Ben Ford | Stories from “Ford’s Filling Station” | An Artisan’s Craft

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Ben Ford:00:00:01

I will say this about cuisine, and I will say

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00:00 Ben Ford joins Story & Craft

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this about danger in general.

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That's where you find the good stuff.

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If you want that good street taco,

if you want that good whatever.

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Announcer: Welcome to Story Craft.

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Now, here's your host, Marc Preston.

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Marc Preston: All right, here we go.

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Another episode of Story Craft.

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We are back together once again.

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Good to be back with you.

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If this is your first

episode, my name is Marc.

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Thank you for checking out the show.

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Glad to have you along, uh,

today sitting down with chef,

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restaurateur, entrepreneur, author,

philanthropist, chef Ben Ford.

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He's known for his restaurant in

Los Angeles called Ford's Filling

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Station, but he's been involved

in something like 27 different

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restaurants around the Los Angeles area.

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He's been involved in just all kinds

of different projects all over the

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world, actually, even, uh, working

along with the State Department.

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I mean, he's had a very,

very intriguing career.

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We discuss everything stem to stern his

entire career growing up, uh, with his

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father, of course, actor Harrison Ford.

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Of course, Ben has had a very

illustrious career as a chef.

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Uh, just great stories.

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This is a food nerd heavy episode.

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If you've been listening to the show for

a while, you know, I like talking food.

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Uh, we've had some chefs on before,

and this is just kind of a fun, uh,

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talking food and restaurants and kind

of what does it all mean and, you know,

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cultural influences, things like that.

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Tell you what, do me a favor,

always ask, if you would,

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cruise on over to Story Craft.

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pod.

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com, specifically story and craft pod.

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com slash rate, drop a

few stars, leave a review.

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Um, if the, at the very

least just follow the show.

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So you get notified every time we have a

new episode that way folks get to discover

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story and craft a little easier, and

it's a chance for them to take part in

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the mischief that I got going on here.

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Okay.

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So let's jump right into it today.

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It's Food Nerd Central.

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We're gonna have fun.

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It is Ben Ford Day, right

here on Story Craft.

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Ben Ford: Where, where are

you in Texas, by the way?

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Marc Preston: Very southern

tip of Texas, very bottom of

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an island called South Padre.

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Ben Ford: I'm dating a girl from, my,

my girlfriend is from, uh, Glen, Glen

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Rose and I And I dated a, an original

Austin, Texas, Austin, uh, or I was

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married to her from San Antonio for many,

many years and have a child from her.

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So, you know, a lot of roots in Texas.

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Marc Preston: Well, do you ever

get to, if you ever go to Austin,

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you ever been down to Franklin

barbecue down there to check out?

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Yeah, Aaron's a good friend of mine.

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He's got to make that line shorter for me.

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I tell you, anytime I'm down,

anytime I'm down there, I'm like,

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uh, it was during the last time I

was here was during COVID actually.

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So they only had a pickup

orders, but I, I mean, the trick

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Ben Ford: is the trick is the

a hundred dollar pickup order.

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So you go, you, you call in,

you call an order in over a

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hundred and you skip the line.

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Yeah.

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You just have to have, you just need

a buddy or two to help you eat it.

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Marc Preston: Here it is.

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I hear it as someone in LA gave

me a way to crack the code.

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There you go.

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So

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Ben Ford: this is,

there's our insider tips.

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You know, the back door

works there too, for me, but

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Marc Preston: you've got the

stripes, uh, the, to get in there,

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you know, now you're in LA, right?

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That's yeah, I'm in, I'm

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Ben Ford: in Los Angeles.

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Yeah.

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I was, uh, I've been, you know, I've been

doing projects around the U S and for.

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Since COVID.

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And so it's been spending parts of time

in other places, but, uh, it's been

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a very exploratory couple of years.

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But, um, yeah, I'm here

still back based in LA.

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I've got my children still in, you know,

I've got one child in school here still.

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So I'm rooted here for the next two

years at least, but I mine projects

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in places like the Pearl and.

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Looking in Scottsdale and San Diego

and trying to figure out how this new

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stuff is, but we'll get into that.

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03:45 Growing Up with Harrison Ford

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Marc Preston: I'm sure.

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Are you an LA kid originally?

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I know your dad had a place, I think,

in uh, I am there or something or

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Ben Ford: yeah, we have a Wyoming, we

have a Wyoming, uh, Jackson hole that we,

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um, that we acquired in 1978 when it was

still kind of a, a place to go and escape.

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Uh, it's changed quite a bit since

then, but no, I'm a, uh, I'm a real

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Canyon kid from the Hollywood Hills.

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So I grew up, I grew up in the, in the

crazy sixties and seventies Canyons

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and surrounded by all that, all

that, you know, um, learn to swim in

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mama Cass's pool, you know, and, uh,

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Marc Preston: there was a song that got

him Sean Mullins, uh, Oh God, uh, he

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had a song called lullaby came out back.

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Uh, I don't know about 99, 98,

somewhere around there about it.

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I think, I don't know.

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He never told me when I spoke with him,

he never told me where he was when he

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came up with the lyrics, but I always

imagined him sitting somewhere like at

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Cantor's deli and, and, and talking to,

and, and he would just overhear people.

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Kind of like yourself.

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You grew up there and the whole

song is about like just over, you

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know, overhearing, uh, these girls

just talking about life growing up

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in LA and a couple of the parents

were in the industry or something.

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And that always kind of stuck with me.

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And when I was a little younger, I

was like, man, I got to get to LA.

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And I worked briefly on the radio there.

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And I was like, you know, I love it here.

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I lived in Encinitas, North County

of San Diego and I would drive up.

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I had my routine.

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I'd always drive up, but I just,

I was doing voiceover and other

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stuff and acting, but I would on

the weekends at work, uh, at a

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station there and I'd drive up and I

always go to Cantor's deli bringing

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Cantor's back up on Friday nights.

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And then I'd on the way, when I got

off the air, I went to In N Out burger,

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got a shake, a chocolate shake, and

then drove back down to one on one

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to get back to Encinitas, you know?

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So it was, it was a fun time.

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I enjoyed it greatly.

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What did

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Ben Ford: you, what did you

bring up from Encinitas?

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There has to be like a trade.

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I had this, uh, Thing where I

would bring, uh, I bring Kurt

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to eat at house on Wisconsin and

to survive through the summer.

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And I'd bring hot sauce and tortillas

from California because he couldn't

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get them out there at that time.

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And then I, then I'd bring smoked

fish and new skis, bacon back

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with me on the return trip.

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And I started that at like 10 years old.

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So I was, you know, I was,

I was incubating the chef.

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Marc Preston: The chef

world already, I guess.

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05:57 Discovering a Passion for Cooking

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When did you become enamored with

the idea of actually cooking?

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Was this something that came later in life

when you were looking for things to do?

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Or did it kind of kick off

when you were like a little?

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Ben Ford: No, it kicked off as

sort of a natural inclination.

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You know, I was, I was just as apt to be

found in the kitchen with one of my best

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friend's mothers, you know, preparing

dinner as I'd be Outside throwing the

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football, you know, it might be a 50 50

kind of visit Even when I would go or

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if the mother was a particularly good

cook And if the mother was a very good

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cook, I I definitely befriended that kid

and you know It was it was akin to it

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was akin at the time to them having a

swimming pool probably you know, it was

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it just it really meant it meant a lot to

me, um, cooking and just uh, the Uh, the

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creation and and the library, you know,

this, um, ability to work with your hands.

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You know, my father was a was a carpenter

when I was up until I was 12, you

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know, and he still kept a workshop.

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He still keeps a workshop.

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Good worker, even though he

was also in entertainment.

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Um, and so this connection of working

with our hands and our craft, you

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know, it was all very important.

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And, uh, at the time when I was eyeing

cooking, when I originally was eyeing

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it, there hadn't been this birth of the.

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That's sort of the, you

know, the celebrity chef yet.

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And so for me, it was, it was sort

of a very good place to explore,

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uh, creativity, uh, free from the.

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Exploitations of being in a, you know,

having a famous father eventually,

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you know, so, so, you know, it was,

it was, it was a very comfortable

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place for me for a long time.

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As sort of the celebrity chef kind of

part came into it more and more there

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became more conflict But the truth of

it in the beginning when I when I was in

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there in those kitchens early I was very

very passionate about it and very driven

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by something that was more mysterious to

me um, and I At 15 I went and I you know,

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asked my mom to do a uh, spend my summer.

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Um Uh, cooking in a, in a

restaurant in San Francisco.

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And I went up and did that.

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Um, and I experienced

that, had that experience.

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You

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Marc Preston: were 15 years old.

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You asked, wow, that's uh,

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Ben Ford: yeah.

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And, and, and yeah, it was interesting

because at the time I was still, uh,

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I was still focusing on baseball.

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Baseball was something that I

had turned, uh, it was a surprise

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talent of mine at 10 years old.

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It was something that if you're

very good at, you kind of

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have to dedicate your life to.

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And so I didn't leave a lot of room

for other explorations other than

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Marc Preston: cooking.

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Were you hanging out with

Charlie Sheen by any chance?

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Because I know he was, that

was his jam back in the day.

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Ben Ford: No, you know, I think, you know,

it was really interesting because the, I

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was from the sort of East Hollywood Hills.

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I was from Laurel Canyon, Woodrow

Wilson kind of, you know, area.

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And, uh, we were very much, we

weren't, we weren't from sort of

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the provincial part of Los Angeles.

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We weren't part of society.

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We're kind of living with the grips

and, you know, and the, and the,

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you know, the craftsmen worked,

you know, and stuff like that.

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The drug dealer still lived next

to the, you know, the up and coming

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actor, you know, it was an eclectic,

it was an eclectic sixties and

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seventies, uh, set up, you know.

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Um, but what it was really was.

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An incubator for creativity, you know,

I think that my if I asked my father

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is what we were like as kids He'll tell

you that we were feral, you know, we're

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literally like running around in this

wild environment, but what it bred was

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You know, a lifetime of artistry and

creativity, you know, you know, it was a

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wonderful way to be exposed to the world.

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Marc Preston: Well, how many siblings,

uh, uh, well, at that time, were you

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an only kid or did you have siblings?

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Ben Ford: Well, I had siblings.

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I, uh, you know, until

three, I was living in bliss.

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Uh, and then, uh, you know, they

decided to have another one.

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I have a little brother named Willard,

who's a full brother of mine, who's,

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who's a wonderful companion and, you

know, you know, and partner in life.

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Uh, I couldn't imagine being,

having life without him,

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without having a real brother.

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I also have a half brother and half

sister from my dad's second marriage,

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who are wonderful, uh, kids and, and,

uh, quite a bit younger, but wonderful.

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And I have a, uh, uh, A third brother from

my dad's third marriage, uh, uh, uh, Liam,

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who's, uh, just, uh, learning about life.

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And you know, he's the

same age as my older son.

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So we're, it's a, it's a,

it's interesting to watch him

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Marc Preston: grow.

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I've got the same thing.

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I've got, uh, I was the only kid up

to the time I was, uh, 29, I think.

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My oldest daughter is like within

months of technically her aunt.

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You know, so it's kind of

a interesting paradigm.

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And then, you know, because of, uh,

yeah, for my father passed after COVID

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and then, uh, because of, uh, ancestry.

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com, I discovered I had another sister.

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Uh, so it was kind of, it was like,

it's like next thing, you know, I'm

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just like, Hey, I'm no longer an only

kid, you know, took only took nearly 50

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years to discover this, but it's cool.

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Um, but so.

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Was there any inclination or, or, uh,

encouragement or anything for you to,

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to look at either on or off camera,

anything in the entertainment industry

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when you were a kid, or was it, or is

your dad kind of like, you know, kind

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of follow your own path kind of thing?

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11:01 The Evolution of a Chef

11:01 ,814 --> 00:11:05,655

Ben Ford: I think there was always a

follow your own path kind of, uh, thing.

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And, and, you know, and part of it

also was part of the, the timing of

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my dad's career when I was, when I

was coming, becoming of age, you know,

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so, you know, he was really, Star

Wars didn't come out as 12 years old,

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11:17 ,770 --> 00:11:21,000

you know, or 10, I was 11, 12 years

old when it was starting to come out.

233

11:21 ,610 --> 00:11:26,069

Raiders was a whole nother sort of level

of fame, but, but, but his, but my life

234

11:26 ,069 --> 00:11:27,920

really changed when Star Wars came out.

235

11:28 ,780 --> 00:11:33,159

His, you know, before that I knew him

as a carpenter, you know, and so this

236

11:33 ,159 --> 00:11:36,639

idea of the Boehner entertainment

was still a, a fresh thing.

237

11:36 ,660 --> 00:11:39,080

And he was still going

through the assimilation of.

238

11:39 ,835 --> 00:11:43,065

Um, coming, being a, what he thought

was going to be a simple actor,

239

11:43 ,475 --> 00:11:46,555

you know, to trying to figure out

what it was like to have to also,

240

11:47 ,395 --> 00:11:52,124

um, transition into what would be

a movie star type of role, I guess.

241

11:52 ,195 --> 00:11:53,764

Marc Preston: Like

American graffiti about it.

242

11:53 ,824 --> 00:11:55,635

Like, were you, were you

around when that came out?

243

11:55 ,654 --> 00:11:56,054

So,

244

11:56 ,125 --> 00:11:56,445

Ben Ford: yeah.

245

11:56 ,445 --> 00:11:59,075

So American graffiti was in 72, 73.

246

11:59 ,615 --> 00:12:03,365

Uh, apocalypse now is in 72, 73,

although it wasn't released until

247

12:03 ,375 --> 00:12:07,855

77 and conversation conversation,

which also was, he had a small part

248

12:07 ,855 --> 00:12:12,810

in, but a very good part in, um,

Was in 72 73 somewhere around there.

249

12:13 ,010 --> 00:12:13,970

So he was doing parts.

250

12:13 ,970 --> 00:12:16,630

He was doing television, but he

wasn't supporting us that way.

251

12:16 ,660 --> 00:12:20,209

The day to day operations, the stuff that

I connection and stuff I had connections

252

12:20 ,209 --> 00:12:22,630

to was the workshop next to the house.

253

12:22 ,630 --> 00:12:26,810

So, so by that time, you

know, I was a young kid.

254

12:27 ,205 --> 00:12:32,395

My play toys were, were hammers and

chisels and, and, and, you know, at

255

12:32 ,395 --> 00:12:37,125

saws and, you know, unfortunately

sometimes I'd take his drill bits out,

256

12:37 ,135 --> 00:12:40,354

you know, at the time of this, these

things were very important tools, you

257

12:40 ,355 --> 00:12:43,364

didn't have the money to go and replace

these things, you know, and I'd go play

258

12:43 ,364 --> 00:12:44,655

in the dirt with them and lose them.

259

12:44 ,655 --> 00:12:48,525

And, you know, there was, there was many

different other things that happened.

260

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Me hammering.

261

12:49 ,855 --> 00:12:57,005

You know, windows that were intended,

intended for his, um, uh, for homes

262

12:57 ,005 --> 00:13:00,125

that I'd nailed into my tree houses

and things like that, you know, so

263

13:00 ,125 --> 00:13:04,295

there was, there was some mistakes

across the way, but that showed some,

264

13:04 ,564 --> 00:13:06,797

Marc Preston: uh, that showed

some, uh, ingenuity on it.

265

13:06 ,797 --> 00:13:09,535

And like, uh, you know, wait a

minute, there's this thing here and

266

13:09 ,535 --> 00:13:11,185

I need a window and it's right there.

267

13:11 ,185 --> 00:13:11,545

You know.

268

13:11 ,920 --> 00:13:12,130

Uh oh.

269

13:12 ,130 --> 00:13:14,140

It, it's like your chefs knives,

you know, you, you know, those,

270

13:14 ,140 --> 00:13:15,550

they're, they're very protected.

271

13:15 ,550 --> 00:13:18,460

You know, they're, they're, they're

sacred, you know, it's kind of the, yes.

272

13:18 ,460 --> 00:13:22,630

So the, the, the carpenter's tools

are kind of the same thing, you know?

273

13:22 ,630 --> 00:13:22,990

So,

274

13:23 ,230 --> 00:13:23,530

Ben Ford: yes.

275

13:23 ,530 --> 00:13:25,210

And I was a tinker as a, as a young kid.

276

13:25 ,210 --> 00:13:28,000

I was the one who was taking apart the

phones and the cameras and trying to

277

13:28 ,000 --> 00:13:31,575

put them back together, and, oh, you

know that also, oh, God, I thought

278

13:31 ,735 --> 00:13:34,450

Marc Preston: I, I took, I, I,

I was intimately acquainted with

279

13:34 ,450 --> 00:13:35,830

a Briggs and Stratton engine.

280

13:35 ,830 --> 00:13:36,730

Like I would like.

281

13:37 ,639 --> 00:13:38,629

My father would be off at work.

282

13:38 ,629 --> 00:13:41,499

I literally took apart the lawnmower

and put it back together again.

283

13:41 ,499 --> 00:13:43,030

And like he mowed the yard later.

284

13:43 ,030 --> 00:13:43,819

I had no clue.

285

13:44 ,219 --> 00:13:47,670

I think there were still a few screws

left over that didn't quite go back.

286

13:47 ,670 --> 00:13:49,300

But I was like, yeah, I was the same way.

287

13:49 ,300 --> 00:13:50,769

I was like, how does

this whole thing work?

288

13:50 ,769 --> 00:13:51,170

You know?

289

13:51 ,639 --> 00:13:53,929

Ben Ford: But, but what, but what that,

what that instills in you, you know,

290

13:53 ,929 --> 00:13:57,869

is it, it gives you the ability and

you become fearless, you know, and, and

291

13:57 ,869 --> 00:14:02,829

how that translated into my creativity

later, you know, into my craft.

292

14:03 ,410 --> 00:14:05,859

Um, you know, is is fairly evident.

293

14:06 ,040 --> 00:14:11,699

You know, I became a person who really

focused on, um, creativity, you know,

294

14:11 ,700 --> 00:14:13,540

true, true creativity, not immune.

295

14:13 ,750 --> 00:14:17,599

And, you know, creating not

emulating was was a big was a big

296

14:17 ,690 --> 00:14:19,270

slogan of mine for a long time.

297

14:20 ,020 --> 00:14:23,829

And, you know, one of the reasons you see

me sort of, you know, my restaurants, I

298

14:23 ,829 --> 00:14:28,945

turn them out about certain, you know,

um There's a little bit of rhythm to

299

14:28 ,945 --> 00:14:31,495

it, but there's some time in between

them usually, because there's a lot of

300

14:31 ,495 --> 00:14:33,135

thought that goes into producing them.

301

14:33 ,625 --> 00:14:35,525

Um, because there's a

lot of original thought.

302

14:36 ,045 --> 00:14:39,915

And right now I'm actually in a period

of time where I'm transitioning into

303

14:39 ,915 --> 00:14:41,044

what my next restaurant will be.

304

14:41 ,045 --> 00:14:44,924

And it's been a very sort of,

uh, uh, creative time for me.

305

14:45 ,265 --> 00:14:48,595

And I have to do a lot of things during

these times to transition and, and, and.

306

14:49 ,635 --> 00:14:51,285

I'm sorry, I'm getting

a little esoteric here.

307

14:52 ,165 --> 00:14:56,225

Um, I, I really enjoy these times

of in between the restaurants.

308

14:56 ,695 --> 00:15:01,875

I really enjoy the times of having to

fight with the, um, with not having

309

15:01 ,885 --> 00:15:04,645

the clue yet exactly what you're

gonna, what you're gonna do next.

310

15:05 ,055 --> 00:15:06,514

I like the idea of having

Yeah, when you're running

311

15:06 ,515 --> 00:15:08,074

Marc Preston: a restaurant,

it's, it's all encompassing.

312

15:08 ,185 --> 00:15:09,164

I mean, it's, you're married to it.

313

15:09 ,164 --> 00:15:09,982

It's, it's day

314

15:09 ,982 --> 00:15:11,723

Ben Ford: in and day

out once you get going,

315

15:11 ,723 --> 00:15:11,941

Marc Preston: yeah.

