Embark on a journey through the flavors, struggles, and triumphs of a culinary mastermind as I, Amelia Old, sit down with the pioneering Chef Daryl Shular. Chef Shular pulls back the curtain on his rise from a childhood filled with the warmth of his mother's kitchen to making history as the first African American certified master chef. The aroma of resilience and diversity is rich in this episode, as we trace his steps and discover how he's not only carving out a space for himself but also setting the table for future chefs through his work with Hospitality Forward and 100 Chefs of Tomorrow.
We're reminded that cooking is much more than just a craft; it's a bridge to cultural understanding and a bond that unites communities. Taste the competitive spirit that drove him to the prestigious Culinary Olympics, where the pursuit of gastronomic perfection is a relentless quest. And yet, amid the high stakes of international acclaim, he maintains a focus on mentorship, illustrating the vital role that diverse perspectives and guidance play in shaping the artisans of the kitchen.
In our final course of conversation, Chef Shular serves up his philosophy on the harmony of traditional and innovative cuisine, adhering to an 80-20 rule that guides his every creation. Chef Shular's legacy transcends his culinary achievements, seeding a future where the kitchen doors are open to all and nourishment comes not just from the food we eat but the support we offer each other. Join us at the table for an episode that's as heartfelt as it is enlightening, seasoned with the insights of a chef who truly leads with generosity.
Embark on a journey through the flavors, struggles, and triumphs of a culinary mastermind as I, Amelia Old, sit down with the pioneering Chef Daryl Shular. Chef Shular pulls back the curtain on his rise from a childhood filled with the warmth of his mother's kitchen to making history as the first African American certified master chef. The aroma of resilience and diversity is rich in this episode, as we trace his steps and discover how he's not only carving out a space for himself but also setting the table for future chefs through his work with Hospitality Forward and 100 Chefs of Tomorrow.
We're reminded that cooking is much more than just a craft; it's a bridge to cultural understanding and a bond that unites communities. Taste the competitive spirit that drove him to the prestigious Culinary Olympics, where the pursuit of gastronomic perfection is a relentless quest. And yet, amid the high stakes of international acclaim, he maintains a focus on mentorship, illustrating the vital role that diverse perspectives and guidance play in shaping the artisans of the kitchen.
In our final course of conversation, Chef Shular serves up his philosophy on the harmony of traditional and innovative cuisine, adhering to an 80-20 rule that guides his every creation. Chef Shular's legacy transcends his culinary achievements, seeding a future where the kitchen doors are open to all and nourishment comes not just from the food we eat but the support we offer each other. Join us at the table for an episode that's as heartfelt as it is enlightening, seasoned with the insights of a chef who truly leads with generosity.
Welcome to Voices of Inspiration. Today, I'm honored to have Chef Darrell Schueller with us, a culinary trailblazer and the visionary behind the Schueller Institute. As an award-winning certified master chef, his impact on the culinary world is profound. In our conversation, he shares his journey from his early days in the industry to the founding of the Schueller Institute. Through initiatives like Hospitality Forward and 100 Chefs of Tomorrow, Chef Schueller is ensuring that aspiring chefs have access to quality education. Chef Schueller's philosophy blends tradition with innovation, emphasizing the importance of classic techniques alongside new flavors. Join us as we explore his story, filled with resilience, diversity and a global perspective.
Speaker 2:Everyone has a story to tell. We connect and relate to one another when we share our stories. My name is Amelia Ove and I am your host of Voices of Inspiration. Join me as I share stories of friends, family and strangers, for my everyday life and travels. You will laugh, possibly cry or walk away, feeling connected more than ever to those around you and ready to be the change our world needs. Everyone has a story to tell. What's yours?
Speaker 1:Thank you so much for joining me today. I know you have a really busy schedule and I appreciate you just taking time to meet with me and to share your story. All that you are doing in the culinary world in the Atlanta area and beyond is really amazing and I really want to just start from the beginning. What initially sparked your passion for culinary arts?
Speaker 3:Well, first, thank you for this opportunity and platform. It's truly an honor. Well, I have to say that it really began at home. The love of food really began with watching my mother how she would cook and she was an absolutely amazing cook I would call her a chef and she was actually professionally trained. Just how she just took things that she knew and things that was affordable to her and making it absolutely, just incredible. And she had a heart of giving. So I think that's where the love of giving to others come from. I just saw how she would work in the citrus industry and it was a seasonal job and she would take what little she had and go buy and cook on the weekends and she'll feed pretty much everyone on the street, taking packages of food to all the neighbors, and we would pack food and put it in the backseat of the car and drive to church on Sunday. So that's really where the passion began for me.
