July 6, 2026

Cooking - A Love Language

Cooking - A Love Language
Apple Podcasts podcast player iconSpotify podcast player iconSpreaker podcast player iconiHeartRadio podcast player iconAmazon Music podcast player iconCastbox podcast player iconPandora podcast player iconDeezer podcast player iconPodcast Addict podcast player iconPodchaser podcast player iconYoutube Music podcast player iconCastamatic podcast player iconCastro podcast player iconFountain podcast player iconRSS Feed podcast player iconGoodpods podcast player iconOvercast podcast player iconPocketCasts podcast player iconPodurama podcast player iconPodverse podcast player iconPodyssey podcast player icon
Apple Podcasts podcast player iconSpotify podcast player iconSpreaker podcast player iconiHeartRadio podcast player iconAmazon Music podcast player iconCastbox podcast player iconPandora podcast player iconDeezer podcast player iconPodcast Addict podcast player iconPodchaser podcast player iconYoutube Music podcast player iconCastamatic podcast player iconCastro podcast player iconFountain podcast player iconRSS Feed podcast player iconGoodpods podcast player iconOvercast podcast player iconPocketCasts podcast player iconPodurama podcast player iconPodverse podcast player iconPodyssey podcast player icon
Season 2

Welcome to Cooking _ A Love Language, a podcast about food, passion, hospitality, and the real stories behind restaurant life. This is a space where we talk about what food really means, not just the meals we enjoy, but the hard work, heart, and sacrifice that go into creating them. People often see the finished plate, the beautiful dining room, and the experience food on the table, but they don’t see the long hours, the hard decisions, the stress, and the sacrifice behind it all real love.

ASharpe Outlook is broadcast live Mondays at 8AM PT on K4HD Radio - Hollywood Talk Radio (www.k4hd.com) part of Talk 4 Radio (www.talk4radio.com) on the Talk 4 Media Network (www.talk4media.com). ASharpe Outlook TV Show is viewed on Talk 4 TV (www.talk4tv.com).

ASharpe Outlook Podcast is also available on Talk 4 Media (www.talk4media.com), Talk 4 Podcasting (www.talk4podcasting.com), iHeartRadio, Amazon Music, Pandora, Spotify, Audible, and over 100 other podcast outlets.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/asharpe-outlook--6643730/support.

WEBVTT

1
00:00:01.120 --> 00:00:04.719
This program is designed to provide general information with regards

2
00:00:04.759 --> 00:00:07.719
to the subject matters covered. This information is given with

3
00:00:07.759 --> 00:00:12.119
the understanding that neither the hosts, guests, sponsors or station

4
00:00:12.359 --> 00:00:19.199
are engaged in rendering any specific and personal medical, financial, legal, counseling,

5
00:00:19.399 --> 00:00:23.559
professional service, or any advice. You should seek the services

6
00:00:23.600 --> 00:00:29.320
of competent professionals before applying or trying any suggested ideas.

7
00:00:31.879 --> 00:00:34.679
Hello and thank you for tuning in to A Sharp

8
00:00:34.759 --> 00:00:39.000
Outlook on K four HD Radio and talk or TV.

9
00:00:39.799 --> 00:00:43.880
I am ANGELA sharp your host. Our arm chair discussions

10
00:00:43.920 --> 00:00:47.479
with industry experts will give you the steps, tools and

11
00:00:47.560 --> 00:00:51.679
information to be successful in business and to prepare you

12
00:00:51.759 --> 00:00:53.399
to be your best self.

13
00:00:54.560 --> 00:00:57.159
Hello and thank you for joining us again on A

14
00:00:57.359 --> 00:01:02.000
Sharp Outlook and I am Angel and today we are

15
00:01:02.000 --> 00:01:05.760
going to talk about something everybody knows about. Well, maybe

16
00:01:05.760 --> 00:01:08.519
you don't do the cooking, but you do the eating.

17
00:01:09.159 --> 00:01:13.159
So I'm going to talk about cooking and what it

18
00:01:13.200 --> 00:01:16.680
really is about. It's a love language. Have you ever

19
00:01:16.799 --> 00:01:22.920
thought about cooking being a love language? It is. Our

20
00:01:22.959 --> 00:01:28.120
podcast today is about food and passion and hospitality and

21
00:01:28.159 --> 00:01:33.879
the real stories behind restaurant law life and even your

22
00:01:33.920 --> 00:01:39.000
family reunions and even the meals that your mother cooks

23
00:01:39.040 --> 00:01:42.959
at home. There's a message just coming through that food

24
00:01:42.959 --> 00:01:50.359
that you're eating. It's not just calories or vitamins. There's

25
00:01:50.400 --> 00:01:53.280
a whole lot of love that is put into that work.

26
00:01:54.400 --> 00:01:57.280
Here we're going to talk about what food really means,

27
00:01:58.159 --> 00:02:01.680
not just the meals we enjoy, but the hard work,

28
00:02:02.519 --> 00:02:08.919
the heart, the sacrifice that goes into creating them, the thoughts,

29
00:02:09.199 --> 00:02:14.840
the planning. People often see the finished plate and it's beautiful,

30
00:02:16.159 --> 00:02:21.039
the dining room, the experience at the table, but do

31
00:02:21.120 --> 00:02:25.759
you think about the long hours and the hard decisions

32
00:02:25.840 --> 00:02:30.840
and the stress and the sacrifice behind it all. I

33
00:02:30.919 --> 00:02:38.439
believe restaurant life is a very important, but it's not easy.

34
00:02:39.560 --> 00:02:42.039
I'll tell you a little secret. I even owned a

35
00:02:42.120 --> 00:02:47.280
restaurant once. It was called Little Jewels. It was something

36
00:02:47.319 --> 00:02:51.199
that I wanted to do to complete my mother's life

37
00:02:51.240 --> 00:02:56.159
because she was an excellent cook. And I believe restaurant

38
00:02:56.199 --> 00:03:02.240
life is important and a real love is required for

39
00:03:02.439 --> 00:03:07.520
serving people. People often see, like I said, the final plate,

40
00:03:08.599 --> 00:03:13.960
but do they see the work that's involved, all of

41
00:03:14.000 --> 00:03:18.360
the time that is spent, and the sacrifices that are made,

42
00:03:19.159 --> 00:03:23.319
the stress, the decisions that have to be made. There's

43
00:03:23.400 --> 00:03:27.960
a lot of work into going into restaurant work or

44
00:03:28.000 --> 00:03:33.039
preparing meals for others to enjoy, whether it be like

45
00:03:33.120 --> 00:03:38.479
I said, a family reunion or a cookout or a

46
00:03:38.560 --> 00:03:43.280
special dinner at home. There's a lot that goes into it.

47
00:03:43.400 --> 00:03:45.159
A lot of work goes into it, a lot of

48
00:03:45.199 --> 00:03:48.080
preparation goes into it, a lot of thought goes into it.

49
00:03:49.280 --> 00:03:53.000
But most of all, there's a whole lot of love

50
00:03:53.039 --> 00:03:56.719
that goes into it. Anyone that spends their time cooking

51
00:03:57.479 --> 00:04:02.199
and knows anything about cooking, they understand that there's a

52
00:04:02.319 --> 00:04:06.719
love that's involved in the preparation of food. And today

53
00:04:07.000 --> 00:04:10.599
I'm joined by a special guest who owns a restaurant

54
00:04:11.000 --> 00:04:15.479
and understands what it really takes to build something in

55
00:04:15.560 --> 00:04:19.240
the restaurant industry. We're talking about the love of cooking,

56
00:04:19.319 --> 00:04:23.000
the realities of running a restaurant, and the challenges behind

57
00:04:23.000 --> 00:04:28.879
the scenes, and what keeps the passion alive. So I

58
00:04:28.920 --> 00:04:34.120
want to invite my guests, Chef Miguel Sosa, good morning,

59
00:04:34.920 --> 00:04:40.319
good morning, good to see you, and I just wonder you, Yes,

60
00:04:40.439 --> 00:04:43.800
thank you for joining me. And I want to say

61
00:04:43.879 --> 00:04:47.160
that as I was talking about that, I started remembering

62
00:04:47.759 --> 00:04:50.519
the times that my mother would cook. I mentioned that

63
00:04:51.079 --> 00:04:56.639
she used to bake cakes and pies and muffins and

64
00:04:56.920 --> 00:05:00.360
cookies and doughnuts and all these things, and the bakery

65
00:05:00.480 --> 00:05:03.680
down the street would buy them from her and put

66
00:05:03.720 --> 00:05:09.800
them in his bakery. The one thing that I am

67
00:05:09.879 --> 00:05:13.680
disappointed about he never put my mother's name on it,

68
00:05:13.720 --> 00:05:20.399
saying that she He took the credit for her hard

69
00:05:20.439 --> 00:05:24.759
work and for her love and for everything it was

70
00:05:24.839 --> 00:05:32.040
that she was preparing and doing, you know, for people

