Chefs Scott Craig and Tony Van Hang: Competition & Mentoring

Are you ready to dive into the exciting world of cooking? Join us for a captivating chat with renowned chefs Tony Van Hang and Scott Craig. Tony will wow us with his love for food and incredible skills, presenting dishes like goat cheese and broccoli stuffed chicken breast and crispy skin Gulf snapper—each a true work of art, beautifully showcased through John's photography. Then, we’ll switch gears with Chef Scott Craig, who shares his journey from the intense kitchen competition to guiding the next wave of chefs. His documentary, "All Ships Rise," isn’t just a film; it’s a heartfelt project that highlights his dedication to the culinary world and mentorship.

But that's not all. We’re also excited about the U.S. Culinary Open happening in Atlanta this February, where Chef Scott Craig is likely to compete! We’ll explore the thrilling realm of culinary competitions, where the journey often means more than the awards, and the relationships built can be priceless. Hear Scott share his experiences preparing for events like the US Culinary Olympics and the unexpected challenges that test resilience in the restaurant business. We’ll also discuss the staffing hurdles many are facing today, especially in exclusive clubs, where Scott has found a supportive community. As the industry deals with rising costs and the need for fair pay, we’ll look at ways to keep cooking an appealing career choice for those passionate about it. This episode is packed with valuable insights into both the art and the business side of cooking.

Introducing the SupraCut System - the automated solution that enhances safety, quality, and efficiency, cutting up to 120 perfect citrus wedges per minute, 6 times faster than manual. Patented tech delivers uniform slices, reducing waste and eliminating plastic, while the hygienic, contactless design lowers contamination and injuries, integrating seamlessly to transform your operations and improve profitability - get started at SupraCut.com and ask about risk-free trials.

Elevate your dining experience with RAK Porcelain USA! As the exclusive tableware brand for the Walk-In Talk Podcast, RAK combines exceptional craftsmanship with innovative design. Whether you’re a chef, a restaurant owner, or a food enthusiast, RAK’s high-quality porcelain products will enhance every meal. Discover the artistry of food presentation and make every dining occasion special. Visit rakporcelain.com today and see how RAK can transform your table

The following brands and companies help us continue supporting the food industry - have a look below! 

Chapters

• 0:50 Celebrating Culinary Artistry and Mentorship
• 14:02 Lessons From Culinary Competitions
• 28:44 Staffing Challenges in Culinary Industry

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:50

Hello Food Fam. This is the Walk Talk podcast where you will find the perfect blend of food fun and cooking knowledge. I'm your host, carl Fiodini. Welcome to the number one food podcast in the country. We're recording on-site at Ibis Images Studios, where food photography comes alive and I get to eat it. Here's a humble request to give us a follow on Instagram at walkandtalkshow, please, and thank you. Pooch Rivera was with Vince Hayward of Camellia Beans and won the Louisiana Restaurant Association Philanthropy Award last night. Congratulations, vince.

Speaker 1: 1:24

In studio today we've got the chef, tony Van Hang from Regency Oaks. He's cooked up some amazing dishes. John man, the photography always bad ass. These plates are beautiful. I am excited. The food is still here. I have to eat it. I got to get into it. I'm super excited.

Speaker 1: 1:44

It was a goat cheese and broccoli stuffed chicken breast and a crispy skin. Gulf grouper. We're going to talk about it. Chefs and food buyers, I'll dare try Aussie Select's fully cooked, pasture-raised Australian lamb. Enjoy flavors like agave, rosemary and tikka masala and more. Available sliced or whole Discover more at AussieSelectcom. Available sliced or whole discover more at AussieSelectcom.

Speaker 1: 2:12

By the way, we have this product in-house and we will be cooking it up soon and getting it out there on video and also photography. Cannot wait for that. It's going to look great on that racked porcelain baby. You know what I'm saying. So you know, when most people think of artists, they probably picture painters, sculptors, musicians. You know that sort of creative genius. They work their whole lives and for generations. But you know, there's one art form out there that's a little bit more fleeting, one that disappears as soon as you take the first bite.

