Chef Peter Garces: Everything the Fire Couldn't Take

Summary

Walk-In Talk Podcast Episode Summary

Chef Peter Garces: Everything the Fire Couldn't Take

Date: July 17, 2026
Host: Carl Fiadini
Guest: Chef Peter Garces

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Episode Overview

This episode of the Walk-In Talk Podcast spotlights Chef Peter Garces, tracing his journey from Brooklyn pizza kitchens and martial arts dojos to rebuilding life and business after a devastating house fire. Host Carl Fiadini dives deep into Peter's development as a chef, the role of family, the realities of working in hospitality, and the creation of By the Chef Pizza in Lakeland, Florida. Themes of resilience, discipline, artistry, mentorship, legacy, and the meaning of true belonging are woven throughout the conversation.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Brooklyn Roots and Culinary Beginnings

• Starting Out:
  Raised in Brooklyn, surrounded by family, food, and the pulse of the city’s pizza culture.

  • Early influence: Cooking with his mother instilled a sense of "wonder" and passion for food (03:28).
  • Early ambition sparked by observing Chef JJ Johnson, a friend of his brother and a role model who showed the broader possibilities for culinary professionals (09:24).

• Quote:
  Chef Peter Garces: “I see a restaurant that I opened because this is something that I can see in Pennsylvania, in New Jersey. I feel like my concept could work in New York, where all the competition is so tough.” (02:24)

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2. The Art and Science of Pizza

• Not Technically an Artist:
  Chef Peter doesn’t consider himself “artsy,” but sees culinary work as blending logic, science, color theory, and symmetry with instinct (04:32, 06:42).

  • Uses principles such as color theory and symmetry to create visually compelling dishes (06:42).
  • Pizza as a “blank canvas”—where the science of dough and the art of topping placement meet.

• Memorable Exchange:
  Host 2: “I think art is science, except it’s abstract in some ways. Peter, if you ask me, I think you probably either can sing, you can paint, draw, do charcoal, pastels or something…You’ve got an eye for this.”
  Chef Peter Garces: “I’ll take your interpretation to heart...It is art, and it is science—just through the medium of an art.” (08:08)

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3. Martial Arts, Discipline, and Professional Growth

• Discipline’s Foundation:
  Martial arts from age 6 to 18 instilled enduring discipline and mindset, later transferred to the kitchen.

  • “When problems occur, there’s certain ways you deal with it. There’s the right way; there’s the wrong way...I had the mental fortitude of 'keep going, don’t mess up, focus, don’t break your focus.'” (15:17)

• Pivotal Experience:
  First solo lunch shift at Roberta’s thousand-degree oven—a test of grit and composure under pressure.
  Memorable Line:
  Chef Peter Garces: “Did not burn a pie in that lunch shift there.” (17:07)

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4. Industry Realities: Hard Knocks & Lessons Learned

• The Toughest Kitchens:
  Apisa Regionale in Brooklyn stands out as the most demanding job, pushing him to his limits but ultimately “polishing” his skills (17:58).

• Kitchen Culture:
  Honest discussion on toxicity vs. growth: enduring harsh environments can foster strength, but only if there’s genuine knowledge to be gained (20:08).
  Host 2: “If that same person can teach you something, absorb it, man, and then leave and go do your own thing.” (21:33)

• Learning from Mistakes:
  Even as an expert, you only “make less mistakes than a white belt would.” (19:24)

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5. Defining Moments: On Making an Impact

• Mama’s Too and Viral Pizza:
  Trusted his intuition to fill the display window with all menu pizzas despite instructions otherwise—Jerry Seinfeld became a regular, New York Times review brought lines out the door.

  • “He sees a beautiful display window...he tries it. And from that day on, he said, ‘Hey, this is my favorite pizza.’” (22:18)

• Sense of Belonging:
  Felt true vindication and pride knowing his craft shaped a viral city moment—“I did it right.” (26:10)

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6. Personal Crisis: The Fire and Aftermath

• Multiple House Fires:
  Family home in Brooklyn caught fire three (possibly four) times due to neighbors—final and most devastating during COVID (27:39).

  • “At no point did I ever think that I was going to lose everything, everything. Because that's the third or fourth time that the house caught fire...But this was not the same.” (28:44)

• Life Lessons:
  Profound gratitude for the stranger who woke them—anonymously saving multiple lives.
  Quote:
  Chef Peter Garces: “There are amazing people out there, because that stranger that knocked on the door and woke us up most likely did save all our lives inside that house that day.” (32:23)

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7. Rebuilding from Scratch in Florida

• Culture Shock and Opportunity:
  Transition from Brooklyn to Lakeland, Florida was challenging. Peter recognized local respect is earned over time—not via a New York resume alone (36:55).

• Family and Partner Support:
  With the support of his father and best friend/business partner Nigel, and the resources of Catapult, Peter launched By the Chef Pizza, first as mobile, then brick-and-mortar within a year (01:40, 34:56).

• Early Days and Momentum:
  Despite challenges (lower pay, unfamiliar markets), leveraged his NY experience to build something new and exceptional for Lakeland.
  Host 2: “At some point, you had to figure out that having a New York resume didn’t automatically earn you respect here. Time gets your respect here, time consistency in what you do.” (36:55)

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8. Vision and Legacy

• Ongoing Ambition:
  By the Chef Pizza is just the start:

  • Wants to expand into new concepts and multiple locations, but still deeply involved in day-to-day operations.
  • Measures success as the point where “the business is still running and I don’t have to put so much focus into being there” (38:33).

• Family & Legacy:
  Family—especially his father—integral to his success and vision for legacy. Chef Peter Garces: “Can’t put into words how important family is. Especially, you know, after the fire...Without him and Catapult, this wouldn’t have, you know, By the Chef wouldn’t have happened.” (49:32, 52:33)

• Dream for the Future:
  The goal is not just to build a successful pizza shop, but to create something that lasts for future generations (53:56).

  • “That’s exactly what I’m trying to build...Legacy is, I believe, the main word that I would go with.”

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9. The Science and Myth of Pizza

• True NY Pizza, Not About the Water:
  Dispels the myth that New York water makes NY pizza great—focuses on skill, proper technique, and high-quality ingredients.

