Antonia Lofaso on Top Chef & Culinary Competitions, Hamburger America with Jimmy V, Bobby’s Brasserie B Burger

Bobby on the beat.

Hey everybody, welcome to Bobby on the beat.

But before we get going, make sure you hit subscribe.

We have a fabulous guest today, Antonio Lafaso.

Sheffix extraordinaire.

You see all over the food network,

and she's got an amazing story.

Antonio, thanks for being here.

You and I went to the St. culinary school,

French culinary institute.

I actually...

Not the savior though.

No.

I was in the very first class.

That's, so, you know,

I don't know if I ever told you the story.

I, you were the draw on the phone,

and it wasn't because of food network or television,

but because I had come from the West Coast,

and I understood what you were doing in food

for the East Coast in a way that I was really proud of.

Like this idea of bringing Mexican flavors,

like chili, all these things that the East Coast

didn't really ever...

Right, there was no Southwestern food at all.

None, and you were also doing it in a way

that wasn't like your local shop on the corner

that had this sort of like dish that you got

for $4, like it was a restaurant.

It was contemporary, yeah.

Exactly, and where people got dressed and had wine,

and you didn't see even on the West Coast,

we didn't always see that style of restaurant.

It just kind of falls into very, very casual.

Right, and so it wasn't so much like when they called,

or when I did the call call and they were like,

Bobby Flay went here.

I was like, yeah.

It was more like, you know,

he put mangoes and salsa for the very first time.

Your favorite.

So I mean, I mean, wait a second.

So, how come I feel like you're from Long Island?

I am.

I'm from the East Coast, so I was born in Long Island.

My parents moved to Las Vegas.

Okay.

We lived there for a couple of years.

I mean, we moved back to Long Island,

lived there until I was 11,

and then I lived in Los Angeles.

But when did you start cooking in restaurants

and stuff like that?

2001, 2001, because my daughter was just a year old.

Okay, I want to talk about your daughter.

You know, it's like, it's X-E-A, right?

X-E-A, not even a real name.

Zaya, what does it mean?

It means that her, myself and her father

did no real research on like how,

like names are actually spelled.

We need to get the obvious out of the way,

which is that your daughter's dad

who was heavy to me from heavy to me.

I actually never talked about this,

which is, I've never asked about it,

like in any kind of...

You never asked about it?

I've never asked about it.

This is the first time that someone's actually,

and like, he was a former man.

Round breaking rapper, I agree.

But we just, I never talk about that part of me.

I think there's always like this assumption

that like, because we weren't married.

Even though we spent 10 years together,

like raising a child, et cetera,

do you know what I mean?

It's just this sort of like, you know,

you were just his, this woman that he had a child with.

I mean, it's such a big part of your story,

but you know, you have this child with him,

and he dies suddenly at such a young age.

He was more instrumental in my life

in the way of teaching me that how big someone

could actually be in life.

I was at the very beginning of my career.

Like, I was working for Wolfgang,

I was making $7 an hour,

and he was very instrumental in being like,

you keep saying that you want to do this thing.

Just go do it.

Which is what he did.

Exactly.

At a very young age, and had no pause.

I was basically in the presence of someone

who had this greatness about them of no pause.

You just go do the thing.

Like, who cares if you're scared?

None of that matters.

What do you want to be the best at it?

And I was like, almost overwhelmed by that kind of talk

at such a young age.

And he used to say to me all the time,

you know, like, you could be all over television.

One day you're gonna, and I was like,

I'm literally in Garma J3 making Greek salads.

Like, what are you talking about?

He saw it in you.

He saw it in me, and he also said,

why don't you see it in you?

And also, why aren't you working towards

that every single day?

So he pushed you.

He pushed me in a way that almost it started arguments

between us.

Because in my mind, I was like,

why are you being so critical of me?

And he's like, I am your best friend.

I'm your biggest addict.

He's saying, I see the potential, go do it.

Correct.

And I was like, this is frustrating me.

I think also, though, too, in my mind,

I was like, as a chef, and as you know,

being around the greatest chefs,

there's a level of progress that needs to happen before

all of a sudden you become the greatest chef of all time.

