Brad Leone: From Humble Roots to Adventure Cooking Icon | Traverse Podcast

Our Guest today is Brad Leone a cook and author who Rose to fame as the main man behind Bon appetit's it's a live series he has a knack for fermenting foods from bringing large dose of science into the kitchen and he approaches cooking with a half that anybody can do it attitude back by research creativity and obviously experimentation when he's not cooking Brad's happiest out hunting and fishing today we talk about getting your foot in the door the argument for trying new things in the scariest part of spear fishing off the coast of Rhode Island I'm Chris burkhard and I'm Charles post let's dive in let's fire up the hibachi [Music] I want to know as a chef like what I've I'm you know it's super funny because so many people are interested in like some you know fanatical workout dude like oh what's their routine but to me I'm like what's a chef's morning routine like what is your go-to breakfast coffee kind of like what's that look like for you I guess there was a lot there to unpack I don't consider myself a chef really like I don't like have like a restaurant or or am I cooking like a service you know you know every day or something like that I do get exposed to a lot of good food and I do I have a so and I have a family and a very active kind of Lifestyle in the outdoors as far as hunting and cooking and fishing and gardening and and [ __ ] like that um so I I guess I if I'm lucky and I got kids you know I got two young boys six and four um first day of first grade for the first one for for Griffin today that was cool and um so like it usually starts with like if I'm lucky I try to get some water in and then coffee and then um you know and then uh and then we get the kids out you know try to get them out of the house feed them you know I'm not a big like I don't need like a regimented sit-down breakfast I usually don't eat much of a breakfast uh I like some like a decent amount of water and some coffee sometimes if I'm like if I wake up hungry I'll eat you know if I kind of just listen to my body but for the most part you know get the kids out and then um that's you know try to get them out pretty early and uh and then kind of get the day going from there I feel like I just couple anybody who's involved with food as like a chef what's like in your mind in your mind to be a chef you need a restaurant is that kind of the criteria for me personally I don't know I mean I don't call me a chef but I don't really care but like you know I guess I just don't personally consider myself like a a chef you know like I don't know maybe it's just like my own little hang up but like and it's not even a hang up like I'm very happy about it um but like I just yeah I guess in my mind you kind of do like you know whatever kind of kitchen or whatever type of thing or whatever type of you know food you know I mean like we were actually cooking every day and prepping and you know I mean I do that occasionally you know I do that at events or when I you know or or or or or you know different types of dinners and stuff like that um but yeah what what is your relationship with food and how does that where does that come from like what what is kind of that is it a creative inspiration or is it just like a necessity or like yeah I'd love to secure you to find it I guess yeah I don't know if it's a it's an inspiration it's more um I mean I grew up kind of exposed to uh food and gardening and and cooking both my parents cooked at home and that was very fortunate uh you know it wasn't like the best ingredients or like all this type of stuff that I know now about food but like the core of it the fundamentals of it of being cooked a homemade meal that wasn't just like you know McDonald's or like you know hot dogs and stuff which like a lot of people like you know any food's you know better than no food don't get me wrong uh but you know like you know it was always like a little bit of like an elevated type of thing my parents also had like express interest in cooking so like you know that was kind of I guess that's I guess that's if you were to like break it down with a shrink or something that's probably where it started but like you know yeah and then like my dad having his own dishes and my mom having his own dishes and my both of them kind of doing gardening but my dad kind of mostly did the vegetables and uh and then from there it got into like hunting and fishing and that kind of translated into it and so when you were when you were young like was the garden like did you look at the Garden as like your farmer's market like you're out there just like sifting through the the backyard seeing what's in season seeing what's cooking like was that kind of like where maybe that that notion like Adventure and like the outdoors kind of came from like that that natural kind of pairing of the backyard and food yeah certainly the at-home gardening aspect of it in food and I think it's wonderful I think it's like they're probably the most approachable part that you could get involved in farming right uh and it's awesome you know especially if you grow what grows you know well in your area and what you like to eat uh if you're fortunate enough to