Bachelorette Parties and Cooking Classes: Christin Ortiz at Garlic Fest!
Chris Lindstrom hosts the Food About Town podcast, diving into the vibrant world of culinary experiences centered around the Glorious Garlic Festival (@gloriousgarlicfestival). The episode features Christin Ortiz, who is set to lead a food demonstration Sunday August 3rd showcasing roasted garlic gnocchi topped with fresh pesto. Ortiz emphasizes the importance of approachability in cooking, aiming to inspire attendees to explore new flavors and cooking techniques while fostering a love for food in their everyday lives.
Links referenced in this episode:
gloriousgarlicfestival.com - rochesterbrainery.com (@rocbrainery) - nykitchen.com (@_nykitchen) - senoritagordita.com
Mentioned in this episode:
Mind of Magnus
Check out Mind of Magnus at magnusapollo.com, and leave him factoids at 585-310-2473! https://mind-of-magnus.captivate.fm
Behind the Glass
Podcast and gallery focusing on underrepresented artists utilize the space to amplify their work. Curated by @Richardbcolon @qua.jay. Check out the podcast or join them in person first Fridays at 240 E Main St, Rochester, NY! https://behind-the-glass-gallery.captivate.fm
Joe Bean Roasters
Joe Bean Coffee - Coffee that lifts everyone. https://shop.joebeanroasters.com
Transcript
I'm Chris Lindstrom, and this is the Food About Town podcast.
Speaker B:Rochester.
Speaker B:Well, why Rochester?
Speaker A:Chris Lindstrom was a hoot.
Speaker A:He was just so much fun.
Speaker A:He never stopped talking.
Speaker A:I mean, it was great.
Speaker A:Here's a good idea.
Speaker A:Have a point.
Speaker A:It makes it so much more interesting for the listener, and we don't need.
Speaker B:Any characters around to give the joint atmosphere.
Speaker B:Is that clear?
Speaker A:Because I'm a pro.
Speaker A:That's what pros do.
Speaker B:I'm a professional.
Speaker A:Look it up in the book.
Speaker A:But now, yeah, I'm thinking I'm back.
Speaker A:And we are back with another episode of the Food About Town podcast.
Speaker A:We are talking Garlic Fest for the third, third time this week.
Speaker A:Mostly because it's a great excuse to talk to some people I haven't talked to in a long time.
Speaker A:Guest, why don't you introduce yourself?
Speaker B:Hi, I'm Kristin Ortiz.
Speaker A:And you are doing a food demo at the Glorious Garlic Festival.
Speaker A:And that's glorious garlicfestival.com on August 2nd and August 3rd at the Geneva Lakefront.
Speaker A:It's kind of like park area, so you can go in and enjoy an amazing festival with so many different vendors and other amazing things, including food demos.
Speaker A:When's your food demo at?
Speaker B:Yeah, so I'm going to be there Sunday at 1:15.
Speaker B:I would love to see everybody.
Speaker B:It's going to be really fun.
Speaker A:That's awesome.
Speaker A:So let's talk about what your food demo is, roughly where are you going with it?
Speaker A:And then let's talk about how you develop something like that.
Speaker A:So what is the food demo you're planning on?
Speaker B:Yeah, so I'm going to be doing a roasted garlic gnocchi, and I'm going to finish it with some fresh pesto.
Speaker B:Nice.
Speaker B:I'm just trying to think of all the ways I can use garlic.
Speaker B:I want everybody to leave the Garlic Festival with the most terrible breath, wanting to tell everyone their secrets up close.
Speaker A:Mm.
Speaker A:Well, and that's what a great thing, too, is being able to get that, you know, that fresh garlic.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:For that, too, because it makes such a big difference.
Speaker A:For something like a pesto, where you want that vibrant basil.
Speaker A:You want the vibrant garlic because you can do it off season, but it's not the same.
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker B:No, totally.
Speaker B:That's.
Speaker B:Honestly, garlic is one of those things.
Speaker B:Anytime I'm anywhere in the summer and I see it, that it looks beautiful, and I'm, like, drawn to it, I buy it.
Speaker B:And so I have, like, a whole stockpile in my kitchen because it is one of those things, like, all summer Long.
Speaker B:I'm like, look how gorgeous you are.
Speaker B:Because it's not like that, that, you know, the rest of the year.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker A:And then, you know, getting the life cycle of garlic, which is one of the, you know, signifiers of seasonality here in.
Speaker A:In our area, where we get, you know, garlic scapes, and we get, you know, we can get green garlic at different time of the year, and then you can get young garlic, where it's not papered over, but we get to taste that life cycle of garlic with the amazing farmers in our area.
Speaker B:It really is amazing.
Speaker B:Yeah, we do have all that.
Speaker B:All those opportunities.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Because I just finished doing a kale and garlic scape, like puree pesto for, you know, just cooking with grains and other things like that.
Speaker A:But what an amazing thing to be able to use all the different parts of it during the year, and then you get that beautiful, bright garlic, and then you can learn about what do different garlics taste like.
Speaker B:Yeah, totally.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Honestly, I don't think a lot of people even think about that.
Speaker B:And I try to tell people that, like, in my cooking classes and, you know, talk about the dynamics of garlic and how, like, just what you said, there's all different ones, all different flavors.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:So let's finish off with the demo.
Speaker A:So you're doing gnocchi, which I think is a great thing, too, because it cooks quick.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:It's something I can show people quickly.
Speaker B:It is definitely in my wheelhouse.
Speaker B:And then the pesto is something I can make in front of everyone, too, and hopefully get some garlic from the festival to make the pesto, you know.
Speaker A:That would be awesome.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So to really be able to showcase different things that are going on there.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Because that's.
