WEBVTT - Dana Beninati 0:00:00.360 --> 0:00:02.600 This is cut to It with Steve Smith Senior at 0:00:02.640 --> 0:00:08.879 production of The Black Effect and I heart Radio. I'm 0:00:08.920 --> 0:00:13.000 Steve Smith Senior and I and this is cut to it. 0:00:13.280 --> 0:00:16.919 Good do it, Good do it. They's getting down to 0:00:16.960 --> 0:00:20.720 do it. Good do it. We asked the questions you 0:00:20.800 --> 0:00:24.200 always want to know, but no one ever asked, let's 0:00:24.200 --> 0:00:29.840 cut to it. You ain't heard am about it, then 0:00:29.840 --> 0:00:39.959 we're about to let you know. It's all it's I mean, 0:00:39.960 --> 0:00:43.520 I don't consider world right now, right wrote right now. 0:00:44.440 --> 0:00:51.320 She's also a chef instructor and based out of New York. 0:00:51.479 --> 0:00:54.840 But also I personally know she does do some She 0:00:55.080 --> 0:00:59.880 does spend some time in Florida because of her her boyfriend, 0:01:00.560 --> 0:01:02.840 who's a good friend who was actually for the cut 0:01:02.880 --> 0:01:05.760 to It audience. Her boyfriend is a good friend of 0:01:05.800 --> 0:01:11.800 mine who comes annually to our Montana golf ski trip. 0:01:11.880 --> 0:01:14.600 So it's it's really it's been a great opportunity to 0:01:14.760 --> 0:01:19.200 meet Jason, to get the norm we will love to 0:01:19.360 --> 0:01:23.720 welcome in Dana been the Nazi and I just said 0:01:23.720 --> 0:01:27.760 it wrong, But that's okay. That's that Los Angeles education. 0:01:28.200 --> 0:01:32.280 So give me a hall pass, please, um and you 0:01:32.319 --> 0:01:36.520 can correct me because my co host and uh and 0:01:36.720 --> 0:01:40.800 friend and booking and whatever he is. They're chuckling profusely 0:01:40.880 --> 0:01:45.039 at me. It almost came across as a regime in 0:01:45.080 --> 0:01:50.880 our history. You might not want to say perfectly all 0:01:50.960 --> 0:01:53.800 say perfect all right, Well, welcome to the podcast. Obviously. 0:01:53.840 --> 0:01:56.639 I'm Steve Smith, Singer. I got my man to my left, 0:01:56.720 --> 0:02:01.520 Gerard little John, our co host extraordinaire. Uh. He has 0:02:01.880 --> 0:02:04.880 a great wealth of knowledge about a lot of things. 0:02:05.760 --> 0:02:10.840 But my man is not a good basketball player. But 0:02:11.680 --> 0:02:14.960 when I need all basketball information, he's the guy I 0:02:15.040 --> 0:02:19.639 am uh notoriously knocking on his door and begging him 0:02:19.680 --> 0:02:23.440 on on text with hey, brod, I just don't get it. 0:02:23.480 --> 0:02:26.000 So he's he's schooling me on that and then Joe 0:02:26.680 --> 0:02:29.880 are booking guys gonna be his insult his his insults. Uh. 0:02:29.919 --> 0:02:33.520 He's a master of everything. He's a jack. I'm sorry, 0:02:33.560 --> 0:02:36.560 he's a jack of all trains, a master of nothing. 0:02:38.160 --> 0:02:40.520 He could tell you why, but I asked him to 0:02:40.560 --> 0:02:43.119 fix fix it. Man, he would look at you and say, 0:02:43.320 --> 0:02:46.440 that ain't my job. Scription that is a fair overview. 0:02:46.840 --> 0:02:51.640 And I am good at basketball. You don't look like 0:02:51.680 --> 0:02:55.040 you can play basketball just hook shots, because i've seen 0:02:55.080 --> 0:02:59.600 you at that. I've both of y'all on the same court. No, 0:03:00.600 --> 0:03:06.040 same court, still a lot of bricks. I did hit 0:03:06.080 --> 0:03:09.799 the backboard though, and he missed the first shot of 0:03:09.800 --> 0:03:12.560 the air ball, and Boston was like giving back to it, 0:03:13.800 --> 0:03:16.400 so we didn't let him let that slide. So, hey, 0:03:16.600 --> 0:03:20.080 welcome to the podcast. We have this, Uh, I love 0:03:20.160 --> 0:03:23.160 some ice breakers. I'm formulating the icebreakers. I was so 0:03:23.760 --> 0:03:26.720 excited about the next two ice the icebreakers I have 0:03:26.800 --> 0:03:30.120 for today on our guests, multiple guests that I was 0:03:30.200 --> 0:03:33.640 afraid to even send the icebreakers because I was scared 0:03:34.000 --> 0:03:37.400 that they were so good that g or Joe would 0:03:37.400 --> 0:03:39.840 try to ask the question. So I was kind of selfish. 