Doesn't have it overnight.

I think in his mind, like, you know,

he also was someone who was like tomorrow.

Like, why didn't this happen yesterday?

So you were with him, like, the early 2000s,

like in the height of his career.

Oh my God, 1998.

OK.

Yeah, this was like, and then, right,

and then the early 2000s.

Early 2000s.

It was like being around, like, his aura at that point.

He was someone that, when he walked into the room,

like, all the air left the room.

Of course.

Yeah, when he said something to you,

it was to the deepest parts of you,

what you might have been thinking,

what you might have wanted to ask.

Like, he knew how to zone in immediately, like,

on whomever it was that he chose in that moment

and say something either magical or, like,

cut you off at your knees.

In the moment, it felt like I was losing myself,

but weirdly enough, now that I look back on it

as a full-grown adult female.

Actually, what I was doing in that moment

was just kind of absorbing everything around me,

being confused a little bit by it,

but also remembering all of it,

and then using it, sort of, later in life.

And so Zeya is how old now?

She's 26 today.

Unbelievable.

And she's in music, right?

She is in music production, so she wants to,

she's used a lot of his stuff,

like all of his old tracks and stuff,

like that to rebuild songs that she's working with

with artist in Atlanta.

Oh, there's sampling stuff.

There's sampling his stuff.

That's amazing.

There's sampling his stuff and also sampling Zeya's, like,

really into all different kinds of music.

And that's what I love about her.

And he was the same exact way.

Like if you ever saw his list of music,

it was like Joni Mitchell.

And Frank Sinatra.

Everything.

It was anything and everything that you could possibly imagine.

It was obviously hip-hop, but it was everything.

And then through all of this,

you stayed the course you wanted to be cooking.

And wanted to be cooking.

One of the things that we started about all the time

is that he always felt like everything that I fixated on

was like very petty, right?

He was like, you're young.

And the truth is, you fixate on these things

because you've never lost anyone at a young age

that sort of changes the way that you think

and the way that you look at life.

And I was so offended by that.

I was like, so someone I love has to die

in order for me to understand how life works.

And he was like, yeah.

And he ended up being that for me,

which was like the most ironic, wild thought.

What was that, like, 2011 or something?

He died in 2011.

2011.

But listen, I mean, when you say you don't really talk about it

often, it's such a huge part of your life

that it always will be.

I mean, I was reading like some of your chronological life.

And so in 2012, you come up with this cookbook.

Oh, God.

Yeah.

But the funny part about the whole thing is.

You're picking up some really good things.

But when you listen, you listen to stories like this

and we, like, from your past,

you're like, why, you're like, why?

And also, like, who you are today.

Totally.

The busy mom's cookbook is not what I've,

what have named it.

100%.

I mean, what do you like living in Connecticut

like on a farm somewhere?

I mean, give me a break.

I'm gonna tell you something really quickly.

You have the same exact thing that I just spoke about.

You find the little thing or the big thing, right?

In someone's conversation and something they've said,

something that you've read about them.

And like, it's the poignant thing that you find

and you ask about.

And I knew coming here like this conversation

was gonna be this.

No, I'm just saying you have the same exact thing.

And it's what I love about you.

I'm not a professional interviewer.

I mean, what I do is I read stuff.

And then I want to have a conversation.

Wherever it goes, it goes.

Like the one thing I never want to do

is make anybody uncomfortable about what they're talking about.

No.

I'm never like, we have to talk about this.

It just kind of happens.

You're very disarray, isn't it?

In the greatest of way.

No, this was a compliment.

In the way that you ask very like questions

that are gonna make people very transparent,

like in the best way.

And actually, these are two of the things

that I actually always bring up the cookbook

as an example to people that you are the director

of your own life.

Sure.

And that you are the ones that make the decisions

regardless of how many people are in the room

thinking that they know better than you do.

And that was my moment, was that book.

Because I had no that is not at all

what I wanted that book to be.

Everyone who has ever met me,

if you actually see the original cover of the book,

I'm in a weird like bangled necklace.

Do you know what I mean?

Staring a pot of sauce was like the perfect side eye.

Do you know what I mean?

