Go With Your Palate
Joe Wagner, 5th Generation Winemaker, presents the podcast "Go With Your Palate." A podcast about wine, entrepreneurship, and whatever the F else. So buckle up - this isn't your normal wine podcast.
Go With Your Palate
E92 Brad Leone | Joe Wagner
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The guy who made fermentation cool on YouTube just pulled up to the pod.
Brad Leone—It’s Alive, Local Legends, full-send food energy—breaks down fermentation, fire cooking, and how he built one of the most entertaining brands in food.
This one’s flavor, chaos, and good vibes start to finish.
🎙️ Go With Your Palate: Brad Leone | Fermentation, Fire & Full Send Flavor
This week we’re joined by the one and only Brad Leone—chef, fermentation wizard, outdoor adventurer, and the personality who helped redefine food content on YouTube. From his breakout days at Bon Appétit’s It’s Alive to building his own platform with shows like Local Legends and Makin’ It, Brad has turned curiosity, chaos, and creativity into a full-blown culinary movement.
We dive into the magic of fermentation—why it’s having such a moment, how it connects directly to wine, and where to even start if you’re fermentation-curious (without blowing up your kitchen). Brad also shares his journey from behind-the-scenes test kitchen grind to becoming one of the most recognizable faces in food media—and what he’s learned building his own brand along the way.
And because this is Go With Your Palate, we let it rip a little—getting Brad’s real breakdown of North Jersey (don’t mess that up), talking outdoor cooking, food adventures, raising kids, and yes… introducing the first-ever special guests on the pod—his baby chicks 🐥.
It’s equal parts flavor, storytelling, and straight-up good energy—with plenty of laughs woven into the chaos.
If you love food, fermentation, and content that doesn’t take itself too seriously, this one’s for you.
Grab a glass, maybe something pickled, and come hang. 🍷🔥
Welcome back to Wet Your Palette. We got our special guest today, Brad Leone. He's a chef, but he does a hell of a lot more than that on online on his own channels. Tons of great shows, great content, great information. He's got an awesome perspective on the world of food from really the whole chain of supply. So uh thank you for being here, Brad.
SPEAKER_00Oh, it's my pleasure, man. And uh anything to help kind of just push the needle and uh in food and people coming together through the universal language of food.
SPEAKER_02We got deep into fermentation. Uh we were talking in East Coast, West Coast living.
SPEAKER_04Love it. It's it's uh it's right up Aura Alley because uh getting people around a table, getting people around, you know, each other back into a community, food, wine, culture, everything, it all comes together, throw some music in there, makes it a nice feeling.
Fatherhood/The great outdoors
SPEAKER_04Especially with kids, man. It's like I've I've got kids too, and any kind of outdoor activity you can do with them. And like I've I've got like three of I've got six, but wait hold on a second.
SPEAKER_00Six children?
SPEAKER_04Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00God bless you, God bless you, man. I I just want to talk to you about that for the next hour and a half. Psychopath. That's amazing. All jokes aside, that's incredible to you and and your partners. I mean, my gosh. Um, I just how do you do it? You must have what do you drive? A bus?
SPEAKER_04Uh the hardest part was when all of them were in car seats. I don't know what it's like, you know, where you live, but like you're keeping kids in car seats until they're like eight years old now. And so there were six car seats and like, you know, suburban-sized vehicle, and man, talk about a pain in the ass. But uh but overall now, like the oldest are 20 and got an 18-year-old in college too, and twins are 20. Yeah, it's it's a blast. But uh the fishing, fishing and hunting is like with some of the boys, man, it's they don't even realize it that you're having like real conversations with them and and they're just you know distracted by casting or or whatever it might be. And and those are like the moments like you sit them down at a table and they're like, Oh, this is boring. They're not even paying attention, trying to like have a deep conversation, but you get to do the shit out like on a boat. Yeah, that's yeah, that's where the graveyard is.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it's it's been really great, man. I grew up fishing and hunting, uh, you know, when I was younger, got out of it, um, and then got back into it. And now that my kids are they're um in May, they'll be 10 and uh eight and uh two boys, and um they're both now like really into it. They liked it a little bit the past couple years. Last year was like the big click, and then like we're geared up. I bring one of his buddies out from school, and he's like my favorite little kid. He's so fired up, and like he's just so fishy and appreciative, and like it's it's it's going out with the kids, man. You're right, it's it's the absolute best. I haven't been able to bring them hunting yet. I like the idea of maybe putting them in a little blind or something, they're not sitting still, you know. I'm chasing white tails and and turkeys and stuff, so like a couple more years, but in the future, yeah, I can't wait, man. Because you're right, there's so much more to it than I mean, I love catching fish and eating deer and whatever, but there's it's it's church, man. It's it's my religion that Mother Nature getting out there and uh whether it's on the ocean or sitting in a tree stand and having a red tail hawk fly two feet past your face, like ah, that's it for me, man. And be able to like share that with your kids is kind of special.
