← Walk-In Talk Podcast
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- [00:00]
Host
Every once in a while, you sit
- [00:01]
Narrator
across from someone whose success doesn't begin with talent. It begins with survival. Today's guest is one of the most
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Host
respected chefs in Florida.
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Narrator
As chef and co owner of Proper House Group, Chef Farrell Alvarez has helped redefine Tampa's dining scene through concepts including
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Host
rooster in the till, ash, alter ego, Gallito taqueria, and dang dude.
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Narrator
His work has earned Michelin bib, gourmand recognition, James Beard recognition, and the respect of an entire industry. But awards don't build character.
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Host
Life does.
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Narrator
Long before the accolades, Farrell was a 15 year old dishwasher trying to stay out of trouble. A young cook chasing opportunity. Before chefs became celebrities, he found mentors who saw something in him before he saw it himself. Then life tested him. He lost friends. He survived tragedy. He became a single father. He walked away from opportunities most young chefs would only dream about because responsibility came first. He lost a home, started over, and eventually found himself asking people to believe in a dream that at the time existed only on paper. Somehow they did. Over and over again, throughout his life, someone chose to bet on him before
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Host
there was proof that they should.
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Narrator
A chef, a mentor, a banker, an attorney, friends willing to invest in an idea. His mother, his daughter. Those moments shaped not only the restaurateur
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Host
he would become, but but the man.
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Narrator
Today, Chef Farrell Alvarez spends just as much time investing in others as people once invested in him. Because somewhere along the way, he realized something profound. Restaurants don't change communities, people do. The restaurant simply becomes the place where it happens. Chef Farrell, let's go back to the 15 year old kid washing dishes before anyone else believed in you. What did you believe about yourself?
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Farrell Alvarez
I think I believe that I was hard working. I was well supported by my mother and my family. In regards to like, belief, I think in the pit of my stomach I knew I could do what I wanted if I applied myself. But I was so distracted by everything else that was more of bad decision making and more glamorous, you know, from the outside looking in. So I think that's why at that age, I was misfocused.
- [02:22]
Host
Welcome to the show. We had a great day today. We've been hanging out for like five hours. So we got to share a lot of stuff. Food, stories, a lot of camaraderie, build. Would you say that was that first job teaching how to cook or really was it pushing you to your path on really how to become a man?
- [02:45]
Farrell Alvarez
Yeah, I would definitely say the latter. You know, I started off as a dishwasher at a deli and cooking wasn't. I cooked at home. You know, I grew up with an American Italian mother, her mother, my grandmother, my aunts, all on, on the weekends, we would be together in the, you know, in the house. And, and the women would be stereotypically cooking in the kitchen for everybody. So I, I did grow up around that environment, so I was introduced to cooking at that age, but nothing that I was aware of, you know, it was just like a byproduct of getting, of being raised. So then washing dishes, you know, I was just kind of in the dish pit and zoning out. But even when I did that, in retrospect, I was always clean, organized, I was systematic. And I didn't even know any of that vernacular at that time, but that was just the way kind of my brain worked, you know, And I think that's kind of what helped me do good in the beginning.
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Host
I remember back in the, in the 70s and early 80s, I'm a second generation Italian and American Italian. The women, my grandmother, aunts, everybody, they would cater to you from the children up.
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Farrell Alvarez
Oh, yeah.
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Host
You didn't have to lift a finger. And if you try to, it was like, no, no, no, stay you. That doesn't exist anymore. I didn't remember that, that, that thought, that memory until just now.
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Farrell Alvarez
Yeah, you don't come into my. You didn't come into my house. And you. Even if you're a stranger, the first thing is, hey, are you hungry? Can we get you something to eat?
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Host
And they would whip it together pretty quick too. Speaking of food, let's talk about what we did today in the kitchen here at the studio. Yeah, I'm staring at a picture right there on the wall. Let's start with that dish, man. Because it's fire. I mean, it was delicious. And then look at it.
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Farrell Alvarez
Yeah, it's a beautiful dish. Equally beautiful as it is tasty, quite frankly. This is, this kind of ties into the story that we'll discuss today, I think, you know, with like my evolution as a chef and then now as a chef, restaurant owner. Chef. Chef Seth Temple is our CDC there, amazing chef. And this is his dish through and through a dish, bokorones with herb oil, chili oil, fresh lime, and served with our housemate, focaccia at ash. I approved it, I tasted it, it was delicious. So I green lit it. But he did this at Baroco in Montreal or a variation where he came to. Where he last worked before he came to Tampa to work with us. And yeah, it's just, it's so minimalistic. It's so fresh. And typically, especially in our city, you know, people aren't used to eating a plate of bocarones with some homemade bread and being satisfied with that in the beginning of their meal.
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Host
There's another word for bokeronas that you don't like. That's close to it.
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Farrell Alvarez
I mean, you know, it's an anchovy.
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Narrator
Right.
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Farrell Alvarez
But like, again, Tampa, American mentality, the majority, not everybody. Don't. Don't hang me. But, you know, you say anchovies on the menu, that's why we call them Boca Ronis. And we didn't write white anchovies because people will shy away from it. They're thinking of utility pizza with the shitty brown anchovies on it. But that's just not.
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Host
Does not. That's not what this is.
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Farrell Alvarez
Not, not. Not at all. No, not.
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Host
And it's not fishy in any kind of way.
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Farrell Alvarez
No. I mean, obviously it's fish. So fish has a natural seafood flavor. But no, it's not like what somebody who is opposed to anchov consider fleshy.
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Host
And that's where John. John made an error today by not having the bonas.
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Farrell Alvarez
Oh, good for him. I saved a couple, so we'll serve them up afterwards.
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Host
See, now that's the BTS people want to see. People want to see John eating a. A, you know, a white anchovy. I'm looking at you, kid. I got to sit with Zayn and Seth yesterday at Ash. Spent an hour and a half or so over there. You have a really great team.
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Farrell Alvarez
Yeah, for sure.
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Host
Seth is an interesting fellow. He's from New Orleans.
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Farrell Alvarez
He is, yeah.
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Host
And I think at some point I want to have him on and I want to get into some New Orleans talk.
