From Lifestyle Battles to Cancer Combat: Chef Roberto Trevino's Inspiring Tale

Get ready for a culinary rollercoaster with our special guest,  the extraordinary Chef Roberto Trevino.  WiT Podcast co host, Chef Jeffrey Schlissel takes us on a journey through mouth-watering pork dishes - from Korean fried pork with goguchang sauce, a stuffed pork loin with Italian influences, to a 14-day dry aged pork chop. As we relish in the flavors and techniques used, we are drawn deeper into the art of infusing oil, vertical farming, and the exciting realm of barbecue competitions. 

The conversation takes an emotional turn as we sit down with Chef Roberto Trevino, a culinary maestro with a story that is both moving and inspiring. He shares his battle with stage 4 cancer, his triumphant return to the kitchen, and his appreciation for being able to do what he loves. With resilience etched in every word, Chef Roberto gives us a sneak peek into his future endeavors, including the opening of a new Mexican restaurant.

But it's not all about the food. We dive into the life of a chef, the importance of work-life balance, and the legacy they leave behind. We round off our flavorful journey with an exploration into our love for spicy food and hot sauces. Join us for a conversation that's more than about food — it's about the tales and experiences that are woven into every dish. So, food fam, let's take this delectable journey together.

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 1:05

Hello, food Fam. This is the Walk and Talk podcast and I'm your favorite food podcast host. Yes, that's right, I said it, carl Fiedini. We're podcasting onsite at Ibis Images Studios, where food photography comes alive and I get to eat it. Yes, on the menu today, and thank you Peninsula Food Service for supplying the proteins for today's program.

Speaker 1: 1:29

I thought the sloppy chuck was going to be my baby going forward. I really did. That was my number one, but here it is again. It's changing, it's constantly changing. Enter in the KFP that is the Korean fried pork man. It was nasty, nasty. This is goguchang sauce. Oh my God, it's over the top. Oh my God, all right.

Speaker 1: 2:00

Guest today a dear friend of mine. He's had some adversity as of late. He's battled his way back. He's a restaurateur, he's a cook, he's a dishwasher, a confidant to many. He's been on Iron Chef America, the next Iron Chef and many other network shows. God has played a role in this man's life in a good way, in a great way. That is Chef Roberto Treveno. He's up next, but first, but first. Oh yeah, it's Chef Jeffrey. It's Chef Jeffrey, jefferson Starship, why don't you get into pre-shift and explain what the hell you did today? I can't eat anymore. There's food there, there's deliciousness, right? I'm looking, I can see it from here. Yeah, it's basically see it from here, bro. I can't eat anymore. I'm done. Wow, that's a first. I'm done, oh my goodness.

Speaker 1: 2:59

Anyway, jump in baby. What do you?

Speaker 2: 3:02

got. So we get a pork loin today. We did two styles, really nice thick cut. We did one that was stuffed with Italian influences. It had Meyer, lemon, barata at Colba. It had carobuto prosciutto di parma or done in the style of prosciutto di parma, and then we stuffed that in the center, made a little pocket and then seared that with a little potato starch to give it some extra crunch to the crunch. And then we did that with some accruciments of smashed little potatoes like the purple bee, the purple the bees and the Yukon golds. And then I did a little broccoliettes and then roasted those off. And then the sandwich you were talking about the KFP.

Speaker 2: 3:45

We did a rendition of the KFC Korean fried chicken, that gogu jang sauce. It's a mixture, so it's black pepper with a little bit of olive oil infused with the gogu rang, which is the powder form. And then you take garlic and then you add that and make a molusification with that oil mixture that you infused with the black pepper and the gogu rang. You infused that with gogu jang. That sauce is probably the dirtiest sauce I've ever made, and I don't mean like dirty, like sexy dirty, porn, graphic dirty, I mean like it's literally dirty. It's so bright, vibrant red. It stains everything, but it's so flavorful.

Speaker 1: 4:24

Staining my belly, but before you get further into that, because I want you to keep going with it. I mean the broccoli, the potatoes, everything that all these side accoutrements if you will when you dip it in that sauce, that gogu jang sauce.

Speaker 1: 4:40

Oh man, like we need to do wings with that. Oh yeah, Because it's so. I mean it's amazing, Thank you, it's amazing. And I, you know, listen, I seem to say that a lot and I hope everybody, when they're listening into this, they're like, ah, this guy, Carl, dude, everything is like better than the next, and I'm. It's really like that, Thanks. So forgive me for the interrupt.

Speaker 2: 5:02

So I wanted awesome molasses. So we did some pickled onion and the pickle onion I did it kind of like in the Wickels way. I wanted a little bit of spice to it. But I also wanted some acid and cut it because there's so much between the fat of the pork and the breading and you know frying it quote unquote because we pan seared it. And then you have, I brought in some coast law instead of doing mayonnaise, because Silent John doesn't like mayonnaise mayonnaise. So I did it with just um honey and lime juice and let that sit there for the entire time when we were getting prepped and ready. So by the time we hit it and did the sandwich when you got here, I mean, that was just, it was beautiful. And then the brioche you know toasting it in the cast iron, bringing that butter flavor out, so everything kind of the way the layers flowed together, which is gorgeous. And then we have one of my favorites Good Lord, I couldn't, I can't believe it's taken me this long to get this into this studio the Compartner Rock. 14 day dry aged pork chop. End of story. When you say 14 day dry aged pork, people are like whoa, that thing is amazing.

Speaker 2: 6:05

And we did one style we did, again paying homage to Keith Saracen, and they have tutoring me and teaching me about the Indian subcontinent and cuisine. It's called achar, which is their type of pickle. Achari is when you take it and then you rub or glaze something, and that's exactly what we did. We used white lemon and garlic and then, uh, we then did that was me. We have the uh Stokes purple sweet potato that I pureed up. And then we did that with, um, the green bean honey almond Dean. Wow, instead of just green beans on a Dean. Um, I never thought that would. It was going to be that good. I was like, wow, cause you, you know, when you chop up the almonds and infuse it into the oil, the beans actually tasted like almonds, which was really great. And then we paid homage to French cuisine, because you know most of us that went to culinary school or French trained.

