1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:07,000 Downloaded from YTS.MX 2 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:13,000 Official YIFY movies site: YTS.MX 3 00:00:24,455 --> 00:00:27,092 - He threw a pan in my direction. 4 00:00:27,161 --> 00:00:28,293 And then he said, 5 00:00:28,362 --> 00:00:31,624 "This is why they don't let women in kitchens." 6 00:00:31,693 --> 00:00:33,560 - He told me if I sat on his lap, 7 00:00:33,629 --> 00:00:35,298 he'd buy a lot of wine for me. 8 00:00:35,367 --> 00:00:36,533 - He pulled me in his office 9 00:00:36,602 --> 00:00:40,336 and without knowing anything about me he said, 10 00:00:40,405 --> 00:00:42,173 "If you're gonna get emotional about this, 11 00:00:42,242 --> 00:00:44,241 "you're not gonna work here anymore." 12 00:00:44,310 --> 00:00:45,374 - I had this group of men 13 00:00:45,443 --> 00:00:46,709 that I was taking care of. 14 00:00:46,778 --> 00:00:51,710 They said, "How much would it cost to take you home?" 15 00:00:52,879 --> 00:00:53,889 - He told me to make sure I dressed 16 00:00:53,913 --> 00:00:57,452 and spoke appropriately at the event. 17 00:00:57,521 --> 00:00:59,586 - He said, "I didn't realize a girl 18 00:00:59,655 --> 00:01:02,886 "that looked like you would know something about food." 19 00:01:02,955 --> 00:01:05,889 - I arrived at an event to work a party 20 00:01:05,958 --> 00:01:08,298 that was predominantly male. 21 00:01:08,367 --> 00:01:10,795 And I searched for my manager on duty 22 00:01:10,864 --> 00:01:13,567 to ask for any specific instruction or direction. 23 00:01:13,636 --> 00:01:16,735 And the manager who was also male said to me, 24 00:01:16,804 --> 00:01:18,407 "Oh you know, just flirt. 25 00:01:18,476 --> 00:01:20,442 "Just do that thing that you girls do." 26 00:01:20,511 --> 00:01:21,810 - I was crouched down 27 00:01:21,879 --> 00:01:24,875 in front of another chef taking a group photo at an event. 28 00:01:24,944 --> 00:01:27,152 And when I stand up, he says to me, 29 00:01:27,221 --> 00:01:29,517 "Whoops, I think I just got you pregnant." 30 00:01:29,586 --> 00:01:31,552 - It was always expected that when I would walk 31 00:01:31,621 --> 00:01:33,554 into any new kitchen for the first time, 32 00:01:33,623 --> 00:01:38,163 I would get hard stares, whistleblows, sexual comments 33 00:01:38,232 --> 00:01:40,660 and then it became a part of the lifestyle. 34 00:01:40,729 --> 00:01:42,497 And I just learned to get used to it. 35 00:01:42,566 --> 00:01:44,928 - I remember the first time doning a chef coat 36 00:01:44,997 --> 00:01:46,600 and what honor it felt to wear it. 37 00:01:46,669 --> 00:01:48,767 And then the chef saying to me 38 00:01:48,836 --> 00:01:51,737 how I was not as cute as I was 39 00:01:51,806 --> 00:01:54,212 in my regular front of the house outfit. 40 00:01:54,281 --> 00:01:56,280 - I remember once going on a job interview 41 00:01:56,349 --> 00:01:58,909 for a pastry chef position in New York 42 00:01:58,978 --> 00:02:01,318 and the male executive chef asked me 43 00:02:01,387 --> 00:02:03,716 if I was planning on getting married 44 00:02:03,785 --> 00:02:06,356 or getting pregnant because if I was, 45 00:02:06,425 --> 00:02:07,621 he couldn't hire me. 46 00:02:07,690 --> 00:02:09,392 - Working my way up through the ranks 47 00:02:09,461 --> 00:02:12,329 of kitchens in New York City, it was quite challenging. 48 00:02:12,398 --> 00:02:14,463 And one of the biggest challenges I had to overcome 49 00:02:14,532 --> 00:02:15,860 as a young sous chef 50 00:02:16,963 --> 00:02:19,468 was not because of my cooking abilities, 51 00:02:19,537 --> 00:02:21,404 it was actually because I was a woman. 52 00:02:21,473 --> 00:02:22,735 - One time during the judgment 53 00:02:22,804 --> 00:02:24,671 of one of those cooking competition shows 54 00:02:24,740 --> 00:02:27,344 on food television, I had a male chef say to me, 55 00:02:27,413 --> 00:02:30,446 "You're a very talented young lady." 56 00:02:30,515 --> 00:02:32,475 And I thought, "Why can't you just call me chef?" 57 00:02:32,517 --> 00:02:34,681 - You're gonna meet men in the kitchen 58 00:02:34,750 --> 00:02:37,816 who don't want you around because you're a woman. 59 00:02:37,885 --> 00:02:38,995 You're gonna meet men in the kitchen 60 00:02:39,019 --> 00:02:41,457 who want you around because you're a woman. 61 00:02:41,526 --> 00:02:43,756 And then you're gonna meet other women 62 00:02:43,825 --> 00:02:46,726 who don't want you around because you're a woman. 63 00:02:47,928 --> 00:02:48,972 And I looked at him and I was like, 64 00:02:48,996 --> 00:02:51,533 "Well chef, where do I go from there?" 65 00:02:51,602 --> 00:02:54,932 He's like, "Darling, you go nowhere but up, okay?" 66 00:02:55,001 --> 00:02:58,507 And I laughed and I will never forget those words 67 00:02:58,576 --> 00:02:59,376 that he told me. 68 00:02:59,445 --> 00:03:00,445 And it's true. 69 00:03:01,348 --> 00:03:02,445 I'm Leia Gaccione. 70 00:03:02,514 --> 00:03:03,580 I've been cooking 71 00:03:03,648 --> 00:03:05,408 in some of the most high profile restaurants 72 00:03:05,451 --> 00:03:07,714 for the last 20 years. 73 00:03:07,783 --> 00:03:10,288 I am in a small percentage of women trying 74 00:03:10,357 --> 00:03:13,852 to make their mark in an industry filled with dudes. 75 00:03:15,395 --> 00:03:17,988 I can think back on a lot of female chefs that inspired me 76 00:03:18,057 --> 00:03:19,891 as I wanted to become a chef. 77 00:03:19,960 --> 00:03:22,762 While it may be a cliche, was there anything better 78 00:03:22,831 --> 00:03:25,435 than watching Julia Child on television? 79 00:03:25,504 --> 00:03:27,404 And as I grew further into my career, 80 00:03:27,473 --> 00:03:29,340 I had a meal at Dominique Crenn's restaurant 81 00:03:29,409 --> 00:03:32,508 in San Francisco that still resonates with me. 82 00:03:32,577 --> 00:03:34,939 As I started to put a list of women together 83 00:03:35,008 --> 00:03:36,341 that I wanted to talk to, 84 00:03:36,409 --> 00:03:40,681 I kept coming back to one name that truly defines a shero 85 00:03:40,750 --> 00:03:43,354 in the kitchen, Elizabeth Falkner. 86 00:03:59,736 --> 00:04:01,351 - My least favorite media question I get 87 00:04:01,375 --> 00:04:03,033 is where are all the female chefs? 88 00:04:03,102 --> 00:04:04,837 Where all the female chefs? 89 00:04:04,906 --> 00:04:06,575 I mean, there are a lot of Joan of arcs 90 00:04:06,644 --> 00:04:08,379 in the restaurant world all over. 91 00:04:08,448 --> 00:04:10,909 So like, Alice Waters, Lidia Bastianich, 92 00:04:10,978 --> 00:04:13,879 Barbara Tropp, Judy Rodgers, Cecilia Chiang, 93 00:04:13,948 --> 00:04:15,452 Anne Rosenzweig, Barbara Lynch, 94 00:04:15,521 --> 00:04:17,586 Traci Des Jardins, Daniela Soto-Innes. 95 00:04:17,655 --> 00:04:18,851 Where all the female chefs? 96 00:04:18,920 --> 00:04:20,083 Where all the female chefs? 97 00:04:20,152 --> 00:04:21,722 And Nancy Silverton of course, 98 00:04:21,791 --> 00:04:24,021 Joyce Goldstein, Nancy Oaks. 99 00:04:24,090 --> 00:04:25,924 And then you had Susan Feniger 100 00:04:25,993 --> 00:04:28,399 and Mary Sue Milliken down in Los Angeles. 101 00:04:28,468 --> 00:04:30,731 Gabrielle Hamilton and Michelle Bernstein, Sherry Yard, 102 00:04:30,800 --> 00:04:32,337 Jen Lewis, Anita Lo, Lynn Crawford, 103 00:04:32,406 --> 00:04:33,833 Amanda Cohen, Carla Hall, 104 00:04:33,902 --> 00:04:35,736 Tonya Holland, Alex Shelley. 105 00:04:35,805 --> 00:04:37,474 There are so many female chefs. 106 00:04:37,543 --> 00:04:39,740 I don't know why people even ask the question. 107 00:04:39,809 --> 00:04:42,611 People are always asking what it's like to be a female chef. 108 00:04:42,680 --> 00:04:43,979 And I'm like, "I don't know. 109 00:04:44,048 --> 00:04:45,092 "Let's go talk to a bunch of female chefs and find out." 110 00:04:45,116 --> 00:04:46,676 I mean, I don't know what else to say. 111 00:04:46,717 --> 00:04:47,983 I am a female chef 112 00:04:48,052 --> 00:04:49,795 so I don't know what it's not like to be a female chef 113 00:04:49,819 --> 00:04:53,820 'cause I genuinely like female cooking. 114 00:04:53,889 --> 00:04:56,020 It's funny because people always think of me 115 00:04:56,089 --> 00:04:59,760 from my food television times as being only a pastry chef, 116 00:04:59,829 --> 00:05:03,500 but I do make all kinds of food, savory and sweet. 117 00:05:03,569 --> 00:05:05,964 Sometimes I like to mix it up and screw with people. 118 00:05:06,033 --> 00:05:07,199 Today, I'm more interested 119 00:05:07,268 --> 00:05:11,002 in what ingredients tastes like in making sweet 120 00:05:11,071 --> 00:05:13,136 or savory food that tastes like those ingredients. 121 00:05:13,205 --> 00:05:15,842 There's just a lot of life lessons in cooking food. 122 00:05:17,815 --> 00:05:19,912 - Elizabeth Falkner bridges the gap 123 00:05:19,981 --> 00:05:22,046 between generations of female chefs. 124 00:05:22,115 --> 00:05:25,984 She is an artist, an activist 125 00:05:26,053 --> 00:05:28,822 and an advocate for many things. 126 00:05:28,891 --> 00:05:30,461 She was renowned for opening one 127 00:05:30,530 --> 00:05:32,023 of the most famous bakeries 128 00:05:32,092 --> 00:05:34,696 in San Francisco, Citizen Cake, 129 00:05:34,765 --> 00:05:36,764 crushing cooking competitions 130 00:05:36,833 --> 00:05:40,405 and becoming an iconic figure in the food world. 131 00:05:40,474 --> 00:05:44,640 Chef Elizabeth has slayed both sweet and savory. 132 00:05:44,709 --> 00:05:46,741 And with 26 years behind her, 133 00:05:46,810 --> 00:05:48,545 she is just getting started. 134 00:05:48,614 --> 00:05:49,680 - In Northern California, 135 00:05:49,748 --> 00:05:53,011 it felt like the food scene was the scene. 136 00:05:53,080 --> 00:05:55,618 Think about it, I came from where Hollywood was the scene 137 00:05:55,687 --> 00:05:57,983 in LA to this place where the chefs 138 00:05:58,052 --> 00:06:01,492 were the superstars all of a sudden like Alice Waters 139 00:06:01,561 --> 00:06:02,889 had Chez Panisse. 140 00:06:02,958 --> 00:06:04,825 Judy Rodgers had this restaurant called Zuni 141 00:06:04,894 --> 00:06:06,893 and then there was Jeremiah Tower with Stars. 142 00:06:06,962 --> 00:06:10,435 And I worked at Williams-Sonoma when I was still in college 143 00:06:10,504 --> 00:06:12,141 and I started reading everybody's cookbooks. 144 00:06:12,165 --> 00:06:14,901 And finishing college at San Francisco Art Institute, 145 00:06:14,970 --> 00:06:16,203 I was making films. 146 00:06:16,271 --> 00:06:18,213 It was more like I loved the choreography of people 147 00:06:18,237 --> 00:06:20,907 in an open kitchen like this or behind the bar. 148 00:06:20,976 --> 00:06:22,678 And I started wanting to just bring more 149 00:06:22,747 --> 00:06:25,109 and more food stuff into those scenes. 150 00:06:25,178 --> 00:06:27,617 I needed to go really be in a kitchen, 151 00:06:27,686 --> 00:06:29,499 but it was really hard for me to get into the kitchen 152 00:06:29,523 --> 00:06:30,731 because I didn't have any experience. 153 00:06:30,755 --> 00:06:32,021 And then I got a part-time job 154 00:06:32,090 --> 00:06:35,460 at a little French bistro in downtown San Francisco. 155 00:06:35,529 --> 00:06:37,693 I took over as the chef pretty quickly, 156 00:06:37,762 --> 00:06:40,696 but then I staged at a fine dining restaurant and I thought, 157 00:06:40,765 --> 00:06:42,929 "Okay, I need to go work at that restaurant." 158 00:06:42,998 --> 00:06:44,667 And that restaurant was Masa's. 159 00:06:44,736 --> 00:06:46,002 I worked at Masa's for a year 160 00:06:46,071 --> 00:06:48,836 and then I went to work for Traci Des Jardins at Elka. 161 00:06:48,905 --> 00:06:51,069 And then one year later we opened Rubicon 162 00:06:51,138 --> 00:06:52,543 where I worked for three years. 163 00:06:52,612 --> 00:06:53,622 That was a pretty big deal 164 00:06:53,646 --> 00:06:55,052 'cause Traci won James Beard award, 165 00:06:55,076 --> 00:06:56,119 rising star chef that year. 166 00:06:56,143 --> 00:06:57,680 We were 28 years old. 167 00:06:57,749 --> 00:06:59,026 Everybody came into that restaurant. 168 00:06:59,050 --> 00:07:01,519 Julia Child came to that restaurant, Jacques Pepin 169 00:07:01,588 --> 00:07:05,820 Claudine, tons of movie stars, tons of wine makers. 170 00:07:05,889 --> 00:07:08,197 It became really obvious that I needed to open my own place. 171 00:07:08,221 --> 00:07:09,520 And I was like, 172 00:07:09,589 --> 00:07:12,761 "San Francisco needs a really modern, cool pastry shop." 173 00:07:12,830 --> 00:07:14,096 Because it just didn't exist. 174 00:07:14,165 --> 00:07:17,161 At the original Citizen Cake, we had a wood-fired oven 175 00:07:17,230 --> 00:07:19,702 and we did amazing little pizzas. 176 00:07:19,771 --> 00:07:22,067 We made very eccentric pastries and cakes. 177 00:07:22,136 --> 00:07:22,901 Made our own marshmallows, 178 00:07:22,970 --> 00:07:23,902 made our own cream crackers. 179 00:07:23,971 --> 00:07:24,903 I know that's really common today, 180 00:07:24,972 --> 00:07:27,611 but that didn't even really happen. 181 00:07:27,680 --> 00:07:29,251 And then my business partner roasted coffee 182 00:07:29,275 --> 00:07:30,911 so that didn't even exist. 183 00:07:30,980 --> 00:07:31,780 It was really cool. 184 00:07:31,849 --> 00:07:32,481 I learned a lot. 185 00:07:32,550 --> 00:07:33,550 It was really tough. 186 00:07:33,617 --> 00:07:35,652 I felt like our location was too remote 187 00:07:35,721 --> 00:07:38,721 so I moved it to what became a very popular place, 188 00:07:38,790 --> 00:07:39,856 which is Hayes Valley. 189 00:07:39,924 --> 00:07:41,670 And then that place became a full restaurant 190 00:07:41,694 --> 00:07:42,960 and pastry shop. 191 00:07:43,029 --> 00:07:45,530 We made our own ice creams and made all these cakes. 192 00:07:45,599 --> 00:07:47,158 I had an open pastry kitchen 193 00:07:47,227 --> 00:07:48,404 and then we had a full restaurant too 194 00:07:48,428 --> 00:07:51,162 which was right near the theater and always busy. 195 00:07:55,301 --> 00:07:58,576 So I had Citizen Cake for about 15 years 196 00:07:58,645 --> 00:08:00,710 and then I had a little satellite cafe 197 00:08:00,779 --> 00:08:02,613 called Citizen Cupcake for a minute. 198 00:08:02,682 --> 00:08:05,143 I had this other restaurant Orson that we opened in 2008. 199 00:08:05,212 --> 00:08:06,650 That period of time was just rough 200 00:08:06,719 --> 00:08:08,245 after the stock market crash. 201 00:08:08,314 --> 00:08:12,315 I had a life partnership that was dissolving. 202 00:08:12,384 --> 00:08:13,550 We needed to close. 203 00:08:13,619 --> 00:08:15,989 Just real estate was very expensive and greedy 204 00:08:16,058 --> 00:08:16,924 and lots of greedy people around me. 205 00:08:16,993 --> 00:08:18,226 It was crazy. 206 00:08:18,294 --> 00:08:21,324 And the more popular I got, the more Pac-Man it felt. 207 00:08:21,393 --> 00:08:24,228 People were just kind of running after a lot of stuff. 208 00:08:24,297 --> 00:08:25,297 And then I was like, 209 00:08:25,365 --> 00:08:27,231 "I think I'm just done in this town. 210 00:08:27,300 --> 00:08:28,606 "I can't figure out any more. 211 00:08:28,675 --> 00:08:30,008 "I can't make this work." 212 00:08:30,076 --> 00:08:32,083 And I was like, "Okay well, I guess maybe it's time to move 213 00:08:32,107 --> 00:08:34,909 "to New York." 214 00:08:37,310 --> 00:08:39,848 I came to New York after winning a piece of competition 215 00:08:39,917 --> 00:08:43,247 in Naples, Italy to open a pizzeria in Brooklyn. 216 00:08:43,316 --> 00:08:45,821 I wanted to go back to just like cooking in fire. 217 00:08:45,890 --> 00:08:47,889 And then I got pulled into consulting 218 00:08:47,958 --> 00:08:49,594 on a restaurant in the upper West side 219 00:08:49,663 --> 00:08:51,926 and that was a really beautiful restaurant. 220 00:08:51,995 --> 00:08:54,126 I love the cooking competitions shows 221 00:08:54,195 --> 00:08:56,029 because I played soccer so long. 222 00:08:56,098 --> 00:08:57,364 The first shows that I did 223 00:08:57,433 --> 00:08:58,677 were the earliest Food Network Challenges where we had 224 00:08:58,701 --> 00:09:01,903 to build some kind of gargantuan cake sort of thing 225 00:09:01,972 --> 00:09:04,301 and then move it for some reason across the room. 226 00:09:04,370 --> 00:09:08,140 It feels like my culinary and my soccer athleticness 227 00:09:08,209 --> 00:09:09,878 is meeting each other in the middle. 228 00:09:09,947 --> 00:09:12,111 Knowing that it's a fleeting moment of cooking 229 00:09:12,180 --> 00:09:14,146 and not taking it so seriously, 230 00:09:14,215 --> 00:09:16,148 but this is just a fun game 231 00:09:16,217 --> 00:09:19,316 has been my favorite part about it for sure. 232 00:09:19,385 --> 00:09:21,120 - Elizabeth asked me to meet her 233 00:09:21,189 --> 00:09:22,726 at Hong Thaimee's restaurant 234 00:09:22,795 --> 00:09:25,157 in the East village, Thaimee Table. 235 00:09:25,226 --> 00:09:27,830 They are both cooking for a private event 236 00:09:27,899 --> 00:09:30,360 that will raise awareness and funds for RED. 237 00:09:30,429 --> 00:09:32,098 - I was an executive in Taiwan. 238 00:09:33,201 --> 00:09:36,069 Yeah, I ran philanthropy department 239 00:09:36,138 --> 00:09:39,039 for big pharmaceutical company in Bangkok. 240 00:09:39,108 --> 00:09:42,372 - Wow. - And graduated with MBA. 241 00:09:42,441 --> 00:09:47,080 Applied for a job as a hostess at Jean-Jorges spice market 242 00:09:47,149 --> 00:09:50,787 and made my way into the kitchen and walk through fire. 243 00:09:50,856 --> 00:09:53,284 And now I have a couple of restaurants. 244 00:09:53,353 --> 00:09:56,419 - A lot of people would say that we're women 245 00:09:56,488 --> 00:09:59,422 in a man's world doing this. 246 00:09:59,491 --> 00:10:01,160 But then when you really think about it, 247 00:10:01,229 --> 00:10:02,470 when you think about all the women doing it, 248 00:10:02,494 --> 00:10:04,064 you realize there's a lot more women 249 00:10:04,133 --> 00:10:07,133 in this business than what everyone else makes 250 00:10:07,202 --> 00:10:08,368 it seem out to be. 251 00:10:08,437 --> 00:10:12,776 - I feel like people underestimate us sometimes. 252 00:10:12,845 --> 00:10:15,141 They think that women just women. 253 00:10:15,210 --> 00:10:16,509 We not, we stronger. 254 00:10:16,578 --> 00:10:21,917 We know how to push through things sometime more than men 255 00:10:23,251 --> 00:10:25,250 because we don't have much of an ego I would say. 256 00:10:25,319 --> 00:10:28,891 The way that we do things, we not do it to fight. 257 00:10:30,225 --> 00:10:32,170 We not doing that, oh I have to be better than you 258 00:10:32,194 --> 00:10:33,471 or you have to be better than me, but we do it 259 00:10:33,495 --> 00:10:36,998 because we truly really love to be in this industry. 260 00:10:38,838 --> 00:10:42,135 I feel like why are we in this industry? 261 00:10:42,204 --> 00:10:44,038 So that we can get Michelin star, 262 00:10:44,107 --> 00:10:47,107 so that we can be number one in the world. 