Alright guys, so a lot of people access how do they make a podcast? I'm let you in on a secret on the easiest most productive way to start a podcast and get it up and running and that is the app called anchor is free. They have all kind of cool creation tools that allow you to record and edit your podcast right from your phone or computer. They will distribute your podcast for you to all of the major Outlets including spot.Why Apple Google many more and you can make money from your podcast with no minimum listenership is everything you need to make a podcast in one simple easy place. So if you're interested in starting a podcast Go download the free anchor app or go to Anchor dot f m-- to get started. Let's do it. I Atlanta it is your turn. That's right eyl takeover. We coming to Atlanta y'all. Yes, January 25th, January 26 two-day event. We have starting out January 25th live podcast. We have ptg boys. They killing the car industry right now Brandon Medford CYO alumni and his two partners will be there. Mr. And mrs. Two weeks out killing a fitness game in Atlanta. How come oh, yeah the first couple of Atlanta they will be guest none. Other than the The top realtors in Atlanta Keanu Watson for top 5% realtor in Atlanta will be there to talk about Atlanta real estate and also the legend himself curator Birds curator of culture Kenny Burns eyl. Alumni Will Be Our Guest will have all the alumni and the building we will have following the live podcast is open bar private dinner private networking event. It's going to be crazy. That's just day one day two. We have a workshop planned for you guys. We have Alex good energy. The king of trucking ey alumni we have Andy from Y2K Credit Solutions comes riding around me. Why all alumni mg2 mortgage guy eyl alumni will be in the building to talk about real estate for financing your real estate deal. And then also the king of wholesaling Max Max well and eyl alumni himself bloody in there to teach real estate wholesaling. So two-day event. All the information is on our website over now. Don't don't wait till it's too late get your tickets Atlanta. We will see you soon. Can't wait to touch the temps right? Don't worry. Hesitate going on your leisure.com right now hit events tab will see you there. All right, guys, welcome back ey o we have a very very exciting special episode today personal foremost. Shout out to Diaw will tell you what a couple months ago. We were number 2 on it on a Dr. Charged with business podcast. We have a strong following it and deal and some of our biggest guests have been Dominican. We had Caesar. Yeah, DJ and his partner. Shout out to Caesar we Lord of the slums for the horn and oh, yes, he's best friend shouts of Fernando. This is other guy from Harlem John Henry John Henry Charlotte the John Henry. So you're in good hands. So today we got chef chef Calvin Calvin Fernandez. So I'll do the rundown He Is Legend within his own right prodigy-man Prodigy Legend, whatever you want to call it. He has cooked for the New York Yankees. He is personal. Chef to J.Lo and in Iraq, yes, sir, personal personal chef to J.Lo and A-Rod. He made Forbes 30 under 30 for Chef list. He's been on TV network on Chop on man vs. Child Bobby Flay. Yeah. He actually defeated Bobby Flay beat him twice. He defeated Bobby Flay twice. He's partner chef and last lap, which is his restaurant Daddy's partner in right now and He was formerly the chef at La Marina. Oh my God, La Madrina whole entire world at the height of it. I think that the people talk what we got talk about that like I gotta walk around with you on a regular basis Merida on a yacht. So first and foremost, thank you. Thank you for joining us. Appreciate it. I'm happy to be here. It's an honor you shout out to you guys for doing what you're doing. I got Goose Bumps, or you would tell me what you guys are doing a DC because I don't know about that. So I'm happy and proud of you guys cause you're always leveling up. So, thank you. Things on a regular basis Welcome to The Green Room. So thing where are you leash is that we are it's really cool because it's a business podcast but it gives us broad range because everything is a business like literally everything is a business because you're making money in it and one of the things that especially like for just everybody has to eat right and everybody like that's it. So this literally and figuratively saying that is that this is one of the biggest reasons why I started this just getting into this business. I knew three things. I'll always be Friends, I'll never go hungry and always have a job because we need food to survive. That's it offer. You need food to live as a fan of that and it's like a lot of time. So we've interview restaurant owner before but we haven't interviewed a chef. Yeah, it's a different Dynamic and a lot of times people is one of those things where people love to cook a lot of times right but a lot of times people don't think about how can they monetize it? How can I make a career out of it, but it's gonna take a business out of it, but you've done all of that and You're still leveling and up and so it's an interesting conversation cuz I feel like these are these are conversations that we can have wear. Anybody in okay apply skills that they have and become a chef right? It's not something that you have to like a lot of times when we talk about hedge funds and stuff like that people get like oh, this is over. My head cooking is not over anybody's head like you got a bag of chips and your cupboard you got some jalapenos you doing a basket right there. You gotta grab whatever's in the world class chef, but you come from humble beginnings what your family is a long line of Chef. Coke's things that nature right especially being Dominican you come from a line of women that know how to cook. You know, I think what's always nostalgic for me. I can be out of the country for three months. The first thing I need is a home cooked meal for my mom and it's one of those things where I remember and I think about it and when I'm creating a new dish, it's always like how can I make this nostalgic for someone else? You know, so just like you said with food there's so many different Outlets that you can go to creating a business and reality is you think About how many people have started a business in their own home and how they've grown to a small little commercial and then buying the store next door? And those are some of my favorite stories, you know people that start small and not ever even I started as a company at one point when I was doing meal preps and we were we literally rented out an apartment and just made that our kitchen like there was no other Furniture we have refrigerators in there. We had shelving in there. We had two ovens and trap an electric bill electric bill was high but at the end of the day we were doing the job. Yeah, so you said you came. Also a home-cooked meal for your mom, but your dad is actually the shop. My dad is a chef, you know, and especially being in a Latino you always think about the women are the cooks, you know, and if you think about restaurants 90% of the cooks are men, you know, so I'm actually happy to see that there's a lot more women in restaurants and and shutting it down. There's a lot of female chefs that I've had the honor and privilege to work alongside and collab with and that's something that I like to see on a regular basis as well because when you do think about food and love and it It really does come from both. So I'm happy to see that on a regular basis and I just thought that that's interesting because yeah, you think about it traditionally not to sound sexist, but it's like most of the time and household a woman. Your mom is the one that's really making 1,000 mom Grandma Auntie Alice, but in restaurants the men are the artists chefs and I think about it comes to a point where in restaurants. You probably get paid a little bit more than your regular standard jobs, you know, like even me I was 15 years old and I was getting paid at that time. It was like $10 an Or but minimum wage was 750 or 650. So I was like, I'm already ahead of the game. I'm making $4 more than anybody else. And that was me. I'm 15. So when I was getting a check of eight hundred dollars for every two weeks, I thought I was rich I think about that now I can't I don't even leave my house if I don't make $800. So what what point did you do? You say? Okay. This is something that I could actually take Serious you went to school for this right? I went to well it started in Long Island City High School and went to a high school that had the the program. So the Graham was just learning how to make you know, brownies and cookies and the whole neck like a home at class. I would say that you know, but me I was being the typical jock and I was like, I'm not going to wear an apron. I don't want to be in a in a place where you think about, you know, they were my friends but you know, we tease each other a little bit and the last thing I need is to give my teammates on the football team and on the baseball team something else to tease me other than me being five feet tall. Thank God for those extra 500. So it's one of those things where it took a lot for me to take my put my pride aside. And say all right. Let me let me put my focus on to something. So shout out to my ex-girlfriend. Yeah in high school Maria because if it wasn't for her exactly right you push me into cooking, you know, she wanted me to show a little bit of interest and support the way she was supported me by being at every game every match being my biggest cheerleader. No pun intended because she was on the cheerleading squad. So she was forced to be there wasn't more of a more of a maybe she chose to be that she chose to be here, but it's a going to add my man. Take it on down. If it wasn't for her, I would have never went into cooking and she gave me the opportunity to put my talent into something else because I was a good sports. I was good in baseball. I was great in wrestling. I was okay in football, but being on a platform