March 2020 The SoCal Food & Beverage Professional

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Issue 3 Volume 20

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March Gladness How Kadee and Karl Malone are Spreading Happiness One Rum Bottle at a Time

March 2020

CONTENTS AND COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLISHER MIKE FRYER

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WELCOME TO OUR MARCH ISSUE OF THE SOCAL FOOD & BEVERAGE PROFESSIONAL where everyone seems unsure of how to deal with coronavirus, and even more so the Food & Beverage Industry, where the business is about serving people. March is one of the busiest periods for Food & Beverage shows, expos and events and we don’t know what will be happening as their dates draw closer. I still don’t understand why people are now stocking up on supplies of hand sanitizer, bottled water and toilet paper. Toilet paper? Actually, I’m used to this hoarding, but in 3rd world countries! Guess we’ll just have to wait and see, and stay safe…

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OUR MARCH COVER FEATURE IS DEDICATED TO MARCH GLADNESS: How Kadee and Karl Malone are Spreading Happiness One Rum Bottle at a Time, by Ben Brown. Ben has researched Karl and his daughter Kadee’s entry into the alcoholic beverage market with E. Leon Jimenes Rum. Please read more about this unique partnership and the mark they are making on the industry.

THE BOTTOM LINE by SoCal’s Restaurant Editor Ben Brown, who interviews Jerry Prendergast, founder of restaurant consulting firm Prendergast and Associates, a multifaceted consulting group covering virtually all aspects of restaurant business from planning to development thru opening and operations which reflects the business and life of Jerry Prendergast. Join Ben as he conducts his one-on-one exclusive interview with this unique individual.

FOODIE BIZ BY BEN BROWN reviews new and upcoming restaurants in Southern California introducing us to places we should know and will want to go, including The Conference Room: Authentic Global Fusion in Playa Vista, barcito: Argentine Influence in Downtown Los Angeles and More Vegan Eateries Opening in San Diego.

CHEF TALK BY CHEF ALLEN ASCH TALKS ABOUT DESIGNATION OF ORIGIN and tells us everything we wanted to know about balsamic vinegar, but were afraid to ask!

Stay well and distance yourselves!

CHEERS! MIKE FRYER SR. EDITOR/PUBLISHER

Page 4 Hot off the Grill!

Page 5 The Bottom Line The Restaurant Producer: Jerry Prendergast, Prendergast & Associates Page 6 What’s Brewing

Page 11 Human Resources Insights Engagement in the Needs of Your Workforce Page 12 COVER FEATURE March Gladness How Kadee and Karl Malone are Spreading Happiness One Rum Bottle at a Time Page 14 Chef Talk Designation of Origin

Page 7 Book Review Page 8 Foodie Biz

Page 18 Twinkle Toast Tara Empson: Belief, Balance & Business Page 19 Spirits Confidential with Max Solano Whiskey Up! For St. Patrick’s Day Page 22 Events Ad Index

Page 16 Brett’s Vegas View

Page 10 The Restaurant Expert How Much Does It Cost to Open a Restaurant?

Page 17 Wine Talk with Alice Swift Ready-to-Drink (RTC) Beverages, the NEW New Moneymaker

17 www.socalfnbpro.com

March 2020 I The SoCal Food & Beverage Professional 3

The Socal Food & Beverage Professional 7442 Grizzly Giant Street Las Vegas, NV 89139

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HOT OFF THE GRILL!

Mike Fryer

Sr. Editor/Publisher Thank you for joining us in this issue of The Las Vegas Food & Beverage Professional.

For any questions or comments please email mike@socalfnbpro.com

Juanita Fryer

Assistant To Sr. Editor ACF Chefs Liasion/Journalist juanita.fryer@socalfnbpro.com

Juanita Aiello

Creative Director juanita@socalfnbpro.com

Bob Barnes

Editorial Director bob@socalfnbpro.com

Ben Brown

Restaurant Editor ben@socalfnbpro.com

Restaurant Editor Ben Brown ventured to The Conference Room in the heart of Silicon Beach, Playa Vista. It’s clear that no corporate boardroom can compete with this venue, sporting a global menu from a chef who has truly traversed the globe. Find out more in Ben’s Foodie Biz column.

Alice Swift

Assistant Editor alice@lvfnb.com

Advertising sales@socalfnbpro.com

Article Submissions/Suggestions articles@socalfnbpro.com

Calendar Submissions calendar@socalfnbpro.com

Website webmaster@socalfnbpro.com

Press Relase Submissions news@socalfnbpro.com

General Information info@socalfnbpro.com

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The SoCal Food & Beverage Professional

CONTRIBUTING STAFF

Legal Editorial Advisor Andrew Matney

Journalist What’s Brewing David Mulvihill

Accounting Manager Michelle San Juan

Journalist Brett’s Vegas View Jackie Brett Journalist

Best of the Best Shelley Stepanek

Journalist Spirits Confidential Max Solano

Journalist Dishing It Sk Delph

Journalist Front & Back of the House Gael Hees

Photographer Audrey Dempsey

Journalist Chef Talk Allen Asch

Journalist Pat Evans

Journalist The Restaurant Expert David Scott Peters

Journalist Adam Rains

Journalist Sandy Korem

Journalists Twinkle Toast Erin Cooper & Christine Vanover

Journalist Lisa Matney

Journalist HR Insights Linda Bernstein

Journalist Made from Scratch John Rockwell

4 The SoCal Food & Beverage Professional I March 2020

www.socalfnbpro.com

The Restaurant Producer: Jerry Prendergast, Prendergast & Associates

Jerry Prendergast, Founder of restaurant consulting firm Prendergast and Associates, has been a driving force behind myriads of restaurant projects, from sole proprietorships to large-budget operations around the world.

From his humble beginning as a dishwasher to managing a project portfolio that includes some of the country’s most acclaimed eateries (and a stint as a professional tennis player in between), Prendergast’s career has encompassed virtually every aspect of getting a restaurant off the ground.

Prendergast shared a bit more detail about his upbringing in the restaurant world, his work as a consultant (or a ‘restaurant producer,’ as he appropriately calls it) and his advice to aspiring restaurateurs looking to turn dreams into feasible, tangible and profitable reality.

You describe yourself as a ‘restaurant producer.’ Can you elaborate on what this means?

A producer is someone who takes an idea and makes it into a reality. Take a movie producer: They’ve either brought a product, or script, by a writer or director. They then bring in the director of photography, the associate producer to work on contracts, the financial manager to assess how the project will sell, and oversees the team that will create the final product.

Okay, so your niche is getting restaurants from the idea phase to their actual opening.

Talk about what goes into that process.

The first thing we do is help people build a financial structure www.socalfnbpro.com

for their restaurant. We try to analyze how much money we can raise, or they can raise, and then map out costs. Then we assess their attorney, their accountant and whether they know the restaurant industry. Those are the first two most important hires. Then come the real estate person, the architect and the kitchen designer. They all have to be able to work together and create your vision.

Once we find a location, we put together the final budget and plan specific to that location. By then we’ve brought in the contractor and we start putting together the blueprint. From there, we start staffing and training leading up to the restaurant’s opening.

I also usually want to be around for the first 3 months after opening. I don’t want to turn something I’ve worked on for 18 months over to a new team that soon. You don’t have a baby after nine months and expect it to be an adult after it’s born. It’s nice to have ‘historical decision making’ around.

As a funny example, I worked on a project more than 20 years ago and recently walked into the restaurant for the first time in decades. I saw equipment being brought in for live music. The staff didn’t know that we had installed a sound system when we first built the place. There was a coffee machine blocking the main control panel. That was a $750K entertainment package that got lost in the handoff to new management over the years!