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Farrell Alvarez
Yeah, he loves that.
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Host
Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure. We were. We were texting a little bit Instagram, texting a little bit about it. But it starts with the team. In the situation where you are where you've been able to kind of like, come from the bottom, hitting the face, having to start over, like, this whole story that we're going to get into, your story, it's allowed you to be able to rely on good team members. So throughout your experience, you've had the Allens and the Martys and this group of people that have surrounded you and lifted you up. And it wasn't just like one or two. You have, like, a strong dozen people. All of these people have seen something in you, and you don't necessarily see that yourself. Why? Why do people believe in you?
- [07:34]
Farrell Alvarez
I was Afraid this was going to turn into a therapy session quicker than. Than it would a podcast. And I'm here for it. But that's a good question. You know, I think I'm 47 years old now, man. You know, I'm 48 this year in September. I still mentally feel like I'm 28 in a positive way, physically as well. But I think I've always carried an imposter syndrome is what they title it nowadays. You know, I'm a confident person. I'm certainly not cocky, I'm not overly confident, tend to stay quiet and introverted to myself. I keep a small circle, I think, mostly because my normal business life is, you know, outward facing. Right. So I'm always shaking hands and kissing babies, if you will. And I'm genuine when I do that. I'm not. Not being myself, but that's just not who I am. You know, I try to. I'm a little bit more calculated and reserved. Yeah, when you were talking, when we were talking about this before, you know, you brought that up and it's. It's still dumbfounding to me. I got a lot of strong people in my corner from, from my family to my workmates. Yeah, I struggle with that. You know, if I'm being honest, I. I don't know why they believe in me. I tend to. I think I'm a good person. I think I work hard, I think I'm loyal, I'm honest, I'm trustworthy. And when I'm down for you, I'm really down for you. So I would like to think that that's how they feel me and view me. You know, you, you asking me questions about Alan, who was the owner of the deli that I first started working at when I was 15 years old. And then talking about people like Marty and then Joe Caballero, who believed in me and lent me money, and then people who lent me money, and. Yeah, the belief is real. And I still have a hard time, like, accepting that. I feel like they're being kind to me, you know, and they're just like, giving me an opportunity, but when I receive that, I take it very seriously and I don't drop the ball.
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Host
Yeah. But you know what the funny thing is? Just because somebody is giving you an opportunity, most people aren't doing it out of charity.
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Farrell Alvarez
Yeah.
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Host
They're doing it because there's a feel, you know, and that feel might be something with eye contact or the handshake or something that says, hey, you know what? This, this individual has an Extra gear. They're not going to hurt me or they're at least they're going to put the effort in. And if it's a fail, it's a fail. But the work, the work is going to get put in. That's probably. That has to be part of what this is.
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Farrell Alvarez
Yeah, I guess I would agree with. I would agree with that. You know, like, it's hard for me even. It's like, even hard to agree with those things, you know, Like, I don't know, man. I just. I feel lucky, I feel fortunate, and I'm. I'm super grateful, dude. You know, like, people believe in me and I think that I need that too. Because when people do believe in me and they give me an opportunity and it's not charity, I take that very seriously. Because if I commit to you, I commit, you know, I'm all in. So if you have my word, then I won't waver on that, you know, I'll go down swinging every time.
- [10:31]
Host
Walk and Talk Media is proudly supported by Rack Porcelain usa. Creating durable, beautifully designed tableware for chefs and hospitality professionals. Learn more@rack porcelain.com when it comes to leadership, being a servant leader is probably the A plus thing that you could do. And that's how you get either people that are on the cusp of maybe they have potential and maybe they don't really care about stuff in their life so much, but they have skill sets and they. And, you know, somebody that you can kind of mentor up and have some momentum, push, you know, some momentum there. But when they see the owner, the leader, the person in charge doing the hard work, that's a motivator for everybody.
- [11:18]
Farrell Alvarez
Yeah.
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Host
So if you're, if you're leading by showing and you pick up the broom and you sweep the floor, so to speak, other people are going to follow suit.
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Farrell Alvarez
Thousand percent. That's in my DNA, you know.
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Host
Yeah, but that's your culture. That's your, that's your, that, that's your culture. But that's also the company culture and it shows. Let me tell you something. I mentioned earlier. I've been in probably a thousand kitchens or more. Ash, you can eat off the floor.
- [11:44]
Farrell Alvarez
Yeah. It's because, you know, we, we work so hard, man, and I, starting at 15 and then now coming here to where I am and building the company with, with Sean, my partner, and my partners who I've had, who have now moved on, you know, Ty and Miles,
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Host
when you, when you come, when you
- [12:01]
Farrell Alvarez
build it yourself, at least for me, not only did we Build it ourselves, but we paid for it ourselves. There is not a single penny in my company that doesn't come from our own pockets. There's no outside money. We're self made. You know, we built Rooster from the ground up 13 and a half years ago with nickels. And so I still have that mentality, you know, like, we have a strict cleaning regimen. We have a strict regimen on everything. A procedure, a policy, a standard, an expectation. And we back those up. What's really important to me is backing that up with kindness and care and making people feel like when they do those things, they're being rewarded, they're being seen, not that they're being beat down to do those things. And I think when you can be a leader in that space and lead that way, that's when you get to weep. Some benefits that you might not think were coming to you.
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Host
You had an opportunity to go to New York and work for Marcus Samuelsson, but you didn't.
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Farrell Alvarez
Yeah, oh, man. Yeah. I was 22 or 23 years old and I was working for Marty Blitz and Marianne Ference at Mise En Place. One of the biggest transitional periods of my life, professionally and personally, quite frankly. And I had been there for years. So, you know, I applied to Aquavit when he first opened up Aquavit and aging me and yeah, man, I got an opportunity to, to pursue sous chef there. And during that process, while I was going through that process, I was driving one day to work at Mise En Place for Marty and my girlfriend at the time called me up and said, hey, I'm pregnant and we're going to have a kid. So I found myself as a father of a beautiful young girl, Evanna Lease. And yeah, of course I'm not going to bail on that, you know, that's my responsibility. So I had to change my path and I, I stuck it out and I wound up staying with Marty for several more years and becoming a father.
