Cooking Through the Cuts: How Chef Ciji Castro Fights Food Insecurity Through Tradition
Chef Ciji Castro imparts invaluable insights into the art of transforming humble ingredients into delectable comfort food, emphasizing the critical need for resourcefulness in the face of escalating food insecurity. Throughout our dialogue, she shares her expertise in crafting a traditional puerco guisado, a slow-cooked pork stew, while ingeniously demonstrating how to stretch this dish to nourish a family of five for under ten dollars. Furthermore, Chef Castro elucidates the significance of culinary traditions, not merely as recipes but as vessels of resilience and community connection, inviting listeners to engage with their own familial narratives through food. She also provides practical tips on reducing kitchen waste, showcasing the importance of creativity in meal preparation. Our conversation ultimately serves as a poignant reminder of the power of food to unite and uplift individuals during challenging times, as well as the importance of seeking assistance without stigma.
Takeaways:
- Chef Ciji Castro emphasizes the importance of resourcefulness in cooking, especially during times of food insecurity.
- In this episode, we discuss how traditional recipes can be adapted using modern techniques without losing their authentic flavors.
- The conversation highlights the significance of community support in addressing hunger and food insecurity issues in Tampa Bay.
- Ciji shares practical tips on turning affordable staples into delicious meals that can feed a family while keeping costs low.
- We explore the cultural significance of dishes like pasteles and their role in preserving family traditions and history.
- The episode stresses the need for open-mindedness when it comes to food sustainability and making the most of available ingredients.
Mentioned in this episode:
Citrus America
Citrus America – Commercial-grade juicing systems built for speed and yield.
Aussie Select - Fully cooked, premium Australian lamb
Fully cooked, premium Australian lamb—ready to serve and packed with clean flavor.
RAK Porcelain USA -Tableware
We use RAK for all in-studio tableware—clean, durable, and designed for chefs.
Transcript
You've just stepped inside the Walk and Talk podcast, number one in the nation.
Speaker B:For food lovers, chefs and storytellers.
Speaker A:I'm Carl Fiadini, your host, shining a.
Speaker B:Light on the flavor, the hustle and.
Speaker A:The heart of the industry.
Speaker A:We're the official podcast for the New York, California and Florida restaurant shows, the Pizza Tomorrow Summit, the US Culinary Open at Napham, and the North American media platform for the Burnt Chef project recorded.
Speaker B:At Ibis Images Studios, where food photography.
Speaker A:Comes alive and I get the first bite.
Speaker A:Find out more info at the walk and talk.com with SNAP benefits being cut.
Speaker B:And food insecurity on the rise, more families are learning to stretch what they've got.
Speaker B:And chef CG Castro is showing how it's done.
Speaker B:Today we're filming a pasteles master class for central Tampa Bay, featuring her puerco gardo, a slow cooked brush pork stew built on Del Encanto foods sofrito.
Speaker B:Along with family tradition, CG is blending the old school grind it by hand style with the quick, modern version anyone can tackle.
Speaker B:This episode is about cooking smart and turning affordable staples into comfort food.
Speaker B:CG pairs her stew with Harina to show how real flavor can feed a family of five for under 10 bucks.
Speaker B:She's also sharing no waste tips, kitchen hacks, and the spirit of making more with less.
Speaker B:We're shouting out feeding Tampa Bay and the world central kitchen both fighting hunger where it matters most and to close it out, a sweet bite fried dough, fresh berries and a drizzle of pasta.
Speaker B:Honey, honeycomb.
Speaker B:Simple, beautiful, and from the heart.
Speaker B:Because today's story isn't just about food.
Speaker B:It's about resilience, resourcefulness, and the people keeping culture alive one plate at a time.
Speaker A:Chef, welcome to the program.
Speaker C:Well, thank you for having me.
Speaker A:Listen, let me tell you something.
Speaker A:The Burko.
Speaker A:Oh, my goodness.
Speaker C:You say that every time I cook for you.
Speaker A:I love it so much.
Speaker A:But it's not just that the food is great.
Speaker A:Your personality in delivering the food is phenomenal.
Speaker A:You remind me of.
Speaker A:You remind me of the females from my family growing up, and they're just like, you want a plate?
Speaker A:I'm going to make you a plate.
Speaker A:Do you want to?
Speaker A:Okay, what's a good.
Speaker A:You want to?
Speaker A:I love that because it reminds me of growing up.
Speaker A:And it is.
Speaker A:Anyway, the food is fantastic.
