food traditions

Leaving Bilbao, I stupidly lost my suitcase. I had to rush to security where they were already inspecting the 12 cans of anchovies from Getaria that I had in my […]

🎙️ This Week’s Episode

Pot Luck Food Talks: Kitchen Stories From Behind the Pass

Two decades on the line leave scars, stories, and a way of seeing the world that doesn’t wash off with the apron.

Pot Luck Food Talks is where the chef lifestyle gets laid bare—raw chef talk, the kind you don’t hear in PR interviews.

Phil & Eric aren’t here to romanticize. They’re here to trade food stories that smell of sweat, butter, and burned fingers. Stories about the beauty and brutality of restaurant culture, the quiet rules, and the loud disasters.

It’s the truth about Michelin Star kitchens, the whispered restaurant secrets, the victories no one tastes but the cooks, and the mistakes that teach more than any school.

If you want sanitized food media, go elsewhere. If you want chef conversations about life, gastronomy, and why flavor is the only compass worth following—pull up a chair.

🎙️ EP161 – Chefs live and die by the prep list. This episode is kitchen discipline: owning your section, juggling a thousand timers, costing without bullshit, and letting go of those ego dishes nobody orders.

🎧 Topics Covered in This Episode:

📋 Night Prep Lists – Building a bulletproof station

🐂 Grab the Bull by the Horns – Taking real control of your section (and surviving clopening)

🗣️ Commies, Demi, CDP – Communication and chain of command that actually works

⏱️ Chefs as Project Managers – Living inside a storm of timers

💻 Apps & Excel – Why most kitchen software still sucks

📊 Costing 101 – Steak, fries, rosemary salt & the hidden percentages

💸 Margin of Error – Airport pricing and not lying to yourself

📈 Dynamic Pricing – When burgers behave like plane tickets

🤝 Front of House Magic – The golden goose and the perfect check

⭐ Dogs, Plow Horses & Stars – Menu engineering for real kitchens

🥔 Buying Better Product – Quality vs. racing to the bottom