Episode Transcript
[00:00:11] Speaker A: Thank you for being here with us once again on another episode of Cook and Conquer. And with that said, we will be working today on making some delicious fudge and cookies, chocolate chip cookies. Who does not love chocolate chip cookies? Right.
And I have a special guest with us, and his name is Joel Vineyard, and he's here with us. And he has a lot to share about his own experiences with his family, with his mother, and most of all, with loss.
Him and I are very much closely tied and in so many ways that I rather leave it to him to share.
And with that said, he also lost his mother like I did to. I lost my mother when I was just about to be 15. In his case, it was a little later in life. But Joel Vineyard, I'm happy to have you here with us today.
[00:01:05] Speaker B: Well, thank you, Emily, my wife.
Yes. I'm her husband. And thank you for having me on your show, sweetie. I appreciate that.
Yeah, it's hard, though. The subject we're talking about is not easy. But it's been 17 years for me since my mom passed away.
And the hardest times are probably the holidays and birthdays. It could be their birthday or your birthday, different anniversaries and things that come around. There's times when it gets a little harder, and the first couple of years are definitely it's tougher. At the beginning, one thing that was different for me than some people, which I think sometimes it was harder, but yet it helped at the same time is that because we were also business partners together, along with my dad and my sister in our restaurant company that we have, it was immediately needed for me to be able to talk about it because everybody wanted to talk about it around us. And so whether it be all the different vendors or customers or people that were a part of the business coming and going, ended up having to converse. But I didn't really get a break. And so, you know, with some losses you get, there's kind of a break where you maybe have some grieving time or you can be quiet, but almost immediately had to begin talking about it or explaining and talking through it, which that was hard. But at the same time, I think you push yourself through the different emotional stages, maybe a little more purposely just to get through it. Try not to skip something unless something gets stuck in you, because that's very painful. But I remember it feeling like it was really hard. I could not go a day without having to talk to somebody about it. And sometimes you just didn't feel like talking about it.
And so that was kind of a good and bad part about it, that was different for me for sure.
[00:02:49] Speaker A: I think that it's rehashing it. It's rehashing those memories. And then when we're getting to the holidays, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Mother's Day, their birthdays, it brings a lot of memories. In my personal experience, as soon as we get close to Christmas, it's very hard for me because I thought, and I'm going to open myself to where I have not opened much, that if I would be as good as she was as a cook, a cook, a person that would bake so many delicious things, she would come back at least once again for Christmas. And still, till now, I'm still that little girl. Even though time has gone by, so many years have passed, 30 plus years that my mother passed away and it still hurts like if it was yesterday. But why is that? Because I'm connected in a way to her in a different way. I also love the kitchen and I love to decorate.
And most of all, these seasons of Christmas, Thanksgiving, holidays are hard for me.
How have you been able to see the other side or overcome that loss as throughout the years?
[00:04:06] Speaker B: Well, you know, I'd probably continue about what I was talking about it because, you know, as I was. As you're talking about this and thinking through it, you know, the other side of it is that my mother was such an integral part of the business. All the recipes are hers. And she was, you know, had built it with my dad. And then we, my sister and I joined them later.
And so she was in all of it as well. And so it went from having to explain things or talk about what happened or how it happened because people would want somewhat level of details. And so you end up kind of going through it over and over again.
But then we got to the point where we could really go back and look at, well, the things that we're doing and the values that we have as a company that were so critical to her, so key to her, you know, a part of her, part of my dad, and kind of shifted towards honoring her by doing those and trying to live those out in the business each and every day. How we treated each other, how we treated our people that work with us, how we treat vendors, how we treat our guests that come into the restaurants. And so I, I think that was a part of the healing as well. So there was kind of shoving through kind of quickly, you know, going through the grieving. But then maybe also we were able to see more maybe visually than it is, you know, if you get to follow her steps, like I got to and be a part of that and have people that have. She's influenced their lives or changed their lives by being close to or part of the business, then you also get to see that the fruit of that life that she had. And so that is very good and very positive, obviously, and that still continues to today, which is really wonderful, is that I can feel that today, you know, as you've met and talked to different people in the company that they share with you about my mom, for example. And so you get to hear those stories as well. And they come back to us all the time. So that part's a real positive kind of moving forward, healing. Part of it, actually, it is to.
