Vida & Estilo Restaurant Group talks V&E Culture & Concepts,Career Path, Food & Beverage Industry Trends, and more!

(upbeat music) - So good morning and welcome to our kickoff episode of our We're All World Talks podcast with Lordis and Kathy. Hello to our listeners. - Hello, hello, hello, we are back. Yes, we are finally back everyone, happy fall. - Happy fall. And to kick off our episode, we have very special guests from Beta and Estella Restaurant Group. Welcome to everyone. And my first question to all of our guests is please introduce yourselves. Tell us a little bit about your background and what led you to a career in hospitality. - Hey, my name is Fabiana Solaris. I am a region from Brazil, but I've been in this state for over 20-something years. My background was to be, I studied to be in the movie industry. But a parallel with hospitality, it's been a good 20 years journey. So in that, so I started from the bottom. First, I was a server, bartender, hostess, secretary in the office. And so I made myself up to be in marketing and sales. Did that for five years for Brazilian steakhouse here in Miami. Then I changed another Brazilian restaurant. For 10 years, there's a general manager and I went back now, I'm being back to sales for about six years and loving it. - Awesome, very nice. - Hello, my name is Alex Medina. I have been in the industry for 25 years about start off back in the late 90s. After being in Miami as a late teenager, I don't know what to do with my life. I wanted to first, it should wanna be a lawyer. I am the corporation for Villa Yastilo. So we're on part of the culinary operations for the company, I know, with our help you will hear from us. And I started this business thinking a trip for a summer in Philadelphia to go stay with my Puerto Rican aunt. I'm under him and I've got a little family as well. And I moved there, I'm a summer, just supposed to be there only for a couple of months. And by myself, my brother was in the business. My brother was a solution, willing to enter his position on the bank. And he says, while you're here in summer, you may wanna spend a couple of months or a couple weeks on the kitchen with me, you can make some money. And I said, yes, I was on like 18 years old. And I started cooking, I think, making salads and never let the kitchen to sink. So I kept on going on the restaurant business, got a couple of certifications, moved to five different states for trying to develop myself and grow and learning. And then I'll back in Florida in 2011. Like I say, from spending time all over North. And I've been in, since 2011, worked with different couple of groups. It will be there still for three years. And successfully growing, helping the company to grow. It is all my name. - Oh, hi, my name is Carlos Proenza. I'm a quarterly general manager on the company. I've been working with them for 13 years. I've been working in the industry for 15. Since the moment I started living in this country, I've been working in the industry. I got in love with them. Originally, I was an artist in Cuba, I studied social communication and psychology with, helped me a lot. I think it's very important in this industry to have that background too, which is when you have attention to detail, you have to deal with people. So it's very important that background story. I got in love with the company, with the mix that we have, with the quality of service, the attention to detail, with the passion and love that we work. So, I've been working with them all these years. And I've been very happy, learning and developing my knowledge and growing. And that's my goal. - Okay, Alex Martinez is on the corporate research and development chef for the B&E group. I've been working with them for 14 years. I got into this industry when I was in my younger life. I was a professional musician. So whenever I was an on tour with my band, I would come back to Miami and I was just working different kitchens. And when the music started, when music career started to go down, I just, they all, the chef's always asked me, "Do you want to be on a sous chef?" And I was like, "No, I have something else going on." And finally, I was like, "Okay, that's not going on anymore." So, yes, I'll be your sous chef. And I just, from there, I love it. I always love cooking. I would cook with my grandma in the kitchen. I was a little kid. So I always had a love for cooking. And after I took those sous chef jobs, I opened up a casino, had no restaurant. Then I came to the uni. And I've been with them for the past 14 years. - I love it. And before we go to our next question, I just want to say that a lot of you have been with the company for such a long period of time. And that speaks volumes in terms of the company culture and the employee retention. So I just want to commend you all for being with such a great organization and having such a long time here with them. - Yeah, and I think it's pretty cool that when you're hearing how your background started, so we have like movies and music and maybe just a start of just trying something out for a summer. So I think a lot of students have this misconception that you have to know what you're going to want to do. - Right. And I keep telling them, or Lordus and I tell them that it doesn't always happen like that. There's not always a clear path. Like, "Hey, you started out, you were a musician, "you were going to go into movies, "you were also doing music as well." And then look where you fell in love in. So I think that's really inspirational because sometimes there's