0:03:39.920 --> 0:03:42.320 I was actually insecure about them because they're so good. 0:03:43.280 --> 0:03:45.640 We're we're we're not gonna hidjeck your sec I was 0:03:45.720 --> 0:03:47.720 just I was just saying, how good they are. So 0:03:47.800 --> 0:03:51.120 here we go, all right? You ready? All right? What 0:03:51.400 --> 0:03:55.160 ends with the T? And it's full of tea? What 0:03:55.320 --> 0:03:58.600 ends with the T? Starts with the T? Sorry with 0:03:58.640 --> 0:04:01.600 the T ends with the T and has it is 0:04:01.640 --> 0:04:05.200 a teapot? Good job, it was a good job. Food 0:04:05.200 --> 0:04:10.760 Network lady. She was alright, Um, what's the last book 0:04:10.760 --> 0:04:14.920 you read? Oh, I'm reading a book called Very Valentine, 0:04:16.560 --> 0:04:19.560 which is an Italian romantic novel, and also The Goal, 0:04:19.640 --> 0:04:21.520 which is a business not at all and the tad 0:04:21.800 --> 0:04:25.680 boring but also interesting at the same time. Have you 0:04:25.720 --> 0:04:28.640 read it? Do I look like I read that book 0:04:30.839 --> 0:04:34.839 Very Valentine? No? The Goal quite possibly? Okay, cool? Alright, 0:04:35.040 --> 0:04:38.160 you have a business empire, so yes, The Goal absolutely 0:04:38.720 --> 0:04:41.919 an empire. I like that. I need to get some 0:04:42.000 --> 0:04:45.240 the Empire checked. That's several people I need to call. 0:04:45.720 --> 0:04:48.440 I got a whole the other day, so I would 0:04:48.480 --> 0:04:51.280 I would confirmed. Have you ever read the book, uh, 0:04:51.440 --> 0:04:56.240 the Golden Egg? The Golden Egg? Now? Should? It's actually 0:04:56.240 --> 0:04:59.839 a good one because you're you're in a food service 0:05:00.480 --> 0:05:02.480 people business, so it's kind of good. It's all right, 0:05:02.560 --> 0:05:04.680 I'm writing it down. Yeah, it's a short read to it, 0:05:04.720 --> 0:05:09.520 got it. It's one of those short reads that it's 0:05:09.560 --> 0:05:12.920 like fifty pages of goodness and then when you're doing 0:05:13.080 --> 0:05:17.440 you go, I feel stupid now just because just how 0:05:17.560 --> 0:05:20.640 much is in that little that little book that you've 0:05:20.680 --> 0:05:22.760 missed out on. So it's pretty good. It's called The 0:05:22.760 --> 0:05:25.920 Golden Neck. Sign me up? Thanks? All right? All right, 0:05:26.000 --> 0:05:30.039 last one, which is more important, the human body or 0:05:30.040 --> 0:05:37.200 the human mind. I'm gonna go mind. We're gonna go mind. 0:05:37.480 --> 0:05:41.159 That's it, Joe. I would say mind as well too. Alright, mine, 0:05:41.480 --> 0:05:46.240 all right, I say I'm cheating, but I'll explain why. 0:05:46.520 --> 0:05:50.800 I'll say both. We got a guy O J. Burgans 0:05:51.200 --> 0:05:55.640 with the Baltimore Ravens who suffers from mL uh ms 0:05:56.720 --> 0:06:00.280 and he is not able to move. Anything is up 0:06:01.440 --> 0:06:04.520 his eyes and his mouth and so you mail J 0:06:05.320 --> 0:06:08.640 and he does everything by eyesight. Uh, he can't speak. 0:06:09.120 --> 0:06:11.839 He breathes all that stuff. They you know they he 0:06:11.880 --> 0:06:17.760 has a full time um caretaker and his mind is 0:06:17.800 --> 0:06:22.560 so wonderful. But I can't imagine how intelligent he is. 0:06:23.560 --> 0:06:26.479 And yet who used to be a football player, a 0:06:26.480 --> 0:06:31.279 pretty darnker for football player who can't get up sometimes 0:06:31.520 --> 0:06:33.400 because he's one of those guys, he will send you 0:06:33.480 --> 0:06:37.719 an email that just breaks you down. His perspective, how 0:06:37.760 --> 0:06:39.560 he looks at the world, and you just want to 0:06:39.600 --> 0:06:41.680 hug him, and