71
00:05:32.040 --> 00:05:36.360
to enjoy. And I'm sure you know about like those

72
00:05:36.360 --> 00:05:40.199
family cookouts and all of those things and all of

73
00:05:40.240 --> 00:05:45.040
the love that goes into preparing everybody's favorite food and

74
00:05:45.079 --> 00:05:48.800
then thinking about the ones that have high blood pressure

75
00:05:48.959 --> 00:05:51.680
and diabetes and all the things that you have to

76
00:05:51.680 --> 00:05:56.079
think about there. You know, it is this kind of

77
00:05:56.839 --> 00:05:59.600
There's a lot that goes into it. It's more than

78
00:05:59.680 --> 00:06:03.240
just turning on the turning on the stove. There's a

79
00:06:03.399 --> 00:06:08.519
lot involved. But I'm glad, indeed, yeah, I'm glad you

80
00:06:08.560 --> 00:06:11.639
could join me because I know that you know what

81
00:06:11.800 --> 00:06:15.920
restaurant life is about, and so if you would, and

82
00:06:15.959 --> 00:06:18.560
I know that you're traveling right now, and I appreciate

83
00:06:18.639 --> 00:06:25.399
you joining me anyway, tell us about your background and

84
00:06:25.439 --> 00:06:28.920
how it is that you have become a chef and

85
00:06:29.040 --> 00:06:30.279
why you become a chef.

86
00:06:32.279 --> 00:06:37.279
Oh uh, well, I actually fall into the restaurant. This

87
00:06:37.360 --> 00:06:46.680
is for by accident. It's an immigrant. I came to

88
00:06:46.759 --> 00:06:53.319
the States in nineteen eighty seven and my very first

89
00:06:53.399 --> 00:07:01.439
job one of my cousins. It was either a poultry

90
00:07:01.560 --> 00:07:06.120
company or a restaurant. And my answer to my cousin was,

91
00:07:06.519 --> 00:07:14.000
I don't care. I just want to work. So I

92
00:07:14.160 --> 00:07:17.680
fall into the restaurant industry because my family, my cousin

93
00:07:17.759 --> 00:07:21.920
did not want to work on the weekends and crazy days,

94
00:07:22.000 --> 00:07:27.720
crazy hours. And that's how I fell into a restaurant

95
00:07:28.040 --> 00:07:33.519
and I fell in love. I started as a dishwasher

96
00:07:35.959 --> 00:07:41.040
and just the first restaurant that I worked for.

97
00:07:41.199 --> 00:07:43.199
Was always busy. It was always chaos.

98
00:07:43.279 --> 00:07:47.720
It was always yelling, people running back and forth, and

99
00:07:49.120 --> 00:07:51.079
I don't know, I just fell in love with the

100
00:07:51.079 --> 00:07:52.040
craziness of it.

101
00:07:57.360 --> 00:08:00.879
And watching my chef, you know.

102
00:08:00.879 --> 00:08:07.240
The person who trained me, one of my mentors, his love,

103
00:08:07.399 --> 00:08:14.480
his passion, everything he did, everything he tasted. You can

104
00:08:14.639 --> 00:08:19.279
you can just heal it even and I remember the

105
00:08:19.319 --> 00:08:24.759
first thing I ate, uh as an you know, for

106
00:08:24.879 --> 00:08:29.480
employee meal, we had grilled chicken with mashed potatoes.

107
00:08:31.199 --> 00:08:36.840
Even something simple like that was delicious.

108
00:08:37.799 --> 00:08:41.440
So so this that's how I fall into the runtressian industry.

109
00:08:41.600 --> 00:08:45.240
And over time, you know, obviously developed memories.

110
00:08:47.480 --> 00:08:56.960
Being Latino, we always are surrounded about a round food. Yes,

111
00:08:58.240 --> 00:09:02.480
family unions and bolts, cooking and eating and potty and.

112
00:09:03.519 --> 00:09:04.039
It's just.

113
00:09:08.919 --> 00:09:11.879
Yeah, So that's that's how I felt to run restaurant industry,

114
00:09:11.919 --> 00:09:12.679
to be honest.

115
00:09:12.440 --> 00:09:16.440
With you, Oh yeah, I mean I come from a family,

116
00:09:16.720 --> 00:09:21.159
a long lineage of cooks, and so the thing was

117
00:09:21.159 --> 00:09:24.679
was we all wanted to learn what our great great

118
00:09:24.720 --> 00:09:27.919
grandmothers and our grandmothers and our mothers, and so we

119
00:09:28.000 --> 00:09:34.000
could recipes because the recipes were so unique. And so

120
00:09:35.240 --> 00:09:39.639
unfortunately I'm the last daughter because I had sons, and

121
00:09:39.720 --> 00:09:44.120
so I also wanted to do the restaurants so others

122
00:09:44.200 --> 00:09:48.759
could taste those wonderful dishes that have been prepared for

123
00:09:48.960 --> 00:09:54.279
hundreds of years and understand the love that was involved

124
00:09:54.320 --> 00:09:58.879
in it. Now, my background is tech, you know, software

125
00:09:58.919 --> 00:10:03.000
and tech and finance and accounting and being the CFO,

126
00:10:03.600 --> 00:10:07.879
But I love to cook. My children know about my cooking,

127
00:10:08.120 --> 00:10:11.600
My friends know about my cooking because that is one

128
00:10:11.639 --> 00:10:17.399
way that I express my emotions is through the foods

129
00:10:17.440 --> 00:10:20.440
that I cook, and people can say, wow, this is

130
00:10:20.480 --> 00:10:24.440
so great, and it makes me happy that I was

131
00:10:24.480 --> 00:10:28.519
able to please them with a special dish. And then

132
00:10:28.559 --> 00:10:32.360
I always think about their health when I'm preparing the

133
00:10:32.399 --> 00:10:35.720
food also, so it's, you know, one of those things

134
00:10:35.720 --> 00:10:40.200
that I have just always done and wanted to do.

135
00:10:40.639 --> 00:10:46.559
And like I said, I started my restaurant called Little

136
00:10:46.639 --> 00:10:51.720
Jewels and it was in Rapid City, South Dakota, and

137
00:10:51.919 --> 00:10:56.799
the foods that I prepared were Indigenous foods, but I

138
00:10:56.919 --> 00:11:02.240
did use all natural ingredients instead of you know, some

139
00:11:02.360 --> 00:11:06.919
of the process things that are out there, because that's

140
00:11:06.960 --> 00:11:11.039
how it was made originally. So I tried to stay

141
00:11:11.120 --> 00:11:16.919
with the original preparations of the foods and made sure

142
00:11:16.960 --> 00:11:19.720
that they were healthy. That was my main thing. So

143
00:11:19.879 --> 00:11:24.200
many of the indigenous people were suffering from you know,

144
00:11:24.240 --> 00:11:27.960
heart disease and diabetes and you know, different things like that.

145
00:11:28.039 --> 00:11:31.240
So I would prepare the favorite foods, but I prepared

146
00:11:31.279 --> 00:11:34.759
them with wholesome ingredients so they could still enjoy those

147
00:11:34.799 --> 00:11:40.240
foods but not maybe get some of the cholesterol and

148
00:11:40.320 --> 00:11:44.200
different things that they were from package packaged foods that

149
00:11:44.279 --> 00:11:47.559
were you know, coming in from you know, commodities or

150
00:11:47.559 --> 00:11:49.960
different things like that. So it was let's go back

151
00:11:50.000 --> 00:11:54.480
to the original way it was prepared. You know, flour

152
00:11:54.639 --> 00:11:58.720
was brown, it wasn't white. That's bleach. Don't eat that stuff.

153
00:12:00.279 --> 00:12:03.159
So and then I'd even have kind of little classes

154
00:12:03.200 --> 00:12:05.960
about what I prepare, what was in it, and what

155
00:12:06.039 --> 00:12:08.279
was good for in their body, you know. So I

156
00:12:08.399 --> 00:12:11.200
enjoyed going to each table. How you're enjoying it? Do

157
00:12:11.320 --> 00:12:14.919
you know this particular plate here is going to be

158
00:12:15.000 --> 00:12:19.600
able to you know, heal your your kidneys, heal your livers,

159
00:12:19.919 --> 00:12:23.919
you know, reduce some of the cholesterol and different things

160
00:12:23.960 --> 00:12:26.039
like that. So I had a great time, you know,

161
00:12:26.279 --> 00:12:29.000
being a chef and working in the restaurant. Oh but

162
00:12:29.120 --> 00:12:32.759
the back off of stuff, now, now that was pretty tough.

163
00:12:36.720 --> 00:12:39.480
That was that was really tough. That was really tough.

164
00:12:43.720 --> 00:12:50.000
Your microphone's off? Yeah there, you can?

165
00:12:50.879 --> 00:12:51.480
Can you hear me?

