Ever wondered what it's like to work under the relentless glare of Michelin stars? Brace yourself for a whirlwind odyssey into the world of gastronomic gladiators as we converse with the indomitable Melissa Firpo. With a culinary career spanning a formidable 25 years, Melissa peels back layers of the kitchen's steaming facade to expose the grit and perseverance that fuel her journey—from commanding Michelin-starred bastions to pioneering her gourmet deli.
Melissa also talks about the truth behind being a contestant on Gordon Ramsay's Hells Kitchen reality tv show.
We navigate the labyrinth of kitchen hierarchy, where the heat isn't just from the stoves but the crucible of competition and the quest for respect in a male-dominated arena. Melissa reveals the psychological battlefront of reality cooking shows, where chefs blend their finesse with fortitude to outlast the on-screen frenzy. The conversation cooks up a storm as we probe into how these experiences mold the culinary prowess needed to craft meals that are not just nourishing for the body but also for the soul, underlining the significance of a balanced life for all high-fliers, particularly entrepreneurs.
As the conversation simmers down, we serve a final course of wisdom on establishing a sustainable and health-oriented lifestyle. Learn how tailored nutrition and exercise can be as crucial to a chef's recipe for success as the finest ingredients are to their dishes. Melissa's insights into personalized chef services unravel the artistry of meeting diverse client diets with the same dedication one offers their own family. So, tie your apron strings and join us for a heart-to-heart that goes beyond the pass, proving that whether you're dishing out culinary masterpieces or stirring up your business, the secret ingredient is always a dash of intention and a spoonful of passion.
Follow Melissa Firpo on tiktok - https://www.tiktok.com/@healthychef1
Network with other entrepreneurs and get access to monthly free live trainings: https://bit.ly/38w3VNi
Download our free Podcast Gear Guide: http://www.LaunchMyPodcastShow.com
Follow us: https://www.facebook.com/dontfeargrit
https://www.instagram.com/dontfeargrit/
Ever wondered what it's like to work under the relentless glare of Michelin stars? Brace yourself for a whirlwind odyssey into the world of gastronomic gladiators as we converse with the indomitable Melissa Firpo. With a culinary career spanning a formidable 25 years, Melissa peels back layers of the kitchen's steaming facade to expose the grit and perseverance that fuel her journey—from commanding Michelin-starred bastions to pioneering her gourmet deli.
Melissa also talks about the truth behind being a contestant on Gordon Ramsay's Hells Kitchen reality tv show.
We navigate the labyrinth of kitchen hierarchy, where the heat isn't just from the stoves but the crucible of competition and the quest for respect in a male-dominated arena. Melissa reveals the psychological battlefront of reality cooking shows, where chefs blend their finesse with fortitude to outlast the on-screen frenzy. The conversation cooks up a storm as we probe into how these experiences mold the culinary prowess needed to craft meals that are not just nourishing for the body but also for the soul, underlining the significance of a balanced life for all high-fliers, particularly entrepreneurs.
As the conversation simmers down, we serve a final course of wisdom on establishing a sustainable and health-oriented lifestyle. Learn how tailored nutrition and exercise can be as crucial to a chef's recipe for success as the finest ingredients are to their dishes. Melissa's insights into personalized chef services unravel the artistry of meeting diverse client diets with the same dedication one offers their own family. So, tie your apron strings and join us for a heart-to-heart that goes beyond the pass, proving that whether you're dishing out culinary masterpieces or stirring up your business, the secret ingredient is always a dash of intention and a spoonful of passion.
Follow Melissa Firpo on tiktok - https://www.tiktok.com/@healthychef1
Network with other entrepreneurs and get access to monthly free live trainings: https://bit.ly/38w3VNi
Download our free Podcast Gear Guide: http://www.LaunchMyPodcastShow.com
Follow us: https://www.facebook.com/dontfeargrit
https://www.instagram.com/dontfeargrit/
The show is about to start in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Speaker 1:This is, don't Fear, great with Wabtower, mina, marketing strategies and advertising technologies to help you build a better business. Hey guys, and welcome back to DFG, the only show that matters on all of the interweb, and we've got a really special guest in studio. We've got a friend, an old friend actually. I've known you for a while, melissa Furpo. How are you doing? Good, how are you? I am doing well. Thanks for coming out here, I guess. Just give everyone some context, let them know who you are sort of like, what you're an expert in, and we're going to be talking about some of the celebrity stuff that she's been involved with. Hopefully, that's okay. I'm going to put you on the hot seat, if that's all right. I love the hot seat. There's nowhere else. I'd rather be Awesome, awesome. So go ahead, melissa. Let them know who you are and what you're doing.
Speaker 2:Okay so, chef of like 25 years, personal chef now, worked in restaurants for years health coach a little bit, help people at the gym a little bit there, and that's basically what I do.
Speaker 1:Yeah, cooking, cooking, yeah, you live a pretty cool life, you do a lot of really cool things and since I've known you, you've been like the chef, right? Yes, so you grew up on my wife's court, right? The famous court. I didn't mention it just in case all of our lovely friends there don't want to remain anonymous.
Speaker 2:They'll knock at their doors next week Exactly.
Speaker 1:But you were always known as the chef, right From an early on, like that was your career path. Right, you went to school.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I went to culinary school at the time got an associate's degree, was a culinary teacher in Manhattan on 14th and 7th yeah, so I've been doing it for years. I worked in Manhattan all the Michelin star restaurants.
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh.
Speaker 2:And then worked on the islands with a bunch of Scattle Brothers, Bolsons, all the big names on the island, oh, my Own Gourmet Deli for years. So it's a ton of experience here, yeah.
Speaker 1:Okay, so the restaurant world is known as being a high stress environment. Not everyone is cut out to be a chef in a restaurant. I know a lot of people are like, oh, I want to be a chef Because they know, like vers the hours and the hostility. People like, oh, I didn't know it was not just cooking, right, right, right. So tell us a little bit for those that are not familiar with the sort of like the back end world, like the secret behind the door curtain stuff, like let's peel it off for a second. Let people know, like, what goes on in that kitchen of a restaurant to make everything as good as it is on the floor.
Speaker 2:I think it does depend on what, if you want to say caliber kitchen you're working in. So a Michelin star kitchen is going to be different than if you're working at the diner or if you're working at a local mom and pop type restaurant.
Speaker 1:You know, it depends yeah.
Speaker 2:But basically it's about 121 hour weeks that I worked weekends, all weekends, all holidays, and it's hot.
Speaker 1:Is it really? Oh boy, is it hot.
Speaker 2:I think my thermometer would go up to about 165 degrees, so there, is oh my gosh. So there is a learning curve there, I guess a heat acclimation curve there. When you see somebody that's new or for instance, you would get culinary students to come in and do their hours, you know me and the guys would, we'd look at, be July, be about 130 at 9am in the morning, and you know you see Regretting all life choices, right, and then you see the person to start to, you see it's a glaze.
Speaker 1:Oh, is that right? And they start to zone. Oh, my gosh.
Speaker 2:And they're like all right, get them the ice.
Speaker 1:Right, get them some water.
Speaker 2:Get a towel around their neck and a picture of what you know. It's crazy. There's no breaks there's no lunch break.
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh.
Speaker 2:There's no benefits. Health benefits there's no. You know you're running and you're in charge of your station. So in Michelin Star restaurants you know what you have to do. You get in at the appropriate time to get it done. You ask how many covers there are that night. Or they're 200, or they're 400. You prep what you have to prep out, as much as you have to or as much as in the walk-in, and then dinner service starts at you know seven. And then in the Michelin Star restaurants at least when I worked in them there are no dupes. You know the machines with the tickets. You have a crazy European chef standing there ordering you know five egg roll, followed by you know one steak, one medium, one medium rare, followed by two, and you got to keep track of it. And if you don't, you run around the front with a marker and go and keep. It's all on you.
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh.
Speaker 2:So it's a lot.
Speaker 1:So why on earth would you ever want to do that? That sounds awful.
Speaker 2:You know what it was like there are no women.
Speaker 1:Okay, I worked with one woman.
Speaker 2:I worked with one girl In the 25 years. It's all men. So I think you know you don't see you start off easy. You start off in salads.
