Chef Olivia Giesler: The Kitchen Made More Sense

0:00Some chefs know exactly what they want to be from the beginning. Chef Olivia Geisler didn't. She grew up in Ohio and a family filled with nurses, big gatherings, potlucks, and the kind of hospitality where doors stayed unlocked. Coffee was always brewing and there was something in the refrigerator for whoever happened to walk through the door. Cooking was around her. She just didn't know it would become a career. At 17, that started to change. During high school, Olivia traveled to Costa Rica with her twin sister, lived and worked at a small hotel and suddenly found herself being introduced to ingredients, cultures, and techniques she'd never experienced before. She was learning about citrus, sofrito, and croquette is from a Spanish family while experiencing Costa Rican food and hospitality firsthand. When she came home, another opportunity changed that trajectory again. Olivia began working at Mitchell's Ocean Club, while still thinking the responsible path was medicine. She studied biology and chemistry. Her mother was a nurse, a medical career just made sense, but to Olivia, the kitchen made

1:04more sense. She fell in love with the pace, the team, the ingredients, and the constant opportunity to learn. Eventually, she made the decision to leave the pre-med path and go to culinary school, and then she went all in. Culinary school, full-time restaurant work, competition teams, early morning practices, 12-hour volunteer events. It's for the opportunity to work beside better chefs. By 24, Olivia was already a sous chef. Then came restaurant openings, Arizona, Tampa, motherhood, and eventually one of the biggest challenges of her career. Becoming executive chef of the Pearl, while opening a new restaurant, learning a new concept, and raising her daughter. Today the Pearl has been recognized by the Michelin Guide three years in a row. But when Olivia talks about what matters most, she doesn't spend time talking about awards. She talks about people. The chefs who believe in her, the young cooks she now gets to believe in. The guests walking through the door, and the responsibility to give someone else the same opportunity that helped change her own life. Because for Olivia, hospitality was never about something she learned from a manual.

2:06It was something she grew up watching. Olivia, when you look back at the kid from Ohio who thought medicine was the only real career path, when did you finally realize the kitchen wasn't just a job anymore? It was when we, I was in the kitchen and surrounded by great people and having fun, and I just love the environment, the energy, everything was the best there could ever be. Cooking is actually your life. There is no other path. Yeah, cooking is everything. It has to do with everything we do. We live it and it affects us and introduces us to a whole new world and cultures and people. Chef, I mean, the fact is we spent the last like five hours together while you were cooking. And we got to see you in action. And yeah, you know how to cut veg and you know how to use a knife and you know what you're doing in the kitchen, but you had fun. Yeah, always have fun. It's exciting to see. It's exciting working with my hands and you just get to see food transformed and you get

3:08to show and a team and see how they can transform stuff and you get to see them believe themselves and grow and have a future. I don't want to say something cliche and it's out there. Do something you love and it's like you'll never work a day in your life, which is hogwash because you know, work is work and hours are hours and sweat. Of course, this one. But you enjoy this and this is something that you aim to do. When did this become less of a job and more just of like your life? This is something you embraced. I just let myself listen and just, you know, realize I have to be brave enough. Like, hey, this is what I really like to do. I had to, you know, disappoint my parents, disappoint my mom, you know, choose a whole different career path and go all in and something that, you know, I didn't know the money, understand the hours, but I had fun every day. It was going at work and I enjoyed being around people and working with my hands and I just I couldn't get enough of it. I'm like, this is this is the way. So. Well, I too have disappointed my friends and family.

4:09We share. We share that. But you know, it's, you're a different kind of personality and I'm saying that because when we had a pre-call, you're kind of giving me the bird's eye view, 30,000 foot view of your life. When somebody tells me at the age of 17, oh, yeah, you know what? I went off to Costa Rica to live for two months. That's a different person. Okay. Like, that's just different, that's a different DNA type, I think. Yeah, I'm just, I'm a bit, I'm an animal because I love the intensity of competition. I love being challenged and being a little bit of danger, a little bit of unknown. The kitchen kind of leads to that, but I didn't realize it. I grew up competing in gymnastics. So just that thrill and that pressure and wanted to travel, get out of Ohio. I was like, oh, there's got to be more out there. I got to have some sunshine and some wonder. So the second opportunity I had to travel and go either across the country or in a different

5:12world I was all in for. I was like, how can I be challenged in a different way? What is the 17 year old Olivia C in Costa Rica that actually pushes you further into culinary? So in high school, I had the opportunity, our second half of our senior year, we do a walk about and that's where we get into real life, world careers. Many of our friends and family got to go outside the country. So I had an opportunity to go to Costa Rica and work at a small hotel that had 12 rooms, but so I'm in a different speaking country and the family that's running it is from Spain. They happen to be old chefs and work as flight attendants too. So I'm in a different country, two different types of Latin cultures and then I'm cooking for guests breakfast every day. It's surrounded by new food from Costa Rica because different types of lemons and limes and bananas and you know, watermelon or sandia and just learning all the new ingredients