Lastly, I put together a binder of essential information about the restaurant: the backstory, phone scripts, etc. to get people onboarded as quickly as possible.

And it can get even more complicated depending on where the restaurant is located?

You have the health department, the liquor authority and so many other groups where you have to get permitted. It varies state by state and can become a completely different process depending on where you are.

Benjamin Brown, MBA is Restaurant Editor of The SoCal Food & Beverage Professional. A seasoned

writer and consultant, Ben works with Fortune 500

companies and mom & pop shops alike in Marketing, Analytics, Consumer Insights, PR and Business

Development. Contact Ben at Ben@lvfnb.com or follow him @Foodie_Biz.

When I get a new project, the the team get a restaurant off the first thing I do is figure out how ground. the process works [in that state] I also joke that the reason you so I know which members of hire me is that I’ve probably the team to bring on first. For made or seen every mistake that example, I want a local architect can possibly be made. But in all almost everywhere. I may seriousness, I ask them questions have an interior designer from they don’t have answers to. When LA, but if the restaurant is in they realize they don’t have Florida, they’ll be working with answers and those answers are an architect in Florida. important to move forward, they Let’s go back a few steps. begin to understand the value of my experience.

What inspired you to go into restaurant consulting and what What is some advice you think was your career path like before all restaurant owners should you started your firm? abide by?

I grew up in Hudson Valley in Prepare and plan. Don’t jump New York. My grandfather was into a space. Before you sign a a partner in a hotel company, lease or do anything else, you and he put me to work in the should know what it’s going to hotel as a dishwasher and a cost to do that project in that prep cook. I stayed working in location. People fall in love restaurants throughout high with a location, and then decide school and college, where I to bring in the architect and got my bachelor’s in business contractor before getting a good administration and finance, and idea of the location’s true costs. my master’s in economics.

They run into all sorts of issues that can go way over budget.

I took a year off to play professional tennis, but Wilson Never fall in love with a location. decided that I wasn’t worth Never do a deal you can’t walk sponsoring after that [laughs]. away from. If you don’t get the Afterward, I came back to New deal that works for you, walk York with the plan to get my away. brokerage license and work Make sure you hire the right on Wall Street. Instead I took a team of people. No matter who job managing a restaurant that you are, it’s the people who you wasn’t open yet. I successfully put together that make a project opened the restaurant by work. My grandfather said to managing the projects the team make sure to hire people who couldn’t otherwise handle. know more than you do. They I still had the intention of make you look smart. I try to do working on Wall Street, but kept that on every project I work on. getting called in to work on new restaurant projects. From 19791990 in New York, I opened around 25-30 establishments.

I moved to LA in 1991 and a personal connection set me up with my first restaurant clients out here. That’s what I’ve been doing ever since.

And how do you get new clients now?

90% of my business is referrals.

Whether it’s a real estate agent trying to get a tenant to take a location and realizes the person doesn’t know enough to get the project done, or an investor looking for an expert to help

Photo credit: Prendergast & Associates

The Bottom Line

By Ben Brown

March 2020 I The SoCal Food & Beverage Professional 5

what’s

photo credit: David Mulvihill

BREWING

By David Mulvihill David Mulvihill strives to experience and write about the ever-evolving face of SoCal craft beer. He also covers Orange County for Celebrator Beer News and provides business and compliance support to SoCal breweries. Contact him at david@socalcraftbeer.com.

View from the Best of Show table during the OC Fair judging.

SoCal Fairs/Professional Craft Beer Competitions Southern California now has at least three major international commercial beer competitions that give brewers a chance to put their best beers up against those of fellow brewers from across the globe and vie for category and competition top honors.

SDIBC

For 14 years the San Diego International Beer Competition has taken place in conjunction with the Del Mar Fairgrounds International Beer Festival. Local breweries and breweries from across the world compete in approximately 60 style categories. SDIBC has grown significantly from its humble beginning in 2006 when entries submitted for judging approached 200. In the years that followed, tracking in line with the dramatic growth in the number of breweries and entries also increased. In 2019 there were 1,511 beers from 263 breweries from 26 US States and five Countries.

Tom Nickel (O’Brien’s Pub and Nickel Beer Co) was the competition’s original organizer. He and Tyson Blake have shared these duties for many years.

Entry deadline for this year is March 15, with beer samples needing to be received by March 27. Judging will take place April 24th and 25th.

Results are typically announced by the end of April.

For is $50 fee per entry and breweries can enter up to 10 beers. In addition 6 The SoCal Food & Beverage Professional I March 2020

to two Festival T-shirts, entering breweries will also receive up to 8 fair admissions and tasting session wristbands (based on their number of entries).

This year’s San Diego International Beer Festival happens Friday through Sunday, June 19-21. sandiegobeerfestival.com

L.A. International Beer Competition

2020 marks the 20th year for the Los Angeles International Commercial Beer Competition. Since the year 2000, the Los Angeles County Fair Association has worked with local brewers to sponsor the competition, which is held each year at Fairplex in Pomona. Also open to breweries worldwide, March 27 is the deadline for entries this year. Beers to be judged must be received between April 7th and 10th. Judging will take place April 18-19 and winners announced in late April.

LAIBC fees for entries prior to March 13 are $55 per entry. After that date the fee rises to $65.

A selection of award-winning breweries will be contacted well in advance of the fair in order to purchase their award-winning beer for tasting during the L.A. County Fair in the Marketplace. Public Tasting of winning beers will take place in conjunction with the L.A. County Fair, which runs from September 4-27. Watch for the results and be sure to get your fair tickets in order to sample and enjoy the winning beers. fairplex.com www.socalfnbpro.com

OC’s Inaugural Year The 2020 OC Fair Commercial Beer Competition marks the first time the OC Fair & Event Center has embarked on holding a professional brewing competition. Its well-seasoned Homebrew Competition will continue this year. Entries and judging for the homebrew contest historically happens in early May. In part, due to its newness and a short window from the time the commercial competition was announced to the time entries were due, the number of entries didn’t quite break the 200 mark. This has allowed organizers time to get acquainted and comfortable with this new competition and its demands in preparing for this year and those that will follow. The OCFCBC is open to licensed breweries and brewpubs internationally.

Entry deadline was February 10 with beer required to be received by February 21. Judging took place Feb 29 and March 1. This reporter participated in judging beers both days, and was honored to be part of the panel that decided Best-of-Show. All beers that received first place awards in their respective categories were advanced to compete for Best of Show.

Given the high quality of the beers advanced to the final round, it was indeed a difficult decision. Winners are expected to be announced by the end of March. The awards ceremony will take place on July 27, during the OC Fair, which runs July 17-August 16.

Similar to San Diego’s contest, OC’s fees are $50/entry. 20 entries per brewery were allowed in this initial year. Breweries will receive 2020 OC Fair admission tickets based on their entry numbers. ocfair.com

Book Review

Beer has been brewed in Nevada since before it was a state and now the beverage’s history in the Silver State has been consolidated into one book, Nevada Beer by The Las Vegas Food & Beverage Professional’s own Pat Evans. It’s the second book released

by Evans, who released a book about the history of beer in his hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 2015. Nevada Beer is available on Amazon and at local retailers.

Why write this book?

