#319: How To OWN The Local Food Tour Business w/ Al Dente Tastings' Jessenia Rojas

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

people foodie italy italian nice tastings rome grew eating tour experience food call podcast talking point grasshopper part shit tampa

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my sweat equity.

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sweat equity.

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sweat equity.

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Woody

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woody Derek made a strong john Daly drink. I just took a sip of you. Yeah.

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Have a cigarette and chill out. Yeah, I need it. Man. I wish I smoke cigarettes. I just do nicotine gum. Oh, yeah. I'm gonna get I'm gonna get you.

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I'm the only person I've ever heard of that. Getting into nicotine. I know that the wrong way. I'm popping. Yeah, I like it, though. Why don't we bring her guest? instead? She's sitting there looking at us and wondering what this shows about. Jess. Why don't you tell everybody where to find you what your full name is in case people want to Google that? Because I don't want to butcher it.

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Yeah, all the replies. So my name is Jenny Rojas. Yeah, get into that Mike. And the company is called identity tastings. And you can find it.

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For sure. You can find it on all data tastings calm. It's pretty easy. All right, it makes it simple. And and so this is a this is a passion project or passion of yours turned into what would you call it an experience? What what is what is the company? So? And we should we should say Eric is involved in the branding marketing aspect of everything. Yeah. So. So we usually don't have a pop up. Map behind us. Yeah, you're gonna have to get right into that mic? Or can you hear yourself for those of you who don't know easily look, you probably see it.

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You probably think you sound louder than you do. But I'll push it into the off tell you to go into the mic. But I'm gonna hit it.

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My mouth

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are so much.

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I'm gonna take that sounds bad. Alright, you know, make it your own.

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So I'll DJ tastings from what I understand if I and correct me if I'm wrong. It's it's, you're bringing Italy

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to people's houses to experience a bunch of different meals throughout Italy. So you're basically taking the tour to that to Italy without having to sit on a flight.

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Because that's got to be the biggest driver for a lot of Americans that want to go to Italy is the food. And then a lot of people don't do it. Right. What is this? It's so sad do they do? Well, I mean, you just don't experience it the right way because I always say the more you know, the better

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You can experience anything in life. Yeah. So with food, a lot of people will go to Italy go to these touristy restaurants sit down order food. Don't get me wrong. That's a great experience in and of itself. But when you know what you're eating, like that's not begun. It's port Zhao. It's actually the cheek of the port kind of thing. You know, when you get a carbonara? Sure. always like, that's bacon. And I'm like, No, you're not eating bacon, actually. So I'm, I will put it out there. I am not a foodie by any means. Here's how I got it. Here's how I got, like, I love a good meal. Like, this sounds all great, right? But I don't like have to go out and get it. You know, like, I don't think I think we got to this point where every meal has to be precious, just in general. But I'm over certain people's ladies. But I think like, let me I just want to buy to yours. You know that thing? You're like, no, why not hungry? But let me

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Why don't you just get it? Like, I just used to get in the cadence of like,

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Okay, what are the top two things you want to get when I was married? I'll just get the second one and just whatever.

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Cuz you're gonna. Yeah, yeah.

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I divorced. So didn't work. We don't know what I should have. I should have stood my ground at all.

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I want chicken parmesan. But so. So the idea is you are going into people's homes or maybe kind of events and being able to give a small group a high end experience. Is that my getting it right? Absolutely. One. What's cool is he said, You're not a foodie. I'm not. And I get a lot of foodies. I mean, I want to say 90% of the people that I've had in my life doing what I've been doing for the last eight years are not foodies. Yeah, and that's the best part about my job, right? It's not I'm not trying to convert you. You don't have to, but it's nice to enlighten people. And that's kind of what I do. And you could not be a foodie, you could be a big foodie. Either way, we're gonna mash because, you know, I've kind of believe in and it's not really on purpose. It's more because I'm lazy about planning what I'm going to eat. It's just

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I could eat the same thing for breakfast lunch, or what I'm trying to skip breakfast now. But yeah, intermittent fasting scelto I'm down 25 pounds or something for eating.

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And so in just from not eating that my kids through that they don't eat, you know, stuff like that. But But what I am about in your car that's just cleaning garbage. Yeah. Is that thing of what to call it? I don't mind eating the same thing every every almost every day, because I'm just kind of like chip habit? Well, yeah, I'd rather do it almost in an efficiency way. Or I really, it's because I don't plan it out. But what I'm saying is, it makes the good meals even better, right? It makes me appreciate it more if if you're always eating at a restaurant all the time.

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You're going to be a foodie, and you're going to be a hard critic, right? Even if you don't really know what you're talking about, which I feel like half my foodie friends are kind of

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slow in Italy. The nice thing is, is you're actually growing up with it every day of your life. I mean, whatever Nona or mom or even dad whomever it is, that's that's cooking in the home. You're gonna have that Grandma, you literally experience Oh, yeah. Sorry.