not one clear path that we know what we're going to end up doing. So now, back to V&E. Yes, you guys have been there a long time. And V&E, Vida Yastelo has been a name that we've been hearing a lot more. But some people surprisingly may not know who or what is Vida Yastelo. So can you tell us what is this amazing brand and restaurant and what sets you guys apart from any other large restaurant groups? They're looking at you, Chef. How exciting for this one. (laughing) - What is Vida Yastelo? Vida Yastelo is a combination of minds that came along and created not one but over 10 different concepts. Everything is started with two guys who vote for Mexico, which are the founders. Paired up with open the first restaurant and in Spanilla Way, Washington and Spanilla Way, and a corner. So Mexico, 80s, a Mexican restaurant. Still up and right now operating. It's called Mexico, very famous. Authentics Mexico food. They're very successful from the start. And they partner up with another Falco founder, which is a Cuban owner. And all those three great minds started expanding the company. We went from Mexican and then we went to Cuban. And making sure years after 25 years, we developed not one, like I say, not two, but 10 different concepts. We go from Chinese to Italian, from Mexican to Cuban, from Japanese to coffee chat. So we are not afraid of the challenge. And we want to be the biggest offering a hospitality group that there is in the United States. So that's what we are. We are a group of well talented professionals who care about the business, who are willing to do what it takes to give the best experience to our guests. - That's awesome. That's awesome. Now will you say is your number one thing that makes you guys different from anyone else? - I think something that we do is create passion about this industry. In this world right now, there's a lot of people going to work at restaurants and they don't get involved. They don't get in love with this profession. And we create a field with these people. We move all the energy inside to provide that to the customers and make them feel good at what they're doing. And the world that we live with stress and a lot of problems and issues. We try an industry to appear to be simple. We put all the knowledge and the complexity of the industry and make them love and see the detail in it. And which is, I mean, in my way of seeing, you need to be an artist. - Yeah. - You need to create, you need to give, right? - Yeah. - And appreciate. So that's something that the people who got in love. - I agree. - I agree. - It's something that our company does. - Yeah. I can attest to that because I've been to one of your restaurants and it has a very familial feel. Everyone is like family there. So I definitely agree with your statement. Now this question is for everyone. So what characteristics and skills do you think are needed to be successful in your specific roles and or positions? - All right, so I'm going to talk about cells. You need to be a go-getter, be able to talk to everyone, be out there. Our main job is about meeting people and exchanging information, looking for revenue. So we are available at all times because we do on a cell. It is an intense, passionate position. So you need to be available at all times. You need to be passionate about it. You need to be out there because it's all about connections. - Yeah, absolutely. - All right, my role as a corporate chef, definitely a few characteristics that are or skills that are needed will be, first, we need to be flexible. We need to be flexibility to changes. In this industry, there is Chinese all the time. When it comes to the way that people think, the way that people eat, whether expectations are, the world evolves and change by the minute nowadays. - Yeah. - And technology has changed everything. So we need to be flexible. And I try to do that. We need to be very passionate as Fabiana says. Food is passion and I was telling the students early that you don't cook with a hand or when you mind you cook with a heart. So if you don't, anybody who's been in this business for this loan is because the passion is driven to stay within this business. So passionate responsibility. Number one, you have to be responsible from day one. Just like in any other job, food is something that people actually get in their system. So an overall, the culinary side we need to be very responsible how we handle that to the daily basis. So that way, our customers or guests are safe when they're on our list. - I think as a chef role in the company, perseverance is very something that you need to have. 'Cause it's a hard job, a lot of hours, and there's a lot of times you just might want to feel like I forget this. I'm going to go back to playing music. We're talking about, but you definitely, and fix skin too, I believe. 