I took it as a little bit of a challenge, but also a way to jump into the Nevada beer industry. Back in Michigan, I was deeply involved as a reporter in a city known nationally for beer. When I found out I was moving to Las Vegas in September 2017, I decided to let my publisher know and they wanted a Nevada beer book. Prior to my move, I had heard and read a lot about how lousy the Nevada beer scene is, and I didn’t feel like it was possible if it was true. So it was sort of a challenge to prove people outside of Nevada wrong and show there is good beer in the state. Plus, what better way to jump into the industry and get to know people. It’s full of a lot of great people.

Was there history to dig deep into?

Surprisingly more than I thought there would be. Knowing from previous research that beer was widely made across the country pre-Prohibition, I expected a good amount. It was all concentrated north of Las Vegas of course. Even aside from Carson City and Reno, which had significant operations, there were dozens of breweries in the mining towns. I loved how in-depth some of the newspapers used to go detailing the brewing process, and I got more out of those than I did with old West Michigan papers. It’s fun getting a look into the similarities and differences of how beer was made then versus now.

I do wish I was able to find more information before I sent off to the publisher, but so it goes with writing about history, especially on a short and tight timeline. www.socalfnbpro.com

What was surprising about the history?

Coming from the Midwest, I’ve long been enthralled with the old west, but who isn’t? You romanticize it, and as with most historical things, people generally take pop culture as gospel. Diving into the old west, you discover it wasn’t that rowdy and there were a lot of cosmopolitan aspects about life. These were great urban centers and exciting places to be, not because of train robberies, but because they brought in things from all over the world. In many ways, I felt early 1800s West Michigan was more old west than late 1800s Nevada.

What stands out to you in the modern Nevada beer industry?

Coming here and tasting some of the great beer made by longtime industry players like Big Dog’s and Great Basin made me smile. It was like, there’s great beer here. Sure, they’re not necessarily the flashiest breweries, but they’ve been around a long time and for me, I love consistency and don’t jump on trends quickly. If you’re making a good solid beer, you’re good with me. And I’d say a larger percentage of breweries in Nevada are just brewing good beer than some more well-known brewing states. It’s a lot like the state in general; people don’t seem to think much of Nevada outside the state, at least besides a crazy place to come for vacation. But you get here and you explore, it’s a beautiful state full of great aspects.

What do you view as the future of beer in Nevada?

I think there are a lot of positives. As I mentioned just having some major stalwarts like Great Basin, whose Tom Young (wrote the Nevada Beer foreword) is one of the industry’s great pioneers. His true passion and dedication to the beer industry is fantastic. But then you have new entries into the state making more trendy beers, like Revision and IMBIB and you have players standing out and making a name for Nevada’s beer industry. So as long as they’re starting to say, “Hey look at us,” and Great Basin and brewers like Dave Pascual at Big Dog’s keep showing well at national awards, people might take notice. I’ll also try to do my part writing nationally about the beer industry and continuing to tell the modern history through NevadaBrew.com.

March 2020 I The SoCal Food & Beverage Professional 7

| Foodie Biz | Photo Credit: Ben Brown and The Plot

By Ben Brown Benjamin Brown, MBA is Restaurant Editor of The SoCal Food & Beverage Professional. A seasoned writer and consultant, Ben works with Fortune 500 companies and mom & pop shops alike in Marketing, Analytics, Consumer Insights, PR and Business Development.

Contact Ben at Ben@socalfnbpro.com or follow him @Foodie_Biz.

The Conference Room: Authentic Global Fusion in Playa Vista To fully experience The Conference Room, it’s important to understand the story of the chef whose masterwork makes the restaurant tick. Because in a city like LA, where the so-called formula for a restaurant is typically something along the lines of ‘start with Italian, add some exotic-sounding stuff, and hope for the best,’ it’s rare to find a chef that has actually lived in the areas his menu represents. The Conference Room, while checking many of the “hip and trendy” boxes necessary for its roots in Playa Vista, in turn pays homage to the journey taken before the restaurant ever opened its doors.

Executive chef Michelangelo Aliaga grew up in a small town in northern Peru. With a Peruvian mother and an Italian father, he moved to Barcelona as a teenager, where he then began his culinary training. Aliaga proceeded to spend the next several decades across many of Europe’s finest culinary cities, from Florence to London, and many places in between. His next chapter took him to the US, where he met the illustrious Chef Ricardo Zarate, a fellow Peruvian, and a collaboration of South American fare with a heavy dousing of global influence blossomed. This takes us to The Conference Room. Chef Aliaga demonstrates tremendous pride in his work, from making pastas in-house to sourcing ingredients of the highest quality.

Case in point with the truffle semolina gnocchi. Simple in nature but rich as can be, this decadent creation soaks up a rich cheese fondue with layers of beautiful black truffle shaved on top. Each bite makes it becomes harder and harder to keep your eyes open and remain composed. Then there’s the lobster spaghetti, equally luxurious in its own right with behemoth chunks of lobster claw and tail folded into a tangle of house-made pasta and an oh-so-flavorful lobster bisque sauce.

Chef Aliaga has an eye for indulgence (as if his pastas didn’t already make that clear), and has prepared several comfort classics accordingly.

The Americano smothered fries showcase a mountain of crispy potatoes enveloped in a house-made cheese sauce with hefty morsels of bacon on top. The chicken and waffles are presented with a surprising addition of avocado, fried egg cooked so perfectly that the yolk could burst with a slight gust of wind, and an addictive unification of maple syrup and buffalo wing sauce. But comfort food takes many forms, and for a Peruvian, that means lomo saltado. And lomo saltado Chef Aliaga delivers, in grand fashion.

The Conference Room’s menu and ambiance are like siblings: they get along in many ways, and yet in some cases it’s hard to believe they’re related. On one hand, loud ultra lounge-style music is a bit over-the-top for a restaurant surrounded by office buildings (even if those buildings play host to trendy tech giants such as Google and Facebook) but on the other hand, the restaurant’s capacity is limited to around 60 people, patio included, providing an intimate environment that’s as close to a classic Italian trattoria as you can get in the bustling context of Los Angeles. The trendy crowd and faux fireplace are always surefire reminders of being in a big city. ConferenceRoomRestaurant.com.

barcito: Argentine Influence in DTLA Nestled on the corner of 12th and Grand, just a stone’s throw from the Staples Center, sits barcito. Make no mistake about this Argentinianfocused, haute spot: While Latin flavors run through barcito’s veins, the menu holds elements of classic American comfort to make just about any patron feel right at home. In similar fashion, a novel drink menu sports a broad selection of specialty cocktails, including beer and wine cocktails, that pack a hell of a punch.

Oh yeah, the vibe here is ‘very LA,’ with groups sporting everything from chic formal wear all the way down to well-worn hoodies. The place 8 The SoCal Food & Beverage Professional I March 2020

www.socalfnbpro.com

perfectly caters to all crowds, agendas, and lifestyles that intertwine amidst the hustle and bustle of DTLA. The long bar is perfect for groups and party-goers, while pockets of candlelit tables accommodate date nights and intimate groups. barcito’s food menu is just large enough to provide strong variety, but small enough for each dish to have been perfected over time. The attention to detail shows in a starter as pure and simple as bread & butter, where barcito’s grandma’s bread holds simply the perfect hearty texture made all the more beautiful with a cultured butter topped with sea salt. Throw in some ultra-premium serrano ham and fresh burrata and you could almost call it a night. But of course, barcito goes much further than that.