SPEAKER_04That's super cool. Yeah, they like you said, uh like the the bug, right? And I think some kids either they have it kind of incubating or or they you know don't have it at all, but bringing it out, but like once you see a click, like and you were talking about yourself where you were you grew up in the outdoors fishing, hunting, and then got away from it, uh, but and then got back into it like a couple years back, 10 years ago?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so I mean like kind of it's probably a pretty classic story um for I guess for maybe for some folks, right? Where it's like was really into it when I was younger and you know, had a little John boat with a bunch of friends on the lakes and stuff. I didn't live by the ocean. We were a couple hours away in New Jersey, northern New Jersey. So going to the beach, you know, going down the shore was a was a was a bit of a trip. We did it every now and then, my dad, but like, you know, it was like an all-day thing, crazy. Um but yeah, you know, like got into did it with him and as a kid, and then like got into high school and for better or worse, just you know, other things, you know. Um didn't get in much trouble, but certainly flirted with it, you know, uh chasing girls and doing, you know, I'm sure you could figure it out, you know, and just uh but having fun and and and being a good kid about it. Um but then yeah, man, and you know, a whole lot happened in between there, you know, and um got back into it after I left New York City, uh, probably at the age of 35, 36.
SPEAKER_04That's gotta that's gotta be hard to do in New York City, man, especially if you're uh you're you're in the restaurant scene, right?
SPEAKER_00And luckily I wasn't in much too too too much of a restaurant scene. I mean, I certainly worked in a bunch and did, you know, uh familiar in uh professional kitchen. But what I really kind of found my when I got it into culinary, I guess let's just back up real quick. So like I grew up in northern New Jersey, um, and really
Brad's culinary origin story beginnings
SPEAKER_00didn't I love gardening and cooking and eating, but like, and I worked at delis and a catering company in a Mountain Creek ski resort and shit like that. But like I was never, I want to be head chef. I want to go work at a restaurant, restaurant, restaurant, restaurant. In fact, like restaurants are hard, man. It's one of the hardest jobs. Um, you know, commercial kitchens, shitty hours, long, you know, uh bad pay, usually nights and weekends. You basically got to work when everyone else is having fun. And you know, when you're in your 20s and stuff like that, that's not cool. Like everyone's going out to the bar, your girlfriend's going out, and you got to work every day. Like, that's that don't that ain't gonna work out for me. Um so I really wanted to get into like food media and um and food education and you know, my naive and still maybe I'm still chasing it in a way, was like to get into like reinstituting home home uh economics in schools and stuff, and just like you know, teaching kids how to cook and um YouTube wasn't a thing. I wasn't Instagram wasn't a thing for me then, you know, or I was one of the pretty late to it. But then when I went to culinary school in Manhattan um and ended up doing an internship at Bone Appetit Magazine, Food Magazine in New York, uh, where I did an internship and eventually ended up working um as in the test kitchen. And that was like uh, you know, that's when print
From roofing to Bon Appétit test kitchen and beyond
SPEAKER_00was still very much a thing, you know. Um the magazine was was still print was still kind of king there, but digital was uh a very big presence and video and stuff started to become more and more in, you know, right place, right time, right attitude, I guess. Um uh, you know, and because I had this whole life experience before, I d you know, I didn't jump to New York till I was about 27. Um, so I was roofing houses and doing all kinds of like, you know, it was I I was a union glazer and had a you know all lived a bunch of different paved roads and you know, did a bunch of jobs where, you know, the writing on the wall, if I didn't make some changes, and not that there's anything wrong with those careers or paths. In fact, you can shit nowadays, those people tend to make the most money, but um, I didn't want to do that, and you know, and I was surrounding myself with a bunch of people that were it wasn't going nowhere, man. My boss was a loser. The people I was working with were losers and drug addicts, and you know, so I just took this risk and moved to New York and did that thing at Bone Appetite, and uh, like I said, right place, right time. Video just uh it was that or get fired, man. So I just started. Turns out it like uh, you know, you gotta be a little bit of a lunatic and to talk to a camera. But I had great people I was working with. Um, you know, this dude Vinny at the time. I was he was the camera guy and good edit team, and and that's yeah, man, that's how like it's alive. It was like the first YouTube thing I ever did, and it was a bone appetite show, and it was awesome, man. I learned a lot, and you know, I still kind of do a version of it for the most part, but that was you know years ago. I'm 40, gonna be 41 in May. So I've been doing it for a bit now, and it's been it's been awesome, dude. It's been it's awesome to be able to, you know, I'm now on my own and have my own production company and and shows, and uh, it's it's cool, man.
SPEAKER_04It's controlling your own destiny, making your own schedule. I mean, that's that's uh probably the the biggest luxury in life.
SPEAKER_00Oh, I'll tell you what, man, because I exactly when I was living in northern New Jersey, you know, and it's everyone, this is everyone did this. My dad, my friend's dads, everyone's dads and moms for that matter. Um, you're commuted, man. I had to drive an hour to go do, you know, install windows in Hoboken, you know, and um and like, yeah, I would laugh, but it's like, man, that's that's taxing, that's unhealthy. Yeah, spending that much time, not only for your back and your circulation, but just uh man, that's it's just it's that'll do that for 25 years, you know. It's it's not nothing. And you know, I saw my dad do it, and like, God bless him. I don't know how he did that every single day, and then work the job after. So, like, just to make you know ends meet there, but like to your point, and it punching a clock and being on time, and if you're late, guess what? We'll fucking replace you. Sorry for cursing, but like that was no, please, please keep the cursing.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it's all good.