have you know land or some soil you could put it in or you know buckets on a you know I lived in New York for 10 years and I always had little Gardens and I was fortunate to have little outdoor kind of access and grew like tomatoes and eggplants and stuff but um yeah I mean like having my dad grow vegetables was certainly yeah it was I guess since that was inspiring for sure so uh like food that is alive is is essentially like one of it seems like your passions or maybe just your expertise like what what is it about that process that is is intriguing to you or interesting to you and kombucha yeah I mean I think it's once you get the little Nixon and ax and the you know you have to babysit it and if you you know there's some critical moments that if you were to you know not be there things can go it's not ideally not you know but um for the most part that's a pretty safe one um but you know the original question was like the the fermentation that's something I didn't get into until a bit later right you know it wasn't something my parents did or there was no like they didn't do any type of fermentation or a project you know food based stuff like that uh uh I got into it just you know later on working at Bon Appetit in the test kitchen and just having you know some like in between time down there and a little Nook to kind of start projects and uh cool yeah that's kind of where where it developed the kombucha started from a lady who was a food stylist um Allie Nardi nardy sorry Ali I always [ __ ] your name up Ali Arnie and she gifted me a scoby with a recipe of how to feed it and you know the ratios of the tea and stuff and from there it was like yeah I just kind of it just snowballed a bit and before you know it there was a camera following me around and and then that developed into you know a you know different stuff as well fermentation is one of those things that I think everybody can relate to but maybe not like a food aspect because right everybody's opened the fridge and there's just like fermentation taking place like mold fungus I mean it's essentially like I mean I'm an ecologist like I study nature I mean fermentation is something I see here in the forest in Arctic all the time did you was that like a calculus you guys did we're like hey fermentation is a bridge that everybody has experienced in some capacity just like life on Earth as a human but my brain goes there you know personally I love geeking out on that kind of stuff you know but like yeah um I you know and we I didn't we didn't we Dove a little bit into the sign I like and to get back to the original question I'm no uh X I never consider myself an expert I'm just like I'm really just learning you know I barely graduated high school you know there's no you know everything I do is like not FDA approved for the most part you know I mean like for the most part like you know there's you know there's certain things that you know ratios I follow that are you know you know there's certain practices that are safe when you're doing certain things you know there's bio by all means you know there's science is very real and food safety is very real uh but you know for the most part I do I just do lacto fermented vegetables and um when I you know and to be honest I've been taking I haven't I haven't fooled around in a while it's been it's been like two years since I've done like any major big projects that uh um that would be worth like you know publishing or something like that you know it's been a while and and to looking forward to like diving back into that world as well where and when you get into that world then it's like super important as well to you know to to fact check and get in and not that and and just have the right ratios if people are going to be following stuff you know so this is interesting because Charles like you know you and I have a lot with a lot of our guests this theme has come up this theme of like experimentation being willing to make mistakes and maybe you can just talk about a little bit of like sort of being willing to make mistakes in that environment in the kitchen environment in order to like achieve success you know in some way yeah for sure I think it's just like anything it's like all the you know all the crazy [ __ ] you guys probably do I mean you have to be able to also like adapt in the moment with it you know so like if you're cooking and something if you just you know if it needs more acid or salt like you have that intuition that you've built up business experience and then being able to utilize it uh you know I guess this is you know it's that that's cooking and for me I get to be honest I never cook with recipes you know like I just I cook what I kind of invested something like crazy that like especially like over there's baking stuff if you know I don't do much bacon but like you know if they're if you're getting into that world where it's more of a chemistry and science ratio thing but like cooking dinner and lunch and breakfast you know like that kind of stuff is is just cooking cooking from the from the you know from the from the gut and you're listening to what you want and to eat you know that's the kind of the most important thing for me I guess your approach obviously resonates