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No, nothing we could have figured it out.

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But yeah, I know. You grew up with that you grow up literally having what I call an experience with food every time and it doesn't have to be every time but you're literally that Ming and amin that you do. Yeah, that should happen every time or you're just closing your eyes and you're almost taking in every every flavor. Right? And it's awesome. Well, the big thing, my understanding with Italian food in Italy, or what you're doing is really bringing Italian

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materials of Italian

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ingredients over here like not a straight up legit. Like for instance, pasta is a totally different thing over there. The way we grew up with it here. It's it's carefully done. It's done in a in a certain kind of way and a certain kind of temperature right when they're there. And so part of the thing about what makes the meals a lot better is maybe the effort put into it like this. Chico would be saying there's love into it but there's really a way to Italian made it I always say there's a rhyme and a reason to everything in Italian does with food. Everything right? It's not just for panache, it's not just for show, even if it's the most simple thing you can think of cutting up some tomatoes with some basil olive oil and salt you know you're just making some you know, salad to make a bruschetta Sorry, I got away.

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Just even something as simple as that. You should be able to close your eyes and taste the summer because tomatoes are you know, summer tomatoes. You shouldn't have a tomato in December. They taste like nothing. Yeah, so that's like, that's that's kind of stuff that you throw in as a nugget. That'd be like, Oh, that makes a lot of sense. It's like when you go on a wine tour. If you've done that a wine tasting. And you're like Is this legit is like you can hear right there's floating elements of vanilla and share

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So I got nothing Oh, nothing that we're not talking about is just as actually a and you need to give your credentials in terms of how many Somali A's you are, but she's a wine olive oil. So no, no, not like that saying an olive oil. So my point is that there's there's more to invoice song. I'm just a specialist. I did a course while we're in the same in the same schooling that the wine some of the course was that I started about nine years ago.

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The same school is where I ended up going to do olive oil.

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There you can also do a cheese Master, which I also did. I became a professional cheese. Cheese master. Let's go with a professional

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professional cheese taster. It comes with a big belt like

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the weakest WWI hustler. Yeah. Oh shit. Here comes the cheese mastering the worst Avenger. Yeah.

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Alright, so sorry, we're ruining your resume. It's okay. No, no, we're not done yet. Hold on, we got more rich. So I've done what the really neat part is that I always say I love learning, I will never stop learning and go into these courses that I've done over 350 wine courses that I've done in Rome, and Italy, I should say not even just in Rome. You meet these people, they bring things alive. They make things make sense. Like what you were just saying, like, that's what I try and do on my tours. I guess with all of the schooling that I've done. In Italy. And in my life. I try and really bring things alive for people. Not in a literal sense, because you think you've got like four shooters in front of you. And that's kind of creepy if you think about that.

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But a necromancer

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is the dead. That's the thing. There's somebody out there laughing.

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There's someone driving in traffic, like Yeah, yeah.

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I was thinking every every, you know, in a way I think about wasting food is like every kind of thing has a story in a dorky supply chain way. Like I hate wasting food just because we, you know, it's just just because we didn't think about it that I think it's 30% of what we buy at the grocery store. We just trash as an average in America, which is in fucking saying if you really think about it, but I think about like that waste of like, it was grown somewhere else. It made it all the way through seven distribution channels to get to the table. Right? That's that's the the kind of nerd supply chain story. But what you're trying to bring to the table nice is that wasn't that you have, you have this, there's a story for every every kind of thing you're presenting when you're doing a meal, absolutely several meals, I don't know. So it's pretty much there's a there's a one hour one that you can choose. And I call it the one hour journey or the two hour journey, which is let's say the more popular because the two hour journey is more of a meal, you're paying for an actual dinner, let's call it a dinner, because it will fill you up. But I pretty much divided in two parts. And the first part of the tour, or the tasting is

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every ingredient alone. So you're tasting every single ingredient, I go from softest flavor to strongest flavor. And so I'm just kind of talking about each and every ingredient. And then on the tray, there's two of everything. So at the end after we go through each ingredient alone, so one of each. At the end, you're gonna have one of each leftover. So then you start pairing and we start talking about and you start contrasting the flavors make things come out more, or putting some honey on some pecorino cheese, which is nice and salty. So it contrasts it just slowly. I'm of the opinion that what just does is she's an entertainer, because, yeah, the food that she's ample Yeah, right, the food and you know, the wine is bringing to your house can be purchased anywhere. Like, she uses Mazhar rose, like that's, you know, you can go buy all the stuff that she uses. The point is, is that she's educated on it. She's passionate about it. And like, I like the reason I'm involved is because I heard her talking about it. And it was like, Oh, this, this is actually a person who knows what they want to do with their life. And it's going to be easy, actually. So so I just glommed on. I like it, you know? And yeah, just Yeah, exactly. As I was like, you know, I just, she knows what she wants to do. That's the hardest thing to figure out for most people. But she's got it. And literally everybody that as interacted with just about that day tastings is like Oh, man, I love it. I want to do it again. They'll sit there and listen to the same thing that they just heard three months before that the same exact thing. Yeah. Again, because of what Jess is bringing to the table. Well, I mean, storytelling is kind of like that, right? jokes don't work that way. I wish they did a cover band. I mean, I'm sure you have stories that people told the story about that time. This is the way you're telling us already. You know you don't talk Yeah.