SPEAKER_00That was the jobs that I had, that was the career that was in. There was no lunch, there's no going out to lunch or like going and you know what I mean. It was I was working construction and it was it was hard, but I learned a lot, man. And I and well, I guess what I'm rambling on at was that it built a lot of character um in just so like when I was an intern and all the other interns were I don't know what how old are interns, seven, eighteen years old or something, you know, or I don't know, even if they're 20, I don't care, uh, whatever. I I was I I stood, I I think I stood out because I had this work ethic, whereas like you, I'll wash your dishes, I'll go shop, I'll go get I'll do anything you want, you know. I mean, I was shingling a roof in fucking August last month. Like, this is the best. Like, and I was learning, man. That's where I really got exposed to, you know, and I'll I'll always be grateful to Bone Appetite and the people that I worked with there was was the exposure to ingredients. And like, you know, you're in New York, which is amazing. You can get absolutely anything, any culture almost, right? But like the it wasn't a restaurant where it was like, all right, we're an Italian restaurant, we're a Mexican restaurant. Sure, the menu changes, but this was we were covering places and chefs from around the world, and it like really was awesome, man, to like kind of see that exposure of people and and just the world and the culture and how much is out there. So to be able to now be uh make videos on my own and be able to kind of dabble in to showcase that, right, is is been awesome.
SPEAKER_04Well, that's that is awesome, and yeah, I mean to your point, the uh like I'll take work work ethic over education any day of the week with with somebody that's like you know, willing to show up, try new things, open-minded, um, and just driven, man. And and I think anything's possible still in America. I think we still got the American dream, man. And that really starts with work ethic. I I think we should introduce you.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I think that would be past the time before we dive into it for the time. I just told my whole life story.
SPEAKER_04Well, you told you told a little bit about your your
Welcome Brad Leone Chef/Youtuber/Culinary Pioneer breaking the internet in the best way...
SPEAKER_04your beginnings of at uh Bonapetit, but now uh you've well so sorry, so we've got we got Chef and YouTuber. I'm not sure exactly how you like to be described as far as your title, but Brad Leone. Um so pleasure to have you on Go With Your Palette. Uh of course you got me, Joe Wagner, and my co-host Chris Fat Mario Rubio. Uh we're gonna dig in a little bit deeper and uh talk about what else you've been doing because you're doing your own production company. You've got shows like local legends uh making it, um, and uh and and whatever else you're getting your hands tied into that uh that brings your world together and exposes it to a broad audience. So I I'd imagine pretty inspiring to a lot of your viewers.
SPEAKER_00Right on. Thank you guys, man. And it's it's it's you know, I don't slow down too much to really think about it or digest it, but like, yeah, thank you. It's uh it has been awesome to to touch a lot of people uh in ways with with food and just you know entertainment and and just being a human, you know. So it is cool. There's a lot of negativity on surrounded social media and online and stuff, but man, there's a lot of really good too. Um, and you know, it's kind of been proof of it, you know. Uh so yeah, well, thanks for having me, man. I really appreciate it.
SPEAKER_04Great. Well, yeah, I mean, I I think uh why don't we just take it off from like you know, you you were mentioning you were born in uh born and raised New Jersey, uh you're now living on the coast of Northern New Jersey. Northern New York.
SPEAKER_02I I lived in Union City. I uh I get it.
SPEAKER_00Oh, I mean, yeah, I lived in Union City too.
SPEAKER_02Oh, yeah, really? Okay, cool.
SPEAKER_04Well, so I think as a west coaster, I gotta know a little bit about what so what is northern New Jersey versus the rest of New Jersey? Is that is that
NORTHERN New Jersey...there's a difference
SPEAKER_04hard city laws?
SPEAKER_00Basically just a bunch of ego in a small state, and but you know, and New Jersey is just, you know, um, it's a very diverse state uh geographically. You know, you got the southern, like sandy pine bearings and dunes and beach, the Appalachian Trail and the Rocky Mountains kick through the northern part and like the Delaware water gap where I grew up, where it's like you might as well be out in in Montana. Not really, not as you know, you I think you get what I'm saying. Very rural farmland, all dairy farms and stuff. And then you got like central north, right? Which is like when you fly what people when they fly into New York, you know, it's like you know, apocalypse, you know, it's it's just crazy, you know. It's it's oil refineries, and and as far as you can see, there's flames coming out of pipes, and and you know, there's there's 17 acres of shipping containers stacked in New York City in the background. So northern is like to me, I'll give you a very specific answer. Northern New Jersey is north of Morristown, and then central, I mean, whatever, who cares? That's like by Philly and in that area, and then south is like down the shore, man. I I don't know what like Point Pleasant down, I guess. I don't know. No, I know not even Point Pleasant. I would say like Asbury. You hit Sandy Hook, you're down the shore.
SPEAKER_03That's like, yeah, that was who did it the best.
SPEAKER_04That was like a yeah, that was a great you get it. Yeah, that was a geographical lesson that I didn't even need a map for. That was great.
SPEAKER_01It's all the Union City.