Speaker 2: 7:03

So Crockmizier, which is Bechamel Ham, swiss, um, I got rid of the Bechamel. I wanted to add something different. I want to put my own spin on it. Uh, I made John's a little bit hungover from the cherries he tried earlier. I did drunken fermented cherries with bourbon and, uh, we put that on there with some jalapenos that I pickled as well, and then we did the pork and just seared that and then sliced that and put it with the Gruyere cheese and then put it on a garlic sourdough. That was just yeah.

Speaker 1: 7:34

So I don't think you tried that. No, do you know how good?

Speaker 2: 7:38

Well, you gotta wait one more. And there's that one more. You guys tasted today, no wait, hold on, hold on.

Speaker 1: 7:43

There's a beautiful, gorgeous, open face sandwich sitting right there, three yards for me. That's John's dinner, I guess. So I, I, I gotta get, I gotta take care of that, oh no, no, no, no.

Speaker 2: 7:54

you had a full sandwich. Almost no, I didn't, I had a lot of chocolate cake.

Speaker 1: 7:58

I had a lot of stuff, but a chocolate cake is the sandwich. Okay, can we? Can we?

Speaker 2: 8:03

that's gonna be real here. Well, you, you definitely have to describe the chocolate cake, though. The flat-olors chocolate cake, noble citrus tangerines infused with grommanier smoked sea salt, chipotle um spice. So it had different layers. And then Silent John over there decided to um do a little marshmallow that he kind of took a torch to and he's he was in hog heaven at that point. Yeah, that was his favorite.

Speaker 1: 8:31

That's true.

Speaker 2: 8:31

His eyes just bounced up and or his eyebrows just jumped up and down. Yeah.

Speaker 1: 8:35

I mean, I didn't even hop up to go and get on that train.

Speaker 2: 8:37

No, you didn't?

Speaker 1: 8:38

I think you were full. I'm telling you, that's why I'm trying to tell you.

Speaker 2: 8:41

This is something happened here. We need to either call 911 or Guinness. He stopped.

Speaker 1: 8:46

Psychologist. We need to. They need to do a brain study. See what's going on here. Um, all right, so what was the last dish?

Speaker 2: 8:53

The, the the Crock-Masera was a little well technically, the chocolate flourless cake was the last dish.

Speaker 1: 8:57

That's what you were. Yeah, okay, okay, uh, john, don't just look. I mean say hello, say hi to everybody. I mean he's going to turn this.

Speaker 3: 9:06

Hello, oh, there is.

Speaker 1: 9:07

Wow. It's how many episodes before he actually actually heard. Oh wow, that's great.

Speaker 2: 9:13

I like it.

Speaker 1: 9:14

How about the but dude that sandwich? Like you were a little skeptical, I know you were skeptical on the amazing right, uh, you were skeptical because it was little, it was on the uh. It was on the uh the heat right, but not not, not overpower.

Speaker 2: 9:26

Yeah.

Speaker 3: 9:26

It was good, the back heat.

Speaker 2: 9:28

Yeah, and that and that's, you can actually change the heat level by, you know, taking out the black pepper. You don't have to use as much.

Speaker 3: 9:35

It had a a buffalo flavor, but not.

Speaker 2: 9:40

Yeah, it had this.

Speaker 3: 9:41

Asian. It had an Asian influence, but kind of buffalo.

Speaker 2: 9:46

Yeah, and and that's that's the key to it Um kind of infusing, like when you heat the oil, you're speeding up the process, like you know. When you go to public so you say, like you know, rosemary infused oil, they let that sit in, in that in, or they do other things to it. When you heat the oil, you're infusing oil 100%.

Speaker 3: 10:04

We got to try that with some wings.

Speaker 2: 10:06

Uh, I think I know a place that we could get wings from, by the way, I mean we haven't shot chicken wings, by the way.

Speaker 1: 10:13

Hell, we really haven't and uh, yeah again. Hey, peninsula, really that Duraak stupid like wow.

Speaker 2: 10:19

And you know it's funny. As soon as we walked in, I know one of the the guys that there that war works for compart rock. What I love about compart to rock for chef for us is that it is it's vertical farming what I mean by that, or or upcycling is another word we're using. They actually raise the animals, they raise the feed for the animals. They, you know, harvest the animals there. They don't go out to, like you know, some of these big conglomerates where they have several different contractors out there and farms that are doing things, because it's that's not the way to farm. They're farming things and here's the thing about them.

Speaker 2: 10:55

When you look at commodity and they're doing an ultrasound and looking at the marbling cause, they don't have a grading system for pork. So when they're looking at that um, grading for commodity pork, which is what you get in any supermarket, you're looking at maybe a two to three. When you get to compart to rock and this is a couple years ago they were grading at five to six. They had a sow at the point that graded an eight. That's like on the level of Wagyu or Kobe beef. So for them they've got it down to a system where they're feeding these animals some really great product because they're growing that product for the animals, so their end result is getting a great product. There's more competition out there for the barbecue competition people that are winning because they're using compart to rock and we're not getting paid for that. By the way, that's just my personal feeling, because that that is just delicious. I can eat that pork chop once a week.

Speaker 1: 11:45

And you and you get that it's. It's 14 days. You get a little bit of that nice aged on it.

Speaker 2: 11:49

Nuttiness, yeah, Not, not as nuttiness as you would get on. Um, and it's funny cause some of the pork farmers down here I mentioned about the 14 dry aged from compart and they're like you can dry age pork? Um, hello, you can dry age tuna. You know, with the right way of doing things, you can dry age pretty much anything, because that's what we used to do when we didn't have refrigeration.

Speaker 3: 12:10

Yeah, so true story.

Speaker 1: 12:12

And smoke didn't dry. Age and age whatever yeah.

Speaker 2: 12:16

Speaking about smoke, how was that brisket there, buddy?

Speaker 3: 12:19

Best brisket I ever made. It was so good.

Speaker 1: 12:21

Did you see?

Speaker 2: 12:22

the pictures.

Speaker 1: 12:23

I saw the pictures.

Speaker 2: 12:25

I, he said, do not leave without getting some brisket. Oh.