with so many people because your the views on your YouTubes are like massive and I mean I know for me when Corona started I was looking for a kombucha recipe have definitely no background in in food and it was just like Googling and came across all these different YouTube videos that I did not resonate with and then I found yours not knowing anything about you I was like my wife was like this is the one like this is sick like this is how you you wanna that's a perfect example of you know being able to make mistakes and how important it is because like that entire video is a mistake you know like it's like like it's a miracle that one even worked out um you know no yeah so I mean like that we we shot that that was the first episode we ever shot and we shot it and it like uh it sat on a hard drive for like a year uh and they were just I I guess this the boss one of the Bob saw it and they're like we can't put this freaking thing out like this is ridiculous and then I think the first time I saw it I was like this sucks guys like we can't we can't we can't do this like you're just making fun of me like I guess like it's easy I'm very like you know like in Jolly but like yeah eventually we found our groove and you know that one came out and it did well and that just became this like you know for me I just got one gear and it's just that's Brad and it just kind of you know we've I rolled with that and it worked organically so like that yeah that's how that's yeah I just I love the approachability that you bring to it and the playfulness and and that's how it should be it should be like food is is experimental and fun and I I feel like it I don't I guess I'd love to get your take on this but like a lot of modern TV around cooking shows is like it's drama it's like drama cooking you know like we're watching like high stakes drama cooking where chefs are out there like cutting their fingers and stressing and like sweating into the plate and I'm and I and it's fun to watch it's entertaining but like that it just does there's no correlation you know to the average person like who's like oh dude I wanna I wanna try to make kombucha or I want to try this I mean what are your thoughts on that like do you think it's like two different worlds it's like I'm glad you know like twitch their own there's you know there's a billion people that want to watch Kim Kardashian and her sisters talk about stuff so like if you want to watch people fight over who made the best butternut squash like God bless all of you you know what I mean like it's just not my thing you know what I mean like I don't want to do it unless you pay me like 20 million dollars and like I'll do it then but like other than that like yeah it's not really my thing you know like I'm sure there's fun ways to do it and again like to each their own you know as long as you ain't hurting nobody here and and making people you know angry like you know it gets harmless so like whatever so I want to back up here for a second because I've I've read some stuff about you I've seen videos I know there's a whole story before Bon Appetit like you grew up in northern New Jersey you had Gardens you hunted and fish you're outside but but how old like you you weren't a young you weren't like 18 when you started your internship like how did all of the little steps and Adventures and kind of Segways from when you were a kid to when you got that internship prepare you for this next chapter yeah well I guess a lot happened in that like 10-year clip because I I graduated high school well I guess you're 17. almost 18 right uh and then I went I moved to New York to go try this culinary uh School stint when I was 27 so in that 10 years you know I did I I went to a CO I went to a community college for uh for like two semesters to be a cop and like that that wasn't that didn't work out and then from there yeah and then from there you know just did a lot of like all types of different jobs you know like paved roads the construction all like uh was it Union carp uh Union uh Glazer for a couple years doing like architectural aluminum glass and driving trucks around and [ __ ] um yeah so just a lot of like a lot of different a lot of catering a couple catering companies uh ski lift operator you know right in New Jersey yeah mountain resorts Mountain uh in New Jersey so on Mountain Creek the old action park and uh it's like I don't know what the elevation is 19 or 2200 or something you know but they got a gondola and and quad chairs ripping up this thing and uh and people go and you know when it's those don't really snow anymore but uh yeah so you're just like yeah sorry no I was gonna say so you're just like cruising around like trying out all these different hats seeing what feels good yeah I kind of just being a loser man I get it you know and like uh you know like no but like you know all jokes aside like just like you know kind of trying to find my way man like dude I didn't know what to do like the the you know the school route wasn't really for it you know um didn't have like the best friends at the time I had some good friends for sure but like a lot of people I was hanging with and not that whole time but In that clip you know we're you know we're in the bad step