eighteen hundreds or something.
Speaker 5 (25:23):
Like that exactly, Which is funny because so much of
the aesthetic that I've tried to kind of create over
the years is very much that worn down and abandoned look,
which is funny because that is sort of like the
intersection between my love of Star Wars universe and how
(25:44):
dirty and grungey that all is the used universe, absolutely,
and it carries over into Halloween, which is what I
think about the other half of the year.
Speaker 2 (25:52):
So it's it is funny though that you you know,
when you even see like Halloween, not Halloween, but Star Wars, right,
the first thing, you know, helmets, I buy all those
things through. The first thing you do is go, this
looks too new. Yeah you're yeah, exactly.
Speaker 5 (26:08):
And that was kind of what happened with these cemetery columns.
I just thought they would look more than what they
look right now. Plus, you know, they're quite a few
years old and have spent a lot of time out
in the sun, and so the colors just aren't as
vibrant as they used to be. And I thought, what
better way to kind of breathe some new life into
(26:29):
it than to really go heavy and make them look
even older.
Speaker 2 (26:32):
And I love how this and I really want you
folks to check this out at Van oaksprops dot com.
Is when you see these props we're talking about, and
how people ask me all the time, well, can I
just convert the front into sun? I said, yeah, you'd
be surprised how things like these pillars changed the whole
(26:54):
vibe of the front of a house and and those things.
And we'll talk more about that and where to put
your energy, maybe some things to start with. If you're thinking,
you know, I want to do a little bit of
a haunt or a theme in the front yard this year.
I highly encourage it. It is worth it. I don't
care if five kids come by. It's still worth it
to see people get excited about it and you know,
(27:15):
just make their holiday a little bit. So go nowhere
talking with master prop maker Derek Young from van Os Props.
Speaker 1 (27:23):
So we'll come back with more.
Speaker 4 (27:26):
You're listening to The Fork Report with Neil Savedra on
demand from KFI Am six forty.
Speaker 1 (27:34):
Hey, Happy Saturday to you.
Speaker 2 (27:36):
It is Halloween time and you are here with the
Fork Report. I'm Neil Savedra and I'm just into the
season and Kayla just put down in front of me.
We haven't talked about this yet. My guest is Derek Young.
He is the owner, proprietor, maker and creative mind behind
van Oaks Props. You find out more van Oaks Props
(28:00):
dot com. And we're talking about decorating for Halloween your
house and stuff if you're interested in getting started and
all of that. But his wife, Erin is a masterful
baker and always sends him with love. And you can
hear Kayla and the excitement of everybody going on with that. So,
what is this such a This is an apple cake.
Speaker 5 (28:22):
It is an apple cake. It is a Vermont classic
and it's like old school New England.
Speaker 1 (28:29):
Wow, yeah, that smells great. Oh that's good.
Speaker 2 (28:33):
Just a little pinch, Yeah, okay, yeah, I'm gonna I'm
gonna murder that in a second.
Speaker 1 (28:38):
But I just wanted that's so great.
Speaker 2 (28:42):
So we're talking with Derek Young from Van Oaks Props
about decorating. He started fourteen years ago as a graphic
designer and everything like that. Using your gifts and abilities
to decorate. But you're moving, you're moving out of state,
and so this is the last one you're doing at
your current location, yes, home, and you're gonna be selling off.
(29:04):
There's a silent auction. I put in one bid, but
it was I was in a hurry that I'm definitely
going to be bidding on some other things as well.
But you know, they're just so many beautiful pieces and
to you know, have a momento like that for my
yard would be fun to always think about that as well,
(29:25):
among other things. So somebody wants to start out, what
are the you know, top five tools for making tombstones?
Speaker 5 (29:36):
Well, I guess I have to give a qualifier. When
I make tombstones. My material of choice is pink insulation foam.
They also make it in other colors, but usually four
by six. We'll find it in pink, and it comes
in four by eight sheets. Oh, four by eight, yeah,
and it's about fifty ish dollars. The price kind of
(29:57):
changes year to year, but it's a weird I'd find
that other Halloween enthusiasts who've come before me figured out
made for a great material to make tombstones out of.
That said, if you choose to make your tombstones out
of foam, which I highly recommend, I would also suggest
(30:18):
getting a small pull saw because the blade on it
is very small, it cuts through this foam very easily.
They're extremely inexpensive. You can go to almost any hardware
store and get one off the shelf for under fifteen dollars.
And then outside of that, I would say get yourself
(30:39):
a rotary tool, like a dremal, something along those lines.
And with the a rotary tool and some pink foam,
you can make whatever shape of tombstone to whatever scale
you want for your display, and you can carve it
with the rotary tool and then paint it using your
(31:01):
standard sort of run of the mill house paint, like
exterior latex paint. If you want to get fancy like me.
I like using a masonry seiler. The brand I see
most often it is called dry Lock, and it comes
in a few different flavors. I prefer the original style,
(31:21):
and the reason that I like it is because it
has a gritty texture that, once painted kind of lends
itself to a very stone like appearance.
Speaker 1 (31:30):
So there's like a sand or something in it.
