WEBVTT - Just Add Hot Sauce with Alex Hill 0:00:00.680 --> 0:00:05.360 The most dreaded question to other every mother in America, Mom, 0:00:06.400 --> 0:00:07.160 what's for dinner? 0:00:09.320 --> 0:00:13.039 Half the time I don't even be knowing and not 0:00:13.160 --> 0:00:17.040 neat ideas well, okay, have no fear, just had hot 0:00:17.120 --> 0:00:17.759 sauces here. 0:00:19.040 --> 0:00:21.959 I love that for me because she has all the 0:00:22.040 --> 0:00:27.960 tips and tricks. Dead ass, y'all. Hey, I'm Kadeen and 0:00:28.000 --> 0:00:30.160 I'm Devout and we're the Ellis's. 0:00:31.120 --> 0:00:33.159 You may know us from posting funny videos with our 0:00:33.240 --> 0:00:35.040 voice and reading. 0:00:34.720 --> 0:00:36.440 Each other publicly as. 0:00:36.240 --> 0:00:39.120 A form of therpy. Wait, I'll make you need therby 0:00:39.640 --> 0:00:41.040 most days. Wow. 0:00:41.440 --> 0:00:43.920 Oh, and one more important thing to mention, we're married. 0:00:43.760 --> 0:00:46.920 Yes, sir, we are. We created this podcast to open 0:00:46.960 --> 0:00:49.800 dialogue about some of Li's most taboo topics. 0:00:49.479 --> 0:00:52.400 Things most folks don't want to talk about. 0:00:52.200 --> 0:00:54.480 Through the lens of a millennial married couple. Dead ass 0:00:54.520 --> 0:00:56.600 is a term that we say every day. So when 0:00:56.600 --> 0:01:00.440 we say dead ass, we're actually saying facts one hundred, 0:01:00.920 --> 0:01:03.400 the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. 0:01:03.600 --> 0:01:06.120 We thought to take Bilotov to a whole new level. 0:01:08.319 --> 0:01:10.400 Dead ass starts right now. 0:01:12.120 --> 0:01:16.560 All right, story time, So I'm going to take you 0:01:16.640 --> 0:01:19.760 back to a few thanks given to go. I want 0:01:19.760 --> 0:01:25.240 to say a few. It's probably like twelve at this point, right. 0:01:25.280 --> 0:01:28.839 I've been with my husband for twenty two years, married fourteen, 0:01:29.640 --> 0:01:32.880 and this is around like the twelve year Markkay had 0:01:32.880 --> 0:01:36.160 been in his family for a long time, and you know, 0:01:37.440 --> 0:01:42.240 food is the way to the man's heart, among other things. 0:01:43.080 --> 0:01:44.560 But food was definitely. 0:01:44.160 --> 0:01:45.160 Up there for my husband. 0:01:45.319 --> 0:01:49.040 And he's from a Southern American background, and there were 0:01:49.080 --> 0:01:51.480 certain things that I just had to learn how to 0:01:51.600 --> 0:01:54.520 make because his mom made it, or his aunt made it, 0:01:54.640 --> 0:01:57.120 or his grandmother or grandfather, somebody made it in the 0:01:57.160 --> 0:01:58.920 family and they made it to a. 0:01:58.960 --> 0:01:59.920 Level of excellent. 0:02:00.120 --> 0:02:03.920 See that I had so much pressure around trying to 0:02:04.000 --> 0:02:06.680 match that, right, So I kind of sat in the 0:02:06.720 --> 0:02:09.960 wing for a couple of years. If they ever wanted 0:02:09.960 --> 0:02:13.240 any Caribbean food, I'm your girl, right, sign me up. 0:02:13.280 --> 0:02:15.359 If I wasn't making it, I'd have my mom or 0:02:15.440 --> 0:02:17.400 dad or grandma somebody make it for them. 0:02:17.520 --> 0:02:20.239 Yeah, but there was an intimidation factor that I felt. 0:02:20.600 --> 0:02:23.480 Southern food is very intimidating because it. 0:02:23.480 --> 0:02:26.040 Is one of those things that you just have to 0:02:26.080 --> 0:02:29.680 get right, Like you will get your black card revoked, 0:02:30.200 --> 0:02:35.480 you will get uninvited to the barbecue. If these dishes 0:02:35.600 --> 0:02:39.880 don't slap. So let me tell you about my moment now, Okay, 0:02:39.960 --> 0:02:42.080 all was it a good or bad moment? 