you know bad things and kind of you know drugs came through that area pretty heavy and you know a lot of a lot of kids died you know um and it was just like not a lifestyle I wanted to be a part of and I moved around a bit in the state and then uh and then eventually just moved to New York at 27. took a little loan out and I moved to Brooklyn I found an apartment on Craigslist I had like six roommates but I had a nice backyard and it was right off the L train in Williamsburg Lorimer and DeVoe and uh and it was great man it was like a converted closet I couldn't I couldn't lay straight in the in the bed I had to lay sideways because my it was like a short bed and my feet hit the [ __ ] it was ridiculous there's literally like a walk-in closet someone converted but it was like 600 bucks Price is Right you know all utilities included and then I would go to school at during the day and then I would work at some restaurants at night I worked at the uh a place in Manhattan and a place in Brooklyn uh and then eventually I did an internship uh at Bon Appetit I didn't want to do you know I went into this thing not wanting to be Chef you know like a restaurant Chef you know we're like I wasn't trying to go open a catering company and say and learn or say about the culinary school or learn whatever culinary school um I wanted to get into like you know I guess ambitious and naive me wanted to get into like uh you know I guess more of like the food science world like more of the like journalistic kind of creative part of it like I don't know it seemed like there was it was such a big world you know food being the category outside of just uh cooking you know like physically cooking and luckily it worked out man that did that internship and uh it kind of just like I guess I you know hit it off with everyone um and uh and they offered me a job a position as Test Kitchen assistant which was which was great man it was better than what I was doing I was living in New York you know and um Monday through Friday it wasn't nights and weekends like the restaurant world uh you know but it was like a glorified you know like uh like I just cleaned up and shopped and stuff and cooked and helped a little bit and then and then it just grew and I just that's all I wanted I was like get me a foot in and I can I can grow and I can like you know let them you know hopefully or at least I you know I was hoping that was all I had so uh and it worked man so and then and then became Test Kitchen manager and got more involved with that and helped him run the test kitchen and cooking more and developing more and then video kind of happened and across the like the like the I feel like the food media platform uh and like everyone started making like real quick kind of like hands and pans overhead kind of videos and then and then eventually just got a little bit longer a little bit longer and then like full-on uh you know like me ranting about fermenting soybeans so so Brad you said something in an interview that really resonated with me you were talking about how when you were looking for a job you felt like there was maybe this uh this this belief that that chefs were looking for like the best chef looking for somebody with all the credentials everything on paper but you you were saying be nice be curious and be positive like talk to us a little bit about how that mindset's uh yeah like changed your life or affected your life I forget who said it to me some a chef but it was like you know when I look for someone that I want to hire I don't wanna I don't need them to be the best chef or know everything I just need them to not be an [ __ ] you know and having be that someone wants to be around you know that I and that wants to learn like and you know and and that kind of that always stuck with me and you know I heard that when I was a bit younger and um and it always kind of you know always been a little bit of a mantra for me in in that in that Realm so it's interesting to kind of hear you say that because I think I think that you know to see that happen in the kitchen is also awesome and usually a lot of these these you know where you're lacking skill set that can be taught that can be learned it's it's what you can't teach or learn is like kind of a selfless um awareness and empathy you know absolutely yes that character it's that that that that what makes up a person you know and as long as like and again as long as they they've made it that far right so they have the I'm sure they're talented and have their skill sets and they they're in certain certain strings need to be tuned a bit then that's I mean that's life that's life you know and I think I couldn't yeah I couldn't agree more and then another thing that you talked about too which I also really really connected with was just this idea of like sticking with it like you talked about being up at Bon Appetit and people just kind of come in and going and you just decided that if the door was cracked you'd stick your foot in and just hang in there I mean where did where did that kind of like motivation that that kind of clear focus on just like you know what I'll wear whatever hat you want I'll jump as high as you want but like this is where I want to be well now is