← Bobby on the Beat
Bobby on the Beat
Antonia Lofaso on Top Chef & Culinary Competitions, Hamburger America with Jimmy V, Bobby’s Brasserie B Burger
00:29:10
Loading summary
Transcript269 lines
- [00:00]
A
Bobby on the Beat.
- [00:01]
B
Hey, everybody.
- [00:02]
A
Welcome to Bobby on the Beat. But before we get going, make sure you hit subscribe. We have a fabulous guest today, Antonio Lofaso, chef extraordinaire. You see her all over the Food Network, and she's got an amazing story. Antonia, thanks for being here. You and I went to the same culinary school. Friends Culinary Institute.
- [00:18]
B
I actually did.
- [00:18]
A
Not the same year, though. No, I was in the very first class.
- [00:22]
B
That's 1984. You know, I don't know if I've ever told you the story. I. You were the draw on the phone, and it wasn't because of Food Network or television, but because I had come from the west coast and I had. I understood what you were doing in food for the east coast in a way that I was really proud of. Like, this idea of bringing Mexican flavors, like chili, all these things that the east coast didn't really ever.
- [00:48]
A
Right. There was no Southwestern food at all.
- [00:50]
B
None. And you were also doing it in a way that wasn't like, your local, like, shop on the corner that had this sort of, like, dish that you got for $4. Like, it was a restaurant.
- [01:00]
A
It was contemporary.
- [01:01]
B
Exactly. And where people got dressed and had wine. And you didn't see. Even on the west coast, we didn't always see that style of restaurant adored.
- [01:09]
A
It kind of falls into very, very casual.
- [01:11]
B
Right. And so it wasn't so much, like, when they called and they. Or when I did the cold call and they were like, bobby Flay went here. I was like, yeah. It was more like, you know, he put mangoes and salsa.
- [01:21]
A
Yeah.
- [01:21]
B
For the very first time, your favorite.
- [01:23]
A
So, I mean. Wait a second. So how come I feel like you're from Long Island?
- [01:28]
B
I am. I'm from the East Coast.
- [01:30]
A
Yeah.
- [01:31]
B
So I was born in Long Island. My parents moved to Las Vegas.
- [01:34]
A
Okay.
- [01:35]
B
We lived there for a couple years. Then we moved back to Long Island. Lived there until I was 11, and then I lived in Los Angeles.
- [01:42]
A
But when did you start cooking in restaurants and stuff like that?
- [01:44]
B
Like, 2001. 2001. Because my daughter was just a year old.
- [01:47]
A
Okay. I want to talk about your daughter because, you know, it's like. It's X, E, S, right?
- [01:51]
B
X, E, A. Not a. Not even a real name.
- [01:53]
A
Zaya. What does it mean?
- [01:54]
B
It means that her, myself, and her father did no real research on, like, how, like, names are actually spelled right.
- [02:03]
A
We need to get the obvious out of the way, which was that your daughter's dad was heavy duty.
- [02:10]
B
I actually never talk about this, which Is. I've never asked about it. Like, on. In any.
- [02:14]
A
You never asked about it?
- [02:15]
B
I've never asked about it. This is the first time that someone's actually in a.
- [02:18]
A
Like, he was groundbreaking rapper.
- [02:21]
B
I agree. We just. I never talk about that. Part of me, I think there's always, like, this assumption that, like, because we weren't married, even though we spent 10 years together, like, raising a child, et cetera. Do you mean that? It's just this sort of, like, you know, you were just his. This woman that he had a child with.
- [02:38]
A
I mean, it's such a big part of your story. You know, you have this child with him, and he dies suddenly at such a young age.
- [02:46]
B
He was more instrumental in my life in the way of teaching me that how big someone could actually be in life. I was at the very beginning of my career, like, I was working for Wolfgang. I was making $7 an hour. And he was very instrumental of being like, you keep saying that you want to do this thing, just go do it.
- [03:07]
A
Kind of like, that's what he did.
- [03:08]
B
Exactly. At a very young age and had no pause. I was basically in the presence of someone who had this greatness about them of no pause. You just go do the thing. Like, who cares if you're scared? None of that matters. What do you want? Be the best at it. And I was, like, almost overwhelmed by that kind of talk at such a young age. And he used to say to me all the time, you know, like, you could be all over television one day. You're gonna. And I was like, I'm literally in garment three making Greek salads. Like, what are you talking about?