0:02:42.240 --> 0:02:42.960 Well, let's see. 0:02:43.080 --> 0:02:47.079 Okay, Okay, So about twelve years ago, it's Thanksgiving time, right, 0:02:48.360 --> 0:02:51.200 Devo's aunt Monique is always in charge of the sweet 0:02:51.200 --> 0:02:56.200 potato castrole. Okay, that's the thing. So candied jams people 0:02:56.240 --> 0:02:58.680 again make it different ways. She makes it into kind 0:02:58.720 --> 0:03:01.440 of like a castrole soul situations. 0:03:01.480 --> 0:03:04.400 Fine, yeah, okay, see, I make mine very good. 0:03:04.800 --> 0:03:07.760 So she had told me over the years, and I've 0:03:07.840 --> 0:03:09.840 kind of just always had it, and she would just 0:03:09.880 --> 0:03:11.639 tell me, oh, you just you know, you just put 0:03:11.639 --> 0:03:12.840 a little bit of this of that. 0:03:12.880 --> 0:03:15.200 There's never really like an actual recipe to it. 0:03:15.240 --> 0:03:15.440 Yeah. 0:03:15.880 --> 0:03:17.320 And I said to her, I said, you need to 0:03:17.360 --> 0:03:19.600 like develop some sort of recipe because. 0:03:19.760 --> 0:03:23.640 This is like restaurant worthy. Yeah, cast role, Like I 0:03:23.680 --> 0:03:24.400 need to have this. 0:03:25.200 --> 0:03:27.600 So one day she had me do a whole little 0:03:27.600 --> 0:03:30.440 like lesson with her while she made some and then 0:03:30.680 --> 0:03:33.000 I said to her, I'm going to try to. 0:03:32.960 --> 0:03:34.080 Do this on my own. 0:03:35.160 --> 0:03:38.320 This one particular Thanksgiving, Aunt Monique was not in town, okay, 0:03:39.280 --> 0:03:43.480 and I kind of threw my hat in the ring 0:03:44.280 --> 0:03:47.280 as the menu was being assembled in the group chat 0:03:47.920 --> 0:03:51.120 and I said, I'll do this sweet potato casserole Aunt 0:03:51.160 --> 0:03:55.720 moniques monique supertado castroll right, And when she gave me 0:03:55.720 --> 0:03:58.000 the lesson, I didn't write everything down, but I kind 0:03:58.000 --> 0:04:00.200 of have like a general idea because that's typically how 0:04:00.200 --> 0:04:03.800 we cook. We could vibes the ancestors are telling them, 0:04:03.840 --> 0:04:05.240 you know what they're telling us what to do. It's 0:04:05.280 --> 0:04:08.080 it's baking us another story like science. But I'm like, 0:04:08.160 --> 0:04:10.120 I'm going to give it a try. So you can 0:04:10.160 --> 0:04:14.160 imagine my pressure to live up to her sweet potato 0:04:14.200 --> 0:04:17.560 cast terrified of course, and then knowing that it's Thanksgiving 0:04:17.560 --> 0:04:20.279 at that because you know, the bite, Like the bite 0:04:20.320 --> 0:04:24.160 is the sweet potato cast role, the the mag and cheese, 0:04:24.760 --> 0:04:28.080 it's the situation, the sweet and savory, right, So you 0:04:28.080 --> 0:04:32.400 don't want your portion of that bite to fall flat. Yeah, 0:04:32.520 --> 0:04:35.560 So I make the sweet potato casserole, you know, diligent 0:04:35.600 --> 0:04:37.920 in the kitchen. We get the kids dressed and we 0:04:38.000 --> 0:04:40.560 head over to At that time, it's just Jackson head 0:04:40.560 --> 0:04:41.359 over to Thanksgiving. 0:04:41.520 --> 0:04:41.719 Yeah. 0:04:41.760 --> 0:04:45.600 I grew at my in law's house and everything is 0:04:45.640 --> 0:04:48.800 set up. Apparently my father in law he didn't know 0:04:49.560 --> 0:04:51.440 who was making what. He was like, I'm just here 0:04:51.440 --> 0:04:53.280 for a good time. I'm here for my plate. 0:04:53.400 --> 0:04:54.080 Yeah whatever. 