[00:06:11] Speaker A: Be able to talk about it and to share. What would you share? What would you tell someone that is actually still on the other side that they're still grieving their mother, their father, maybe a son, a daughter that they've lost throughout the years. And these seasons are kind of hard. When Christmas comes along, you know, the holidays, their birthdays, what would you tell them?
[00:06:35] Speaker B: Sure.
What I've shared before, also with other people, but is that it's not going to always feel as hard as it does at first or as painful or as sharp, severe.
Those things do over time, especially if you allow it, it'll soften up a little bit. It doesn't go away. You're not going to forget, you're not going to not care.
But it gets easier. And, you know, stepping into something like that, don't expect it to go too fast and don't expect that person, or don't expect it not to ever stop the pain, because it does. It gets, you get, you get through it.
And so it can feel crushing, as you know, at times.
But got to know that God's got you and that he cries also for our losses as well.
And that, you know, with him and knowing that this isn't the end of that, that there's. It's going to get better, you're going to heal and look to and grab for those positive parts of it.
[00:07:41] Speaker A: Well, what I could share in my own journey is that still, till now, I miss my mother. But when I sat down and I took therapy and I was right there, and then I realized that it was not over yet, that I will eventually get to see my mother again. And knowing that I walk by faith and not just by, you know, by what I hear from other people, but we know that we will get to see our loved ones again.
So the way that I want to fulfill her legacy is every day talking about the love that she had over us. Bringing the cooking, the baking, the decorating, and loving on the neighbor and trying to leave that legacy that she taught me at a very young age, like sitting down with a dough, you know, and I would sit there, this cute little Hispanic girl would sit with a dough, and she wanted to make tortillas. And still till now, I could picture myself back then wanting to be like her. So what best way to live out her legacy and that now it's my legacy in the kitchen, where she was very happy and what I would sit and play and try to be as she was. So we both have something that are very similar, you know, past that are very similar with restaurants and cooking and the love for our mothers. So I know that there's amazing things that are coming around the corner, and we just need to continue pressing on. And instead of staying in that dark place of sadness, why not continue their legacy? Why not bring our children and the children of our children to be part of this amazing story of love, of cooking, of baking, and touching other people's hearts and lives.
[00:09:25] Speaker B: That's right.
[00:09:26] Speaker A: So I'm excited of what we're going to be cooking, of doing that fudge, and also the chocolate chip cookies and so much more.
Is there something else that you would like to share with us?
[00:09:38] Speaker B: Well, I was just going to say that I learned the same way that you did as a little boy in the kitchen. My mom would put me to work with her and have her help me. That's how I learned all the recipes that I've known from her. So very much the same way.
[00:09:49] Speaker A: We're done with this segment, and we definitely want you to stay with us. Please stay. And we will continue with the next segment. Just coming right back.
Well, thank you once again for being here with me on this next episode, Cook and Conquer. And today I have a very special guest that will be sharing a lot of the love and the passion that he has for the cooking, for baking, and most of all, his own mother's legacy. Thank you for being here with me today. Joel Vineyard.
[00:10:52] Speaker B: Sweetie, thank you for having me here, too. I appreciate that. Wow.
[00:10:56] Speaker A: Thank you.
I would love for you to share a little bit about each and one of these ingredients and the love that your mom also had for the kitchen.
[00:11:06] Speaker B: And.
[00:11:06] Speaker A: And you have a legacy, I know.
[00:11:08] Speaker B: Oh, yes, that's very true. Yeah. This is the recipe that we're going to do today is my mom's fudge that she made. And it's kind of Got a. Want me to tell the story?
[00:11:20] Speaker A: Of course, yes.
[00:11:20] Speaker B: It's kind of fun. So she got this pan my mom and dad did when they got married, and then they kept it because they, like, when they got new stuff later on, they kept it because it made such good fudge and became called the fudge pan.
And I grew up with the fudge pan, and so did the whole family. And so, like, every Christmas and every, you know, Thanksgiving, she would bring this out and she'd make fudge for the whole family. Everybody got to see it. So that's. And I ended up with it after she passed away. And so this is the fudge pan. This is the fudge recipe that she had.