Speaker A:So when you're doing a demo, you know, how do you usually think about it?
Speaker A:Do you usually think about it as entertainment, as instruction, as education?
Speaker A:How do you format yours?
Speaker A:Because I think everybody does it a little bit differently.
Speaker B:Yeah, that's.
Speaker B:Yeah, that's an interesting thought.
Speaker B:I think for me, it's definitely about approachability.
Speaker B:I want people to leave excited about something maybe new, and even if it's not new to them, something that maybe to think differently about it, to be inspired by ingredients.
Speaker B:I'm a huge fan of asking people, like, what are you craving?
Speaker B:Like, that's where everything begins for me.
Speaker B:And so I just.
Speaker B:I think I want people to have more awareness for themselves of what food can be in their life.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:And so that, to me, is what the demo is first and foremost.
Speaker B:But, of course, you Know all the little pieces of what I want to cook and you know, what I want people to experience food wise.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And it's, it's approachability is one of those things that can be, can be construed negatively if you're using it as, like, like, oh, we're dumbing things down, we're doing that.
Speaker A:And I often think the other way is, you know, approachability is about make, you know, meeting people where they are, making them excited about the things that we're excited about.
Speaker B:Totally.
Speaker A:I find it much more.
Speaker A:And it's not, it's not about lowering standards, it's about how do we make sure everybody can, you know, come and enjoy something that is an amazing product and enjoy a beautiful area, you know, that is so close to Rochester that so few people really spend time and embrace, you know, going to the Finger Lakes, enjoying the world class wineries and the amazing farmed products right from the area.
Speaker B:I think that this is a really cool opportunity to welcome people into my world.
Speaker B:You know, I think about food all the time.
Speaker B:Like, I, I am consumed by it in the best possible way.
Speaker B:Like, I, I love food.
Speaker B:I love food community.
Speaker B:I love what it means to gather, to feed people, to cook together, to think about our cravings and ingredients and support all the people that make that possible here where I live.
Speaker B:And not everybody feels that way.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:So, I mean you're a person with a lot of passions and hobbies and things that you love.
Speaker B:And I think it is a cool chance to like, let people see, like open a little window into my world of maybe craziness to some and let them experience it for that half hour.
Speaker B:And then if they walk away and they never think about it again.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:But maybe they're going to take something with them like, wow, I never thought about that that way.
Speaker B:Or she's really crazy about garlic, that girl.
Speaker B:You know, I just think there's, there's a lot of opportunity.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:I think I find the same thing like when I'm, when I have the opportunity to taste with somebody else.
Speaker A:As long as they're willing to just experience and enjoy, I want to just sit and talk about it.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Like I, I enjoy the process so deeply and intensely that I wanted, I want people to sit down and just try.
Speaker A:You don't have to, you don't have to know how to taste.
Speaker B:Sure.
Speaker A:Just like, hey, do you like this?
Speaker A:Why do you like this?
Speaker B:Exactly.
Speaker A:What about this is grabbing you at the moment?
Speaker A:Because I think that if we can enjoy the things we're consuming More and where none of us are perfect.
Speaker A:Like, I'm a garbage person.
Speaker A:I still eat garbage stuff and everything else, but in the end, like when I'm enjoying things, you know, those little sparks make my day better.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Like, I can have really good coffee.
Speaker A:Well, that makes my day better.
Speaker B:Totally.
Speaker A:When I'm at work and I'm walking around in the morning half awake and I get to smell a great coffee and taste, I'm like, oh, yeah, this is nice.
Speaker A:I get to feel something good.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:At that part of the day, regardless what else is going on.
Speaker B:It is, it's a nice little pause.
Speaker B:And honestly, Chris, I reject the idea of garbage food.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:Everything has a place.
Speaker B:Everything has a place.
Speaker B:When I'm, you know, I work as a private chef and sometimes when I'm like working and working and working, I live out of the freezer section of the grocery.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Sometimes you gotta like hit the drive through for that crispy chicken sandwich.
Speaker B:You know, I just think everything has.
Speaker B:You can still sit and enjoy something and like be super grateful for it.
Speaker B:It can nourish you.
Speaker B:Maybe in a different way.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker A:I, I love the sentiment.
Speaker A:I, I'm so hard on myself that it's hard for me.
Speaker A:I can't.
Speaker A:It's hard to forgive your myself for not being optimal all the time, even though it's unfair and not.
Speaker A:It's imbalanced.
Speaker A:But, but it's hard for me to turn off that side of the brain.
Speaker A:But that's also why I love talking through these things.
Speaker A:Because I love the philosophy of why.
Speaker A:Because in the end, intention does matter the why you're doing it.
Speaker A:Even if you don't reach the goals that you're hoping to get to, that you are doing it for a reason.
Speaker A:And that's why I love doing, you know, talking about those, tasting with people like, hey, we're never going to reach the heights of the goals, but can we help somebody that day?
Speaker A:Can we make somebody's thing a little bit better?
Speaker A:Yeah, that's kind of what.
Speaker A:So your, your, your demo Sunday115, you said, right.
Speaker A:Awesome.
Speaker A:So really hope people go check that out.
Speaker A:So we are going to pivot on to some other things.
Speaker A:So while we were setting up, you mentioned you were also doing, you know, some classes and other things at the commissary, which also for everybody, for people going out this Friday, I think this might become a Thursday or Friday.
Speaker A:If you're not going to Geneva and hanging out in the Finger Lakes for the weekend on Friday night, make sure to go to the Launch of the August edition of behind the Glass at the Mercantile on Maine.
Speaker A:We'll also have the preview episode of that out, so go check that out.
Speaker A:Great place to go hang out.
Speaker A:I'd say the food is getting better and better at the Mercantile as well.