Empanadas are undoubtedly a staple here. Whether shredded pork, ground beef, or artichoke heart, each comes with its own distinct presentation, but all go perfectly with a bright & creamy chimichurri. Bridging the elements of Argentine and American cuisines are items like the breakfast salad, where chorizo, avocado, and perfectly fried egg come together atop fresh greens for a dish suitable for any health-crazed millennial who also has a refined palate. Going even further into Americanized, yet globalized fare is the hot chicken sandwich, where an ever-so-light breading locks in an ever-so-juicy piece of chicken, accompanied by a colorful carrot and purple cabbage slaw and a creamy, spicy honey-infused sauce.

And if you come at the right time, the animal-style fries are an upscale take on their namesake, with tender shortrib and chimichurri putting an intriguing spin on things. barcito backs up its name with a strong drink lineup.

Each cocktail incorporates elements of timeless classics with a touch (or sometimes a heavy dose) of something new. Take the flower street, where vodka, lavendervanilla, lemon and egg white come together to create a slightly sweet taste and bold character. Their house-made shandy, with citrus-blonde ale and ginger lemonade goes down smoothly, as does a beautifully mixed spritzer with Aperol, lemon and sparkling wine. Other cocktails feature ingredients such as pez powder, maple and tajin, with new concoctions arriving on a regular basis.

Whether you’re at barcito for food, drink, or both, the dulce de leche churros will undoubtedly make your night.

An airy batter with deep pockets houses more cinnamon sugar than thought possible, and – as if that wasn’t sweet enough – an addictive dulce de leche sauce turns a good dessert into a knock-out dish. barcitoLA.com.

More Vegan Eateries Opening in San Diego As plant-based diets continue to rise in the food trend world, more and more eateries are becoming empowered to not just incorporate these items into their menus, but dedicate themselves entirely to these categories.

OleriCultura, an all-vegan food stall, recently opened up in La Mesa’s Grossmont Center. Its humble food court location keeps costs lower than they’d be in a standalone property, but the modern plant-based take on Mexican fare has resonated with consumers. OleriCultura serves a variety of grain bowls that incorporate south-of-the-border ingredients such as native beans and plantains, cashew crema and habanero beet salsa.

Farther north, in Oceanside, husband and wife team Davin and Jessica Waite have opened The Plot. This plant-based eatery puts the environment above all else and touts a ‘zero-waste’ business model. The Plot is the duo’s newest concept, after The Whet Noodle and Wrench and Rodent Seabasstropub. Aiming to “keep things real and local,” the menu sports items such as beet reubens and strawberry stem pesto pasta. www.socalfnbpro.com

March 2020 I The SoCal Food & Beverage Professional 9

The RESTAURANT EXPERT How Much Does It Cost to Open a Restaurant?

The big question when looking to open any new business is, "How much is this going to cost me?" Which also becomes the question of, "Do I have enough money to make my dream come true?" Unfortunately, it’s difficult to give you a straight answer because of so many variables such as location, décor, style of food, types of equipment, quality of your furniture, etc. What I can tell you is how to get to the number for the restaurant you have in mind. Following what I teach, you will be able to answer, "How much does it cost to open a restaurant I want to own?"

Here are things you must have in place so you know where you need to be: The first is a capital budget. What is the money you need to open your restaurant? For example, you have to figure out what equipment you need and what kind of kitchen arrangement you need.

But to really determine this budget, you should have your menu figured out and have recipe costing cards. This will tell you how to design your restaurant. Are you going to have more grilled or more fried items? This answer tells you what kind of equipment you'll need. What's the style of your restaurant? What's the price point?

Is it a fast-casual concept that can be built out pretty inexpensively or will you have a higherend restaurant that has real oak on the walls?

What kind of tables and chairs are you going to have? High quality or value-engineered? Your location will play a big role as well. Are you buying a building or renting space?

The second thing is to develop an operating budget. This is a question of how much does it

By David Scott Peters David Scott Peters is a restaurant coach and speaker who teaches restaurant operators how to cut costs and increase profits with his trademark Restaurant Prosperity Formula. Known as the expert in the restaurant industry, he uses a no-BS style to teach and motivate restaurant owners to take control of their businesses and finally realize their full potential. Thousands of restaurants have used his formula to transform their businesses. To learn more about David Scott Peters and his formula, visit www.davidscottpeters.com.

cost to operate and what will your sales be like.

What is your sales mix, or how much food are you going to sell vs. how much alcohol? Are you 85 percent food, or are you a bar that only sells 50 percent food? That answer affects your budget.

You also need to determine your cost of goods sold target. Break it down into food, bottle beer, draft beer, wine and liquor. Each category will have its own target cost of goods sold.

Next is your labor. Break out your labor by position. If you're full service, you'll have servers, hosts, food runners, bartenders, bar backs, cooks, prep cooks, dishwashers. List out all your positions including your management team and categorize them by hourly or salary.

If they're hourly, what percentage of sales is their target?

In this operations budget, you're aiming for a 55 percent prime cost. (The prime cost formula is the grand total of your total cost of goods sold, which includes both food cost and liquor or pour cost, plus total labor cost).

Prime cost covers your variable expenses for your operations budget, but you also need to include your fixed expenses, such as rent/ mortgage, loan payment, paper supplies, linens, etc. This builds your targets and tells you where you need to be to make money. Then you can put a plan in place to make sure you hit those targets.

With your budget you can also plan for extra cash to deplete that will cover losses during training and opening. Your operating budget will tell you when you can expect to turn the corner and start making money.

10 The SoCal Food & Beverage Professional I March 2020

These two budgets will help you get money from the bank. They are going to be looking for a ratio of 1:1.25. If you borrow $1 million to open the restaurant, you should make $1.25 million for them to feel good about your loan.

That's not what I would use to determine your potential for success, but it's what the bank will use. If your prime cost is 55 percent or lower, you’re well on your way to running a profitable restaurant, no matter what it costs you to open.

www.socalfnbpro.com

By Linda Westcott-Bernstein

Human Resources Insights

Linda Westcott-Bernstein has provided sound human resources advice and guidance to Fortune 500 companies and others for over 25 years. Linda has recently re-published her self-help book entitled It All Comes Down to WE! This book offers guidelines for building a solid and enduring personal work ethic. You can find her book on Amazon or Google Books.

Phone: 702-326-4040 Email: Vegaslinda89129@yahoo.com

Engagement in the Needs of Your Workforce

Engagement in the Needs of Your Workforce Having your ear (and a door) open to what is going on at your workplace is probably one of the most essential leadership skills that you, as a manager of a unified workforce, can have. Why? Because when you have a team where everyone is on the same page, working toward the same goals, and focused on the same outcome, you are clearly on the right path for success. More importantly, those who place a value on the wellbeing and satisfaction of their workforce tend to have the most cohesive and contented team, and guest satisfaction and revenue trends tend to always be at their best in this environment.

How do you accomplish this type of engagement? You have to care. It starts with having a heart and some compassion for the needs of your workforce. Have you ever found a high performing team that didn’t have good foundational values, that didn’t care about one another, and that didn’t put the needs of one another before all else? Not likely. To be at our best, we must know and show that we always care. Below are my five essential “CARES”: characteristics of the leader(s) who will develop and maintain a high quality, cohesive team.

As I see it, all that you have to do as a good leader is be someone who CARES. You must show…

• Compassion • Attention • Recognition • Encouragement • Sharing

We tend to forget that we are dealing with people: human beings with feelings, fears and family distractions. When these concerns are not addressed, employees are distracted, worried and unproductive. While a paycheck is the ultimate reward, it is not the most essential one. I believe that good managers must place the needs of their employees before their own.

