Edacious

The very last Edacious podcast. Thx for the food, drink, laughter, memories. Thx for being a conduit Cville, RVA, DC and everywhere else me and my truck Serena went. Thx for the lessons. Be well, Remember to allow. Join me. Here's what next. It's EPIC!

This is it, y'all. The last Edacious episode. Which is also the first HAG episode. An ending which is also a beginning. Just like life. Thank you for the memories, the laughter, and the lessons. See you at hagthebook.com on August 22nd, 2020. Big Love, Big Love, Big Love. Allow, Allow, Allow.

Maybe the most important podcast I've ever produced. Addiction in restaurant culture. In an environment whose very premise is dedicated to serving others, how do we take care of ourselves without the emotional blankets of alcohol, drugs, sex, work, shopping, chaos, rage, you name it? How do we help each other remove those blankets and begin to feel and work through the complicated feelings that come with running and working in the food industry? How do we help our own? Ben's Friends is figuring it out. My conversation with Carrie Neal Walden of the Atlanta Chapter confirms we absolutely need this in Charlottesville. Sooner rather than later and you guys know why. No need to spell it out, if you know what I mean, you know what I mean. If you don't? Ask your local food industry professional, because until we start talking about addiction in restaurant culture, it will not get better. Our discussion topics are listed below. Also stay tuned for my very biased and giggly review of our local AquaFloat facility. It's pretty fucking epic and a much better tool than that after work shift drink. Addiction is a chronic disease, but if you have the right toolbox full of stuff, and some community that understands, it becomes just one more facet of the shiny diamond you are. Be well my friends. Big Love. Chaos. It's the new cocaine. Living in the present. Be here now. Don't "catastrophize" and predict a horrible future. You know how addiction ends. How about trying the other story? Aren't you curious? It's okay to say no and offer an alternative instead of saying yes all the time. It's okay to say yes, but not right this minute. Is restaurant culture different from other job cultures? Is it an Island of Misfit Toys? Setting boundaries. Parenting yourself. Restaurant culture and its peculiar habits, some that still exist. Why Ben's Friends is NOT AA. At all. A group of restaurant people that want to get and stay sober and they want to help other folks do the same. Not anonymous. Round table open-discussion format. Once a week meetings in 16 cities. Topic based peer-support discussion. What do you do if you're 2 weeks sober but your friends aren't? What boundaries do you set for yourself? What other industries could this model translate to? Handling your shit. To live sober, you've got to have connection. Anthony Bourdain Sean Brock Mocktails Food delivery system impacts everyone. We're all a hot mess. Shame is a useless emotion. Take it and turn it into something to help another person. It'll make you feel better. Sober Curious. What is it? Perception and Awareness. Being able to look at yourself from outside yourself.

Welcome to Episode 122! No guest this time because all y’all are running around like crazy people anyway. Putting up greenery and buying shit because you think if you don’t get Aunt Gladys a singing gingerbread man, she’ll give you the stink eye. You know what? She will anyway, save your money. DO YOURSELF this holiday. I see your gutter minds you dirty birdies, but I ain’t talking about bedroom eyes under the mistletoe. I’m talking about expectations and perceptions. What would YOU do if Christmas was the way YOU wanted it and not the way you THINK you wanted it? You’re allowed to do that you know. Pretend your life is a movie and you’re playing the part of you and if you win the Academy Award this year, that mythical SELF LOVE will finally materialize and throw itself about you like a fabulous new cashmere shawl. Why not? Nothing else has worked to this point. Or maybe it has but just hasn’t lasted long enough for you to notice. In any case, treating self-care as a game, and a movie and a pretend play, where you try out shit and see what works, is a damn sight better option than buying a bunch of bath bombs and wine. Your mind is occupied and OMG you might even have a little fun while you’re trying to fix that voice inside which says if you don’t have potato rolls on the table for Christmas, your neighbor will think you’re a whore. We talk about that in this episode. Take it easy my friends. No one is behind you with a clipboard ticking off your every imagined failing. You’re fine. We’re all a mess. Big Love. http://edacious.co/122