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I know you're saying Yeah, I love the way he tells that story. You can listen to things over and over again. Right?

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You know, it's rare that you just do it right. I just force it Stop saying your story all the time, but I'm saying Okay, so.

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But let's go. Let's get back. Let's go backwards a bit to your journey and how you kind of got to here. So let's reset the table guys.

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What? I'm going to try a lot of dining puns, but I'm not gonna play in to that. I thought you had the prices right losing horn in there. The

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long drop for a bomb But yeah, I like it. But uh, here's let's let's go back. Why? If I'm hiring, you're kind of a high end service. Right? It experience I'm hiring for the night.

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What makes you what makes you educated in this so I don't know where to start. I guess you moved to Italy at some point A while back? I did. I moved back. So I grew up there. My dad was Italian mom Cuban American. So I moved there when I was younger, and I did elementary and middle school. Then it came back to Tampa, Italian and Cuban. Yeah, yeah. So no, not opinionated at all. I'm sure in that household. Now then. I'm holding my hands together right now. I don't live like crazy. But your mom might literally unemotional reactions to things. Told us before we started your mom might might listen to this. So shout out to mom. What's up girl? What up Gigi? Hey, Gigi. In So, so not not a pretty pretty chill house. Probably not a lot of energy.

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No opinions right there. I'm trying to grab

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pretty tan so it's pretty tough, but I've made it I've made black girls blush before so yeah. I'm saying like girls like me so much better than I like you. Oh, wow.

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I didn't know we're in competition. You're now Okay. Well, you like I'm willing to stick the stick by girls I have seen in action. We'll go out and a thick black girl come up to Eric and be like, what's up? Yeah, well hit on him. It's amazing. I've just recently been called the Brown Girl which has never happened and that's a whole different topic. racist. That is like, you know, organize a march by the way all white people want to be brown. Like I don't know. I just weight my skin this all racism is so weird to me when everyone's like, most of the country. Tan wants to be Tanner right. You know, the really bad people are always tanning. Yeah, I just don't i don't think of that. When I see someone. I just don't. I don't know.

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I don't either, but I'm saying like, it's also do you want to work on my team?

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Well, we're in Florida, so there's no excuse to be keyboard soft. And stay indoors. Okay. Well, I'm just saying get that vitamin D dude. Okay, I've only got one

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fucking tan right now. He only got one back shot. I'm worried. Okay.

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So So let's start. Let's Let's go to the start. Let's start at the start. You mood or you grew up in Italy. I'm sorry. I cut you off because I couldn't get over the house old sitcom style.

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Those two parents we could do another podcast on that

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time in Cubana, the origins that this city really in Tampa, but we have people outside the area that listen to it. But the origins of Ybor City, the oldest part of Tampa is Italian Cuban heritage. So I just don't know anybody, our generation that has that actually grown up with you know, in in one of the countries. So you're in Italy, so sorry. Go ahead. Okay, so I mentioned the the school there. Then I came back here to Tampa that is and I did high school and college. Soon as I was done, went back to Italy, which was nine years ago. And that's where my passion really started. Okay, then. It just progressed. I started working for Italy without a plan. You went back to Italy, right? That's cool part because I went with one suitcase. I was supposed to help a friend with translating. So he had he was American. And he needed me there for the Italian language. And I literally never came back I met a guy. So there was a guy involved, like always, but that kind of kind of, I just knew that I wasn't supposed to leave was kind of the thing. I knew I was home, which was interesting. I knew finally that I opened my front doors. And I liked what I saw. That had never happened. So that was really quick to kind of illustrate that like it was physically open doors. People have people like some people like to see the mountains, some people like the city, some people like the country, you know, I liked what I saw. It was you know, we all like different things. And there's no perfect city, no perfect place in the world really. But we all can find something and I just found it in Rome, and I'd never been I grew up in Italy but I grew up in the north part. So I'd never been to Rome and I got off that train and I knew I was home.

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Really okay. And at that point, I still didn't know I was going to stay. But I knew at one point after a month when I knew I was about to leave three days actually, before I was supposed to leave, I just knew that I'm like, I could find a job easily, like, you know, with my languages. English, Spanish, Italian, I could do this. So you grew up knowing Italian I take it. Okay. So, I mean, that's kind of obvious if you had if you kind of grew up there, but you never know. There's some people that speak Spanish grown up here and English is still tough, even if they were born here kind of thing.

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What so? I don't I don't know much about being in Italy other than watching master of none with Aziz Ansari. And him going, is that season where he's making pasta go.

