TCMMY One On One with Chef Jake White: From Italian Traditions to Culinary Innovations

Imagine growing up in a big Italian family in North New Jersey, where Sunday dinners are sacrosanct and food is a language of love. Chef Jake White from Charleston Chef Services joins us to talk about his culinary beginnings rooted in these cherished traditions. We explore how his journey took him through diverse kitchens across the East Coast, and even a stint in Nashville driven by a passion for music, before finding his way back to his true calling in the culinary arts. Jake reveals the cultural influences that have shaped his culinary perspective and shares a surprising connection between our backgrounds in music.

For aspiring chefs, Jake offers invaluable advice on networking and gaining diverse kitchen experiences, emphasizing the importance of patience and genuine connections. Tune in for a heartfelt conversation that blends culinary wisdom with personal anecdotes and professional insights.

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Chapters

• 0:39 Culinary Journey and Life Changes
• 7:39 Navigating Professional Culinary Journey
• 17:44 Building Connections Through Shared Roots
• 22:55 Adapting F&B Business to COVID Challenges
• 29:52 Exploring Probiotics and Culinary Challenges
• 39:30 Personal Insights and Culinary Journey
• 47:52 Culinary Challenges and Family Legacy

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:40

welcome back everybody. This is Mr U. We're on our one-on-one sessions again with good friend chef Jake White from Charleston Chef Services. How are you doing, brother? Good, how are you? Fantastic man, Crazy morning already, but it's all good, man. But I'm excited about this conversation, man. We have talked a little bit about the culinary world. I got some background in it. I'm not sure who's been doing it longer, but we have some shaded interest there. Combined, I bet we have a lot of years under our belt Combined. Yeah, I think so, man. But I love that world, man. I'm not in it in the way that you are anymore. I kind of stick out of that field, man, but you are still doing it. Strong man, Hearing great things from you about your work, I want to get into some stuff, man. So ready for that Convo?

Speaker 2: 1:24

Absolutely man. I'm happy to be here. Thanks for having me.

Speaker 1: 1:27

My pleasure, man. I love this. I love this. It's exciting, all right. So I'd love to hear a bit more about your background. I know a little bit, but I want our viewers and listeners to kind of hear what their early years were like in your life and in your background.

Speaker 2: 1:40

Talk about that a little bit. So I'm actually from a big italian family in uh, north new jersey.

Speaker 2: 1:46

So, um, I I, if you know anything about that, I fit all the stereotypes like sunday dinner every I do know with the big family, you know great grandma's cooking the, the big meal for everybody, um, so that's where my love of food really started. Um, and from there, um, I just I traveled. I kind of traveled all over the US with my parents there, or I should say, the East Coast. They were young when they had me and they were just figuring things out, but to my benefit, I got to work in just a whole bunch of different kitchens and restaurants while doing that. So you know, I guess I kind of learned from the streets, so to speak. But that's really where my knowledge really comes from is just getting in, being hands-on in kitchens and just learning that way.

Speaker 1: 2:34

Well, I grew up in some of those environments. I'm from New York City originally, so I've got to get a chance to be in friends' homes from people from eastern europe to italy uh, not germany, but other places. You got a chance to kind of see different cultures and stuff, and I really relate to that. Being a jersey boy, it's basically even more funny. We can talk about, uh, northeast stuff.

Speaker 2: 3:00

Hopefully we can have some combos about that too, but I love that and I'll add to that really quick that one of the best parts about being up there is how there are so many different cultures um so like from the. From a culinary perspective, there's just so much to learn um growing up in the northeast area oh yes, I mean it's like a melting pot melt up in the metropolitan area. I mean you can find any kind of literally, literally anything, oh yeah, any type of cuisine you could possibly imagine is up there.

Speaker 1: 3:30

Absolutely Good and bad.

Speaker 1: 3:33

For sure Good and bad. I missed that part. That's pretty awesome. We got some friends joining us. Where's Coast Winds in the house? Good morning, ma'am. Thanks for joining us today. I'm a big fan of our uh podcast brand of shows, so love hearing her jump on. Uh, I've got any questions when for chef jake? By all means, please drop them. He'd love to answer those for you. So what made the move to the south make sense for you? I got my own story about mine, but what made the move to the south make sense for you personally?

Speaker 2: 4:02

yeah, uh, so I guess I left a pretty big part out of my story. I'm also a big uh fan of music, um, so I actually went to college yeah, I actually went to college to pursue music, believe it or not.

Speaker 2: 4:16

um, while cooking in restaurants, it was still something I love to do, but music was kind of my, my, my first love at that time, so to speak. But what that did was it brought me to Nashville, tennessee, where I thought I was going to pursue music, but in the meantime I ended up working at a whole bunch of different restaurants and kitchens just to try to make ends meet.

Speaker 2: 4:37

Sorry, I got a new puppy over here and she's causing a havoc right now. That's all right. Let's see. I literally got her last Sunday from a Dorchester pause, temper tantrum because she's not getting any attention right now.

Speaker 2: 4:56

Wow, thank you. But so yeah, so I moved to Nashville, tennessee, thinking I was going to pursue music, but I actually ended up in a catering company where I just fell in love with the atmosphere and it kind of brought me back to food. I fell in love with the owner. His name's Jason and he's just a great, great guy. You know, he's the kind of guy that will actually change the world, one person at a time. He's so patient, so kind, he seems to love what he does, but he really takes care of the people that are in his organization. So you know, to make this long story even longer, when I got to Nashville and I met Jason, that's really when I was like I jumped right back into food and realized that that's what my calling was.

Speaker 1: 5:45

I love that, man. See, that's it. You left some stuff out, man. As much as we talk about having heard one thing out of your mouth about music, man, that was, that was my background. That's what I was doing up in New York, man.

Speaker 2: 5:55

No way, that's crazy.