6:13and like, what is all this? I have a hard time still wrapping my brain around a 17 year old going from middle America, Ohio to Costa Rica and then landing in this tropical oasis around the equator. Like that's culture shock. Yeah, and this is back before iPhones. So back before we had a cell phone. So blew out from Texas to Costa Rica to not have a cell phone to know where we're going or where we're on a map, just going with a book and looking at it and be like, okay, we need to make it to this hotel. We're using travelers checks to pay for everything. So that's sketchy too, not having like actual like cash and then have to take a bus, like take a cab to get a bus to get to the mountain and the little hotel that we're staying. You had me at book. Yeah. Wow.

7:14I mean, seriously. Like, I don't know that I would allow my daughter to do that. I don't know that I would let her do. I would physically like bar her into a room like she would be, you know, not allowed to leave. Yeah. My parents only access to us would if we called them collect, which was like $1000 for like a 10 minute phone call. You're a mom now. Yeah. Would you let your daughter do that? It scares the bejesus out of me. You know, my daughter's, she's 14 right now, wanted to do everything. Like, you know, I have to be brave for her to let her do everything and get challenged in those ways. I'm like, Oh, man, I know this is going to be tough for her, but I got to let her get through it. And I got to know be like, Hey, I'm a rock for her. So that she can be strong and always come back to me. Like, Hey, you're going to have some tough hurdles and challenges, but I'm going to push you to, you know, learn and go through those steps and go through those failures and

8:14setbacks. Is it a stretch to say that your actual experience as a teenager doing this has given you an unlock code cheat code to be able to deal with this with your own daughter? Yeah. Absolutely. I'm like, I had, you know, friends and family believe in me and, you know, because I can always call my mom or reach back to her and ask her for help. And she always believed in us. And she never told us that we couldn't do anything. And it was always, Hey, let's figure it out, whether it's financially or it's a challenge here. And we have a twin sister. So that's why I keep saying we. Oh, I just do that issue here. What that's right now. Where was I now? So there's always, you know, pushing to be, there's always a way to do something. There are always a will to say yes to make it happen. When I was in fifth grade, my mom went back to school as a midwife. So she was a labor and delivery nurse.

9:15In fifth grade, she asked us, like, Hey, are your kids okay with me going back to school? It's going to be less money for us. I mean, we're working more and studying and we've been doing homework all this time. And we supported her through that and just be brave enough to go back to school and push herself for a career that she wanted and dreamed about to be a midwife. You know, I'm like, my mom can do it. You know, she had her goal sheets and scores on all their tests up where so seeing her, like, you know, rise to those challenges and push herself no matter how hard it was. We were always there for her because she was always there for us. So I can identify with some of this stuff, you know, my wife is a nurse. Her family is full of nurses, doctors, stuff like that. With that said, there really is, in families like that, there really is an idea that the children are going to follow suit. Like you are going to go in that direction. I don't know why that is. But it's very prevalent in medical households. You took that piece of paper, crumbled it up and threw it in the waist mask.

10:20You're like, no, I have a different direction. You were pre-med. Here is what I want you to do. I want you to go back, open up your brain and explain really what was the emotion that literally said no. Talking Talk Media is proudly supported by Rack Porcelain USA, creating durable, beautifully design tableware for chefs and hospitality professionals. Learn more at RackPorcelain.com. I don't want to go to medical school. I'm going to be in a kitchen. What was that? So I worked while I was going in college. So I was always busy. So my new taking however many credit hours during lecture halls and all this stuff. And I had always had fun. The environment, the thrill, the energy was always great in the kitchens. When I was learning organic chemistry or in the lecture hall, it was mind and humming for me.