Authenticity, intuition, and perception in a world full of rigid expectations. Meet Heather Carlucci, medical intuitive, former NYC pastry chef and restaurant owner. All-around badass Glamazon. She did all the things in food: pastry, savory, consulting, teaching, appearances on Good Morning America and Iron Chef. You name it she probably tackled it with edacious-ness. But five years ago she made a huge change...because something told her there was something more. This is one of the most authentic conversations I’ve ever had on the podcast. A perfect representation of what I want this medium to be. The fact destiny brought me to a medium as the first guest of Edacious 2.0? Feels great in my soul. I can’t imagine a more tremendous beginning, and I’m so grateful to Heather for donating her time. One not to miss. Big Love everyone. Embrace your inner Woo-Woo. Just one way I stay edacious! Rabbit holes we traveled down: Authenticity Not Being Defensive Accepting all parts of yourself Zero fucks Cultural and societal expectations Restaurant culture now vs. 20 years ago Workaholics The importance of rest Trauma Work Ego Mind/Body Connection The importance of LANGUAGE (hard vs. challenging) Validation Does This Matter? We're All A Mess Fuck It! Ease

The Who, What, When, Where, and Why of Edacious, as well as the What's Next. There will be food. There will always be food. What the hell happened? Find out in this "Catch-Up" episode. So much life, I had to take a minute. Not a bad thing. Reflecton and solitude are essential in order to love yourself. To know yourself. To know what works and what doesn't. When you act from your center instead of reacting to outside forces, the ripple effects, the connections created, are much more powerful. I needed that for myself and for my work which is also my art. I've also decided I fucking hate show notes so if you want to discover the magic of Edacious, you just better go on and hit SUBSCRIBE at the purple podcast app on your phone. Or not, makes no never mind to me. But I'm saving the writing for the book I just finished. That's on the podcast too. Stay edacious folks. Especially for yourself. I know it's hard. Pro tip: feel the feelings, don't BE the feelings. Trust me on this one. Big Love from Edacious, a true Connection Initiative.

What is The Farmer’s Shadow and why is it important in making a great wine? Welcome to a reflective, thoughtful conversation with Emily Pelton of Veritas Vineyard & Winery. In wine there is truth. Emily’s truth lies in this concept. Being present with the grapes on a daily basis, tasting, tasting again. Walking the rows. Taking the time and doing the work rather than trying to rush and fix mistakes later. Wine and how it grows over time both on the vine and in the bottle. The pride you feel when you look at a bottle you grew yourself, the product of many hands and many months of work and careful care. The grape farmer’s finished product. Just like a produce seller is proud of her prized tomatoes, a winemaker feels the same for her wine. As Emily says, wine isn’t just a product on the shelves, every piece is carefully curated before going into the bottle, just like a chef curates a plate of food. Taste varies among different years, but also among each individual row. It’s the winemaker’s job to taste constantly, sometimes daily. To be present to determine which row will be blended best depending on weather conditions, the age of the vine, and the current condition of the soil. Winemakers are grape farmers after all. How will this rainy year be salvaged? The news isn’t as dire as you think. Emily sees the challenge as a learning experience and she will use the knowledge she’s gained from past years to create something beautiful. California winemakers are actually jealous since most of the time they endure extremely dry conditions and water shortages. The grass is always greener and the winemaker has to be able to assess what they have rather than long for conditions on the other coast. Veritas is a family business with deep roots. Although working with family on a daily basis can be challenging, a major amount of trust is an important component. No micromanaging your daughter, your aunt, your brother because everyone has the same end goal. A business that started with a dream Emily’s parents had of owning a farm. A dream Emily followed when she gave up a career in infectious disease to move to Virginia where she quickly fell in love with grape farming and pursued a degree in oenology. Again, being present and aware to what your soul’s purpose needs to do. It’s not just wine! Veritas offers amazing food, a gorgeous space for special events, and The Farmhouse bed and breakfast with a prix fixe menu which changes depending on what is in season that day. Emily actually works closely with Chef Andy to create perfect pairings for each vintage. Again, an example of taking time. Being present. Not focusing on filling the space with weddings and loading up tour buses. Honesty and truth. Winery first. The rest is just extra. In this winter season of reflection, I can’t think of a better way to kick off 2019. I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I did creating it. In vino veritas.