263 00:10:47,176 --> 00:10:49,274 I mean, I don't oppose to that, 264 00:10:49,343 --> 00:10:52,079 but that is not the most important thing. 265 00:10:52,148 --> 00:10:54,752 We here to love and serve people through our food. 266 00:10:54,821 --> 00:10:55,865 I don't know the rest of them, 267 00:10:55,889 --> 00:10:58,756 but that's why I'm in this industry, 268 00:10:58,825 --> 00:11:00,219 that's why I'm working so hard, 269 00:11:00,288 --> 00:11:04,355 14 hours a day on my feet dealing with bunions 270 00:11:04,424 --> 00:11:06,423 and all those stuff. 271 00:11:06,492 --> 00:11:11,131 We have to really look into why are we here? 272 00:11:11,200 --> 00:11:14,739 Going back and ask that same question you asked yourself, 273 00:11:14,808 --> 00:11:15,674 why do you love to cook? 274 00:11:15,742 --> 00:11:16,886 Why you wanna be in the business? 275 00:11:16,910 --> 00:11:20,470 I feel like I wanna live my life with purpose. 276 00:11:20,539 --> 00:11:22,978 And my purpose is to love and serve people. 277 00:11:25,379 --> 00:11:27,444 - One of the most important relationships I have 278 00:11:27,513 --> 00:11:31,184 outside of work is with my brother Gary. 279 00:11:31,253 --> 00:11:32,922 This year for his birthday, 280 00:11:32,991 --> 00:11:35,287 I tried to do something super special 281 00:11:35,356 --> 00:11:37,454 because my schedule has been very chaotic. 282 00:11:37,523 --> 00:11:38,523 Food is love to me. 283 00:11:38,591 --> 00:11:41,161 So I'm making him one of his favorites, 284 00:11:41,230 --> 00:11:44,901 a medium rare cheeseburger with a runny egg. 285 00:11:44,970 --> 00:11:47,431 What could be better than celebrating your birthday 286 00:11:47,500 --> 00:11:48,707 with a burger? 287 00:11:49,743 --> 00:11:51,501 It's really sweet to give the gift 288 00:11:51,570 --> 00:11:53,437 of food to the ones you love, 289 00:11:53,506 --> 00:11:56,847 just like Caroline Schiff does with her desserts. 290 00:12:04,220 --> 00:12:07,891 - It all started with birthday cake for me. 291 00:12:09,555 --> 00:12:11,928 I mean, I would get so excited for my birthday 292 00:12:11,997 --> 00:12:13,037 because it was about cake. 293 00:12:13,097 --> 00:12:14,524 I was like, "Well, I'm gonna get 294 00:12:14,593 --> 00:12:17,065 "to make this cake start to finish. 295 00:12:17,134 --> 00:12:19,804 "It's gonna be exactly what I want it to be." 296 00:12:19,873 --> 00:12:21,399 I was like in elementary school 297 00:12:21,468 --> 00:12:25,843 and I would have never gone out to buy a cake 298 00:12:25,912 --> 00:12:28,142 or have a store-bought cake. 299 00:12:31,313 --> 00:12:33,213 I felt like it was so special. 300 00:12:33,282 --> 00:12:35,380 It was just the most special thing 301 00:12:35,449 --> 00:12:38,350 that I got to do all year was bake my birthday cake. 302 00:12:38,419 --> 00:12:40,088 And then as I got a little bit older, 303 00:12:40,157 --> 00:12:42,321 it was like I wanted to make them for other people. 304 00:12:42,390 --> 00:12:44,422 I really started to understand that, 305 00:12:44,491 --> 00:12:48,426 that is an incredible gift to give to somebody. 306 00:12:53,907 --> 00:12:56,104 They have a slice of it on their birthday 307 00:12:56,173 --> 00:12:59,844 and they're celebrating with friends or family or whatever, 308 00:12:59,913 --> 00:13:03,276 but what I really want them to feel 309 00:13:03,345 --> 00:13:08,347 and for them to take away is just pure happiness. 310 00:13:22,067 --> 00:13:24,363 Strawberries and I go way back. 311 00:13:24,432 --> 00:13:29,434 I remember going to the Plaza hotel with my mom and my aunt. 312 00:13:30,944 --> 00:13:32,581 I remember getting strawberries and cream, 313 00:13:32,605 --> 00:13:37,475 just really sweet sugary, macerated, strawberries. 314 00:13:38,952 --> 00:13:42,150 They were this beautiful, hot pink red color 315 00:13:42,219 --> 00:13:43,418 and whipped cream. 316 00:13:43,487 --> 00:13:46,550 And I made such a mess and I just dove right in, 317 00:13:46,619 --> 00:13:49,993 but to me that was the perfect food. 318 00:13:50,062 --> 00:13:53,458 That moment was the beginning of something for me. 319 00:13:53,527 --> 00:13:58,529 It was the beginning of this love affair with sugar 320 00:13:59,533 --> 00:14:01,103 that I've had and food. 321 00:14:01,172 --> 00:14:03,369 And I think my mother worried 322 00:14:03,438 --> 00:14:05,305 because she thought I was the sugar monster. 323 00:14:05,374 --> 00:14:08,044 She was like, "Oh my God, my child only wants to eat sugar." 324 00:14:08,113 --> 00:14:11,179 And there was no doubt in my mind 325 00:14:11,248 --> 00:14:13,115 or anybody else who knew me well 326 00:14:13,184 --> 00:14:15,051 from a really young age that food 327 00:14:15,120 --> 00:14:19,319 and pretty specifically dessert was the thing 328 00:14:19,388 --> 00:14:21,189 that I loved the most. 329 00:14:21,258 --> 00:14:24,654 When I was young, I would cook mostly by myself 330 00:14:24,723 --> 00:14:28,196 mostly because I was really bossy in the kitchen. 331 00:14:28,265 --> 00:14:31,595 My aunt, my mom's youngest sister, 332 00:14:31,664 --> 00:14:35,335 she was a chef working in restaurants in New York 333 00:14:35,404 --> 00:14:38,008 when I was little in the '80s. 334 00:14:38,077 --> 00:14:41,341 I just thought it was the coolest thing. 335 00:14:41,410 --> 00:14:44,707 She would come over with interesting ingredients. 336 00:14:44,776 --> 00:14:48,018 I knew she was out late working in the kitchen 337 00:14:48,087 --> 00:14:51,582 and she was downtown and I just thought it was so cool. 338 00:14:51,651 --> 00:14:54,585 And I was like, "I wanna learn how to do that. 339 00:14:54,654 --> 00:14:58,963 "And I wanna make food that people are gonna eat. 340 00:14:59,032 --> 00:15:00,265 "Not just for my family, 341 00:15:00,333 --> 00:15:02,626 "I wanna make food that people want to buy and eat 342 00:15:02,695 --> 00:15:04,013 "'cause they think it's delicious 343 00:15:04,037 --> 00:15:06,201 "and they think it's special." 344 00:15:06,270 --> 00:15:08,137 - As she journeyed across the world 345 00:15:08,206 --> 00:15:11,536 discovering the flavors that would ignite a fire in her, 346 00:15:11,605 --> 00:15:13,340 Caroline's path would cross 347 00:15:13,409 --> 00:15:15,177 with the uber-talented Sohui Kim. 348 00:15:17,215 --> 00:15:18,642 - I was looking for jobs 349 00:15:18,711 --> 00:15:22,349 and I have a resume that has nothing on it. 350 00:15:22,418 --> 00:15:26,122 It has my education basically and a little paragraph 351 00:15:26,191 --> 00:15:29,125 about what I love about food so much. 352 00:15:29,194 --> 00:15:32,656 The only one that got back to me was The Good Fork 353 00:15:32,725 --> 00:15:35,395 and the chef owner here Sohui Kim. 354 00:15:35,464 --> 00:15:37,624 So she called me and she was like, "I got your resume. 355 00:15:37,664 --> 00:15:40,532 "And you seem really passionate, 356 00:15:40,601 --> 00:15:43,469 "but it kind of looks like you don't have any experience. 357 00:15:43,538 --> 00:15:44,971 "Is that true? 358 00:15:45,039 --> 00:15:49,211 And I was like, "Well, professionally, yeah, no experience." 359 00:15:50,479 --> 00:15:53,743 I'm lucky that I found somebody who sees the value 360 00:15:53,812 --> 00:15:58,286 in teaching people and sees the value in somebody 361 00:15:58,355 --> 00:16:01,751 who has a ton of passion and no experience. 362 00:16:01,820 --> 00:16:05,788 I owe her a lot because she saw something in me. 363 00:16:05,857 --> 00:16:08,296 - Well, it was very well-written first of all. 364 00:16:08,365 --> 00:16:10,694 And I was very impressed and it's not usual 365 00:16:10,763 --> 00:16:14,533 that you get very heartfelt cover letter on a resume. 366 00:16:14,602 --> 00:16:18,306 And the first thing that I noticed was just her sense 367 00:16:18,375 --> 00:16:22,343 of enthusiasm and her spirit. 368 00:16:22,412 --> 00:16:24,357 I don't know, it's just hard to describe it to words 369 00:16:24,381 --> 00:16:26,644 when you meet somebody and you're like, "Wow." 370 00:16:26,713 --> 00:16:29,746 I was very, very sure from the minute that I met her 371 00:16:29,815 --> 00:16:32,287 that she was gonna do wonderful things. 372 00:16:32,356 --> 00:16:34,025 - I owe my career to Sohui. 373 00:16:36,162 --> 00:16:38,656 For her to be a mentor like that, 374 00:16:38,725 --> 00:16:43,628 she was so generous with her time and her knowledge. 375 00:16:44,764 --> 00:16:48,600 As a new cook, I fucked up so much. 376 00:16:48,669 --> 00:16:49,733 I shouldn't say fuck. 377 00:16:50,670 --> 00:16:51,902 - I love that, say that. 378 00:16:51,971 --> 00:16:56,740 - I fucked up so much and she would kind of use it 379 00:16:57,876 --> 00:17:00,216 as a way to teach you something else. 380 00:17:00,285 --> 00:17:02,350 - More than anything, I've taught a lot of people 381 00:17:02,419 --> 00:17:04,253 in this kitchen and more than anything, 382 00:17:04,322 --> 00:17:08,125 I value hard work, enthusiasm 383 00:17:08,194 --> 00:17:10,655 and certainly passion for cooking. 384 00:17:10,724 --> 00:17:15,429 And she's just had the perfect bundle of all three and more. 385 00:17:16,862 --> 00:17:18,663 When a young person comes in 386 00:17:18,732 --> 00:17:22,766 and they have so much enthusiasm, it's infectious. 387 00:17:22,835 --> 00:17:26,638 And it makes for a very awesome working environment. 388 00:17:26,707 --> 00:17:29,146 So right away, she was an integral part 389 00:17:29,215 --> 00:17:30,312 of the team for sure. 390 00:17:32,845 --> 00:17:35,185 - We are back here with our second contestant. 391 00:17:35,254 --> 00:17:36,053 What's your name? 392 00:17:36,122 --> 00:17:38,188 - Fatima Ali. - Fatima Ali, 393 00:17:38,257 --> 00:17:39,387 where are you from? 394 00:17:39,456 --> 00:17:40,622 - Karachi, Pakistan. 395 00:17:40,691 --> 00:17:44,491 - Listen Fatima Ali, what is unique about you? 396 00:17:45,495 --> 00:17:46,592 - Everything. 397 00:17:47,962 --> 00:17:51,564 I mean, cancer has touched everyone in one way or the other 398 00:17:51,633 --> 00:17:53,335 whether it's yourself, or a loved one 399 00:17:53,404 --> 00:17:55,469 or a friend, it's universal. 400 00:17:59,443 --> 00:18:02,575 The pain that it brings is also universal. 401 00:18:02,644 --> 00:18:06,810 But I think as someone who's gone through it, 402 00:18:06,879 --> 00:18:08,329 you have your good and your bad days, 403 00:18:08,353 --> 00:18:09,483 but it does get better. 404 00:18:10,751 --> 00:18:12,585 There's always hope. 405 00:18:12,654 --> 00:18:14,686 There's always joy to be found 406 00:18:14,755 --> 00:18:16,688 in the little things. 407 00:18:18,231 --> 00:18:19,736 You have to find your own distraction 408 00:18:19,760 --> 00:18:20,425 to kind of get through it. 409 00:18:20,494 --> 00:18:22,826 And for me, that's food. 410 00:18:22,895 --> 00:18:25,862 For me, that's always been cooking. 411 00:18:25,931 --> 00:18:29,305 I think what's interesting to me is that I also realized 412 00:18:29,374 --> 00:18:32,506 how much I enjoy being a part of bigger picture things. 413 00:18:33,840 --> 00:18:37,214 I'm so excited to be a part of someone's dining experience 414 00:18:37,283 --> 00:18:41,317 where they will never forget it for the rest of their lives. 415 00:18:41,386 --> 00:18:44,188 They'll talk about it for years. 416 00:18:44,257 --> 00:18:48,225 And in my own little way may have had a hand in that 417 00:18:48,294 --> 00:18:50,425 and that's something that's very special to me. 418 00:18:50,494 --> 00:18:52,724 And that's the reason I became a chef. 419 00:18:52,793 --> 00:18:55,595 - I have always been an avid watcher of "Top Chef". 420 00:18:55,664 --> 00:18:58,466 Cooking shows are what started my love affair with food. 421 00:18:58,535 --> 00:19:00,864 I was really rooting for chef Fatima Ali 422 00:19:00,933 --> 00:19:03,504 like so many other Americans that were glued 423 00:19:03,573 --> 00:19:05,638 to the screen during season 15. 424 00:19:05,707 --> 00:19:07,244 As I convinced myself to reach out 425 00:19:07,313 --> 00:19:08,872 to my new inspiration Fatima, 426 00:19:08,941 --> 00:19:11,875 I tried not to let my fan girl get the best of me. 427 00:19:11,944 --> 00:19:13,382 After our first chat, 428 00:19:13,451 --> 00:19:17,221 I knew this was a very special person, 429 00:19:17,290 --> 00:19:19,520 not because of how her story ends up, 430 00:19:19,589 --> 00:19:21,225 but because of how it began 431 00:19:21,294 --> 00:19:23,623 and how she literally became a top chef. 432 00:19:23,692 --> 00:19:25,493 - I was very, very young. 433 00:19:25,562 --> 00:19:26,761 According to my mom, 434 00:19:26,830 --> 00:19:29,761 I think I started cooking at about four or five. 435 00:19:29,830 --> 00:19:31,862 I remember really being in the kitchen. 436 00:19:31,931 --> 00:19:33,699 I was probably about eight or nine. 437 00:19:33,768 --> 00:19:35,668 I was too young to cook anything 438 00:19:35,737 --> 00:19:37,377 on the stove according to my grandmother 439 00:19:37,442 --> 00:19:39,903 so she would boil the water for me 440 00:19:39,972 --> 00:19:41,608 and I would make soup. 441 00:19:41,677 --> 00:19:44,413 I remember putting cabbage in it and carrots 442 00:19:44,482 --> 00:19:46,778 and seasoning it and just really just warm water 443 00:19:46,847 --> 00:19:49,517 and barely wilted vegetables really, 444 00:19:49,586 --> 00:19:51,453 but I was so proud of my creation. 445 00:19:51,522 --> 00:19:53,282 The older I got, the more I started cooking, 446 00:19:53,326 --> 00:19:55,820 the more I began to explore different kinds 447 00:19:55,889 --> 00:20:00,396 of cuisines with my dad who was actually a lawyer. 448 00:20:00,465 --> 00:20:01,597 He traveled a lot 449 00:20:01,666 --> 00:20:02,777 and anytime he would go to different countries, 450 00:20:02,801 --> 00:20:04,961 he would bring back something interesting. 451 00:20:05,030 --> 00:20:06,930 My family's basically been my guinea pig. 452 00:20:06,999 --> 00:20:08,131 I've made a lot 453 00:20:08,200 --> 00:20:08,799 of really horrible things over the years too 454 00:20:08,868 --> 00:20:10,538 when I was younger. 455 00:20:10,607 --> 00:20:11,607 If it wasn't for them, 456 00:20:11,641 --> 00:20:12,915 I wouldn't be doing what I was doing. 457 00:20:12,939 --> 00:20:14,971 - As a little girl growing up, 458 00:20:16,041 --> 00:20:18,579 she was very sporty, very friendly. 459 00:20:18,648 --> 00:20:22,583 When other kids her age were watching Cartoon Network, 460 00:20:22,652 --> 00:20:24,354 she was watching BBC Food. 461 00:20:24,423 --> 00:20:27,390 Back in the day, she loved "Yan Can Cook". 462 00:20:27,459 --> 00:20:28,556 - If Yan Can Cook! 463 00:20:28,625 --> 00:20:30,525 - So can we! 464 00:20:30,594 --> 00:20:32,725 - When we were in Austin, Texas, 465 00:20:32,794 --> 00:20:35,860 I still remember her kindergarten teacher, lovely lady, 466 00:20:35,929 --> 00:20:37,128 she used to send 467 00:20:37,197 --> 00:20:40,766 these little pictogram recipes home every weekend. 468 00:20:40,835 --> 00:20:43,736 So every Friday, she'd come rushing home 469 00:20:43,805 --> 00:20:45,309 with that little recipe. 470 00:20:45,378 --> 00:20:46,871 We'd put that recipe together. 471 00:20:46,940 --> 00:20:50,314 Her love for food just naturally started 472 00:20:50,383 --> 00:20:52,976 when she was really, really very young. 473 00:20:53,045 --> 00:20:55,451 And I think as she grew older, 474 00:20:55,520 --> 00:20:57,783 she found a lot of comfort in it. 475 00:21:00,657 --> 00:21:03,558 - My mom's always encouraged me in the kitchen 476 00:21:03,627 --> 00:21:05,560 and she's really encouraged and pushed me to try 477 00:21:05,629 --> 00:21:07,925 and be the best that I can possibly be. 478 00:21:07,994 --> 00:21:12,666 When I was about 17, I sat with her 479 00:21:12,735 --> 00:21:15,064 and told her I wanted to become a professional chef. 480 00:21:15,133 --> 00:21:18,034 And she told me that I could do that 481 00:21:18,103 --> 00:21:19,623 as long as I got a bachelor's degree. 482 00:21:19,676 --> 00:21:22,038 So I hopped on my computer 483 00:21:22,107 --> 00:21:26,075 and I googled America culinary bachelors. 484 00:21:26,144 --> 00:21:27,188 The first school that popped up 485 00:21:27,212 --> 00:21:30,387 was the Culinary Institute of America. 486 00:21:30,456 --> 00:21:33,621 I'd never been to that part of the world before. 487 00:21:33,690 --> 00:21:36,888 And it was just a really exciting, 488 00:21:36,957 --> 00:21:39,594 but also nerve wracking journey, moving from Pakistan, 489 00:21:39,663 --> 00:21:42,564 coming here for college and then immersing myself 490 00:21:42,633 --> 00:21:46,502 in a field that I had so much passion for, 491 00:21:46,571 --> 00:21:49,670 but no actual hands-on experience of yet. 492 00:21:50,971 --> 00:21:52,706 I remember the first time buttoning up 493 00:21:52,775 --> 00:21:54,136 our pristine chef jackets 494 00:21:54,205 --> 00:21:56,314 and assessing ourselves for an hour. 495 00:21:57,978 --> 00:22:01,550 We will remember standing in unknown kitchens, knife in hand 496 00:22:01,619 --> 00:22:03,519 and ready to conquer all. 497 00:22:03,588 --> 00:22:04,994 And we will remember the cuts and burns 498 00:22:05,018 --> 00:22:07,149 in our hands as evidence. 499 00:22:07,218 --> 00:22:10,119 Deep down inside most of us lies this incessant urge 500 00:22:10,188 --> 00:22:13,397 for acknowledgement, for approval. 501 00:22:13,466 --> 00:22:15,399 For if we did not have that need, 502 00:22:15,468 --> 00:22:17,401 we would not have become chefs. 503 00:22:17,470 --> 00:22:18,736 A plate of food 504 00:22:18,805 --> 00:22:21,966 is merely ordinary until someone deems it magnificent. 505 00:22:23,069 --> 00:22:25,739 We are all morbidly afraid of being ordinary 506 00:22:25,808 --> 00:22:29,809 for there seems no other thing so horrific as that. 507 00:22:29,878 --> 00:22:33,142 But today, it has been acknowledged, 508 00:22:33,211 --> 00:22:37,146 you have been acknowledged, we have been acknowledged 509 00:22:37,215 --> 00:22:40,083 as being absolutely extraordinary. 510 00:22:40,152 --> 00:22:41,152 - And I told her, I said, 511 00:22:41,220 --> 00:22:43,152 "If this is what you're gonna pursue, 512 00:22:43,221 --> 00:22:44,923 "this is what you're gonna do. 513 00:22:44,992 --> 00:22:47,959 "You will promise me that you will be the best." 514 00:22:48,028 --> 00:22:49,565 - See, I wasn't making it up. 515 00:22:51,097 --> 00:22:53,096 - Not because of any pressure, 516 00:22:53,165 --> 00:22:57,166 but because I feel you've got to own it, right? 517 00:22:57,235 --> 00:22:59,971 It's like if this is your commitment, 518 00:23:00,040 --> 00:23:01,742 then that commitment needs to show. 519 00:23:01,811 --> 00:23:03,513 - With her mother's blessing 520 00:23:03,582 --> 00:23:04,915 and a dream in her heart, 521 00:23:04,983 --> 00:23:09,178 Fatima met her uncles Sibte in the city that never sleeps. 