Speaker 3: 12:27

Oh yeah.

Speaker 2: 12:28

Oh, my God, do not let me leave without the brisket.

Speaker 1: 12:31

It was so good. I know, when you showed the video, when you were squeezing it, the juices were just get that, get out of here. Yeah.

Speaker 3: 12:41

Shout out to Tillman on that one. Yeah, he gave me the tips. How long has he been competing?

Speaker 2: 12:47

Tillman, that's another person we need to know he's coming on in January. Good he definitely needs to cause, that's. Carl is just going to shut up in the corner and I'll talk with Tillman. I'm just going to listen.

Speaker 1: 13:01

Actually he should come here and bring brisket, bring brisket, brisket.

Speaker 2: 13:05

Bring food. Yeah, I'm, you know what. That's a great idea.

Speaker 1: 13:07

Yeah, I don't have to cook that, you know it's a long drive.

Speaker 2: 13:10

Yeah, it is, it's okay, hey, listen, amy, you did it.

Speaker 1: 13:13

If Amy can do it, he's got he's got a built-in hotel right.

Speaker 3: 13:18

Doesn't he? Yeah, he does, he does. That's a expensive. Yeah, I know, maybe it's the gas.

Speaker 1: 14:05

Built in a, oh like a food truck.

Speaker 3: 14:07

No, he's got a bus.

Speaker 2: 14:09

What he's got that. Oh, you were there, I didn't see it. He's never. He's never seen him compete. No, he hasn't.

Speaker 3: 14:15

Oh yeah, he's got like a, so I'm going to film him at the Lakeland Pig Fest.

Speaker 2: 14:21

When's the Pig Fest? And then you got to put it down on my calendar, yeah.

Speaker 3: 14:25

I'll let you know.

Speaker 2: 14:27

What was the one you just went to?

Speaker 3: 14:29

Pig Jam. There's too many pigs. That was Plant City. It's too many.

Speaker 2: 14:33

Pig Jam Pig Fest.

Speaker 3: 14:35

When he is on the show he's going to be in St Augustine. I forget what that one's called.

Speaker 2: 14:41

Pig something.

Speaker 3: 14:42

It's not actually. I forget what it's called.

Speaker 2: 14:45

We need to get JP on the phone too. That's another one that would be good.

Speaker 1: 14:49

Oh yeah for sure. All right, speaking of get on the phone, all right. So let's actually get Chef Roberto DeVinio on the line. Chef, how are you man?

Speaker 4: 15:00

Man, I am awesome, I cannot complain. And just listening about to those sandwiches, man, I am starving. You know, the rice pork, the go-go dancer, all that business is all me.

Speaker 2: 15:13

That's a great name for the sandwich Go-go dancer. Thank you, Chef.

Speaker 1: 15:16

Forget the go-go Jen. Yeah, go-go dancer, that works, I love it All right. So listen man, you have a Chef, you have a very unique history, a very unique life, Am I right?

Speaker 4: 15:33

Well.

Speaker 4: 15:33

I mean you know, I mean it's a cook's life for sure. You know, I'd have to say it's definitely a cook's life and, as every cook out there and I know you have a lot of fans that listen that are in the biz they know that. You know the culinary life is a rough life. You know where you can either hit the bottle hard or hit the hours hard. And you hit life hard, you play hard, you work hard. I did it all, you know, and yeah, it had to pay the price at one point in my life, you know, and it came in and I had to pay the piper.

Speaker 1: 16:03

So and I kind of you know we talked about it off air and we've talked about it actually for a while now I really want the audience to kind of understand. Like you, you're a restaurateur at heart, in fact you know we'll get into it. But you have some good things coming up here soon on that front.

Speaker 4: 16:25

But you had some challenges over this last year and Well, yeah, you know, yeah, and just you know again, you know I think it's a culinary life, you know, I mean I started at a very young age in the kitchen and I fell in absolute love with the kitchen from a very early age. So I've been cooking my whole life and I've been very fortunate. You know, I would have to say I am the lucky cook. You know, you can say that there are, you know, tons of cooks that do well and a lot of chefs that do extremely well, and I'm one of those guys who was lucky, you know, and you know having a lot of restaurants in Puerto Rico, like about 12 different restaurants over the years. And you know completely scratch kitchen. You know from the, you know complete concept creation and you call me a restaurateur, but I have to say I'm a chef first. You know I have a saying that says you know, a chef works his whole life, you know, so he can have a restaurant.

Speaker 4: 17:26

He has a restaurant so he can own a bar and the truth of the matter is you know the truth is I am a chef first and but having lived that really hard chef life, you know I ended up being diagnosed with stage 4 renal cell carcinoma, which is cancer, and that was heartbreaking for me because you know you live your life, you love your life, you know, being a kitchen guy, you know you love your staff, you love the whole restaurant experience, your guests that come in up with great dishes, like your chef there's dude does, and it's just a magical profession. And being told I was pretty much not gonna survive because I had a pretty advanced case of cancer and it metastasized different parts of my body, you know I was a goner and it was very sad. You know I'm a lover of life. Let's be realistic, you know. And who isn't right? I mean when you're told that you know it's a reality check and I really had to stop cooking. I was actually doing some consulting at this point. You know, in my career I wasn't opening restaurants and I was just doing the consulting and basically had to stop and had to slow everything way down and come to grips with the reality of slowly but surely kicking the bucket. And you know I did that for a long time. I got to the point where I couldn't even walk, you know. So, you know, like you said, god played a huge role in my life and decided that I would get another break and I started getting some great treatment there in Orlando at Advent Health, which again extraordinarily talented doctors who put me on some immunotherapy, which is kind of a revolutionary therapy, you know, and it worked.

Speaker 4: 19:23

And right now I'm you know, I'm not cancer free, but I'm cancer less, you know, and I'm thinking I'm a survivor at this point, and I think it goes hand in hand with being a chef, you know. And you know because as a chef you go through hard times sometimes. You know I've opened and closed restaurants. I've seen it all. You know, the good, the bad and the ugly in the restaurant business, and the cancer certainly added a little more ugly to it.

