Behind the Scenes of Rochester Supper Club: A Culinary Journey
Chris Lindstrom hosts a conversation centered around the Rochester Supper Club, emphasizing its focus on communal dining and local ingredients. He chats with chef Mike Durfee and sommelier Shomari Smoak (@winewithsmoak), who share their experiences and the evolution of their collaboration. The duo discusses how they create unique, seasonal menus that highlight local flavors and pairings, making each dining experience distinct. Their relationship has grown from a shared passion for food and wine into a fruitful partnership.
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- ROC Supper Club (@rocsupperclub)
- Living Roots Winery (@livingrootswine)
- Mercury Coffee (@mercurycoffee)
- Apollo's Praise (@apollospraise)
- New York Kitchen (@_nykitchen)
- The Commissary (@roccommissary)
- Maiah Johnson-Dunn (@thisismaiah
- Red Newt Cellars (@rednewtcellars)
Mentioned in this episode:
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Transcript
I'm Chris Lindstrom and this is the Food About Town podcast.
Speaker B:Rochester.
Speaker B:Well, why Rochester?
Speaker C:Chris Lindstrom was a hoot.
Speaker C:He was just so much fun.
Speaker C:He never stopped talking.
Speaker B:I mean, it was great.
Speaker C:Here's a good idea.
Speaker B:Have a point.
Speaker C:It makes it so much more interesting.
Speaker A:For the listener and we don't need.
Speaker B:Any characters around to give the joint atmosphere.
Speaker B:Is that clear?
Speaker C:We can, because I'm a pro.
Speaker C:That's what pros do.
Speaker A:I'm a professional.
Speaker C: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're here on a blustery winter day, but I'm here with some warmth, with some interest.
Speaker A:Guests, why don't you introduce yourselves.
Speaker C:My name is Mike Durfee.
Speaker C:I am the chef and owner of Rochester Supper Club.
Speaker A:Awesome.
Speaker B:My name is Shamari Smoke.
Speaker B:I am the sommelier with Rochester Supper Club and I also work as a wine educator, private tastings host with Living Roots Winery and Company.
Speaker A:That's awesome guys.
Speaker A:I really appreciate you coming over.
Speaker A:Wow, listen to that.
Speaker A:It's a plug.
Speaker C:Thanks so much for having us.
Speaker B:Thank you for having us.
Speaker A:So first, let's start off with the question that is on my mind and everybody's mind.
Speaker A:What is Rochester Supper Club and how did it get started?
Speaker C:So Rochester Supper Club is a business that does pop ups mostly.
Speaker C:I've always appreciated communal dining and the supper club format.
Speaker C:So started about two years ago, two and a half years ago now in the commissary kitchen downtown in the Sibley building.
Speaker C:So the focus of the supper club is to integrate local farming, local gardening, local foraging and just we, we like to mix it up.
Speaker C:So we're always trying new things, new menus.
Speaker C:I rarely repeat a menu and we, we try a range of things.
Speaker C:Me and Shamari are doing the wine pairings.
Speaker C:We, I do some catering, some private dinners and we weddings as well.
Speaker C:So kind of a mix of things.
Speaker A:All right, so let's go back to the start of this.
Speaker A:So what were you doing before you started Rochester Supper Club?
Speaker A:What was your path to that?
Speaker C:So I've been in the food business for many years.
Speaker C:I started loving food when I was a kid, gardening at a young age.
Speaker C:And the lead up to this, I've worked in a bunch of restaurants, bars.
Speaker C:I worked in a, at a brewing, brewing company for a long time.
Speaker C:Before this I was working at Headwater Foods.
Speaker C:I did five years there and loved the team.
Speaker C:We were working with a ton of.
Speaker A:Great farmers and shout out to Phil Bianchi.
Speaker A:And so many people over at Headwater had some experience working with them during our time at.
Speaker A:While we were running, frankly, we were trying to put some transparency in food and drink distribution and other things.
Speaker A:So we worked with Headwater at the time.
Speaker C:Very cool.
Speaker A:Obviously, especially during the pandemic, got a lot of the custom boxes picked up.
Speaker A:So organizations did a lot of good stuff.
Speaker C:Absolutely.
Speaker C:And one of the things they do so well is community programs.
Speaker C:So during COVID we were shipping tons of food, millions of pounds of food, for emergency food assistance around the state, which was a cool project I worked on.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And that's.
Speaker A:That's the thing is logistics is a whole different business than custom food.
Speaker A:Although it is, of course, logistics as well.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker A:Because there's always transportation of goods, always freshness, always, hey, I have to think about a menu, but I also have to think about how do I get all this stuff here.
Speaker C:Absolutely.
Speaker A:But that company is fundamentally a logistics company.
Speaker A:And about freshness, everything else.
Speaker A:But it's logistics first.
Speaker C:Definitely.
Speaker C:Yep.
Speaker C:And while I was there, I was the logistics manager.
Speaker C:So.
Speaker A:Okay, so that, That's.
Speaker A:That's a huge.
Speaker A:That's a huge shift.
Speaker A:Yep.
Speaker A:And so, so that.
Speaker A:So when you were doing that, was that something you had already thought that you were good at logistics from your prior things, or was that something you just the way your brain works.
Speaker C:So prior to that, I was doing operations, and that's kind of my strong suit is operations, making things work well.
Speaker C:So I did that for a while.
Speaker C:We were doing the good Food collective, and then I transitioned to logistics manager when Covid hit.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker C:So, yeah, kind of a.
Speaker C:Just a.
Speaker C:The story that happens, you know, you just make it work.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:So now when you're thinking about starting this.
Speaker A:So you said you'd worked at.
Speaker A:Worked at a few different places, kind of bar, restaurants, things like that.
Speaker A:Not necessarily highest levels of execution as a whole.
Speaker A:No, no shade on those kind of places.
Speaker A:But that is not the vibes.
Speaker A:What brought you to try to do something more.
Speaker A:More high end.
Speaker A:Was it something you had tried?
Speaker A:Was it a specific experience that said, hey, I think this is.
Speaker A:This is my kind of thing.
Speaker C:So I think this the story behind the supper club.
Speaker C:It's.
Speaker C:It starts when I'm teenager gardening in my backyard, working in food.
Speaker C:I.
Speaker C:I've always loved the whole experience of growing, taking a beautiful product and, and making it into a dish.
Speaker C:And so supper clubs exist in Rochester, but they are more popular in larger cities.
Speaker C:I've always loved the model of communally dining, meeting new people, experiencing the food through the chef's story.
Speaker C:So I gave it a shot, kind of grew the idea, took it off at the commissary and it's, and it's been an evolution.
Speaker C:So I say I've never stopped changing the model since I started and I think it continues to evolve.
Speaker C:So just wanted to make a real high level storytelling business that, that focuses on the food.
Speaker C:And I'm not trying to do anything like I don't have to keep people interested in one dish.
Speaker C:You know, I'm always doing something new, which I think is really cool.
Speaker C:And I've always wanted to just like bring something really unique and cool to this, this food scene in Rochester.
Speaker A:So before we go into, you know, go into your guys partnership working on some of this stuff, let's talk about, let's talk about the first.
Speaker A:Let's talk about the first one for a second.
Speaker A:So you get the idea you want to do it.
Speaker A:What was, what was that process like to say, hey, we're gonna do this thing?
Speaker A:How did you, how did you think about that menu?
Speaker A:How did you decide about this is the kind of direction this is going in?
Speaker A:Like, did you like.
Speaker A:Oh, you know, I definitely want to do a, you know, more than five courses.
Speaker A:I want to do single bites.
Speaker A:I want to do, you know, big family style.
Speaker A:What were the decisions you made and how quickly did some of those fall off?
Speaker C:Yeah, so I think a lot of it was seasonal based.
Speaker C:So my, my cooking is always based on the season.
Speaker C:So what I wanted to do was bring something great that was seasonal and try a variety of dishes that I thought would work.
Speaker C:What I like to do is I like to throw in a moosh bouche at the start.
Speaker C:Just kind of a little sample to get the pallet going and have it be a surprise to the guests.
Speaker C:So I just, you know, kind of threw something at the wall and hope hoped that it worked, and I think it did.
Speaker C:But it was definitely a challenge at first to see what people would like.
Speaker C:There were some dishes that probably didn't work.
Speaker C:There were some that worked really well.
Speaker C:And it was just always, you know, advancing and recalibrating.
Speaker A:Did you end up doing like a four or five course for the first one?
Speaker C:Yes.
Speaker C:Four course, Yep.
Speaker C:Four course.
Speaker C:Threw it in a moosh bo special.
Speaker A:So pretty.
Speaker A:Pretty.
Speaker A:Is that pretty typical for how they go now generally as well?
Speaker C:That's typical for the supper club?
Speaker C:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker A:So I forgot to say it up front.
Speaker A:Where can people learn about supper club and where can they buy tickets for upcoming events.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:So on Instagram it is Rock Supper Club Roc.
Speaker C:I also have a website, rock rochestersupperclub.square site.
Speaker C:So basically just for ticket sales, but you can contact me through there and see upcoming events.
Speaker A:Sweet.
Speaker A:So why don't you tell me the story of how, you know, how you guys got to talking and how that relationship started to happen.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:So.
Speaker C:So show came to one of my first events and then just kept coming.
Speaker C:We, we built a great friendship just through food and experience.