Speaker A:But more importantly, or at least equally as important, your personality when you're here.
Speaker C:Thank you.
Speaker C:I love being here with you guys.
Speaker C:You guys are kind of like cousins.
Speaker A:It's what it feels like.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:It is what it Feels like.
Speaker A:And, well, so it's full circle because my cousins do this stuff for me.
Speaker C:Oh, that reminds me of my cousin Dany in Miami.
Speaker C:He's gonna get such a kick out of this.
Speaker C:Yeah, he thinks the same thing.
Speaker A:It's fun.
Speaker A:We have a lot to unpack today.
Speaker A:We had a long two weeks, and the reality is we just came off of Savor St. Pete, and that was a banger.
Speaker A:Tammy, you're awesome.
Speaker A:Alexia, Chef Lee the Gang.
Speaker A:Chef David Johnston from Kinders, Ethan Holmes from Rao's.
Speaker A:I mean, so many people.
Speaker A:And J Rod over at Felipo Badio.
Speaker A:My boy.
Speaker A:Chef David Reyes.
Speaker A:All y'.
Speaker A:All.
Speaker A:It was really great, John.
Speaker A:I mean, the photography at the event.
Speaker A:My boy, my bro.
Speaker A:Fantastic.
Speaker C:I was really impressed with your mobile studio Setup at Savor St. Pete.
Speaker C:I saw it on Facebook or Instagram.
Speaker A:John shaking his head, yes.
Speaker A:Be happy with that.
Speaker A:He acknowledged you Save or Saint Pete.
Speaker A:Last weekend was a banger.
Speaker A:Can't wait for next year.
Speaker A:Let me tell you what happened yesterday.
Speaker A:The chef Putre Vera, myself, and the amazing Jordan Fontenot went to Atlanta.
Speaker A:Flew into Atlanta in the morning.
Speaker A:We recorded video and film for a podcast with.
Speaker A:Wow, this guy's awesome.
Speaker A:The chef Freddie Money from Atlas Restaurant, Michelin rated recent winner of the US Culinary Open.
Speaker A:And let me tell you something, this guy is no joke.
Speaker A:But more importantly, cool as ice, nicest guy on the planet.
Speaker A:And what a team.
Speaker A:We got to hang out while they were doing family meal.
Speaker A:Wow.
Speaker A:I mean, first of all, being in the kitchen at a Michelin restaurant while they're doing their prep, doing the things that they do to hold that title, Amazing.
Speaker A:And then to hang out with them during that special moment.
Speaker A:Priceless stuff.
Speaker A:Nick, Polly, you guys are amazing.
Speaker A:Appreciate you setting that up for us.
Speaker A:So many more things to come between the US Culinary Open, Walk and Talk media and everybody else.
Speaker A:Not to mention we ran into chef Nikolai Tram, also a Michelin chef who was just having to be there.
Speaker A:Going to say hello to Freddie.
Speaker A:What a great.
Speaker A:What a great day for culinary in terms of what we're doing out there for production.
Speaker A:Really great day.
Speaker A:Lastly, we met.
Speaker A:We were introduced to Lee Wilson from Creative Loafing.
Speaker A:This is over at save us St. Pete.
Speaker A:What a cool gal.
Speaker A:Number one, right?
Speaker A:Like, we were.
Speaker A:The introduction was made and, you know, she was like, walk and Talk podcast said, yeah, she.
Speaker A:She looks.
Speaker A:She looks.
Speaker A:She looks back at me.
Speaker A:She goes, are you the host guy?
Speaker A:I said, yeah.
Speaker A:She's like, oh, my God.
Speaker A:I listened to your show.
Speaker A:That's.
Speaker A:That's really terrific.
Speaker A:I was like, so for me, when other people in media follow what we do, it's the most flattering thing in the world.
Speaker A:It's really an amazing feeling because there's some, you know, peer to peer, you know, respect or whatever.
Speaker A:A hundred percent, totally digging it.
Speaker A:And the other cool part of the story is she had mentioned how she was on Bubba the Love Sponge like a week or two prior or whatever it was, and she brought us up on his show.
Speaker A:I am floored.
Speaker A:Like, she threw me over the edge.
Speaker A:Anyway, it was great to meet her.
Speaker A:She's really, really cool.
Speaker A:And I think she's going to probably come in over the next week or two.
Speaker A:She's going to sit in with us on the show.
Speaker A:So keep your.
Speaker A:Keep your eyes open for that.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker C:That's awesome.