Speaker 4: 19:52

But the beauty of it all is, you know, the day I stepped back into the kitchen I opened two restaurants in Oviedo for a group and it was actually the first time I stepped back into the kitchen after my real strong, heavy duty illness, when I started coming back and I said I can do this again.

Speaker 4: 20:09

And I remember that moment when I started cooking again and it literally my ears, I mean my eyes, welled up with tears and you know I'm not an emotional guy, you know I'm kind of old schoolish that way but I felt this incredible, like just this feeling of gratitude and how wonderful it is to be back in the kitchen and I knew that I was back, you know, and I opened those two restaurants and they're doing well and I feel like, you know, I'm ready to do it all again, you know, and I've had multiple restaurants, you know, where I was the chef of restaurants and I had like maybe five at once and was operating all of them and had tons of sous chefs and cooks and really worked at motivating them to be excellent, to be amazing, and they've gone on to great things, I'm happy to say, very proud to say, running some of the best kitchens in America opening their own restaurants, opening their own food trucks, whatever the case, but fulfilling their desire to be the chef.

Speaker 4: 21:10

And so I just feel like right now I'm back, you know, I'm back in the kitchen, I'm back to creating menus, I'm just back, you know, and that's a huge place to be, all of a sudden, from like being a year ago, you know, kind of like getting ready to say goodbye to the world and thinking I'm never being in the kitchen. And then kitchen to me was my world, it was my absolute, everything. I loved the kitchen. I remember the first day I went into the kitchen I said this is magic. So it was tough, but I'm back and I feel great, you know.

Speaker 2: 21:43

Yeah, chef, let me ask you a question, like when you stepped out and you had to take that break, what was that to your psyche? And then, to add to that question what did it feel like coming back in to your psyche? Did you feel whole again, like did you feel human again?

Speaker 4: 22:00

Well, yeah, no, definitely, man, I tell you there's. You know, certainly, when you are out of the kitchen and you really can't go back, you know you're thinking this is it. You know you love you lose being the chef because I'm Roberto Trevino all my life, you know, I'm Bogot Trevino and that's what it is. But there's a point where you become just the chef and you are the chef to your staff and your guests call you chef and everyone calls you chef and I was so sad that I was no longer the chef.

Speaker 4: 22:31

You know, it was such a big empty feeling that, honestly, I, you know, cancer and death were on the forefront on just everything for me at that point, and not being the chef was the biggest heartbreak, you know. And the other biggest heartbreak was like leaving my dogs behind because I loved them to death. So, but in my family, I mean, that goes without saying but definitely I felt like that was it. You know, to not be the chef anymore was to not be me, and that was huge and that was heartbreaking. And to be able to come back, to be able to be in the kitchen and be fast, because I'm a good cook man, I'm 53 years old actually I'm 54, sorry he's got me by hand.

Speaker 4: 23:21

And I missed the year. All right, but I'm fast, I'm still a good cook and I've always, you know, I opened a lot of restaurants, but I never wanted to be that restaurant owner.

Speaker 4: 23:34

I wanted to be the chef and people would say like, oh well, you know, you're the owner, what are you doing, working so much? And it's like because I'm the chef and the chef works and that's what drives me. I mean, I opened restaurants to be the and became the owner so I could continue to spend all the time I bloody wanted in the kitchen, you know. So, coming back to being the chef, having the opportunity to open restaurants again, and I got a few in online.

Speaker 4: 24:04

Right now here I'm actually in Roswell, georgia, which is just about 30 or 40 minutes out of Atlanta to the north. It's a spectacular food forward community. So I'm gonna open a restaurant here in Woodstock, which is another 20 minutes maybe to the north of here, which again is a beautiful community. It's right on Main Street, america all the way. I love that, but I'm gonna open a really well, do I wanna say family style or a higher end, but something very chef-driven Mexican restaurant, because I believe Woodstock in particular may need it and Mexican food has become such a huge player in the American food scene. I think it's become what is in our youth, what was hamburgers, hotdogs and apple pie room, or the old commercial. Well, I think now it's tacos, chimichangas and birria, you know.

Speaker 1: 25:04

So I believe that, roberto, you know it's funny that you brought Mexican food up, because you turned me on to a place called Azteca that you were close with over there in Lake Nona and they opened up a location here in on the Lakeland side, you know, closer to Tampa, so we go there constantly and it's one of the best Mexican restaurants around.

Speaker 2: 25:29

Where is that? Because I've seen is that like right Azteca de Oro, yeah, azteca de Oro, yeah, ok.

Speaker 1: 25:35

Man, yeah, I mean Mexican all day. Excuse me Mexican all day long. It's huge.

Speaker 4: 25:41

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 25:42

It's huge.

Speaker 4: 25:43

I love it.

Speaker 2: 25:44

The three cuisines that are out there they're probably the most popular is Italian, Chinese and Italian and Mexican. It goes like that, yeah.

Speaker 1: 25:50

Yeah, but see, I've had, I've had chefs cooking, roberto's cooking and and he can throw down.

Speaker 3: 25:56

Well, like he's serious.

Speaker 1: 25:58

Like it's, it's not a no, no, he was an iron chef.

Speaker 1: 26:00

Listen to me. People always say, oh he can. This guy or that girl, the gal, whatever they can cook with this cat is serious. Ok, and I know that I am always very pro positive on on things or people, but I only talk about things or people that I believe in. You know, I don't. I don't bring up the negative stuff because I don't talk about it, because it's not worth anybody's time. You know, we're not that group and this isn't that kind of show. So we do focus on the positive stuff and I will tell you that this guy is a dynamo and I'm, I think no, it's the truth.

Speaker 1: 26:35

It's the truth. I'm not giving you, I'm not, I'm not giving you the stroke here.

Speaker 2: 26:38

It's not blowing smoke.

Speaker 1: 26:39

Yeah, this is the truth. You know I'm I'm thrilled that. You know. I saw you when you were kind of in the in your, in your, in your, when you were down, and then we just had breakfast a week or so ago together and you look great. So I'm thrilled that you're on this, this, this, this, this comeback, and I'm and I'm really happy to hear how you talk to, because the way that you speak, you know you're in a you're in a whole different place. Like you, you saw the, you know you saw your end and when, when you see that it changes you right.

