This week, we have a mini-episode about what it means to be a chef. Today's answer comes from Andris Lagsdin of Baking Steel. You can hear my full episode with him here, and another mini-episode where we talk about health and wellness here.
I'm currently out of town on vacation and have been having some technical difficulties. So, today's episode jumps right in without any real intro.
Sponsor- The United States Personal Chef Association The Covid pandemic has clearly redefined the world of dining. Despite over 110,000 restaurants closing around the country, people still want the ambiance and social connectivity that is so critical to the dining experience. Over the past 27 years, the world of the personal chef has grown in importance to fulfill those dining needs. While the pandemic certainly upended the restaurant experience, it provided an Avenue for personal chefs to close that dining gap.
Central to all of that is the United States Personal Chef Association. Representing nearly 1,000 chefs around the US and Canada, USPCA provides a strategic backbone for those chefs that includes liability insurance, training, communications, certification, and more.
One of the big upcoming events for USPCA is their annual conference scheduled July 7-10 at the Hyatt Regency Sarasota, FL. Featuring a host of speakers and classes, the conference is a way for chefs to hone their skills and network with like-minded businesspeople. For those who supply the industry, it’s a chance to reach not just decision-makers but the actual buyers of products.
Welcome to the Chefs Without Restaurants podcast. I'm your host Chris spear. On the show. I have conversations with culinary entrepreneurs and people in the food and beverage industry who took a different route. Their caterers, research chefs, personal chefs cookbook authors, food truckers, farmers, cottage bakers, and all sorts of culinary renegades. I myself fall into the personal chef category as I started my own personal chef business perfect little bites 11 years ago. And while I started working in kitchens in the early 90s, I've literally never worked in a restaurant. Hey, everyone, I hope you're having a great week. So this week, I have a quick mini episode, and the show will be coming right up after word from this week's sponsor. COVID has redefined the world of dining. While the pandemic certainly upended the restaurant experience, the personal chef industry experienced record growth. The United States personal chef Association represents nearly 1000 chefs around the US and Canada and even Italy. USPCA provides a strategic backbone that includes liability insurance, training, communications, certification and more. It's a reassurance to consumers that the chef coming into their home is prepared to offer them an experience along with their meal. USPCA annual conference is scheduled for July 7 to 10th at the Hyatt Regency in Sarasota, Florida. For those who supply the industry it's a chance to reach decision makers and the actual buyers of products. USPCA is currently seeking exhibitors. If you're interested in reaching the decision makers and consumer culinary influencers, this is your show. Please get in touch with Angela at 1-800-955-2138 extension 705 for your custom exhibitor package today. This will be the first time back following the COVID lockdowns and chefs are anxious to connect with industry suppliers. And now on with the show. Thanks so much and have a great week. One of the questions I've been asking recently is what does it mean to you to be a chef and then follow up? Do you identify at all as a chef?
Andris Lagsdin:
I think people more people identify me as a chef than I ever was a chef, I worked in kitchens, and I worked under some great chefs, I was still in my younger days working with like Todd and other incredible chefs. So I didn't really identify myself as a chef. People do because of my background. I was kind of working up the ranks, if you will, I still look at cooking like life. If I'm building pizzas, for example, and I'm making my dough, I call it the ME simplus. Right, we all get near shit together before. So if I if you come over to my home for dinner tonight, and we're having pizza, well, I've got all my ingredients prepped up and ready to go. I have got a really clean workstation, by the way too, because I've cleaned up everything I clean as I go. So when you come to my home to cook with me, everything's ready. My workstation now is not necessarily always going to be food related. But it's my it's my life. And my, my desk is clean, and I'm ready to rock and roll. And it's a clean environment. And I guess that's kind of important, like, so the Mason plus is like a metaphor for life. That's and that's really what it is. It's like you're my kids who build with Legos, right? They'll you can't just take the directions out and start building. Now you gotta take the packages, open, open the package up, spread out all your tools, maybe try to organize them first. Now we can open the directions up and start to read and put these things together efficiently. By the way, and I'm sure you have to Chris, I've done a bunch of videos. And I have not had my recent class done completed, right. And that's the worst feeling in the world where and we're talking every even details as far as having, you know, that cup of water, that spatula, handy, the towel, the side towel, all these things, if you don't have that stuff in front of you for a video, you're now you're out of frame, going to get that stuff and especially if you're doing this in a COVID environment where you're by yourself. And you're like, Ah, I guess I forgot to shred my cheese or whatever it might be a again, just like a metaphor like life. It's like you've and that's something I've always carried with me. And it's not always perfect by any means. But before I I sit down to do something, I've I've got my my stuff with me that I need, I think to help me through this process. And clean too. By the way. You notice a lot of amateur cooks or amateur Handyman in your house or whatever they might be doing. Arts organized some time you're like, oh, that's tough, you know, gotta be organized and clean and throughout the process. So that way we come back the next day by going to make pizza again, I can start with a clean slate. I'm not spending two hours cleaning first, right?
Chris Spear:
Making pizza every day. Sure sounds like a goal to me.
Andris Lagsdin:
That wouldn't be bad, right? That's that's a nice thing.
Chris Spear:
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