Speaker A:My friend Yunzhin is now opening his noodle place at the mercantile aisle Seasons noodle, which is right next to the window there.
Speaker A:Yeah, I think he might be open already.
Speaker B:Yeah, I think he is.
Speaker A:You know, it's a wild improvement of location from his spot that used to be in the lobby of the building across from the Cadillac Hotel over on that street.
Speaker B:Oh, wow.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker A:Just like barely any signage and it was a tough location.
Speaker A:I'm really excited for him to get that visibility.
Speaker B:That's awesome.
Speaker A:But so you're, you're doing some stuff there.
Speaker A:So why don't you tell me about, you know, how did that get started and what you're doing over at the commissary.
Speaker B:Yeah, awesome.
Speaker B:I.
Speaker B:So I'm teaching cooking classes through the Rochester Brainery.
Speaker A:Oh, awesome.
Speaker B:At the commissary.
Speaker B:So, you know, you may or may not know, the Brainery is all remote now.
Speaker B:And so they do their classes in all different locations.
Speaker B:So all the cooking classes happen at the commissary.
Speaker B:Which I love the fit of Brainery doing things at the commissary because they're both super community minded businesses.
Speaker B:And just to give a little plug for the commissary, in addition to the really cool food stalls that are at the mercantile just about every day of the week for lunch, if you walk to the back where the commissary is on that corner, there's always a pop up for lunch happening and you can eat really all around the world.
Speaker B:There's some really cool restaurants that are popping up out of the commissary for lunches weekdays, usually from like 11 to 2, I think is the service time for most of them.
Speaker A:That's awesome.
Speaker B:It's amazing.
Speaker B:Like La Salvi is in a Salvadorian place doing pupusas and.
Speaker A:Oh, they're out of there.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:Because that made me so happy when I saw.
Speaker A:I think there was a cart.
Speaker A:I don't know if they had.
Speaker A:They're the one there was running a little cart or a little stand at the public market.
Speaker B:Oh, for pupusas?
Speaker B:Yeah, maybe.
Speaker B:I honestly don't know.
Speaker B:I don't know.
Speaker B:But they're incredible.
Speaker A:That made me so happy to see because we have like so little representation.
Speaker A:South American representation.
Speaker B:Exactly.
Speaker A:Here in town.
Speaker A:Like, I just, I Just learned about an Ecuadorian place, like just past Greece.
Speaker A:That made me really happy.
Speaker A:I'm like, oh, awesome.
Speaker A:Because we have so little of it.
Speaker A:And then to see Salvadorian, There's a couple Peruvian places.
Speaker A:Oh, is there?
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:So like, it's just really cool to be able to meet people that I may not run into all the time and get to know what their business is about.
Speaker B:And yeah, there's just some really fun, really fun stuff happening out of the commissary.
Speaker A:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker A:So how did you get started doing the classes with the Brainery?
Speaker A:And by the way, rochesterbrainery.com to look at all of the classes, you can take lots of different categories.
Speaker A:So if you're looking just to go do something fun with friends or to just, hey, build a base of knowledge on something you're interested in, just looking at the subjects online.
Speaker A:You've got art, you've got cocktails, wine and beer, cooking, you know, health history, jewelry making, plants, gardening, just so many different things.
Speaker A:Truly with people who are passionate teaching the classes.
Speaker B:Exactly.
Speaker B:They're really catering to every niche.
Speaker A:So I have to get started working with them, doing classes.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B: while ago now, I guess it was: Speaker B:I, you know, was finishing up working at Joe Bean actually and traveled a bunch and wasn't really sure where I was gonna land when I got back to Rochester.
Speaker B:And somebody out of the blue said, you got to talk to Danielle at the Brainery.
Speaker B:I know she's trying to do some more cooking classes.
Speaker B:And I was really excited to talk with her.
Speaker B:I really didn't know what it would look like or what she was looking for.
Speaker B:So we started with a pasta class and it was selling out consistently.
Speaker B:And she said, do you want to try some other foods, teach some other things?
Speaker B:And so slowly we just started building the repertoire.
Speaker B:And now I think I have like 10 or 11 classes in rotation.
Speaker A:Oh, wow.
Speaker B:From pasta making to knife skills, crepes and some Latin foods.
Speaker B:I do empanadas and.
Speaker A:Because I actually see, I mean, a couple days after, on Monday, August 4th, you have a class on how to learn to make empanadas there.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Yep.
Speaker A:Because that's, I mean, how, how that's got to be really interesting, you know, developing that almost curriculum because you're doing so many different styles of.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:You know, different kinds of classes.
Speaker A:When you're, when you're going through that process, how are you, how are you deciding what to.
Speaker A:What to cover?
Speaker A:Because there's like, I love the nerdery of like, oh, you can dive into something, but how do you go through like, oh, I want to go this far.
Speaker A:And this is what everybody's comfortable with.
Speaker A:Is it, you know, guess and check.
Speaker A:Is it doing it once and seeing where it goes?
Speaker B:Yeah, definitely.
Speaker B:It's definitely experiential, you know, trying to see what hits and what doesn't.
Speaker B:I did a corn dog class once that I was so excited about cuz it's like one of my favorite things in the world.
Speaker B:And we sold like seven tickets twice and I was like, okay, I guess this isn't the one for the books.
Speaker B:But the people who came were so excited.
Speaker B:Like they were just as excited about corn dogs as I was doing old.
Speaker A:School Americana corn dogs or edging into Korean too.
Speaker B:Both.
Speaker B:Yeah, so we did both of those so that people could kind of.
Speaker B:Yeah, exactly.
Speaker B:So because anytime I go to H Mart, I stop for a corn dog before I do my shopping.
Speaker B:You know what I mean?