when it's I got now is when I'm getting tested the most with that I mean like it's like it's it happened it happened organically and on someone else's system and someone else's production and someone like you know what I mean I just kind of did my setup in my show and my creative and they recorded it and made the thing and had the whole For Better or Worse there was that that was their machine you know like now the transition of of of having done that for years having you know oh it felt like a freaking like a whole career ready you know we did like over 100 episodes um of multi-length you know videos there and now to go out on my own and then start my own creative Productions uh and shows and host them and through that kind of Outlet you know like so like now sticking with it and working harder I think is like I feel that more now than ever what was the inspiration behind field notes for food adventure and I guess just maybe give people a little like background story to like why I mean again like you're using film you you just kind of ended on that note all of a sudden you're making a book like what was the transition why'd you do it can you give us a little insight there I thought it was always a cool idea but I didn't have like a manuscript I wasn't shopping something around you know because of video things were hot you know people were getting approached I got approached by you know a couple Publishers and I went with one of them and um you know I said no like twice but you know eventually the deal made sense and they let me use you know whatever photographer I wanted and food stylist and just kind of gave me creative freedom and uh and then yeah and then from there I was like all right well now I gotta now I really gotta make a book and then um and then came up you know and then came up with you know uh the idea of you know I didn't want to just make a food it would have been hell of a lot easier to be honest but didn't they just make like a food recipe you know I would the food probably would have been better to be honest but like because I had I was I was stretch fit thing kind of doing so much but like just a food recipe pictures of food whatever kind of and there's probably different ways to do it but whatever and I wanted to make it like where each chapter was a different location it could be a different theme and the idea is that me and my buddy Pat Uh one of my like first friends uh that I met in Brooklyn uh really cool dude from Omaha uh Nebraska and uh and we became like really good buddies and he's a really cool really good photographer um so he doesn't shoot food he shoots like I think there's he's like more of a like you know dialed in like Studio still guy and or like he could Bop out in the field and get some stuff but he's like setting up lights and [ __ ] you know he's you know he's a he's a School Visual a visual arts kind of guy you know uh and that's awesome so but what I want but like I can get me a pack could like sleep in a van together if we needed to you know he's like really good yeah he's a really good buddy of mine we we got in the surfing together and we were always like cooking out in the woods together um and like because he had a van this really cool old van when we were living in Brooklyn um and his old Dodge Ram we call it Ramsay this red one and we would drive around all over the place and like we would like just pop into like some weird you know probably try we've definitely trust passing but we like pop into like these weird cut-offs off like the Delaware or you know up in the Catskills or out in like Long Island and just like make fires and [ __ ] and and cook food and uh you know or bring our hike stuff into the woods and they cook like lobsters and [ __ ] like up in by this waterfall in Pennsylvania that we like that's awesome and like that's kind of like where not to just rant off on that cool [ __ ] but that's kind of like where like it's exactly where like field notes uh you know I wish we had a different title to be honest but like that's where that book's theme kind of came from and like I'm that's what I'm doing it with Pat like real kind of you know and his assistant Canyon who is like a rad kid uh I say kid he's like I don't know [ __ ] 32 or something all right but like having that experience to be able to like having that band where we can go and like get into these nooks and crannies and shoot out in the woods and like you know so like we spent a lot it was hard because I had to produce it all and get you know and and get and make everyone happy when we're up there shooting and stuff and like you know but it was a blast and I'm happy with how it came out you know I would do things differently obviously but I mean I think that's how it goes um and I'm happy with how yeah it was it was a really cool really cool experience and yeah so uh so I guess just like to to Circle back to your question like cooking out with uh with Pat and like you know going through that six early experience of like getting into the video world and and this was right at the beginning of covid so this one this is all this is a the first year cobit is when I had to make this whole thing so it was like that was like a challenge in itself I remember well the the