SPEAKER_00Union City, where these two fine gentlemen uh ones resided. Um, that is right across the river there above Hoboken. Uh, and it is it's a pretty wild spot, man. It was once, if not still, outside of Miami, like the densest Cuban population uh in America. Oh, really? Uh and it's just a really cool old like historic. It's kind of whatever now, but like back in the day, I think it was a it was a pretty neat spot.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, dude. I mean, Union City. So I was out there, like I moved out there in 2015, Caliboy all my life. This was my first kind of East Coast experience. And what I well, first I moved to Chelsea, New York, and then we I wanted to buy a first house, and obviously it wasn't gonna be in Manhattan. So I went, you know, to Union City. I wanted to go to Hoboken, but then Hoboken prices, if you even know that, they're just like vibe and just like Manhattan. So, anyways, ended up in Union City, but yeah, man, that was the first time that you're walking around, and that's where you could buy like the live chickens, and then just cut the heads off right there. Oh, yeah, it was wild, didn't you hear me? And then there would be like garages open where people had their own stores. Kind of like that. That was the true pop-up, right? Like where you could like go in and buy anything. Like you're like, what are you selling today? It's not a garage sale, it's a store.
SPEAKER_00It is definitely a spot. Um, but you know, I lived there for a little bit, and uh yeah, New Jersey's cool, man. Um, but yeah, I grew up in northern New Jersey up in Sussex County, like I said, where like um really pretty where the where the Appalachian Trail comes right through the tip. And uh it's yeah, it's one of the nicest spots. I've never walked the whole Appalachian Trail, but I've I've met people who have done the whole thing. Um funny stuff, it's not funny
The Appellation Trail & Discovering a his calling in the culinary arts
SPEAKER_00at all. But this story, one time I was up on the Appalachian Trail, because it was like right in my backyard, essentially, right? Um, and uh you would see these bikers, and there was this one spot where there's these beautiful cliffs and stuff. And um, I saw this guy up there, and you could tell he's like walked around the world, you know what I mean? Like he was just like his dog had like like saddlebags like strapped to him, and like he was like he looked like Jesus Christ, but he was like 85 years old, and he said it he was just doing it by himself and he just came out of nowhere and he was like, Yeah, it's my sixth time doing the Appalachian Trail. And he goes, I gotta tell you, this part is one of the prettiest parts in the whole of the whole hike. And I had always always stuck with me. So northern New Jersey, man.
SPEAKER_04Well, that yeah, that's a testament, man. Yeah, six times in northern New Jersey. I'm gonna have to get out there and take a look. I've I've only uh been exposed to you know the the city life of New Jersey, really. So whenever I'm out there, it's for sales. And so after after New Jersey, uh what what kind of route did you take to eventually get into culinary and then and then uh I mean you you've always been to the outdoors and that's still a big part of your life?
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Yeah, just uh like I say, you know, I went to high school in school, wasn't really, you know, I didn't excel in it. You know, I tried to go to co uh to um community college after because you know you kind of had you know it was so much pressure, everyone had to go to college to like back then, at least maybe now, I don't know. But it was like you were a loser if you didn't go to college, you know, you were a loser if you didn't you know get $150,000 in debt to party.
SPEAKER_01Um but uh but yeah, dude.
SPEAKER_03You and I are on the same page, and he has a degree, I don't.
SPEAKER_02Hey, listen, but hey, I'm party, dude. I party, so I got proved. Okay, I graduated.
SPEAKER_00I'm sure. But but listen, if like I have this argument with my wife all the time. I'm not against school, but like you better have like be into it. You better be like one, you better be getting good grades and like playing the game of school because it can open doors for you. But if you're just going to go, I don't know, it seems like a bad idea. So I went to culinary, I went, I'm sorry, I went to community college to um oh god, I don't want to tell this too often, but to become a cop. And not nothing against cops, but I just don't think it would have worked out for me. Um you know, I wanted because I've met so many like bad ones in nort in northern New Jersey. The state troopers are notoriously not the best. And um I like I like naively, like not even naively, but like I wanted to like become a cop to like be a good one. You know, I could change a kid's life instead of throwing him in jail for smoking a joint, you know, I could uh whatever. You know, absolutely so that didn't work out. So I went for like a year and then uh just started working and um you know did a did a did a little stint in the military that didn't work out, and then um we'll keep that one brief for God's sakes, and then um and then uh and then I came back and was just doing construction, man, and uh moved in, got this house with these two girls that were rad friends, you know, these crunchy girls from New Jersey, uh just roommates, and we shared a house and I was doing construction and then I you know eventually moved some buddies. We got another house and um up in you know, up in the middle of the woods, old farmhouse stuff. And before you know it, I was 27 and you know, not really making too much money. Um, but like, you know, if I wanted to, I could, you know, do this, you know, you could make 70 grand in the union or and just do that or start your own business. And I just didn't really want to. And this sounds a little pretentious, or I mean, whatever. I don't, I don't care. I always felt like I wanted to do or could do something like bigger or better than just and I I don't I I don't really like how that sounds.