Speaker 1: 2:41

And our guest today, chef Scott Craig, is the master of that kind of transient artistry. Is the master of that kind of transient artistry as a celebrated club chef who's competed at the highest levels and potentially at the upcoming US Culinary Open. At the NAFM trade show in Atlanta at the end of February, there's going to be 11 other incredible competitors with Michelin stars, james Beard Awards and Food Network victories under their belts. Scott has made a career out of elevating the dining experience, turning the simple ingredients into edible works of art. But what's even more impressive is his commitment to mentoring the next generation and sharpening the future of the culinary industry. This is a guy who's truly left this mark, even if his dishes don't stick around forever. Before we welcome Scott on the show, I just want to Guy, who's truly left his mark, even if his dishes don't stick around forever, before we welcome Scott on the show. I just want to. I really, tony, you did an amazing job today, thank you.

Speaker 2: 3:39

Thank you, carl, I appreciate that.

Speaker 1: 3:40

Absolutely. Do you want to just real quickly jump into what you made?

Speaker 2: 3:48

Yeah sure, we made a goat cheese and broccoli stuffed breast of chicken accompanied with some sweet potato mousseline and a citrus tarragon cream. And also we made a um, a crispy skin on golf snapper right with uh pea puree and some garlicky spinach as well with that and I've finished foam I tell you what you know there's so much green.

Speaker 1: 4:09

When I saw the ingredients I was like man, that's gonna be a lot of green, but it was gorgeous.

Speaker 2: 4:13

The pictures are are phenomenal yeah, I mean, of course, john did a great job. He has a job taking the the photos of it. Uh, you know, to me, you know, monochromatic colors, it's, it's, it's great. And just different shades of the same color. It's really stands out.

Speaker 1: 4:27

Well, you're making my life better by being in studio and just kind of preparing these dishes and allowing us to participate in your world. Man, I'm just saying Okay, absolutely, thanks, excellent. There's a documentary out there All Ships Rise. It's about Scott Craig Chef. Scott Craig Chef, are you with us? Hey, it's great to be with you. Thanks for having me. That documentary was so well done and awesome. Good job, man.

Speaker 3: 4:57

I appreciate it. I can't take any of the credit. Wtwh did a really, really wonderful job.

Speaker 1: 5:02

I wish that every guest had a documentary. You know what I mean. I was able to pull a lot of info from there and, just you know, kind of get a feel for who you are and what you do. The picture that they painted of you is is incredible.

Speaker 3: 5:14

I appreciate it. If I have one, then I'm sure everyone will have one shortly.

Speaker 1: 5:19

Thank you. I appreciate it, I guess. So Right, but how did that come to be?

Speaker 3: 5:32

What was the, what was the genesis of that documentary? Yeah, I've worked with with WCWH Media for a little bit, working with the Chef to Chef conference, with Platecraft. You know writing some articles and I think it was just kind of an evolution of the work that we've done together. You know where we hope to, you know help take the industry and you know the the things that we're very passionate about within the industry. You know mentorship and you know kind of the state of it and leaving it better than we found it, and I think it was just, you know, just the next step in that evolution.

Speaker 1: 5:57

And you know, there's this, what seems to be a union between competitive cooking and mentorship, at least I see from, maybe, your perspective. Competitive cooking and mentorship.

Speaker 3: 6:08

At least I see from maybe your perspective Absolutely. My very first competition in Washington DC was where I met my first mentor and subsequently, through you know, the next 23 competitions or whatever. You know I met so many people who were impactful to me and mentored me over the years, whether it was judges or chefs that I ended up going to work for. And then, you know, you pay it forward right. A lot of people invested in me and then at a point you know you can only go out and compete so much. You begin to live vicariously through the people who work with you and you want to see them get out there and be successful and that's what it's all about.

Speaker 1: 6:48

How are you identifying a potential entity?

Speaker 3: 6:52

I think it's easy. I think they kind of identify themselves. It's an attitude they're hungry, they are always looking for the next challenge, they always rise to the occasion and you know, typically, you know there's some people that you have to kind of pull along and those other people you just let them off the porch and you know those mentees that have gone on to do so well, you know, as in management, and you find these people sometimes you see in them what they don't see in themselves and they're not ready to take the next step or, you know, enter into the next phase and you kind of have to push them.