where I'm the solostar like cooking that was all thanks to her. So, all right. So you went to CIA which is one of the top culinary institute in the world, right Culinary Institute of America. The CIA is the School for culinary, so it's like, you know where the Cornell of culinary schools, you know, it's one of those things where they provided a program and a way for you to learn more than just cooking. You know, I thought at 17 18 years old. I'm here learning about wines of the world. I'm here learning there was one of my favorite classes was product knowledge. We're literally by the end of the class. You would have a table full of ingredients. You can't pick them up. You can't smell them. You can't touch them. You have to know what it is just by looking at it, but that what I mean, there was a process for you. It was a process of learning that absolutely you don't get that overnight. Yeah, so, I mean you you weren't just chosen for the school. You have to apply and go through a whole process to be so a program through the program. I was fortunate enough. Thank you for mentioning that CCAP careers through culinary arts program. These people are the reason why I am who I am as a chef and I say that more because it was it was more than just us an opportunity to win a scholarship. There were family, you know Richard grouseman the founder he was like my second dad and when he sees people that he Leaves in just like my old high school teacher Terry Maxis, you know, he's retired now good for him, you know he put in effort and he put in the hard work to make sure that we had the opportunity, you know, I did a cooking class that led me to a cooking competition that led me to winning $40,000 to the CIA, you know never in a million years that I think I would win a scholarship let alone get 40 Grand. How much do CIA course CIA now? Probably 40 Grand a year for Korea. So I saved like half so so two year program. So you're getting old so yeah, okay agree and culinary arts and business management. So aside from that, you know, I dorm there I'm not going to go back and home even though I was close to home. I still took on the full college experience 40 bands Allah what he imagined so I just sit let's say sorry to cut you off it. Let's just say it's 15 years ago. I graduated. I just finished paying off Sallie Mae and I got brother 44 the other 40 like I took a long time. That was it. That was a good I don't worry. I'm still paying. All right, so you finish college and then you start you going to court. Right after that I started right after college I joined there was a company called there was a restaurant called Gotham Bar & Grill. So before I got into corporate, I literally did what any young Chef should do in his bust your ass for the next two years and give six months of the top chefs in New York city. So I worked with Marcus Samuelsson. I worked with Jean George. I worked with Chef Daniel boulud I worked with Alfred Port Ali that was the place where I did my 6-month my 18 week internship at the CIA and then I got hired. Right out of college. So I was lucky enough that and that was one of those things where I determined that I'm going to come in early even though I'm not getting paid. I got paid internship wage, which was still at least getting paid. How much do you get paid? I think it's like 750 an hour after you graduated during my internship. Okay for graduate. That was like right in the middle. So Alpha board tally he is the head chef at the Gotham Bar and Grill was the executive chef at Gotham Bar and Grill for about over 30 years. He just opened its funny cuz I went to Gotham Bar and Grill last night. He did some Nostalgia. I went to Shrimp House and I was like, let me just go to Gotham Bar & Grill. Amazing old-fashioned and so much better. Yeah a little flashback and I walked in and they're like, well Alfred's not here anymore. He just opened up his own restaurant like three blocks away and I'm like 90 to go there but the restaurant itself if I mean when he was there with it was it was Michelin star was michelin-starred. So what is that? So three star it was three star New York Times consistently for 30 years in a row, which is which is very hard to do. The highest you can get is 4 stars in New York New York Times and Michelin is 3 so they were one-star Michelin and there were three star New York Times, which is Elite aside from That it's one of those classifications of knowing that your branded by the Michelin guide knows that your your top of your tier. So, all right, then you started working at this strand, right? So after Gotham Bar and Grill, I did I was at the restaurant called Cafe des artistes and I had my opportunity to become like a junior sous chef. That was the first time I had an opportunity of sous-chef is a chef underneath the head chef. That's correct. Yeah, so it's like not a sushi chef The Apprentice I get that. The time these people are always so you do sushi. Shout out to the movie Ratatouille then let everybody know who was a sous-chef and who was the sous chef and what they do because at that moment in my part of my life, I was a sous chef. I'm like finally people going to stop thinking that I make sushi, so what's the what's the what's the what's the order for the chain of command would be like when you first walk into a restaurant like I did this I worked as a dishwasher for a couple months then I did prep which is all you do is peel potatoes clean vegetables literally all the dirty stuff. If that people don't think about because we come into restaurants as cooks and things are ready for us. Like I don't have to pick my own garlic. I don't have to peel my own shouts don't have to peel my own potatoes out of the pool my own onions. When you do these cooking shows, you gotta do everything you you take for granted that you don't have your prep cooks or your with you, you know to help you out. But you have that chain of command of prep Cooks then the very next step is Garmin GE which is salads and cold appetizers then if you're good at that you move to hot apps which is usually like little pastas risottos seared foie gras, depending on a restaurant I did. Ten years in French. I was classically french-trained working at restaurants. Like, you know, Cafe des artistes and Jean-Georges and restaurant Danielle, but those are all like little six months since I just wanted to learn a little bit from all of these great chefs and knowing that my Foundation later on I was still going to use a little bit of what they taught me and then after it to Cafe des artistes, I got an opportunity to become an executive chef at the age of 22 Westchester and Westchester Westchester my place. If it wasn't for you, I would have continued to doubt myself and he told me I remember I said, how am I going to be a chef at 22? I'm going to need to know all the answers that the guys are going to ask me. He's like dummy you're gonna know the answer is because it's going to be your food and I said shit this guy's right. All right, let's do it and it It was a memorable experience. I was a chef at 22. I saw my name on the menu for the first time and I learned how to do Italian food. Thanks to the the sous chef that was there. I inherited John Donne remember his last name, but John was amazing. I didn T pasti. We're friends on Facebook. Imma send you a message John. He taught me how to make pizza. He told me how to do fresh pasta and he taught me that his secret was putting some truffle oil and chocolate cake and still to this day I do that. So when people ask me what's different about my chocolate cake, I'm like I can't tell you but I just don't know that it's so so so so like all right, because you're you're in a different Market in like you're in a high-end market like going to the education and working in like a New York City or La cities like that. How much money do chefs get paid like top the top chef the suit to xuxa the prep like, what's it all it all depends because even my even me, I'll tell you when I made my most money was as an executive chef was when I was 22 years old. I was making a hundred fifty Grand and I made them pay me because I was leaving New York City, right? So and West Chelsea made my chest. Also I made that money in Westchester. I've got them I left Gotham. I like Cafe des artistes because the general manager at that restaurant was going to go to be the general manager and antipasti and he took me with me and I said this is what I want to leave because of course at that time. I was like, I live in Queens at that point. I was like, where is why point? Where is why you gotta take Metro-North. I've never done that in my life. I gotta pay $200 a month for a train ticket. I'm like I need to allocate all these things into my into my salary but I got a reality check right away when I left antipasti, and I came back to the city and I knew that taking a step back. Sometimes you got to take a couple steps back to move forward. So here I am 24 years old. The reason I left antipasti was because the restaurant was going out of business because of things that happened previous to me arriving there. There was just no fixing that and they went to court and the judge ordered that the company get dismantled. Everybody share their sell their shares. So to me, it was another learning step. You know, I was an executive chef here. I am 24 years old coming to New York City trying to apply for all these executive chef jobs and everybody was like, who is this kid? Like, why is he here? We're looking for an executive chef. Yeah. I mean they looking at you as a kid because most guys that has ever suggested what 45th 3540. Yeah, nowadays you you have a different types of chefs, you know, so you see inspirational people that you know, there was a movie called Chef Lynn where there's this kid who was 15 years old and you know, he learned by reading books and watching YouTube and he literally has his own restaurant at like 22 years old downtown in New York city. So like I'm inspired by that story and I remember reading that story when I was at La Marina and he came