Speaker 1: 5:56

That's what I was. I was. I had a independent record I was actually doing music man Came down to South Carolina. Yeah, music man came down. Yeah, absolutely I bet I was doing that and cooking at the same time, so I'm like he left that part out and he buried the lead on that one man. But that's awesome. Yeah, I was in a.

Speaker 2: 6:14

Sorry, I keep cutting you off. I think there's a little bit of a lag here, but I was in a pop band for a while and, or, yeah, pop, I like to call them a rock band. All my friends like to call us a pop band, but it was a lot of fun.

Speaker 1: 6:26

Um, so music is such a big part of my life oh wow, I love that man that don't have to do a wedding band and do your food at the same time. That'd be a nightmare for you, so just make sure you pick one. That'd be crazy, all right, so we just got a while to pull that off. If you could do that, you'd be a. I don't know if any one man can do it, though. We discussed the changes in your life before in pre-production and in private convos. Share some of the awesome changes happening in your life right now. You've got some exciting news to share, so go ahead and share some of those.

Speaker 2: 6:59

Sure, I actually just put it on Instagram so I can say this finally, but my wife and I are pregnant. We're having a baby here in the next couple months, so that's super, super exciting and that's kind of been a catalyst for a whole bunch of other changes, but more so, I guess, personal changes than anything. This is our first kid. This is our first kid, so I'm really trying to just slow down and take some deep breaths and get back to the gym and do things like you know. Do those kinds of things, the things that I know are going to be good for my head, so that I can be the best dad and husband I can be.

Speaker 1: 7:37

I love it man, I love it. I'm curious about my culinary experience. My culinary experience it was probably about I was cooking since I was 16, because my mom worked two jobs and she was going to school too. So I learned how to make food in a pinch to make sure she came home from a long, hard day of work in school she had something to eat. So I was cooking way back then Professionally. It was probably about maybe about 15 years maybe, going to culinary school downtown Charleston and just trying to hone my craft a little bit, learn how to fabricate that kind of stuff. But how did you stay dedicated to the craft? Because for me the 16-hour days it just wasn't working for me I didn't like my food being thrown back at me, all the things that I had to deal with in the back of the house, in the kitchens, I'm like this wasn't, it wasn't working. I did some weddings caters.

Speaker 2: 8:30

I know that story all too well.

Speaker 1: 8:32

I know you know it. How'd you?

Speaker 2: 8:33

stay dedicated.

Speaker 2: 8:35

Well, that's how or that's more or less how this business came about Charleston Chef Service. I'm now the executive chef and owner of my own private chef company and the reason why I went that route is because I've had a lot of similar experiences to you, where you're working late nights, lots of you know angry people and F&B. Sometimes you see a lot of crazy stuff in the kitchen, the kitchen um. So I just I really wanted to try to take my life back a little bit but still be able to cook and create um, because that's such creating is just such a big thing. Now what we do is, uh, we essentially or we do personal and private chef services, so we'll go in your home for, say, a bachelorette party, a birthday party, a vacation, whatever it may be, and we'll kind of curate this whole dinner experience for you.

Speaker 2: 9:31

And it's just a better environment for me. I get to work in a rental kitchen with a few guys and then go cook on site for my clients and it's just. It's still long, grueling days, but I'm a little bit more, I guess, in charge of the day-to-day and it just allows me to have some flexibility in my life and take breaks when I need to, because that's important. The doubt is so big in this industry, so there are times where I need to take a step back and just forget about everything for a while and just forget about everything for a while, okay.

Speaker 1: 10:15

We got a little lag there, brother. Uh-oh, sorry about that. Yeah, it's a little lag. What'd you miss? A good bit Just about controlling your own schedule and taking breaks when you need to am I back? I think you're back, yes okay, good, um, uh.

Speaker 2: 10:36

So all right, I totally lost my train of thought. Where was I?

Speaker 1: 10:39

okay, we're talking about you taking breaks when you need to have a control of your own schedule, which is awesome oh, yeah, yeah, um, that was.

Speaker 2: 10:47

That was what you described, right, there was why I created this company. In large part was to just have the freedom and flexibility to create, but to take my life back and get some of those hours back. So I am still working long hours, but it's kind of on my terms and I get to work with people that are truly appreciative. In a restaurant, the cooks are in the back of the house, so you don't really get to be face to face with clients. Quite as much, and that's something that really fulfills me is getting to cook for clients and seeing the appreciation on their face when they eat a meal. It's just a lot of fun.

Speaker 1: 11:26

I love that man. So it sounds like you, even with the changes in the economy and life, you feel like this is the thing. When did you actually figure that out? Like, okay, this is going to be the thing, no matter what else happens. I'm going to make this work because some people start this stuff, like you're doing, and then life stuff happens. Economy happens in our nation and people start going to plan B, start going to real estate, start going to a nine to five.

Speaker 2: 12:01

When did you know that this was going to be the thing for you and you want to do it? No matter what I grew up with, my dad was always super ambitious. Um, so this sounds maybe cliche, but we would watch, like remember, the titans and rudy and movies like that all the time. So, like in my heart, I just thought I was like this underdog guy that was gonna, you know, do something cool. Um, so that was always super important to me, just again, again, having some control and say over what I do, that and I feel like I'm repeating myself a little bit, but like the, the urge to be creative is so deeply ingrained in me that you know, I tried the nine to five route and it kind of took a little bit of my soul, so I just really did. It took a little bit of my soul, um, so I just really did. It's just a little bit, um, but yeah, just having that ability to create every day is really what keeps me going I love that man.

Speaker 1: 12:56

I've had some experiences not a whole lot, because a lot of it was almost similar to the nine to five, in that it took a part of me. It's like what I enjoyed about cooking and creating dishes and making people smile. Like you mentioned, I had to deal with the other politics part of it and it took me back to the cubicle, Back to my 9 to 5. I'm like why I don't want that. So I couldn't sacrifice the other stuff to do that too, so I had to kind of scrap it all. But it was enlightening to work inside these downtown five-star restaurants and four and five-star restaurants and stuff. I did a little bit of that.