They must rise above their own needs and be available and willing to address the concerns of their team. You have to remember that each of us has stressors that detract from our potential, our focus and ultimately our performance, especially when these distracters are not addressed.

But how do we do this? By knowing what each of these characteristics are and what they can mean to our fellow human being. And, by caring and giving of ourselves to ensure the wellbeing of another person.

What is compassion? It is caring about the well being and the fears/concerns of others and putting them before our own needs.

What is attention? It is seeing, hearing and listening to others not just with our minds open but our hearts open as well.

What is recognition? It is acknowledging someone, having patience and saying “thank you” for a job well done.

What is encouragement? It is giving positive feedback, explaining and training someone when needed and showing that you care with simple, compassionate acts or expressions of concern.

What is sharing? It is giving of your heart and mind without hesitation to help them, showing them the way and setting them on a better path.

It is establishing and living the example that you want others to follow!

I recently had the honor of helping a coworker in need after discovering that this person was homeless. I had no idea because human nature is to endure and not tell others of our needs. My heart swelled with compassion and tears filled my eyes. We can’t turn a blind eye. But when given the opportunity to help an employee, just take the reins without hesitation and work to find a solution to a grave matter. All turned out well! I find that if you listen, care and have compassion, there are solutions for any situation if we just put our mind and heart into it.

I think that we can build strength in our teams by establishing foundational values for our teams.

Decide the five most essential needs of your workforce and then put everyone on the path to acknowledging, accepting and addressing them.

This sounds something like a family structure, with support and a network, right? As I see it, the most essential needs of each member of a family are: 1) love, 2) security, 3) sustenance, 4) support and 5) acceptance. When we help others to ensure that these five needs are met, we show that we CARE!

HR Question of the month:

Please send your HR questions and concerns, or share your thoughts on your human resources challenges via email to the following address. Send input to vegaslinda89129@yahoo.com. Your comments, questions or concerns will help determine the direction for my next month’s column and earn you a copy of my book. Include your mailing address when sending your responses.

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March 2020 I The SoCal Food & Beverage Professional 11

MARCH GLADNESS

How Kadee and Karl Malone are Spreading Happiness One Rum Bottle at a Time

By Ben Brown

Photos Courtesy: Karl & Kadee Malone

Countless hours of exertion, pushing your body and mind to levels previously thought impossible, your focus on one goal, your motivation fueled by one burning passion, is a common practice among elite athletes.

Bit this hard work and ambition cannot stay contained within the confines of the field, the court or the weight room. It’s a way of life, a force as strong as ever within NBA legend Karl Malone, and a mindset he’s passed down to his children. Now, 16 years after retiring from basketball, Malone is business partner with his daughter Kadee, and dare we say the duo is bringing as much passion to the rum business as that Malone and Stockton brought to the Utah Jazz in the late 90’s.

“The fact of the matter is that when we open up a business, it’s not just for sh**s and giggles.

It’s real,” Karl said. “People pick up on your passion, and [E. Leon Jimenez Rum] is now something that’s a part of us. If you’re going to share a piece of yourself with the world, then you better make sure you’re putting everything you have into it.”

Speaking through his thick Louisiana accent, Karl emphasizes ‘us’ and ‘we,’ noting that he and Kadee may have joined forces because they’re family, but business is growing because of her own hard work, dedication and savvy.

“She just jumped right into it. You can’t teach that…it’s something you gotta have within you,” Karl said. “I’ll be the first to tell you that I don’t make any decisions unless I run them

by Kadee.”

The two first got into business together when they opened Legends Cigar and Vape, a humble smoke shop in Ruston, Louisiana where the family resides. Karl’s passion for cigars began during his NBA career when he smoked one to celebrate a big win, and he sought to turn it into a business after retirement. Building the shop took the greater part of three years, providing lessons for the father-daughter team to learn from, that eventually set them up for their success with E. Leon Jimenes.

“Kadee initially owned the construction [of Legends Cigar and Vape], but we soon realized that it held challenges outside her control,” Karl said. “I found myself raising my voice to my

12 The SoCal Food & Beverage Professional I March 2020

daughter, but realized that the things we were fighting over weren’t her fault. I had to check myself and say ‘Kadee, you were right.’”

When Legends opened, the two had more than a smoke shop between them. They had a newfound professional relationship and compatibility. And for Karl, this meant instilling Kadee with new responsibility.

“I called her one morning and had her come to the store,” Karl said. Kadee showed up, originally thinking there was something wrong, but was greeted by a smile from her father, and news that would change her life.

“I just said ‘Congratulations, you’re the owner,’ Karl said.

Kadee took the news with delight, viewing ownership of the store with incredible potential to expand the family’s brand.

“The facial expressions that people make when they try any of our stuff is priceless,” Kadee said. “Their jaws drop, their eyes sparkle. It’s amazing. We wanted to make [Legends] feel like our house, like what we have as a family.

Everything is about family. We try all the products out ourselves.”

And the ultimate test they both agree on showcases their dedication to quality. “All of our products stand on their own. If you take our name off the label, they’re still gonna love whatever they’re having,” the two of them said.

The search for quality led Karl and Kadee to E. Leon Jimenes rum, during a series of visits to www.socalfnbpro.com

their cigar supplier, La Aurora in the Dominican Republic. After a few conversations, the pair seemingly fell into the rum business by accident.

“I never drink dark liquor, ever. Then we were down in the Dominican Republic, where we called ‘The Godfather’ [La Aurora President Guillermo León],” Malone said. “They had a rum that got a 97 at the Chicago Wine Institute.

They knew they had something special, but it was just sitting on the shelf.”

After trying it for the first time, the Malones decided to take some back home to the US to share with their friends. The rum was met with overwhelming approval, and they kept asking for more. That went on for two years.

“We have a tendency to give things away, then it got serious,” Kadee said. “I said ‘Dad, you gotta stop giving away the rum.’”

They saw a business opportunity to take E. Leon Jimenes rum to the US commercially. They just didn’t expect La Aurora to agree as quickly as they did.

“I said ‘Dang, we’re your best customer,’ so I asked La Aurora if I could be a distributor,” Malone said. “They said yes, and I said ‘Dang, what have I got myself into!’”

The pair are now responsible for the brand’s distribution across the US, and are proud to add E. Leon Jimenes rum to their portfolio of premium products tied to their name.

“It’s a high-end rum and it’s pricey, but the fact of the matter is that anyone can drink it, and that’s what we’re all about,” Karl said. “It’s one of those rums you can have in a casual setting or in a suit and tie. When people have it, they’re going to know that it’s a true experience.

Everyone who tries it comes back for more.”

E. Leon Jimenes rum is a blend of selected rum reserves, aged eight years in virgin American Oak barrels. It’s then taken out and aged an additional two years in French Sherry casks. It promotes flavor notes of honey, red fruits, vanilla and cocoa, and is bottled in the Dominican Republic’s prestigious Barcelo distillery. A 750ml bottle typically retails for ~$100. “[Aurora] made this rum so it could pair with every La Aurora cigar, and they have thousands of strands,” Karl said.

“And it’s made with sugarcane juice and not the syrup. That’s why you don’t have the headache the next day,” Kadee said.

E. Leon Jimenes is expanding rapidly, entering the Las Vegas market with Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits and is on track for continued expansion, but the road has been far from easy, requiring Karl and Kadee to lean heavily on the passion that brought them into the business in the first place.

“People said no and shut the door in our faces.

We didn’t get detoured. You can’t look at the money part of it. You have to look at your passion, and for all the people who tell you can’t do something, show them all the ways you can,” Karl said. “Whatever your dream is, whatever your goal, whatever your passion, don’t let them take that away from you. People pick up your passion…we closed two restaurant deals in Las Vegas just because they saw how much we loved and believed in this rum.”