Speaker 1:They don't put you on meat and fish in the beginning.
Speaker 2:So I don't know, I think for me it was a challenge. It was kind of like all these men standing there. And why aren't there anyone you? Know, women were in pastry, where it doesn't get hot, it's, you know it's like a heart surgeon.
Speaker 1:You didn't want that.
Speaker 2:No, I didn't. Yeah, it was too precise. If it's off, it doesn't rise. It doesn't, oh, please I can't stand anything, you know where, me if it doesn't taste right, I can fix it. There's always something I could do it's more creative I feel like on that end where the pastry is more decorative. I don't want to decorate it.
Speaker 1:I got you All right.
Speaker 2:So it I just, I don't know. I just liked it. I wasn't scared of it.
Speaker 1:Okay, scared of the cooking, and you weren't scared of the environment, you weren't scared of the pressure. Being the only woman in that space, you didn't mind any of that.
Speaker 2:No, because after you showed me what to do, I was the best one in there.
Speaker 1:Is that right?
Speaker 2:So I got jobs, whatever job I wanted After I got you All right.
Speaker 1:So let's let's talk about something here. You know you were on a pretty famous show, right? Are you allowed to talk about it? That's okay, all right. So you were on Gordon Gordon Ramsay's show, right? Hell's Kitchen, yeah, season three, season three, so one of the earlier seasons.
Speaker 2:Years ago.
Speaker 1:And I know we've talked off camera about your experience there, but I want everyone to be able to hear about your experience, like from the very beginning to the end, because I think it's number one. It's not what people think now, right, but does he actually yell at you, yes, so, all right, so that's real, yes, okay, so he's really screaming at you guys, oh yeah. Okay, and then like the people that you're cooking to try to advance in the show like, are they genuinely like nervous when he's around?
Speaker 2:I think they are, but I think it. See, I think if you worked in kitchens and you have a history of that, truly have a history of that, you're used to the yelling.
Speaker 1:Oh, interesting.
Speaker 2:Because that's all there is in kitchens. If you do something wrong, for instance in a kitchen, european chefs, they just are not that, they're crazy. They have their own way, they want to done their own way. So, for instance, let's say a chef told you, take this fork, put it down on the table here, then pick it up five minutes later and put it down here. And then pick it up five minutes later and put it down there. Don't ask questions.
Speaker 1:Yeah, okay Just do it. Right, okay, so then in a natural kitchen.
Speaker 2:You're going to get yelled at because your way is not better than the chef's way, don't pick up the fork and just go put it over there, even though you could don't do it.
Speaker 1:But I would imagine that a lot of people are still arrogant about that stuff.
Speaker 2:And then they get yelled at and they get thrown out of the kitchen. Don't talk, don't answer back. It's yes, chef, and that's it all day.
Speaker 1:So, in that environment, though, you have to be confident, right, but there's a difference between confidence and arrogance, absolutely Right, and I think you know, because I think your experience is really good for a lot of people that watch and listen to this show, because I don't think anyone is going to be in as hostile and stressful as an environment as you are when you're in a restaurant, right, so I think a lot of people can learn from this. You know what is that difference between confidence and arrogance? How do you balance the two? How do you lead Like? You're in a tough position, right, elephant in the room, you're a woman in sort of a kitchen where there's a lot of men, so you're already working against that in a way, right, and now now, on top of it, you're in an environment where it's so hostile as well. So how do you make your voice known without coming across as arrogant?
Speaker 2:In kitchens. I don't think you need. I think that's the difference. I don't think you need to have your voice known, I think you just need. You're there, what station are you on, and do it. You have to learn not to you. Don't speak in kitchens. The chef tells you oh do actually. Yes, chef, if you do it all it comes out pristine. You're on top of the game With the men in the kitchen. You know, I used to have to carry up 25 pound bags of flour from the basement because typically in Manhattan everything's in the basement and the restaurant's up here. So you're up down, up down. Once the men see you carry it two or three times or you get cut and you start bleeding and you're not crying or you're not fainting at 160 degrees, they all gain a level of respect for you.
Speaker 2:Before that point in time, you do have to prove yourself. If you don't want to and it's not for you get out of the kitchen.
Speaker 1:I love it.
Speaker 2:That's actually like a meme right there. It's too hot, it's like can't take the heat. Get out of the kitchen.
Speaker 1:We're going to clip that one. That's great.
Speaker 2:But once they say, oh look, she's trucking up a 25 pound bag of flour.
Speaker 1:You earn their respect.
Speaker 2:You earn respect and then you never have to pick up. I never had to pick up another bag of flour.
Speaker 1:Is that right?
Speaker 2:Nothing They'll be like. In fact, they would get things for me.
Speaker 1:Oh, wow.
Speaker 2:Oh my God, Melissa, I know you needed the chicken. I was down there. I got you the 40 pounds of chicken you needed to fillet.
Speaker 1:Right, because you earned it, you earned it. Interesting. Same with the chef. Yeah, that's really good advice. You shut up, do your job.
Speaker 2:You can't be the type of person that's going to listen. Shut up, do your job. You'll get moved up when you're a sous chef. Then you get more respect. You could speak more. If that's not for you, get out of the kitchen. You're not going to do well.
Speaker 1:Right. So was there ever a time that you don't have to name the restaurant if you don't want to do? Or the environment? Was there ever time? Nowhere you were like this is a lot. This is getting to the point where it might be too much. This is not the environment I want to be in.
Speaker 2:No.
Speaker 1:Really so you were really jazzed about this stuff.
Speaker 2:I just was good at it yeah. And I kept moving up and I kept making more money back then.
Speaker 1:That's a motivator, I guess. Yeah, money was always a motivator.
Speaker 2:So I and then I was able to work at any restaurant I wanted. Wow, Not many people could say that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I just excelled at it.
Speaker 2:So I kept with it. It wasn't daunting to me.
Speaker 1:Yes, so tell us a story how you got on the show.
Speaker 2:That's funny. So my mother was watching Hell's Kitchen and I would come out on weekends and she'd be like you got to see this new show because reality TV didn't exist. And I would watch it and say something's wrong. This just doesn't happen in the real world. Different things. And then I was applying for Gordon Ramsay's new restaurant, london, nyc, on Craigslist and right underneath it said apply for Hell's Kitchen, the TV show and I said oh, whatever, and I don't know why. I sent my resume. It was a click of a button, yeah, but I did.
Speaker 1:Because it was easy. It was easy.
Speaker 2:If you would have said to me when you send this you're going to be on the show, I would have never sent it, Really. I don't want to be on the show. No, because it looked like something was just off.
Speaker 1:Oh, okay, okay.
Speaker 2:And like why do I want to be on a cooking show? I'm cooking in Boullet or David Birkin Donut, I'm at the top of the top.
Speaker 1:Why do I?
Speaker 2:I don't know.
Speaker 1:Well, on that subject real quick. So what was, back then, the reputation that Gordon Ramsay's TV show had amongst like legit chefs? Were they like no, I'm not touching that, I have too much pride, I'm a purist or did it have a good reputation?
Speaker 2:I don't think the reality TV game was out long enough to even have that opinion. Yet Now a lot of chefs would have that opinion. It's been out, but it was brand new. So, really what it was doing was showing the outside world a glimpse of what it was like to be in the back of a restaurant, because all that yelling and screaming is true, that does happen all day long. That's all that happens with European chefs Absolutely they scream.
Speaker 1:So there are chefs that are screaming it's wrong, like his famous line. I'm just saying Really.
Speaker 2:Oh, screaming all day long, sometimes like remember, peanuts won't want yeah. No you just get if they're addressing you.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:What do you want?
Speaker 1:A hot plate something right, just get to the point, right.
Speaker 2:And then the rest becomes noise.
Speaker 1:Wow. If not, I don't know how you'd work. So you develop this skill of being able to tune a lot of that other stuff out and just zeroing in on what I need to do, screaming at two or three other people.
Speaker 2:I got to keep going. Yeah, I can't be involved.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, that building that level of like resilience is huge, I would imagine. All right. So you applied to the show, not thinking that you're going to get in you didn't even really want to but because of how easy it was, you applied to the show. And then what happens next?