one chapter we were shooting winter in Montauk um and when it was like when it was like March or April you know but it was like cold it was it was [ __ ] freezing you know it was like it was like zero degrees you know we're like but we had there was like some swell so like we had to go and we went and like it was right when like coveted was happening I remember like I remember this is such like a me and Pat were in this weird Airbnb down by like close to Ditch Plains down in Montauk and um you know and it was freezing and uh I remember we were thinking like should we be out here that's like what Cove had got like real like sketchy like is this going to be like contagious you know like and like but we took it to get back into the chapter we got to uh it's one of like the funniest pictures in the book it's it like it burns me forever because we never got another chance to go or maybe we did get in the I just suck at surfing but like it's a full page spread of like me just like I I was like I was froze I just couldn't get up and like I've lost a little weight since then I probably could have nailed it now but it was just like it's just like this big centerfold of me just like belly boarding a a very nice way you know and then I just sucked for the rest of the morning and then the waves went away and that was it and it was [ __ ] the food was awesome and it's part of the story and like I'm almost glad like that's what it was to bring it back like I didn't want I mean listen I wish I was up there [ __ ] standing on the nose cruising down this wave but like I wasn't like you know not to be like you know the losers war cry but like it's cool to show the [ __ ] ups too you know yeah those are the bits that I think make it like those that's exactly what hooked me in the kombucha video like I just watched your locks video a little earlier like I think those are the things that make it approachable like I live here in uh the Norwegian Arctic there's salmon Farms everywhere there's Salmons like the fish of our community besides Cod and I was watching your videos like dude I'm gonna try to do that fermented locks like tomorrow because it just it's inviting you know it's not like it doesn't make me feel like I need to have like a white jacket on just do it you know and if you get sick don't sue me I don't want to hear it do your own research you know what I mean like you know so accessible on that like you know it's just like I like to experiment I look online like everyone else I go on [ __ ] Google and I find ratios I have a little notebook I gotta get more dialed in you know I've been a little lazy I got some new shows coming out uh next year I'm gonna make my own YouTube shows and uh from there yeah I think we'll be able to do some really cool uh I'll get some tiles in recipes there's so much um childlike playfulness within it and and I love what you bring you know I love what you bring to cooking in that way I made I made a book early in my career called the California surf project where we took a 1976 Volkswagen bus and traveled from Oregon to Mexico just surfing every Coastal county in California and I was like 21 at the time and I just so many of the experiences you know your trespassing your finding waves you're kind of having this coming-of-age story and it was so fulfilling to me because I was just like waking up with the sun using my camera documenting and then going to bed it was like the last thing I did at night was take a picture and the first thing I did in the morning and I I just when you're speaking I it resonates with me that experience and how important it is to kind of like again find playfulness in what you love and what you're doing and um I think it's I think it's pretty radical there's no real no real question there is more of just a comment that it was awesome but like what is the best food you've ever put in your mouth I don't know if I have a favorite or best like I'm out of big favorites yeah you know I hate that word too yeah it's like it's terrible so like it's you know I guess like recently sorry memorable but that's memorable it's fresh up what's fresh on my mind and it was it's just so it was it's so good I still have it it's like 20 yards away is um is I made this ice cream with strawberries and a little bit of vanilla and uh and then I did it in like a light chocolate base um oh sorry oh my [ __ ] sorry you know in a in a light chocolate base and it um it tasted just like like strawberry uh chocolate covered strawberries and uh it's just it's unbelievable and I put a little bit of uh cacao nibs and just like in a whole quart and a half I put like 15 chocolate chips you know like I I can't do that Ben and Jerry's stuff where it's like candy bars everywhere like ice cream is so good every now and then I just want a little speckle but you know to each their own usually I just go plain is there anything that you you eat like all quite a bit where you're like it's hard for you not to just consume the entire thing lick the plate sort of thing is there like a favorite oh yeah I mean seafood's always a good one I mean I'm really like I'm having I'm gonna make steak fruits tonight with some salad just because I'm craving it I'm gonna eat the whole thing you know like