Happy New Year! Welcome to a special edition of 3dacious, a bi-weekly compendium of the top 3 regional Foods I Forked, Cool Collaborations, and events I'm excited about, but will probably miss because I'm already snuggly in my recliner with a hot tea and a lapful of cats. This week? My Best of 2018. The top three of everything. Television that filled my heart with hope and made me guffaw, food I inhaled like a ravenous bear, and the best of the best in this year's podcast conversations. Stories of triumph and survival. Stories that showed me the strength of the human spirit, stories that made me cry, stories of community, and just damn good stories. It was hard to pick only three from so many folks who took time out of their busy lives to share, but here they are. If you had to pick just three to represent a year of great development and change, both in my world and the world at large, this would be a pretty stellar start. I rant about how well-meaning folks sometimes say stupid things, the importance of knowing your value even if your paycheck doesn't match it, and express wonder and gratitude about all the talent and magic happening in our amazing community. I hope wherever you are this holiday, that you're happy and well and understand that no matter what happens, everything will be okay. Because it will. Thank you to everyone courageous and gracious enough to share their stories and congratulations to all the winners. I'm so excited for what lies ahead. Because if 2018 was any indication, it's going to be tremendous. Be well. Do good. Big Love. SHOW NOTES – Links to resources talked about during the podcast: Support this podcast! Be Edacious!Subscribe. Stay Edacious! -Leave a review!

Happy Holidays everyone! In this special episode of Edacious - Food Talk for Gluttons I go off-script. But no worries, there’s still food. Everything starts over food. When I was a young woman with big dreams, travel was a requirement. Still is. So I worked three jobs, saved some money, and lived on a friend’s couch in Glasgow until the only thing my bank statement showed was enough cash for fare back to the airport. I had a lot of time to write. To think. I brought my favorite books for inspiration, one of which was Paul Auster’s Moon Palace. My favorite book by my favorite author. In a fit of crazy WTF I wrote him a letter of gratitude. To my utter astonishment, he wrote back. My happy tears covered the note and to this day I still use his monogrammed notecard as a bookmark. The day my father told me over a very staticky, barely audible, public phone box line that my favorite author had taken the time to encourage me in my work was one of the happiest in my life. So this holiday, I want to share Auster’s brilliant storytelling with you. I first heard Auggie Wren’s Christmas Story in the movie Smoke, directed by Wayne Wang and written by Auster. Harvey Keitel does an amazing job. I can’t even pretend to approach that but it felt important this year to share my favorite Christmas story with all of you. To actually TELL a story. Out loud. Because all of the best stories are done that way. Oral storytelling is a lost art and one my father does so well and has all his life. This Christmas it felt important to do that too. To carry on family tradition. To use this podcast to share Daddy’s legacy, where a simple joke can take 20 minutes and involve standing up and using a lot of gestures in an attempt to bring the listener into the action. I hope I’ve done that here in some small way. If not, search Auggie Wren’s Christmas Story on YouTube and watch Keitel in action along with Wang’s brilliant direction. Couldn’t include Tom Waits in this, I’m probably already in trouble with the Copyright Police, but I hope you enjoy it wherever your travels take you. I wish you much peace, good food, and of course, heaps and heaps of BIG LOVE. SHOW NOTES – Links to resources talked about during the podcast: Support this podcast! Be Edacious!Subscribe. Stay Edacious! -Leave a review!