Speaker 1: 13:32

But what's your experience? Are you a Yankee like me so you can answer honestly? What's your experience with the whole perceived notion of Southern hospitality? I mean, For me I see other parts that people don't see, that tourists don't see. What's your professional opinion on that when it comes to your work? Have you seen that to be true? Is it kind of skewed a little bit? Talk to me about the southern hospitality piece.

Speaker 2: 14:04

That's a great question. I gotta be careful.

Speaker 1: 14:06

There's a lot of um take your time, maybe take your time there.

Speaker 2: 14:10

I mean, there's so many I've met so many great people in this industry that really do welcome you in with open arms and are not assuming, and just love and care, because that's that's who they are. And there is like a side of the southern hospitality that really is that like true to that. I've also seen a side that can be a little snaky. Um, you know they'll, they'll, it'll be kind of. You know I'll be nice to your face and you know I'll put up this facade for you. But then when you turn around, that's when the real truth comes out. And as a Yankee, we can be pretty blunt, but it also to me it's a form of respect and admiration and being adorning, almost to just tell you how it is. And it's not because I'm coming at you, like at you, or anything like that. It's just you're just free to say what you want and everyone's living their life and it's just things operate a little bit differently up there without, without question, man.

Speaker 1: 15:17

So does that, that sneakiness, does that impact your work, your ability to do what you're trying to do, or the kind of just uh, side pieces you notice when, when it comes to networking and communications and stuff, or is it really, you know, impacting your, your work?

Speaker 2: 15:33

um, I don't think so because, to be fair, there's good and bad people everywhere. You look, um, because I'm not from here, southern hospitality is a little foreign to me sometimes, so I think that's why I can have the two kind of polar views on it like that. But you could spin that any way you want. In any place you are and you know, there's good and bad people everywhere.

Speaker 1: 16:39

We've got some love for you here, so you really have it together and you'll be a great dad and your business will continue to flourish. Thank, you.

Speaker 2: 16:46

That's awesome. Thank you so much for that. I appreciate that. It's really nice.

Speaker 1: 16:51

So what's been your biggest learning curve professionally?

Speaker 2: 16:58

I don't know if this answers your question directly, but the word patience comes to mind because it is something I do not have a lot of and, as you're growing up.

Speaker 1: 17:09

How are you surviving without that right now?

Speaker 2: 17:12

It's tough, it's really tough, and I it's something I continue to work on and improve every day. I, it's something I continue to work on and improve every day, and part of that process for me is things like I've mentioned before, like going to the gym and having conversations with you about things I'm going through, or whatever it might be. But this business has taught me that there's so many different moving parts and I can work as hard as I want to, but I'm still going to be at the mercy of fate or another, whatever you, whatever you want to call it. So, yeah, just being patient and appreciating the moment and slowing down and being nice to people and not assuming you know someone's being a snake when they're really just trying to be nice to you trying to be nice to you.

Speaker 1: 18:03

Sure, I get that. I mean, we had some brief conversations about a lot of things when we first started getting to know each other, and even the idea of of doing this kind of interview, one-on-one type session. You'd be surprised how many folks are looking like, okay, what's the angle, dude, dude, there ain't no angle. I don't't get nothing, it's just to connect.

Speaker 1: 18:20

I want to try to get a platform, matter of fact. That's why we do the whole entire show, our entire brand, to give platforms to other people. People don't get that. They think I'm trying to get rich off of them. That's not even my thought.

Speaker 2: 18:32

Yeah Well, in such a fast-paced world, people just kind of get guarded sometimes. It's really weird, man, I'm not gonna lie. Actually. I remember I remember when I met you at the post office and you stopped me. I think you were just kind of saying, hey, and but my first thought was like all right, what does this guy want from me? But I I realized pretty quickly that that was not what you were about at all, but that was don't forget the hat.

Speaker 2: 18:57

What was? Was it Q's hat or something Something New York? Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's funny.

Speaker 1: 19:03

I mean I'm still skeptical. I know If I meet a New Yorker man, my wife will tell you this. She's on here right now. She'll tell you. If I meet somebody from New York that's got Brooklyn on their shirt, on their hat, I'm making best friends with them immediately. I'm like, because I don't have a whole lot of New York up north friends down here. I got friends here. I don't have a whole New York friends and it's a different type of friendship I can talk about things that, unfortunately, Southern folks won't get.

Speaker 1: 19:31

They won't get the imagery, they won't get the references I can talk to them about the Wiz and Radio Shack. People in the South ain't going to understand what I'm talking about. If I'm talking about a supermarket like Key Food or Associated or Pathmark, they won't know what I'm talking about because they don't have that down here. So it's like it's just a whole different level of friendship. When I meet people like that, meet people like you, I key into it. Man, there ain't no angle. I ain't trying to get nothing. I just want to make friends and connect and have those New.

Speaker 2: 20:05

York connections because I miss that. I agree, I'm connected with the home. Sorry, go ahead. This lag is killing me.

Speaker 1: 20:10

I'm just connected with the home man. It's kind of just my way of pushing back the home sickness. You know what I'm saying?

Speaker 2: 20:17

Yeah, that place is home, no matter how long you've been here. Charleston is home too, but when you're from somewhere, it just hits differently. When you meet somebody that's from that same area, that gets what you understand. It's a totally different world.

Speaker 1: 20:36

You wore that shoes hat man, that was it. I'm like I can fuck this dude. It's about that time. The. Yeah, you wore that Q's hat man, that was it, man. I'm like, hey, I can fuck this dude. She didn't leave for me.

Speaker 2: 20:41

It's about that time the Q schedule came out, so I'm trying to figure out Q's basketball. I'm trying to figure out what game I could get to this year.