Speaker C:I met her years ago.
Speaker C:We turned a bowl together for the nonprofit Bowls for Good, her and the editor at James Howard.
Speaker C:I love Creative Loafing.
Speaker C:I love the work that they do, and I love the staff.
Speaker A:They do a lot of big stuff at the culinary.
Speaker A:Man, they're great.
Speaker A:But let's talk stew.
Speaker C:Let's do it.
Speaker A:All right.
Speaker A:Let's talk puerco.
Speaker C:Let's do it.
Speaker A:What did you do to me today?
Speaker C:I fed you guys.
Speaker A:You fed up?
Speaker C:You're in practically a food combo.
Speaker A:I am right now.
Speaker A:I mean, I don't know how I'm actually, I don't know how I'm speaking with you at this moment.
Speaker A:Between the food coma, two hours of sleep.
Speaker A:You know, we basically.
Speaker A:We shot yesterday.
Speaker A:We filmed yesterday, flew in, shot, got on a plane, flew back, got ready for this morning, and we did this whole thing.
Speaker A:Pretty amazing.
Speaker C:Impressive.
Speaker A:That was awesome.
Speaker C:In a fedeza, A fed us all for under $5.
Speaker A:So let's talk about that.
Speaker A:Well, before we do, what else did you cook today?
Speaker C:So I made the puerco guisado with arena, which is just kind of an ode to my grandparents and something that my grandmother would make my grandfather with, you know, the leftovers.
Speaker C:Right?
Speaker C:You're stretching your leftovers.
Speaker C:So if we had a little bit of puerco.
Speaker C:Guisado is basically just pork stew.
Speaker C:So if we had a little bit of that, she would just make arena, which is cornmeal, and mix it in.
Speaker C:And, you know, a little bit goes a long way and it's very filling.
Speaker C:So I made that today.
Speaker C:And then I also.
Speaker C:We did pasteles tutorial, because we have heard you guys, everyone's asking, do you have a tutorial?
Speaker C:And I didn't.
Speaker C:We had a couple B rolls that we did months ago, my very first walk and talk.
Speaker C:But, you know, we didn't have an actual, like, A to Z.
Speaker C:So we did one today in English and in Spanish, so no one gets left behind.
Speaker C:Step by step, how to make those.
Speaker C:And that was the request of my friends, Carolina, who's also the editor of Central Tampa Bay, the sister paper to the Tampa Times.
Speaker C:And you're welcome, Carolina.
Speaker C:I hope you love it.
Speaker C:And then we did a play on sopapillas and beignets, kind of combining the two.
Speaker C:Fried dough topped with powdered sugar, a little drizzle of honey, and some fresh berries to kind of balance it out.
Speaker C:And I think that's it.
Speaker C:That was a lot of food.
Speaker A:It really was.
Speaker A:It's a ton of food, and I'm here for it.
Speaker A:In the opening monologue, we talked about food insecurity on the rise with snap cuts and everything that's kind of coming on board.
Speaker A:It's even affecting the airports and everything.
Speaker A:I'm glad we got our stuff done yesterday, and I'm not flying out next week.
Speaker A:I saw something in the news this morning about how they think everybody's just gonna do a walk out or whatever.
Speaker A:I hope that doesn't happen.
Speaker A:Susie, what's the first thing families should remember when money gets tight?
Speaker C:I think that the first thing that I would tell maybe another mother or someone that is struggling, you know, filling their pantry, is the first thing I would say is not to panic.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:The second thing I would say would be to seek assistance.
Speaker C:Because one thing I can say is that Tampa Bay is awesome.
Speaker C:Like, I have seen so many organizations, restaurants, even just people in the community rallying to feed our hungry neighbors.
Speaker C:So, you know, there is that.
Speaker C:And then also, you know, during this time, it's important to have an open mind, right?
Speaker C:Like, you know, there's a lot of these keywords like sustainability and organic and.
Speaker C:And all that's great and good, but right now we need to just focus on survival.
Speaker C:And if that means, you know, canned meats like Vienna sausages, which I have to admit, I still make arro conacha on the regular, which is like a one pot meal of yellow rice and these little Vienna hot dogs cut up, or if I don't have that and I'm digging into, like, my hurricane supply, you know, could be spam or whatever's on sale.
Speaker C:At the end of the day, all that matters is that you are satiated.
Speaker C:And also, you know, thinking about how to make that happen is maybe buying whole grains in bulk, right?