Speaker C:And we got to talking about he was making this transition into wine.
Speaker C:We loved doing wine pairings and talking about wine with food specifically.
Speaker C:We love that experience of being able to complement a dish.
Speaker C:So it just kind of evolved and, and last year I thought, let's, let's take this to the next level.
Speaker C:We met and talked about doing actual wine pairings and, and going through the process of getting the permit and him curating the wine list and me curating the food and then bringing that together and kind of making adjustments.
Speaker C:So it's been a, it's been a pleasure getting to know him and, you know, we're brothers now and it's, it's fantastic.
Speaker B:So for sure.
Speaker A:Well, and I think that's also an important point where when you said the thing that started the relationship was, you know, showing up.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:There's something special about when you are present, when you are paying attention to what's going on.
Speaker A:When you're showing up and you're really enjoying stuff truly and deeply.
Speaker A:And not just showing up, you're actually participating in a way that's making the person hosting feel like they're doing a good job.
Speaker A:When you're an active participant in a thing.
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I mean, it really, it was, you know, he was on Instagram.
Speaker B:I kept seeing his post and it was just really exciting to see the dishes that he was putting out, the menus that he was coming up with.
Speaker B:And when I attended my first one, I realized, hey, I can, you know, bring some wine to this.
Speaker B:I really love the choices of his dishes.
Speaker B:They have a certain flow to them.
Speaker B:And I was like, you know what, there's some wines that I think would go really well.
Speaker B:So what I would honestly do on those first few times I would come to the dinner was I didn't just bring wine from like myself and my wife or myself and a friend.
Speaker B:I used to bring wine for everyone.
Speaker B: It was a: Speaker B:So when I got there, I saw people, you know, sort of had their wine and I would show up with mine.
Speaker B:I was like, hey, guys, just a heads up, just for everyone, if you're okay with it, I would love to share the wine that I have with you all.
Speaker B:And these are wines that I think are going to curate and go well with the dishes.
Speaker B:And you could see people slowly putting their wine away, putting it under the table, and allowing me to pour wine for them.
Speaker B:And it was from then on where I was like, man, I.
Speaker B:I really enjoy doing this, and it gives me an opportunity to try some really excellent food that's, you know, layered in quality and.
Speaker B:And just sort of, like, really refined and beautiful.
Speaker B:And on top of that, I was like, man, I can really pair some beautiful wines with these dishes to the point where Chef Michael would actually reach out to me, and he would send me a text message or send me a DM on Instagram.
Speaker B:He's like, hey, I'm thinking of this new menu.
Speaker B:What do you think about this?
Speaker B:He's like, I love the wines that you brought.
Speaker B:For the last one, I have a friend or I have a patron who wants to come in and is wants a recommendation for wine, and I would give him recommendations of all the dishes that he had, and that just kept, you know, blossoming, and we just kept chatting, and it just got to a point where, you know, he calls me up on a, you know, July day, and he's like, hey, man, I'd love to.
Speaker B:I'd love to team up and do something special.
Speaker B:And I was like, absolutely.
Speaker B:I was like, I appreciate your trust.
Speaker B:I was like, I have.
Speaker B:I don't really have much experience before this, but I'm.
Speaker B:I'm really excited where this is going, and I would love to work with you.
Speaker B:We have such a great dynamic, and it's been sort of, you know, rocket ship ever since.
Speaker B:It's been a lot of fun.
Speaker A:But what if.
Speaker A:What a fun experience, too.
Speaker A:And I think that's.
Speaker A:You know, I talked about showing up first, right?
Speaker A:Showing up is the first step, participating, and it's something I hear a lot now with all the shows that are produced out of here, especially with a lot of, you know, involved with behind the Glass, behind the studio Door.
Speaker A:And sometimes we hear about stories of people that are new to the art community, new into the food community.
Speaker A:How do you get involved?
Speaker A:How do you become part of the community?
Speaker A:And part of it's by showing up.
Speaker A:Part of showing up, but part of it is offering of yourself and saying, as soon as you see an opportunity, yes, yes, I will help.
Speaker A:It's not that you have to have the most of anything, but that you tried.
Speaker B:Absolutely right.
Speaker A:And that means more than almost anything that you tried and that you cared hard enough to, like, hey, I'm going to bring this, and hopefully other people are going to like it too.
Speaker B:Absolutely, absolutely.
Speaker B:And I think chef appreciated that.
Speaker B:Everything that I did, I gave it, you know, thought I was meticulous about my choices.
Speaker B:I really looked at the dish, I tried to break it down as much as possible, and I wanted to get to a choice that I thought would be exceptional.
Speaker B:Because at the end of the day, and I still live by this ethos, I believe that the wine that I'm presenting should allow the food to shine.
Speaker B:And I think, you know, again, just like, consistently showing up, consistently being there for him, but also just consistently being a part of that space, just I allowed me to, like, understand his flow, understand that sort of the dynamic that he's trying to create, you know, and see, you know, sort of where our relationship can build and grow from that.
Speaker B:And, you know, still to this day, we show up for one another, which is amazing.
Speaker B:And I think that's.
Speaker B:That's what makes this relationship really special.
Speaker A:That's awesome.
Speaker A:So I want to take a step back before we dive even deeper into, you know, the relationship, the dinners, and how they all work.
Speaker A:But I kind of wanted to go into your background a little bit, because first time I had really seen you online was, you know, just saw.
Speaker A:So you started to post with some of my friends online, commenting on people I knew and that, you know, like, oh, I saw you doing a dinner.
Speaker A:I saw you were.
Speaker A:Oh, I saw Living Roots thing.
Speaker A:I saw this, I saw that.
Speaker A:I'm like, I keep on seeing this guy everywhere.
Speaker A:And then I kept on seeing.
Speaker A:And then, you know, I saw you're doing Instagram live one night, and I'm like, you know what?
Speaker A:I'm just gonna tune in because I've been seeing what's going on.
Speaker A:I'm like, interesting.
Speaker A:Seems like he's trying really hard, and I want to see what.
Speaker A:What he's all about.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:So I sat down and then I listened for an hour with you talking to a really interesting other, like, black owned wine bar in town.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:And I was.
Speaker A:I was sold right away because the passion you had was just so, so visible and so obvious that it was almost just like bursting, just bursting out of you every time you were talking.
Speaker A:And it's something I've started to see a lot more with people who are, you know, newer to the scene or newer to this thing as A being part of the industry is.
Speaker A:I'm just seeing the passion again, and it's getting me excited.
Speaker A:So I want to talk.
Speaker A:Let's go back to.
Speaker B:How far do you want to go back?
Speaker A:Let's go back to prior to Rochester, at the very least.
Speaker A:So let's talk about when you were growing up.
Speaker A:Did you have.
Speaker A:Was food a big part of food and drink?
Speaker A:Was that a big part of how you grew up?
Speaker B:Yes and no.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:Yes in the sense of.
Speaker B:So I grew up in the Bronx, born and raised.
Speaker B:I grew up to a.
Speaker B:I have a single mother and two older sisters, and life was a struggle.
Speaker B: I will say I knew about: Speaker B:But if there's one thing, my mentor, when I graduated from college, she pointed out to me at my graduation dinner, she was like, your mom shows her love through her food, through her cooking.
Speaker B:My mom wasn't an overly affectionate person.
Speaker B:She wasn't giving me hugs and saying I love yous all the time.
Speaker C:But.
Speaker B:But if there's one thing she wanted to show that she cared for us was through her cooking.
Speaker B:So I remember from fried chicken to her lasagna to her Mac and cheese, which it took me four hours to learn over FaceTime in a kitchen randomly in D.C.
Speaker B:and from then on.
Speaker A:How was the first one you made?
Speaker B:Oh, it was pretty terrible, actually.
Speaker B:It was really soppy.
Speaker B:It was really soppy, and people still showed love.
Speaker B:And I was like, I think this is fine.
Speaker B:And everybody's like, yeah, Shamari, this is great.
Speaker B:And it was very salty.
Speaker A:Soggy lasagnas, soggy Mac and cheese, things like that.
Speaker B:But.
Speaker B:But then after that, you know, I sort of perfected it, and I realized, okay, maybe I put.
Speaker B:And this was.
Speaker B:This was Mac and cheese specifically.
Speaker B:And it was like, you know, it was still.
Speaker B:I realized, okay, you know, maybe I used too much butter.
Speaker B:And then I used enough seasoning and think, you know, sort of perfected it.
Speaker B:And now I've gotten it to the point where, you know, I've had people take my phone and call my mother personally and be like, is, did your son make this or did you make this?
Speaker B:And she's like, no, I'm in the Bronx.
Speaker B:My son is in D.C.
Speaker B:and, yes, he made it.
Speaker B:And I'm so glad he's, you know, you know, being an example for me out there.
Speaker B:But let's.
Speaker A:Let's talk about Mac and cheese for a second.
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker B:Let's do it.
Speaker B:So let's do.
Speaker A:Let's talk about personal preference.
Speaker A:So what.
Speaker A:What is your ideal Mac and cheese?
Speaker B:One cheese.
Speaker A:One cheese.
Speaker B:One cheese.
Speaker B:One cheese.
Speaker A:Let's talk about texture, though.
Speaker B:So I like.
Speaker B:So I like a crust on the top, and I like it soft, baked in the middle.
Speaker A:So you want baked.
Speaker A:Do you want it saucy underneath, or do you want it, like, soft but no saucy?