Speaker 2:They called me for an interview. Twin Talent and Agency called me into Manhattan, skipped all the lines, all the mishmash.
Speaker 1:When you say lines like how long was this line.
Speaker 2:Well, when they called me, they're like we want to interview you for the show I actually was away on vacation in Arizona. I'm like who is this? I forgot that I even sent in.
Speaker 1:You're kidding, I forgot about it.
Speaker 2:Oh my gosh, it must have been two months later, a month later.
Speaker 1:Yeah, okay.
Speaker 2:I go well, I'm not waiting on any line, like I don't want to be on the show, like I'm not, you know what's the process, and they're like no, no, no, don't worry, we're an agency, you're just going to come to this address. I already lived in the city.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And then I went, made an appointment, went and there was like four or five city block filled with people.
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh, waiting. So was that like when you pulled up and you see this?
Speaker 2:They said just walk up the stoop and pass all the lines and give the guy your name, like a club.
Speaker 1:You must have felt pretty good, though you get to bypass that whole line, right I?
Speaker 2:would have walked away.
Speaker 1:Really.
Speaker 2:There's no way, I was waiting for that. It's not something you know. These people wanted to be on the show.
Speaker 1:I didn't necessarily want to be on the show I gotcha, okay, all right, so you bypass the lines. You go into this building right and they interviewed.
Speaker 2:They said okay, we've got to make a videotape for Fox.
Speaker 1:So they did a taping immediately.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Oh, wow, okay.
Speaker 2:And they interviewed me. Never saw a knife skill. Looked at my resume.
Speaker 1:But what were they taping then?
Speaker 2:They were just taping. Where did you work?
Speaker 1:Really.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that type of thing.
Speaker 1:What's your experience Interesting?
Speaker 2:How long have you been doing it?
Speaker 1:Nothing about cooking, I never picked up a knife.
Speaker 2:The whole interview process.
Speaker 1:Not once. So they never learned whether or not you actually could cook.
Speaker 2:No, I'm gonna say it's based on looks and personality.
Speaker 1:Wow.
Speaker 2:On how they want the cast to end up.
Speaker 1:Really, that's my opinion. Okay, so the nuttier you are or the pretty you are, that's like your golden then.
Speaker 2:I would imagine so, or? If you're maybe a meek. They would like a meek. You know they wanna mix it up.
Speaker 1:I see, I see, okay, but if you're just like run of the mill average individual, you don't have a chance. I don't think so. Okay, I think we just disappointed a whole lot of people. But yeah, that's the truth. And though I mean for that reality show for that they were in awe.
Speaker 2:You know, I believe I came into the interview myself. I had a skull necklace on at the time. I had a crop top, I had cargo army, you know, with khaki pants.
Speaker 1:Did you intentionally try to dress for this interview Like, oh, I know, I'm gonna wear this, I'm gonna wear that.
Speaker 2:I guess just like I would if I had a day off.
Speaker 1:So it was just you. You just showed up as you.
Speaker 2:Black heels you know my. Gucci bag, my hair, my makeup and they're, like you, working kitchens. But I would get that anyway by the chefs. The chefs would laugh at me when. I came for interviews.
Speaker 1:Right, they probably didn't believe you, right.
Speaker 2:No, I hand the rest of the day and they'd look.
Speaker 1:And I'd be like that's why I'm surprised that they didn't ask you to cook.
Speaker 2:Well, the chefs do They'll say come in Saturday night at six and stodge Stodge would be coming for free and let me see what you can do.
Speaker 1:Oh, interesting, full stodging, stodging so that's an industry term. Yeah, so if I wanna ever try to get a free meal in a restaurant, I could be like I'm here for the stodging.
Speaker 2:You will. The chef would be like, yeah, come stodge. Really but then you'd have to cook in the back.
Speaker 1:That's very cool, you know, I can fake it till. I make it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I can fake it. I don't know. It's crazy. And they ask you to go on the line not ever seeing the menu.
Speaker 1:Really.
Speaker 2:So you gotta take the menu. I used to take the menu, depending what station they put it, you would study it beforehand. Well, you don't get to study it, but they'll be like you're gonna be on fish tonight. Go work with Rob on fish.
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh okay.
Speaker 2:So I'd be like hi, rob, I'm Melissa.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:Let me see what's on your station.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:Show me, I'd write it down. Fish, chili, lime salt, tricolor cauliflower truffle oil. Okay, I'd write it down. I'd write it down when it's cold I know what's going on, I gotcha. And you just have to wing it.
Speaker 1:Really, oh geez.
Speaker 2:I thought that they either hired you or didn't.
Speaker 1:Okay, but they didn't do that for this show for Gordon Ransby.
Speaker 2:No, you never cooked one thing.
Speaker 1:Okay, so they're talking to you, they're recording you as they're having this conversation with you and they send it into Fox. And they just send that into Fox. Yep, okay, so they sent this particular tape into Fox. You leave that building. What are you thinking in this moment? Are you thinking?
Speaker 2:oh, I got this in the bag. I tell you, I'll be in contact with you within a month.
Speaker 1:Really.
Speaker 2:That's it.
Speaker 1:Okay. So they say we're gonna be in contact with you in a month, you walk away. Are you thinking that they're still gonna actually call? No, you're not at this point. No, you're like, oh, this was fun, I got to come in, whatever, right? Okay, so the call does come in. Oh, it does, it does. So let's take it from there now. So the call comes in. Mm-hmm, right, and tell us they like you they liked you, production liked you.
Speaker 2:I believe I'm probably saying this out of order because it was so long ago, but next was some psychological testing.
Speaker 1:Really yeah. How would they do that?
Speaker 2:Where I went to actually take it if it was online or I physically had to go to a place, I forget, but I remember I believe them telling me it was the police test to learn your personality type and, I guess, to make sure that you're not insane and you're not gonna take these knives and go stab some of them on set and stab someone.
Speaker 1:Yeah, on set, you know. Oh, geez, all right. So they where they are looking for some physical traits, they are at least trying to filter some people out that would be harmful to others. Okay, all right, so you go through the psychological training.
Speaker 2:And I guess they have to make sure what kind of personality trait you have, because you could walk up to Ramsey, I mean as a male or female, and punch them clear in the jaw. I mean you have to, you know.
Speaker 1:Receiving that type of abuse. That's actually a good point. Now let's just let's go there for a second before you continue. I would imagine there has to be crazy security there because Gordon Ramsey on the show. He's cursing, he's threatening, he's really nasty and that boils people a little bit and I would imagine that's a stressful environment that is dangerous. There must be security for him there.
Speaker 2:I would. I know there were ambulances on site that we never saw. I would say there's about 200 crew hiding behind the walls that you never see besides the cameramen. But by the point in time that you get to that and you're the 12 left, I think they have a clear view on who you are and that you're not going to do that. I think that's productions job way before, because there are tons of interviews. There were even interviews with, let's say, Gordon Ramsey. Came up to you and screamed this close to you in your face, what would you do? You know there was extensive interviewing process.
Speaker 1:So do you feel like that, going into the taping now, the actual show that the crew production psychological stuff, were you prepared for that environment?
Speaker 2:I was, because it seemed to me like it was like any other kitchen besides.
Speaker 1:Oh, so it was familiar to you.
Speaker 2:It was familiar.
Speaker 1:Okay, I got you the.
Speaker 2:Yallings familiar.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:And I felt safe with. I have to say, I felt safe with the whole cast that ended up with you. I didn't fear anybody was crazy.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, all right, so you're now. So you got the call that. They said, yes, we like you right At that point in time. What was the next steps that they outlined for you?
Speaker 2:Those interviews, oh yeah.
Speaker 1:So it's lots of interviews. Yeah, so it wasn't just one.
Speaker 2:No no.
Speaker 1:Oh my goodness, it was quite blood work.
Speaker 2:I guess to make sure that you didn't have any diseases or anything that were happy.
Speaker 1:So medical evaluations, psychological evaluations, holy cow, just to be on the show yeah. Geez okay.
Speaker 2:And then you had to fly out and I don't remember was it in New York or LA. You had to have a full blown interview with the producers of Fox on like a set stage. That was intimidating.
Speaker 1:Really.
Speaker 2:And if you couldn't, if you froze or couldn't get through it, you didn't get picked.