- [03:39]
A
He saw it in you.
- [03:39]
B
He saw it in me. And he also said, why don't you see it in you? And also, why aren't you working towards that every single day?
- [03:46]
A
So he pushed you.
- [03:47]
B
Pushed me in a way that almost. It started arguments between us, because in my mind, I was like, why are you being so critical of me? And he's like, I am your best friend.
- [03:55]
A
I'm your biggest advocate, saying, I see the potential. Go do it correct.
- [03:58]
B
And I was like, this is frustrating me. I think also, though, too, in my mind, I was like, as a chef and as you know, being around the greatest chefs, there's a level of progress that needs to happen before all of a sudden you become the greatest chef.
- [04:09]
A
Doesn't happen overnight.
- [04:10]
B
I think in his mind, like, you know, he also was someone who was like, tomorrow, like, why didn't this happen yesterday?
- [04:16]
A
Like, so you were with him like the early 2000s, like in the height of his career.
- [04:19]
B
Oh, my God. 1998.
- [04:22]
A
Okay.
- [04:22]
B
Yeah. This was like.
- [04:23]
A
And then, right. And then the early 2000s, early 2000. What was it like being around, like, his. His aura at that point?
- [04:29]
B
He was someone that when he walked into the room, like, all the air left the room.
- [04:34]
A
Of course, yeah.
- [04:35]
B
When he said something to you, it was to the deepest parts of you, what you might have been thinking, what you might have wanted to ask. Like, he knew how to zone in immediately, like, on whomever it was that he chose in that moment and say something either magical or, like, cut you off at your knees. In the moment, it felt like I was losing myself. But weirdly enough, now that I look back on it as a full grown adult, actually what I was doing in that moment was just kind of absorbing everything around me, being confused a little bit by it, but also remembering all of it and then using it sort of later in life.
- [05:16]
A
And so Zaya's how old now?
- [05:18]
B
She's 26 today.
- [05:18]
A
Unbelievable.
- [05:19]
B
I know.
- [05:19]
A
And she's in music, right?
- [05:21]
B
She is in music production. So she wants to. She's used a lot of his stuff, like all of his old tracks and stuff like that, to rebuild songs that she's working with, with artists in Atlanta.
- [05:32]
A
Oh, they're sampling.
- [05:33]
B
They're sampling his stuff.
- [05:34]
A
That's amazing.
- [05:35]
B
They're sampling his stuff and also sampling Zeah's really into all different kinds of music. And that's what I love about her. And he was the same exact way. Like, if you ever saw his list of music, it was like Joni Mitchell and Frank Sinatra. Everything, right? It was anything and everything that you could possibly imagine. It was. It was obviously hip hop, but it was everything.
- [05:54]
A
And then through all this, you stayed the course. You wanted to be cooking, I wanted to be cooking.
- [05:58]
B
One of the things that we used to argue about all the time is that he always felt like everything that I fixated on was, like, very petty. He was like, you're young, and the truth is you fixate on these things because you've never lost anyone at a young age. That sort of changes the way that you think and the way that you look at life. And I was so offended by that. I was like, so someone I love has to die in order for me to understand how life works. And he was like, yeah. And he ended up being that for me, which was like the most ironic, wild thought.
- [06:28]
A
What was that, like, 2011 or something?
- [06:30]
B
He died in 2011.
- [06:31]
A
2011, yeah. But listen, I mean, when you say you don't really talk about it often, it's such a huge part of your life will be. I mean, I was reading like, some of your chronological life and. And so in 2012, you can't you come out with this cookbook?
- [06:45]
B
Oh, God, yeah.
- [06:46]
A
Wait, but the funny part about the
- [06:47]
B
whole thing, you're picking up some really
- [06:48]
A
good things, but when you listen. Oh, my God, you listen to stories like this. And we. And we, like from your past, you're like, why?
- [06:56]
B
You're like.
- [06:56]
A
And also. And also like, who you are today.
- [06:59]
B
Totally.
- [06:59]
A
The Busy Mom's Cookbook is not what I've would have named it.
- [07:02]
B
100.