Speaker B:I want no saucy.
Speaker B:So I want it baked.
Speaker B:And then I want.
Speaker B:So basically, I sort of make it in a casserole pan, and it sort of bakes in.
Speaker B:And then when you sort of put that spoon in, you get that crust on the top, and then you could just get right into that soft center.
Speaker B:And it's just.
Speaker B:It's the best.
Speaker A:I would say that's going towards classic soul food style.
Speaker A:Mac and cheese.
Speaker A:If you go, you know, down south to a meet in three, you go to a barbecue place.
Speaker B:Oh, yeah.
Speaker A:Many of those places, you have crust first, no sauce underneath.
Speaker B:Correct.
Speaker A:And I'd say it's very classic.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:My mom's from.
Speaker B:My mom's from South Carolina, so born and raised.
Speaker B:So she.
Speaker B:All the.
Speaker B:The southern influences sort of come into her and come into her cooking for sure.
Speaker A:So what about you, Mike?
Speaker C:I like it a little bit saucy.
Speaker C:Like, I like that crust, but I like a little bit of sauce, and I really like it with a little ground Dijon mustard.
Speaker C:Actually, I think it gives.
Speaker B:Ground Dijon mustard?
Speaker C:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker C:Whole.
Speaker C:Whole grain, Yep.
Speaker A:Oh, you like a little spice with that?
Speaker C:A little bit, yeah.
Speaker C:A little zip, Yeah.
Speaker A:I think I was at, you know, towards the end, you know, when I was.
Speaker A:I was still eating, you know, dairy and things.
Speaker A:Like, I definitely was a creamy forward guy.
Speaker A:It was not a texture that I had gravitated to was the baked.
Speaker A:Because that specific, you know, it is so it's so of a place, right?
Speaker A:And it wasn't the way I did it, but as soon as I learned about all the.
Speaker A:All the French techniques, right, you're doing your bechamels, you're doing your sauces, you're making it.
Speaker A:Making sure it's emulsified, not breaking.
Speaker A:And I remember writing a review of a place in Citi.
Speaker A:So I did two or three years of doing restaurant reviews.
Speaker B:Very cool.
Speaker A:In Citi back 10 years ago or whatever it was.
Speaker A:And it was a place that didn't end up surviving.
Speaker A:And it was not a positive review.
Speaker A:Review I wrote.
Speaker A:But the Mac and cheese was the one where, you know, it had broken and it was grainy, and it was oily in the thing.
Speaker A:And, you know, at some point, it's hard to defend.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:You can't defend something that didn't quite work.
Speaker A:But I think it made me think about everything.
Speaker A:Not just that it didn't work, but what do I like?
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker A:You know, and what is, you know, like, your version, you know, Shimari's perfectly technically sound.
Speaker A:It evokes a very specific feel.
Speaker A:That's a very cheffy thing and a very, you know, very French thing.
Speaker A:Adding mustard to those kind of sauces.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker A:You know, to those.
Speaker A:To the bechamels and cheese sauces.
Speaker A:Given that little dynamic, I tend to think about, like, technical perfection.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:I want that super creamy, multidimensional sauce.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:I probably want a little bit of spice, but you know what?
Speaker A:Maybe you want some chopped peppers in there, you know, some chopped hot peppers, something else.
Speaker A:Give it that different textural contrast.
Speaker A:Maybe you do bake it, but I want it saucy underneath.
Speaker A:So I just love.
Speaker A:Everybody has an opinion about that, because it's one of those personal things.
Speaker B:Absolutely, absolutely.
Speaker B:And I never tell someone in that that their Mac and cheese is wrong.
Speaker B:I know people that do six to eight different cheeses.
Speaker B:I know they have different styles to it, but this is the way my mom makes it, and this is the way I make it now.
Speaker B:And I.
Speaker B:And I love making it for people, especially around the holidays.
Speaker B:It's always nice to show up with the dish and then a couple hours later, go back to the dish, and it's completely gone.
Speaker A:I love that.
Speaker B:It's fantastic.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker A:So you're starting to learn how to cook in DC at the time.
Speaker B:A little bit DC at the time.
Speaker B:And then, honestly, it was so.
Speaker B:It was a combination of things.
Speaker B:It was like, you know, now I'm on my own.
Speaker B:I don't have a meal planned at my college.
Speaker B:I have to sort of, like, start to cook for myself.
Speaker B:I was never much of a cookbook person.
Speaker B:It was more so, like, okay, how do I make some ground turkey, some rice, and some veggies and put it together and sort of, like, meal prep myself.
Speaker B:And the rest of the time, I was, like, trying my best to go out a little bit, but then as you get sort of older and as you get more integrated into the DC scene, you start to do slightly better fine dining.
Speaker B:And that's when I started to, like, really understand that, oh, I don't need my food to be overly seasoned.
Speaker B:I don't need, you know, McCormick seasonal and everything.
Speaker B:Like, I can really start to understand, you know, herbs and flavors and spices and, and, and textures and techniques.
Speaker B:And I started to appreciate that more sort of in my 20s.
Speaker B:The more I, you know, was going out in D.C.
Speaker B:and sort of spending time with my friends.
Speaker B:And then the next level of that was when I met my wife, you know, at time when we were both working at the hospital and she started to introduce me to like other restaurants and you know, she had a little more, little more cash, so she was able to take me to some really nice places.
Speaker B:And then it made me appreciate sort of the multi course dinner and the wine pairings and all the things that were sort of incorporated with that.
Speaker B:And that was really sort of my first introduction into the idea of, oh, I can have really great food that's multi layered and I can also have it with really good wine.
Speaker B:And that just takes it to another level.
Speaker A:So, so what, what was your, what was your medical side of things when you were part of that?
Speaker B:Yeah, so I was deep into medicine for the extent of my life here in dc.
Speaker B:I was an EMT back in college.
Speaker B:I went to Georgetown University.
Speaker B:I was an EMT for my junior senior year.
Speaker B:I used that to start working at MedStar Washington Hospital center, where I worked on the cardiac telemetry unit as a technician.
Speaker B:Then I worked in the cardiac ICU for a while, eventually transitioned to the emergency department.
Speaker B:That's actually where I met my wife because I was doing ultrasound guided IV placements and she was doing her bedside ultrasound fellowship.
Speaker B:And that's kind of how we met.
Speaker B:But I was very deep into sort of the nursing side of things with the intention of becoming a physician.
Speaker B:That was always my ultimate goal.
Speaker B:And when we met, I remember, you know, we were talking about sort of like where we're taking this to the next level, me potentially moving up to Rochester.
Speaker B:And I remember sitting in a Pittsburgh bar.
Speaker B:I, I do not remember the bar.
Speaker B:I think it had a B on it or something.
Speaker B:And I'm sitting there and I'm in tears because I'm like, I felt like I was holding the secret back of, hey, I really want to be a physician, I really want to go for it.
Speaker B:She was like, look, I don't know what it's going to take for you to do that, but I'm here to support you no matter what.
Speaker B:If we move to Rochester, there's a great program at U of R.
Speaker B:Try for that and go for it.
Speaker B:So when I moved here, I started working at RGH and did the postdoc pac.
Speaker B:Excuse me, did the post baccalaureate program at U of R a couple years.
Speaker B:And that was definitely a trying time even into that sort of COVID era.
Speaker A:So when she was moving up, was that like residency here in Rochester?
Speaker B:So she was.
Speaker B:Or she finished her residency.
Speaker B:She was doing her.
Speaker B:So she was doing her ultrasound fellowship.
Speaker B:And then once she was done with that, she basically, when we first met, I found out she actually took a job up at U of R.
Speaker B:We were sort of at this bar called Jackpot in Chinatown.
Speaker B:And she stops me as we're having drinks and she's going, hey, did you know that I'm actually moving?
Speaker B:And I was like, this is the first date.
Speaker B:I don't.
Speaker B:I don't really care.
Speaker B:I guess I was like, I don't even know where Rochester is, but good luck.
Speaker B:I mean, I guess we can hang out for a while until you go, because it's very early on.
Speaker B:And then eventually once we got to like sort of the three or four month mark and everything moved rapid speed, I was like, oh my goodness, this is a thing I'm going to have to move up here.
Speaker B:So she.
Speaker B: July all the way to March of: Speaker B: n I moved up here in March of: Speaker A:Yeah, so.
Speaker A:So I'm gonna take a step back.
Speaker A:So you're.
Speaker A:You're in D.C.
Speaker A:and you're starting to, you know, elevate your knowledge about food.
Speaker B:Sure.
Speaker A:Do you have any specific places or specific memories that were like, oh, these were those like, spark moments of this is a kind of place that made me just so excited about food or hospitality?
Speaker B:That is a good question.
Speaker B:There were a couple places that were like that.
Speaker B:There's a.
Speaker B:There was a place called Jay Paul's in Georgetown where, you know, it was like white linen sort of tablecloths.
Speaker B:You had like this, you know, exceptional service.
Speaker B:You always had like, sort of the observer that was around, that was sort of helping out you.
Speaker B:There was never someone too far away that wasn't attentive to your table or filling your glass of water.
Speaker B:You know, they were making your sort of your steak and your burgers, your food sort of medium, you know, medium well to well done and sort of in every, in every way that you would like your food to be done.
Speaker B:It's just exceptional quality service.
Speaker B:Just really good drinks, just an amazing atmosphere.