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Host
That's a big deal.
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Farrell Alvarez
Yeah, like both are big deals, right? Like getting the opportunity is a big deal. But then being a father is like, is crazy. And it wasn't planned at 23, but there's a reason why that happened, as is everything in my life and it's part of my journey and still is.
- [14:16]
Host
When I got the call from my then girlfriend, hey, by the way, you know, I am now with child. I'll never forget that. I think I had a short circuit, but I, but the short circuit wasn't till I cut and run. It was, oh, man, I Got to change my life and do the right thing here.
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Farrell Alvarez
Yeah.
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Host
Not that I was a horrible guy, but, you know, that wasn't really. That wasn't it at that moment. And that's what I did. And I remember when I got the call that it was going to be a daughter, and that really threw me for a loop. Like, my family, I got to meet my great grandparents. Like, we were, you know, this was some old school stuff. So everything was either masculine or feminine. So it was always something where you assume, oh, yeah, first, your first child's gonna be a, you know, a boy. I had to wrestle with that. But as soon as I realized, and I. And you know, and I know I had a conversation with my good friend John over here and I. Another good friend, Jimmy. And the consensus was, it's the best thing to ever happen to you. And it changed my life completely.
- [15:35]
Farrell Alvarez
For real. I'm. I'm definitely masculine, for lack of a better word. But, you know, I was raised by my mom, heavy. And she's the biggest parental force in my life. She's just always there, like 24, seven. You know, mom is. Mom is mom, and so I definitely have that soft side. I definitely feel in touch with females and ladies. And in regards to being raised by my aunts and my grandmother and my mom and having so much of that presence in my life that when I knew that it was going to be a daughter, I was elated. I was over the moon.
- [16:08]
Host
Did becoming a father shape you in a different way or more so than, you know, 15 years in a kitchen?
- [16:19]
Farrell Alvarez
Oh, yeah, for sure. You learned so much, you know, like, you've been through it now, so you understand. But especially at that age. Right. So you gotta understand that at 23, that's. That was 24 years ago. Right. So life is different back then. I'm. I'm working as a sous chef. I was sous chef at that time for Marty at Mise En Place. So to have a child and be a chef is already challenging enough because of schedule and demand. One year after my daughter's birth, I split up with her mother. And then I found myself as a single father. And that's a whole nother challenge. Right. And then I kept pursuing my dreams of being chef, but I was all. I was still making poor decisions, and quite frankly, I was still kind of like in the streets doing knucklehead things with friends that I shot, probably shouldn't be doing things with. That started as a young age when I was 15, and I was in that cycle, heavy and Honestly, I thought that, like, my daughter would pull me out of it, like having my daughter. But then the pressure of money, responsibility just heightens. So I think I kind of doubled down, really. And in my 20s, if you met me in my 20s, I was a really respectful man, young man, because I still hadn't learned how to be a full man at that point. I was still very much in a learning process, but, yeah, I was always respectful, always kept my nose down. I was a hard worker, man. That's. I'm not the best chef. I'm still not the best chef, but very few are going to outwork me, man. My heart is pretty big in that regard. I just knew how to play the game. I was a chameleon, you know, before
- [18:01]
Host
we get deeper into the conversations today, you've made another couple of dishes here. They're all bangers, man. You know, listen, there's different kinds of foods. There's places where you can go and, you know, get a giant plate of something, and it's going to fill your gut.
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Farrell Alvarez
Yeah.
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Host
And that's cool. There's, you know, there's something for that. There's a time for that. And then there's elevated flavor bomb, elevated cuisine. I think you're more. You're living there. What you got with what you guys are doing.
- [18:36]
Farrell Alvarez
Thank you.
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Host
As a. As a group. Yeah, Total group talk about the other two dishes.
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Farrell Alvarez
Yeah. So the other ones we made for you was kind of like our focaccia slash bread service at Ash. A lot of people like to start with that, so we're trying to refine that, so it's just not so standard and pedestrian, which is, I think, why you view my food that way, which I hope I want that it comes natural to me and to our team. It's who we are and how we approach food as an individual. I'm not a mainstream person. I don't like a lot of the popular things, and I don't just follow trends. It's just not who I've ever been. So as I started to develop as a chef, I realized that my food is that way as well. You know, I don't. Rooster was the first restaurant we opened, and it's not quintessential. You don't just sit down and have a salad, an entree, a dessert, and go home. To me, that's a very boring way of eating, and Tampa is riddled with those things. And there's a place for everything. Don't get me wrong, you know, sometimes I'll pop into places like that with my family and they have a place. But I've always had this chip on my shoulder for Tampa and Tampa Bay area because we've, we've seldom, we've gotten any positive attention for what we do from a hospitality perspective. Obviously the past five years, especially since Michelin has expose that on a different level in a positive way. But yeah, so we, we push the boundaries, man. We do what we want to do. We try not to be ignorant of business.
- [20:08]
Host
Support for Walk and Talk media comes from Metro Food Service Solutions, trusted by kitchens that need storage and workflow that actually does the job. Learn more@metro.com
- [20:20]
Farrell Alvarez
everything that we create is from our souls and it's stuff that we believe in and it's thing, it's things that we think that Tampa needs for fun, for education, for progression. For all of these reasons that continues to fuel me as a chef and restaurateur.
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Host
Before everything got fancy, there was Marty.
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Farrell Alvarez
Yeah.
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Host
And I mean, decades, like a long time. I think he's one of like, he's one of the OG elevated chefs in Tampa Bay. Like the, the.
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Farrell Alvarez
I mean, you could put Jeannie in a close second behind him, I think. But Marty, Marty's. Marty's it man. I mean, when I was in, when I was living in Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky and I was, you know, 16, 17 and getting into cooking, there was no food and wine or Bon Appetit. There was no Emerald Lagasse yet. There was no Food network, there was none of that. But there was Gourmet magazine and I used to read those things and Marty was featured in them and I was like, wow, like somebody from Tampa, like, that's wild. And he also was a tatted out biker. And he did, you know, like at that time still like just really progressive, thoughtful food. The same thing. I mean, I spent seven and a half years with him, you know, so I think that. Well, I don't think that heavily developed me as a chef and my style. Marty is an encyclopedia of culinary knowledge. I've never met anybody that knows more about cuisine on a global level than Martyr. He just, I mean, man, he's.