  • “Either you can make bread or you can’t make bread...You don’t go to a bakery and say, ‘Hey, because you don’t have NY water, your bakery isn’t good.’” (46:52)
  • Highlights importance of sauce: “Don’t sleep on the sauce. The sauce is super important. Incredibly.” (47:31)

• Quality and Consistency:
  Reviews feedback, monitors quality daily, strives to embody the lessons of his mentors in every pie (43:32, 43:53).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Chef Peter Garces on Wonder and Passion:
  “As a kid…that was the best part of the day. Ooh, food. I’m watching ingredients go in...and I think as an adult, that translates into passion.” (03:28)

• On Chef JJ Johnson's Influence:
  “If I’m willing to do the same thing, maybe I can do the same.” (09:24)

• On Intuition and Success:
  “I felt like my intuition was telling me otherwise...who comes in through that door a minute later…Jerry Seinfeld…And from that day on, he said, ‘Hey, this is my favorite pizza.’” (22:18)

• On Surviving Crisis:
  “He didn’t have to do that…he didn’t even know there was anybody in there.” (32:23)

• On Pizza Mythology:
  “Either you know how to make a crust, or you don’t…Pizza is the same way.” (46:52)

• On Legacy:
  “That’s exactly what I’m trying to build. And legacy—legacy is the main word…one day when I’m gone, they will still have a By the Chef there to hopefully support them.” (54:02)

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Important Timestamps

| Segment | Timestamp | |---------------------------------------|-----------:| | Peter’s mindset after the fire | 02:24 | | Early culinary wonder | 03:28 | | Talking artistry and pizza as a canvas| 05:27 | | The discipline of martial arts | 13:54 | | Trauma and resilience at Roberta’s | 15:17 | | Toughest kitchen experiences | 17:58 | | Kitchen culture, learning and abuse | 20:08 | | Mama’s Too, NY Times, Seinfeld story | 22:18 | | The house fire(s) and aftermath | 27:17 | | Life lessons from crisis | 32:23 | | Moving to Florida, starting over | 36:55 | | Ambition, vision for the future | 38:33 | | The art/science of real NY pizza | 46:52 | | The deeper meaning of family and legacy| 49:32 | | Vision for generational impact | 53:23 | | Episode close, contact details | 54:51 |

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Additional Highlights

• On Support:
  Partner Nigel Van Groningen receives multiple shout-outs for loyalty and business partnership (34:56, 55:25).

• Host’s Endorsement:
  Carl affirms By the Chef Pizza as the “closest thing to actual New York pizza that I have had in Florida” and names it as the official pizzeria for the Walk-In Talk studio (41:11).

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Takeaways

• Chef Peter Garces’ journey is a testament to grit, adaptability, and the enduring power of family and mentorship.
• Resilience in the face of loss and embracing new beginnings can forge a culinary legacy that is both authentic and innovative.
• The truest pizza, like the best chefs, is built on passionate study, discipline, humble roots, and connection—with nothing that fire can take away.

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Find By the Chef Pizza at bythechef.pizza – 1212 S. Florida Ave, Lakeland, FL. Instagram: @bythechefpizza

Transcript

[Host 1]

Sometimes losing everything forces you to finally build what was always inside you. Chef Peter Garces grew up in Brooklyn, surrounded by food, family, and the unmistakable rhythm of New York pizza. His love for cooking began beside his mother, but the idea that it could become a life came from watching chefs like James beard Award winner J.J. johnson turn skill, culture, and creativity into something larger. Peter went to culinary school, worked his way through dish pits, garment stations, grills, saute lines, and some of New York's

[Host 2]

most respected pizza kitchens.

[Host 1]

At Roberta's, he stepped in front of a thousand degree oven with almost no experience and somehow made it through a New York lunch rush without burning a pie. At a pizza regionale, the work nearly broke him, but it also hardened his discipline. At Pizza Loves Emily, he learned what happened when pizza was treated with the same intention as any serious culinary craft. And at Mama's, too, Peter found himself

[Host 2]

at the center of one of the

[Host 1]

most talked about pizzerias in New York. When the New York Times arrived, the pizzas photographed for the review were his. When the review hit, the line wrapped around the block. And when Peter ignored an instruction to keep the menu simple and filled the display with every pie he could make, Jerry Seinfeld walked in and discovered a pizza that kept him coming back. It felt like momentum. Then Peter's house burned down. He lost nearly everything and left a city that shaped him. He arrived in Florida and discovered that the experience and reputation he'd built in New York did not automatically follow him. The kitchens were different, the pay was different, and once again, he had to prove who he was. But the fire didn't end the story. It redirected it. With the support of his parents and his lifelong friend and business partner, Nigel,

[Host 2]

and a place called Catapult that gave

[Host 1]

him the resources to start again, Peter launched a mobile pizza operation and moved into a brick and mortar restaurant within the same year. Today, by the Chef, Pizza is not simply another pizzeria. It's the result of every kitchen that trained him, every person who believed in him, every shift that tested him, and everything that that fire could not take away. He doesn't simply want to own a pizza shop. He wants to leave a mark. This is a story about craft, loss, fatherhood, ambition, and what happens when a man is forced to start again but refuses to start small. Chef Peter Gar says welcome to Walk and Talk. When you look at by the Chef today, do you see a restaurant you open or the life you rebuilt after the fire?

[Chef Peter Garces]

I see a restaurant that I opened because this is something that I Can see in Pennsylvania, in New Jersey. I feel like my concept could work in New York, where all the competition is so tough. I just feel like I. I came up with something that reflected such a long career, and because the career was just, you know, I put everything into it. It just translated into me putting everything into my own concept. And I do believe that that concept was inevitable. Whether it be because the fire happened in all my trials of tribulation, or even if everything went well in my life, I still believe I would have ended up with a by the chef pizza.

[Host 2]

You grew up cooking with your mother before you got into kitchens or any of that. When you look back and you contrast that against where you are today, what did those early moments with your mom give you that culinary school couldn't?

[Chef Peter Garces]

Oh, so I would say wonder. You know, like, you get a real sense of wonder as a kid from things that as an adult, you don't necessarily do. I believe that as a kid cooking with my mom or even just watching my mom cook, you know, that was the best part of the day. Ooh, food. I'm watching ingredients go in, fire roaring, and I'm seeing something wonderful happened. And I think because of that sense of wonder as a child that I was able to experience, I was able to hold onto that. And I think as an adult, that translate into passion. So it's still wonderful, it's still magical, but now I know the science behind it. Whereas as a kid, it was just wonder. Now it's passion and art.

[Host 2]

Are you a creative guy? Outside of cooking, did you grow up into with art or music or something like this?