316

15:11 ,941 --> 00:15:14,805

Ben Ford: It's true, but there was two

years between Chadwick and Ford's Filling

317

15:14 ,805 --> 00:15:18,524

Station, you know, where I was waiting

for the messaging to sort of come.

318

15:18 ,885 --> 00:15:20,765

You know, I've always worked

for restaurants that had

319

15:20 ,785 --> 00:15:21,825

that strong messaging.

320

15:21 ,825 --> 00:15:26,405

I worked at Chez Panisse, you know, I

worked at Campanile, you know, I worked

321

15:26 ,405 --> 00:15:29,105

at, um, you know, my restaurant Chadwick.

322

15:29 ,145 --> 00:15:31,134

They all had very strong messaging.

323

15:31 ,745 --> 00:15:34,915

And, um, you know, that's something

that has always sort of guided

324

15:34 ,915 --> 00:15:36,204

me and guided my creativity.

325

15:36 ,599 --> 00:15:41,280

And so right now I'm in a very exploratory

time, you know, and when I'm really

326

15:41 ,280 --> 00:15:44,640

excited about the next restaurant

that I'm working on and I don't know

327

15:44 ,680 --> 00:15:46,480

Marc Preston: what informs you

though, like when you're looking

328

15:46 ,480 --> 00:15:49,799

at at a restaurant, is it, is it

the cuisine, is it the experience

329

15:49 ,800 --> 00:15:53,809

for the, uh, diner, you know,

aesthetically, or is it just sort of like

330

15:54 ,409 --> 00:15:56,370

Ben Ford: it's, unfortunately

it's more holistic than that

331

15:56 ,420 --> 00:15:57,080

Marc Preston: and, and,

332

15:57 ,080 --> 00:15:59,840

Ben Ford: and more cerebral than

that, you know, it's a process for

333

15:59 ,840 --> 00:16:04,940

me and, um, generally what I do is,

you know, I take the time to sort of.

334

16:05 ,250 --> 00:16:07,130

You know, it's interesting.

335

16:07 ,310 --> 00:16:08,840

I'm a little bit of a renaissance man.

336

16:08 ,970 --> 00:16:13,239

I sort of delve between these

two personalities of being

337

16:13 ,239 --> 00:16:14,849

a craftsman and an artist.

338

16:15 ,449 --> 00:16:19,239

And my father and I have had

this conversation about whether

339

16:19 ,239 --> 00:16:22,170

you're an artist or whether

you're a, you know, a craftsman.

340

16:22 ,755 --> 00:16:25,855

My father looks at his, at

his, at his craft as a craft.

341

16:26 ,115 --> 00:16:28,505

He doesn't look at it as, and I know

one of the things we want to cover

342

16:28 ,505 --> 00:16:32,065

today is the topic of crafts and

I, and I love talking about this,

343

16:32 ,075 --> 00:16:36,385

this subject in general, but we'll

say, you know, a, uh, a craftsman

344

16:36 ,395 --> 00:16:38,035

or a worker works with his hands.

345

16:38 ,035 --> 00:16:41,575

So labor works, his hands, a craftsman

works with his hands and his brain.

346

16:42 ,615 --> 00:16:46,175

And a, an artist works with his

hands, his brain, and his heart.

347

16:46 ,605 --> 00:16:48,255

And I used to find that

sometimes the heart got in the

348

16:48 ,255 --> 00:16:50,475

way of my, sort of, production.

349

16:50 ,564 --> 00:16:52,015

You know, as a, as a craftsman.

350

16:52 ,485 --> 00:16:55,274

And so sometimes I sort of

make this, I go dabble back and

351

16:55 ,275 --> 00:16:56,615

forth between these two worlds.

352

16:57 ,395 --> 00:17:00,145

As an artist, I need to

go and find fulfillment.

353

17:00 ,184 --> 00:17:02,275

And I need to find, I need to refuel.

354

17:02 ,315 --> 00:17:05,365

And I need to go out and find inspiration

and people that I need to be around.

355

17:05 ,675 --> 00:17:08,505

And sometimes that is in the

most unconventional places.

356

17:08 ,980 --> 00:17:11,260

Sometimes that's going and

hanging out with educators.

357

17:11 ,280 --> 00:17:13,000

Sometimes it's going and

hanging out with farmers.

358

17:13 ,270 --> 00:17:14,800

Sometimes it's hanging

out with other chefs.

359

17:15 ,680 --> 00:17:18,530

Very rarely is it actually hanging out

with people inside my own community

360

17:18 ,530 --> 00:17:20,509

where I'll find that kind of inspiration.

361

17:20 ,710 --> 00:17:21,510

And then I wait.

362

17:22 ,760 --> 00:17:23,369

And I wait.

363

17:23 ,409 --> 00:17:24,499

And I do other things.

364

17:24 ,699 --> 00:17:25,369

And I do other things.

365

17:25 ,369 --> 00:17:26,290

I write cookbooks.

366

17:26 ,650 --> 00:17:30,080

I've designed, I've done several

other restaurants since COVID.

367

17:30 ,110 --> 00:17:34,650

I've opened, I think, uh,

seven restaurants since 2018.

368

17:35 ,070 --> 00:17:35,990

But you wouldn't know it.

369

17:36 ,324 --> 00:17:39,475

You know, because they're not under

my, under my name, because I'm waiting

370

17:39 ,475 --> 00:17:43,695

for that same thing, because when I

do, when I create concepts, I truly

371

17:43 ,695 --> 00:17:47,325

want to create a concept that is going

to make a difference in the community.

372

17:48 ,264 --> 00:17:52,135

I don't want to emulate anything

that's been successful in the past.

373

17:52 ,485 --> 00:17:55,785

I want to figure out a new idea

and Chadwick was like that.

374

17:55 ,785 --> 00:18:00,205

Chadwick, my first, my first fine dining

restaurant in Beverly Hills had what

375

18:00 ,205 --> 00:18:02,015

I used to call spoon fed organics.

376

18:02 ,055 --> 00:18:06,054

You know, it was 1998 when that

restaurant opened and we used

377

18:06 ,054 --> 00:18:07,395

to have our own organic farms.

378

18:07 ,395 --> 00:18:08,355

We had foragers.

379

18:08 ,395 --> 00:18:11,435

We had, you know, people out there

were doing things that were way

380

18:11 ,435 --> 00:18:15,905

ahead of this, of the, of the

curve as far as that's concerned.

381

18:15 ,905 --> 00:18:18,525

And we were, we had a

real strong message there.

382

18:19 ,125 --> 00:18:21,339

The next restaurant that

I ended up doing was Josh.

383

18:21 ,620 --> 00:18:24,980

Ford's filling station after that

and Ford's filling station in order

384

18:24 ,980 --> 00:18:29,149

to keep the conversation going

was really about continue this

385

18:29 ,149 --> 00:18:32,050

conversation about the holistic farm

system that I was very interested

386

18:32 ,050 --> 00:18:33,699

in now is already doing farming.

387

18:34 ,020 --> 00:18:36,080

Now I wanted to add in

the animals part of it.

388

18:36 ,529 --> 00:18:39,869

And so snap to tail cookery

wasn't being really.

389

18:40 ,480 --> 00:18:44,659

Done in this, in this, in this, in the

U S at that time, this is about 2000.

390

18:44 Challenges in the Restaurant Industry

18:44 ,669 --> 00:18:45,810

Marc Preston: Why do you,

why do you think that is?

391

18:45 ,810 --> 00:18:49,559

Cause to me, that seems sort of elemental,

you know, that seems to be kind of

392

18:49 ,560 --> 00:18:51,480

where everything came from originally.

393

18:52 ,279 --> 00:18:53,270

We kind of got away from

394

18:53 ,270 --> 00:18:53,390

Ben Ford: that.

395

18:53 ,390 --> 00:18:56,569

I mean, you know, I think that we have

to, I think as humans, we have to guard

396

18:56 ,569 --> 00:19:00,420

our laziness, you know, at sometimes,

you know, and we have to find the craft

397

19:00 ,420 --> 00:19:03,380

in certain things and we learn our

lessons, you know, in certain things,

398

19:03 ,840 --> 00:19:05,390

how important these connections are.

399

19:05 ,700 --> 00:19:08,820

But I think that a lot of it had

to do with the economics of it.

400

19:08 ,910 --> 00:19:13,230

The, the middleman, the, the, the, the

person selling the meat had figured out

401

19:13 ,230 --> 00:19:17,340

a way to close the price point and taking

some of the work out of it for the chef,

402

19:17 ,910 --> 00:19:20,610

you know, and then they looked, they

looked at us, Hey, this is a great way

403

19:20 ,610 --> 00:19:24,330

for me to save a little bit labor and,

and for me to do a what gets lost, you

404

19:24 ,330 --> 00:19:25,740

know, what gets lost in the process.

405

19:25 ,745 --> 00:19:28,140

Mm-hmm . You know, unfortunately

these are some of the things

406

19:28 ,140 --> 00:19:30,660

that are being lost inside the

restaurant industry right now too.

407

19:31 ,274 --> 00:19:35,215

You know, the time, the ability

to grow a chef inside of your

408

19:35 ,215 --> 00:19:38,495

restaurant, the ability to teach them

and have that time to train them.

409

19:38 ,774 --> 00:19:41,254

At Ford's Filling Station, we had so

many different programs, whether it

410

19:41 ,254 --> 00:19:45,144

be, we raised our own animals 80 miles

north of Los Angeles, raised pig,

411

19:45 ,144 --> 00:19:46,314

sheep, and goat for the restaurant.

412

19:46 ,694 --> 00:19:49,814

We had real butchery programs that

nobody was teaching at the time.

413

19:50 ,254 --> 00:19:52,675

You know, we had all these

charcuterie programs, you know,

414

19:52 ,675 --> 00:19:53,935

meat curings and all this stuff.

415

19:54 ,284 --> 00:19:57,034

The learning curve to work, to work

and become a chef and learn meat

416

19:57 ,034 --> 00:19:58,434

was about three and a half years.

417

19:59 ,179 --> 00:20:03,690

You know, to do that nowadays in

restaurants, it's plug and play.

418

20:04 ,100 --> 00:20:06,959

You gotta be able to go out there

and bring a chef in off the street.

419

20:07 ,340 --> 00:20:11,180

And plug him in and he's got to be able

to function, you know, pretty quickly.

420

20:12 ,050 --> 00:20:12,950

It doesn't leave a Why do you think

421

20:12 ,950 --> 00:20:16,809

Marc Preston: that the, like the, the

farm system, like the, like, baseball

422

20:16 ,820 --> 00:20:18,869

farm system, you know, like 1A, 2A.

423

20:18 ,869 --> 00:20:21,730

Why is that not as

prevalent as it once was?

424

20:21 ,740 --> 00:20:23,970

Where you can, like, I think

of like, uh, Anthony Bourdain.

425

20:24 ,039 --> 00:20:25,740

I got his story that's

always intrigued me.

426

20:25 ,740 --> 00:20:28,440

Kind of, you know, you're just cutting

your teeth doing this, and you're

427

20:28 ,440 --> 00:20:29,780

just kind of climbing the ranks.

428

20:29 ,830 --> 00:20:30,670

Uh, yeah.

429

20:31 ,810 --> 00:20:34,650

Do you see that's not really a

thing as it used, as much as it

430

20:34 ,650 --> 00:20:37,160

used to be, you got to kind of

come in already knowing your stuff.

431

20:37 ,160 --> 00:20:38,100

Is that kind of, I

432

20:38 ,100 --> 00:20:39,440

Ben Ford: think there's

a lot of reasons for it.

433

20:39 ,440 --> 00:20:42,450

I think one is that a lot of the

knowledge is learned off the internet

434

20:42 ,709 --> 00:20:44,929

in the beginning when you wanted

to learn something, there was

435

20:44 ,930 --> 00:20:49,219

this wonderful process, you know,

you had to go, you had to go and.

436

20:49 ,420 --> 00:20:50,420

eat in the restaurant.

437

20:50 ,560 --> 00:20:55,939

And then you had to, you had to become

inquisitive about this chef, you know,

438

20:55 ,939 --> 00:20:58,559

and you had decided whether you wanted to

work with this guy or not, or whether he

439

20:58 ,559 --> 00:21:00,029

would even accept you into his kitchen.

440

21:00 ,399 --> 00:21:02,269

And there was a whole

sort of process to it.

441

21:02 ,279 --> 00:21:06,300

And the chef, the chef was

obligated in some ways to teach you.

442

21:06 ,810 --> 00:21:10,430

You know, and then it was your obligation

as you kind of came up in order to sort

443

21:10 ,430 --> 00:21:14,510

of bring some young creativity in the

kitchen, you know, and then this was sort

444

21:14 ,510 --> 00:21:19,019

of the exchange between the chef and the,

and the, and the, and the cook as, as they

445

21:19 ,020 --> 00:21:21,440

grew inside of the, inside of the system.

446

21:22 ,720 --> 00:21:23,919

There's none of that anymore.

447

21:23 ,930 --> 00:21:26,679

You know, the, the, the kids are learning.

448

21:27 ,004 --> 00:21:29,995

Don't have to go and eat in eight

different restaurants in New York city

449

21:29 ,995 --> 00:21:34,455

in order to find out yet one great

little morsel that they can take home.

450

21:34 ,455 --> 00:21:35,322

And you talked about

451

21:35 ,322 --> 00:21:37,685

Marc Preston: the, you talked about

the art though, and it's like, it's

452

21:37 ,685 --> 00:21:42,415

almost begs the question of where

do they get turned on by food?

453

21:42 ,464 --> 00:21:43,594

Ben Ford: I don't, I don't know.

454

21:43 ,594 --> 00:21:45,764

And I think the problem is,

is that none of the work is

455

21:45 ,764 --> 00:21:46,935

being done back here anymore.

456

21:46 ,955 --> 00:21:50,154

And I'm pointing to the back of my

middle of my head where the thinking

457

21:50 ,154 --> 00:21:55,354

goes on, because it's when everything

is done, learned on a screen, you know,

458

21:55 ,354 --> 00:21:56,834

or if it's learned, you know, even.

459

21:57 ,255 --> 00:21:58,055

With connection.

460

21:58 ,055 --> 00:22:01,165

It's it's it's just it's a

different kind of learning.

461

22:01 ,535 --> 00:22:03,245

You know, it's a

different kind of process.

462

22:03 ,804 --> 00:22:08,014

There's a lot less, um, appreciation

for that kind of learning, you know,

463

22:08 ,014 --> 00:22:09,925

especially from the from younger people.

464

22:09 ,925 --> 00:22:12,844

And there's and there's a lot

of needs to first shortcuts.

465

22:13 ,115 --> 00:22:18,245

Now, I don't want to come off as sounding

like a like Like a 58 year old chef that

466

22:18 ,245 --> 00:22:22,834

I am, you know, because the truth is

I'm a very young 58, you know, and, uh,

467

22:22 ,865 --> 00:22:23,905

but I know what you're talking about.

468

22:23 ,905 --> 00:22:23,965

I

469

22:23 ,995 --> 00:22:26,094

Marc Preston: think it seems like

without inspiration, you just sort

470

22:26 ,095 --> 00:22:30,064

of kind of, uh, uh, do you feel it's

kind of a, not paint by numbers,

471

22:30 ,064 --> 00:22:31,715

that's kind of reductive, but, uh,

472

22:31 ,854 --> 00:22:32,294

Ben Ford: I don't know.

473

22:32 ,294 --> 00:22:34,875

You know, it was, it was so interesting

because when we were younger, you

474

22:34 ,875 --> 00:22:37,745

know, there was no money to go out

and eat in restaurants really either.

475

22:38 ,240 --> 00:22:40,900

You know, sort of like there's

this, um, there were chefs that

476

22:40 ,900 --> 00:22:42,580

would do discounted nights for you.

477

22:42 ,590 --> 00:22:45,570

Like when I was working in San Francisco,

you know, and you'd get like, you know, or

478

22:45 ,570 --> 00:22:48,810

your chef would send you into a restaurant

and then he would do an exchange.

479

22:49 ,225 --> 00:22:52,425

Dinner for the, for the cooks at another

restaurant, you know, so that you'd have

480

22:52 ,425 --> 00:22:56,155

some learning processes built in, but

it was, it was very difficult, you know,

481

22:56 ,155 --> 00:22:59,425

when I started to make a little bit more

income as a chef, you know, and not as

482

22:59 ,425 --> 00:23:03,065

a cook, when I started to see what they

call a chef's salary, um, you know, I was

483

23:03 ,065 --> 00:23:06,294

able to explore a little bit more into

food and I spent a lot more money, you

484

23:06 ,294 --> 00:23:11,544

know, on my education, but now, you know,

I don't know necessarily how they, how,

485

23:11 ,605 --> 00:23:14,635

how they, they learn, you know, I mean,

I think that, I think a lot of it is.

486

23:14 ,635 --> 00:23:14,675

Yeah.

487

23:15 ,055 --> 00:23:17,605

Like I said, it's just, it's

web based and digital based.

488

23:18 ,025 --> 00:23:19,565

And so I don't find it.

489

23:19 ,605 --> 00:23:22,575

I don't myself get inspired

by these kinds of connections.

490

23:22 ,645 --> 00:23:25,675

I need an authentic sort of, I

need to go to the restaurant.

491

23:25 ,725 --> 00:23:28,345

I need to touch and feel and smell

things still, but I think this is

492

23:28 ,345 --> 00:23:30,434

where the majority of the connect

where the, where the connection is

493

23:30 ,445 --> 00:23:33,615

starting nowadays, uh, but I think

it's fundamentally different, I think.

494

23:33 ,615 --> 00:23:36,425

And I think it's difficult for chefs

that are probably, you know, it, it.

495

23:36 ,760 --> 00:23:39,409

In my age group, you know, we're

in, we're in similar, we're, we're

496

23:39 ,409 --> 00:23:40,870

looking at our last restaurants.

497

23:41 ,159 --> 00:23:44,080

Do we do our, and, and mind

you, I don't build restaurants

498

23:44 ,080 --> 00:23:45,190

when I say last restaurants.

499

23:45 ,470 --> 00:23:47,779

I only say that because I build

restaurants with the intention of

500

23:47 ,779 --> 00:23:52,039

them lasting 20 years, you know, and

so the messaging that I'm looking

501

23:52 ,039 --> 00:23:56,350

for is also something that needs to

sustain and be relevant for 20 years.

502

23:56 ,679 --> 00:24:00,929

Something that's very difficult to

find in nowadays world, or you need

503

24:00 ,929 --> 00:24:02,590

to have a concept that is malleable.

504

24:02 ,905 --> 00:24:06,165

You know, and, and, you know, and you

feel like has this sort of messaging

505

24:06 ,175 --> 00:24:10,755

that can continue to be delivered

through it, where it's more of a conduit.

506

24:11 ,055 --> 00:24:12,344

I'm eyeing my last restaurant.

507

24:12 ,435 --> 00:24:16,455

You know, I'm looking for that, for that

last place to put my messaging down.

508

24:16 ,715 --> 00:24:22,514

It's very important to me that I,

that I sustain, or I find a way to

509

24:22 ,715 --> 00:24:27,355

continue the message that I did while

still finding a way to 20 years.

510

24:28 ,044 --> 00:24:29,825

And that's a delicate in

between, especially when

511

24:29 ,825 --> 00:24:31,125

things are changing so quickly.

512

24:31 ,205 --> 00:24:31,534

Marc Preston: Yeah.

513

24:31 ,625 --> 00:24:31,784

Yeah.

514

24:31 ,784 --> 00:24:33,465

I heard Bobby in an

interview not too long ago.

515

24:33 ,534 --> 00:24:34,875

I don't know what he was alluding to.

516

24:34 ,875 --> 00:24:37,844

This is, this was on a TV

interview, maybe a few weeks ago.

517

24:37 ,844 --> 00:24:40,114

And he was talking about, you

know, the restaurant industry

518

24:40 ,114 --> 00:24:42,314

now is facing some challenges.

519

24:42 ,374 --> 00:24:43,674

He didn't really expand upon that.

520

24:43 ,675 --> 00:24:46,384

I guess the segment didn't really

allow for him to kind of go into

521

24:46 ,384 --> 00:24:49,774

it, but what kind of challenges now

is this something that was born out

522

24:49 ,774 --> 00:24:51,445

of COVID that just hasn't kind of.