166
00:12:51.559 --> 00:12:51.679
Now?

167
00:12:52.399 --> 00:12:52.639
Yes?

168
00:12:52.720 --> 00:12:55.759
I can? Oh, okay, I'm sorry, Oh no problem.

169
00:12:56.519 --> 00:13:03.200
Uh it isn't it correct? I think it's it's as

170
00:13:03.240 --> 00:13:05.919
I go through this journey, you know, you learn to

171
00:13:06.039 --> 00:13:08.879
understand that as well. I think when I started cooking,

172
00:13:08.960 --> 00:13:12.399
it was more of the motive of you know, it's

173
00:13:12.519 --> 00:13:19.759
just cooking and and not thinking about those things, you know,

174
00:13:19.879 --> 00:13:23.559
especially like you were mentioning Latinos are the same way.

175
00:13:23.600 --> 00:13:25.679
I mean, we're diabetic, we're.

176
00:13:27.120 --> 00:13:27.320
Yes.

177
00:13:28.519 --> 00:13:33.320
And I think everything changed once once I moved to

178
00:13:33.799 --> 00:13:38.039
the Pacific northwestern Chicago. I mean not to say that

179
00:13:38.120 --> 00:13:43.919
when I was in Chicago wasn't cooking, uh being aware

180
00:13:44.000 --> 00:13:48.440
of what I was feeding people, m h. But here,

181
00:13:48.720 --> 00:13:51.200
like I don't know, a lot of things changed. I

182
00:13:51.240 --> 00:13:54.799
went begin myself for quite some time because of health

183
00:13:54.840 --> 00:14:03.720
reasons and learning how to how to eat correctly, and

184
00:14:04.600 --> 00:14:06.879
I implement that in my restaurant as well, which is

185
00:14:06.919 --> 00:14:11.840
why I am committed to do as much as I

186
00:14:11.879 --> 00:14:19.679
can local grown, local farm I don't use the big companies,

187
00:14:22.440 --> 00:14:25.639
which I'm not gonna mention, you know, but to use

188
00:14:25.679 --> 00:14:31.039
the big companies, I try to cook with moderation and

189
00:14:31.080 --> 00:14:35.320
also promote health. This which is why my restaurant is

190
00:14:35.360 --> 00:14:37.360
called Elements.

191
00:14:38.919 --> 00:14:41.720
The restaurant the name of Elements. I thought about it

192
00:14:41.759 --> 00:14:43.720
for a long time. I'm like, why would I call

193
00:14:44.120 --> 00:14:44.759
my restaurant?

194
00:14:45.600 --> 00:14:49.440
And I went through so many scenarios, so many names,

195
00:14:49.480 --> 00:14:52.440
and so many things that I thought would make sense.

196
00:14:52.600 --> 00:14:57.480
For my history, my my past, my future.

197
00:14:57.679 --> 00:15:00.600
And I came to conclusion, I'm like, I moved to

198
00:15:00.759 --> 00:15:06.159
a place where pretty much anything grows. I mean it's

199
00:15:06.200 --> 00:15:11.799
it's it's beautiful. The bounty here is amazing. Yeah, and

200
00:15:12.000 --> 00:15:17.240
moving in here, I was a little disappointed, to be honest,

201
00:15:17.279 --> 00:15:17.879
with some.

202
00:15:17.799 --> 00:15:19.440
Of the food.

203
00:15:19.720 --> 00:15:22.679
You know, it was I call it fast food bill

204
00:15:23.440 --> 00:15:31.039
right right. So the name came of elements as it's

205
00:15:31.240 --> 00:15:35.120
four elements of the earth mm hmm, paying tribute to

206
00:15:35.200 --> 00:15:41.320
Mother Earth and anything and everything that grows in respect that.

207
00:15:42.080 --> 00:15:44.960
Yes, yes, absolutely, uh.

208
00:15:45.039 --> 00:15:48.080
And also my elements, you know, it's it's my past,

209
00:15:48.440 --> 00:15:49.960
my heritage.

210
00:15:52.440 --> 00:15:55.200
Things that I remember, you know. And my and my menu.

211
00:15:55.279 --> 00:15:57.519
I have Molley and the reason I have Molley one

212
00:15:57.600 --> 00:16:00.200
because I'm Mexican. And the second one is because need

213
00:16:00.240 --> 00:16:03.440
celebration that we had that I had grown up and

214
00:16:03.519 --> 00:16:07.279
my Grandpa's and my grand grandma's house was always involved

215
00:16:07.279 --> 00:16:08.639
in and molly.

216
00:16:08.960 --> 00:16:10.399
Mm hmmm mm hmmm.

217
00:16:11.279 --> 00:16:16.039
So and it's the same thing with I want to

218
00:16:16.039 --> 00:16:19.399
believe the most cultures are the same way. You know,

219
00:16:20.120 --> 00:16:23.480
people that come to my restaurant, they say, well, where is.

220
00:16:23.399 --> 00:16:24.039
This Molly from.

221
00:16:24.039 --> 00:16:27.960
I'm like, well, there's hundreds and thousands of recipes, and

222
00:16:28.159 --> 00:16:34.360
not only because of the immigration that we also had

223
00:16:34.360 --> 00:16:37.080
in Mexico, because in Mexico is a mole is a

224
00:16:37.159 --> 00:16:38.840
match part of different cultures.

225
00:16:39.360 --> 00:16:39.759
Mm hmm.

226
00:16:41.399 --> 00:16:42.120
But it's.

227
00:16:43.960 --> 00:16:46.960
It's also every family has their own their own tradition.

228
00:16:47.200 --> 00:16:51.080
Every every my mom my mom's molley versus my grandma's

229
00:16:51.159 --> 00:16:57.080
molly is totally different. But it's it's I believe that's

230
00:16:57.080 --> 00:16:59.879
that's what you know, That's what cookiness is nurturing is

231
00:17:00.279 --> 00:17:04.839
it's ah, it touches your heart. And now that I'm older,

232
00:17:04.839 --> 00:17:06.839
I learned to understand that. You know, I take a

233
00:17:06.880 --> 00:17:09.839
bite of something and just it's kind of like a

234
00:17:09.960 --> 00:17:10.920
rather tuy moment.

235
00:17:12.119 --> 00:17:16.400
You watch that movie. Yes, you take a bite.

236
00:17:16.119 --> 00:17:20.160
And just immediately just takes you to to your childhood

237
00:17:20.240 --> 00:17:24.319
and it's it's, yeah, it's amazing, and it's it's sort

238
00:17:24.359 --> 00:17:29.920
of what I want to to.

239
00:17:30.119 --> 00:17:33.319
Give and to to show in my restaurant.

240
00:17:33.799 --> 00:17:36.480
Mm hmmm. Yeah.

241
00:17:36.559 --> 00:17:37.039
You do.

242
00:17:38.079 --> 00:17:41.359
Watching people, watching people's taking you know, my restaurant is

243
00:17:41.440 --> 00:17:45.160
very small, it's sort of an open kitchen.

244
00:17:46.000 --> 00:17:48.640
Ah, watching people you.

245
00:17:48.519 --> 00:17:51.920
Know, receive their food, looked at it, take pictures, or

246
00:17:52.480 --> 00:17:55.160
smell it, or taste it, and it's just like you

247
00:17:55.240 --> 00:18:02.640
immediately you can see the the it's just brightness, and

248
00:18:02.640 --> 00:18:06.240
it's just it's almost like it's an accomplish, you know,

249
00:18:06.319 --> 00:18:11.960
for me, because I can see there, I can feel

250
00:18:12.000 --> 00:18:14.519
their emotionals, I can feel their I can see their eyes,

251
00:18:14.559 --> 00:18:17.160
I can see how like how much they're enjoying it,

252
00:18:17.200 --> 00:18:21.200
and it's I think that's for me.

253
00:18:21.319 --> 00:18:24.640
That's what it feels for me. It just feels. Yeah,

254
00:18:24.880 --> 00:18:28.319
it makes me feel good. It makes my entire day.

255
00:18:29.039 --> 00:18:33.640
It makes them, that makes all the sixteen hours of day.

256
00:18:35.160 --> 00:18:35.920
Port it, you.