Speaker C:So like, one pound of dried beans cooked equals about four cans of beans if he were to buy it, but at a fraction of the cost.
Speaker C:So be creative, and I hope we get through this.
Speaker A:We're definitely going to get through it.
Speaker A: rt term, you know, so back in: Speaker A:And what I did have was, believe it or not, Chef Boyardee raviolis.
Speaker A:And it was like pop top cans.
Speaker A:You have to heat it up.
Speaker A:Now, I'm not saying that's awesome, right?
Speaker A:But it fills you up, and you don't need to heat it, and all you need is a spoon or a fork and you're good to go.
Speaker A:Just saying.
Speaker A:And it's a couple of dollars a camp just throwing that out there.
Speaker A:It was sustained.
Speaker A:Sustained us for almost a month.
Speaker A:Someone said that food has always been the great uniter.
Speaker A:What does that mean to you when you're cooking for people who might be struggling?
Speaker C:You know, when I hear that, I think that no matter who you are, where you come from, what you have, what you don't have, the fact of the matter is, is I feel like everyone can understand and gain comfort from a shared meal.
Speaker C:And, you know, in times like this, if you have extra, you know, maybe send some home, you know, I mean, I don't know.
Speaker C:In Spanish households, even when there wasn't a lot, there were always like to go packs, right?
Speaker C:And, you know, and we can still make that a thing if we have to give and do it and accept it, you know, because it has to go both ways.
Speaker C:You have to accept it without shame, and you have to just give if you have.
Speaker A:So then growing up, for you, what was the.
Speaker A:What was the process?
Speaker C:You know, growing up was.
Speaker C:Was tough.
Speaker C:You know, we had some, you know, financially difficult times.
Speaker C:And my mom was incredibly creative and she kept us fed.
Speaker C:So, you know, it's kind of a funny story, you know, growing up at the time, you know, picadillo was one of the cheapest cuts of meat.
Speaker C:And so she would buy, like, a pound of picadillo and she would make it, and that's what we would eat every day for, like, a week.
Speaker C:And now, you know, as an adult, picadillo is one of my comfort meals.
Speaker C:And my brother hates it.
Speaker C:He'll never eat picadillo ever again because we've eaten it every day.
Speaker C:But, you know, it.
Speaker C:It just goes to show that, you know, the struggle foods is what my Husband and I call them, right.
Speaker C:You know, your rice and tuna, your rice and egg, although eggs are now astronomical.
Speaker C:But you know, your arro con sachica, like all of these dishes that we were eating because they were affordable, are now comfort meals.
Speaker C:So, you know, that's how my mom did it.
Speaker C:My mom would purchase produce that might be close to expiration.
Speaker C:So this is another thing that I will say like a pro tip.
Speaker C:Go to your farm stand.
Speaker C:And I still do this.
Speaker C:And so I go to my farm stand and there's always like a table out front with like bags.
Speaker C:Whether it's peppers or maybe a pineapple that's like literally needs to be eaten that day.
Speaker C:And these things are quarters, maybe a dollar.
Speaker C:And I will say that those pineapples are always my favorite because it tastes like candy.
Speaker C:But my mom, you know, she did that and she would come home, she'd cut off the bad parts and she would make a soup like you can be creative and, and, and that's one of still one of my favorite hacks.
Speaker A:What people forget is just because there's some blemish on a piece of fruit or veg, it's probably the perfect time to eat that, that fruit.
Speaker A:Don't forget that.
Speaker C:A hundred percent.
Speaker C:You know, being a home, you know, home gardener, which I have to say, life has been a little busy.
Speaker C:So my garden is completely neglected.
Speaker C:But when you have real produce, it's not pretty.
Speaker C:It's not like what you find in the store.
Speaker C:It's going to be odd shaped, it's going to have brown spots.
Speaker C:It's.
Speaker C:But yeah, I agree with you, pasteles.
Speaker A:They carry a lot of history.
Speaker A:And what are they representing to you beyond just a dish?
Speaker A:And I know we're doing this for centro Tampa Bay.
Speaker A:And I don't care what John says, I'm saying Tampa Bay like that.
Speaker C:You know, for me it's, you know, they mean resilience to me, you know, so my favorite part about making pasteles is, you know, the women gathering.
Speaker C:And you know, that's the time of year where you get, there's a lot of chatter, right?
Speaker C:So you get a lot of oral history, right?
Speaker C:You get a lot of the stories.