- [21:53]
Host
It's crazy, but he's also one of these cats that he gives the opportunities to.
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Farrell Alvarez
Yeah, dude. He's got a heart of gold.
- [21:59]
Host
He's got a heart of gold. I remember when we first started, you know, walk and Talk in the very beginning, I reached out to Marty and I didn't know him. I knew of him, obviously, but we didn't know each other. And I reached out and I said hey, this is what we're doing. Can we come to the. To the restaurant? This is in the original location. And he says, tell me about it a little bit more. Told him and. Yeah, come on in, man. Come on, let's go. And he was just. He's just one of these guys that. The personality doesn't match what he looks like.
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Farrell Alvarez
Yeah.
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Host
The appearance.
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Farrell Alvarez
Yeah.
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Host
You know, because he's a big dude. He's tatted like, you know, he looks like somebody you don't, you know, want to, you know, bump elbows with in an alley or something like that. But the guy is a teddy bear.
- [22:46]
Farrell Alvarez
Oh, dude, he's such a teddy bear. That's my big brother, man. He's. Yeah, he is like, you know, he grew up in Detroit, and he grew up in the generation before me, so that they grew up even harder than us. But heart of gold, he's an introvert. So I think I helped bring some emotion out of him when we spent time together in the kitchen in regards to, like, being a little bit softer. He opens up, and now, you know, he's been. I think mise en place has been around for 39 years. I mean, an independent restaurant doing that type of progressive cuisine that they started 39 years ago, and to still be in business is insane.
- [23:24]
Host
And the stones it takes to move locations at this point.
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Farrell Alvarez
Yeah.
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Host
Unfazed.
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Farrell Alvarez
Yeah. I think that shows like, that. You know, him and Marianne still have their finger. Finger on the pulse. And, you know, Ibor is on. On the up and up now with revitalization through gasworks and everything that's going on down there. So they took a leap, and I think he's going to ride this wave out into the sunset now, you know, as their last hurrah. And they deserve it, man. They deserve their flowers, and they've been around forever. And the most. The two most impactful people professionally in my life that did the most for me are, hands down, Marianne and Marty. And I'll never, ever forget that, and I'll forever be grateful.
- [24:04]
Host
You had a number of things in your life that you had to pivot into a new direction for one reason or another. And one of those, you. You lost a very close friend of yours, and it changed your life.
- [24:19]
Farrell Alvarez
Yeah, for sure.
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Host
Can you talk about Dino?
- [24:22]
Farrell Alvarez
Yeah, I try my best. You know, like I told you when I got here today, the irony is that today's Dino's birthday, so I don't know how that worked out, but you can hear my voice cracking already. Yeah, man. So me and Dino. Me, Dino Kevin, James, Kevin and Stephen, we all met around between seventh and eighth grade. Best friends, you know, Sal goes and Spring Hill, Florida. And, yeah, we're just tight, man. And then I went away to Cincinnati for, you know, high school for a while and then came back shortly thereafter and then connected at the hips, you know, it's just he and I.
- [25:08]
Host
Yeah, man, and we.
- [25:09]
Farrell Alvarez
We built a life together. And it was. It was great, but it was fast, you know, all while I was doing all these things, the Marcus Samuelson thing, the mise en place thing, Cincinnati, all that stuff, I was still living a fast life on the side. And I would say that it's. It's way more fast than the simple things that people do in high school, you know. All that to say that in 2007, our friend Joey was getting married. So we all go to the wedding. It was me, Kevin, Stephen and Dino. And at the end of the night, we were going back to my house to go change and then go to the after party. And it was raining. We're on Hernando, Hernando Beach. It was just, you know, two lane road, no street lights out there. It's, you know, in the swamp, quite literally. And Steven was driving and, yeah, he lost control of the car and overcorrected, oversteered. And we wound up going down the embankment at about 80. We hit a couple trees and one of those trees decided to kind of fall on a 45 degree angle. So then we jumped it and we flipped and we landed upside down. All of that I had to learn from, you know, the report afterwards because I blacked out pretty quick. I woke up, I'm upside down, horns blaring, lights are flashing, and we're a solid 40ft deep into the embankment, into the swamp. I tried to open up the door and the door is stuck. You know, in retrospect, it was because we were buried in the mud about 8 to 10 inches. So then I had to bash the window with my left elbow and I finally got that going and I got out of there and I'm in a suit still, but I didn't have my jacket on because I was leaving Joey's wedding and I had my dress shoes on. And I do vividly remember stepping out and my first two steps, the mud just sucked my shoes right off. That's how deep we were there. Next thing I know, I made it out of the woods. I'm on the embankment, and I see Stephen on the ground, quite literally rolling around. He had a lot of back pain. Kevin was kind of Bugging out. And he was just walking down the road, just kind of like walking away from everything. Because when you grew up the way we grew up, you know, if there's some trouble or police are going to come, you get the hell out of Dodge. So that's what he was doing by. By. By nature. And I remember an EMT coming up to me, and he's like, hey, we got to get you in the ambulance, man. You're pretty banged up. My head was split, and at the time, you. No pain, no nothing. Just straight adrenaline. But, yeah, I had several broken bones, and my head was split open and this and then the other, and. But I was just like, hey, we got one more stuck.
- [27:53]
Host
One more stuck.
- [27:55]
Farrell Alvarez
And he's like, it's okay, man. We got it. We got it. And I was like, no, no, no, Dino's in there. Like, there's Kevin, there's Steven, there's Dino's in there. And then he finally just grabbed me and he said, hey, man, your friend's. So, you know, I just kind of got numb. I got an ambulance. And then they wound up getting Stephen in the ambulance, and we were just laying on the beds together, the, you know, whatever, the gurneys, and I just grabbed his hand and held his hand all the way to hospital. Yeah, man.
- [28:32]
Host
Survivor's guilt is a. Is a real.