And so these are the ingredients for the fudge recipe, which we have the. The sugar here.
We've got the semi sweet morsels right here.
And then we got butter, which this is a cup and a half of butter.
And let's see, we got a little bit of the extra butter that we're gonna use to put on the pan that we poured the fudge into.
We got the vanilla that goes in at the end.
We've got the marshmallow cream right here.
And then this is also the evaporated milk right here that goes in the recipe.
[00:12:24] Speaker A: How long does this process take?
Could you tell us?
[00:12:28] Speaker B: Sure.
To get started for the whole recipe probably takes 25 to 35 minutes. Kind of depends on how hot your stove is and how quickly you can start melting the sugar into candy.
[00:12:39] Speaker A: Interesting. And could you go more into detail where we start? What is the first ingredient? And so people could actually have a clear idea of what the process will be?
[00:12:48] Speaker B: You bet. Well, we start with the sugar, the evaporated milk, and the butter. We put that, and I chop it up like. Like it is here. The butter, it gets chopped up to go in there to make it melt easier. So you just put all the butter, that sugar, and the evaporated milk in there. We turn it on to about a medium high heat until it begins to slowly boil. Takes a little bit to get going, but it'll be this rolling boil where there's just a little bit of bubbles coming up. And that's really the key point. And a lot of people use candy thermometers to make candy like this. My mom didn't do that, so she didn't teach me how to do that. She taught me to do by watching how it. How it acted in the pot. So that's the way that I know how to do it, which is kind of different. So there's this little rolling boil that it gets, and then when that happens, you got to start stirring more and more. So you start a little bit, and then when it starts doing the rolling boil, you got to keep stirring. And you hit a four minute timer. And for exactly four minutes, you keep the boiling going. Don't really get too high because it'll scorch it and start burning. Yeah, just kind of keep it going for that four minutes. Then you take it off the heat real quick.
And then I put in the chocolate morsels and then start mixing that in and they begin to melt. And I usually add a little heat back to it. And then I put in the marshmallow cream and get all those fully mixed in. And then the very last thing when it's starting to really cool down is when you put in the vanilla. Because if you put the vanilla in when it's hot, it'll evaporate from the heat.
[00:14:08] Speaker A: Interesting.
[00:14:08] Speaker B: And so that's how you do the main recipe. And then once you get that all mixed in, then I have a pan that I've already got kind of coated with butter, and you just pour it in there and let it set up. And it takes about 30, 45 minutes for it to cool. And then you can make the slices and make the pieces that you're going to give people.
[00:14:26] Speaker A: Very interesting. And with that said about your mother, I know that there is so much that the audience is going to want to know about your mother and her amazing, but, I mean, amazing legacy that I definitely would love for you to share.
[00:14:40] Speaker B: Sure.
Well, it's kind of a funny story to that. When my mom and dad got married, my mom really didn't know how to cook.
But my dad's mother was a fantastic cook. And so I guess I'm not sure if they had a fight or whatever came out of it. When my dad wasn't getting good meals at home yet, but at some point she asked his mother, her mother in law, to teach her. And so my mom learned from her mother in law how to cook. And then she really took that and really dove in deep and became a very good cook, to the point that when they opened up their own restaurant in 1981, she developed all the recipes for it. And even the company, even the restaurants we have today, the vast majority of the recipes are my mother's, which are either hers that she made or from grandmothers in the family. And so really she was that part of our company. She was really the main chef, the master chef, having learned by growing up with it with her mother in law rather than her own mother, actually.
[00:15:38] Speaker A: Wow, that is very fascinating, very interesting. And I would love to know a little bit more about her. Knowing the fact that she loved the kitchen.
What. How was she. Or talk to us a little bit more. I know that she's. She actually left an amazing legacy for so many people to want to know about. And this is your mother. And I feel stunned and flattered to even think or talk about her because she left so much for you to fulfill that amazing legacy of a mother. But then she actually expanded, starting with one restaurant because that's what you all started, and then with so much more and now you are able to fulfill, take those steps, walk through her own story and expand it. She did so much.
[00:16:30] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:16:30] Speaker A: I would love for you to talk about her.
