From The Ground Up

“We are trying to change the way that people can get access to fresh, healthy food.” Luke Saunders is the founder of Farmer’s Fridge, the omni channel fresh food business. He likes to call himself a ‘small business entrepreneur’ - in college, he founded a bike rental company, sold it when he graduated and then went on to work at a small family business making industrial grease lubricants in Queens. Prior to his gig at the industrial grease company, he took a job as a traveling sales man for a metal finishing company, which is what inspired his concept for this Farmer’s Fridge. As a traveling sales man, Luke was driving over 1,000 miles a week across four states and during his constant travels, realized he couldn’t get anything he wanted to eat on the road. Everything was fast food. He wondered - why isn’t there more fresh grab and go meals outside of these more dense urban locations? Luke quickly recognized the supply chain problem - food manufacturers can make food very safely and efficiently but getting it from factory to gas station could take six months because of the way supply chain works. Once Luke realized that he could connect directly to customers and create his own distribution model, then he could solve the problem of getting fresh healthy food to more people. With that, Farmer’s Fridge was born. Prior to the pandemic, Farmer’s Fridge was really all about fridges (what?!). Yes, fridges. Farmer’s Fridges makes fresh, delicious food at a central commissary kitchen, put that food in their own refridgerated trucks and then take that food to fancy “vending machines” that they call fridges. The fridges are in airports, universities, office buildings and more across the Midwest and East Coast. The whole purpose was to try and change the way that people can get access to fresh, healthy food. A vending machine in convenient, it can go places restaurants can’t go and it would allow us to be really efficient about getting food to people so it could be less expensive. Once COVID hit, Farmer’s Fridge launched a DTC business where they leverage that same infrastructure around production and distribution of food but they drop it at your house (yes please)! In this episode, we cover how Luke came up with the idea of fresh food vending machines, how his mission has driven this business, launching a new arm of Farmer’s Fridge and of course, the types of dishes they offer. Tune in and follow @farmersfridge on Instagram!

Emily Griffith shares her story of starting and building America’s sprouted buckwheat brand - Lil Bucks. While living in Australia, Emily had a life changing açaí bowl that inspired her to build a brand of her own. The bowl had sprouted buckwheat seeds as a replacement to granola that's usually sprinkled on top - it was not too sweet, had the perfect crunch and soon became her new obsession. Once Emily noticed there were no dedicated sprouted buckwheat brands here in the U.S., she decided to launch Lil Bucks. Once she moved back to Chicago after living in Australia, she took on freelance gigs to bootstrap her business. Emily went from selling at local farmers markets to selling in major retail stores across the U.S. In this episode, Emily chats with host Danielle about buckwheat production, bootstrapping a business, the realities of being a food entrepreneur and fulfilling her vision of creating a national, natural health brand. Tune in and follow @lovelilbucks on Instagram and use code fromthegrounduppod on www.lovelilbucks.com for 20% off your first purchase!

Vanessa Price first got into wine in Louisville, Kentucky, where she was born and raised. She originally moved to New York to go to school for theater and film but shortly after, moved back home to Louisville to get her Bachelor’s degree. During her off days from school on the weekends, Vanessa worked at a winery in downtown Louisville and that’s where she fell in love with the culture of wine. Since then, Vanessa has worked on all sides of the industry - she has spent 15 years in the wine industry as a trained sommelier, she authored New York magazine’s hit “Wine Pairing of the Week,” worked on the import and distribution side and founded The Vinum Collective, an all-things wine platform from education to e-commerce. Most recently, Vanessa released her debut book, Big Macs and Burgundy: Wine Pairings for the Real World and she is currently working on building a new restaurant and boutique hotel in Montauk, New York called Mavericks. In this episode, we talk all about Vanessa’s approach to the world of wine, how she got into wine in Louisville Kentucky, writing her first book and we even discuss why and how Cheetos and Sancerre make the perfect pair. Tune in and be sure to follow Vanessa Price on Instagram @vanessalenoreprice and check out her new book at www.bigmacsandburgundy.com.