- [28:35]
Farrell Alvarez
Yeah, dude.
- [28:36]
Host
Is a real thing. And you should. And thank you for sharing this story, because at the end of the day, this is not just something to talk about. This is something that was part of your fire to forge you.
- [28:52]
Farrell Alvarez
Yeah, for sure. I mean, I turned. I got there, but it wasn't like that in the beginning. You know, I found it.
- [28:58]
Host
That's the struggle, and that's. And that's the journey, and everybody's got something. It's one thing to lose a friend. It's another thing for it to be tragic. And you're in it. Yeah, they're in it.
- [29:12]
Farrell Alvarez
And, you know what happens is that, you know, you lose that friend. And then Stephen, my friend who was driving, our friend who was driving, he has such survivors. Guilt and such remorse from the pressure he's getting from the world of hate, because he was driving, and D passed away. The sunroof was open. D got ejected. And that's the only reason we all survived is because we had a roof over our head, and we literally caught the roof and stayed in. D got ejected and. And. And was stuck under the car. So. But then, you know, a year and a half ago, I buried Stephen as well, because he became A drug addict because he was just trying to bury his sorrows. So it's like sometimes I feel like it just doesn't stop, you know, I think it's like you said, it's part of the journey, man. And then like I, I went on 8, 8 month bender after that, you know, I was still a single father to Eva. Mom was wiping my ass really at that point, you know, I mean, I lived on my own and stuff like that. Took care of my kid and was still working hard at Mise En Place, but I was a mess. So I was drinking heavily and I didn't kind of care at that point. And then after about eight months of living that way, my mom just was like, what are you doing? She's like, look at this little girl, you know, and how old is she? Let's see. I think she was only three, three and a half years old by that point. And maybe she was four because she still remembers going to Uncle D's house and he used to buy her the, the adore the explorer ice pops with the black eyes that were bubblegum. She still talks about that now. But yeah, so mom said that to me and thank God I'm not a religious person, but you know, cliche. Thank God that I was like, man, I got, I gotta do something, you know, like, this isn't, this isn't where I'm supposed to end. And Stephen was still alive at this time, obviously, you know, so Dino was the first friend that I lost. But then I wound up losing Stephen. But before I lost Stephen, I also lost the other Kevin. We all did. So we went from six to three. So now there's three of us standing strong still.
- [31:27]
Host
You know, tragedy has a way of choosing a path, or I should say tragedy can give you a couple of different paths. And one way is giving it up and the other way is rising. Ultimately you went on an eight month bender, but then you came out of it. If you were gonna. And I know this isn't gonna like, this isn't like a rubber stamp answer. That's some tragic shit.
- [31:55]
Farrell Alvarez
Yeah.
- [31:58]
Narrator
Four out of five hospitality professionals have faced at least one mental health challenge during their career. Stress, burnout, anxiety. These are everyday realities in kitchens, dining rooms and bars across North America. The Burnshaft Project North America is here to change that. They provide free anonymous support, direct care training and self care resources designed specifically for chefs, servers and hospitality staff. From therapy services to educational modules, they're answering the call for help in one of the toughest industries. It can't be Done alone. Your financial support makes this possible, ensuring that every hospitality professional has access to the tools they need to thrive. Join the movement in breaking the stigma. You email uscanadatheburntchefproject.com for donation details and mailing information or learn more about the mission@theburntshefproject.com
- [32:50]
Host
at one point you just, you know, your mom, you're looking at your three year old daughter. What did you had to think to yourself? I mean, was it like literally one of these things where you shake yourself and you say, oh my God, I just gotta, I gotta pull up my pants or I gotta make a ch. What did you do?
- [33:08]
Farrell Alvarez
Yeah, it wasn't like this. I, you know, it wasn't like this one date, this one time in this one moment. But.
- [33:13]
Host
Yeah, but I had to. No, but all of those things that were happening. Yeah, had to. It had to be a moment. You had to have like this thousand percent.
- [33:25]
Farrell Alvarez
When mom said that to me, you know, like letting anybody down to me makes me nauseous. Like it makes me hate myself. I just don't let, I can't let people down, you know, like that just. You control what you do, right? So if you say you're going to do something, then you do it. If you don't do it, you're letting somebody down. And that's just like, I don't know, it's so disrespectful. It's not in my DNA. So when mom said that to me, it really shook me, you know, I love my mom so much and I was like, she's right. So then I always wanted more in my life, you know, even when I was making horrible decisions, it was because I wanted more and I wanted better. Not just to have like money and clout and materialistic things, but I just wanted, I knew I, I always felt like I was better than average and I wanted to apply myself that way. And I did. Even through all that, I'm working full time and I'm grinding and I'm cutting. Coming up through the ranks in some serious restaurants, you know, so from 15 to 27, I'm already 12 years in the game by the time Dino leaves. So I have two choices, you know, I can either just become a cook and just continue with drugs and alcohol and just, you know, do that thing, or I could flip the script and, and be what I think that I deserve to be. And then, yeah, like, I guess that was my click, you know, And I was like f this man. And I just started grinding at mies. Harder, harder, harder. Marion and Marty started giving me some space and grace and teaching me things. I wound up buying my first house while I was there. I had my first child when I was there. Once I got promoted to cdc, which I created, I was the first person to ever be a chef de cuisine for Mise En Place. We created that position, and that's where I met Ty Rodriguez, my best friend and then my business partner for the next 22 years of my life. So, so many things came from so many bad things. Right. And I think that's kind of how it goes, and that's why it's important to not give up.
- [35:21]
Host
How do I say that? You said it a minute ago. You know, um, you may not be rooted in faith, but it. It seems that bad things do happen. Bad things are always going to happen, no matter what. Faith or whatever. But the truth is, people typically get closer to their faith or God or whatever because of these things. It's. It's inherent, you know, because we're only human and there's only so much that we're going to endure or understand. And at some point, you just have to literally give it up to move on, to make. To make a move, to make a change. Of course you're blessed to have your mom and even your daughter after all those things happen. Because, I mean, I'm assuming, you know, because if it were me and it was. And you know, when I remember when my daughter was born and I. And I held her and I'm looking at. And I just can't believe it. Like, oh, my. This is. This is of me. That was. I knew immediately there was going to be a pivot and a major life change.