523

24:52 ,455 --> 00:24:53,235

Change or, well, it's

524

24:53 ,235 --> 00:24:55,125

Ben Ford: hard not to be

feudalistic, , you know?

525

24:55 ,125 --> 00:24:56,804

I think that's probably why

he, that's probably why he

526

24:56 ,835 --> 00:24:58,935

cut himself off , you know?

527

24:58 ,935 --> 00:25:01,965

'cause we're, we're training

ourselves to sort of not be that way

528

25:01 ,965 --> 00:25:06,315

because, you know, and, and that's,

and that's, and, and someone who's

529

25:06 ,315 --> 00:25:08,085

22 may not even see it that way.

530

25:08 ,845 --> 00:25:11,575

You know, they're, they may see

something the world completely

531

25:11 ,575 --> 00:25:14,304

different way and they not, they're,

they're prepared for it differently.

532

25:15 ,094 --> 00:25:18,665

Um, but I do think there's some

challenges, you know, that we're facing.

533

25:18 ,935 --> 00:25:21,125

Um, I do think there's some

challenges we're facing,

534

25:21 ,125 --> 00:25:22,504

particularly here in California.

535

25:23 ,440 --> 00:25:24,220

Is it because people

536

25:24 ,220 --> 00:25:27,100

Marc Preston: are more of a delivery

culture at some level that they're

537

25:27 ,230 --> 00:25:28,570

actually going into the restaurant?

538

25:28 ,620 --> 00:25:30,300

Ben Ford: It's so much

more complex than that.

539

25:30 ,330 --> 00:25:33,280

You know, it really has to do with,

you know, we're adding another layer

540

25:33 ,280 --> 00:25:36,689

onto it now with immigration and, and,

and, and some of the political things

541

25:36 ,700 --> 00:25:39,270

that we're going to, that could affect

the rest of the restaurant industry.

542

25:39 ,270 --> 00:25:42,930

But aside of that, you know,

those are just question Marcs.

543

25:43 ,360 --> 00:25:44,979

The stuff that's really there already.

544

25:45 ,364 --> 00:25:49,125

Is that the equation is just become

more difficult than ever to realize,

545

25:49 ,135 --> 00:25:52,295

you know, and some of those that went

into restaurants for a variety of risk

546

25:52 ,315 --> 00:25:56,114

reasons are not able to fully realize

the reasons why we went in there in the

547

25:56 ,135 --> 00:26:00,694

first place, you know, when I started

my restaurants, Chadwick, the first

548

26:00 ,694 --> 00:26:05,425

one we had yoga classes on Sundays for

the for the for the For the servers.

549

26:05 ,425 --> 00:26:09,875

Yeah, there was a lot of, you

know, I always wanted to turn

550

26:09 ,875 --> 00:26:11,235

restaurants into something else.

551

26:11 ,295 --> 00:26:13,595

I always wanted to turn them

into community based centers.

552

26:13 ,595 --> 00:26:16,774

I wanted to always make them bigger

than the four walls they were part of.

553

26:17 ,395 --> 00:26:22,780

Um, and, um, and I've Had a

lot of success in doing that.

554

26:22 ,850 --> 00:26:24,520

Um, I forgot the original question.

555

26:24 ,520 --> 00:26:24,920

I'm sorry.

556

26:25 ,320 --> 00:26:26,169

I was getting off topic.

557

26:26 ,199 --> 00:26:27,960

I'm notorious for going

all over the place.

558

26:28 ,000 --> 00:26:28,610

It was a good thought.

559

26:28 ,620 --> 00:26:29,199

It was a good thought.

560

26:29 ,210 --> 00:26:31,320

I mean, I was on, I was onto

something really special there.

561

26:32 ,360 --> 00:26:35,770

Marc Preston: No, we're talking like, you

know, as far as the inspiration and that,

562

26:35 ,770 --> 00:26:39,600

and the, the people you're bringing in,

uh, it's, I, I, I'm starting to sound like

563

26:39 ,610 --> 00:26:42,030

a guy in his fifties also, but it's like.

564

26:42 ,240 --> 00:26:46,720

The idea of 10, 000 hours, the investment,

it seems to be less and less of that,

565

26:46 ,730 --> 00:26:49,949

you know, in other words, there's all

kinds of shortcuts and there's no buy

566

26:49 ,949 --> 00:26:50,129

Ben Ford: in.

567

26:50 ,159 --> 00:26:51,879

There's no, there's no buy in, you know?

568

26:51 ,949 --> 00:26:57,300

And, um, you know, I think part of it was,

you know, the buy in or drinking the Kool

569

26:57 ,300 --> 00:27:00,889

Aid or wherever you're going to, wherever

the chef you're going to learn from, you

570

27:00 ,889 --> 00:27:05,100

know, as a part of that, as a part of

that process, I don't know how to cure it.

571

27:05 ,100 --> 00:27:08,420

You know, what I do is I, I

interview differently than I used

572

27:08 ,420 --> 00:27:11,979

to, how I pick, how I pick the

individuals that I'll work with.

573

27:12 ,544 --> 00:27:16,114

Is, is a different process,

you know, and, and it's changed

574

27:16 ,114 --> 00:27:17,584

a lot in the last five years.

575

27:18 ,145 --> 00:27:23,205

Um, and more so it's part of, because

I know more of what I want, even

576

27:23 ,215 --> 00:27:26,604

this far into my career, there's

still change going on, but also it's

577

27:26 ,604 --> 00:27:31,014

about how to find the diamonds in

the rough sort of within this thing.

578

27:31 ,024 --> 00:27:33,705

Cause I still believe in training people.

579

27:33 ,775 --> 00:27:36,865

I still believe, you know, there's

still chefs that will complain about,

580

27:36 ,865 --> 00:27:39,785

they don't have a staff, you know,

it's hard to find good workers,

581

27:40 ,115 --> 00:27:41,165

you know, you don't have to find.

582

27:41 ,680 --> 00:27:43,100

Yes, you have to find good workers.

583

27:43 ,200 --> 00:27:45,880

You have to find people that are

passionate and care about what they're

584

27:45 ,880 --> 00:27:47,850

doing every day and pay attention.

585

27:48 Mentorship and Legacy

27:48 ,290 --> 00:27:53,420

You have to find people that are serious

about life, you know, but other than that,

586

27:53 ,840 --> 00:27:57,880

you know, it's like train them, take the

time to train them, you know, and in fact,

587

27:57 ,880 --> 00:28:02,960

that's, that's, that's a far better way

to go about, you know, building a staff

588

28:03 ,000 --> 00:28:05,650

and building a career, you know, so.

589

28:06 ,495 --> 00:28:07,875

Well, that seems to be like, there's

590

28:07 ,875 --> 00:28:10,665

Marc Preston: a guy in

Dallas who, uh, Sakurai.

591

28:10 ,665 --> 00:28:13,245

He's, uh, he had a sushi

restaurant down in Greenville.

592

28:13 ,245 --> 00:28:14,905

If you've ever been to Dallas

down in Greenville Avenue,

593

28:14 ,905 --> 00:28:16,945

it's kind of a near SMU.

594

28:16 ,945 --> 00:28:19,365

It's it's, it's usually

people try some things out.

595

28:19 ,365 --> 00:28:20,705

They're a little bit, you know, different.

596

28:21 ,125 --> 00:28:22,744

Uh, he would, he would start a place.

597

28:22 ,744 --> 00:28:25,064

He'd have his, his number

two, eventually he'd sell his

598

28:25 ,065 --> 00:28:25,965

restaurant to his number two.

599

28:25 ,965 --> 00:28:28,355

And he, I think he's done

that like two or three times.

600

28:28 ,675 --> 00:28:31,715

And I was like, what a, what a cool

kind of a way to kind of leave, uh,

601

28:31 ,730 --> 00:28:36,000

I don't want to say highfalutin, but

say legacy, uh, but you're doing it.

602

28:36 ,000 --> 00:28:39,659

You're, you've got an imprint on,

you know, people know, but your

603

28:39 ,659 --> 00:28:42,760

guys that you train, then have a

chance to spread their own wings

604

28:42 ,770 --> 00:28:43,930

and kind of leave their own brand.

605

28:43 ,930 --> 00:28:46,750

And, you know, there's gotta

be a certain aspect of pride.

606

28:46 ,750 --> 00:28:49,889

Like if you go into a restaurant with

a chef that you trained and they're

607

28:49 ,890 --> 00:28:51,350

doing their thing, it seems like it's,

608

28:51 ,920 --> 00:28:53,110

Ben Ford: it's a big part of what I do.

609

28:53 ,160 --> 00:28:56,290

I mean, it's, it's absolutely, it

was fundamental from the beginning.

610

28:57 ,215 --> 00:28:59,645

I have a lot of projects out there,

you know, some of them are, I

611

28:59 ,645 --> 00:29:01,585

think there's 27 restaurants in l.

612

29:01 ,585 --> 00:29:01,685

A.

613

29:01 ,685 --> 00:29:03,965

Right now that have come

off of out of my kitchens.

614

29:04 ,405 --> 00:29:07,835

So there's, there's quite a bit

and the mentoring doesn't stop.

615

29:08 ,004 --> 00:29:11,334

Um, I sat down, you know, have

lunch with Vinnie and johnny.

616

29:11 ,955 --> 00:29:15,094

Uh, there are two of my cooks,

very successful chefs now here.

617

29:15 ,574 --> 00:29:15,794

They don't

618

29:15 ,794 --> 00:29:17,485

Marc Preston: want to have that

Italian place across from campus.

619

29:18 ,445 --> 00:29:23,395

I was, I was just there, uh, with my

daughter for, uh, last, last Christmas

620

29:23 ,395 --> 00:29:28,395

before last, I was there, uh, with

an actor friend and we, uh, all I

621

29:28 ,395 --> 00:29:32,105

remember is they gave her, I gave

us a big bag of cookies at the end.

622

29:32 ,105 --> 00:29:35,815

That was very, it was very good.

623

29:35 ,815 --> 00:29:36,945

I mean, I, it was.

624

29:37 ,170 --> 00:29:38,140

Wine, pizza.

625

29:38 ,410 --> 00:29:40,970

It was like the three of us, but

it was an obscene amount of food.

626

29:40 ,970 --> 00:29:42,280

But yeah, then they're enjoyed.

627

29:42 ,510 --> 00:29:43,050

Ben Ford: So that never.

628

29:43 ,090 --> 00:29:44,240

So that process never ends.

629

29:44 ,240 --> 00:29:47,090

You know, I mean, you sit down with

people, you, you talk about what

630

29:47 ,090 --> 00:29:49,140

they're, what they're going through,

what challenges they're going through

631

29:49 ,140 --> 00:29:51,950

and you, and you, you know, and you,

you break bread every once in a while.

632

29:52 ,280 --> 00:29:56,520

And that's how I, that's how I continue

to work with the, with the, the chefs that

633

29:56 ,520 --> 00:29:58,850

I've had that have grown beyond my walls.

634

29:59 ,200 --> 00:30:02,230

Um, I always did want to do that.

635

30:02 ,250 --> 00:30:03,290

One of the problems.

636

30:04 ,385 --> 00:30:06,825

And it's an interesting problem

because it's not a problem.

637

30:07 ,135 --> 00:30:08,725

These are, these are,

these are good people.

638

30:08 ,745 --> 00:30:12,325

These are, these are good problems,

but Ford's filling station.

639

30:12 ,685 --> 00:30:18,985

It's success was actually a inhibitor

in some ways to my creativity, not

640

30:19 ,255 --> 00:30:22,015

the fact that it's been a restaurant

that's been around for over 20 years

641

30:22 ,015 --> 00:30:24,675

now and has continued to be successful.

642

30:24 ,955 --> 00:30:26,615

Kind of kept me from

doing that next thing.

643

30:26 ,615 --> 00:30:28,965

Sometimes we're doing that next

thing or doing that next thing.

644

30:29 ,415 --> 00:30:33,985

And, uh, it's because because it was

the work that was going on inside

645

30:33 ,985 --> 00:30:36,855

those four walls was important at the

time, and it was and there was and

646

30:36 ,855 --> 00:30:39,975

there was a lot still going on, and

it did have that ability to sort of

647

30:39 ,995 --> 00:30:43,359

reload on messaging and stuff like

that, you know, still at the same time.

648

30:43 ,700 --> 00:30:46,440

I didn't have the restaurants to turn

over to the other, the other guys.

649

30:46 ,740 --> 00:30:50,130

And like I talked about the learning

curve of how long I've turned, learned

650

30:50 ,130 --> 00:30:53,260

to for someone to come in and learn

underneath me because of all the programs

651

30:53 ,260 --> 00:30:56,750

that we did inside the restaurant,

um, it becomes something that was

652

30:56 ,750 --> 00:31:00,260

more difficult to do inside my four

walls, but it's definitely something

653

31:00 ,260 --> 00:31:03,120

I believe in and, you know, I used to.

654

31:03 ,645 --> 00:31:08,645

Really work hard at not only finding

people that I could train from the

655

31:08 ,645 --> 00:31:13,865

beginning, but I also use it as a,

uh, you know, talking about making

656

31:13 ,865 --> 00:31:15,105

restaurants bigger than they are.

657

31:15 ,105 --> 00:31:20,090

I also used it as a, a way of a

simulating, um, People that were

658

31:20 ,100 --> 00:31:23,380

new in this country and into,

into, uh, into a profession.

659

31:23 ,820 --> 00:31:24,940

So, uh, But

660

31:24 ,940 --> 00:31:27,890

Marc Preston: also you, they're giving you

something that they're, they're bringing

661

31:27 ,890 --> 00:31:32,270

you nuggets of something you wouldn't have

otherwise be it, you know, uh, There's,

662

31:32 ,300 --> 00:31:33,710

Ben Ford: there's, there's

that part of that too.

663

31:33 ,710 --> 00:31:36,900

I remember, you know, I had a lot

of Latino cooks and, you know, and I

664

31:36 ,900 --> 00:31:40,030

have one of the best huevos rancheros

still to this day on the menu.

665

31:40 ,510 --> 00:31:43,580

And that was, that was a, that was

a, that was a literally across the

666

31:43 ,580 --> 00:31:45,620

board, like, Jose, what do you got?

667

31:45 ,620 --> 00:31:46,520

Kind of refi beans.

668

31:46 ,520 --> 00:31:47,360

You got, you know.

669

31:47 ,360 --> 00:31:48,110

Well, you do.

670

31:48 ,110 --> 00:31:48,710

What do you got?

671

31:48 ,710 --> 00:31:49,190

What do you got?

672

31:49 ,190 --> 00:31:49,730

What do you got?

673

31:49 ,730 --> 00:31:51,770

We turned this thing into

sort of a collaboration

674

31:52 ,190 --> 00:31:56,455

Marc Preston: like an LBE

buoy, but Lbu, Buie lbu.

675

31:56 ,660 --> 00:31:57,680

My, I talk for a living.

676

31:57 ,680 --> 00:31:58,280

It's shocking.

677

31:58 ,280 --> 00:31:58,610

I know.

678

31:58 ,940 --> 00:31:59,240

Sorry.

679

31:59 ,245 --> 00:32:04,850

But Yeah, but I, the, the thing was, I

was, I, I had heard, or, or I'd seen,

680

32:04 ,850 --> 00:32:08,090

I think it was Anthony Bourdain had an

episode, he was there and the idea that.

681

32:08 ,250 --> 00:32:11,400

There was a day of the week that

you would have, uh, members of staff

682

32:11 ,410 --> 00:32:15,180

kind of create something, or the

chefs, and then everybody tried out.

683

32:15 ,180 --> 00:32:18,610

It wasn't necessarily something to put

on the menu, but sometimes it did, but

684

32:18 ,610 --> 00:32:19,800

that, that's kind of, you know, cool.

685

32:19 ,800 --> 00:32:22,300

You get, it's like, you get,

uh, like, like you said, the

686

32:22 ,300 --> 00:32:25,940

buy in, you know, somebody is

participating in what's going on.

687

32:25 ,940 --> 00:32:26,069

But

688

32:26 ,070 --> 00:32:28,670

Ben Ford: the ability to do these

kinds of things inside the restaurant,

689

32:28 ,700 --> 00:32:29,790

you know, these are, these are.

690

32:30 ,285 --> 00:32:36,095

These are, um, things that you have

to make the decision to do, you

691

32:36 ,095 --> 00:32:39,665

know, they, they cost dollars, they

take away from the, from the bottom

692

32:39 ,665 --> 00:32:41,165

line, you know, in a lot of ways.

693

32:41 ,635 --> 00:32:45,245

And when you're dealing with a profit

margin in a lot of restaurants, it's

694

32:45 ,255 --> 00:32:47,455

four to 8%, you know, or even lower.

695

32:47 ,495 --> 00:32:47,805

That's it.

696

32:47 ,845 --> 00:32:48,165

That's it.

697

32:48 ,335 --> 00:32:48,755

Marc Preston: Really?

698

32:48 ,865 --> 00:32:49,285

Ben Ford: It is.

699

32:49 ,695 --> 00:32:54,875

Um, you know, you, you, you have to,

the question of whether the integrity

700

32:54 ,875 --> 00:32:59,590

questions comes in, you know, a lot of

times, you know, and, and, and, And I'm

701

32:59 ,590 --> 00:33:03,760

always interested in people to do the

right thing at the hardest times, you

702

33:03 ,760 --> 00:33:06,770

know, and these guys that are running

their restaurants right now and still

703

33:06 ,770 --> 00:33:10,160

running their programs and have the

high integrity and are putting all that

704

33:10 ,160 --> 00:33:12,010

work and hands into the food right now.

705

33:12 ,250 --> 00:33:15,780

I have the utmost respect for those

guys because I know the effort

706

33:15 ,780 --> 00:33:18,240

and the work that they're putting

in to sustain those programs.

707

33:18 ,440 --> 00:33:20,139

You know, it's, it's something that is.

708

33:20 ,460 --> 00:33:22,880

Being washed out of the

culture of the restaurants.

709

33:23 ,130 --> 00:33:25,670

Marc Preston: That's a shame because

that's, that's kind of what sort of made

710

33:25 ,670 --> 00:33:29,870

it not exciting, but for, for somebody

coming into a restaurant and enjoying,

711

33:30 ,250 --> 00:33:33,280

you know, there's always something kind

of new, there's like a vibe and you

712

33:33 ,280 --> 00:33:37,370

can always tell just for me being a lay

person, you know, growing up in Dallas,

713

33:37 ,370 --> 00:33:38,860

there was a street called a belt line.

714

33:39 ,035 --> 00:33:42,975

And everybody, it was actually a suburb

called Addison or it is called Addison and

715

33:43 ,245 --> 00:33:47,835

you have a lot of big national chains come

do their test, uh, of, of a concept there.

716

33:47 ,845 --> 00:33:51,895

So we always got tons of, but my

jam was always mom and pop places.

717

33:51 ,895 --> 00:33:55,225

You know, it was always something,

you know, not a big national chain.

718

33:55 ,665 --> 00:33:58,475

Uh, but when those restaurants

that did really well.

719

33:58 ,945 --> 00:34:01,635

When they got sold or went under

other ownership, it seems like the

720

34:01 ,635 --> 00:34:04,625

first thing they start cutting is the

quality, the quality of the ingredients.

721

34:04 ,625 --> 00:34:07,385

And there's like, you're talking

about culture that seemed to

722

34:07 ,385 --> 00:34:10,235

shift and that would just sort of

change the whole experience of the

723

34:10 ,235 --> 00:34:14,775

restaurant and then they would either

fix it or Peter out, you know, so

724

34:14 ,895 --> 00:34:17,375

Ben Ford: it's very difficult for

a mother, for a mom and pop to

725

34:17 ,375 --> 00:34:20,445

get above their restaurants and

see what's going on inside them.

726

34:20 ,455 --> 00:34:23,455

You know, they're reacting to the

day to day, day to day reactions of

727

34:23 ,665 --> 00:34:26,675

the restaurant and what's pulling

at them in that particular moment.

728

34:26 ,905 --> 00:34:30,275

And for them to get vision on top of

it, for them to truly change and get

729

34:30 ,615 --> 00:34:35,245

put everything against the blackboard

again, you know, and, and truly analyze

730

34:35 ,255 --> 00:34:36,765

it is very difficult for them to do.