out front page of the New York Times. I'm like, there's no way that this kid is a chef. There's no way I'm at work my ass off to go to school and and work for all these chefs and he's worked for nobody and he's a chef. I went to have his food. He's a chef. So it's documentary. It's a whole different perspective of what type Chef's the are nowadays, you know, like I was I had a meeting with one of my friends last night and she has her own meal prep service and she doesn't want to call herself a chef. She doesn't want to buy herself a selfish chef jacket. I'm like you deserve to call yourself a chef you do the food. You create the menus. You taught yourself. It's okay. You're not an executive chef, but you are a chef. So that's why I say there's lots of different levels of chefs. But yeah, I learned the hard way because people were looking at me and I was young and I was always hungry so I just needed to get to the point of being able to cook for you if I can cook for you. I want I already know that so as an executive chef if you're trying out, it's not just a resume. You have a portfolio and you do what's called The Tasting so you're offering me a job before we even talk numbers. We got to see what you can do. So you I mean as the executive chef you obviously create the menu, right? So you're doing that appetizers entrees desserts. Are you also creating the pricing you're doing the food costs? Are you doing the pricing? So I you have to learn that's why if it wasn't for culinary school. I wouldn't have known how to do food cause I would have known what labor costs he can you talk to you break about the kids over there. Yeah. So basically for you to make money, you multiply the weight the amount of what a food costs by three. I would say hire expensive fine dining restaurants will do it by 4. So for example, if it cost me to make a hamburger, right? I'm not going to make just any am Burger. I'm gonna make sure of Calvin burger, right? So it's gonna we're gonna put it on the menu for $18. So for me to make money that burger cannot cost me more than six dollars, so that's the patio. The Buns the condiments the french fries and the labor to make that dish. So for you to make money, you always multiply things by three depending on what the business is. So for you to learn about food costs it really you have to break down. How much does the four ounces of the meat costs. How much does one burger bun cause how much does one slice of lettuce calls? Here's one tomato. How much does a case of tomato cost and how many slices of that tomato do I get? So to really break it down. It takes a lot of work to do food costs, but only the most successful people are the ones that do their food costs, right? And that's - with any business and I'm glad you said that because a lot of times people go into business and they just wing it. They just wait. It's like I'm going to I'm going to charge charge charge. That's right. It's like yeah, I'm in charge complete how you decided to charge at $12. I think people will pay $15 for this fish sandwich. So I'll charge $15 like it's like you wouldn't know that cost you $8 to make it is that it is no Rhyme or Reason why you're doing it. You're just wing it and that's like That's that's true in the food industry but as shown any industry and it's like you got to have a set formula to know how you got have a profit. Margin. If not, just grew yes. We gonna be in that absolutely. Nobody wants a business. It's not making money. So what else did like Business Insider day-to-day teach you in aside from food cost labor costs. It's how to treat people people management, you know, and I always joke around that on my excuse me. I always joke around saying that on my resume. I'm a professional babysitter because you have to be able to manage people and there's so many different. Different personalities there's so many different people how people were raised how people grew up in what restaurants they grew up and this why my best advice is if you want to be great surround yourself by greatness surround yourself by people that you aspire to be like surround yourself by people that you want to be better than in a sense of greatness. And that's why I've worked for all these great people and I learned how to manage people because of I always treated people with respect there was a restaurant that I worked at in the beginning of high school years where My weekends instead of playing baseball with my friends. I'm here at a restaurant volunteering my time just so I can learn and know to make sure that if I want to go through this career before I go to culinary school before I sign that $40,000 Sallie Mae loan. Do I want to be in the restaurant business? So I volunteered my time. I worked at this place called The Waters Edge in Queens and I worked for a chef who was like, you know, if you seen Gordon Ramsay, yeah, let's put Gordon Ramsay times 10. Wow. Shout out to My giraffe I love you. He's like Dad number three, but he was tough man. And I was 15 16 years old and I'm getting things thrown at me. I'm getting called every name in the book The Moment he found out I was Dominican. He's like, oh that explains it all your Dominican head back. Wow, and I knew what he was doing wasn't right. But to me, it made me tougher right it I grew to a sense of I became a man a lot faster, but I also knew that I'm not going to be that guy. No matter how talented he was and still is I was not going to treat my staff like that. It's a lesser. What's that? What's that? What's the labor cost? So labor costs when you come to labor costs you think about how much money people are making per hour and an example, there's restaurants where if you're in a hotel in corporate, you're making a lot more you're probably making double to what chefs and Cooks normally make in restaurants and that's just because I've had the opportunity to work in both. So let's say for example when I was at the Strand Hotel, Was a non-unionized hotel when we first started and I was there for about six years and then I left open up blend on the water which is my first Latin restaurant. And then after that the Marriott Vacation Club company came in bought it out and when I got there I came back when I saw it. Anyway is I don't ever like to go back to something but for me, it was like, oh it's corporate now. It went from a small boutique hotel to the Marriott. Maybe this is what's right for me. Maybe I do want to be a corporate Chef. Maybe I want to be able to have my food and multiple Marriott's but when I I got there all of a sudden the dishwasher was making $10 an hour is now making $20 an hour the line cook who was making $17 an hour now is making twenty seven dollars an hour. So now it's like I can't have a successful kitchen doing the food that I do because now I can only have one dishwasher now I can only have two Cooks not for or cousin to your margin cuts into my margin because at the end of the day your labor cost has to be you think about this you have this is 100% right? Your food cost has to be under 30 percent right? Your labor cost has to be under Let's say 20 percent 20 to 25% Then you have to think about liquor costs under 18 percent because all this is cutting into your profit then you think about rent think about Electricity water you're left with like 10 percent at the end of the day. So though the more that I save on food labor is the more money that gets into the pocket of the business. That's a typical profit margin for restaurants and person. It's stuff. That's why a lot of restaurants go out of business. There are times where I saw where we made two point two million dollars and after after all expenses, we came home with $200,000. Yeah, the two point we did an episode of restaurant owner in Baltimore Charlotte's Derek Falcon, and he his thing was a unique strategy that he has we only Who's mixed use properties for his thing because he gets to rent from people that live upstairs and is subsidized. It takes less pressure off of him hit the restaurant he filled a hundred percent not smart if you're finding ways to make more money in your pocket and that was another thing he doesn't open every day. Yeah, so you don't have to open every day right people people are so afraid of granted. I see the mentality of the day that the the moments our clothes are opportunities to make money. Yeah, that's also opportunities for you to lose money. It's Okay to have Monday Tuesday off. Guess what now? You have a staff that's happy because everybody has two days off consecutively. This is a business where you know, I'm grateful when I get two days off in a row, but now I'm at a point where I make my own schedule, but I'm also a hustler. I also love money and I also love working. So I this is busy season for me. I'm lucky if I have three days off this month, you know, but I also take the whole month of January off. So it there's there's it works out pretty well right nice luxury have to take off two weeks for my birthday in July, so It's the heat of the business but at the end of the day, I've put myself in a position where I deserve that night. I learned that but again you earned your leisure at your leisure. Yeah. Other than that, you see me hustle and every single day if you follow me on Instagram, you know that I'm always working whether it's doing a video on YouTube now whether it's speaking at a high school or Elementary School, it's me at last lap or it's me doing a private dinner for 20 or doing the private dinner for ten or doing an event for a hundred and fifty people so I'm grateful that because of Of what I do. I do so many dope different things on a regular basis. Well that leads us right into our next segment. We're going to talk about some entrepreneurial stuff that you do and yeah, take it from there. This episode of earn your leisure is sponsored by jumping jack tax the fastest-growing minority owned tax company in the country Jumbo. Jack tax is owned by our own alumni. That's right Prince Donnell and Dana Chanel. Well, they've helped over 600 families Start Tax businesses and 2019 