- [07:03]
A
I mean, what are you, like, living in Connecticut, like on a farm somewhere? I mean, give me a break.
- [07:07]
B
I'm tell you something really quickly. You have the same exact thing that I just spoke about. You find the little thing or the big thing right in someone's conversation, in something they've said, something that you've read about them. And, like, it's the poignant thing that you find and you ask about. And I knew coming here, like, this conversation was going to be this. No, I'm just saying you have the same exact thing. And it's what I love about you.
- [07:31]
A
I'm not a professional interviewer. I mean, what I do is I read stuff and then I want to have a conversation, and wherever it goes, it goes. Like, the one thing I never want to do is make anybody uncomfortable about what they're talking about. No, I'm never like, we have to talk about this. It just kind of happens.
- [07:44]
B
You're very disheartened in the greatest of way. Thank you. No, this was a compliment in the way that you ask very questions that are going to make people very transparent in the best way. And actually these are two of the things that I actually always bring up the cookbook as an example to people, that you are the director of your own life and that you are the ones that make the decisions, regardless of how many people are in the room thinking that they know better than you do. And that was my moment was that book. Because I had no, that. That is not at all what I wanted that book to be. Everyone who has ever met me, if you actually see the original cover of the book, I'm in a weird, like, bangled necklace. Do you know what I mean? Stirring a pot of sauce with, like, the perfect side eye. Do you know what I mean? Of like. And I was like, everyone who knows me is like, that doesn't even look like you it doesn't even represent any part of you.
- [08:36]
A
Well, I have a lot to talk to you about, and so I made you a snack.
- [08:40]
B
That's not a snack.
- [08:41]
A
That's a burger. One of the things I do know about you. Cause we are friends. Is that you like your burgers cooked more than most people.
- [08:46]
B
I do.
- [08:46]
A
Which I'm all for. We can talk about that. So I made it kind of medium wellish.
- [08:49]
B
Thank you. You know, well, now it's been resting,
- [08:51]
A
so maybe it's exactly where I want it now. Okay, perfect. Take a bite. Let me show you how we made it. Bobby on the beat. All right, we're gonna make a burger from my French restaurant in Vegas, Brasserie B. This is the Brasserie B burger. So first, let'. Sauce, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, ketchup, some chipotle puree. Mix it all up with some salt and pepper. We'll save that for later. Then we're gonna start with the meat. 80, 20. 80% beef, 20% fat. Lots of salt and pepper. Make a little. Well in the middle of it. Cast iron pan. So you want that good crustiness on the outside. Then we're gonna get all the garnish ready. Some red onions, some tomatoes, iceberg lettuce. The only lettuce for a burger, in my opinion. Get that nice crust on the outside of the burger. Then two kinds of cheese, Gruyere and American. Because it's a French American restaurant. Hit that steam magic. A little bit of water in the pan, cover it. And look at that cheese melt.
- [09:42]
B
Mmm.
- [09:43]
A
It's everything. A couple of slices of crispy bacon. Then we just shellack it with the red onion, the tomato, and the lettuce, toothpick or skewer on top. And there you go. Brasserie Bee. Bobby on the beat.
- [09:55]
B
Perfect burger. I mean, I've eaten it at Brasserie.
- [09:57]
A
Yes, you have. I've watched it. So you're the first person I'm eating with on this podcast.
- [10:02]
B
Really?
- [10:03]
A
All my friends were yelling at me, like, why are you letting people eat by themselves? And it makes sense.
- [10:08]
B
Well, and also, you love a burger.
- [10:10]
A
I do love a burger. So I was like, all right, I'll have a burger with Antonia. Two things I want to talk to you about in terms of, like, food, which is that I always say that I want my burgers and my steaks cooked medium. The first time I said it out loud, it created havoc. And what I'm learning now is that a lot of chefs agree with me, because you have to let the fat start to Melt.
- [10:32]
B
Correct.
- [10:32]
A
Otherwise, there's no flavor, and it's just. It's just. It's raw.
- [10:37]
B
Imagine a tomahawk or a rib eye, right? And a thick cut, right? We're talking about, like, 24, 20, you know, 28 ounces. And fine. Even if you let it sit out, right? Because that's what we do in the restaurants, you know, you let them sit, right, like, on a sheet tray so they're temping, right? Even that. Does it matter if someone orders it rare? It's not going to. It's not going to get the fat where you need it to be and then make it rare at the same exact time. It's just not going to happen.