Speaker 1: 20:49

I don't think I'm going to see any of them. They should play in Wake Forest, I think.

Speaker 2: 21:00

I'm that crazy dude that flies to Syracuse in January every year for a game. It's been my family's tradition for the last since we left 20-some-odd years, so I'll be fighting the tundra to go up there and see a game.

Speaker 1: 21:16

That's bold man, but it's a tradition, so you got to keep. It's a tradition, so you gotta keep it going. Right, gotta keep it going. So talk to me about. So. How long in years have you been doing a private chef work? How many years has it been?

Speaker 2: 21:28

um with charleston chef service. I think we're coming up on three years. Okay, I've been working in the industry for over 10 years now pretty much my whole life.

Speaker 1: 21:41

So it feels like that puts you right around the time or right after or even in the midst of the COVID epidemic that we had. So how did that impact you being able to do private shift work? I mean, restaurants were closing because of that now still closed now, surprisingly, how are we able to do private chef work in the midst of a pandemic?

Speaker 2: 22:09

kind of curious about that kovid changed the landscape of restaurants, I think for a long time. Um, but when kovid first, I was actually in Nashville, tennessee at the time, and I had a bagel company called Darla's Bagels and due to COVID and just burnout and with the state of everything going on, I ended up shutting that business down. And that's when I moved to Charleston. I was a little down on myself, I didn't really know what was going on or what to do. I was a little down on myself, I didn't really know what was going on or what to do, and I guess I just noticed like restaurants, as people were starting to get back to normal restaurants, were having a hard time feeding parties of like six or more, just just the margins in restaurants.

Speaker 2: 22:56

Restaurants are getting smaller and smaller, more niche, and I think that's a great thing for the industry because people are craving experiences.

Speaker 2: 23:03

So that creates some really cool niche experiences.

Speaker 2: 23:06

But if you're a bigger party it makes it really hard to go out and eat dinner and then there's always questions of like who gets the bill and how it gets split and all that crazy stuff and how it gets split and all that crazy stuff.

Speaker 2: 23:18

So I actually think because of COVID, this became more of a viable option for people like myself to go do some more specialized cooking in guest homes. So it definitely COVID slowed me down at first big time, but I think it was a blessing and a curse because without it I don't think people would be as willing to let this experience happen. Um, and I know it sounds weird because you're letting a stranger into your home cook for you and covid and you know germs and all that um, but if you think about what it takes to go to a restaurant, that seems like you know, maybe a more safe or secure option for someone that might be afraid of the things going on. So yeah, it really like COVID was kind of a blessing and a curse for F&B, I think, specifically the private chef, personal chef sector of things.

Speaker 1: 24:09

Yeah, I definitely heard a lot of things about that. You know this is not to be a swore-boding or anything, but just make sure you think, because we're hearing so much about potentially seeing something like what we saw in 2020 or worse, If you can share this, how do you prepare for that or mitigate those circumstances in your business? Because if that happens again, God forbid, but if it does happen again, you got to keep working and creating revenue from your private shift work. What's what's your, what's your plan? What do you do to kind of mitigate those circumstances if they do happen again? Did that make sense? Yeah?

Speaker 2: 24:49

absolutely.

Speaker 2: 24:50

I think it really there's not like a good, like hard answer to this, but I think for me it really just comes down to owning on customer service, um, because it lets people know that we truly care, we're, we're truly appreciative, you know we're respecting the money they're spending and therefore respecting how we spend our time, how we prepare food, how you know all the, you know all the way down the line, um, so I I just think giving the clients like love and attention and showing them that they're cared for um is gonna make people trust us.

Speaker 2: 25:27

If things do kind of hit the fan again and and who knows, maybe you know, because there is that trust there, maybe get folks might even be more excited for an experience because you know they might be trapped at home and we might be able to come relieve them for a few hours or whatever it might be. Um, you know, whatever future, whatever those challenges end up becoming, I know we'll figure it out and you know me and you and whoever it is, we'll, we'll dig into community and we'll figure it out together yeah, I, you know this is.

Speaker 1: 25:58

This could be either you already thought of before, but I think about okay, what if you were able to package? I know it's not, it's not private per se, because you wouldn't be in the home cooking but in a circumstance like that, what if you can package the meals and they can heat them up themselves, and they'll still be the same experience, just without a chef being in their home, because you know, for safety measures or whatever.

Speaker 2: 26:21

But yeah, I think that's a great idea and we actually we saw some of that when kovitz started the first time, um, with some different restaurants. Um, I remember there was a restaurant in in new jersey. He was. He's a he is a good friend of mine, um, robbie felice. He has a restaurant called viaggio, and how they pivoted is it's a restaurant in New Jersey. He is a good friend of mine, robbie Felice. He has a restaurant called Viaggio, and how they pivoted is it's a great, great restaurant. All of his restaurants are great. If you're in the area You've got to go check them out.

Speaker 2: 26:50

But he kind of turned half of his restaurant into a market and then the other half they did. They kept it fine dining, but it ended up being like delivery take-home services, so they were just giving heat-up instructions and they were giving you portions of garnishes or sauces or whatever in smaller quart containers and then just telling you how to dress stuff yourself at home. So I think that's a great option too and it even maybe even creates like an interactive sort of element to it for guests. Um, yeah, if it comes down to it, we would definitely try and experiment. That sounds awesome that's.

Speaker 1: 27:27

That's something to think about. I ain't trying to put that out there, just just a thought for sure, man, that's been so much.

Speaker 2: 27:33

Part of this business, too, is just trial and error and just figuring like, see you know, throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what sticks and and playing it that way, and it's been a lot of fun sounds like you're doing an awesome job, man.

Speaker 1: 27:45

I love hearing this. So talk to me about fermentation. What are we talking about when we talk about fermentation? What is that exactly?