[00:16:32] Speaker B: Well, sure. Well, in addition to being a good cook and she taught herself how to develop recipes professionally, you know, for the restaurant, she taught herself how to. How to multiply but make them bigger, which is not as straightforward as you think. But she taught herself how to do that at the same time. She ended up being the CFO of the company for most of those first years. Many like the first 20 years, actually, I believe, and really without a degree in that either. And so she was very smart and very kind and very good and talented and artistically talented. But the other thing about my mother that really, when you talk to the people that have been around her in the company, which now is about 45 years old, is just how much of a heart she had for everybody, for the employees, for taking care of people and being really soft spoken, but very sweet and very kind to everybody. And you really find that everybody has very fond memories of her because of who she was and how she lived that out and how with my dad together with her, they live that out in the company. Really, to take the Christian values that I was raised on, they grew up on, and really make sure it's integrated into the company and how we treat each other and how we treat our guests, how we treat the employees that work with us and even our vendors and suppliers, we have great relationships the same way always tried to step up and do a better job of treating them the way that they should be treated, the way that we would want to be treated as well. So that's her legacy that I have, that I see that we carry on. And so the values of our company are really based on that. What my mom and dad lived out when they developed the company and ran it.
[00:18:07] Speaker A: Well, I have a Question for you. And it's related to your mother, her legacy, and so, so much that she was so knowledgeable, so smart and expert without even going to college that you just mentioned. And she was so talented and she was able to multitask and do so much for the company. But now you. I know that you also inherited a lot of her talents. What are those talents? Because I could mention some of them. But I know that you're the one that stepped in and done such an amazing role in. As an owner, one of the owners of this company. Could you share what you actually do for the company and connect that with the fact what your mother was so talented and you are also a part of it?
[00:18:51] Speaker B: Well, I did end up getting kind of her taste for things and pretty good with the recipes, and I learned all of them. I can teach all of them that we do. And I've got a pretty good taster, which means, really, if we get involved in the recipe. I like hers, though, because she had an amazing one. But when it comes to tasting food at the restaurant and maybe trying to find out if there's. If it's right or if there's something wrong, what's wrong with it, I had that ability as well. But she was kind of amazing at it because she could pick out, you know, from a. From a recipe that's pretty complicated, let's say a chocolate pie or whatever, that somebody used unsalted butter instead of salted butter, just because a little bit of flavor difference. I mean, really, she kind of amazed. We have a company chef that worked with her back then, too, who's still with us. And he likes to tell that story because it blew him away that she would say, I think you got the wrong kind of butter. And he said, we don't have that kind of butter. She said, you might go check. And he went back to the back, and sure enough, they had got the wrong butter in. And she got it just from one piece of the pie, one taste of the pie. And so. And I have some of that that I can do, and I can do the recipes, and I know how they should taste, and I think I'm pretty good at that, too. And then I end up also doing a lot of the financial stuff that she did, and my role is president of the company, But I've had that ever since I became an owner. That function has always reported to me, for example, and so that's kind of part of my side of it, too. So, yeah. That a lot of the traits of my mother and other People told me that too, as well, so. Yeah. Which I'm proud of.
[00:20:15] Speaker A: Wow. Well, that's actually fascinating to know that her legacy still lives through you, through your sister, and in a way, also through your dad. But I truly believe that the fact that you have so many talents, I believe that you got them from your mother and now this opportunity that you have to share more about her, her talents, her legacy, what would you like to leave behind? In my case, it's not only my books. It's actually my mother's legacy, like my book, a Legacy of Love. And the love that she had for the kitchen, the love that she had for the neighbor, and most of all, the love that she had for the Lord. I know that there's more to say about your mother, and I've actually listened a little bit here and there from employees saying that she was so loving, she was very caring, kind, compassionate, but she always wanted to make sure that each and one of those employees were treated fairly. And that is something that I do remember hearing from someone really sweet and very close to me saying, you know, she was very kind.
And I know that someday we're not going to be here anymore. And the legacy that I want to leave for my kids and the kids of my kids is the fact that they have where to go back and take that legacy and move on with it. And for the next generations. What would you like to leave? Because, as you know, we're not going to be here forever.
[00:21:45] Speaker B: Sure.
[00:21:46] Speaker A: But I know that you would like to leave something behind.