- [10:59]
A
Doesn't happen.
- [11:00]
B
Yeah.
- [11:00]
A
But now.
- [11:01]
B
Now, now chefs like I are coming out of the woodwork.
- [11:03]
A
They're like, I agree with you, Bobby. I'm like, I know, but I. But I had to say it and take it on the head. But what about iceberg lettuce? You like or do you don't like?
- [11:11]
B
I'm not an ingredient snob. I think that there is a time and a place. Like, I want a wedge for my burger. I want iceberg for my blg. Do I want iceberg with shaved parmesan, reggiano, and balsamic on it? No, I want arugula for that.
- [11:28]
A
I get it.
- [11:28]
B
So there's a time and a place for the ingredients, but you're not like,
- [11:31]
A
I will not eat iceberg lettuce.
- [11:32]
B
Absolutely not. Yeah, there's a couple things that I'm like, I will not eat.
- [11:35]
A
Like, what?
- [11:35]
B
Also, your girlfriend thinks the same exact thing we have. I hate kewpie mayo.
- [11:39]
A
I don't like it either.
- [11:40]
B
I don't like sweet mayonnaise.
- [11:41]
A
I don't like it either.
- [11:42]
B
It reminds me of Miracle Whip. Sorry. For whoever loves.
- [11:45]
A
I totally agree. I don't like it.
- [11:46]
B
I don't like foie gras. I don't like organ meats. Like, I'm not a big, like, liver offal. Like, the smell of. I don't know what it is. Like, the metallic smell and flavor, like, makes me want to throw up. I like uni as an ingredient. I don't like it as, like, I don't want it just on something. I don't want it on.
- [12:04]
A
So you don't eat it? You don't want it?
- [12:06]
B
I don't order it. I mean, I will eat it if I have to to, like, be respectful of whoever's giving it to me. Yeah, but I like it whipped in butter and like drowned in pasta. You know, I like the salinity and like the ocean flav of that, but I don't like it raw.
- [12:19]
A
Anchovies.
- [12:20]
B
I don't love anchovies. I love them as an ingredient. I love them in salsa verdes. I love them dressings.
- [12:25]
A
I love your food. And the thing I love about your food is that it comes from you specifically. Like, you're very proud of your Italian American heritage and all that. And that food's amazing. And you're like, this is the kind of Italian food that I cook.
- [12:39]
B
Yes.
- [12:39]
A
I'm not going around Italy, going to small little villages and trying to be authentic from that particular place.
- [12:45]
B
I'm authentic from Long Island, New York.
- [12:47]
A
Yes, exactly. And your food is always delicious. I think the reason why scopa is just like a perennial favorite of people, because I crave that kind of food all the time, 100%. It's incredibly comforting. There's certain things that, you know, you're going to get. You're going to get acidity from tomato sauce. You're going to. You're going to get, like, crunchy, you know, things that are fried, like squid and stuff like that. And it's incredibly satisfying meal, and you deliver on it. Plus, like, I think about your. Your squid ink, fried squid all the time. It's so cool to kind of look at it. And then you taste it and you're like, this is delicious. How does it start when you're doing
- [13:25]
B
menu items, for the most part, it's all very straightforward. You know, I mean, that's how my break, you know, where I'm like, I'm going to make a chicken parm, but it's going to be the greatest chicken parm you've ever had. Because I know that in the mix, like, I'm going to use more Locatelli cheese than anyone ever should. And like, all the small little things, specifically with the squid ink. I was having this whole thing about, like, a chicken and an egg. Right. It's like when people have, you know, it's like the thing and the thing.
- [13:49]
A
Right.
- [13:49]
B
And so I love that. I actually don't love, like, squid ink pasta. That's the, you know, I mean, I'm not. It's not one of the dishes that I, like, gravitate towards for whatever, you know, I love the. The idea of the use of the ink. So when I started thinking about, like, well, if you put it in pasta, you know, into a dough, like, why wouldn't we just put it into a batter? And so it's like, just those kinds of. You know, you lay. I mean, I don't know how much you sleep. Like, I don't sleep at all. Exactly. So I, like, wake up in the middle of the night, and I'm like,
- [14:14]
A
yeah, Brooke's the worst. She does not sleep.