you could tell he wants to hug 0:06:41.720 --> 0:06:44.880 you back, but his words are his affection. I got 0:06:44.880 --> 0:06:48.680 a random email from him about two weeks ago, and 0:06:48.720 --> 0:06:50.640 I so wanted to give him a hug, and I 0:06:50.640 --> 0:06:52.839 so wanted to feel a hug from him, but I 0:06:52.880 --> 0:06:55.359 know he can't. So this question for me as I 0:06:55.520 --> 0:06:57.680 as I, as I looked at it, I started to 0:06:57.720 --> 0:07:01.039 dissect It's like he has a great mind, but that 0:07:01.160 --> 0:07:03.359 one time or you know, maybe you I know you do, 0:07:03.480 --> 0:07:05.560 I know you do. I have and I'm not sure 0:07:05.560 --> 0:07:08.039 about you. We have someone in our life that we 0:07:08.120 --> 0:07:11.720 wish that they passed away, that we can just get 0:07:11.720 --> 0:07:14.680 that last hug from them, right even on our mind, 0:07:14.760 --> 0:07:17.240 we know that they loved us, we know that they're there, 0:07:17.960 --> 0:07:22.760 but it's that physical hug that you need, and your 0:07:22.840 --> 0:07:26.920 mind is telling you, uh, but they still love you. 0:07:26.960 --> 0:07:29.840 They're looking down on you, but your body saying but 0:07:30.440 --> 0:07:32.200 I need that from my grandma. I need that from 0:07:32.200 --> 0:07:34.840 my grandpa. I need that from somebody. So that's why 0:07:34.840 --> 0:07:38.440 I say both because of that perspective, that that that 0:07:38.480 --> 0:07:41.760 oh J gives me every so often, and I'm just like, wow, 0:07:41.920 --> 0:07:47.040 what to be so smart, so love me, so caring, 0:07:47.240 --> 0:07:52.640 so thoughtful, and a little bit of trapped. M hmm, 0:07:53.360 --> 0:07:56.400 that's the perfect word for it. Trapped. I can totally 0:07:56.440 --> 0:07:58.600 relate my This is why I chose mine because my 0:07:58.680 --> 0:08:03.480 dad is blind m and he's incredible. He played basketball, 0:08:03.520 --> 0:08:06.840 for Kentucky. He runs his own business. He lives independently. 0:08:07.200 --> 0:08:12.280 He runs his own business, and the type of business. 0:08:12.080 --> 0:08:14.640 He's a real estate broker, right, so he has spent 0:08:14.680 --> 0:08:17.600 his whole career buying and selling houses that he couldn't see, 0:08:17.760 --> 0:08:21.200 which is what you think about it, right, that is 0:08:21.240 --> 0:08:26.080 not on the information sheet. So that's why I went 0:08:27.680 --> 0:08:30.120 because if he you're right, If you're right, it's all 0:08:30.160 --> 0:08:33.160 about perspective. Right, if he can do if you're a 0:08:33.160 --> 0:08:35.160 friend o j or if my dad can do what 0:08:35.200 --> 0:08:38.200 they do on a daily basis, send an email that 0:08:38.280 --> 0:08:40.880 changes the world, give a family the house that changes 0:08:40.920 --> 0:08:44.840 their world. You know, it's perspective. It's like, all right, 0:08:44.880 --> 0:08:52.679 I can do anything. What's your dad's name, Bartolomeo say? 0:08:52.880 --> 0:08:57.559 Like the car that's Alpha Romeo. I was trying to 0:08:57.600 --> 0:08:59.439 associate it because I was going to put it out 0:08:59.480 --> 0:09:03.680 with two. I can tell you right now, if Bartolomeo 0:09:04.080 --> 0:09:08.400 Benettatti calls you, just paying him, just don't ask do it. 0:09:08.600 --> 0:09:13.679 Just paying him cash doesn't matter. Hey, steve somebody to 0:09:13.720 --> 0:09:17.600 do it. What's her name? Watch give him his money. 0:09:19.040 --> 0:09:23.760 He is not here to distrunning. The first of all, 0:09:24.880 --> 0:09:29.160 I'm not even going down where are you from in 0:09:29.200 --> 0:09:33.640 a place you call your hometown. I'm from Ormond Beach, Florida, 0:09:33.760 --> 0:09:35.800 and the place I call home is New York, New York. 0:09:35.880 --> 0:09:40.000 For sure? Why New York, New York? Since you I 0:09:40.080 --> 0:09:45.160 feel most alive. Okay, it's the center of the universe. Also, 0:09:45.400 --> 0:09:49.800 in case you didn't know that, I didn't know. No, no, no, no, 0:09:50.000 --> 0:09:52.480 US coach people try that, but it's not it's great. 