[Chef Peter Garces]

To be honest, no.

[Host 2]

I want all lies. Yes.

[Chef Peter Garces]

To be honest, I would say no. I was never really the artsy, artistic person, and maybe that's why the art of culinary is something that just stands out so much to me because that is the one art that I like, you know, really love, aside from martial arts. I grew up training martial arts. I was always like a sports kind of fighter type of kid. Not so much art.

[Host 2]

So if that's the case, when you're looking at plates, when you're looking at food and you're looking at colors and there's so many different things that you can do with it. And right now you're in pizza, which is fantastic. When you're looking at pizza versus French or some other cuisine, how are you. Do you see, like, negative space on plates? How are you approaching that? You know, just from the. From the. The art. The perspective of.

[Chef Peter Garces]

Of an artist, I. I feel like the Pizza is kind of a blank canvas. You know, you get a piece of dough and really it can look like whatever you want, depending on what you put on that dough. So from the. From the aspect or the context of. Of an artist, when I look at pizza, I look at it as a blank canvas that I can fill in. And when I think about what I'm filling it in with, there's the obvious. So I want color, I want. Start to go into your other senses. I want texture, I want all these things, and I just really want it to come together as a complete dish. And if it's going to come together as a complete dish, then it has to hit a lot of different sensory marks.

[Host 2]

You know, you cooked up a handful of different pies. When we plated the cannoli, I was pleasantly surprised how pretty it looked. Now what you put together, and it was all you. We had some microgreens and microflowers and whatnot. Marvin came by today from Kaaba Club, and you kind of jazzed up the cannolis. But the photography was beautiful on that. It looked really pretty.

[Chef Peter Garces]

So when I was putting that together, I try to stick with, I guess, simple, logical things throughout life. So symmetry, color theory. I'm big into science and all that, so I do try to use these things. So, yeah, if I put purple here on top of a white plate, obviously it's gonna pop more. I put red on a plate, it's going to pop even more than that. So I try to keep all these things in my mind when I'm trying to, you know, put together a dish. And it is really spur of the moment. Like, hey, this is my gut feeling. I think purple won't look as well here as red will look here. So there is definitely, again, I would say, less artistic and more a scientific approach to the art. Again, like, I like symmetry, I like color theory. So I can take all of that logic and try to wrap it in, like, okay, maybe this flower would look good here. Maybe I should position it in this aspect so it's symmetrical with this side.

[Host 2]

I think art is science, except it's abstract in some ways. Peter, if you ask me, I think you probably either can sing, you can paint, draw, do charcoal, pastels or something. And obviously, you know, John had something to do with. With this as well. And he just. The photography is. Is gorgeous. Stunning, really. You've got a. You've got an eye for this.

[Chef Peter Garces]

I'll take your interpretation, you know, to heart and your word for it to heart, because you are right. It is art. And it is science, just through the medium of an art, you know, as you were discussing. So I can definitely see that. I just. Maybe it's a personal thing. It's. I feel like artists put so much time and effort into that painting, that music, that thing, that maybe it's just a humbleness in myself that I'm just like, I have more work to do.

[Host 2]

Yeah, but that.

[Host 1]

That is.

[Host 2]

It's a. It's. It is humble, but that's what you're doing when you're cooking. You're putting the same energy, you're putting the same time. It's the same motivation, it's the same passion.

[Chef Peter Garces]

Sure.

[Host 2]

You know, except we're not eating a painting. We're eating what's on the plate, Right?

[Chef Peter Garces]

Oh, yeah.

[Host 2]

But you. You didn't go to culinary school, but you did. You did have direction, and you sought after direction. You. You go the extra mile to learn. One of those people is Chef JJ Johnson, James Beard recipient. How does a young guy getting into this business even meet a JJ Johnson, let alone being able to leverage somebody like that to give guidance in your culinary career?

[Chef Peter Garces]

Luck happenstance. My family just so happened to be really good friends. My brother is best friends with him, and that gave me the opportunity to just watch him as I was a kid. And once I was a teenager, I noticed, wow, my brother's best friend is on TV as a chef. So with that crazy, maybe, maybe that's something that I can possibly do one day. I work hard because I know he worked hard. So if I'm willing to do the same thing, maybe I can do the same.

[Host 2]

This episode is brought to you by

[Host 1]

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. Learn [e-mail]

[Host 2]

what's a conversation with him like for you? From your perspective, you go, hey, I mean, what do you call him? Jj?

[Chef Peter Garces]

Yeah, I call him Chef. But, I mean, honestly, you didn't always

[Host 2]

call him Chef, though.

[Chef Peter Garces]

I didn't always call him Chef. Honestly, as a kid, my brother's eight years older than me. I assume Chef JJ is either seven or eight years older than me. So I was always just that little annoying kid. I was the little annoying kid around my brother and his friends. And that's how. I wouldn't say that Chef JJ also, you know, looked at me as, oh, that's John's little brother over there. But for sure, as I got older again. I recognized the chef and the level of expertise that he had, and that made me want to give him the respect that he earned and call him chef because he's earned that title. He worked very hard for that title. And as at the time, being a teenager, wanting to get into the field, I need to recognize who has paid their dues and try to learn from them and. And try to grasp whatever I can from them, so that way I could one day myself be a great chef.

[Host 2]

You said earlier that you're into martial arts and you were fighting. Were you getting into trouble as a kid?

[Chef Peter Garces]

No, I was. I just love martial arts and fighting. Like, I was that kid watching Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan and even ufc. As I got into my teens, I wanted to be an MMA fighter for actually a very long time, I wanted to be an MMA fighter along with a chef. I got into a. I trained for a while, and I got into a bad accident, so it kind of veered me away from that. But I always have a love for martial arts. From the age of five, I train martial arts, and it's. That's an art for me, too, I would say.

[Host 2]

So look, you know, you're talking about Brooklyn. You're talking about the boroughs, New York and everything. And, you know, I lived in Brooklyn as a kid in Benson Earth, and also Stout Island. And I don't know how it is today, but back then there was a lot of fighting. Just was what it was. What drove you into martial arts?

[Chef Peter Garces]

What drove me into martial arts is my dad going to Blockbuster on Fridays and then coming back with whatever he could find.

[Host 2]

Some Van Damme movies.