- [14:17]
B
I've texted her in the middle of the night. Like, we DM each other like, weird videos.
- [14:21]
A
I mean, every. Every time I, like, I turn over to.
- [14:24]
B
She's like.
- [14:24]
A
She's doing it. She's, like, staring at me. It's so weird, you know?
- [14:30]
B
That is the funniest thing I've heard all day.
- [14:33]
A
So good. It's true. You and Brooke are, like, such great friends. And, I mean, now that she's my person, I love that you're in her life because you are. You're rational. You really are a rational person. And she. And she. She's very rational. If she goes down the rabbit hole on something, like, we all can do, I feel like you're her backstop.
- [14:55]
B
Oh, yeah.
- [14:56]
A
Yeah. You know what I mean?
- [14:56]
B
Yes.
- [14:57]
A
She can be like, am I overthinking this?
- [14:58]
B
And she does that for me, though, too.
- [15:00]
A
Okay, well, then you guys have each other, which is really nice. When, you know, Brooke and I started out as friends, obviously, we met years and years ago, and at some point, I'm sure she was like, I'm interested in dating this guy.
- [15:10]
B
Yeah.
- [15:10]
A
Yeah. Like, what was your. What was your take on it?
- [15:13]
B
When she said it, I immediately. To be in full. Full honesty about it, I already, like, knew that you guys were gonna be this perfect match.
- [15:22]
A
Really?
- [15:22]
B
Yeah, I did.
- [15:23]
A
Why?
- [15:23]
B
I did. Because very few times in our lives, I think a. When two people get older, there's this very sort of, like, real thing that happens, and you really actually know what you want in a partner. And just everything that I know about you as a person and professionally, I was like, I think what would be the greatest thing for him? I already know what's the greatest thing for you is to have somebody who is, like, your best friend, who you can sit there and talk food with, but at the same time and also have this great career that she does, but also want to come home and take care of you. And I do think that there is that version of her that does both. Do you know what I mean? That can be out in the streets with you and have the real dialogue, because she knows all the things because of her own history in this business that you don't always get to have, or you sit there and sort of explain to somebody or they get to see it over the course of many, many years spent where she's like, I already got the Cliff Notes.
- [16:18]
A
Right.
- [16:18]
B
And so you get that at the same time, she is so, like, maternal and is so, like, loving and so, like, I want to take care of people. Do you know what I mean? Which I think would be wonderful for you.
- [16:29]
A
So you were probably.
- [16:31]
B
I was pro the entire time.
- [16:33]
A
Well, thank you very much.
- [16:34]
B
Pro the entire time. And also.
- [16:35]
A
I like that. Yeah, it's been great. No, thank you. Thank you. Thank you for having my back. All right, so what about restaurants? How are you feeling about the restaurant world these days? You have three restaurants right now, right?
- [16:47]
B
I have three in Los Angeles.
- [16:48]
A
You're building more.
- [16:50]
B
We actually just signed a deal, and I can talk about it. Oh, thank goodness. Texas. So we. I have Austin. I think I told you that summer of next year, possibly sooner. Like, my partners build quickly.
- [17:00]
A
Scopa.
- [17:01]
B
Scopa. We're gonna take Scope out on the road. Like, Dom is great, and I love it to death. Black market is amazing. I love it to death.
- [17:07]
A
Describe the differences.
- [17:09]
B
So black market, we opened in 2011. It's. I call it, like, American eclectic. It's a small bar, seats about originally 100 people. Now it's like 150 people. It wasn't supposed to be food focused. It was supposed to be more. Be, like, liquor with bites. Full fledged restaurant. But it has everything. I do everything from, like, Korean chicken wings to spaghetti and meatballs, where people
- [17:29]
A
are like, stuff you want to eat,
- [17:30]
B
everything that you want to eat. And so black. And then we opened Scopa two years later, which is American. Italian.
- [17:35]
A
Oh, black market was first.
- [17:36]
B
Black market was first. Black market was first.
- [17:38]
A
I bet a lot of people don't know that.
- [17:40]
B
They don't. They. A lot of people don't know because
- [17:41]
A
Copa gets a lot more expensive, gets all the attention.