Speaker 1: 27:14

So and I and it's yeah, and it's, and for me as a outsider, seeing your progression and your before to now, it's pretty amazing. So I mean really, God bless you and whatever you're doing, Thank you. I hope that you're wildly successful.

Speaker 2: 27:30

Yeah, chef, I have to ask this question too. My mom had stage four lymphenoma. She was probably on the much run out, run written off as well. She fought it beat it.

Speaker 4: 27:42

Beautiful God bless.

Speaker 2: 27:43

Yeah, and one of the things I said to my mom I'm like listen, if it's your time to go, it's your time to go. But one of the benefits and most people don't realize this to having cancer I guess this is more a statement, I'm more maybe you can tell me what you, how you feel about it is that cancer gives us the time to say what we need to say to that loved one. You know you're not driving down the highway and, god forbid, you're taken out right then and there and you don't have that time. You don't have the time and, as chefs this is, I guess, one of the reasons why I asked that question to you about coming back. Do you feel like when you took that time to heal your body, your mind, your soul and get better, did you watch the wind? Did you watch things grow? How did you look at things and how did you perceive life now coming out as being the quote unquote survivor that you are?

Speaker 4: 28:33

Well, I mean, you know, perception of life is, you know, I think once again, I have a definitely, definitely a bigger outlook on what not to do as a reckless chef you know which I was for many years, as successful as I think I was.

Speaker 4: 28:49

You know I was incredibly reckless and would pound alcohol and you know the rest there's coming out of it. I feel like I'm a lot more focused. I feel like success is really much more attainable. It's not something like you'll get to by chance. You know, as a young chef, you know, will you get noticed? Will your food be enough? Will the restaurant be successful?

Speaker 4: 29:14

I think now, being a survivor of cancer, being a survivor and having life, I think my outlook is a far more realistic approach to the business, to food, to my cooks, to the whole package, and I think that it's going to be an interesting and a big plus in my future endeavors as a chef. You know, I know that it worked. While I was opening these restaurants in Oviedo, I had a completely different approach to my cooks and I was always very tough. I'll be honest, you know I've had a reputation for being an asshole sometimes, you know, and and that's just not going to happen anymore, and I think that's hugely right and the way it should be, you know. I think that it should be a pleasant and happy place to work and you should be able to truly not only push your cooks to be excellent, but really inspire them to live life and to enjoy the moment.

Speaker 2: 30:15

Do you? Will this change your way you're cooking, though, as well? I mean the way you're going to approach cooking?

Speaker 4: 30:21

Well, I don't know, I always like to be a bit of a maverick when it comes to food. I like to push the envelope and I think, you know, I think that's just kind of in me, naturally. So will I be the last of that? I don't think. So I think I'm going to push it and go forward and try to be the best chef you know and certainly give my guest, you know, the ultimate dining experience. And I think that those are the things that drive chef.

Speaker 4: 30:46

Whether or not you, you know, whatever the case, you're a young maverick or you're an old, seasoned chef, I think the drive is always the same. You know, you just want to wow your guest and wow your cooks and you want to wow yourself, you know, I mean, I'm listening to your sandwiches and you're describing them and there's a wow to it. All you know, and I love that, thank you. That's real, that's what drives us. Yeah, and those that I think I will continue to to, to nurture that angle, you know, in my life as a chef.

Speaker 4: 31:20

So, but definitely the approach in business will be a little more cautious. I think the approach to the future is going to be a little more sound and I think that's a plus, you know. So whether or not it's age or the cancer that did that, I'm not sure, but I'm with it. I'm down doing a big project in Miami, you know, doing a hotel with three dining establishments in the hotel, doing the restaurant here in Atlanta, I mean in Roswell, woodstock. And going back to Puerto Rico where I mean I did many restaurants to open something very, very cool and old San Juan, and doing a big beer garden at a big Ferris where one of those big eyes are building in San Juan now.

Speaker 2: 32:08

So yeah, man.

Speaker 4: 32:09

I feel like anything's possible and I thank God every day because it's that simple. Life is a gift and you know you have to recognize that for you to truly excel in this gift that we've been given on this planet in this short time because life is short, regardless of you live 100 years. That's nothing when you think about the span of history, you know zero percent time.

Speaker 2: 32:35

It's nothing. We are only dust in the sands of time. Vapor.

Speaker 4: 32:39

Yeah, without a doubt, and I don't mean to sound so like, want to be profound or anything. I just it's just an important message and I think, if you know, I know you have a huge audience, I know you're doing well with walk and talk, but I think if we do have young listeners and young chefs listening, you know, absolutely love the moment, live it to the max and be all the chefs you could possibly be, because life is beautiful. Yeah, amen, and you know.

Speaker 2: 33:10

I have a friend of mine who was an addict and cooking actually saved his life. And do you feel the same way as that cooking has saved your life, coming back out of cancer and getting back on the horse per se? Yeah?

Speaker 4: 33:26

Well, I'd say it has a huge drive for me to want to survive and to share life more definitely, but I would say it also has a huge part of my negative side of my life as well. So I mean, that's why you have to be sure of every step you take in the kitchen. You know, like you said, your friend was an addict. I would have to say I was somewhat of an addict, you know, for many years.

Speaker 1: 33:50

Yeah, but the cooking cooking isn't what you know turns people to. You know substance abuse and no it's our wiring. It's the wiring it's being around the pirates. Being around others who share the same wiring.

Speaker 4: 34:07

Yeah, it's definitely pirates.

Speaker 2: 34:08

Well, I mean, listen, we will, chef even said it. We're working God awful hours. Our families are. You know, everybody in our family is doing something different. We've talked about this with trying to find the work-life balance. How do you find it? And then you know, chef, you know now that you're going to be opening this restaurant and doing all these different things, how are you going to find that balance? If you're going from you know Georgia, the Miami, to you know Florida, wherever you're going to be, san Juan, how do you find the work-life balance?

Speaker 4: 34:34

You know I would have to say, and you know all chefs will probably say like geez, dude, really the kitchen is the life you know. And to say like you know, oh, you know my family, you know my kids, my wife, you know, which I don't have, probably easier for me because I don't have that kind of life. I really have to hand it to guys, chefs that have children and wives, you know, when they're living that family life. I go like wow, how do you do it?