Speaker B:Like, there are just things that like that food, love that.
Speaker B:I'm like, I want you to know about this.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Where's the nearest one, by the way?
Speaker A:I've never actually been in one.
Speaker B:Yeah, I don't think there.
Speaker B:Well, Toronto.
Speaker A:I mean, there's one in Boston.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:I think.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I actually, I've never been to the one in Boston.
Speaker B:I grew up downstate, so the ones that I went to are in Jersey.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So whenever I'm home, I always make a trip.
Speaker A:So for people that don't know, this is like, you know, the supermarket size really Korean focused grocery store.
Speaker A:But it does cross Pan Asian.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Ingredients.
Speaker A:And this is kind of like they're the, the gold standard for the large supermarkets that just have everything.
Speaker B:Yeah, they really do.
Speaker B:And most of them have a food court as well.
Speaker A:And almost always like one you want to go to.
Speaker A:Like, like they're not a throwaway food court.
Speaker A:These are the ones you want to go spend time in.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:People will like make a trip just for the food court.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:And they're like, I don't know if I need groceries, but I'm going to stop and do a food crawl.
Speaker A:But I need something to eat.
Speaker A:So I'm going.
Speaker B:Exactly.
Speaker A:No, that's.
Speaker A:That's awesome because that is like, you know, you know, Korean food evolving so fast.
Speaker A:To have that hybridization and trying stuff like that where now that's become like hyper popular, fast casual or fast street food almost and has opened all over the US and now we see that as now something that is happening all the time.
Speaker A:And you Got a chance to try to do it.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:How fun is that?
Speaker B:Yeah, I was just gonna say how cool is that?
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So I think a lot of the brainery classes kind of come from that place of wanting to either introduce something or, you know, for me at least, what will people most want to try again?
Speaker B:So the pasta classes have been super duper popular, and I really do.
Speaker B:I just ask people, you know, like, when I have people in classes.
Speaker B:I also teach down at New York Kitchen in Canandaigua, and I really make a habit of just talking to people who are excited about the cooking process and ingredients and all that stuff.
Speaker B:I'm like, well, what do you want to learn?
Speaker B:Like, what haven't you seen yet?
Speaker B:You know?
Speaker B:So that's definitely how some of it forms as well.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Do those live in the same world for you, or do you treat those as, like, kind of different?
Speaker A:Like, are they the same objectives?
Speaker A:Do you separate those in your head?
Speaker B:That's a great question.
Speaker B:Yeah, I guess a little bit separate.
Speaker B:Just because they're a little bit different dynamics.
Speaker B:The.
Speaker B:The brainery classes are really focused on one main thing where most of the New York kitchen classes, I mean, some of them are focused on one thing, but a lot of them are, like, full meals where you're doing three different components.
Speaker B:And so it's.
Speaker B:It's a little more complicated.
Speaker B:People are always cooking with a partner, too, in those ones.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:It's interesting to see it is a little bit different dynamics, but, yeah, I think they do live in the same world for me, but maybe the way I prep for them is a little bit different.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Because that's.
Speaker A:I.
Speaker A:Like, so the way you mentioned that as soon as you said, you know, cooking with the other person.
Speaker B:Oh, yeah.
Speaker A:Can be very interesting.
Speaker B:Oh, my gosh.
Speaker B:I'm sure you see, like, stories for days.
Speaker A:I'm sure you see all the ups and downs of that.
Speaker B:Totally.
Speaker A:Where people just, like, come together.
Speaker A:Just like.
Speaker B:Well, it cracks me up.
Speaker B:Like, some people are just so on the same page, and they're really excited to be cooking together because they cook together at home or, you know, and they.
Speaker B:One of them bought it for the other person as a gift.
Speaker B:Sometimes people didn't know they were coming to a cooking class tonight because their person was like, we're gonna go do a thing.
Speaker B:There are sometimes.
Speaker B:I mean, one time, this one woman mentioned no less than 17 times.
Speaker B:Like, he never cooks.
Speaker B:This is the first time he's ever cooking.
Speaker B:He's never.
Speaker B:He never joins me in the kitchen.
Speaker B:And as I was walking by.
Speaker B:I just was like, hey, man, I. I think she wants you to make her dinner sometimes.
Speaker A:I think maybe.
Speaker B:I think that this might be the hint that you needed to, you know, get in the kitchen.
Speaker B:I think she might want to.
Speaker B:Want you to be in there with her sometimes.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:So you never know, like, why.
Speaker B:Why people choose to be at the class.
Speaker B:But it's always fun.
Speaker B:Always, always fun.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Well, and I love the two different environments, too, because, like, that test kitchen area at the.
Speaker A:At the commissary one is beautiful.
Speaker B:Oh, my gosh.
Speaker B:Yeah, so that's what I mean.
Speaker B:Like, all these popup restaurants, but there's also people who are, you know, making products that they sell in different places around the city and beyond.
Speaker B:You know, there's private chefs that do catering events and, you know, different events where they prep in that kitchen.
Speaker B:So, yeah, there's.
Speaker B:There's lots of cool stuff in the commissary.
Speaker B:All.
Speaker B:All kinds of food culture, you know?
Speaker A:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker A:So, I mean, it seems like a big part of what you're doing now is so you're doing the private chef.
Speaker A:But I seems.
Speaker A:I can see it in your face, like.
Speaker A:Like, you kind of light up when you're talking about teaching people about food now.
Speaker A:So we talked about the empanadas, obviously, that being a big part of, you know, stuff.
Speaker A:Yeah, I remember you cooking those and serving to people at, you know, Joe Bean when you were there.
Speaker A:That's got to be really nice to be able to show people that in detail and say, hey, this is.
Speaker A:This is specifically.
Speaker A:This is food I love truly and deeply.