Speaker 3:But the idea of turning that into a profession didn't start until I came to Atlanta back in 1992. And I saw a commercial for a local culinary school and it was something about that experience of watching that chef come out of the kitchen and in the commercial, everyone stood up and started clapping for him. And then I was like that's what I want to do and actually called the school and enrolled. And at that time culinary schools were just few, far in between, so I didn't have anything to compare to. But I went through, graduated from that program and actually started to teach at that same program 10 years later. So that's where everything began and that's what it led into my actual professional career.
Speaker 1:What was your favorite thing that your mom cooked?
Speaker 3:Oh, my God, so many memories. That's a good question. I always say you know she would make great one pot stews and me and my brother always ask one of you making ox tells. And you know we didn't know ox tail was a cultural thing, you know, but it was something that we just love the first and show make it with some rice and that rich broth and her greens. And you know southern food was part of our tradition, what we ate. But she was a great baker as well. She would make absolutely incredible like coconut cake or different pies, or she made this famous pecan candy that she's really known for. There's a lot of things I can say that bring back good memories of her.
Speaker 1:You are the first African American certified master chef. What does this accomplishment mean to you personally and how has it influenced your approach to mentorship?
Speaker 3:Well, being the first African American to obtain the title of certified master chef, that's for me, was just a goal that I had for myself. It wasn't that, you know, I was, you know, a champion trying to be the first. It was just, I just wanted to be a master chef and I knew that there was a lot of chefs out there and the word master just thrown out quite a bit and it doesn't say that people haven't mastered the art of cooking. But then it's debatable Right, are you really a master to craft? So when I found out that there was an actual certified master chef exam a level, the highest level that you can get as a person, of chef, individual chef I said that's what I wanted to do and I learned that right out of high school.
Speaker 3:And so pursuing those goals you know, being on the Olympic team as a platform to become a master chef, and then taking that 130 hour cooking exam over eight days and pass it in the California, that whole entire process really shaped the second phase of my career. But to your question, what it does for the youth and people around me is that we obtain those things so that we can give it to others. And if you look at my career, there was always influences from other people like inspirations, and then there was always a flood of people that come behind me that I gave to, and so I just love the idea of just obtaining knowledge and obtaining skills to give to others. And it's not really about me even though I get a lot of recognition and a lot of praise it's really about me obtaining as much as I possibly can so I can help as many people as I possibly can.
Speaker 1:I really love that. That's really great. Can you talk a little bit about hospitality Ford?
Speaker 3:So Hospitality 4 is the Schueger Institute's 5013C nonprofit arm. It is designed to really go after those who are really looking at hospitality as a life-changing opportunity. They probably haven't even decided whether or not this is going to be a professional goal of theirs, but an opportunity for them to see, behind the hidden curtain, what can be for them in hospitality. So Hospitality 4, we work with different organizations. We work with youth kids that are in high school, kids who are marginalized, kids who parents probably been incarcerated. We want to make sure that they have a new look on life and see themselves as future global citizens. So we work with different organizations to provide a pathway for them to learn.
Speaker 3:So, whether it's through donations, in-kind donations, equipment, things that we can help drive the mission. Because when you think about launching a restaurant is daunting all on its own, launching a culinary school 10 times is daunting, is that? And it's a challenge for us, and I actually self-funded this whole entire project. So, as much work as we have done and accomplished, there's so much more to be done and without the help of the hospitality community or people who believe in these type of missions, we're not going to get far down the street. We need that fuel. So hospitality for just a platform for us to continue our mission to allow students to learn and without having to put that tax so that that financial burden on them while they're learning.
Speaker 1:Now you have a new initiative 100 Chefs of Tomorrow, right and that is set to provide tuition-free access to the Schuler Institute. What inspired you to create that program and what impact do you hope it will have on aspiring chefs?