Speaker 1: 7:40

And you kind of have to push them in a way where they might exit the business because you see in them something that they don't see. Do you run into that as well?

Speaker 3: 7:55

Yes, there's certainly been that throughout the years where, as mentors, the best thing that we can do is kind of hold up a mirror and show people what you see in them, the best of them, what they're capable of achieving. Yeah, there's been some over the years that took a nudge, you know. Maybe their confidence wasn't where it could be. But getting out there, competing, you know, doing the preparation, practicing and then getting out there and yielding a positive result, move the needle in the right direction.

Speaker 1: 8:20

There's hardly anything that you can find. That's disappointing, as you see somebody and they're a diamond and they just don't have that drive or they don't have the vision and you have to let them go. That's happened to me a number of times. It actually put me in a place while that was happening where I didn't want to mentor anymore. I didn't want to put in the effort because it seems like it puts you in a bad place in your own mental state.

Speaker 3: 8:47

I remember early on, that was for years. I've said it to my mentees, you know, as they're ready to move on into their own kitchens. You know the greatest mistakes that I've made in the past at times is wanting it for someone more than they want it for themselves, to kind of accept that. You know everyone has their own path and everyone has their own set of motivations. Who want to excel. You know those are the people that you, that you get behind and put your efforts into, and those that just you know are looking forward to the days off, you know, to go fishing with their kids. That's just as important and it's recognizing that and making sure they have it.

Speaker 1: 9:26

I think we've all learned that part of it over the last maybe four or five years how important it is to spend time with the family and take an eyeball or two off of the office or the kitchen.

Speaker 3: 9:38

Absolutely yeah. I mean, COVID was kind of a game changer for a lot of us, I think. But you can't get the time back.

Speaker 1: 9:47

You can't get it back. And then you realize what you've, what you've actually given up. That's the amazing part, that that's kind of what I saw coming out of the pandemic. It's that time is gone. And now what do you do? You know you don't want to cry about it. You want to pick up your boot. You know, pick yourself up by the bootstraps and and and make the make a go of it. You want to pick yourself up by the bootstraps and make a go of it, and at that point you're going to make some choices. But I want to transition Chef, I want to get into the competitive aspect of cooking and I want to know what you find compelling about that.

Speaker 3: 10:20

Sure, I mean, back in the day, I think what got me into it was not going to culinary school or getting my culinary degree or anything like that, and so coming up through apprenticeships, competition, gave me a way to kind of benchmark my skills and you know, what I found very quickly was it was a way to refine my skills and to network. That network has been so important over the years for so many reasons, but that's what I think kept me coming back to it. You know there's always the rush of getting a medal or something like that, but it's the relationships made, it's the journey. All of those things have been so rewarding.

Speaker 1: 10:59

What's the correlation between the rush of the competition and a Friday night dinner rush?

Speaker 3: 11:06

Full tickets.

Speaker 1: 11:07

Full tickets, tickets. You know the pass is getting, you know overloaded and everybody's. You know I need hands, need runners, need all these things is it? The same same feeling it's.

Speaker 3: 11:17

It's very much the same and I would say you know that's part of the value of competition, as you know, as the saying goes, perfect practice makes perfect performance. And you know all of the skills that you learn when you become a successful competitor are applicable every night on the line. It's, you know, keeping your station neat, it's making sure you have your mise en place, everything's organized, knives are sharp. You know uniforms pressed and ready, you're on time, you have a sense of urgency, all of those things that kind of get hammered into you in competition. You know the things that make you a successful competitor, make you successful on the line.

Speaker 1: 12:00

We're in and around the same, in the same age bracket. Though I've never worked in the kitchen, they tried to bring me in and I just I couldn't do it. I had to always be front of the house. Back then it was you're out all night and you still show up for your shift, no matter what happens. You're an actual working chef today. Is that the same kind of thing going on out there now, or is it everybody's kind of buttoned?