Speaker 2: 27:52

sure. So it sounds like it might be a little intimidating, but we're not rewriting the wheel or any, or, you know, rewriting the history or anything here. Uh, fermentation is essentially farm to table cooking, with some different ferments thrown in. Um, and the point being is that, you know, in modern agriculture we've stripped away so much of the nutrients in our soil, so even when we are making the right decisions for our food eating veggies and fruits and all that good stuff we're not getting all the nutrients we should be getting.

Speaker 2: 28:26

So, adding that layer of fermentation to the farm-to-table helps make nutrients more bioavailable for your body. So we like to pack things with prebiotics and probiotics that end up feeding your gut microbiome and just overall, like contributing to your overall health. Um, and that's the big thing we like to push, like I. I try not to be too preachy cause I know this can be a lot for for some people.

Speaker 1: 28:54

Oh, this is good stuff.

Speaker 2: 28:56

Man, keep going, man, this is great thank you, um, but yeah, we just we really like to focus on the best local ingredients we possibly can, um manipulating them or cooking them as as little as possible and then adding things like koji um. Koji is essentially it's mold grown on on rice, but it's much more than that. We use it to make things like miso paste, soy sauces, we could use it to marinate meats and it just it makes the nutrients in those products more bioavailable and it adds a lot of amino acids to the foods that we're eating, which again just contributes to our overall gut health, which is important in an era where convenience is prioritized, where we're not getting all the nutrients we should be getting.

Speaker 1: 29:49

Oh no, without question, I love this man. This is great. I wish I knew about this back in my day when I was in the kitchens, and so I would have loved to have into this world, but I kind of I guess I kind of missed it. But you seem passionate about probiotics man, why I know it's important for our food world. You see it in commercial products that I have some questions about, quite frankly. But why is it important to you? Why is that important that you are pushing the probiotics and the importance of it? Why that? Why is that did it thing for you?

Speaker 2: 30:18

Sure, I guess. Well, health and wellness has always been kind of important to my, to me and my family in general. But I, to kind of paint it in a metaphor, if you tried to plant a seed in soil that had no nutrients and that was barren, you wouldn't get a sprout. Nothing would grow from that. And a lot of times that's kind of what we're doing to our gut is, you know, we're going to processed foods and the packaged food section and we're putting that in our bodies so that when we actually do have that salad or that healthy meal or whatever it is, we're still not getting what we should be getting from it because our body is not primed for those nutrients, not getting what we should be getting from it because our body's not primed for those nutrients. Um, so prebiotics and probiotics are essentially like adding for or uh fertilizers to the soil.

Speaker 2: 31:08

Um, you know, it's adding those nutrients to the soil that's going to contribute to the growth of that flower right so when you have I won't get into the details of what each are, but basically you start with prebiotics, prebiotics feed probiotics and probiotics feed postbiotics, and you kind of need all three of those to have a thriving gut microbiome. And when you do have that, you literally your face looks lighter, like your skin is better, you have more energy, You're kinder, you know all those things.

Speaker 1: 31:45

I love that man and for all you folks that are watching this that may have missed that, I definitely recommend that you get back to the replay of this and, of course, after the show is over, chef Jay is going to go to where the episode is on our YouTube channel. He's going to put his information in. If you have questions about pre and post biotics, he'd be happy to direct you to him to answer those questions. Answer because it is deep, but it's definitely important. You can hear why let's keep moving forward. So every chef has at least one. I know I've got a couple. What's the one dish you have not been able to conquer?

Speaker 2: 32:26

one dish I have not sorry charlie's coming back that's okay, hey girl this I have not been able to conquer.

Speaker 2: 32:34

Um, I think to kind of relate it to the fermentation. Um, I've been talking a lot about a melon garum that I've been making which is essentially a high protein sauce, but it's traditionally made with fish proteins. So this sounds unappetizing, but we've been doing it for like centuries. It's essentially a fish sauce centuries. It's essentially a fish sauce. You take whole fish, or even fish guts, and you let them ferment with salt and some enzymes and it creates this protein sauce essentially. So I did that without using fish guts, though I utilized the leftovers from fresh melon scraps because the seeds are very high in protein. So, basically, trying to utilize nontraditional ingredients like melons to make high protein sauces like garlands, garlands and things like that, that's kind of been my big challenge right now.

Speaker 1: 33:33

OK.

Speaker 2: 33:34

Did I say that? Ok? Did it create an umami flavor, orami flavor? Yes, yeah, yeah, it creates a big umami flavor. It imparts a lot of amino acids into the food. I think B12 is a big one, yeah, yeah, I can't speak to all the nutrients exactly, but it does. Again, it creates more bioavailability for your body. So when you are eating good things, like when you choose that fruit over that ice cream or whatever um, that fruit's going to go further for your body. It's going to feed your body even more because you've primed it with things like these garam sauces and things like that are you using in non-meat dishes?

Speaker 2: 34:21

um, yeah, so I don't know if you're thinking like a taking a vegan or vegetarian approach. I haven't actually done that yet, but we absolutely could. So we could take, like these amino sauces that would traditionally kind of rule out vegetarians and vegans and, uh, you know, include them again because there's no fish in them or no, you know, meats or whatever it is I just wonder if you're using it in like a chicken dish or a beef dish, because it's essentially a fish sauce.

Speaker 1: 34:48

I'm wondering if you would dare to put those two things together, or is it? Yeah we, we, absolutely could.

Speaker 2: 34:54

It's pretty versatile ingredient, so what I would recommend is like, if you were going to try it yourself, you would um so for, like, a melon garum, you would dress a melon salad with the garum because of the I don't know what it is. I just noticed that whatever you utilize for that main ingredient in the protein sauce, it really, like enhances the flavor of that same ingredient in its raw state.

Speaker 1: 35:21

Oh, okay.

Speaker 2: 35:22

So, like melon garum over fresh melon salad with burrata is the most and one of the most insane things you'll ever have.

Speaker 1: 35:29

It's nuts, look at you gushing. I'm listening to you.