[Chef Peter Garces]

Oh, yeah, you already know how that goes. So one day he's coming home with Bruce Lee, Enter the Dragon. The next week he's coming home with the Jackie Chan. Who am I? You know, And I'm just watching these things, and I'm just like, wow, this is like. This martial arts thing is really cool. There's a discipline, there's a sense of pride and respect with it, and I just love that, even as a kid.

[Host 2]

All right, this is a yes or no question. Steven Seagal.

[Chef Peter Garces]

No.

[Host 2]

Okay. Don't leave me at the. Nah. But I gotta tell you, when we were Come. When John and I, when we were coming up, Steven Seagal was. He was. He was it. Yeah, he was it. And I don't know if it was just him, but it was like the style and the. The shooting, like, the actual cinematography was real fast in your face and doing things that you're not accustomed to seeing and all that stuff. And then it got weird as I get older and the whole thing. But. But yes, we heard your answer.

[Chef Peter Garces]

Awesome.

[Host 2]

Martial arts, boxing, ufc, any, any of these fighting styles. It's a discipline. How old were you when you started?

[Chef Peter Garces]

I trained from 6 until I was 18. Straight stopped as soon as I got out of high school, and then I went back to training, but this time specifically for mma, because again, I. If I do something, I'm going to try to do it. So I made it a point to try to be an MMA fighter, and I trained for a good year and a half and I was committed to try to make it in the cage. And that's when I, you know, just unfortunately got into a car accident and I messed up my leg a little bit. Nothing too crazy, but it did definitely postpone all the, you know, growth I could have continued, but the chef thing while I was healing was just glowing and getting bigger and bigger.

[Host 2]

Discipline comes from somewhere, and if you. And if you want to make it in the food industry, you have to have it. When you were at Roberta's, you were in charge of a thousand degree oven, and you got stuck manning that oven by yourself on a busy shift when you weren't really prepared or ready for that, and somehow you made it through. Is there a correlation between all those years of martial arts and the discipline of it and then having the stones to make it through a shift in New York at a busy, very busy establishment like Roberta's?

[Chef Peter Garces]

100%. I'm so grateful for martial arts as a kid because I was already undisciplined kids, but specifically me, I was very undisciplined. And that really instilled a sense of not only discipline, but how to deal with life problems, because martial arts is a way of life. So when problems occur, there's certain ways you deal with it. There's the right way, there's the wrong way. When I'm in the middle of a rush, the first time in New York City on a thousand degree oven, Roberta, is because my manager said, hey, I think you got it. Let's see. And I go for a test run. I'm able to. I was able to pull it off simply because I had the mental fortitude of, keep going, don't mess up. Focus, don't break your focus. But if you do mess up, it's okay, keep going. You don't stop, there will be a time to stop. There's always something. Someone's going to stop you. Something is going to stop you. Until that happens, go and make it through. And I had that mentality from martial arts. Hey, you get in trouble, your sensei is making you do a bunch of push ups. You gotta make it through those pushups some way.

[Host 2]

Well, you know, it's funny, a lot of the people who go out to dine, a good many of them have never been in a kitchen. Hardly anybody outside of the industry will understand the ticket machine and the printing sound and having a full wheel of orders when you're talking about a kid in charge of, it's intimidating. And you're talking about fire and ovens and heat, 600, 800, 1,000 degrees. That's intimidating to make it through something like that and not really being trained for it. And you said that you didn't burn

[Chef Peter Garces]

a pie that day, did not burn a pie in that lunch shift there.

[Host 2]

Was it at that moment that you knew you were built to be in this industry?

[Chef Peter Garces]

I feel like I had the clarification, that level of clarification before. What that showed me or proved to me was that pizza specifically was something that I needed to pay more attention to and to try out.

[Host 2]

Have you gotten your ass kicked in this business? Abused?

[Chef Peter Garces]

I would say everyone in this career has at some point. So that's a hard yes.

[Host 2]

Where were you pushed the hardest? You've been in some pretty high end places. Where would you say that you experienced that the most?

[Chef Peter Garces]

This is one place that really stands out. It was a PISA regionale in Brooklyn. They had opened

[Host 1]

kind of like a

[Chef Peter Garces]

food hall type deal and Apisa Regional was located in there. That was a very difficult job because they wanted everything perfect. They wanted everything the best. Every day. Every day. Kind of felt like I was being pushed and also tested to my limits, which at the end I would say polished me as, as a chef and a pizzaiolo. At the time, I wasn't fresh into pizza, but that was definitely something in my pizza career where I was like, okay, this is a test.

[Host 2]

I think we were just talking about this earlier today while we were cooking and filming and everything. But you need to kind of walk across the coals, the fire. In order to understand how to deal with the fire. You have to earn your stripes. And that means getting your butt kicked and taking it and learning. And you're not going to learn if you're not pressed. You're not going to. Well, let me say it like this. You might learn, but you're not going to learn how to do it in its highest capacity, in your highest capacity, unless you're really pushed and pressed.

[Chef Peter Garces]

I agree. You have to go through trials and tribulations. Lessons have to be learned. Very rarely is somebody at a point where they walk into something and, you know, they're just that perfect. You know, it takes mistakes, learning, and even at that point, you know, point now, and I always referring back again to martial arts. When you're a black belt, when you're an expert in any field, that doesn't mean you don't make mistakes. That just means you make less mistakes than a white belt would.

[Host 1]

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 well, it means you

[Host 2]

made your mistakes already. You made the bulk of them already, and you've surpassed making those same errors over and over again. Yes. I'm not saying that it's good for executive chefs or kitchen managers or people who are in authority in the kitchen to be abusive in a physical way or insulting or whatever. I'm not saying it's right. But I am saying if you endure that and you come out on the other side and you've learned and you're good at these things that you were taught, even if you were taught in a way that damaged you or you'd think you're damaged, I think you're stronger. Again, I'm not saying throwing a six pan at somebody across the, you know, I'm not saying that that's good. But if you have to deal with that, okay, so what? Move on. The person who did it. Jagass wrong. But if you had to deal with that, you're going to just be stronger at the end of the day and you're going to be better. I don't know if, I don't know how well that's going to be received in today's world, but I feel like there's a fine line like walk the tightrope. If somebody is abusive, learn what you're.

[Host 1]

But they're really good.

[Host 2]

Okay, here's the thing. If somebody's abusive and they don't have anything to offer for knowledge or skill set, get out. But if that same person can teach you something, absorb it, man, and then leave and go do your own thing.