“When people tell you no, don’t stop. Someone is going to say yes,” Kadee added. “My dad www.socalfnbpro.com

E. Leon Jimenes is expanding rapidly, entering the Las Vegas market with Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits and is on track for continued expansion, but the road has been far from easy, requiring Karl and Kadee to lean heavily on the passion that brought them into the business in the first place. taught us from a young age that we have to work for anything we want. With Legends, I was the one who painted the store. I did so many things for it, and that’s how I earned the business. I worked for it.”

At the same time, they’re staying true to their ideals for family. They began distributing E. Leon Jimenes in their home state of Louisiana, through a handshake deal with a local wholesaler and importer. To this day, they haven’t signed a contract.

“That’s the great thing about trust and loyalty.

We’re helping them because they’re helping us,” Malone said. “That’s the great thing about our community [in Northern Louisiana], where we all feel like family and looking out for each other.”

The same principles apply to Legends and the myriads of other businesses each Malone oversees. From Kadee’s CBD line to Karl’s ventures in logging, real estate and transportation, the end goal is to support the community.

“We open up the type of business that people need, not something to compete with a place that’s already open,” Karl said.

He’s also cognizant of his celebrity status, and is the first to acknowledge that while he retired from basketball in 2004, the athlete’s mindset and the passion he’s instilled in himself and his family are a lifelong commitment.

“The first thing everyone says to us is ‘We know you’re here now, but are you going to be here when we actually start the business?’” Malone said. “They talk to us about all the celebrities who come and go, and ask us, ‘What’s gonna be different?’ All I can give them is our word, and everyone who takes it sees exactly how much we stand by what we believe in.”

And just like that, you realize the man’s endless NBA accolades are not his identity, but rather a product of his identity, built on a foundation of passion. The spotlight shines on Kadee, who may not have inherited her father’s thick southern accent, but got every bit of the athlete’s mindset that’s paved her own foundation for success.

Karl and Kadee Malone are taking E. Leon Jimenes rum to new heights, but this entrepreneurial journey isn’t just about business.

It’s about family.

March 2020 I The SoCal Food & Beverage Professional 13

By Chef Allen Asch Feel free to contact Chef Allen with ideas for comments or future articles at allenasch1@gmail.com.

Chef Talk

Chef Allen Asch M. Ed., CCE is a retired culinary arts instructor who has earned degrees from Culinary Institute of America, Johnson and Wales University and Northern Arizona University and taught at UNLV. He earned his Certified Culinary Educator Endorsement from the American Culinary Federation in 2003.

Designation of Origin

After writing last month about empanadas, specifically the pasties, I continued my research into the origin of foods as well as the requirements for calling foods certain names.

I was in the supermarket shopping the other day and walked down the aisle with the oil and vinegar selection and looked at the variety that were available. This made me think, “why are there so many balsamic vinegars on the shelves?” I understand much of the differences between different brands and prices but I decided I needed to investigate a little further.

I went to a specialty store for condiments and had a great conversation with the sales person about some of the variables involved in the sale of balsamic vinegar. At this store, a 16-ounce bottle of the vinegar ranged from three dollars to two hundred dollars. Like wine, the grapes pick up the flavor profile from the environment including: soil, sun exposure and rain. One of the great things these industries do is put a guarantee on their product called the Protected Designation of Origin, PDO, or DOP which stands for Designation of Origin. The specific initials and terminology are different in each country and sometimes tailored to each product.

This is a guarantee that the product is from a specific region and other official rules apply to how each product is prepared or handled.

Certainly, I understood the difference between aged and non-aged vinegars, but there are many other variables to this bottled flavorful condiment. There are many differences between different brands and qualities of the many bottles of balsamic vinegar available. For an item to be called balsamic vinegar, according to the Italian

DOP (“Denominazione di Origine Protetta”), the grapes must be grown from one of two types of grapes that are grown in only two places in Italy.

The two grapes are the varieties of Lambrusco or Trebbiano, which are white grapes, usually late harvested. The two places that these grapes can be grown are Reggio Emilia and Modena.

Additionally, the only ingredient allowed is grape “must.” Must is defined as crushed grapes, including the stems, skin and seeds. The inclusion of the stems, seeds and skin is what gives it the deep color that we think of when thinking about balsamic vinegar. The must is cooked over a flame and concentrated to half of the original amount. Then the must is left to ferment naturally for up to three weeks, and then aged and further concentrated for a minimum of 12 years. Within the 12 years, the concentrate is aged in a succession of smaller and smaller barrels, using different woods. The woods vary by producer, but might include chestnut, oak, cherry, mulberry or juniper. When bottling, the smallest cask is half emptied and added to some must from next size barrel. The barrels are never emptied, but refilled with must from the next largest cask. All of this is under the watchful eye of the DOP. There are designations that have less aging, but they would not have the DOP seal on the bottle. For example, a five-year aging process would be designated with the IGP stamp standing for "Indicazione Geografica Protetta," or a protected geographical indication.

This style of vinegar can cost around 40 dollars a pint. Who knew it took so much to attain a seal or label?

The vinegars above should never be used in

14 The SoCal Food & Beverage Professional I March 2020

cooking, but added as a condiment or finishing flavoring. This differs from the process to make cheaper balsamic vinegar. This is made by adding some wine vinegar with food coloring masquerading it as Italian balsamic. Any label that says balsamic vinegar but doesn’t have the letters IGP or DOP listed is technically considered “condimento balsamico” or condiment grade balsamic. Check the ingredient list before you buy; cheap balsamics often have added sugar to mimic the sweetness of an aged balsamic. These vinegars might say “bottled in Modesto,” which means the grapes are grown elsewhere and only processed or bottled in the designated regions.

These laws also protect the names of wines and certain cheeses including Parmesan, Gorgonzola and Feta. Certain meats such as Prosciutto need a certification. Prosciutto comes from the same region as Parmesan, where the pigs are fed the whey byproduct of the Parmesan cheese making process. Another detailed need for naming an item is Roquefort cheese, which must be made from milk of a certain breed of sheep, and ripened in the caves near the town of Roquefortsur-Soulzon in France, where it picks up its unique flavor from a fungus, Penicillium roqueforti, that occurs naturally.

This system is similar to the DOP and PDO mentioned above, but carries the AOC certification, appellation d'origine contrôlée, which is the French version. This process is similar to items that carry a Kosher, Halal or Organic Certification in that inspection happens throughout the whole processing of the product. www.socalfnbpro.com

CABERNET

COLOR UP YOUR LIFE! RIEDEL.COM

Brett’s

16 The SoCal Food & Beverage Professional I March 2020

www.socalfnbpro.com

Wine Talk

with Alice Swift

By Alice Swift Alice Swift, Assistant Editor and Journalist for The Las Vegas and SoCal F&B Professional, is passionate about hospitality/F&B, education and instructional design, with 15+ years of experience. In 2016, she moved from Las Vegas to Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi, working for the UH System as a multimedia instructional designer, while maintaining her hospitality/F&B ties through writing, teaching and consulting (Swift Hospitality Consulting). email: alice@lvfnb.com | website: www.aliceswift.com

Ready-to-Drink (RTC) Beverages, the NEW New Moneymaker

It’s always been a well-known fact that in the restaurant business, beverages are the big moneymaker, in particular, soft drinks. The business’ cost to purchase the flavors and equipment is quite low, so establishments can price with high profit margins. When looking at the bigger picture, the non-alcohol drink market globally is US$1,146,791m in 2020, with more than 60% made up of soft drink sales.1 However, there is a larger revenue stream in another sector within the beverage world, and you guessed it—it’s the alcoholic drink sector. Alcoholic beverage market totals US$1,587,868m worldwide for 2020, with beer taking the market majority at US$615,933m.2 In recent years, I have been discovering more and more “craft” beverage establishments popping up everywhere in all my residences. From Claremont, California (Claremont Craft Ales, Last Name Brewing), to Las Vegas (Banger Brewing, Bad Beat Brewing), to Hawaiʻi (Beer Lab HI, Ko’olau Distillery), craft breweries and distilleries are everywhere! Non-alcohol beverages are a whole other world, with categories like water, non-alcoholic cocktails, energy drinks and health drinks rising to the surface.