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Well, that's all I got. Really? I don't know that. I don't know a lot. What's the north of Italy like, compared to the south? I know, I know, the tropes, but I don't know a lot. I just found out my mom's on 1/4. Italian one at a time. I just found this out. So who knows? It's my mom's side. I'm white might really but yeah. So but my my sister's like, Did you know Did you know your one for that? I was like, no. Why am I sent you all down? Like we have something? No, it was aggressively said to us at my mom's 70th birthday. And I was like, I didn't know I don't care. Really? I don't say because we don't we don't we have it like we obviously had none of that. Like part of us brought to our dinner. I feel like growing up in Tampa, you kind of do no matter what. Well, let's look in America. Just in general. We love Italians like better good.

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Movies.

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Italian Cuban, is celebrated in the United States. I'm just saying there's Italian Italian joint everywhere, right? So it's not like, it's obviously well accepted about dominoes. Well, now I'm talking about Olive Garden. Because when you're here your family? Oh, right.

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And this bread rolls, baby. All right. I just threw up in my mouth. No, is a joke.

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The scummiest Italian I could think of that. That was it? Well, you know, what's interesting is I think most of them are there's a lot, there's fewer that are actually good. Right? And they do exist in America, they do exist, there's just really, you have to really have to care. You have to go scope them out. Like they're not everywhere. They have to be not chained their machines that are really small menus, right? Well, it it works for a certain kind of person. Like, it's that thing of like, you know, a lot of people like consistency and they'd like to not be they like to know what they're gonna get kind of a lot. A lot of the time, I would say, that's probably a lesser evolved kind of adult, you know, to not try anything new, or at least want to try to strike the widest shit of all time, right? But I'm saying like, I go now back, because I know what the fries are gonna taste like that. Maybe not the explicit thought they have. But it's definitely a reason either consciously or subconsciously. What's interesting is a backstory. For anybody listening, that doesn't know fucking Australian concept.

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Just had to throw it out there. I think that's so funny to me. What do we know about Australia? Nothing. They're just like, now put some boomerangs and shit around, it will bring their Oh, yeah, we'll bring what they think Australia is over here. That's not a knife. What's really cool about having worked in Rome, and having worked in tourism for seven years in Rome, is that I worked with the world. I literally my biggest clientele was Germany, and then Australia and America, obviously. But

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you know, England, France, I had the entire world. So I got to I really got to learn like slang. And I became friends with some of them. So I don't know, I think it's really, really nice to learn about different cultures. Because then for me, what was my upper hand in Rome was working with Americans, right? Having people that I knew that they wanted ice, even though Italians don't put ice in their water. I knew maybe my clients might, you know, little things like that, where it's like you said, you're used to it. Right? You have empathy for the for the audience. I do. I mean, whether you you're really thinking about it or not like you, you empathize with the American you didn't chastise an American and go, we don't do that. Here. You go. I know you want to kind of thing that I think that's the empathy part of it. That's probably what makes you good at what you do. Because you're understanding this is an experience. What's the education level of everybody you're talking to? Right? So all right, so you're right. Well, that's the thing that goes and you know, more of the story, so you can break in Well, I'm just, you know, like, just as

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compared to other food tour businesses that exists throughout the world in general, you know, just consult education level, especially compared to the Tampa Bay area. Food tours situation is, you know, it's like bringing Jordan in after retirement. to come in and do food tours. It's Montel Jordan, right.

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Number 45 at 45 years old. Yeah, this

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Here's how we do. But, you know, that's the difference where it's like anything if I answered food door business, like, you just go around a bunch of restaurants be like, Hey, can I stop here? Every once in a while once a week? Whatever, right? I'll give you a vague on it. It's easy. Well fucking know what the fuck I'm talking about. What are you doing? I don't even try and offer any your logistics company there. Right? Exactly. You're just moving people around local Uber that only goes to these restaurants, let's get a bunch of people snowbirds, we're talking about this area, and some of the companies brands we've consulted in the past.

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It's that purely domain is just a logistics company. And I make deals with whatever local not really putting thought into it, and just going what local places will let us come there right away, it brings me back to just being more of an entertainer than being of like, a catering company, right? Which is what it could be, you know, labeled as where it's like, No, no, her coming in and sharing her experience and describing, you know, where these foods come from and why they're made that way. That's the difference. It's not like I said, you can go buy this shit and he like blew by it it Mazhar rose and st data. Anybody can do that. Well, aren't you bringing ingredients from like, you know, where the, you know where to get the good stuff that is important from it? Yeah, sure. But that's the point is that we don't matter. I'm just making sure it doesn't sound like hey, anybody can go do this. Well, there's there's a knowledge they could try. I always say try. You can always let you know, you're eating fish. You could report everybody knows to coterie boards, and it's a big deal now. People eat off of them. People make them the fancy Lunchables. Exactly, exactly. Because most of the time you don't know what you're putting on your platter. Even if you get things that are authentic, right. I still don't know what you're putting on your platter. Yeah. And I'm not saying everybody needs to know. But it's kind of fun to know, you know? Yeah, no, look, if you tell like you could ever you light up like a pinball machine talking about this stuff. So clearly, like Exactly. People are driven towards anybody passionate about what they're doing. Like, like we had this guy in college. We called he sold us like steaks door to door. Oh, yeah. Like, like, but he was such like he was so into it. I think it was a mess. That we're like, Dude, this guy. Yeah, he was so passionate about it. And we believed it. I think he believed he believed it.