with your support and getting your taxes done with Jumpin Jack tax. We can bring back Millions to our community that are being garnished by corporate tax companies who do not care about us join the mission of bringing minority ownership back to the industry by downloading the jumping jack tax at right now on Apple and Google Play Stores to find a certified tax professional in your area. Don't wait don't hesitate head over to Apple and Google Play stores right now and download the jumping jack tax app. Alright, so now we're going to go on to the second segment and I want to just talk about a couple of things that we spoke about off camera you talked about you you did the pop-up dinners and it became wildly successful, right? Yeah, it's about that. Yeah, absolutely. It's one of those things. I'm getting Goose Bumps now because I got another pop-up dinner that's coming up on the 19th and the 20th of December, but we got into that because of not being in a restaurant on a regular basis might demand was hired. The only way that you can have my food is by you booking me. So it's kind of mean like forcing the other hand. It's like you want my food working you booked me and I'm not gonna lie what I do with food changes the way that you see food, for example, if you have my mac and cheese You'll never see mac and cheese again unless it's my Mac and Cheese because every time you take a bite of someone else's mac and cheese like damn it's good, but this is not Kelvin. What do you what do you do with the magic textures and flavors and like I'm salivating now, I'm gonna be thinking about today. We are about to put an oustanding man. All chefs was wrong. I'll bring food with you should have told me that I can never come in handy. I always introduce myself with food. But today I introduced myself as something else. We'll talk about later you'd only way that they could eat your food. It's my book in the a that would be Anyone know what restaurant where you are at that time at that time. I wasn't at a restaurant. Okay, the first time that it was 2018, we're in the Marriott Vacation company closed down. They just decided they didn't want a restaurant no matter how successful the restaurant was we weren't making money. And the reason we were in making money because the labor was too high. There was nothing I could do. Yeah, I was on the line and that's something went on the line means I was actually cooking the food that's a line cooks job, you know what I mean as a chef. I'm creating the menu. I'm teaching them. Line Cooks how to do food like me and that's what I think makes me a little bit successful on the end where I really take into consideration the teaching part. I love to teach right? So if you're one of my employees start and we got a new menu me and you are going to cook salmon side by side for two weeks straight. Yeah, so I'm on my own. I mean I work with kids. So I'm thinking like the line cook is like the minion. Yeah. Absolutely been there your minions are they they absolutely are and they're only as good as how you train them. Okay, I got you. And I'm grateful that everybody that's been a part of my team is just now like 10 years later five years later even two years later. Like I'll take the biggest example is La Marina La Marina was one of the best teams that I've ever assembled in my entire life and I'll say that because it was such a big team so much so many different personalities. So many talented chefs that are all executive chefs now like Trill cooker is Chef José de jesús one of my road dogs. This guy's been with me for about 4 years and he has his own pop-up dinner. As in his home, like he does Infuse cannabis dinners as well. He does he comes on the road with me when I need to go to jail on a rides. You know, he's so yeah, I want to talk about the pot because that's interested for a few different reasons. So you all right. So you built a following on social media and or at the time already. Yeah. Thanks for doing the food shows doing Food Network doing be Bobby Flay that also helps out. Yeah for sure. So so so the pop-up can we get back to that because that's an interesting business model. So the pop-up the reason we did the pop-up was because we wanted to do something once a month whether it A pop-up event where it was like friendsgiving. We sold tickets online. They sold out in one day. We're like, okay. This is this is we're onto something with the friendsgiving. So the friendsgiving was around Thanksgiving we would do almost like we ran out of Loft will invite a hundred people you buy tickets online you get food catered by me whether it was passed hors d'oeuvres plus an actual meal. I'm always fancy. So we did like first meal was an actual Thanksgiving meal you get turkey caramelized brussels sprouts stuffing and gravy and then the next minute. It would be like something Latin like a knee which is like a roasted pork with mac and cheese and something else and then of course you get my other Buzz. It's not an event. It might help us or not there and if people walk into the building and they see me, the first question is are we having at it bus and the has to be yes, sometimes people don't book me for a deaf person. I tell them if they're yelling at me. I'm a point them to your direction. You're taking that hit not me. So I learned that the pop-up thing was was was such a big demand because already I'm not giving you the luxury to have my food on a regular basis. Every time I get a different pop up we wanted to do like a Tacos & Tequila. So we'd run out. They'll be summertime we run out of rooftop and do a dope event like that. And then I started noticing that I wanted to do more of a sit-down experience so that when tines day was like the first time that we did we run it out of place in mott Haven. It was called Motley kitchen, which is not known for being a restaurant. It's just a bakery and out of that Bakery they do catering so I ran it out the spot. We did 50 people three nights in a row. Thursday Friday Saturday sold out and then from that moment on I was just like people will follow me wherever I am. So how much money are you making up the pop-up off the popups? Let's say that's when I would be making depends on location. It depends on the rent of the venue at the end of the day. I always try to make 25% to 30% profit compared to like what we talked about 10% profit in a restaurant. How many people going with you? I mean to do it to do an event you depending on the size. So for that I had three Cooks I had a host which My best friend shout out to Eric. This guy is become like my manager my assistant my brother, but also give him love cuz he's got to be in some dough commercials with me too. So he was a host. I had three servers. So I would say a team of about less than 10, but about seven to eight people but depending on the on the event like I have another event that we did with the NFL Amazon and we had a team of 14 people. It all depends on what we need to produce as a team and me. I'm so Hands-On So I'm always still cooking. I need to learn some time to take a step back and let the team make me proud. Like they always do so like the event in my Haven but I'm interested. I'm going to notice like how much would you say so we charge $150 per person 50 people per night, which was like, let's say $4,500 and then after that we paid $1,000 for the venue for three days. It was like 1600 for three days because we got it three days consecutive. It was a deal and a me. I'm a negotiator. I will negotiate to as much because I guess at the end of the day I If you don't ask you'll never know right? So if you're charging me 500 hours per day, I'm like, can you give me 400 per day and I'll give you three days in a row instead of just one event. So on and so forth. So you need to be able to learn how to talk learn how to negotiate and at the end of the day you offer barter, you know, I'm very big on barters where I'm like, okay, if you give it to me at this price, I'll give you two tickets to the event as well, you know, so you need to be able to learn how to work with people. I was fortunate enough that my partner for this events. He was great on getting liquor sponsors because that is where We're and the reason why we made money because if I had to pull out a pocket for liquor, that's one case that's going to kill us. Yeah, so we're already paying for food. We're already paying for a venue. We're already paying for staff take off that liquor and that's the money that we're making so that again not every event that I do I get a liquor sponsor, but I tried to okay. So what 5000 profit out of three days five prop 5,000 profit split between me and my partner yoga. So yeah, the reason why it sounds like $2,500, let's just say so, but that's not bad, but it's not a weekend and we And it's all about creativity. So it's like a lot of times if you're not familiar with New York City Mott Haven South Bronx South Bronx. So Fox not really the best neighborhood, but I've been coming. It's a good thing to buy something now because then it's going to be big it's gonna be big so Frenchy, it's almost certain. She has a few different lessons in that. I think exclusivity is very important and it's like people the more sometimes a more you make yourself available. You devalue yourself like Supreme clothing, right? It's like people play it pay $1,000 for it because you can't get it's not easy to get where right even like with the marathon closed right now rest in peace in it, but it's like people is lined up around the corner for the pop-up store because you can't really get the clothes like it's hard to really get right now. There's like four months to get it running. So by you by you making yourself like the pop ups like once a month however you is doing it. It's like now it's the whole event as opposed to just having a mom-and-pop. Stop you just selling food every day. It's like they just walk past you you come out once a month and you got to be creative. So it's like you didn't pick the most expensive real estate in New York City. You pick the hood. I'm not