Speaker 3:Well, me and my business partner came up with 100 Future Chefs initiative because, you know, in this day and age, you know the workforce is suffering, especially on the hospitality side, and we have to go back to the drawing board, almost to kind of repaint the picture of hospitality and being a hospitality professional. And back in the day we should pride ourselves off of working 80 hours a week, 100 hours a week, and then, as you get older, you realize that was a dumb decision, because now you got health to deal with, you got your body to deal with and you got life to live. So what we're trying to do now is paint the picture of there can be balance in your life and you can also be a hospitality professional. So with this 100 Chefs initiative is that we're going out and we're working with our corporate partners and our future donors to help provide a network of opportunities through merit-based grants, scholarships, funds, so that these kids can go through the hospitality program, get a high-level education, true hands-on experience in real-world settings, and then not have to worry about the burden of paying it back.
Speaker 3:And for me, that's just where my heart is, it's just where I believe that we should be taking hospitality education to. Not that we don't want the kids not to have skin in the game, but we want to make sure that they understand that they don't have to worry about or stress paying the bill. We already understand that a lot of businesses fall because of financial reasons or whatever, so we don't want that burden to be passed on to these kids. So that's the reason why we came up with the 100 Chefs initiative. We are challenging other companies to be a part of this initiative. I've already committed over $100,000 of my own personal money to make sure that this education is given to these young men and women and give them opportunities. So it's a challenge to the community to join forces with us, join forces with me and help get these kids through the finish line without the burden of how do they pay it back?
Speaker 1:That's so important because oftentimes these kids do, once they graduate college or whatever program that they're in, that they're not set up for success, because then they're left with this big bill, and we see that in a lot of different industries. So I think that's really important. How do you believe that the financial barriers that impact the culinary industry, what steps do you think that someone can do to overcome those? You know, if they don't have a scholarship, if they don't have these programs, what are some of the things where they can follow their dreams? What are some of the steps that you recommend?
Speaker 3:Right, so that's a good question. So for those who are looking at hospitality education or some type of continuing development programs as an obstacle because they think that there's an astronomical feat to pay to get into those programs, there's different ways that you can get into the hospitality industry. You know, find a local shelf at one of your favorite restaurants or someone that you know that's in the hospitality industry and they're doing that type of work that is interesting to you, whether it's bacon and pastry, whether it's catering or whatever. You know. Go to them, send them an email, reach out to them and ask hey, I'm a young man, a woman and I would love to shadow you. Do a couple of hours on the weekends. You know it's not interfering with your school life, but you know they will open up their doors.
Speaker 3:One thing about the hospitality industry regardless of what you see out there, you know the temperament, you know the hardness that we have, but we are giving in our nature, because that's the only reason why we get out the bed in the morning is because we love giving to people. We love giving our work, we love giving our time. And so somebody young come to us and say hey, I want to learn from you. Nine times out of 10, that shelf or that manager, whoever it may be, will say, yes, you know what? Let me train you, let me work with you.
Speaker 3:So there's a lot of different ways that you can get into the industry without having to worry about paying the fee For me. That's the reason why I wanted to create the Schuler Institute, because they need a combination of some formal training and education and also, at the same time, real world experience, and we give both of those in a very unique setting. But we also want them to be able to go through the program without the worry of that barrier. Right, how do I get into it without having to worry about the money? Money is always the determining factor for a lot of our success. So we believe that, together with the corporate role coming together for one initial cause, that we can allow students to get that education without having to worry about the financial burden of it.
Speaker 1:That's great advice. I firmly believe in hands-on experience, so I definitely agree with that and appreciate that. You have been honored with some really amazing awards and accolades and I know that you said that that's not what you do it for, but I mean it's super impressive and it includes being inducted into the African American Hall of Fame in Savannah and the Smithsonian African American Museum. How have those recognitions influenced your mission in the culinary world?
Speaker 3:Well, I think those are just the results of being committed to what you do, and I think that's an example that we want to share with young men and women. Like for me, I've been doing one thing since I was 17, 18 years old and I never deviated from this path that I've been on. And those are just rewards, those are just badges that just show like, hey, if you stay at it, you can. You know you stay committed to it. This is what can happen for you as well. There's nothing special about me. You know. I didn't go to a harbor or anything like that. I was just a determined young man who wanted to one prove a lot to myself, but also prove a lot to those people who voted me less likely to succeed. And so, because of that, I know there's a lot of men and women out there who's feeling the same thing that I felt back when I was a young kid. And so you know, by having that determination and having goals that you want to work towards, regardless how crazy they are right you think about all of those awards and accolades that I've got always came when I accomplished something that people said I couldn't accomplish. The first was like hey, he can't make the Olympic team. Well, guess what? I did make the Olympic team. And here comes some more reward with that. And then it was like they would never allow an African-American field certified master chef, which to me was absolutely BS. And I say you know what? I'm going to prove these people wrong.