0:04:54.960 --> 0:04:58.080 So I quietly sat around as everyone made their plates 0:04:58.080 --> 0:05:01.560 and stuff like that. So he in particular is like 0:05:01.720 --> 0:05:04.520 the connoisseur of like food tasting. He just won't tell you, 0:05:04.560 --> 0:05:06.240 like down to a science, what's. 0:05:06.000 --> 0:05:07.080 In certain dishes. 0:05:07.160 --> 0:05:07.800 Yeah. 0:05:07.880 --> 0:05:09.440 So I see him eating, and I see him go 0:05:09.560 --> 0:05:13.080 for this week potata casserole, and he kind of like hmm, 0:05:13.120 --> 0:05:15.720 you know, and then he's making your nerves or like yeah. 0:05:15.800 --> 0:05:18.200 So I'm like, because my father, like my father in 0:05:18.279 --> 0:05:21.159 law might disown me at this time. And I see 0:05:21.240 --> 0:05:23.920 him going and he's like hmm. And then he looks 0:05:24.000 --> 0:05:29.600 up and he says, did Monique make this before she left? 0:05:30.360 --> 0:05:34.560 And I said no, I made it. He said, baby, 0:05:34.560 --> 0:05:35.080 you made that. 0:05:36.400 --> 0:05:38.360 I thought it was gonna be bad. Oh my god, 0:05:38.480 --> 0:05:41.440 that he feels so good. Baby. I said, yes, I 0:05:41.560 --> 0:05:41.880 made this. 0:05:42.000 --> 0:05:45.120 He said, you sure Monique didn't make this before she 0:05:45.240 --> 0:05:46.520 left to go away to wherever she went. 0:05:46.800 --> 0:05:47.320 I said no. 0:05:47.480 --> 0:05:49.320 I said, well, it is pretty much her recipees. I 0:05:49.360 --> 0:05:51.080 didn't write it down, but I kind of just went 0:05:51.120 --> 0:05:56.880 off of the vibes. And he was like, well done, 0:05:57.360 --> 0:05:59.640 well well done, young grasshopper. 0:06:00.240 --> 0:06:01.600 I love that. O excite. 0:06:01.680 --> 0:06:05.560 I love that because listen, that could have completely ruined Thanksgiving. 0:06:05.680 --> 0:06:08.240 Yeah, and I was able to live to see another day. 0:06:08.320 --> 0:06:13.160 Thanksgivings A it's a very I would not. I took 0:06:13.200 --> 0:06:15.479 on Thanksgiving a couple of years ago from my mom. 0:06:16.040 --> 0:06:19.240 But it's an intimidating holiday. It really is in the 0:06:19.240 --> 0:06:25.279 black household, especially Hispanic caribbee all like, it's holds no bars, 0:06:25.360 --> 0:06:28.920 it told no literally, it's especially the mac and cheese. 0:06:29.120 --> 0:06:32.239 Yeah, there's certain dishes that Yeah, it's just what it is. Yeah. 0:06:32.279 --> 0:06:34.560 So that was my cooking story about the time I 0:06:34.680 --> 0:06:37.680 made sweet potato cash role for Thanksgiving from my in 0:06:37.760 --> 0:06:39.359 laws and everybody enjoyed the end. 0:06:39.560 --> 0:06:41.120 I thought it was gonna be bad because I have 0:06:41.160 --> 0:06:44.000 a bad one. Also save that I haven't okay say 0:06:44.040 --> 0:06:44.320 that one. 0:06:44.360 --> 0:06:44.800 Save that one. 0:06:44.920 --> 0:06:46.200 When we come back to story time. 0:06:47.240 --> 0:06:49.159 All right, now, you know this would not be an 0:06:49.200 --> 0:06:55.440 episode without karaoke time. So my guests today, Okay, what 0:06:55.480 --> 0:06:56.920 are we feeling for karaoke? 0:06:57.080 --> 0:06:59.240 Hey? This is my go to karaoke song. 0:06:59.440 --> 0:07:02.920 Oh yeah, to have to carry let's do it touch 0:07:03.000 --> 0:07:09.360 my body? Okay ahead, go ahead, start us off, Start us off, 0:07:09.520 --> 0:07:12.200 Touch my body, throw me on the floor. 0:07:12.280 --> 0:07:15.320 He browny me some more. 0:07:18.360 --> 0:07:20.360 You know how, sometimes you don't realize what the words 0:07:20.400 --> 0:07:21.840 are until you actually break it. 0:07:21.800 --> 0:07:22.840 Down during karaoke. 