11:20I couldn't handle just sitting in a lecture hall being spit out all this information. It was like painful and it wasn't sticking for me. I couldn't pronounce everything. I couldn't figure it out. But once I was in labs, I could do that really well and that was easy, but there's chemistry or biology. So working with my hands and using the tactical part of it, I figured out. And it just, that was easy when that was hard for other students. But I was like, why am I doing something that's not fun? I'm putting all this work and I'm stressing about all my scores. It's not clicking for me. But when I go to work, it's fun and it's clicking and I'm having an environment and people are laughing and entertaining. I don't want to go to a spot where I'm going to be miserable every day. I just, like, this is not it. On a percentage basis, would you say that you had at least a small percentage of interest in the science of things? Yeah, absolutely. I really enjoy the science. I enjoyed chemistry and biology of how stuff changes, how plants grow, the vegetables,

12:25the cellular level of it. I always saw it medical wise. I wanted to be like an OBGYN so I could perform C-sections. But the different layers, like, oh, there's fat, there's skin, there's muscle and all the stuff. I'm like, oh, it's just the same, same, just different. My, this is what I wanted to do. C-sections, there I was. Okay. I got to, so I shouted my mom one week and I got to see a C-section live. So that was really cool and really fascinating and amazing. So that's, you know, that part of it is what I really enjoy. So it's wild. It's different, but, you know. The reality is there are breadcrumbs here that go from science, biology and whatnot, that transfer to kitchen cooking. Yeah. Because obviously it's science cooking. It is. It's a lot of it. But the hands, it's, you know, understanding how to break down an animal and, you know,

13:29where the joints are and where the parts are and why it is what it is or what's connective to shoe and why is it tough or how the carrots work or what, you know, how acid changes it versus salt or different proteins. Some stuff will make it really tough. Another stuff will break it down and, you know, it all is, it's very cool and very amazing. So that was magical for me because I didn't grow up making sauces and stocks. That was all new. I grew up making like cookies and pies and baking a lot and casseroles. So the first time I got to see what a dimming glass was and taking beef bones and reducing the sauce down that took three days. Like, oh my, that goes to that. Like water goes to this. Like, that is so cool. So you've described yourself as relentless, whether that school, restaurant work, competitions, volunteering, all of that stuff. We've spent a lot of time together today and on our pre-call, I can say, yeah, that's true. I can see it in your demeanor. I can see it in how you carry yourself.

14:31I'm relentlessly passionate about life, just life, all encompassing. And that's what is the basis of everything. So it's incredibly grateful for every single moment, every single breath and that passion lives or everything. So it's not just cooking its life, its people, its getting to enjoy life, its getting to work hard, its getting to have opportunities that push me and make me uncomfortable. Because I know with that, just working out, you're usually not doing it right if you're not uncomfortable. And if you know, when you're getting challenged and you're pushing it, then you're flexing your muscles and you're building and you're growing in that, what drives me? I love that and enjoy that. Because otherwise I just get antsy, I get uncomfortable, and I need to do something. I need to see what's next. I need to meet people and know what's going on and make sure I'm still a positive force no matter how many challenges there are. If we're looking at culinary from a distance, you have creativity, you have processes,

15:37you have the experience of the people who are eating what you prepare, what you make. Which one of those is the heaviest for you? Which one of those is most important? It's being able to cook and give to the people I love. And whether it's a guest or a family member or anything like that, the act of just being able to give myself to them, whether it's an experience, a moment, just care and love. Like that's the most rewarding, whether it's teaching educational, it's so much more than just culinary. It's really truly like hospitality and it's all about people. Were you slightly upset with me when on your redfish dish that you prepared today that I talked about the carrots? No, it was really fine. Because if that were me and it was turned around, I would have been astatic. I would have been like, wait a minute, wait a minute. You like the carrots?

16:38Because usually that's a throw away. No, it's not a throw away. It's just all part of it. It's all what love and you know, there's wonders. Like is it a nice, beautiful carrot? Is it heirloom? How's it seasoned? Does it have like a little bit of bite to it or texture? Like you can go crazy over everything. Well, that's my point. Like obviously the fish and you know, the center plate stuff is it was terrific. But I wasn't expecting the carrot to be a player. Yeah, well, if it wasn't, it wouldn't be on the plate. You know, you just have to be that deliberate. If it has to be intentional. It's easy to say that, but how many plates that go out in this industry where there's a garnish that makes absolutely no sense that makes it on to a dish. You have to be brave enough and you have to have surround yourself with people that will tell you know this sucks. This is not good enough. This is not right. This needs to be edited. John, let me tell you something.

17:40But you know, you have to be surrounded by great people that hold you accountable and make you look in the mirror like this is not good enough. It needs to be better. This doesn't need to be here. Sometimes we put too much stuff on our plates and you have to recalibrate. Like is that necessary? Like this is getting confusing. Let me refocus and re-dial it in. Let's talk mentors and mentees, right? You do both. You were once mentored and now you bring people up, which by the way, when I came out to the restaurant the other day to capture some B-roll footage, I got to see you during... Our pit stop? Yeah, which is a different name. That's not usually what people call it. You know, your shift meeting. You're like, no, it's the pit stop. And I saw you in action with your team and it was really terrific. Again, I saw how you got to interact with your group with your team.