- [17:43]
B
Scopa and everyone also, like, puts me in the Italian shaft, you know, And I'm like, it's. I had black market where I'm doing Korean chicken wings and, like, you know, a version of hamachi and crispy. Like, very Asian, very Mexican, very, like, Spanish. Like, there's a mixture of everything. And then in 2018, we opened Dama and Dama. I actually wanted to open before I opened Scopa.
- [18:07]
A
All right. Smash burgers or pub style burgers?
- [18:11]
B
I like both.
- [18:11]
A
I want to show you a clip that I did that. Jimmy V. America's food critic. He went to a very popular place. So let's check it out. Bobby on the beat.
- [18:20]
C
Hey, it's Jimmy V. America's food critic at Hamburger America. This place has been hyped all over the world, so I don't know what to expect. I don't know if they're big burgers, little burgers, smash burgers. I want that craveability in it. So it has to be salty. It has to have a little bit of the greasy, but not too greasy. Just a good bite that maybe drips down your arm when you're eating it. Let's go inside and check this place out. Pretty cool. Gives you that old time vibe. They're smash burgers, so I have high expectation for a real good, greasy, tasty burger. But it definitely gives you that old school vibe where maybe there's some milkshakes involved.
- [19:02]
A
Onion burgers are the best.
- [19:03]
C
Is that the standard?
- [19:05]
A
I think that's the go to.
- [19:06]
C
So they really smash them. Single onion sounds like the winner.
- [19:09]
B
And what about a drink?
- [19:11]
C
Is there something that will cause me to think about this in the middle of the night and say, holy crap,
- [19:15]
A
I gotta go back there and have
- [19:16]
B
a corner coffee soda.
- [19:18]
A
That's perfect.
- [19:18]
C
The coffee soda. I'll have some fries. They just put a ton of stuff on there on the onions and mash it all in. Huh? Generally, I would think that, you know, I'd have a fried onion, already fried on the side, but this is the technique that they're using. Seems like a lot of onion, but I'm sure it'll be pretty good. A coffee with seltzer. How good is that? That's excellent.
- [19:37]
B
Special, Chester.
- [19:38]
A
Oh, you have to try it.
- [19:40]
B
Is it grilled cheese with a burger in the middle?
- [19:42]
C
It's kind of like a patty melt, right?
- [19:43]
B
Yeah, it's an off menu special.
- [19:45]
C
All righty. I guess for the people that know, they know. It's grilled cheese. The burger inside of it. It's exactly what you would think. Crunchy, buttery meat, onion. The fries are like that perfect nostalgic McDonald's fry from the 70s. So I'm showing my age. Would you like some fries? Jump in.
- [20:06]
A
Thank you so much.
- [20:08]
C
Share and share alike. Hey, man. How are you doing, Jimmy? This is the first time I've ever been here.
- [20:13]
B
Okay.
- [20:13]
C
Are you the mad scientist behind this whole thing?
- [20:15]
A
What about mad scientists?
- [20:16]
C
We definitely don't do anything that's too extraordinary. We just. We're here to recreate or create authentic American hamburgers. We don't try to reinvent the wheel. We're just here to preserve history and make sure that when you take a bite of that burger, that you're about to right now. It tastes exactly the way it should. Here we go. It's really freaking good, bud. It's a good review. No, no, George, seriously. Bun is nice and squishy, but there's a little texture to it. It brings you back to that. If that's what you were trying to achieve, you hit it bullseye.
- [20:47]
B
Yeah.
- [20:48]
C
We'd like to say it's the burger that you remember. Especially in New York City, people are trying to do too much, put crazy stuff on top. We're just trying to make sure that you're eating a burger that you're going to want to eat tomorrow. Hey, George, great job, man. Really appreciate it. Thanks. And I'll be back tomorrow. Yeah. Thank you, man. Wow, that was really good. The burger, the bun, it was exactly the texture that I was anticipating. Next time, though, I would definitely do a double burger. Not because of McAvon, but because it just needed a little bit more meat. It's a smash burger, which is not my favorite burger, candidly. I do like a regular sized burger that's greasy and gooey and chewy with the blood coming out of it. I shouldn't have probably said that. I could see why it's so popular. Excellent.