Speaker 1: 35:04

But most of them don't. I ask my question the same way too.

Speaker 4: 35:09

It's rough man, it's rough and I've seen it. I've seen it so many times. You know, I've seen chefs kind of have to put the being the chef on the back burner to be the better father and to be the better husband. You know, and it's acceptable and it's wonderful, go for it. You know, live that. But at the same time, you know, I think in my particular case, being the chef is my life, and for me to go to all these different places it's just going to let that legend of being the chef in my mind. By the way, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying I'm a legend, it's. I'm a legend in my own mind, everybody is.

Speaker 4: 35:50

Allows it to truly be fulfilled. You know to be that chef. After that, one day, when the end is in you know my presence I will be able to say like I did it. You know I did it, I truly did it. I was the chef, I was the chef's chef.

Speaker 2: 36:07

Is that how you're going about your way now? Are you looking at it like how can I leave my legacy now since the fight, the battle still kind of raging, but it's kind of over on the you're seeing that.

Speaker 4: 36:18

Well, definitely, I tell you what a lot of my cooks have heard, that I was sick and that being reaching out. And I've heard, you know, they've gone on to work with Danielle Blu and they've worked with Wolfgang Puck and they're working, you know, in their own restaurants, like I said, and they're just doing wonderful things and they all thank me. I say to myself is the legacy there? Is the legacy already? Is it a continuation of that legacy? You know, and that's, I think, ultimately, how many cooks can you truly inspire to take the torch forward, to truly live the life, to take your name, you know, and say, when they're Interviewed by food and wine magazines for being one of the best new chefs, and they say I started in chef tribinos kitchen, you know, and people in New York and different places say, oh yeah, I remember that guy.

Speaker 4: 37:11

That's a beautiful thing and it's not like you know, some people would say like, well, they did better than me. On the contrary, they're doing exactly what you wanted them to do way back when. So will I continue to search out those diamonds in the rough? Definitely will I continue to inspire young cooks to go on to greatness, without a doubt, I think in the end that's what has always driven me, has always made me most happy Is to see that and to see the talent you know. To see the talent to find the talented young cooks and say you know, you got what it takes. You're a natural, you know. Be that that, that sort of like Scout, you know hope, finding the best players. That's what I like and I will continue to do that.

Speaker 1: 38:03

Well, you, I'm on the hook here, you know I'm, I'm a, I'm a follower. He looks like he's got a food coma.

Speaker 4: 38:18

Every time I'm on, indeed, and I see the pictures of the Of the sandwiches and I'm like, oh my goodness, what do I got to do to get over there, get one of those? I mean, they look delicious, thank you, thank you.

Speaker 1: 38:32

I'm really in a good spot.

Speaker 2: 38:33

I just took a picture of this.

Speaker 1: 38:36

I feel good. You know I'm listening to what you gotta understand from my perspective, right? You're, you're, as I mentioned in the intro. You've had adversity and you're coming through it and you know you're, you're finding some success. Now, too, like you're getting your after. You know, going through this, this, this terrible Period, you're coming out of it like an act, like an animal. It's a real feel-good story. I love the story. I mean I'm thrilled that you, physically and mentally, are coming out of this. Obviously the story is amazing. I just had amazing food. So I'm sitting here listening to you speak about this amazing story after I just gorged myself on just Stupidly good food. I'm chill.

Speaker 2: 39:25

Yeah, I would just wish I had a bourbon right now.

Speaker 3: 39:28

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 39:30

You the funny thing, is it? Well, it's not funny. We should actually have, when he's scheduled, permits. We should have him come down and do a crevable Farmer's crevable dinner.

Speaker 1: 39:39

Oh, yeah, explain that, to explain that to. So chef.

Speaker 2: 39:42

What we're doing basically? We are mental health advocates, we're farmer advocates as well, and we came up with the idea. What better way to shine the spotlight on local farms here in we're talking independent farms in Florida is to put together the farmers crevable dinner, and what we're doing is we're going out to the farmers and asking them what do they have too much of, what is a bumper crop or what can't they get rid of? And that's where we're first starting development of the menus. Then what we're doing is Actually, that's awesome, thank you. We're actually then going to a farm, a cojava club in specific.

Speaker 2: 40:12

January 13th, we're actually doing our first one, yeah and what we're doing is we're showcasing Right now, I think it's like six or seven different farms. We have nine courses and it's got as everything included. So tip, you know, the tax and drinks, the food $133 for the one ticket. The $200 one is the VIP, which is they get like some swag. They get a bag, they get a whole bunch of different stuff inside it as well. They get to go home with. But we want to. Here's the thing, what I thought coming out of COVID and that was one of the questions I want to ask you. One of the things I realized out of COVID in this industry is that we lost the service part of it, but we lost, more importantly, the experience and making memories, and I think that's one of the things we really need as chefs that we can have is to develop those memories again, and what better way to do it?

Speaker 2: 41:02

by helping farmers and having them showcase their product and their love, their passion and the passion we have. And then here's the other thing, the flip side. We introduce chefs that might not know that right down the street, 13 minutes or 25 minutes or an hour, there's that farmer who's growing that crop or raising those chickens, or weight raising that beef, and that's where we want to go with it I.

Speaker 4: 41:26

Love that, that's cool.

Speaker 2: 41:27

So definitely we'd love to have you. Good Lord, that'd be incredible to have you to come when your schedule permits and it's got to be cool outside.

Speaker 1: 41:38

So like.

Speaker 2: 41:39

January 13 February. You do, we gotta do one in February.

Speaker 1: 41:44

Take it easy.

Speaker 4: 41:46

Are you guys gonna do them every month? No, yeah, not yet. Yes, but, no listen.

Speaker 3: 41:50

I would throw a party.

Speaker 1: 41:51

Listen to me, yes once a month I would listen to me, I'll explain this. I would throw parties every week like if I felt like everyone would come like, honestly, I'm not a part like. I go to the parties. I have fun at the parties. I can be that center on the couch where everybody's, I can do that, but I'm not gonna throw the party. I Get anxiety, I sweat.