0:07:23.240 --> 0:07:28.880 During karaoke, Yeah, you dirty, dirty, Touch my body, Rustle 0:07:28.920 --> 0:07:30.840 me to the floor, Wrestle me to the floor. 0:07:31.200 --> 0:07:34.440 No wait, touch my body, throw me on the floor, 0:07:34.720 --> 0:07:35.840 wrestle me around. 0:07:35.920 --> 0:07:37.320 Hey, play with me some more. 0:07:37.400 --> 0:07:40.840 Hey, touch my body, my hair or something like that, 0:07:41.440 --> 0:07:42.120 something like that. 0:07:42.080 --> 0:07:44.239 Yeah, something everywhere? Yeah, whatnot. 0:07:44.640 --> 0:07:49.800 Well, it's giving after a nice meal and a full belly, 0:07:49.920 --> 0:07:54.040 touch my body, touch my body, baby, that's giving all 0:07:54.080 --> 0:07:57.240 the vibes. But let's go ahead and pay some bills 0:07:57.240 --> 0:07:59.440 real quick. Yes, and we will come back and we 0:07:59.480 --> 0:08:02.160 will dive into the meat of the show with my 0:08:02.400 --> 0:08:05.920 very special guest today. I'll introduce her when we get back. 0:08:06.240 --> 0:08:14.119 Stay tuned, all right. Today, I have with me someone 0:08:14.160 --> 0:08:17.160 who I've really been following for a while and not 0:08:17.240 --> 0:08:21.320 only admire her in her profession, but something about your 0:08:21.360 --> 0:08:24.680 personality and her energy is that you can feel it 0:08:24.720 --> 0:08:26.440 through the phone. And I'm like, there has to be 0:08:26.520 --> 0:08:30.560 synergies here that align. And once we came out here 0:08:30.600 --> 0:08:33.520 to the West Side, for since LA episodes. She was 0:08:33.559 --> 0:08:36.080 at the very top of my list, and I'm so 0:08:36.240 --> 0:08:38.120 happy to introduce to you all today. 0:08:38.120 --> 0:08:40.679 If you have not found out about her yet, you've 0:08:40.679 --> 0:08:41.320 been under a rock. 0:08:42.400 --> 0:08:43.120 Alex sale is. 0:08:43.120 --> 0:08:46.520 A culinary genius, chef and host of the cooking show 0:08:46.960 --> 0:08:50.640 Spice Spice Baby on Taste Made. Alex is passionate about 0:08:50.640 --> 0:08:53.760 bringing people together through food. The dishes she shares on 0:08:53.800 --> 0:08:57.439 her blog just add Hot Sauce are easy, yet innovative 0:08:57.760 --> 0:09:00.600 and can be enjoyed by the aspiring show chef or 0:09:00.600 --> 0:09:03.640 someone just getting their feet wet in the kitchen, or 0:09:03.720 --> 0:09:07.960 a mom who is looking to answer the question what 0:09:08.600 --> 0:09:09.400 for dinner? 0:09:09.920 --> 0:09:14.560 The intro, Wow, Welcome to the show, Alex. 0:09:15.040 --> 0:09:17.000 This so one thing we're about here on Dead as 0:09:17.040 --> 0:09:20.400 Podcasts and particularly on a day with Kate, is giving 0:09:20.480 --> 0:09:23.840 people their flowers while they're here to smell and to 0:09:23.960 --> 0:09:26.520 hold and to enjoy. So thank you so much for 0:09:26.640 --> 0:09:29.080 joining me here today, Thank you for thinking of me, 0:09:29.320 --> 0:09:31.680 and I'm excited to be here. Absolutely, you made that 0:09:31.800 --> 0:09:34.800 so easy. So I've been following this uh just at 0:09:34.960 --> 0:09:38.400 Hot Sauce, you know, girl, for a minute now, and 0:09:38.440 --> 0:09:40.800 not only do I drool every time you post a 0:09:40.880 --> 0:09:43.959 video with food, just watching your Instagram stories, even just 0:09:44.000 --> 0:09:45.719 the way you interact with your friends, like you can 0:09:45.760 --> 0:09:48.480 tell a lot about someone and you can see that 0:09:48.520 --> 0:09:51.640 you're genuinely loved by the people who support you, by 0:09:51.679 --> 0:09:54.280 your friends, by your family. And I really believe that 0:09:54.320 --> 0:09:56.120 the energy that you put out is the energy you're 0:09:56.120 --> 0:09:58.800 going to get back. So you're like a walking testimony 0:09:58.840 --> 0:09:59.040 of that. 0:09:59.640 --> 0:10:01.000 Very I love that. 0:10:01.080 --> 0:10:03.480 Yes, I love that. Thank you very much, and I 0:10:03.520 --> 0:10:05.120 appreciate it. You're so welcome. 