257
00:18:35.839 --> 00:18:39.480
Know, Yeah, yeah, it does. I mean it's nothing. I

258
00:18:39.480 --> 00:18:42.079
mean even when I'm cooking at home or I guess

259
00:18:42.160 --> 00:18:45.119
for dinner whatever, they're like, oh my gosh, this is

260
00:18:45.160 --> 00:18:48.279
so all the flavors, Oh my god, oh this is

261
00:18:48.319 --> 00:18:52.880
so moist. Oh this is like, yeah, well, thank you,

262
00:18:53.119 --> 00:18:57.759
it's just food. Trying to play it off. I'm just

263
00:18:57.839 --> 00:19:01.799
so excited that they they enjoyed it, because you know,

264
00:19:02.000 --> 00:19:05.079
all of the all of the different dishes you can prepare,

265
00:19:05.640 --> 00:19:09.319
and all the beauty, beauty in the in the flavors,

266
00:19:09.359 --> 00:19:12.880
and even in the presentation all of that. There's so

267
00:19:12.960 --> 00:19:15.359
much care that goes into it. You have to love

268
00:19:16.119 --> 00:19:20.559
what you do to actually do all of that, and

269
00:19:20.559 --> 00:19:23.000
and that's what you know. When I came there to

270
00:19:23.920 --> 00:19:27.480
have brunch, I could tell, I mean, oh, this is yes,

271
00:19:27.640 --> 00:19:30.680
this is natural. All this is tasting. Oh I can

272
00:19:30.720 --> 00:19:34.480
taste this little spice in there. Oh. So I was

273
00:19:35.440 --> 00:19:39.720
in heaven. I was having a good time, especially when

274
00:19:39.720 --> 00:19:42.440
you're always cooking and then you know, you know, you

275
00:19:42.480 --> 00:19:47.400
want to eat something different, and it's just been just

276
00:19:47.960 --> 00:19:52.359
heavenly and and so I just wanted to talk about

277
00:19:52.359 --> 00:19:56.160
it because it in our family, it is a love language.

278
00:19:57.000 --> 00:19:59.359
The women have done all of the most of the cooking,

279
00:19:59.400 --> 00:20:02.559
but I have my brothers. They knew how to cook too,

280
00:20:03.279 --> 00:20:07.039
and but the foods and to prepare it and to

281
00:20:07.039 --> 00:20:11.720
watch people smile and keep smacking their lips and even

282
00:20:12.519 --> 00:20:18.200
sucking their fingers, you know, taking the bread and getting

283
00:20:18.200 --> 00:20:23.000
that last piece of sauce or grapy. You're like, oh, yeah,

284
00:20:23.119 --> 00:20:27.119
you either really hungry, are you really enjoyed that? It's both.

285
00:20:27.319 --> 00:20:29.160
I was hungry and I enjoyed it, and.

286
00:20:29.279 --> 00:20:33.480
So yeah, I think, yeah, sorry, sorry tonrupt.

287
00:20:33.519 --> 00:20:39.519
And I think there's it's people that enjoy eating like

288
00:20:39.680 --> 00:20:42.480
I enjoy eating. And yes, I mean when I go

289
00:20:42.599 --> 00:20:47.160
out for dinner or for whatever, for breakfast or whatever.

290
00:20:48.799 --> 00:20:50.960
I tried to enjoy my food as much as I

291
00:20:51.240 --> 00:20:54.440
as much as I can. And goes back to what

292
00:20:54.480 --> 00:20:56.720
you were saying, you know, you're not only just a cook,

293
00:20:56.799 --> 00:20:59.960
but you enjoy eating and I think, I think that's

294
00:21:00.079 --> 00:21:00.920
that's fantistic.

295
00:21:01.799 --> 00:21:05.960
Yeah it is. Yeah. And then you know, because I'm

296
00:21:06.039 --> 00:21:08.960
trying to help people to be well, I would always

297
00:21:09.079 --> 00:21:13.640
educate on what's in the foods, how it's benefiting them,

298
00:21:13.880 --> 00:21:18.599
and trying to change patterns. You can still eat great food.

299
00:21:19.119 --> 00:21:22.279
You know, when they say, you know, watch your diet,

300
00:21:22.359 --> 00:21:24.680
it doesn't mean you don't have great food. You just

301
00:21:24.839 --> 00:21:29.240
change those foods and how they're prepared and certain spices

302
00:21:29.279 --> 00:21:32.079
that you use, and make sure you start with good,

303
00:21:32.160 --> 00:21:35.680
fresh ingredients to start with. And one of the reasons

304
00:21:35.720 --> 00:21:38.079
another reason why I opened the restaurant is when I

305
00:21:38.200 --> 00:21:42.400
got this out to go to, all the restaurants were

306
00:21:43.160 --> 00:21:46.799
the main ones, and I knew that that, you know,

307
00:21:46.960 --> 00:21:50.640
if I wanted to stay healthy, I needed to find

308
00:21:51.160 --> 00:21:53.799
someplace else. There weren't a lot of you know, small

309
00:21:53.839 --> 00:21:56.559
restaurants or things like that that were close by. So

310
00:21:56.680 --> 00:22:00.039
I thought, well, if I don't open this restaurant so

311
00:22:00.279 --> 00:22:03.759
I can eat and stay healthy. You know, I'm gonna

312
00:22:03.839 --> 00:22:08.880
gets sick. So that was another motivator. And and you know,

313
00:22:08.960 --> 00:22:12.920
like I said, it's just very important we eat numerous

314
00:22:12.920 --> 00:22:17.079
times a day. Yes, doesn't mean that we should be

315
00:22:17.680 --> 00:22:22.079
careless with the way we eat, but we should be cautious,

316
00:22:22.200 --> 00:22:28.039
but enjoy it. And you can enjoy great food and

317
00:22:28.079 --> 00:22:33.200
not eat things that are damaging your vital organs because

318
00:22:33.200 --> 00:22:36.160
you're going to need them and if you're planning on

319
00:22:36.279 --> 00:22:39.519
living a long time. But then, like I said, just

320
00:22:39.559 --> 00:22:43.359
the conversations you know that you have, but you know,

321
00:22:43.400 --> 00:22:47.839
and then I also remember some some some of the

322
00:22:47.920 --> 00:22:51.039
pretty bad things that happened at my restaurant. You know,

323
00:22:51.160 --> 00:22:55.039
people coming in, we would have this, they have the

324
00:22:55.079 --> 00:22:58.359
motorcycle rally every year, and that's when you made your

325
00:22:58.359 --> 00:23:01.599
most money there in South Dakot them, so we were

326
00:23:01.680 --> 00:23:05.599
always looking for the motorcycle rally. But then people because

327
00:23:05.640 --> 00:23:10.920
it was an indigenous restaurant, you know, they you know,

328
00:23:10.960 --> 00:23:15.680
they would come in and actually have the audacity to

329
00:23:15.759 --> 00:23:20.000
say something negative when they would walk in to the restaurant.

330
00:23:20.440 --> 00:23:22.599
So I would challenge them. I said, well, I'll tell

331
00:23:22.640 --> 00:23:28.839
you what I know. You probably have your you know,

332
00:23:29.359 --> 00:23:32.720
thoughts about you know, are being able to prepare good

333
00:23:32.759 --> 00:23:37.640
food or whatever. So I'll just tell you you can

334
00:23:38.720 --> 00:23:41.799
eat this food. If you don't like it, you don't

335
00:23:41.799 --> 00:23:45.480
have to pay for it. I saw them with the

336
00:23:46.880 --> 00:23:51.799
blue blue corn meal corn bread, just raking up that

337
00:23:52.400 --> 00:23:58.079
bison gravy, bison suits, just having a great time. And

338
00:23:58.200 --> 00:24:01.359
you know what, they all pay. But it's just the

339
00:24:01.440 --> 00:24:05.319
fact that people forming opinions because they walk in and

340
00:24:05.359 --> 00:24:08.839
then it's automatically assumed. But this can't be good or

341
00:24:08.880 --> 00:24:13.599
why not women cooking for centuries? Why don't you think

342
00:24:13.640 --> 00:24:15.640
the food would not be tasty?

343
00:24:16.400 --> 00:24:16.759
It is?

344
00:24:16.839 --> 00:24:22.160
It is indeed, uh, and it's it's sort of uh

345
00:24:22.240 --> 00:24:25.680
and it's uh. I have a book, a cookbook from

346
00:24:25.720 --> 00:24:30.920
the nineteen hundreds and uh and it's amazing what you

347
00:24:31.039 --> 00:24:33.680
see in there that it's it's trending right now.

348
00:24:33.759 --> 00:24:36.119
It's a trend mm hmm.

349
00:24:37.000 --> 00:24:40.440
But you you know, reading this this books, you're like,

350
00:24:40.519 --> 00:24:41.039
oh my god.

351
00:24:41.119 --> 00:24:45.720
You know, the cooking back then was amazing.

352
00:24:46.319 --> 00:24:50.279
It was and it was it was clean, it was

353
00:24:50.319 --> 00:24:54.519
something that came out of your garden. Because most people garden,

354
00:24:54.720 --> 00:24:57.960
most people use their own garden. Most people did the hunting.

355
00:25:00.640 --> 00:25:01.839
And you had to.

356
00:25:01.799 --> 00:25:04.200
Look at the natural resort and it goes back, you know,

357
00:25:04.319 --> 00:25:05.839
to to what I was saying.

358
00:25:05.599 --> 00:25:11.759
About Mother Earth. I'm like, we our planet is so rich.