731

34:36 Culinary Inspirations and Future Plans

34:36 ,905 --> 00:34:39,725

Um, you know, not a lot of people

know this, but in France, the

732

34:39 ,725 --> 00:34:41,945

mom and pop restaurants are

subsidized by the government.

733

34:41 ,945 --> 00:34:48,435

They're there's, they, they, they

look at them as a cultural necessity.

734

34:48 ,795 --> 00:34:52,025

You know, as far as the community is

concerned, and they subsidize them,

735

34:52 ,585 --> 00:34:55,975

you know, and, you know, maybe we need

something like that in this country,

736

34:56 ,055 --> 00:34:59,295

you know, or at least in certain

areas, especially if they're tourist

737

34:59 ,295 --> 00:35:03,695

oriented, you know, I just think it's,

it's a really a, it's restaurants

738

35:03 ,695 --> 00:35:08,214

are really important messages for

the community and for those cities.

739

35:08 ,505 --> 00:35:12,365

You know, we're getting ready to have

the Olympics here in 2008, right?

740

35:12 ,565 --> 00:35:17,925

It's very interesting to watch us

try to shift into what LA is going to

741

35:17 ,935 --> 00:35:21,525

say as a community to the world, you

know, when it comes to our Olympics,

742

35:22 ,075 --> 00:35:26,175

you know, and, um, LA still has

a lot of identity to its cuisine.

743

35:26 ,195 --> 00:35:29,815

You know, we still have a lot of this

sort of street food that ends up in our.

744

35:30 ,330 --> 00:35:33,160

In our big boy restaurants, you

know, eventually we still have these

745

35:33 ,160 --> 00:35:37,020

influences that happen there, but it's

not like you're going to new Orleans

746

35:37 ,140 --> 00:35:39,880

when you come there and you're trying

to discover, you know, if you want to

747

35:39 ,880 --> 00:35:43,530

know what LA cuisine is about, you know,

at least I don't think it is necessary.

748

35:43 ,630 --> 00:35:46,090

It's not like you're going into these,

some of these destination places.

749

35:46 ,270 --> 00:35:46,420

Well,

750

35:46 ,420 --> 00:35:48,410

Marc Preston: it's like, but

we have lived in a new Orleans.

751

35:48 ,420 --> 00:35:51,840

Like, you know, the thing about that is

they, what new Orleans does, they do it.

752

35:52 ,105 --> 00:35:53,165

Better than anybody else.

753

35:53 ,235 --> 00:35:55,035

And you can only get the real deal thing.

754

35:55 ,045 --> 00:35:58,835

They're kind of on the way they do

it, but it's not a lot of other stuff.

755

35:58 ,895 --> 00:36:01,435

You know, it's not like a light

where you can go and like, you

756

36:01 ,435 --> 00:36:02,965

want to go find Armenian food.

757

36:03 ,025 --> 00:36:06,205

You can go to, you know, you couldn't do

that as readily in New Orleans, but if

758

36:06 ,215 --> 00:36:10,165

you wanted some proper jambalaya or some

etouffee, it's the best in the world.

759

36:10 ,175 --> 00:36:12,805

You know, so that's one thing

I did love about LA though.

760

36:12 ,805 --> 00:36:15,385

You, you know, whatever you're in the

mood for, you're going to find it.

761

36:15 ,495 --> 00:36:16,765

Ben Ford: I'm also, I'm just very honest.

762

36:16 ,765 --> 00:36:19,795

So, you know, a lot of what's,

what's captivated me in the last.

763

36:20 ,685 --> 00:36:27,095

Decade or two has been, you know, this

this, um, region of northern Baja and

764

36:27 ,095 --> 00:36:30,595

southern California, you know, is a

true sort of culinary region of its own.

765

36:31 ,345 --> 00:36:34,395

Um, and I'm talking about

blurring the borders in between

766

36:34 ,395 --> 00:36:39,175

the two, um, as northern Baja is

sort of become more provincial.

767

36:39 ,790 --> 00:36:43,870

It's almost like Mexican Mediterranean

cuisine, you know, it's almost, it's

768

36:43 ,870 --> 00:36:47,190

sort of very similar to kind of what

we're doing here in those, and as

769

36:47 ,190 --> 00:36:51,090

they're doing their job and lifting their

cuisine up there in places like Guadalupe

770

36:51 ,090 --> 00:36:55,100

and stuff, we also, you know, I'm

finding more of a kinship between them.

771

36:55 ,620 --> 00:37:00,560

And I really want to do a

restaurant that blinds, blurs the

772

37:00 ,560 --> 00:37:02,193

border between Mexico and the U.

773

37:02 ,193 --> 00:37:02,596

S.

774

37:02 ,596 --> 00:37:04,570

and creates a cuisine that really.

775

37:05 Discovering Culinary Inspirations in Mexico

37:05 ,095 --> 00:37:06,455

Kind of exists in that region

776

37:07 ,115 --> 00:37:09,945

Marc Preston: Whereas everybody

goes down for uh, the lobster, you

777

37:09 ,945 --> 00:37:11,435

know, I was living in san diego.

778

37:11 ,435 --> 00:37:13,305

Everybody used it starts with uh, Is it?

779

37:13 ,565 --> 00:37:14,125

Yeah, but

780

37:14 ,125 --> 00:37:16,945

Ben Ford: yeah, uh, um, um porto nuevo

781

37:17 ,125 --> 00:37:19,465

Marc Preston: I always wanted to get down

there because it seemed like and from

782

37:19 ,465 --> 00:37:23,975

what I saw I think uh, Andrew zimmer and

I think had gone down there and featured

783

37:24 ,005 --> 00:37:26,915

and it was like wait a minute that's

going on down there It's a little bit

784

37:27 ,195 --> 00:37:31,820

when you think mexican Me being a Texan,

it's always that Tex Mex, but there's

785

37:31 ,820 --> 00:37:33,290

a whole different vibe going on there.

786

37:33 ,290 --> 00:37:35,110

It is that Mediterranean kind of thing.

787

37:35 ,160 --> 00:37:37,710

And that was like, okay,

that's just south of here.

788

37:37 ,710 --> 00:37:38,850

I get to go experience that.

789

37:38 ,860 --> 00:37:39,700

That would be pretty exciting.

790

37:40 Influence of Spanish Chefs and Culinary Adventures

37:40 ,400 --> 00:37:42,480

Ben Ford: And I've always been, I've

always been intrigued by the bravery,

791

37:42 ,500 --> 00:37:48,560

you know, by the brave, um, when I was

first learning to cook, um, And up in San

792

37:48 ,560 --> 00:37:53,330

Francisco, I befriended Julian Serrano

and I spent a little time around him,

793

37:53 ,830 --> 00:37:57,950

uh, and in his, in his kitchen, he had

a restaurant called masa that had been

794

37:57 ,960 --> 00:38:02,050

celebrated in, I think one best restaurant

in San Francisco, 12 years in a row.

795

38:02 ,760 --> 00:38:03,160

Really?

796

38:03 ,300 --> 00:38:04,760

And it was, it was very celebrated.

797

38:04 ,770 --> 00:38:08,220

He was sort of a bit of a Spanish

icon here in the United States.

798

38:08 ,220 --> 00:38:11,460

He'd been the Spanish chef that came here

and didn't the first to be successful.

799

38:11 ,960 --> 00:38:15,300

He was actually the one that Steve Wynn

actually first brought to Vegas in order

800

38:15 ,300 --> 00:38:16,730

to attract the rest of the chefs there.

801

38:17 ,055 --> 00:38:21,765

But what he did for me is he set

me up with, um, chefs in Spain, and

802

38:21 ,765 --> 00:38:23,365

I used to work the Bay of Biscay.

803

38:23 ,365 --> 00:38:26,965

I'd work from Biarritz down to Lisbon

along that coastline and spent a lot

804

38:26 ,965 --> 00:38:32,405

of time in San Sebastian, where in

the late 90s or mid 90s, I found that

805

38:32 ,405 --> 00:38:33,955

to be where the bravest chefs were.

806

38:34 ,635 --> 00:38:36,645

They were doing things

that were unbridled.

807

38:37 ,235 --> 00:38:38,525

They were doing it with some rules.

808

38:38 ,635 --> 00:38:40,225

They had some structure

to what they were doing.

809

38:40 ,375 --> 00:38:43,935

They had rules, but it was, but

it was unbridled in some ways.

810

38:43 ,965 --> 00:38:44,355

And.

811

38:44 ,790 --> 00:38:47,700

I'm finding a similar sort

of what's going on in Mexico.

812

38:47 ,700 --> 00:38:50,350

I'm finding a similar kinship

to, you know, and I'm finding

813

38:50 ,350 --> 00:38:51,590

a very, very exciting.

814

38:51 ,750 --> 00:38:55,330

Um, and I think a lot of people are

looking at Mexico and Mexico city,

815

38:55 ,330 --> 00:38:59,510

especially, uh, in part and read

certain important regions as being,

816

38:59 ,940 --> 00:39:03,330

you know, maybe one of the top

five places to visit in the world.

817

39:03 ,370 --> 00:39:03,830

Culinary,

818

39:03 ,970 --> 00:39:07,180

Marc Preston: I think, uh, Monterey,

which is not too far from here.

819

39:07 ,180 --> 00:39:08,170

It's a few hours away.

820

39:08 ,480 --> 00:39:10,970

A lot of people who come

here, uh, live down there.

821

39:11 ,000 --> 00:39:12,570

Uh, they have vacation properties up here.

822

39:13 ,165 --> 00:39:16,395

I, it's, uh, what I hear is there's

a lot of cool stuff happening there

823

39:16 ,395 --> 00:39:19,865

as well, uh, because it's, it's

something like just kind of where

824

39:19 ,865 --> 00:39:23,435

they are in the mountains and it's

kind of this isolated little thing.

825

39:23 ,435 --> 00:39:27,555

And so, you know, if I say, what would

you do if you were, you're wealthy?

826

39:27 ,555 --> 00:39:28,145

I was like, man, I just.

827

39:28 ,305 --> 00:39:31,245

Travel and eat, you know, I'd get, I

828

39:31 ,245 --> 00:39:32,565

Ben Ford: did that.

829

39:32 ,565 --> 00:39:36,085

I just lost two and a half

years, lose my 60 pounds.

830

39:37 ,535 --> 00:39:39,985

Marc Preston: My daughter studied,

uh, last fall, she studied, uh,

831

39:40 ,005 --> 00:39:43,435

in, uh, in, uh, Barcelona and

she had gone to Portugal also.

832

39:43 The Simplicity and Essence of Cuisine

39:43 ,435 --> 00:39:46,449

And she was telling me it's the, what?

833

39:46 ,760 --> 00:39:49,520

I think turn her on about it is

there is the simple things like,

834

39:49 ,530 --> 00:39:51,990

uh, I'm going to mess this up.

835

39:51 ,990 --> 00:39:56,420

It's, uh, upon a tomato or something into

words, crusty bread with just, you know,

836

39:56 ,420 --> 00:40:00,400

to make something simple like that, you

know, she, and, and of course they have

837

40:00 ,400 --> 00:40:04,380

different rules over there, which I wish

we would adopt on, uh, quality of the

838

40:04 ,380 --> 00:40:05,990

food and the, the chemicals and stuff.

839

40:06 ,180 --> 00:40:07,230

They don't do that over there.

840

40:07 ,270 --> 00:40:08,670

You know, there's something about,

841

40:08 ,750 --> 00:40:11,740

Ben Ford: there's something

about mundane too, and I can't

842

40:11 ,740 --> 00:40:12,780

quite put my finger on it.

843

40:13 ,080 --> 00:40:16,550

About, you know, as far as cuisine

is concerned, when you, when you talk

844

40:16 ,560 --> 00:40:19,880

about the simplicity of cuisine and

Alice Waters had this at cheap and

845

40:19 ,880 --> 00:40:24,030

these, we definitely had a camping with,

with Nancy Silverton and Marc Peel.

846

40:24 ,460 --> 00:40:26,460

And Nancy Silverton is

very good at this as well.

847

40:26 ,760 --> 00:40:28,450

And we have disciples that

have come off of this.

848

40:28 ,450 --> 00:40:31,504

I would say that Suzanne Gowan

is also very, very good at this.

849

40:32 ,065 --> 00:40:34,835

And what they do is they

plant seeds in your brain.

850

40:35 ,275 --> 00:40:38,735

You'll be having what you think was

your, was your highlight of your meal

851

40:38 ,865 --> 00:40:40,255

is not the highlight of your meal.

852

40:40 ,875 --> 00:40:43,045

The highlight of your meal is

what's hitting you halfway during

853

40:43 ,045 --> 00:40:44,105

your drive home, and you're going.

854

40:45 ,385 --> 00:40:46,285

God, darn it.

855

40:46 ,335 --> 00:40:49,925

I wish I had one more bite of that,

you know, and that's, and that's

856

40:49 ,925 --> 00:40:53,425

the dish that you're going to return

for, you know, and it's sometimes

857

40:53 ,435 --> 00:40:56,455

the most mundane because you're that,

because it can be that surprising.

858

40:56 ,455 --> 00:40:59,365

It's usually not a layered or

an extent, or, you know, it's

859

40:59 ,365 --> 00:41:00,785

usually not the truffle stuff.

860

41:00 ,915 --> 00:41:05,145

It's usually not the, the dish that,

you know, the layered lobster dish or

861

41:05 ,145 --> 00:41:09,215

whatever, you know, thing that you would

think it would be, it's going to be

862

41:09 ,215 --> 00:41:14,415

something simple and that's something

we paid attention to in cuisine.

863

41:14 ,795 --> 00:41:18,635

You know, in a big way, those are the

dishes that you want to have on your menu.

864

41:18 ,935 --> 00:41:22,215

Marc Preston: Uh, I forgot what it was,

but Jose Andres, I was watching him once

865

41:22 ,235 --> 00:41:26,195

and he was just got excited about just

cutting into a tomato and just like,

866

41:26 ,635 --> 00:41:29,795

there's this love of this, this, and he

said, it's almost like caviar, you know,

867

41:29 ,795 --> 00:41:32,205

he's Is it, is it that kind of excitement?

868

41:32 ,205 --> 00:41:34,165

I know, kind of hearkening back to

what you said and talking about our,

869

41:34 ,175 --> 00:41:40,185

our, uh, the art of it and the, uh, and

talking about the younger chefs, are they

870

41:40 ,185 --> 00:41:42,465

maybe missing that kind of excitement?

871

41:42 ,555 --> 00:41:42,805

Yes.

872

41:42 ,805 --> 00:41:44,855

Allow themselves to be kid like, you know?

873

41:45 ,005 --> 00:41:45,675

Ben Ford: Yes.

874

41:45 ,725 --> 00:41:46,095

Yes.

875

41:46 ,095 --> 00:41:48,945

They're missing all the exploration

and the play because they didn't

876

41:49 ,025 --> 00:41:52,375

necessarily grow up playing,

you know, in the same way.

877

41:53 ,090 --> 00:41:56,970

You know, uh, and it's, and it's, and

I know this is one big societal, you

878

41:56 ,970 --> 00:42:02,150

know, uh, uh, experiment, you know,

and I wonder, I wonder what great next

879

42:02 ,160 --> 00:42:05,820

thing we're going to give ourselves

as a treat to ruin our creativity

880

42:05 ,820 --> 00:42:08,350

and, and, you know, and evolutionary.

881

42:08 ,360 --> 00:42:09,630

I mean, I feel

882

42:09 ,630 --> 00:42:09,990

Marc Preston: like.

883

42:10 ,435 --> 00:42:15,875

Is not, I want to say, uh, an ingredient,

uh, kind of, uh, an approach, but maybe

884

42:15 ,875 --> 00:42:17,515

something that's getting missed, you know,

885

42:17 ,545 --> 00:42:19,905

Ben Ford: what they're missing

is the time between the notes,

886

42:20 ,115 --> 00:42:21,325

the space between the notes.

887

42:22 ,175 --> 00:42:26,405

And what I mean by that is sitting

with your thoughts, you know, I mean,

888

42:26 ,425 --> 00:42:30,485

we, we're in such a production driven

society, you know, and I, and I had to

889

42:30 ,485 --> 00:42:31,635

learn, I had to do it the other way.

890

42:31 ,635 --> 00:42:35,845

I had to learn to be productive, you know,

and I still have to learn to be productive

891

42:35 ,925 --> 00:42:37,395

because my default is the other way.

892

42:37 ,445 --> 00:42:43,530

My default is to, is to, you know, is to

put more work and more hands into things.

893

42:44 ,090 --> 00:42:46,165

My default is to I don't know.

894

42:46 ,215 --> 00:42:49,795

It's, it's, it's, it's, it's completely

opposite, you know, but what I think is

895

42:49 ,815 --> 00:42:53,045

time, you know, and patience and some

of the things that we're, that we're

896

42:53 ,045 --> 00:42:57,705

losing in, in, in general, um, that's,

that needs to be a part of the process.

897

42:58 ,735 --> 00:43:00,765

Marc Preston: Alan Watts, the, uh,

philosopher kind of said something

898

43:00 ,765 --> 00:43:04,445

once he said, even in music, the spaces

between the notes are just important.

899

43:04 ,455 --> 00:43:08,315

The empty space is just because it

defines the notes, you know, kind of like

900

43:08 ,315 --> 00:43:12,015

Ben Ford: exactly, and there's no time

for them to be seen the notes anymore.

901

43:12 ,035 --> 00:43:12,655

There's not even.

902

43:13 ,070 --> 00:43:14,910

There's not even the notion

of understanding that

903

43:14 ,910 --> 00:43:15,910

that's important anymore.

904

43:16 ,710 --> 00:43:19,900

You know, I don't believe so, you know, at

least I don't hear it being talked about.

905

43:20 ,480 --> 00:43:21,560

And, um.

906

43:22 ,065 --> 00:43:25,565

You know, it's, I, I, I love that, you

know, when I, when I, it's still my

907

43:25 ,565 --> 00:43:29,125

favorite thing to do is sit down with some

of my buddies, you know, and chefs, and we

908

43:29 ,125 --> 00:43:31,995

have the ability to, with some of the ones

who are, you know, this only happens when

909

43:31 ,995 --> 00:43:35,745

we're able to get together once or twice

a year at some of these food festivals

910

43:35 ,745 --> 00:43:38,215

and things like that, where we're able

to get away and truly have some time.

911

43:38 ,215 --> 00:43:38,345

Yeah.

912

43:38 ,345 --> 00:43:38,445

Yeah.

913

43:38 ,705 --> 00:43:39,505

That's usually when I

914

43:39 ,515 --> 00:43:42,584

Marc Preston: start seeing the Instagram

light up whenever there's a, you know, as

915

43:42 ,585 --> 00:43:46,105

I follow a few guys and I start seeing,

Oh, everybody's at this thing, you know?

916

43:46 ,205 --> 00:43:46,435

Ben Ford: Yeah.

917

43:46 ,435 --> 00:43:49,225

I'm getting ready to go to one next week,

you know, and I'm really looking forward

918

43:49 ,235 --> 00:43:50,695

to sitting down with some of the guys.

919

43:51 ,085 --> 00:43:54,385

That I started off in my career with

and that you feel really like you can

920

43:54 ,385 --> 00:43:57,695

have these authentic conversations

with where they truly understand

921

43:57 ,695 --> 00:44:00,375

every word that you're talking

about substantively, you know,

922

44:07 The Impact of Food Television

44:07 ,715 --> 00:44:12,890

Marc Preston: What do you think

about food television is How do you

923

44:12 ,890 --> 00:44:16,510

feel that impacted, uh, just here

domestically, just in the U S like,

924

44:16 ,540 --> 00:44:18,360

what, what do you, was it a good thing?

925

44:18 ,370 --> 00:44:19,550

Was it not a good thing?

926

44:19 ,550 --> 00:44:22,390

Was it just, where are we now?

927

44:22 ,410 --> 00:44:23,500

Comparatively, you know,

928

44:23 ,730 --> 00:44:23,920

Ben Ford: Yeah.

929

44:23 ,920 --> 00:44:26,660

I mean, we fall in love with our,

with our, you know, when something

930

44:26 ,660 --> 00:44:29,520

works, we, we fall in love with

it and we, we emulate it to death.