However, lately during my grocery store visits, I have been noticing some changes to the supermarket layouts of beverage products.

A sector called the Ready-to-Drink, or RTC beverages, have really started to take over the supermarket inventory. There are entire endcaps, aisles, and even refrigerated sections next to chilled beers that have become privy to RTC drinks. Not only have new products been coming to market and changing floor layouts in stores, but changes to the packaging and design of beverages have also been evolving.

Read on to learn more.

Evolved Packaging and Marketing Because of the need to evolve and innovate to increase beverage consumers, producers and companies are needing to think outsidethe-box and experiment with ways to disrupt the market. Millennials have seen a surge in alcohol consumption in recent years, going for the “custom” beverages, whether it’s the artisan mixologist-created cocktails in hipster bars, or the “limited” edition flavored spirits and mixers.

Design has always been a factor in purchasing decisions of beverages like wine. In the past, we have seen the classic, more ornate wine labels, with script font and to some event with gold foiled text to represent higher end wines. The customer base of the 21st century is looking more for the minimalist look. Clean, simple packaging design, with sans serif fonts.

At the same time, bright colors are appealing to audiences, especially product that are Instagram-able! Social media plays such a large role in the food and beverage industry now, so it only makes sense that packaging and visual design of beverage is now focused on being camera-ready.

Ready-to-Drink Beverages in Off-Premise Establishments One market that has been around for a while, but seems to have really come to light in the past few years, are with Ready-to-Drink (RTC) alcoholic beverages. Why sell hard alcohols and mixers separate when you can combine them and flavor them with an endless number of possibilities?

When visiting the average supermarket that has a decent wine selection, I now see a new section that has formed in recent years. During my last visit to Safeway in Hawaiʻi (a.k.a. Vons in other states), an entire set of shelves has

now been dedicated to these RTD beverages!

Based on the research, there is one key reason for the surge in demand: CONVENIENCE!3 This is the primary reason that demand for RTD beverages have taken off in recent years.

To aid consumers to support their convenience, there are a few key packaging components to RTD beverages. Rather than large bottles of wine, spirits or mixed drinks, the focus is now on single-serve portions. Packaging now mimics other non-alcoholic drinks that have taken off, most notable being coconut water and healthy energy drinks. Slimmer cans (like Red Bull cans), and Tetra pack (like the single-serve coconut water, made from similar materials as the classic “juice boxes”) seem to run the majority for RTD drink packaging.

The earliest brands I can remember that gained in popularity are the Budweiser branded Lime-A-Rita and Straw-Ber-Ritas, which started in 2012 and 2013, respectively.

The other common mixed drink that makes sense to can, would be the classic “Jack and Coke,” which has evolved into an entire line of Jack Daniel’s Country Cocktails with something for everyone. Now there are entire aisles and sections dedicated to RTC wine, beer, cocktails, seltzers with alcohol, malt beverages, and more!

Next time you stop by the supermarket, explore the beverage aisle and see how much they have evolved over the years. From the graphic design and packaging, to the innovations of the drinks themselves, the beverage market refuses to grow stagnant and continues to predict what will be the next “it” thing.

Until next month, Cheers~!

Alice

Resources 1 https://www.statista.com/outlook/20000000/100/non-alcoholic-drinks/worldwide 2 https://www.statista.com/outlook/10000000/100/alcoholic-drinks/worldwide 3 https://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/article/2019/how-ready-to-drink-beverages-and-packages-are-shaking-up-the-adult-beverage-market/

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March 2020 I The SoCal Food & Beverage Professional 17

Twinkle Toast

Photo credit: Paul Empson

Tara Empson: Belief, Balance & Business

We recently had the privilege to interview Tara Empson, the tenacious, young CEO of Empson & Co. Her portfolio is nearly 50 years old and was built with passion and intention by her parents, Neil and Maria Empson.

When did Empson & Co. begin and how many wineries does it currently represent?

Empson & Co. was founded in 1972. Prior to that, my parents worked out of a small reception room in their apartment building as agents until they had enough money to establish the company. My mother always told me about how they made sacrifices to start achieving their dreams. She spoke about how she would go to the supermarket with the little money she had and how many times she had to count coins to afford to buy that night’s dinner. Thanks to their dreams and sacrifices, today we export to 32 countries worldwide and represent 52 wineries and 5 craft spirits.

How are the wineries within your portfolio selected?

My father always told me to choose based on two vital points: the quality of the product and most importantly the quality of the person behind the product.

If you truly believe in what you have, then the relationship will last.

There are bound to be times when you are more successful and times when you are less successful but if you don't have a strong and trustworthy relationship with the producer, then the odds of overcoming hard times will be low and the partnership will suffer. Very wise words in my opinion, as today we have wineries in our portfolio that we have represented for over 40 years and one that has been with us for 48 years. Not a bad track record!

What did you do prior to joining the family business in 2006?

I grew up following my parents around the world. I came to Italy when I was 4 years old and was immediately introduced to the wonderful people that still surround me today. Over time, my concept of family became about the relationships that I had with our office staff and our producers. My parents did not believe in babysitters and I would attend business dinners and fall asleep on my mother's lap many nights. As a consequence, my strongest desire is to be with the people I love and to try my best to make them happy as they always did for me.

What has been the greatest challenge and/or most rewarding part of succeeding your father as CEO? This is certainly not an easy moment for us considering our portfolio is 97% Italian. This said, I am not scared of a challenge and the upside is that it forces you to work together, find alternative solutions and forge ahead.

18 The SoCal Food & Beverage Professional I March 2020

By Erin Cooper & Christine Vanover Erin Cooper and Christine Vanover have been residents of Las Vegas since 2007. Vanover is also a UNLV Alumnus. Cooper is a Territory Manager for the Resort Wine Team at Southern Glazers Wine & Spirits.

Both women founded Twinkle Toast in 2017. info@twinkletoast.com • www.twinkletoast.com Facebook: @TwinkleToast Twitter: TwinkleToastLV Instagram: TwinkleToastLV

The most rewarding part was taking the reins and feeling that I was supported and accepted. I say this because being an heir to your parents’ company is not always easy. The assumption is that the road has been paved for you, but the reality is that if you don't earn the trust and respect that you need, the road ahead is going to be filled with rather largepot holes with no one to help you fix them.

What do you think is the most common misconception about Italian wines?

That just because marketing has taught us that Italian wine is the symbol of vacation and a casual lifestyle, it is often not true. There are a lot of big names out there that are oriented towards “easy” drinking “aperitivo” style wines but the truth in my opinion, is that producers are more and more oriented towards finding excellence in quality and authenticity.

If you could only choose three wines from your portfolio to drink for the rest of your life, what would they be and why?