Speaker B:And that was a lot of fun.
Speaker B:But in terms of a spark, it really didn't happen until I think we went overseas, actually.
Speaker B:That was like really one of the first moments where, you know, I was like, oh, this is service at another level.
Speaker B:We went on our European vacation because she was done with medical training, and we went to this restaurant in Croatia called Panorama, and it was basically on the side of this mountain, and we're sitting there, and the service was impeccable.
Speaker B:We had a rotation of servers that were almost helping us out and helping us with dishes and helping us figure out wine.
Speaker B:That was the first time I ever had a Croatian wine.
Speaker B:And it was stunning.
Speaker B:It was from Cervik winery.
Speaker B:It was called Tesoro, which was a Malvasia, which is a sort of a native grape to that Croatian region.
Speaker B:And it was just.
Speaker B:The entire experience was fantastic.
Speaker B:And it really sat with me because, number one, the wine and the dish just sort of went well together.
Speaker B:I was having a shrimp risotto, and I had that with the malvasia, and it was just absolutely stunning.
Speaker B:And it was just.
Speaker B:It got me excited about, okay, this is the levels of hospitality that I should be used to.
Speaker B:And mind you, at the time, even in dc, The.
Speaker B:The.
Speaker B:The culinary scene was growing, but it still wasn't at the level.
Speaker B:Where is that right now?
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:Which is absolutely stunning.
Speaker B:But, yeah, being in that sort of space in Croatia was truly a memorable experience and something that sat with me for a very long time.
Speaker A:Oh, interesting.
Speaker A:Because I just looked up the menu, and it's wildly Italian.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker A:I was not expecting that.
Speaker A:I was expecting it to be more.
Speaker B:It was a time it was like, a mix of, like, sort of Italian, but also had Mediterranean elements to it.
Speaker B:And it just.
Speaker B:Yeah, it was.
Speaker B:It.
Speaker B:Yeah, it was a stunning man.
Speaker B:I think we were there for lunch, to be honest with you, but it was just.
Speaker B:Everything about it was the scenery.
Speaker B:It was the food itself.
Speaker B:It was the service.
Speaker B:It was the landscape.
Speaker B:It was.
Speaker B:Everything about it was just absolutely stunning.
Speaker B:And it was a memory that I hold dear because that next day, we went out to the winery where we had the wine, and we met the winemaker's daughter and her daughter, and we had this full experience, and we tried more wine.
Speaker B:We smuggled wine back home in our suitcases from Sidvik.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And it was absolutely, absolutely stunning.
Speaker B:So I love having those moments where the food and wine just sort of like, come together, and it just becomes sort of this.
Speaker B:This moment in time that you just hold onto, and you always sort of, like, go back to it every time you're thinking of new wines and new sort of experiences when you're.
Speaker B:When I'm here in Rochester.
Speaker A:That's awesome.
Speaker A:So, speaking of a Moment we all want to hold on to.
Speaker A:We're going to go to break, hear about a couple other shows on the Lunchadore Podcast Network, and we'll be right back.
Speaker A:And we're back with the second half of our conversation with the team from Rochester Supper Club.
Speaker A:We left off with Shamari talking about some of his travels and journeys.
Speaker A:And then you followed your wife here to Rochester?
Speaker B:I did.
Speaker A:And not wife at the time, obviously.
Speaker B:Not wife at the time, no.
Speaker A:But did you know at that point?
Speaker B:Oh, yeah.
Speaker B:Oh, yeah, we knew after.
Speaker B:Honestly, after that Croatia trip when we got back.
Speaker B:And she literally immediately after that trip, she went to Rochester and started her new job at Strong Memorial Hospital.
Speaker B:And I was basically sitting in my room like, oh, I'm in trouble.
Speaker B:This is it.
Speaker B:This is.
Speaker B:This is where we're going.
Speaker B:And, yeah, we just, you know, we did long distance for a while and it was great.
Speaker B:She would travel down here.
Speaker B:I didn't drive at the time, so I was.
Speaker B:Nowadays, oh, no, it's great now.
Speaker B:It's better.
Speaker B:It's much better now.
Speaker B:It's much better.
Speaker B:There's a whole story about that.
Speaker B:But long story short, she basically got me driver's lessons a month before coming up to Rochester.
Speaker B:So she was like, you cannot come up here without knowing how to drive.
Speaker B:You will not be able to get anywhere.
Speaker B:And that was.
Speaker B:That was very special.
Speaker B:So I appreciate that, honey.
Speaker B:Thank you so much.
Speaker B:But, yeah, but no, that was.
Speaker B:That was.
Speaker B:That was an interesting transition for me to.
Speaker B:To.
Speaker B:To get up here to Rochester.
Speaker B:But, yeah, I mean, I feel like I've.
Speaker B:I've embraced the city, and I feel like the city has sort of embraced me in its own way.
Speaker B:And it's been.
Speaker B:It's been a wonderful ride so far.
Speaker B:I've learned a lot about myself and, And.
Speaker B:And who I am as a person and, and what I can do professionally.
Speaker B:And it's been.
Speaker B:It's been truly, truly remarkable.
Speaker A:So you're still in medical, and then you end up diving into wine hard.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:Now, was that something that you had been growing your interest in?
Speaker A:Was that something that you had.
Speaker A:Somebody had driven you that way?
Speaker B:So it grew a little bit from D.C.
Speaker B:the first moment was.
Speaker B:Honestly, the first couple of months Kayla and I were together, she brought home a bottle of Turley Zinn.
Speaker B: It was a pesenti: Speaker B:That was.
Speaker B:We had over dinner was absolutely stunning.
Speaker B:And that was the first moment where I was like, oh, wine is.
Speaker B:This is different.
Speaker B:This is something that's really special and fun and Then the second moment is the one I mentioned about our trip to Croatia.
Speaker B:That was the sort of, the second sort of moment that, that's really stuck with me.
Speaker B:And then from then on it was something that became this sort of like brewing passion.
Speaker B:Like I was really enjoying just like exploring it on my own, going to local wine stores, meeting people, exploring what's on the shelves, bringing things home, trying it with my w.
Speaker B:Trying it with friends and then also having these sort of like dining experiences.
Speaker B:Rochester Supper Club being one of those where, you know, I can actually sort of explore these pairings and, and make them work.
Speaker B: part of this wine Group since: Speaker B:So these things sort of happen sort of organically naturally here in Rochester.
Speaker B:And it's been, it's been absolutely beautiful to like sort of harness that passion and let that brew and grow for sure.
Speaker A:Well, it's kind of one of those things that when it's.
Speaker A:One of the great things about a city of the size of Rochester is if you want to get in, you can just because you care hard.
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker A:It's one of the amazing things about a city is like, hey, I can start this here with.
Speaker A:Without the giant investment of space because you might have a house that has space.
Speaker A:That's not a thing in a lot of places for sure.
Speaker A:And we have that luxury of hey, you're just passionate.
Speaker A:You can get in and you can get in pretty deep with people who are really knowledgeable right away.
Speaker A:And I kind of wanted to pivot over back to Rochester Supper Club because that's the kind of thing that also is really hard to do in a bigger city.
Speaker C:Absolutely.
Speaker A:Without more investment than people understand.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker A:Or you have to have enough space just to be able to do it out of your house because otherwise you're not going to do it right out, you know, in a big city without huge investment or being super deep into the industry.
Speaker A:Like deep industry.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:And I think that's one of the things that benefited me was the investment really wasn't that high.
Speaker C:It didn't take much to get this off the ground and I've been able to really grow it and flourish and meet some great people.
Speaker C:We've done some really cool pairing Dinners and you know, it was like a couple pots, a couple pans, some sheet trays, a knife set and an idea.
Speaker C:And the commissary we were fortunate enough to, to start there and have that resource in Rochester which is an incredible resource for anyone who's looking to start a food business but very low overhead.
Speaker C:I think that's a problem.
Speaker C:You know restaurants can fail because of that and it just, you know, Rochester has been good to me and it, and it really allowed for me to, to pick something up off the ground and, and make it something special.
Speaker A:So yeah, so you know, shout out to the commissary as well because we had done Mercury Coffee recently.
Speaker A:A member.
Speaker A:I'm hoping to do some more talking to other people from the commissary just because I it really interesting right now to see you know, what's driving people, what's their, how are they driving their passions through opportunity with places like that.
Speaker A:But what I wanted to get to was so start doing them at the commissary in the test kitchen outside.
Speaker C:We, we did them in.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:The Performance Kitchen.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker C:Yep, Yep.
Speaker C:So it's 12 seat bar.
Speaker C:I cook right in front of the guests and I can you know, serve the plates right over the bar.
Speaker C:So we started there and then kind of met other connections, started brewing some ideas and then I've been able to branch out and do them at Living Roots and Apollo's Praise, a couple of really incredible wineries.
Speaker C:I even did a pop up at a furniture store abode out in Pittsford with Rumble and Stir.
Speaker C:Kyle Olson there is a great bartender.
Speaker C:So it all started at the Performance Kitchen.
Speaker C:Now it's kind of evolved into doing these pop ups out, out in the community.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Shout out to shout out to Kelby Russell.
Speaker A:So why don't, why don't you give, give Kelby a little bit of shine.
Speaker B:Sure, absolutely.
Speaker B:Kelby Russell is, is unbelievable.
Speaker B:He's been in the industry for quite some time.