afraid of there's times where like the event that we're doing on 19th and the 20th. We paid Prime dollar for 37th Street between 8th and 9th, you know, but at the end of the day, it depends on the event that we're doing and of course the net and you're at that point your career, yeah for like four people that's just starting out a lot of Times it's like they feel intimidated but it's like work with the resources that you have think that's so important that you're saying that because you have to be able to know budgets. Like you said, you're not going to be successful. If you're breaking even you're not going to be successful. If you're not charging the right prices, you know, of course, I wasn't able to charge $150 if this was 10 years ago for me and my bread and who I am now, but with the accolades and with the awards and constantly winning, you know an award after award and the people that I cook for it. It's vouching for itself and I always joke around and I say my food is all Until you finally experience it yourself. Yeah, and I was just telling I was told one of my friends is all the day. Can we talk about like a business and we was talking actually Jamal actually said it originally now I relayed the message and it's like the business is only going to bring like let's say like 2,000 a month. And at first I'm like, it's not worth it. Like that's mm. But then I was I'm like thinking about it like well, that's mm and actually do that five times. Now you got 10,000 so it's like Like it's not about hitting it's never about hitting home runs. It's never because if you play baseball, you don't swing for a home run you swing and eventually you'll hit a home run if you're strong enough, but you don't plan ahead home. Right? Could you just strike out it like it's never about home run just about consistently building a name building your brand get in two thousand a thousand that's up over the course of time. A lot of people would like they were never going up and that's what what - how much you made to could that's kind of what I figured you made and I people forget it. Me like iconic 50,000 for weekends like not when you first start it's not how it works ain't like you make 2500 like that's somebody's month. Yeah, you're absolutely right and I thought of that there's certain times where I haven't made money on events because you have to understand what is this event bringing to me also is an event that I have influencers that are going to every single person tag me in their Instagram post because those are deals that I may have made to and I was afraid to make those in the past until I finally made one and I was like, holy shit just got 1,500 new followers in a day. Day, you're like how because every single person that was there was an influencer or was in their own and their own life a star whether it was a singer where there's an actress whether it was a songwriter whether it was an artist whether it was a banker they were all at the top of their game at that. And when I did that event I was okay. I need to find ways that I can do more and do more that's not a product's going to speak for itself the product speak for something people are posting people are eating they're having their reactions and all of a sudden out of those new 1500. Guess what I just made some income from those people book. So like you said supply and demand and then also you have to make sure that like you said I'm doing an event on the 19th and the 20th. That's one of the most expensive events I've ever done. I'm doing a collab with Griselda via which is an incredible woman credible voice and we're charger $175 per person, you know, but at the end of the day people don't know the expense that comes into pulling off an event in New York City on 37:37 where you're where you're just buying a raw stage a raw form where you have to buy stay. Age and lights and the highlight of the holiday season and the holiday season where he Christmas is in two weeks and that's why we sold it two months ago where we sold out again in one day and I'm blessed to be able to say that like you said supply and demand if you put yourself available every single day. I'm not going to sell an event out every single day. But if we do it once a month, I guess what people talked about it for a whole month. We're posting for the next one. We're going to do it again already people have an experience glad you said that having experienced this event and their when's the next one. Next I mean that sounds like I'm so high we haven't even done it yet. That sounds like an event that we just did in DC. I love that. It is streets is three got the streets going crazy love that Atlanta. Don't play yourself going. Yeah. We're telling you now. I think I'm a cop. Earnings, are you currently paying off student loan debt interested in improving your financial literacy or looking for new ways to earn income and today's ever-changing digital landscape. Well on the talk money with the mesh lakhani podcast mesh will follow Paper Trails chat with experts break down complex ideas and bring Clarity to the mystical Financial phenomenon. Each episode will be filled with compelling stories covering a broad range of subjects from buying Bitcoin dealing with student loan debt and everything in between. So listen to talk money with mesh lakhani on Spotify or Be looking to your favorite podcast and learn how to spend invest in earn in today's economy. So that's another thing that you did coat keto coquito Costa Rican drink traditional dish toxic Puerto Rican love would say Thanksgiving holidays like Thanksgiving Christmas and maybe New Year's was a little pushy. That's always the gift that they give you. New York City, you know you got Boutique was Puerto Ricans you got dominicanos. Yes, sir. Mannequins don't leave us alone do that. They're different. No don't ever confuse that you make whatever confused to write. They have different cultures different foods different Vibes are so many similarities for sure. Like we all do absolutely but that particularly is Puerto Rico. Rico has a very good thing right? It's just so you've been a Dominican what what made you do that? I did it as a joke. Joke, I did as a joke kind of like a faux fur the moment. You know, I was one of those things where I was like, let's test the market. This is like five years ago. You know where Chef Kelvin was finally building his brand. I'll talk in the third person now because even in the street even in the streets, I'm not Kevin anymore. Sure. You have Calvin. I remember I was on the train once and sometimes you know Chef I'm like, oh shit. I made it. Somebody's calling me out on the train. I was like damn I can be on the train no more joking around, you know, but in reality it the cookie. His traditional Puerto Rican so I did it and I'm like, let me find ways to what makes a chef unique is making something that's classic traditional reinvented. Right? So I've been reinvent the wheel when I made this coquito, I just made it mine like everybody makes it with Bacardi. Let's make Hennessy everybody uses these ingredients. Let's use those ingredients but let's add something else into it. I can't tell you the secret that again. Everybody is a cinnamon I'ma use exotic spices. Like I'm using you're privy to them. Yeah, I things that I've used in cooking so Like that's the cool thing about it. I'm thinking of making coquito as like making a dessert for me because in reality it's a little bit sweet. It's thick and flavor. It's coconutty. And it's I use it for like French toast batter now, I use it to make ice cream. I use it to let's take that to the next level. So of course when I'm a coconut for the first time there's a lot of you know people saying that's not traditional but it's okay. I'm not looking to be traditional. I'm looking to be Chef Kelvin. So I'm making coquito. That's why Michael Keaton says on the label cookie dough by Chef Kelvin. Yeah, if you're looking for traditional like Sure, you can find those out there. And again, there's plenty of room for all of us to eat. I know I had people hit me up on a regular day. Please don't sell your cookie dough in Jersey. Please don't sell your potato and Brooklyn like you already do enough. I'm like but I want more. Yeah, what's the problem with wanted more? So, how did you so how did you get that out? I posted it on Instagram and I posted on Instagram back. Then I had like 30,000 followers. I'm blessed to have like almost 67 68 now and I posted it and I said I made it for myself. I wasn't even selling it. I was like, I just made honey coquito right away. Way, there were no DM's back. Then they were just comments. So I posted it on my page and I got flooded with comments and like the first five minutes. You said you said the magic word Genesis Genesis and they're like are you selling and I was like, no I'm not selling it. So I just made it for my friends. We had it then the next year. I was like, let me just make 20 bottles to see what happens. I made it. I sold out in 10 minutes and I said I was going to make a business next year because again you you I knew I didn't bite off more than I can chew. I wasn't ready to start a business and I wasn't when I launched it in. 16 but I was fortunate enough that was working on Medina and I had a kitchen of disposal. They were only there were only open for season season. So when we were there in the winter, it was just for private events. So I ended up using the kitchen to make okay, though, and I paid some guys that were on my team. They're loyal Alex and David these guys have been through everything with me and they're both that last lap. So even though I'm not a last lap, you know, you can get great food with them, but we started a business we got labels. We got gift bags. We started answering made up an email we made Up a venmo a cash app and open up a bank account and we opened up a business. How much how much did you sell first year of officially selling me so 250 bottles, which I thought was not bad for we started late. We started only in December. Yeah following year. We sold 