- [21:30]
A
Bobby on the beat. I feel like the moment of the smash burger has had his moment. It's time. Like, a burger that has that is just smashed is just about crust.
- [21:39]
B
That's kind of what I like about it. But what that was was too smashed. I like the idea of like a smash so that you get the crust, especially like the crunchies on the side. And I like when they put the raw onion into it, like into it and kind of like still gets a little.
- [21:53]
A
Yeah, they do that there.
- [21:54]
B
That was too much onion.
- [21:55]
A
Okay.
- [21:55]
B
That was like more onion than it was beef.
- [21:57]
A
Right.
- [21:57]
B
I don't like really thick cut brown because you already know, like, I have like a texture thing with, you know, so. So when people are like, this is a one and a half pound beef burger that's this big. You don't want that. I don't want that. A, I can't get my mouth around it. B, like, it starts to, like, disrupt the condiments that I want.
- [22:14]
A
You want more like a pub burger that has. It's sort of in the middle, Right?
- [22:17]
B
Exactly. That's what I think.
- [22:19]
A
Something to bite into. Yeah.
- [22:20]
B
Like yours is like right in the middle. It's not smashed. It's not too thin. You don't need two patties. There's just enough, like, in the center, but you get that kind of crunch on the outside.
- [22:28]
A
Well, it tastes like beef. And it's still. And it's still juicy.
- [22:30]
B
Right.
- [22:30]
A
To me, that. That all that's really important. Listen, it is what it is. Everybody wants a burger, but not all
- [22:36]
B
burgers are created equal.
- [22:37]
A
That's the other thing. I totally agree. Top Chef. Oh, God. How well did you do on Top Chef?
- [22:41]
B
I. Finale twice.
- [22:42]
A
Finale twice. I mean, you did not quite win it all.
- [22:45]
B
No. Brooke likes to bring.
- [22:47]
A
Wait, you call it finale?
- [22:48]
B
Yeah. You finale. You finally, like, would that be in, like.
- [22:52]
A
Brooke likes to bring it up because she won once. She's the most competitive person in the world.
- [22:56]
B
Yeah.
- [22:56]
A
It's unbelievable.
- [22:58]
B
But also, what you don't know, but. And we've told you 9,000 times, is that we have a very rare case of, like, Chef competition, ptsd. And any person who did.
- [23:09]
A
And that came from Top Chef, 100%,
- [23:12]
B
that came from Top Chef. It doesn't happen. Any person that you work with who's done Top Chef has the same psychotic conversation need to win. If we don't, our lives are over. Like, there's just something that switches on that's like, this will be the worst thing ever if we don't win.
- [23:29]
A
There's an incredible amount of crossover now between people that have been on Top Chef and the Food Network.
- [23:34]
B
It's a puppy mill. Literal puppy mill.
- [23:37]
A
Well, what's happened is Bravo doesn't have a lineup of food shows.
- [23:42]
B
No.
- [23:43]
A
So they have this very popular show where lots of people go on and compete, and if you do well, like, good things can happen to you there. Food Network has obviously a entire lineup of food shows, and those shows need to be filled by people that are good at this job.
- [23:59]
B
Look at everyone who's won anything big on your shows, you know, I mean, or any of the biggest competitions all previous.
- [24:05]
A
There's a lot of Top Chef, even on Triple Threat, I have Brooke, I have Michael Voltaggio. Aisha never did Top Chef.
- [24:11]
B
She's the anomaly. Yeah, she's an anomaly.
- [24:13]
A
And I. And I never did it either.
- [24:15]
B
Well, I couldn't. Well, but also, you are.
- [24:17]
A
No, no, but I know what you're saying, but I'm saying, like, there is something called exclusivity.
- [24:21]
B
Right.
- [24:22]
A
You know, so I have a contract with the Food Network doesn't allow me to go. To go do Top Chef on Bravo.
- [24:27]
B
But my point is that your, you know, hundreds of years of competition, the reps that you have, is the same thing that we see come out of Top Chef in a very short period. Of time.
- [24:37]
A
But they're looking for people on the sort of up and coming more than anything else on Top Chef. That's what makes it fun because also, you guys are willing to basically do whatever it takes to win the mind.