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But like, we're like, we're like the fucking meat man, bro. Let's buy some steaks off. Like people gravitate towards that. Yours is a little bit more subdued than a guy on meth in

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Auburn, Alabama, but I'm saying like, I'm saying like that passion does bleed through and

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but you're experienced. Let's get back to Rome. Rome. You're so you're there. You got a boy toy? He probably wears really tight. Skinny jeans. No, they're Pink Pink.

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And I love them.

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No, really? They were like a pale pink. They were nice.

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Okay, I'm no fashionista

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Well, that's hot pink. We're doing something different there. light pink turned up a notch. Vintage pink. So. So your vintage pinky in your in Rome. learning, learning, learning at this point. It's just all being it's like the

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the seed was planted was pretty much what was

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that? Oh, gosh. I say.

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Next joke. Oh, yeah. I missed that one, too. Moving on.

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And then, towards the end of that relationship, I got a phone call from a mutual friend in Rome that said that he knew these two guys that had just opened this company in Rome. It was a food tour company and they were looking for a bubbly foodie, who are exactly his words. So which is hence why people call me the bubbly foodie. I got it from there. But I started working with these guys these amazing guys that gave me the opportunity to

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cultivate my passion learn the ropes, which is why the tour company tour business that that whole realm

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is something I've been in for seven years now and in with my heart and soul because you know when they started the company I was the first tour guide that worked for them. So and then for after I think about a year year and a half they got another person and then after I think the last year I was there they were up to 14 tour guides so they really all of whom were repeating the same shit you were saying no, no, a lot of it had to do with my bosses some of the things Yes, we added we did we talked about you know, it was fun to for them to come and like follow me that was cool. Because a lot of the girls would, you know, they would follow me maybe you know, the first three times give or take or however many my bosses wanted them to do and and then they do their thing that was the neat part is you have the information and then you just kind of give it your touch. And my touch was my passion. I mean like that's no different than any startup company. If you want to take it to

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A parallel, you're the Rockstar salesperson, right? Everyone is trying to learn from you, you're not selling necessarily you but you are selling that. This is why this is great all the time, not kind of in a gross way, just Hey, this, this is why this is this way that you didn't know this. I'm pretty sure. Any other salespeople that go Okay, that come after you, you did the hardcore apprenticeship, like it sounds like you did an informal, kind of, you're already kind of doing an entrepreneurial thing. But you didn't know it. Because you're having to create your own script, you're having to create your own dialogue, how to do it, what's the cadence, there's a bunch of little nuance I'm sure a lot of people didn't pick up on but if I'm a salesperson added to this team, I'm gonna who's the rock star? I'm going to copy her mindfuck for her, right? We're like she's brought in by these two guys. And then if they don't have her, this shit doesn't go as good. Like, if it's somebody else who I'm very confused, say that.

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witnessing the opposite of what he says, maybe these guys are great on getting people getting assets in the seats, right? Which is a very valuable point. And you could you could they could be successful with mid level, but they probably didn't get repeat. They probably didn't get referrals unless you were involved. You were the experience, right? Because that's what your differences, you can measure it in the after effect. If you have reviews, which I doubt, I doubt was like, Can you give us five store review. But I'm sure you have repeat customers or a lot of word of mouth referrals. five star reviews are my thing. Oh, never mind. Oh, yeah. And I always said that. And I loved doing that for and when the company always saying we are a five star tour company. So just just to give you credit where credit's due, cuz I think you're being humble about it.

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You can almost check that in a mass sort of way that compare you think of all the reviews you got after your tours compared to the crowd. Now if they had a bunch of guys that got three, three and a half stars of their experience, they're not getting the repeat. They're not getting the word of mouth, which I'm sure is a lot of it. Well, what was neat is that the girls on the company girls and guys, actually, again, we Oh, we always said this is a five star. So everybody should be getting a five star, you know, a five star at the end of the tour, just because it was built that way. And that's where it's a little process. Trump branding, like

32:27

it's like, we want to give a five stars,

32:30

that sort of thing. But I get what you're saying. It's it's a running joke on this show is like he's good. brander because he just blatantly says what he is at times. He said, You said times you're like, oh, he is that. I always said I was a five star tour guide, right? Always because

32:46

you create it, but you created that dialogue. That's the added value brand messaging you brought to the table organically, whereas they may not have that kind of brand message. And they had that they had their own, which was nice is that there was there was a script when I started. But the girl that they had, I think for the month before I got there, I don't know exactly how long she had been there. She left pretty abruptly. So I didn't get the training. Nor could I really read the script, I had no time because I was kind of thrown into tours. So I never really read their script. And it wasn't what it is now at all because it did change. One of the girls, that was actually one of my close friends. I helped her and she ended up writing the script for them. Yeah, it should be a living document. If you're starting to kind of starting out, right? This needs tweaks this needs improvement, all that kind of stuff. Alright, so you've been doing that for a while you got other people copy in your shares. You're doing well, you're the rock star of this place. You can shake your head all you want, but you're here for a reason. So you'd have to admit at some point, you're good at what you do.