18:40So let's talk, Chef Bryant and Shaw and maybe some others who invested in you early in your career when you were a teenager. What does it mean when somebody pulls a teenager aside and says, you know what? I see something in you. It's incredibly nerve-wracking as a teenager. You don't know anything. You're like, okay, he's really focused on me. You've got laser eyes, chef eyes. That's looks at every single thing you do and you need a full that tail. Why are you standing that way? You need to cut this. Nope. And he needs to be finer and be able to give you that much attention and laser focus, whether it's food, culinary wise and personal life too is like, okay, you need to sign up for for one, okay? You need to invest in this stuff. So I'd never had just someone like put that much time into me and focus. I would be like, you need to do this. You need to set goals and this is how you do it.

19:41So I'd be like, oh, goals are good. It was like, flyty. But like, you need to do this and you need to get it done. So that was really impactful and just kind of, you know, almost shocking and jarring. I'd be like, oh shit, I need to wake up. What is there a direct mind connection that when you see somebody that deserves to be taken under the wing? Does it literally bring you back to when that happened with you? Yeah. So he. Support for walk and talk media comes from crab island seafood dip creating chef driven crab dips made with real seafood and bold flavor. Learn more at crab island seafood dip dot com. A great chef and all the stuff. So he saw my sister and I and we, you know, told him about this walk about experience. And that was kind of the, you know, moment for him and like, okay, these girls have traveled at such a young age just to learn and, you know, be exposed to a lot. That's something different. That's something brave. So he saw something in that and then, you know, we just went all in like, okay, he's

20:45putting time into us and let's go into this moment. And it's great because then now I have, they have more culinary programs in high schools now. So I have one person I just brought on who she did culinary in high schools. So she just grabbed 18 years old and is in the kitchen, you know, and doing a great job and fits right in, you know, next side to people who have been cooking for 10, 20, 30 years. And she just isn't work on time and all that. So it's really special moment to be able to see people go from like super young and like inexperience and just like, you can continue to give them new tasks and new pressures. And to see them build and grow is really great. We have another line cook who started off at 18 and eventually got her to supervise her position and then just promoted to her sous chef last week. And those moments are just like, oh my god, I'm so freaking proud of you. You've got to do this. I believe in you. You know, she's been there for us and consistent and bought into it.

21:46And those moments, you're like, I finally get to give you this opportunity. Like you've been working so hard. It's like it came around and it's like, hey, you ready? You're ready to keep diving into this and keep going. So awesome. Let me tell you about Costa Rica, kids. That's what you do. That's what you're doing. That's what you're telling. John, I told you she was going to be good. I said it. No matter who it is. And I don't care if you go out of town. You move out for six months, whatever it is. When you're inside of a restaurant, it's different. It's not what you would call typically what you would call quote unquote professional. Traditional? Yeah, or traditional. A real job. Right. And you're dealing with typically you're dealing with folks who have no breaks. You know, they don't have control in terms of their mouth and what they say and things like this. I guess what I'm getting at is a kitchen is a tough environment. A restaurant is a tough environment. And at 17, 18, 19 years old, like it's danger.

22:51It's really a dangerous place. It can be. Yeah. And I'm not talking about every restaurant or restaurant group, right? Because there are a lot of organizations out there that put a control over that. By and large, the industry is still the same as it was, you know, for me, 20, 30 years ago, 19, 18, you're in that, you're in that space. And back then, you're talking about it was still rough. They didn't have the controls that they have today. They didn't have the parameters, I should say, that they have today. How did you, how did you embrace that? I guess the biggest thing, I had an older brother. So I had an older brother who gave me shit all the time and would always poke fun at me and my sister. So that I knew was just kind of like a level of tough love. And that's, you know, all the guy line cooks, I'm like, oh my god, they're so old.

23:51And they know what they're doing. All they did was give me shit, but they also showed me everything at the same time. So I just kind of, you earn your keep when you work hard and you prove that you can do the job and do it. And you just, you're like, no, I can keep up with you. You know, it's like the little kids or the little siblings is like, oh no, I'm not going to, I'm not going to get left by the wayside. I'm going to keep up. I'm going to keep learning. I'm going to learn how to make these raviolis. I'm going to get my ass kicked on, saute station and keep up with you. I'm not going to burn it. I'm not going to make the kitchen go down. I'm going to be right there with you. And I just, I love that. And I love rising to that occasion and getting through those shifts. You know, a lot of times the people that you think are the bullies and the believe me, there's a lot of, they're making you stronger. They're making you stronger. Yeah, it's just true. But there's, there's a lot of different types of folks that you meet in the industry, right? Some of them, you know, they're, they're bad, like legit, just bad seed. But that's not the typical. The typical is like, yeah, everybody's tough.