So you’ve got a great recipe for Italian gravy and want to start a food business? Well, it’s way more than throwing it in a jar and sticking it on a grocer’s shelf. There are many hoops to jump through and tests to pass before that dream becomes a reality. Meet Yvonne Ham of Nona’s Italian Cucina. A story full of love, comfort, the safe spaces grandmothers create, and all the different forms heart health can take. This is not your typical pasta sauce folks. This is REAL ITALIAN GRAVY. What’s the difference? First taste and you’ll know. True Italian gravy is thicker, the cooking process longer and slower. Flavorwise? No comparison. The essence of tomato with an unctuousness, a comforting meatiness. But this sauce is vegan, gluten-free, allergen-free. Just San Marzano tomatoes imported from Italy, fresh herbs, and classic spices. There’s also sweetness, but no sugar here. That’s just supreme tomatoes expressing their flavors. The story behind Nona’s Italian Cucina is as great as the gravy. Yvonne learned the recipe from an Italian neighbor, a grandmother who acted as both friend and mentor while she and her military family were stationed in Naples. It was Yvonne’s first time abroad and she felt so out of her element, but Nona took her under her wing and not only taught her cooking but showed her how to navigate this new world. Nona became a part of the family and when The Hams returned 12 years later, Nona was there to greet them once more. Yvonne is now carrying on her tradition, feeding people and connecting to folks within her own community. Even though Nona is no longer with us, Yvonne knows she’s watching and guiding Yvonne with her blessing. And I know she’s just so proud. I first tried Yvonne’s gravy at The Charlottesville City Market, where she’s been sampling and selling and getting the word out for some time. Now she’s begun the next step of the journey. Store shelves. You can find Nona’s Italian Cucina at The Charlottesville City Market, The Spice Diva, Nourish Louisa, Market Street Wine, and Blue Ridge Bottle Shop in Crozet. What happens when you’ve just started your food business and a major health scare manifests right out of the blue? You keep going. This happened to Yvonne and her story is not only a tribute to her strength and resilience but also to her commitment to caring for people and her community by feeding them good food. Healing yourself, learning your own value, by connecting and caring for others. A deep soulful lesson for all of us and one we can all learn from. Part of that commitment is future initiatives with the American Heart Association, maybe a fundraiser or a consciousness-raising about advocating for your health and finding your voice. Working to eradicate food deserts. Cooking classes. Whatever Yvonne plans, count me in. She’s a beautiful human being with an amazing product I’m honored to promote and eat, as much as I can. Our lunch lasted almost 6 hours, a leisurely stroll of food and conversation in the true Italian style. Dolce Far Niente. The sweetness of doing nothing. An Italian way of life that everyone should get behind. Often. Happy holidays everyone. May your own table be as comforting and healing as this conversation was for me. Mille Grazie, Yvonne. Your gravy is amazeballs! SHOW NOTES – Links to resources talked about during the podcast: Support this podcast! Be Edacious!Subscribe. Stay Edacious! -Leave a review!

Happy Holidays everyone and welcome to another episode of 3dacious, a bi-weekly compendium of the top 3 regional Foods I Forked, Cool Collaborations, and events I'm excited about, but will probably miss because I've already taken my Tylenol PM. This week? I rant about my hatred of cookie swaps and think aloud about smiling. Why women are told to do it, and not do it depending on the situation. Plus my recommendation for binge-watching over the holidays. A lovely, sweet sitcom from Australia called, "Please Like Me." Yes, folks, Edacious is WEEKLY. Because it’s never just about the food. Be well. Do good. Big Love. SHOW NOTES – Links to resources talked about during the podcast: Support this podcast! Be Edacious!Subscribe. Stay Edacious! -Leave a review!