SPEAKER_04No, no, that that's that's not pretentious at all, dude. That's what that's what more people need to think about right now that they can do bigger and better, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Because it sounds like I sound like a I feel like a dick saying it, but like I wanted to do something, like I always felt like I was gonna do something big or better, and like, and then eventually I remember these these this girl I was gardening and she was like she came down, she's like, Why don't you like go to culinary school? You're always you cook all the time here and you um and you're always gardening and you love it so much. And I was like, you know, maybe she's right, man. Like me, and like just like maybe I'll just say and then I just like took a loan out and uh and moved to to New York. I found an apartment on Craigslist. I happened to meet my girlfriend at that time who she was already living in Brooklyn and had like an awesome job. Like she was like squared away, you know. She was like working for Jessica Simpson as like her like marketing manager, and like you know, I had this like serious, awesome job, and she's my wife now, it worked out, and um yeah, but like so. It was like this, it was this like crazy timing of like where I was doing this anyway, but then at it was it was really helpful to like, oh, your girlfriend also has her own apartment like down the road from where you found your apartment. So it was like pretty it that was pretty cool, and you know, New York was a blast, and culinary school was fine. Um, you know, I was cooking at some restaurants there, the standard grill in Manhattan, and there's this really great place in Green Point, Brooklyn called Enid's. Uh rest in peace, I think it closed, but it was just like a greasy spoon bar restaurant, but it was it was awesome. And then uh and then I did got the internship at Bone Appetite, man, and it just kind of uh it just kind of started to snowball from there.
SPEAKER_04That and that so that once you got exposed to video and you saw the opportunity there, that that's when you just started running and and and now you're you're now you're sitting on a uh plethora of of history when it comes to content that you've created and and continuing to make more content.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, for sure. Um yeah, it was kind of one of those things. Like I I I was just um it was an opportunity. You know, I wasn't the best
Humble beginnings of a groundbreaking culinary content creator
SPEAKER_00Food writer or recipe developer. I mean, I was it was good, but it wasn't like they weren't that wasn't gonna I wasn't gonna become the editor in chief, although I do think I would make a good one. Um but I I didn't I don't think it was happening, and like the business was changing and things were changing, and like I was just grateful that it was working and like you know, in like in this growing genre in this company that I worked for, which was starting to become the the most important thing in all of media, you know, and there was smaller companies doing it, and like we were we were honestly kind of playing catch up to what some smaller publications and and companies were doing, but it worked, and we had this perfect little storm of a test kitchen with personalities, and um I didn't think it was gonna work. I didn't like the first couple things they shot of me. I was like, We this, I look like a doofus. Like, this is this is terrible. Wait, was the kombucha the first one? Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I was like, I was like, you know, I was like kind of self-conscious. I was like, this is how I act. Like, I don't, I wouldn't want to. This is this sucks, guys. Like I gotta but like they we changed some of the editing of it, and uh, and and eventually it just kind of took a leap of faith, and and then it just it worked, people liked it, and then there was other personalities in the kitchen, and it became like this whole little ecosystem, this little short-lived ecosystem of YouTube uh shows and personalities, and it was great, man. Had a blast. It's unfortunate that it ended, but you know, all things end for a reason, and everybody's doing their own thing, which is great. Um, including myself, man. So after that, you know, uh, you know, that was kind of you know, pandemic started happening when I was, you know, uh I guess like yeah, New York and the pandemic, it was weird for everybody. It was really strange then, too. Like just everyone was working from home, and um you didn't have to go to the kitchen anymore, to the office anymore. Sorry, do you guys hear that chicken? I have like these little baby chickens. Okay, cool. No, you got baby chickens back there now? Yeah, it's too cold for him still to go outside with the bigger ones.
SPEAKER_03He's he's already prepping for his meals in uh in November.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, well the egg is when they take a little they take a little while, the chicks to um you know, like several weeks before you can put them outside.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. Uh especially with the cold weather you guys got up there.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, exactly. We're not a Napa, buddy. You know, so it was it's been free. It was 21 degrees this morning. Oh my god, yeah. Yeah, yeah, which is unusual. It's but it's I'm over it, man. I'm ready for it.
SPEAKER_02This whole week has been high 80s.
SPEAKER_04So no, we're gonna be like 96 here. Yeah, that's it.
SPEAKER_00It's yeah, okay, things that is that a problem for your spring? Like is that gonna be a good thing?
SPEAKER_04Yeah, we're like it, we're gonna be in a drought here. It's gonna be just another California drought year. Um, but you know, what we it's not the first one, it won't be the last. Um we we tend to get through it. But you know, you you mentioned something I think that that is uh I think worth going back to. Um number one, kind of like we are our own self-critics, uh biggest self-critics, right? Uh first time you saw yourself on video, you're like, that's what I act like, you know, and and and I think that what what I think is great is that you know you you went ahead with it because most people just say like I don't like it, and uh, and I'm gonna I'm gonna you know not do this again. Uh but it doesn't matter what what you think or what I would think about myself, right? It matters what everybody else thinks. Um and so being able to like stay consistent even just for a couple of of like shoots like that and then seeing what the reaction is, um, and obviously the reaction was positive to to what you were doing. Um and that you know, without without that little like bit of grit and just push to do it again and again, you I mean, maybe maybe it would have pulled out and gone to something else. I mean, I think that's something people don't recognize enough is like you know, don't just try it once, try it like you know, ten times if you really don't like it.
SPEAKER_00But I think that's great advice, man. And and you're 100% right, and it's something I haven't really thought of. Like that was such a pivotal moment for me in my career, and that it was something that I didn't even really like. You know what I mean? If it was just me, if I didn't have a team that was supporting me to encouraging this idea, I probably wouldn't have done it. You know what I mean? And like, who knows what would have happened, or you know what I mean? Like, I'm you could still be roofing in August. That's it, man. Um that's it, owning my own company. Yeah, I'd probably be making more money. Who knows?