[00:21:49] Speaker B: Well, getting to continue what my mother and my dad started and do it, be faithful to it, which is, you know, we really are focused on giving people a great value for their money, giving employees that work with us a great place to work where they're cared for above and beyond. We try to do that every day. Those are the key things that I really see. Another one of my mom's talents, which is also one of your talents, like cooking as well, is that she was really great at decorating. And she did for several years. She. And for a time, her brother and one of my aunts also did this with her. But they would hand make Christmas decorations that she would use to decorate the restaurants with. And they're beautiful, and they have been. And Tiffany's kind of carried that forward, and we started making our own ones again even recently, which is kind of special. And so my sister is who that is. And so we. We try to keep those things alive through that and to continue on. Really, the great things that she and my dad started, so. Yeah.
[00:22:47] Speaker A: Well, that is very fascinating, and I just really cannot wait to try this fudge and for you all to also see the process step by step. And we still have a little more than just the fudge today with you all. And I know it's going to be a very exciting, very interesting process, which, for me, I found very fascinating because it's just new. I've never done fudge. I've never been much into fudge, but it was interesting to see the process step by step. And by the way, if you're not very careful with the process, it might not turn out to be the very best fudge. So it's very. You have to be very careful and very precise and paying attention to every little detail. That's what I learned with this recipe. So thank you for being here with us.
[00:24:21] Speaker B: So put in the sugar.
Then the next step. I've got the evaporated milk.
Wow.
The next one is the butter.
And it's really important to cut it up like this to make it melt more evenly and fast.
So right here like this.
Some of it's a little awkward, but it'll work.
I usually do it all at once, but I. I was going to show it before and after. So just like that.
There we go.
All righty.
I going to heat it up, and I'll start kind of mixing it together and stirring it. So this will take a little bit to get all of this little. Stove Top is faster on getting it heated, so this will take to get to the next stage. It'll probably be five to ten minutes before it starts really bubbling.
[00:25:38] Speaker A: So you have to continue. Right.
Mixing it, mixing it and changing. If you don't continue mixing it, it's not going to come out right.
[00:25:46] Speaker B: When you leave something stuck to the bottom, it will burn. And, you know, you don't have to do it a ton of this, but at this stage, I'm just making sure I get, you know, everything at least wet. But as soon as it starts getting any kind of. When it's. When it. When you can't see the ingredients anymore and it's just one thing, then you have to keep stirring because it could be burning on the bottom. And then we start seeing the bubbles, it gets to a certain point, and then we set the timer, and I got to make sure it doesn't go, oh, no, no, no, no. I'll go back to four minutes now. I'll tell you. It'll be after the bubbles start, after the boiling starts.
This recipe is so touchy. That almost usually the first time I make it every year, it doesn't come out exactly right because I only make it in the winter at Thanksgiving and maybe Christmas. And I don't make it the rest of the year on purpose. I don't need to eat this all year long, you know. Okay, start the timer. So there's the bubbling right there that we're looking for.
The bubbling? Yeah. It's like a bit all over the place. Not crazy. I'm gonna turn it a little because it's already getting ahead of me. This thing, just so efficient. And this is where for the next four minutes, I gotta constantly stir.
And also the scorch on the bottom.
[00:27:07] Speaker A: Five, four.
[00:27:09] Speaker B: Okay, there we go. So now I. I'll kill the power on that and then we'll start pulling in the chips. And this actually goes pretty quick because you want to kind of start cooling it off.
It helps. And so then get in and gets a little harder. Just a tiny bit. Sorry. It's still getting hot. I go back here and at a low heat.
One, then I'll go through and I'll really mix it in thoroughly. And then pretty quickly going to switch over to the.
What do you call that stuff? The marshmallow cream.
[00:27:49] Speaker A: Oh, it's mixing. Yeah.
[00:27:51] Speaker B: This looks really good, though.
It's really good. Get it thoroughly mixed in before you get the marshmallow cream in there. There we go.
All right, so this one I think I can do with this.
It's always a little interesting with this marshmallow stuff.
[00:28:09] Speaker A: And it's always good to have a good brand.
[00:28:12] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:28:13] Speaker A: A well known brand for all.
[00:28:14] Speaker B: My mom. My mom specified every brand, which we do in the restaurants.