Speaker 1:I gotcha.
Speaker 2:I think I was on. My mouth has never been so dry, am I? So you were a little nervous oh my God beyond.
Speaker 1:Oh really.
Speaker 2:But I just focused on what they were asking me Okay, I went with it, you did. Yeah, you have to be personable.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:You can't freeze on TV.
Speaker 1:No, no, no, no. All right, so you get through all of these. This is like, I don't know, becoming like an FBI agent. Yeah, months, it's like you must've been thinking at some point in time like what on earth am I doing?
Speaker 2:Oh my, God, I was like I can't. I was like ma really, you watched this the only reason why I applied. So after that they flew you to LA. There were 20, then there were 15, and then you got picked.
Speaker 1:Wow, all right, so you made the 15, you made the cut, and then they do. They make you like sign like crazy, non-disclosures, secrecy, stuff, like what is that like?
Speaker 2:When you were down to the 12, I believe, they handed out your contract because you were picked and they said you had 48 hours, I believe, to sign it. Everybody, of course, was signing it at the table and me, I'm not signing that. I don't know what's in there. It was thick, really thick. So I was like, do you have a fax? And they're like, yeah, but it's a dollar 50 a page. I don't care how much it is a page. I faxed it to my lawyer and then, once he explained it to me, then, I signed it.
Speaker 1:Wow, okay, so you sign this contract that, even though the show makes probably hundreds of millions, they make you pay a dollar 50 a page, which is ridiculous if you think about it right.
Speaker 2:Ridiculous, but I paid it.
Speaker 1:I think, yeah, Of course, yeah, so all right. So you signed the contract At this point in time, have you met the other people on the show, the other contestants, yet?
Speaker 2:You met. You meet them on set the day of tape.
Speaker 1:Really.
Speaker 2:Yeah, when they fly you to LA you're in a separate hotel room and you're not allowed out.
Speaker 1:Really.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you become like a person.
Speaker 1:It's like you're kidnapped.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you become kidnapped.
Speaker 1:Oh, my God.
Speaker 2:I mean, I wasn't tortured. They brought you room service. They let you for a half hour. You were allowed out of the room.
Speaker 1:I went to the gym, so it's like jail.
Speaker 2:Yeah, kind of.
Speaker 1:Okay, so you're in cooking jail, and so you're getting your half hour of personal time, I guess.
Speaker 2:Blindfold, you put you in a car.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's real. Like they legit blindfolded, so you have no idea where you're going now.
Speaker 2:No, they put you in a car. Oh my gosh With other blindfolded contestants I believe two or three were in the car with me Are you talking, so we could talk, yep, but we can't see each other, okay. And then you arrive at your destination and they unblindfold you and you're on set. It's like a Home Depot turned into a set.
Speaker 1:Okay, like this big warehouse Okay.
Speaker 2:But it doesn't look like a warehouse. You know it's got a door. It looks like a restaurant when you pull up to it.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:But in an industrial park.
Speaker 1:I got you, so at this point now you're a hostage.
Speaker 2:They take away your phone. Oh my gosh your wallet.
Speaker 1:No wonder there's all these psychological and medical evaluations, because they're putting you in an environment that you have like legitimate, like FBI and Secret Service agents, that you have to go through this just in case you're a hostage somewhere. And now it sounds like you are a chef hostage.
Speaker 2:You cook with them.
Speaker 1:Right, okay On camera, but you have to do it on camera. Oh wow, okay, that's in the contract.
Speaker 2:Really yeah.
Speaker 1:Okay, so once you sign that contract, whatever happens from you walking into you, leaving they own you. Yeah, oh, geez. Okay, all right, so they blindfold you. It's unveiled, you get to walk in. You see this place right, and I believe how the show starts up. Oh, no, well, no, is they one person at a time comes up, or was it everyone at once?
Speaker 2:No, I believe we walked into the restaurant, we took a look around and then they showed us upstairs, which is where we lived.
Speaker 1:Okay, now the intro to the show, because every season is a custom intro. I would say you don't know, you have no idea, you have no idea. So when do they film that portion? You know how, like, everyone gets like their own personal little clip, whatever Are they doing that before?
Speaker 2:Like you have no clue. Nope, really, you don't see any of that till the show airs months and months later. You're kidding.
Speaker 1:So it's not like they were like all right, we're gonna be filming the intro now. Guys, here's your opportunity.
Speaker 2:We want you to do this. No, that's all live tea, that's all natural.
Speaker 1:Really, yeah, oh, interesting. Okay, I did not know that. Okay, so now you're walking in it's taping, now they start filming this stuff. How long were the dates Like when they were filming all of these things?
Speaker 2:Long Tuh From four in the morning to about 1 am, 2 am.
Speaker 1:When would you sleep?
Speaker 2:You didn't get much.
Speaker 1:You're kidding.
Speaker 2:That's the torture. Oh geez, that's the crying. Okay, ality, right out.
Speaker 1:Okay. So I see, if you got these, these Unfortunate, like I feel bad now. But you have these people who there are no sleep, all right, and they're like this is like physical job too, so it's, it's physically demanding, mentally demanding, so you're mentally tired. You're physically tired, right, and that's why people I get, I'm assuming, are starting to break and they mess with you.
Speaker 2:They ask you to do impossible things like, like what. So an example yeah he closes it, just shut it down.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah it's great.
Speaker 2:So when that happens with my experience, he would turn around to used to call me this never got to air. Okay, would call me Barbie.
Speaker 1:Oh, is that right? I'm me Barbie. Oh, okay.
Speaker 2:So we'd be like Bobby. He'd be like no, no turbo on the menu tonight. I'd be on fish, no salmon, no turbo.
Speaker 1:Was that your English accent, by the way? Yeah, yeah, that was good.
Speaker 2:He looked like a sharp pay and his face and the door. You know the sharp pay though.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:He'd be like no turbo, no Sam. And I look at him I'd be like what?
Speaker 1:yeah why?
Speaker 2:why are you making my life easy? Yeah, something's up. Yeah, bobby, you stupid, did you not hear me a death? Are you tits too big? Like? He would fuck with me and I'd be like, okay, no salmon, no turbo. Eight o'clock dinner service would start rolling. He'd turn around, be like a Bobby, I have a VIP on table 12. I need a turbo and a salmon. Now you have to realize they're not skinned, they're not Descaled, they're, they're, they're whole fish in the back. That is not only wild, would never happen in the real world.
Speaker 1:What? Why is that?
Speaker 2:Because you have to fillet the fish now.
Speaker 1:Oh, okay, you got to prep the whole fish, so all that stuff is typically, typically in a restaurant, prepped in advance. Absolutely your portion Saw oh wow, okay, I ran in the back, yeah got the whole scamming.
Speaker 2:Yeah, descaled it Desk and it belated. Yeah he looked because he doesn't know what you're capable of yeah. He shut the kitchen down. Every time you prevail at a task, that's meant to make you fail, oh, it's.
Speaker 1:It's almost like a camera reset in a way like cut oh my god, you're kidding.
Speaker 2:No, so that's so, you're all so mentally like you prevail, you fail your pivot. No matter what you do, you fail. I Got ya Okay.
Speaker 1:Now that's Bringing to light those scenarios, but so I'm assuming now they're they're, they're taking one scene and then cutting and pasting it so that it's married, but in reality those two things probably happened Far apart from each other.
Speaker 2:Well, they happen as is, but they can cut and paste as they want, yeah.
Speaker 1:Gotcha, okay, all right. So so day one of the show you're taping, day one. Are there people that like, are you sort of like Looking at the competition be?
Speaker 2:like I do your dish. You had to see oh, oh, okay, okay and you had to cook your dish and you had to taste it.
Speaker 1:Okay. Yeah okay, I got you, so you're cooking your, your signature dish. Right, so you got your signature dish is. Are you sizing up the competition? No, like. Are you be like? Are you're good? You're not. You're not gonna make it like, and not at all. No, so you're just laser focused.
Speaker 2:I know it's subjective. Oh, you're tasting my dish is subjective.
Speaker 1:That's a good point.
Speaker 2:That's a really good point is, but you had to get it done within a half hour. Oh, really right.