359
00:25:11.599 --> 00:25:17.400
And amazing that we we don't stop too to think

360
00:25:17.480 --> 00:25:20.319
and realize how much we can how much benefit we

361
00:25:20.359 --> 00:25:27.279
can get out of it without a without thinking of

362
00:25:27.359 --> 00:25:30.240
the greasy you know, like most people want to do

363
00:25:30.359 --> 00:25:34.720
like greasy food and like yeah, and and think of

364
00:25:34.839 --> 00:25:38.119
you know, I'm gonna give you an example. People ask

365
00:25:38.200 --> 00:25:42.759
me what type of food I serve, and I said,

366
00:25:42.799 --> 00:25:43.799
it's American food.

367
00:25:44.640 --> 00:25:47.559
What automatic most people think?

368
00:25:48.480 --> 00:25:55.400
Mm hmmm, hot dogs, pixa you know, things like that

369
00:25:55.400 --> 00:26:00.799
that most people think of American food is right, But

370
00:26:00.880 --> 00:26:03.400
once I explained people, I'm like, no, you know, it's

371
00:26:03.440 --> 00:26:08.559
not it's not really that. Yes, burgers, hot dogs, everything,

372
00:26:08.599 --> 00:26:13.839
all of that is American. But American food is nowadays

373
00:26:13.880 --> 00:26:18.319
American food is it's immigrant food.

374
00:26:18.920 --> 00:26:19.319
Mm hmm.

375
00:26:19.759 --> 00:26:25.160
It is the United States built out of immigrants.

376
00:26:25.680 --> 00:26:28.000
Yes, So.

377
00:26:30.799 --> 00:26:32.559
Going to a rastaurant like you were saying, you know,

378
00:26:32.640 --> 00:26:36.279
in the like the food you were cooking is like

379
00:26:37.079 --> 00:26:41.160
for someone that understands and for someone that appreciates food,

380
00:26:42.599 --> 00:26:44.640
I'm going to walk into your restaurant like a kid

381
00:26:44.640 --> 00:26:48.039
in a candy store, because I want to try something different.

382
00:26:48.160 --> 00:26:51.920
I want to learn a culture. I want to learn

383
00:26:52.000 --> 00:26:55.279
the traditions. I want to learn how it was done.

384
00:26:55.319 --> 00:26:57.680
I want to know how a real grade states. I

385
00:26:57.720 --> 00:27:02.279
want to know how real bread with real.

386
00:27:02.119 --> 00:27:06.319
Flowers going to taste like you know what. I So.

387
00:27:08.279 --> 00:27:12.279
It is amazing that that some people have the ideal

388
00:27:12.559 --> 00:27:18.440
of or it should be this because because it's how

389
00:27:18.480 --> 00:27:20.799
everything is. It's like, you know, we were talking about

390
00:27:20.799 --> 00:27:24.240
the other when you were here about Mexican restaurants. Mm hmmm,

391
00:27:25.519 --> 00:27:27.599
and it's the same thing. You know, you go to Mexico,

392
00:27:28.440 --> 00:27:32.240
like not to the tourist areas. You go to my town,

393
00:27:32.799 --> 00:27:39.039
to my little town where there's not a lot of tourism,

394
00:27:39.079 --> 00:27:43.240
and you can you can really try the real Mexican food. Yes,

395
00:27:44.200 --> 00:27:50.759
not every enchilada has cheese on top, right right, Not

396
00:27:50.880 --> 00:27:56.920
everything comes with rice and beans. Uh aeria from Jalisco,

397
00:27:57.039 --> 00:28:01.400
from was Calientes, from the north to Mexico, the Viria,

398
00:28:01.440 --> 00:28:03.119
the uc and that they serve you.

399
00:28:03.079 --> 00:28:03.960
A little plate of.

400
00:28:05.759 --> 00:28:16.880
Just some consome, some maybe tortillas or like just it's

401
00:28:16.920 --> 00:28:20.480
basically it's they're not fried it's like, uh, it's tortilla.

402
00:28:20.559 --> 00:28:23.359
But it has been what my grandma used to do

403
00:28:23.559 --> 00:28:27.640
when because she she made her own tortillas every single.

404
00:28:27.400 --> 00:28:28.599
Day mm hmm.

405
00:28:29.319 --> 00:28:33.759
And the best part for her was leaving the leftover

406
00:28:33.799 --> 00:28:40.079
of tortillas and the comal to to fry to dry

407
00:28:40.599 --> 00:28:44.680
without without frying them.

408
00:28:44.799 --> 00:28:49.519
So tostada. Yeah, but it's what they give you.

409
00:28:49.559 --> 00:28:51.680
When I take my kids to Mexico and they're like,

410
00:28:51.839 --> 00:28:53.200
this is real Mexican food.

411
00:28:53.440 --> 00:28:57.640
Yes, this is real Mexican food, they learned to understand.

412
00:28:57.720 --> 00:29:00.119
And I think, you know, it goes to that and

413
00:29:00.200 --> 00:29:03.039
the same I want to believe that it's the same

414
00:29:03.079 --> 00:29:04.720
way in every.

415
00:29:06.559 --> 00:29:08.359
Every country mm hmmm.

416
00:29:08.680 --> 00:29:09.079
Mm hmm.

417
00:29:11.960 --> 00:29:13.079
And what we have in the.

418
00:29:13.119 --> 00:29:19.680
United States is not necessarily a traditional we.

419
00:29:18.319 --> 00:29:19.960
We as cooks, we learned to.

420
00:29:22.480 --> 00:29:27.559
Learn a palette or learn what honestly what sells right

421
00:29:27.920 --> 00:29:32.279
right or running a business mm hmm. And we have

422
00:29:32.519 --> 00:29:36.839
to provide something that people, it's like gets identified.

423
00:29:38.400 --> 00:29:39.440
And what they want to eat.

424
00:29:39.960 --> 00:29:43.799
Mm hmm. Well, I'll tell you brought up memories when

425
00:29:43.799 --> 00:29:48.359
you're talking about eating in Mexico a vacation there. I

426
00:29:48.480 --> 00:29:52.599
go there just to get healthy food and clean my

427
00:29:52.680 --> 00:29:57.440
system up. Because everything's so fresh. I mean, it is

428
00:29:57.519 --> 00:30:03.640
so fresh, it's just unbelievable. And it's and I you know,

429
00:30:03.960 --> 00:30:06.720
some of the resources they stayed at. They have a

430
00:30:06.799 --> 00:30:11.160
farm and they go out and actually get those vegetables

431
00:30:11.200 --> 00:30:15.720
fresh that day. And you can tell the difference, you

432
00:30:15.880 --> 00:30:19.000
absolutely can. And they used to make this green juice.

433
00:30:19.039 --> 00:30:21.640
I can't I can't remember what it is, but it

434
00:30:21.680 --> 00:30:25.200
was a juice that's green, and my God, just give

435
00:30:25.240 --> 00:30:27.599
me a picture of that. I saw all I want.

436
00:30:28.519 --> 00:30:34.000
I was just drink the green juice, and honestly, I

437
00:30:34.160 --> 00:30:37.720
felt better. I felt healthier when I was there, So

438
00:30:37.799 --> 00:30:43.240
that that also motivatevaded me that if you were eating

439
00:30:43.440 --> 00:30:48.599
healthy foods, that it does really change how the body functions,

440
00:30:48.680 --> 00:30:53.319
the brain works, and gives you more energy than you know,

441
00:30:53.440 --> 00:30:55.680
some of the stuff that you know, we're picking up

442
00:30:55.720 --> 00:30:58.039
at the fast food I'm not saying don't ever do

443
00:30:58.200 --> 00:31:01.920
fast food, because there are some even fast food restaurants.

444
00:31:02.119 --> 00:31:05.720
We had burgers, they were just bison burgers, and we

445
00:31:05.799 --> 00:31:09.960
had fries, but they were sweet potato fries where you

446
00:31:10.000 --> 00:31:12.799
scraped that sweet potato in the morning and you sliced

447
00:31:12.839 --> 00:31:16.759
it in the little fries and you you know, deep

448
00:31:16.799 --> 00:31:20.880
fried it in it was grape seed oil, and it

449
00:31:20.960 --> 00:31:23.400
was a mixture of grape seed oil and another oil.

450
00:31:23.880 --> 00:31:27.880
And I tell you, those fries were absolutely delicious, So

451
00:31:28.279 --> 00:31:31.920
I mean, you really can. And I remember all the

452
00:31:32.000 --> 00:31:36.119
salsas that my mother's sitting there doing this grinder thing,

453
00:31:36.160 --> 00:31:38.200
and I had to do the grinder. I was the

454
00:31:38.279 --> 00:31:41.200
last one in the house. All my siblings were older,

455
00:31:41.400 --> 00:31:44.839
So there I was with the little grinder thing, grinding

456
00:31:44.880 --> 00:31:47.839
the peppers and grinding the tomatoes and everything.