Speaker 2: 35:33

I love it. It's cool stuff.

Speaker 1: 35:34

I'm passionate man. I miss being around folks that have that, especially in the culinary world. I miss that. That's incredible. Now, when wifey wants something special made by her private chef, what's a go-to dish for her?

Speaker 2: 35:50

Her favorite is orchetti with broccoli, rabe and like a classic Italian dish, like a little bit of sausage, some lemon, some red pepper. But if I'm being honest, when we're home, wifey, I gotta give her her credit too, because she does a lot of the cooking at home. Sometimes I'll get a little burnt out, you know.

Speaker 1: 36:09

Yeah, that makes sense, though. All right, what's her go-to dishes? Is it that same one, or is it something that she makes for you?

Speaker 2: 36:18

We both like to make a lot of like just Asian food in general, so like Indian, all the way to thai food. Um, just because, uh, again, utilizing like soy sauces and amino or miso paste and things like that, we could make some quick dinners with some really good like depth and flavor because we're adding those ingredients. So I think that's why we like we, we both kind of gravitate towards really anything that's in the Asian kind of sector.

Speaker 1: 36:48

I would love to see your spice cabinet boy. I would love to see it. I'm into that stuff, big time boy. That's my wife, she'll tell you that's awesome.

Speaker 2: 36:57

That's really cool. I know you mentioned you have a garden. I also have a pretty good sized garden and I utilize a lot of that to make spices like um paprika or you know different kind of like dried peppers or dried herbs or whatever it is yeah, we got, uh, like oregano, some lemon thyme is one of my go-tos.

Speaker 1: 37:17

I use that a lot. Lemon thyme is a very, very underrated herb, but it's incredible. Of course, the rosemary I use it with our lamb dishes that we make. I mean, it just goes on and on. It's good stuff out here, man, I love this. So are you a sweet or savory kind of guy?

Speaker 2: 37:35

Unfortunately both, but if I had to choose, probably savory.

Speaker 1: 37:40

Me too.

Speaker 2: 37:41

It sounds a little wild coming from a chef. Maybe me too. It sounds a little wild coming from a chef, maybe, but I could eat like a like an italian boar's head pub sub three times a day for the rest of my life and be totally content, like that is my go-to, like absolute go-to meal, if you call it a meal.

Speaker 1: 37:59

Can I separate that from the, the other package meat? That that's my challenge. Is it like that with a name, or is it different in some way, because the package mean I can't touch that stuff anymore?

Speaker 2: 38:10

so you mean like boar's head versus like a non-name brand. Yeah, I know there's a difference in terms of like some of the preservatives they add, like sulfites and things like that. Um, but yeah, in general I'd say, uh, cold cuts are probably not not a great option yeah, I would, I wouldn't.

Speaker 1: 38:28

I'm looking for a way back into this world. I'm like can I, can I still have some, because I missed the search but you killed that for me.

Speaker 2: 38:34

So something else good, for actually there's a great italian place in um. I mean there's so many great ital places in the Northeast, but in Hoboken there's a sandwich shop I got to go all the way to Hoboken to get some stuff.

Speaker 2: 38:49

Man, yeah, dude, it's so good, though it's called Fiore's and every time my brother lives in Hoboken, so every time I go visit, before we even get to his place, he picks me up from the airport. We have to stop at Fiore's. I get chicken cutlet with fresh mutts and roasted red peppers and literally like the mozzarella is coming out of the back like hot still, like they literally just made it. It's the most amazing sandwich you'll ever have. A little bit of balsamic drizzle on top that that one's something you could probably eat.

Speaker 1: 39:21

This is not helping me. This is not helping me at all. Whole broken, oh my God. That's really far away. But what is something that most people that are close to you don't know about you? A little time for you to have a big reveal here Most people that are close to you right now. What do they don't know about you that you can share today? Get some insight into who you are. Hopefully, this what do they don't know about you that you can share today? Give some insight into who you are. Probably this is a good thing I'm asking for.

Speaker 2: 39:50

That's a great question. I don't know, I don't know if this is a surprise to a lot of people, but I'd just like to emphasize I try to wear my heart on my sleeve as much as I can, just because I like the idea of being kind of. You know, I'm six foot two, like 250. Like I like being this like big dude that goes around and likes to give hugs and tell people how I'm feeling, like I like kind of breaking down barriers. That way I love it. Yeah, besides that, I don't know if there's any big secrets. I gave you my biggest secret at the beginning Having a baby here soon is pretty wild.

Speaker 1: 40:28

But that was definitely very big. Thank you for sharing that here on the show man. That's awesome man.

Speaker 2: 40:35

Yeah, of course, thank you.

Speaker 1: 40:37

Now I have to ask this for anybody that's in any kind of industry for a long period of time.

Speaker 2: 40:47

Was there a time you almost gave up on the culinary mission? Yeah, probably more than once. But honestly, whenever I do explore other options for myself or what else might be out there, I always come back to this. I always realize this is my calling, this is where I should be, this is what I love to do and if, if I ever do try to step away, it's because I burn myself out, because I'm I just lean into it so hard, like I want to be. You know, I want to be the best that I can be. So I'm always just going as hard as I can and every once in a while you you get the like oh my God, what am I doing? Kind of thing. I think everyone gets that. But again, when I you know, when I ask the question what else is out there, I realize like no, I have everything I need right here and I love what I'm doing.

Speaker 1: 41:37

Oh yeah, that's awesome, man. That's awesome. Sounds like Charleston Chef Services is doing some great things, man, so I'm excited to hear even more about that. Now you're in Charleston, this is a place where we're known for our food. Tours are coming from all parts of the country. Yes, they're coming to get some food. There's some things that, honestly, I'm just not going to eat. That's just where things are in my life right now. But you're out here and you're cooking, but do you have an all-time favorite restaurant or eatery out of here that you go to when you want to not cook for somebody and you and your wife want to have some time just for you? Is there an all-time favorite restaurant out here or eatery that you go to in this area?