Speaker 5 (31:32):
Yeah, And if you wanted sort of the cheat version
of this, you could take some exterior latex paint. Oftentimes
you will find various shades of gray in the oops
I bought the wrong colored department at your local hardware
store and get it for you know, half price, and
then go to the park or go to the garden
(31:54):
center and buy yourself some fine playground sand. And if
you add a bit of play round sand to this
exterior latex paint, you will essentially get a good mimic
for a masonry sailer that will have that same sort
of gritty texture at a fraction of the cost.
Speaker 1 (32:11):
I love it.
Speaker 2 (32:12):
And so you have done both relief style and then
I don't know what'd you call it in carving In style,
I mean engraved, Yeah, engraved, that's the word I'm looking for.
Speaker 1 (32:26):
Curry. That's what I was earlier in the show. It's
like a glimpse into my own life. Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2 (32:36):
But I highly recommend you go to Van Oaksprops dot
com and check out the how realistic and these tombstones
have weight. And another buddy of mine who's a prop maker, goes,
I'm digging this segment and I need some tombstone tips.
There is an art to weathering them afterwards, and what
(33:00):
some of the process there to make them look like
they've been there.
Speaker 5 (33:04):
Sure, so, there's a couple different ways you can go
about it. I've seen it done a few ways. There's
definitely one that is my favorite, which is to basically
mix a bunch of acrylic craft paints like black, brown,
green to create kind of a dirty water sort of look,
(33:24):
and then put it into a spray bottle and spray
it all over the tombstone, and naturally, because of how
water moves across surfaces, you will get a pretty good
approximation of what, like organic natural weathering would happen to
a real tombstone in a real cemetery. If you didn't
have the time for that, or you wanted something that
(33:45):
was maybe a little less messy, You could just as
easily apply paint with a brush, thin it out with water,
and drag it downwards across the face of your tombstone
and use it to sort of accent parts of it
that you find most interesting. So like, if there's areas
where it would look like water might collect, if you're
doing engraved lettering, look for those recesses and use that
(34:08):
as an opportunity to add more character to your tombstone.
Speaker 2 (34:13):
Any parting thoughts on people are on the fence about
putting something together in their yard this year that you
can give them, I.
Speaker 5 (34:22):
Would say, do it. You are bringing such enjoyment to
people you don't even know. And I think given the
way things are in the world right now, we need
every possible positive interaction that we can muster, and I
think decorating for Halloween is one of those things that
even if you don't hear from people, you know that
(34:44):
you have made an impact in a positive way to
people in your neighborhood.
Speaker 2 (34:48):
Just someone slowing down as they drive by and taking
a look you're going, you know what, that's a memory
And that's one of the reason why I do the show.
It's just something that people agree on good food and
good conversation and those things.
Speaker 1 (35:01):
This cake is so great.
Speaker 2 (35:07):
My first thought is I want a cup of coffee
with it on a cool fall morn And I'm like,
holy hell, God bless Aaron. She is a national treasure
and we must protect her and her gifted hands at
all costs.
Speaker 1 (35:26):
I agree.
Speaker 2 (35:27):
Wow, holy smokes. Always good to see you, my friend.
I know this is your last year doing it here
in the valley. I know it's inspired other people. It
certainly inspired me. I first started doing tombstones back in
the late eighties, eighties, early nineties for haunts that we
(35:49):
did my younger brother and I and I look back
on that and I think, Wow, everything I wanted to
do and couldn't then I can in what you do,
and it's like, Okay, now I'm gonna I'm gonna get
up to speed and start doing these things again. But
that motivation and inspiration is a powerful, powerful tool. So
(36:12):
I appreciate all that you do again. Van oaksprops dot com.
Van Oaks props dot com, check them out, go through
the videos.
Speaker 1 (36:20):
Trust me, it is a rabbit hole.
Speaker 2 (36:22):
How many videos are there?
Speaker 1 (36:24):
Five years worth?
Speaker 2 (36:25):
Yeah, you can do the math every week carry the
Linears and he has over one hundred thousand people following
him on YouTube, which is a massive accomplishment. Thanks so
very cool. All right, buddy, Happy Halloween to you and
we will talk again soon. It's the Fork Report. Stick around.
We'll talk carving pumpkins when we return with our special guests.
Speaker 1 (36:45):
So go know where.
Speaker 2 (36:47):
This is KFI heard everywhere on the iHeartRadio app. You've
been listening to the Fork Report, you can always hear
us live on KFI AM six forty two to five
pm on Saturday, and anytime on demand on the iHeartRadio app.
Hey, it's Neil Savandra.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
You're listening to kfi EM six forty the fore Purport
on demand on the iHeartRadio app and Neil Savadri here
with the Fore Report, you know where we talk about
food and beverages and more every Saturday three hours just
to kind of celebrate food on these things and not
(00:21):
get wrapped up in the heaviness of the news during
the week. It's kind of a sanctuary celebrating these things
because who don't love going out and enjoying yourself having
a good meal, a good beverage and more and more.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
When I go out, I want an experience.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
I want to be surrounded by something that's playful, interesting,
with architecture and textures and all of these things. And
so we want to tell you about a place.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
Right now.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
Carter Hodges, the general manager of the Cauldron Bar in
Buena Park, is with us.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Hey Carter, Hey, how you doing.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
I'm well, sir, so I appreciate it for those listening.