Speaker 2: 42:12

He's god, you have no idea. Yeah, I know that's right he's. I don't dig it at all.

Speaker 1: 42:16

But it's so, he, you know there, in fact. So a couple of weeks ago I had this nasty flu, horrible flu, and I was kind of out of it. And In the worst part of this, the week of the flu, I Find out that, hey, by the way, we're gonna start doing, you know, farm table dinners. I'm like and, and it's scheduled, and I'm just like, oh my god, I I shut off my phone, I don't look at my phone. For days I didn't want to know.

Speaker 2: 42:42

There's a thing he's never lived in our life where we can put on something and do something really quick in a drop of a dime Cuz, that's what we do, and we do it really well, right, he's never really seen it, though.

Speaker 1: 42:52

Wait a minute, wait a minute wait a minute, it isn't what you can execute.

Speaker 2: 42:56

I have, I have every ounce of the people getting there.

Speaker 1: 43:00

Yeah, it's the people spending the dough to get there. You know, that's the part, that's the tricky part, you know yeah, that's the tricky part cuz we need.

Speaker 1: 43:09

You know, listen, it's good. So we're building a following, right, and the following, the following we have is is in a unique space. We don't exactly have a following for putting on dinners, right, even though you're an awesome chef and your pedigree is pretty fantastic, like you. You know you, you obviously can put it on, you do it, but they don't know us for that right, right. So you know we're trying to like fast-track into this lane that the other car, the other cars that are on that lane, are going 200 miles an hour and we're kind of pulling in at like 75. You know what I mean.

Speaker 3: 43:45

Like it's a bit.

Speaker 1: 43:46

You just mentioned Miami.

Speaker 2: 43:49

Yes, it's going to go next.

Speaker 1: 43:53

Strange, correct, so, but you know, that's that's where I'm coming from here. That's my, my thought process. Like I know what we can do it, I know we can execute and I know they will be Bad ass, I you know. But getting the people in, you know the guests usher in, and that's another story and how many guests you look in the feed.

Speaker 4: 44:11

I can we?

Speaker 2: 44:12

I don't know I mean we can.

Speaker 1: 44:13

We can feed upwards of 80.

Speaker 2: 44:15

Yeah, at the farm, at the one for me, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 4: 44:18

It could be.

Speaker 1: 44:19

It could be a huge event, or it could just be like the three of us eating a lot of food which I can handle. I can manage that. I can put it down, yeah but you can eat for right. I eat for four, I can do it. Oh my goodness.

Speaker 4: 44:34

Yeah, I can do that. I don't mind eating, I know you.

Speaker 1: 44:38

I know you can too. Well, good food yeah.

Speaker 2: 44:41

Yeah, craveable food, I should say.

Speaker 1: 44:43

I mean, I could I do Doritos, I can do with great craveable food, I can pretty much put down whatever.

Speaker 2: 44:48

Yeah, well, no, I've actually seen it, witnessed it, I know.

Speaker 4: 44:52

You know what? You know what? I've become sort of a big fan of believe it or not Pringles those things are awesome yeah. You said a whole little poop of them you know what's funny?

Speaker 1: 45:03

I'm gonna drop, I'm gonna. I'm gonna drop a brand, all right. So we all heard of Cheetos, right?

Speaker 2: 45:09

now here he comes.

Speaker 1: 45:10

Well, you're going to a buddy of ours, a new, a new found buddy. He's affiliated with a company called Chiwis. Chiwis was the original Cheetos, cheetos spun off from Chiwis, that that was the original brand. So, foodie Petutie, chef poo Travera out of New Orleans, he, he's affiliated with this, with this company, with this brand, so he sends me a box of um. I don't know that must have been like 20.

Speaker 1: 45:41

Yeah, but it was like 20 bags all different ones. I I ate a lot of them oh no, my kids actually, because it's really good, like they're really had them finally when I got to Dallas.

Speaker 2: 45:53

Yeah, sorry, hey, listen, I brought you the other stuff today. Yeah, I know I got the. Thank you, steve. Yeah, there's Scott Green for the dots and yeah, that's a shot.

Speaker 4: 46:00

That's a chip in the sauce. Yeah, I brought it. So Chiwis Chiwis is from Louisiana.

Speaker 1: 46:06

Yeah, yep, yeah, it's a Louisiana company that had a.

Speaker 2: 46:09

We had a jalapeno one that was pretty.

Speaker 1: 46:12

Jalapeno was. That's my favorite. Oh, it was the other one we had. Well, I had them all.

Speaker 2: 46:17

So no, but we did it, remember, we did it in Dallas. We did the soft shell crawfish. We.

Speaker 1: 46:22

I think it was the original.

Speaker 2: 46:23

Yeah, I did a whole mixture of the different ones. They were fantastic.

Speaker 4: 46:26

You guys actually made a dish with it.

Speaker 2: 46:29

Yeah, I kind of polarized the Product into like a, like a, into like almost like a flower Do you want to call it? Like almost like a corn flour, cornmeal and I just dredged the soft shell crawfish and sauteed them. Wow they're. I don't know if you've ever had soft shell crawfish, yeah, but let me just tell you yeah, yeah, game changer. Game changer.

Speaker 1: 46:53

I never had them before, Gerardo. I never. I've not had them before and I literally I'm I don't know much that a pound of those things by myself.

Speaker 2: 47:02

We had seven pounds.

Speaker 1: 47:03

Yeah, I, literally I cleared a tray. I know you did. Yeah, I was cooking them, I know, I know and then once we put that, that's sauce on there the ketchup was.

Speaker 2: 47:14

It's like a ketchup hot sauce and then effort made that that's DATS.

Speaker 1: 47:19

Yeah, that's a different brand, that's. That's a whole nother sauce, but it's, it's also a Louisiana thing, right.

Speaker 2: 47:27

Yeah, yeah, and everyone thinks it's because the dat from you know who dat? It's actually the guy's initials, if I'm not mistaken the story was. I don't remember the name either.