Speaker A:Not that you don't love the other things, but that's, like, specifically you.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I mean, that is a huge piece of my.
Speaker B:My teaching.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Is the stories, the food stories.
Speaker B:Because, like, with empanadas specifically, I always talk about Lala.
Speaker B:She was my.
Speaker B:My Cuban grandmother who taught me how to make empanadas.
Speaker B:And food is such a huge piece of my family on both sides.
Speaker B:My mom's Italian, and there's just, like, such food legacy on both sides of my family.
Speaker B:And so whenever I'm cooking, whenever I'm instructing, I'm.
Speaker B:I want to talk about those people who imparted all those things to me, you know?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Well, speaking of imparting things on others, we're going to go to break, get a little bit of advertising in, and we'll be right back.
Speaker A:And we're back with the second half.
Speaker A:First discussion with Chef Christian Ortiz.
Speaker A:Where can people find you online if they want to maybe get some of your services for private chefing or other things.
Speaker A:We're gonna talk about that in a second.
Speaker B:Awesome.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I'm senorita gordita, so senoritagordita.com.
Speaker B:i'm actually not on social media.
Speaker B:I know that's not a popular choice, but visit my website.
Speaker B:Drop me a line.
Speaker B:Yeah, I would love to chat with folks.
Speaker A:Well, it's.
Speaker A:The thing is, if it makes your life better, not doing it, like, what a.
Speaker A:That's a great thing, especially when you.
Speaker A:If you build your reputation where people recommend you in person.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:But that matters so much more to me than seeing somebody's glossy Instagram.
Speaker A:If somebody says, hey, I need somebody for this thing.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:Well, you should reach out to them.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And that, honestly, is a ton of my business is people were at a party or an event that I did, and they're like, hey, will you come do my thing?
Speaker B:You know, so that is a lot of.
Speaker B:A lot of what I do.
Speaker A:Because that world, you know, that private chef world is not one thing.
Speaker A:It's kind of a totally.
Speaker A:It's kind of a cloud of many different opportunities and styles of events.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And that's exactly.
Speaker B:I would say the objective of a private chef is to.
Speaker B:I mean, you're hiring someone to do something just for you, so it can be what your vision is.
Speaker B:I mean, that really is, I think, at the.
Speaker B:The heart of.
Speaker B:At least for me.
Speaker B:But I would say most private chefs would say that because you're.
Speaker A:You could be doing something more regular.
Speaker A:You could be helping with meal prep.
Speaker A:You could be doing special events.
Speaker A:How does that.
Speaker A:So when you're.
Speaker A:When you're starting to work with somebody, there has to be an interesting conversation about, hey, what.
Speaker A:What are you looking for?
Speaker A:How do you balance that?
Speaker A:So what's the.
Speaker A:What is that process like for you?
Speaker A:You know, talking to somebody and figuring out how are we going to work together?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I guess it just.
Speaker B:Again, it begins with, what are you craving?
Speaker B:Like, what.
Speaker B:What.
Speaker B:What are you.
Speaker B:Well, I guess, what do you want to be eating?
Speaker B:But also, what kind of experience are you trying to create a lot of?
Speaker B:So I have found a little niche with bachelorette parties.
Speaker A:Oh, awesome.
Speaker B:On the Finger Lakes, which is a ton of fun.
Speaker B:I always tell people I'm like, I'm always walking into a party.
Speaker B:Like, I'm literally walking into, like, someone's favorite day with their favorite people.
Speaker B:And so a lot of that is, you know, like my Mediterranean menus and Italian menus and, you know, people wanting just Like a bounty of fresh ingredients.
Speaker B:Cause it's, you know, usually this, the spring, summer, fall, and, you know.
Speaker B:Yeah, I would say it begins with just talking about where, you know, like, kind of where they want to go with flavors and what they want people to experience.
Speaker B:Sometimes I do just like, dinners for two, you know, like a special event, a special occasion.
Speaker B:A few weeks ago, I went to the Outer Banks on vacation with a family to cook for them every day.
Speaker B:That was wild.
Speaker B:It was so much fun getting to know, like, fishermen and like, trying to find, like, the best fish market and.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So, like, what a unique challenge runs the gamut.
Speaker A:Yeah, what a unique challenge that is too.
Speaker A:Like, showing up somewhere that you haven't spent a lot of time.
Speaker B:I was nervous, to be honest, when I was.
Speaker B:I was doing like, research online, just talking to people about, like, you know, have you been there?
Speaker B:And Reddit was a friend.
Speaker B:You know, like, there were just like different places trying to talk to folks about what the best.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Best resources.
Speaker B:But I was nervous because, like, when I'm here in Rochester, I know every grocery here, like, Truly.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:I know them so well.
Speaker B:I know exactly what I can get where.
Speaker B:And I feel very comfortable shopping and finding things, you know, between the markets and my best friend Priceright.
Speaker B:You know, like, there are so many great resources here.
Speaker A:What a fun store.
Speaker B:By the way, I love pricerite so much.
Speaker B:I tell people all the time, I'm like, you gotta go.
Speaker B:You gotta go to Priceright.
Speaker A:And you can see, you'll see stuff there you don't see in any other, like, commercial grocery store in our area.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I mean, Truly, it was so funny.
Speaker B:Somebody was talking about that, like, Dubai chocolate, they have it there, you know, like, you can't find it places.
Speaker B:And I'm like, yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:Oh, yeah, go to Price.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker A:And at half the price that you'll see it anywhere else.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:But like, there's so many.
Speaker B:I mean, because they really do have lots of different cultural foods.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker B:I love.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker A:And it's, you know, because I love that where you can go to international food market and you can get your yo.
Speaker A:Halal top to bottom.