Chef Ken Addington is a veteran of some of New York City’s most renowned restaurant kitchens including the Ace Hotel, Picholine, Patroon and Town restaurant in the Chambers Hotel, which he opened with chef Geoffrey Zakarian, receiving three stars from The New York Times. At Strangeways, which Addington opened with his partner, Jamie, during the COVID-19 pandemic as a safe and welcoming outdoor dining experience, he serves an eclectic menu of rustic American dishes inspired by his travels abroad and the diverse food landscape of New York City. In this episode, we discuss how an opportunity at the age of 16 led him to his long career path in the culinary world, living and working in New York during some of the most difficult times and opening up a new restaurant mid-pandemic in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Tune in and follow @kenaddington and @strangeways_bk on Instagram.

Bridget Firtle, born and raised in the Rockaway Beach neighborhood of Queens, began her career on Wall Street at a hedge fund as a consumer goods investor with a focus in global alcoholic beverage companies. In 2012, she saw an opportunity to join the renaissance occurring in American distilling and founded Owney’s Rum – New York City's only rum distillery. Within five years of the launch, Bridget formed a strategic partnership with international spirits company Proximo Spirits, and in early 2020 she successfully sold the company to launch Rockaway. Rockaway is a new sparkling beverage that embodies the creative, unfaltering energy of New York City and offers functional benefits from powerful plants and adaptogenic herbs. In this episode, we discuss the transition from investing on Wall Street to building a rum distillery from scratch, how she created and sold a business in five years and how she made the transition from spirits to the non-alcoholic space and launched her second company, Rockaway.

“Those were some of my best memories of my childhood... sitting around the table with my family." Berty Richter is the Executive Chef and Owner of TLV in Austin, Texas - a restaurant inspired by the streets of Israel. Berty was born and raised in Israel to an American-Hungarian father and a Turkish mother where food was at the center of their everyday life. There was always somebody cooking in the kitchen and from a young age, he was exposed to a lot of great food. Berty’s family would host large, 12-hour feasts on Saturdays where they sit around the table and enjoy drinks and delicious food made by Berty’s mother and grandmother. This is how Berty fell in love with food and cooking. Starting at the age of 12, Berty took summer positions in different kitchens across Israel. When he was 18, he joined the mandatory military service (Israeli Defense Force) where he found himself volunteering to cook on the weekends while some of the cooks were away. After his service during his time traveling the United States, he decided that he was going to pursue his true passion as his career, which was cooking. In this episode, Berty chats with host Danielle about how his family feasts shaped who he is as a chef, working in different kitchens across New York City for 15 years, moving to Austin and opening his food truck Hummus Among Us and how his food truck provided him with the opportunity to open up a restaurant of his own - TLV.

Greg Baxtrom always knew wholeheartedly that he wanted to be a chef. He grew up in a small town in Illinois watching Rick Bayless on CBS and took his first gig in the industry at Wendy’s at the young age of 15. In 2016, after years of working at some of the most well-known restaurants, such as Alinea, Per Se and Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Greg opened up his first spot in Brooklyn, Olmsted. And just a few years later, Greg opened up his second restaurant, Maison Yaki. Unfortunately, the pandemic has required Greg to constantly reinvent his restaurants in an attempt to keep his businesses afloat. Despite the harsh realities of the pandemic, Greg has managed to focus his efforts on supporting his community that he cares deeply about. In this special two-part episode, we cover how Greg worked his way up to Sous Chef at Alinea under Grant Achatz, how he learned about thoughtful and responsible cooking from Dan Barber at Blue Hill at Stone Barns, how the culmination of Greg’s career experiences led to the opening of Olmsted, operating a food bank during the pandemic, creating a platform for other chefs by running the black entrepreneur series out of Maison Yaki and the impact of this ever-changing, unpredictable climate on his own restaurants and the industry as a whole.