Carter was going to try and make it out here
from Buena Park, but it's you know, much easier to
do a phone from there a phoner right now, because
of course it is peak season. We don't do a
whole lot of phone interviews, but man, I get it
making that drive and having to get back.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
So we appreciate you taking the time.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
Absolutely. I'm sorry I'm not there with you guys.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
Now another time for sure. Tell us a little bit
about the vibe. I've heard a bunch of great things.
I've seen pictures I've not been in as of yet.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
All right, we got to get you down here. Yeah,
Cauldron is it's an immersive dining experience. It's kind of
modeled after like a witch's house meets an old English
French tavern. We're known for Yeah, great atmosphere, great cocktails,
great bites, and we're we're right in the heart of Orange County,
directly across from Nottsberry Fartment. So it's a great spot
(01:55):
to stop at if you're in the area for tourism
or if you're local. And obviously anything Halloween related, we're
gonna get you covered.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
So what's the best way to experience it.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
I've gotta imagine, as we spoke about, it's going to
be slammed. How can people plan out? Do they make reservations?
Does it first come, first serve? How do they go
about experience the Cauldron.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
Yeah, so during this season September October, obviously not scary
farmers happening across the street from us, so there is
an influx of people. We do take reservations, but we
only take reservations up to about fifty percent capacity just
to allow for plenty of walk ins. So if you
are planning ahead, you can check out our website or
social media or Google or Yelp make those reservations. If not,
(02:40):
you're more than welcome to just stop in grab a
quick drink. Yeah, full bar service, full, We got two
dining rooms, they have a whole patio, and during the
season we also put a second bar outside of our patio,
so there's plenty of space for people.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
It's really cool checking out the website as we're chatting
Carter looking at the joining the Coven that people can
by being a part of your rewards offers, get cash
back on visits and things like that. Tell us a
little bit about that.
Speaker 3 (03:11):
Yeah, So anybody inducted into our Coven rewards system, Basically
you sign up, you get points every single visit you
make and they go immediately back to cash back rewards.
You can put in your birthday stuff, any of like
personal information. That way, we know if you're celebrating a birthday,
if you're celebrating an anniversary, we make sure to take
care of those. People will get you, you know, a
(03:33):
free birthday shot, a dessert, something on the house just
to celebrate.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
Oh that's great. And how long has the Cauldron been
in Buena Park there?
Speaker 3 (03:43):
So we opened in twenty eighteen, late twenty eighteen or
in our eighth season right now.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
Yeah, wow, that's a rough time.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
Yeah, oh yeah about it about a year until the
fit hit the shan so exactly.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (03:57):
Yeah, we're very fortunate that we not all stayed open
during the pandemic, but you know, we actually kind of
grew a bit thanks to social media, so it's been nice.
We've expanded since then, so twice the twice the capacity
for dining inside and we just read it our patio,
so trying to make sure we got enough space to
satisfy everybody.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
And what are one of the things that stands out
when people visit the Cauldron?
Speaker 1 (04:21):
What do they talk about the most to you?
Speaker 3 (04:24):
I mean, I think the first thing is probably the atmosphere,
just because it's the first thing you see when you
walked in before you even get a drink, before you
get food. It's really dark and intimate. The lighting is
all kind of moody, candlelit atmosphere. There's big wooden beams,
there's a fireplace with a bubbling cauldron in it. Lots
of little like interactive show moments, lots of little you know,
(04:46):
haunts and magical things happening kind of all around the bar.
And you get a chance to see the witch that
haunts the cauldron and her little black cat. They make
appearances kind of all over the place.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
Oh wow, that's super cool.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
And you guys are set up for events and private
parties and things as well, right, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
So we do a handful of like corporate parties and
stuff like that, but our most popular thing for a
private event is going to be we have a kind
of a speakeasy style party room hidden behind a bookshelf,
so you kind of go in through the library, the
bookshelf swings open and you go into this big banquet table.
So people will host birthdays and special events back there.
(05:24):
But you know, even if you're not in the room, every.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
Seat in the house is great, and so you are.
Speaker 2 (05:31):
Let's see Tuesdays through Tuesday and Wednesdays you're four pm
to twelve am, and then Thursdays through Sunday it looks
like you're four pm to two am.
Speaker 3 (05:43):
That is correct. Yeah, for this season, just to match
you know, not scary farms hours and make sure that
we're getting everybody in for Halloween season, we extend our
Thursdays and Sundays. After Halloween, we cut back and we
go back to four to twelve on Thursdays and Sundays.
So Friday Saturday are are kind of our late night
bar hours. Yeah, we're we're always closed on Mondays though.
(06:04):
That's the one that's the one.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
Ticker and the only thing that you ask is uh,
people stick around for about ninety minutes during their dining
so that you can move people through there and everybody
gets a chance.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
Yeah, that's specific to just the table seating. We want
to make sure that everybody has a chance to do
full dinner service, but we encourage people to stay and
have a drink at the bar, hang out on the patio.
It's you know, if they're trying to you know, have
an extended stay, we're not going to kick them out.
