Cooking Your Way Through Life

This one was too fun not to share as a bonus episode.

When I film batches of podcast episodes I like to ask everyone the same question and this time around I gave everyone one million dollars. The only catch was that they had to spend every single dollar within 7 days. No savings accounts. No Roth IRAs. No hiding it anywhere safe. You have to spend it and you have 7 days to figure it out.

We all say what we would do if we won the lottery or came into money but putting a real number and a real deadline on it changes the conversation completely. What you think you would do and what you actually would do are two very different things and this episode proves that in the most entertaining way possible.

Today you are hearing from Warren, CSM Rob, TJ, Spencer, Jamal and Lexi, Chef Louis, Ayla, Alyssa, Chef Patrick, and Asher. Every single one of them had something different to say and every single one of them surprised me in some way.

Fair warning. You are going to spend your own million while you listen to this one. I already know it.

Follow Chef Hollywood: Website: https://chculinarycreations.com Instagram | Facebook | TikTok: @ChefHollywood88

Me and Chef Louis go back to 2011 and my very first cruise ship contract out in Hawaii. From that moment we built something that has lasted and today he is the Chef and Owner of The Canterbury Kitchen in Americus, Georgia with his amazing wife Sumner. Watching him build that has been one of the most genuinely inspiring things I have seen from someone I have known this long.

Today we are talking about cravings and we are not keeping it in the kitchen. We crave all kinds of things in life. Food obviously but also vacations, connection, rest, and change. Cravings are information and most of us move past them without stopping to ask what they are actually telling us.

On the culinary side we break down what your body is communicating to you through the specific foods you crave and why. There is real meaning behind those patterns and once you understand it you start looking at what you reach for in a completely different way.

Two chefs who have known each other since Hawaii, a lot of laughs, and a conversation that is going to make you listen to yourself a little more closely.

Follow Chef Louis and The Canterbury Kitchen: Instagram: @thecanterburykitchen Website: www.thecanterburykitchen.com Louis's Personal Instagram: @mlouisresnick Sumner's Instagram: @sumneresnick

Follow Chef Hollywood: Website: https://chculinarycreations.com Instagram | Facebook | TikTok: @ChefHollywood88

Before I step back for a little while I wanted to leave something meaningful in your ears.

This is a solo episode and I recorded it in Athens, Greece because I am in the middle of a lot of personal change right now and this topic would not leave me alone. If you do not adjust you do not survive. I believe that with everything I have and I think it is true for every part of life and every career without exception.

The adjustments we have to make are not always comfortable, not always planned, and not always welcome. But they are always necessary. I am navigating a lot of new things right now and I wanted to open this conversation with you directly because I know I am not alone in having to shift who I am or how I move to get to where I am going.

On the culinary side I bring it into the kitchen and talk about adjusting a recipe when it is not going the way you planned and how to keep cooking when you do not have everything you need. The kitchen has always been one of my best teachers and this lesson is no different.

A short break is coming. Everything Cooking Your Way Through Life returns August 31st and the next podcast episode drops September 3rd. You are only missing one week so use this time to go back and catch up on every episode already out on all streaming platforms. There is a lot there and it is worth your time.

I will see you on the other side.

Follow Chef Hollywood: Website: https://chculinarycreations.com Instagram | Facebook | TikTok: @ChefHollywood88

Some conversations hit differently when you come back to them later and this is one of those.

TJ is someone I have to properly introduce to anyone who is new here because without him none of this exists. He is the reason I started this podcast. That led to my cookbook. That led to this YouTube channel. That led to everything I am building right now. So when me and TJ sit down together it is never just a conversation, it always becomes something more.

Today we are talking about teaching and learning. We both feel like we became good at teaching because we never stopped being students and we get into what that actually looks like in practice. There is a real difference between making someone feel small and making sure someone actually understands and we talk about where that line is and why it matters so much.

On the culinary side I walk through making Mousse as a teaching example because it is a dish that is only simple when you understand the language of cooking. If nobody ever explains to you what fold means in a kitchen you are already lost before you start. Understanding how to receive and follow directions is a skill and the kitchen is one of the best places to learn it.

I also want to be transparent. A lot has changed in my personal life since this episode was recorded but coming back to this conversation reminded me of exactly why I am where I am right now. Sometimes you need perspective before you can fully hear what was already being said to you.

TJ is a Show Director and Choreographer with Disney Live Entertainment and one of the most genuinely positive people I have ever had in my corner.

Follow TJ: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tjtekurio TikTok: @tjtekurio

Follow Chef Hollywood: Website: https://chculinarycreations.com Instagram | Facebook | TikTok: @ChefHollywood88

I have not done a solo episode in a while but this topic came back around for me recently and I felt like it needed its own conversation.

Eating alone carries so much stigma that people will genuinely stay in relationships with people they do not even like just to avoid sitting at a table by themselves. I have seen it. I have lived parts of it. And today I want to talk about why we need to stop treating eating alone like it is something to be ashamed of.

Because here is the thing. Eating alone is not always about loneliness or a breakup. Sometimes you are solo traveling and a table for one is just the reality of the trip. Sometimes your kids have grown up and moved out and now it is just you in that kitchen and at that table and you have to figure out what that looks like. Sometimes you simply want to be alone and your own company is enough. All of that is valid.

Today I am getting into the real positives of eating alone and what it can teach you about yourself when you stop apologizing for it.

On the culinary side I talk about what it actually means to cook for yourself because that is different from cooking for others in ways most people do not realize. I also get into how to choose a restaurant when you are going solo because nobody ever really talks about that and it is worth the conversation.

Solo episode. Real talk. Come eat alone with me.

Follow Chef Hollywood: Website: https://chculinarycreations.com Instagram | Facebook | TikTok: @ChefHollywood88