Speaker A:You can get all of the West, Asian, different styles.
Speaker A:It's not just Turkish, you know, it's all sort.
Speaker A:But then you go to their international aisle and then you're buying stuff that almost no other store in town or very few.
Speaker A:It's like, oh, I was trying to make a version of a Nigerian dish once and I needed to get palm oil because I needed to bleach Palm oil for a specific dish.
Speaker B:Oh, that is wild.
Speaker A:And I was like, where can I get it?
Speaker A:Was it price right or.
Speaker A:I went to International Food Market.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker A:And I can find, you know, was it Ivar, you know, the.
Speaker A:You know, get the, you know, eggplant pepper spreads or all the things that.
Speaker A:Oh, you might get one version at a store, but they have, like, a dozen different versions.
Speaker A:Like, which version do you like now?
Speaker A:And that opportunity to, like, go to an amazing Indian grocery store, you know, like, namaste, cash and carry, or go to these places where you get this bounty of specificity, and you can find your brands that you like.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:It's amazing.
Speaker B:I think that grocery shopping can be a total experience.
Speaker B:I think it depends on people's objectives.
Speaker B:I think a lot of people here, because we truly are spoiled by Wegmans, because you have everything in one place.
Speaker B:And Trader Joe's is similar.
Speaker B:You know, you have a lot of things all together, beautiful things.
Speaker B:But I never shop in one place.
Speaker B:Like, when I'm grocery shopping, I plan on, like, I'm gonna hit this store, then this store, then this store, because I. I know the different things I want.
Speaker B:Not everybody wants to do that or feels comfortable doing that.
Speaker B:And that's honestly another piece of my classes where I want to talk to people about that stuff.
Speaker B:Like.
Speaker B:Like, oh, if you're looking for this kind of ingredient, you can.
Speaker B:You can get it here.
Speaker B:Yeah, you don't need to go to Wegmans for that.
Speaker B:Like, you could find it at a different place.
Speaker B:They may not actually have it, you know, at Wegmans, but.
Speaker A:And it's an amazing.
Speaker A:Yeah, it's an amazing thing, too.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:Like, when you're talking about.
Speaker A:You might get it there, but are you going to get the version that you wanted?
Speaker B:Totally.
Speaker A:Like, if you want dried chilies.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Like, you can buy them there, and you can buy them a price.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:But I might send you to abroad, these.
Speaker A:Mexico Lindo over on 104, where they have a whole table.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:Of different varieties of dried chilies.
Speaker A:And they store.
Speaker A:They're pliable, and they're still.
Speaker A:You can get these different flavors and vibrant things, but you're not just getting one.
Speaker A:You're getting a dozen or 15 different varieties of dried chilies.
Speaker B:Well, and you're in a place where people are buying them constantly.
Speaker B:So there's constant turnover.
Speaker B:You know that you're getting a really nice ingredient, fresh ingredient.
Speaker B:And that's what I have told people where, like, even with yuca, you know, you can't get yucca everywhere.
Speaker B:I mean, it's definitely more prevalent, you know, than maybe it used to be.
Speaker B:But people always ask me, can I get this at Wegmans?
Speaker B:And I'm like, you might be able to, but I wouldn't, because it might have been sitting in that bin for weeks.
Speaker B:You know, like, you don't.
Speaker B:You don't know how long.
Speaker B:I don't know how many people are buying yuka at Wegmans.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:The consistency isn't going to be the same.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:The starchiness is not going to be the same.
Speaker B:Exactly.
Speaker B:So, like, going to a place where, you know, lots of people are buying that product, so I'm gonna get a nice, fresh product.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:It's going to an African market or going to, you know, market where people are using it all the time.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:And it's like, yeah, that makes a huge difference.
Speaker A:But that's the stuff, too, is like, all the ingredients matter in one way or another.
Speaker A:And there's always compromises.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:There's always compromises that need to be made for convenience and for other things.
Speaker A:But when it's the star.
Speaker B:Totally.
Speaker A:If you're doing polenta, like, do something where it's.
Speaker A:You're buying the best corn you can get.
Speaker A:Sure.
Speaker A:You're not.
Speaker A:You're not grinding it from this.
Speaker A:From a certain place unless you're a very specific kind of person.
Speaker A:But you can get farmer ground ponta, you know, from the.
Speaker A:From a local area.
Speaker A:It's not that much more expensive.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:And get some.
Speaker A:Because that's the star.
Speaker B:Totally.
Speaker A:Of your dish.
Speaker B:Exactly.
Speaker A:I kind of want to pivot back.
Speaker A:I want to talk about.
Speaker A:I kind of want to talk about the bachelorette parties, because that's.
Speaker A:I. I love that.
Speaker A:I love that you brought that up because that's such a specific thing.
Speaker B:Totally.
Speaker B:And it really fell into my lap, to be honest.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:I wasn't expecting it.
Speaker B:I just was getting.
Speaker B:So I'm on thumbtack.
Speaker B:I don't know how many people know about thumb.
Speaker B:An app that is, I guess, kind of like Angie or, you know, some of one of those, like, catch all places where you can hire contractors, you know, you can hire people to do specific things.
Speaker B:And so I'm on there as a private chef.
Speaker B:And so I just kind of list, you know, the different things that I can do.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:And then people reach out to say, you know, like, oh, could you do this?
Speaker B:Could you tailor this?
Speaker B:And so I just started getting these inquiries about, you know, parties for 15 to 20 people, which also bachelorette Parties are enormous these days.
Speaker A:Yeah, it's.
Speaker A:So that was kind of the stuff I was wondering because they've become such productions.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:In a way, again, this is, you know, hey, love your party.
Speaker A:Have an amazing time.
Speaker A:If this is the experience you want, go for it.