Every brand of ingredient can't change.
There we go.
Okay. Emily, would you turn off the power for me?
Thanks.
Okay, so now, last piece is the vanilla. It's cool enough. It should melt it all or evaporate it.
Smelling really good too. Yes.
All the corners to make sure everything's mixed.
There we go. Okay.
All right, now we're gonna go over here. You ready?
See how pretty that.
And actually the last step here is just to kind of even it out. So, you know, when I poured it, it was pretty liquid, but it needs to be evened out a little bit. It actually came out great, I can tell you.
Here we go. It's got a little stick on.
[00:31:15] Speaker A: Well, thank you once again for coming here with us and being part of this last segment.
And I have to share these delicious, delicious cookies that we all have right here. Here. Chocolate chip and Fudge that we got to do today.
But it's not only that, the meaning behind these cookies, and that has a lot to do well with your own legacy.
[00:31:39] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:31:39] Speaker A: The chocolate chip cookies and the fudge. Is there something that you would love the audience to take with with this two recipes that we have?
[00:31:49] Speaker B: Well, kind of like you like to say, it does matter how you do it, if you do it with love, that gives you the intention of doing it right. And it really, really helps a lot.
[00:32:00] Speaker A: It sure does. And you have to actually bring the favorite, favorite and number one ingredient that we just said, love. If you cook with love, everything is going to come out outstanding. Delicious, one of a kind. And it also reminds me as a little girl, as we're actually finishing up here and wrapping this segment, the chocolate chip cookies. If I would have back and then been in your own world, in your own childhood, I would have probably said I could skip the chocolate chip. Is there a way we could actually have a little bit more of vanilla? And I know you've asked, and I know that my own family on my mom's side, they've asked me just recently, annalee, why is it that you just don't do much chocolate? And I think that has a lot to do.
Part of my legacy. And in your case, you grew up with a lot of chocolate.
[00:32:55] Speaker B: My mother loved chocolate. She was crazy for chocolate. So, yeah, we had, we had that. It was her favorite ingredient in any dessert. So, yeah.
[00:33:03] Speaker A: And in my case, I do love chocolate, but when it's just too much, I just will skip. I will pass. And that has a lot to do with my mother at, as a very little girl. I remember going back to that time, and we would, she would always say, chocolate is not so good if you're actually doing it in too much portions. You have to watch out a little bit for calorie and also cavities. It might be something that. It sounds funny, but now that I'm going back to those memories and carrying on her legacy, she was very careful with what she gave us. She wanted to make sure that we were healthy, but at the same time, we were not overly doing it with sugar and sweets and chocolate and candy, which nowadays I do enjoy, but I'm just fine without chocolate.
[00:33:55] Speaker B: Well, if you know my mom, when you're a little girl, it might, as she might have changed you probably. So with her love, love of things like this, the fudge, the chocolate chip cookies and the chocolate pie that she made, things like that.
And so, yeah, she called herself a chocoholic and that's probably accurate. And she might have. She might have pulled you that direction if she had the chance.
[00:34:16] Speaker A: Yeah, probably so. But I think that I ended up inheriting my mother's love for fruits and strawberries and berries and everything that goes with berries, when I'm going to be preparing very soon, desserts, my own version of desserts, more of that flair with tres leches, with the berries. And now that I go back, I'm like, I love that legacy. And I think that you've ended up adopting that flavor as well.
[00:34:46] Speaker B: Yeah, now I don't eat as much chocolate. Desserts eat a lot more things that are vanilla or fruit because of you, strawberries and things like that. So, yeah, being married to you, you've pulled me away from the dark side.
[00:34:58] Speaker A: I'm more into the white side, more into the lighter side. And with that said, I look at this and I'm like, I love it. It tastes delicious. But honestly, I still go back to what my mom taught me, and that was cooking not only with love, but making sure I had my fruits, my little vegetables there, or, you know, another different flair. But now I'm going to make sure that I carry that legacy, which we had talked to in the previous segment of carrying my mother's legacy. And there's a lot of ways that you could carry your mother's own legacy. Is there something that you would want the audience to take with how you're going to actually carry on her legacy? I'm going to do it through the kitchen, through the baking, through these amazing books that I've actually been writing that they're already nine going on. They're going to be 12 very soon, before this year ends. That's the way I carry my mother's legacy. How do you do, and how do you carry your mother, or what are you planning on doing?