[Chef Peter Garces]

I highly agree, but also I feel like multiple things could be true at one time, you know? So like you said that is that person right for making you go through. For throwing spatulas or, or whatever at me in the kitchen? No, they're not right for that. But also, I'm still stronger for that, like, no matter what the reality is, that happened, and I can't change that. I can only learn from it, run from it, or accept it and keep going and not learn, you know, just keep taking the abuse.

[Host 2]

What's the deal with vodka pizza?

[Chef Peter Garces]

So I got into a place called Mama's two, Luckily, because, again, a Chef jj, I was at a point in my career where I was like, huh? What do I do next? So I reached out to Chef JJ and I asked for his opinion, and he said, hey, I've heard about this spot, Mama's 2. It's up and coming. I think you should check it out. Might be good for you. So I went, checked it out. I interviewed. I got the job. Six months later, I just happened to be the only pizza man, and it's me and the owner. We're making pizzas all day, running the whole thing. Coincidentally, we get somebody from the New York Times to come in, and they review us, and the review goes crazy. We're making pies, just me and the owner. But because it was so busy due to the New York Times review, he only had me making pepperoni and the house pie, which is understandable. The volume is so high. We gotta keep it going. If we try doing too much, we might mess ourselves up. One night, though, we were doing the usual, and we hit a point where I was just like, hey, I can fill up the window with all the nice pizzas that you have on the. On the menu. Let me do that. And he was like, I don't think it's a good idea. Probably just stick with the pepperoni and the house pie. I felt like my intuition was telling me otherwise, so I was like, you know what? I'm gonna do it. I'm confident I'm gonna do it. So I showed him that I could do it. And once I did it, he was happy. And he was like, oh, hey, you did it. Awesome. And then even more on top of that, who comes in through that door a minute later, right when the last pie comes out, Jerry Seinfeld. He comes in, and he sees a beautiful display window. And he walks up to the Their vodka pie that they had over there. He looks at it, and he tries it. And from that day on, he said, hey, this is my favorite pizza. This vodka piece is my favorite pizza. So I just feel like I was very. I always, you know, say coincidental, coincidentally, or luckily, luckily, I chose to go with my intuition at that time. And that resulted in Jerry Seinfeld coming in and him, you know, claiming, hey, Mama's 2 has the best pizza. And to this day, Mama's 2 is, you know, reigned as some of the best pizza, if not the best pizza in New York.

[Host 2]

When you told me that story, I literally heard the voice of Jerry Seinfeld. Right? Like, I totally, I saw the whole thing in my head. I can only wish that how I imagine it is how it actually, how it happened. All you're missing is like, you know, Elaine and Kramer and the gang, right? Like, I don't know, there's probably an episode somewhere that has to do with time, possibly.

[Chef Peter Garces]

But let's just hope that Larry David stops by. By the chef pizza.

[Host 2]

I understand that he walks with the, with the sound score and he just walks around, you know, the city with that playing in the background.

[Chef Peter Garces]

At least I know he's coming.

[Host 2]

You're on shift, the boss says, hey, don't, don't do that. And you said, I'm going to audible and I'm going to do it. The Times comes photographer. All this happens while you're there. There had to be a feeling for you in your heart, in your soul, maybe that you didn't even share with anybody that had to do with belonging to the industry. Did you feel that? Was that something that came up for sure.

[Chef Peter Garces]

It was a very long, hard path up until that point. Still long path to this day in the culinary field. But making it to that point and having something real for my resume that stands out then more than just worked at Olive Garden, worked at this place, worked at that place and this place, it's all great. But to have something really shining like, yes, you were the sole pizzaiolo at Mama's 2 when they got reviewed by the Times. The pictures that they took were pictures of pizzas that I had made that day. So all of that stuff kind of just made me feel like, hey, I picked the right path for a culinary cause. Throughout your life, you always think, hey, what if this, what if that, what if I was a lawyer? What if I was a doctor? What if that kind of really helped me, you know, feel like, yeah, I picked the right path. And then I was even more than that. I like real vindication, you know, like I did something proper. Like, no second guessing, I did it right.

[Host 2]

How bad was it for you to actually go through losing a home in a fire? And then I actually come to find out that it wasn't once and it wasn't twice, but it actually was three times. First of all, I'd leave the state. Just saying.

[Chef Peter Garces]

But.

[Host 2]

But what is that? What do you even like, what is that story?

[Chef Peter Garces]

So from the moment that was a kid in the 90s, there's been like four different people that lived in and out of my neighbor's house. The first person was honestly someone that was just mentally ill and she tried to burn the house down with herself in it. And when she did, did the house caught fire and it spread to my house. It's New York, so the houses are super close. So that was the first time, the second time, third time, honestly, I couldn't even tell you because it was in my teens. I just know my dad dealt with it and he was very upset. Nothing too crazy. The roof got damaged. Insurance, you know, they take care of

[Host 2]

it all that is this the same

[Chef Peter Garces]

property, the same house, three times at that. Three or four times at that time. Again, I'm not really sure about the teenage years, but the final time in the middle of COVID is when I lost it all. And yeah, that one was bad. Unfortunately, there was some kind of problem with the wiring next door, and that just sparked into a blaze and made it over to my house.

[Host 2]

Was anybody home? How did that, like, walk me through?

[Chef Peter Garces]

So I was. It was four in the morning. This is like five, four in the morning. I was knocked out. And all I know is somebody was banging on the door so loud that I woke up and. And we were talking about earlier this New York, things happen. I'm thinking, wow, somebody's really trying to break in. Let me, let me get ready. So I look out the window and I'm just like, ready for anything. And this guy is just screaming, your house is on fire. And as soon as he said that, I knew and I actually asked him, I said, is my house on fire or is the neighbor's house on fire and is it coming over to catch some? He said, the neighbor's house, and it's spreading right now to yours. So I just knew right away, get everybody awake, get everybody out the house, and we'll figure the rest out later. At no point did I ever think that I was going to lose everything, everything. Because that's the third or fourth time that the house caught fire from the neighbor's house. So I felt like this was just the usual, they'll get it out, we'll take care of it. But this was not the same.

[Host 2]

How old are you? Support for Walk and Talk Media comes

[Host 1]

from Metro Food Service Solutions, trusted by kitchens that need storage and workflow that actually does the job.

[Chef Peter Garces]

Learn [e-mail] In 2020, I was 30 years old.