Why is the dishwasher the "a**hole" of the restaurant? Who is the Duner Lunar? Who is Lil’ Skittles? Just a few of so many vital questions we tackle in Episode 114 with Chef Laura Fonner of Duner's in Ivy. As you can see from the important issues listed, our conversation was lively and warm. Much like a visit to Duner’s, where since 1983 owner Bob Caldwell and his staff have served up warm food and ambience to locals and tourists alike. Only open Wednesday to Sunday. With a menu that changes daily. A place where a person can be a regular. A place where you feel taken care of. A true neighborhood establishment. A combination becoming increasingly unheard of in such a competitive food region. Their oldest waitress has worked 30 years. The rest of the staff have been there at least 15. Again, something unheard of in an industry where revolving doors are common. Why the longevity? One reason is Owner Bob, who allows kitchen staff to spread their wings, experiment, try out stuff. He trusts them. Which means their incredibly large menu changes on a dime. That yummy thing you ate 3 weeks ago? Laura probably doesn’t remember. This variety keeps staff from getting bored and it turns customers into regulars. Because it’s a different restaurant every night. Working in a kitchen takes a toll. There are 16-hour days. Backs get injured. There are scars and bad knees and plantar fasciitis. Laura almost died giving birth. She experienced terrible physical and emotional pain, but survived with a renewed sense of reflection and purpose, eventually finding solace in her work once again. Cooking on the line. Feeding people. All of it has made her a stronger person and a better chef. Laura shares this amazing story with me, speaking with such courage and vulnerability. I’m honored and grateful to have heard it. Part of Chef Fonner’s continued self-care is giving back to the community. Organizing weekly shelter meals through PACEM, working alongside Charlottesville Women in Food, has shown her that having your dream job, feeding people and hanging out with friends, can also be shared within a bigger arena. As Laura says, not all of us have a lot of time. But we all have a little bit. Put all those little bits together and you have quite a lot. Contact Laura Fonner at Duner’s if you’d like to help serve, or have a food or monetary donation. Let’s spread some of that upbeat feeling around as much as we can. Being around Laura’s energy for an afternoon helped me understand why she and her kitchen staff work so well together. Because it was all just so damn much fun. Cheers. SHOW NOTES – Links to resources talked about during the podcast: Support this podcast! Be Edacious!Subscribe. Stay Edacious! -Leave a review!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone and welcome to another episode of 3dacious, a bi-weekly compendium of the top 3 regional Foods I Forked, Cool Collaborations, and events I'm excited about, but will probably miss because I'm in my jammies. This week? The Little White Party 2018, a restaurant with a milkshake that's a part of my DNA, a turkey pot pie to DIE for and I get all mushy about friendship and gratitude. Plus my recommendations for binge-watching over the holidays. Yes, folks, Edacious is WEEKLY. Because it’s never just about the food. SHOW NOTES – Links to resources talked about during the podcast: Support this podcast! Be Edacious!Subscribe. Stay Edacious! -Leave a review! What brand of special food porn is this? I guess you'll just have to listen, won't you? Wishing you health, pie, and BIG LOVE. Happy Turkey Day!

Welcome to Episode 112 of Edacious and a conversation about success. How that doesn’t necessarily mean having your own show or managing a bunch of line cooks. Meet Chef Trish Clinton, chef for Zeta Psi fraternity at the University of Virginia. Yes, it’s a thing. Yes, I had questions. And yes, she manages a team but instead of checking mise en place, she’s guiding her group of 45 young men into being better, self-actualized individuals, using food as a starting point. “I’ve done tweezer food. I didn’t get the reward that I get from this.” I met Trish at one of the first Charlottesville Women in Food gatherings and was eager to find out what a typical day is like for a chef in charge of feeding 45 hungry young men every single day on a tight budget. How she has to make do, get creative, work with what she has in front of her. Make magic. Being a single mom, she uses a lot of the same skills. Her menus are planned to the penny. Just like a Mom with 45 kids needs to do. Trish is a self-taught chef who started her cooking career at the esteemed Blackberry Farm in Tennessee. Yes, you heard right. THAT Blackberry Farm. The story of how she went from baking dog treats in her kitchen to that multiple-award-winning-no-pressure restaurant is inspiring and a testament to her positive attitude. What’s it like to cook for a large group of people as opposed to being in a restaurant? Like catering but not. The math is different. The menu planning too. Trish does it all. Menu planning, budgeting, stocking, cooking. No sick days because if she doesn’t make the food, those boys don’t eat. “You are everything. You’re the dishwasher. You’re doing the inventory. It’s like running a small restaurant where you feed 90 people a day.” Food waste is a constant concern, something she uses as an example to teach Zeta Psi, who often have eyes bigger than their stomachs. Come-to-Jesus moments about the value of a food dollar happen on the regular. Trish is a Mom Away From Home, teaching Zeta Psi about food, laundry, even running a dishwasher because as part of her contract, the boys are responsible for cleanup. Every Fall there’s a new crop of boys who eat her out of house and home and need to be told where the “ON” button is. “I received a note from one of the parents that said, ‘You are the best Rent-A-Mom ever.’” And this ain’t fish sticks. How about roasted pork tacos with sherry pickled red onions, jalapenos, and a jalapeno cream sauce? Trish is teaching Zeta Psi not just food, but cuisine. “I specialize in Dude Food and stuff you’d want your Mom to make.” How has being a frat house chef made her a better mom? What about #MeToo? I’ll admit when I first heard what she did all I could picture was Animal House. We talk about this perception at length, and Trish’s answers are both surprising and incredibly enlightening. Bottom line? Those boys are in good hands. This week, Chef Clinton will be cooking Thanksgiving dinner for her boys, complete with stuffing, and pumpkin and pecan pies. We should all be so lucky. Thanks, Rent-a-Mom! May your Thanksgiving be as filled with delicious as theirs is going to be. Be well. Big Love. SHOW NOTES – Links to resources talked about during the podcast: Support this podcast! Be Edacious!Subscribe. Stay Edacious! -Leave a review!