24:51Everybody ribs one another. There's, there's a lot of that dare I say hazing that goes on. But once you pass like, once you get past the breakers, you know, you're in a really great place and all of a sudden these are your bonded friends for life. Like, you no matter what restaurant you end up going to, you always remember who from when and where. Yeah, it's, you need, you know, you need to know that the person next to you and have that trust that they're going to have your back and you're going to have their back. And they have that kind of support and trust and like you have really busy shifts and you work really hard. It's hot. It's, you know, hot equipment, hot pans. And then after you get your butt kicked, you got to clean up and clean the inside of the oven and you got to hurry up and get out. So it's important to build that teamwork and that trust with each other. You know, you want to know that when you look at sides, someone's not just like twiddling their thumbs, they're, they're right next to you working and digging deep and getting through it. The industry's hard. Fine. It's fun. It's not that hard.

25:52It keeps saying it's hard. It'll be hard. But if you say it's easy and enjoyable, it's great. It sucks a lot, but it's amazing. It's equal. It's equal parts. Oh my God. It's the most terrible thing on the planet. And then also, wow, this is just an amazing environment, amazing people. Again, you're, you make friends for the rest of your life. Are you good to do with anyone else? Doesn't get to do. Yeah. I'm, listen, I'm all in on this. Okay. Like this, this, the food business has been with me since I'm 15, right? I got. I've been doing this forever. I'm glad I'm on my side now versus in the restaurant. And then obviously my career in distribution, working with chefs. Like that was awesome. Being becoming a parent, a mother in your case, while working in the industry, that's

26:55a different. Sometimes she just don't have a choice. She's got to get through it. But it's, you know, it's what I knew. I trusted it and enjoyed it. So it's, you know, working hard and as a mom or as a parent, you just every day is a new day, you know, whether learning a new moment or they're learning how to walk or you got to get them to this next daycare or next babysitter. It's, you know, just challenges you to think in new ways. And then while the restaurant was like, okay, well, I got to do this and I, one day at a time, you just take it one day at a time because you can get caught up and what up the next moments and next steps, what I'm going to do here or what's the next month or what I'm going to be doing for the holidays and it's like pause and get back to the moment and the here and the now. The multitasking ability and, you know, forget the physical part of it, right? You know, you just worked 12, 15 hours, whatever in the shift and then you have to go home and do that parenting thing.

27:58The emotional weight of that granted them older, but I have younger, you know, children. I don't know. It's insanity. I've got a lot of freaking work. And I'm not, you know, I'm not in a building for 15 hours a day. Do you know what I mean? Yeah. Were you able to take lessons from working in this industry, home that applies to your daughter? Yeah. So being in the restaurant, you have to be calm and with camera-matchell restaurants, we have this great culture book. And one of them is like, you know, having a great attitude, having, be better today than when we're yesterday. So all this culture and foundation that is part of this, I've had to take and learn. And like, hey, let's make sure I apply this at home, you know, nothing worse than if I come home. And the only thing I do is just complain about, oh, my daughter left her shoes here. There's dishes everywhere or whatever. I'm like, well, she's home safe. She took care of herself.

28:58She cooked for herself. So I will do the dishes. That's easy. I get to do that. She's safe. She's not getting in trouble. Making sure I, you know, think logically first about all the things I'm grateful for and that, hey, I get to come home. I'm fully capable to do it physically. I, you know, I can stand up all day. I do it and I'm lucky. You know, I'm lucky not sitting down all day. I would go crazy. So has it changed your view on ambition in terms of career path? It depends. Different stages. When she was little or, you know, it is more demanding or more, you know, if I'm a nursing mom and bottle feeding is like, yeah, it's a little intimidating. Like, oh, I'm not ready to be a chef. Yeah, I'm like, I'm just, you know, I remember the first month. I was like, okay, I did not die from lack of sleep. I'm going to be okay. It's going to be fine. So as she's gotten older and more independent, then I've gotten, you know, braver. I'm like, okay, I'm ready to dive back all the way in. I'm ready to fully commit myself and push myself and challenge myself in that way.

29:59You know, you have to know, but like, you know what? Now is not the time to go full throttle on my career. I need to go back on family. And now she's getting more independent. It doesn't need me as much. So now I'm like, let's go back full throttle on the career. Typically, dishpid work on the line. Sue, someday chef. Right. You know, that's your trajectory. It's not usual that a brand new executive chef also has to open a new concept. Build to be part of the build out of a new concept. And I'm talking about the pearl. Yeah. So that I changed. So I was at Ocean Prime, which is a different concept. So I was like, okay, I'll take the opportunity. I got the opportunity to be the chef at the pearl and, you know, in hindsight. It's easier to, you know, kind of get promoted within the same restaurant. So that way you already know the same team. You're not learning a new menu, but I'm taking on a new concept.