SPEAKER_02I thought it was a real magical moment though, too, that time when you were doing It's Alive, because I think it was people were really looking for I feel like they're always looking for authenticity, but in social media world, now it's kind of gotten a little blurred. But like then I feel like it was great to see someone so genuine and also bringing humor to things and kind of this behind the scenes and um and especially with a hot topic like fermentation, you're doing like kombucha, and we're kind of like then the knowledge started kind of coming out about our ancestors and you know why they were doing such great things for our body back then that now we're trying to get back to. So I don't know. I thought I thought it was really great. And I think you know, the fans and the and the people speak, you know, because they really loved it. And I think it's it's just kind of I I see it just kind of how it's evolved through your the rest of your content has been awesome.
SPEAKER_00So well, thank you, man. That's very kind. And you know, I guess I just kind of suffer from and like it's yeah, whatever kind of success that I have had with it, like a little bit of and this is common, I've found, but like a little bit of like imposter syndrome with it. Like, like I'm not the best cook, I'm not the best anything. But I you to your to your point too, like you don't have to be. And like, and I think you're right. I think the I know can you sorry, can you grab that chicken? Because their editor is gonna hear that. Sorry, I was talking to my wife.
Cute chickie
SPEAKER_02Do we get to see a chicken? You gotta get that chick. Yeah, we get on camera, go for a channel. Your wife can bring it on camera. I mean, how we just get a wood chick on here, like what we want to see the chick. Yeah, we want to see this hot chick.
SPEAKER_03Oh, they're they're baby babies, yeah. Baby babies.
SPEAKER_02Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_03Oh, awesome. They're like a week and a half older. So a week and a half? Are you raising them for layers? Thank you. Yeah, egg layers. Nice, nice, great.
SPEAKER_00Oh, we've got a good small flock now. Um, but you know, things like the eat chickens.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, that's great. Yeah, that's yeah.
SPEAKER_02Um can't leave them out.
SPEAKER_00But yeah, um, so I feel like we you guys, you were we were talking about something really nice, and I I agreed with it. Um the authenticity, yeah, the imposter syndrome of like of success there, where it's just like, sure, I'm aware and I'm working hard, and like, but like things happen, and uh to your point, I think it is that approachability and just like because we all are just that human element of cooking is so important, right? Where like every chef is gonna screw things up and like little loosey-goosey fun with it. And I guess I am a little bit of a kooky character, you know what I mean? Like it's and it's a weird thing to I don't know, like I don't really watch YouTube too much, you know, unless I need to like figure out how to like replace the O-ring on this road microphone or something.
SPEAKER_03Like that's why we got art and chad in the back. We didn't do that.
SPEAKER_00I don't really, I don't really can more and more because it's becoming so amazing and there's so much on it, but like two generations before me, I'm like a six, I'm like a 40-year-old, 60-year-old guy, you know, and like but like the like everyone else, young and the especially the younger kids. I mean, my kids even are everyone knows is crushing YouTube and and and different, you know, yeah, different types of creators and content and stuff like that. So it is this, it became, and when I started, I felt like it wasn't quite there yet. It was still a very elementary stage of that, like online, like um personality-driven creator. And maybe I was just late to it. I'm sure there was a lot going on already, but like at least in my world, it was like it did seem to like blend and then just kind of pop, and then like a lot of people started doing a lot of it. And it's just it's great. There's so much out there. Um, something for everyone, man. And it's it's it's it's fun to always try to be able to, you know. I'm now just trying to figure out ways to like change and like and maybe evolve or develop a show, a little different of a show or something, or you know, like I love what I'm doing and I love the the brands and the and the cooking and stuff, but like, yeah, it is it's it's fun to try to find new ways to do it as well and and and diversify this, you know, crazy business of content. You know, I never in a million years, you know. If you asked me when I was living in a farmhouse in New Jersey or in Heights, hey Brad, you're gonna be a um an online personality, like a um uh you know, a YouTube creator, not in a billion years. I don't I like what is YouTube? Well, and it it's just like I don't, you know what I mean? Like I was never gonna start a show in my own basement and edit, edit it, you know what I mean? Like it's just it clicked for me and it and it worked, and I'm um, it's been really cool to meet a bunch of great people that like that I work with now under my own team, right? Editor and camera guy, and uh, you know, and just and a lot of freelance people that we will hire on the road or it's really fun, man.
SPEAKER_04How how often do you um like if you were to kind of take your style, your preferred style, uh, of what you do in your in in your your shows, like obviously being able to have some storytelling involved, maybe some history on on what you're making, uh like how do you feel like there's a limit and complication that you try to stay away from so that people don't feel too intimidated?