522 00:23:09,247 --> 00:23:11,554 - New York is tough, but I know her 523 00:23:11,623 --> 00:23:16,152 and she can dig up a whole mountain with a spoon 524 00:23:16,221 --> 00:23:17,692 if she needs to. 525 00:23:17,761 --> 00:23:19,727 We had a long conversation, 526 00:23:19,796 --> 00:23:21,531 her ambitions, what she wants to do. 527 00:23:21,600 --> 00:23:24,127 She is focused and it's very rare to find somebody 528 00:23:24,196 --> 00:23:25,196 with that much focus. 529 00:23:25,264 --> 00:23:28,703 - I found myself working at Cafe Centro, 530 00:23:28,772 --> 00:23:30,969 which is a part of the Patina group in New York City. 531 00:23:31,038 --> 00:23:34,038 I actually found myself working for Maneet Chauhan. 532 00:23:34,107 --> 00:23:38,878 Seeing a woman of color doing such interesting 533 00:23:38,947 --> 00:23:41,650 and fantastic things in the industry was really inspiring. 534 00:23:41,719 --> 00:23:43,119 - One of the most endearing things 535 00:23:43,149 --> 00:23:46,787 to me about Fatima was her, there is nothing 536 00:23:46,856 --> 00:23:48,789 that's going to phase me out attitude. 537 00:23:48,858 --> 00:23:50,132 - I think it was really important 538 00:23:50,156 --> 00:23:53,156 for me to be able to see a woman 539 00:23:53,225 --> 00:23:56,027 who was running a restaurant and who's successful at it. 540 00:23:56,096 --> 00:23:59,701 - I think as a female chef myself, 541 00:23:59,770 --> 00:24:02,770 it is my responsibility to help pave way 542 00:24:02,839 --> 00:24:07,511 for more young female chefs to make a mark 543 00:24:07,580 --> 00:24:09,172 and an impact in the industry. 544 00:24:09,241 --> 00:24:11,614 She got an opportunity. 545 00:24:11,683 --> 00:24:13,781 She did not squander that opportunity. 546 00:24:13,850 --> 00:24:15,717 She was a shining star and I think 547 00:24:15,786 --> 00:24:18,786 that was the most incredible part about Fatima. 548 00:24:18,855 --> 00:24:22,724 - I think when you talk about Nona or grandma cooking 549 00:24:27,831 --> 00:24:29,698 - in Italy, right? - - Yeah. 550 00:24:29,767 --> 00:24:31,799 - They usually run the restaurant 551 00:24:31,868 --> 00:24:33,582 and the kids just happened to work there too, 552 00:24:33,606 --> 00:24:36,199 but the mom is the boss. 553 00:24:42,615 --> 00:24:44,647 - I mean, being immigrant family, 554 00:24:44,716 --> 00:24:46,649 obviously it's either one of two things. 555 00:24:46,718 --> 00:24:48,223 You're either gonna be a lawyer or a doctor. 556 00:24:48,247 --> 00:24:51,214 And there's no other option, no other career path. 557 00:24:51,283 --> 00:24:52,360 You're either a lawyer or a doctor. 558 00:24:52,384 --> 00:24:55,691 And my parents drilled that into my head 559 00:24:55,760 --> 00:24:57,594 since I was really little. 560 00:25:00,193 --> 00:25:02,138 They were like, "Oh, your sister's gonna be a doctor 561 00:25:02,162 --> 00:25:03,765 "so you're gonna be a lawyer." 562 00:25:04,934 --> 00:25:06,867 And then she chose a different path. 563 00:25:06,936 --> 00:25:08,002 So they were like, 564 00:25:08,070 --> 00:25:09,081 "Okay, so you're gonna be the doctor now." 565 00:25:09,105 --> 00:25:13,236 It's funny, they were very strict, 566 00:25:13,305 --> 00:25:16,877 but my mom, she's a tough woman. 567 00:25:16,946 --> 00:25:18,549 She taught me how to be tough. 568 00:25:22,985 --> 00:25:24,852 As soon as I put on those whites, 569 00:25:24,921 --> 00:25:28,350 I kind of just had this weird, emotional, 570 00:25:28,419 --> 00:25:31,595 that weird feeling in your throat like a lump. 571 00:25:31,664 --> 00:25:33,256 And it was really emotional for me 572 00:25:33,325 --> 00:25:36,765 and I think that I really wanted to try. 573 00:25:36,834 --> 00:25:38,899 I think I really fell in love with the kitchen 574 00:25:38,968 --> 00:25:40,769 and the atmosphere. 575 00:25:42,400 --> 00:25:45,235 I think the biggest thing is commitment, right? 576 00:25:45,304 --> 00:25:49,140 If you're not ready to be committed 150%, 577 00:25:50,441 --> 00:25:53,848 then maybe you wanna wait because once you go restaurant, 578 00:25:53,917 --> 00:25:55,016 you can't go un-restaurant. 579 00:25:55,085 --> 00:25:58,622 It's like, you got to give it your all really. 580 00:26:09,702 --> 00:26:11,767 I grew up in an immigrant family. 581 00:26:11,836 --> 00:26:13,868 My parents are from South Korea. 582 00:26:13,937 --> 00:26:17,036 They came over here, had my sister and me and my brother. 583 00:26:17,105 --> 00:26:22,107 And they needed a work obviously to support the family. 584 00:26:23,243 --> 00:26:24,253 We were raised by our grandparents. 585 00:26:24,277 --> 00:26:26,782 My grandma is this phenomenal cook. 586 00:26:26,851 --> 00:26:29,015 She grew all of her own produce. 587 00:26:29,084 --> 00:26:32,348 So we had this huge garden in our backyard. 588 00:26:32,417 --> 00:26:36,825 And I remember growing up, that was my favorite thing, 589 00:26:36,894 --> 00:26:38,761 hanging around with grandma, 590 00:26:38,830 --> 00:26:42,259 watering the garden, picking all the produce 591 00:26:42,328 --> 00:26:43,997 and then using that produce 592 00:26:44,066 --> 00:26:45,966 to cook whatever she's gonna cook at home. 593 00:26:46,035 --> 00:26:49,035 She made everything from scratch like gochujang 594 00:26:49,104 --> 00:26:50,773 even soy sauce. 595 00:26:50,842 --> 00:26:53,237 Going to school, after that I would run home 596 00:26:53,306 --> 00:26:57,076 to eat kalbi and kimchi with my grandma and cook with her. 597 00:26:57,145 --> 00:27:00,442 And that was one of my favorite memories 598 00:27:00,511 --> 00:27:02,312 of my childhood. 599 00:27:02,381 --> 00:27:04,149 My sister, we're the Choi sisters. 600 00:27:06,385 --> 00:27:07,484 - The Choi sisters. - Yeah. 601 00:27:07,553 --> 00:27:08,968 - It's like a nickname that we had for a while. 602 00:27:08,992 --> 00:27:10,023 - For a long, yeah. 603 00:27:10,092 --> 00:27:11,354 - Are you super close? 604 00:27:11,423 --> 00:27:13,356 - Super, super close, definitely. 605 00:27:13,425 --> 00:27:14,776 - People think it's a little weird 606 00:27:14,800 --> 00:27:16,700 'cause we're too close. 607 00:27:16,769 --> 00:27:17,901 - In my life, 608 00:27:17,970 --> 00:27:21,034 my grandfather was kind of like the stand-in dad 609 00:27:21,103 --> 00:27:24,906 so I understand your bond with your grandmother especially. 610 00:27:24,975 --> 00:27:29,042 - She really taught me sort of how to love food. 611 00:27:29,111 --> 00:27:31,440 It's not like she taught me step-by-step 612 00:27:31,509 --> 00:27:32,980 how to make certain dishes. 613 00:27:33,049 --> 00:27:34,081 You know what I mean? 614 00:27:34,150 --> 00:27:36,819 It was more so her philosophy of cooking 615 00:27:36,888 --> 00:27:39,789 and why you should cook for people 616 00:27:39,858 --> 00:27:43,991 and how to show people that you care through food. 617 00:27:44,060 --> 00:27:45,060 - Ready? 618 00:28:11,318 --> 00:28:13,955 - Our family motto is love is patient 619 00:28:14,024 --> 00:28:16,089 and she's the one who established that 620 00:28:16,158 --> 00:28:17,893 and it's from the Bible. 621 00:28:17,962 --> 00:28:21,094 It's very inspiring and that's what we live by. 622 00:28:23,099 --> 00:28:25,769 - But there was one period of my childhood 623 00:28:25,838 --> 00:28:29,300 where my parents literally plucked me out of school, 624 00:28:29,369 --> 00:28:33,172 put me in a foreign school in South Korea. 625 00:28:33,241 --> 00:28:34,241 It was really difficult, 626 00:28:34,275 --> 00:28:35,619 but it was such an impactful time. 627 00:28:35,643 --> 00:28:40,278 Going back to sort of the roots being around this culture, 628 00:28:40,347 --> 00:28:42,511 it made me appreciate it a lot more. 629 00:28:42,580 --> 00:28:43,846 I remember the food. 630 00:28:43,915 --> 00:28:47,549 I remember the people, the kids that I hung out with 631 00:28:47,618 --> 00:28:50,453 and it was very inspirational for me. 632 00:28:50,522 --> 00:28:52,488 I went to school up until sixth grade 633 00:28:52,557 --> 00:28:53,701 and then my parents brought me back. 634 00:28:53,725 --> 00:28:56,558 I started working in a restaurant when I was 14 635 00:28:56,627 --> 00:28:59,803 at a Korean Japanese restaurant, really small. 636 00:28:59,872 --> 00:29:03,334 So I would run to work and work till midnight 637 00:29:03,403 --> 00:29:05,270 and then go back to school the next day. 638 00:29:05,339 --> 00:29:07,976 When I went to college and graduated from college, 639 00:29:08,045 --> 00:29:10,077 I've always had restaurant jobs. 640 00:29:10,146 --> 00:29:12,948 I was falling in love with it without knowing 641 00:29:13,017 --> 00:29:14,818 that I was falling in love with it. 642 00:29:15,954 --> 00:29:17,546 - Esther would find herself working 643 00:29:17,615 --> 00:29:20,483 amongst the biggest names in food television. 644 00:29:20,552 --> 00:29:25,059 - Honestly, Food Network was such a special time for me. 645 00:29:25,128 --> 00:29:27,490 Position that I chose was more like working 646 00:29:27,559 --> 00:29:31,494 with all of the top chefs, working on "Iron chef" 647 00:29:31,563 --> 00:29:34,101 and being probably one of the most powerful people 648 00:29:34,170 --> 00:29:36,136 on the team because literally, 649 00:29:36,205 --> 00:29:38,435 I was the one buying every single ingredient 650 00:29:38,504 --> 00:29:41,306 for all the chefs, the whole kitchen, 651 00:29:41,375 --> 00:29:43,044 sourcing it from all over the world, 652 00:29:43,113 --> 00:29:45,244 dealing with vendors, purveyors. 653 00:29:45,313 --> 00:29:47,279 It's like, if I didn't have that position 654 00:29:47,348 --> 00:29:51,052 at the Food Network, I probably wouldn't know 655 00:29:51,121 --> 00:29:53,285 how to do half the shit that I do now. 656 00:29:53,354 --> 00:29:56,420 Growing up watching these chefs on television, 657 00:29:56,489 --> 00:29:58,257 seeing what they do, it's amazing. 658 00:29:58,326 --> 00:30:00,127 So it was always kind of there 659 00:30:00,196 --> 00:30:02,492 that I knew I wanted to have my own place. 660 00:30:02,561 --> 00:30:03,894 And we came up with this concept 661 00:30:03,962 --> 00:30:09,037 of Korean ramen because ramen at the time was on the rise. 662 00:30:10,338 --> 00:30:12,052 I remember the day because it was New Year's Day, 663 00:30:12,076 --> 00:30:15,142 January 1st of 2014, they called me 664 00:30:15,211 --> 00:30:17,309 and told me that they're gonna give me this space. 665 00:30:17,378 --> 00:30:20,015 And then that's when the real scare, 666 00:30:20,084 --> 00:30:21,577 real fear started. 667 00:30:21,646 --> 00:30:24,415 Three weeks before I was supposed to open, 668 00:30:24,484 --> 00:30:27,319 the one person that I hired quit on me 669 00:30:27,388 --> 00:30:29,189 and then I had literally no staff 670 00:30:29,258 --> 00:30:31,224 and I was supposed to open in three weeks. 671 00:30:31,293 --> 00:30:35,294 My sister actually quit her job to join me 672 00:30:35,363 --> 00:30:36,363 and help me open this. 673 00:30:36,397 --> 00:30:38,396 She kind of like really came through 674 00:30:38,465 --> 00:30:41,300 and somehow we got through it and we did it. 675 00:30:41,369 --> 00:30:43,500 - One of Esther's culinary acquaintances 676 00:30:43,569 --> 00:30:46,635 is the incredible Chef Bao Bao. 677 00:30:46,704 --> 00:30:49,473 She joined us between lunch and dinner service. 678 00:30:49,542 --> 00:30:52,278 - I feel like it is a little bit intimidating 679 00:30:52,347 --> 00:30:54,280 in the beginning of course, 680 00:30:54,349 --> 00:30:59,318 but it's just about knowing who you are and just embracing 681 00:31:00,421 --> 00:31:02,057 that you are the female in the kitchen 682 00:31:02,126 --> 00:31:03,927 and it's fine, it's okay. 683 00:31:03,996 --> 00:31:05,654 There's different skills that you can use 684 00:31:05,723 --> 00:31:07,931 as a female as opposed to male. 685 00:31:08,000 --> 00:31:11,935 And honestly, I really don't even like to discriminate like, 686 00:31:12,004 --> 00:31:13,464 "Oh, that person's a female." 687 00:31:13,533 --> 00:31:16,973 And my kitchen, I would say it's very 50/50. 688 00:31:17,042 --> 00:31:19,668 Actually, more women work in my kitchen than men. 689 00:31:19,737 --> 00:31:20,737 - Mine too. 690 00:31:20,771 --> 00:31:21,848 - It just happens to be like that. 691 00:31:21,872 --> 00:31:23,016 - Do you think that because you're women, 692 00:31:23,040 --> 00:31:25,613 you attract more women to work in your kitchen? 693 00:31:25,682 --> 00:31:30,085 - Yes, and also a background story also attach those people 694 00:31:30,154 --> 00:31:32,956 to come in because they also believe in themselves 695 00:31:33,025 --> 00:31:34,320 that why can't I? 696 00:31:34,389 --> 00:31:36,619 If male can do it, why can't I? 697 00:31:36,688 --> 00:31:38,621 I just wanna show the skill 698 00:31:38,690 --> 00:31:42,295 and trying to prove that they can do it too. 699 00:31:42,364 --> 00:31:47,102 So, I mean in Asia, most of family, 700 00:31:47,171 --> 00:31:50,138 the female will be the best cook in the family. 701 00:31:51,439 --> 00:31:55,242 We don't see that many males cook in our hometown, 702 00:31:55,311 --> 00:31:57,046 I mean in our country. 703 00:31:57,115 --> 00:32:00,115 But just when I moved here to this country, 704 00:32:00,184 --> 00:32:01,479 I see so many male chefs 705 00:32:01,548 --> 00:32:03,052 and I was like, "Wow!" 706 00:32:03,121 --> 00:32:04,165 - Where's all the females? 707 00:32:04,189 --> 00:32:05,648 - Yeah, where's all the females? 708 00:32:07,059 --> 00:32:08,358 - As I continued hearing 709 00:32:08,427 --> 00:32:11,192 how each of these chefs found their passion for cooking, 710 00:32:11,261 --> 00:32:12,701 I had found out about a rising star 711 00:32:12,757 --> 00:32:15,229 in Harlem, Juliet Masters. 712 00:32:15,298 --> 00:32:18,628 So I drove to The Edge to hear her incredible journey. 713 00:32:18,697 --> 00:32:22,269 ♪ You look so lovable ♪ 714 00:32:22,338 --> 00:32:24,469 - This business would not exist without family 715 00:32:24,538 --> 00:32:27,241 and it's not just our immediate family, 716 00:32:27,310 --> 00:32:30,310 but it's the family that we have in the kitchen, 717 00:32:30,379 --> 00:32:32,411 all the people who work with us. 718 00:32:32,480 --> 00:32:35,612 We have people who have been with us from the beginning. 719 00:32:40,818 --> 00:32:43,290 And then we have the family of the neighborhood. 720 00:32:43,359 --> 00:32:45,556 We have a beautiful, lovely neighborhood. 721 00:32:45,625 --> 00:32:47,558 And we have a lot of people who walk by 722 00:32:47,627 --> 00:32:49,659 and stick their head in and say hi 723 00:32:49,728 --> 00:32:51,760 and know us when we come out. 724 00:32:51,829 --> 00:32:53,062 They look out for us. 725 00:32:53,130 --> 00:32:56,336 So the family includes obviously our immediate family, 726 00:32:56,405 --> 00:32:58,305 but it spreads out to our community. 727 00:32:58,374 --> 00:33:01,308 The people who have supported us who live down the block. 728 00:33:01,377 --> 00:33:05,510 Family is the backbone of this business. 729 00:33:09,616 --> 00:33:14,519 It trickles from Justine and Juliet, to Justine and Juliet, 730 00:33:14,588 --> 00:33:18,457 and mommy and daddy and son, and then to kitchen staff, 731 00:33:18,526 --> 00:33:21,262 and to floor staff and out into our community. 732 00:33:26,501 --> 00:33:27,763 We are Harlem. 733 00:33:28,668 --> 00:33:30,205 We've lived here for 20 years. 734 00:33:30,274 --> 00:33:31,470 We're from New York. 735 00:33:32,672 --> 00:33:34,242 So for us to open up this space, 736 00:33:34,311 --> 00:33:36,442 it's paying homage to the spirit 737 00:33:36,511 --> 00:33:39,742 of those who've come before us, but also to the fact 738 00:33:39,811 --> 00:33:42,481 that this the community demanded this space 739 00:33:42,550 --> 00:33:43,614 to be born as well. 740 00:33:45,850 --> 00:33:49,554 - The Edge sits on Edgecombe Avenue in Harlem. 741 00:33:49,623 --> 00:33:51,325 On Wednesdays, the restaurant is filled 742 00:33:51,394 --> 00:33:54,625 with subtle musical notes from jazz musicians, 743 00:33:54,694 --> 00:33:58,398 beautiful words of poets and others that are a reminder 744 00:33:58,467 --> 00:34:01,335 of the heritage that fills this space. 745 00:34:01,404 --> 00:34:03,238 On the roof of this building, 746 00:34:03,307 --> 00:34:07,275 notables such as Langston Hughes, Ethel Ray Nance, 747 00:34:07,344 --> 00:34:10,377 and Regina M. Anderson shared philosophies 748 00:34:10,446 --> 00:34:14,513 and literary art that lends to the history of Harlem. 749 00:34:14,582 --> 00:34:18,682 And now, it's home to two sisters whose close family ties 750 00:34:18,751 --> 00:34:20,783 were the right recipe to have what it takes 751 00:34:20,852 --> 00:34:22,785 to open this restaurant. 752 00:34:22,854 --> 00:34:25,128 Justine runs the front of the house 753 00:34:25,197 --> 00:34:27,460 and Juliet is the heart of the kitchen. 754 00:34:29,201 --> 00:34:31,695 - I always told Justine as her older sister I said, 755 00:34:31,764 --> 00:34:34,137 "One day we're gonna do something together." 756 00:34:35,636 --> 00:34:38,240 Life before the internet and phones and all that, 757 00:34:38,309 --> 00:34:39,604 there was a lot of pretend games 758 00:34:39,673 --> 00:34:40,939 so we pretended a lot. 759 00:34:41,008 --> 00:34:44,510 One of the things we pretended was having restaurants 760 00:34:44,579 --> 00:34:45,611 and serving people. 761 00:34:45,680 --> 00:34:48,481 We were the hostesses, would make menus 762 00:34:48,550 --> 00:34:51,550 and prepare grapefruit and serve to my parents 763 00:34:51,619 --> 00:34:52,852 with orange juice. 764 00:34:52,920 --> 00:34:55,851 We grew up as best friends. - Using our imagination. 765 00:34:55,920 --> 00:34:57,721 - And using our imagination. 766 00:34:57,790 --> 00:35:02,198 We have remained best friends throughout life. 767 00:35:02,267 --> 00:35:04,365 We're not identical, we're not twins 768 00:35:04,434 --> 00:35:07,830 although everyone asks us every day, "Are we twins?" 769 00:35:07,899 --> 00:35:09,898 - Juliet Masters discovered the flavors 770 00:35:09,967 --> 00:35:12,901 of her childhood living in three distinct regions 771 00:35:12,970 --> 00:35:14,036 of the world. 772 00:35:14,104 --> 00:35:17,378 - New York wasn't that easy where we lived 773 00:35:17,447 --> 00:35:18,546 and when we lived there. 774 00:35:18,615 --> 00:35:20,810 So they took one look at their surroundings, 775 00:35:20,879 --> 00:35:22,145 they were like, 776 00:35:22,214 --> 00:35:24,649 "let's take our daughters to Jamaica and let's live 777 00:35:25,620 --> 00:35:27,355 "in a tropical Island." 778 00:35:27,424 --> 00:35:30,853 And one of the jobs in Jamaica is as a chef or a helper. 779 00:35:30,922 --> 00:35:33,229 My parents didn't necessarily need a helper, 780 00:35:33,298 --> 00:35:35,594 but we had Becky as part of our family. 781 00:35:35,663 --> 00:35:36,762 She cooked for our family. 782 00:35:36,831 --> 00:35:39,400 And I was to go into the kitchen with Becky 783 00:35:39,469 --> 00:35:42,469 and watch how everything was from scratch. 784 00:35:42,538 --> 00:35:45,340 Things that you make in Jamaica like Johnny cakes 785 00:35:45,409 --> 00:35:47,210 and fried dumplings and festivals. 