931

44:29 ,630 --> 00:44:32,080

And that's, that's part of the

problem of what I'm talking about.

932

44:32 ,080 --> 00:44:37,180

So, you know, when we went, when we went

from what were kind of traditional dump

933

44:37 ,180 --> 00:44:41,870

and stir, um, Uh, cooking classes, you

know, basically the person's there in

934

44:41 ,870 --> 00:44:45,630

front of you, the Martha Stewart, the shop

935

44:45 ,630 --> 00:44:47,770

Marc Preston: assistant, you know, they

936

44:47 ,770 --> 00:44:51,890

Ben Ford: call them dump and stir,

you know, the time and, um, You

937

44:51 ,890 --> 00:44:54,280

know, those kind of traditional

cooking classes taught you something.

938

44:54 ,450 --> 00:44:57,340

Then there became this notion that

don't try to teach them something.

939

44:57 ,910 --> 00:44:59,330

Just brand yourself.

940

44:59 ,800 --> 00:45:03,320

Just sell yourself while you're up

there, you know, and be entertaining.

941

45:03 ,620 --> 00:45:06,170

You know, and you see these people go

through these recipes now, and they're

942

45:06 ,170 --> 00:45:09,090

just chopping them up, and you can look

it up later, and you can try to follow up.

943

45:09 ,090 --> 00:45:10,160

It's really about entertainment.

944

45:10 ,810 --> 00:45:11,180

Yeah.

945

45:11 ,810 --> 00:45:12,710

And all that's fine.

946

45:12 ,880 --> 00:45:18,920

But I think where we really lost the, the,

the patience, where we lost the direction,

947

45:18 ,940 --> 00:45:20,480

it was with the competition shows.

948

45:21 ,230 --> 00:45:24,570

You know, where we kind of started

making fun of the, of the profession.

949

45:24 ,580 --> 00:45:28,970

We started making fun of the concepts

a little bit and my, it, mind you,

950

45:28 ,970 --> 00:45:30,540

you know, it, it brought in another.

951

45:31 ,460 --> 00:45:35,760

Uh, a person that was less interested

in the older ways, and it brought

952

45:35 ,760 --> 00:45:40,030

in more of a demographic that I have

less of a connection to, you know, and

953

45:40 ,030 --> 00:45:43,510

that's, and that's fine, you know, I've

got to figure out my next 20 years.

954

45:43 ,510 --> 00:45:45,100

I don't have to figure

out my next 50 years.

955

45:45 ,720 --> 00:45:47,240

Does any of it start at

956

45:47 Parenting and Cooking: Passing Down Skills

45:47 ,250 --> 00:45:47,790

Marc Preston: home though?

957

45:47 ,790 --> 00:45:49,420

Does any of the start your own kitchen?

958

45:49 ,460 --> 00:45:52,680

Uh, the kids, they want to eat

something like how old is your oldest?

959

45:52 ,700 --> 00:45:54,080

Uh, my cook, my

960

45:54 ,080 --> 00:45:56,990

Ben Ford: kids cook, you know,

they, they cook a lot and they,

961

45:56 ,990 --> 00:45:58,090

and they both know how to cook.

962

45:58 ,090 --> 00:45:59,310

And part of that is.

963

45:59 ,790 --> 00:46:03,410

Um, you know, I want it's

part of its resourcefulness.

964

46:03 ,790 --> 00:46:05,980

Um, you know, there's

economics involved in it.

965

46:05 ,980 --> 00:46:06,360

There's health.

966

46:06 ,500 --> 00:46:06,820

Yeah.

967

46:06 ,940 --> 00:46:07,220

Marc Preston: Yeah.

968

46:07 ,270 --> 00:46:09,700

Ben Ford: There's a lot of health

benefits involved in cooking and

969

46:09 ,700 --> 00:46:10,720

knowing how to cook for yourself.

970

46:11 ,570 --> 00:46:14,750

And you know, but I trained my, I

trained my sons to be good roommates.

971

46:14 ,870 --> 00:46:18,450

You know, I, uh, my oldest son just

moved in with his girlfriend for

972

46:18 ,460 --> 00:46:21,270

the first time and this is a big

test to see how good a parent I was.

973

46:21 ,270 --> 00:46:26,480

Uh, this is a real, this is a real

barometer, but I think, yeah, a lot

974

46:26 ,480 --> 00:46:29,460

of it has to do with, uh, with that.

975

46:29 ,460 --> 00:46:32,580

And I think that there is a lot of

fear based parenting, unfortunately.

976

46:33 ,440 --> 00:46:35,310

Um, you know, it's really.

977

46:35 ,820 --> 00:46:38,540

I don't want to get into parenting

advice and things like that because

978

46:38 ,540 --> 00:46:39,940

it's really not my expertise.

979

46:40 ,400 --> 00:46:41,970

We all have to parent on our own way.

980

46:41 ,970 --> 00:46:43,800

We get lucky, things happen, you know.

981

46:44 ,350 --> 00:46:47,390

I understand that parenting

is a crapshoot, you know.

982

46:47 ,680 --> 00:46:53,300

Um, but getting your kids interested

and, and, you know, and, and, you know,

983

46:53 ,300 --> 00:46:56,930

you, you have parents first households

and you have kids first households.

984

46:57 ,585 --> 00:47:01,895

You know, and, you know, and mine

is somewhat of in between as a chef,

985

47:01 ,955 --> 00:47:04,785

whereas we were probably, you know,

in as much dedicated as I need to

986

47:04 ,785 --> 00:47:08,185

be the restaurant, we were still

very much a kid's first household.

987

47:08 ,725 --> 00:47:14,465

And so the foundations, how we

allowed them to function inside

988

47:14 ,465 --> 00:47:17,735

the household, what we allowed

them to do, their exploratory, what

989

47:17 ,735 --> 00:47:20,975

they were able to do exploratory

was really, was really important.

990

47:21 ,035 --> 00:47:24,995

And, um, how we broke

down the fears of food.

991

47:25 ,575 --> 00:47:28,255

You know, we have, you have to combine

this with other kids that are at

992

47:28 ,255 --> 00:47:32,125

the table that, you know, won't eat

tomatoes or don't eat this, you know,

993

47:32 ,125 --> 00:47:35,295

and it's not because they didn't want

to be, it might because their parents

994

47:35 ,295 --> 00:47:38,915

didn't like it, you know, and they

heard them say something, you know,

995

47:38 ,915 --> 00:47:44,825

or that maybe that, um, you know, it

could be a hyperallergenic situation.

996

47:45 ,265 --> 00:47:49,775

It could be all kinds of things, but

I've had a lot of skill, a lot of,

997

47:50 ,135 --> 00:47:52,085

of, because I'll do this sneakily.

998

47:52 ,455 --> 00:47:54,465

What I'll do is I'll do

it in a very sneaky way.

999

47:55 ,055 --> 00:47:58,625

I'll do things like, for my son,

I'll say, do you want to do a cooking

Speaker:1000

47:58 ,625 --> 00:48:00,345

class with a few of your friends?

Speaker:1001

48:00 ,345 --> 00:48:02,605

And I'll give you, I'll

teach a class for you.

Speaker:1002

48:03 ,375 --> 00:48:05,545

And what I've learned from these

experiences is that the kids

Speaker:1003

48:05 ,545 --> 00:48:09,475

will, I've had ones that came in

with real food, real food fears.

Speaker:1004

48:10 ,435 --> 00:48:11,545

They wouldn't wanna touch anything.

Speaker:1005

48:11 ,545 --> 00:48:12,055

They really Oh, yeah.

Speaker:1006

48:12 ,070 --> 00:48:12,190

Yeah.

Speaker:1007

48:12 ,195 --> 00:48:14,365

And I understand some of

this is that there are, there

Speaker:1008

48:14 ,365 --> 00:48:15,385

are real reasons for this.

Speaker:1009

48:15 ,385 --> 00:48:19,410

Sometimes there are, there are

psychological reasons for this excuse,

Speaker:1010

48:19 ,415 --> 00:48:22,235

but beyond that, I'm talking about

just sort of the, the gray area,

Speaker:1011

48:22 ,235 --> 00:48:23,825

the, the, the fear-based part of it.

Speaker:1012

48:24 ,005 --> 00:48:27,125

I've had kids that, you know,

where I expose them to the process,

Speaker:1013

48:27 ,125 --> 00:48:28,505

I got their hands in the food.

Speaker:1014

48:28 ,955 --> 00:48:31,175

We do things like make a

pizza and you make the dough.

Speaker:1015

48:31 ,180 --> 00:48:32,645

You, you, you, you do the thing.

Speaker:1016

48:32 ,645 --> 00:48:34,685

It could be making pasta,

it could be whatever it is.

Speaker:1017

48:35 ,165 --> 00:48:38,135

But they go home and the next

thing you know is they're engaged

Speaker:1018

48:38 ,135 --> 00:48:39,215

with their mom in the kitchen.

Speaker:1019

48:39 ,480 --> 00:48:41,510

You know, they want to

help with the dishes.

Speaker:1020

48:41 ,520 --> 00:48:43,340

They're involved in the process there.

Speaker:1021

48:44 ,540 --> 00:48:45,860

And there's an opportunity to do that.

Speaker:1022

48:46 ,170 --> 00:48:47,580

And they're not afraid of

the kitchen all of a sudden.

Speaker:1023

48:48 ,300 --> 00:48:50,590

You know, some of these kids were

afraid of that is where the food is.

Speaker:1024

48:50 ,730 --> 00:48:52,570

That's where all the

dangerous stuff is, you know?

Speaker:1025

48:52 ,920 --> 00:48:54,020

And I've had a lot of success.

Speaker:1026

48:54 ,020 --> 00:48:57,260

I've had moms that have come back to me

literally in tears telling me that they,

Speaker:1027

48:57 ,290 --> 00:48:58,490

you know, we've made a breakthrough.

Speaker:1028

48:59 ,190 --> 00:49:03,080

And I didn't do it with the intention

of breaking down these kids and

Speaker:1029

49:03 ,090 --> 00:49:04,550

spreading this message that I have.

Speaker:1030

49:04 ,550 --> 00:49:07,510

It's just the reaction of what I've

had working with some of these kids.

Speaker:1031

49:08 ,530 --> 00:49:13,450

So getting kids hands into things,

trusting in them, putting a knife

Speaker:1032

49:13 ,450 --> 00:49:14,940

in their hands a little prematurely.

Speaker:1033

49:15 ,180 --> 00:49:16,020

Oh, I know the same thing.

Speaker:1034

49:16 ,620 --> 00:49:16,930

I know.

Speaker:1035

49:17 ,290 --> 00:49:19,730

Marc Preston: One of the first things

I did is taught knife technique.

Speaker:1036

49:20 ,200 --> 00:49:21,450

Uh, and I, it was fun.

Speaker:1037

49:21 ,460 --> 00:49:23,240

My daughter, Emma, she was much younger.

Speaker:1038

49:23 ,240 --> 00:49:25,110

She, I think she was only 10

and I noticed her do this.

Speaker:1039

49:25 ,110 --> 00:49:26,040

I said, Emma knife.

Speaker:1040

49:26 ,170 --> 00:49:29,030

You know, she would, she would

just immediately, she would,

Speaker:1041

49:29 ,100 --> 00:49:30,990

she was not intimidated at all.

Speaker:1042

49:31 ,280 --> 00:49:33,390

And she became my spice

blender in the kitchen.

Speaker:1043

49:33 ,390 --> 00:49:35,320

I'm like, okay, we need to

make a something for chicken.

Speaker:1044

49:35 ,320 --> 00:49:38,040

So I had all these, I'm a

nerd about spices, you know?

Speaker:1045

49:38 ,040 --> 00:49:41,540

So she'd blend it up and there was

nothing intimidating to him at all.

Speaker:1046

49:41 ,540 --> 00:49:45,040

They had the things they liked, but what's

exciting to me is when they were younger,

Speaker:1047

49:45 ,060 --> 00:49:46,260

they didn't really like something.

Speaker:1048

49:46 ,260 --> 00:49:48,730

I'm like, listen, if you don't like

something, you never have to have

Speaker:1049

49:48 ,730 --> 00:49:50,390

it again, but maybe try it later on.

Speaker:1050

49:50 ,455 --> 00:49:52,665

And their palates

evolve, they get into it.

Speaker:1051

49:52 ,665 --> 00:49:55,455

But they had a lot of what I call chicken

finger kids or chicken nugget kids they

Speaker:1052

49:55 ,455 --> 00:49:58,655

went to school with who just, there's

no way in the world they'd try some

Speaker:1053

49:58 ,655 --> 00:50:00,265

of this stuff that they, uh, right.

Speaker:1054

50:00 ,265 --> 00:50:02,465

Which was exciting to me

when she went to Spain, I was

Speaker:1055

50:02 ,465 --> 00:50:03,765

living vicariously through her.

Speaker:1056

50:03 ,765 --> 00:50:05,055

I was like, tell me what you ate today.

Speaker:1057

50:05 ,065 --> 00:50:05,315

You know?

Speaker:1058

50:05 ,355 --> 00:50:05,515

Ben Ford: Yeah.

Speaker:1059

50:06 ,135 --> 00:50:11,175

My kids favorite, maybe like my oldest

favorite food was, was, uh, was, uh, eel.

Speaker:1060

50:11 ,530 --> 00:50:19,290

And, um, octopus and, uh, and,

and escargot, you know, this

Speaker:1061

50:19 ,290 --> 00:50:22,750

Marc Preston: is where it's got to

be exposed to it before they realize.

Speaker:1062

50:22 ,790 --> 00:50:25,560

And, you know, I know one time

we were at a sushi restaurant

Speaker:1063

50:25 ,560 --> 00:50:29,160

and, and they had a, like, uh,

uh, yakitori and they did tongue.

Speaker:1064

50:29 ,495 --> 00:50:31,625

And the joke was my daughter

was like eight and the

Speaker:1065

50:31 ,625 --> 00:50:32,915

oldest two, I was like, okay.

Speaker:1066

50:33 ,185 --> 00:50:35,345

I think she went to the restroom or

something, came back and I was like,

Speaker:1067

50:35 ,465 --> 00:50:36,815

don't tell her this is what's coming.

Speaker:1068

50:37 ,145 --> 00:50:38,645

She was eating, this is so good.

Speaker:1069

50:38 ,645 --> 00:50:38,945

This is so good.

Speaker:1070

50:38 ,945 --> 00:50:39,845

I was like, yeah, it's tongue.

Speaker:1071

50:39 ,845 --> 00:50:40,865

And she just spit it out.

Speaker:1072

50:40 ,865 --> 00:50:42,965

It's like, why did you

admitted it tasted good?

Speaker:1073

50:42 ,965 --> 00:50:43,115

Why?

Speaker:1074

50:43 ,115 --> 00:50:47,255

It is just the idea of it at eight

years old is, uh, a little much.

Speaker:1075

50:47 ,255 --> 00:50:47,345

But

Speaker:1076

50:48 ,215 --> 00:50:49,625

Ben Ford: yeah, there was,

you know, I, I don't know.

Speaker:1077

50:49 ,625 --> 00:50:50,585

We worked with that later.

Speaker:1078

50:50 ,585 --> 00:50:53,300

I guess it was the secondary work,

but it was the, but, but, but

Speaker:1079

50:53 ,305 --> 00:50:55,145

primarily, you know, it is about.

Speaker:1080

50:55 ,480 --> 00:51:00,450

Breaking down the inhibitions and not

being and not being feared and and

Speaker:1081

51:00 ,450 --> 00:51:06,040

also and also not not putting your not

Projecting your fears on fears onto them,

Speaker:1082

51:06 ,130 --> 00:51:10,120

you know about food because a lot of this

is in the is in the messaging to the kid

Speaker:1083

51:10 ,645 --> 00:51:12,625

Marc Preston: You know, when you were

like, when you were growing up though,

Speaker:1084

51:12 ,645 --> 00:51:15,985

how, what was your household like

as far as, you know, was, were your

Speaker:1085

51:15 ,985 --> 00:51:18,335

folks cooking, you know, for you or,

Speaker:1086

51:19 Personal Journey into the Culinary World

51:19 ,185 --> 00:51:20,535

Ben Ford: well, this

is an interesting part.

Speaker:1087

51:20 ,535 --> 00:51:26,455

Cause it brings up a whole other, uh, part

of why I entered into the chef world, um,

Speaker:1088

51:27 ,105 --> 00:51:30,805

and why cooking became a part, but this is

more, this is more of the survival parts.

Speaker:1089

51:30 ,805 --> 00:51:32,364

This is the feral part,

Speaker:1090

51:32 ,365 --> 00:51:32,635

Marc Preston: you know,

Speaker:1091

51:32 ,635 --> 00:51:33,645

Ben Ford: is that my, my mother has MS.

Speaker:1092

51:33 ,645 --> 00:51:37,204

And so, uh, at, um.

Speaker:1093

51:37 ,855 --> 00:51:39,965

And my, my parents

separated when I was 10.

Speaker:1094

51:40 ,975 --> 00:51:47,315

So when, uh, when, or 10 or 11, somewhere

in there, when my mother was becoming more

Speaker:1095

51:47 ,315 --> 00:51:51,695

symptomatic, but she hadn't, MS was at

that in the time, the eighties was very

Speaker:1096

51:51 ,695 --> 00:51:54,045

hard to diagnose, very hard to diagnose.

Speaker:1097

51:54 ,065 --> 00:51:56,845

And, and it took several

years for her to be diagnosed.

Speaker:1098

51:57 ,175 --> 00:52:01,375

And what it looked like to me at the

time was an invisible deterioration.

Speaker:1099

52:01 ,635 --> 00:52:02,475

It was sort of a.

Speaker:1100

52:02 ,955 --> 00:52:06,245

You couldn't say, okay, this

day was worse than yesterday.

Speaker:1101

52:06 ,245 --> 00:52:10,945

It was just like a progression and what

the progression was, was her weakening

Speaker:1102

52:11 ,355 --> 00:52:15,225

and having less energy for us and having

less energy to spend in the kitchen.

Speaker:1103

52:15 ,655 --> 00:52:20,575

And she was, this was a woman who,

um, would have groups of kids there

Speaker:1104

52:20 ,575 --> 00:52:24,895

for several days in a row because, and

there are, there are more than, there

Speaker:1105

52:24 ,895 --> 00:52:28,835

are a few chefs in LA that pay homage

to her as reasons why they're chefs.

Speaker:1106

52:30 ,085 --> 00:52:34,945

Uh, Neil Frazier will say in every

interview that he, you know, that he said,

Speaker:1107

52:35 ,005 --> 00:52:39,665

my mom was his inspiration for cooking and

she was, and she was my inspiration too.

Speaker:1108

52:40 ,565 --> 00:52:45,365

So, you know, when she was starting to

lose her ability to sort of give, muster

Speaker:1109

52:45 ,365 --> 00:52:49,175

up the energy to do these meals, you

know, she started to fill the refrigerator

Speaker:1110

52:49 ,175 --> 00:52:52,105

with, she'd freeze a bunch of steaks

and they'd just be there in the freezer,

Speaker:1111

52:52 ,145 --> 00:52:53,955

you know, and it was kind of like.

Speaker:1112

52:54 ,375 --> 00:52:56,585

You want to eat, you

got to cook, you know?

Speaker:1113

52:56 ,955 --> 00:53:00,255

And so we became, you know, we

started off being creative and,

Speaker:1114

53:00 ,265 --> 00:53:01,815

you know, and things like that.

Speaker:1115

53:01 ,815 --> 00:53:04,735

And I wrote my first recipe when I

was five years old, you know, there's,

Speaker:1116

53:04 ,795 --> 00:53:11,185

I'd already, I'd done some creation,

but when I was like, you know, 13 and

Speaker:1117

53:11 ,185 --> 00:53:12,335

14, this was the next level of it.

Speaker:1118

53:12 ,335 --> 00:53:13,449

Now you're, now you're.

Speaker:1119

53:13 ,920 --> 00:53:16,030

Now your taste buds have

changed a little bit.

Speaker:1120

53:16 ,040 --> 00:53:17,830

You're into making sandwiches and stuff.