33:46

So I love what I do. And I think that if you like what you do it shows correct that passion. Yeah. Well, I know we hit the quote, If you love what you do, you won't work a day in your life. I hate that quote. Because that's not true. So much. It was like 97% of it sucks even if you like it, but the 3% just kind of carries you over. I think she's she's a rare, rare breed where it's like, oh, you can tell right away, right? This person actually knows what they wouldn't do with their fucking life. And I think regulation, I think it's good, you got your new kind of helping you with the other stuff, which is more of that kind of strategy marketing side that if you're doing we talked about it in the show a lot. A lot of people start their own business because they're specialists and really good at one part. So you can either try to learn on the fly, learn ahead before you do it, how to do all the other aspects or you get someone to partner with that can kind of be that Yang to Yang, which I'm presuming that's what's going on yalls partnership, but the let's go Okay, so around. What are we talking? Where are we at? Which here? I don't know.

34:54

Though I worked for them about 2014 to 2020. Okay, so you

35:00

2020 and how are you here in front of us? Let's go from 2020. there to here, what what was going on? What's the timeline? So may of 2020. I don't want to get too personal feelings.

35:15

for personal reasons, though, I did have to come back to Florida. Yeah, I wasn't planning on it really ever. I had been there at this point for eight years, and have no intentions of coming back to Florida. But I did. And I believe that there was a silver lining and I knew there would be it took me a while to see it, because the Roman future was what I call my baby, and that it wasn't my company. But I did treat it treat it as though and that's why I'm calling you the rock star employee. No, because you made it your own you that's the point, right? You treat it like it was your business, I would love to know how

35:48

a lot of companies have this. So I'm trying to extrapolate a little bit for the audience. Because, you know, the idea of the shows to people want to do their own side hustle, want to do their own thing. There's a lot of rock stars that are mid managers, there are a lot of places, or they're the best in their specialty for a big company that doesn't really recognize it, and they peel off a lot of the time make their own thing. And so it's that thing of like, I think you're still being modest about it, but boy was her I was one of the things you're like, oh, I've worked with people like you before, where, you know, you're not going to do the detail stuff, you're not going to do the things that you need to do to actually get to where you belong. Unless you have somebody like me Come along and help you out. Because like, I mean, well, whatever, it doesn't matter. Personally, like, No, no,

36:38

no slip, you wanna hit me up, hit me hard sweat equity pod. But the point is that, like, you know, his personality types where you have somebody who's gonna be good. There, she'll be fine. Like she's, you know, with her. It's like, the end game is not necessarily Oh, franchise out that day tastings. It's more like, have her have her own show. Like, yeah, because what she's got is more lightning in a bottle and necessarily what she's doing sure, but I get what you're saying, you know, but like, the the side branches of it are all there. There's so many different things that can be done the other branches. Yes, yeah. Done.

37:26

Now, I lost my train of thought. Yes. Oh, you're spinning out there for now. No, but

37:32

no, I was right on task. Okay. The point was made. So you're back. You're back in Florida. Not super pumped about it. Because, you know, 2020 was a mulligan year for everybody. Cool. Yeah, pretty cool. For a lot of people.

37:49

You know, we're on lockdown that you came back for personal reasons. We don't have to get into that. But Alright, but we always like a good redemption story. So it's your you're in it's a lot of people are in a bad place. 2020. Let's just put it that way. So it's kind of not more or less even. But I think a lot of people could empathize with that. And then you what you decide to kind of go Oh, I can do you realize you can do this on your own? I had been thinking about it, is I think I did it for seven years. So I thought about it every day because I did it every day, I became a robot. So I it comes up a lot more when you get frustrated with the guys that own it, I'm sure what do you mean, if any dispute between when you're the rock star in a dispute is the people who own it or may not care as much as you do? Whenever there's a little frustration like this kind of thing? That's, that's a spark, I think, well, I don't think it's Well, I think the cool thing is, is I never really had that because I loved working with them because I was able to do what I loved. They did. I mean,

38:55

best seven years of my life, really. Some of the end I learned everything that I know now we kind of take that personally because you're sitting right here, so we should be in that. Seven years. Okay. Oh, right now should be part of the best timing. Oh, yeah. No. Oh, so then so that's the silver lining.