Speaker 4 (06:33):
No, I like that.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
I mean sometimes it's good to remind people that in
these special places for everybody to have a shot at it.
But it doesn't mean like you're gonna like a big
alarm is going to go off and everybody's got to leave.
Is the uh is the wait staff and your team
there are they kind of play along with the vibe
or how does that work?
Speaker 1 (06:55):
Absolutely?
Speaker 3 (06:55):
Yeah. During this season specifically, we do seemed like cost
weeks and so the staff will really get in the
spirit and come dressed up.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
I think the.
Speaker 3 (07:04):
Majority of them are dressed up today. And we also
give a that Coven discount. It's a ten percent on
the whole tab if your party shows up in costume.
So that's a fun thing. A lot of people, you know,
join in.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
Oh wouldn't that be awkward if some group comes in
and they're just ugly and you're like, oh my god,
you get timpercent off and they're.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
Like, why, oh my god.
Speaker 2 (07:27):
I just say, luckily that you know of some meany's
I just take it. Yeah, just take it.
Speaker 3 (07:33):
No, we we have people that they'll find out about
the discount once they're already here and they're in you know,
normal street clothes and they go, oh no, I'm dressed
like a skater today. Do I get the discount?
Speaker 2 (07:42):
Yeah, I'm dressed like a homeless person. No, I saw
you wear that yesterday. All right, hey, ty, we come
back and want to talk to you about the drink
program and some things on the menu. My guess right
now is Carter Hodges from the Cauldron Bar in bent
A Park there right across the street from not Sperry Farm.
Easy to find of course, as we bring you some
(08:04):
really cool, fun vibed places obviously for the spooky holiday
coming up.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
So go nowhere and we'll talk some more.
Speaker 4 (08:12):
You're listening to The Fork Report with Nil Savedra on
demand from KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Thanks for hanging out today. It's the Fork Report, all
things food, beverage and beyond. Every Saturday, we come together
and we celebrate food, the people that make it, the
culture behind it. Right now, we're, you know, in October,
and I love the season as we roll through all
of the major holidays for the most part, and the
spooky time for fall and Halloween is one of my favorites,
(08:43):
and I love getting into.
Speaker 1 (08:45):
The food and the vibe of it.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
To help us with that today, Carter Hodges the GM
there at the Cauldron Bar in went A Park. It's
right across from Nottsberry Farm, so easy to find is
he's with us. We're talking about the private room. They
have themed events, all of the different things. How you
can join the Coven of course that is their rewards
(09:08):
club and all of that. But now we want to
get into the menu. So Carter, when it comes to
the drink program, I know you guys have mocktails in
the like, why don't you walk us through some of
the drink options.
Speaker 3 (09:21):
Yeah, So our core cocktail menu is a kind of
inspired by potions and you know, witches, brews and stuff
like that. Lots of twists on classic cocktails. One of
my favorites is it's kind of based loosely on like
a Sangreia margarita hybrid. It's called the Devil's Margarita.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
Is yeah, pretty.
Speaker 3 (09:39):
Standard like margarita on the bottom and then a float
of red wine on the top. You get a really
cool color separation. It's oh that's also and a great cocktail. Yeah.
Our I mean, our most famous probably is the Naughty Kid.
We had to play into like the local you know
history here with Boys and Berry. So it's a Boys
and Berry cotton candy in the martini glass and then
(10:00):
like a lemon drop base and you pour that over
the cotton candy and it all kind of dissolves and
mixes in and gives you a boys and Verry lemon
drop martini.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
Oh my gosh, that sounds gorgeous. What a fun kind
of visual. I mean, even you know when you're going
to go to the nth degree, like floating wine on
top of a drink, or in this case, watching two
different textures, colors and flavors come together. There's a little
feater involved with these beverages.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
Absolutely. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (10:30):
A lot of us actually come from Feeder. The owner
Laura Hannaman, she is a former creative director from Nottsberry Farm.
She was there for about twenty years. But her background
is feeder and scenic design and all that stuff. So
that's why it's so heavily themed. Oh I love Yeah,
why a lot of our stuff leans theatrical.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
Now during it obviously during this time of the year,
a place called the Cauldron. And again the Cauldron is
right across the street from you know, there went a
park rightcas street from from Knotsberry Farm, which is really
cool now that you share with the designer and maker
and creator.
Speaker 1 (11:08):
Of all this.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
But what about different parts of the season. Are people
still coming in and enjoying the vibe? And you know,
do you do like special events throughout the year.
Speaker 3 (11:24):
Yeah, yeah, so we're we're themed like the Cauldron year round,
but we do lots of seasonal overlays. Coming up this winter,
we're gonna do kind of a Pagan Christmas Crampis themed
overlay with a big seasonal menu and extra decor and stuff, which.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
Will be fun.
Speaker 3 (11:39):
We do, Yeah, a bunch of limited menus. We do
a Tipsy tea time. They're all tea based inspired cocktails
like high tea, little finger sandwiches and bites that go
along with those. We do a program called Wicked Elixers.
They're like DIY cocktails. It's kind of like a potion
making kit you get to do at the table. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
Tons of limited.
Speaker 3 (11:59):
Menu stuff like that. So to keep up with us
on social media to know when those are happening.