Speaker:1121

53:19 ,110 --> 00:53:22,920

I don't know, but we got into, it

became, um, uh, another beginning of

Speaker:1122

53:22 ,960 --> 00:53:26,510

that process for me, and maybe that's

led to me why I made that decision

Speaker:1123

53:26 ,510 --> 00:53:30,260

when I was 15, you know, the final

decision to kind of go into, into

Speaker:1124

53:30 ,310 --> 00:53:34,704

cooking happened when my baseball career

was over, I played baseball at USC.

Speaker:1125

53:36 ,015 --> 00:53:41,675

I, uh, signed to play with the Reds,

uh, in their rookie leagues and

Speaker:1126

53:41 ,705 --> 00:53:46,615

immediately hurt myself and didn't

return to USC for my senior year.

Speaker:1127

53:46 ,635 --> 00:53:53,005

I left my junior year to, to play and

being in this not really understanding.

Speaker:1128

53:53 ,475 --> 00:53:55,865

The opportunities in life

that were now afforded to me.

Speaker:1129

53:55 ,865 --> 00:53:59,465

I was still looking at life

as a carpenter's son and

Speaker:1130

53:59 ,465 --> 00:54:00,695

all these sort of things.

Speaker:1131

54:00 ,985 --> 00:54:04,205

I didn't know how to go back to my

parents and tell them that I now, you

Speaker:1132

54:04 ,205 --> 00:54:05,635

know, I needed to go back to college.

Speaker:1133

54:05 ,715 --> 00:54:09,425

And I literally took some of my mom's

cookbooks, some of her jock, the

Speaker:1134

54:09 ,425 --> 00:54:11,275

pen videos and cook in that kitchen.

Speaker:1135

54:11 ,855 --> 00:54:16,075

Marc Preston: That that's, that was the,

he and, uh, Martin Yan Yan can't cook.

Speaker:1136

54:16 ,115 --> 00:54:17,775

That was Justin Wilson.

Speaker:1137

54:17 ,775 --> 00:54:18,885

They were the trifecta of.

Speaker:1138

54:19 ,350 --> 00:54:20,530

Yeah, and

Speaker:1139

54:20 ,900 --> 00:54:24,300

Ben Ford: yes, and Martin Yan ended up

being an instructor of mine later, too.

Speaker:1140

54:25 ,000 --> 00:54:28,730

So I went up to San Francisco and

literally started beating on back doors.

Speaker:1141

54:29 ,110 --> 00:54:34,410

Um, of restaurants and my first job that

I got was at a small restaurant in North

Speaker:1142

54:34 ,410 --> 00:54:40,850

Beach called, um, it was called, um,

Rose, uh, it was called wrath RAF and

Speaker:1143

54:40 ,860 --> 00:54:44,070

it was a Mediterranean restaurant and

I didn't know any of the ingredients.

Speaker:1144

54:44 ,070 --> 00:54:48,170

I was like, I, you know, this young

woman sous chef must've thought that I

Speaker:1145

54:48 ,180 --> 00:54:53,990

was, you know, took attraction to me and

hired me on and I had no knowledge of it.

Speaker:1146

54:53 ,990 --> 00:54:57,180

I'd, I'd, I'd have to constantly be.

Speaker:1147

54:58 ,135 --> 00:55:01,675

You know, they'd ask me for an ingredient

and somebody would walk by and I'd repeat

Speaker:1148

55:01 ,675 --> 00:55:04,735

the word to them and have them go and

get it for me and I'd learn what, you

Speaker:1149

55:04 ,735 --> 00:55:06,905

know, this pasta was or things like that.

Speaker:1150

55:07 ,615 --> 00:55:11,545

Literally on my first day of

work inside the restaurants, this

Speaker:1151

55:11 ,545 --> 00:55:14,475

restaurant was owned by the same family

that owned the Mac truck company.

Speaker:1152

55:15 ,415 --> 00:55:20,515

And, you know, actually I'll, I'll see,

maybe I shouldn't, I don't know how far

Speaker:1153

55:20 ,515 --> 00:55:24,425

back they can come after me, but, uh,

this is not a company you want upset.

Speaker:1154

55:24 ,545 --> 00:55:27,015

They, uh, but they had

a, uh, first day of work.

Speaker:1155

55:27 ,185 --> 00:55:28,495

I'm sitting there within an hour.

Speaker:1156

55:28 ,495 --> 00:55:31,875

They're beating up a bus boy in

the, in this little short alley

Speaker:1157

55:31 ,875 --> 00:55:33,445

behind, behind the restaurant.

Speaker:1158

55:33 ,535 --> 00:55:34,905

And talk about the conversion of.

Speaker:1159

55:35 ,545 --> 00:55:39,465

Old world culture and new world culture

as far as restaurants are concerned.

Speaker:1160

55:40 ,095 --> 00:55:42,895

I come to learn that this kid

is, is, is an Italian family.

Speaker:1161

55:42 ,905 --> 00:55:45,795

The restaurant was owned by an Italian

family, Mac is of Italian family.

Speaker:1162

55:46 ,105 --> 00:55:50,405

They, uh, the kid had been, was like

a cousin who had been shipped over

Speaker:1163

55:50 ,405 --> 00:55:52,965

to work in this restaurant over the

summer and had been stealing things.

Speaker:1164

55:53 ,465 --> 00:55:56,115

But they couldn't, they couldn't send

him back and they couldn't do anything.

Speaker:1165

55:56 ,115 --> 00:55:58,495

All they could do is they could

beat him up and put him back to

Speaker:1166

55:58 ,495 --> 00:55:59,825

work and hope he changed his place.

Speaker:1167

56:00 ,505 --> 00:56:04,335

This is my first day on the

job in a restaurant, literally.

Speaker:1168

56:04 ,795 --> 00:56:07,155

You know, next thing I know, you

know, I've got a chef who's walking

Speaker:1169

56:07 ,155 --> 00:56:09,700

by with a Cup like this full of vodka.

Speaker:1170

56:10 ,460 --> 00:56:13,960

You know, I lasted there about three

months before I found my first job, my

Speaker:1171

56:13 ,960 --> 00:56:18,440

job at shape and ace, and that really was

the job that, that launched my career.

Speaker:1172

56:18 ,860 --> 00:56:20,420

I never wrote a resume after that.

Speaker:1173

56:20 ,885 --> 00:56:25,495

Um, it really installed a lot of

the, uh, why be culture like 15,

Speaker:1174

56:26 ,775 --> 00:56:26,905

Marc Preston: 16.

Speaker:1175

56:26 ,905 --> 00:56:27,395

Was that about how old?

Speaker:1176

56:27 ,405 --> 00:56:27,765

No, no,

Speaker:1177

56:27 ,955 --> 00:56:28,235

Ben Ford: no, no.

Speaker:1178

56:28 ,235 --> 00:56:29,965

This is, this is now

after my baseball career.

Speaker:1179

56:29 ,965 --> 00:56:33,455

So I'm probably, I'm

20, I'm 20, 20, 20, 21.

Speaker:1180

56:33 ,765 --> 00:56:37,685

And I found a place of meaning, you

know, a place with a real message to it.

Speaker:1181

56:38 ,195 --> 00:56:41,475

And I, I fell in with a

chef named Paul Bertolli.

Speaker:1182

56:42 ,105 --> 00:56:47,195

Um, who wrote a book called, um,

Cooking by Hand, which really became

Speaker:1183

56:47 ,195 --> 00:56:50,425

some of the foundational parts

of what I believe, which are the

Speaker:1184

56:50 ,425 --> 00:56:52,355

magic that finds its way into food.

Speaker:1185

56:52 ,525 --> 00:56:58,615

You know, what makes a leg of, you know,

you hang a leg of pork in a certain

Speaker:1186

56:58 ,615 --> 00:57:00,075

temperature and it turns into prosciutto.

Speaker:1187

57:00 ,675 --> 00:57:04,185

You know, you take, you take, take,

you know, you take, how do these things

Speaker:1188

57:04 ,185 --> 00:57:06,045

transform with these natural environments?

Speaker:1189

57:06 ,375 --> 00:57:10,475

What is nature's in, you know,

input into the, into the, um, in

Speaker:1190

57:10 ,475 --> 00:57:11,665

the production of these things.

Speaker:1191

57:11 ,835 --> 00:57:16,215

And he started to build not only the

nation's notions of messaging and culture

Speaker:1192

57:16 ,215 --> 00:57:18,175

and things like that, but also flow.

Speaker:1193

57:18 ,990 --> 00:57:21,510

You know, and how you spend your

time within the four walls of that

Speaker:1194

57:21 ,510 --> 00:57:25,230

restaurant, what your hands are

doing, what is your brain doing?

Speaker:1195

57:25 ,640 --> 00:57:29,260

How are you emotionally, holistically

involved in this entire process?

Speaker:1196

57:29 ,780 --> 00:57:35,290

You know, and he taught me a lot

about, um, the magic of food and

Speaker:1197

57:35 ,290 --> 00:57:37,010

believing in that, in that process.

Speaker:1198

57:37 ,580 --> 00:57:41,220

And a lot of his things that he

taught me are things that I've

Speaker:1199

57:41 ,220 --> 00:57:42,830

found myself teaching to others.

Speaker:1200

57:43 ,100 --> 00:57:48,540

You know, as far as I'm my main

messaging, and, um, it was, it was

Speaker:1201

57:48 ,590 --> 00:57:52,130

something that set the foundation

for the rest of my rest of my career.

Speaker:1202

57:52 ,730 --> 00:57:56,240

Um, I didn't find that sort of thing

again until I worked at Campanile,

Speaker:1203

57:56 ,340 --> 00:57:59,450

and that was another sort of wonderful

three years that I spent there.

Speaker:1204

57:59 ,940 --> 00:58:03,010

Marc Preston: But what's cool thing about

being a chef is when you go to a different

Speaker:1205

58:03 ,010 --> 00:58:06,100

restaurant, a different experience, it's

almost like going to a different school.

Speaker:1206

58:06 ,140 --> 00:58:10,340

You know, you're, you're, it's, it's,

uh, not necessarily a lateral move.

Speaker:1207

58:10 ,340 --> 00:58:13,170

It's just, you're going to have different

experiences and that all kind of imprints.

Speaker:1208

58:13 ,170 --> 00:58:16,490

And there's something that kind of

sticks with you that kind of becomes.

Speaker:1209

58:16 Balancing Fame and Authenticity in the Culinary Industry

58:16 ,695 --> 00:58:22,485

Your thing, you know, like, uh, as far

as like, when you, you found that you

Speaker:1210

58:22 ,485 --> 00:58:27,915

had, uh, objectively found success,

was that at all intimidating to you?

Speaker:1211

58:27 ,925 --> 00:58:30,505

Cause I mean, it's a very

competitive industry and yet people

Speaker:1212

58:30 ,505 --> 00:58:32,945

who, you know, skyrocket, then

you don't hear from them again.

Speaker:1213

58:32 ,985 --> 00:58:36,815

Was it, was there any kind of, was it

intimidating to become successful and

Speaker:1214

58:36 ,825 --> 00:58:41,335

end up on the radar of, of people and,

and the food critics and whatever in LA?

Speaker:1215

58:41 ,850 --> 00:58:49,010

Ben Ford: I think that there was a, um,

a real decision to not open my first

Speaker:1216

58:49 ,010 --> 00:58:52,950

restaurant too early in my career, you

know, to understand that there was going

Speaker:1217

58:52 ,950 --> 00:58:57,310

to probably be a, that I probably would

be judged a little bit differently.

Speaker:1218

58:57 ,530 --> 00:58:59,900

It wasn't intimidating because

I'd waited until I was mature

Speaker:1219

58:59 ,900 --> 00:59:01,040

enough to be able to handle.

Speaker:1220

59:01 ,755 --> 00:59:04,135

Some of them, you know, I didn't

open my first restaurant until

Speaker:1221

59:04 ,135 --> 00:59:05,335

I was 30 years old, probably.

Speaker:1222

59:05 ,780 --> 00:59:07,610

Two or 32 years old.

Speaker:1223

59:07 ,620 --> 00:59:11,000

So it's probably three, two or

three years later than the, than,

Speaker:1224

59:11 ,020 --> 00:59:12,230

than you would across the curve.

Speaker:1225

59:12 ,230 --> 00:59:14,540

I spent a couple more years

learning under other people.

Speaker:1226

59:15 ,110 --> 00:59:17,100

I wanted it to be people.

Speaker:1227

59:17 ,120 --> 00:59:20,140

I wanted people to really understand

that I had not taken shortcuts in

Speaker:1228

59:20 ,140 --> 00:59:22,590

my career, that this was not a.

Speaker:1229

59:22 ,975 --> 00:59:24,625

Nepotism situation.

Speaker:1230

59:24 ,985 --> 00:59:29,095

This was not a daddy's bought a restaurant

situation is a man who spent his career

Speaker:1231

59:29 ,515 --> 00:59:31,485

seriously trying to build his craft.

Speaker:1232

59:31 ,675 --> 00:59:33,015

And so I spent extra years doing that.

Speaker:1233

59:33 ,045 --> 00:59:38,675

And when the acknowledgement start to

came come, you have to understand that

Speaker:1234

59:38 ,955 --> 00:59:43,205

I'm always going to be a little bit

trepidatious about why the acknowledgement

Speaker:1235

59:43 ,205 --> 00:59:49,135

is coming, you know, and I'm and I'm and

I and so I'm I was born I was I was born

Speaker:1236

59:49 ,135 --> 00:59:54,860

into I mean, I wasn't born into it, but

I had to learn, you know, how to decipher

Speaker:1237

59:54 ,860 --> 00:59:59,960

between what is my dad's fame and what's

my thing, you know, and it became very,

Speaker:1238

59:59 ,960 --> 01:00:06,400

very important for me in the beginning to

understand what, and I put the effort into

Speaker:1239

1:00:06 ,400 --> 01:00:10,170

it because I really wanted to understand

at the end what my, when I taught at the

Speaker:1240

1:00:10 ,170 --> 01:00:13,800

end, I'm saying at the end of my life,

when I'm sitting on my deathbed, I want

Speaker:1241

1:00:13 ,800 --> 01:00:15,300

to know what I earned in my lifetime.

Speaker:1242

1:00:15 ,650 --> 01:00:16,630

I want to know what's mine.

Speaker:1243

1:00:17 ,200 --> 01:00:20,190

I don't want to know what was given to me.

Speaker:1244

1:00:20 ,190 --> 01:00:21,230

And I don't care about that.

Speaker:1245

1:00:21 ,660 --> 01:00:25,410

You know, to me, that's

dangerous material, but that's

Speaker:1246

1:00:25 ,450 --> 01:00:27,000

dangerous territory to get into.

Speaker:1247

1:00:27 ,590 --> 01:00:33,170

So for me, um, taking the time to

build my craft, really know what

Speaker:1248

1:00:33 ,170 --> 01:00:37,120

I'm doing before I put myself out

there was, was really important.

Speaker:1249

1:00:37 ,610 --> 01:00:43,240

And then also looking at the theme

and how it was coming and deciphering

Speaker:1250

1:00:43 ,240 --> 01:00:47,730

it, whether it was coming from an

authentic place or not, became very

Speaker:1251

1:00:47 ,730 --> 01:00:49,210

important to the process as well.

Speaker:1252

1:00:49 ,230 --> 01:00:53,080

So you didn't see me going into

television, like a lot of the other chefs.

Speaker:1253

1:00:53 ,530 --> 01:00:58,300

Um, that were from my generation we're

doing, and you don't see me in television

Speaker:1254

1:00:58 ,300 --> 01:01:00,540

a lot now, and there's really important.

Speaker:1255

1:01:00 ,680 --> 01:01:01,820

There's big reasons for it.

Speaker:1256

1:01:02 ,380 --> 01:01:05,610

You know, um, that some of those

lines are difficult for me.

Speaker:1257

1:01:06 ,385 --> 01:01:10,785

You know, so I love restaurants, you know,

I think I thought that they, you know,

Speaker:1258

1:01:10 ,785 --> 01:01:15,085

and I feel like they're a safe haven for

creativity place where I can really sort

Speaker:1259

1:01:15 ,085 --> 01:01:17,145

of garner what my own achievements are.

Speaker:1260

1:01:17 ,685 --> 01:01:20,695

And um, you know, that's been

really important part of it.

Speaker:1261

1:01:21 ,145 --> 01:01:21,435

Marc Preston: Yeah.

Speaker:1262

1:01:21 ,485 --> 01:01:25,625

Delineating between what is yours

and what you've created is, is kind

Speaker:1263

1:01:25 ,625 --> 01:01:29,065

of the, one of the essence to me,

it's kind of the essence of life.

Speaker:1264

1:01:29 ,065 --> 01:01:30,825

Like you said, you

weren't trying to emulate.

Speaker:1265

1:01:31 ,090 --> 01:01:34,650

Uh, anything that had come before you

were, you're maybe you can be inspired,

Speaker:1266

1:01:34 ,660 --> 01:01:39,070

but I think that like you said, having

the, uh, you know, the attention of people

Speaker:1267

1:01:39 ,070 --> 01:01:42,870

based upon, you know, last name that would

be, that would be in my mind also, you

Speaker:1268

1:01:42 ,870 --> 01:01:47,360

know, why are, why are, why am I getting

this, uh, this attention and it's got to

Speaker:1269

1:01:47 ,360 --> 01:01:51,230

be really rewarding when somebody sits

down and you've prepared something for

Speaker:1270

1:01:51 ,230 --> 01:01:54,580

them and they're really, they light up,

you know, and because it's rewarding,

Speaker:1271

1:01:54 ,610 --> 01:01:57,835

Ben Ford: it's It's rewarding when it

comes from the, from the people that

Speaker:1272

1:01:58 ,105 --> 01:02:03,335

matter to you, you know, it's rewarding

when, you know, you get invited to do

Speaker:1273

1:02:03 ,335 --> 01:02:06,695

a dinner at the James Beard house, you

know, or it's coming from your peers,

Speaker:1274

1:02:06 ,725 --> 01:02:11,965

you know, or, you know, somebody you

really have looked up to says something.

Speaker:1275

1:02:12 ,375 --> 01:02:12,655

To you,

Speaker:1276

1:02:13 ,105 --> 01:02:14,675

Marc Preston: you know, you

know, on that note, you know,

Speaker:1277

1:02:14 ,675 --> 01:02:17,055

one of the things I discovered a

few years ago, I enjoy cooking.

Speaker:1278

1:02:17 ,055 --> 01:02:17,885

It's a jam for me.

Speaker:1279

1:02:17 ,885 --> 01:02:18,885

I love to me.

Speaker:1280

1:02:18 ,885 --> 01:02:19,855

It's, it's cathartic.

Speaker:1281

1:02:19 ,895 --> 01:02:20,685

It's relaxing.

Speaker:1282

1:02:20 ,745 --> 01:02:22,325

Uh, you know, here's

something all I can't cook.

Speaker:1283

1:02:22 ,325 --> 01:02:23,185

It stresses me out for me.

Speaker:1284

1:02:23 ,185 --> 01:02:24,135

It's total opposite.

Speaker:1285

1:02:24 ,545 --> 01:02:27,915

I found that that's a personal, it's

kind of an intimate thing to, you

Speaker:1286

1:02:27 ,915 --> 01:02:31,435

know, the people that matter, you

know, like you said, this is one,

Speaker:1287

1:02:32 ,515 --> 01:02:34,125

Ben Ford: this is interesting

because people come out, you know,

Speaker:1288

1:02:34 ,195 --> 01:02:36,245

I obviously have conversations

with people all the time.

Speaker:1289

1:02:36 ,245 --> 01:02:39,175

They want to turn a, turn

a hobby into profession.

Speaker:1290

1:02:39 ,925 --> 01:02:44,045

You know, or a young kid that has a, has a

passion for cooking, you know, that might

Speaker:1291

1:02:44 ,045 --> 01:02:48,805

want to become a chef, you know, and, and

that becomes a really, it's a, it's a very

Speaker:1292

1:02:48 ,805 --> 01:02:53,360

interesting conversation because It's a,

it's a very difficult life, you know, and

Speaker:1293

1:02:53 ,360 --> 01:02:57,630

you're, and you're dedicating yourself to

something from a very young age sometimes,

Speaker:1294

1:02:57 ,680 --> 01:03:01,360

you know, to, to, and you're, and we

know you go through divorces, life's

Speaker:1295

1:03:01 ,360 --> 01:03:06,490

changes, your obligations change, you

know, you go in there thinking, gosh,

Speaker:1296

1:03:06 ,490 --> 01:03:10,120

you know, I can, I'm doing great at 20

an hour, you know, I can pay my rent.