Welcome to another episode of 3dacious, a bi-weekly compendium of the top 3 regional Foods I Forked, Cool Collaborations, and events I'm excited about. This week? An overnight wine gathering that was also a homecoming, a ceviche to die for, and a rant about why I'll never apologize for the number of books I own. Yes, folks, Edacious is WEEKLY. Because it’s never just about the food. SHOW NOTES – Links to resources talked about during the podcast: Subscribe to This Podcast. Stay Edacious! -Leave a review about Edacious! This episode is sponsored by Teej.fm and listeners like you who donated their support at Patreon, who wants every creator in the world to achieve a sustainable income. Thank you.

Welcome to a conversation about perception. Because whether you believe vinegar is a supreme condiment or an item best left to the depths of your dusty pantry shelves, whether or not you think all Norton wine should be vinegar, or whether you’re still under the perception acid is a secondary notion when it comes to flavor profiles, my talk with Jay and Stephanie Rostow of Virginia Vinegar Works is not one to be missed. And I cannot even believe I just typed out the words “flavor profiles”. But here, and rightly so, acid is a flavor that is king. It’s the brightness, the lightness, that extra kick at the back of your throat on top of a fatty dish heavy with butter, that zing which makes your taste buds cry out. Acid elevates every other flavor in a dish. I still say, “Gild the lily...” to myself when I spritz lemon juice or vinegar on just about every prepared dish in my kitchen, even though the source of the quote, a chef known for his Orange crocs, still turns my stomach. Because that’s what acid does. It adds gold to golden. It adds more to more. Virginia Vinegar Works vinegars are definitely more. Hand-crafted using the centuries-old Orleans Method at a small warehouse in Shipman, Virginia using wine the Rostows select themselves. Consciously and carefully, using their decades of winery experience. These guys understand terroir. They also understand in order to make great vinegar, you start with great wine. That particular conversation between producer and vintner sometimes requires a bit of counseling. After all, no craftsman wants to be told their wine isn’t just right. In the early days, phones calls often ended abruptly, but over the years, perceptions changed. Now vintners call them. And for good reason, because the Rostows just won four medals in their first competition. “You can’t make a really good vinegar out of a really bad wine.” Perception. Using face-to-face connection to sell rather than relying solely on big box stores. The Rostows do it all from production to bottling to selling, which helps tell the story of their business, something so important when you exist in a virtual sea of artisanal food products. “We don’t like to waste anything. It’s part of our business. If we can take some wine that isn’t going to make the grade for minor reasons, those are the wines we’re going to take...Those are the ones we’re going to work with...The vinegar that comes from that is going to be delicious.” How is a vinegar maker like a farmer? How does being married affect the business? Why is most balsamic vinegar you find in the store fake? What about their 2012 vintage? When will it be ready to taste? All this and more. Give a listen then get you some. Pour it liberally. Taste the terroir. Elevate your taste buds. SHOW NOTES – Links to resources talked about during the podcast: Subscribe to This Podcast. Stay Edacious! -Leave a review about Edacious! This episode is sponsored by Teej.fm and listeners like you who donated their support at Patreon, who wants every creator in the world to achieve a sustainable income. Thank you.

Welcome to another episode of 3dacious, a bi-weekly compendium of the top 3 regional Foods I Forked, Cool Collaborations, events I'm excited about, and as an extra special extra this week? My conversation with Lilia Fuquen of Virginia Humanities. I-Collective and UVA are partnering with Virginia Humanities to offer the 2-day symposium: Our Evolving Food System: From Slavery to Sovereignty. Which starts TOMORROW, October 17th. Two days of fun talks, roundtable discussions, cooking demonstration, and a lunch by Native American chefs using foraged ingredients and cooked with ancient methods. Now THAT'S both an event and collaboration not to be missed! Stay tuned next week for my conversation with Stephanie and Jay Rostow of Virginia Vinegar Works. Yes, folks, as of October 4th you will get your Edacious fix WEEKLY. New day, new digs, new attitude. Hope you’ll join me on the next leg of this journey of connection and community. Because it’s never just about the food. Stay Edacious! SHOW NOTES – Links to resources talked about during the podcast: Subscribe to This Podcast. Stay Edacious! -Leave a review about Edacious! This episode is sponsored by Teej.fm and listeners like you who donated their support at Patreon, who wants every creator in the world to achieve a sustainable income. Thank you.