Speaker A:As long as you're not hurting other people during the event.
Speaker A:But it's like, hey, this is.
Speaker A:You want to go have the big event.
Speaker A:But they become productions with private chefs and all these other things.
Speaker A:You're renting a house for this long.
Speaker B:Weekend, which that's what they usually are doing.
Speaker B:I mean, I also wonder because people, I think, are getting married a little later in life now.
Speaker B:So, I mean, there are still people who want to go have like the big Vegas weekend or something like that.
Speaker B:But I think a lot of people are doing like these kind of more chill.
Speaker B:I mean, chill, you know, where they're like renting a house on a lake and doing some wine tours and.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:And then I would come in and do a dinner for them one night and.
Speaker B:And then they're just all together the whole time, you know.
Speaker B:So I think that that's kind of how it developed for me at least, where people were just reaching out about, hey, would you do a dinner, like, family style kind of thing for 15 people?
Speaker B:And it just started growing and growing where like now during the summer, almost every weekend I'm on one of the lakes, which is really fun because I get to see all these beautiful rental properties right on the different lakes.
Speaker B:And, you know, it's.
Speaker B:It's really fun.
Speaker B:I'll send pictures to my friends, like, this is my office today.
Speaker A:Well, I love that too, because there's so many different versions of that.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:You could be doing the.
Speaker A:The family style dinner, but you could also be providing that spread because people just want to eat, you know, lots of little things.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:You know, it's like, hey, it's what a lot of people are doing for dinners nowadays.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:You're just eating lots of little things.
Speaker A:But one amazing thing, when you mentioned doing like, you know, West Asian, doing that Mediterranean style dining.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Where you're getting all those metzes, you're getting all those little bites of everything.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:And what, after a long day of doing a tour, you don't want to sit down to a heavy dinner.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker A:You just want to grab all these little things and just love, love the experience.
Speaker A:And then you also might provide the snacks for the next day or do whatever.
Speaker A:Like.
Speaker B:Yeah, sometimes I do breakfast for the next day or a couple times.
Speaker B:I've come in once, I. I did a bachelor party where they wanted all the meals, which I thought was really cute because I was like, none of these guys cook, so they were like, can you come and do breakfast, lunch and dinner for us on Saturday?
Speaker B:Yeah, totally.
Speaker A:100%.
Speaker B:Which, you know, for some of the bachelorettes too, they do.
Speaker B:It's like a surprise for like the.
Speaker B:The bride doesn't know I'm coming.
Speaker B:And so like the, you know, the maid of honor will talk to me, like, will work with me about getting all the bride's favorite foods.
Speaker B:So then she walks into a dinner of all her favorite stuff and didn't know that that was gonna happen.
Speaker B:It's just so sweet to be a part of that for a night, you know?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:But I think that's, that's what a great thing that somebody, you know, you're offering that to somebody else, right?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:That their friends thought of their.
Speaker A:Their person that way.
Speaker B:Totally.
Speaker A:To give them that kind of specific experience.
Speaker A:And then you get to like, you get to see that reaction.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:And have everybody enjoy it.
Speaker A:Like, that's the, that's the goal.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:It should be fun.
Speaker A:It should be.
Speaker A:And yeah, of course, it's work and of course it can be stressful.
Speaker B:It can be.
Speaker B:Sure.
Speaker B:I mean, I work my tush off, but I always leave.
Speaker B:Like, I think it's very life giving for me.
Speaker B:Like, I leave energize.
Speaker B:I mean, I'm also the textbook extrovert.
Speaker B:So, like, when I'm in a room full of people doing something I love with all this excitement around me, like, I leave super energized.
Speaker B:Usually, even if I'm exhausted, I am stoked, you know, because it was fun.
Speaker B:Somebody was just like celebrated in such a sweet way, and I got to be a part of that.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And it's.
Speaker A:That's why I kind of wanted to go back to it because it's such a unique thing and that there's so many different versions of doing it.
Speaker A:It's kind of like the.
Speaker A:It's one of those microcosms of what are events.
Speaker A:And it can scale so much from.
Speaker A:It's the wildest thing to just.
Speaker A:People just want to be chill and hanging out.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:And you could cover any number of different angles on that.
Speaker A:And it kind of.
Speaker A:It exemplifies the variety of what this world of doing private chefing is.
Speaker B:Totally.
Speaker B:And you know, it is, to me, it feels like just an extension of who I am.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Because even when I have people over for dinner like that, I still want to foster that experience of food is so important to our nourishment in many ways.
Speaker B:You know my favorite, favorite celebrity chef, Simin Nosrap, she is an incredible human, and she actually has a cookbook coming out this fall where I'm like, so stoked.
Speaker A:Oh, what's the new one?
Speaker B:It's called Good Things.
Speaker A:Oh, I love that.
Speaker A:What a simple name.
Speaker B:Exactly, Exactly.
Speaker A:God forbid you go off brand and don't use a simple name for your book.
Speaker B:Great stuff.
Speaker B:She's like, this is just the things I want you to know about.
Speaker B:But she.
Speaker B:I think it was in Salt Fat, Acid Heat where she talked about.
Speaker B:She also has a really cool podcast called Home Cooking.
Speaker B:But she.
Speaker B:She talks about, like, when she invites people over for dinner, she'll say, you know, when people are like, oh, what can I bring?
Speaker B:She'll be like, oh, yeah, could you bring a five pound bag of potatoes?
Speaker B:Could you grab a bunch of carrots on your way over?
Speaker B:Like, she asks people to bring ingredients and then just gives, like, little tasks as they're coming in with their ingredient and they prepare it together.
Speaker B:And she's so intentional about, like, wanting people to be a part of that experience, even though she's the amazing chef that she is.