Speaker 2: 42:23

I have a couple I would like to shout out. The one I've been to most recently that I absolutely love right now is called kultura, um with a k, k-u-l-t-u-r-a. Really really good, uh, like filipino fusion food. Uh, chef nico callahan I believe that's how you say his last name, um was just nominated for a James Beard recently. So he's just he's doing great things over there.

Speaker 2: 42:49

It's a really good spot and it's also kind of like it almost feels like a cafe when you walk in. It's got a small, intimate sort of feeling. It's just a really great spot. Besides that, I'll rattle off a few more. Southbound is a great one for like live fire, live action cooking. Um malagon, I really like. They do like small bites, like tapa style. I've had the best bread I've ever had in my life there, um, I think. I think they call it a 10 year old sourdough starter that they have um that they put that bread, so it's got just a great depth of flavor, really really good. And then Chubby Fish is also a big one for me. Downtown, not too far from Cultura, in the Anson Borough like Elliott's Borough area, I think, is what it's called. They don't take reservations. There's always a line outside, but that's just a testament to the food. It's absolutely amazing. And as far as customer service goes, chubby Fish has some of the best customer service I've ever experienced. They're just, they have it down.

Speaker 1: 43:56

I love that. That's incredible.

Speaker 2: 43:59

All right, there's so many great ones. To be honest, I haven't even scratched the surface. I got to say that too.

Speaker 1: 44:07

Because once we end this call, I'm gonna be like shoot, I should have said that one. The list could be too long. I I totally get that. Some of those. I think I've heard of one or two of them, but I haven't been in any of them. So that's uh, on my wish list, so I'm gonna put that there for sure definitely start at kultura, that's a good.

Speaker 1: 44:24

I think I'm gonna. That jump started me for some reason. I'm not sure why, but you could be in the company of the next generation of professional shift. It could be listening and watching or checking out the replay later on. What kind of advice would you give them if they want to do what you're doing?

Speaker 2: 44:42

network as much as you can, as much as you can stage as much as you can. Uh did that word stage, stage yeah, when you like, kind of get down to it. Food is an art form, like at the highest level and art doesn't really have rules to play by.

Speaker 2: 45:03

So if you go and work as in as many different kitchens as you can and learn from as many different chefs as you can, that is the number one way more, I think, more than any culinary school or program. That's the number one way to get good experience. Come, actually come work for me. If you're listening to this, come help me out. I'm actually doing some hiring right now. I'm looking for chefs and some servers, so I would love to collaborate with some different chefs too.

Speaker 1: 45:30

Alright, I'm going to help you out with that promo. After the show, drop it in the YouTube comment under the episode man with the link to how they reach out to you if they want to kind of come join you. Okay, I will be happy to promote that. I will do that as much as I can. That's a fantastic idea. I love it.

Speaker 2: 45:51

Thank you.

Speaker 1: 45:52

Name one ingredient that you desire to work with that you haven't yet? That could be a tough question. I'd love to hear that.

Speaker 2: 45:59

I got that one ready Fresh wasabi, the real deal wasabi. I would really like to work with. Okay, just because what you get when you have sushi today, what you typically get, is not wasabi, it's like some kind of horseradish paste. Um, and I love cooking, I love gardening, and to grow wasabi is such an art. Um, just to be attached to that in any way, it seems like such a cool thing, and then I could take that wasabi and ferment it in different ways. That sounds wild.

Speaker 1: 46:34

So are you talking about growing it? Can I work in our region where we live?

Speaker 2: 46:39

Can I work? Charleston actually is pretty similar in climate to a lot of different areas in Asia, but it has to grow. Wasabi literally grows in a cold river stream, so it's got to be cold water, it's got to be running water, but it also does like the humidity and the heat a little bit. So, maybe, but it's going to be a while before I figure that one out.

Speaker 1: 47:01

We do a lot of experimenting in this garden, so we try a lot of stuff that's not in climate. That shouldn't be happening, but it's okay. We uh open to that. So maybe wasabi can be on our list too. How about one ingredient that you are challenged with using every time? Um, anytime you use it challenging ingredient?

Speaker 2: 47:21

yeah, that's a tough question. I, I don't know. I don't know the answer to that um, you don't have one.

Speaker 1: 47:34

I mean I just for me. Maybe. Maybe this will spark something for you. But there was some time, while we use a certain ingredient and it was just like it just wouldn't hit right, it just wouldn't do what I expected to do in the dish I wouldn't even I wouldn't taste enough of it or I would taste too much of it. It was just always something.

Speaker 2: 47:52

I guess, actually because you just said that you reminded me olives can be a little touchy sometimes, specifically like Calvestrano, and the brand that you buy varies on the salinity and kind of that, like the texture that it has. So I make a watermelon salad with olives, pancetta and a few other things and I have to be very careful on the quality of those olives because that's what makes or breaks that salad. I've done it a few times where it's absolutely delicious, it's exactly how it should be. And then you know there was that one time I learned the hard way where the olives weren't quite what I thought they were going to be. So I guess that would be my answer to that.

Speaker 1: 48:38

You're not using California olives right.

Speaker 2: 48:42

No, so I don't have a great supplier for olives, to be honest, um okay, you're trying to grow, but it's not.

Speaker 1: 48:49

It's not, it's not good. It hasn't been going well. You've been trying to grow them in out here, but it hasn't been going very well. It's a very long time to get. What you're looking for is the weather just too humid uh, I feel like that's a good part of it. Um, we don't, we don't have, we don't have four seasons. If I was in a four season location I think they might have a chance, but kind of gave up on that and the avocado. They haven't been really working. Well, it's a work in progress.

Speaker 2: 49:18

You're like you're really going all in with it we're trying, man.