Speaker 3:So I studied, I became a true student of my craft. I worked, I left myself open to feedback from all different types of people and not just, you know, in my own community, but you know people with different backgrounds and letting that soak in and develop myself to be a master chef, I went and I passed the master chef exam. So all of these awards and all this recognition that you see, is not that I happen to be a great personality on TV or I happen to luck up and win some type of lottery. All of that is a reward for being persistent during the good and bad times to this cause of being the professional chef. But the secret part of that recipe is that I've always gave every step of the way. I never went on this road and made it about Darryl Shuler. I always made it about other people, and I think that's the piece that we forget about. Is cannot be about you. It has to be about others, and if you put others in front of you, you'll always be in the spotlight.
Speaker 1:I love that. You know you've talked about this a little bit, but how does your commitment to resilience and diversity play a role in shaping these young people that you're working with?
Speaker 3:Well, that's a great question, because why you have to be persistent and resilient? Because there's going to be so many things in life that's going to be there to slow you down, Whether it's through the hands of people or just life in general. These are tests that's there to keep you from getting to where you want to be in life, and, whether you're a spiritual person or not, you still have to face those obstacles. And for me, I just knew the higher I went, the thinner the atmosphere is right, the harder it is to breathe. The likelihood of something happening. The farther the fall, the harder the fall. Not too many people are there. You know it's like you know, climbing Mount Everest. You know you get there as a goal, but look at all the danger that comes along with it.
Speaker 3:And I think if you are shooting for the stars, you have to understand that you have to accept the good and you also have to accept the bad. And so, with me, I found that I've developed all the tools to protect myself by working with multicultural people. And the reason why I say that is because I have something to fall back on and something don't work out for me. Right, I'm not a one dimensional shelf. I understand the business piece. I know how to communicate with people. I know how to work with people. I know how to get in the kitchen and grind it out if I need to. I can wash dishes if I have to. I'm really really well rounded, and I think we have to understand that you have to polish the ball all the way around, and so, with that, I would tell young men and women to be a true global citizen. Learn the stories of everyone around you, Because in order for you to master the art of cooking, whether it's any type of cultural cuisine, you'll never really master it without understanding the cultural aspects behind it, the stories of the people, the reason why they do things, and here's the reason you know why it's not really authentic.
Speaker 3:If you did it that way, and I think if you open yourself up to be a true sponge, you can still shoot for the stars and not have to worry about an offset moment, because you have the tools to still land on your feet and get back up there again. So I know that's a long way around with that question, but I just feel passionate about that because I've always faced resistance and it doesn't come in a traditional setting right. Most people look at a black chef and think racism was just hitting you in the face like you know when or whatever. And that's not really the case, I think, in life. I think if you present yourself in a very professional manner, you carry yourself with a certain sense of pride and dignity. People want to gravitate to you and it's people from all over the world and different cultures want to gravitate to you. So that's where I'm at with the development of our students is making them true global citizens, so they can go anywhere in this world and they should be able to flourish.
Speaker 1:You mentioned it before the Culinary Olympics and you participated also in the Culinary World Cup. How has the exposure to these different cultures influenced your approach to cooking? You mentioned some of this on teaching, but what about creating your various dishes?
Speaker 3:Well for myself. Having that global experience is really important For me. I just I wanted to travel to where I wanted to get out of Central Florida. I wanted to just travel as many countries as I possibly can, and it was a good combination of travel, cooking and sports, and I love sports. I love the competitive nature, I love the camaraderie of working on the team, really focusing on one common goal and everybody pushing in that same direction. So that whole entire experience was not just me exposing myself to the different types of cooking around the world, but it gave me an opportunity to learn, you know, that there are some similarities in everything that we do, specifically when it comes to cooking. So I just love the idea of travel.
Speaker 3:So when I was on the Olympic team, when you have to develop your skills and you have to develop your program, you have to do it in such a high level that you competed against 63 other countries and those shelves are competing against you and everybody's competing against each other. So you always got to push the envelope and refine your skills and not get complacent that you have something good. You know it's easy for you to say, wow, I think this is perfect. Let's stop you never stop. You always look at how we can make it even better.