500 bottles and now we're in unofficially year 5, we've already sold 600 bottles and we're not even at peak season yet. So Christmas is our big one we're looking to sell about three or four hundred the reason why I love that store. Also see this is all things that especially food is like your grandmother your eye. Your mom makes makes these these home a drums and all these stuff but it's like if and people like here right but it's like why is it just limited to your family? Absolutely right guys? Yeah. Absolutely, right you can you can sell anything at all. That's the product is good and you can't be afraid again don't reinvent the wheel. Like I said, I'm not doing nothing new. I'm just making the version. I'm making it mine. I just made it a little A bit different I'm using Madagascar vanilla bean. That's why you know, it's expensive. Each vanilla bean is like five dollars if that is that the secret that is one of the one of them what I really should stop the reason why you see the specs and the vanilla ice cream, you know, it's the reason you see the specs in the crème brûlée, but at the end of day, it's the the special spices. It's always about the love can't duplicate that what it is always about being creative to and it's like we're going to take my line Marina. But La Marina is only open for two months a year right three months. I was I would say more three pushing for some special events. It would open April and it would close. I would say beginning of September because what you had access I had a successful year ya around. So now you use that to pretty much have a free kitchen knife. I found ways yet. So I asked you know I said hey you guys are not doing it. I even offered to rent their like now because at the end of the day the way that no one knew really about my contract, but the way my contract worked again, I'm not a greedy guy. So I understand things if we were not open full year. I wasn't expecting to get paid full year. But what I did want was the times that we were just seasonal you put me as an independent contractor and you would still pay me 50 percent of my yearly salary. So I was still getting a check every week, but it wasn't the full 100% So I needed to find ways. To make money. Yeah, you had access had access. Okay. Now I'm going to start doing catering. Now. I'm going to start, you know doing cookie dough. Now, I'm going to start a not the opportunity was there I wasn't I wasn't afraid to do things that I wasn't expecting and I also wasn't desperate. I was patient throughout the whole process. Like I said, I sold 20 coquitos year one. We're at 500 now and we're not even halfway through our season you can we dominican-american selling cookie Dominican silicon. I was waiting. I was waiting the basketball tournament. We talked about the basketball tournament a lot because they treat us they love us there. Shout out to everybody there. We actually got to do Chris Gotti show after this so like mint but So Eastside Westside, so on the on the east side on the east side is the basketball court on the West Side bottled water. I was La Marina. No, we never we did tell a stories about La varita legendary live from New York City and know about La Marina. If not you her fabulous in La Marie know some of you seen you heard French pull up a La Marina and yeah boy. Whoo. Whoo, especially it made some easy captions on Instagram where they would be. Just made me feel like I'm on top of the world even more. So we go we go we go get off track for one minute. You was executive chef at La Marina at his Peak Glam. Arena was a beach best way I could describe it as like a beachfront party restaurant had everything. Yeah. She had a lounge you had food trucks you had a lot of stage. Yeah, you gotta live stage beautiful women restaurant beautiful women. I got in trouble. Whoa, can you just explain in a minute? Like what was the vibe in La Marina at that time? So I'll tell you two quick Vibes one was imagine being the only sober person at a drunk point something when I was leaving work Kitchen close that 12. I'm walking now. People are just like well, I can't even catch up. There's no way I can catch up. We got an hour left. So it was always a problem with LA mattina because they close that one o'clock, but the blessing of La mattina also was that entire Dyckman was bored I cried. Next door to the right then to the left and now you got a 75 seats outside and then they're on their third fourth location. God bless. Shout out to them that those are the people that I aspire to be like and I don't even have one location yet, but La Marina was Vibe so not only the reason I work there was because I used to party there a lot and I joked lie around said in front of the wrong person. I wonder what it'd be like to work here the opportunity presented itself and still to this day. Shout out to Fernando Mateo. He's the owner of Zona the coup by which is a dope spot or down the street. Yeah and Zone as a coup by in the Bronx. Oh God just opened up on top of a post office window. I think he paid somebody inspired. I think he paid somebody because the moment I again I was living in Queens traveling. To the Washington Heights. I got out the train station and somebody said Chef Kelvin. Welcome to Washington Heights. We've been waiting for you - it was the only time where I had it had a walkie-talkie on and I'm kind I'm talking to my sous-chefs through this walkie-talkie the other beaches going down. We need more french fries on the beach. I need to To go to the beach. Yo French need some food on a yacht first me something Carmelo Anthony needs, you know, a Tomahawk Steak. I'm gonna happen. It was one of the greatest experiences ever. I had an amazing team. Like I said Chef Trill Jose their sous chef Andi, who's the chef of suyo in the Bronx? Like this is just guys that are talented Elio who's in a Michelin star restaurant in Manhattan. Like that's what makes me proud because I feel like I'm a proud dad even though we're all similar to Age. Yeah, not a La Marina. Marina is a fight, but you you said that also On a business you turned it around the kitchen around like he talked about that a little bit. Yeah, it was hard to come into a place that this is why when making business decisions, it's hard for me to go to a place that already has an identity because it's hard to change either bad habits or it's hard to change something where people are used to so when I got to La Marina, they already had a standard they went through a couple different chefs. The food was not great and the owners themselves said it we don't need to really worry about the food people are going to come for the view and I said what? When wrong is you're not giving them another reason to come people are going to come regardless the view the women the parties the artist the Maseratis the Ferraris the hookah the who come back then it was just cash cash is King and I don't find it hookah, Uptown because everybody got to put it on the books, but it was such an experience where we learned so my goal was to bring Chef kelvins food to an area that was not understanding it. So So after being there for a full summer, I was able to turn around lower the labor cost lower the food cost increase the food sales. I remember over almost like $375,000. And again, we were only open seasonal. So imagine what I could have done in a full year. We didn't have the opportunities because it gets cold down there by that water. So we did some great closed events. We did some great weddings and 2015-2016 was a year to remember for me for sure. Yeah, you made it. All right. Yeah, we made it. All right, Peter La Marina Marina, we will miss you will never be forgotten gone but not forgotten. The corner will never be the same that we won't be able it really won't even a ship is not the same as no absolutely not it's not like even me. I live in Riverdale. So I'm close to the madness, but I haven't been out there in a while. Yeah, it's not the same team all oh don't look Americans out of town. What you got going on now and future endeavors. What's up, y'all? So if you're listening to this you obviously like podcast and you probably like music just as much on Spotify. You can listen to all your favorite artists and podcasts in one place for free. You don't need to premium account Spotify has a huge catalogue of podcast on every topic including the one you're listening to right now on Spotify. You can follow your favorite podcast. So you never miss an episode premium users can download episodes. To listen to offline wherever you are and it's really easy to share what you've been listening to with your friends on Instagram. If you haven't done so already be sure to download the Spotify app search for Ernie Leisure on Spotify or browse podcast in the your library tab. Also, make sure to follow us so you never miss an episode of Ernie Leisure again. Alright, so we're going to close it out. Which what you have going on now, so I want the first one so about last lap last lap. So he's about so that's that was an establishment. That was already open. And you partnered right? Yeah. Last lap is such a great Vibe. It's a Caribbean Vibe. It's true to like my heart my soul. Shout out to the guys that last lap. They're the reason I'm there because when we started just talking about it, you know, the Vibes got to be right and these guys are young entrepreneurs doing their things opening different establishments. There's going to be last lap La there's going to be less loud Miami there's opportunity to continue to grow and those are the right people to do it with. And they were open and I went to forgot to mention this I went to France for three months. I lived in Lyon France at one point when the Strand decided to close down. I got a nice you're a French train style classically french-trained. I got a nice little severance check and at that moment. I did a cooking competition Circle back again 15 years the same people that gave me a scholarship to go to high school gave me an opportunity to win a full scholarship to go to France and live all expense