- [36:30]
Farrell Alvarez
Yeah.
- [36:32]
Host
So between you having your mom with the, you know, the forceful encouragement, and then you have your three year old, these things had to be major movers.
- [36:47]
Farrell Alvarez
Yeah, for sure. And also, you know, When I was 19, my father got diagnosed with his first battle about cancer. And while I moved away to Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky, our relationship just kind of. It didn't fall apart, but it got very distant. So when I got back, kind of had some animosity towards that relationship. And then, then he got sick. And at 19, I was like, man, I could either like, continue to be distant, or now that I'm living back in Tampa, I can try to build this relationship to where it needs to be. And I did that. So from that point on, you know, I've been super close with Pops as well, and he's gone through cancer battles now for the. He's on his fourth one currently. And he's a grinder, too, man. He fights, you know, and it's the same thing. So I think between that and then having a baby at 23, 24, and then Dino and then the bender, and then realization of, like, you have two choices, right? You're gonna go left or right. So I chose to go right, thank God. And, yeah, I started to back away from the poor decisions and start to clean my life up and. And. And not have to worry about sleeping at night and looking over my shoulder. I started to really focus on my craft and give it all I got. In the next five years, I was able to transition from mise en place to my first proprietorship.
- [38:17]
Host
This story, your story, obviously, is. It's special and it's unique, but it seems that this is a story that is very common in the food industry. Not necessarily the different types of loss, but the lifestyle, and you come up against the wall where there's a choice. Either you go one way or you go the other. And, I mean, I've known many people in the industry that were major drug addicts and substance abusers, yet they found a way to get to work. And in some cases, you know, you lose some of those people. But the strong ones, when they come out of it, they are forged. They're a different kind of animal. It seems like you're. You're one of them.
- [39:13]
Farrell Alvarez
Thank you. I guess. Yeah, I take. I take pride in that.
- [39:17]
Host
You know, hey, man, that wasn't catastrophe. That was a compliment. It was nothing short of that.
- [39:23]
Farrell Alvarez
I receive it that way, and I'm grateful for it. You know, I'm like. I'm calloused in that way where, you know, I don't talk about my story because it's private to me. But also, I'm not. I don't want sympathy. I'm not looking for, you know, like, I. I have my moments, and I have my people, and I get through it that way, and I still, you know, try to ignore it and stuff like that, but as I get older, I start to embrace things like therapy and. And helping myself. But I feel great. You know, I feel really good. I have my moments. But, yeah, man, I mean, I'm. I've been through it, and I think I'm a stronger person because of it, and that was just the way it was supposed to be for me. You know, I believe that I look
- [40:03]
Host
at a bunch of different things when I'm speaking to chefs or I make an introduction to a chef that I would like to have on the program. Some of them are purely culinarily driven and others are because I think that there is something special in, in their life.
- [40:20]
Narrator
This episode is brought to you by Trimark, the largest food service design, equipment and supplies provider in North America. Trimark works directly with operators, bringing design, build expertise, supply sourcing strength, project management, installation and servicing together to power smarter hospitality kitchens.
- [40:38]
Host
Learn more@trimarkusa.com where we do a lot with mentorship in general with, you know, substance abuse and all that, mental health awareness. You know, we work with, you know, the Burnt Chef project and we, we try to do our little things and our part to, to help. Yeah, at least build awareness. Right. That's at least the least we could do. But when we were talking originally, just to start off it, it was the culinary part. And within minutes of our prep call, I was like, no, no, this is something, this is something extra. This is deeper. And I genuinely believe that a guy like you with a story that you have that you, you know, not that it's rags to riches, but it's like it's struggle to embracing where you are, the success, the failure, the fall in your face to get up again. It's embracing that and continuing forward. And I really believe that that's the story that either it could be a young chef, an old chef, it could be anybody who's going through a challenge. They can look at you and go, hey, wait, this guy was pretty deep in stuff, had a lot of circumstances, punch you in your face and you're, and you're here making beautiful crudo like, like this is what it is.
- [42:09]
Farrell Alvarez
Yeah. It's really important to me now to like, I guess I've always been, I'm, I'm a super big hearted person. I care so much about other people. But now I really try to, I'm just giving back and doing what I can to help others, whether it's my employees, whether it's, you know, back in the day, I mentored Leto High School, the culinary program there. Met some amazing human beings that are now, you know, 12 years later, they're in their mid to late 20s and they're running businesses of their own and I get to do collaborations with them all the way to my employees and just trying to, whether it's, you know, I buy somebody a knife because they don't have the money to buy a knife, or we put, we send somebody on a stash at another friend's restaurant out of state and we pay for their, you know, travel and lodging and get the experience, giving back, man. You. You know, you just. I feel like it's important that you have to do that, you know, and people took a chance on me, like you said. All these people were so generous to me and believed in me that I would be crazy not to reciprocate that type of love.
- [43:10]
Host
Hey, listen, you know, not everybody reciprocates the love, and not everybody understands really, what it means to do that. Some people are just takers.
- [43:25]
Farrell Alvarez
Yeah.
- [43:25]
Host
You know, and you get to find out who those people are pretty quickly, right?
- [43:29]
Farrell Alvarez
Absolutely.
- [43:30]
Host
Yeah. Clearly, you're not one of them.
- [43:34]
Farrell Alvarez
I would hate myself if I was that way, man. I just can't do it, you know? Like, there's so much to give in this world, and you got to help people. It feels good to me. Like, it makes me. It genuinely makes me happy. I. I got this guy that lives by me. He's. He's homeless, unhoused, and he lives on 50th by the 275. I see him, like four or five times is Anthony. You know, I see him four or five times a week. He's. He's amputee, goes in and out of drug addiction and stuff. But, you know, we. I bring him food. I never give him money, but I bring him food, I bring him clothes, and I just care for him, you know, he just. He's there. We see each other so much, and I think, like, those things happen to people for a reason, you know, and it's like, some. I'm not. I don't feel obligated, but I feel inclined to help that person. And, like, what's a bag of clothes to me? You know, what's. What's a meal to me? When this guy's living on the street with one leg and, you know, that's literally his entire life right now. So little things like that speak to me heavily all the way up to my people in the business, to doing whatever I can, man. I. I try to do. I try to do a lot. I try not to. I don't turn down interviews. I don't turn down, you know, podcast. You know, I. No matter how big, like you guys or how small, like young kids that are coming up in high school or college, I try to do whatever I can to. To spread that type of energy because I believe it was spread to me, and it got me to where I am. So I need to be as good as others to. Word to me.