Speaker:1297

1:03:10 ,120 --> 01:03:10,890

I can do all these things.

Speaker:1298

1:03:10 ,890 --> 01:03:12,750

Then you have a kid, you

know, and life's changes.

Speaker:1299

1:03:12 ,760 --> 01:03:17,380

So, you know, looking at whether what the

real reasons are for why you're doing it.

Speaker:1300

1:03:17 ,605 --> 01:03:20,625

And why you want to do it and how you

want to do it, are the rules there?

Speaker:1301

1:03:21 ,035 --> 01:03:24,395

Do you, and so, and you have to look

at the bigger reasons, you know, just

Speaker:1302

1:03:24 ,395 --> 01:03:26,905

cooking with food is not always enough.

Speaker:1303

1:03:27 ,455 --> 01:03:30,535

There has to be a nurturing

quality to what you're doing.

Speaker:1304

1:03:31 ,135 --> 01:03:33,865

And there has to, that has to be

your love language in a way of

Speaker:1305

1:03:33 ,865 --> 01:03:34,885

how you show your love for others.

Speaker:1306

1:03:36 ,805 --> 01:03:39,525

Because then you're going to take it out

and you're going to want to share it, you

Speaker:1307

1:03:39 ,525 --> 01:03:43,225

know, but sometimes it's methodically,

sometimes it's, sometimes it's a little

Speaker:1308

1:03:43 ,225 --> 01:03:46,525

more self or sometimes it's making bread

in your home, you know, and it's taking

Speaker:1309

1:03:46 ,525 --> 01:03:48,015

that time and it's your meditation.

Speaker:1310

1:03:48 ,435 --> 01:03:48,935

And that's.

Speaker:1311

1:03:49 ,320 --> 01:03:50,650

And that's got to be okay too, but

Speaker:1312

1:03:51 ,060 --> 01:03:52,960

Marc Preston: that was

always a litmus test for me.

Speaker:1313

1:03:52 ,960 --> 01:03:55,880

If I want to cook for someone, I'm

like, yes, I want them in my orbit.

Speaker:1314

1:03:55 ,930 --> 01:03:59,160

You know, if I'm like, I can't imagine

sitting in my kitchen, I sitting in my

Speaker:1315

1:03:59 ,160 --> 01:04:00,900

kitchen, cooking something up for them.

Speaker:1316

1:04:00 ,900 --> 01:04:04,660

I'm like, um, I don't know if it's

really as like a dating perspective.

Speaker:1317

1:04:04 ,660 --> 01:04:08,485

I, that was sort of like, uh, do I

really, am I really into this situation?

Speaker:1318

1:04:08 ,485 --> 01:04:11,790

And it all kind of came back to like,

you know, the investment you make and

Speaker:1319

1:04:11 ,820 --> 01:04:14,160

it is, uh, it is a personal thing.

Speaker:1320

1:04:14 ,160 --> 01:04:18,255

And like you said, the investment

you make, it's, uh, You know, I

Speaker:1321

1:04:18 ,255 --> 01:04:19,915

know you do philanthropic things.

Speaker:1322

1:04:19 ,915 --> 01:04:22,495

I mean, to me, that's kind of

a natural offshoot feeding.

Speaker:1323

1:04:22 ,735 --> 01:04:26,545

I think Jose Andres, uh, kind of like

epitomize that, like cooking for someone.

Speaker:1324

1:04:26 ,575 --> 01:04:29,275

And it's a, what are you involved

in right now, philanthropically

Speaker:1325

1:04:30 ,205 --> 01:04:31,545

that you're passionate about?

Speaker:1326

1:04:31 Philanthropy and Culinary Craftsmanship

1:04:31 ,895 --> 01:04:35,605

Ben Ford: You know, it's, it's, I kind

of go to where the need is right now.

Speaker:1327

1:04:35 ,655 --> 01:04:40,095

Um, and, uh, I'm, I'm in the midst

of, of changing some direction.

Speaker:1328

1:04:40 ,760 --> 01:04:42,770

Um, I like I was mentioned before.

Speaker:1329

1:04:42 ,780 --> 01:04:44,660

I'm very interested in

this sort of Baja region.

Speaker:1330

1:04:45 ,120 --> 01:04:48,680

Um, and there are, there's some

things I want to do along the border.

Speaker:1331

1:04:48 ,880 --> 01:04:51,720

Um, similar to what, you

know, works on both sides.

Speaker:1332

1:04:52 ,040 --> 01:04:53,430

I also work with no kid hungry.

Speaker:1333

1:04:53 ,430 --> 01:04:56,390

Still, that's been a main,

uh, very, uh, accordingly.

Speaker:1334

1:04:56 ,390 --> 01:04:58,300

It's something that I,

yeah, that we started.

Speaker:1335

1:04:58 ,670 --> 01:05:01,710

I was very involved with them

from the very beginnings, really.

Speaker:1336

1:05:01 ,710 --> 01:05:05,210

So it's something that we've grown

together with, um, and is important to me.

Speaker:1337

1:05:05 ,270 --> 01:05:08,260

Um, conservation is still

very important to me.

Speaker:1338

1:05:08 ,260 --> 01:05:08,279

Okay.

Speaker:1339

1:05:09 ,000 --> 01:05:14,160

And and the messaging between the which is

less of an organizational thing, but this.

Speaker:1340

1:05:14 ,775 --> 01:05:17,945

Support of the small farmer and

the holistic farm system is still

Speaker:1341

1:05:17 ,945 --> 01:05:21,165

something that I'm always trying

to bring messaging to and, and,

Speaker:1342

1:05:21 ,205 --> 01:05:23,755

and, and, and be a part of, um,

Speaker:1343

1:05:23 ,755 --> 01:05:27,435

Marc Preston: To me, it's elemental, you

know, it's really where, you know, uh,

Speaker:1344

1:05:27 ,475 --> 01:05:29,215

Ben Ford: Yeah, but right now I've

been, you know, I've been, I've

Speaker:1345

1:05:29 ,215 --> 01:05:32,695

been kind of like, I'm, I went

into something for LA food bank,

Speaker:1346

1:05:32 ,705 --> 01:05:33,915

you know, a couple of weeks ago.

Speaker:1347

1:05:33 ,955 --> 01:05:36,595

And, you know, I'm, I'm, I'm,

I'm always looking for something

Speaker:1348

1:05:36 ,605 --> 01:05:40,695

charitable to do, um, because it

is a big way of, it is a big reason

Speaker:1349

1:05:40 ,695 --> 01:05:41,935

for why I became a chef as well.

Speaker:1350

1:05:42 ,455 --> 01:05:45,485

Marc Preston: As far as your dad, uh,

you know, you, you mentioned you were

Speaker:1351

1:05:45 ,485 --> 01:05:49,405

12 when Star Wars came out, of course,

that's that phase of your life, you

Speaker:1352

1:05:49 ,405 --> 01:05:52,025

know, that's a big transition point,

puberty and all that, you know, it's

Speaker:1353

1:05:52 ,025 --> 01:05:55,995

just, you're becoming your own dude at

that age, you know, and here's your dad

Speaker:1354

1:05:55 ,995 --> 01:06:01,885

now, no longer doing the, uh, carpentry

thing as a primary revenue source.

Speaker:1355

1:06:02 ,335 --> 01:06:06,865

How, how did you navigate that as all your

friends and contemporaries kind of like.

Speaker:1356

1:06:07 ,410 --> 01:06:11,240

It's dad to you, but dad's taken

off and kind of becoming owned by

Speaker:1357

1:06:11 ,240 --> 01:06:12,770

the culture a little bit, you know

Speaker:1358

1:06:12 ,850 --> 01:06:18,310

Ben Ford: I don't think I I don't think

I handled it very well the Maybe part of

Speaker:1359

1:06:18 ,320 --> 01:06:25,510

the age part of also you go from having

a father who you can see What he's doing

Speaker:1360

1:06:25 ,510 --> 01:06:27,220

every day and there's a connection to it.

Speaker:1361

1:06:27 ,340 --> 01:06:30,370

There's a connection to his craft I was

interested in what he was doing every

Speaker:1362

1:06:30 ,370 --> 01:06:34,725

day We are connected in some way to

going off and doing really what was an

Speaker:1363

1:06:34 ,725 --> 01:06:39,785

invisible profession, you know, and sort

of just sort of leaving, you know, so

Speaker:1364

1:06:39 ,785 --> 01:06:41,335

there was, there was that part of it.

Speaker:1365

1:06:41 ,465 --> 01:06:48,545

Um, I think it, I think it was,

uh, something that I didn't figure

Speaker:1366

1:06:48 ,545 --> 01:06:50,465

out until probably in my forties.

Speaker:1367

1:06:50 ,695 --> 01:06:51,095

Marc Preston: Really?

Speaker:1368

1:06:52 ,155 --> 01:06:53,585

Isn't that funny how that works?

Speaker:1369

1:06:53 ,585 --> 01:06:56,385

Like you, you're an adult,

like it's sometimes it's the

Speaker:1370

1:06:56 ,385 --> 01:06:57,645

perspective when you're a father.

Speaker:1371

1:06:57 ,645 --> 01:06:59,115

Now you kind of look and go.

Speaker:1372

1:06:59 ,675 --> 01:07:02,725

Some pieces go together a little

bit, but it's, it's weird.

Speaker:1373

1:07:02 ,725 --> 01:07:05,765

The discovery we go through, even

though we're forties, fifties, you know?

Speaker:1374

1:07:06 ,035 --> 01:07:06,325

Ben Ford: Yeah.

Speaker:1375

1:07:06 ,325 --> 01:07:09,065

I mean, I think, I think I went through

some phases, you know, that I'm proud

Speaker:1376

1:07:09 ,065 --> 01:07:12,085

of some prizes I'm less proud of, you

know, and that's just, that's this life.

Speaker:1377

1:07:12 ,775 --> 01:07:17,195

Um, but it's, it's, and it's unique.

Speaker:1378

1:07:17 ,925 --> 01:07:21,885

Situation to have to navigate, you

know, and I made it all that more

Speaker:1379

1:07:21 ,885 --> 01:07:26,285

unique by going the profession that

I did But it's uh, I wouldn't trade

Speaker:1380

1:07:26 ,285 --> 01:07:27,965

it wouldn't trade anything ever

Speaker:1381

1:07:28 ,655 --> 01:07:32,175

Marc Preston: well on the artisan note

and on the craft note and and of course

Speaker:1382

1:07:32 ,175 --> 01:07:37,345

your father doing the uh, the carpentry

i'm sure he saw parallels between that and

Speaker:1383

1:07:37 ,345 --> 01:07:43,540

what you're doing and had it and and and

Monetize making it a career Did he drop

Speaker:1384

1:07:43 ,540 --> 01:07:48,800

any bits of advice to you as far as how to

navigate business wise or, you know, or,

Speaker:1385

1:07:49 ,000 --> 01:07:52,650

or, or nuggets you took and they really

made something made a difference to you.

Speaker:1386

1:07:53 ,240 --> 01:07:54,630

There's one story I can't tell you, but

Speaker:1387

1:07:54 ,760 --> 01:07:57,080

Ben Ford: he used to, you know,

one day I'm going to write a

Speaker:1388

1:07:57 ,080 --> 01:08:00,070

book about all the, it's, it's

not going to be a tell all book.

Speaker:1389

1:08:00 ,070 --> 01:08:00,969

It's going to be.

Speaker:1390

1:08:01 ,710 --> 01:08:04,000

It's going to be like advice my

father told me, and it'll be like

Speaker:1391

1:08:04 ,280 --> 01:08:07,710

the cliche that he offered me, and

then how I did everything against it.

Speaker:1392

1:08:08 ,140 --> 01:08:11,770

You know, like, yeah, but he

gave me carpenter ones, like, you

Speaker:1393

1:08:11 ,770 --> 01:08:13,430

know, measure twice and cut once.

Speaker:1394

1:08:13 ,910 --> 01:08:16,780

I mean, how did that, how

did that parlay into things?

Speaker:1395

1:08:17 ,340 --> 01:08:23,000

Um, you know, um, I think his, uh,

because the way he's attached also

Speaker:1396

1:08:23 ,000 --> 01:08:25,160

took carpentry into his craft.

Speaker:1397

1:08:25 ,480 --> 01:08:26,080

As well.

Speaker:1398

1:08:26 ,250 --> 01:08:29,150

There's always been

this sort of connection.

Speaker:1399

1:08:29 ,390 --> 01:08:32,693

Uh, if, even if you watch this, if

you watch his handwork as an actor,

Speaker:1400

1:08:32 ,693 --> 01:08:38,108

he just turn the sound off and you

watch his hands, it's kind of, it's

Speaker:1401

1:08:38 ,108 --> 01:08:42,078

actually kind of reMarcable because

these are very important acting parts.

Speaker:1402

1:08:42 ,078 --> 01:08:44,604

It's also your connection to your craft.

Speaker:1403

1:08:45 ,475 --> 01:08:49,065

You know and getting your hands into

it his hands in the wood my hands

Speaker:1404

1:08:49 ,065 --> 01:08:51,525

in the food My hands in the wood.

Speaker:1405

1:08:51 ,735 --> 01:08:52,235

I did this.

Speaker:1406

1:08:52 ,265 --> 01:08:54,705

I don't know if you know, but I

did a whole cookbook called taming

Speaker:1407

1:08:54 ,705 --> 01:09:00,625

the feast which was um my ben

ford's adventurous What was it?

Speaker:1408

1:09:00 ,685 --> 01:09:03,605

Uh ben ford's adventurous

cuisine or something like that?

Speaker:1409

1:09:03 ,955 --> 01:09:10,285

And basically what it did was it it

combined my two loves of carpentry

Speaker:1410

1:09:10 ,305 --> 01:09:16,510

and and um And trade really just

knowing all the trades and a cookbook.

Speaker:1411

1:09:16 ,570 --> 01:09:22,420

So, um, it's got, it came out of a

two different, two different things.

Speaker:1412

1:09:22 ,980 --> 01:09:26,140

I had a, I used to do these art weekends,

which I talked about working with

Speaker:1413

1:09:26 ,140 --> 01:09:28,150

other artists and being in, in getting.

Speaker:1414

1:09:28 ,720 --> 01:09:33,580

filled up emotionally, you know,

spiritually, creatively by other

Speaker:1415

1:09:33 ,600 --> 01:09:36,370

artists, by other people, you know,

that aren't necessarily my profession.

Speaker:1416

1:09:36 ,840 --> 01:09:39,480

So I would go up and I'd spend

these weekends with other artists

Speaker:1417

1:09:39 ,480 --> 01:09:43,380

in this wonderful house that had

a potter's room and a painting

Speaker:1418

1:09:43 ,380 --> 01:09:44,760

room and a woodworking room.

Speaker:1419

1:09:44 ,760 --> 01:09:46,570

And I would cook and then

we would do art all weekend.

Speaker:1420

1:09:47 ,270 --> 01:09:47,640

Wow.

Speaker:1421

1:09:47 ,650 --> 01:09:47,940

Marc Preston: Okay.

Speaker:1422

1:09:48 ,010 --> 01:09:50,610

Ben Ford: They ended up being the same

group of people that ended up producing

Speaker:1423

1:09:50 ,610 --> 01:09:53,160

my cookbook and they are way beyond.

Speaker:1424

1:09:53 ,670 --> 01:09:56,010

The people that you would expect

that would normally do cookbooks.

Speaker:1425

1:09:56 ,020 --> 01:09:59,150

So my photographer is a guy

named Frank Olkenfels, who

Speaker:1426

1:09:59 ,150 --> 01:10:00,690

was an Andy Leibowitz protege.

Speaker:1427

1:10:01 ,030 --> 01:10:04,140

The front, you know, the, the,

the, the, the whole thing is

Speaker:1428

1:10:04 ,140 --> 01:10:05,460

just like above and beyond.

Speaker:1429

1:10:06 ,040 --> 01:10:07,210

It's a wonderful, but isn't

Speaker:1430

1:10:07 ,210 --> 01:10:08,260

Marc Preston: that kind

of cool the way we pull.

Speaker:1431

1:10:08 ,260 --> 01:10:09,870

And I think restaurants are

the same way that you kind

Speaker:1432

1:10:09 ,870 --> 01:10:11,720

of find your tribe, you know?

Speaker:1433

1:10:13 ,210 --> 01:10:13,640

Ben Ford: It is.

Speaker:1434

1:10:13 ,920 --> 01:10:20,170

And then I, and then we, and then I was

able to marry this love of building things

Speaker:1435

1:10:20 ,270 --> 01:10:22,470

with, with food inside the cookbook.

Speaker:1436

1:10:22 ,470 --> 01:10:26,620

So, we took this, remember at the time

I was raising all these large animals,

Speaker:1437

1:10:26 ,920 --> 01:10:28,820

um, you know, 80 miles north of L.

Speaker:1438

1:10:28 ,820 --> 01:10:33,990

A., I was learning how to I was getting

more into the rural type cooking,

Speaker:1439

1:10:34 ,050 --> 01:10:38,320

you know, cooking in the ground, you

know, spits and things like that.

Speaker:1440

1:10:38 ,980 --> 01:10:41,710

But you can't build big wood

fires inside an urban area.

Speaker:1441

1:10:41 ,910 --> 01:10:46,780

So I started building contraptions

and I built contraptions like a

Speaker:1442

1:10:46 ,780 --> 01:10:50,400

three sided rotisserie, you know,

like a six, eight foot high with a,

Speaker:1443

1:10:50 ,670 --> 01:10:52,115

just so you can do a whole hog in.

Speaker:1444

1:10:52 ,115 --> 01:10:58,320

And I was inspired from it, from driving

through some of the neighborhoods in,

Speaker:1445

1:10:58 ,590 --> 01:11:02,240

or not even neighborhoods, driving out

in some of the The rural areas of North

Speaker:1446

1:11:02 ,240 --> 01:11:07,370

Carolina and seeing some pigs being

roasted on like old kids swing sets, you

Speaker:1447

1:11:07 ,370 --> 01:11:10,370

know, that they had re rigged it with

like, with like galvanized steel around

Speaker:1448

1:11:10 ,370 --> 01:11:14,520

it, you know, so I built one that actually

comes apart and it was very architectural

Speaker:1449

1:11:14 ,520 --> 01:11:17,580

and I built plans for it and it's inside

the cookbook and you can build those.

Speaker:1450

1:11:18 ,000 --> 01:11:22,460

I built caja chinas, I built, you

know, wine barrels that you can do

Speaker:1451

1:11:22 ,460 --> 01:11:26,050

any sort of cooking in underneath the

ground, you know, and so I did all this

Speaker:1452

1:11:26 ,060 --> 01:11:28,460

transportable, um, wood fire cooking.

Speaker:1453

1:11:28 ,980 --> 01:11:31,710

And I brought all that into it and

it became sort of installation art,

Speaker:1454

1:11:31 ,820 --> 01:11:35,450

almost, you know, kind of like cooking

demonstrations, but a lot of fun.

Speaker:1455

1:11:35 ,670 --> 01:11:39,920

So that was me sort of really taking

my carpentry background and my dad and

Speaker:1456

1:11:39 ,920 --> 01:11:43,430

finding a way to sort of celebrate it,

you know, within my, my cooking life.

Speaker:1457

1:11:43 ,540 --> 01:11:46,230

And it's been a really, it was

a really fun cookbook to do.

Speaker:1458

1:11:46 ,790 --> 01:11:48,180

I'm never going to do that hard

Speaker:1459

1:11:48 ,180 --> 01:11:48,390

Marc Preston: again.

Speaker:1460

1:11:48 ,730 --> 01:11:49,910

You mentioned it before.

Speaker:1461

1:11:49 ,910 --> 01:11:54,280

It's kind of that idea of, you kind of

have to, at some level, stay curious,

Speaker:1462

1:11:54 ,300 --> 01:11:58,060

kid like and explore, you know, that

seems to be part, as you're going

Speaker:1463

1:11:58 ,060 --> 01:12:02,730

through decision making and evolution and

deciding, like you said, what the next.