31:01Building a new team. So doing a store opening and a new rule was an executive chef. So that was definitely one of the hardest years of my career just learning wise, because I was pushing so many different ways. I'm like, I don't know how to hire all these people. Am I hiring the right things? They don't know what the pearl is or who we are. And like, how do I just get the word out of who we are? I'm like, we're not going to have enough people to open and then figure out the concept and then get into the restaurant, double check, you know, construction is going all good. And do we have all the outlets is are the coolers working are, you know, there's a dish pit working. Do we have the hoods there? Are we going to be compliant and everything? So those all those things like, you got everything like, I don't know. I'm like, I'm just trying to figure it out. So like, I guess we'll get there. So it had to be a moment where, um, support for walk and talk media comes from Metro food service solutions trusted by kitchens that need storage and workflow that actually does the job learn more at metro.com.

32:03Spinning spinning and numbness in your face, right? Oh, yeah. I mean, that's that's how I would look at it. You talk about the, so we do orientation, which is like getting everyone together. Welcome to the team kind of show them who camera Mitchell restaurants are. But like, hey, this is our culture. We're excited. Who raw? We're excited to get to all in there. And then you get into the restaurant and it's like, no one knows where anything is. There's not homes for like, there's the place going to different spots, pots and pans, equipment gets moved around. There's, you know, everything doesn't have its home yet. So we're all trying to figure out. So you're like hurting a bunch of cats pretty much because you have 50 hundred new associates that no one knows what they're doing. No one knows what anything's like. So it's just like a thousand questions at every single minute. Like, oh my God, my head is going to explode. And those days are like 15, 16 hour days. That doesn't last always. But your head you're like, I just, I'm just going to drive home in silence. There's going to be no music on.

33:03I'm just going to just nothing. It's just be quiet. So when they offered you this position, did it dawn on you quickly? How big of a challenge this was going to be? Yeah, I knew, but I knew I couldn't say no. And it was really scary. And it was really scary in the hiring office. I remember like, because at that point, you can't, you're not really doing that much. You're like waiting for the restaurant to be done and you're hoping that you're, um, got all the right people. And you really don't know until you get into the kitchen is like, are they going to be good? Are they going to be dependable? Will they show up? Do they have any skill? Are they going to be jerks or not? You know, all those personalities you just don't know. Um, so it's just a lot of waiting. And you're just like, okay, is this going to be okay? And you're like, did I order enough product? Do I've got the prepless right? Are we going to get this done? Mind you, you have the whole, you know, our bosses and their teams on it. Like, hey, that's not perfect. You're like, oh my God, I don't want to disappoint them. I hopefully I'll do okay.

34:04And you know, so it's a ton of pressure and a ton of like, what if? And you just have to be like, I'm just one day at a time, one day quick thinking about what if just go back to today. But I have to believe that, um, Cameron Mitchell restaurants as a, as a company, mm hmm. The support must be amazing. Yeah. It's a whole team of people always. So when it comes to, because they've been diving into the recipes, the support, the home office, the finances of it, setting up banks. Um, so you're always surrounded by an incredible team and incredibly people who are passionate about you and the concept and everything that we do. Speaking of recipes, you did some stuff here today. And I'm going to say it because I can. Who's going to stop me? Everything was fantastic. Thank you. Truth. I do get people that side chat me and they say, how could everything be real? We've great people because I don't bring chumps to the studio.

35:05I'm not a chump. Thanks. You're not chump. But let's talk about what you did. Um, let's start with the hanger steak. All right. So the hanger steak is one of the pearl signature dishes. So it's from kind of pearl concept. So concept gastropub, but imagine where every chef wants to go when they're done working. So that's why you got a hanger steak. So it's a steak that's got lots of flavor, not traditionally known like a filet, but it's a lean like a filet. Um, so that's why it's kind of like a chef's cut or, you know, a butcher's cut. It's kind of like the secret cut right there. We marinate it in like a pineapple teriyaki marinade. So it gets the pineapple starts to break it down a little bit. It makes it more tender. And then we serve it with kimchi fried rice because it's got that spice to it. We've got gochujang, which is a spicy Asian red chili paste in there. Um, and serve it with a lime kind of chicken stock garlic sesame oil reduction. Finish it with butter. And then on top we finish it with a sunny side up fried egg because we all love to have it egg