Speaker 3: 12:21

up. It's hard to say. I mean, you know, certainly early 2000s it was kind of a work hard, play hard mentality Certainly had those days where you know you're just going multiple days with no sleep and you're going out too much and spending too much time with the guys outside of work and still getting the job done. I don't know if it's just the kitchen that I'm in, the people that I'm around, or if it's culturally, you know. But I do see a change. You know, I think it's a bit more buttoned up, I think it's a bit more focused, a bit more intentional, and you know there's not to say that there's, you know, not times to blow off steam. I think today is just a little more, perhaps a little more driven, a little more goal oriented than it was in the beginning.

Speaker 1: 13:16

Well, it's one thing to go from line cooks and underlings into the competitive nature of where you've been and kind of what's coming up here in February. How is it that you prepare mentally to go up against Michelin chefs and beard chefs and that sort of breed? How do you approach that? And you're no slouch yourself, I mean you're 23, you're 23 competitions and you've, you know you've, you've won them, You've, you've done a lot of great stuff. How do you, how do you, how do you manage that?

Speaker 3: 13:37

Yeah, I mean, I think it's. It's the same as as being at work, right it's? You know, in DC we cooked for three presidential administrations and you know professional athletes and celebrities and all that. You don't get nervous because you know at the end of the day you're cooking for yourself, right, you're kind of running your own race. It's the same in competition, you know, you don't really worry about the person next to you so much. You overprepare and you execute.

Speaker 3: 14:02

Once the food goes out, it's on the judges to determine who executed at the highest level and at the same time. That's very subjective. I think you go into competitions knowing that everything's subjective. You can put up the exact same food two days in a row for two different sets of judges and yield different results, and so if you're there for the journey, if you're there to push yourself, to refine your skills, to network a medal or how you place or whatever it's just kind of sprinkles on the cupcake the only pressure that should exist is what you're putting on yourself to perform and be better than you were yesterday.

Speaker 1: 14:38

What's the difference, in your own personal lesson, in winning a competition versus not necessarily coming in last place, but even coming in second or third? How does that? What's the lesson there.

Speaker 3: 14:51

I look at the bronze medals and those were some of the best competitions I was ever in. I think about the people that I met. I think about the road trips with my friends. I think about the critiques that I received from the judges. To be completely honest, the bronze medals were worth a whole lot more than the golds. You know showing up cooking and you know they say great job, you nailed it. It isn't as useful as getting that critique and coming away better than you were when you arrived.

Speaker 3: 15:22

Yeah it's about the journey. One of my favorite medals was a bronze medal. Yeah, it's about the journey. One of my favorite medals was a bronze medal. I was cooking with Team USA, a group of people that I love, that I would be in a kitchen with any day of the week massively talented individuals, and that day things just didn't shake out the way we needed it to. Things that were out of our control happened and didn't yield the medal that we wanted in terms of representing our nation. But at the end of the day, when I look back, man that was. It was such an extraordinary experience that I wouldn't change it. I wouldn't change a thing, I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Speaker 1: 15:59

Folks out there audience food fam Chef was part of the US Culinary Olympics. And was that 2020, correct? Yes, happy to show up, even if we didn't place, even if there wasn't a medal, just to just the fact that you're competing on that level for me would just be terrific. I presume that for the team and and for yourself, it's probably something similar. Although, hey man, everybody wants to, everybody wants to take home the gold or or place right absolutely.

Speaker 3: 16:41

You know it's, it's a weight. It's anytime you have, you know, the flag on your jacket. It's just, it's heavy. It's a different kind of weight than when you're competing individually and representing yourself. That's, that's tough and our coach has really hammered that into us. You know you're representing everyone when you go out there. You know whether you're from Norway or or Canada, or Germany or Italy. Everyone's there for the same purpose. You know to represent their nation properly and to finish on the podium. But just having the opportunity is incredible.

Speaker 1: 17:14

I'm not sure that the average person, even the average chef, knows the amount of practice that goes into the US Culinary Olympics. You guys usually train over at Ford Harrison, harrison and clearwater. Right right, can you touch on what sort of training that you guys do? I know that a lot of the equipment the the same equipment that is in. Yes, okay, so the same equipment that you're using there. You're, you actually have that same equipment in ford, harrison and and you practice and it's like the real deal happening here in Clearwater.