39:13

We just take a person

39:15

No, no, no, that's, that's

39:18

pretty sensitive for guys.

39:21

So Alright, so then, yeah, and then it just so ya know, when I so I've been I've been thinking about, let's say, my planning my experience, what I what I've now created. I've been thinking about it for years because I've always believed that there was a journey that could be made with food. And so I created this what I call journey, and yeah, I pretty much been thinking about it since I got back is that that's your why you feel like every every food has kind of a story to it. Or at least the food your food should be an experience. And then when you end up pairing them, it becomes an explosive experience. Go for it.

40:03

First diarrhoea Joker, I was going the other way.

40:07

The other way.

40:12

Yeah, explosive. Were you setting us up for that?

40:16

No, I was trying to let it breathe so we can get a good clip for your brand. I didn't want to step on it. I got.

40:23

Well, I didn't want to hold on. Wait, what was the dick joke? I missing? Oh, wow. Really? Really? No, we can't go back. Yeah.

40:32

I'm the editor if you want to set it up, I never mind. What's your why keep it at diarrhea and go Wait, what's my wife for what? I was asking you? And that's what you said. You said it's an experienced and an explosion? Well, yeah, with the parent. Yeah, that's it. But it was I think implied more about eating going your mouth? explosion jizz. Oh, okay. We were on the same page. I don't know how you.

40:58

Well, I don't, I don't know how you went that way. Alright, so I can see this. It's a Rorschach test differently, just because I don't think you can, you could use this one in like a,

41:10

like sexual way right now.

41:16

All right.

41:18

That's a time we can figure it out. I just said it in my head and money right now.

41:23

I'm showing off. I think what you're about to dunk on it. Oh,

41:31

no, but what what really what I've done for the last seven years and now trying to create here, even though I possibly maybe go back to Rome, you know, if things work out, I'll go back to Rome. But for now, what I'm trying to create what I've done for the last, again, seven years is create memories.

41:49

You know, whether I call it an experience or memory, but it's a memory, because, you know, especially in Rome, people were coming. Maybe it was the first time I want to make it memorable. If that was your four hours with me was what you remembered from your whole trip or from your that was good for me. That's what I wanted. So now I'm doing it in people's homes. But it's really cool because people hire me for anniversaries and birthdays and bridal showers and an events that are special for people. So again, I can help create a memory for these special events, which is really neat for me because I love that that's my favorite part. Yeah, and like minimum four people. Yeah, minimum for people. It's a little high. And if it's only two, we'll look

42:30

for Yes. Yeah. I could see that being very weird. I did one. I've done one person in Rome several times. Yeah. Really? Oh, yeah. My favorite.

42:41

I hope he's listening. I got his name is Guy.

42:45

Okay, I believe he's from Belgium.

42:48

So you don't kill us all. No, no, he's so amazing. He's so amazing. He's amazing at killing people. No, but it was crazy. Because my bosses Thank you brown skin. They send me No, no, him and his partner beautiful. Like I stayed in contact with them. They've come back and then my tour several times. Like it was really really cool. What up guy? Yeah, yeah, that was cool. So I have done one human being before. And it was never. Oh, go ahead. Go roll roll over it. And I don't know I can still create a memory. No. Well,

43:19

alright.

43:21

You made the mistake of telling us that you made like, you talk in setup form for us that you know, more or less we can't deny on the show, right? I don't I don't actually do it on purpose. I know. It makes it funny. That's why we're having heart attack.

43:40

There's the all the veins that are faced. I'm pulling down. Speaking of veins No. The what's so see so right now you've got your you've got your own.

43:52

There's a lot more tags I have to Buchan things suck. Yeah, I'm trying to do but I'm trying to push it down. Yeah, that

44:01

your runner? Let's No, no, I flipped that under the belt. That that. Yeah, you under you're dancing in the middle school dance when you're in middle school. Let's make sure under the under the last picture, if you're wearing basketball shorts, because Don't act like you're going around the world up underneath the bottom and around the back. I guess what I thought that I did just now it doesn't make any sense.

44:27

How many john Daly's he had

44:30

to work on your description sales skills.

44:34

Do do I was that sales? You heard me? You guys need to work on you're talking Ramy. I'm so

44:43

so alright, because I have a heart out and six minutes. So I want to make sure we get everything. So if people want to hire you, and we will have you back on because we had some stories we wanted to get to. Unless Oh man. Yeah, we didn't get us. Well, we get to that.

45:00

What we can have you back up in the

45:03

map we didn't get to either if you if you're watching starting here my point Sicily Yeah, I know that place.

45:13

So if people want to hire you what they go on al din tei tastings calm, right? It'll hold Yeah. What? What does anybody need to know before hiring you? Oh, well the only things you need to provide are your home. A table that fits however many people you're having. And that could be in the same spot guy had a chair for a magazine before me? Yeah. Are you like the strippers bouncers? Yeah, exactly come into the bachelor party.