And I was like that, like everyone who knows me

is like, that doesn't even look like you.

It doesn't even represent any part of you.

Well, I have a lot to talk to you about.

And so I made you a snack.

That's a snack, that's a snack.

One of the things I do know about you,

because we are friends,

is that you like your burgers cooked more than most people.

Which I'm all for, we can talk about that.

So I made it kind of medium-wellish.

Thank you.

Well now it's been resting, so it's exactly where I want it now.

Okay, perfect.

Take a bite.

Let me show you how we made it.

Bobby on the beat.

All right, we're gonna make a burger from my French restaurant

in Vegas, Braserie B.

This is the Braserie B burger.

So first let's make some sauce.

Mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, ketchup,

some Chipotle puree.

Mix it all up.

Let's use salt and pepper.

We'll see if that's a later.

Then we're gonna start with the meat.

80, 20, 80% beef, 20% fat.

Lots of salt and pepper.

Make a little well in the middle of it.

Cast iron pan, so you want that good crustiness

on the outside.

Then we're gonna get all the garnish ready.

Some red onions, some tomatoes,

iceberg red.

It's the only lettuce for a burger, in my opinion.

Get that nice crust on the outside of the burger.

Then two kinds of cheese.

We air and American.

Close it to French American restaurant.

Hit that steam magic, a little bit of water

in the pan, cover it and look at that cheese melt.

Mmm, it's everything.

A couple of slices of crispy bacon.

Then we just shallack it with the red onion,

the tomato, the lettuce, toothpick,

or skewer on top.

And there you go, Braserie B.

Bobby on the beat.

Perfect burger.

I mean, I've eaten it at Braserie B.

Yes, you have.

I've watched it.

So you're the first person I'm eating with on this podcast.

Really?

Well, my friends were yelling at me like,

why are you letting people eat by themselves?

And it makes friends.

Well, and also you love a burger.

I do love a burger.

So I was like, all right, I'll have a burger

when I tell you.

Two things that I want to talk to you about

in terms of like food, which is that I always say

that I want my burgers and my steaks cooked medium.

The first time I said it out loud, it created havoc.

And what I'm learning now is that a lot of chefs

agree with me because you have to let the fat start

to melt.

Correct.

Otherwise, there's no flavor and it's just, it's raw.

Imagine a Tomahawk or a ribeye and a thick cut, right?

We're talking about like 24, you know, 28 ounces.

And fine, even if you let it sit out, right?

Cause that's what we do in the restaurants.

You know, you let them sit like on a sheet tray.

So they're tempting.

Right.

Even that doesn't matter.

Someone orders it rare.

It's not going to, it's not going to get the fat

where you need it to be and then make it rare

at the same exact time.

It's just not going to happen.

It doesn't happen.

Yeah.

Now chefs like I are coming out of the woodwork.

They're like, I agree with you, Bobby.

I'm like, I know, but I had to say it and take it on the head.

But what about iceberg lettuce?

You like or don't like?

I'm not an ingredients knob.

I think that there's a time and a place.

Like, I want a wedge for my burger.

I want iceberg for my BL team.

Do I want iceberg with shaved Parmesan Reggiano

and balsamic on it?

No.

No, I want a Rougola for that.

I get it.

So there's a time and a place where the ingredients are.

You're not like, I will not eat iceberg lettuce.

Oh, not.

Yeah.

There's a couple things that I'm like, I will not eat.

Like what?

Also, your girlfriend thinks the same exact thing.

What?

I hate cuppy mayo.

I don't like it either.

I don't like sweet mayonnaise.

I don't like it either.

It reminds me of Miracle Whip.

Sorry for whoever loves it.

I totally agree.

I don't like it.

I don't like fagra.

I don't like organ meats.

Like, I'm not a big, like liver.

Oh, full.

Oh, full.

Like, the smell of, I don't know what it is,

like, the metallic smell and flavor.

It, like, makes me want to throw up.

I like unia as an ingredient.

I don't like it as, like, I don't want it just on something.

I don't want it on.

So you don't eat it.

And then I will.

I don't order it.

I mean, I will eat it if I have to open it

to, like, the respectful whoever's given it to me.