Speaker 3: 17:49

That's the goal. You hope so. You want to be as close as you can be to you know what the situation is going to be. The day of my first competition was in Germany it was 2012 as an individual, and you know. For that it was 18 months of preparation. It's every day off, coming in early for work and working on pieces, the goal of over-preparing. So the day of the competition, I competed eight times in preparation for Germany in 2012.

Speaker 3: 18:18

And you want the competition to be easy compared to what you've put yourself through before you arrive there. And Team USA, it's something very similar Long practice sessions, it's brainstorming, it's very late nights, very, very long days, an extraordinary coaching team. And that's the practice session. The real work is the time in between the practice sessions, when you're working on your individual pieces, Because you don't want to be the person that shows up without your homework, you don't want to let the person next to you down, you don't want to let your nation down, and so so much work goes in between those sessions and then, when you show up, you've got to be on top of your game so you get a quality practice session out of it.

Speaker 1: 19:06

Looking forward to February, and, in full disclosure, we talked about this yesterday, chef. You're scheduled to compete in February at NAFM for the US Culinary Open, and it's a major event. It's, you know, the the, you know chef Nick and chef Polly, who, who are putting this competition on, are beautiful people and they've been putting this together and working on this project for a few years now, so it's finally come to fruition. As everything in the restaurant industry goes, there's curveballs. It's supposed to be where you have your assistant. Tell us about the parameters of the assistant and what happened.

Speaker 3: 19:45

Sure. So your assistant you know this is 25, someone who's 25 years younger, and typically this is someone for me, it's someone that you've worked with extensively, who you know knows the program, who knows you know kind of your standards and expectations going into it, and it's someone that ideally you're grooming to be a competitor going into it and it's someone that ideally you're you're grooming to be a competitor. Yeah, my person. For for this year something unexpected came up and they had to had to go back home for an extended period of time take care of some family matters. So you know, these things come up and and, uh, you try to adjust and move on and we'll see where it lands it's akin to the walk-in cooler going down or you know something happens and you don't have.

Speaker 1: 21:09

You don't have gas for the, you know, for the ovens and stuff Like this is like. This is like standard, fair stuff, right, it is absolutely.

Speaker 3: 21:16

I mean, you know, in Germany, with Team USA, our, our centerpiece collapsed. You have to put up a centerpiece and it collapsed in the first 10 minutes. Some of our food didn't make it into the oven in time. You know you still get the program out, you still do everything you can to finish, to cross the finish line and give it your best effort. You're just on the fly.

Speaker 1: 21:40

You know, I feel I always have a positive outlook. I have to have a positive outlook or else I'm not leaving my house. You know what I mean, you know? Do you know what I'm saying? So, even in spite of the fact that these things are happening, I'm, you know, I'm in your corner and I'm rooting for you to to pull, to pull this off and get out there no-transcript.

Speaker 3: 22:31

You know, 20, 25 years ago there was kind of a stigma surrounding country club cuisine. That wasn't extremely up and it's nice, you know, to be able to get out there and kind of stretch your legs a little bit and put up some fun food and demonstrate what country club cuisine can be.

Speaker 1: 22:46

Well, there's a huge difference. I mean, I've been fortunate enough to work with quite a number of chefs over the years. You know, into the thousands of chefs over my span, my career, you know you're talking, you know, from an independent restaurant to a corporate restaurant, to a hotel chef, to a country club chef, to institutional chefs, like there's a. There's such a contrast between each one of those because you're dealing with, with different challenges, your clientele, they're all different. How do you approach that? In my estimation and in my experiences, I see chefs either you grow up in that club and in that club atmosphere and never leave it, or a lot of the restaurant chefs end up, they want to end up at the club because that's kind of their, you know, after their you know, 30, 40, 50 year career, that's kind of like their exit point. How do you see that?