Speaker C:You know, we're always so busy and everyone's like scattered all about but one time, you know, this is like one of the few times out of the year, maybe once or twice a year, if you're lucky that you know, you're having a slumber party.
Speaker C:It's that quality time where I really feel like it has gifted me.
Speaker A:The.
Speaker C:Privilege of actually getting to know.
Speaker C:And I'm specifically thinking of, like, my Titi Lucy, who I inherited when I married my husband.
Speaker C:You know, I love her, I admire her.
Speaker C:And, you know, but you have your aunts, your favorite aunts, and you have your favorite cousins and, you know, the older ones, but you do, you don't, you don't really know them.
Speaker C:You don't know the struggles, you don't know, you know, what they overcame.
Speaker C:And I find in those times when, you know, even with my mom, during Thanksgiving, that's our holiday, you know, you get the stories where you see your, your parents or, you know, your elders, instead of seeing them as, like, your aunt or your mom, you see them as women.
Speaker C:And, and for me, like, that's my favorite part of coming together.
Speaker C:And also I take the opportunity of, like, hey, I've always wanted to learn how to make this.
Speaker C:Can you, you know, teach me?
Speaker C:Or, you know, because even though we're making pasteles and we are eating, you know, we will eat them, you know, we're still cooking other things.
Speaker C:And so I take that opportunity to learn the family recipes and learn the family history.
Speaker C:So for me, that's, you know, my favorite part of our pastele tradition.
Speaker A:How are you deciding what you're going to change or how you're going to adapt?
Speaker C:Well, you know, ease, you know, you know, grading them.
Speaker C:You know, like, for instance, the pasteles were typically milled by hand and graded by hand.
Speaker C:And then that's really, really nice.
Speaker C:But that's also because food processors weren't around, right?
Speaker C:And now they are.
Speaker C:So, you know what?
Speaker C:Why not?
Speaker C:You know, for me, if the end result is still a bite that will take someone back to their childhood, then how I got there and if I took a shortcut, like a food processor, doesn't matter.
Speaker C:So that's how I decide.
Speaker C:But I'm not going to be like, serving some deconstructed pastele because we got to draw the line somewhere.
Speaker A:Like, you talk about no waste cooking, like, a lot.
Speaker A:What's one habit you wish more home cooks would start doing right now and not just, like taking pictures of their food and posting it on social.
Speaker C:No, I, you know, for me, I wish more people would think about all the different ways they can stretch a single ingredient, right?
Speaker C:I wish that more people thought about all the different ways they can stretch a single ingredient, right?
Speaker C:So one of my favorite no waste recipes, and it's one that I push a lot out there, is a no waste vegetable stock.
Speaker C:So you think about your vegetables Right.
Speaker C:You buy them, you might cut them up, and you throw away the stems, you throw away the seeds, you might throw away the skins, depending on what it is.
Speaker C:Like if it's an onion and then you just use part of it, right?
Speaker C:But you can actually make it work for you in three to four different ways.
Speaker C:Okay?
Speaker C:So you can keep a freezer bag in your freezer.
Speaker C:Freezer bag in your freezer.
Speaker C:But you can keep a bag in your freezer and you can freeze those scraps to make vegetable stock, right?
Speaker C:So now you've used a majority of the vegetable.
Speaker C:Now you're freezing the scraps to make stock.
Speaker C:Then, you know, if you are a home gardener, you can compost that, turn it into soil, and have it come back for you.
Speaker C:But that liquid gold that you make from stuff you were going to throw away anyway is something that can fortify your meals.
Speaker C:So when we talk about food banks, there's a lot of boxed foods, right?
Speaker C:Instant rice or, you know, instant mashed potatoes, which are typically made with water, right?
Speaker C:You can use this stock to fortify it and bring in nutrients and just, you know, be more creative.
Speaker C:You know, I think about, you know, one of the things that I make during the holidays is a candy made out of grapefruit peels, right?
Speaker C:And it's.
Speaker C:It's like, I brought the grapefruit marmalade, right?
Speaker C:One of my very first walk and talks.
Speaker C:We made the Elena Rus with the Aussie select, that grapefruit marmalade.
Speaker C:I. I got those grapefruits to make the candy out of the peel.
Speaker C:But then I'm like, okay, what am I going to do with all this inside stuff?
Speaker C:What am I going to do with all this juice?
Speaker C:And he turned around and he made it marmalade.
Speaker C:And I had marmalade for, like, six months.
Speaker C:I gifted you guys some.