Yeah.

But I like it whipped in butter and, like,

drowned in pasta.

I mean, I like the salinity and, like,

the ocean flavor of that.

I don't like it wrong.

anchovies?

I don't love anchovies.

I love them as an ingredient.

I love them in sauce spare days.

I love them dressing as well.

I love your food.

And the thing I love about your food

is that it comes from you specifically.

Like, you're very proud of your, like,

Italian-American heritage and all that.

And that food's amazing.

Yes.

And you're, like, this is the kind of Italian food that I cook.

Yes.

I'm not going around Italy, going to small little villages

and trying to be authentic from that particular place.

I'm authentic from Long Island, New York.

Yes, exactly.

And your food is always delicious.

I think the reason why Scope is just, like,

a perennial favorite of people,

because I crave that kind of food all the time.

It's incredibly comforting.

There's certain things that you know you're going to get.

You're going to get acidity from tomato sauce.

You're going to get, like, crunchy, you know,

things that are fried, like, squid and stuff like that.

And it's incredibly satisfying meal

and you deliver on it plus.

Like, I think about your, your squid ink fried squid

all the time.

It's so cool to kind of look at it.

And then you taste it and you're like, this is delicious.

How does it start when you're doing menu items?

For the most part, it's all very straightforward.

You know, I mean, that's how my brain, you know,

I'm like, I'm going to make a chicken parm,

but it's going to be the greatest chicken parm

you've ever had because I know that in the mix,

like, I'm going to use more local telly cheese

than anyone never should.

And like, all the small little things,

specifically with the squid ink,

I was having this whole thing about, like,

a chicken and an egg, right?

It's like, when people have, you know,

it's like the thing and the thing, right?

And so I love that.

I actually don't love, like, squid ink pasta.

That's the, you know what I mean?

It's not one of the dishes that I like gravitate

towards for whatever.

You know, I love the idea of the use of the ink.

So when I started to think about,

well, if you put it in pasta, you know, into a dough,

like, why wouldn't we just put it into a batter?

And so it's like, it's just those kinds of, you know,

you lay out, I mean, I don't know how much you sleep.

Like, I don't sleep at all.

Exactly. So I like, wake up in the middle of the night

and I'm like.

Yeah, brook's the worst.

It's his wall.

She does not sleep.

It's, I've texted her in the middle of the night.

Like, we day, DM each other, like, weird videos.

I mean, every, every time I, like, I turn over

and she's like, she's doing it.

She's like staring at me.

It's, it's so weird, you know?

That is the funniest thing I've heard all day.

It's so good.

It's true.

You wouldn't brook a, like, such great friends.

And I mean, now that she's my person,

I love that you're in her life because you are,

you're rational.

You really are a rational person and she,

and she, she's very rational.

If she goes down the rabbit hole on something like

what we all can do, I feel like you're her backstop.

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

You know what I mean?

Yes.

She can be like, am I overthinking this?

Yeah, she does that for me, though, too.

Okay, well, you guys have each other,

which, which is really nice.

When, you know, brook and I started out as friends,

obviously, we met years and years ago.

And at some point, I'm sure she was like,

I'm interested in dating this guy.

Yeah, I am.

Like, what was your, what was your take on it?

When she said it, I immediately to be in full,

full honesty about it.

I already like knew that you guys were gonna be

this perfect match.

Really?

Yeah, I did.

I did because very few times in our lives,

I think when two people get older,

there's this very sort of like real thing that happens

and you really actually know what you want in a partner.

And just everything that I know about you as a person,

and professionally, I was like, I think what would be

the greatest thing for him, I already know

what's the greatest thing for you,

is to have somebody who is like your best friend

who you can sit there and talk food with.

But at the same time,

and also have this great career that she does,

but also want to come home and take care of you.

And I do think that there's that version of her

that does both, due to being next to me.

Yeah, that can be out in the streets with you

and have the real dialogue because she knows all the things

because of her own history in this business

that you don't always get to have,

or you sit there and sort of explain to somebody,

or they get to see it over the course

of many, many years spent, where she's like,

I already got the cliff notes.

