Chef x Founder Podcast

The Chef x Founder Podcast features chefs, entrepreneurs, and food lovers who built something extraordinary. From kitchen experiments to business milestones, we explore the techniques, tips, and truths behind making it in the world of food.

Why This Epic Food Experience Has No Plates, No Servers, and No Rules 06/20/2025

Why This Epic Food Experience Has No Plates, No Servers, and No Rules Why This Epic Food Experience Has No Plates, No Servers, and No Rules Welcome to Meat Carnival, a hands-on, no-frills, no-rules food experience where chefs serve you straight off the station and you eat it with your hands. In this episode, Tony Piombo interviews Itamar Abramovich about how this idea came to life, scaled fast, and built a cult following, without paid ads or a traditional kitchen setup. If you’re a food entrepreneur, event creator, or just someone who wants to build community through experience, this one’s full of gold. What’s Inside: Why Meat Carnival ditches silverware, and still sells out Turning a failed first event into a breakthrough brand The logistics of creating “controlled chaos” (without the chaos) Culture-building for kitchen teams that want to grow Marketing lessons from launching a food concept without ads Whether you’re building a food brand or still dreaming one up, this convo is loaded with insights you’ll want to replay. CONNECT WITH ITAMAR ABRAMOVITCH: Website: Instagram: Facebook: FOLLOW US BEHIND THE SCENES: Instagram: Facebook: Tiktok: Youtube: CHECK OUT TONY'S WOOD-FIRED OVEN BUSINESS: TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Introduction to the Chef Founder Podcast 00:02 Meet Itamar Abramovich: Culinary Journey and Meat Carnival 00:22 Humor in the Kitchen: The Importance of Lightheartedness 00:48 Creating a Positive Workplace Culture 06:57 The Essence of Meat Carnival 16:37 Challenges and Successes of Meat Carnival 22:12 Balancing Catering and Meat Carnival 24:14 The Entrepreneurial Spirit 28:20 Funny Music Moments 28:42 The Power of Music in Cooking 29:22 Live Music Challenges in Catering 31:44 The Fire Table Cooking Experience 36:33 Craftsmanship vs. Automation in Cooking 43:34 The Emotional Connection to Cooking 52:37 The Origin of the Pizza Oven Business 58:20 Faith and Personal Beliefs 1:03 Luck and Preparation /episode/index/show/woodfired/id/36780510

How a Founder Turned Homemade Sauce into a National Brand (Gordon Ramsay Noticed) 05/30/2025

How a Founder Turned Homemade Sauce into a National Brand (Gordon Ramsay Noticed) Before Hot Drop Sauce landed on Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars, founder Andrew Whiting was working full-time, hand-bottling sauce at night, and getting creative about getting it into people’s hands—literally. We're talking trunk-of-the-car sales, expensing his own product to pitch clients, and turning every casual interaction into a chance to get feedback (and spark demand). In this episode of Chef x Founder, host Tony Piombo sits down with Andrew to talk about the real behind-the-scenes journey—from sauce experiments during the pandemic to walking onto a national TV set and a three-minute pitch for Gordon himself. This one’s packed with lessons for any entrepreneur, including: The unexpected start of Hot Drop Sauce during the pandemic How to grow a brand without quitting your day job (at first) How to get creative with product distribution (even while working 9-5) The psychology of packaging and selling—and how to make people grab your product What it really took to land on Food Stars and pitch to Gordon Ramsay How a gift-turned-side-hustle became a brand Why Hot Drop is designed for flavor, not pain—and how that changed everything Whether you’re building a food brand or still dreaming one up, this convo is loaded with insights you’ll want to replay. CONNECT WIH ANDREW WHITING: Website: Instagram: Facebook: Tiktok: FOLLOW US BEHIND THE SCENES: Instagram: Facebook: Tiktok: Youtube: CHECK OUT TONY'S WOOD-FIRED OVEN BUSINESS: TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Introduction to the Chef Founder Podcast 00:02 Meet Andrew Whiting: Founder of Hot Drop Sauce 00:53 The Hot Drop Community and Fanbase 01:35 The Art and Business of Hot Sauce 08:46 Andrew's Journey into the Culinary World 13:11 From Holiday Gifts to a Hot Sauce Brand 19:56 Andrew's Background in Sales and Entrepreneurship 23:12 Working for a Distributor 23:52 Sales Strategies and Challenges 25:47 Creating and Branding Hot Sauce 26:25 Feedback and Iteration 27:23 First Sales and Realizations 28:37 Scaling Production 31:18 Balancing Full-Time Work and Entrepreneurship 36:39 Collaborations and Marketing 45:15 Corporate Gifting and Wholesale 49:43 Gordon Ramsey's Food Stars 52:00 The Lengthy Application Process 52:34 The Vetting and Interview Phases 54:25 The Big Reveal: Gordon Ramsay's Food Stars 55:01 Preparing for the Audition in London 56:21 The Audition and Selection Process 1:02 Life on the Show and Meeting Fellow Contestants 1:03 Reflecting on the Reality TV Experience 1:04 The Competition and Elimination 1:06 Impact on Business and Sales 1:07 Pitching and Entrepreneurial Insights 1:10 Networking and Collaborations 1:12 Future Plans and Final Thoughts /episode/index/show/woodfired/id/36774850

Chef x Founder : Jeff Mosher x Private Chef 04/29/2025

Chef x Founder : Clive x The Wood Fired Oven Chef 09/27/2023

Chef x Founder : Tim Neumann x Harvest Epicure 03/27/2020

Chef x Founder : Robert Sulatycky x Team USA Bocuse d'Or 03/18/2020

Chef x Founder : Dario De Conti x Ca' Momi 11/05/2019

Chef x Founder : Itamar Abramovitch x Blossom 05/23/2019

Chef x Founder : Robert Sulatycky x Team USA Bocuse d'Or 04/26/2019

Chef x Founder : Tyler Rodde x Oenotri 04/08/2019

Chef x Founder Podcast

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