Speaker 1:So that that makes sense. Feel like like sorry. For example, I know you don't eat meat because you don't like meat, right? So if someone in that scenario let's say you were Gordon Ramsay and someone now serves you here's my signature dish, it's some type of meat You'll be like I don't like meat. It's subjective because it's going through. That's not fair.
Speaker 2:Then well, that's why it's on the show, right.
Speaker 1:I got you, I got you All right, so, so you get through this this day. You got your signature dish, now you finish the day, shut it down, type of thing, and now you're now into the living quarters, right, and they're.
Speaker 2:they're filming this portion of it always right now 24 hours a day, except when you sleep. You're allowed to take your mic off.
Speaker 1:It's only sleeping, only sleeping, oh my god shower. Okay, so you're, you're, you're in the, in the quarters now some people are probably like really excited, right, and some people are probably arrogant, right, and some people are probably trying to get in people's heads.
Speaker 2:I believe the boys were on one side and the girls were on the other side. So you're starting. You're just asking what do you do? Where do you were?
Speaker 1:right, oh, small talk, small talk. And then.
Speaker 2:I started realizing Okay, this is why this show gets so hostile. Oh, okay, this one girl was like I sell stoves for Viking. Like what do you do?
Speaker 1:Wait a minute, what?
Speaker 2:yeah, I work in the Viking showroom. I Sell stoves.
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh. See that stuff doesn't get aired. Everyone the audience is on the impression. Here's all trained chefs. This is what they're doing as their job. They're in a, they're in kitchens.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I remember how they aired mine. Then another girl, julia. I'll never forget Julia. She's out there. Hey, julia, sorry girl, but she worked at Denny's. You know the breakfast place. No yeah, and she did. These people are going to win a Michelin Supposingly, yeah, a Michelin star restaurant in Vegas. Vegas has the most covers you can have in a restaurant. Yeah, vegas, it surpasses New York City. That's really yeah, because the hotel restaurants right.
Speaker 2:You get thousands and thousands right every day breakfast, lunch, dinner, not like if you're you know, on 42nd and 3rd in Manhattan and she works at it at Denny's, I said, oh god.
Speaker 1:Yeah, trouble, I'm in trouble, yeah, I mean patience is in trouble. Yeah, yeah. So I mean that Right there. I think we don't have to talk about anything else for us to understand now that there's an element to this that it's scripted because there's no way Gordon Ramsay is gonna allow a Denny's waitress or whatever to be the head chef at one of his Right. There's like there's no way. So then now you're thinking, alright, who other real chefs that that Gordon Ramsay is like?
Speaker 2:Alright, I wouldn't mind the person worried about the real chefs. You're not. I'm glad for the real chefs because when I went around to them and I'm like where's the parsley pay basil and be, pollen. Yes they're not gonna look at me like Julia. I asked to get me parsley. She brought me basil. I didn't even know the diff-. Now, those are the people I'm worried about, because you're gonna create havoc.
Speaker 1:Oh, it's gonna screw you up. It's also gonna screw you up, right, oh yeah.
Speaker 2:Oh my gosh.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:Double the work. It's not a teammate.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:Now I don't have a teammate Right. It's like being in a race and somebody not knowing how to run.
Speaker 1:I got you, I got you All right. So at at at any point in time, were you like I definitely don't think I should have done this, like I wish I wasn't here, or even though it was a crazy, crazy experience, looking back you're like no, I don't regret it at all, it was a lot of fun and you know.
Speaker 2:No, I don't regret it. It was fun. I'd never do it again.
Speaker 1:Because that was my next question. All right, right now you get a call from Gordon. We want you back in the show tomorrow. No, you're not doing it. No, what? Wow?
Speaker 2:But I mean, if they wanted a reunion show where we all ate babies and saw circus de soleil, I'd be more than happy.
Speaker 1:Right, right, or the food network called me up and was like you want to do, you know, 30 minute meals, rachel Ray's retired. I'm in.
Speaker 2:I'm in.
Speaker 1:I got you, but you don't. You don't want to subject yourself to that whole same process that you did before. Absolutely Right, okay, all right, that's. That's. That's interesting. So what do you think from this environment? Now, earlier on, I was saying, like you know, we got entrepreneurs and whatnot, not that watch this. And I genuinely now talking with you. I am a firm believer in this. I don't think there's any other more hostile, more difficult environment than working at a, at a kitchen, the way that you've just described. Yeah, this is this is yeah, it's tough.
Speaker 1:This that's. That's a tough environment right, it's tough industry.
Speaker 1:So I think, number one, I think entrepreneurs that get to just you know, are these like and especially now you got these like solopreneurs, that they're working from home right, they've got nothing to complain about compared to what you have to do To be able to really fight and grind it out there to make yourself known. So that's one thing, but two, let's get into this, this really important topic. That really is supposed to be the theme of the show, but, by the way, I love this, this conversation here You're, you're great on camera and you've got really cool stories, by the way, and I think people are going to love it.
Speaker 2:I have lots of stories. Oh boy, lots of stories.
Speaker 1:Yeah, this is going to be like a tell all, by the way, gordon Ramsay, hell's Kitchen tell all right. But so we've got this crazy environment Now. I'm assuming earlier on in your career you were working a lot right and like long, long, long hours. Now can you have a healthy balance in life where you can be very ambitious and you can want to be gritty, right, like the show says, and have those all those ambitious dreams, and can you? Can you work hard but also have a healthy sort of like lifestyle and and eat, eat well and exercise Like and, if so, how? Like? What's the secret in doing this? Because, as you pointed out earlier on in your career, it's a lot of hours working right. So how do you create that balance between healthy lifestyle but also still pursuing your dreams of being a successful entrepreneur?
Speaker 2:I think the healthy lifestyle. You just have to be committed. It's another job.
Speaker 2:I mean quite frankly it is you know, that's the way I think of it. So I would say nutrition is your, is your number one thing. If you could work out at the gym all day long. If your nutrition is off, or you're eating unhealthy or you're eating. You know everybody, everybody's body, everybody performs differently to fat, carbs, protein, so on and so forth. The only way I could explain that to the audiences, for instance, when I went vegan for two years, I I remember saying this I go, I am going to be the skinniest bitch there is, like you know, like kingdom calm you know.
Speaker 2:I see all these skinny bloggers and YouTubers and everything with the you know high carb Hannah and all these people and they are. You know the size I was looking to be. I gained 50 pounds when I was kidding, I gained 50 pounds.
Speaker 1:Really.
Speaker 2:I had to add fish back in to lose the 50, because my body does not process those carbs the way high carb Hannah does.
Speaker 1:Right, so it's not a one size fits all these things. So that's a big myth. Then, because I know and we didn't, I didn't even know this right, because I know that a lot of people will sell these diets and programs thinking you can do this and anyone can do it, and they'll get the same results. But what you're saying, it's not true. Oh, that is really interesting. Okay, so you have to find you know.
Speaker 2:So I obviously found out that high carbs, because vegan is naturally high carbs. You beans, rice, potatoes sweet potatoes, that's what you're eating. Oatmeal Now don't get me wrong, it's all healthy right, sure, sure. Lentils, beans, it's all healthy, but I blew up like a balloon. Like a balloon.
Speaker 1:Interesting Okay. So you got the opposite result that you wanted 100%. Okay.
Speaker 2:So I said, okay, now I need protein in order to lose all this weight I gained.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So I did and I lost it. So you have to find your right nutrition for your body to get to the goal that you want and then add it in the gym, and the gym is a job. If you are not consistent, you are not going to see results, and that doesn't mean that you have to be a bodybuilder at the end of this. But whatever results you're looking for, you have to be consistent.
Speaker 1:I like that. So be consistent, be intentional, right, and then it's a job, and then you gotta go every day, yeah, and you gotta say this is the hour.
Speaker 2:Unless you're sick, I won't go from sick yeah. Besides that, I am at the gym. I used to go seven days a week when I was younger, but I'm semi-retired as I like to say, and I only go Monday through Thursday now.
Speaker 1:Okay, I got you Now creating a healthier lifestyle that includes better intake and exercise. Do you think that also helps with your minds and energy? Absolutely, because those are two things that obviously people in thought leaders and entrepreneurs like they need, that they need energy, they need their mind to be sharp. So if that's what their end goal is, can healthy eating and exercise help that person get there?