0:10:05.360 --> 0:10:06.360 So go back to Thanksgiving. 0:10:06.400 --> 0:10:08.120 Now, you said you had a bad story, because mine 0:10:08.240 --> 0:10:09.960 was one of those things where baby, you could have 0:10:10.000 --> 0:10:13.280 put a sash and a crown on my head. 0:10:13.480 --> 0:10:19.160 So mine wasn't Thanksgiving, okay, but because it was a 0:10:19.200 --> 0:10:24.480 black Southern household, it was in college. Ooh, and it 0:10:24.559 --> 0:10:27.800 reminded me of my fried chicken story because to this 0:10:27.920 --> 0:10:30.440 day I hate frying chicken because of that time. 0:10:30.600 --> 0:10:33.840 Oh no, So I had a boyfriend at the time. 0:10:33.920 --> 0:10:36.760 I was like I think twenty or something like that, 0:10:36.840 --> 0:10:39.000 and I was still cooking, but obviously like I'm in college, 0:10:39.040 --> 0:10:41.680 like I'm not like perfecting like what I love right right, 0:10:41.720 --> 0:10:44.240 And I was like, ooh, I'm going to make like 0:10:44.679 --> 0:10:47.400 a soulful Sunday's like meal. 0:10:47.720 --> 0:10:52.720 This was before hashtags, right before before hashtags. 0:10:51.320 --> 0:10:54.280 And I was like, invite your friends. So it was 0:10:54.360 --> 0:10:56.240 him and his two best friends, okay, and then my 0:10:56.320 --> 0:10:59.240 best friends. I was like, I'm going to make fried chicken. 0:10:59.880 --> 0:11:02.679 I'm gonna do like sweet potatoes because my mom gave 0:11:02.720 --> 0:11:05.000 me a sweet potato cashle that I've been using for years, 0:11:05.520 --> 0:11:08.800 mac and cheese. She gave me her recipe. So I 0:11:08.840 --> 0:11:12.720 was frying the chicken and you know, like you're supposed 0:11:12.840 --> 0:11:16.679 to fry chicken that is at roomtown temperature. Yes, I 0:11:16.720 --> 0:11:19.320 did not do that, and so I was just like 0:11:19.440 --> 0:11:21.200 battering that. I was like, oh, this is gonna be 0:11:21.240 --> 0:11:24.439 so good. And I fried the chicken and I was like, oh, 0:11:24.920 --> 0:11:29.480 it's done, took it out the oil and he bit 0:11:29.559 --> 0:11:34.760 into it and it was raw no, yes, And I 0:11:34.800 --> 0:11:37.880 like I almost started crying and I would have. I 0:11:37.920 --> 0:11:40.839 was like, I cannot believe that just his friends were like, 0:11:41.040 --> 0:11:42.319 this is raw chicken. 0:11:42.760 --> 0:11:46.880 There's probably nothing worse to bite into than raw, raw chicken. 0:11:46.920 --> 0:11:53.520 And it's so dangerous it is. Yeah, it's giving old salmonilla. Yeah. Yeah. 0:11:53.880 --> 0:11:57.240 To this day, I like I have my meat thermometer, 0:11:57.360 --> 0:12:00.480 because I just remember the twenty year old Alex that 0:12:00.679 --> 0:12:01.520 undercooked chicken. 0:12:01.559 --> 0:12:02.520 That undercooked chicken. 0:12:02.559 --> 0:12:02.920 Yeah. 0:12:02.960 --> 0:12:04.760 And is he still around. 0:12:05.000 --> 0:12:08.560 No, he's married with kids now, yeah, God, because why 0:12:08.600 --> 0:12:10.040 his wife fries chicken? 0:12:11.760 --> 0:12:17.719 He does. No, I'm joking, okay, but I will never 0:12:17.760 --> 0:12:20.000 forget that day. No, I hear you. Oh my god. 0:12:20.000 --> 0:12:21.600 I think we've all had those moments too. We had 0:12:21.640 --> 0:12:23.000 flops in the kitchen as well. Yeah. 0:12:23.040 --> 0:12:25.199 I remember the time my mom made like hamburger helper. 