36:10where we can crack the yolk in it. And you're just like, this is amazing. I'm perfect with a beer or a bourbon or afterwards. And it just sticks to your ribs like tons of flavor and spice. And you're just like, this is exactly what I needed. You could literally say that whole piece again to me. Yeah. Because it is the truth. Yeah, I mean, I, so first of all, um, hanger steaks fantastic. And you know, when you're mixing it with, um, that citrus with the spice, the balance was like fabulous. Like I really enjoyed the hell out of that. But the egg. So for me, I would love to have egg yolk on everything. Yeah. Yeah. So that was a welcomed, um, that was a welcomed ingredient that every, honestly, wasn't expecting. When you said this over the description and I saw what, what it's all about, I gave it a thumbs up and I was prepared today to eat that, which I did. By the way, I did eat the one and only egg yolk that was on there. John, I know the God.

37:10We have a thing that, um, he gets upset because I usually get first crack at the food. You know, oh, mouth, they're taking pictures. Yeah, all right. We'll take your pictures. I'm eating when you're doing that. Sorry. This episode is brought to you by TriMark, the largest food service design, equipment and supplies provider in North America. TriMark works directly with operators bringing design, build expertise, supply sourcing strength, project management, installation and servicing together to power smarter hospitality kitchens. Learn more at TriMarkUSA.com. The egg on the fried rice is kind of one of those, it's, it's one of those pain in the ass things because it's real easy to mess up and that's, they can't have any brown on it because if you're in corner school or back in the day or any chefs, like you don't want any crunchy crispy egg, but to have a patience to do a sunny side up egg where the whites coat completely and the yolk is still runny and there's no brown, you can't rush it.

38:11And that's a really challenging thing to do in restaurants because we're rushing everything. And it shows that care and like, mountain times you have to push it back like, nope, that egg's done or that yolk's busted. We got to do it again. So it's just one of those layers of like where you have to be relentless with. And it's slowing down. Can you just imagine the visual on that, right? You know, it's a busy line. Everybody's working. The machine is bizz-bizz-bizz-bizz. The tickets are rolling. Everything's happening, right? Dishes are being plated. All of it. Yeah. And we're all staring at the eggs. It doesn't yet. It's done yet? Is it done yet? Is it done yet? And it's all happening around you. Look. Awesome dish. But guess what? Let's talk about those carrots, man. And let's get into the, get into the, get into that red fish dish. So the red fish. So when it's just a fresh red fish, so it's nice and juicy, a little bit more delicate than snapper,

39:11but kind of almost more fat content. So between like snapper and grouper, but just kind of melts in your mouth. Though we have, it's paired with curry roasted carrots. So there are nice little baby carrots, and there's curry powder on the outside of it. And a little bit of olive oil, but it just kind of wickets them up and kind of enhances it. It's got a parsnip puree. So we oil parsnips and milk and cream. Blend it together, adjust it with a little bit of salt and white pepper. And that adds almost a floral note to it. So they've got savory and, you know, hominess because it is a puree, and you've got butter and cream in there. But the parsnip, it's now itself, add a floral note to it. Just because they're just more aromatic. And then a bright citrus note or acid note we have is a chimichurri sauce as red wine vinegar and lime juice. And then chili flake, fresh cilantro, and then we pickle asparagus and red wine vinegar. And it just makes everything, each bite kind of refreshes it.

40:12So you've got a little savory, bright, and it's kind of unexpected altogether. You're like, curry with chimichurri, like what's happening? So that was really good. Whoever designed them, yes. Just do yes. Yeah, don't sleep on the on the pickle asparagus. That's pretty interesting because you don't see that very often. Yeah, that's not a typical thing. No, and it's, I mean, since we use red wine vinegar, like it's not the price you're just, you're like, I don't know what that is. But eating it together just, you know, awakens everything in your taste buds. So that's what's, you know, enjoyable about it when you can taste stuff that you haven't every time before and it's unusual. So, you know, it awakens your curiosity. So Michelin recognition, three years in a row. I think that's a big deal. Is it a star? No, but not everything has to be a star for it to be heavy and important. And to hold something like that,

41:13consecutive years, it's really, it's pretty amazing. Because everything has to work. Your front of the house has to work. The back of the house has to work. The consistency is in the food and the sir, like all of it needs to come together. In order for somebody from Michelin to be like, Hey, these guys are okay. You know, like that has to be a thing. Yeah. In our conversation, you yourself mentioned like, hey, you know what? We cook for the food. We cook for the hospitality. And whatever happens happens. How do you appreciate the recognition without allowing it to change the why or how you cook and how you are a leader? So the guide is really, it's humbling because it's, you know, you get recognition for your hard work. And for me, I was like, I only thought Michelin stars and guides or recommendations was only, you know, fine dining top deer, you know.