Speaker C:I gifted some friends, some, like, you know, so be creative, because what was gonna go in the trash literally just became homemade gifts.
Speaker C:And that's something else to think about during the holidays.
Speaker C:You know, it is a time for giving, but we need to take away the pressure.
Speaker A:I long for times gone past.
Speaker A:I mean, all the stuff you just said is really.
Speaker A:That is old school.
Speaker A:And I'm hoping that there's gonna be like a circle back around to that.
Speaker A:I mean, people need to get off their phones.
Speaker A:I hate to say it, it's the truth.
Speaker C:You know, it came back around during COVID and I thought it would stay, but, you know, it is.
Speaker C:You know, the memory is short, right?
Speaker C:What is it?
Speaker C:Something is Long and something is short.
Speaker A:But I don't know, something's long, short.
Speaker A:We got TikTok out of COVID That's what we got.
Speaker A:Second reels and, you know, just brain into the neck.
Speaker A:We're highlighting groups like Feeding Tampa Bay and World Central Kitchen.
Speaker A:I mean, that's where things need to kind of start from, from the ground up.
Speaker A:Why is it important to have this particular conversation?
Speaker C:First of all, I have been a long time volunteer with Feeding Tampa Bay going on like 15 years, and they operate on 2%.
Speaker C:So for, you know, every dollar you donate, 98 cents of that goes to feeding your hungry neighbor.
Speaker C:And that alone gives me goosebumps.
Speaker C:And as far as World Central Kitchen is concerned, like, what an incredible organization.
Speaker C:So I don't know if I shared this story before, but after Hurricane Helene, my daughter had.
Speaker C:She was in kindergarten, had a classmate stranded on Clearwater beach, and they were running out of food, they were running out of water.
Speaker C:They were trapped because, you know, all the cars were dead.
Speaker C:And I emailed, like, World Central Kitchen, and I'm like, I need to help these people.
Speaker C:And I kid you not, I was on the beach the next day.
Speaker C:You know, what people don't realize is every dollar that you donate to an organization like Feeding Tampa Bay or World Central Kitchen.
Speaker C:So for World Central Kitchen, they will pay the chefs.
Speaker C:Like, they will buy the food for the chefs to be there.
Speaker C:And they hire local.
Speaker C:Local talent.
Speaker C:Like, I know she's so crispy, used her food truck to.
Speaker C:I think she was in Treasure Island.
Speaker C:But, you know, they will put the money back in the economy to help feed that community.
Speaker C:And their response and their organization was so impressive because I was.
Speaker C:I just kept thinking, like, of that mom and of my kid and.
Speaker C:And it was so hard not to put myself in that situation and know that that day that I got there, she had sent him.
Speaker C:She found a ride.
Speaker C:So I don't know if she hitchhiked.
Speaker C:I don't know how she got him to school, but he went to school with their very last granola bar, you know, and I was there.
Speaker C:I got there, and I was able to, you know, deliver meals to people in their homes.
Speaker C:And it was just hugging her that day.
Speaker C:From one mother to another.
Speaker C:Oh, my God, it breaks me thinking about it.
Speaker C:So that was my first interaction with World Central Kitchen up close.
Speaker C:And they have my utmost respect.
Speaker C:And as far as Feeding Tampa Bay is concerned, they have done such incredible work in our community.
Speaker C:They have cafes now where, you know, they hire people and teach them culinary skills to Send them out into the world and help them, you know, get jobs.
Speaker C:And I mean they have markets where you can go and shop with dignity.
Speaker C:And they've got, you know, their social media is on fire every day.
Speaker C:There's pop ups all over Hillsboro, Pinellas, PASCO.
Speaker C:They service 10 counties and you know, they are making the resources available so you know, you have to give it to them because they're a well off, you know, oiled machine and they're run by passionate people.
Speaker A:Chef Jose Andres and what he does with his organization is fantastic.
Speaker A:I do want to shout out Chef Amy Sins out of New Orleans with fill the needs.
Speaker A:She is everywhere when it comes to feeding people disasters, just anything possible.
Speaker A:She gets tractor trailers on the road, gets people evacuated out of places.
Speaker A:She's a real one.
Speaker A:So is Stan Hayes too from Operation Barbecue Relief.
Speaker A:All these people are fantastic and these are the sort of programs that you need to follow and support 100%.
Speaker C:And that's, you know, I'm glad that you bring up the support because let's, if I can just give one little quick plug, you know, as soon as these SNAP benefits were announced that they were going to be cut, not coming in on November 1, I saw a lot of people going out to grocery stores and donating to food banks and people have maybe might have some hesitancy in donating money.