0:12:25.280 --> 0:12:27.839 She's like, it's something different, and we're like, just give 0:12:27.880 --> 0:12:28.720 us the curry chicken. 0:12:28.880 --> 0:12:29.040 Right. 0:12:29.200 --> 0:12:31.199 We never said we were tired of it. We never 0:12:31.200 --> 0:12:31.679 said we were. 0:12:31.679 --> 0:12:32.040 Tired of it. 0:12:32.880 --> 0:12:35.199 So you said twenty year old Alex at the time 0:12:35.920 --> 0:12:38.480 was just kind of still getting her feet wet in 0:12:38.640 --> 0:12:39.960 the cooking space. 0:12:40.600 --> 0:12:42.320 So where did this all start for you? 0:12:42.440 --> 0:12:44.440 I know you said you started cooking at eleven, yes, 0:12:44.679 --> 0:12:47.200 but at what point did you say. 0:12:47.040 --> 0:12:49.240 I'm actually pretty good at this and I like it. 0:12:49.600 --> 0:12:51.920 So it was so I wanted to go to culinary 0:12:51.960 --> 0:12:55.360 school outside of high school, and my mom, being a 0:12:55.440 --> 0:12:58.199 Puerto Rican mother from Brooklyn, she was like absolutely fucking 0:12:58.280 --> 0:13:01.960 not exactly because she let me cook when I was 0:13:02.000 --> 0:13:04.080 younger every weekend, and she was like, I think you 0:13:04.120 --> 0:13:04.840 really like cooking. 0:13:04.880 --> 0:13:06.719 Like she just poured into me. And I don't think 0:13:06.720 --> 0:13:07.960 she knew what she was doing. 0:13:07.760 --> 0:13:10.320 Back then, but now, like my whole career is a 0:13:10.320 --> 0:13:12.640 love letter to her. And so I was like, I 0:13:12.679 --> 0:13:14.720 think I want to go to culinary school and she 0:13:14.920 --> 0:13:15.520 was like no. 0:13:16.440 --> 0:13:18.800 So I went to Hampton. Best decision in my life. 0:13:18.960 --> 0:13:23.280 HBCU down like loving, but cooking kept following me, and 0:13:23.320 --> 0:13:25.160 I was like, I think I really want to do this. 0:13:25.320 --> 0:13:27.360 I majored in PR and marketing, and when I went 0:13:27.360 --> 0:13:29.800 to New York, I kept going to culinary school open houses, 0:13:30.880 --> 0:13:32.960 and every time I got to like the end when 0:13:32.960 --> 0:13:35.800 they impressed you with like the school and everything, They're like, okay, 0:13:35.880 --> 0:13:39.439 forty thousand dollars And I was like, I don't have 0:13:39.520 --> 0:13:42.319 that again. I just paid for Hampton, Like I'm already 0:13:42.320 --> 0:13:45.319 in student loan debt, but I sure do something like that. 0:13:45.320 --> 0:13:46.400 That wasn't that promised to me? 0:13:46.520 --> 0:13:49.520 No, Like I come on before you go, yeah you go. 0:13:50.480 --> 0:13:53.640 So I was like my mom was like, Okay, if 0:13:53.679 --> 0:13:55.400 this is what you really want to do, let's figure 0:13:55.440 --> 0:13:57.360 it out. And so I was like, I don't want 0:13:57.360 --> 0:14:00.680 to ask you for money you just paid for for school. 0:14:00.760 --> 0:14:02.280 So I was like, I can't do that. 0:14:02.360 --> 0:14:06.600 So I just kept teaching myself Magazine's YouTube university all 0:14:06.640 --> 0:14:09.439 of that, and because like I loved cooking so much, 0:14:09.559 --> 0:14:12.720 I started my food blog in twenty seventeen, just as 0:14:12.760 --> 0:14:14.480 like an outlet to be like, okay, like I just 0:14:14.480 --> 0:14:17.040 want to put myself out there, okay. And then it 0:14:17.080 --> 0:14:20.400 was actually like I knew I enjoyed cooking. I knew 0:14:20.440 --> 0:14:21.840 I was good at it because I would always cook 0:14:21.880 --> 0:14:24.640 for my friends. But I was at a cooking class 0:14:24.640 --> 0:14:26.680 because I just wanted to take cooking class for fun, 0:14:27.600 --> 0:14:28.000 and the. 0:14:27.920 --> 0:14:30.600 Girl was like do you cook or something? 