And so you get that at the same time,

she is so like maternal and is so loving

and so like, I wanna take care of people,

due to me in which I think would be wonderful for you.

So you were pro.

I was pro the entire time.

Well, thank you very much.

Pro the entire time and also.

I like that.

Yeah, it's been great.

Yeah.

No, thank you.

Thank you for having my back.

All right, so what about restaurants?

How are you feeling about the restaurant world these days?

You have three restaurants right now, right?

I have three in Los Angeles.

You building more?

We actually just signed a deal,

and I can talk about it, I don't think in Texas.

So we, I have Austin, I think I told you that,

summer of next year, possibly sooner.

Like my partners build quickly.

Scopea?

Scopea.

Ranteaks scope out on the road.

Like, Dom is great, and I love it to death.

Black market is amazing.

I love it to death.

Describe the differences.

So Black market, we opened in 2011.

It's, I call it like American eclectic.

It's a small bar, seats about, originally a hundred people,

now it's like a hundred and fifty people.

It wasn't supposed to be food focused,

it was supposed to be more be like liquor, wood bites,

full-fledged restaurant, but it has everything.

I do everything from like Korean chicken wings

to spaghetti and meatballs, where people are like,

stuff you wanna eat.

Everything that you wanna eat.

And so black, and then we open Scopea two years later,

which is American Italian.

Oh, Black market was first.

Black market was first.

Black market was first.

I bet a lot of people don't know that.

They don't, they, a lot of people don't know that.

Because Scopea gets a lot more attention.

So it gets all the attention.

Yeah.

Everyone also like puts me in the Italian chef,

you know, and I'm like, it's, I had Black market

where I'm doing Korean chicken wings,

and like, you know, a version of Hamachi and Crispy.

Like, very Asian, very Mexican, very like Spanish,

like there's a mixture of everything.

And then in 2018, we opened Dama.

And Dama, I actually wanted to open

before I opened Scopea.

All right.

Smash burgers or pub-style burgers.

Oh, both.

I wanna show you a clip that I did,

that Jimmy V, you know, America's Food Critic.

You're good.

He went to a very popular place,

and let's check it out.

Bobby on the beat.

Hey, it's Jimmy V, America's Food Critic,

at Hamburger America.

This place has been hyped all over the world.

But I don't know what to expect.

I don't know if they're big burgers,

little burgers, smash burgers.

I want that crevability in it.

So it has to be salty.

It has to have a little bit of the greasy,

but not too greasy.

Just a good bite that maybe drips down your arm

when you're eating it.

Let's go inside and check this place out.

Pretty cool.

It gives you that old-time vibe.

This smash burgers.

So I have high expectation for a real good greasy,

tasty burger.

But it definitely gives you that old school vibe

where maybe there's some milkshakes involved.

On your burgers are the best.

Is that the standard?

I think that's the go-to.

So they really smash them.

Single onions sounds like the winner.

And what about a drink?

Is there something that will cause me to think about this

in the middle of the night and say, oh, we crap.

I got to go back there and have it.

I want to go in a coffee soda.

Cop, that's perfect.

The coffee soda.

Oh, I'm surprised.

They just put a ton of stuff on there

on the onions and mash it all in, huh?

Generally, I would think that, you know,

I'd have a fried onion, a ready fried on the side,

but this is the technique that they're using.

Seems like a lot of onion, but I'm sure it'll be pretty good.

For coffee with salsa.

How good is that?

That's excellent.

So a chestnut.

Oh, this.

That's a try.

It's a grilled cheese with a burger in the middle.

It's kind of like a patty melt, right?

Yeah, it's an authentic special.

All righty.

I guess for the people that know, they know.

It's grilled cheese with the burger inside of it.

It's exactly what you would think.

Crunchy buttery, meat, onion, the fries.

Or like that perfect nostalgic McDonald's fry

from the 70s, so I'm showing my age.

Would you like some fries?

Jump in.

Thank you so much.

Sharon, share a like.

Hey, man.

How are you?

Jimmy, this is the first time I've ever been here.

Okay.

Are you the mad scientist behind this whole thing?

I'm a mad scientist.

We don't really do anything that's too extraordinary.