Speaker 2 (12:03):
And as far as the food menu, is it entrees
or is it small plates? More towards a bar vibe.
Speaker 3 (12:14):
Yeah, So the original concept was just bar service with
great bar food, but obviously through the growth of the company,
and through expanding it's become a lot more sit down dining.
So our core menu, there are a handful of entrees,
but kind of in general we encourage sharing and almost
pop a style, you know, order a bunch of stuff
for the table and sample all of it.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
Sure, our core menu.
Speaker 3 (12:34):
Is all inspired by like French and Creole cuisine, lots
of familiar stuff with a little bit of a twist.
And then we do a seasonal menu for every month,
so there's specials that happen every months. Right now, we're
leading into obviously Fall and Halloween and pumpkin stuff like that.
Speaker 2 (12:50):
You know, I'm looking as I go through the entire menu.
I mean, let's be honest, what person does not does
their eyes don't zoom in And you see the word sliders,
So looking at the combination with your French dip sliders
and your croake monsieur sliders and this type of thing
that looks fabulous. All of these housemade bacon jam, all
(13:13):
the cheeseboards, these are really they're you know, you're not
just reheating crap in the back and throwing it on
a plate. This looks like really fun, well thought out eats.
Speaker 3 (13:25):
Yeah, yeah, exactly. We definitely pride ourselves on the food.
We're ninety nine percent is you know, from scratch every
single morning. So we tell people if you see a
specialty're in just in Maxture, you come in and get
it right away because you never know when it's going
to sell out. And it's not like we can throw
something in a microwave and you know, get it out
to you right away when we're sold out. It takes
you know, hours and hours to prep that stuff every morning.
Speaker 2 (13:46):
So I also, you know, going over the cocktail list here,
I'm a sucker for the browns.
Speaker 1 (13:53):
I love a good bourbon.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
And the fact that you have a paper plane on
your cocktail menu and have it so forward like this
is pretty rare. I had to tell the specs give
the specs to a bartender the other day who didn't
know what one that what it was and this was
and they were serving good drinks. But that's a fun
(14:17):
combination there, the bourbon and brimstone while four roses gray bourbon, thyme, honey,
lemon and mint. That sounds sexy too. I mean really,
this is like, this is just a really fun menu
that seems you know, smart, So walk us through. We
(14:39):
only have about a minute or so. You enter the
front door. What is the first thing you see at
the Cauldron there in Buena Park.
Speaker 3 (14:47):
First thing you see is the main dining room, our
large bar, all these wooden beams that kind of frame
the bar out and the fireplace but we call it
the lounge. But that's the overstuffed couches of the cauldron
and the fire underneath it. There's a big mirror and
there's some spirits that appear in that mirror, and that's
I think people's first go to photo right there.
Speaker 1 (15:07):
Oh that's awesome.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
Carter Hodges the GM there at the Cauldron Bar there
in Buena Park. If you want to find out more,
you go the Cauldronbar dot com. The Cauldronbar dot com
is where you can find more information. What a treat,
Thanks brother. I appreciate you, Carter for coming on. And
I know it's a busy time for you out there.
(15:29):
We hope to get you guys maybe on the off
season to come in and maybe we can try some
sample some of the food and talk about it more
at length. But I really appreciate you taking the time.
It sounds like a really special place and if you're
looking for something special the Cauldron Bar there in Buena Park.
So thanks Carter, I appreciate your time.
Speaker 3 (15:49):
Thank you so much. Neil.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
All right, my friend, have a great day all right
as well.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
Just sounds like a fun place and it is going
on the list of places I want to check out
very soon.
Speaker 4 (16:00):
You're listening to The Fork Report with Nil Savedra on
demand from KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
Hey everybody, it's the Fork Report, all things Food, beverage
and beyond. I am your well fed host, Neil Savadra.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
How do you do?
Speaker 3 (16:15):
It?
Speaker 2 (16:16):
Is the season, man, I love the minute we get.
We started Halloween season last week and we're gonna be
theming all the shows as we go through all the holidays,
of course, because there's just so many cool things to
do over the holidays here in Southern California, and you know,
when it comes to Halloween, there's a lot of different
(16:37):
parts of it. You've heard me talk about this on
the air. I love decorating the house for all the
different seasons. I will probably bring out a good number
of things for Halloween this year because it lands on
a Friday, so I'll do the house. I'm prepping already
right now for my kids' school haunted house that I
(16:58):
am not overseen this year, but I am dedicated to
building some props for it, and my buddy Derek Young
who owns Van Oaks Props, which has I mean, there
are so many great free resources to begin with, just
be able to watch the videos on YouTube Van Oaks
Props that if you want to know anything about tombstones,
(17:21):
this man is the master.
Speaker 1 (17:23):
In my eyes. It's nice to see you again, my friend.
Always good to be here. So you just you post
it today.
Speaker 2 (17:29):
Every Saturday you post at nine am, yes, and today
was no different. So that's one of the first things
I do on a Saturday is I watch that as
I'm prepping for the show. And it was the last
tombstone of your current haunt because you're going to be
moving out of Southern California and selling off a lot
(17:49):
of this stuff.
Speaker 5 (17:50):
That is correct, Yeah, we're actually selling off pretty much everything.