0:14:30.800 --> 0:14:34.880 Because like she kept asking, like the instructor kept asking questions. 0:14:34.880 --> 0:14:36.880 I would answer, and so one of the girls like 0:14:37.360 --> 0:14:40.320 do you cook or something like like what is it? 0:14:40.360 --> 0:14:42.640 And I was like no, I just like really enjoyed cooking. 0:14:42.960 --> 0:14:44.720 So I went home to my boyfriend at the time 0:14:44.760 --> 0:14:46.000 and I was like, I think I want to do 0:14:46.040 --> 0:14:49.760 like a cooking class. And that was in twenty nineteen. 0:14:50.440 --> 0:14:53.000 Even though you know that you have a god given talent, 0:14:53.080 --> 0:14:54.520 but you're just like, I don't know, like a. 0:14:54.520 --> 0:14:57.320 Lot of times we question it. Yeah, impostor syndrome. 0:14:57.040 --> 0:15:00.600 And pastor syndrome for sure, and the and in twenty 0:15:00.680 --> 0:15:03.880 twenty is when I started my cooking class. And then 0:15:03.920 --> 0:15:06.400 that's when everything took off for me. I really in 0:15:06.440 --> 0:15:09.200 me and I started my food blog in twenty seventeen. 0:15:09.720 --> 0:15:12.640 Imposter syrnderm stopped me a lot, and I was just like, 0:15:12.680 --> 0:15:14.200 I don't know, like you know. 0:15:14.840 --> 0:15:19.600 So that's interesting. Twenty seventeen, fast forward to twenty twenty. 0:15:19.640 --> 0:15:22.080 It's when you start your cooking class. Yeah, And this 0:15:22.240 --> 0:15:24.440 is just twenty twenty four, and I feel like you've 0:15:24.480 --> 0:15:28.360 made so many strides since then. But I guess that's 0:15:28.360 --> 0:15:30.920 a testament to following what you feel in your heart 0:15:31.040 --> 0:15:34.120 is your God given talent or passion. Yeah, because some 0:15:34.120 --> 0:15:36.840 people think they could cook chat and they can't, right right, 0:15:36.960 --> 0:15:40.280 Like they literally can't. Yeah no, and some people really 0:15:40.320 --> 0:15:41.320 just can't just can't. 0:15:41.720 --> 0:15:44.600 Yeah. Oh, people don't enjoy it and I enjoy it. 0:15:44.640 --> 0:15:47.720 Are you fearful that being in a space like this 0:15:47.720 --> 0:15:50.320 where you're cooking now as a profession, that you'll lose 0:15:50.360 --> 0:15:51.000 that love for it? 0:15:51.040 --> 0:15:54.000 Because I've heard that's a possibility for people like I. 0:15:54.800 --> 0:15:56.640 Enjoy it so much because I was really shy when 0:15:56.640 --> 0:15:59.280 I was younger, and so cooking for me was like 0:15:59.320 --> 0:16:00.480 and people don't belie I was shy. 0:16:00.520 --> 0:16:02.280 I was like, yes, I was actually very shy. 0:16:02.760 --> 0:16:05.120 So cooking for me was just like an outlet that 0:16:05.160 --> 0:16:07.440 like I could be myself. I can just cook because 0:16:07.440 --> 0:16:10.120 like my first dish was vanilla lime fly and my 0:16:10.160 --> 0:16:11.800 mom was like, why do you want to cook that? 0:16:11.840 --> 0:16:14.200 I was like, I don't know. I just watched Emery Lagasi, 0:16:14.400 --> 0:16:17.760 like I just want to cook this. And so I 0:16:17.800 --> 0:16:20.440 think for me, it's such like a self care process 0:16:20.480 --> 0:16:23.120 of cooking and seeing something from start to finish that 0:16:23.200 --> 0:16:26.280 I don't want everyone to burn out from it. But 0:16:26.400 --> 0:16:28.680 now it's what I do and I still enjoy it. 0:16:28.720 --> 0:16:29.920 But that's why I have other hobbies. 