“I feel so reinvigorated and I want to teach people the comfort foods that I grew up eating. I want to keep Vietnamese food alive in America.” Chef Nini Nguyen is a New York City based chef, instructor, recipe developer and recent contestant on Bravo’s Top Chef All Stars. Nini grew up in New Orleans East where there is a big Vietnamese population and growing up, she predominantly ate Vietnamese food and cooked Vietnamese food with her grandmother. This is where she fell in love with food and cooking - in a place with such a rich culinary background with so many delicious things to eat. Now, Nini feels reinvigorated and wants to teach people about the comfort foods of her heritage that she grew up eating. During Nini’s time in college at LSU, she realized she wanted to be a chef and after college, took the leap and went culinary school but felt that she learned so much more on the job. She quickly fell in love with the industry - she loved the culture of restaurants and the people the restaurants attract to work there. She worked at restaurants across Louisiana including Coquette and at a bakery where she honed in on her pastry skills, which landed her a gig at the famed Eleven Madison Park in NYC. Not too long after, she secured a spot on Top Chef Kentucky, which then led her to become a contestant on Bravo’s most recent season, Top Chef All Stars. These experiences have inspired her cooking and have given her a platform to teach - which is what she really loves to do. Here’s what we cover in this episode: how Top Chef has impacted her career, launching virtual and on-demand cooking classes in the wake of the pandemic, how New Orleans native chefs are starting to explore and use Vietnamese ingredients in New Orleans cooking and why Nini loves this industry and cooking so much. Tune in and follow @chefnininguyen and @fromthegrounduppod on Instagram and check out www.chefnininguyen.com for more info on Nini’s classes.

Donna Lennard reflects on her 26 years in the industry and the beautiful, large, extended family she built with it. Donna started out as a filmmaker and supported herself through graduate school at NYU by working at restaurants across the city. During this time, she met her original Il Buco partner, Alberto Avalle. The two became fast friends and turned their hobby of collecting American antiques into a business when they opened up an antique shop on Bond Street in 1994. Not even a year later, they transformed their space into a neighborhood restaurant focused on ingredients. Ever since they opened, Il Buco has been the motherland… the soul of the brand. Fast forward 26 years, Donna now owns and operates three restaurants, a pop-up in Montauk and an original line of products and has built a community inside and outside of the restaurants. In this episode, we talk about the early days of Il Buco, creating her new cookbook (Il Buco: Stories & Recipes), how Il Buco Alimentari put her on the map in a different way and the team she’s built or her ‘la banda del buco’ that has turned into her forever family. Be sure to tune in and follow @ilbuconyc, @ilbuco_av, @bottega_ilbuco, @ilbucovita and @fromthegrounduppod.

Ray Anthony Barrett has spent most of his career as a visual artist and his work is based on language - how it orients us, how meaning is constructed and how it shifts depending on your perspective. His background in art and his art education gave him the foundation to make the transition to food four years ago. Ray worked at pizza shops and as a doughnut baker growing up, but landed his first real restaurant gig after knocking on the door at Chef Jeremy Fox’s restaurant, Rustic Canyon. After learning the fundamentals of cooking and then recipe testing amongst friends at home, Ray set-out to launch a pop-up of his own, Cinqué. The concept was built around the idea of making contemporary food that traces the migration of his ancestors back to West Africa. Now, Ray is making the food he wants to see out there and creating dishes that reflect where he is in this moment, which is Southern California and in the year 2020. In this episode, we discuss how he’s reimagined soul food and Southern classics, what Hoppin’ John is and how he took his mothers recipe and made it his own, introducing people to their own food heritage and how soul food can be a part of the renaissance of black expression. Tune in and follow @rayanthonybarrett and @cinque_la on Instagram!

Arley Marks, co-owner of Honey’s in Brooklyn, grew up surrounded by art. Initially, Arley went to the Rhode Island School of Design to study furniture design but shortly after realized the program wasn’t for him. He took four years off from school and worked in restaurants in Providence during that time and ended up back at school where he graduated with a sculpture degree. While in Providence, Arley started playing around with installations, which allowed him to imagine every drink as a sculptural and multi-sensory experience. After Providence, Arley landed in New York where he worked at Mission Chinese Food, Diner and Dimes, and eventually opened the doors to a place he now calls home - Honey’s. Honey’s is part production facility (where they make a bunch of different products including mead) and part tasting room formatted as a cocktail bar. Arley and From The Ground Up host, Danielle, caught up on the rooftop of Honey’s and covered everything from making mead to building multi-sensory experiences and creating cocktails that are visually complex and sculptural.