Speaker B:Did some, some spent a number of years over at Red Newt Sellers and then had his own label, Kelby James Russell, Kelby J.
Speaker B:Russell Label.
Speaker B:And funny enough I can, I could give you a little bit of story if you don't mind about how that all worked.
Speaker B:But I was doing my W set three course and I was told, you know, by someone in the industry, hey, Kelby Russell is, you know starting this is Apollo, Apollo's Praise Winery.
Speaker B:He's doing a tasting out at Avino and he was like you should head out there and you know, meet him and meet some people and Try some wines.
Speaker B: is wines from, from the early: Speaker A:And I got also shout out to Jeanine and Tim.
Speaker A:Absolutely doing really good work out there.
Speaker A:Just saw Janine the other day out at their new catering venue out at the Mercantile, the Duke.
Speaker A:So it was nice to run into her again.
Speaker B:Absolutely, absolutely.
Speaker B:And yeah, that was the first time I met him.
Speaker B:And the second time was there was another industry tasting at, at the.
Speaker B:The Strath Allen and myself and Chris Grockey were standing there with Kelby J.
Speaker B:Russell and we basically were talking about all this sort of new wines.
Speaker B:His, uh, his Gruner was absolutely stunning Chardonnay and, and some of his other wines that he, that he was, that he had there is Cabernet Franc.
Speaker B:And we just had like this sort of long conversation about his winemaking techniques and, and also his social media presence.
Speaker B:And he was doing this.
Speaker B:I love that he was doing this entire series where he was going into sort of the minutiae of what goes into sort of making his wines.
Speaker B:And I was commenting on him and sending him messages about, thank you.
Speaker B:Keep the content coming because I really love to learn more about, you know, what it takes to make these beautiful wines.
Speaker B:It's not just a concept.
Speaker B:And then all of a sudden, hey, wine shows up in a bottle.
Speaker B:No, this is an actual process that it takes to get from the vineyard into a bottle.
Speaker B:And from there he sent me a direct message about a couple weeks later and he was like, hey, I see that you're doing some amazing worth with Rochester Supper Club.
Speaker B:We would love to have you guys at our farmhouse to do this sort of dinner with us and I would love for you to do the pairings.
Speaker B:And I was like, is Kelby talking to me?
Speaker B:I was like, did he send me a message?
Speaker B:And it was really exciting.
Speaker B:But yeah, it was a number of correspondences later and connecting with, with Julia as well.
Speaker B:Julia, who was the.
Speaker B:Julia Hoyle, who's the head of winemaking at.
Speaker B:She's a winemaker at Hosmer, but is also doing this, sharing this project with, with Kelby.
Speaker B:And it was an absolutely incredible, incredible experience that we had in January.
Speaker B:And it was just such a great time.
Speaker B:And to be able to work with them, work with such industry leaders and see their new project sort of take shape, but also be a part of that journey.
Speaker B:And just pairing those delicious wines with the.
Speaker B:With the dishes that Chef Michael was making was.
Speaker B:Was truly unbelievable and quite the experience for both of us on our own, but also just an experience that we shared together, which was a wonderful time.
Speaker A:I was going to say.
Speaker A:It had to be interesting for you to be doing it out there as well.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:Oh, yeah, absolutely.
Speaker C:It was.
Speaker C:It was quite a drive, but it was.
Speaker C:I've always loved the Finger Lakes, traveling there.
Speaker C:My family has some Property actually about 10 minutes down the road from there, so.
Speaker C:So I grow some food out there in the summer.
Speaker C:It was.
Speaker C:It was a really cool experience to bring that together and integrate into the Finger Lakes and.
Speaker C:And do something cool with some people doing also very unique and.
Speaker C:And a special thing with Apollo's praise.
Speaker C:So that was awesome.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Characterful wines.
Speaker A:And you know, that new generation of winemakers have changed so much perception about what the Finger Lakes is.
Speaker A:I am hoping to do a little bit more with that in the future because I.
Speaker A:It's one of those things.
Speaker A:I've tried to become a bit of an advocate for it because it's.
Speaker A:We're still wildly underrepresented on menus here in Rochester.
Speaker A:100 and something that I'm thrilled to see.
Speaker A:You know, not just doing events there, but using those as part of pairing dinners and not just focusing on world.
Speaker A:You know, Wines of the World is one of those amazing things that we have the opportunity to do with a amazing region right in our backyard.
Speaker B:And one thing I'm really passionate about is letting people know within this region that there is premium quality wine being made in this region and has been made in this region for years now.
Speaker B:And you're starting to see sort of winemakers like, understanding, like they're not only is this.
Speaker B:Does this market need to sort of grow and mature and evolve with as.
Speaker B:As the Finger Lakes is evolving, but like understanding, hey, the.
Speaker B:The premium wine is here.
Speaker B:You don't have to go sort of overseas to get this wine.
Speaker B:You can go come to the Finger Lakes and get this wine.
Speaker B:I was have a conversation with Nancy Ireland a couple of weeks ago of Red Tail Ridge, and I had one of her.
Speaker A:Amazing stuff.
Speaker B:Amazing stuff.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Sparkling program is just stunning.
Speaker A:Phenomenal.
Speaker B:Stunning.
Speaker B:She.
Speaker B:She makes one of probably one of the best pet gnats, you know, in the region.
Speaker B:I also give a.
Speaker B:Give a shout out to Living Roots for making a great pet nat as well.
Speaker A:It is really good.
Speaker B:It is really good.
Speaker B:But I had her.
Speaker B: We had her: Speaker B:One of the best Pinot Noirs I've ever had from this area.
Speaker B:And I remember having a full 15 minute conversation with her about just her wine pogrom and everything that she's doing.
Speaker B:And you can see the passion and joy after even 20 years of, of.
Speaker B:Of making such beautiful wines and really sort of like putting the Finger Lakes forward into the minds and hearts of people and restaurants and patrons and letting them know, hey, we are making beautiful, stunning, premium quality wine here, and it should be a part of your cellar, it should be a part of your restaurant, and it should be a part of your general wine experience.
Speaker B:And I am super happy to, like, continue to promote that for others.
Speaker A:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker A:So, you know, we're.
Speaker A:I kind of want to go back to.
Speaker A:So you started doing.
Speaker A:Started popping up and, you know, end up having the relationship and bringing in to start doing, start working on pairings.
Speaker A:Was that something you had already thought about as part of the experience?
Speaker A:Was that new to you?
Speaker A:Was it something you already cared about?
Speaker C:That.
Speaker C:That was new to me.
Speaker C:That was kind of an evolution that we, we didn't expect.
Speaker C:So I've had experience working with wine.
Speaker C:When I was in college, I studied abroad in Italy and did an internship with a carbon neutral winery in Perugia.
Speaker C:So I have experience with wine and have always loved that pairing.
Speaker C:It wasn't until me and Shamari really started hanging out and talking on a.
Speaker C:On a deeper level that I thought maybe, maybe this is something we should do.
Speaker C:And so that was one of those things that, you know, wasn't expected along the way, but it's kind of a beautiful thing that it evolved into this.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:So, you know, you start, you start talking, obviously you're seeing the passion that he brings, you know, bringing that experience to the people just as a starting point, and you're starting to integrate that.
Speaker A:What was the first.
Speaker A:Most of first dinner you two did together?
Speaker C:So we did a supper club in the fall of last year.
Speaker C:What did we do?
Speaker C:We did the Spanish menu, right?
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker B:It was, it was the.
Speaker B:It was basically Iberian peninsula focused.
Speaker B:So the goal was to.
Speaker B:To feature sort of Spanish dishes and Portuguese dishes.
Speaker B:We had a conversation about, like, two or three weeks before that where chef was really excited about doing tapa style dishes.
Speaker B:And he's like, really just excited about Spain.
Speaker B:And I think he, you know, we saw some content coming in from pinchos and he was like, man, this is really some cool stuff.
Speaker B:And I, you know, I want to do something similar, but I also want to do it our way and have our own flow and style to it.
Speaker B:And, you know, Spain is one of those, you know, regions where you can get, you know, any type of wine, red, white, sparkling, wherever, and it's got such Flexibility, but also rich and light.
Speaker A:And absolutely aged and oxidized.
Speaker B:And you get top to bottom, you get it all.
Speaker B:But then also, people don't know.
Speaker B:Portugal does the same thing as well.
Speaker B:I mean, from Oriento to Baga to Bacall, there's so many different, you know, Tariga, national touring of Franca.
Speaker B:Like, there's still wines that are made that are from these beautiful varietals.
Speaker B:And I was like.
Speaker B:I even got excited.
Speaker B:I was like, oh, my goodness.
Speaker B:Like, to be able to feature these wines with your dishes.
Speaker B:So, you know, chef basically went to work and he had a menu done within, like, 48 hours of our conversation.
Speaker B:And that was really sort of the start of like, okay, let's.
Speaker B:Let's.
Speaker B:Let's put this all together.
Speaker B:Let's make this happen.
Speaker A:Well, I think that's also a really interesting one to talk about because.
Speaker A:So it sounds like your background is really, like, classic American.
Speaker A:Did you go to school and stuff, too, or college?
Speaker C:Like, when.
Speaker C:Yes, I went to SUNY Cortland.
Speaker C:I studied history and economics.
Speaker C:So.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker C:Yeah, So I have.
Speaker C:I've spent time, you know, I.