[00:35:59] Speaker B: Well, I don't have any grand plans other than to keep doing what we're doing, I think is probably the best answer. I don't know if that's the best answer, but that's the answer. I mean, just continuing to honor her in the business that we do and how we do the recipes, we work very hard to make them right and honor what she did. And she was very meticulous. And that carries on, and she taught that. And that's what we carried on, actually, to make sure that when our guests come and eat with us, that they love every bite of everything that they get. Not just something in the middle of the plate, but everything else as well. And not just the desserts either, you know, So I don't know. I think that's a big part of it.
And how seriously we take making great food.
[00:36:43] Speaker A: Yes. And I think that that's actually the right approach to make sure that every dessert, every meal, as big, small, and does not matter the size, but for you to pour that special ingredient, and that is love. And I call it cooking with love. And we actually talk about that a lot when we've gone to other restaurants. That has nothing to do with your own restaurant and your own chain. That I taste something, and I'm very particular on flavors, and I'm really concise. I on making sure that it's not too much and it's not missing or having that extra addition.
And when I go to restaurants and I figure out, oh, this, they did not cook with love, they cook with sadness. And it might sound funny to people, oh, my goodness, I could pass on this. Because they're not cooking with love. It's a lot of sadness here.
And I think you even have memories of that.
[00:37:39] Speaker B: Yes. You made me laugh every time. So, yeah. With. If we're in a restaurant, she says, these people are cooking with sadness, and I know we're not coming back.
[00:37:46] Speaker A: Yes. Because you have to pour that. You work so hard during the day, during the week, and you at least want to have a meal that's done right, that you know that it's with the heart and it's intentional that you are there and you're going to try something. And if I'm going to gain a little bit of pounds, a little bit, you know, here and there, a couple of pounds, which I watch my weight now because I'm not that young, but I still feel very young. I'm going to make sure that if I'm going to gain a pound or two, it's going to be worth it.
So, you know, is that right?
[00:38:19] Speaker B: That's right.
[00:38:20] Speaker A: And if not, then I'll stay as I am, and I could pass along the meal to someone else, but I want to make sure that it reminds me the flavors of my mother.
It takes me back to those times that everything was wonderful. And in a way, I'm bringing her back. I feel that in every meal, every something that I do, a dessert, she is still here.
[00:38:46] Speaker B: You're honoring her.
[00:38:47] Speaker A: Exactly. For me, it's important to honor my mother. But honoring my mother is not only honoring her memory, it's also carrying on her legacy, but as well, pouring that legacy to others. When I'm bringing a plate, I want to make sure it looks intact. People are happy, they go back, they leave, and they say, I enjoyed that. And by the way, I remember this just once a couple of days ago, we had people over and they had never had another one of my meals. Plates that I won't be sharing with you very, very soon. And the first thing I heard from that couple, and I think you remember Karen and Brent, he said, this meal is fantastic. It tastes so different.
How do you do it? Can we step in. In the kitchen and see what you go? What are the steps to do that?
And, you know, could we even take the leftovers? That made my day because that's the way I'm honoring my mother. And I felt like, wow, I made it. But it was a way of letting my mother know in heaven. You know what? I want you to smile. I want you to be happy that I carried on your legacy and that now I could share it with other people. And in this case, it's going to be shared with the whole world.
And I'm feeling very excited. I'm like, I feel like, thank you, Lord, you've made this happen. But I know that where she's at, she's very happy. And I think that with these recipes, as you're sharing them with us, I think your mother is also very, very happy.
[00:40:29] Speaker B: Yes, she was very sharing as well. And. And that was important to her. So, yeah, I know. She is.
[00:40:34] Speaker A: She is, yes. And, well, that's what we have to share with you all. And we definitely want to thank you for watching our episode and we want to invite you to continue coming on and sharing with us a little bit more of the love of cook and conquer and in your homes, in your own space. But don't let leave us out know that this is an amazing program that will continue to being aired all around. But thank you for being here with us once again on this new and special episode between fudge chocolate chip cookies and so much more.