We're here to recreate authentic American hamburger.

We're not trying to reinvent the wheel.

We're just here to preserve history and make sure

that you can take a bite of that burger

and do about it right now.

It tastes exactly the way it should.

Here we go.

It's really freaking good, bud.

It's a good review.

No, no.

George, here's like, bun is nice and squishy,

but there's a little texture to it.

It brings you back to that, in the scutwoods.

That's where you were trying to achieve.

You hit it.

Bullseye.

Yeah, we'd like to say that's the burger that you remember,

especially in New York City.

People would try to do too much.

Put crazy stuff on top.

And we're just trying to make sure

that you're eating burger that you're gonna want to eat tomorrow.

Hey, George, great job, man.

I really appreciate it.

Thanks, and I'll be back.

I'll see you tomorrow.

Yeah, thank you, man.

Wow, that was really good.

The burger, the bun.

It was exactly the texture that I was anticipating.

Next time, though, I would definitely do a double burger,

not because I'm a govone, but because it just

needed a little bit more meat.

It's a smash burger, which is not my favorite burger

candidly.

I do like a regular-sized burger that's greasy and gooey

and chewy with the blood coming out of it.

I shouldn't have probably said that.

I could see why it's so popular.

Excellent.

Bobby on the beat.

I feel like the moment of the smash burger

has his moment.

It's time.

A burger that has, that is just smashed,

is just about crust.

That's kind of what I like about it,

but what that was was too smashed.

I like the idea of a smash, so that you get the crust,

especially like the crunchies on the side.

And I like when they put the raw onion into it,

and kind of still gets a little...

Yeah, they do that there.

That was too much onion.

That was more onion than it was beef.

I don't like really thick-cut round,

because you already know.

I have a texture thing with, you know, so...

So when people are like,

this is a one and a half pound beef burger

that's this big.

I don't want that.

I don't want that.

I can't get my mouth around it.

Be like, it starts to disrupt the condiments that I want.

You want more like a pub burger

that has, it's sort of in the middle.

Right.

Exactly.

That's what I think you do.

Something to bite into, yeah.

Yours is like right in the middle.

It's not smashed.

It's not too thin.

You don't need two patties.

There's just enough, like, in the center,

but you get that kind of crunch on the outside.

Well, it tastes like beef, and it's still juicy.

To me, that's all that's really important.

Listen, it is what it is.

Everybody wants a burger.

But not all burgers are created equal.

That's the other way.

I totally agree.

Top chef.

Oh god.

How well did you do on top chef?

I finale twice.

Finaleed twice, I mean, you did not quite win it all.

No.

Brook likes to bring it all.

Wait, you call it finale?

Yeah, you finaleed.

You finaleed?

Is that like, would that be, like, good?

Brook likes to bring it up because she won once.

She's the most competitive person in the world.

Yeah.

I know.

But also, what you don't know,

and we've told you 9,000 times,

is that we have a very rare case of, like,

chef competition PTSD.

And any person who did-

And I came from top chef.

A hundred percent that came from top chef.

We have, it doesn't happen, any person

that you work with who's done top chef,

has the same psychotic conversation, need to win,

if we don't, our lives are over.

Like, there's just something that switches on.

That's like, this will be the worst thing ever

if we don't win.

There's an incredible amount of crossover now

between people that have been on top chef

and the food network.

It's a puppy mill.

Literal puppy mill.

Well, what's happened is,

Bravado's gonna have a lineup of food shows.

No.

So they have this very popular show

where lots of people go on and compete.

And if you do well,

like, good things can happen to you there.

Food network has, obviously,

a entire lineup of food shows.

And those shows need to be filled

by people that are good at this job.

Look at everyone who's won anything big on your shows.

You know what I mean, or any of the biggest competitions

are all previous.

There's a lot of top chef, even on triple threat.

I have Brooke, I have Michael Voltaggio.

I usually never did top chef.

She's the anomaly.

Yeah.

She's an anomaly.

And I never did it either.

Well, you're...

Well, but also you are...

No, no, but I know what you're saying.

But I'm saying, like, there is something called exclusivity.

Right.