Speaker C:I've done legal work.
Speaker C:I've done political work.
Speaker C:I.
Speaker C:And then transitioned into the food.
Speaker C:I think me and Shamari were living in D.C.
Speaker C:at the same time, but I.
Speaker C:But had not, you know, it was years later that we met.
Speaker C:But, you know, so.
Speaker C:So I've always had just a passion for food and.
Speaker C:And have always done it kind of on the side.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:So that's kind of why I found it interesting, because that.
Speaker A:That is a region rich in culinary tradition.
Speaker A:When you're approaching a cuisine that maybe you haven't had a ton of experience cooking, how do you typically approach that?
Speaker A:How do you go through the process of saying, I'm comfortable making this, or you just say, I'm excited.
Speaker A:Let's make it happen.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:I always try the food first, so I feel like with my techniques and skill set, if I have a recipe in front of me, I can make it pretty close.
Speaker C:So I love tapas.
Speaker C:I enjoyed.
Speaker C:I've been to Madrid and really enjoyed that process of eating just plates coming out.
Speaker C:So I kind of had things in my mind already that I wanted to do and things that I was working on.
Speaker C:Just, I'm always cooking on the weekends and, you know, trying different things.
Speaker C:So I had a beautiful chorizo sausage from autumn's harvest.
Speaker C:I wanted to do that made of mojo rojo, paired it with that.
Speaker C:And then the ideas just kind of evolve, you know, and then I kind of piece it all together and sequence it.
Speaker A:Was there any classic non negotiables that you had to have?
Speaker C:Well, I wanted to do the Spanish tortilla, which is the layered potato and egg dish.
Speaker C:I think it's just delicious.
Speaker C:It's one of those foods that is really simple.
Speaker C:Really only a few ingredients, but really delicious.
Speaker A:Well, and it's one of those dishes where everything matters.
Speaker A:And those have always been my favorite dishes, if I'm diving in from my perspective, is my favorites are also almost always the least ingredients and where every technique and every ingredient matters.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker A:And that's a great one.
Speaker A:It's a great example of simple cuisine where it's basically egg, good potatoes, and importantly, really good Spanish olive oil.
Speaker C:Definitely.
Speaker C:Yep.
Speaker C:And I just love cooking that way.
Speaker C:It's like I've.
Speaker C:I've never cooked with the higher end, I guess, you know, techniques.
Speaker C:I like simple food.
Speaker C:That's just delicious.
Speaker A:That's a great, it's a great starting point, you know.
Speaker A:So, yeah, I think that's, that's a really fun.
Speaker A:It's a fun one to start with.
Speaker A:And obviously, you know, smart is bringing the passion from that side, so you end up.
Speaker A:End up running that one.
Speaker A:Now, how many of you two run together?
Speaker C:We've done a few now.
Speaker B:Yeah, it hasn't honestly been many.
Speaker B:I think it's probably been about five.
Speaker A:Five.
Speaker C:I think.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah, we're about five now.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:Yeah, I feel like there's a follow up question to this.
Speaker B:But, yeah, in terms of just, I think our dynamic was so natural and it was one of those things where once I, you know, again, once I get an idea of the menu, chef sends it to me first, I basically start taking notes from it and I start writing things down.
Speaker B:I start sort of breaking apart or like dissecting every single dish and then figuring out elements of it and, you know, sort of what's special.
Speaker B:I'm like looking at the salt contact, I'm looking at fat, I'm looking at spice, I'm looking at heat.
Speaker B:I'm looking at, you know, where elements of these could come from and how could it interact with wine.
Speaker B:And then once I have a general idea of that, I usually sort of make like a little small list of, you know, basic varietals, like basic vitis vinifera.
Speaker B:Like, think of your riesling, your chardonnay, gerstramine or whatever, your, your cabernet Sauv Merlot.
Speaker B:I start from there and that's like my major list.
Speaker B:And then from there I'm like, okay, there's elements of these wines that I really appreciate that will go well with this dish.
Speaker B:And then from there, once I dissect that, then I start to go, okay, what are the comparable varietals?
Speaker B:Especially if we're doing a regional sort of exploration, I want to go, okay, what are the comparable varietals to what I'm looking for in this sort of like, you know, generic wine?
Speaker B:And then I break that down from there.
Speaker B:Then once I have all those notes together, that's when I start doing my, you know, boots on the ground research and going to different stores and seeing what we're having locally.
Speaker B:Because at the end of the day, when all is said and done, I, my, my goal, and I think chef's goal as well, is to be able to support local, you know, as we're doing this as well, and sort of uplift our community in the process.
Speaker B:So as I'm breaking it down, I'm going to local stores, I'm talking to wine store owners, I'm seeing what they have in the back, I'm seeing what they have on their shelf.
Speaker B:I have a general idea of what I want, purchase all the wine, we get together in his apartment, and then we just have fun for about two to three hours.
Speaker B:And I'm trying his dishes, I'm pouring the wine, I'm making notes.
Speaker B:I transitioned from writing notes on a notepad to just recording myself because I really wanted to get used to hearing my own voice.
Speaker B:But then also, you know, really want to see, you know, how I'm, I'm dissecting the, the food on my palate and then also the nose and the palate of the wine as well, and seeing how the confluence is working together.
Speaker B:You know, if there's things that are fighting against each other, if the things are working well, and then sort of making some final notes and some final changes and going from there.
Speaker B:And then usually I have a general idea of where I want to go and then I'll make some minor changes after.
Speaker B:But, you know, in the end, we sort of have a general idea of what we want to do before the dinner and then we go for it.
Speaker A:I love that.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:And also, since you were completely right back to the, you had a follow up question that there we go, there's always, there's always a next part, next part, and it doesn't matter if it's right away, but there's always a next part.
Speaker A:So, you know, actually, I'm really glad you went in that direction because you talked about the work that goes into those things.
Speaker A:And so I want.
Speaker A:Yeah, I'm kind of interested from each of your perspectives.
Speaker A:So let's talk about the good first.
Speaker A:So from your perspective, Mike, what.
Speaker A:What was one of those.
Speaker A:What was one of the dishes where you thought the wine pairing really suited, like, a specific one that really suited the dish that you made?
Speaker C:I think maybe that chorizo or.
Speaker C:No, the gazpacho dish.
Speaker C:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker C:So that was a really interesting dish.
Speaker C:What I like to do is take a classic and incorporate the local ingredients.
Speaker C:So since it's winter, I made the spicy beet gazpacho.
Speaker C:And what did you have with that?
Speaker B:This was with Apollo's praise, correct?
Speaker B:That's right, yes.
Speaker B:So this is the one where I knew that I wanted to have a wine that was sort of more.
Speaker B:So basically a little backstory about this.
Speaker B:I sort of knew I had a general sense of what wines I was going to have sort of for this dinner.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:I knew that I was going to be able to feature a.
Speaker B:Of Gamay Noir that was made in the Sagnier method.
Speaker B:I knew that I would have access to the.
Speaker B:The Gruner Vetliner that they had.
Speaker B:I knew I would have access to the Chardonnay.
Speaker B:I knew I would have access to their cap franc.
Speaker A:I love pairing with.
Speaker A:With zippy wines like Grunerfront.
Speaker A:Leaner, but that's.
Speaker A:That's my preference.
Speaker A:I love high acid, but I just love that cutting acidity with rich things.
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker B:But because of that, because, again, I'm like, okay, this is a beat.
Speaker B:Gazpacho.
Speaker B:So I'm thinking of.
Speaker B:I'm thinking of the vegetable quality of that dish, but then I'm also thinking of the heat as well.
Speaker B:So I was like.
Speaker B:I knew I wanted something that was going to be a little more rounded, that was going to have maybe some more rounded fruit character that was going to sort of quell a little bit of that spice, but not completely dissipate it.
Speaker B:So that's.
Speaker B:Honestly when I, like, sort of settled on the Chardonnay.
Speaker B:And I thought the Chardonnay actually sort of went well with the spicy.
Speaker B:Actually, no.
Speaker B:Oh, my goodness.
Speaker B:I'm.
Speaker B:I'm.
Speaker B:I'm blanking now.
Speaker B:I believe I did the Gruner with that.
Speaker C:Okay.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah, got it.
Speaker A:That could go in a number of different directions, I might think, like, you might add, like, a specific floral note.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:You could go in that, you know, higher.
Speaker A:You know, higher floral, like your gewurstraminers could have.
Speaker A:Could go well, especially if it's a leaner version and not like a super floral potpourri, Gewurztraminor.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker A:Like, that could also be really interesting, but there's so many directions you can go.
Speaker C:It's.
Speaker C:It's limitless, really.
Speaker C:I mean, there's.
Speaker C:There's parameters, but really you can.
Speaker C:It's what fits and what feels good.
Speaker C:So.
Speaker A:Yeah, so I think that's a great example.
Speaker A:But from your side, Shamari is there.
Speaker A:Was there a dish that, you know, that he brought that originally grabbed you?
Speaker A:Oh, go ahead.
Speaker B:So this is going to be my first edit of the.
Speaker B:Of the day.
Speaker B:I apologize, but we're just having a general conversation because we've done so many menus together.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:There was a beet etouffee dish that was not spicy.
Speaker B:That was with Apollo's praise, that was with the bruner that I paired.
Speaker B:But the spicy beet gazpacho actually paired that with the alvarino from Portugal.