Welcome! In this episode of Edacious, we meet a former magazine art director turned baker. A man who used the skills acquired in his old career to set the look, feel, and intention for his current one, creating a new community in the process. I became acquainted with Brian Noyes of Red Truck Bakery when I wrote about him a few years back for Unite Virginia magazine. Flash forward to a farm dinner at Caromont where we became fast friends. It was SUCH a treat to sit with this busy man and talk. About cake, pie, the people we've met, and what it means exactly to take that extra step of care, whether it's writing thank you notes to customers or making sure that cake on your plate is the best you’ve ever had. Brian’s attention to detail is so evident from the art on the walls to the sprinkle of salt atop the focaccia on my ham sandwich. Before we met he sent me a “How Do You Do?” cake! This level of curation makes every customer feel cared for whether they’re enjoying a Dutch streusel crumb apple pie at the shops in Warrenton and nearby Marshall or ordering a double chocolate cake to send to a loved one. I believe it stems from his previous career as an art director for the Washington Post, House and Garden, and Smithsonian magazines, among others, where an eagle eye is paramount to success. Red Truck has won accolades from Garden & Gun, The New York Times, Oprah Magazine, and countless others. With good reason. His Shenandoah apple cake brought tears to my eyes. And it’s not just pies and cakes. Both locations offer breakfast and lunch with muffins, biscuits, sandwiches and countless other goodies. His celebrated granola is the only cereal my picky friend will eat. I still dream about that sandwich and Brian’s chocolate cake is a constant request at family get-togethers. There are guaranteed future honors because the Red Truck Bakery cookbook comes out October 23rd! It’s a destination bakery. Folks travel from as far away as Florida. So the cookbook is not just about recipes, but a feeling. The story of a place. What it’s like to work and bake and live here in our part of the South. I cannot WAIT to make his okra pickles and pepper jelly and all the rest of the stuff that makes me loves Southern food the most. How did all of this begin? Flashback many years when Brian and his partner Dwight bought a farm, which of course needed a truck to make it complete. Brian found a beautiful candy apple red 1954 Ford F-100. Little did he know the seller was Tommy Hilfiger. To feed his creative passions, Brian started making jams, loaves of bread, and pastries, selling them at local farmer’s markets. When Marian Burros profiled his wares in The New York Times a small business quickly turned into a larger one with a readymade logo perfectly suited to the theme of “Rural Bakery”. Word spread quickly, so quickly they could barely keep up with demand. Brian found a space, some investors, and developed the look and feel for the bakery, of course making that beloved red truck the centerpiece. He eventually expanded to Marshall, adding a lunch counter to a historic mercantile space. It’s four times the size but once again, retains that homespun, friendly, country feel. All relating back to that red truck. His expertise is a result of his training at CIA, L’Academie de Cuisine, and King Arthur, all of which Brian completed while working as art director. Former President Barack Obama considers Red Truck’s Sweet Potato Bourbon Pecan Pie his favorite. A hand-delivered letter hanging in the shop says so. Robert Duvall cut the rope on the Marshall store. Tom Hagen and Sonny Corleone had lunch there once. Literally, half of The Godfather just eating sandwiches. Wow! You can order online for shipping through Goldbelly, but everything is baked and handled in Red Truck kitchens. Brian still looks at the orders himself, signs the card, and makes sure every order goes out perfectly. Which at Thanksgiving and Christmas can mean thousands of orders. He will...