Speaker 3:Perfection is always one step ahead. I don't think you ever reach perfection, because if you reach perfection I think you stop learning. So that's kind of like some of the things I've learned on those journeys with the Olympic team, representing the United States, with the ACF A lot of great master's shelves that became mentor and inspirations for me, a brotherhood that I created with my fellow colleagues who was on the team. We don't talk to each other every day, but when we do speak and when we do talk we pick up where we left off, and that type of relationship you can't put a price tag on. So for me it was just a great opportunity to just learn and it made me into the chef who I am today.
Speaker 1:What did a day look like in the culinary Olympics? I'm not as familiar with that, so is it a timed event? Do you all cook at the same time? What does an event look like with that?
Speaker 3:Well, the culinary Olympics is a process. It's a one-dope time. Yes, it's one event that's happening every four years. As a matter of fact, it's going on right now in Germany, with the US Olympic team over there competing. So we wish them all the best, but when I went in 2008, I was on the 2018, we actually started training in 2005. And what they do is, with the American Culinary Federation, they'll put out an announcement that they're going through the trial process and so all these shelves will submit applications like your competition resume, your work resume. Fill out an application, they'll send you an invite to come and compete and you'll do like a first phase competition. So it's more like the cold food your platters, your aspects, your garnishes, your pate, your terrines, all the intricate stuff to show your skill level. And if you score or you medal at a certain level, you get invited to what they call the finals. And the finals is where they will put you in the kitchen and you have X amount of hours to cook X amount of dishes for X amount of people, known as about for 10. And it's very stringent process because they want to see your capacity to cook on the pressure and your innovation and your thought and how you work with a combing, and so I was able to achieve that in 2005.
Speaker 3:And then for two years we train and we went to a few competitions leading up to the actual main competition, which was the Culinary Olympics in Erfurt, germany. And you're traveling every other weekend with your job 40, 50, 60 hours a week that you work on your job. Then you got to train. You got to work on your platter, your component, your assignment on that team, and then come as a team and have like a mock practice session. So when you go to the Culinary Olympics there are so many different categories because there are so many skill sets associated with cooking. So you got your bacon and pastry, you got your centerpieces, you got your pettifourth finger food, you got restaurant platters and plated dishes, and then you have your show platters, which is kind of your elaborate garmanger techniques, cold food.
Speaker 3:There's so many different ways of showcasing skills in the kitchen. And then when you're on the national team, you actually go in the kitchen and you cook for about 50 people a four course meal and the judges judge any plate that they want to choose out of that 50 as your scoring plates. So it requires a lot of focus. It requires a lot of consistency and focus, and a lot of people can't do that. A lot of people can start off strong but they end up flat.
Speaker 3:And when you're part of the Olympic team, every dish, from the very first to the last, need to be gold medal standards, because you just never know, and that type of skill set and that type of focus and that innovation that goes along with creating a program that haven't been seen before, because you don't want to duplicate what another team has done and you want to bring something fresh and new because it's designed to push the industry forward. And so with that, with that type of skill set and that training, it allows you to constantly develop as a chef, and so that was the huge platform that I took to become a master chef.
Speaker 1:Wow, that sounds like a lot of pressure.
Speaker 3:I don't even like somebody coming in my kitchen when I cook, but you also got to think about we're cooking in different kitchens, and that's another thing that a lot of chefs suffer with is that we become complacent with our own and I have to have my own set of knives, I have to have my own set of kitchen tools. I can only adapt, I can only do well if I'm in my home kitchen my home kitchen or my own kitchen, whatever but can you take that level of excellence with you in any situation? And that's really the challenge.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I can see that. So can you. Aside from that, can you share a memorable moment, inspiring moment even from these experiences in your culinary journey?
Speaker 3:I'm going to give one that's not so pleasant and I'm going to tell you reason why. So when I was on the Olympic team in 2008,. After you experienced success, you got to be careful, because when you're young and you're naive, you think that you've made it and you're good for life. Then what comes in is self-entitlement and you feel like I got it piece of cake. So, after coming back from a, from a successful 2008 run with lipid gold medals, we tried out again for 2012 team. You know I was working my job. I was, you know, my, my, my status rose even more. You know, really basket in the glory and Not really taking it serious.