SPEAKER_00Or um, I think that comes by nature with me. I mean, I'm not really cooking too much crazy stuff, but to be honest, like a lot of things are a lot more approachable than than it seems. And I think having someone that can cook it and you know,
Making fun and approachable cooking content
SPEAKER_00not measure the olive oil with you and make a mistake, like a lot of the stuff now, and for people that are familiar with the show, it's probably pretty obvious, but a lot of the times it's the first time I've cooked it, you know. Like I don't and like it's now just kind of running on into if there's something that's a little complicated or I need to be developed, I'll I I like to try to cook it a few times or at least once for God's sakes, right? Yeah, um, but I do like the the approachability and the ride of like cooking something. We're just cooking, you know, let's not overthink it here. We're not making I'm I'm with you. That's that's like we're not making micro chips here.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. When some of those shows get overly complicated, and like I I grew up uh learning from both my mom and dad. My mom is much more of a recipe cook. My dad was much more like what's in the fridge, what's fresh. Um, and so kind of getting a little bit of balance there. But yeah, we're we're just making food. Like it's it's sustenance, but you want to make it pretty, you want to make it taste good. Um, all those things added on to it. But yeah, don't overcomplicate it. And man, there are plenty, it's plenty of things that I've seen where it's like,
Go With Your Culinary Kink
SPEAKER_04Jesus Christ, we don't you don't need to prep your you know asparagus by cutting off the lower half inch and peeling just that and like you know, it just gets it gets.
SPEAKER_00And listen, if that's it, if that's your culinary kink, yeah, there's plenty of it out there, you know what I mean? Like there's so much of everything, which is kind of cool too, because I'm with you. Like, I'm I'm more of a jazz. I I don't even want to read a recipe. Maybe I'll look at it for a little inspiration or something like that. But like I just like cooking, I'm more of an ingredient dork, you know. I like that's kind of like where I really as I cook more and more, and I think I'm the best cook I've ever been, um, currently, uh, and it really just comes down to like a few fundamental principles and techniques, some intuition that is gained over time with timing of cooking and just preparation and certain things, but really it just it's simple cooking with just the best ingredients you can get. And you know, I do a lot of gardening and and like we were talking about hunting and fishing. And man, once you get like a taste of the good stuff, like it's hard to go to what like you see how bad a lot of it is.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, yeah. Have have you ever thought about putting out a a book of some sort or or even like a show where you're actually doing just that? These are like the simple, like I'm I'm not gonna simplify it too much, but like these are the 50 things you need to know about everything from how to cook these types of proteins, the heat that you need your oil to do.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I mean, it's a good idea, and there's probably uh 70 books, 700 books that do that already. And to be honest, it's and it would probably sell well. It's just something I don't want to do. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04I mean, even doing it as an episode, I mean, that's like we're we didn't have that. We're similar age, like we didn't have the ability to just pop like online and and find information about that. And like so, it's so much easier now. But back in the day, like if I was trying to learn how to do something, you know, as far as cooking, I was reading books and like 90 plus percent of them were just like, dude, I can't, like, these are this doesn't make any sense. Like, that I mean it made sense, but you're like they've overcomplicated it. But then there's there are a few books where like you're just like, Oh yeah, this simplifies everything. I mean, even I got like the joy of cooking. That old stuff that was I was that was given to me at like 18 years old, and like fucking simple, simple, simple. You're like, okay, this all makes sense. Logical, but you know, still um it like just just everyday cooking made simple.
SPEAKER_00Oh, I mean, that's your the your legendary book series there, you know. Um, and and couldn't agree more. And I think it's and listen, that's it's it's just a personality type, I guess, right? Like when it comes to baking bread, or if I want to figure out, you know, this type of what you know, certain things, baking, you got your measurements, right? We're using a scale. The recipes are real. You know, if I just want to make shrimp stir fry, like we're good, you know. Like I we don't, I don't need I don't, I'm not measuring my soy sauce, or you know what I'm saying? Like some people like that and need that and do their mise and plas, and you know, I'm sure their houses are very organized, you know, and like but for me it's more of a jazz with um, but you know how to play the instrument, you know, right? Isn't that kind of jazz like you're a master of the instrument but untraditional methods or yeah, something what what is your favorite thing?
SPEAKER_04Like, do you have a uh cuisine type uh that you you really are into, or is that like kind of a does that does that migrate from one to another over your career?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it's it's kind of all over the place, you know. Um, to be honest, it's really a big old collage of a lot of stuff. I mean, it's hard to not really love um you know Japanese cuisines and and certainly you know Southeast Asia, Vietnamese cuisine, and I mean I like them all, man. And it's really I'm really just a mutt of them all, you know. Good Indian, good anything, right? I mean, uh it's the best, but I mean, and then there's you know, and then then there's Mexico, which is fuck is huge and has so much diversity in food alone, or China for that matter. Oh my god, like there's there's so much, it's really hard to put into a to a thing, but it it it yeah, I mean, I'm a sucker for some new, I'm a sucker for some for some some Asian food.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I'm in it. Well, you're you're in the right part of the world for at least the US for that. Like, I mean, San Francisco's got decent, but like we really don't have anything here in that well, you got good ingredients, man, and you got you got there's a lot of good stuff growing.
SPEAKER_00So, I mean, like back to the beautiful things of books and and YouTube. You could learn how to make some really good pho or some pole or some noodles,
Importance of ingredients/Local Legends on YouTube!
SPEAKER_00or you know what I mean, like and and make it at home, especially in California. I mean, screw you guys, you guys grow the best stuff year round, like it's unbelievable. I know you're in a little bit of a drought coming up, it seems, but like always been jealous of the of the grow season and what you guys can grow out there. So as far as a chef, like it's kind of like a like a culinary playground, it seems. Yeah, we got the weather for it, definitely.