457
00:31:47.960 --> 00:31:48.680
And she was.

458
00:31:48.640 --> 00:31:52.640
Making you know, three or four different types of salsa.

459
00:31:53.319 --> 00:31:55.559
And I loved to eat it. But boy, it was

460
00:31:55.559 --> 00:31:59.400
a whole lot of work. But it was all done

461
00:31:59.400 --> 00:32:04.759
in love. It really was. What's your biggest surprise about

462
00:32:05.039 --> 00:32:06.039
owning a restaurant?

463
00:32:09.000 --> 00:32:09.519
Everything?

464
00:32:12.240 --> 00:32:17.519
You know, I think one of the biggest challenges and

465
00:32:17.680 --> 00:32:20.039
I we learned, So I learned something every single day.

466
00:32:21.880 --> 00:32:25.799
I ran restaurants and work and restaurants, and.

467
00:32:28.240 --> 00:32:30.519
You know that that of having my own restaurant, Like

468
00:32:30.759 --> 00:32:33.559
it should be easy, right because I ran multi million

469
00:32:33.599 --> 00:32:34.480
dollar restaurants.

470
00:32:34.920 --> 00:32:35.319
Mm hmm.

471
00:32:38.119 --> 00:32:42.400
But it wasn't your money, right, That's I think that's

472
00:32:42.440 --> 00:32:50.119
the hardest part. I think it's it's it wasn't. If

473
00:32:50.160 --> 00:32:53.000
I was to do it all over again, I would

474
00:32:53.000 --> 00:32:57.799
probably get more information on how to run your own business,

475
00:32:58.160 --> 00:33:04.400
how do you like, how to have in general, how

476
00:33:04.440 --> 00:33:05.559
to run a business?

477
00:33:05.920 --> 00:33:06.240
Right?

478
00:33:06.920 --> 00:33:07.359
Okay.

479
00:33:08.319 --> 00:33:14.799
The only thing I was thinking it's cooking, right, because

480
00:33:14.839 --> 00:33:15.440
I'm a cook.

481
00:33:16.240 --> 00:33:16.759
Mm hmmm.

482
00:33:18.359 --> 00:33:22.599
So my only motive was, oh, I want I'm going

483
00:33:22.640 --> 00:33:25.319
to open a restaurants so I can cook the foods

484
00:33:25.319 --> 00:33:26.240
that I want to cook.

485
00:33:26.839 --> 00:33:29.079
I don't have to follow a standard.

486
00:33:28.559 --> 00:33:33.559
From the restaurant that I was working for, and I

487
00:33:33.599 --> 00:33:37.599
can change my menu and I can do things the

488
00:33:37.680 --> 00:33:42.359
way I want to do them. It doesn't work that way.

489
00:33:42.359 --> 00:33:43.200
That's true.

490
00:33:44.519 --> 00:33:47.319
Because at the end, at the end, it is a business.

491
00:33:47.359 --> 00:33:51.359
At the end, there's a lot. I there's a lot

492
00:33:51.480 --> 00:33:54.799
that we that I learned. I went out there a

493
00:33:54.839 --> 00:33:55.559
couple of times.

494
00:33:56.240 --> 00:33:58.720
Yeah, yeah, yeah, because.

495
00:33:58.519 --> 00:34:03.119
The same person. Yeah, because I was. I was, I

496
00:34:03.160 --> 00:34:09.119
was too ambitious and not paying attention. And you know,

497
00:34:09.320 --> 00:34:15.000
it's not only just the food cost, but it's you

498
00:34:15.079 --> 00:34:17.880
had to think about all the other things, and and

499
00:34:18.320 --> 00:34:20.159
a lot of us consumers don't.

500
00:34:20.000 --> 00:34:20.960
Think about it that way.

501
00:34:21.199 --> 00:34:26.199
We just think, well, that restaurant is overpriced, right, Uh,

502
00:34:27.239 --> 00:34:29.679
Sadly you eating good food. You know, I think, uh,

503
00:34:29.719 --> 00:34:33.840
and all the bands on where you're going, and I think, uh,

504
00:34:35.000 --> 00:34:36.639
that's when you choose a business model.

505
00:34:36.800 --> 00:34:40.440
You know, it's nice, it's I choose to do what

506
00:34:40.519 --> 00:34:40.800
I do.

507
00:34:42.360 --> 00:34:45.159
And when I first opened the restaurant in Vancouver, Washington,

508
00:34:45.480 --> 00:34:49.679
I was the only restaurant who was serving something very

509
00:34:49.719 --> 00:34:51.119
different mm hmm.

510
00:34:51.960 --> 00:34:53.840
And and I remember.

511
00:34:54.039 --> 00:34:59.199
The one person that did my very first line that

512
00:34:59.280 --> 00:35:00.599
she put me out on the map.

513
00:35:01.239 --> 00:35:07.079
She says, Miguel, why are you doing this? Why are

514
00:35:07.079 --> 00:35:07.880
you doing what you're doing?

515
00:35:07.960 --> 00:35:10.320
I said, because this is what I want to eat,

516
00:35:10.360 --> 00:35:12.280
and this is what I believe, this is.

517
00:35:15.199 --> 00:35:15.800
What I believe.

518
00:35:15.840 --> 00:35:19.840
This down needs just like, well, it's very risky. What

519
00:35:19.960 --> 00:35:27.760
you're doing is scaring people. And I'm like, well, I'm

520
00:35:27.760 --> 00:35:32.159
going to continue. And because of me be and soul stubborn,

521
00:35:32.280 --> 00:35:36.880
I went under. I had to seek for a loan. Yeah,

522
00:35:36.920 --> 00:35:44.280
because I was doing something very different. And for the

523
00:35:44.320 --> 00:35:48.480
same reason, I was not busy mm hmm. I was

524
00:35:48.840 --> 00:35:49.400
thinking of.

525
00:35:51.360 --> 00:35:51.679
I was.

526
00:35:51.719 --> 00:35:53.880
I wasn't thinking as a business I was thinking as

527
00:35:53.920 --> 00:35:56.360
a a stubborn cook.

528
00:35:57.480 --> 00:35:57.760
Yeah.

529
00:35:57.920 --> 00:36:00.360
So if I do it all over again, I would

530
00:36:00.360 --> 00:36:02.119
probably investigate a little bit more.

531
00:36:03.039 --> 00:36:05.920
I'm glad that I am where I am. M hm.

532
00:36:06.920 --> 00:36:10.440
I achieve what I achieved, and I never step back.

533
00:36:10.239 --> 00:36:14.039
And say, well, I'm just going to do what everybody does.

534
00:36:18.039 --> 00:36:21.719
I'm glad that I that I stayed, but boyd, there

535
00:36:21.800 --> 00:36:24.920
was a lot of lessons to be learned, to be honest.

536
00:36:24.960 --> 00:36:28.920
Oh yeah, you know. One of my surprises was I

537
00:36:29.000 --> 00:36:34.599
never realized there was that much turnover in staff in

538
00:36:34.639 --> 00:36:40.440
the restaurant business. Some people only came and worked for

539
00:36:40.599 --> 00:36:44.880
maybe three paychecks, and then they were gone, and it's like,

540
00:36:45.480 --> 00:36:47.920
are you kidding? Now I have to go and hire

541
00:36:48.760 --> 00:36:52.679
you know, more people that I spent all this time training,

542
00:36:53.000 --> 00:36:56.239
and it takes, you know, time to get them training

543
00:36:56.280 --> 00:36:58.559
so that they get to the point where they're preparing

544
00:36:58.599 --> 00:37:02.320
things exactly the way you want them to do it,

545
00:37:03.039 --> 00:37:05.880
and you're they're preparing the plate so they looked the

546
00:37:05.920 --> 00:37:08.239
way you want it, and then all of a sudden,

547
00:37:08.519 --> 00:37:12.719
you're gone. And the turnover is really high in the

548
00:37:12.800 --> 00:37:16.639
restaurant business, and I, well, I didn't ask any one

549
00:37:16.719 --> 00:37:18.800
about it. I just went in there, found the spot

550
00:37:18.920 --> 00:37:23.320
and just started putting signs together and ordering food and

551
00:37:23.480 --> 00:37:27.559
got some workers. I did have some some cooks that

552
00:37:27.719 --> 00:37:32.960
were exceptional, but you know, the prep people, they turned

553
00:37:32.960 --> 00:37:38.679
over a lot. And then you know, having the inspectors

554
00:37:38.760 --> 00:37:42.000
come in. I think they came in more often. And

555
00:37:42.159 --> 00:37:45.519
I mean we always had wonderful inspections, no problems, no issues,

556
00:37:45.559 --> 00:37:49.199
but I think they just came by our place more

557
00:37:49.320 --> 00:37:54.800
than other places. And so there was just that that

558
00:37:55.920 --> 00:38:02.079
it was just an interruption, was what it was. And