This is a very hard question. I am often asked which is my favorite and it always throws me for a loop. The reason being is that I believe wine and the experience you have is tied to circumstances. For example, there are times you will be at a dinner and someone will open up an amazing wine but for some reason, even if you are enjoying it, it doesn’t touch your soul, and there are other times, perhaps after a hard day at work where you come home, pour yourself a glass, and feel like you are somehow complete. That being said, I am a big fan of island varietals and volcanic soils.

How are the new potential U.S. tariffs on wine affecting your business and the livelihoods of the families you represent?

With such great vintages out there, and the exceptional releases of the latest Barolo and Brunellos, it hasn’t been ideal for us, for sure. That said, I believe you can develop an action plan if you know what you are facing and in my opinion, what has really hurt the most, up to now, has been the uncertainty, fear and silence that has taken over the market.

This sense of irresolution and uncertainty has caused more damage than the final decision itself. We are a financially stable company, thanks to my parents’ wise choices and sacrifices, so we are prepared as best as we can be to weather the storm and support our families.

What is your greatest piece of advice for young women in the wine business?

Don't overwhelm yourself and remember to be proud of who you are.

I was recently asked this question and my answer was that as women, we try to take on the world and although our multitasking is very admirable, we forget to be kind and forgiving to ourselves. We are often driven by success but forget how vital our own mental and physical health is as one can’t thrive without the other.

What do you imagine you would be doing if you weren’t CEO of Empson & Co.?

Proclaim myself the ruler of a small Caribbean island and if that fails, as I don't think the odds would be in my favor, then I would work with animals.

If you had to choose one varietal that best represents you and your personality, what would it be and why?

Maybe Carignano. It is very resilient and has survived Phylloxera in some areas. It thrives in the Mediterranean and loves the sun and sand. It has a strong backbone, but is soft on the palate.

I would consider myself a fighter and although it’s not a preference, when I am subjected to hard times, I subconsciously thrive as one is forced to learn and adapt. I can be quite intense at times but at the end of the day, nothing makes me happier than kicking back and spending quality time. www.socalfnbpro.com

SPIRITS CONFIDENTIAL with Max Solano Whiskey Up! For St. Patrick’s Day

As St. Patrick’s Day quickly approaches, it, just like other “holidays,” sometimes takes on other meanings in addition to what they originated as. March 17th is a day of celebration, which includes imbibing many types of Irish beverages, from whiskey to beer to poitin!

But Saint Patrick’s Day is the feast day of St. Patrick, who is the patron saint of Ireland, if you have not put 2 and 2 together! He was born in Roman-occupied Britain in the late 4th century, was kidnapped at the age of 16 and taken to Ireland as a slave. He eventually escaped but returned around 432 to convert the Irish to Christianity. By the time of his death on March 17, 461, he had established monasteries, churches and schools. Many legends grew up around him. For example, one states that he drove all of the snakes out of Ireland and used the shamrock to explain the Trinity. Ireland came to celebrate his day with religious services and feasts. It was even rumored that the potential origin of whiskey started with St. Patrick himself, although I would not be wagering my money on this last one!

It was Irish immigrants, particularly to the US, who transformed St. Patrick’s Day into a largely secular holiday of revelry and celebration of all things Irish that we are accustomed to today. Cities such as Boston (of course), New York and Chicago with large numbers of Irish immigrants, staged the most extensive celebrations, which included elaborate parades. Of course, many of us, who are not even Irish, use St. Patrick’s Day just as another excuse to libate. So, if you feel compelled to break out your finest green wardrobe and drink on this day, here are some delicious and unique whiskeys to really bring out the Irish in you!

LAMBAY (Single Malt & Blended) Although Lambay is not a distillery, the whiskey is named after an isle off the east coast of Ireland that is a natural preserve.

The whiskey is offered both as blended and single malt expressions produced by an awardwinning craft distiller located in West Cork in the southernmost part of the country. Lambay, www.socalfnbpro.com

By Max A. Solano Max Solano is a principal mixologist at Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits of Nevada and is considered one of the most respected and premier authorities in the West Coast on all matters whisky.

He also serves as a Spirits Judge at the coveted New York World Wine & Spirits Competition, International Whisky Competition and world-renowned San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

partially owned by Camus Cognac, is the very whiskeys. Along with the Green and Yellow, first Irish whiskey to be double matured and the Red Spot represents the oldest of the lineup. aged in Cognac casks for up to six months. Red Spot is traditionally triple-distilled and The single malt, however, once dumped into aged into three individual types of oak casks: the Cognac casks, is shipped to the Isle of ex-bourbon casks, Spanish oloroso sherry butts Lambay where it’s aged and influenced by the and Sicilian Marsala wine casks, for no less maritime environment before being shipped than 15 years underneath the streets of Dublin. back to West Cork where it’s bottled. Lambay is produced in the traditional Irish whiskey Then, the three are vatted together and bottled. manner where it’s triple distilled. And, if It was definitely love at first taste for me! you’re wondering why there’s a puffin on the CONNEMARA label, it represents the most abundant protected The name “Connemara” derives from the species of bird on Lambay. Definitely, a new name Conmacne Mara, which is an early tribal and unique experience! grouping that had various locations situated DINGLE (3RD RELEASE) in different parts of Connacht, Western The Dingle distillery first started laying down Ireland in very close proximity to the ocean. whiskey for aging in 2012 and in 2016 began This whiskey is quite unique and made at putting out its first release. The distillery is the Cooley Distillery that was established in located in a converted sawmill in Milltown on 1987 from a converted alcohol plant by John the outskirts of Dingle in the southwest region Teeling. Cooley happened to be the very first of Ireland. Dingle produces both single malt independent whiskey distillery to open in and single pot sill whiskeys. Produced in very Ireland past the 1960s merger of the remaining small batches, this single malt third release is whiskey producers creating the Irish Distiller’s triple distilled and double cask matured in both company. ex-bourbon casks and finished in port pipes for So, what makes Connemara so unique? several months.

Traditionally, just about all Irish whiskey is RED SPOT triple-distilled, which is appealing to many Brand new to the Las Vegas market is the people that are not into the bolder Scotcholdest expression and newest release by the style whisky. However, just like almost famed Mitchell & Son Co. (New Midleton/ all Scotch, Connemara is distilled twice.

Pernod Ricard)—the Red Spot 15-year Secondly, when we think of smoky whiskies, Single pot still Irish Whiskey. Mind you we also traditionally think of Scotch, not that the Mitchell family’s relationship with Irish. However, Connemara was the very first John Jameson spans over six generations. Irish whiskey in modern times to be made Originally, the Mitchell family were wine how traditional Scotch was by using peated merchants at approximately the turn of the malt and giving it that distinct and rich smoky 19th century who began supplying the John profile. Also, whereas most Irish whiskey is Jameson distillery with many used wine casks bottled as a blend, Connemara is made from for aging Jameson’s whiskeys. Years later, 100% malted barley, pot distilled and bottled as the Mitchell family decided that they wanted an Irish single malt. In the end, more character, to get into the whiskey business and started more flavor! Enjoy the various age statements, procuring whiskey from the Jameson distillery wood finishes and bottling proofs. for themselves. Because they were new to the business, barrel maintenance was not a skillset So, whichever of these unique fine drams they yet possessed, so they started adding makes their way to you, let’s all raise a glass blobs of different colors of paint on the barrels and toast to St. Patrick’s Day! to indicate the approximate ages of their ~ Cheers!

March 2020 I The SoCal Food & Beverage Professional 19

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