Speaker 3: 23:41

Yeah, I mean, I think every segment of the industry imposes its challenges In the club world, especially with our club, where we are, we're very seasonal, our membership, we're at the top of the mountain. There's not a lot of places to go to outside of our club to grab food, so we're very aggressive. We change our menus on a weekly basis. Our members have very, very high expectations, as they should. So inherently there's a ton of pressure there to be creative, to change the menu very aggressively and at the same time to offer very high quality without much time to, or without any time really for, menu training and speccing and you know, menu rollouts and all these things. Everything's kind of on the fly, which is different from clubs that I've been in before and you know it might be different from maybe a restaurant or hotel or resort or something like that. I've worked at all of them, you know, in some capacity and they're all, they're all challenging you know, every place has its challenges.

Speaker 1: 24:50

But for clubs, you know, that's that's kind of what we, what we sell out. If you, if so, if there's a young culinary in here listening and they have an opportunity to pivot left or pivot right, you know, into from restaurants versus clubs and whatnot, if you were going to give advice, what would it be? What direction would that? Would you direction, would you say, to go into?

Speaker 3: 25:08

Sure, I mean, I think you know, first and foremost, if there's a segment that speaks to you, you know that's your assignment. You know, explore that to the fullest extent. I can tell you, for me in the early 2000s, there was a time when I said you know what I'm done with clubs, and we happened to be in a recession. I was in Washington DC and restaurants weren't hiring. Ritz-carlton was on a hiring freeze but clubs were still going. There was another time, mid-2010, 2011. I said you know what I don't know if clubs are for me, and I take a look around Again, we're in a recession. Clubs are still hiring and still going. So there's some insulation there. There's a little bit of job security kind of baked into it that you might not see in other places in the industry.

Speaker 3: 25:52

The hours can be while. They're long, they can be a little more humane than other segments of the industry. But more than anything, for me it's seeing the same people every day, having the conversations that go for years and years, the depth of relationships that we build, and that's not for everyone, but for me. That's part of what drives me to stay in. Clubs, are the friendships that I've made over the years, members that I still stay in touch with, from early on in my career to now. It's really rewarding. It's fun to cook for those folks night after night. It's like your family and that's been a big part of it for me.

Speaker 1: 26:29

Why I've stayed in that. Well, you know, Chef Tony is over here shaking his head.

Speaker 2: 26:34

Hey, chef Scott, I totally understand where you're coming from Speaking regarding seeing the same customer, which is our residents right now. So I see them day in, day out. So they do expect a lot from you, right, you know, with many changes. But one thing they don't expect is the price increase. I'm sure you experienced the same thing at clubs, right? Right, they don't want the champagne taste on a beer budget.

Speaker 3: 26:58

It's tough. I mean, I think that's kind of, you know, built into it as well, right, Absolutely, If I pay dues, if I'm paying dues, why am I paying as much here as I am at the restaurant down the street if I've already paid dues to be here? And so you know it's incumbent upon us to provide some education and help them understand where the money's going and to be, you know, faithful stewards of our budgets and all that. But yeah, that can certainly be a challenge.

Speaker 1: 27:23

Coming out of COVID. Even during COVID at the time I was working at a produce company we stayed busy with some institutional business, but also the clubs. The clubs were, you know, here in Florida the clubs were open, by nature of the dynamic of the country club. The residents, the members, they were still able to go and eat and enjoy the facilities and at the time it was like to be outside. You're on the golf course. So there was still food, there was still culinary happening, there was still some action there. You know, if it's me to circle back to that question, I'd asked you, I mean, if you're looking, you know, job security wise, I feel country clubs are the way to go, or a retirement community.

Speaker 3: 28:04

Or a retirement community.

Speaker 1: 28:05

yeah, Well, regency Oaks, it's a retirement community but it's like a country club.

Speaker 2: 28:11

Yeah, because we have a pretty healthy budget per se and I am lucky enough to be able to get some high-end product in-house, do different things and be able to hold different events once a week and once a month or so, so that is really cool.

Speaker 1: 28:29

You're lucky, you have a gastropub on property man we do?

Speaker 2: 28:32

What are you talking?

Speaker 1: 28:32

about.