'Cause in my job, I create a lot of things, and I work directly with our ownership. And in my mind, I might have created the best thing in the world and the owner might say, "Hey, this is garbage." So it's like, you have to be able to take that and be like, "Okay, you have to take it a certain way, and it's not going to discourage you." And you keep on moving forward, keep on creating and being creative and not shut down, and just always be looking forward and trying to be better and better and better. - I think yes, I think you should be creative, you should be a guardian too, you should be a leader, you should be a learner to grow all the time, you should be a teacher. You should care about what you're doing, and be, I think in psychology, you try to avoid the perfectionism, but if you are close to it, you're going to have more attention to the details, and what the people can appreciate about what you're doing, about what you offer, right? And I think just this possibility, be an example, those things are very important as a leader. And that's, hey. - And awesome, thank you so much. Now, Chef Medina, I know that you mentioned something about being adaptable, right, to change, because in our industry, it's constantly changing. I know that we also that post-COVID, how everything really drastically changed, but then in the restaurant, it gets really fun, and tricky, probably on you guys, because the trends coming in on social media, like the Brussels sprouts trend drove me nuts, only because I'm not into Brussels sprouts, so I can't tell people, please don't get, so I get, you know, experimenting here with Brussels sprouts, but that's another big one between the drinks, and the cocktails, and the food. So what has Vita and Stella, you know, seen these new trends, has come up with, or utilized, you know, the trends within their own restaurants? - So, trends, again, like I saw I was picking with the students, because they all had great questions, by the way. That was one of the questions for them. How do we keep up with trends, and how do we look into things? It is our job, which, if Martinez and myself, to, and the culinary side of it, to stay put when it comes to those trends, eating habits have changed drastically over the past years, and like you say, things like COVID came to realize so many things about the way people, how they see the world, how they see themselves in the future, realizing many things. Eating was one of them. So, food ingredients, healthier choices, vegan choices, gluten free choices, have increased way more than what people used to care 10, 15 years ago. So, we analyze that we have tools, the systems also, that can guide us about changes habits for the population, by the region, by the country. That essentials one of the tools that we use, and that gives us food trends. We can simply look into that and see, what is people really looking for? It's like you say, Brussels sprouts still trendy, or it has actually stopped. It's a, now, birria, me, is trending now. Okay, how long will it stay? You don't want to get all, and then just be like, okay, everybody had it, now I have it. Wait, now it's something else is trendier. So, we keep a look at that all the time. And again, we are focused now in smaller portions, healthier choices, but always give you the greatest ingredients. And as far as also of that research. So, we've spoken a lot about our industry, and it's demands, and it's a 24/7 business. So, how do you each handle work-life balance within your prospective positions? And if there is no work-life balance, that's what it's all about. That is definitely okay. (laughing) - Yeah. (laughing) I think sports have a lot, I think meditation has a lot. I think in my case, I'm a martial artist too, I mean, that helped me a lot to recenter, to focus on my goals again, and to reset my computer, and go black again, and fill the cup again. Enter the cup, and fill the cup again. That concept, I'll apply that a lot. So, I think that works a lot. And when my mind is in black again. I can give my time to my family and my personal space. - For me, it's a bit different because now we're in sales. So, we are in and out. I have plans all over China, all over the world. So, time is something that we don't have that much. However, we make the time whenever it's possible to disconnect, if it is, I get home a little earlier, and I have dinner, cook with my son, with my family, and then, okay, they go to the computer, I have a teenager, so a computer has been going to something, and then I'll jump to my computer, and I catch up with whatever it is. But sales gives that possibility, that you don't have to be, like, you know, I was a GM for a long time, so I know if you have long hours in the restaurant. So, you don't stop, there's always something coming in, but you're more flexible with your timing. So, you need to just make priorities, and make sure that you're getting the job done, but also giving part of that to a very special part of your life, which is your family. - Yeah, my take on World Bounce will be, you know, as life evolves, I mean, when, in every job that you do, you have to put it off effort to reach a goal that you want. So, and the culinary side of it, we understand when we first start these at a young age, or whatever age you started that, first you gotta put your work into it, so that way you can accomplish the goals that you want, or to reach, you know, wherever dreams you want. So, it is important to understand that you have to, you don't leave the world, you gotta work to leave. So, when depending on different responsibilities, you know, you had to manage your priorities. And every day, you just accomplish, set up your priorities, finish those priorities, and whatever you can be left on for the next day, and then do so, without procrastinating. Because it is important to find your personal time, you know, to get yourself together, and to be ready for the next day, and our own yourself. So, yeah, there's gotta be more balance. A lot of times, we learn this through the years, right? As we reach maturity, and more responsibility is fine, in the kids, or whatever. It kind of pushes you to have a balance. So, really, I don't have a balance. Yeah, because I'm your picker. No. - How would