Speaker:1464

1:12:03 ,110 --> 01:12:06,150

What's your last restaurant is going

to be, you know, it seems like I would

Speaker:1465

1:12:06 ,150 --> 01:12:09,880

suffer from absolutely too many choices,

you know, so I'd have to sit with it

Speaker:1466

1:12:10 ,110 --> 01:12:13,740

and see what, you know, cause it's

like, I do this cause I, I just, it was,

Speaker:1467

1:12:13 ,740 --> 01:12:15,140

we drive, drive down the street here.

Speaker:1468

1:12:15 ,140 --> 01:12:18,700

You know, it's funny that, uh, there's

a few couple empty restaurants that used

Speaker:1469

1:12:18 ,700 --> 01:12:20,070

to be like an old Italian restaurant.

Speaker:1470

1:12:20 ,170 --> 01:12:23,360

Like if I had, if I had the

resources, what would I do?

Speaker:1471

1:12:23 ,360 --> 01:12:25,300

And I'm always kind of, you know,

it's one of the things I play with

Speaker:1472

1:12:25 ,310 --> 01:12:28,880

in my mind, realizing arguably

the most competitive business out

Speaker:1473

1:12:28 ,880 --> 01:12:29,740

there, but I can kind of like.

Speaker:1474

1:12:31 ,000 --> 01:12:31,930

I have to say no,

Speaker:1475

1:12:32 ,270 --> 01:12:34,800

Ben Ford: I have to say no way more

than yes, you know, I've definitely

Speaker:1476

1:12:34 ,800 --> 01:12:37,910

made more money by saying no than by

saying yes, uh, to certain things.

Speaker:1477

1:12:37 ,940 --> 01:12:42,170

And, um, and you know, I think that

I'm sort of blessed by the fact that I

Speaker:1478

1:12:42 ,180 --> 01:12:46,790

have to find that message to, to bring

to the community and bring that some

Speaker:1479

1:12:46 ,790 --> 01:12:54,169

sort of fresh sharpness perspective

because it slows me down a little.

Speaker:1480

1:12:56 ,850 --> 01:12:59,530

Marc Preston: My seven questions always

kind of wrap up within the first one.

Speaker:1481

1:12:59 ,990 --> 01:13:02,890

Custom tailored for you and I always put

that first because I always end up talking

Speaker:1482

1:13:02 ,890 --> 01:13:09,280

food on my show at some point Uh, but

what is your go to favorite comfort food?

Speaker:1483

1:13:10 ,310 --> 01:13:13,870

Ben Ford: Uh, well I have i'll give you

you know, my favorite I love soups my

Speaker:1484

1:13:13 ,870 --> 01:13:17,540

parent my parents are midwesterners,

you know, so You know, i'll i'll

Speaker:1485

1:13:17 ,710 --> 01:13:19,420

constantly make i'm still a soup person.

Speaker:1486

1:13:19 ,430 --> 01:13:23,310

I feel like a like a displaced soup

person, by the way Uh here in southern

Speaker:1487

1:13:23 ,310 --> 01:13:29,175

california But I love making those

things but um There are a little more,

Speaker:1488

1:13:29 ,335 --> 01:13:32,935

there are a couple of more intensive

things that I like to do, um, as well.

Speaker:1489

1:13:33 ,155 --> 01:13:34,795

I love making wood fired paellas.

Speaker:1490

1:13:34 ,795 --> 01:13:37,185

I love the process of doing paellas.

Speaker:1491

1:13:37 ,485 --> 01:13:39,215

Marc Preston: That's one

thing I've never had.

Speaker:1492

1:13:39 ,295 --> 01:13:40,625

I've always wanted to have.

Speaker:1493

1:13:40 ,625 --> 01:13:43,205

I told my daughter, I gotta live

vicariously through, you gotta

Speaker:1494

1:13:43 ,205 --> 01:13:44,275

go in Spain and go have one.

Speaker:1495

1:13:44 ,275 --> 01:13:44,865

She never did.

Speaker:1496

1:13:44 ,885 --> 01:13:48,745

I was like, that, that to me is, is

like, I love watching them get prepared.

Speaker:1497

1:13:49 ,095 --> 01:13:52,565

It's just, that's kind of a turn on also

to watch a paella come together, you know.

Speaker:1498

1:13:52 ,865 --> 01:13:55,095

Ben Ford: Yeah, I just like the

process and I, and I, and I like

Speaker:1499

1:13:55 ,095 --> 01:13:56,805

these, you know, magical things.

Speaker:1500

1:13:56 ,805 --> 01:14:01,395

I love barbecue nowadays, you know,

when, during COVID I went to, um, I'd

Speaker:1501

1:14:01 ,395 --> 01:14:02,735

always done barbecue at my restaurants.

Speaker:1502

1:14:02 ,735 --> 01:14:05,855

I'd always had a smoker in the

back, but I would do, I wouldn't say

Speaker:1503

1:14:05 ,855 --> 01:14:07,945

that I had become a master at it.

Speaker:1504

1:14:08 ,495 --> 01:14:10,505

And during COVID I became

a true master at it.

Speaker:1505

1:14:10 ,575 --> 01:14:15,325

I spent a lot of time with it, you know,

and I, and I really perfected a lot of it.

Speaker:1506

1:14:15 ,655 --> 01:14:18,375

And who knows, maybe the

next barbecue restaurant,

Speaker:1507

1:14:18 ,455 --> 01:14:20,325

Marc Preston: whenever I would

go as a kid over to somebody's.

Speaker:1508

1:14:20 ,620 --> 01:14:21,710

Folks house to be barbecuing.

Speaker:1509

1:14:21 ,730 --> 01:14:22,940

They layer on a lot of sauce.

Speaker:1510

1:14:22 ,940 --> 01:14:26,880

I'm like, if you got to put sauce on

it, there is a, that's I'm just salt,

Speaker:1511

1:14:26 ,900 --> 01:14:27,920

pepper, maybe a little something.

Speaker:1512

1:14:27 ,920 --> 01:14:30,840

I like it as basic and

just let the, let the,

Speaker:1513

1:14:30 ,870 --> 01:14:31,690

Ben Ford: I agree.

Speaker:1514

1:14:31 ,690 --> 01:14:33,390

That's a Texas style too, you know?

Speaker:1515

1:14:33 ,540 --> 01:14:35,560

Um, and then you get inventive with woods.

Speaker:1516

1:14:36 ,530 --> 01:14:38,080

smoke flavors and things like that.

Speaker:1517

1:14:38 ,440 --> 01:14:41,630

Um, but I, I love that kind

of cooking, uh, as well.

Speaker:1518

1:14:41 ,700 --> 01:14:45,760

Um, any of the old school craft

things, um, the more patience

Speaker:1519

1:14:45 ,760 --> 01:14:46,900

and hands I can put into food.

Speaker:1520

1:14:46 ,900 --> 01:14:47,200

I love,

Speaker:1521

1:14:47 ,920 --> 01:14:48,100

Marc Preston: yeah.

Speaker:1522

1:14:48 ,100 --> 01:14:49,520

Hey, as a Jewish kid, I got to ask this.

Speaker:1523

1:14:49 ,540 --> 01:14:51,850

Now, doesn't your dad have

some Jewish lineage that,

Speaker:1524

1:14:52 ,980 --> 01:14:54,050

uh, one of your grandmothers,

Speaker:1525

1:14:54 ,620 --> 01:14:56,770

Ben Ford: his mother, my mother,

my grandmother is Jewish.

Speaker:1526

1:14:56 ,770 --> 01:14:58,240

So he's technically Jewish.

Speaker:1527

1:14:58 ,300 --> 01:15:01,190

Marc Preston: Um, did, did any

of the, uh, recipes come through,

Speaker:1528

1:15:01 ,190 --> 01:15:03,630

uh, you know, cause I got to ask

if, uh, like you mentioned soup.

Speaker:1529

1:15:03 ,630 --> 01:15:03,920

Soup.

Speaker:1530

1:15:03 ,935 --> 01:15:05,592

That's not from

Speaker:1531

1:15:05 ,592 --> 01:15:07,395

Ben Ford: that side of the family.

Speaker:1532

1:15:08 ,125 --> 01:15:08,555

Marc Preston: Okay.

Speaker:1533

1:15:08 ,555 --> 01:15:08,615

Yeah.

Speaker:1534

1:15:08 ,765 --> 01:15:11,885

Cause I didn't know if any of those kind

of Eastern European things that kind of

Speaker:1535

1:15:11 ,925 --> 01:15:14,565

trickle through and, you know, um, No,

Speaker:1536

1:15:14 ,565 --> 01:15:19,195

Ben Ford: no, she was, uh, um, my

grandmother was, um, you know, a

Speaker:1537

1:15:19 ,195 --> 01:15:23,085

product of her era, you know, a

petite, a petite, a petite woman,

Speaker:1538

1:15:23 ,115 --> 01:15:26,185

you know, who liked her figure and

probably, you know, ate like a bird.

Speaker:1539

1:15:26 ,855 --> 01:15:28,575

So that was her approach.

Speaker:1540

1:15:28 ,775 --> 01:15:29,025

Yeah.

Speaker:1541

1:15:29 ,025 --> 01:15:32,335

No, you know, and I was, I guess

technically I would be Jewish up

Speaker:1542

1:15:32 ,335 --> 01:15:34,015

until about nine, eight, 1600.

Speaker:1543

1:15:34 ,085 --> 01:15:37,885

It was a 600 AD, which is when

they changed the rules from

Speaker:1544

1:15:37 ,895 --> 01:15:40,265

patriarchal to the matriarch.

Speaker:1545

1:15:41 ,995 --> 01:15:42,825

So I know, I know

Speaker:1546

1:15:43 ,125 --> 01:15:44,980

Marc Preston: that, uh, Adam's

Sandler's Hanukkah song.

Speaker:1547

1:15:44 ,990 --> 01:15:46,660

Of course, your dad got

a little shout out there.

Speaker:1548

1:15:46 ,660 --> 01:15:48,740

Yeah, it's like, yeah, exactly, exactly.

Speaker:1549

1:15:48 ,740 --> 01:15:49,230

I had him when

Speaker:1550

1:15:49 ,230 --> 01:15:50,130

Ben Ford: I talked about it.

Speaker:1551

1:15:51 ,750 --> 01:15:52,560

He's a quarter Jew.

Speaker:1552

1:15:52 ,570 --> 01:15:53,180

He's not an eighth.

Speaker:1553

1:15:54 ,220 --> 01:15:55,930

Marc Preston: Some of those recipes

that, you know, that whenever I

Speaker:1554

1:15:55 ,930 --> 01:15:59,070

go to, like I say, LA, it's one

of the stations on the cross.

Speaker:1555

1:15:59 ,240 --> 01:16:02,490

I've got to go to Cantor's, get that

mishmash soup, get myself a salami

Speaker:1556

1:16:02 ,510 --> 01:16:05,780

sandwich, you know, it's just,

I go there every time, you know,

Speaker:1557

1:16:06 Exploring Comfort Food Across America

1:16:06 ,090 --> 01:16:07,870

Ben Ford: I just did a

whole, I just did a whole.

Speaker:1558

1:16:08 ,595 --> 01:16:09,835

I write for periodicals too.

Speaker:1559

1:16:09 ,855 --> 01:16:13,775

So I just did a whole story on comfort

food in America and the differences

Speaker:1560

1:16:13 ,975 --> 01:16:15,395

regionally in your comfort food.

Speaker:1561

1:16:15 ,535 --> 01:16:18,455

My comfort food is matzo ball

soup and a half of hot pastrami.

Speaker:1562

1:16:18 ,545 --> 01:16:21,175

If I'm truly in the dumps, that's

where I'm, that's where I got it.

Speaker:1563

1:16:21 ,275 --> 01:16:23,035

That's where I'll probably go to.

Speaker:1564

1:16:23 ,445 --> 01:16:25,185

Maybe not in the dumps, but

maybe I just need a little

Speaker:1565

1:16:25 ,185 --> 01:16:27,235

love, that little internal love.

Speaker:1566

1:16:27 ,555 --> 01:16:31,925

My friend that I went to college with,

my roommate, his comfort food is a.

Speaker:1567

1:16:32 ,120 --> 01:16:34,660

He grew up in Palm Springs,

you know, like on golf courses.

Speaker:1568

1:16:34 ,670 --> 01:16:36,580

So his is like a club sandwich.

Speaker:1569

1:16:37 ,090 --> 01:16:39,870

I find that the weirdest, the

weirdest, the weirdest thing.

Speaker:1570

1:16:39 ,870 --> 01:16:40,189

Right.

Speaker:1571

1:16:40 ,660 --> 01:16:43,580

So I started delving into this

more and I was like, you know, it's

Speaker:1572

1:16:43 ,580 --> 01:16:47,140

interesting topic because comfort

food is not what we thought it was.

Speaker:1573

1:16:47 ,140 --> 01:16:49,080

Definitely not what was to my generation.

Speaker:1574

1:16:49 ,080 --> 01:16:51,180

It's not what it was to the

generation just 10 years ago.

Speaker:1575

1:16:51 ,560 --> 01:16:53,940

You know, so I interviewed my son a

little bit, you know, I'm like, Oh, so

Speaker:1576

1:16:53 ,940 --> 01:16:55,280

what's your, what are you guys eating?

Speaker:1577

1:16:55 ,280 --> 01:16:56,730

You know, it's like, Oh,

what's your comfort food?

Speaker:1578

1:16:56 ,970 --> 01:16:57,640

He's like, pho.

Speaker:1579

1:16:57 ,990 --> 01:16:59,240

I'm like, interesting.

Speaker:1580

1:16:59 ,920 --> 01:17:03,400

You know, um, that wouldn't have been my

answer, you know, in the, in the years.

Speaker:1581

1:17:03 ,400 --> 01:17:04,460

So then I started looking at.

Speaker:1582

1:17:05 Immigration's Impact on Comfort Food

1:17:05 ,005 --> 01:17:09,045

studying this idea of how

immigration is coming into the U.

Speaker:1583

1:17:09 ,045 --> 01:17:09,255

S.

Speaker:1584

1:17:09 ,255 --> 01:17:09,515

now.

Speaker:1585

1:17:10 ,005 --> 01:17:12,745

And mind you, you saw probably my bio

that I worked for the State Department.

Speaker:1586

1:17:12 ,915 --> 01:17:15,335

I'm very interested in

immigration and all these things.

Speaker:1587

1:17:15 ,635 --> 01:17:20,135

So, you know, we have these cities, you

know, where we have brought in immigrants.

Speaker:1588

1:17:20 ,435 --> 01:17:23,975

Basically created instant, you know,

repopulations in the cities in order

Speaker:1589

1:17:23 ,975 --> 01:17:27,295

to revitalize them, you know, and what

that's brought in is certain, it's

Speaker:1590

1:17:27 ,295 --> 01:17:29,395

changed the comfort food for that region.

Speaker:1591

1:17:29 ,525 --> 01:17:33,365

You know, immigration used to

come in or, or, or food used to be

Speaker:1592

1:17:33 ,365 --> 01:17:34,755

affected through the coastlines.

Speaker:1593

1:17:34 ,765 --> 01:17:37,675

You know, it did hit New York

first, LA first, and it would,

Speaker:1594

1:17:37 ,675 --> 01:17:38,515

or whatever, it would increase.

Speaker:1595

1:17:39 ,975 --> 01:17:40,915

It's not that way anymore.

Speaker:1596

1:17:41 ,355 --> 01:17:46,495

You could have an incredible Vietnamese

restaurant in some place in the middle

Speaker:1597

1:17:46 ,495 --> 01:17:48,365

of Michigan, a small town in Michigan.

Speaker:1598

1:17:48 ,955 --> 01:17:52,175

You know, that wouldn't have

existed, you know, 20 years ago.

Speaker:1599

1:17:52 ,775 --> 01:17:54,835

So this idea of how

comfort food is changing.

Speaker:1600

1:17:54 ,835 --> 01:17:59,815

It's not mashed potatoes and, and,

and, uh, and, uh, meatloaf anymore.

Speaker:1601

1:17:59 ,825 --> 01:18:00,395

For sure.

Speaker:1602

1:18:00 ,525 --> 01:18:00,935

You know,

Speaker:1603

1:18:01 ,405 --> 01:18:04,685

Marc Preston: the Brits I interviewed,

uh, that I've had the opportunity to sit

Speaker:1604

1:18:04 ,685 --> 01:18:09,594

down with it's it two things always come

up Indian food and spaghetti bolognese.

Speaker:1605

1:18:09 ,745 --> 01:18:13,105

Yeah, that seems to be the two

things that all the Brits like, yeah,

Speaker:1606

1:18:13 ,105 --> 01:18:14,655

that's their comfort food, you know,

Speaker:1607

1:18:15 ,085 --> 01:18:15,945

Ben Ford: exactly.

Speaker:1608

1:18:16 ,045 --> 01:18:19,295

Marc Preston: Well, Hey, there is

maybe an idea, a restaurant of nothing

Speaker:1609

1:18:19 ,295 --> 01:18:21,035

but comfort regional comfort foods.

Speaker:1610

1:18:21 ,035 --> 01:18:21,295

I don't know.

Speaker:1611

1:18:21 ,295 --> 01:18:24,035

I'm just, I'm just, I can tell

why I haven't had lunch yet.

Speaker:1612

1:18:24 ,035 --> 01:18:24,855

Cause now I'm starting to get hungry.

Speaker:1613

1:18:26 Dream Dinner Guests

1:18:26 ,415 --> 01:18:28,375

Now, uh, the next question I

got for you, if you're to sit

Speaker:1614

1:18:28 ,385 --> 01:18:30,105

down and talk story, you've got.

Speaker:1615

1:18:30 ,380 --> 01:18:34,140

Three, just a few hours, sit down

with three people living or not.

Speaker:1616

1:18:34 ,360 --> 01:18:37,180

Who would you like to sit down

and talk with over coffee?

Speaker:1617

1:18:37 ,510 --> 01:18:41,350

Uh, just three people who you think would

be a great kind of mix for an afternoon.

Speaker:1618

1:18:41 ,940 --> 01:18:42,440

Ben Ford: Oh boy.

Speaker:1619

1:18:42 ,440 --> 01:18:46,570

I, you know, I was thinking about this the

other I'd like Jim Harrison, the writer.

Speaker:1620

1:18:47 ,020 --> 01:18:48,240

Probably it would be one of them.

Speaker:1621

1:18:48 ,730 --> 01:18:51,960

Marc Preston: Um, Jim Harrison,

was he the one from, uh, Wyoming or

Speaker:1622

1:18:51 ,960 --> 01:18:53,740

Montana might think of the Montana,

Speaker:1623

1:18:54 ,170 --> 01:18:54,640

Ben Ford: Montana.

Speaker:1624

1:18:54 ,640 --> 01:18:56,980

He wrote, uh, not reruns through it.

Speaker:1625

1:18:56 ,980 --> 01:19:00,460

He wrote, um, some legends of the

fall, I believe it's his that's right.

Speaker:1626

1:19:00 ,460 --> 01:19:00,720

That's right.

Speaker:1627

1:19:00 ,720 --> 01:19:00,940

Yeah.

Speaker:1628

1:19:01 ,130 --> 01:19:02,990

Marc Preston: Actually going back

to Anthony Bourdain, there was

Speaker:1629

1:19:02 ,990 --> 01:19:07,050

an episode where he was, uh, he

was prominently featured and, uh,

Speaker:1630

1:19:07 ,050 --> 01:19:08,540

that was, it was very interesting.

Speaker:1631

1:19:08 ,560 --> 01:19:11,199

I didn't know that much about

the guys going back 10, 15,

Speaker:1632

1:19:11 ,380 --> 01:19:12,710

well, 15 years ago, I think.

Speaker:1633

1:19:12 ,765 --> 01:19:19,035

Ben Ford: Um, it's, it's, it's

such a difficult question.

Speaker:1634

1:19:19 ,385 --> 01:19:23,865

I, uh, I had, I have, I think about this

from time to time too, as far as the

Speaker:1635

1:19:23 ,865 --> 01:19:25,505

people that I'd really, truly want there.

Speaker:1636

1:19:25 ,965 --> 01:19:29,385

Um, you know, Eckhart Tolle,

maybe, but you know, I think he

Speaker:1637