42:14And 11 Madison Park or something so beyond it was out of touch. So it wasn't even on my radar as a possibility. And when we got the first year, it was like, holy shit, what just happened? And then we get all the guests like holding us to it. Like, oh, they got Michelin star all of a sudden, like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. You know, like intimidating. I'm like, I don't know what to do with this. Like, this is really cool and humbling and a little scary. But you just, you know, be proud for the team. You par out of their hard work. And then just know that the leaders are focused on you and just keep going. And you got to keep getting better and you got to keep, know, that bun needs to be perfectly toasted and just, it's great because even though we're not fine dining, but we do a lot of fine dining techniques and make everything from scratch, you can still be recognized for greatness and recognize for consistency and hospitality and everything that you do. And that's kind of that relentless pursuit of doing the same thing every single day and holding it to that high standard and holding your team to the high standard is just, it's great when

43:14you get recognition. So you just got to keep doing it. It's like you can never, you can't falter. You just have to be that great all the time. The guy isn't what defines us. It's the journey. And that's kind of like the important thing is like, you know, that's the guy doesn't the reward. The reward is having that, you know, going through it with the team and making those memories. The guy is like, okay, sweet. Thank you. Now let's go on to do it. So it's just like any other competition, whether it's, you know, we're talking about Boku's or the culinary Olympics or everything. That amount of time people are spending on looking at the product and their team and practicing. Like they're doing it for years beforehand, just leading up to it. And that's just kind of like, okay, we got there. But the journey is like, that's what matters. And like you get there like, okay, I got it. And it's like the next day is like, it's the next day. It's not, you know, it doesn't give you anything besides that recognition. So you've got to make sure you get that enjoyment from every single thing that you do. And you're in it for the right reason.

44:14Because that's not going to give you a satisfaction or the, you know, it's just there. It's just the next thing. How do you deal with the guest? This session of walk and talk media is made possible by Citrus America, delivering fresh Florida citrus and juice solutions to food service professionals nationwide. Learn more at citrusamerica.com That comes in and says, oh, you have a Michelin star. And you're like, how do you like? It's not like, it's not a star, but thank you. Appreciate it. There's a feeling in that, right? Like because it did like a weird something in your chest. So isn't it there? Yeah, because you don't, you know, for me, it's like, it's hard to, you know, to my own home or be too proud. Like it's not a star. It's just a guy, but we're really proud. You know, so you want to be proud, but you don't want to like over like, oh, this is, this is who I am. This is my identity. So I think this, what I think you should do is have somebody in the building

45:17who has the most, my, my family's European, I can say that. The most snooty European accent possible to explain to them that no, we're not a Michelin star restaurant. I think it should be that. No, no, well, because like, you don't want to, alien anybody, you don't hurt anybody's feelings. Well, you don't want to like correct them. We're like, no, thank you. I really appreciate it. We're just on the guide. Like it's, it's hard to be humble, but you don't want to like, nah, I know because it's not sort of being on the guide. Not everybody gets to begin to freaking guide. You know, I mean, it's, it is a big deal, but it's not a star. And it's like, oh my god. That's what I'm saying. I think there's a really interesting, I think there's an interesting stance to that, a position for that particular thing. We've had other chefs who were mentioned in the guide that had to deal with this. And for me, I think there's like a, I think there's a story in it. Well, the, the thing is like, you know, for so long when I was a young Connor, and I was like, oh my god, you know, my next goal is to be an executive chef or to be original, or like, it was always like, what's the next position?

46:18Well, that, you know, that doesn't bring me satisfaction and that doesn't bring me happiness. You know, so that's why I'm like, that's why it's not about the star or the plaque or the award because that's not what's going to bring me satisfaction. So that's why it's not that for me. For me, it's about the path and the journey. So for somebody who wants to do the C section, yes, that is exactly right. Okay, like you, you basically, that is the exclamation point on this whole day. All right, listen, honestly, you did a fantastic job. And I want to make sure that we thank Grant who's sitting over here from Playbook Public Relations. Who in conjunction with Lee from over at Creative Loving, that's why we're all having this great day today. Yeah, Chef Olivia from The Pearl. So I want to recognize that awesome day today. What do you think? No, thank you. It was amazing. It had so much fun. It's really great. How do people find you at pearlwaterstreet.com and downtown Tampa? We're all looking at Grant.

47:18Is that proper? Is that the right thing? Yes. John, you should practice on the photography a little bit. Okay, I'm only kidding, baby. You, you're fantastic. Guys, thank you very much for coming out. We are out.