you? (laughs) - I got this all over the place. - That's a good one. - I also love a place, yeah. - I mean, they always say, you have to love your job. So, I don't see my job as a job. You know, I go there, I get a paycheck, everything. But, I love what I do. Like, I don't see it as I'm clocking in every day. So, I'm always thinking about food. I'm home, I'm cooking, it's just my life. That's what it is. So, my life is being a cook or a chef or whatever I am. (laughs) - I'm glad you guys share that, because, Lordeson, I came from the industry, but I must say, you know, nothing to our other partners and other industry sectors within hospitality, but restaurants are rough, you know? I worked very, very little, and I, it was for a reason, because I think that the work hours, and then the customers, is a lot. Back of the house is rough as well, too. That's a whole 'nother, I like that area, 'cause sometimes I, I used to work in human resources, and I would stop wearing heels, 'cause I like to walk with my chefs, so I love the language, it's back there. There's no please, and thank you, or watch out, I have a homelike. But at the end, you see everyone that they're burnt out, but you can tell when they love what they do. And I'm glad you guys share that, because it's important, like you said, that yes, we have to work, but you have to love it. Because I think for a lot of our students, especially this generation, wants to say, I want to make money. I want to have a career, but I also want to have a life, you know? I think sometimes, I think that may scare them a little bit about the restaurant field, right? But if you love what you do, then you figure everything else out, you know? Because you don't see it's just as that paycheck or those hours that we're running. So thank you for sharing that. - Yes, yeah. So pivoting to a different topic, food. (laughing) Our favorite topic. (laughing) What is your favorite dish from one of your restaurants at the end? I know my personal favorite, I love the guacamole with the little chichadron is. I love that dish. So I would love to hear from each of you on what you think you are. - Or else, I think it's a very tough question. Like I mentioned, we have different concepts, you know? And we really are proud of all of the food that we serve. And again, like I'm a full lover. Not just Google, but to eat it. So imagine, I mean, you think about Mexican yummy. Cuban, ooh, American, oh my God, you know? And Italian, so it's like. - It depends on food. Now, we have my personal probably, oh well, I don't think that I have one favorite, but one of the greatest dishes that I, that I always talk about. It's from one restaurant and it's Italian. Mercato de la Pacheria. We have a Bronzino that I recommend from there that it's good to perfection and the Jasper. I like it because it's very healthy. It's very light. It's not one of the dishes that you finish with and you're a staff and you want to go to sleep. It keeps you going, but there's so many flavors in it. So it's refreshing and that's probably my favorite dish at a restaurant. - Well, I go with Mercato de la Piscadia too. My favorite dish and I go there like once a week with my friends because we like to order bunch of food, put in the center, you know, with bottles of wine and just have fun and eat well. But my favorite dish is the Shrimp and Scamp. I am a pescatarian, so Mercato de la Piscadia is perfect for me. But I do love all of them. I mean, Cuba and Mexican, you know, you name it. All of them have very special dishes that it's made by those two awesome guys here. - Well, in my case, I've been in all the concerts to try them and I love them. I love the Japanese. When I go to Rico, I love Mercato because I love the Pazio Pepe and it's a nice and flavor for the pasta. I love the Mexican concert. I love also the enchiladas. But there's something that trapped me when I met this company. I started working in Cegafredo. It was a concert that we used to have. And I went to eat to the Havana and Lincoln Road. It was recently often. And when I tried the specialty of the house over there, it reminds me a lot to one chicken that my grandma made for me. So it was like, you know, the movie "Ratatouille." - Yeah, I love it. - It was like when I tried, it was like when we made back in that moment when I was a kid. So I feel that same sensation and feeling. So I sell it like that. I teach them, I start to sell it in that way. And I need to eat it every week. I love that name. - Maya Harana? - Yeah. - What is the name of that? - Of course. - Is the Havana 19th? - It's a chicken. - It's a chicken marinated with 36 hours. In Cuban spices, I want a secret recipe. I'm going to tell you right now. - It's a sauce, right? - And one of the ingredients is a sour, orange, a slice of citric base on it. And after that, it's lowly grosser in the oven for two hours and a half. 275 degree. Get out the bone release is soft, tender, easy. - I've had it. - With the juices of the reduction would make it gravy. Very rich, we put them on top of the chicken. We cook, we roast the potatoes and chodds on the same gravy. And then we serve with very loose white rice the way that we didn't have our last leafy black beans and the caramelized sweet potato. - Yeah. - And it's a really nice thing for us. - Anybody hungry? (laughing) - Oh my, okay. Let's eat. - I'm going. - So I guess, well, we all like Mercado. Everybody says Mercado, so. My favorite juice is from Mercado too, I guess. All right, I do have a paperfish one too. But we do have chicken Parmesan, you