786 00:35:47,279 --> 00:35:48,784 She might've been one of the first people 787 00:35:48,808 --> 00:35:53,414 to start igniting the fires, that culinary desire 788 00:35:53,483 --> 00:35:54,682 that I was going down. 789 00:35:54,751 --> 00:35:58,485 In England, both of my aunts were entrepreneurs. 790 00:35:58,554 --> 00:36:01,818 I have examples, living examples of people doing this. 791 00:36:03,295 --> 00:36:05,558 I had my son, I was in my twenties. 792 00:36:05,627 --> 00:36:10,233 I was working full-time for music for Def Jam Records 793 00:36:10,302 --> 00:36:11,302 as an assistant. 794 00:36:11,369 --> 00:36:12,501 And then I had my son. 795 00:36:12,570 --> 00:36:13,714 They were like, "Okay, see you in six weeks." 796 00:36:13,738 --> 00:36:18,406 I was like, "Oh no, no way, no, not six weeks. 797 00:36:18,475 --> 00:36:21,607 "I will take care of my child rather than pay somebody else 798 00:36:21,676 --> 00:36:22,806 "and I'll figure it out." 799 00:36:22,875 --> 00:36:23,974 I got into catering 800 00:36:24,043 --> 00:36:26,777 because catering you got paid 20 bucks an hour 801 00:36:26,846 --> 00:36:27,856 and it was five hours shifts 802 00:36:27,880 --> 00:36:28,924 so it was something that I could do. 803 00:36:28,948 --> 00:36:32,453 Maybe I can go behind and start working 804 00:36:32,522 --> 00:36:33,522 in the back of the house. 805 00:36:33,556 --> 00:36:35,489 It was right then when I realized 806 00:36:35,558 --> 00:36:38,393 that I really liked the preparation of food. 807 00:36:38,462 --> 00:36:40,692 Researched the Natural Gourmet Institute. 808 00:36:40,761 --> 00:36:44,498 It began there and just grew very organically. 809 00:36:50,342 --> 00:36:54,838 - It wasn't a surprise to me that she chose this path. 810 00:36:54,907 --> 00:36:58,875 What is more surprising is how successful it quickly became. 811 00:36:58,944 --> 00:37:01,009 - I think Juliet was able to do it 812 00:37:01,078 --> 00:37:03,682 because Justine was able to say, 813 00:37:03,751 --> 00:37:04,751 "If you don't do it now, 814 00:37:04,819 --> 00:37:07,290 "it may never be there for you again." 815 00:37:07,359 --> 00:37:10,623 - Either you take this or you walk by this every day 816 00:37:10,692 --> 00:37:12,053 and pissed off that you didn't 817 00:37:12,122 --> 00:37:14,594 because you're gonna be living upstairs. 818 00:37:18,634 --> 00:37:21,799 And I was like, "Oh shit, I better put a menu together." 819 00:37:22,935 --> 00:37:23,700 No, I'm serious. 820 00:37:23,769 --> 00:37:25,102 Basically, we broke it down. 821 00:37:25,171 --> 00:37:28,641 We can do Jamaica, we can do England and we can do New York. 822 00:37:28,710 --> 00:37:30,750 And let's pick a few things from those three places 823 00:37:30,778 --> 00:37:31,944 and that'll be the menu. 824 00:37:32,013 --> 00:37:33,976 - This is the type of space that when you see it, 825 00:37:34,045 --> 00:37:36,319 it demanded to be born. 826 00:37:36,388 --> 00:37:39,520 It is very in line with our personalities. 827 00:37:39,589 --> 00:37:41,016 It's off the beaten path. 828 00:37:41,085 --> 00:37:43,953 It's intimate, it's cozy, it's warm 829 00:37:44,022 --> 00:37:47,396 'cause Juliet and I definitely didn't have a business plan 830 00:37:47,465 --> 00:37:48,805 and definitely didn't have any money. 831 00:37:48,829 --> 00:37:51,334 There was no option to fail here. 832 00:37:51,403 --> 00:37:52,602 - As a woman, 833 00:37:52,671 --> 00:37:56,339 you have maybe a few extra layers to push through 834 00:37:56,408 --> 00:37:57,736 to get to where you're going. 835 00:37:57,805 --> 00:38:00,970 You can't be afraid to do the heavy lifting 836 00:38:01,039 --> 00:38:02,103 and the dirty work. 837 00:38:02,172 --> 00:38:05,876 You can't stay in the box. 838 00:38:05,945 --> 00:38:09,682 You have to be able to do whatever it takes. 839 00:38:09,751 --> 00:38:11,062 - You have to pay attention as a woman. 840 00:38:11,086 --> 00:38:12,430 - You have to pay attention to the details. 841 00:38:12,454 --> 00:38:15,017 - You have to know everybody's position in your business 842 00:38:15,086 --> 00:38:18,361 so that if they're not there, you can do their job 843 00:38:18,430 --> 00:38:21,089 or you know that if they're doing their job well or not. 844 00:38:21,158 --> 00:38:24,664 It's having to maybe even be more sharper 845 00:38:24,733 --> 00:38:25,863 because you're a woman. 846 00:38:28,506 --> 00:38:31,440 - We have a kitchen that is all male. 847 00:38:32,906 --> 00:38:35,543 Sometimes as a woman, when you are the boss, 848 00:38:35,612 --> 00:38:39,008 you have to work harder to earn your respect. 849 00:38:40,111 --> 00:38:42,814 - To assert yourself as the boss. 850 00:38:42,883 --> 00:38:46,752 To just do what I say please. 851 00:38:46,821 --> 00:38:47,963 - People feel they have more leeway 852 00:38:47,987 --> 00:38:49,557 with you when you're a woman. 853 00:38:50,927 --> 00:38:53,660 There are more excuses or there's more of a conversation 854 00:38:53,729 --> 00:38:54,925 than there needs to be. 855 00:38:54,994 --> 00:38:58,599 And I feel as women, we're required 856 00:38:58,668 --> 00:39:03,604 to engage our masculine energy in order to be the boss. 857 00:39:04,872 --> 00:39:08,411 So it's important as a woman to do that, 858 00:39:08,480 --> 00:39:10,072 but then to also find the balance 859 00:39:11,109 --> 00:39:12,153 to do things that are feminine 860 00:39:12,177 --> 00:39:14,978 so that you're balancing those energies. 861 00:39:15,047 --> 00:39:16,113 - As a chef, 862 00:39:16,181 --> 00:39:17,592 I'm aware that opportunities come knocking 863 00:39:17,616 --> 00:39:21,688 and you have to have a certain toughness to answer the call. 864 00:39:21,757 --> 00:39:23,822 As Hillary Sterling got opportunities, 865 00:39:23,891 --> 00:39:25,692 not only did she answer them, 866 00:39:25,761 --> 00:39:27,826 but she also rewrote the conversation 867 00:39:27,895 --> 00:39:29,795 on what it is to be the best. 868 00:39:33,868 --> 00:39:36,802 - Food is about passion and it's supposed to be fun. 869 00:39:36,871 --> 00:39:39,167 And this is what we do for living and we chose it. 870 00:39:39,236 --> 00:39:40,335 It didn't choose us. 871 00:39:40,404 --> 00:39:42,841 We actually went out and sought this career 872 00:39:42,910 --> 00:39:45,679 in this industry and just don't give up. 873 00:39:45,748 --> 00:39:47,714 All right, let's go, I need 17 cacio. 874 00:39:49,048 --> 00:39:53,456 One half, one no cheese, one no butter, one no pepper. 875 00:39:54,559 --> 00:39:58,626 We do the same thing every day give or take. 876 00:39:58,695 --> 00:40:01,123 A vegetable, a protein, a person. 877 00:40:01,192 --> 00:40:04,632 We need four tomato pizzas, one pepperoni, 878 00:40:04,701 --> 00:40:06,898 and one rapini please. 879 00:40:06,967 --> 00:40:08,636 I got two more carrots guys. 880 00:40:08,705 --> 00:40:09,946 If you want it, you can have it. 881 00:40:09,970 --> 00:40:11,804 You just cannot give up. 882 00:40:11,873 --> 00:40:13,039 And it doesn't matter 883 00:40:13,108 --> 00:40:14,908 if you cry in the walk-in 'cause everyone has 884 00:40:14,942 --> 00:40:16,171 and everyone does it. 885 00:40:16,240 --> 00:40:18,514 Guys and girls don't be fooled, 886 00:40:18,583 --> 00:40:19,382 just don't give up. 887 00:40:19,451 --> 00:40:21,616 Honestly, I stand by that 100% 888 00:40:21,685 --> 00:40:24,751 and allow you to be nurtured. 889 00:40:24,820 --> 00:40:27,820 Ask questions and don't just assume. 890 00:40:27,889 --> 00:40:29,558 Even if I'm crazy some days, 891 00:40:31,563 --> 00:40:33,694 if you ask me a question, I'm always gonna stop 892 00:40:33,763 --> 00:40:36,829 and give you some long answer or short answer 893 00:40:36,898 --> 00:40:39,898 or I'm gonna help you through your day. 894 00:40:39,967 --> 00:40:40,833 More carrots please. 895 00:40:40,902 --> 00:40:41,902 Get it in the pan. 896 00:40:43,300 --> 00:40:44,903 Let's go, I need one more onions Daniel 897 00:40:44,972 --> 00:40:46,069 in the corner, come on. 898 00:40:47,172 --> 00:40:49,138 We don't let people fail in this kitchen. 899 00:40:49,207 --> 00:40:51,778 There's no heroes we'd like to say. 900 00:40:51,847 --> 00:40:53,080 You're going down, 901 00:40:53,148 --> 00:40:55,210 I'll be the first person on the line to dig you out 902 00:40:56,115 --> 00:40:57,619 as long as you tried. 903 00:40:57,688 --> 00:40:59,819 You guys fire seven more cocktail. 904 00:40:59,888 --> 00:41:01,656 Fire three chicken. 905 00:41:01,725 --> 00:41:03,922 Fire two tomato pizzas please. 906 00:41:03,991 --> 00:41:06,859 This job doesn't end when the restaurant closes, 907 00:41:06,928 --> 00:41:08,227 it never ends. 908 00:41:08,296 --> 00:41:10,929 There's constant, constant studying that needs to get done. 909 00:41:10,998 --> 00:41:12,297 And I think the smarter you are 910 00:41:12,366 --> 00:41:15,538 and the more comfortable you are with food and knowledge 911 00:41:15,607 --> 00:41:18,838 and cooking principles, you can go wherever you wanna go, 912 00:41:18,907 --> 00:41:20,268 just don't give up. 913 00:41:20,337 --> 00:41:21,973 Good morning to you, welcome. 914 00:41:22,042 --> 00:41:24,976 - We're on our way to Vic's down in Noho. 915 00:41:26,112 --> 00:41:28,111 Tell me what you love about this neighborhood? 916 00:41:28,180 --> 00:41:29,424 - I think this neighborhood still has a little bit 917 00:41:29,448 --> 00:41:33,622 of realness to it especially on Bowery over here, 918 00:41:33,691 --> 00:41:35,723 but there's such a community. 919 00:41:35,792 --> 00:41:38,253 There's seven to eight to nine restaurants 920 00:41:38,322 --> 00:41:41,157 in literally half a block radius. 921 00:41:41,226 --> 00:41:42,895 And it's really nice. 922 00:41:42,964 --> 00:41:44,241 We see each other in the morning. 923 00:41:44,265 --> 00:41:46,965 We say hi, we all get coffee at each other's places 924 00:41:47,034 --> 00:41:49,330 and it's a little family oriented block. 925 00:41:49,399 --> 00:41:51,002 Great Jones is only two blocks long. 926 00:41:51,071 --> 00:41:52,168 Hey Art. - Hello. 927 00:41:53,304 --> 00:41:54,103 - Look at this. - Hi. 928 00:41:54,172 --> 00:41:54,970 - You have quite a bounty today. 929 00:41:55,039 --> 00:41:56,942 - Yeah, what do you have here? 930 00:41:57,011 --> 00:41:58,011 - What do we got? 931 00:41:58,079 --> 00:41:59,648 - We got all this 50 pounds of food. 932 00:41:59,717 --> 00:42:00,781 - Yeah sorry, my bad. 933 00:42:01,917 --> 00:42:04,114 So we got the snap peas today from Phillips. 934 00:42:04,183 --> 00:42:06,985 I think the most important thing is grazing at the market. 935 00:42:07,054 --> 00:42:08,086 You gotta eat, right? 936 00:42:08,155 --> 00:42:10,186 But, we have such an amazing opportunity 937 00:42:10,255 --> 00:42:12,991 to actually taste food before we buy it. 938 00:42:13,060 --> 00:42:14,326 So we have a whole market. 939 00:42:14,395 --> 00:42:16,402 I mean, this stuff is all ordered and we go get it, 940 00:42:16,426 --> 00:42:17,670 but if we don't go to the markets 941 00:42:17,694 --> 00:42:21,637 and actually taste the food, what say we get home 942 00:42:21,706 --> 00:42:22,935 and these taste like nothing? 943 00:42:23,004 --> 00:42:24,410 - Yeah. - Sometimes I do feel guilty 944 00:42:24,434 --> 00:42:25,474 if you're grazing too much 945 00:42:25,502 --> 00:42:28,270 of the market like having breakfast. 946 00:42:28,339 --> 00:42:29,516 - Thank you guys, see you later. 947 00:42:29,540 --> 00:42:31,417 - Especially with berry season, you can get away 948 00:42:31,441 --> 00:42:32,549 with so many. 949 00:42:33,952 --> 00:42:36,685 - The Jewish delis in Sheepshead Bay she frequented 950 00:42:36,754 --> 00:42:39,215 as a child are a far cry 951 00:42:39,284 --> 00:42:42,218 from the incredible Italian dishes she delivers today. 952 00:42:42,287 --> 00:42:46,222 - I grew up in Brooklyn, two parents, both working. 953 00:42:46,291 --> 00:42:48,961 We did have the pleasure of having my grandparents living 954 00:42:49,030 --> 00:42:50,062 in the same house. 955 00:42:50,131 --> 00:42:52,327 So they came back and forth from Florida. 956 00:42:52,396 --> 00:42:54,769 So six months of the year, the food was different. 957 00:42:54,838 --> 00:42:58,168 My mom wasn't that into reinventing the wheel, 958 00:42:58,237 --> 00:43:00,841 needless to say in food that's the nice way of saying it 959 00:43:00,910 --> 00:43:02,678 so we ate a lot of takeout. 960 00:43:02,747 --> 00:43:04,384 We ate a lot of cream cheese sandwiches. 961 00:43:04,408 --> 00:43:06,023 This is like this one thing that haunts me still 962 00:43:06,047 --> 00:43:08,651 to this day, but that's all my parents knew. 963 00:43:08,720 --> 00:43:10,258 It's still the same neighborhood still 964 00:43:10,282 --> 00:43:11,282 to this day in Brooklyn. 965 00:43:11,316 --> 00:43:13,051 There's no fine dining out there. 966 00:43:13,120 --> 00:43:14,888 There's nothing, but what is still there. 967 00:43:14,957 --> 00:43:17,385 So I think it was more of like this interest. 968 00:43:17,454 --> 00:43:19,354 My grandparents would come up from Florida 969 00:43:19,423 --> 00:43:21,730 and then the food would be different. 970 00:43:21,799 --> 00:43:23,963 The smells in the house would change every day 971 00:43:24,032 --> 00:43:25,272 and you'd come home from school 972 00:43:25,300 --> 00:43:27,308 and there was something that I'd never seen before, 973 00:43:27,332 --> 00:43:28,332 I'd never gotten to eat. 974 00:43:28,366 --> 00:43:30,673 But those smells, it's the smells. 975 00:43:30,742 --> 00:43:31,986 It's my grandmother's stuffed cabbage. 976 00:43:32,010 --> 00:43:34,677 It's all those things that kind of intrigued me. 977 00:43:34,746 --> 00:43:36,152 This is a hot commodity in the kitchen. 978 00:43:36,176 --> 00:43:38,142 Basil, we use so much basil in the kitchen 979 00:43:38,211 --> 00:43:40,045 that as soon as it comes in, 980 00:43:40,114 --> 00:43:41,816 the cooks that need it the most, 981 00:43:41,885 --> 00:43:45,149 they will literally grab it, hide it and protect it. 982 00:43:45,218 --> 00:43:47,448 - While vacationers and the New York elite 983 00:43:47,517 --> 00:43:50,825 sipped their cocktails on the beaches of Montauk, 984 00:43:50,894 --> 00:43:53,696 in her teenage years, Hillary Sterling worked 985 00:43:53,765 --> 00:43:57,832 in the front of the house at two busy Long Island hotspots. 986 00:43:57,901 --> 00:44:00,395 - One year I worked in a breakfast spot in the hotels 987 00:44:00,464 --> 00:44:02,232 on the beach so it was totally different. 988 00:44:02,301 --> 00:44:04,938 And one summer I worked in an Irish pub called O'Murphy's. 989 00:44:05,007 --> 00:44:06,017 That was a family run restaurant 990 00:44:06,041 --> 00:44:07,348 and I realized that I do love working 991 00:44:07,372 --> 00:44:08,638 in smaller environments. 992 00:44:08,707 --> 00:44:11,307 After college, I worked at a bar across from Wrigley 993 00:44:11,376 --> 00:44:14,079 which I have to say was probably one of my more fun summers. 994 00:44:14,148 --> 00:44:15,850 If you know anything about Cubs fans, 995 00:44:15,919 --> 00:44:17,819 they've never won until a couple of years ago 996 00:44:17,888 --> 00:44:20,723 so they drank a lot and they had a lot of fun. 997 00:44:20,792 --> 00:44:23,253 - Hillary had banked up enough money to travel. 998 00:44:23,322 --> 00:44:25,827 Along the way, she would discover a dish 999 00:44:25,896 --> 00:44:28,896 that would forever follow her Cacio e Pepe. 1000 00:44:28,965 --> 00:44:30,778 - I was traveling with a friend from culinary school 1001 00:44:30,802 --> 00:44:32,966 and he's like, "I really wanna go to Milan." 1002 00:44:33,035 --> 00:44:34,935 I'm like, "Amazing, I've never been to Italy. 1003 00:44:35,004 --> 00:44:37,135 "I have money still, let's go." 1004 00:44:37,204 --> 00:44:38,248 And as we're getting to the airport, 1005 00:44:38,272 --> 00:44:40,402 he tells me he doesn't have any money. 1006 00:44:41,813 --> 00:44:42,879 So I got on the plane. 1007 00:44:42,947 --> 00:44:46,078 I found myself traveling by myself for months 1008 00:44:46,147 --> 00:44:46,946 and I loved it. 1009 00:44:47,015 --> 00:44:48,158 The next day I went and looked 1010 00:44:48,182 --> 00:44:50,280 at the Duomo and I had no one to look at it 1011 00:44:50,349 --> 00:44:51,458 and be like, "Oh my God, this is amazing." 1012 00:44:51,482 --> 00:44:52,681 And I was like, 1013 00:44:52,750 --> 00:44:54,362 "Well, I don't need anybody to say, it's amazing." 1014 00:44:54,386 --> 00:44:55,989 I was like, "This is amazing." 1015 00:44:56,058 --> 00:44:57,155 I met some people. 1016 00:44:57,224 --> 00:44:58,926 I found the hostel chain. 1017 00:44:58,995 --> 00:45:01,423 I went to Rome, I went to Sorento, I went to Naples. 1018 00:45:01,492 --> 00:45:02,891 I just kept going. 1019 00:45:02,960 --> 00:45:07,165 I started learning about Italian, real Roman classic food. 1020 00:45:07,234 --> 00:45:09,904 The trifecta as we call it in the kitchen, 1021 00:45:09,973 --> 00:45:12,071 cacio e pepe, amatriciana and carbonara. 1022 00:45:12,140 --> 00:45:13,417 And then I started eating them never knowing 1023 00:45:13,441 --> 00:45:17,846 that this is gonna follow me around forever, forever. 1024 00:45:17,915 --> 00:45:20,849 My lifelong passion is pasta with pepper. 1025 00:45:20,918 --> 00:45:23,181 In my memory, this was the beginning of my path 1026 00:45:23,250 --> 00:45:25,447 of falling in love with Italian food. 1027 00:45:25,516 --> 00:45:30,452 There is a code of cacio e pepe, no butter, no cream 1028 00:45:31,896 --> 00:45:34,159 and usually there's no parm either, 1029 00:45:34,228 --> 00:45:36,733 but we break some rules here. 1030 00:45:40,905 --> 00:45:42,271 - Hillary's career was launched 1031 00:45:42,340 --> 00:45:47,403 by working for two iron chefs, Bobby Flay and Mario Batali. 1032 00:45:49,441 --> 00:45:51,176 - I was actually super lost. 1033 00:45:51,245 --> 00:45:53,244 I remember I was sleeping on my sister's couch 1034 00:45:53,313 --> 00:45:54,313 on Thompson street. 1035 00:45:54,347 --> 00:45:56,280 I had literally no idea what to do 1036 00:45:56,349 --> 00:45:57,626 so I was answering Craigslist ads. 1037 00:45:57,650 --> 00:46:01,186 Christine Sanchez happened to actually call me back 1038 00:46:01,255 --> 00:46:04,090 and she took a shot on me at Mesa grill. 1039 00:46:04,159 --> 00:46:07,159 And the chef was out of town so he kind of showed up 1040 00:46:07,228 --> 00:46:10,965 and I'm just like in his kitchen not having a clue 1041 00:46:11,034 --> 00:46:12,233 what I was doing. 1042 00:46:12,302 --> 00:46:14,145 Bobby walks in the kitchen, tastes that cream sauce 1043 00:46:14,169 --> 00:46:15,233 and it was totally wrong. 1044 00:46:15,302 --> 00:46:16,465 It was roasted cream sauce. 1045 00:46:16,534 --> 00:46:17,466 I don't know how it was wrong. 1046 00:46:17,535 --> 00:46:18,644 And he's like, "Did you taste it?" 1047 00:46:18,668 --> 00:46:20,502 And I said, "No." 1048 00:46:20,571 --> 00:46:22,504 I don't know why I didn't taste it. 1049 00:46:22,573 --> 00:46:25,441 And he looks at me and he goes, "Never assume." 