[Host 2]

30 years old, you get to understand every single feeling and emotion for that. Yeah, you see it, you feel it, you understand. Wow, this is a big deal.

[Chef Peter Garces]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

It happens overnight. How many people are in the house with you?

[Chef Peter Garces]

Two brothers? One other person was living or was staying in the living room that night. A family member and myself.

[Host 2]

Adrenaline.

[Chef Peter Garces]

Oh, yeah. Running. Just shooting out of my high balls, running up and down, trying to make sure that my brothers are awake. Because at that point, I wasn't worried about myself. I'll jump out the windows. Anything crazy happens, I'll be all right. It's not crazy. Worried about my brothers, who at the time were, you know, in their mid-40s and everything, so.

[Host 2]

Oh, geriatric.

[Chef Peter Garces]

Well, not really. I mean, they work all day and they're knocked out at night, so getting them awake was a battle. Me, after the guy knocked on the door a few times, I was like, what's going on?

[Host 2]

You were. You were in a stance. You were ready to go. Oh, you were ready to do a crane kick. Like, you were. It was on.

[Chef Peter Garces]

I was gonna kick the fire out for sure.

[Host 1]

I get it.

[Host 2]

I totally get it.

[Host 1]

Not to.

[Host 2]

Not to make light of it or make it funny, but, like, that is a nightmare scenario. I mean, I've had my alarm go off in the middle of, you know, overnight, three, four in the morning, and, you know, I have to jump out of bed and clear the house. And, you know, and you're. You're like. You feel it. But there isn't fire. There isn't smoke. There's none of these things like. Like you see in the movies and stuff like that. I don't even know that I would. I don't even know. I don't even know. I am for a man. I speak for a living. I don't know what to say to you about that.

[Chef Peter Garces]

It was an experience. It was an experience that I felt like would pass. And it was just, again, the usual. Up until there was so much smoke that the smoke was coming through the wall. When the smoke started coming out through the wall, that's when I was like, okay, I gotta make sure everybody's okay and get the hell out of here.

[Host 2]

Do you have a life lesson from that? What did you take from that to bring into the rest of your life? There has to be something.

[Chef Peter Garces]

That is a great question. I would say the big takeaway is there are amazing people out there, because that stranger that knocked on the door and woke us up could have most likely did save a lot of lives, all our lives inside that house. That day. And he didn't. He didn't have to do that. He knocked on that door for maybe about like, three minutes before I finally made it to the front. Three or five minutes before I finally made it to the front and was like, hey, what's going on? He was there banging, screaming, hey, so get out of there. Hello. Is there anybody. He didn't even know there was anybody in there.

[Host 2]

Well, he was there to rob the place. He was there to rob it originally. Then he saw the fire, and he's like, you know what? I better do the right thing, right?

[Chef Peter Garces]

This curb your enthusiasm theme just starts playing. So there are amazing people out there because he saved us. He really did. And to this day, don't know who the guy was. Never met him before that. Never saw him after that. Even immediately after the fire, as soon as we start running out the house, I start looking for him just like, hey, which guy that saved us disappeared?

[Host 2]

That literally could have been an angel. Oh, definitely. I say that with the absolute straight face, for sure.

[Chef Peter Garces]

You never know. Some. Somebody saved me.

[Host 2]

All right, so you get this Brooklyn kid. There's a fire. There's a whole life's worth of experiences when you're in your early 30s, right? You've already lived a lot, and, you know, you got this New York, Brooklyn kid, whatever. And then all of a sudden, you're in Florida. And it isn't that you're in, like, Miami, right? No, you're in Lakeland. You. You came back to Lakeland. That's a culture shock, number one. I know that culture shock, because I went from Miami as a child to Brooklyn and to back down to South Florida. But where I was in South Florida was very much like this Lakeland, Central Florida vibe, and it was not easy. How does it. How does a northerner come to central Florida and be accepted? Open up a pizza shop, by the way. Fantastic. Oh, and another, by the way, I'm staring at this guy Nigel, your partner. This cat drove, and I found out he drove down from New Jersey to be here for the show for you to support. I want to say thank you to that guy.

[Chef Peter Garces]

Shout out to Nigel.

[Host 2]

Shout out to Nigel. And he came with the blazer and everything, guys. You're all right, buddy.

[Chef Peter Garces]

He's a pro.

[Host 2]

He's a pro. So you. You. You go from the northeast. You're in central Florida. How'd you deal with that? That's a big deal. That's a hard. That's a hard one for sure.

[Chef Peter Garces]

I like to think that I'm, well Traveled specifically, like, within America. I love checking out different states. I've driven to Florida plenty of times from. So I have plenty of outside of city experience. And on top of that, When I was 12, my family bought a house here in Lakeland, and my grandparents lived there, so I would summer vacation down here plenty of times. Although it was different. You know, you go to Disney, you go to the pool. It's a different type of vibe than actually living here. But when I did actually move back down here, I did notice it was different. Like, the population grew. There's a lot more trendiness here. So I do have experience with Lakeland. So the transition wasn't as tough as even I expected it to be. You know, I came down here, I looked for some jobs, didn't really work out simply because, you know, New York, you'll run a kitchen for like 50,000 or up. And that's a salary, that's. That's a career right there. And down here, they try to offer me, like, 60, 16. So it's a little bit different, but that's okay. I had, you know, the drive and. And the knowledge and the experience to look at my situation and say, hey, it's been a while since I've been in Lakeland. I'm here now. It looks way different. The population is booming. There's so much opportunity here. Maybe I can just take my experience from New York, take all of that and build something here in Lakeland. And that's what I decided to do.

[Host 2]

At some point, you had to figure out that having a New York resume didn't automatically earn you respect here. Time gets your respect here, time consistency in what you do. All right, so you're a year and a half in. You're in Lakeland, all these things happen to you, and you're starting to make it. I feel it, because when I do go to the shop, I see people leaving happy. I see what you're creating, and I see how you do it. When we met John and I showed up at your shop, we said, hey, I have a camera in hand. You mind if we shoot you doing some. Some pizzas in the back? And you're like. And literally, you know, can I say this about the baby?

[Chef Peter Garces]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure.

[Host 2]

You literally said, I'm coming back from the hospital. I'm just checking up on the guys. And then I got to go back. How long is this going to take? You checked our credentials. We told you, you know, 30 minutes. And you were like, game on. Let's go. I already knew what kind of person you were. Like, you're going to go get it, you're going to make it happen, you're going to see opportunity and you're going to just go. So you being a year and a half in, it's starting to gel. How far away still are you from achieving what you want to achieve? Because you still have a lot of plans. Year and a half is nothing. You have some very. You and Nigel and the gang, you have very long term plans.