The plan really is to start over in a way
to do things that I maybe didn't have the skills
at the time to pull off, and given an opportunity
to rethink how everything is put together and how things
(18:13):
are wired and the scale of things. I mean, you
can take a really nerdy deep dive into Halloween.
Speaker 1 (18:20):
And I look forward to doing it.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
Yeah, that's got to be kind of exciting to have
a blank canvas again.
Speaker 5 (18:26):
Absolutely, there's few opportunities for me to do that, considering
that we've decorated our house the same way for fourteen years.
And some of that was just because I like the
theme of sort of the traditional haunted mansion esque style cemetery, sure,
but also just budgetary reasons. People are always looking for
(18:48):
a cheap and easy way to decorate that is unique
to them, that won't break the budget, and doing what
we've done has always been sort of like a good
way to kind of marry those two desires. I want
to do something creative, but I don't want to do
it where it's really expensive either.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
So is you know with Derek, he your theme is
a cemetery. That's what you do the Van Ouk cemetery. Correct.
And when you started fourteen years ago on this particular
project where you're inspired by someone else's decorations at their
home for the holidays, for Halloween, and you said, you
(19:29):
know what, I'm an artist, I'm a designer.
Speaker 1 (19:32):
I want to do this for us.
Speaker 5 (19:34):
Yeah, Weirdly enough, when I was in high school, there
was a haunt in Studio City called the Hallowed Haunting Grounds,
and many people who decorate for Halloween in and around
southern California will tell you that they kind of kicked
off the craze of people really going kind of overboard
with their Halloween decorations. And for me, I visited one
(19:55):
year and was kind of forever changed after that because
I hadn't ever considered the thought that I could decorate
in a way that wasn't just something I bought from
the store.
Speaker 2 (20:08):
Sure, which is fine in its own right, but if
you're a creative type, you want to yeah, well.
Speaker 5 (20:14):
And there's something about being an individual and sort of
scratching a creative itch, and those are the types of
things that I'm constantly looking for. And when I finally
had a yard of my own to decorate, they were
the direct reference point for me because they did everything
that Disneyland did, but they did it out of their
(20:37):
garage essentially, and I just thought that was the coolest thing,
you know, But prior to that had never crossed my
mind that it was even possible.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
And so you start.
Speaker 2 (20:50):
The first thing you said was Okay, the direction I'm
going is a cemetery. Yes, so you knew that much
that that was what you're going to start with in
the front yard.
Speaker 1 (20:59):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (21:00):
It always seemed to me like doing something like a
cemetery was something that could be added to year after year,
but was also something that would be good for people
of all ages. I know a lot of people are
into gore and extreme haunts and jump scares and things
(21:21):
like that, and there's room for that, but it's not
it's not something that's good for everybody. And yeah, that's
not my scene either. I want people to be, you know,
to be spooky, sure, but I don't have like body
parts laying around my house or Yeah, and it's not
a slight to anyone who decorates in that way.
Speaker 1 (21:42):
It's not my personal because there's an audience for it.
Speaker 5 (21:45):
Yeah, but I think about it in the way that, like,
you know, I decorate the house so that people in
the neighborhood can come and enjoy it. And we live
in a neighborhood with young children, or at least we did,
you know, they're they're all in high school or college now.
But I was creating in part for them, sure, because
it should be accessible for everyone. You know, if you're
(22:07):
somebody like me who doesn't like being startled, there's got
to be a flavor for me too. And this was
more my speed, and so I just really went all
in on creating this very.
Speaker 1 (22:23):
Moody, spooky.
Speaker 5 (22:26):
Tableau essentially that allowed the visitor's minds to do all
of the heavy lifting. I will create the atmosphere and
then I will let you run wild with it. Is
that statue a real person? What is that sound I'm
hearing over there? Is the thunder and lightning? Real or manufactured?
(22:47):
Are any of these tombstones actually real tombstone? I mean,
you can kind of go down the list of things
that it could be in anyone's mind. But the beauty
of it is that my interpretation of it will be
different from yours, and yours from someone else's.
Speaker 1 (23:00):
You know, I love Again.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
You can find out more at van oaksprops dot com
vanoxprops dot com. That'll, you know, that'll be your portal
to all of it, whether you go to is Etsy
stuff and you see stuff that you want to purchase,
whether you want to maybe go and find out about
the silent auction that he's doing now for the things
that he's not going to need come November, uh after
(23:26):
this year here, So he's selling off a lot of
these props as well. But if you want to learn more,
go to Van Oaks Props and you can find his
YouTube stuff and all of that. One of the things
that I love on your YouTube is that when you
revisit something, all I made this years ago, and I
know more now and I have better.
Speaker 1 (23:45):
Ideas of how I want to change it.
Speaker 2 (23:46):
What was one prop one part of the scene of
your specific cemetery that you change that you were like,
now that fits my vision more.
Speaker 5 (23:57):
I don't know that it was ever necessarily not fitting
the vision. It just wasn't completed to the degree that
I wanted or that my skills allowed for. Most recently,
just because it's top of mind, we have two very
large fake brick columns with big lanterns on top that
(24:20):
every year someone will assume they are real and lean
against them, only to find that they will move.