know, that's classic, nothing out of the world. But we actually, we do it like deconstructed. So the plate comes to your table with a piece of fried chicken there. And then on the side, it comes with a hot, like a fajita skillet where we put those sizzling stuff that we put the sauce and the cheese melted already. So then when it comes to the table, we pour the cheese and the sauce right over there right in front of you. So it helps to keep the chicken crispy. It's really cool presentation, get everybody think, wow, that's really cool. And I just love chicken Parmesan. I get it probably every Italian restaurant I go to. And I love us every childhood role. My chef. - Oh yeah, that's amazing. - Hi. - Yeah. (laughing) - So I'm really hungry. And everyone, yes, and I must try this out and then Lord, as we have to like touch on what she does or a bunch of food, some wine and then pick out, okay? So wrapping everything up, you guys obviously have been in this industry for quite some time, very season, but specifically within Vidadni Stella, which is amazing to hear. But I think from all of us when we first go back, couple of years back, 'cause we're all super young, right? So not that long ago that we started in this field, what is one thing that you wish somebody would have shared with you or told you before you started in this amazing industry. And I'm seeing your face, okay? (laughing) - Don't go in, don't go in, don't go in, don't go in, don't go in. So where do I want to jump at it first? - I can talk about it, let's say. I started, once I started my first management position, which was in marketing sales. And then I changed to what he does now, which is crazy, general manager. And I stayed for 10 years. There was two things that I really loved about the industry. But the work balance for me, I found it more towards sales, right? I wish somebody had told me just, you know, make the move and just go, because you've been there, done that. I think that I gave a little bit too many years for one position instead of like trying it out and seeing where I was 100% happy. That's it. - Awesome, thank you for sharing. - Well, I'm okay, so I think. Somebody should tell me that I have to train more and do my mastering psychology, because this is crazy. - It is. - It is. - And there's a lot of, I'll stop talking about this. - Yeah. - What's the question again? - Well, I don't know if that's the best for my back. - That's the best. - I was told to all of his day, I'm sure I've done that. - That's right. - I don't know what that is. - Love what you do and stick to it, right? 'Cause you mentioned-- - I just wish that somebody would have told me, I guess when I first started cooking, I just thought it was about cooking, and I didn't realize there were so many other things that I went along with it. Like there's inventory and you're responsible for numbers and food costs. I'm a very creative person. So those kind of like math and stuff, like kills my creativity. So when I first was a young chef, I'm like, wait a minute, you have to do all this other stuff too. I wish somebody would tell me, it's not just about cooking or you know, there's a lot of other things that are involved as well that have nothing to do with cooking. - Yes. - It's a tough question. Because for someone like myself, or if I like that we've been doing this for so long, it's probably most of half of my life I've been doing this. That tells me that I love doing it, right? Otherwise I would, you know, shift the gears a long time ago. So I don't think that I would have given an answer as far as I wish somebody would have told me to do something different. I think probably the only thing, when I think about what I tell my new chef, or the new guy that I hire or somebody I'm developing, I try to give them advices that I wish I would have heard. So what I do, it's I try and put myself on their shoes 25 years ago. And I said the expectations to them. So I wish somebody would have sent me more expectations back then. As to what the job ahead will be and what my life would be. So that way it makes it easier. So nowadays, you know, there's a communication that I have improved so much as I was 25 years ago. I mean, you know, self on podcasts and all these things. And now that I get to hear that this is very rewarding. This is a beautiful industry. It's a beautiful job. Let's stick to your values. Ask questions, you know, I was telling the students earlier. You know, you kind of ask a lot of questions in this industry, and especially with culinary food. You know, so just my advice is that just, you know, get a going, get up in your mind to new things, have to be very flexible. And I think that's what I wish I would have happened with me. I wish somebody would have gave me more information rather than find out myself the hard way, you know. And leadership is key when it comes to this industry. Because we are in a business that is not just about the food and ourself, but working with others. So learning how to coexist inside a kitchen, inside of a restaurant, 24/7, we see ourselves more than probably with your families. So on the daily basis. So that's something that I wish somebody would have told me. That you need to be as open or more open inside the restaurant as you do in your personal life. Sure. So sexy. You know what I'm so bad about. Thank you very so much for that. Yes. Thank you guys so much. And this concludes the podcast. We thank you so much for taking the time. And our students will definitely enjoy listening to our reps from the elite. So thank you.