- [44:57]
Host
I hate saying pay it forward as a. Like a cliche thing, for sure.
- [45:01]
Farrell Alvarez
Yeah. Pay forward, man. Like organically, without, without. Like, without Instagram, without the bells and whistles, without the attention. You do it because it's. It's really what is in your heart is the right thing to do, not because you want to get patted on the back for it.
- [45:13]
Host
Do you think success runs out?
- [45:17]
Farrell Alvarez
I guess it's depending on how you measure success. I don't measure success through monetary gains, and that's coming from somebody who didn't have any money in the beginning. At 22, I had. I had a pretty fat stack of cash about my first home. I think at that time, it was like 250,000 bucks. And, you know, 25, 26 years ago, that was a lot of money. I've lost. I lost everything. And then I rebuilt it again. And, you know, you go through those moments and you realize, like, successes. Success is waking up and being alive and just being able to breathe today, right? Like, that's a success. To me, success is being able to touch all my employees and give them an opportunity to be able to feed their families through working and through getting paid. Like, literally the foundation of, like, just working with the company all the way up to glowing people up on social and giving opportunities and attention and spreading it to my friends and my family and all those things, man. You know, I think that's all success for me. Money, money, especially in my industry and my position, you know, it. It goes. There's peaks and valleys, so it can't be measured through that. I've been fortunate, we've been doing well, but it wasn't always that way, man. And I think a lot of people from the outside looking in have a misconception of what my success might be or maybe how I perceive it. But I feel rich in success in the sense where I got so many people that believe in me, that count on me, that support me and love me. So, yeah, I feel super successful, and I don't think that's going to run out. To get back to your question, you know, like, I think my wife always says, I'm like, sometimes I get stressed out. We love the islands. And like, I'm like, man, I just want to cash out and go to an island. She's like, you know, if we did that, you would still open up a little shack to do something because you can't sit still and you have to, like, be cooking or doing something, which is true, you know, like, I always have to be doing something adhd.
- [47:24]
Host
I heard that. Would you say that rooster in the till? I mean, that was Your jump off point, right? I mean it's multi year bib gourmand receiver for Michelin recipient. I should say that's kind of a big deal.
- [47:45]
Farrell Alvarez
Yeah, Rooster's a big deal.
- [47:46]
Host
It is a big deal. People look at Michelin in a couple of different ways. I understand both sides of this, but at the end of the day, it changes your life thousand percent.
- [47:58]
Farrell Alvarez
And I'm with you on that. I definitely have my opinions on those things. But I say Rooster is a big deal. Not like in a boastful way, but like Rooster is a big deal to me. And Rooster changed my life. And I honestly think that it changed a lot of people's lives that, you know, we've had an opportunity to touch the community, the neighborhood, the property values. Also like the culinary world in Tampa, you know, it was, we're 12 and a half years old right now, which is wild to say and think about.
- [48:29]
Host
Support for Walk and Talk Media comes from Crab Island Seafood Dip creating chef driven crab dips made with real seafood and bold flavor. Learn more@cord islandseafooddip.com well, especially because you weren't backed by venture capitalists. Like you had friends that, relationships or whatever that believed in what you were doing and that's what kind of like lifted the thing up.
- [48:53]
Farrell Alvarez
Five people, man. So the short, the short version of that is after Mise En Place, I took over a restaurant in Tampa with Ty as the GM and for four years. And at the, at the end of those four years, for the first time, for the first time in our lives, we both got fired. And we're not the people that get fired. You know, we've never been fired in our entire lives. But the owner was going through a separation with his wife and money became a factor and he needed to be smart about his finances. So that's where we found ourselves. I was always a dreamer. You know, I sketch looked at restaurants, went to my friend's wedding in Maine, to Kevin's wedding. And I stepped into this place called Duck Fat and it was so cool. To me, it's a shotgun style restaurant. Homemade charcuteries, pates, breads. They do really dope sandwiches with those items. Craft beer and soda, you know, like an honor system, cooler, help yourself type of thing. Shoulder to shoulder crammed in there. Very like New York City energy in regards to like the spacing. But it's still around. Duck Fat in Portland, Maine. So that one just stuck to me because I was like, to me that felt like obtainable for where I was at in Life from a monetary perspective and what I was able to maybe create on my own, to me, that was obtainable, you know, like, I was like, oh, this is like something that, like, I could probably do in my future, you know. So then when I got into the position where Ty and I were released from our jobs and I'm a single dad and I find myself on unemployment, slightly embarrassed, mostly shocked, but then I'm like, okay, what do I do? You know, And I'm not just gonna sit around and, and, and, and, and cry. So I was like, I'm gonna do a restaurant. And like, even saying it now is like, I had no idea. And I often say in interviews and stuff, if I knew how naive I was, I probably wouldn't have taken the risk. Or if I knew all the risks and I wasn't naive, I wouldn't have taken the risk, right? Like, I called up four friends, Todd Sturts. And I said, Todd Sturts, Brian Schaefer, my father and my stepmother and my Uncle Lou and my Aunt Joan. And I was in shorts. I could still remember so vividly. I'm in a pair of shorts. And I had downsized my life to a two bedroom house for Eva and I that was right behind Rooster, and I was living in a rental with her. And I called each of those people up back to back within like 20 minutes. And I was like, hey, I'm thinking about doing this little idea. And explained to them this small concept that I had, which was, you know, homemade charcuterie, making sandwiches, really dope, compound salads, boutique wines by the glass, craft beer that was, you know, would reclaim wood, Edison light bulbs and craft beer with all the rage. Then we're talking 14 years ago, right? So I said, I'll. I would like to borrow $10,000 on a promissory note that I drafted by hand. At that point, I said, I'll pay you back 10% interest. I'll accrue it over three years, and I'll pay you off at the end of year three. And the first four phone calls, they all