Speaker 1: 49:21

Uh, I get that with the hours because it's because I want to make something like Mediterranean. It's kind of like a sweet potato dish, but it's almost like a. It's not a casserole, but it's like a sweet potato Mexican taco dish. It's weird, but it's really awesome. Sweet potato and queso cheese it's really awesome and we use olives in it, but it's kind of hit or miss. You can't use green olives in it because it's too strong. But I don't like the California olives for health reasons. From what I'm hearing now In a grapevine, those are not good olives to use. From what I'm hearing, I try to use the Kalamata olives and it's like sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't work. It's like it's not enough taste, not enough flavor. So I have no answer. On the olive thing, I'm learning it by myself. I like green olives in my salad, traditionally, okay, but aside from that, I'm learning olives too, man. So I'm kind of with you on that one.

Speaker 2: 50:22

Yeah, olives are a weird one, but besides that, I would say the other like difficulty would be, just because I work with so many local vendors and I'm at the mercy of what I know. We don't have all the seasons, but what our seasons are here, um, just getting the most ripe, fresh ingredients, um, I don't want to call it a difficulty, but it's. I mean, that's like top priority, top top of mind, that's the most important, kind of the most important thing we do here. So I guess you could say it's kind of a challenge for us just to make sure we're always on top of that.

Speaker 1: 50:55

I love that man. That's transparent, that's honest man. I like it. You had a big announcement at the top of the show in case you guys missed it. Jake and his wife are expecting, which I'm so excited about. I don't know why I get in anybody's life like this. I get so excited about somebody's situation.

Speaker 2: 51:11

But I'm excited, we're so excited.

Speaker 1: 51:14

Yeah, you talked about creating a legacy for your children. What are three things you want to leave with your children as it pertains to legacy? If you can name three things that you would like to leave as a legacy for your kids?

Speaker 2: 51:31

That's a deep question, man. That's super deep.

Speaker 1: 51:35

This is what we do on this show, man. I told you to watch the shows and check it out, so you know what happened.

Speaker 2: 51:39

No, I love it. I love it. I think treating everyone with kindness and treating everyone equally is a big, big one. I want to impart, you know that the whole classic, you know, janitor to the superstar, kind of thing, just treating everyone the same, I think a big one. For me, growing up, was also knowing your own self-worth and knowing yourself. Just knowing yourself and trying to encourage my children to be authentically who they are at all times because of my struggles with that, I think is a big one. Sorry, these aren't one word answers. I don't, I don't know how to One word answer.

Speaker 1: 52:30

I don't want that.

Speaker 2: 52:31

This is great. So those, those two are pretty big for me. Juxtaposition between having to make ends meet and joy, like happiness, loving what I do, and just trying to trying to instill the balance of like you have responsibilities and you have things you have to do, um, and some of them stink, but one of those things is finding joy. They don't you know, they like life could just be tough sometimes, and so you just find the joy in everything. That's great. Yeah, just honestly, these are things that I've been learning the hard way through my 20s and early 30s, so that's just what's front of mind and important to me right now. That's good man.

Speaker 1: 53:24

You sound like you're a pretty deep person yourself, man. So I'm excited for you and your wife, man, and what you got going on in the legacy. You guys are starting out here in Charleston, man. I'm excited for you, man.

Speaker 2: 53:36

Thank you, we're super excited.

Speaker 1: 53:38

Yeah, this is fantastic.

Speaker 2: 53:40

My wife's actually a first grade teacher too, so I like to think we got a heck of a team. So you know, hopefully we'll raise some good kids, but it also I also actually really believe on that note, that it takes a community to raise a child like. I really believe that. So going back to community is also a super, super important thing to me and just there's going to be a point in time where my kids do not want to hear it from me, like doesn't matter what I say. They're's going to be a point in time where my kids do not want to hear it from me, like doesn't matter what I say, they're not going to want to hear it from me. But to have people around me and us that kind of have those same or similar values and morals and goals and objectives, that's something I want for my family too.

Speaker 1: 54:20

Oh yeah, no doubt this is I'm all about that stuff. Oh yeah, no doubt I'm all about that stuff. Everybody doesn't always see it the same way, but to come from the Northeast and have a mindset for community, that's a rarity. It's not taught, it's not. I hear about it more now on the news than I have in all the years I lived there. So it's definitely changing. I've given props for that, but that wasn't something that was ingrained in us. So to hear anybody from the North talk about community and engaged on that level, that's really special. It's something you can write for people too, man. So I'm excited to potentially get to know you guys even better. I hope that's what's going to take place. I'm pretty excited about that man. This is awesome man.

Speaker 1: 55:06

So what we're going to do is we're going to close the show out, but I want you to, for you guys that are listening and you have questions for Chef Jake or you have a desire to kind of work with him and do some work in the culinary world and kind of get your feet wet, connect the network and learn some things. He's going to jump onto our YouTube channel, youtubecom, at theycallmemisteru. He'll drop his information in the comments section under this episode Once it's complete. I can do it now, so it's available right now, but he'll drop the information there, Any events, anything that he wants to share there, he'll share all there under that episode and you can contact him directly Looking for some good people to help him out with the business of changing the culinary world forever. So we're excited about you, man, we're really excited for you, man. This is awesome.

Speaker 1: 55:58

I love chopping it up about culinary. I can do this all day, man. I miss that. I don't miss the 16 hour days. I don't miss that. I miss some of the music and I miss that part. So I I want to definitely keep this going, man. So thank you for doing this yeah, anytime, man.

Speaker 2: 56:14

Thank you for having me. This was a super, uh, very cool conversation.

Speaker 1: 56:17

I appreciate it yeah, same here, brother. Well, we uh. Thank everybody for listening to the show. Check out the replay. If you have any questions for us, of course you can find us on our youtube channel. Our chef, jake, will be happy to answer any questions I have. But beside that, thank you very much. Enjoy the music and we're out of here.