Speaker 3:And so in 2012, I didn't do so well and that was a huge Awakening for me. It was one of the most miserable moments of my life because that self-entitlement is a killer. And so when people say, why don't you celebrate more shelf, well, you having the experience of downfall like I've had, you know, you having the experience that that self-inflicted wound, because you just feel like you just got it together and you don't have to push anymore. So I said to myself, no matter what kind of magazine I'm in or what feature I'm on, I'll Be grateful for it, but I'm not celebrating it. I never will not have that sense of urgency and that hunger ever again. So that story turned out to be a great story because it allowed me to stay consistent from that point on. So I was able still to go still to go back to the Olympics in 2012, but it also gave me that firing at determination to push it even farther, to make sure I met that platform, to become a master chef.
Speaker 1:Well, I think what's key in that story, too, is that you learned from it and you took those lessons to grow as an individual, because I think People don't always do that. I think we're all guilty of that at some point in our lives, and I think that that is the key part of that is that you took that and you grew from it. Yeah, that's really important. So this is, of course, an art. So what is your favorite dish to create?
Speaker 3:You know that's a that's. That's a tough question to ask a chef like me. Only because, only because we're always Revising, we always are pushing the envelope. I'm an artist and so when you ask an artist, you know, I think when they get on stage and they see their hits over and over again, it's because people just want to see the hits Right but they want to also say hey, listen to my new music, you know.
Speaker 3:And so I think that's a common question that people ask of shelves, which makes a lot of chefs cringe, because I don't want to say that. I love making my salmon and asparagus salad or Dish, whatever it may be, and I love making it, and I make that all the time. Whatever I made great yesterday is no more exciting to me, and I want to create something new. So it's tough to answer that question, but I just love listening to the food, right? So if you listen to the food and you pay attention to what you have in front of you, it's going to tell you what needs to be done and you don't always have to go to a recipe to make it happen.
Speaker 3:That's why fundamentals are so important. Once you have the fundamentals in place, you understand the science of cooking and all the aspects of heat and acidity and so forth. You can actually look at a mischieve basket of ingredients and say I know what I need to do with. This is talking to me. The flavors are telling me I need to go this direction, the texture is telling me it needs to be made this way and the food is really talking to you. So I hope that answer that question. But I don't have a favorite. I don't have a favorite creative this to share with you, unfortunately, that makes sense.
Speaker 1:Can you share a favorite travel destination that's left a lasting impact on your culinary perspective?
Speaker 3:That's a great one and I've had quite a few global travels, but I would say my trip to China was a huge, away from a huge awakening for me. So in 2005 I was part of the art institute international culinary team, which was about 10 directors from different programs and I was the only educator teacher with them. So I was honored that they allowed me to come along with them. But they was invited by the Chinese government to come over and be a part of this culinary Experiences, like a competition that they had over there. So we was in Guangzhou, china, and so you know, you're flying to China alone, flight over there, you get over there and you can't wait to try Chinese food. Oh my gosh, you can't wait. You just think in your mind what you had at the Chinese restaurant around the corner. Forget about that.
Speaker 3:It was a huge awakening and that experience and really seeing the culture of the people and how they live and the excitement that they had of seeing the first people from America, like they was looking at me like I was Godzilla walking through the streets or anything, and I'm like, oh man, you know, but it was good. It was like a lot of support, a lot of shooting me like a celebrity, taking pictures and stuff, but that whole entire culinary experience was a true eye opening for me. I would say that that had to be probably the most Incredible experience I ever had, and they also. We had opportunity to go to Hong Kong and see the westernization of you know China and comparing the two. So mainland China was definitely far more the the most eye awakening experience I've ever had in my global travels.
Speaker 1:As a certified master chef, how do you balance preserving culinary tradition with pushing the boundaries of innovation in your kitchen?
Speaker 3:That's a great question, to combine both tradition and innovation. So I use what I call the 80-20 rule 80% class and 20% trend. And the reason why I say that if you look at the car industry cars right you look at a Mustang, the similarities between a 2024 Mustang and one from 1960, there's a little similarities between the two, right, that's their 80%. Because they keep it somewhat the same. They just keep adding new features and new adjustments and new colors and new, all the bells and whistles to make it innovative. And so for me, I think, keeping to those classic principles, the fundamentals, the plating styles, the approach to cooking itself, I think that's the basis in which I do everything. And then the creative side is like what do I do that's fresh and new?