Speaker C:But let me tell you, they can buy way More with your $1 than we can on our own.
Speaker C:And that's because they have special relationships with these large grocery chains like Publix and Walmar, which I have to tell you, they have full on like 18 wheelers pulling up full of food.
Speaker C:And that's because they get it like 10 cents on the dollar.
Speaker C:So if you're going to go to the grocery store and you're going to spend 20, $25 buying groceries, give it to, you know, feeding Tampa Bay or World Central Kitchen or you know, some food organization, a food bank.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C: can turn around and make that: Speaker A:When you look at the food industry, do you think we're doing enough to make cultural foods accessible and affordable?
Speaker C:No, I don't.
Speaker C:You know, as a CPG brand, I see it firsthand.
Speaker C:Between the tariffs and the taxes and the inflation, you know, I want my food to be accessible to everyone.
Speaker C:I think about, you know, my, you know, the elders in my family on Social Security and I know that, you know, if my product was in a store, they might not be able to afford it.
Speaker C:And.
Speaker C:And I don't want that.
Speaker C:But the fact of the matter is, is that, you know, it was shocking how expensive fresh produce was just to make my own powders.
Speaker C:So, no, I don't think that as a country, we're doing a good job of making food accessible, period.
Speaker C:You know, and as far as, you know, making cultural food accessible, you know, I think it depends on how you look at it.
Speaker C:You know, are the recipes accessible?
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:Go to domestic gourmet.com and you can learn how to make Puerto Guisado or pasteles.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:But in order to afford them right now in this day and age, I don't know.
Speaker A:I'll tell you this.
Speaker A:I've got a couple of young kids, and do they love Cinnamon Toast Crunch?
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker A:It's loaded with all sorts of stuff.
Speaker A:The alternative, the healthy alternative to that particular flavor profile that, like, is almost triple the price.
Speaker C:I know.
Speaker C:I know exactly what you're talking about.
Speaker A:Yeah, it's crazy.
Speaker A:So when you want to eat healthy, they stick it to you grossly.
Speaker C:You know, what people don't realize and what I learned the hard way was, you know, and I hate to bring it back to the tariffs, but, you know, I paid a really hefty price on cardboard.
Speaker C:You know, my tubes, my spice tubes are made out of cardboard.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:So you think about that, that that translates to cereal boxes, and then you've got a different tariff for plastic.
Speaker C:Well, that's the bag.
Speaker C:And then spices.
Speaker C:Where do you think cinnamon comes from?
Speaker C:Most often it comes from Asia.
Speaker C:And now there's taxes and tariffs on that.
Speaker C:So it's compounded.
Speaker C:When I saw that, you know, for cardboard and, you know, exporting from China was like 20, I was like, oh, okay, good.
Speaker C:Because back in April, it was 157%.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:But then I learned that there's a formaldehyde tariff.
Speaker C:And I'm like, how does that apply to me?
Speaker C:Like, you know, I'm not a pharmaceutical company.
Speaker C:And then there's some section three or something, you know, and at the end of the day, it ended up being like a 55% tax on top of all my taxes.
Speaker C:And I was like, oh, my goodness.
Speaker C:Like, you know, it's hard.
Speaker A:I genuinely believe in the end, this tariff thing is going to be good the short term, because they said it even in the beginning, the short term is it's not going to be pretty.
Speaker A:It's not like they said it was going to be roses.
Speaker A:Things are going to shift and it's going to get ugly.
Speaker A:But I think in the Long run that's going to turn.
Speaker A:I really, really believe that.
Speaker A:Just the nature of it.
Speaker A:And we're experiencing some struggles, man, and it affects everybody, it affects everybod body.
Speaker A:But at the end of the day, we were getting taken advantage of pretty badly.
Speaker A:And I know it's like it hurts us in the pocket now.
Speaker A:So you want to like kind of kick the can down the road.
Speaker A:I get it.
Speaker A:But man, it's going to happen sometime.
Speaker A:This was going to happen in some fashion one way or the other, but.
Speaker C:It'S kind of like not saving enough and then you know, an emergency happens and now you're bankrupt.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:So you've got the tariffs and that's hurting us.
Speaker C:And now you've got the government shut down and there's no snap benefits.
Speaker C:You know, I mean they say that they're coming but you know, right now people did not receive them on the first.