Speaker 2:Absolutely, absolutely it can.
Speaker 1:So then, if it can help you get there, then it makes it important Absolutely, and we need to prioritize things that are important in our lives.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:Right, okay.
Speaker 2:And I think a lot of people hold off on that until they get a little bit older.
Speaker 1:Let's say late 40s, maybe early 50s and they have diabetes or they have high blood pressure.
Speaker 2:And then they come to me and they're like I've hit my plateau.
Speaker 1:I can't do it anymore, right, right.
Speaker 2:I got to change. What do I do?
Speaker 1:Right, that's actually that. Actually you're making a really good point here. Let's talk about that for a second because, you're right, People early on are of the mindset of I can do that later, not realizing that you're-.
Speaker 2:It's work.
Speaker 1:I don't want to do it, right, but now you're creating a much riskier environment. Now it's not just a matter of, you know, just like healthier eating and just basic exercise. Now you need a serious medical plan to help combat, like you were saying, diabetes or whatever the case may be. And you know you've also developed a really great niche. Now, I know, for people that don't know, you are a personal chef as well, right, and you have part of what you do, and I know this is not the only thing but is that you create really great meals and meal plans for people that have serious illnesses like cancer. And that's huge, you know, and I, that's not a space.
Speaker 1:I think that a lot of people are able to get in. Obviously, you've got the experience and the knowledge to be able to really come alongside someone, because it's not just about saying, like, eat a salad, you have cancer, eat a salad. It's no, it's more complicated than that and you understand the science Right. So share with us a little bit about that, like, how did you get into helping people like that and what type of benefits are you seeing people who have these illnesses experience after now they've been working with?
Speaker 2:you, I will say it's not a huge group of people, obviously. How did I get into it? I was cooking for my regular clients and they had mentioned to me that a good friend of them had had cancer. She was mom of three and was just so tired from her treatments that she couldn't cook and she needed food for her family. Could I help her? So when she ended up calling me, I you know. I said, you know, I just want to mention this. You know, take it with a grain of salt, but have you ever heard of, you know, the theory of your body being acidic versus alkaline? And she had, but she really didn't know about it too much, too much about it. So I had explained to her if you'd like me to do one meal, just one, maybe, for you specifically. We could. It is strict, it is not easy, it's very limited, but if you'd like to try that, that's something I could do for you. And she was willing, she was willing to do it. So that's how I got started with it, and then word of mouth.
Speaker 1:Gotcha, yeah, I mean, and so I guess, just like in the kitchen once very strict.
Speaker 2:It's basically a raw diet.
Speaker 1:The diets are very strict. You're saying for that environment, that environment, yeah, it's a raw.
Speaker 2:It's a raw vegan.
Speaker 1:Is that right? Yeah, so so part of I guess, um, but people have been cured.
Speaker 2:I'm not a doctor. Yes, and you know, but I do know clients that have gone alkaline, yeah, and seen a good result.
Speaker 1:So you have I mean, you've worked with a lot of different people. You've seen it all right, whether it be the restaurant world or now, you know, being a personal chef for people. I love the fact that something that's unique about what you're doing is you're not just a personal chef making random things for people. You're really custom tailoring a menu to the individual based on their needs and wants, Right? So talk a little bit about that process, because I know that there's a lot of people who would love that.
Speaker 2:Right, absolutely.
Speaker 1:Right, like so I'm assuming like when, when you meet someone and they learn about what you're doing, they, their eyes probably like light up. They're like, oh my gosh, that is amazing.
Speaker 2:I've been looking for you. I didn't know you existed.
Speaker 1:Right, Right. You know that type of thing.
Speaker 2:So they will come to me with their needs and wants dietary restrictions or not. I'll come up with a menu for them, personalized to what they like or what they need, and create it. They'll pick their meals. I'll send the menu to them. They'll pick their meals, then I'll send them a grocery list. They'll send me the groceries, I cook it and deliver it.
Speaker 1:Wow, okay. Are you doing this for like, like, like, catered events, or are you doing this?
Speaker 2:These are like personal meal like family. They're all in half trays.
Speaker 1:Oh, is that right.
Speaker 2:So it's usually for a family and it, you know, depending on what you order, yeah a half tray will last you more than one night.
Speaker 1:Oh, wow, yeah, so incredible. Yeah, gotcha, now this, this type of service. It sounds like no one can can touch it, because this is, this is a highly personalized experience. So this is, this is for a certain type of individual, I'm assuming.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I get single people, I get families, I get women that just want food for their kids. Their kids will only eat chicken fingers. They want the frozen ones and the Kraft mac and cheese. Can you please make it homemade and deliver it to my house? Yeah, yes, I can. You're like.
Speaker 1:I'm gonna come to your rescue. Yes, yes, you're like a chef super hero. Yes, one of the Avengers, I guess. Maybe it's a new comic book character that you create.
Speaker 2:Yes, I want a good one though, like that blue girl or something.
Speaker 1:Yeah, exactly, exactly. That'd be awesome. Now, all right. So you're a chef, you're doing this for a lot of people, right, and you're creating these custom food experiences for families. Now do you do the same thing, the same amount of effort, for your kids? I do. I'm putting you on the spot here.
Speaker 2:I do.
Speaker 1:Do you really yes?
Speaker 2:I do Wow.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:My daughter, who my son won't eat anything. He's that chicken finger.
Speaker 1:Kraft mac. Yeah sure, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:So I'll make chicken cutlets for him, but they're homemade, Okay, you know they eat lots of vegetables lots of fruit. But my daughter is really the culinary guru. She'll be like mom. I want the empanadas that you made for that client. Okay, Wow. And I'll, and I'll make it yes, so every week I will make a meal or two, two, you know, usually on a Monday a full meal of what everybody wants or whatever, and that'll be for the week.
Speaker 1:Oh, wow.
Speaker 2:So they'll have two, and then they'll eat it, and then I'll make something else.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it must be nice to have a mom that can cook high-end. Yes, whatever they want and then she'll cook. You're a Michelin restaurant quality chef for a mom.
Speaker 2:Mom, I want a yoga parfait. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. Yeah, she asks me for absolute. What birya tacos?
Speaker 1:She becoming a little bit of a food snob huh, she is, she is Wow, okay, okay, she is Wow.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so she goes like for two birthday parties. Yeah, she's like chicken nuggets and pizza.
Speaker 1:She's like I'm not having that, she won't eat it. You're kidding? No, wow, all right, I mean she won't be rude.
Speaker 2:Right, but she'll just be like mom, can we eat before the birthday party, because you know it's gonna look like Really.
Speaker 1:So she's developed this refined taste she won't eat.
Speaker 2:McDonald's. She won't eat any of that.
Speaker 1:Wow, that's amazing, yeah, my son.
Speaker 2:McDonald's all the way. Yeah, yeah, oh yeah.
Speaker 1:So I have like one of my closest friends His daughter is it sounds like a lot like your daughter and she's just like has like he subjected her to high end food right Early on and she just acquired this taste for like just really good high end stuff and I told him I'm like it's your own fault, absolutely. It's the other one who introduced this stuff to her and now this is like she loves it.
Speaker 2:But you know what too, I myself won't eat any other way.
Speaker 1:Yes, okay, so you know what I mean.
Speaker 2:So really I wasn't naturally doing it just for them, I was really more doing it for myself.
Speaker 1:Gotcha.
Speaker 2:And they fell into the rabbit hole. Yes, yes you know, because I don't eat fast food.
Speaker 1:Gotcha, gotcha.
Speaker 2:I don't eat a lot of sugar. I don't eat. You know they can have as much as they want, they're young, but I don't eat it.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So naturally, you know.
Speaker 1:Okay, all right. So you think well, you said it yourself. You said it's really important for, you know, people who have busy lives, and for entrepreneurs and leaders and everyone, they should be intentional and put some effort into also creating a healthy personal lifestyle, because that'll benefit their work.
Speaker 2:Absolutely Right, okay, I mean, you are what you eat, right, right, I mean that's what they say. You are what you eat, and you could only eat so unhealthy for so long.
Speaker 1:It's gonna. It catches up to you. It catches up to you 99% of the population. Interesting, Interesting.