0:16:29.960 --> 0:16:32.120 And yeah, of course you gotta stay balanced. 0:16:32.280 --> 0:16:32.680 For sure. 0:16:33.360 --> 0:16:36.400 Do you ever aspire to get into the space of 0:16:36.760 --> 0:16:39.840 maybe having your own restaurant or being in a restaurant? 0:16:40.000 --> 0:16:41.720 And the reason I asked was because I know it's 0:16:41.720 --> 0:16:45.240 a known fact that the culinary industry, much like many 0:16:45.280 --> 0:16:46.440 are male dominant. 0:16:46.560 --> 0:16:48.720 Yeah, most of the white male dominant. 0:16:48.800 --> 0:16:48.880 Ye. 0:16:49.120 --> 0:16:51.480 And you being a black. 0:16:51.200 --> 0:16:54.920 And Latino woman, how do you see yourself in that 0:16:54.960 --> 0:16:57.000 space or do you even see yourself in that space. 0:16:57.120 --> 0:16:59.280 So I oh my god, I just got chills. 0:16:59.320 --> 0:17:01.720 I think because I'm finding like saying outlaw, like, do 0:17:02.120 --> 0:17:08.800 want to own something very small? Okay, like a coffee shop, cafe? 0:17:09.320 --> 0:17:12.919 Uh huh, like geared towards like my Puerto Rican side. 0:17:13.080 --> 0:17:18.520 Okay, so living like sandwiches, babe, sandwich Like I can 0:17:18.600 --> 0:17:19.159 see that for you. 0:17:19.240 --> 0:17:23.080 Yeah, like something just very cozy and like, yeah, I've 0:17:23.080 --> 0:17:25.320 really been thinking a lot about it, and I think 0:17:25.359 --> 0:17:29.240 that's what I want to do. Uh huh, terrify. 0:17:29.680 --> 0:17:31.200 I mean, I think we all are when it comes 0:17:31.240 --> 0:17:34.840 to something new. Yeah, have you experienced though, any kind 0:17:34.880 --> 0:17:40.119 of you know, issues within the culinary industry that you 0:17:40.160 --> 0:17:43.199 feel like may impede that process just from like the 0:17:43.280 --> 0:17:46.280 position of being like again, Afro Latina woman, I think 0:17:46.320 --> 0:17:49.680 when it comes to funding, just because like I think 0:17:49.680 --> 0:17:52.080 as black women in general or black people in general, 0:17:52.119 --> 0:17:54.639 like the funding. When it comes to money, it's like, 0:17:55.119 --> 0:17:58.200 we don't always get that chance. So I think what's 0:17:58.240 --> 0:18:01.480 stopping me is fear being like, Okay, well what I 0:18:01.600 --> 0:18:03.520 want to do it, but what's the next step? 0:18:03.680 --> 0:18:07.199 And that's money? So it's like what do I do? 0:18:07.359 --> 0:18:10.240 And I feel like I don't come from a money family, 0:18:10.640 --> 0:18:12.440 you know, and I don't want to ask my parents. 0:18:12.920 --> 0:18:15.320 So it's like, what that next step of funding is 0:18:15.520 --> 0:18:16.199 terrifying me? 0:18:16.400 --> 0:18:18.000 Gotcha, how do you do that? 0:18:18.119 --> 0:18:19.880 No, I can totally understand, you know, and that being 0:18:19.880 --> 0:18:22.720 probably a long term goal for you, Yeah, which is 0:18:22.760 --> 0:18:24.640 of course me just shooting ahead because I can see 0:18:24.680 --> 0:18:28.600 the potential in something like that. But in the meantime, 0:18:28.720 --> 0:18:31.000 you're taking the necessary steps I think in the areas 0:18:31.040 --> 0:18:33.359 that I feel like you have been thriving. So you 0:18:33.400 --> 0:18:35.639 have your blog, you have of course, your your social 0:18:35.680 --> 0:18:38.720 media persona yeah, and then you have spice spic. 0:18:38.640 --> 0:18:41.439 Baby baby it's made. 0:18:42.040 --> 0:18:44.240 So tell me about that. How did that come to be? 0:18:44.240 --> 0:18:46.880 Because that's essentially like a cooking show? Yeah, your own 0:18:46.920 --> 0:18:49.240