so like today that's like my favorite thing steak fruits with a little salad nice little salad and are you are you hunting and fishing uh in in Roadie is that something you get to do I mean obviously fishing but is there a lot of hunting out there yeah a lot of deer hunting a lot of duck hunting a lot of turkey hunting a lot of small game there's some spot some some pheasant spots as well uh and then the fishing's just world class man really is it wow oh man I'm everything tuna you go off Shorey swordfish mahi mahi we're shooting with the spear guns and stuff off-roading and in short it's all yeah and then and then and then you know ensure it's you know striped bass were in absolutely Bonkers this year uh and then black sea bass and tog and uh I mean the sharks are everywhere and you hate sharks yeah this kid I know I love sharks okay I just don't want to be in that murky water around some rocks and then look around and all of a sudden there's a [ __ ] 15-foot great white shark or something you know like or you know a 16 foot dresser that's just cruising by because like the other day we were oh man hey like you'll probably be fine but like you know I look like a [ __ ] injured seal out here flopping around you know like like I can be graceful but for the most part you know I don't you know whatever but like they're probably you'll probably be all right but like I was diving into these macro the other day right offshore Reddit off the beach you know probably like 15 feet of water and like yeah not too long ago these guys were catching big thresher sharks in there too so one kind of like closing question you know one of the things that I I don't know Chris you probably have a point of view on this as well but when when you mingle your passions with your employment like your vocations your application the things that you do for work and the things you do for pleasure there can be these kind of Blurred Lines where there's a tension right there's a tension between the thing that makes you money and income there's the tension with the thing that fills you up and and and brings so much joy to your life how do you balance that how do you yeah maybe keep keep something sacred and out of work or like what's what's the approach there yeah I guess what's what's what's what's been great for me is that I'm kind of I'm not just like a a baking show like I like to do all types of stuff and like I guess it kind of keeps keeps it you know keeps it kind of fresh you know it kind of keeps it you know um and it's stuff that like I'm kind of doing for hobbies and pleasure and adventure in my life so like to be able to kind of just document that like the freaking Truman Show or something like in a way like it's kind of like yeah it's it's it's nice man it's a weird world we live in and For Better or Worse you know it's like I I I think it's it's pretty cool and so like taking that transition and trying to be able to you know working like I said I got a couple other things with some other brands and some ideas going on but just focusing on my own YouTube stuff you know uh it should be a it should be a pretty cool uh uh uh concept I love it man Brad you're you're a gem and I your playfulness and your approach is something that I that inspires me to be honest and um I think I'd probably be more uh experimental in the kitchen if I wasn't cooking for uh young children most the time but um my dream is just I wanna I wanna get out with you sometime and just see you do your thing and I'll bring my camera and maybe we'll get in the river somewhere or in the ocean or or maybe we'll get attacked by a shark I don't know it'll be epic either way I love that idea and like man I've been a fan of your stuff for a while man so let's definitely make that happen and uh Open Door up here or you know whatever I'm willing to travel let's do some let's do some fun let's meet up in Iceland with Charles we all go and we make some killer food and we surf some really fun waves uh I'm I'm down yeah yeah that was awesome all right on boys thanks buddy well yeah well heck yeah nice meeting you guys and uh until next time that was a great conversation and um Charles it was really cool to uh see you kind of pick and pry at some of the more intimate aspects kind of the makeup I guess his DNA I think we established the fact pretty well that like he has got a just effort you know attitude towards like cooking the rest of it is about experimenting it's about trying like that was so that stoked me out I loved that and I think Brad's one of those people that really Champions this like yeah send it like that's how that's that's how I got to where I am you just send it yeah and there's really like what other way is there yeah yeah I mean and just his uh his ability to like adapt that's a cool mindset that's a that's a mindset that I took from this where I was like yeah like follow that open path that's in front of you see where it goes hey you can always kind of turn back no worries but that's a really cool concept that I really enjoyed I feel like if I was gonna write a book called green lights it'd be like green lights with the option to take a u-turn yeah you know because that's so I mean when when we were talking about selling our dream house