559
00:38:02.119 --> 00:38:06.719
then just like you said, trying to help people understand

560
00:38:07.519 --> 00:38:11.360
the kind of food that you're fixing and why you're

561
00:38:11.360 --> 00:38:15.519
fixing those particular dishes and things like that, and you know,

562
00:38:15.599 --> 00:38:20.159
taking the risk of saying we'll try it. You know,

563
00:38:20.480 --> 00:38:22.039
if you don't like it, you don't have to pay

564
00:38:22.079 --> 00:38:26.280
for it. But you know, people formulating their thoughts and

565
00:38:26.360 --> 00:38:29.639
minds before they even know who you are or what's

566
00:38:29.719 --> 00:38:33.440
going on or reading any of the reviews or anything

567
00:38:33.519 --> 00:38:38.400
like that. You know, it's you know, but it is

568
00:38:38.519 --> 00:38:42.480
important to have restaurants. I'm just saying, but it's a

569
00:38:42.519 --> 00:38:48.079
lot of hard work, and just people that do go

570
00:38:48.159 --> 00:38:51.719
to restaurants, you really should appreciate them a lot more

571
00:38:52.280 --> 00:38:55.440
instead of trying to find something to complain about, because

572
00:38:55.440 --> 00:38:58.079
there is a lot of work just to make sure

573
00:38:58.480 --> 00:39:01.719
you get good food to eat. You enjoy the food

574
00:39:02.920 --> 00:39:07.440
and you didn't have to cook yourself. There's a lot

575
00:39:07.519 --> 00:39:09.119
more to it, a lot more.

576
00:39:09.000 --> 00:39:12.320
To it, you know, and it goes. It goes both ways.

577
00:39:12.400 --> 00:39:17.159
I think you know now you're talking about reviews. I

578
00:39:17.280 --> 00:39:23.239
it used to bug me, not anymore. But also at

579
00:39:23.239 --> 00:39:27.320
the same time, it goes, it goes both ways. I

580
00:39:27.360 --> 00:39:31.360
was talking with one of my friends I'm very close

581
00:39:31.400 --> 00:39:36.320
to well in terms of our restaurant community or business community.

582
00:39:36.800 --> 00:39:42.480
I we're I will I will say that we're pretty

583
00:39:42.559 --> 00:39:48.039
united in here. There's no competition, and here there is

584
00:39:48.239 --> 00:39:51.679
is more a sense of community. You want, you know,

585
00:39:51.920 --> 00:39:54.440
people call in and say you want you know, I

586
00:39:55.719 --> 00:39:58.119
love to come to your restaurant, but I'm looking for this.

587
00:39:58.239 --> 00:40:02.159
I'm like, Okay, go here, go there, go there, go there. Anyways,

588
00:40:02.760 --> 00:40:05.880
going to the reviews, I'm like I was telling with

589
00:40:05.880 --> 00:40:11.880
my friends, I'm like, willn't be awesome if someone created

590
00:40:11.920 --> 00:40:18.119
a hey, like a review for customers we can review because.

591
00:40:19.320 --> 00:40:20.960
We can all we also.

592
00:40:20.800 --> 00:40:24.719
Have bad experiences with customers, and I would love to

593
00:40:24.760 --> 00:40:33.840
see that, you know, Like, I'm very I'm reviewing The

594
00:40:33.880 --> 00:40:38.679
food is one thing, but I think for me, what

595
00:40:38.800 --> 00:40:41.239
I have learned is disrespecting my staff.

596
00:40:41.719 --> 00:40:44.400
Just respect at the end. We are people.

597
00:40:44.519 --> 00:40:48.119
We all make mistakes, we all have bad days mm hmm.

598
00:40:50.519 --> 00:40:56.519
And reviewing the people that are root with the staff,

599
00:41:02.119 --> 00:41:04.840
it will be pretty awesome. You know that you walk

600
00:41:04.880 --> 00:41:08.599
into a restaurant, it's like, oh, I'm sorry, you have

601
00:41:08.679 --> 00:41:11.280
a you have a bad reputation. We can't take you in.

602
00:41:11.760 --> 00:41:14.960
How would the how would that make us feel? You know,

603
00:41:15.000 --> 00:41:19.920
because I'm a consumer too, mm hmmm, always being negative

604
00:41:19.920 --> 00:41:23.519
about finding the little tiny details to review the restaurant

605
00:41:25.079 --> 00:41:28.159
h and make the reputation really bad to a point

606
00:41:28.199 --> 00:41:37.000
where this poor people are losing their jobs, are losing nervousness. Families,

607
00:41:37.000 --> 00:41:41.000
you know, and my and just in my little restaurant

608
00:41:42.000 --> 00:41:46.000
told families depend on on this. So it's my responsibility

609
00:41:46.559 --> 00:41:51.079
as an owners, as a leader to make sure that

610
00:41:52.199 --> 00:41:58.559
the restaurant continues to run, the restaurant continues building reputation,

611
00:41:59.000 --> 00:42:04.159
and I can provide to their family. But if it

612
00:42:04.280 --> 00:42:09.400
was the only way around, I think, uh, as a consumer,

613
00:42:09.480 --> 00:42:12.199
we have to think about a little bit more of

614
00:42:12.440 --> 00:42:18.360
what really we are really going to review right one

615
00:42:18.400 --> 00:42:20.519
of them that it just drives me crazy, like, oh,

616
00:42:20.559 --> 00:42:22.239
we waited forty five minutes in the door.

617
00:42:22.320 --> 00:42:23.199
No, you didn't.

618
00:42:23.519 --> 00:42:25.639
You're not gonna wait forty five minutes in the door

619
00:42:25.679 --> 00:42:28.920
for someone to sit down. You know, if you're wait

620
00:42:29.000 --> 00:42:31.360
forty five minutes by the door to be set down,

621
00:42:32.440 --> 00:42:33.159
I wouldn't stay.

622
00:42:33.199 --> 00:42:36.760
Why would I wait forty five minutes mm hmmm. Or

623
00:42:36.840 --> 00:42:38.960
I waited an hour and a half for my food. No,

624
00:42:39.079 --> 00:42:42.679
you didn't believe. You know.

625
00:42:42.800 --> 00:42:45.960
I think some of the reviews, and that's when we

626
00:42:46.119 --> 00:42:52.760
get their reviews, which we do sat down, I'm like, okay,

627
00:42:52.840 --> 00:42:57.000
walk me through what happened. And I'm like, okay, shah,

628
00:42:57.079 --> 00:43:01.519
this happens. This happened with what we get blah blah blah.

629
00:43:01.559 --> 00:43:03.360
You know that's happened. I'm like, okay, you know what.

630
00:43:04.159 --> 00:43:05.280
That's only one.

631
00:43:09.280 --> 00:43:12.920
But the thing is, when they're writing reviews, they're trying

632
00:43:12.960 --> 00:43:19.000
to do a comparison to maybe a different style of restaurant,

633
00:43:19.400 --> 00:43:23.320
a different location of the restaurant, a different type of food,

634
00:43:23.880 --> 00:43:27.920
a different everything. You can't do that kind of comparison.

635
00:43:27.920 --> 00:43:31.079
And like you said, we're so busy wanting to just

636
00:43:31.159 --> 00:43:34.880
be rude, we never even think about the fact there

637
00:43:34.960 --> 00:43:38.400
are people that need their jobs. At the end of

638
00:43:38.440 --> 00:43:42.280
your comments, there are people that own a business. At

639
00:43:42.280 --> 00:43:45.559
the end of your comments, there are people that have

640
00:43:45.760 --> 00:43:49.440
families at the end of your comments, Well, how would

641
00:43:49.480 --> 00:43:54.559
you feel if someone complained about your job that you're doing,

642
00:43:54.800 --> 00:43:58.679
whether it's how you cut the checks, how you answered

643
00:43:58.719 --> 00:44:02.159
the phone and you know, well, what if someone constantly

644
00:44:02.199 --> 00:44:06.360
did that, you would really not only become discouraged, but

645
00:44:07.000 --> 00:44:12.760
it would upset you. It would affect you emotionally. Come on, people,

646
00:44:12.960 --> 00:44:15.400
let's try to have a little more compassion and whatever

647
00:44:15.440 --> 00:44:19.719
we're doing. You know what, Yes, they're serving you a meal,

648
00:44:20.599 --> 00:44:24.239
but they do have lives, they do have families. They

649
00:44:24.280 --> 00:44:30.400
are human beings. You know. If you're that picky, stay

650
00:44:30.440 --> 00:44:33.840
home and cook. That's how I feel if that's what

651
00:44:33.960 --> 00:44:38.320
you're going to come to do, because that is you know,

652
00:44:38.880 --> 00:44:44.159
it's just you know, a really bad attitude and atmosphere

653
00:44:44.199 --> 00:44:48.440
it creates, and it's unnecessary because you sat there and

654
00:44:48.599 --> 00:44:50.440
ate up the food and paid for it, but then

655
00:44:50.480 --> 00:44:54.000
you want to be nasty about it. I think that's

656
00:44:56.199 --> 00:44:59.599
I think that's more on them than it is the

657
00:44:59.679 --> 00:45:03.199
rest round and and what's really going on there.