Speaker 2: 28:32

We do yeah, and we are trying to elevate the food in the gastropub and also for our regular dining room residents as well. So that's my main focus is to do that. Dining room resident as well. So you know, that's my main focus is to do that.

Speaker 1: 28:45

Chef Scott, do you prefer members-only clubs versus, you know, clubs that are open to the general public? Yes, 100%.

Speaker 3: 28:52

And why is that? A couple of reasons. I mean, you know one of the big things is culture. You know our club, colostasia Club. I think one of the most extraordinary things about it is the culture. You know it's a relatively small club compared to where I've been before. We have 350 members. You know that stretches out to, you know, 900,000 folks with spouses and kids and all that stuff in the summer. But it's such a healthy culture. You know every member that comes in is vetted and it feels so familial. The members are the best members that I've ever worked with. And I don't know that you can, you just can't replicate that at a club that has a ton of folks coming into it from the outside. It's kind of baked into the identity of our club. They're very tightly knit, they know who they want joining as members. It's very casual, it's very laid back, it's very respectful, they're appreciative of where they are, they're just wonderful folks, very approachable, and I'm not sure that we could replicate that in a place that just kind of lets everyone know.

Speaker 1: 30:37

Are you still running into challenges finding adequate personnel?

Speaker 3: 30:42

We aren't, because we work with HTBs and J1s and so you know this time of the year, right now, we're staffing up for May opening and so you know a lot of our folks are coming out of South Africa, mexico, europe, and you know we find that there's a very, very healthy pool of extraordinarily professional, talented folks who are looking for seasonal work. I'll travel down to Florida in January to finalize my staff for the coming season, but we're very fortunate in that respect. I've definitely been in that fight for years and years and years in DC and Charlotte at large year-round clubs. It's nice you can build a depth of bench that you can't in seasonal clubs when you're at the year-round clubs, but in terms of just staffing the line and getting great folks, we're very fortunate in that way, what do you see as some of the biggest challenges in culinary coming into 25 and 26?

Speaker 3: 31:48

I think it's definitely what you touched on with staffing, I think before COVID. I remember a group of respected, esteemed chefs that I've looked up to for a while, having dinner with them and talking about staffing and trying to understand how we move forward, how we meet our staffing needs. You know this was 2018. Once COVID happened, there was a migration. A lot of folks fell out of the food and beverage industry and just haven't come back.

Speaker 3: 32:15

Enrollment, you know, has been affected at culinary schools and you know, I think that's the biggest thing that I've seen. Of course, we've got increasing prices Prices go up, come down but staffing, that's been a trend for years and years and I think it speaks to this generation's expectations. It speaks to the culture that has, you know, kind of permeated our industry for years and, you know, I think it's incumbent upon us to make the adjustments needed to make sure that this is an attractive industry for young people to come into and you know they see it as a place where they can thrive. But yeah, I mean, I think staffing is kind of the number one issue.

Speaker 1: 32:56

This many years removed from COVID, from the epidemic, that this is still a top five topic in discussions is amazing. When we got into 21 and 22 and everybody's starting to go on vacations and tourism started to skyrocket and there was a lot of action and movement around the country and abroad, I thought this was going to go away. I thought the challenge was going to just kind of dissipate and, you know, be a footnote. But it's not the people that you know that left the industry and never came back. I originally thought, like good riddance, I figured those were the slackers. You know that in the end we call them slackers, right? I thought those were those people but as it turns out, no, there were some really talented people, hardworking people that just kind of.

Speaker 2: 33:50

COVID, you know, the expectation of salary for line cooks or for prep cooks or for utility staff has gone way up. So I think that plays definitely a big part into the staffing issues that we are fixing today. I agree completely Completely.

Speaker 3: 34:15

I know our wages. When I was at Myers Park, I think 2018 to 2022, I worked there a few times Our wages increased somewhere around 40 percent just in those four years, and that's to remain competitive with the folks down the street. I think clubs specifically, you know, have been challenged to get wages where they need to be, even though the benefits are good. You know it's hard to sell kids on 401k, it's hard to sell kids on paid time off. You know they're looking at the size of their paycheck. Cost of living has gone up so much. You know, everybody knows that Cost of groceries, cost of rent, and so you know, I think that's something that we have to do a better job of. There was a survey that came out yesterday from the Club Management Association of America. You know talking about. You know how many clubs are in the United States, how many people are employed and what the payroll is Not something I'd be super proud of.