Speaker C:That's right.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:That was one where it was like, again, I was looking for sort of rounded, rich fruit.
Speaker B:I was kind of going stone fruit, a little more tropical, but I still didn't want to, like, completely lose the acidity.
Speaker B:And that wine is absolutely stunning.
Speaker B:Stunning.
Speaker B:It's more sort of like inland in Portugal.
Speaker B:So it's going to have slightly warmer weather.
Speaker B:Allows for further ripening of that little.
Speaker A:Bit of oak, I'm sure.
Speaker A:Yeah, A little bit of the oak and the earthiness go together.
Speaker B:Correct, correct.
Speaker B:So you had that sort of go hand in hand.
Speaker B:Sorry, follow.
Speaker B:Actually.
Speaker B:So thank you so much for.
Speaker B:For correcting that.
Speaker B:I apologize.
Speaker B:Yeah, there's been some parallels, but, yeah, that was.
Speaker B:That was the one that was.
Speaker B:I wanted to make sure I got that correct.
Speaker B:Follow up question.
Speaker B:Again, I apologize.
Speaker A:Yeah, no, no.
Speaker A:So I was kind of interested in the same thing.
Speaker A:So from your side, was there a dish that he brought that you didn't immediately know where to go, but you're really excited about what you ended up finding.
Speaker B:Wow.
Speaker B:So there was one where.
Speaker B:And honestly, it was.
Speaker B:It was honestly the most recent dinner.
Speaker B:And this is the really one of the first times where I was like, I needed to sort of put my somm cap on.
Speaker B:And that was honestly with the salmon croquet dish.
Speaker B:So for this dinner, we were following menus from Tony Tipton Martin's jubilee book.
Speaker B:Jubilees, Jubilee Cookbook.
Speaker A:Talk for a second about that book.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:So this is.
Speaker B:So Tony Tipton Martin is a journalist, a researcher, and also too, she does cooking aside, even though she's Not a chef.
Speaker B:And in previous sort of iterations of books, she's done extensive research over, like, 200 years of, you know, sort of research and, like, understanding the foods that are basically being made in the South.
Speaker B:And she had a.
Speaker B:This jubilee book was a James Beard award winning sort of cookbook that covered a lot of these dishes that were discovered in the South.
Speaker B:And she would find them in all different sorts of disarray, you know, items that were missing.
Speaker B:And she actually spent sort of months creating every single dish over again and sort of adding her own bits and pieces to it and adding her own measurements and basically making these edits to sort of make this jubilee book.
Speaker B:So it was beautiful to have this sort of, like, expressive food that honestly reminded me a little bit of home.
Speaker B:This was the first time I ever had a dish that honestly, Chef Mike made that was just like, oh, this is bringing me back to being at home with my mom and her Southern cooking.
Speaker B:And I'm finally seeing it for the first time.
Speaker B:So all of this happened at Apollo Sprays, which was amazing.
Speaker A:So how was that.
Speaker A:How is that cooking from that kind of book?
Speaker A:Because when we're talking about separated from, you know, separated, that's.
Speaker A:That's a very.
Speaker A:It's kind of a loaded thing to cook from in many ways.
Speaker C:Sure.
Speaker C:It was really cool, to be honest.
Speaker C:I, you know, it takes the pressure off me for having to create recipes or adapt things.
Speaker C:All of the recipes were fantastic, so it was really about piecing it together and making a meal that I think fit with what we were trying to do.
Speaker C:But, you know, I had a lot of respect for those recipes, kept them pretty, you know, tight to.
Speaker C:To what they called for.
Speaker C:It was a.
Speaker C:It was a really cool experience.
Speaker B:But going back to your other question, this was really the first time where it was like, I actually almost made help to make an edit on.
Speaker B:On a couple of these dishes.
Speaker B:So the.
Speaker B:The.
Speaker B:The dish that I was thinking of was the.
Speaker B:The sort of the salmon croquet dish.
Speaker C:Yep.
Speaker B:Into this crawfish bisque dish.
Speaker B:And both dishes had, like, a pretty big kick of Kanye Pepper.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:Oh, yeah.
Speaker B:Especially the.
Speaker B:The crawfish bitch.
Speaker B:To the point where I was sitting in his kitchen and trying to have the wine, and I was actually starting to sort of pour sweat a little bit from my.
Speaker B:From my brow and then my forehead, and I was like, okay, if I'm experiencing this right now, I can only imagine what our patrons are going to experience when we sort of have these dishes in front of them.
Speaker B:So that was the first time, I was like, hey, Chef, is there any way we could sort of maybe tone back a little bit on the Kanye pepper?
Speaker B:But then the other thing was based on the wines that I sort of, you know, had to select from, I was like, I don't really have a wine that's going to sort of do well with the heat of this dish.
Speaker B:But then I thought, okay, well, we had a conversation about pouring the rose of gourmet noir, which was absolutely stunning.
Speaker B:Beautiful, floral, rich, almost, you know, candy like texture.
Speaker B:But it had really good flavors to it, but then also had some residual sugar, and that would actually sort of bring a little bit of that heat down.
Speaker B:So once I came back to it, and I was like, hey, you know, I have a couple more bites of this dish.
Speaker B:Let me do that with the rose.
Speaker B:I was like, all right, Chef, I need you to trust me on this.
Speaker B:I sent an email to.
Speaker B:To.
Speaker B:To Julia and Kelby, and I was like, hey, guys, we're going to make some changes.
Speaker B:Remember that welcome pour that we're going to do?
Speaker B:That's actually going to be the first wine of this menu.
Speaker B:And credit to them for sort of going along with it and being like, yes, absolutely.
Speaker B:We were actually almost thinking the same thing.
Speaker B:If it had the spice, you know, sort of content that we imagined.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:And also, quick shout out to.
Speaker B:To Chris Grockey, who gave me some feedback at the end of that menu and talked to me, and he was like, that was actually a really great pairing.
Speaker B:And I love that you started off, like, hot, and just let people know, hey, you know what you're doing and you know what you're about.
Speaker B:And I really appreciate when someone sort of puts their foot forward in a kind of menu like this.
Speaker B:Cause it sets you up for the rest of the night.
Speaker B:So that was a big kudos that I really, really took to heart, and that was amazing.
Speaker A:Chris.
Speaker A:Chris Crockey Memorial AIR HORN so I am so.
Speaker A:I love, you know, there's so much positivity, so much camaraderie.
Speaker A:I think that's the thing I've noticed so much between the two of you, is how much, you know, how much togetherness this has seems to have brought both of you.
Speaker C:Absolutely.
Speaker A:And it seems like it's bringing up both of your intentions, working together, and what a great thing.
Speaker A:So, you know, I've been working on positivity a lot.
Speaker A:I always want to go into, like, not failures, but, like, you know, the negatives.
Speaker A:But I kind of want to pass over that today, because I kind of want Just out of my own self interest.
Speaker A:And I want Ichi just to say something that you really love about the other person.
Speaker A:And what's the thing that's made you better at what you do?
Speaker A:Because of the other person?
Speaker C:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker C:So Shamari is just a bright, human kind.
Speaker C:He's always giving, you know, giving you your.
Speaker C:Your positive feedback for the day.
Speaker C:You know, it's like he's passionate, he's hard working, he drives me forward.
Speaker C:And we've grown this very honest relationship together where, you know, it's not.
Speaker C:It's not about, you know, we're just.
Speaker C:We play off each other.
Speaker C:So I have things for him, he has things for me.
Speaker C:And it's just a truly beautiful relationship that we've built, you know, and.
Speaker C:And the two of us would have never crossed paths years ago, you know what I mean?
Speaker C:But we did, and now we've grown this friendship and this working relationship that's really driven by passion and.
Speaker C:And making each other better.
Speaker C:And I think we drive each other to be better and continue going forward, and.
Speaker C:And we're trying to take this, you know, very special thing and grow it.
Speaker C:So, yeah, I just appreciate him and all that he does to, you know, keep this moving forward and the positivity that he brings.
Speaker B:The one thing that stands out to me the most about Chef Mike, and it's something that I've seen sort of evolve from him since us working together, is his confidence in his culinary expertise has just been incredible to witness.
Speaker B:I mean, he.
Speaker B:Even from.
Speaker B:From when he's in the kitchen to when we're sort of presenting dishes and the.
Speaker B:The.
Speaker B:I.
Speaker B:I can tell, like, the one thing that I highlight from him all the time is his.
Speaker B:His ability to.
Speaker B:To.
Speaker B:To really sort of express himself in his dishes, but also not be afraid to take risks.
Speaker B:Like, I remember very early on, you know, Chef Mike didn't really do much in terms of spice.
Speaker B:It wasn't really, you know, there was very sort of.
Speaker B:We were going sort of like neutral and maybe some herbs to add a little flavor and things like that.
Speaker B:And now it's like, no, we're going for it.
Speaker B:We're gonna have.
Speaker B:I'm going to have some more spicier dishes.
Speaker B:I'm going to have some elements of things that, you know, take you out of your comfort zone.
Speaker B:And for me, from the sond perspective, I go, okay, now I.
Speaker B:Now I want to meet that.
Speaker B:And I don't want to ever be in a situation where I'm sort of dissipating it.
Speaker B:I want to Highlight it.
Speaker B:And I want to highlight, you know, how exceptional he is, you know, when it comes to his sort of the.
Speaker B:The.