0:09:52.559 --> 0:09:57.120 I love that you got sh she did, she shust 0:09:57.200 --> 0:10:01.480 me and waiting, she said, go play the child. I 0:10:01.600 --> 0:10:03.439 love l A to come and play. That's what you 0:10:03.520 --> 0:10:08.360 do in LA. You don't live with that traffic. And 0:10:08.480 --> 0:10:11.719 New York is not traffic. You're just skipping around like 0:10:12.240 --> 0:10:16.280 like like New York is never, there's never any Bankers 0:10:16.720 --> 0:10:20.679 are not comparable at all. No, no, no. You can 0:10:20.800 --> 0:10:22.959 ride your bike everywhere you gotta go in New York 0:10:24.200 --> 0:10:29.680 for the subway, you can in l A. I don't 0:10:29.679 --> 0:10:31.880 think you can know. Whenever I go to l A 0:10:31.960 --> 0:10:34.000 and I'll text one of my l A friends like, hey, 0:10:34.040 --> 0:10:36.280 you want to go grab dinner here? I'm in Santa Monica. 0:10:36.320 --> 0:10:39.960 They're like Santa Monica. That's so far Santa Monica. If 0:10:40.000 --> 0:10:43.560 they live in the Laguna Beach city wherever. That's that's far. 0:10:43.720 --> 0:10:46.319 That's just like asking somebody in the Hamptons to come 0:10:46.400 --> 0:10:49.240 to come to the Bronx. That's quite a white Can 0:10:49.280 --> 0:10:52.520 you take a bike there? You can get there next week, 0:10:54.960 --> 0:10:59.559 said two and a half hour train ride, as it 0:10:59.600 --> 0:11:01.640 would be if you guys actually had trains. But you 0:11:01.760 --> 0:11:04.880 don't have trains. Again, why New York in the superior city, 0:11:05.440 --> 0:11:09.839 she said, superior? Listen. With all that being said, I 0:11:09.960 --> 0:11:14.040 know where your man is in Florida. So so for 0:11:14.120 --> 0:11:17.280 whichever hood you represent, so whichever hood you claim, how 0:11:17.400 --> 0:11:21.679 was your upbringing as a kid. Oh, my bringing as 0:11:21.720 --> 0:11:24.520 a kid is entirely different than life now, which is 0:11:24.559 --> 0:11:26.280 maybe why I like New York so much. Like where 0:11:26.280 --> 0:11:29.040 I grew up as a sleepy, tiny little beach town. 0:11:29.320 --> 0:11:34.000 You go everywhere in a Botinian flipbops. It's it's quiet, 0:11:34.120 --> 0:11:37.080 it's calm, it's fairly boring, which is why New York 0:11:38.040 --> 0:11:41.480 so intoxicating. Right, you've got our you got culture, you've 0:11:41.480 --> 0:11:44.800 got theater. Quite the opposite. You still got some people 0:11:44.840 --> 0:11:46.640 in bikinis and flip flops in New York too. It 0:11:46.679 --> 0:11:49.880 just depends on depends on where you just depends on 0:11:50.480 --> 0:11:54.960 New York. In New York, several times, Raine Sleader snow, 0:11:55.160 --> 0:11:58.160 it's always an outfit or two. I'm going like a 0:11:58.200 --> 0:12:03.160 wedding dress in what is this that doesn't match? Well? 0:12:03.200 --> 0:12:04.839 That is true. You have to be able to rock 0:12:04.920 --> 0:12:08.199 speakers with whatever outfit you're wearing. Clean maybe not, but 0:12:08.360 --> 0:12:10.839 like you've got to make a quick shoe change. Every 0:12:10.880 --> 0:12:13.160 New York girl knows that there's a handbag that fits 0:12:13.480 --> 0:12:16.160 a great pair of stilettos and a great pair of sneakers. 0:12:16.200 --> 0:12:18.320 Because you're gonna make a change, at least one startin today. 