Speaker 2:You know, in your late 30s, 40s, 50s they all come to me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, they do.
Speaker 2:And they're like what do I do now?
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And you know what I feel like it's harder when you're in your 40s and your 50s to get set with that routine, you know, rather than like I've been doing it my whole life. Honestly, I've been at the gym working out doing you know all different things, yeah. So for me it's a lifestyle. It becomes more than it becomes a lifestyle.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:More than anything else.
Speaker 1:Gotcha.
Speaker 2:So it's good to start earlier. That way it doesn't become such a overwhelming job Right.
Speaker 1:But for the people that haven't started yet, and they are a little bit older, let's just say it's not too late. Everyone still. There's always still an opportunity, just picking the intention Right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, you know, like I said, you don't have to go to the gym and you know, get a six pack. You just have an intention.
Speaker 1:You know what.
Speaker 2:I need some cardio to be heart healthy. And I'm just you know, come spring, every night I'm going to walk for 20 minutes.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you know and I don't know if this is sort of an angle that you have specifically, but like really a great mark, like, all right, so I'm in marketing, right, so I'm hearing your story and my angle would be something along the lines of like, you know, you're not just cooking food that tastes good, you're cooking food to make someone healthy, right? Absolutely. I don't know of a lot of people that actually do that. Where they, it's a chef that really takes into consideration the individual, not just, oh, I want to eat this, I want to eat a burger, right? You're not just thinking about that. You're thinking, all right, what's your, what's your health life right now? Right, what do you want your health like life to be down the road?
Speaker 1:It's almost like like when you talk to a financial advisor. The financial advisor says, all right, how much money do you want to retire with? And you're like I want to retire with $10 million. And then they work backwards. They're like, all right, let's create a plan based on that. It sounds like you're doing the same thing as a chef advisor, right? And you're like all right, this is what you want to look like, right, this is what your tastes are like. All right, we're going to create a plan for you that's going to allow it to taste good, but it's going to help you to get there Absolutely.
Speaker 2:That's amazing, yeah, and a lot of people do come to me with goals. So you know there are a lot of my clients are goal oriented.
Speaker 1:Is that right? Yeah, ok.
Speaker 2:Because, like I said, by the time they come to me, they're kind of lost. A lot of them are and they're like well, what do I do now?
Speaker 1:How do I get there? Yeah, yeah, do you work with any like personal trainers as well? Like to compliment maybe what they're doing.
Speaker 2:Yes, I could, if that's something that they wanted. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:Because I see that as being a huge asset to these, to personal trainers, where you know they really understand the gym right and if you, teamed up with personal trainers we're talking about, you can create Arnold Schwarzenegger all the time with people. You know what I mean. That's your goal, absolutely Right, amazing, ok, very, very cool. So if people are listening right now and they're like I need Melissa Furpo to start cooking for me and I just want to have a because you're very knowledgeable on this stuff, you know you are like, you're like a chef, scientist. So if people want to get in touch with you and they want to have that initial conversation, how can they do that?
Speaker 2:I would assume either Facebook.
Speaker 1:OK.
Speaker 2:Or TikTok.
Speaker 1:OK, so they can find you, melissa Furpo.
Speaker 2:Melissa Furpo on Facebook Healthy Chef One on TikTok On TikTok.
Speaker 1:OK, all right, so I'm going to put you a little bit on the weird question hot seat for a moment. Is that OK? I love it, ok. And so I've got a question for you and I have a feeling that you're not going to like this one. But if you're going to cheat food wise on anything, right, what is it going to be? And tell us the truth. Oh I will have you ever had a McDonald's Big Mac?
Speaker 2:No, I've never had a Big Mac. I've never ate Taco Bell.
Speaker 1:What.
Speaker 2:I've never had Wendy's ever.
Speaker 1:Ever, ever. So you don't know what you're missing out on.
Speaker 2:I don't, I don't, and if I'm going to cheat, it's going to be dessert.
Speaker 1:Oh, really, sugar, oh goodness, oh my God, I love sugar, I love it. Ok, I got you Like. Are you like a chocolate girl, or?
Speaker 2:What am I? I'm like an Italian pastry.
Speaker 1:Oh OK.
Speaker 2:Maybe you know like a bakery, yeah, OK.
Speaker 1:So have you ever like? You're driving home, you're like no one knows, right, no one knows. No one's going to see me. I'm stopping at the bakery. Come on, you can tell the truth. No, I am. No weakness there.
Speaker 2:I, and this is May.
Speaker 1:Yes, yes.
Speaker 2:It's just a personal thing Skinny for me or the weight I am, how I look is better than the donut.
Speaker 2:Oh I love the donut, don't get me wrong, but when I get dressed and I like to wear I don't know a specific outfit or a cat suit in the winter, whatever it is, I like to look a certain way. I've always been that way, so the food doesn't overpower the. And then here's the other thing. I go to the gym so much and works Like when I'm one of those people that go to the gym that you're like I work hard hard and intentional.
Speaker 2:If I ate like that the biggest thing that pisses me off in fact I just started changing my routine up is because I work so hard not to see a result. If I'm not seeing major results, I get annoyed. All that work for what? Just to look the same way, I need my muscle cutting a little bit. I need to work on a. I don't have a six pack or anything, but I said you know what I think I want to start to work on. You know like I need intentional gain from the work that I do. So the food when I look at that food, I think of no gain. Then you just worked an hour and a half sweating at the gym, you know, bench pressing or squatting 200 pounds, and now you're going to eat the Dunkin' Donut and it's all for nothing.
Speaker 1:It pisses you off it pisses me off. You. This little monologue is amazing. This is, I think, my favorite part so far of our discussion, because you just hit on an element of mindset, right. That is so important Is number one is the importance of creating a priority list. What's more important to you, right which is hard it is. That's what I was just about to say.
Speaker 2:That's really hard because people love to eat and, like I'm, a chef I cater to people who love to eat. Eating is like right, it's like that comfort, it's social, it makes people. If people are stressed, they could stress eat.
Speaker 1:If people are happy, they happy eat.
Speaker 2:I mean, there's so many elements to eating in our culture.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but you're not suggesting not to eat, right. You're talking about just a healthy eating habits. Healthy eating habits, right?
Speaker 2:Well, most food isn't healthy Most food that. Americans like to eat is not healthy.
Speaker 1:Hamburgers with cheese and bacon are not healthy. Everything that comes in a bag traditionally I eat it.
Speaker 2:I'm not saying, I don't.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, but it's not healthy.
Speaker 2:None of that is healthy.
Speaker 1:But you said something like amazing and you said this other goal of mine the way I look is more important than that doughnuts, and I think that's in life. We've got to make it get to a place in life where we're making those decisions for ourselves now, where we got to say you know what, this that I'm shooting for is more important than the thing that I'm doing now. Right, the thing that I'm doing now is just either gonna make it much harder for me to accomplish what I want to accomplish, that doughnuts is gonna make my goal of losing weight so much further out now. Now I've got to work out even more right. You got to make just figure it in your head, be like what's more important and just be stubborn about committing to that right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, and of course there's different levels of it. Personally, I like to go into a store and if I'm gonna go shopping for clothes, I like to know that if I like that pair of pants it's gonna look good on me and when you're a certain size, it's almost like anything. Basically, it's not gonna be too tight or this isn't gonna, you know, and that just I like that. Like that makes me happy. Someone else could not care, which is fine.
Speaker 2:That's fine it doesn't have to be that extreme. But that's why I'm the health coach, Because I'm extreme. I would consider my eating regimen and workout regimen on the extreme side, not bodybuilding, that's super extreme. But I'd say a step down it's extreme Like. I eat low carb, low sugar, low fat.
Speaker 1:But that's your choice, right? That's my choice. You've made a decision. This is what I want and this is the right sort of like regimen for me. You're not saying this is the right regimen for anyone else, right? This is custom tailored for you, right? So people are listening, or if they watch the show and they're like oh, I want a result, but there's no way, I have the time. And you're like all right, you don't have to do what I'm doing, right, correct? Yeah, so I think it's they have to do some sort of cardio. Yeah, do something.