Speaker B:The commitment that he has to building and evolving his culinary expertise.
Speaker B:But on top of that, just the level of trust that he gives me, the level of honesty that he also gives me, and it's really developed from a friendship into a brotherhood.
Speaker B:Like, I.
Speaker B:I love Chef Mike more than.
Speaker B:More than anything.
Speaker B:He's.
Speaker B:He's always been a person that has been honest and upfront with me about everything.
Speaker B:He gives me that vote of confidence that I need when I'm sort of second guessing myself about a.
Speaker B:About a.
Speaker B:About a pairing or second guessing myself before an event, and I get the butterflies.
Speaker B:He always finds a way to calm me down and support me.
Speaker B:And in every step of the way, he's been supportive of everything that I've done.
Speaker B:And I like to say that I like to think I've also done the same for him.
Speaker B:But that's what made this relationship grow and become so prosperous, because it's been truly unbelievable.
Speaker B:The level of trust, the level of honesty and respect that we have for one another, and the vote of confidence he always gives me is always a plus.
Speaker B:So, yeah, he's amazing.
Speaker A:That's awesome.
Speaker A:So I think we are gonna work on closing out, but Jamari, I think you said you wanted to bring something.
Speaker B:Yeah, I gotta.
Speaker B:I got a couple.
Speaker B:I got a couple wines for you.
Speaker B:I know we're not opening any wine tonight, but that's okay.
Speaker B:We're doing shout out to.
Speaker B:To.
Speaker B:To Chris Clemens.
Speaker B:Yeah, for.
Speaker B:For.
Speaker B:For introducing me to a couple of Na Na products.
Speaker B:I'm drinking the.
Speaker B:The Big Ditch n a burner right now, which is.
Speaker B:They're a non alcoholic hazy ipa, which is absolutely fantastic.
Speaker B:So I wanted to give a shout out to you, but there was a couple of wines that I wanted to bring to you as a gift, and I hope that's okay if I share.
Speaker B:Yeah, please.
Speaker B:But it's a part of my journey, and the first one is I talked a little bit about Turley, and one of the first wines that really sort of like, shocked me and knocked me on my.
Speaker B:Knocked me on my butt, but really started to get the juices flowing in terms of my passion and understanding and appreciation of wine.
Speaker B:So the Pesente Vineyard, which is in Paso Robles, which is sort of a pretty underrated region, I would say, even to this day, they're making some unbelievable Zinfandels and Rhone varietals and cabs, and I think it's exceptional quality out there.
Speaker B: The: Speaker B:I only have one left.
Speaker A:Also my anniversary year.
Speaker B: Okay,: Speaker A:Yep.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B: bad because I don't have the: Speaker B: But I do have the: Speaker B:I think Wine Spectator gave it a.
Speaker B:A 94.
Speaker B:And this is going to be an exceptional quality wine, but it shows the.
Speaker B:The power, the finesse, the beauty and the longevity of Zinfandel that just like my story, I feel like it's very under underrated.
Speaker B:That's why I love.
Speaker B:I gravitate to Zinfandel so much because it's got a, you know, a lot of criticism before, but now it's starting to shine.
Speaker B:I feel like the same way about growing up in the Bronx and being here in Rochester now.
Speaker B:I feel like sort of truly embodies that for me.
Speaker B:The other one is my first family, my first wine home here in Rochester's Living Roots.
Speaker B:And I wanted to show some love to them.
Speaker B:2020 vintage out of the Finger Lakes was absolutely incredible.
Speaker B:You know, ideal rainfall, ideal sunny conditions like it just produce this beautiful, vibrant, rich grapes.
Speaker B:And some of the Riesling that we make is absolutely incredible.
Speaker B: at I love is the Living Roots: Speaker B:It's one of my favorites to show beautiful stone fruit, tropical fruit, beautiful acidity.
Speaker B:It's got the perfect amount of residual sugar, but it's excellent for again, going back to all the spicy dishes.
Speaker B:I talk about.
Speaker B:If you want to find something that's going to sort of quell a bit of spice, but don't completely dissipate it, it's nice to have a nice sort of off dry reasoning.
Speaker B:I think leaving roots does a wonderful job.
Speaker B:So shout out to Colleen and Sebastian Hardy, the the cone owners, founders and Seb, as a winemaker, made a truly impeccable wine to the point where I had to buy six of these myself and, and, and bring it home and save it and store it.
Speaker B:But I'd love for you to have it as well.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:Yeah, this is incredible.
Speaker B:So here you go.
Speaker A:Great.
Speaker A:Greatly appreciated, sir.
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker A:And, you know, like I said earlier, I think this, you know, seeing, seeing the passion of everybody coming up and doing their thing now has gotten me more excited about getting out more and learning about everything going on now.
Speaker A:So, guys, why don't you put the plugs out again?
Speaker A:Where can people find you and where can people go?
Speaker A:Learn more about the supper club coming up.
Speaker C:So, yes, again, on Instagram, imrocksupper Club, you can find all our stuff there.
Speaker C:Rochestersupperclub Square site.
Speaker C:And then you want to drop the kitchen.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
Speaker B:So we have a little mini announcement for, for you, but this is, this is unreleased, but I want to let you guys know that to find us.
Speaker B:In April, May and June, we are actually going to be at New York Kitchen.
Speaker B:We.
Speaker B:We had a conversation with Maya Johnson Dunn, who's absolutely incredible and has been a great supporter of our journey.
Speaker B:And it's been, it's been really exciting.
Speaker B:And yeah, we got a chance to tour the facility.
Speaker B:I took a couple of her classes last year.
Speaker B:Was really inspired by the.
Speaker B:By what she's doing out there, not only with just DEI programs, but also just like the, the.
Speaker B:The constant sort of amazing sort of wine and beverage sort of classes and events that she has out there.
Speaker A:So she's fantastic.
Speaker B:Yeah, she's unbelievable.
Speaker B:And I reached out to her and it was a part of my, part of my vision board.
Speaker B:Our vision board was to sort of like make more of a foothold in the sort of the Finger Lakes region.
Speaker B:And yeah, we're excited.
Speaker B:We're going to be promoting basically, almost an immersive sort of Chef Somm experience.
Speaker B:The goal is to have, you know, Chef Mike front and center.
Speaker B:He's going to be preparing three dishes.
Speaker B:There's going to be multiple camera angles.
Speaker B:You'll be able to sort of ask questions.
Speaker B:He's going to sort of engage the audience as well as me like walking around and sort of engaging as well.
Speaker B:And, and we're going to talk about the dishes, we're going to talk about the wines that we're presenting and why they pair well and really give you sort of an insight into sort of the kitchen and sort of what we do with Rochester Supper Club, which is really exc.
Speaker B:Exciting.
Speaker B:So, so that's going to be coming in April.
Speaker B:Our first topic is going to be on Portugal.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker B:Really excited about that.
Speaker B:So we mentioned that a little bit before, but we're really excited about that region and I think it's going to be a lot of fun.
Speaker B:And we're going to enter into some more regions sort of in the following months after that.
Speaker B:So really excited.
Speaker B:My socials.
Speaker B:Wine with smoke and that's winewith S M O A K.
Speaker B:Please come follow me and check me out.
Speaker B:I'm doing some more Black History Month content that I'm really excited about.
Speaker B:I have a class coming up next week at Baytown Wine and Spirits.
Speaker B:We're going to be highlighting some bipoc winemakers and wineries which are really excited about that.
Speaker B:And then also come check me out at Living Roots if you want a nice private tasting.
Speaker B:But also I do wine education there as well, so I'm always trying to bring education to this community and letting people know more about wine and sort of the awesomeness of it and you know, why it works well with certain dishes.
Speaker B:We're doing a wine and chocolate class this coming week and we'll have more stuff coming in the future, so please come check me out there for sure.
Speaker A:That's awesome.
Speaker A:Really appreciate you guys coming over.
Speaker A:Before we close out, just wanted to let everybody know some of the exciting stuff going on the Lunchadore Podcast network.
Speaker A:Go to lunchadore.org to check out all of the shows on the network, but just wanted to highlight since we're talking about Black History Month.
Speaker A:We are also working with in this moment on doing audiobooks for all of their chat books.
Speaker A:We have the first round now with Herb Smith on wherever you get podcasts on the in this Moment feed.
Speaker A:And by the time you listen to this, let's say by the end of February, we'll have two more out books about Joe Beard and Almida Wytis that were just fantastic.
Speaker A:I'm really excited for everybody to listen to these and get to hear the stories told by some of the people involved in this amazing project.
Speaker A:So looking forward to that and thank you again for listening to the Food About Town podcast.
Speaker A:We'll be back next time with so, so much 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 at torsavant, basically bandcamp.com and make your presence known by seeing him perform live.
Speaker A:Food About Town is a proud member of the Lunchadore Podcast Network.
Speaker A:Oh no, here comes McKenneth.
Speaker A:This has been a presentation of the Lunchadore Podcast Network.
Speaker A:Are there famous Croatian basketball players?
Speaker A:You asked.
Speaker A:You're damn right there are.
Speaker A:Tony Kukoc, Dino Raja, the famous, unfortunately early demise Drazin Petrovich, current basketball players Evisa Zubac, Dariel Saric and Bojan Bogdanovic.
Speaker A:Shout out to Croatia.
Speaker A:Amazing wines.
Speaker A:Pretty cool basketball players, too.