Speaker 3: 35:12

When you do the math and divide it all out, you know, if I'm a kid and I've got the choice between going into this industry and FedEx and I'm not particularly passionate about this industry I'm probably going with FedEx based on the numbers. That's something we need to adjust. I don't think that's always been the case. I mean, I think this industry has been a big tent historically for folks who not only are passionate about what we do, but just for folks who want to be able to make a good living doing something that they're good at and they enjoy the camaraderie of the kitchen. Maybe they enjoy the hours, for whatever reason. This was a place where they could find that and I think that's the differences. Those people are the ones in large part who migrated away because they can find, you know, a better return on their investment somewhere else. Thankfully, we do have people who are passionate about the industry still joining. We just overall, have to make this more attractive to grow our numbers.

Speaker 1: 36:10

Everything changed over the last 20 plus years, with Food Network and culinarians being kind of held up on a pedestal and whatnot. Before this last couple of decades, you fell into the kitchen. Most people didn't go to school for it. You had troubles, you ended up in the kitchen, you ended up on dish and then from the dish pit you kind of were pulled into. I'd like to make a couple of more dollars. So, yeah, I'll work the line or whatever. And then you, you, somewhere along that path, you found your passion for the industry. In today's world there's so many different options and, yeah, I mean in in in the world of Amazon and you know home deliveries and everything it's it is. It's easier just to hop in a truck and deliver packages than it is to 12, 14 hours on your feet on the line and dealing with all that. I mean you need to know you have a passion before you get into the building.

Speaker 3: 37:10

Absolutely. If you can stay home and be a content creator, you might take that path before you put on a white coat and go into the kitchen for 12 hours a day. Oh, wait a minute, wait a minute.

Speaker 1: 37:22

Wait a minute, hold on, you're talking to me, we're old people. You know we have our old and here we are doing content. Obviously it's quality content. You know equipment and all this stuff.

Speaker 1: 37:31

Oh, absolutely it isn't just like iPhones and whatever, but at the end of the day, like you know, to find a path where you can have cameras and microphones and somehow make a living out of that, it's mind blowing. It is a mind blowing thing where, yeah, like, instead of me, like you know, I'm fortunate. I, you know, in my life I've been fortunate, and you know, in in my work and career and everything. But if I wasn't, I would be doing the same thing as everybody else. I would be standing in the line, I would have been, I would have done it differently, you know not, and I don't know necessarily it would have been positive, it just would have been different. So, yeah, I don't know man, I, I don't know, I, I don't get it anymore. Yeah, like, everybody works for amazon. Now, you know what I mean. It's just it's getting the truck. Get in the truck and leave the packages.

Speaker 1: 38:22

It's too easy, right Right right, that's the answer, I guess.

Speaker 2: 38:26

Is it, though?

Speaker 1: 38:26

I don't know no-transcript grocers and everybody, and they're mobbed in there too. I don't get it. I don't get it. All right, scott, I am looking forward to shaking your hand and and and meeting you. How do people find you? Are you big on socials? How do we get you? Sure, you can find me on Instagram at ChefScottCraig.

Speaker 3: 39:13

You can find me at ChefScottCraigcom. There's a couple of different ways there.

Speaker 1: 39:15

Excellent, and man you already know what you're supposed to be cooking up and stuff, right? Oh yeah, absolutely. I'm not waiting until the day before. Okay, all right, I'm just asking, just asking. All right, we're going to. You know, I'm going to get on a call with you and I'm going to pick your brain about some stuff about that. But listen, I appreciate you coming on the program today. Chef and also Chef Tony. Thank you, sir. Yep, you guys are both gentlemen. Thank you kindly, john. As always folks here in central Florida for your meats. Let's check them out too. Peninsulafoodservicecom. Thank you kindly. We are out. We'll see you next time.