Noam Grossman, the co-founder of Upside Pizza and Norm’s Pizza in New York, grew up eating pizza. Every Thursday night was pizza night in the Grossman household. However, Noam had every intention of pursuing a career in fashion while in college, but landed a gig with B.GOOD in NYC shortly after graduating and fell in love with the restaurant industry. When he met his current partners, they had dreamed up a concept centered around building great pizza the right way, with the right ingredients. In 2018, Noam set out on an adventure and officially joined the pizza game. Noam and I caught up at Upside Pizza and covered all things pizza and life including: Noam’s pizza memories as a kid, the importance of quality ingredients, how he learned the pizza ropes and balancing personal and work life. Be sure to tune in and follow @upsidepizza, @normspizzanyc and @fromthegrounduppod on Instagram.

“It’s really about stewardship, permaculture, taking care of our land and taking care of the people who operate restaurants to make this magic happen everyday for the individuals." As a native of Southern New Jersey, surrounded by the pinelands, the bay and the shore, Chef Rob Rubba always found himself tangled in nature. He originally went to art school to study graphic design and then began painting but soon found a new passion one summer when he immersed himself in the culinary world working as a pastry cook. Since then, he has worked in several highly regarded kitchens under the guidance of chefs such as Gordon Ramsay, Guy Savoy, Laurent Gras and the late Charlie Trotter. Once Rob moved to D.C., he helped open restaurant Hazel and about a year later, left Hazel to focus his efforts on the sustainability of restaurants which led to the development of Oyster Oyster. When the pandemic hit and opening Oyster Oyster needed to be paused, Chef Rubba shifted by starting SCRAPPY’S Bagel Bar and became a co-founder of Bakers Against Racism, a movement of decentralized bake sales that donates funds to local organizations that improve black lives and aid in stopping systemic racism. So, what will you hear about in this episode? Chef Rob Rubba’s experience and perspective as a young cook, building a plant-based restaurant that is focused on sustainability, seasonality and stewardship, starting a movement to create racial justice and how the industry can be more inclusive overall.

“Being a chef and being in this industry is about making other people happy and that makes me happy.” Ryan Lory, the chef and owner of Ardyn in New York City, knew that he wanted to work in hospitality since he was a little kid. At the age of 13, he landed his first restaurant gig as a busboy at his uncle’s sports bar and restaurant in New Jersey. After working multiple front of house and back of house positions, Ryan realized that he loved interacting with guests and fell in love with the cooking aspect while in culinary school where he fully immersed himself into the kitchen. Eventually, he moved to New York and worked as the Executive Chef for Charlie Palmer, where he really found himself as a chef. And just one year ago, Ryan fulfilled his lifelong dream and opened up his own restaurant, Ardyn, with his partner Adam Bordonaro. In this episode, we dive into Ryan’s early beginnings, building a fine dining restaurant in the heart of Manhattan, shutting down after just one year of operation due to the pandemic and how they have pivoted to creating and delivering elevated, restaurant quality meal-kits to homes across the East Coast.

25 year-old Dylan Taylor has extensive experience in the barbecue world as a pitmaster and has worked at famed barbecue joints all across Austin including Terry Black’s Barbecue, 2M Smokehouse, Truth Barbeque and La Barbecue. He now owns and operates his own barbecue spot, Goldee’s Barbecue, in Fort Worth, Texas with four of his childhood best friends. Originally, Dylan made the move from Arlington to Austin to go to college and to play music with his band, but after a year he realized college was not his thing. He then began delivering pizzas for Pizza Hut but he was quickly sold on that central Texas barbecue life once he started dining out at local barbecue spots. In this episode, we discuss why Dylan fell in love with this industry, how his childhood friends hustled their way up to owning a restaurant in their hometown, the struggles of opening up a new place, the type of delicious meats and sides they’re serving up and how Dylan is adjusting to the current climate.

“I’ve always felt like I’m better than this situation I’m in. My purpose is more powerful than this.” Tavel Bristol-Joseph shares his story of hope. Tavel grew up poor in Georgetown, Guyana with access to only one meal a day. But he always felt he was meant for more than the situation he was in. Tavel became inherently driven to think about and plan his next step. At the age of seventeen, he moved to America and had big dreams of playing basketball professionally. Soon realizing that his basketball game was not where it needed to be - and after a push from his mom, he enrolled in culinary school. Today, Tavel is the Pastry Chef and Partner at five restaurants in Austin, Texas including: Emmer & Rye, Hestia, Kalimotxo, Henbit and TLV and was recently named one of FOOD & WINE Magazine’s “Best New Chefs of 2020.” In this episode, we explore the experience of success born from struggle, a restaurant owner’s responsibilities, the future of the restaurant industry and how Tavel is helping shape that future. Be sure to tune in and follow @tavel19 and @fromthegrounduppod on Instagram.