45:48

So, table, um, and it could be like, set up in a room where the tables not all in one place. If you have let's say 14 people and you fit 10 in one table and four in like a like a little bar area. And it's all in the same room. That works because people ask that.

46:04

And all you have to provide is so you have a table and wine glasses. The rest I bring food allergies, I'm sure people are diets do people do all I can do I can work with all of it. Vegans, vegetarians, gluten, all of it I work with, you just have to let me know. And I'll change your individual platter. So the rest of the group that's going to be there will have the regular platter. And my you know, my vegans and vegetarians will have something different on their platter, which will be beautiful in and of itself. Because so if I'm having a party, I'm like, hey, I want you I want to hire you. Do you make it there? Or do you bring everything over? Are you bringing it ready to go? I need? It depends on how many people but let's go with an average of 30 minutes to prepare. So I prepare as quick. Yeah, yeah, it's pretty quick because I bring everything in separately, all individual, all the cheeses. So the eight cheeses, the eight meats, everything's cut up and ready to go for me there. So when I get there, I'm pretty much just planning. And planning for me is pretty important. So because again, I'm creating a somewhat journey. So I design it in a very specific way. The whole theory you eat with your eyes kind of thing. It is a visual. Well that you can, if you see stuff on a plate, where they do the little swizzle, sometimes, instead of not, it can make it look like Ooh, this fancy. This is nice. That's why we have parsley on the side to make it nobody wants that shit. Well, that looks nice. That's another conversation. But I always say if I see something this is the white trash tastebuds of mine. That's how I see most of America. But for me, if you're putting something on a plate, that's not nothing to do. Exactly. Yeah, I get it. It's a it's on my side, I see it as efficiency or waste. There's no point in having it. And that's probably word started that rule. I'm guessing right? Because back in the day, you only had some now we have you can you have access to a lot of stuff. So that you can kind of be wasteful, but I'm sure a lot of those things like like Cuban Cuban food. A lot. A lot of that stuff is very basic ingredients, but it's made differently. Like they can do 1000s of things with a pig that me is white he doesn't know how to do like, because because there is a lot of it was started from having rations of what's what the contract it already has a lot to do. Right? So that's where Yeah, that's where all like genres of food kind of really start. So a lot of it starts with, you know, being efficient with with your ingredients. One of the things she has somewhere is real food doesn't have ingredients. It is ingredients. Ooh, that's a good that's a

48:38

Yeah, what's that? That's a core right? Yeah, that I feel nice Jamie Oliver. I'm not sure I don't want to take the Yeah.

48:47

You can't lift in comedy, but you can in

48:52

no one's gonna be like, Hey, man, I said 13 is done. Everything's organic. Well,

48:59

well, Alright, so we've got a lot of meat left on the bone.

49:04

We're not gonna just like making jokes and then doing the sniffle. Now we're not going to

49:09

we'll, but we'll pause I want to next time we'll have you back on. we'll have you back on go over the stories. We weren't we didn't get to because we we basically did a podcast before we started on the mics. I tried to tell you guys stop talking. I did.

49:24

But she's kept talking about how much she loves. I know her company when she does it. And I couldn't stop. By the way my job is talking. Yeah.

49:35

She's a talk and that's also why they completely stop it. But that's good boat that that's we'll put a cork in it for now.

49:47

We'll put the rest of the doggie bag for the second episode. Come on. More. Let's do I can't think of your idioms.

49:55

Alright, but we ask everybody that comes on the show for the first time. What advice would you give your

50:00

13 year old self

50:02

you didn't know this is coming say didn't

50:06

don't need to what advice you have vamp to give you any? No? Okay, good. Um

50:14

this is gonna sound so weird but let go of your passion and Mike

50:20

what anybody else thinks? Just be yourself hang out with the people you want to hang out with. And I know that sounds weird because usually people do people and I did I don't like all my friends in high school I love you know, and it wasn't that it was um, it was Yeah, yeah, there was just a lot of stress behind it for me and so for me that's what I would have done a little different. Yeah, people appeasing people that you're like, why do I give a fuck about going to do this? This doesn't work. I'm designing fine. Yeah, stuff like that. Even parties. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Like, I wish I would have been more of a homebody like I am now. It's so much more fun. Like, yeah, I think it is because your job is at parties. You're right. Right. You know, like, I want to watch stand up on my I don't watch it like it's weird. You're out doing it. I think about comedy all the time. I don't need to like, I don't really want to go sit down. You're absolutely right. Watch that. So yeah. Plus, you know,

51:18

we're all the same age so it's not like you got the energy to go nightclub and

51:23

right guys, right audience I go raving. I go. I go to raves.

51:29

Alright.

51:31

Then we don't have to do it. Let's put Vic's paper rubs on herself and just party here.

51:37

Shut the cameras off. Let's party. Let's get Somali. It's doing going. Alright.

51:44

Thank you all for listening. Thanks for coming on. And we will have gone soon. I'm sure to do a part two to this. Yeah.