- [24:46]
B
Kind of jumble that Top Chef did to you was. The only thing I can compare it to is like, the Bachelor or the Bachelorette, right? Because you've been pulled out of your life. You have no contact with your family. So the human response, like, we shut down very quickly, and we're like, the only way out of here to get back to our families is to win this thing, and then I get my life back.
- [25:06]
A
Right.
- [25:06]
B
I was asking to go to the bathroom to, like, random. Like, I was doing an event, and I was like, can I use the bathroom? They're like, go pee. Well, but meaning, like, I was so conditioned to, like, ask someone to get up, to go somewhere, to ask someone to go use the restroom that it was like this weird thing that happened to me weeks after I got home. And so they condition you to really believe that this is the most important thing that you will ever do in your life.
- [25:27]
A
All right. The last thing I want to talk to you about is, like, your. Your life now.
- [25:31]
B
Yes.
- [25:31]
A
Right.
- [25:32]
B
I love it.
- [25:33]
A
You love it. What do you love about it?
- [25:34]
B
So many things. Like, I feel like, for.
- [25:36]
A
Isn't that nice? You're in a place where you can say right now you love your life.
- [25:39]
B
I love. It's like the most freeing statement. It's like the most, like, relaxing statement. I mean, here's the thing. I've always loved versions of my life. I've always loved different things that have happened in different decades. Right. All the different decades that we all live right now. I don't know, just everything. What feels?
- [25:59]
A
What is it? What do you think?
- [26:00]
B
My relationship, Greg with Greg, it's just like, everything that is comforting to me. My home. Do you mean my parents, my siblings, my daughter? You know, I mean, like, all of my family, my daughter, like, my friends. Like, I. Like I said this to you, right? When it's like, you know, I have the greatest life. Like, I get to go and do food, television in a way that some people only dream about. Imagine being, like, tired to your bones from the life that you have, like, that you've prayed for and that you've never thought in a million years. Goes back to the beginning part of our conversations when I was a young 20 year old listening to one of the greatest musical minds that has ever been gifted to us. Tell me why why? Move, move. Go, go. And I could not understand it, and now I'm living it.
- [26:52]
A
I find you to be, like, an insanely great talent.
- [26:55]
B
Thank you.
- [26:56]
A
Because the first thing I look for is the word genuine. And also, I like people who can do what we do, which is cook for a living really well.
- [27:06]
B
Yes.
- [27:07]
A
And you do that. You have. To me, you have the basics of all the things that I want, and then everything else is all about you. It's like you have this amazing ability to get excited, get other people excited, make people feel good, make people feel pressured, and make people to do their best. That's why you're a wonderful mentor. And I kind of feel like just recently, you've really kind of hit your stride on the network. And I think, like, I don't know how long you want to be on the network or how long the network wants you to be on it. None of us know that. Okay. But it doesn't. None of that matters. What matters is, like, you're. You've hit this stride where you're. You're going to be a commodity for this industry, period.
- [27:56]
B
That is the nicest compliment that I've ever received. I do feel like for the first time, you asked me why I'm so happy now. It's the first time. Like, my stride is mine. And all the things that come up, I'm willing to say yes. No. If you don't like me, I'm probably not your cup of tea. And that's actually okay with me right now. Like, if you don't want me to do your thing, it's probably because we see things differently, and I'm good with that right now. And I've never felt that before.
- [28:21]
A
It's actually a full circle conversation from when we started just earlier, which is that you talked about being able to narrate your own story, and now you're
- [28:29]
B
doing it, and it feels the greatest it's ever felt. And also, I also live in the scarcity, which is like. And it can all go away tomorrow.
- [28:36]
A
Yeah.
- [28:36]
B
And when it does, I'll still be fine.
- [28:37]
A
All right, well, I love talking to you today. Thank you. My only request is the next time I'm in the doghouse with Brooke, you have my back.
- [28:43]
B
I do. She will tell you.
- [28:46]
A
Just don't get in the doghouse.
- [28:48]
B
That's fair.
- [28:49]
A
Antonio, I want to thank you so much. This has been so fun. If you like today's episode, make sure you hit subscribe. Really appreciate all the engagement. And it continues to grow and grow and grow, grow the more you like it, the more we'll keep doing it. So have a great day. We'll see you next week. Bobby on the beat.