658
00:45:03.400 --> 00:45:08.719
I think mostly mostly not saying anything. You know, a

659
00:45:08.760 --> 00:45:13.119
lot of reviews and you can you can learn by

660
00:45:13.320 --> 00:45:20.840
just reading them, which for me, I'm not putting my example.

661
00:45:21.239 --> 00:45:23.679
I vesit my tables, I visit my guests.

662
00:45:23.760 --> 00:45:25.400
You know, I go.

663
00:45:25.559 --> 00:45:28.960
I'm not only because not only the cook, but I

664
00:45:29.000 --> 00:45:30.960
want to build a relationship. And I want to know

665
00:45:31.000 --> 00:45:34.440
what you think. You know, if it's a bad bad

666
00:45:35.960 --> 00:45:38.400
if you had a bad things to say about the

667
00:45:38.440 --> 00:45:42.639
food and stuff like that. I want to take your criticism,

668
00:45:42.960 --> 00:45:49.320
not so I can fix it, so I can fix myself.

669
00:45:49.320 --> 00:45:51.960
So I can, I can, I can make things better,

670
00:45:52.000 --> 00:45:55.320
so I can work on it. But if if you

671
00:45:55.440 --> 00:45:58.599
have a bad meal, and if you have a bad service,

672
00:45:59.639 --> 00:46:04.119
and and we if the staffed, myself or whoever is

673
00:46:04.199 --> 00:46:07.519
asking you several times, how was everything? And you are

674
00:46:08.559 --> 00:46:11.920
Everything is delicious, everything that's good, service is great. But yeah,

675
00:46:12.039 --> 00:46:15.039
you walk out the door and you'd write one review

676
00:46:15.440 --> 00:46:16.119
something that's.

677
00:46:16.000 --> 00:46:16.440
Wrong with you.

678
00:46:17.519 --> 00:46:23.000
Yeah, yeah, well I'll tell you. I enjoyed and I

679
00:46:23.159 --> 00:46:29.320
enjoyed our visit there. The atmosphere, it's like a family atmosphere.

680
00:46:29.719 --> 00:46:33.239
I mean, I felt like I was at home with family.

681
00:46:33.280 --> 00:46:36.280
Even though I didn't know any of the people coming.

682
00:46:36.800 --> 00:46:39.559
They greeted me in such a way that I felt

683
00:46:39.599 --> 00:46:44.880
like we were family. And it brought back emotions and

684
00:46:44.960 --> 00:46:48.960
feelings that I have had being with family and enjoying

685
00:46:49.159 --> 00:46:52.920
food and you know, the smiles and you know, is

686
00:46:53.000 --> 00:46:55.880
everything okay? Is there something else I can get for you?

687
00:46:56.239 --> 00:46:59.079
How did you like that? Did it meet your expectations?

688
00:46:59.199 --> 00:47:01.320
I mean they asked call a question so they could

689
00:47:01.360 --> 00:47:04.000
say something right there on the spot instead of going

690
00:47:04.039 --> 00:47:09.119
out writing a review. And that's what really energized me

691
00:47:09.800 --> 00:47:13.960
was the fact that it was so family oriented. These

692
00:47:14.400 --> 00:47:19.440
your people are people that demonstrated they actually care. They

693
00:47:19.599 --> 00:47:24.440
cared about we who were sitting there. So I want you,

694
00:47:24.679 --> 00:47:27.400
so before we run out of time, I want you

695
00:47:27.480 --> 00:47:32.440
to please tell people where they can come to enjoy elements.

696
00:47:32.559 --> 00:47:35.440
Give them the address and the contact information.

697
00:47:36.639 --> 00:47:41.079
Yes, so we are located in downtown Vancouver is nine

698
00:47:41.119 --> 00:47:48.320
oh seven Main Street, Vancouver, Washington. If you are planning

699
00:47:48.320 --> 00:47:51.119
to come now, there's a lot of construction happening in Vancouver.

700
00:47:52.079 --> 00:47:55.559
I promise it's almost done. It's going to make it's

701
00:47:55.599 --> 00:47:59.079
going to look beautiful. But we are located on the

702
00:47:59.079 --> 00:48:04.320
heart of downtown on Main Street and we are open

703
00:48:04.639 --> 00:48:09.639
for brunch Saturday and Sunday from time to two and

704
00:48:09.880 --> 00:48:13.199
dinner by tonight Tuesday.

705
00:48:15.440 --> 00:48:17.840
Great and make reservations.

706
00:48:19.480 --> 00:48:22.480
Yeah, we recommend ours divent, especially on the weekend. So

707
00:48:22.519 --> 00:48:25.280
you can make resurprictions at a recy dot com or

708
00:48:25.320 --> 00:48:28.800
you can go directly to my website at Elements Vancouver

709
00:48:28.960 --> 00:48:32.360
dot com, or just give it a six year old

710
00:48:32.360 --> 00:48:34.519
to five days your nine eight nine.

711
00:48:35.199 --> 00:48:41.239
Yes, absolutely, well, I highly recommend it. And like I said,

712
00:48:41.679 --> 00:48:47.639
everything is extremely tasty, and you're right. You came to

713
00:48:47.760 --> 00:48:51.320
the tables. You you let us know you cared about

714
00:48:51.400 --> 00:48:55.920
how we felt and what we thought. And I appreciate

715
00:48:56.000 --> 00:48:59.760
that because that does not happen at a lot of restaurants.

716
00:49:01.440 --> 00:49:03.440
But they have to do what they're able to do

717
00:49:03.599 --> 00:49:05.880
and the time that they are going to afford to do.

718
00:49:06.480 --> 00:49:11.440
But if my listeners and viewers want a great meal

719
00:49:12.480 --> 00:49:16.599
where you are treated like family, like where you are

720
00:49:16.639 --> 00:49:20.280
treated like kings and queens, where you are treated with

721
00:49:20.519 --> 00:49:26.840
exceptional food and attention as if you were the only

722
00:49:26.920 --> 00:49:31.400
people in the restaurant, Elements us the place to go.

723
00:49:31.760 --> 00:49:36.480
I mean, I highly recommend it. That's my review, Chef Miguel,

724
00:49:37.320 --> 00:49:39.320
and so I'm saying it to the world.

725
00:49:40.840 --> 00:49:41.920
That is my review.

726
00:49:43.800 --> 00:49:48.199
So so in the in the last few seconds that

727
00:49:48.280 --> 00:49:56.360
we have tell us, how you feel about your restaurant,

728
00:49:56.559 --> 00:50:00.559
about going forward and different things like that. What are

729
00:50:00.559 --> 00:50:02.519
your last words?

730
00:50:04.119 --> 00:50:05.639
I feel, I feel great.

731
00:50:05.719 --> 00:50:17.639
I feel surrounded by a great community, great family. I'm

732
00:50:17.800 --> 00:50:21.039
just I'm just happy I'm here. I'm just happy that

733
00:50:21.079 --> 00:50:28.039
I get accepted, and I'm thrilled to have an amazing staff.

734
00:50:29.039 --> 00:50:33.400
Great. Yes, and they are, Yes, they are absolutely amazing.

735
00:50:33.840 --> 00:50:35.039
Yes, I love my staff.

736
00:50:35.880 --> 00:50:40.719
Yes. So I want I encourage you to go to

737
00:50:40.840 --> 00:50:43.519
Elements if you're in the Washington area or come to

738
00:50:43.559 --> 00:50:46.880
the Washington area. And I just want to say, this

739
00:50:46.960 --> 00:50:51.000
is a sharp outlook. I thank you for joining us today.

740
00:50:51.320 --> 00:50:54.920
We're here every Monday at eleven a m. Eastern time,

741
00:50:55.400 --> 00:50:59.960
eight a m. Pacific time. We're here to inform, to educate,

742
00:51:00.840 --> 00:51:06.239
and also to make sure that you stay informed.

743
00:51:10.599 --> 00:51:12.760
I want to thank you for joining us on a

744
00:51:12.840 --> 00:51:16.599
sharp outlook. We have been informed and energized to take

745
00:51:16.639 --> 00:51:20.320
the next steps. We have posted links to websites and

746
00:51:20.440 --> 00:51:24.199
videos to learn more on today's topic. Please join us

747
00:51:24.239 --> 00:51:28.599
again next week for another thought provoking conversation right here

748
00:51:28.960 --> 00:51:33.719
on key for HD radio and Talk for TV. Listen

749
00:51:33.800 --> 00:51:38.039
to the podcast on all the podcast apps, and until

750
00:51:38.119 --> 00:51:40.280
next week, stay informed