1050 00:46:26,577 --> 00:46:27,176 And then walked out of the kitchen. 1051 00:46:27,244 --> 00:46:28,477 He wasn't pleased. 1052 00:46:28,546 --> 00:46:31,381 And I still do line checks to this day, every day. 1053 00:46:31,450 --> 00:46:34,021 It was a really a rude awakening 1054 00:46:34,090 --> 00:46:37,387 of what New York restaurants were going to be like 1055 00:46:37,456 --> 00:46:40,423 at that time until you figured it out. 1056 00:46:40,492 --> 00:46:42,206 It was honestly still one of my favorite jobs. 1057 00:46:42,230 --> 00:46:45,263 It taught me a lot about getting along 1058 00:46:45,332 --> 00:46:47,496 with the staff front and back, being together, 1059 00:46:47,565 --> 00:46:48,798 being in a family. 1060 00:46:48,866 --> 00:46:52,600 It was a restaurant I really truly loved working in. 1061 00:46:52,669 --> 00:46:53,968 After Bolo and Mesa land, 1062 00:46:54,037 --> 00:46:58,144 I went to Lupa for three years and kind of fell in love 1063 00:46:58,213 --> 00:46:59,512 with that Italian food. 1064 00:46:59,581 --> 00:47:03,886 It brought me back to my solo days of traveling in Italy. 1065 00:47:03,955 --> 00:47:04,854 - Ayesha Nurdjaja stopped by 1066 00:47:04,923 --> 00:47:07,285 to make some pizzas with Hillary. 1067 00:47:07,354 --> 00:47:10,585 Ayesha runs the Mediterranean inspired restaurant Shuka. 1068 00:47:10,654 --> 00:47:12,224 She is a fellow lady boss 1069 00:47:12,293 --> 00:47:14,655 and one of Hillary's most valued friends. 1070 00:47:14,724 --> 00:47:15,724 - When I first started, 1071 00:47:15,758 --> 00:47:18,296 I went to Lidia Bastianich at Felidia 1072 00:47:18,365 --> 00:47:19,375 which was an amazing experience. 1073 00:47:19,399 --> 00:47:21,596 She had been an inspiration to me. 1074 00:47:21,665 --> 00:47:22,464 - Through this experience, 1075 00:47:22,533 --> 00:47:24,599 we've found it pretty beautiful 1076 00:47:24,668 --> 00:47:28,570 that a lot of a lot of us support each other 1077 00:47:28,639 --> 00:47:30,979 through this kind of crazy thing that we do. 1078 00:47:32,313 --> 00:47:33,045 Are you surprised? 1079 00:47:33,114 --> 00:47:34,194 - I'm not surprised at all. 1080 00:47:34,248 --> 00:47:35,259 I think we should, I think we should more. 1081 00:47:35,283 --> 00:47:36,326 - A lot of times we'll go to events 1082 00:47:36,350 --> 00:47:38,414 and there are other female chefs there 1083 00:47:38,483 --> 00:47:40,099 and then we try our best introduce ourselves, 1084 00:47:40,123 --> 00:47:41,253 "Hi, my name is Aisha. 1085 00:47:41,322 --> 00:47:42,322 "This is Hillary." 1086 00:47:42,356 --> 00:47:44,223 And then some women are standoffish. 1087 00:47:44,292 --> 00:47:46,060 And I don't know if it's a competitive thing 1088 00:47:46,129 --> 00:47:49,459 'cause there's such few women in the culinary field, 1089 00:47:49,528 --> 00:47:50,638 but I think as the days go on 1090 00:47:50,662 --> 00:47:52,627 especially from this year moving forward, 1091 00:47:52,696 --> 00:47:55,267 there hopefully will be more of a support for each other. 1092 00:47:55,336 --> 00:47:57,269 - Another prominent restaurant entrepreneur 1093 00:47:57,338 --> 00:47:58,538 is facing claims of harassment 1094 00:47:58,606 --> 00:48:01,339 as more accusations emerge against Mario Batali. 1095 00:48:01,408 --> 00:48:04,177 - Mario Batali, the celebrity chef who has been accused 1096 00:48:04,246 --> 00:48:06,542 by at least nine women of sexual harassment. 1097 00:48:06,611 --> 00:48:09,116 - Mario Batali has been taken off the show 1098 00:48:09,185 --> 00:48:10,953 amid sexual harassment allegations. 1099 00:48:11,022 --> 00:48:13,648 - The culture of our society is changing. 1100 00:48:13,717 --> 00:48:17,025 Mario Batali is at the center of a major conversation 1101 00:48:17,094 --> 00:48:19,720 about bad behavior and abusive power. 1102 00:48:19,789 --> 00:48:22,624 I knew coming here that she had previously worked for him. 1103 00:48:22,693 --> 00:48:25,495 I wondered if she'd had a similar story. 1104 00:48:25,564 --> 00:48:27,299 - I don't have a bad word to say. 1105 00:48:29,172 --> 00:48:29,771 I'm a worker. 1106 00:48:29,839 --> 00:48:30,731 I put my head down. 1107 00:48:30,800 --> 00:48:31,941 I did my job. 1108 00:48:33,044 --> 00:48:35,010 It was an honor to work for these people 1109 00:48:35,079 --> 00:48:36,551 and during their time and to be allowed to work 1110 00:48:36,575 --> 00:48:39,542 in the restaurants and to cook the food. 1111 00:48:39,611 --> 00:48:41,643 I don't have any stories. 1112 00:48:41,712 --> 00:48:42,978 I know it's crazy. 1113 00:48:43,047 --> 00:48:44,757 I don't know how I've gotten through all these years, 1114 00:48:44,781 --> 00:48:46,549 but I've made it. 1115 00:48:54,131 --> 00:48:57,065 I'm sure some of the behavior there is valid 1116 00:48:57,134 --> 00:48:58,210 in those people that felt that way. 1117 00:48:58,234 --> 00:48:59,533 They obviously felt that way 1118 00:48:59,602 --> 00:49:03,005 and they were obviously treated in a way that wasn't okay. 1119 00:49:03,074 --> 00:49:05,667 I happened to get out unscathed in this manner, 1120 00:49:05,736 --> 00:49:08,439 but I feel for them if that's how they felt. 1121 00:49:08,508 --> 00:49:10,276 If you don't feel comfortable in your job 1122 00:49:10,345 --> 00:49:12,674 and that's how you feel, then it is our jobs as managers 1123 00:49:12,743 --> 00:49:16,513 and owners and chefs to help them feel comfortable. 1124 00:49:16,582 --> 00:49:19,087 No one should feel uncomfortable in their position. 1125 00:49:20,718 --> 00:49:24,158 - So the thing that I feel like I had to do 1126 00:49:24,227 --> 00:49:26,754 as a young female chef early on 1127 00:49:26,823 --> 00:49:29,262 was kind of develop a pretty thick skin. 1128 00:49:29,331 --> 00:49:32,793 I have been an out lesbian since I was, 1129 00:49:32,862 --> 00:49:35,037 I don't know, 20 or something like that. 1130 00:49:35,106 --> 00:49:36,405 And in the kitchens, 1131 00:49:36,474 --> 00:49:39,734 of course some guy might say something sort of obnoxious 1132 00:49:39,803 --> 00:49:41,682 and I'd be like, "Please, have you seen my girlfriend?" 1133 00:49:41,706 --> 00:49:44,178 Or I had a crude cut back then 1134 00:49:44,247 --> 00:49:46,048 and I just looked pretty tough. 1135 00:49:46,117 --> 00:49:47,183 I think I've pretty much 1136 00:49:47,251 --> 00:49:49,051 just had like a don't fuck with me attitude 1137 00:49:49,120 --> 00:49:50,353 or I will hurt you 1138 00:49:50,421 --> 00:49:52,989 and maybe that's why I took up sword fighting later. 1139 00:49:54,356 --> 00:49:55,455 Or I just was like, 1140 00:49:55,524 --> 00:49:56,668 "I don't have time for that kind of bullshit." 1141 00:49:56,692 --> 00:50:00,326 So I just never even let it come into play. 1142 00:50:00,395 --> 00:50:04,099 I so quickly became a manager and a boss. 1143 00:50:04,168 --> 00:50:06,596 For me, it was always like we're not gonna run any kind 1144 00:50:06,665 --> 00:50:07,762 of restaurant like that. 1145 00:50:07,831 --> 00:50:09,031 We're not gonna act like that. 1146 00:50:09,066 --> 00:50:11,469 We're not gonna do anything that's inappropriate 1147 00:50:11,538 --> 00:50:12,915 because we have so much work to do. 1148 00:50:12,939 --> 00:50:15,836 And I actually am friends with pretty much all these guys 1149 00:50:15,905 --> 00:50:17,244 that have gotten in trouble. 1150 00:50:17,313 --> 00:50:18,641 It's a really weird place to be 1151 00:50:18,710 --> 00:50:19,754 because it's like, "Well, wait a minute, 1152 00:50:19,778 --> 00:50:22,414 "I don't even know you guys like that, 1153 00:50:22,483 --> 00:50:23,724 "but then I thought you knew the difference 1154 00:50:23,748 --> 00:50:25,417 "between work and play?" 1155 00:50:25,486 --> 00:50:27,848 Because I've been at parties with Mario 1156 00:50:27,917 --> 00:50:30,323 where he hasn't been this piggy guy. 1157 00:50:30,392 --> 00:50:31,819 I'm having a hard time with the, 1158 00:50:31,888 --> 00:50:34,228 how could you guys not know the difference 1159 00:50:34,297 --> 00:50:35,530 between work and play? 1160 00:50:35,598 --> 00:50:37,759 And I wrote this piece about how it's so frustrating 1161 00:50:37,828 --> 00:50:39,596 because I've had employees like that 1162 00:50:39,665 --> 00:50:41,697 and I got rid of them pretty quickly 1163 00:50:41,766 --> 00:50:44,172 because I don't have time for that crap. 1164 00:50:44,241 --> 00:50:46,801 We have so much to do in our stage 1165 00:50:46,870 --> 00:50:47,914 to make the whole team stop 1166 00:50:47,938 --> 00:50:49,804 and have to get rid of that player now 1167 00:50:49,873 --> 00:50:53,115 because they said the wrong thing to the server. 1168 00:50:53,184 --> 00:50:54,428 I just wanna punch those people. 1169 00:50:54,452 --> 00:50:56,163 It's like, come on that's not what we're doing. 1170 00:50:56,187 --> 00:50:57,581 This is work. 1171 00:50:57,650 --> 00:50:59,550 And we call it work and we go to work. 1172 00:50:59,619 --> 00:51:02,850 - I think as a mom, one of my fears for Fatima 1173 00:51:02,919 --> 00:51:07,162 has been it's such a male oriented industry. 1174 00:51:07,231 --> 00:51:09,527 Fatima of course just got into it 1175 00:51:09,596 --> 00:51:12,299 because of the love and passion for cooking. 1176 00:51:12,368 --> 00:51:14,400 Once she went to culinary school 1177 00:51:14,469 --> 00:51:18,239 and she acquired all that knowledge and technique, 1178 00:51:18,308 --> 00:51:21,407 will others be able to take her work seriously 1179 00:51:21,476 --> 00:51:25,279 and appreciate what a creative chef she is 1180 00:51:25,348 --> 00:51:29,349 and that she can be just as skilled, just as fabulous 1181 00:51:29,418 --> 00:51:32,649 as any other male chef can? 1182 00:51:32,718 --> 00:51:37,192 - Obviously working in New York City and working at Patina, 1183 00:51:37,261 --> 00:51:41,691 everyone in management was all male and I wasn't, 1184 00:51:41,760 --> 00:51:42,826 and I was very young. 1185 00:51:42,894 --> 00:51:47,202 And to me, it kind of fortified the reasons 1186 00:51:47,271 --> 00:51:49,270 why I wanted to make sure 1187 00:51:49,339 --> 00:51:52,603 that I was equal to everybody over there 1188 00:51:52,672 --> 00:51:55,408 'cause in the back of my head, I was still so conscious 1189 00:51:55,477 --> 00:51:57,179 about maybe not belonging 1190 00:51:57,248 --> 00:52:02,151 and maybe not having the same qualifications 1191 00:52:03,452 --> 00:52:05,319 as my male counterparts. 1192 00:52:05,388 --> 00:52:06,914 But the truth is that if anything, 1193 00:52:06,983 --> 00:52:09,488 I probably was even more qualified than them. 1194 00:52:09,557 --> 00:52:11,523 - You have to be like one of the boys. 1195 00:52:11,592 --> 00:52:16,594 You have to be tough, whatever that means. 1196 00:52:17,763 --> 00:52:18,773 When I first started, I started at a restaurant 1197 00:52:18,797 --> 00:52:21,302 that was run by a woman 1198 00:52:21,371 --> 00:52:25,207 so I didn't feel that when I first started out. 1199 00:52:25,276 --> 00:52:30,278 I felt really supportive female run kitchen. 1200 00:52:31,414 --> 00:52:33,413 Then I moved on and there might only be one 1201 00:52:33,482 --> 00:52:38,253 or two other women and you have all of these young men 1202 00:52:39,587 --> 00:52:43,753 who are cooking on the line and they'll make comments. 1203 00:52:43,822 --> 00:52:46,624 I think some line cook once called me Barbie chef 1204 00:52:46,693 --> 00:52:49,231 or chef Barbie or something like that. 1205 00:52:49,300 --> 00:52:52,993 People have said to me, "Oh, you're too pretty to be a chef. 1206 00:52:53,062 --> 00:52:55,699 "You're too small to be a chef." 1207 00:52:55,768 --> 00:53:00,539 Then you have to work that much harder to prove yourself. 1208 00:53:00,608 --> 00:53:02,970 You're always gonna come across those cooks, 1209 00:53:03,039 --> 00:53:08,250 those chefs in this industry who think that you can't do it 1210 00:53:09,386 --> 00:53:10,185 because you're a girl and you can't do it 1211 00:53:10,254 --> 00:53:12,452 'cause you look a certain way. 1212 00:53:12,521 --> 00:53:16,786 I witnessed and I experienced people 1213 00:53:16,855 --> 00:53:21,857 who were the harassers not only not lose their job, 1214 00:53:22,729 --> 00:53:24,332 but not even really get a slap 1215 00:53:24,401 --> 00:53:26,334 on the wrist and get promoted. 1216 00:53:26,403 --> 00:53:30,338 There's no reason to have so much screaming going on 1217 00:53:30,407 --> 00:53:34,672 in the kitchen and so much aggressive, 1218 00:53:34,741 --> 00:53:38,511 just loud banging on countertops, 1219 00:53:38,580 --> 00:53:40,645 aggressively throwing plates. 1220 00:53:40,714 --> 00:53:44,550 If I don't have this job, I won't have another job. 1221 00:53:44,619 --> 00:53:46,816 Nobody will hire me because I'm such a bad chef. 1222 00:53:46,885 --> 00:53:48,752 I'm such a bad pastry chef. 1223 00:53:48,821 --> 00:53:52,723 Yeah, I felt like my whole identity is wrapped up in food. 1224 00:53:52,792 --> 00:53:57,794 My whole identity is wrapped up in baking and cooking 1225 00:53:58,732 --> 00:54:00,065 for my whole entire life. 1226 00:54:00,133 --> 00:54:03,899 And all of a sudden it was like, "Wow, I'm crap at this." 1227 00:54:08,379 --> 00:54:12,578 That sucks, it sucks. 1228 00:54:14,044 --> 00:54:16,483 It's really hard to stand up for yourself 1229 00:54:16,552 --> 00:54:19,750 and I definitely didn't. 1230 00:54:19,819 --> 00:54:20,863 I didn't stand up for myself. 1231 00:54:20,887 --> 00:54:21,819 I didn't stand up for other people. 1232 00:54:21,888 --> 00:54:24,689 I have a ton of regrets about that. 1233 00:54:24,758 --> 00:54:26,658 I've somehow come out of all of this 1234 00:54:26,727 --> 00:54:28,792 and I have this platform. 1235 00:54:28,861 --> 00:54:32,598 And so now I have this responsibility 1236 00:54:32,667 --> 00:54:36,800 to start to speak about some of this stuff. 1237 00:54:36,869 --> 00:54:41,640 And I think that that's the way we're gonna make it better 1238 00:54:41,709 --> 00:54:44,005 because this industry should be really positive. 1239 00:54:44,074 --> 00:54:47,613 - It's just the culture that a kitchen brings 1240 00:54:47,682 --> 00:54:48,977 that it's just like very macho 1241 00:54:49,046 --> 00:54:50,814 and everyone's always whistling, 1242 00:54:52,456 --> 00:54:54,983 but it's also like for me, I was always just like, 1243 00:54:55,052 --> 00:54:57,557 "Well, you need to be able to handle that too." 1244 00:54:58,891 --> 00:55:02,661 - I used to just stand there and always say, 1245 00:55:02,730 --> 00:55:03,963 "Yes chef, yes chef." 1246 00:55:04,031 --> 00:55:07,501 Whatever they said, it doesn't matter how bad it is. 1247 00:55:07,570 --> 00:55:11,505 They throwing dish in your face 1248 00:55:11,574 --> 00:55:12,584 and then you always have to say yes chef 1249 00:55:12,608 --> 00:55:14,871 because you don't wanna lose the job. 1250 00:55:14,940 --> 00:55:16,852 - I think it's a really interesting point that you bring up 1251 00:55:16,876 --> 00:55:19,909 where you kind of have to accept this culture 1252 00:55:19,978 --> 00:55:23,385 in a kitchen where men are catcalling you 1253 00:55:23,454 --> 00:55:24,787 and whistling at you. 1254 00:55:24,855 --> 00:55:25,899 And at the end of the night, you get out of your chef's coat 1255 00:55:25,923 --> 00:55:27,917 and you put on a cute dress to get out 1256 00:55:27,986 --> 00:55:28,785 and go and have some drinks. 1257 00:55:28,854 --> 00:55:29,586 And everybody's like. 1258 00:55:29,654 --> 00:55:30,587 - You mean normal looking? 1259 00:55:30,655 --> 00:55:33,626 - Yeah, yeah, I mean, we are women. 1260 00:55:33,695 --> 00:55:36,926 We're allowed to be pretty in dresses with makeup on 1261 00:55:36,995 --> 00:55:38,194 and men just need to accept 1262 00:55:38,263 --> 00:55:40,732 that we could still be bad-asses in the kitchen. 1263 00:55:40,801 --> 00:55:43,834 - Okay so, the biggest thing is for me, 1264 00:55:43,903 --> 00:55:47,673 I remember walking into any kitchen that I work especially 1265 00:55:47,742 --> 00:55:48,808 for the first time 1266 00:55:48,876 --> 00:55:51,809 and you just have to have to accept or expect 1267 00:55:51,878 --> 00:55:56,880 that you're just gonna be harassed like crazy by everyone. 1268 00:55:58,214 --> 00:55:59,895 In those younger days, it was my mentality to just 1269 00:55:59,919 --> 00:56:04,019 be able to have thick skin and be okay with that. 1270 00:56:04,088 --> 00:56:06,021 - Fight back. - Not even fight, 1271 00:56:06,090 --> 00:56:07,825 you just accept it and just be like, 1272 00:56:07,894 --> 00:56:09,464 okay, they're gonna do it again. 1273 00:56:09,533 --> 00:56:10,198 It's just like, it is what it is. 1274 00:56:10,267 --> 00:56:11,961 - I don't, I fight back. 1275 00:56:12,030 --> 00:56:13,030 - You fight back? 1276 00:56:13,064 --> 00:56:14,075 - Honestly, fighting back just gets- 1277 00:56:14,099 --> 00:56:16,438 - Worse, worse. - Yeah, it gets worse 1278 00:56:16,507 --> 00:56:19,507 or super exhausting and you just need to ignore it. 1279 00:56:19,576 --> 00:56:24,413 And I feel like I remember telling other females. 1280 00:56:25,516 --> 00:56:27,153 They're like, "Oh, don't you get all weird 1281 00:56:27,177 --> 00:56:29,110 "when these guys do that?" 1282 00:56:29,179 --> 00:56:31,145 And you're just like, "Well, we're so used to it 1283 00:56:31,214 --> 00:56:32,113 "so it's whatever." 1284 00:56:32,182 --> 00:56:34,214 - Yeah, that's so sad. 1285 00:56:34,283 --> 00:56:36,920 It's so sad that at some point, 1286 00:56:36,989 --> 00:56:39,791 we've had to accept that as females in the kitchen. 1287 00:56:39,860 --> 00:56:41,159 But me personally, 1288 00:56:41,228 --> 00:56:44,565 I feel like as I got more confident working in a kitchen 1289 00:56:44,634 --> 00:56:47,469 and I realized I'm not gonna let these guys push me around. 1290 00:56:47,538 --> 00:56:48,977 If somebody said something to me, I'd be like, 1291 00:56:49,001 --> 00:56:50,472 "Shut the fuck up." 1292 00:56:50,541 --> 00:56:51,140 "Who are you? 1293 00:56:51,208 --> 00:56:52,208 "Leave me alone." 1294 00:56:52,276 --> 00:56:54,641 Just because I'm a chick doesn't mean 1295 00:56:54,710 --> 00:56:55,854 that you could treat me like that. 1296 00:56:55,878 --> 00:57:00,482 - There are 20 males in the kitchens of course 1297 00:57:00,551 --> 00:57:03,815 and it's only two females in that kitchen. 1298 00:57:03,884 --> 00:57:07,819 And of course, it feel like ridiculous and not confident 1299 00:57:09,120 --> 00:57:12,186 to work with them, then I have to push myself even more 1300 00:57:12,255 --> 00:57:15,222 to prove that hey I can do it. 1301 00:57:15,291 --> 00:57:18,467 - It's funny that every female kind of has that experience. 1302 00:57:24,201 --> 00:57:25,948 - There's a couple of guys that it took me a really, 1303 00:57:25,972 --> 00:57:29,643 really long time to get them to accept the fact 1304 00:57:29,712 --> 00:57:31,513 that I was A, was a woman, 1305 00:57:31,582 --> 00:57:33,174 B, that I'd only worked there a year 1306 00:57:33,243 --> 00:57:36,881 and I was being promoted past them. 1307 00:57:36,950 --> 00:57:39,455 Eventually, I got the guys but it took a while. 