Speaker 3:There's a lot of chefs out there that are innovating new styles every single day and as much as you want to accept it or don't want to accept it, you have to recognize it and I think you got to take a little bit of that and apply it to who you are and stay relevant with the times.
Speaker 3:I'm a student of Scarfier, which is a classical French chef, one of the kings of chefs in history, and in his book he says, to take his recipes and make it applicable to the day and time that you're in. So you got to take those classical recipes and innovate it in a way to where it makes sense for today's society. You know we got dietary restrictions now, a lot more than what it was back in the day. You know you got the vegan, you got the vegetarian, you got the pescetare, you got the gluten free. So taking those recipes and innovating it to provide great food for everyone is the key behind it. So it's a challenge but at the same time it keeps you as a student and it keeps you constantly studying and keep you in the lab constantly working on your craft.
Speaker 1:Well, that's one thing about your career it's never boring. It's something different every day, truly.
Speaker 3:It is, it is.
Speaker 1:So, looking ahead, are there any new projects or new goals and ideas that you have in the coming months and the next couple of years that you can share with us?
Speaker 3:Absolutely so. With the business, as always, you constantly looking at growth, you always looking at expanding, and we're in the midst of an expansion opportunity here. So we'll be making an announcement about what we are now and what we're planning on going real soon. There's a lot of attention that is coming our way and a lot of support we're getting from the corporate world to really grow the business, so we'll be making some announcements with those. Also, I am in the works of launching my very first cookbook, which should be coming out later on this year. We're expanding different cities, another restaurant, you name.
Speaker 3:It is just.
Speaker 3:Everything is on the board and we're constantly moving things around to make it happen. So I'm just going to continue to ride this wave of success as long as I possibly can. But the most important thing is that we just want to continue to open the doors for anyone that wants to learn hospitality and the benefits of being in the hospitality industry and where it can take you and I just got to go back to that word of being a global citizen because you really can travel the world and be adaptable in those different countries through food, and it's nothing better than being able to go to a farm or go to a farmer's market and shop and pick and walk into your home kitchen and create something magical for not only for yourself but for your family, because food is, to me, is the only common ground to where we can make everyone civilized and you can talk through your differences or whatever political view stance you have. That's the one place to where everyone can do it in a very civil manner. So that's just what we got on the books.
Speaker 1:I love that. I am a big gardener, so I can appreciate going and picking the things that I've grown myself and then cooking that for my family. That's one of my favorite things to do. I look forward to that in the spring and summer. Where can our listeners find you online?
Speaker 3:So they can follow me at Darryl Shuler C and C on all of the social media platforms is consistent across the board. You can find me there, see all of the things we got going on here at the restaurant, the school, some of our future plans that we have upcoming. You can follow me there and you can also support the program ShulerInstitutecom. You know it's a huge feat to be able to launch a culinary program state license. We want to make sure that we give students the opportunity to be in the spotlight for the right reason and without having something just as competitive to what the streets offer, we're going to lose our kids to the streets Right. So that's the reason why I really embrace the community coming being a part of this, providing a lot of opportunities for the students to get post secondary education and beyond into the workforce, into their careers and beyond and just build great financial wealth for themselves and leave a legacy also.
Speaker 1:And I will make sure to link to all of your website and your social media in the notes of this episode. One last question Do you have a favorite quote or any words of wisdom that you would like to leave behind?
Speaker 3:Well, rosa, wisdom that I want to give to any and everyone is that when you give, giving is like going down a one way street. You're not going to really see anyone coming back your way, and so when you give, I think you give and keep it moving, because if they expecting for a lot of return, then your heart may be broken. So if you give your time, your money, your efforts or whatever, give it for the true, pure reason that you're giving it from your heart and for me I've always had, and I think God has always blessed me with resources because I'm a giver I give him my time freely and I just hope that everyone just watching this supports what we're trying to do and help give you know, because we're just going to give it on to the next generation that's going to do far more, greater things that I've done. So I really do. Thank you, amelia, for this opportunity, and it's just been a pleasure.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much for joining me. Your art and your dedication and your passion to your craft is really inspiring and I'm super grateful that you took time to chat with me today. Thank you so much.