0:12:18.559 --> 0:12:22.360 Yeah you will. But it's always interesting in New York 0:12:22.480 --> 0:12:25.720 to watch people, like watch a guy in a suit 0:12:26.480 --> 0:12:29.079 with you know, with some monarchs or or you know, 0:12:31.000 --> 0:12:33.240 because good walkers shoes and they you know, they're on 0:12:33.320 --> 0:12:36.199 the hustle and bustle. Explain this to me. I get it, 0:12:36.280 --> 0:12:42.880 but I'm act stupid. You're the first generation American, you know. 0:12:43.720 --> 0:12:46.360 For some people that's listening, they may say, Dove, of course, 0:12:46.440 --> 0:12:49.200 you know, she she's the first American in her family, 0:12:50.160 --> 0:12:55.199 But what does that really mean. It's huge, however, for 0:12:55.320 --> 0:12:59.880 the family it's bigger or uh not, it's not a 0:13:00.000 --> 0:13:05.360 are but huger because because those those family members know 0:13:06.200 --> 0:13:10.480 exactly how hard it has been for that family collectively. 0:13:11.400 --> 0:13:13.240 But then you have that one person that is that 0:13:13.320 --> 0:13:17.679 glimmer of hope that sets, that sets an opportunity and 0:13:17.880 --> 0:13:25.160 taking advantage of an opportunity that so many other people wished, died, 0:13:26.280 --> 0:13:30.719 bled and work their tail off like your dad to 0:13:30.840 --> 0:13:33.439 give you this opportunity, and you took full advantage of it. 0:13:34.360 --> 0:13:37.040 But take us on that journey for your family on 0:13:37.200 --> 0:13:39.760 what that means for you to be the first American 0:13:39.840 --> 0:13:42.360 Because you're the first American. You're sitting in front of us, 0:13:42.360 --> 0:13:46.680 don't cut to it, but the people behind you, where 0:13:46.720 --> 0:13:49.640 were they and what did they go through to be 0:13:49.720 --> 0:13:53.080 able to afford you this moment to be this all 0:13:53.120 --> 0:13:56.079 star that you are. Thank you and thank you for 0:13:56.200 --> 0:13:58.000 having me. I haven't had the chance to tell you, 0:13:58.679 --> 0:14:01.199 um how much it is win not just for me, 0:14:01.320 --> 0:14:03.880 but for all the ben and not eat the whole 0:14:04.880 --> 0:14:08.320 that's all three of you. UM, it's pretty cool. I'm 0:14:08.960 --> 0:14:11.800 I'm what they call a pizza bagel or I would 0:14:11.840 --> 0:14:14.839 like to say a mozzarella stick. So my dad is 0:14:17.120 --> 0:14:20.280 I do not know what any I'll break it down 0:14:20.680 --> 0:14:23.280 because all of her was slursh, that's all I heard. 0:14:23.400 --> 0:14:29.080 I'm like, I'm not stepping on that. So my dad, 0:14:29.160 --> 0:14:32.240 as you know, he's Sicilian from a little tiny island 0:14:32.280 --> 0:14:36.520 and um um sleep called liberty. And my mom is 0:14:36.840 --> 0:14:39.360 a Russian Jew, And so I'm a pizza bagel the 0:14:39.400 --> 0:14:42.600 best of both worlds, or a mozzarella stick because I 0:14:42.680 --> 0:14:45.000 like to call it um. And I really grew up 0:14:45.120 --> 0:14:51.560 with exposure to both sides and a really open environment 0:14:51.600 --> 0:14:54.200 where it was understood that my parents came from two 0:14:54.280 --> 0:14:57.800 totally different backgrounds, but there was a there was a 0:14:57.840 --> 0:14:59.480 lot of love, at least for a period of time. 0:14:59.720 --> 0:15:03.680 Th So I think for them what it means to 0:15:03.720 --> 0:15:08.200 be first generation is that the plights that their parents 0:15:08.720 --> 0:15:11.760 um went through to put them in a better spot 0:15:12.320 --> 0:15:15.000 is paying off tenfold now for myself and my brother, 0:15:15.200 --> 0:15:19.840 because we are afforded opportunities that I don't even think 0:15:19.880 --> 0:15:22.560 they dreamt of. I remember when I told my parents 0:15:22.760 --> 0:15:24.600 that I wanted to work in food. My mom was like, 0:15:24.760 --> 0:15:28.080 that's fantastic, that is something you've always loved. And my 0:15:28.200 --> 0:15:30.640 dad was like, you're crazy. That's not what we came 0:15:30.720 --> 0:15:32.720 here for. That's not what my parents came here for 0:15:34.560 --> 0:15:38.440 to him, the fact that I could follow a passion 0:15:38.800 --> 0:15:44.440 and turn it into a career path seemed insane when 0:15:44.520 --> 0:15:47.760 the American dream was to come here, get an education, 0:15:47.960 --> 0:15:52.040 get a traditional job that allows you to have stability 