Speaker C:So you know, you just really just kicked a man while he was down.
Speaker C:And it is very painful and very scary for me to see.
Speaker A:Cg, you've launched your own spice line, started publishing recipes again.
Speaker A:You're also the ambassador for endofound, the Tampa Bay.
Speaker A:I really do say it's not.
Speaker A:You even heard it in the monologue that was natural for me.
Speaker A:The Tampa Bay Latin Chamber.
Speaker A:And you're also a finalist for the philanthropist of the Year award via Tampa Bay Business and Wealth magazine.
Speaker A:I don't know how you are doing all these things, but how are you balancing entrepreneurship and advocacy?
Speaker A:And advocacy.
Speaker C:You know, I'm very fortunate to have a strong team around me to kind of help pick up the slack when I feel called to a cause.
Speaker C:But one of the ways that I try to balance the two is I try to incorporate my advocacy work which fills my cup with, you know, the business.
Speaker C:So for instance, March is, you know, endowareness.
Speaker C:You know, I'll still be out doing cooking segments and recipes and all that, but I'm going to tie them into maybe an anti inflammatory or you know, something endo related or like right now a lot of my recipes are geared towards low cost, you know, cooking.
Speaker A:So you're talking endometriosis, right?
Speaker C:I am talking about endometriosis.
Speaker A:Okay, just want to be clear for the audience.
Speaker C:Yeah, so endofound stands for the Endometriosis foundation of America.
Speaker C:I am a stage 4 endowarrior.
Speaker C:I've been fighting this since I was 9 years old.
Speaker C:Multiple surgeries.
Speaker C:So it is a cause close to my heart.
Speaker C:Same thing with food insecurity.
Speaker C:You know, I'M very fortunate that my mom was super crafty and my brother and I never went hungry.
Speaker C:But that's not to say that I didn't see the impacts of that.
Speaker C:And so that's why it's like, it's important to me, too.
Speaker C:Especially, you know, I think about 16 million children that have lost their SNAP benefits.
Speaker C:And now with the government shutdown, programs like Head Start are also shutting down.
Speaker C:And that's a program where children were being fed breakfast and lunch.
Speaker C:You know, they're losing two meals a day.
Speaker C:So, you know, in times like this, it might not always be.
Speaker C:Be good for the business, but I feel like it's part of my core values.
Speaker C:It's just part of who I am.
Speaker C:If, if my family, you know, anytime there's a crisis, I check my kids, I check with my husband, we're okay, then you know what?
Speaker C:We've got it in us to go out and help someone else.
Speaker A:Amen to that.
Speaker A:By the way, audience, if you want to learn more about CG's story with endometriosis, go to Hospitality Bites by Colleen Silk.
Speaker A:Terrific episode.
Speaker A:She's another podcaster affiliated with Walk and Talk Media.
Speaker A:And it was a terrific, terrific episode.
Speaker A:Go check that out.
Speaker A:Cgf.
Speaker A:Somebody hears this episode and can only take away one thing from it.
Speaker A:What do you hope that it is?
Speaker C:I hope that we can shed the shame that maybe some of us might have surrounding asking for help and seek assistance.
Speaker C:You know, there it's, I see it all over Facebook.
Speaker C:Who needs help with groceries?
Speaker C:You know, it's not easy to say I need help, but please do that because if it's out there, it, you know, take it.
Speaker C:And so that's what I, that's what I really hope.
Speaker C:I hope that people come away from this inspired to be crafty with what they have to stretch their ingredients and to ask for help.
Speaker A:I mean, so that was well said, obviously, and I concur 100%.
Speaker C:Thank you.
Speaker A:You know what?
Speaker A:I wanted a new too.
Speaker A:John Rosana Rivera and the empanadas from Savor St. Pete.
Speaker A:Girl, I love you.
Speaker C:I love her, too.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Ricardo from ta.
Speaker A:Babe from TA Ba Bay Bang.
Speaker A:I love you too, bro.
Speaker A:Cg, how are people finding you?
Speaker C:Domestic Gourmet everywhere.
Speaker C:Domestic gourmet.com for those no waste recipes and spices and Annada oil.
Speaker A:And speaking of girl, let me tell you something.
Speaker A:The, the donut, the, the fried dough, oh, my gosh.
Speaker A:I'm gonna like.
Speaker A:I, I'm craving it now.
Speaker A:I, I'm up to here, and I still want Moss.
Speaker A:I'm just saying.
Speaker A:All right, John, as always, baby Sam.