[Chef Peter Garces]

I would very much. How far am I? I would say I'm pretty far away from. I'll break it up into two things. There's my the by the chef pizza and there's what I want to do beyond that. So what I want to do beyond that is open up various different types of food, not just pizza, you know, different restaurants, food hall concepts. I have a lot of things that I want to work on for the by the chef specifically. I also feel like I'm far away, a little closer than the other concepts because by the chef is standing like you said, a year and a half in, but we have some momentum there. But I still feel like I am a ways off because specifically because I'm still in there. To be honest with you. I'm in there all day, every day. I'm double checking once. There's a point of I don't have to set foot in the building, but the build. But the business is still running and I have employees that I can trust and everything is running like clockwork and I don't have to put so much focus into being there. That's when I'll know like, okay, I've made leaps and bounds forward because yes, I can execute. And that's great.

[Host 1]

This session of Walk and Talk Media is made possible by Citrus America, delivering fresh Florida citrus and juice solutions to food service professionals nationwide. Learn [e-mail]

[Chef Peter Garces]

I can execute pizzas. I can do all that. And that's great. But realistically, that's not what I'm just trying to do. I'm trying to build more, I'm trying to grow more, create more. And if I'm stuck running my operation all day day simply because, you know, for whatever reasons my employees call out or like there's a gas leak, we, we're still a year and a half in, so we're paying off debts, all of that stuff, you know, once all of that is in a place of it's ironed out, then I feel confident and I'd be closer to those end goals that you're speaking of right now. I would say I'm a far way away from buy the chef pizza being what it truly should be, and from my own side operations, again, food hall, all that stuff that I would love to do.

[Host 2]

Well, let me just say this, like, let me. Let me put it out there. I know pizza very intimately, and what you're doing is pretty serious.

[Chef Peter Garces]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

I think I'm gonna say this on record. What you're putting out is the closest thing to actual New York pizza that I have had in Florida. And I mean that. And I'm not going to say it, you know, if it's not what I believe.

[Chef Peter Garces]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

I will also tell you that going forward, and we talked about this when we have. We have a lot of chefs and folks that come through here, the studio, they come in from out of town and whatnot, and usually we'll pick up food and have stuff here. You know, you and I discussed it. We're going to do some. Some work with you. You're going to do some work with us, and. And you're basically the, you know, the walk and talk, you know, official pizzeria for the studio. And. And it sounds silly a little bit, but it's not. And it's actually kind of cool. And it's a big. For me, it's a big deal. And I feel like you think the same way.

[Chef Peter Garces]

Oh, 100%.

[Host 2]

Do you know what I mean? Because it's like, I respect what you do. I respect your. Your approach to it and the food. It's so damn good. It's so good you. And I'm going to say this, too. Like L and B in Brooklyn. I started going there when I was, like, 4 years old. It was around the corner from where we live, so we would always go. So that has always been the number one pizza for me. I don't care who you are. That's it. And I know it's not the same as it used to be. I know there's new owners. I know all of that. But what you're doing reminds me of what they do. And I don't know if it's a nostalgia thing or whatever, but the long and short of it is you are filling a big void for me with a particular food type that I dig.

[Chef Peter Garces]

So I am so happy you feel that way. And I can't explain how appreciative I am of that perspective and opinion, because I take what people have to say, you know, to heart, because, again, every day I want to be better and better. I Want my food to get better and better every day. It's a goal to be the best because I am in this to be the best.

[Host 2]

I know that's true because throughout the day here in the studio and it's been a long day today, but you're checking reviews in between takes and stuff like that of the pizzeria. And that's what it takes, man.

[Chef Peter Garces]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

When you care, you care. You see, you look at these things, this is what it is.

[Chef Peter Garces]

I'm always preoccupied, checking the cameras, making sure customers are happy, making sure employees are doing what they gotta do. Because again, I take this very seriously. Obviously, it's a livelihood, but beyond that, it's again, passion. I'm in this to be the best. And that could have been true for anything. Again, martial arts, if I decided to be a lawyer or doctor, I'm trying to be the best doctor or lawyer or whatever it is that I can be. Obviously it's a little easier with the culinary thing, but again, coincidentally, I'll fight you. Just coincidentally. And luckily, I was trained or I have the, the, the resume that I have. So when you say my pizza tastes like the most like New York, it means a lot because I was trained by the best pizza people in New York. So that means that I've learned, I'm living up to what they have taught me and I'm going in the right direction.

[Host 2]

Let me stop you for a second because here's the thing about pizza. And you can hear so many over the years. You hear the excuses, oh, it's the water, it's this, it's that. And I never believed that. I've never swallowed that. And I think you just don't know what you're doing. You know what I mean? Tons of pizza places that are out there where you can just walk in the door, order your food, it's good, you pay and you go home and hey, that's terrific. But then there's different levels to this. And if you claim, hey, this is, you know, hey, this is a New York style pizza. No, man. No, it's not. It isn't. That's a lie and you're doing it wrong. And I don't know if it's your ingredients, I don't know if you know how to, I don't know if you know the right way to do it. You have never taught, you Learned it on YouTube, man. Know, but you know what you're doing. Amen, dude. You know what you're doing? I, I, and you know what? John Hernandez, this guy Right here. Him. Let's all look at John and stare at John. That guy. He's the one that turned. Turned me on to you because he, you know, he lives. Obviously, you know, it's like six minutes from the.

[Chef Peter Garces]

Yeah, from.

[Host 2]

From here. Good work, John Hernandez.

[Chef Peter Garces]

Shout out John Hernandez.

[Host 2]

And look at these freaking. Like. Okay, so just. I said this the other week, right? And I just said, hey, they were looking at the wall. And I said there was a picture, but I didn't put any perspective to what it. What we're talking about. John's got a tv, big TV on his wall. And when John takes pictures, he has a software or whatever, he transfers the image right here to the tv. And we're looking at stuff that he just shot at a camera without even editing. And. Damn, it's really beautiful. Look at that dude.

[Chef Peter Garces]

Beautiful, right? I don't know how to take a palette right there.

[Host 1]

I'm taking a picture.

[Host 2]

I'm doing this, like, live. Let me just do this here real quick so people can see, because I'm going to post this later.