paid to go to a culinary. Fran sorry, I'm at 30 something years old going again learning school and you can never stop learning. So I'm the only guy who was in this class with didn't speak French and here I'm trying to communicate with people would think God that food is a universal language show me how to cut this. I will cut it the way you want to show me how to cook it. I will cook it the way you want it, but the reason I didn't get involved with last lap right away was because I was out here doing this three-month stint in France and I got back to last lap. We were doing some cool little audit ba de Vibes like was there once a month again doing the Pop up and it was always a successful sold-out night. We sat down and they may be a deal that I couldn't refuse and they offered me a partnership and I was able to establish my team there to make me feel comfortable to know that even though that I'm not there the food is going to be great. So thanks to Chef David. Thanks for Chef Alex. Those guys have been with me for 10 plus years and it's hard loyalty is a hard thing to find and these guys make me proud every single day. And one thing you said I was interesting is like you have like royalties like a royalty deal. So, you know, I watch them. Our tank. Yeah as a businessman you got to learn right? So, you know, I made him an offer of you know, I wanted to make this much amount per hour at a bar and they said yes and I shouldn't ask for more. But again, I'm not greedy. So, you know, I was I was just grateful for that opportunity. This is the first time that I've made a deal like that and it's been it's been steady. You know, I think it's the only place that you can get your it. So that this is this is traditionally you could say Calvin's kitchen, but in reality, it's the only place that you can get. That's my food, you know aside from getting Himself with kelvins kitchen, you know, so you know and last lap is a small run bar. We got two floors. It gives you an opportunity to come have some amazing cocktails because they have a great Mixology program and then you never know who's going to be there the same day that you there we've got a lot of celebrities from Rihanna to Michael B, Jordan to the list goes on. We're always on page six. So that's a great thing. So so so like even though you're not there a lot cooking, but you have the recipe, so anytime. Dishes sold or any dishes so you get a percentage of that. I got ya. I got a fee for each out about that Soul. Correct. What does not ever say that again? He said it better than the people that set it on the feel of the shows. They like arepa. I'm gonna I'm not we're not right but nobody I'm like and I stopped because it just comes with with the culture and how we learned by not it ba is the dish that I be Bobby Flay with and that Epi is also the dish that I've won four. Years in a row best chef in America with Forbes. So I have five different versions of the these ideas and we the only place you can find those is at last lap. So that's the signature star. We have a dish called added by heaven where you get 20 pieces of our apis and it's all so so so what what is it? So not it by its traditionally like a corn cake almost like it's hard to describe. It's traditionally made with corn flour and water and I actually use fresh corn by corporate kind of sort of but not really and I'm going to say Because it's almost the same ingredients except we're not baking it or not. You got to make a dough and then traditionally the dokic the dough is griddled or like pan-fried. I deep-fry Minds so you get that crispy texture traditionally a not it by stuffed. I put all of my toppings on top of it. So and I make the mini so you'll have like fur on it by so in order my traditional classic one is the we call it the award winner now because that's the one that Beat Bobby Flay it's braised beef short rib guacamole pico de gallo lime scented sour cream Cotija cheese micro cilantro, so you'll take A kit you'll dip it in the sauce. You'll have it in one bite and it's a party in your mouth it every every sense that your palate. It's like sweet salty crispy hot cold herbaceous creamy Mami. You're like what the fuck did I just experienced? And I want what was that? I want more we pulling up the last last five. So you mentioned the in Bobby Flay with the dish now I read this and maybe it's true or not, but prior to that because you are French training and what you doing Latin Foods prior to this no, I Wasn't doing Latin food until I left the Strand Hotel the first time I got an opportunity to open up a Latin restaurant and that's how I created the a deposit at a restaurant called blend on the water. So my goal was to go learn as much as I can about Latin food. I'll tell you 100% I did not know what I was doing until I started asking my mom asking my dad going to you know, got a COS got accosted by bar, which is like the was or it still is the number one at it by bar downtown the glory side. They had a line around. The door and I'm like they must be doing something right so I have their out at by I'm big on Textures. It was good, but I'm like, how can I make this different unique and mine? So we're going to the drawing board and created the iPod. The original one that I have now was nowhere near the the first one I made so not everything I make was great. So things take time things take practice and let's just say direction to Perfection takes time. Well said, so you're J.Lo and a-rod's personal show. How did that how did that come about? Shout out to Duval this beautiful lady was a fan of mine five years ago. She came to one of my events. I didn't a pop-up event in Brooklyn. It was a restaurant called sdq. It was also like a lounge and she came to my event and I treated her the way I treat everybody like I know you for 10 years and you say hi to me. Imma give you a hug. If you show me pictures from last birthdays that you came to celebrate with me that makes me even more special. So I treated her like I treat everybody we have a conversation. We'll talk about it when Did you come here have you had my food before five years later fast-forward? She's J-Lo's personal assistant and an opportunity presented itself where the chef that they've had for 10 years couldn't do Thanksgiving weekend. And she's like, I know the chef. I don't know him personally, but I've had his food. He's great with kids. He's great with no hablas this this that opportunity came presented itself. I hit a home run unless a for a ride. I had a grand slam since then they hit me up. Every time they need something whether it's a birthday party for their kids whether it's Memorial Day in the Hamptons, whether it's Christmas in Miami, which I'm going next couple weeks and then New Year's even Allah, I'm blessed to say that anywhere. They need me I go, you know a personal chef is actually a good investment something. I'm going to look into in a new year like a personal trainer. I'm a personal chef. Those are good Investments a hundred have to you're investing in your mind not to Yeah, well yeah personal chefs you can't cook like you don't have time to cook it's actually like, you know, you got dietary should I'm triangle vegan so it's like it's not dating a girl cause she was vegan And I tried to be a vegan chef, but I'm like I can't I can't be a vegan chef but I can't be a vegan Chef. I can't be a vegan chef and I tried it like we did a couple years ago when a couple dates and I was vegan when I took us some of the best Michelin star restaurants that were vegan. I'm like, I need steak. Oh my God, and then you'll have to take a home and I'll go get a burger or something. I'm like yo, this is crazy. I'm eating twice from spending double the money. It's not going to work out. This is not a workout. It's not gonna work out. I laugh about it now. So why take you so long to go mom ni traffic stop it. Okay. Shout out to you. That's that's not easy and I have some vegan friends that they hold me to it and like even doing this event on the 19th and 20th. I had to put a vegetarian menu because I know so many people that support Grisel and support her are all vegetarians and vegans. So I got to make sure that that offers and it doesn't know the lane to especially like this so many athletes Entertainers and just you know, high-level business people that like personal chefs is like a whole nother Lane. It's a it's a it's definitely a world in its own at but it takes a special type of person to do that because at the end of the day you sacrifice your entire life not alone. Just a cooking to the person that you're working with them because they they requiring their needs are a lot different than any other cook Chef you're like to get back and cold at all times and that's why I when I decided to do Anil cheffing I had my own requirements and restrictions and it's like one I would never stay at the person's house. I would need my own hotel because I tried it once and no matter what I'm staying in the 20 million dollar house. I can't sleep in a bed knowing that I work downstairs or imagined. I was joke around imagine. I'm hungry and I'm gonna go make a grilled cheese sandwich. I want o'clock in the morning and somebody says can you make me one too if I can get you this close man? I would make it gladly. Did you hear about this? Something I always joke around with did you hear? What did you hear about did he story with his personal chef not in here that he story imagine that he story. I will tell you. Okay? Yeah, because obviously you have you've done an amazing job on social media doing that and it's led to some deals with infinity and Wells Fargo your blessings on blessings. And again, these are things that I tell people they're always asking. How did you get so many A followers. How did you do this? And I was like I am giving you what I'm saying. I'm giving you so if I'm a chef Paige, I'm going to give you food. I'm gonna give you things that are related to Chef's I'm gonna give you some tips. I'm going to give you some recipes. I'm going to not be afraid. The only thing I'm not going