So I have a contract with the food network.

Doesn't allow me to go do top chef on Bravado.

But my point is that your hundreds of years of competition,

the reps that you have,

is the same thing that we see come out of top chef

in a very short period of time.

But they're looking for people on the,

sort of, up and coming more than anything else on top chef.

That's what makes it fun, because also,

you guys are willing to basically do whatever it takes to win.

The mind, kind of, jumble that top chef did to you

was, the only thing I can compare to

is like the bachelor or the bachelor at, right?

Because you've been pulled out of your life.

You have no contact with your family.

So the human response, we shut down very quickly.

And we're like, the only way out of here to get back to our families

is to win this thing.

And then I get my life back.

I was asking to go to the bathroom to, like,

random, like, I was doing an event,

and I was like, can I use a bathroom?

They're like, go pee.

Well, meaning, like, I was so conditioned to, like,

ask someone to get up to go somewhere,

to ask someone to go use the restroom,

that it was like this weird thing that happened to me

weeks after I got home.

And so they conditioned you to really believe

that this is the most important thing

that you will ever do in your life.

All right.

The last thing I want to talk to you about is your life now.

Yes, I love it.

You love it.

What do you love about it?

So many things.

Like, I feel like, for the minute,

nice, you're in a place where you can say,

right now, you love your life.

It's like the most freeing statement.

It's like the most relaxing statement.

I mean, here's the thing.

I've always loved versions of my life.

I've always loved different things that have happened

in different decades, right?

All the different decades that we all live.

Right now, I don't know.

Just everything that feels.

What is it?

What do you think it is?

It's my relationship with Greg.

With Greg.

It's just like everything that is comforting to me.

My home, do you mean my parents, my siblings, my daughter?

You know what I mean?

Like all of my family, my daughter, like my friends.

Like I said this to you, right?

When it's like, you know, I have the greatest life.

Like I get to go and do food television in a way

that some people only dream about.

Imagine being like tired to your bones

from the life that you have, like that you've prayed for.

You know, and that you've never thought in a million years

goes back to the beginning part of our conversations

when I was like a young 20 year old,

listening to one of the greatest, you know,

like musical minds that has ever been like gifted to us.

Tell me why, why move, move, go, go.

And I could not understand it and now I'm living it.

I find you to be like an insanely great talent.

Thank you.

Because the first thing I look for is the word genuine.

And also I like people who can do what we do,

which is cook for a living really well.

Yes.

And you do that.

You have, to me, you have the basics of all the things

that I want.

And then everything else is all about you.

It's like you have this amazing ability

to get excited, get other people excited,

make people feel good, make people feel pressured,

and make people to do their best.

That's why you're a wonderful mentor.

And I kind of feel like just recently,

you've really kind of hit your stride on the network.

And I think like, I don't know how long you want to be

on the network or how long the network

wants you to be on it.

None of us know that, okay?

But it doesn't, none of that matters.

What matters is you've hit this stride,

where you're going to be a commodity

for this industry period.

That is the nicest compliment that I've ever received.

I do feel like for the first time you ask me,

why I'm so happy now?

It's the first time my stride is mine.

And all the things that come up,

I'm willing to say yes, no.

If you don't like me, I'm probably not your cup of tea.

And that's actually okay with me right now.

If you don't want me to do your thing,

it's probably because we see things differently,

and I'm good with that right now,

and I've never felt that before.

It's actually a full circle conversation for me,

started just earlier,

which is that you talked about being able to narrate

your own story, and now you're doing it.

And it feels the greatest it's ever felt.

And also, I also live in the scarcity,

which is like, and it can all go away to mom.

Yeah.

And when it does, I'll still be fine.

All right, well, I love talking to you today.

My only request is the next time I'm in the dog house

who broke you, you have my back.

Thank you.

She will tell you.

She's gonna get in the dog house, that's fair.

Antonio, I want to thank you so much.

This has been so fun.

If you like today's episode, make sure you hit subscribe.

Really appreciate all the engagement,

and it continues to grow and grow and grow.

The more you like it, the more we'll keep doing it.

So have a great day.

We'll see you next week.

Bobby on the beat.