SPEAKER_02Well, I think it's great. We've been talking about like such the importance of ingredients, and and now we're talking about growing, and we just had um someone on talking about like for us that there is an important in growing uh grower relations, you know, where the grapes are coming from. And local legends, I think it was like a great show of yours because I mean, and correct me if I'm wrong, but it was I I'd heard it explained before, like you want to find out like who who's making the like those best carrots and where are they coming from and what what that's grower's life is like, or or the great fridge that you're getting from the spearfisher, you know, and spending that time with them, it really gave us insight. So please, I would like to hear more.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that's it, man. That's that's my favorite stuff to make. Also happens to be more expensive to make and harder to make, and you know, like it's it's all the above. You're traveling, you're you know, everything adds up with that, right? I'm not just shooting in my studio, but it's yeah, it's my absolute favorite, man. And like ideally, what I would love, and I am doing in a way, is is really local legends. A good handful of the episodes in every season are around agriculture or food, uh, because I just love the stories and it's so important and it's so fragile, and we're at such a critical spot, it seems, in the world of farming and and food infrastructure. Like, I mean, I I feel like there's so much to be told. It's to be honest, it's just, you know, and it's I'm not the best at it, but I'm trying, and I really enjoy telling other people's stories. You know, I do enough yapping about myself and food. It's great to show some, you know. I guess what it stems from is like chefs got all the uh attention, you know, for a long time, you know, at least like on you know, a food network or celebrity chef this or chef that, yes, chef this. And like, what about the guy who's you know growing the the pigs or all the all the spinach? Like that's the real man. I mean, like that's I don't want to say the real star, but it's certainly it's certainly a very critical component of it. It's you know the the headstone of it. So I mean, I love being able to kind of go out and get out in the fields, see how it's done, see the people who have you know poured their lives into it in in and it's hard, and especially nowadays where you hear so much bad about farming and and people selling the farms and you know, outside countries buying up all farmland and like I don't know, it just seems like a really, a really fragile system right now, and um and we're built on such a fertile one, you know. America has always was and had so much potential um to where humans have really well just home home growing has gotten people have gotten so far away from it.
SPEAKER_04I mean, you know, 50 years ago and and beyond, it was very common to every year you had a garden. And
A homegrown resurgence
SPEAKER_04uh and now it's kind of like I I mean here in California, I think more people do have gardens. You just don't see it as often anymore. Where like we I I mean, I don't put anything on my garden. Like my tomatoes are they don't even need like sulfur. I've never had a mildew problem. It's just every everything always works out, but it's yeah, we get it.
SPEAKER_00You live in California, dude. We get it. I'm not trying to get it. Your garden's great.
SPEAKER_03We get it. I'm not trying to make you jealous. Hey, guess what? You get to get up in the morning, you can go jump on your boat and go fishing in the Atlantic.
SPEAKER_00I don't get to fucking do that, all right? That's true. And my garden is very nice. So I would I would love to do a garden showdown with you.
SPEAKER_03Um I would love to see.
SPEAKER_00I pride myself in my garden. Hey, do you have do you have a greenhouse? No, but uh it's it's um it's something that we have I do want to invest in the idea of so we have this really cool. I live on this old the house was built in 1750. No really and yes, and but um it's it's completely redone for the most part. I mean, you know what I mean? It's it's it's just the old stone bones and wood of it, but the whole everything else is obviously not that old. Um, but anyway, there's this old um we have like an oil furnace for heat and stuff, but there's also this big outdoor wood furnace that the guy had installed. They're pretty common in like cold areas and stuff where you kind of just like load it once a day, large format, and it like it's basically this big cast iron stove that's um like surrounded in you know a couple hundred gallons of water that it heats to like 200 degrees and then pipes into your house, pumps it into your house, and it does your hot water, it does your heat, you know, and whatever. So the guy before me used to have a he heated a pool with it too. The pool's no longer there. Um, but it got me thinking it's just a little heat transfer and the plumbing's there. I want to do a greenhouse and just run run the water pipes through it on the floor or something and have like a it wouldn't wouldn't cost me anything because I'm already doing it, like a radiant heat all year. I'll be growing, I'll be growing that California citrus in Connecticut type of thing.
SPEAKER_04I like that.
SPEAKER_00That's the that's the plan, yeah.
SPEAKER_04That's cool. Uh man, yeah. We know we we don't we don't have those over here, but could you also tie like a I don't know, like could you turn turn that into like a smoker as well?
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Um probably, man. Beyond your furnace for your garden and your smoker, you just like self-sustained awesomeness. You probably actually not a bad idea. It would probably just be a little, I don't know how I would have to divert the smoke out. It would be easier to just use my smoker. Yeah. But I like where your head's at. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04Um well, hey, when when you went through, you had mentioned the pandemic a little earlier, and so I was kind of curious about this because we we we were not into like the media game at all uh prior to the pandemic. The pandemic is really what put us into like in in front of a screen and telling our story and finding new avenues to get people engaged and and you know, learning about our our wines and whatever else. Um so that was a whole new thing for us. But for you, that you were already entrenched in in in working in the world of media to to you know bring your love of of culinary arts to life and and you know, exposing uh that to to people. Did you see the pandemic as like a A big catalyst to like a more of a just maybe not a catalyst, but a a huge ramping up in viewership. People are curious doing stuff at home.
SPEAKER_03Is this really the end? Unbelievable. Find out next week.