to give you as Michael keep the recipe and my had a pie recipe. So guys, I love you to death just stop asking anything that I make money on. I can't give you but again, it's one of those things where you have to stay true to what you're trying to sell what you're trying to do and who you're trying to be so I am chef. Then my Instagram is Chef Kelvin and I'm going to give you everything that has to do with food Instagram stories are a little bit different. You can get a little bit more personal you can show traveling you can show Family you can show friends. But at the end of the day, I'm giving you what I promised that I was going to give you. You have to stay consistent and at the end of the day, you have to make sure that what you put on your feed is true to you and you can't be afraid to post because you're not going to get a lot of like so I'm I'm actually a little bit happy with the whole, you know, removing likes because at the end of The day you'll know still that someone is getting a lot of insights and a lot of people coming to them when the comments are there because you can tell when someone has a real $50,000 following and someone has a bought 50,000 following you can have 10,000 likes but if you have two comments, something's wrong. They gave me those engagements completely on you know, because if I post something and I'm gonna get a thousand likes I'm gonna get a hundred comments and it's a that's something I learned early on as far as social media friend of mine told me that you should be able to look at somebody. Age without reading their bio know they do a hundred percent agree without reading your bio. Let's just say everything that you do and you're like can't say everything cuz I then my my characters would run out right away, but you would have to say in your body. You would say who you are what you do and what I'm saying, they should be able to tell without reading your absolutely agree. So it's like a lot of times people do all kinds of random nonsense pictures and memes and it's like it's happening. What are we here for but it was going on messages confused. I'm confused if it's there for fun than cool. Yeah, but if it's for business, yeah, you can't do that. You can't you gotta sacrifice that and this page is like a reflection of like how people are going to look at your business. I like the way you said that without reading your bio should be able to tell just by looking at Ya pictures CI and I learned that I even tried doing like a personal page and that didn't work because I have no time to let alone. Yeah, this is my personal life. So stop with the personal stuff. If you know me on a personal level, you know that you get the same guy that you get as a chef level, you know, but building that brand you have to learn that it takes time. You have to be patient. You can't rush for the likes and I know that now because I just started YouTube and I'm hitting up one of my friends who has been an expert on YouTube and she's done multiple videos and I'm and I'm reaching out to her. I'm like what if I put it on Instagram I'll get 50,000 likes but if I put it on YouTube, I only have a thousand likes she says you have to wait you have to be patient and I learned and I'm like not weird not patient in this world. We don't even read in this world and I learned that because I got my car towed on a regular basis and I can't get mad act like I'm being dead honest. As I get my God, can I park here is like six lines? Yes. Yes. Yes. Okay. I forgot the last one and I get mad at clients when I'll give you all the information like for example to purchase Michael Keith. Oh, you got to send an email to coquitos by Chef Kelvin at gmail.com. You say hello. You can say all the information you want you're going to automatically get a response that says thank you for your inquiry. Here's the product. Here's how much it cost. Here's the size of the bottle. Here's how we can deliver here's forms of payment everything that you can ever ask me first question. How much is the bottle? Happens all the time. All the information you need is in the the last week and you have to be patient. So you have the patient also has a life. So even now that you know, 10 years 15 years. I'm going to say now when I turned 35 in July, I'm going to be cooking for 20 years. So building this brand for 20 years. Everything that I've wanted is happening right now at this moment brand deals with infinity. You know, I have an awesome commercial that's coming out where I'm honored to know that Infinity that luxury Brand wants to follow me around for a day and tell my story and it's going to be an awesome commercial can't wait to share that. You know, I'm a chef and you know with the Institute of Culinary education, even though that's not my alma mater. I'm so happy to be with them. They give me an opportunity to tell my story on blog posts to use their kitchen for YouTube shows for if I want to shoot a book if I want to just come in and prep for an event. So I'm grateful for people like that that believe in me believe in the brand and and help me take my career to a level that I Imagine doing so I think it's important and as you mentioned, you know companies like Wells Fargo to see my Instagram page and say, you know, we want to partner up and collab with this guy because what he's doing is positive so I know that he can be the right guy that will share our message and I'm always smiling. So I have other people say I have a million-dollar smile, but it comes it comes with making people. Happy Chef Calvin man. You want to thank you for coming appreciate it. Appreciate it. Um anything you want to tell the people your Instagram. Your social media thing you got coming up. Absolutely man. I appreciate you guys for having me letting me tell my story on a whole different platform because I'm able to tell people my story and Inspire. So I always say if I can Inspire one person from one thing that I do per day. My job is done most important thing is I can offer some people advice that want to become a young entrepreneur is back to what I said surround yourself by greatness. Don't be afraid of not making a lot of money now don't chase the money. The money will come chasing you. I'm at a point in my career where I can go. Greatly say that I'm turning down gigs because there's just so many things coming in. So as the team expands, I'm looking forward to growing my YouTube show starting my cookbook in January and cookbook Summit cookbook. Yeah, that's number one thing. It's cookbook and cooking classes. So I'm going to try to get back on the cooking classes looking for a venue. All my social media is Chef Kelvin CH E. FK L VI n don't look at my page after midnight. You only going to make yourself hungry in advance. But thank you guys for having me. Thank you. Troy house keeping everybody on patreon.com. Y'all know that's how proud to pay program. That's somewhat their support on it has been tremendous man. And it's beautiful. We got to actually get to speak in and engage with some of our patrons and the list keeps growing. So shout out to everybody. That's the point that you know that if you are tier 4 or 5 member you are access to earn your leisure University, which is our online school shots were in emerge South everybody. The old emerge has been moving. Like crazy man. I don't school. We put up the merchant. The sales were out the door man the first day so shocked everybody that's purchased emerge. Yeah, man. You wanna talk about Ernie was Universal. Yeah. It really virtually we're about to actually do a class like right now because he's not joking three is three classes every single week. We do a real estate class on Monday. We do a float in class on Wednesday. Me and Troy to a class every Thursday and starting in the New Year. We going to have a y El Español. So, you know, we all its interactive is zoom you get to ask questions. It's really dope before we don't experience and yeah, don't forget Atlanta Atlanta VIP experience. We are coming January 20 2010 626 it's gonna be crazy live podcast networking event open bar dinner. And then we have a workshop the next day alumni is gonna be there. We're going to be this going to be a whole vibe so events tab on our website or you leave Dot-com don't play yourself. No, no for real Elena. We gotta we can't wait to touch the town for sure and the book tip of this week is Kitchen Confidential by the late great Anthony Bourdain recipes for sure. So I thought that would be fitting Chef recommended that book himself. He's read it four times. Yes. Oh, that's it. Thank you guys for talking with us. We'll see you next week. Peace. Peace.
We have a holiday treat for this week's episode. We were lucky every enough to sit down with one of the top chefs in the world. Kelvin Fernandez aka Chef Kelvin has a resume too long to list. He comes from humble beginnings and has worked his way up the ranks. He is the son of Dominican parents and raised in Harlem. He rose to superstar status in the culinary world when he beat the iconic Bobby Flay in a cooking battle on Bobby’s own show on the Food Network. After that, he starred in two other food shows on the Food Network (Chopped and Man vs Child). He made Forbes 30 under 30 list for chefs in 2016, he was named Forbes best chef in America for the past 3 years, he is currently Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriquez’s personal chef, he has cooked for the Yankees, he was the former head chef at the legendary La Marina, he is currently a partner at a rum bar in New York called Las Lap, and he has brand endorsement deals with Infiniti and Wells Fargo. On episode 55 Chef Kelvin broke down his journey as a chef navigating the tricky restaurant industry, he explained profit margins, he detailed food cost, he gave insight on marketing strategies, he gave social media tips to help influencers attract brand partnerships, and he even gave away some of his recipes! Guest IG: @chefkelvin Book Tip: Kitchen Confidential  ---   This episode is sponsored by  · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. 