0:15:52.080 --> 0:15:56.800 and success and a family. To turn that idea on 0:15:56.920 --> 0:15:58.920 its head and say no, I'm going to do something 0:15:59.000 --> 0:16:01.840 creative and I miss you. I will leverage it and 0:16:01.920 --> 0:16:04.680 I will make it into a career. He was like, why, 0:16:05.360 --> 0:16:09.000 You're smarter than that. It took a long time, and 0:16:09.160 --> 0:16:12.520 even now some some days I can see that he 0:16:12.640 --> 0:16:15.440 is still confused. How in the world I have made 0:16:15.480 --> 0:16:17.720 food into a career. So where did the passion for 0:16:17.800 --> 0:16:22.000 food come from? Well, my grandmother's easy to I mean, 0:16:22.160 --> 0:16:25.320 but my grandparents really so my great grandfather, they say, 0:16:25.400 --> 0:16:27.000 I don't I didn't have to have a chance to 0:16:27.040 --> 0:16:28.840 meet him, but they say. He was sent off to 0:16:28.880 --> 0:16:32.080 the Italian Army and first day there he cooked and 0:16:32.520 --> 0:16:35.560 somehow the food was tasted and was like no, no, 0:16:35.760 --> 0:16:38.360 he stays, he doesn't fight, and eventually became one of 0:16:38.440 --> 0:16:44.760 Mussolini's cooks. My dad's parents, UM, just glance over that 0:16:46.320 --> 0:16:49.360 there's a lot for for some for some of us. 0:16:50.040 --> 0:16:53.680 I think g and um, Joe know exactly, but um 0:16:53.880 --> 0:17:01.239 I don't. So who's Mussolini, big Italian leader? So Mussolini 0:17:01.440 --> 0:17:10.000 was like Napole you've heard Napoleon Bonaparte. Mussolini is one 0:17:10.040 --> 0:17:13.680 of the famous generals, if not the ruler of all 0:17:13.760 --> 0:17:16.320 of Italy and the Italian Army back in the day. 0:17:16.800 --> 0:17:19.600 So when her when when her mother, excuse me, when 0:17:19.640 --> 0:17:23.080 her great grandfather said that, like, it resonates with me, danas, 0:17:23.119 --> 0:17:25.840 So to let you know, my great grandfather actually has 0:17:25.880 --> 0:17:28.879 a we have a town in Italy named after my ancestors, 0:17:28.880 --> 0:17:31.399 which is Bobino, Italy. And my great grandfather was in 0:17:31.480 --> 0:17:33.960 the Italian Army and there's actually a statue of him 0:17:34.440 --> 0:17:37.760 in front of this town that I've never been to 0:17:37.960 --> 0:17:42.119 that I want to go to. Let's go. I'm man 0:17:42.320 --> 0:17:44.680 is about to rip me apart for not being there. 0:17:44.680 --> 0:17:47.240 I'm just letting you know, we don't know this about you, 0:17:47.359 --> 0:17:51.520 and we all supposed to be who I got a 0:17:51.560 --> 0:17:55.960 whole town named out this folks. But because I was 0:17:56.000 --> 0:17:59.320 gonna google Fushi and if I looked up Fushi nothing, 0:17:59.480 --> 0:18:03.040 I was going to don't don't google boa Ya. It's 0:18:04.520 --> 0:18:08.320 because I'm about say I have been ill. Ain't none 0:18:08.359 --> 0:18:12.040 of fushi to never witness protection. That's all I can 0:18:12.080 --> 0:18:17.240 tell you. That's that's yeah. So for for to fight, 0:18:18.480 --> 0:18:20.600 for her great grandfather to go and fight, now, the 0:18:20.640 --> 0:18:26.520 Italian Army has never been confused with a um intimidating force. 0:18:26.640 --> 0:18:29.800 Let's just be honest. But so for everyone would always 0:18:29.880 --> 0:18:31.720 have to go fight, that meant you were a man. 0:18:31.880 --> 0:18:34.120 So for her great grandfather to be such a great 0:18:34.200 --> 0:18:37.000 cook that he wouldn't quote go defend his country, to 0:18:37.119 --> 0:18:39.879 stay back and cook from Musseolini, that is a huge, 0:18:40.040 --> 0:18:43.400 huge accolade. That is huge. I mean I know the name, 0:18:43.520 --> 0:18:46.680 but I didn't understand the history. I needed to pause 0:18:46.760 --> 0:18:52.159 and get something couldn't have done as of things I'm 0:18:52.240 --> 0:18:55.240 good at but not mastering. Remember, yeah, I told you, 0:18:55.359 --> 0:18:59.360 look information information. Why does that information just retained there 0:18:59.640 --> 0:19:02.159 for these moments right now? It's exactly the only reason 0:19:06.520 --> 0:19:09.480 I love cut to It, and I love it even 0:19:09.560 --> 0:19:13.959 more when you download us and subscribe and you can 0:19:14.000 --> 0:19:16.480 follow us on social media too, Smithie, where where at 0:19:16.800 --> 0:19:21.360 that's at? Cut to It on Instagram? What about Twitter? At? 0:19:21.400 --> 0:19:25.520 Cut to it? Facebook? Cut to It featuring Steve Smith singr? 