1308 00:57:40,822 --> 00:57:42,133 You'd wanna walk out of there and cry and be like, 1309 00:57:42,157 --> 00:57:45,692 "I can't believe these guys just tortured me all day." 1310 00:57:45,761 --> 00:57:48,926 But for some people, they'll walk away from that, 1311 00:57:48,995 --> 00:57:51,126 for other people, I was like, Goddammit, no way, 1312 00:57:51,195 --> 00:57:52,996 no way are these guys gonna break me. 1313 00:57:53,065 --> 00:57:56,571 - I didn't feel like I was good enough 1314 00:57:56,640 --> 00:57:57,939 to call myself a chef yet. 1315 00:57:58,008 --> 00:58:01,774 I hadn't sweated out in the kitchen of a restaurant yet. 1316 00:58:01,843 --> 00:58:03,545 It was very difficult for me to do that. 1317 00:58:03,614 --> 00:58:04,855 - She was always at the top of her class 1318 00:58:04,879 --> 00:58:05,989 with the cooking and everything, 1319 00:58:06,013 --> 00:58:08,044 but she would be like, "No, my food sucks. 1320 00:58:08,113 --> 00:58:09,312 "I don't know." 1321 00:58:09,381 --> 00:58:11,916 But we'll be like, "Esther, you're way too humble. 1322 00:58:11,985 --> 00:58:15,018 "Get over it, your food is really amazing. 1323 00:58:15,087 --> 00:58:16,087 "You're very talented." 1324 00:58:16,155 --> 00:58:17,724 And we always had to push that to her. 1325 00:58:17,793 --> 00:58:20,694 - It's hard and as women, 1326 00:58:20,763 --> 00:58:23,125 I think that one of my biggest struggles 1327 00:58:23,194 --> 00:58:25,094 is definitely the confidence issue. 1328 00:58:25,163 --> 00:58:27,767 I've always had that issue. 1329 00:58:27,836 --> 00:58:29,571 I just don't feel like I'm good enough. 1330 00:58:29,640 --> 00:58:31,804 - I had a guy once that we had a radio in the kitchen, 1331 00:58:31,873 --> 00:58:34,169 in my kitchen it doesn't exist anymore. 1332 00:58:34,238 --> 00:58:36,842 I like it nice and quiet and peaceful. 1333 00:58:36,911 --> 00:58:40,010 And at the end of service, he hopped up on the table, 1334 00:58:40,079 --> 00:58:44,179 sat down on the table, put the music on, still cooking. 1335 00:58:44,248 --> 00:58:47,347 And I asked him to not do that. 1336 00:58:47,416 --> 00:58:50,251 And next night, same time, same thing. 1337 00:58:50,320 --> 00:58:52,319 Next night, same time, same thing 1338 00:58:52,388 --> 00:58:56,895 until eventually he understood that I had earned my title 1339 00:58:56,964 --> 00:58:58,798 of a sous chef and I could still cook 1340 00:58:58,867 --> 00:59:00,635 and I was still just as good as he was. 1341 00:59:00,704 --> 00:59:02,209 The first couple of days, I got really mad about it. 1342 00:59:02,233 --> 00:59:03,466 And I was like, 1343 00:59:03,534 --> 00:59:04,545 "I don't understand why he's not listening to me." 1344 00:59:04,569 --> 00:59:05,501 And then I kind of had to delve in 1345 00:59:05,570 --> 00:59:08,841 and figure out where the line was? 1346 00:59:08,910 --> 00:59:13,043 What he needed from me and what he wanted to see from me? 1347 00:59:13,112 --> 00:59:14,979 And then to earn my title 1348 00:59:15,048 --> 00:59:17,652 and to actually for him to respect them. 1349 00:59:17,721 --> 00:59:20,721 - But don't you think that that's female perspective 1350 00:59:20,790 --> 00:59:22,023 to earn the title? 1351 00:59:22,091 --> 00:59:23,868 Because I mean, the last time I took over a kitchen 1352 00:59:23,892 --> 00:59:25,036 was three years ago and I felt the same way. 1353 00:59:25,060 --> 00:59:27,123 I had earned the title when I first got there. 1354 00:59:27,192 --> 00:59:29,158 And the first thing I did was I started to clean 1355 00:59:29,227 --> 00:59:31,325 because the kitchen was just not to my standard 1356 00:59:31,394 --> 00:59:32,426 and what I wanted to do. 1357 00:59:32,495 --> 00:59:33,806 And then I was doing all the butchering 1358 00:59:33,830 --> 00:59:36,231 and showing each person that I can work each station. 1359 00:59:36,300 --> 00:59:39,366 And I feel like another person can walk into that kitchen 1360 00:59:39,435 --> 00:59:40,534 and then visit the chef, 1361 00:59:40,603 --> 00:59:42,842 And then from day one, it starts to go from. 1362 00:59:42,911 --> 00:59:44,053 I think that's a female perspective. 1363 00:59:44,077 --> 00:59:45,221 - Another person meaning a man? 1364 00:59:45,245 --> 00:59:48,045 - A man can walk into their kitchen and say, 1365 00:59:49,346 --> 00:59:50,961 "We're changing the menu today and this is what it is." 1366 00:59:50,985 --> 00:59:53,314 Not even say what my name is. 1367 00:59:53,383 --> 00:59:55,888 I really think that that's a female perspective 1368 00:59:55,957 --> 00:59:56,957 of how to do things. 1369 00:59:56,991 --> 00:59:58,235 I don't think it's wrong or right, 1370 00:59:58,259 --> 00:59:59,603 I'm just saying that that's what my experience was. 1371 00:59:59,627 --> 01:00:03,665 - The younger you are, the kind of more insecure you are 1372 01:00:03,734 --> 01:00:05,128 as a female in this male world. 1373 01:00:05,197 --> 01:00:06,197 And I think as you do it, 1374 01:00:06,231 --> 01:00:07,542 you do become a lot more confident 1375 01:00:07,566 --> 01:00:10,232 and you do understand I'm gonna get respect from people 1376 01:00:10,301 --> 01:00:13,202 by showing them what to do, by showing them I can hang. 1377 01:00:13,271 --> 01:00:16,007 And I wonder if a male thinks the same thing when he comes 1378 01:00:16,076 --> 01:00:17,342 into the kitchen? 1379 01:00:17,411 --> 01:00:21,749 - He probably doesn't, but that's what separates us. 1380 01:00:22,885 --> 01:00:24,818 Some cooks really like working for women, 1381 01:00:24,887 --> 01:00:26,314 some cooks obviously don't. 1382 01:00:26,383 --> 01:00:29,856 But I think I have a breed 1383 01:00:29,925 --> 01:00:32,760 of cooks in here that are sensitive, 1384 01:00:32,829 --> 01:00:34,469 they're caring and they help each other. 1385 01:00:34,523 --> 01:00:37,930 And that machismo attitude doesn't really fit 1386 01:00:37,999 --> 01:00:39,065 in here very well. 1387 01:00:39,133 --> 01:00:40,211 - That's the environment that you've created. 1388 01:00:40,235 --> 01:00:43,232 - So those guys don't last here very long 1389 01:00:43,301 --> 01:00:44,378 and it's not because of me, 1390 01:00:44,402 --> 01:00:46,367 it's because of the other staff members. 1391 01:00:46,436 --> 01:00:48,875 If you can't fit in and respect the kitchen 1392 01:00:48,944 --> 01:00:50,383 that they believe in and working in, 1393 01:00:50,407 --> 01:00:51,706 then there's no place for you. 1394 01:00:51,775 --> 01:00:56,916 - I feel for women, it's easier to get intimidated by men. 1395 01:00:58,789 --> 01:01:00,854 When she was still in college, 1396 01:01:00,923 --> 01:01:02,724 she'd be weeping and crying. 1397 01:01:02,793 --> 01:01:05,727 And I still remember one conversation I had with her 1398 01:01:05,796 --> 01:01:08,389 and she said, mom, "There's this one chef. 1399 01:01:08,458 --> 01:01:10,094 "He asked us to put a steak together. 1400 01:01:10,163 --> 01:01:14,703 "He took a bite of it and he threw the plate 1401 01:01:15,839 --> 01:01:18,267 "and he said, 'What's this shoe-leather?'" 1402 01:01:19,843 --> 01:01:22,370 - The more confident you have in your craft and your skill, 1403 01:01:23,341 --> 01:01:24,746 the more that you're working, 1404 01:01:24,815 --> 01:01:26,055 the more your repertoire grows, 1405 01:01:26,080 --> 01:01:28,244 all those things come full circle. 1406 01:01:28,313 --> 01:01:33,315 And you're able to basically exist in your space creatively 1407 01:01:34,957 --> 01:01:36,290 as a chef 1408 01:01:36,358 --> 01:01:38,793 and not worry too much about what's happening around you. 1409 01:01:38,862 --> 01:01:41,026 - You don't learn by sort of just taking in advice. 1410 01:01:41,095 --> 01:01:45,030 I think that you learn by sort of example, 1411 01:01:45,099 --> 01:01:47,362 people setting examples for you. 1412 01:01:47,431 --> 01:01:49,771 And that's certainly how I've learned. 1413 01:01:49,840 --> 01:01:52,070 I don't always see things sort of in black and white, 1414 01:01:52,139 --> 01:01:54,072 but you're right, there is a sense, 1415 01:01:54,141 --> 01:01:55,407 there is a different energy, 1416 01:01:55,476 --> 01:01:58,912 I feel like when you have sort of a mixed team, right? 1417 01:01:58,981 --> 01:01:59,913 It's not just all boys. 1418 01:01:59,982 --> 01:02:01,348 It's not just all girls. 1419 01:02:01,417 --> 01:02:05,281 And I feel like you wanna sort of strike the right balance. 1420 01:02:05,350 --> 01:02:07,415 And it could be all female, it could be all male, 1421 01:02:07,484 --> 01:02:10,253 but it has to be one that is based on respect. 1422 01:02:10,322 --> 01:02:13,454 And I think that the culture of restaurants 1423 01:02:13,523 --> 01:02:18,294 and sort of cooking in general has been very throw a fight 1424 01:02:18,363 --> 01:02:21,363 if that is a word that I could is very sort of dude, 1425 01:02:22,906 --> 01:02:27,006 tough guys throwing pans, swearing a lot, 1426 01:02:27,075 --> 01:02:29,107 sexist, racist jokes it's okay 1427 01:02:29,176 --> 01:02:31,439 and there's an absolute disregard for sort of humanity 1428 01:02:31,508 --> 01:02:33,243 when you really look into it. 1429 01:02:33,312 --> 01:02:35,443 So I'm a little bit more protective I would say 1430 01:02:35,512 --> 01:02:38,182 of my cooks, female cooks. 1431 01:02:38,251 --> 01:02:40,019 You have to watch yourself 1432 01:02:40,088 --> 01:02:43,858 and you have to protect yourself and know your rights 1433 01:02:43,927 --> 01:02:46,190 and really seek a place 'cause you don't need all 1434 01:02:46,259 --> 01:02:48,357 that macho to cook well, you don't. 1435 01:02:48,426 --> 01:02:52,427 - And for every place that does treat their cooks like that, 1436 01:02:52,496 --> 01:02:53,729 there's a place 1437 01:02:53,797 --> 01:02:56,002 that treats their cooks like you treat your cooks. 1438 01:02:56,071 --> 01:02:58,334 So that was something that I learned 1439 01:02:58,403 --> 01:03:00,600 was how to find those places 1440 01:03:00,669 --> 01:03:02,389 where I was gonna be treated with respect. 1441 01:03:02,440 --> 01:03:05,506 - Because I feel like honestly, this might sound cheesy, 1442 01:03:05,575 --> 01:03:10,412 but a happy, respectful place produces food 1443 01:03:10,481 --> 01:03:13,448 that is more delicious than one that is filled 1444 01:03:13,517 --> 01:03:16,990 with antagonism, and anger and rage. 1445 01:03:17,059 --> 01:03:18,099 - Yeah, and food is love. 1446 01:03:18,127 --> 01:03:20,323 You can't cook good food without love. 1447 01:03:20,392 --> 01:03:23,491 - But then, that is too sort of female to talk that way. 1448 01:03:23,560 --> 01:03:24,359 You know what I mean? 1449 01:03:24,428 --> 01:03:27,561 And I think even women's chefs, 1450 01:03:27,630 --> 01:03:30,135 they sort of take on a persona of, 1451 01:03:30,204 --> 01:03:32,269 if I'm gonna survive in this kitchen, 1452 01:03:32,338 --> 01:03:34,436 I have to walk a little bit like this 1453 01:03:34,505 --> 01:03:36,405 and I have to sort of be hard 1454 01:03:36,474 --> 01:03:41,014 and yell like the best chefs out there. 1455 01:03:41,083 --> 01:03:43,819 It's that kind of crazy mentality 1456 01:03:44,581 --> 01:03:45,780 that I knew long time ago 1457 01:03:45,849 --> 01:03:48,021 that I didn't want to have anything to do with. 1458 01:03:48,090 --> 01:03:50,023 I mean, don't we all wanna be treated 1459 01:03:50,092 --> 01:03:53,257 with respect and kindness? 1460 01:03:54,426 --> 01:03:56,359 But at the same time, I'm not talking soft. 1461 01:03:56,428 --> 01:03:57,428 You know what I mean? 1462 01:03:57,496 --> 01:03:58,773 Opposite of hard doesn't have to be soft. 1463 01:03:58,797 --> 01:04:02,233 It could be disciplined, it could be well managed. 1464 01:04:02,302 --> 01:04:06,006 And it's about sharing knowledge, passing on knowledge, 1465 01:04:07,307 --> 01:04:09,977 All of that doesn't have to be hard at all. 1466 01:04:11,476 --> 01:04:14,179 - That my love for food and preparing food 1467 01:04:14,248 --> 01:04:17,545 and serving the food, those are all elements 1468 01:04:17,614 --> 01:04:18,614 of being a chef. 1469 01:04:18,648 --> 01:04:20,317 It's not just being able to cook it, 1470 01:04:20,386 --> 01:04:22,187 but loving to serve it. 1471 01:04:22,256 --> 01:04:26,455 Being able to say this comes from my heritage 1472 01:04:26,524 --> 01:04:29,095 and I want to share this with you. 1473 01:04:29,164 --> 01:04:32,527 - Being a chef isn't really just about food. 1474 01:04:32,596 --> 01:04:35,431 To be a successful chef is more about your environment 1475 01:04:35,500 --> 01:04:39,072 and about your kitchen, and it's about your staff, 1476 01:04:39,141 --> 01:04:40,403 it's about being a leader. 1477 01:04:40,472 --> 01:04:42,603 And what makes an incredible leader? 1478 01:04:42,672 --> 01:04:45,309 There's no male or female. 1479 01:04:45,378 --> 01:04:46,589 A good leader is a good leader. 1480 01:04:46,613 --> 01:04:51,018 Why do I have to be labeled as a female chef? 1481 01:04:51,087 --> 01:04:51,819 I'm just a chef. 1482 01:04:51,888 --> 01:04:53,482 I can do whatever you do. 1483 01:04:53,551 --> 01:04:56,991 Don't look at me like, I'm lesser 1484 01:04:57,060 --> 01:04:58,553 or I can't do a certain thing 1485 01:04:58,622 --> 01:05:01,424 because of my size or the way I look. 1486 01:05:03,297 --> 01:05:04,604 - We just wanna be in the same category. 1487 01:05:04,628 --> 01:05:05,934 - Yeah. - - Yeah. 1488 01:05:08,566 --> 01:05:12,138 - If you're in a place in a restaurant working for somebody 1489 01:05:12,207 --> 01:05:16,340 or somebody's acting inappropriate, bring it up, 1490 01:05:16,409 --> 01:05:20,245 talk about it or get out if it's not the right place. 1491 01:05:20,314 --> 01:05:24,447 There's so many other restaurants that need your talent 1492 01:05:24,516 --> 01:05:26,276 so you don't have to put up with that stuff. 1493 01:05:26,320 --> 01:05:28,616 - What would you give advice for a woman 1494 01:05:28,685 --> 01:05:31,586 who was dealing with something like that in the workplace? 1495 01:05:34,328 --> 01:05:35,328 - "Is this Chef Fatima?" 1496 01:05:35,395 --> 01:05:38,758 I'm like, "Yes." 1497 01:05:38,827 --> 01:05:39,827 And she was like, 1498 01:05:39,895 --> 01:05:41,172 "Hi I was actually doing some research 1499 01:05:41,196 --> 01:05:43,049 "and your name popped up and we're actually casting 1500 01:05:43,073 --> 01:05:44,139 "for the next season. 1501 01:05:44,207 --> 01:05:45,447 "I would really love if you could join us 1502 01:05:45,471 --> 01:05:47,074 "for the next season." 1503 01:05:47,143 --> 01:05:47,942 - Oh my God. 1504 01:05:48,011 --> 01:05:50,077 - And I was just like, "What?" 1505 01:05:50,146 --> 01:05:51,156 I didn't even know what the fuck to say. 1506 01:05:51,180 --> 01:05:53,245 I was like, "Wait, you want me to?" 1507 01:05:57,615 --> 01:05:59,455 No, she wants me to be one of the contestants. 1508 01:06:02,290 --> 01:06:04,235 She's like, "Yes and I'm gonna send you all the paper work." 1509 01:06:04,259 --> 01:06:06,299 She's like, "Just talk to me for like five minutes. 1510 01:06:06,360 --> 01:06:07,259 "I would love to know more about you." 1511 01:06:07,328 --> 01:06:09,591 And she's all energetic and shit. 1512 01:06:09,660 --> 01:06:10,926 My fucking heart is pounding. 1513 01:06:10,995 --> 01:06:12,138 I was like, "Oh my God, you gotta be fucking kidding." 1514 01:06:12,162 --> 01:06:14,200 I was like, "I can't do "Top Chef" right now. 1515 01:06:14,269 --> 01:06:15,335 - I feel blessed 1516 01:06:15,403 --> 01:06:17,401 that I got to spend the day with Fatima Ali. 1517 01:06:19,670 --> 01:06:20,536 - Don't worry, you'll warm into it. 1518 01:06:20,604 --> 01:06:22,307 - At the time we filmed with her, 1519 01:06:22,376 --> 01:06:24,177 she shared with us her story 1520 01:06:27,645 --> 01:06:29,182 from getting on "Chopped". 1521 01:06:30,714 --> 01:06:31,813 - I was 21 at the time 1522 01:06:31,882 --> 01:06:34,319 and I didn't think I was even close to capable 1523 01:06:34,388 --> 01:06:35,498 of doing something like that. 1524 01:06:35,522 --> 01:06:37,322 I tried out for the show, went on the show, 1525 01:06:37,391 --> 01:06:38,653 ended up winning by a fluke 1526 01:06:38,722 --> 01:06:40,820 and that kind of opened up 1527 01:06:40,889 --> 01:06:44,263 this whole other aspect to cooking. 1528 01:06:44,332 --> 01:06:46,694 I really want to be that Pakistani girl 1529 01:06:46,763 --> 01:06:48,399 that other Pakistani girls can look at 1530 01:06:48,468 --> 01:06:50,281 and be like, "You know what, I can do it too." 1531 01:06:50,305 --> 01:06:52,601 - To meeting her hero Padma Lakshmi. 1532 01:06:52,670 --> 01:06:54,702 - One of the shows that I watched growing up 1533 01:06:54,771 --> 01:06:56,440 was Padma Lakshmi's show. 1534 01:06:56,509 --> 01:06:58,244 She had this travel show 1535 01:06:58,313 --> 01:07:00,345 where she would go around through India 1536 01:07:00,414 --> 01:07:03,645 and sit with all of these villagers 1537 01:07:03,714 --> 01:07:05,047 and kind of recreate recipes. 1538 01:07:05,115 --> 01:07:09,255 And I thought that it was so fascinating to watch someone 1539 01:07:09,324 --> 01:07:11,719 who looked like me being able to do this in her country. 1540 01:07:11,788 --> 01:07:14,755 And it made me so hopeful to think 1541 01:07:14,824 --> 01:07:16,493 that maybe one day I could do that too. 1542 01:07:16,562 --> 01:07:18,264 I was obsessed. 1543 01:07:18,333 --> 01:07:20,200 She was actually the only brown woman 1544 01:07:20,269 --> 01:07:22,136 on that cooking channel. 1545 01:07:22,205 --> 01:07:24,600 She's opened a lot of doors in a lot of different ways 1546 01:07:24,669 --> 01:07:27,108 and I want her to like my food, I do. 1547 01:07:27,177 --> 01:07:28,769 I want her to respect me as a chef. 1548 01:07:28,838 --> 01:07:31,706 Before I knew it, I was accepted onto the new season. 1549 01:07:31,775 --> 01:07:34,148 Was told we were gonna be flying to Colorado. 1550 01:07:34,217 --> 01:07:39,219 Had never been there before and was just incredibly nervous. 1551 01:07:40,322 --> 01:07:41,551 Hi Padma, hi Tom, hi. 1552 01:07:41,620 --> 01:07:42,849 - What did you make for us? 1553 01:07:42,918 --> 01:07:45,126 It'd be an avalanche, do it, do it. 1554 01:07:47,725 --> 01:07:50,329 That charred padi feeling in here. 1555 01:07:50,398 --> 01:07:52,430 - Being able to watch someone on TV growing up 1556 01:07:52,499 --> 01:07:53,575 and then getting to meet them 1557 01:07:53,599 --> 01:07:54,894 and actually have a relationship 1558 01:07:54,963 --> 01:07:56,731 with them was really wonderful. 1559 01:07:56,800 --> 01:07:58,139 The more they tasted my food, 1560 01:07:58,208 --> 01:07:59,007 the more they understood 1561 01:07:59,076 --> 01:08:00,735 what I was trying to accomplish. 1562 01:08:00,804 --> 01:08:02,444 And I thought that was really heartening 1563 01:08:02,476 --> 01:08:04,541 and it was definitely a confidence booster. 