Camilla Marcus is the Chef/Founder of west~bourne in SoHo, co-founder of Relief Opportunities for All Restaurants (ROAR) and founding member of the Independent Restaurant Coalition (IRC). Camilla loved food and restaurants from a young age, but realized her passion for the hospitality industry while in culinary school when she figured out that food/restaurants are really the meeting of art and commerce. Camilla has worked in many roles at restaurants across New York City, opened up a place of her very own and has become a true leader and advocate in the industry. Camilla chats with host Danielle about the important societal and economic impact of restaurants, building coalitions to support independent restaurant owners during the pandemic, how restaurants can support inclusivity and diversity within the industry and how we can rethink hospitality and the labor structure as a whole.

Dorothy Elizabeth is a student at heart with a scientific background - she graduated from The University of Michigan with a Chemical Engineering degree and kick-started her career as a mixologist in Ann Arbor. After working at multiple craft cocktail bars in Ann Arbor and Detroit, she made the move to New York City in 2018 where she helped open and oversee pop-ups and programs at Mace, Henry at the Life Hotel, Straylight, L’Avenue at Saks Fifth Avenue and Lyaness. Dorothy chats with host Danielle Berg about how she incorporates scientific practices behind the bar, what it’s like being a female in an industry that’s predominantly white male dominated, moving to New York and finding her cocktail community here and what the future holds for bars in New York City and across the country. How will bars restructure their business plans? Are to-go cocktails here to stay for the indefinite future? How will bars and restaurants revise their sanitation methods, and will they require temperature checks, masks and gloves for the foreseeable future?

“It’s all about hospitality and inclusivity.” Hannah Black, Carla Perez-Gallardo and Wheeler are partners at Lil Deb’s Oasis in Hudson, New York - a restaurant they imagined would serve as an oasis where people from all over the world could exist. Hannah and Carla, two art school graduates, met while working on a Vietnamese-inspired food truck in the Catskills and quickly realized that their language about cooking and sensibilities were well matched. First running a catering business, then hosting a weekly pop-up dinner series together, the two finally got the opportunity to open up a restaurant of their own. After years of executing on others' visions and feeling like the landscape was impossible to exist in as a person of color or as a woman, they were ready to create something different. Hannah and Carla, semifinalists for the 2020 James Beard Award: Best Chef New York Category, met Wheeler along the way and the duo soon brought them in as a third partner in the oasis. In this episode, we discuss the evolution of Lil Deb's, the type of tropical comfort food and wine they serve up and how they’re adjusting to the current climate. Tune in and follow @lildebsoasis and @fromthegrounduppod on Instagram!

“The reason for failure this go around would not be because of my failure as an operator. It wouldn’t be because I didn’t make the right choices or because I wasn’t proactive. It’s because there was a global pandemic that flattened the world.” Gabriel Stulman, the Founder of Happy Cooking Hospitality in New York, originally planned on becoming a high school history teacher. After working multiple jobs at local bars and restaurants in his college town, he quickly fell in love with the industry and the community that he built within it. Now, Stulman owns and operates restaurants across New York City including: Jeffrey’s Grocery, Joseph Leonard, Bar Sardine, Fairfax, Fedora, The Jones, George Washington Bar, Simon & The Whale and Studio at The Freehand. Gabriel has been vocal about issues that he’s facing as a business owner during the Coronavirus Pandemic, including the challenges around commercial leases and obtaining loans. In this episode, we cover everything from Gabriel’s early beginnings to issues with the PPP loans to feeding NYC’s frontline workers. Be sure to tune in and follow @gabestulman and @fromthegrounduppod on Instagram.

Welcome to From The Ground Up - the podcast all about culinary entrepreneurs! Each week, From The Ground Up provides a platform for industry players and up-and-comers to share their personal journeys – the triumphs, the failures and the raw unexpected stories in between. Host, Danielle Berg, dives into these stories to provide a window into the raw sacrifice and authentic passion of these culinary talents who are pursuing what they love. Follow Us: @fromthegrounduppod on Instagram. Get in Touch: fromthegrounduppod@gmail.com.