0:19:26.040 --> 0:19:29.000 What about online and you can follow us at cut 0:19:29.080 --> 0:19:32.240 to It podcast dot com, where you can buy merch 0:19:32.640 --> 0:19:35.480 and you can subscribe to us wherever you listen to podcasts. 0:19:36.320 --> 0:19:39.640 I got all my answers questions. Um, yeah, I got 0:19:39.720 --> 0:19:43.040 all my questions answered. That's what I'm here for, a brother, 0:19:43.520 --> 0:19:47.320 cut to a podcast dot com. So the passion that 0:19:47.680 --> 0:19:50.720 the the DNA of of of cooking has been in 0:19:50.800 --> 0:19:55.240 your family for years and so my grandmother on my 0:19:55.359 --> 0:19:58.840 mom's side was the first food writer for the Miami Herald, 0:20:00.440 --> 0:20:03.560 which to be a woman back at that time, you know, 0:20:04.000 --> 0:20:06.880 a Jewish woman in Miami to say like, I'm gonna 0:20:06.880 --> 0:20:08.840 write and I'm gonna write about food, and she convinced them, 0:20:09.400 --> 0:20:13.000 especially at that time, women were not looked at as 0:20:13.280 --> 0:20:17.920 as as as people of influten. Wow. So it's in 0:20:18.000 --> 0:20:20.000 my veins. I can't deny it. So how long have 0:20:20.119 --> 0:20:24.720 you and I love to eat? So do I we 0:20:24.800 --> 0:20:28.320 all agree? At what age did you really start to 0:20:28.480 --> 0:20:32.960 have the passion for cooking? I would say probably nine 0:20:33.080 --> 0:20:35.600 or ten. I started working in restaurants when I was fourteen, 0:20:35.800 --> 0:20:38.920 but um, nine or ten, it was like, yeah, I 0:20:38.960 --> 0:20:42.080 don't need dance was a huge part of my life. 0:20:42.560 --> 0:20:45.439 I was a competitive dancer, and any time I wasn't dancing, 0:20:45.560 --> 0:20:47.080 I wanted to be in the kitchen. There was like 0:20:47.240 --> 0:20:50.920 nothing else that was of interest to me. But when 0:20:50.960 --> 0:20:53.880 you think about it, they're both like so so creative, 0:20:53.960 --> 0:20:56.760 you know what I mean. They're just a form of expression, 0:20:56.840 --> 0:21:00.119 but they're they're super creative. But yet they required a 0:21:01.640 --> 0:21:04.600 ton of concentration, a ton of attention as well a 0:21:04.720 --> 0:21:07.960 lot of a lot of a lot of technique in detail. 0:21:08.440 --> 0:21:10.880 And you couldn't have it in either one. You'd see 0:21:10.920 --> 0:21:13.160 it physically and dancing and your food wouldn't be great 0:21:13.320 --> 0:21:15.400 if you have to and cooking, I mean, you gotta 0:21:15.400 --> 0:21:17.719 be good at it, right, So when did you? When 0:21:17.760 --> 0:21:20.320 did you start realizing I want to take this serious 0:21:20.520 --> 0:21:22.440 and I believe I can make a career out of it. 0:21:24.080 --> 0:21:26.679 When I realized that dance was no longer an option, 0:21:26.880 --> 0:21:29.639 so I um tore many three times. The first was 0:21:29.720 --> 0:21:32.680 in a competition. I tore an a c L during 0:21:32.720 --> 0:21:36.720 a performance and changed the game. Yeah, I hurt my ego, 0:21:37.040 --> 0:21:39.879 like for it to happen on stage and with that move? 0:21:41.119 --> 0:21:45.040 What are you trying to do? Uh, it's it's called 0:21:45.200 --> 0:21:47.520 it's now illegal, so you don't see dancers doing anymore, 0:21:47.560 --> 0:21:49.399 thank god, because a lot of people heard themselves. But 0:21:49.600 --> 0:21:51.399 if you know what