and moving to Norway from Montana people were so hung up on like you're doing this thing and I was like yeah but we could always go back it's not like you're like 30 years old give me a break like my life isn't over yeah it is funny how people kind of people kind of think like that he he mentioned that too he's like he's like I'm not the chef that's like you know he obviously hates the word chef but yeah I'm not the chef that's like the very best at this one thing I'm not the baker I'm just like the guy who's like good at 10 things and I I love that like he's a Swiss army knife well and one other thing too that you know that he's that he said and he has said in other interviews I've I've read of his is you want to be the guy that people want to be around or the gal you want to be the person people want to be around and I think that that's so intuitive and so basic but it's kind of like beaten out of us is not the right word but it's kind of like pushed out of us I think when we're young people get so focused on credentials and what's on the paper what's on the CV what's on the resume But ultimately when you're working with somebody in the workplace you want them just to be a nice person who's fun inspiring is a great quality easy going is a great quality but like just a good person to be around and I think he really has done a good job of showcasing that like hey this is me I'm a fun guy let's hang out you know yeah yeah he's like he's like Brad is always on he's like this is just the one the one level you know the one riff you get and um you know it it kind of reminds me of a bit uh in my career in my life you know there's been times where like I've made sure the job's gotten done at the risk of not being friends with everybody and and that's you know there are times when the client really appreciates that there are times where it's come to bite me in the ass because you know so and so person maybe doesn't want to work with me again and it's it's it's these are growing pains these things take time to learn and I can only relate it to like his experience too where he's like you know I I just want to be the person that people want to work with like have a positive attitude people have wanted to fire him but they didn't you know and I think that his um his childlike wonderment and just excitement in general kind of is hard to hate on you know what I mean uh I'd love to get your take on it but that's the one that you as you mentioned we lose we lose that Curiosity and I'm I'm probably the worst at it because like when I get into my kitchen I'm like yeah here's the 10 things I'm gonna eat I'm not gonna be curious I'm not gonna be I'm just like whatever this is gonna agree with me you know um in some ways you almost like lose that um excitement around food in some way you know until I'm like eating with a chef like Brad but I love to be curious part because um because it it reminds me that that every day like I should do something that that feeds my curiosity drive down that random road take that random Trail um you know read this you know passage out of this book just something that like I don't know like like takes me back to that mindset of of being a kid again seeing something for the first time well you know what kids do that I think adults do less of is accept the fact that it feels uncomfortable weird funny different to be bad at something but that's okay a recent example for me was I was at our friend's house they have two little kids uh six and eight I want to say yeah and they're teaching me Norwegian and they thought it was so cool to watch me struggle and they're pointing at all the different things on the table a foot dog whatever but me struggling felt really safe around them because they're kids but to be horrible at something in front of adults you feel like you're being judged you feel like you're being uh questioned you know there's like this level of uncomfortability that comes into it but I think when you're with kids it's just part of the program because you're only eight years old you haven't done that much and so failure is just like part of exploring and I think to remind people and also to as a friend as a father as a partner to create space where the people around you can fail and and have it be a fun experience I think that's kind of one of the one of the things that I've tried to work on myself that's the other side of the coin that's a really that's a really good Insight because I think sometimes we're so focused on like allowing ourselves to Foster new experiences new growth we kind of forget about the fact that we're also here to Foster those for other people and creating safe environments for them to do that is is crucial well dude that was a rad combo thanks for your time love you buddy I hope we get to uh catch up super soon and and I'm I'm just keep keep texting me photos of the northern lights when you see them I'll be back in the Arctic soon my my blood's boiling over here in California where it's like 105 degrees in a heat wave and uh yeah yeah man thanks again Charles foreign [Music]

Channel: Huckberry

Views: 13,159

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Id: 8Y2-6YTGvoE

Length: 40min 15sec (2415 seconds)

Published: Fri Nov 18 2022