said yes to me. And I was blown away. So Now I had 40,000 bucks. And then I called my fifth friend, which was Joe Caballero. Huge mentor in my life at that time. He was the president of a local bank. And he's slightly older than me, but he was just so. I looked up to him. He's so sharp, man, just knew so much and had just. He had a very different life than me. And here's a Jesuit graduate, a family of like Comes from a family of 10 or 12, but they're all successful. They're all so intelligent and they're all so put together. And he gave me the, the space to learn and to just understand kind of where he was coming from by osmosis. He used to go to his house and eat so much and he. So I asked him for the 10 grand. He's like, I'm not going to give you 10 grand, but I'll give you 20 grand for some equity. I say, hey, let me, let me sit on this, Joe, and I'll call you back tomorrow. So I immediately jump on the Internet. I'm like, what is equity? And I'm trying to figure out what the heck he's talking about. So long story short, you know, Joe gave me 20 grand for 20%. So I called up Ty and I said, hey man, we're going to do this, I'm going to do this. Ty had a full time job, so he was just focusing on that because he was a single father as well. So he was working for, as executive director for Gasparilla Music Festival at that time. And my best friend and chef who had followed me from Mise En Place to the next job and then now was with me to come to Rooster. Brian Lampy. It was just him and I and to. To scrunch it all up, I found a white box in Seminole Heights that cost about twelve hundred dollars a month that had a bathroom and four walls. I leveraged a relationship with a designer that we knew from Mise En Place, Jamie Rogers, and she gave me ideas and assisted us with for trade. I rented a U Haul and I went to a sports bar in Oldsmar and bought all their furniture and I negotiated them down for 210 bucks for their tables, their chairs and their bar stools. Mind you, I only had 32 seats in Rooster, so it wasn't that big. Jay Goldstein of mine helped me sand them and paint them black. Jamie helped us decorate. Brian and I drove around the neighborhood and found reclaimed fencing that was fallen over. And we took it all in a truck, brought it back to the unit and took it apart with our hands sitting on buckets. I have pictures of it just pulling all the nails. I built a reclaimed wall. I bought lights off of Etsy that used to be they were repurposed chicken feeders. And we figured it out, man. Kyle Haberson was a local mill worker and he helped me build the bar. And for $60,000 we built Rooster in the Till 1.0. I had no gas, no Grease trap, no hood system. I lied to the state in regards to like, you have to present to the DBPR to what, you know, what you're going to be doing, food wise. And I made everything on the menu. If I'm doing like homemade pates where I can use a convection oven that didn't need a hood, and then I can use induction burners and a couple circulators and I can pull it off. And quite frankly, we did, man. And for the first eight months, you know, it was a grind. We were on two to three hour waits. We got high praise from the Tampa Bay Times, and we were able to stack capital. And then by like month 20, the lady next to us in the space next to us, she moved out with her art store. The landlord asked if we wanted that space and we built it out for the proper way that you see Rooster now. Although we've remodeled probably three times, hodgepodge style. But that's like, you couldn't do that again with that money if you tried, you know, Mostly because the city's aware of all these loopholes now. But yeah, man, it was just, it was the way it was meant to be for me. I put a ton of energy into it with Miles and Ty and Brian and Leah and all these amazing people that stood by us and we made it happen, man.
- [55:42]
Host
You said something that stuck with me. On our call, success isn't difficult. Most people just aren't willing to put in the effort to make it happen.
- [55:52]
Farrell Alvarez
Yeah, I believe that.
- [55:53]
Host
What responsibility comes with somebody believing in your dream.
- [55:59]
Farrell Alvarez
Wow. A lot. You know, like everybody that works for me is running my dream and I say my just because you're speaking to me. But obviously it's a team, right? I got Sean's dream and Ty, my partner, Mazma partner, ex partners. And you're asking people to meet your standard, meet your expectation and maintain it, receive feedback, improve, but run a dream that you're solely articulating to them that exist inside your head. Right. So leading them through that process is really important. Having grace while doing so and making sure that you understand the full capacity of what you're asking of them and then in giving them in some opportunity to grow within that space as well, which has been kind of my growth over the past five to seven years for letting people exercise their own creativity within our space. And I've learned that when you do that, you're really surprised on what comes to fruition and you start to build steam with a grain of salt.
- [57:02]
Host
Chef. And we just met in person. Okay? But I have a superpower. I read people really well. I know ahead of time the cats that are going to look to stick it to me in the future. I know these things. I know good, bad, whatever. You really seem like a genuine dude, good guy. I don't mean that you were a saint. I don't mean that you didn't know do dirt. It's not what I'm talking about. Your heart is gigantic, and it seems that you like to help people. So with that said, in the future, you're out of the restaurant business whenever that is in your life. What do you want people to remember about you?
- [57:52]
Farrell Alvarez
I would hope that they would say that Pharrell Alvarez was someone that gave more than he tried to receive, that really cared for people genuinely. I hope that they would say that I was a good chef and did well by Tampa, you know, because I. I really. I love Tampa, man. I bleed Tampa. And I really want everybody to. To rise up and do well. It's not a competition for me, man. I want. I want everybody to. To. To succeed and be happy and harmonious, you know? So I guess at the end of it all, I want them to feel that I'm a genuinely good man and that I did right by everybody.
- [58:35]
Host
Amen, chef. When I tell you that I'm sincerely thankful that you came out and spent time with us today, I mean that. And I know that they mean, you know, John and Will's here today. Group, group consensus. How do people find you?
- [58:54]
Farrell Alvarez
You can hit me up on Instagram. Feral Alvarez proper house group will link you to everything. At Rooster Natil, at Ash, Tampa, at Alter Ego, at Gaiito Taqueria, at. Dang, dude, I think I got them all.
- [59:13]
Host
Excellent. We're going to continue our relationship together, too. Listen, guys, appreciate everybody doing what they do. We are out.