a Russian is, which is like 0:21:51.400 --> 0:21:54.600 a toe touch, right, but instead of coming down and 0:21:54.720 --> 0:21:57.040 landing on your feet, you do a toe touch and 0:21:57.119 --> 0:21:58.840 then in the air you turn and you land in 0:21:58.880 --> 0:22:04.359 a split. No that there's a legal dance moves that 0:22:04.440 --> 0:22:21.400 just here there's jump up and shank somebody that it's 0:22:21.440 --> 0:22:24.840 been outlawed, it's been out on. Yeah, what do you do? 0:22:25.800 --> 0:22:31.600 Not that? Not that exactly. So that made it clear like, Okay, 0:22:31.640 --> 0:22:33.480 you can still dance and have fun, and I do 0:22:33.680 --> 0:22:36.240 for sure, I'll tear up any dance. I'll make something 0:22:36.320 --> 0:22:39.760 into a dancefort tomorrow today. But it made it clear 0:22:39.840 --> 0:22:41.479 that it just it wasn't going to be a long 0:22:41.600 --> 0:22:45.119 term option anymore. So electric do you do the electric slide? 0:22:46.200 --> 0:22:50.920 Tear it up? She said? Cupid shuffle? Yeah? Who doesn't 0:22:50.920 --> 0:22:55.320 do the Cupid shuffle? A lot of people. I mean, 0:22:55.440 --> 0:22:58.919 it's old, but let's do it. That's that's traditional at 0:22:58.960 --> 0:23:03.080 the black moment, use and wins. I know, damn well, 0:23:03.200 --> 0:23:05.320 you and Jason are not doing electric slide when y'all 0:23:05.359 --> 0:23:09.200 go out, he does. That's my whole point and so 0:23:09.359 --> 0:23:11.560 I knew he's some of those. A lot of people 0:23:15.760 --> 0:23:18.280 you've you've had the opportunity. I think what you've gone 0:23:18.320 --> 0:23:22.040 to Johnson and Wales, right, is that the one here 0:23:22.040 --> 0:23:26.000 in Charlotte? Is they're multiple there? Well I did not 0:23:26.080 --> 0:23:28.840 go to the Charlotte campus, but it's a great Okay, 0:23:28.920 --> 0:23:32.760 which one did you go to? What does Johnson and 0:23:32.840 --> 0:23:35.719 Wales present Because a lot of people just look at 0:23:35.760 --> 0:23:40.320 it as a culinary school. However, I know they do 0:23:40.720 --> 0:23:44.560 so many other things, and I'm always interested to hear 0:23:44.680 --> 0:23:49.200 exactly what they offer for students because on paper it 0:23:49.240 --> 0:23:55.159 could be overwhelming. Right, you say hospitality or management, and 0:23:55.240 --> 0:23:59.200 people don't really understand. You know, how many jobs are 0:23:59.280 --> 0:24:05.000 in management in hospitality that aren't necessarily up front and personable, 0:24:05.080 --> 0:24:07.399 dealing with people all the time face to face. But 0:24:07.520 --> 0:24:12.720 there's so many other elements to it. What example, Yeah, 0:24:12.840 --> 0:24:17.880 don't talk about that, Like how how did you knowing 0:24:17.960 --> 0:24:22.320 your passion for food? Having having that passion for dance? 0:24:22.359 --> 0:24:27.239 So let's all of that is creativity. So how did 0:24:27.320 --> 0:24:30.080 going to Johnson and Wales? How did you hone in 0:24:30.200 --> 0:24:34.920 that creativity to really to propel you or take that 0:24:35.040 --> 0:24:40.480 step forward into you know, knowing your desire, your dreams, 0:24:41.080 --> 0:24:47.720 your hopes can really happen if you do this. Mm hmm. 0:24:48.880 --> 0:24:53.800 Well there's a lot of questions there that quadruple barrel questions. 0:24:54.000 --> 0:24:57.040 You loaded the clip on that one that was a 0:24:57.080 --> 0:25:04.040 short ball shot going right there home protection. Well j 0:25:04.240 --> 0:25:07.640 W both JU was my undergrad I did two bad 0:25:07.680 --> 0:25:11.840 first degrees there and then an m B a Cornell 0:25:13.040 --> 0:25:17.480 like Cornell. Yeah, both universities have were incredible, um and 0:25:17.600 --> 0:25:19.680 what they give back to their students. But Johnson Wales, 0:25:19.720 --> 0:25:22.119 you're you're really hitting on something. There's seeming that people 0:25:22.200 --> 0:25:24.840