OMG what?! Yes, it’s ANOTHER new segment here at Edacious that’s a reconfiguration of a newsletter I created last Spring. Instead of quippy-quip words it’s the-closest-I-can-manage-to-dulcet tones for your ears. Who am I kidding? I’m more Becky from Roseanne than Terry Gross. Nevertheless here it is, a bi-weekly compendium of the top 3 regional Foods I Forked or events I’m excited about (but probably missed because I’m old and tired), cool collaborations I can’t wait to crow about, and as an extra special cinnamon roll this week? That comment I made on Instagram. It’s all here in the October 4th edition of 3dacious. Stay tuned next week for my conversation with Brian Noyes of Red Truck Bakery in Warrenton and Marshall. Yes, folks, as of October 4th you will get your Edacious fix WEEKLY. New day, new digs, new attitude. Hope you’ll join me on the next leg of this journey of connection and community. Because it’s never just about the food. Who created the foods in the pictures? You’ll have to listen to find out. Stay Edacious! SHOW NOTES – Links to resources talked about during the podcast: Subscribe to This Podcast. Stay Edacious! -Subscribe to the 3dacious newsletter! -Leave a review about Edacious! This episode is sponsored by Teej.fm and listeners like you who donated their support at Patreon, who wants every creator in the world to achieve a sustainable income. Thank you.

Tribute Work. With Much Grief and Gratitude. Yet another tribute. On September 16th La Taza closes its doors. They’ll be having a huge party to celebrate and I encourage you to get there as soon as your little feet can carry you. Because La Taza rocks. La Taza is badass. La Taza is a motherfucking motherlode of brunch and camaraderie goodness and I’m sad as hell that it’s closing. Because La Taza has been my go-to for coffee, breakfast, and deep soulful insights on a patio that is people-watching heaven for a decade. On a recent Saturday morning, the city market was a zoo. Panic attack inducing crowds of folks looking to stuff their maws with artisanal delights and stuff their tote bags with Sunday supper produce. But La Taza was quiet. Just the regulars. Eating, reading the paper, sipping coffee, discussing life’s big questions. Just how I like it. Just like this. It’s becoming so I’m writing so many obituaries for beloved restaurants I’m starting to feel like the Dave Attell of restaurants. Check out his Facebook page. You’ll see what I mean. Funny man, maybe the funniest comedian alive, but Lord, he’s worse than my grandmother with the death announcements! There I go. Digressing again. Trying to distract myself from the very real white privilege pain of losing another place where I’m a regular. I realize in the grand scheme of things, especially with a hurricane possibly barreling down on us, this doesn’t mean much. Or does it? When community spaces like La Taza close in favor of multi-unit condo high rises and newfangled restaurants with clever concepts from big corporate companies, what are we left with? Will these new places allow us to sit and stare at the street on a hot summer day? Contemplate our next steps? Or will they give us the side-eye and tell us to move along please, pay your check, because we have to turn this table now. Like now. Right now. How can community spaces, restaurants like La Taza, be a source of comfort and steadfast solace during difficult times? Places where you know the name of the waitress, you always order the same thing, and they don’t mind if you sit over your coffee afterward for three-plus hours? What are those places to you? Sure in coffee shops they don’t mind if you nurse a cortado all afternoon (ick, not sure why you do that, oh stop it monkey mind), but in restaurants? It’s rare. And becoming rarer. To me, during a time this summer when my whole world blew up in an instant, places like La Taza offered an oasis in the storm. A place where you know what to expect, you know what will happen, and you know you will be back. Often. Because it’s that sense of comfort that makes you a regular. In places like La Taza, I have business meetings, spend hours brainstorming in a notebook over a cheap cup of coffee, or just meet a friend to vent about the difficulties ahead. In places like La Taza, I come to life realizations, I share laughter with friends, pour over a challenging year ahead with someone very close to my heart, or just stare into space and watch the people walk by. Usually with dogs. It’s very Parisian actually. And Italian. In places like La Taza, with its Guatemalan cuisine diner service, I am allowed to celebrate the concept of dolce far niente. The sweetness of doing nothing. In places like La Taza I’m allowed to just be. I get that Melissa Easter is allowed to sell and close and move on with her life. BELIEVE me, today, on the cusp of making a huge life decision myself, I get this. People change. People move on. But I’m allowed to grieve a little bit. Yes, change is the only constant. All you can change is your attitude towards it. Your perception of it. I just hope the new owners will get to know the community first. Take a minute. Don’t shoehorn some glamorous concept into a space that has been a source of comfort and steady presence for so many. For twelve years. Get to know your guests, the folks who loved La Taza. I’m already worried upon hearing they’ll be...