Speaker 2: 47:37

Taylor was last name, I think it was when Scott Green was telling us the story, right, and basically what it was. It was like almost like a sweet, my plate chili and they try to replicate this, this family members recipe, but they didn't have it because obviously that person passed away and they're trying to replicate it and I guys like, finally, you know what we're done. We're just this is how we're gonna put it out. Let me tell you something it's like you might as well just sell it on the Miami Street corner is crack, because that's what it is it was.

Speaker 4: 48:04

You think about another Louisiana, great Avery Island man, tabasco. I'm Yep, yeah, lord, I mean talk about killer. I mean, and you know, what I love about Tabasco is, if you let it sit, seems to get hotter, just like like it must Evaporate or something. It just gets so hot when it's dark brown. It's been sitting around forever. That's when Tabasco is real good. You know, yeah, spicy the better.

Speaker 1: 48:30

Chef, you like? What's your? What's your heat preference? What are the cascala one to ten? What's your heat preference?

Speaker 4: 48:36

You know I go ten all the way. I don't mind hot at all. I do have an arrows I make. I make my own habanero hot sauce and it's just like Real hot, I love it I on a bet.

Speaker 1: 48:47

On a bet, I did this thing. I ate a habanero and no, it's rough. It was rough. I knew what I was getting into. It's not like I was done with it, but I have to tell you it was ten minutes of Just like agony. It was ten complete ten minutes of sheer agony. But as soon as that ten minutes ended, I had the. I had the like, the most clarity in my euphoria like just I.

Speaker 4: 49:19

Felt amazing from for a door thing that was released, or amazing.

Speaker 1: 49:24

It was, and I said to myself I remember it vividly I said I gotta do this once a week, you know obviously not doing. Yeah, yeah, those people are crazy.

Speaker 2: 49:36

You gotta. You gotta read up on. But pucker farms. Guy names Ed Curry.

Speaker 1: 49:41

I'm not this guy's the one invented the Carolina Reaper, but pucker buck pucker, yeah, but pucker farms, because even John her, oh yeah, he definitely knows that over there.

Speaker 2: 49:51

Here's the thing. So he originally went to medical school and then got kicked out because he was doing a little bit of the you know, the 420, yeah, and he was hypothesizing that Cancer and the way to get rid of it. He looked around the world to see who had the lowest cancer rates, and it was everyone around the equator. So he hypothesized that was the cap case him. So he developed the peppers to be cancer fighters. Hmm, and then, well behold his largest. At the time his largest Customer was the DoD, the Department of Defense Defense he was he's developed a pepper, that's five million Skolva units, wow.

Speaker 3: 50:29

So the Carolina.

Speaker 2: 50:30

Reaper to put in perspective. Pepper spray from the police is 2.1 million Skolva units. He's Carolina reapers 2.2 million Skolva units. Naturally occurring is the scorpion pepper from Trinidad, which is 1.5 I think, and I think the ghost peppers 1.2 million. So what he did is he crossbred Chinette, not genetically, like he did it through bees and hi pollination.

Speaker 4: 50:55

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 50:56

I am pepper with Carolina Reaper, and that's how he did it.

Speaker 1: 51:00

So it's yeah, he's up with. Carolina. Roberto, you're gonna try that pepper.

Speaker 4: 51:04

I Did I'll try that pepper, I don't mind I, I can do heat, I don't mind it.

Speaker 1: 51:09

One bit, will you do it I?

Speaker 4: 51:11

love the challenge with the hot.

Speaker 1: 51:13

Oh, jeff, will you do it on the show? We do it on the show.

Speaker 4: 51:18

Yeah, I'll do it on the show for sure. Sweet bread, Mexican sweet bread. I'll have milk for you too. I'll have, I'll get whatever you want For your side on this better have some ice cream and ice and all that other stuff too man, I've seen people go through some horrible Situations eating those peppers and these pepper challenges. You know that I don't know.

Speaker 2: 51:42

Chef, I gotta be honest, I worked for a broadliner and when they introduced a ghost pepper cheese and they had dehydrated ghost peppers and this idiot was like, oh, let me go ahead, because I eat Scotch bonnets. I'm married to a Jamaican, so we just got bonnets like it's like very nice, so I'm like I popped this thing in my mouth. It took a little bite and middle it, literally in mid-sentence. Couldn't talk for five minutes. I Was, and that's that's. That's a miracle.

Speaker 1: 52:05

I think you should take a bite of some of that now.

Speaker 4: 52:10

It's deadly, I mean it's you know you can't mess with peppers like that, you know I mean. I mean there are people who claim to be be able to eat a lot of hot peppers, but sometimes, I mean, there are peppers out there that can put the hurt on you, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1: 52:28

I'm good with that. You're not gonna do the one-chip challenge. No, I'm good. I did listen, I've done it, I did what I had to do there and had my experience and and that is as they say. That, yeah, all right. Chef, how do people find you? What's your? What's your, what's your preferred social media?

Speaker 4: 52:48

Instagram chef Roberto Trevino. Um LinkedIn's always good. I found that LinkedIn has become my more adult beverage.

Speaker 1: 52:58

LinkedIn is bad at. I love LinkedIn, man. That's the place to be.

Speaker 4: 53:01

It's really good. Yeah, it's really good. You connect with some great people you know, especially in the industry. So LinkedIn is great. But yeah, chef Rebecca, I gotta go on.

Speaker 1: 53:11

Wait, wait, chef, what is?

Speaker 4: 53:12

it. No on Twitter. I know I know X is not the thing anymore, but it's still good I'm there, Fine me, you know yeah, I'll put your socials in the description on the podcast.

Speaker 1: 53:24

Very nice.

Speaker 4: 53:25

I'm also a Liverpool fan. You'll never walk alone. Just just put it out there.

Speaker 2: 53:29

Heard that. Yeah, that's Trotter, I'm the Spurs heard that.

Speaker 1: 53:33

Really yeah All right, that's gonna be, that's gonna be. That's gonna be a topic for another day Coming up. We're coming up on the on the end, chef. Sincerely Thank you, my friend. I am thank you for coming on the show and sharing your story. Lot more to come, my man. Thanks for coming on, john. You're awesome, jefferson, I mean you know you're okay too? All right we thanks guys. You're welcome, we are out.