Speaker B:And people are probably so excited to be at her home eating her food, she wants them to be a part of it because that is such a huge piece of eating, you know, of enjoying your meal.
Speaker B:And so I really want to channel that energy, you know, in all that.
Speaker B:I do what, you know, professionally especially, but, you know, at home and.
Speaker B:And with my.
Speaker B:With my people.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And I love.
Speaker A:I love the subtitle.
Speaker A:So I just looked it up.
Speaker A:So the title's Good Things, which love the simplicity of the title.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:But the subtitle is really describing what you're saying, which is recipes and rituals to share with people you love.
Speaker B:Yeah, sorry, that.
Speaker A:That just.
Speaker A:That just hit me for a second.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:Because that is.
Speaker A:What is.
Speaker A:What is there otherwise.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:That is what.
Speaker A:That is life.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:And it's not just recipes, but it's recipes and rituals.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:That's like you're inviting somebody over and like, when I go to somebody else's house and they're cooking, I never sit on the couch.
Speaker A:I'm always going in and trying to do something.
Speaker A:I always want to go and just be in there and do something.
Speaker B:Totally.
Speaker A:Because that's.
Speaker A:You're spending the time.
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker A:It's the time with people.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:You.
Speaker B:I'm sure you realize every time you're at somebody's house.
Speaker B:Like people always talk about how everyone ends up in the kitchen.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:I think that's not an accident.
Speaker B:Like it's not just because they want to raid the fridge.
Speaker B:Like they want to be where the action is.
Speaker B:They want to be at the heart of it.
Speaker A:Yeah, I also want to do that, but.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker A:I also want to raid the fridge.
Speaker B:You also want to be in the fridge.
Speaker A:Oh, well, I think we are going to wrap up for today once you can get out and do the rest of the things for today.
Speaker A:But let's close out with just a reminder for Everybody.
Speaker A:Go to glorious garlic festival.com go check out the cooking experiences, you know, the cooking demos.
Speaker A:Our friend Brett Holland from Fox Run I think is at noon on Sunday.
Speaker A:You're at 1:15.
Speaker A:It looks like it's going to be a beautiful, beautiful weekend in the Finger Lake.
Speaker A:So like what an amazing time to go out, you know, go experience those things, then go, go hit a couple places.
Speaker A:Go enjoy a beautiful day in a world class region right in our backyard.
Speaker A:And throw out the plugs again for where they can find you online so people can, you know, if they have a special event, if they have something they need somebody to cook for or hey, just some help learning how to do things.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Where can people find your stuff?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So you can visit Senorita Gordita.
Speaker B:Also I teach cooking classes through the Rochester Brainery.
Speaker B:That's RochesterBrainery.com and also I'm down at New York Kitchen in Canandaigua.
Speaker B:That is a really fun also similar idea of like taking advantage of the lake area and doing so, you know, different things for a weekend.
Speaker B:And that's nykitchen.com check out all the cool things they're doing too.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And shout out to, you know, Alyssa Belasco for continuing to make New York Kitchen to modernize and make New York Kitchen a place that so many people want to go to and just to hang out too.
Speaker A:Like a great place to taste New York products from spirits and wines to NA products.
Speaker A:And you can go to the restaurant.
Speaker A:But it's a place where you should want to go.
Speaker A:You should want to go take a class.
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker B:It's a really cool place to be a part of.
Speaker B:Just like you said, the way that they showcase everything New York and everyone who works there is so passionate about that.
Speaker B:And I mean, and it starts with Alyssa, it trickles down.
Speaker B:Everyone is so, yeah.
Speaker B:Excited about the area and everything we can offer.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker A:Well, Kristen, thank you so much for coming over and chatting about your demo and all of the private chef things.
Speaker A:If people want to learn more like she said, go to senoritagordita.com and see if you can book her for one of your upcoming events.
Speaker A:Speaking of upcoming events, Lunchadore, we'll be doing a show at the Rochester Fringe Festival this year.
Speaker A:So we'll have an event at the downtown branch of the Rochester Public Library where we're going to be doing a show where the hosts of the podcast will have no idea what topics they're going to talk about.
Speaker A:And we're going to pull stuff out of a hat and do it on the fly with a live show in front of people.
Speaker B:Oh, that sounds like a blast.
Speaker A:I'm really excited for that.
Speaker A:So check that out.
Speaker A:We're doing some preview work with the Fringe Festival as well.
Speaker A:Also want you to check out some of the newer shows on the Lunchadore Podcast Network.
Speaker A:Want you to check out nights and weekends our show from the Team from the Sound talking about the Rochester music scene.
Speaker A:Also want you to check out Common Thread, which is a new show from Rory Van Grohl from Ugly Duck and Greg Benoit from the Rochester Sorry from the Irondequoit Public Library talking about how being in the hardcore music community has turned them into the adults that they are today.
Speaker A:So thank you so much for tuning in to the Food About Town podcast and we'll be back next time with more.
Speaker A:Thanks for listening to the Food About Town Podcast.
Speaker A:If you aren't already subscribed, what are you waiting for?
Speaker A:Go to your podcast app of choice and make us your favorite podcast by subscribing and leaving a review if you can.
Speaker A:Music for the podcast was created by the fabulous Torres Savant.
Speaker A:You can hear more of his work@taurussavant.bandcamp.com and make your presence known by seeing him perform live.
Speaker A:Foodabout Town is a proud member of the Lunchadore Podcast Network.
Speaker A:Oh no, here comes McKenna.
Speaker A:This has been a presentation of the Lunchadore Podcast Network.
Speaker A:Enjoy the drive, enjoy the experience, enjoy the wine, get some great food, make sure your breath smells like you went to the Garlic Festival.