Speaker 2 (24:25):
I've seen them in person. I would do that myself.
They're beautiful, and you.
Speaker 5 (24:31):
Know, we've had them for quite a few years. When
my wife and I first made them, they looked the part,
but they were a bit too clean, and I think
part of my esthetic is more of a really lived
in older cemetery that's maybe not being tended to.
Speaker 2 (24:53):
You want to change the term lived in, I don't.
I don't know if it should be lived in. If
it's yeah, you want it to be to have that
the grunge factor.
Speaker 1 (25:06):
Even the one, the latest one in this video is.
Speaker 2 (25:09):
Up today, it's only a fourteen year old technically, so
you had to you had to weather it for that
many years, and not the one that was you know,
in the seventeen eighteen hundreds or something.
Speaker 5 (25:23):
Like that exactly, Which is funny because so much of
the aesthetic that I've tried to kind of create over
the years is very much that worn down and abandoned look,
which is funny because that is sort of like the
intersection between my love of Star Wars universe and how
(25:44):
dirty and grungey that all is the used universe, absolutely,
and it carries over into Halloween, which is what I
think about the other half of the year.
Speaker 2 (25:52):
So it's it is funny though that you you know,
when you even see like Halloween, not Halloween, but Star Wars, right,
the first thing, you know, helmets, I buy all those
things through. The first thing you do is go, this
looks too new. Yeah you're yeah, exactly.
Speaker 5 (26:08):
And that was kind of what happened with these cemetery columns.
I just thought they would look more than what they
look right now. Plus, you know, they're quite a few
years old and have spent a lot of time out
in the sun, and so the colors just aren't as
vibrant as they used to be. And I thought, what
better way to kind of breathe some new life into
(26:29):
it than to really go heavy and make them look
even older.
Speaker 2 (26:32):
And I love how this and I really want you
folks to check this out at Van oaksprops dot com.
Is when you see these props we're talking about, and
how people ask me all the time, well, can I
just convert the front into sun? I said, yeah, you'd
be surprised how things like these pillars changed the whole
(26:54):
vibe of the front of a house and and those things.
And we'll talk more about that and where to put
your energy, maybe some things to start with. If you're thinking,
you know, I want to do a little bit of
a haunt or a theme in the front yard this year.
I highly encourage it. It is worth it. I don't
care if five kids come by. It's still worth it
to see people get excited about it and you know,
(27:15):
just make their holiday a little bit. So go nowhere
talking with master prop maker Derek Young from van Os Props.
Speaker 1 (27:23):
So we'll come back with more.
Speaker 4 (27:26):
You're listening to The Fork Report with Neil Savedra on
demand from KFI Am six forty.
Speaker 1 (27:34):
Hey, Happy Saturday to you.
Speaker 2 (27:36):
It is Halloween time and you are here with the
Fork Report. I'm Neil Savedra and I'm just into the
season and Kayla just put down in front of me.
We haven't talked about this yet. My guest is Derek Young.
He is the owner, proprietor, maker and creative mind behind
van Oaks Props. You find out more van Oaks Props
(28:00):
dot com. And we're talking about decorating for Halloween your
house and stuff if you're interested in getting started and
all of that. But his wife, Erin is a masterful
baker and always sends him with love. And you can
hear Kayla and the excitement of everybody going on with that. So,
what is this such a This is an apple cake.
Speaker 5 (28:22):
It is an apple cake. It is a Vermont classic
and it's like old school New England.
Speaker 1 (28:29):
Wow, yeah, that smells great. Oh that's good.
Speaker 2 (28:33):
Just a little pinch, Yeah, okay, yeah, I'm gonna I'm
gonna murder that in a second.
Speaker 1 (28:38):
But I just wanted that's so great.
Speaker 2 (28:42):
So we're talking with Derek Young from Van Oaks Props
about decorating. He started fourteen years ago as a graphic
designer and everything like that. Using your gifts and abilities
to decorate. But you're moving, you're moving out of state,
and so this is the last one you're doing at
your current location, yes, home, and you're gonna be selling off.
(29:04):
There's a silent auction. I put in one bid, but
it was I was in a hurry that I'm definitely
going to be bidding on some other things as well.
But you know, they're just so many beautiful pieces and
to you know, have a momento like that for my
yard would be fun to always think about that as well,
(29:25):
among other things. So somebody wants to start out, what
are the you know, top five tools for making tombstones?
Speaker 5 (29:36):
Well, I guess I have to give a qualifier. When
I make tombstones. My material of choice is pink insulation foam.
They also make it in other colors, but usually four
by six. We'll find it in pink, and it comes
in four by eight sheets. Oh, four by eight, yeah,
and it's about fifty ish dollars. The price kind of
(29:57):
changes year to year, but it's a weird I'd find
that other Halloween enthusiasts who've come before me figured out
made for a great material to make tombstones out of.
That said, if you choose to make your tombstones out
of foam, which I highly recommend, I would also suggest
(30:18):
getting a small pull saw because the blade on it
is very small, it cuts through this foam very easily.
They're extremely inexpensive. You can go to almost any hardware
store and get one off the shelf for under fifteen dollars.