Speaker 2:Right and you know what. It depends on what your goal is. If your goal is, you know what I have high blood pressure or I just gained 30 pounds over the winter I want to lose some weight. Then you're gonna go for low fat, low carb and cardio. You know, at this point in where I am, I don't need to lose any fat, so I go more weight training. Oh I gotcha Now with slight cardio, just to be hard healthy.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:So it really, like I said, it's catered to what your goal is and where you are.
Speaker 1:Yeah, All right, two more questions, because you've already given us a lot of your time here and I appreciate it, but two more questions for you. Number one is for the person that has this really great goal for themselves. Right, they've got this amazing goal and you can agree like, oh, that's a wonderful goal. It could be I'm gonna lose this amount of weight, or I wanna look a certain way based on my physique and get into the gym and I wanna exercise, or whatever the case may be, it doesn't matter. The goal doesn't matter, but what matters is it's a big goal, right, and they're pretty far off from this particular goal right now. You know that most people don't wanna put in that work. So what's the advice to the individual that says I want the results but I'm not willing to put in the work? Like, what would you say to that person?
Speaker 2:I think slow and steady wins the race in this, and I think that you cannot cut out everything. You know, it's kind of parallel with I will get a lot of clients that are looking for a goal, an extreme goal, and they'll say I just wanna look like you, like I just want my body to look. And I tell them we can do that, but first pick. I'll give them options. Pick what's easier for you. So do you wanna start off on the food range or the exercise range? We need both, but what would you? And if they're like, well, it's springtime, I'm going to a lot of barbecues and drinking up a store. I wanna start with the exercise. Great, every day, seven days a week, I want you to get out and walk and we start there. If they're like, you can't cut everything out today and do what I'm doing day one. You're gonna fail.
Speaker 1:Because you're gonna get frustrated and you're gonna quit.
Speaker 2:So, whatever we pick, it has to become a lifestyle change. I hate the word diet because diet means I'm on it now it's temporary and tomorrow I'm going off of it. That's not what I do. Mine is a lifestyle. I work out this much. I do this, I eat this way. And it doesn't really change. Come summer, come my birthday, come Christmas and Easter a lot of excuses get when you say diet, I'm going on vacation. When I go on vacation, give or take, it stays the same because it's a lifestyle.
Speaker 1:So basically, if you want a different result, you've gotta change how you're gonna get there. And it has to be permanent, so we start slow. See, that's important because that's hard for people. I think so hard Because no one wants to run a marathon like there's very few marathon runners.
Speaker 1:A lot of people like oh, I'll sprint, I'll do the 50 yard sprint or the 100 yard. That's for me right. But life's a marathon and that's the part that people don't get, and this is why I think a lot of people fall short of their goal and end up quitting.
Speaker 2:And I think they do. It's because of what you're saying. Great advice, you don't want to do too much at once. They go on Jenny Craig or they go on these Weight Watchers or whatever, and it's so extreme from where they've been that they do it for a little and then they go off. So slow and steady.
Speaker 1:Last question for you. Normally I actually ask a question with regards to some type of book that you read, but, being that I have someone that is so well versed in restaurants and, being a chef, I want to know and because I know this would be interesting for a lot of people is what is your favorite restaurant in Manhattan and would you recommend that restaurant for people to try?
Speaker 2:All right, give me a minute, let me think. All right, so there are a lot of new ones out there that. I have not been to. Okay, but historically, one that's just a status quo is Danielle, and it's only for a special occasion.
Speaker 1:It's pricey yeah.
Speaker 2:But I appreciate when they give me a dish. I know how it's made and I know the time it takes to make the sauce two days or the stock or the demi-glace or the, so that's something I appreciate. Haven't been there in years but I've always loved it, and you could pick a prefixed with wine. You're bombed by the time you get out and they do the pairing.
Speaker 1:Oh, wow.
Speaker 2:And it's little dishes and it's chef's choice. Oh, my goodness, it's delicious.
Speaker 1:That's amazing. Have you ever been to Mr Chow's in the city? I have, so that's like our go-to. We try to go there at least once a year or something like maybe twice a year for special stuff, because I don't know. There's some restaurants for us where the food is still great. The memory makes it even better. Does that make sense? Yes, and we have a couple places like that, and Mr Chow's is one of those places where the food is great. Right, but it's the memories that, I think, just makes everything sweeter, absolutely. So I guess I want to end on that. Is there a restaurant for you that, separate from the one that you just said, could be anywhere in the world, one that was just such a great experience, great memory, and you feel like other people might be able to share in what you experienced?
Speaker 2:I kind of like.
Speaker 1:Your personal kitchen maybe.
Speaker 2:Yeah, right In Manhattan. I like David Burke and Donatella. I don't even know if they're still open, but that's really one of the first four-star restaurants that hired me.
Speaker 1:Oh wow, is that right?
Speaker 2:So you've got this nostalgia, so I loved it, and then, when I moved into Manhattan, I went there to work and they hired me but I haven't been there in years. But it was a great restaurant and I'm actually going to try Bad Roman this month. That's a new one.
Speaker 1:OK.
Speaker 2:I'm going to try the New Brother building that I heard's unbelievable. There's so many and I think 11, is it 11? Madison Park? When vegan?
Speaker 1:I want to try one of those, Like I want to try a new vegan restaurant, but there's so many there really are, and we live in a community around here too. I feel like the restaurants around here are really good.
Speaker 2:We're fortunate Moronies.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah.
Speaker 2:That the tasting menu, though where the chef brings out whatever they want. I love that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we've got a lot of good restaurants in this community, whether it be through Smithtown, going up St James, nissa, quagg, like there's some really nice restaurants up here. There's always choices, and I almost feel like you can go to a new restaurant every single week and for like five years and still there'll be more out there. That's how many there are, so that's really really cool.
Speaker 2:Everybody loves to eat. They do.
Speaker 1:That's the one thing everyone has in common. Right Is food, absolutely, and this is why what you do must be a lot of fun.
Speaker 2:It is, I enjoy it. Yeah, I do.
Speaker 1:So, melissa, thanks for coming out. This has been a real joy, honestly, getting to know a little bit more about your journey here, and I know that there are a lot more stories that you have that, my goodness, people are like I wish they talked about this. But we've got a limited time on the show here and we're definitely going to have to have you back, because you're filled with these amazing experiences and that's what people love when you can pull the curtain a little bit and people can peer in. Everyone's like. People tell them right. They want to be able to peer in and be like what's going on behind the scenes of the Kitchen or the TV shows. They want that. That's gold and you've got that gold that people want. So I appreciate you sharing some of it. Thank you, yeah, absolutely Thank you for having me. So just one more time and with it where people can find you if they want to be able to follow you in some of your social media or reach out to you about you maybe being a personal chef for them.
Speaker 2:Yes, facebook. Melissa Farpa was the best one, and then, of course, tiktok. That's Healthy Chef one.
Speaker 1:Healthy Chef one. And then Melissa Furpo, facebook. If they search you up there, they're going to find you and then they can reach out to you via those channels.
Speaker 2:Yep.
Speaker 1:Amazing, and I know you do a lot of local stuff. Would you ever like? Do you do like personal chef things like outside of the state as well?
Speaker 2:I haven't, but I'd be open to yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, because maybe there's someone who's like in one of the islands they're like, we would like to hire her to come do like our corporate event or my family's going on vacation, because your style of cooking for a family is probably appealing to a lot of people.
Speaker 2:Yes, yeah. Or even if they need help with health coaching, that's easy to do all over the phone. You could do that remotely.
Speaker 1:OK, amazing, melissa Furpo. You're amazing. You've got a great story. Thank you for opening up. This is definitely wasn't supposed to be a Gordon Ramsay tell all, but it's turned into it a little bit. But I love the advice that you gave, and this whole show was littered with amazing golden nuggets, and I think one that really stood out to me was the importance of being intentional about your plan and focused on your goal Absolutely, and you got to prioritize that stuff. That's really really good advice. Thank you so much for sharing that. That's Melissa. Go find her on TikTok and Facebook. Follow her. She's got really great content as well and she's blowing up with stuff, doing a lot of really really great things. So thanks again for coming out. Guys, until next time, remember, don't fear the process and don't fear grits. We will see you next time. Take care, guys.