1564 01:08:04,610 --> 01:08:08,281 I was just having so much fun challenging myself 1565 01:08:08,350 --> 01:08:10,811 in these kinds of like dire straits. 1566 01:08:10,880 --> 01:08:12,912 I love that kind of chaos 1567 01:08:12,981 --> 01:08:15,255 and I love that adrenaline rush. 1568 01:08:15,324 --> 01:08:18,258 I've always been pretty competitive. 1569 01:08:27,897 --> 01:08:33,108 - To watch Fatima grow into this extremely skilled 1570 01:08:38,578 --> 01:08:41,446 and crafty chef who comes up 1571 01:08:41,515 --> 01:08:44,317 with the most innovative recipes, 1572 01:08:44,386 --> 01:08:49,289 who has taken her inspiration 1573 01:08:49,358 --> 01:08:54,360 and influences from her cultural heritage and background 1574 01:08:55,793 --> 01:09:00,762 and what she grew up with and taken all the fabulous things 1575 01:09:01,931 --> 01:09:05,404 that she's learned in college working 1576 01:09:05,473 --> 01:09:07,571 with all these wonderful chefs, 1577 01:09:07,640 --> 01:09:09,408 taken French techniques 1578 01:09:10,907 --> 01:09:15,909 and kind of amalgamated and collaborated everything 1579 01:09:16,682 --> 01:09:18,015 and put it together 1580 01:09:18,083 --> 01:09:22,817 and has come up with a whole new world of Pakistani food. 1581 01:09:26,692 --> 01:09:30,891 And that is what makes me super proud as a mom. 1582 01:09:30,960 --> 01:09:34,499 That's actually been a wonderful thing to watch, 1583 01:09:35,635 --> 01:09:38,701 to see her grow into such a talented chef. 1584 01:09:41,036 --> 01:09:41,902 - Thanks mom. 1585 01:09:41,971 --> 01:09:44,740 - Yeah, there we go. 1586 01:09:44,809 --> 01:09:48,612 - Yeah, I was really excited about having the show air, 1587 01:09:48,681 --> 01:09:51,318 making plans to possibly think 1588 01:09:51,387 --> 01:09:54,552 about opening up a restaurant in New York. 1589 01:09:56,392 --> 01:09:57,124 There were a lot of things 1590 01:09:57,193 --> 01:09:58,233 that I was looking forward 1591 01:09:58,261 --> 01:10:02,395 to doing once we wrapped up with filming. 1592 01:10:02,464 --> 01:10:04,793 The day after I landed in New York, I got a call 1593 01:10:04,862 --> 01:10:08,434 from my aunt who needed my help taking care 1594 01:10:08,503 --> 01:10:10,023 of my grandmother who had fallen ill. 1595 01:10:10,065 --> 01:10:12,031 While I was staying with her, 1596 01:10:12,100 --> 01:10:15,738 I noticed that there was an ache in my left shoulder. 1597 01:10:17,446 --> 01:10:19,721 I was sleeping in one of those hospital's recliner chairs. 1598 01:10:19,745 --> 01:10:20,908 I hadn't been exercising. 1599 01:10:20,977 --> 01:10:22,976 And so I shrugged it off. 1600 01:10:23,045 --> 01:10:26,848 So about August of 2017 when I came back, 1601 01:10:26,917 --> 01:10:29,323 while I was working there at the U.S. open, 1602 01:10:29,392 --> 01:10:33,492 I had a huge VIP table that I was cooking fresh pasta for. 1603 01:10:33,561 --> 01:10:36,693 And while I was flipping this pan of pasta, 1604 01:10:36,762 --> 01:10:41,302 the ache in my shoulder just grew exponentially overnight. 1605 01:10:41,371 --> 01:10:43,436 My shoulder had swollen up so much 1606 01:10:43,505 --> 01:10:46,868 that the bartender was handing me a bag of ice to put on it. 1607 01:10:46,937 --> 01:10:49,310 And he took one look at me and he was like, 1608 01:10:49,379 --> 01:10:50,674 "Chef, your shoulder is huge. 1609 01:10:50,743 --> 01:10:52,076 "You should go to a doctor." 1610 01:10:52,144 --> 01:10:56,746 And that took me about three days to get to an orthopedic. 1611 01:10:56,815 --> 01:11:00,651 And he took one look at me during his physical exam. 1612 01:11:01,985 --> 01:11:05,689 I burst into tears 'cause I was in so much pain 1613 01:11:05,758 --> 01:11:08,054 that he knew something wasn't right. 1614 01:11:08,123 --> 01:11:11,563 And he got me an MRI that very same day. 1615 01:11:11,632 --> 01:11:14,599 He thought it was a good idea for me to call someone 1616 01:11:14,668 --> 01:11:16,337 from my family to help me through 1617 01:11:16,406 --> 01:11:20,770 because he had this strange feeling 1618 01:11:20,839 --> 01:11:25,412 that it might be more serious than he was anticipating. 1619 01:11:25,481 --> 01:11:29,482 And I'll never forget hanging up the phone 1620 01:11:29,551 --> 01:11:32,012 and kind of being numb and being really scared 1621 01:11:32,081 --> 01:11:37,292 that something really ominous might be in my future. 1622 01:11:38,659 --> 01:11:41,021 And I called my brother who was in Sydney, Australia. 1623 01:11:41,090 --> 01:11:42,189 He told me not to worry 1624 01:11:42,258 --> 01:11:44,497 that he was gonna get on the next flight over. 1625 01:11:44,566 --> 01:11:46,895 He called my mom who was in Palm Springs at the time. 1626 01:11:46,964 --> 01:11:50,800 And we ended up going to see this oncologist in Long Island, 1627 01:11:50,869 --> 01:11:53,033 but my mom was just not convinced, 1628 01:11:53,102 --> 01:11:54,201 call it a mother's instinct 1629 01:11:54,270 --> 01:11:56,806 that she just wanted to get a second opinion. 1630 01:11:56,875 --> 01:11:58,709 And thankfully, we got that second opinion 1631 01:11:58,778 --> 01:12:00,975 from doctors at Memorial Sloan Kettering. 1632 01:12:01,044 --> 01:12:04,484 In the meantime, I started losing sensation 1633 01:12:04,553 --> 01:12:06,585 in the left side of my face. 1634 01:12:07,886 --> 01:12:10,655 My brother and my mom just knew that they had to rush me 1635 01:12:10,724 --> 01:12:11,990 to the emergency room 1636 01:12:12,059 --> 01:12:15,957 and thankfully they did at Memorial Sloan Kettering. 1637 01:12:16,026 --> 01:12:18,058 We got there at five in the morning. 1638 01:12:18,127 --> 01:12:20,830 And within five days I was sitting 1639 01:12:20,899 --> 01:12:22,766 with my now oncologist. 1640 01:12:22,835 --> 01:12:24,471 His name was Dr. Wexler. 1641 01:12:24,540 --> 01:12:25,784 And he was holding my hand telling me 1642 01:12:25,808 --> 01:12:30,444 that I had sarcoma, which was a malignant tumor. 1643 01:12:30,513 --> 01:12:35,515 And being 28, healthy, a non-smoker, 1644 01:12:38,587 --> 01:12:40,850 getting a cancer diagnosis is just something 1645 01:12:40,919 --> 01:12:43,556 that nobody can prepare you for. 1646 01:12:43,625 --> 01:12:48,495 Hair loss, infertility, weight gain, weight loss, 1647 01:12:48,564 --> 01:12:50,860 hot flashes, early menopause, you name it. 1648 01:12:50,929 --> 01:12:52,006 He's going for all of these things 1649 01:12:52,030 --> 01:12:53,670 and I'm just nodding my head going like, 1650 01:12:53,734 --> 01:12:54,499 "Okay, I can deal with that. 1651 01:12:54,568 --> 01:12:56,569 "Okay, I can deal with that." 1652 01:12:56,638 --> 01:12:58,439 And I just had one question for him. 1653 01:12:58,508 --> 01:12:59,584 I looked at him and I was like, 1654 01:12:59,608 --> 01:13:00,903 "Am I gonna lose my eyebrows?" 1655 01:13:00,972 --> 01:13:02,732 And he looked at me and he was like, "Yeah." 1656 01:13:02,776 --> 01:13:05,644 And I burst into tears. 1657 01:13:05,713 --> 01:13:08,647 To me, that was just like such an emotional thing 1658 01:13:08,716 --> 01:13:13,718 for me to have to go through being 28 and not knowing 1659 01:13:15,789 --> 01:13:17,524 what was gonna happen in my life. 1660 01:13:30,034 --> 01:13:31,769 Yeah, it's a lot. 1661 01:13:51,088 --> 01:13:53,956 - Oh, it's been very difficult. 1662 01:13:54,025 --> 01:13:59,027 It's been extremely intense, very devastating 1663 01:13:59,833 --> 01:14:00,833 for us as a family. 1664 01:14:02,737 --> 01:14:06,738 I think there are days when it's just tough 1665 01:14:19,655 --> 01:14:21,522 to see her go through it. 1666 01:14:21,591 --> 01:14:23,018 It's not been easy, 1667 01:14:26,255 --> 01:14:28,287 but she's a real fighter. 1668 01:14:28,356 --> 01:14:33,567 She's a trooper, she hasn't given up. 1669 01:14:35,132 --> 01:14:38,539 And I guess being a chef like I said, 1670 01:14:38,608 --> 01:14:40,200 food is such a comforting thing 1671 01:14:40,269 --> 01:14:44,842 for her that even through her journey with cancer, 1672 01:14:44,911 --> 01:14:48,813 she continues to go back to either cooking 1673 01:14:50,114 --> 01:14:55,116 and even eating her food. 1674 01:14:56,219 --> 01:14:58,691 I'm sorry I got distracted. 1675 01:14:58,760 --> 01:14:59,880 - No, it's okay, it's okay. 1676 01:15:01,389 --> 01:15:06,600 - But, it's been difficult for us as a family. 1677 01:15:08,099 --> 01:15:09,867 It came as a huge shock. 1678 01:15:09,936 --> 01:15:11,000 - Let's be realistic. 1679 01:15:11,069 --> 01:15:13,574 She is not an ordinary person. 1680 01:15:13,643 --> 01:15:16,841 She is very, very strong in a lot of ways 1681 01:15:16,910 --> 01:15:19,514 which you have never seen her before. 1682 01:15:20,650 --> 01:15:23,947 So that's her. 1683 01:15:24,016 --> 01:15:27,181 And she's quite unique in that sense. 1684 01:15:33,663 --> 01:15:34,663 - Thank you. 1685 01:15:36,864 --> 01:15:40,865 - And it's been a rough road for all of us, 1686 01:15:40,934 --> 01:15:43,197 but we're nearly there now. 1687 01:15:43,266 --> 01:15:47,872 So I'm hoping that it will be behind us. 1688 01:15:47,941 --> 01:15:51,205 - It's something that doesn't leave you, 1689 01:15:52,979 --> 01:15:56,342 but it's something that you kind of get used to every day. 1690 01:15:56,411 --> 01:15:57,948 I'm definitely not the same person 1691 01:15:58,017 --> 01:16:00,819 that I was before I was diagnosed with cancer, 1692 01:16:02,384 --> 01:16:07,595 but it makes you really appreciate 1693 01:16:08,995 --> 01:16:11,863 so many things about your life. 1694 01:16:11,932 --> 01:16:14,767 It's been a really tough journey for me. 1695 01:16:14,836 --> 01:16:16,113 It's been a really tough journey 1696 01:16:16,137 --> 01:16:20,905 for my family, but now that having gone through that 1697 01:16:22,041 --> 01:16:23,908 and seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, 1698 01:16:23,977 --> 01:16:28,616 almost being done with treatment, yeah it's amazing. 1699 01:16:30,082 --> 01:16:33,049 I've been incredibly lucky having the kind of support system 1700 01:16:33,118 --> 01:16:35,920 that I have around me during this really horrible time 1701 01:16:35,989 --> 01:16:39,253 in my life and that has made it impossible 1702 01:16:39,322 --> 01:16:42,993 for me to be anything but positive. 1703 01:16:43,062 --> 01:16:45,798 Just having all these wonderful people around me pushes me 1704 01:16:45,867 --> 01:16:47,195 to make sure that I'm okay. 1705 01:16:49,233 --> 01:16:52,134 I have to believe that everything will work out 1706 01:16:52,203 --> 01:16:55,874 because I truly believe that it will. 1707 01:17:27,172 --> 01:17:29,171 - New York, please welcome Fatima Ali. 1708 01:17:29,240 --> 01:17:31,943 - So in July I had clear scans. 1709 01:17:32,012 --> 01:17:35,815 I was technically cancer-free and I had this weird ache 1710 01:17:35,884 --> 01:17:39,445 in my left hip after we moved to Los Angeles 1711 01:17:39,514 --> 01:17:41,986 and I had this nagging feeling that something wasn't right. 1712 01:17:42,055 --> 01:17:44,054 So we went back to New York, 1713 01:17:44,123 --> 01:17:47,222 got another PET scan and my doctor sat us down 1714 01:17:47,291 --> 01:17:49,422 and they were like, "Look, the cancer's back. 1715 01:17:49,491 --> 01:17:53,129 "It's metastasized, the chemo has not worked." 1716 01:17:53,198 --> 01:17:55,329 And I looked at my doctor and I was like, 1717 01:17:55,398 --> 01:17:57,199 "Tell me straight, how long do I have?" 1718 01:17:57,268 --> 01:17:59,036 And he's like, "A year." 1719 01:18:00,337 --> 01:18:01,401 It's a lot. 1720 01:18:01,470 --> 01:18:02,614 - Yeah, that's a lot to hear. 1721 01:18:02,638 --> 01:18:06,076 - Well, I get to cross this off my bucket list. 1722 01:18:06,145 --> 01:18:08,012 This is huge. 1723 01:18:08,081 --> 01:18:10,916 Honestly, I have so many restaurants I wanna go 1724 01:18:10,985 --> 01:18:11,985 to around Europe. 1725 01:18:12,053 --> 01:18:13,197 You're obviously invited so is Portia. 1726 01:18:13,221 --> 01:18:17,758 And go to Italy, go to France, go to Spain, 1727 01:18:17,827 --> 01:18:20,024 go to South Africa, go on a Safari. 1728 01:18:20,093 --> 01:18:21,355 So many things I want to do. 1729 01:18:33,909 --> 01:18:35,270 It tastes like water. 1730 01:18:35,339 --> 01:18:36,238 - You said the other day, 1731 01:18:36,307 --> 01:18:37,384 when you were talking to friends, 1732 01:18:37,408 --> 01:18:42,816 you were like, "It doesn't feel like me. 1733 01:18:47,318 --> 01:18:49,185 "I'm watching these things." 1734 01:18:50,354 --> 01:18:53,926 - Yeah well, it doesn't feel like much my life. 1735 01:18:53,995 --> 01:18:55,323 Yeah, it doesn't. 1736 01:18:55,392 --> 01:18:56,929 - So what does it feel like? 1737 01:18:56,998 --> 01:18:58,799 - I know all these things have happened 1738 01:18:58,868 --> 01:19:03,837 and I know I've done them, but it's like, I don't know. 1739 01:19:08,878 --> 01:19:12,010 It doesn't feel like it's still my life. 1740 01:19:12,079 --> 01:19:13,880 I watch these clips, like I said, 1741 01:19:13,949 --> 01:19:16,311 I know that isn't me. 1742 01:19:20,450 --> 01:19:22,152 I may know what that feels like. 1743 01:19:25,257 --> 01:19:27,388 I know what it felt like to be in that moment, 1744 01:19:28,898 --> 01:19:31,997 but I don't know, it just doesn't feel real. 1745 01:19:33,397 --> 01:19:35,429 People say the craziest things to me 1746 01:19:35,498 --> 01:19:37,497 and I'm like, "I'm not that." 1747 01:19:37,566 --> 01:19:42,777 It's like I don't feel like what they're saying. 1748 01:19:43,913 --> 01:19:45,146 - What are they saying? 1749 01:19:45,214 --> 01:19:46,291 - Because they're like, "You're such an inspiration." 1750 01:19:46,315 --> 01:19:48,508 And all these really, really nice things 1751 01:19:48,577 --> 01:19:53,788 and in my head I'm just like, "I'm just me." 1752 01:20:00,391 --> 01:20:02,797 I just said and did whatever I thought. 1753 01:20:05,066 --> 01:20:06,625 Being in the moment, being myself 1754 01:20:06,694 --> 01:20:11,102 so it just feels like even more of a fraud. 1755 01:20:11,171 --> 01:20:13,005 I just feel like even more of a fraud. 1756 01:20:13,074 --> 01:20:13,940 - You feel like a fraud? 1757 01:20:14,008 --> 01:20:15,271 - [Yeah. - {Mohammad] Why? 1758 01:20:17,177 --> 01:20:19,011 Why do you feel like a fraud? 1759 01:20:19,080 --> 01:20:21,079 - Because, I don't know, 1760 01:20:23,953 --> 01:20:26,381 I'm not an inspiration. 1761 01:20:26,450 --> 01:20:30,055 - But you can't say you're an inspiration 1762 01:20:30,124 --> 01:20:31,452 or you can't decide that. 1763 01:20:32,522 --> 01:20:34,158 That's not how it works. 1764 01:20:34,227 --> 01:20:36,930 When you look ahead, does anybody inspire you? 1765 01:20:38,594 --> 01:20:39,604 - Lots of people inspire me. 1766 01:20:39,628 --> 01:20:40,661 - And what do you think, 1767 01:20:40,729 --> 01:20:41,740 they wake up every morning and be like, 1768 01:20:41,764 --> 01:20:46,236 "I don't wanna be an inspiration." 1769 01:20:46,305 --> 01:20:49,074 - No. - "Or I'm trying 1770 01:20:49,143 --> 01:20:51,043 "to be an inspiration." 1771 01:21:12,727 --> 01:21:16,101 - It's hard to talk about someone 1772 01:21:17,567 --> 01:21:21,942 that isn't with us anymore that we lost. 1773 01:21:23,309 --> 01:21:27,244 I don't even think there are words to describe the amount 1774 01:21:27,313 --> 01:21:30,643 of aspiration that can be drawn from her story. 1775 01:21:30,712 --> 01:21:32,953 - She was incredible on so many levels. 1776 01:21:33,022 --> 01:21:34,982 First and foremost, it's just one of those people 1777 01:21:35,024 --> 01:21:38,090 who instantly when you met, 1778 01:21:38,159 --> 01:21:40,224 you were like just a magnet. 1779 01:21:40,293 --> 01:21:42,622 She was just an absolute magnetic person 1780 01:21:42,691 --> 01:21:44,228 to the truest degree of it. 1781 01:21:44,297 --> 01:21:47,363 - She's special, she sparkles. 1782 01:21:47,432 --> 01:21:52,071 Her spirit, her energy, it draws you in. 1783 01:21:52,140 --> 01:21:55,107 - It's hard, she was one of a kind. 1784 01:21:55,176 --> 01:21:57,373 - She was talented, she was fierce, she was funny, 1785 01:21:57,442 --> 01:21:59,210 she was beautiful. 1786 01:21:59,279 --> 01:22:01,674 She was absolutely, 1787 01:22:02,777 --> 01:22:06,184 but I think that's what made her great too. 1788 01:22:06,253 --> 01:22:08,582 - She's a beautiful ball with contradiction. 1789 01:22:08,651 --> 01:22:11,420 She's a tomboy, but she's girly. 1790 01:22:11,489 --> 01:22:15,127 She's fearless, but she still questions for herself. 1791 01:22:15,196 --> 01:22:20,000 She is wise and mature, but she's still excited 1792 01:22:20,069 --> 01:22:22,002 about life and learning new things 1793 01:22:22,071 --> 01:22:23,498 and experiencing the world. 1794 01:22:24,502 --> 01:22:26,666 She's ambitious and driven, 1795 01:22:26,735 --> 01:22:28,536 but still just wants to spend time 1796 01:22:28,605 --> 01:22:31,572 at home with her family and the people that she loves. 1797 01:22:31,641 --> 01:22:36,643 - She was the strongest, strongest person I know. 1798 01:22:37,812 --> 01:22:40,416 - She is truly the best of all of us 1799 01:22:40,485 --> 01:22:44,222 and everything that we can hope to be as human beings. 1800 01:22:44,291 --> 01:22:48,193 - She never had it easy and took everything 1801 01:22:48,262 --> 01:22:52,791 with a smile and with strength and with positivity. 1802 01:22:52,860 --> 01:22:57,169 So I think that shows how powerful her life was 1803 01:22:57,238 --> 01:23:01,701 that she was able to keep it shining no matter 1804 01:23:01,770 --> 01:23:06,981 how dark it was becoming. 1805 01:23:08,348 --> 01:23:10,668 - We had somehow found each other in this life as friends. 1806 01:23:11,252 --> 01:23:12,745 It was a very kismet thing 1807 01:23:12,814 --> 01:23:17,321 and we loved her like our own, like our sister. 1808 01:23:17,390 --> 01:23:22,062 And she's unreplaceable and we just had the privilege 1809 01:23:22,131 --> 01:23:25,065 and the burden of trying to carry on her legacy, 1810 01:23:25,134 --> 01:23:27,232 carrying on everything she did 1811 01:23:27,301 --> 01:23:29,630 and I hope we make her proud. 1812 01:23:37,410 --> 01:23:40,278 - So thank you so much Padma for taking some time 1813 01:23:40,347 --> 01:23:42,346 to chat about Fatima. 1814 01:23:42,415 --> 01:23:44,381 You know Fatima mentioned in many places 1815 01:23:44,450 --> 01:23:47,615 that you were a big influence and hero on her. 1816 01:23:47,684 --> 01:23:49,254 How do you feel about that? 1817 01:23:49,323 --> 01:23:51,454 - I'm happy she saw me that way. 1818 01:23:51,523 --> 01:23:56,525 I'm sad that I am the only one she saw for so long. 1819 01:23:57,892 --> 01:24:01,365 I had my own version of that and so I'm always flattered. 1820 01:24:02,501 --> 01:24:04,698 I'm always pleased that I could do that 1821 01:24:04,767 --> 01:24:07,668 for Fatima especially. 1822 01:24:09,178 --> 01:24:12,178 She just was such a bright light in the kitchen. 1823 01:24:13,446 --> 01:24:14,446 I was flattered. 