[Chef Peter Garces]

It's funny that you say that about the water, because I wholeheartedly agree. And it's true. Because pizza, like, what, a third of it? A little more than third is crust. You know, that's bread. Either you can make bread or you can't make bread. So you don't go to a bakery and say, hey, because you don't have New York water, your bakery isn't good. No, they can make bread or they can't. And I. I believe pizza is the same way. Either you know how to make a crust or you don't, you know, cheese in the sauce, a level of quality, ingredients.

[Host 2]

Wait a minute. Yeah, but don't sleep on the sauce. The sauce is super important. Incredibly, all of these things are important. The right cheese, the right sauce. Obviously the crust and how to tie them all together.

[Chef Peter Garces]

Yes.

[Host 2]

There's a science and an art to that. Hands down, without question.

[Chef Peter Garces]

Oh, yeah, the tomatoes. The tomatoes. Like you said, it's the sauce. It also has to be good. There's same, like the crust, you know, the New York water. That's not the thing. You can either make a bread crust or you can't. Tomato sauce. You can either make a tomato sauce or you can't. There's nothing special or anything unique you have to do. You just have to know how to alter flavors. You know, tomatoes can be acidic. Do you know what to do when tomatoes are acidic? You know that all that comes into play when you're building A pizza. And yet high quality ingredients is going to be the thing to save it all. A lot of pizzerias, they'll use tomato paste in order to thicken up their sauce or really stretch their sauce. But tomato paste, that's the thing that gives you heartburn. And in the middle of the night, you got that thing here that's, you know, that's personally not for me. Over here at by the Chef, we do use the whole peeled tomatoes. We blend it up and we season it up and that's it. We keep it simple. You don't want, if you have high quality ingredients, you don't want to do too much to them. What you do, like you said, you want them to build off of each other. You want flavors to combine. You want flavors to compound or react differently once they hit your tongue to give you contrast. And that is where it all comes down to going to make the best pizza. But realistically, if you want a good pizza, you don't need the New York water. You just need to learn how to make some bread.

[Host 2]

How important is family to you?

[Chef Peter Garces]

Can't put into words how important family is. Especially, you know, after the fire thing. After a fire, you know, you don't have a family. You can wind up or the resources safety net. You can end up homeless and, you know, just the worst things. But luckily I had family. I stood with family. Family got me to this point. Family is everything to me.

[Host 2]

Your dad helped you with this?

[Chef Peter Garces]

Yes. It would not be a by the chef pizza without my father.

[Host 2]

How cool is it? What's the feeling for you when your father not just helps you, but he tells you that he believes in what you're doing? That's massive for a son. That's a big deal for a kid.

[Host 1]

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 [e-mail]

[Chef Peter Garces]

dad is always the hero as a kid. And dad, you know, even as you grow up, dad is, dad is dad. That's, that's the guy. So I, I definitely had a, a feeling of, of pride and like, wow, thank you so much, dad, for, for believing in me and, and seeing that I can make this happen. So it's a real tear jerker, you know, from like a father son type of context. But honestly, even beyond that, I believe my father to be a very intelligent, hardworking man. So leaving out everything else, my father as the human, the fact that he still believed in me and invested again, not because I'm his son, but because I showed him, hey, this is the pizza thing. This is me interacting with customers. This is this, this, and this. And give him a sense of, wow, you know what you're talking about. You're an expert. We can make something happen here. The fact that my dad, you know, believe that is. Is just, again, I can't put into words because I really do believe my father is a very intelligent man, more so even than myself. So if he says, hey, you're a good investment, that makes me feel great.

[Host 2]

He could have been like every other father and said, no, go back to school, be an engineer, be an attorney. You know, do something. But he didn't. He embraced you. He saw your love and your passion for this, and he backed you. Dude, that's one of the coolest things that could possibly happen to anybody. Not only is it cool, that transfers into your own family, because when your wife sees that your father gives you that kind of respect, she's inherently going to have respect. Just the way that it works. And that is beautiful.

[Chef Peter Garces]

It really is. Again, especially as a son, my father, you know, from. From a son to father, like, my dad means the world to me. And again, just the fact that he believes in me so much, that gives me the. It gives me the feeling that other people will also believe in me. I know it seems a little backwards, like your parents should believe in you even if nobody else does. But honestly, again, just because I believe my father to be a very logical, smart, educated man. So when he says, hey, you're a good investment, it just, like, it brings out so much pride and joy for me. So, you know, again, without him and Catapult, this wouldn't have, you know, by the chef wouldn't have happened. At least not yet.

[Host 2]

So what you're trying to build is bigger than pizza. It's for family. Your legacy that you're building, really, and everybody's along for the ride. Everybody has a place. Everybody has something to do with it. But you're building something. Like, as your kids get older, they're going to probably be a part of it, at least for a little while. Maybe they'll have their own things that they're going to want to go do, whatever. But this is something that everybody's going to remember well past, you know, when we're all gone and they're still here.

[Chef Peter Garces]

Yep.

[Host 2]

What is that? How does that sit with you in your head?

[Chef Peter Garces]

That's exactly what I'm trying to build. And legacy. Legacy is, I believe, the main word that I would go with, that's what I want to, you know, build and then leave for my family. So that way, you know, one day that I'm. I'm gone, they will still have a By the Chef there to hopefully, you know, support them and give them the safety nets that they need.

[Host 2]

It's a beautiful thing. I'm glad that we are here in our capacity for it. We're gonna see a lot of each other. Dude, you did fantastic today.

[Chef Peter Garces]

Thank you.

[Host 2]

No, thank you. How do. How do people find you?

[Chef Peter Garces]

So you can find us at www.bythechef.pizza. we are located at 1212 S. Florida Ave. In Lakeland, Florida. We are by the Chef Pizza, Lakeland's PR premium pizza providers, and even beyond that, Polk County's premium pizza providers, and hopefully one day, your premium pizza provider.

[Host 2]

Totally true. Everything you're saying is absolutely true. Look them up on Instagram at By the Chef Pizza. Nigel, again, dude. Thank you, my man, for coming through. I can't believe you drove down here from freaking Jersey, dude.

[Chef Peter Garces]

Shout out to Nigel Van Groningen, our business administration.

[Host 2]

Yeah, the guy's awesome. I feel like we should be doing something like, you know. All right, John Will Brown, you're awesome. Appreciate you guys. We are out.

[Host 1]

La.