And then outside of that, I would say get yourself
(30:39):
a rotary tool, like a dremal, something along those lines.
And with the a rotary tool and some pink foam,
you can make whatever shape of tombstone to whatever scale
you want for your display, and you can carve it
with the rotary tool and then paint it using your
(31:01):
standard sort of run of the mill house paint, like
exterior latex paint. If you want to get fancy like me.
I like using a masonry seiler. The brand I see
most often it is called dry Lock, and it comes
in a few different flavors. I prefer the original style,
(31:21):
and the reason that I like it is because it
has a gritty texture that, once painted kind of lends
itself to a very stone like appearance.
Speaker 1 (31:30):
So there's like a sand or something in it.
Speaker 5 (31:32):
Yeah, And if you wanted sort of the cheat version
of this, you could take some exterior latex paint. Oftentimes
you will find various shades of gray in the oops
I bought the wrong colored department at your local hardware
store and get it for you know, half price, and
then go to the park or go to the garden
(31:54):
center and buy yourself some fine playground sand. And if
you add a bit of play round sand to this
exterior latex paint, you will essentially get a good mimic
for a masonry sailer that will have that same sort
of gritty texture at a fraction of the cost.
Speaker 1 (32:11):
I love it.
Speaker 2 (32:12):
And so you have done both relief style and then
I don't know what'd you call it in carving In style,
I mean engraved, Yeah, engraved, that's the word I'm looking for.
Speaker 1 (32:26):
Curry. That's what I was earlier in the show. It's
like a glimpse into my own life. Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2 (32:36):
But I highly recommend you go to Van Oaksprops dot
com and check out the how realistic and these tombstones
have weight. And another buddy of mine who's a prop maker, goes,
I'm digging this segment and I need some tombstone tips.
There is an art to weathering them afterwards, and what
(33:00):
some of the process there to make them look like
they've been there.
Speaker 5 (33:04):
Sure, so, there's a couple different ways you can go
about it. I've seen it done a few ways. There's
definitely one that is my favorite, which is to basically
mix a bunch of acrylic craft paints like black, brown,
green to create kind of a dirty water sort of look,
(33:24):
and then put it into a spray bottle and spray
it all over the tombstone, and naturally, because of how
water moves across surfaces, you will get a pretty good
approximation of what, like organic natural weathering would happen to
a real tombstone in a real cemetery. If you didn't
have the time for that, or you wanted something that
(33:45):
was maybe a little less messy, You could just as
easily apply paint with a brush, thin it out with water,
and drag it downwards across the face of your tombstone
and use it to sort of accent parts of it
that you find most interesting. So like, if there's areas
where it would look like water might collect, if you're
doing engraved lettering, look for those recesses and use that
(34:08):
as an opportunity to add more character to your tombstone.
Speaker 2 (34:13):
Any parting thoughts on people are on the fence about
putting something together in their yard this year that you
can give them, I.
Speaker 5 (34:22):
Would say, do it. You are bringing such enjoyment to
people you don't even know. And I think given the
way things are in the world right now, we need
every possible positive interaction that we can muster, and I
think decorating for Halloween is one of those things that
even if you don't hear from people, you know that
(34:44):
you have made an impact in a positive way to
people in your neighborhood.
Speaker 2 (34:48):
Just someone slowing down as they drive by and taking
a look you're going, you know what, that's a memory
And that's one of the reason why I do the show.
It's just something that people agree on good food and
good conversation and those things.
Speaker 1 (35:01):
This cake is so great.
Speaker 2 (35:07):
My first thought is I want a cup of coffee
with it on a cool fall morn And I'm like,
holy hell, God bless Aaron. She is a national treasure
and we must protect her and her gifted hands at
all costs.
Speaker 1 (35:26):
I agree.
Speaker 2 (35:27):
Wow, holy smokes. Always good to see you, my friend.
I know this is your last year doing it here
in the valley. I know it's inspired other people. It
certainly inspired me. I first started doing tombstones back in
the late eighties, eighties, early nineties for haunts that we
(35:49):
did my younger brother and I and I look back
on that and I think, Wow, everything I wanted to
do and couldn't then I can in what you do,
and it's like, Okay, now I'm gonna I'm gonna get
up to speed and start doing these things again. But
that motivation and inspiration is a powerful, powerful tool. So
(36:12):
I appreciate all that you do again. Van oaksprops dot com.
Van Oaks props dot com, check them out, go through
the videos.
Speaker 1 (36:20):
Trust me, it is a rabbit hole.
Speaker 2 (36:22):
How many videos are there?
Speaker 1 (36:24):
Five years worth?
Speaker 2 (36:25):
Yeah, you can do the math every week carry the
Linears and he has over one hundred thousand people following
him on YouTube, which is a massive accomplishment. Thanks so
very cool. All right, buddy, Happy Halloween to you and
we will talk again soon. It's the Fork Report. Stick around.
We'll talk carving pumpkins when we return with our special guests.
Speaker 1 (36:45):
So go know where.
Speaker 2 (36:47):
This is KFI heard everywhere on the iHeartRadio app. You've
been listening to the Fork Report, you can always hear
us live on KFI AM six forty two to five
pm on Saturday, and anytime on demand on the iHeartRadio app.
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