1824 01:24:14,514 --> 01:24:16,512 - And then she gets this horrible news 1825 01:24:16,581 --> 01:24:18,448 that she's got sarcoma. 1826 01:24:19,320 --> 01:24:20,615 What was your reaction to that? 1827 01:24:20,684 --> 01:24:22,881 - I mean, I was devastated. 1828 01:24:22,950 --> 01:24:28,161 I have to tell you I can count on one hand the amount 1829 01:24:29,462 --> 01:24:33,826 of South Asian contestants we've had across all the seasons 1830 01:24:34,929 --> 01:24:35,661 of "Top Chef". 1831 01:24:35,730 --> 01:24:36,829 Not only because of that, 1832 01:24:36,898 --> 01:24:41,768 but because she was such a special human being 1833 01:24:41,837 --> 01:24:43,070 and it just seems so cruel 1834 01:24:43,138 --> 01:24:46,542 because she was so young and she had so much going 1835 01:24:46,611 --> 01:24:50,084 for her and it's never the boring ones that cancer gets. 1836 01:24:52,815 --> 01:24:56,618 It's always these sort of bright, charismatics, 1837 01:24:56,687 --> 01:24:57,883 special, special people. 1838 01:24:57,952 --> 01:24:58,751 And Fatima was like that. 1839 01:24:58,820 --> 01:25:02,162 She had a great sense of humor. 1840 01:25:02,231 --> 01:25:07,233 She was witty and whip smart and a pleasure to have around. 1841 01:25:08,501 --> 01:25:11,699 And you couldn't look at her smiling face 1842 01:25:11,768 --> 01:25:13,437 without smiling yourself. 1843 01:25:13,506 --> 01:25:15,769 - Just so you know what happened. 1844 01:25:15,838 --> 01:25:18,673 It came back and then we lost her. 1845 01:25:19,578 --> 01:25:21,544 - It was terrible. 1846 01:25:21,613 --> 01:25:25,911 It was absolutely devastating. 1847 01:25:25,980 --> 01:25:30,289 And when we heard that the cancer had spread, 1848 01:25:33,526 --> 01:25:35,789 I kinda knew that was the end. 1849 01:25:35,858 --> 01:25:38,594 Then I came to the hospital a few times. 1850 01:25:38,663 --> 01:25:43,203 I met her sisters and they're such a wonderful family 1851 01:25:43,272 --> 01:25:44,930 and they reminded me of my family. 1852 01:25:44,999 --> 01:25:47,603 I saw that look of worry 1853 01:25:47,672 --> 01:25:49,968 for your child that I saw on Fatima's mother's face. 1854 01:25:50,037 --> 01:25:53,906 I saw it on my own mother's face when I had a car accident. 1855 01:25:53,975 --> 01:25:55,241 I know that look. 1856 01:25:55,310 --> 01:25:59,813 It's the look of a mother who feels completely helpless 1857 01:25:59,882 --> 01:26:03,223 and no mother should ever feel that way about their child. 1858 01:26:03,985 --> 01:26:06,655 I grew to be really fond 1859 01:26:06,724 --> 01:26:11,363 of her parents and her brother Mohammad. 1860 01:26:11,432 --> 01:26:16,434 And I came to see Fatima as kind of a younger sister. 1861 01:26:20,540 --> 01:26:22,506 I'm very close to my family 1862 01:26:22,575 --> 01:26:25,575 and my cousins function like my siblings, 1863 01:26:25,644 --> 01:26:27,478 but here was a sister in the kitchen. 1864 01:26:27,547 --> 01:26:29,777 But then when I got to know her family 1865 01:26:29,846 --> 01:26:34,848 and her again under these very extreme circumstances, 1866 01:26:35,753 --> 01:26:37,488 I kind of fell in love with her. 1867 01:26:37,557 --> 01:26:40,392 And I guess I saw my younger self 1868 01:26:40,461 --> 01:26:44,627 in her too and I wanted her to have the opportunities 1869 01:26:44,696 --> 01:26:47,399 that maybe I hadn't had or women 1870 01:26:47,468 --> 01:26:49,764 in my generation didn't have. 1871 01:26:49,833 --> 01:26:53,306 And I'm just sorry she didn't get that chance. 1872 01:26:53,375 --> 01:26:56,804 Fatima may have been inspired in her life 1873 01:26:56,873 --> 01:27:01,006 by me again, which is super flattering and such an honor 1874 01:27:01,075 --> 01:27:03,415 but in the end of her life, 1875 01:27:03,484 --> 01:27:05,318 she was quite inspiring 1876 01:27:05,387 --> 01:27:09,982 in the way she trudged forward full steam ahead 1877 01:27:10,051 --> 01:27:12,853 and made plans, started writing 1878 01:27:12,922 --> 01:27:17,792 because she was in a hospital bed, went on Ellen, 1879 01:27:17,861 --> 01:27:22,698 did whatever she could to remain active in the face 1880 01:27:22,767 --> 01:27:27,769 of such monumental opposition because of her cancer. 1881 01:27:30,511 --> 01:27:31,344 I'm just sad. 1882 01:27:31,413 --> 01:27:32,712 I think about her. 1883 01:27:32,781 --> 01:27:37,383 I look at pictures of her and she had so much possibility 1884 01:27:39,784 --> 01:27:42,421 and she saw so much possibility. 1885 01:27:43,788 --> 01:27:47,591 This is a girl who grew up in a school in Pakistan saying, 1886 01:27:47,660 --> 01:27:48,889 "I wanna be on "Top Chef". 1887 01:27:48,958 --> 01:27:50,891 And then she's on "Top Chef". 1888 01:27:53,402 --> 01:27:56,061 This is a girl who admired Susan Sarandon 1889 01:27:56,130 --> 01:27:58,998 and somehow she got to meet Susan Sarandon. 1890 01:27:59,067 --> 01:28:00,300 And then she got to go 1891 01:28:00,368 --> 01:28:02,969 on "The Ellen Show" and she was a force of nature. 1892 01:28:03,038 --> 01:28:07,809 And I'm just sorry that cancer took her away 1893 01:28:07,878 --> 01:28:10,878 from us so early. 1894 01:28:10,947 --> 01:28:15,487 Really, what can you say about a 27 year old 1895 01:28:15,556 --> 01:28:19,623 who gets Ewing sarcoma who hasn't really had a chance 1896 01:28:19,692 --> 01:28:21,394 to spread her wings? 1897 01:28:21,463 --> 01:28:23,957 That she was kind, that she was funny 1898 01:28:25,500 --> 01:28:27,730 that she was a good writer, that she loved really hard 1899 01:28:27,799 --> 01:28:31,536 and was very warm and there for all her friends and family, 1900 01:28:31,605 --> 01:28:33,131 that she was a magical thinker 1901 01:28:33,200 --> 01:28:36,640 and made you laugh all the time. 1902 01:28:36,709 --> 01:28:39,709 - Everyone at home who voted for fan favorite, 1903 01:28:39,778 --> 01:28:40,443 I have good news. 1904 01:28:40,512 --> 01:28:41,544 I'm announcing it now. 1905 01:28:41,613 --> 01:28:44,582 The winner and the recipient of $10,000 1906 01:28:44,651 --> 01:28:47,816 is Fatima Ali! 1907 01:28:49,920 --> 01:28:52,458 - I think the most important thing 1908 01:28:54,089 --> 01:28:57,694 for female chefs in general is just to build each other up. 1909 01:28:57,763 --> 01:28:59,531 I think having that kind of network 1910 01:28:59,600 --> 01:29:03,062 and reaching out to one another and having the opportunity 1911 01:29:03,131 --> 01:29:05,735 to collaborate is so important. 1912 01:29:05,804 --> 01:29:09,640 And that's the only way we can become better and rise up. 1913 01:29:09,709 --> 01:29:12,478 And I think that's the most exciting thing 1914 01:29:12,547 --> 01:29:15,943 is having the kind of infrastructure 1915 01:29:16,012 --> 01:29:18,011 all around the world really, 1916 01:29:18,080 --> 01:29:22,048 having these really fantastic female chefs helming kitchens 1917 01:29:22,117 --> 01:29:25,425 and being able to use each other as resources. 1918 01:29:25,494 --> 01:29:29,627 - My inspiration, I know this is so cheesy, 1919 01:29:30,763 --> 01:29:33,191 but I have to say it, it's my grandma. 1920 01:29:33,260 --> 01:29:34,731 How can it not be? 1921 01:29:34,800 --> 01:29:36,128 She taught me how to love food. 1922 01:29:36,197 --> 01:29:38,130 She taught me how to cook for people. 1923 01:29:38,199 --> 01:29:41,441 - In her heart, family is really precious to her 1924 01:29:41,510 --> 01:29:42,776 that's number one. 1925 01:29:42,845 --> 01:29:45,907 In our culture, it's very hard to express verbally, 1926 01:29:45,976 --> 01:29:48,580 but we know from how they look at her, 1927 01:29:48,649 --> 01:29:51,979 how they treat her, it's like beyond words. 1928 01:29:52,048 --> 01:29:53,750 It's amazing what she accomplished 1929 01:29:53,819 --> 01:29:55,422 and I'm very proud of her too. 1930 01:29:57,119 --> 01:29:58,119 - Thank you. 1931 01:30:00,056 --> 01:30:01,056 I was a nobody. 1932 01:30:01,090 --> 01:30:03,056 I didn't really have chef friends 1933 01:30:03,125 --> 01:30:05,696 or industry people or whatever. 1934 01:30:05,765 --> 01:30:07,064 I was just so young. 1935 01:30:07,133 --> 01:30:11,504 It was hard because I had to make the mistakes to learn. 1936 01:30:11,573 --> 01:30:14,474 And I guess that's sort of my personality too. 1937 01:30:14,543 --> 01:30:15,342 I'm very stubborn. 1938 01:30:15,411 --> 01:30:17,477 I just have to do it my own way 1939 01:30:17,546 --> 01:30:19,974 and figure it out because I feel like you have 1940 01:30:20,043 --> 01:30:22,746 to make every experience your own. 1941 01:30:22,815 --> 01:30:25,683 Somehow I managed to put something together. 1942 01:30:26,819 --> 01:30:29,082 - I would definitely say that The Edge was born 1943 01:30:29,151 --> 01:30:33,493 from Juliet and myself taking a leap. 1944 01:30:33,562 --> 01:30:35,726 There's this quote, "Leap and the net will appear." 1945 01:30:35,795 --> 01:30:37,629 Thank goodness the net appeared 1946 01:30:37,698 --> 01:30:39,796 'cause we leaped off the cliff. 1947 01:30:39,865 --> 01:30:43,635 And I think you don't have all your ducks in a row 1948 01:30:43,704 --> 01:30:47,705 but you take risks and chances anyway. 1949 01:30:47,774 --> 01:30:49,213 Of course, you try to be as organized 1950 01:30:49,237 --> 01:30:51,907 as possible and as researched as possible, 1951 01:30:51,976 --> 01:30:54,811 but sometimes you're not completely clear on what it is 1952 01:30:54,880 --> 01:30:57,550 that you want to do and how you wanna do it, 1953 01:30:57,619 --> 01:31:00,817 but you just have to throw yourself into it. 1954 01:31:00,886 --> 01:31:05,855 I will say that I'm tremendously proud of my sister. 1955 01:31:06,958 --> 01:31:09,221 I also have been humbled by the fact 1956 01:31:09,290 --> 01:31:12,191 that she did always tell me that it's okay, 1957 01:31:12,260 --> 01:31:13,392 this is gonna work out 1958 01:31:13,461 --> 01:31:14,505 and we're gonna do something great together. 1959 01:31:14,529 --> 01:31:17,603 She led the way to create this space. 1960 01:31:17,672 --> 01:31:19,935 It has been an absolute joy to watch. 1961 01:31:20,004 --> 01:31:22,707 - I can't imagine having this place now without Justine. 1962 01:31:22,776 --> 01:31:26,040 I mean, she's such an integral part of the everyday 1963 01:31:26,109 --> 01:31:28,581 of the restaurant and feeling the way it feels 1964 01:31:28,650 --> 01:31:32,717 and she's the most trusted person in my life. 1965 01:31:32,786 --> 01:31:35,049 Tell each other, honestly and truthfully 1966 01:31:35,118 --> 01:31:37,084 when things go wrong or right. 1967 01:31:37,153 --> 01:31:39,955 She's the person I can celebrate this with 1968 01:31:40,024 --> 01:31:41,924 and she's on the battlefield with me 1969 01:31:41,993 --> 01:31:45,664 and I couldn't ask for a better person to be 1970 01:31:45,733 --> 01:31:47,032 on the battlefield with me. 1971 01:31:47,101 --> 01:31:51,901 I mean, this is my sister who is not my twin but my twin. 1972 01:31:54,005 --> 01:31:55,246 - And then they cleaned the green beans. 1973 01:31:55,270 --> 01:31:56,609 There's no tops on them? 1974 01:31:57,305 --> 01:31:59,271 Fuck yeah, it's green bean time. 1975 01:31:59,340 --> 01:32:00,955 I just said fuck yeah, it's green bean time. 1976 01:32:00,979 --> 01:32:03,517 Totally 100%, it's amazing. 1977 01:32:04,686 --> 01:32:06,026 Who's more excited about green beans? 1978 01:32:06,050 --> 01:32:07,349 Obviously we are. 1979 01:32:07,418 --> 01:32:10,821 I've worked alongside some amazing chefs and restaurateurs. 1980 01:32:10,890 --> 01:32:12,658 And maybe not by coincidence, 1981 01:32:12,727 --> 01:32:15,122 some of the hardest working most innovative 1982 01:32:15,191 --> 01:32:17,663 and passionate among them have been women. 1983 01:32:17,732 --> 01:32:19,731 Missy Robbins is a woman that stands behind 1984 01:32:19,800 --> 01:32:21,066 what she believes in. 1985 01:32:21,135 --> 01:32:24,736 The importance of ingredients, the integrity of flavor 1986 01:32:24,805 --> 01:32:27,299 and the delivery of honoring tradition in tandem 1987 01:32:27,368 --> 01:32:29,939 with authentic Italian hospitality. 1988 01:32:30,008 --> 01:32:31,207 To this day, 1989 01:32:31,276 --> 01:32:33,272 we still exchange recipes and stories of travel. 1990 01:32:34,815 --> 01:32:36,353 For that matter, one of the greatest things about working 1991 01:32:36,377 --> 01:32:38,783 with Vicki Freeman is her love of travel, 1992 01:32:38,852 --> 01:32:40,620 her love of exploration 1993 01:32:40,689 --> 01:32:43,282 and her love of finding the next best thing. 1994 01:32:43,351 --> 01:32:46,857 Whether it's something new or a time honored tradition 1995 01:32:46,926 --> 01:32:48,760 at risk of being lost, 1996 01:32:48,829 --> 01:32:51,697 Vicky is always a proponent of capturing the wisdom 1997 01:32:51,766 --> 01:32:56,031 of travel so that we can take that back to the restaurants 1998 01:32:56,100 --> 01:33:00,838 and learn, teach, and share that inspiration with our teams. 1999 01:33:01,710 --> 01:33:03,940 I love travel so much. 2000 01:33:04,009 --> 01:33:06,107 It has become one of my greatest teachers. 2001 01:33:07,375 --> 01:33:09,946 I think part of our industry that is so special 2002 01:33:10,015 --> 01:33:14,049 is this kind of education, the constant vulnerability 2003 01:33:14,118 --> 01:33:16,920 and the constant growth it brings. 2004 01:33:16,989 --> 01:33:17,989 - My career has taken 2005 01:33:18,023 --> 01:33:20,792 this interesting full circle path, 2006 01:33:20,861 --> 01:33:23,289 which I don't think is, 2007 01:33:23,358 --> 01:33:26,666 if it happens for you, great, if it doesn't, that's great. 2008 01:33:26,735 --> 01:33:30,802 I started with Sohui at The Good Fork over a decade ago 2009 01:33:30,871 --> 01:33:35,334 and I did this big kind of circle and she was always there 2010 01:33:35,403 --> 01:33:38,040 as a mentor for me throughout the whole thing. 2011 01:33:38,109 --> 01:33:43,111 Returning to her kitchen, it's such a sense of homecoming. 2012 01:33:45,446 --> 01:33:47,247 It's not about me saying, 2013 01:33:47,316 --> 01:33:49,216 "Hey, when you met me, I didn't know anything 2014 01:33:49,285 --> 01:33:52,120 "and look at me now a decade later, 2015 01:33:52,189 --> 01:33:55,288 "I'm this chef and I know all this stuff." 2016 01:33:55,357 --> 01:33:59,391 I just wanna show her how important that relationship 2017 01:33:59,460 --> 01:34:00,492 is to me. 2018 01:34:00,561 --> 01:34:05,364 That mentorship, it'll make your career. 2019 01:34:05,433 --> 01:34:10,336 I'm emotional about it because it's those good mentors, 2020 01:34:10,405 --> 01:34:12,074 we owe them everything. 2021 01:34:12,143 --> 01:34:13,911 And if I can do that for somebody, 2022 01:34:16,015 --> 01:34:18,850 that will be better than anything I ever cook. 2023 01:34:26,795 --> 01:34:28,728 - I mean, we've never worked together before, 2024 01:34:28,797 --> 01:34:29,929 we just ate together. 2025 01:34:29,998 --> 01:34:32,391 And it's just one meeting planning the menu 2026 01:34:32,460 --> 01:34:35,130 and we make all things happen. 2027 01:34:35,199 --> 01:34:37,396 So I said the more the merrier 2028 01:34:37,465 --> 01:34:40,806 and whoever said girls can't get along? 2029 01:34:40,875 --> 01:34:42,104 - That's just crazy. 2030 01:34:42,173 --> 01:34:43,105 I've never heard that. 2031 01:34:43,174 --> 01:34:44,340 I honestly think that 2032 01:34:44,409 --> 01:34:46,186 that comes from women having to be so competitive 2033 01:34:46,210 --> 01:34:47,307 in a man's world. 2034 01:34:49,246 --> 01:34:50,011 For so many years, 2035 01:34:50,080 --> 01:34:52,246 people have grown up thinking 2036 01:34:52,315 --> 01:34:53,459 there's not enough room for me. 2037 01:34:53,483 --> 01:34:55,480 There's only gonna be one woman at this event 2038 01:34:55,549 --> 01:34:57,449 and that's not true anymore. 2039 01:34:57,518 --> 01:34:59,001 So we don't have to act like that anymore. 2040 01:34:59,025 --> 01:35:00,760 - Cool. - Cheers. 2041 01:35:00,829 --> 01:35:03,763 - Cheers, let's rule the world! 2042 01:35:03,832 --> 01:35:06,524 - It actually boils down to a very simple, chefy kind of way 2043 01:35:06,593 --> 01:35:07,659 of thinking for me. 2044 01:35:07,727 --> 01:35:12,167 I've seen so much and I've evolved so much 2045 01:35:12,236 --> 01:35:14,499 in this business and television shows, 2046 01:35:14,568 --> 01:35:19,306 and restaurants and seasonality, different environments. 2047 01:35:19,375 --> 01:35:20,474 It kind of comes down 2048 01:35:20,543 --> 01:35:25,312 to I said I like female sort of nurtured food. 2049 01:35:26,118 --> 01:35:27,184 And I think what I mean 2050 01:35:27,252 --> 01:35:30,053 by that is not necessarily just a gender, 2051 01:35:30,122 --> 01:35:32,352 but I like the sensitivity 2052 01:35:32,421 --> 01:35:36,290 that maybe we've just sort of put on females, 2053 01:35:36,359 --> 01:35:38,061 but I actually love so many ingredients 2054 01:35:38,130 --> 01:35:39,931 and so many different kinds of people. 2055 01:35:40,000 --> 01:35:43,297 And I think about it as if I'm at the farmer's market 2056 01:35:43,366 --> 01:35:46,102 and there's all these varietals of heirloom tomatoes 2057 01:35:46,171 --> 01:35:47,807 and I don't have a favorite one. 2058 01:35:47,876 --> 01:35:49,042 I just like all of them 2059 01:35:49,111 --> 01:35:52,174 because they're all unique and all so special. 2060 01:35:53,508 --> 01:35:54,518 And so now I'm gonna have to buy like 20 of them 2061 01:35:54,542 --> 01:35:59,544 because I wanna celebrate all of it. 2062 01:35:59,613 --> 01:36:03,757 For me, that's exactly what we should look at people like, 2063 01:36:05,124 --> 01:36:08,553 and food and all of our traditions and innovativeness. 2064 01:36:08,622 --> 01:36:10,456 There's a lot of information here 2065 01:36:10,525 --> 01:36:14,966 and we need to celebrate and take care of that angle of it 2066 01:36:15,035 --> 01:36:17,100 because that actually is the most important thing 2067 01:36:17,169 --> 01:36:19,234 about the planet. 2068 01:36:19,303 --> 01:36:21,500 - You plan a lot. 2069 01:36:21,569 --> 01:36:24,371 You're sitting over there, you make plans for your life. 2070 01:36:24,440 --> 01:36:26,109 You make plans for your work, 2071 01:36:26,178 --> 01:36:29,244 plans to open up a restaurant, plans to travel. 2072 01:36:29,313 --> 01:36:31,609 And sometimes you just don't get 2073 01:36:31,678 --> 01:36:34,117 that timeline the way you wanted it. 2074 01:36:34,186 --> 01:36:35,385 And I think for me, 2075 01:36:35,454 --> 01:36:37,582 the biggest takeaway from this whole experience 2076 01:36:37,651 --> 01:36:39,991 is that you just got to do it 2077 01:36:40,060 --> 01:36:44,259 and it's just really pushed me to make things happen now. 2078 01:36:44,328 --> 01:36:45,561 When I was younger, 2079 01:36:45,629 --> 01:36:48,131 I think I always had all these big dreams in my head 2080 01:36:48,200 --> 01:36:51,332 and I was maybe a little bit hesitant to always follow them, 2081 01:36:51,401 --> 01:36:54,467 but there's no holding back anymore. 2082 01:36:56,076 --> 01:36:59,571 - This is the story of a woman and her name is Chef.