The Manual Podcast

Noam Grossman may have randomly found his way into the pizza business, but it turns out to have been the right move. Upside Pizza has not only unique flavors and dough, bringing a different kind of pizza to New York City, but it has a unique style, too. With a 90's theme that seems to already match Sam's book, we cover the inspiration for it and the nostalgia for those old time pizza parties.

Jackie Summers is a saint. He's also a distiller, an educator, an entrepreneur and so much more. Our conversation with him today was one of the most fun and enlightening interviews we've had. His Happy Hours for bartenders during the pandemic have supplied thousands of dollars to those who need it. He also has frank and honest advice regarding the protests surrounding the death of George Floyd and racism in general. Thanks Jackie!

Today is bittersweet in the land of The Manual Podcast. The four of us gather, but one shall be moving on. Just to another company, not anything else. Nicole Raney, our fearless leader is taking another job opportunity, so today Greg, Sam, and Christian, give her a final 'exit interview' and she finally lets loose with her thoughts on all of them....:) Seriously we love Nicole and while it will suck not having her here, we wish her all the luck. As she tells Sam repeatedly, "I'm not dead!"

David Burke is not only a world-renowned French Chef, he's also a bonafide television star. Whether you've seen him on Top Chef Masters, Rachel Ray, NBC's TODAY Show or any number of other media outlets, he clearly has the chops to back up what he's talking about. He's also won the prestigious Meilleurs Ouvriers de France Diplome d’Honneur (yes Greg attempts to pronounce this) among his many awards. 

For this one, we once again have The Manual staff of Nicole, Sam, Christian and Greg, give an update on where they are at in this new world. What is Sam's new hobby? How many bottles of wine have been consumed? What kind of grooming should we be doing? We cover it all here. Thanks for listening!

For this one, we once again have The Manual staff of Nicole, Sam, Christian and Greg, give an update on where they are at in this new world. What is Sam's new hobby? How many bottles of wine have been consumed? What kind of grooming should we be doing? We cover it all here. Thanks for listening!

Ballast Point is one of the standout and classic microbreweries in the United States, and Yussuf Cherney was an intricate part of it's emergence. Now with Cutwater, they are winning awards left and right for their outstanding spirits. They have a robust line of RTD beverages, that are distributed almost everywhere. Yussuf tells us about the series of seemingly random connections that have happened in his life to lead to where they are today. 

Gabriel Rucker of Le Pigeon joins this episode to talk about his interesting journey to restaurant stardom. He also discusses his life as someone who is sober. We know that sobriety is hard anytime, let alone during a pandemic. Gabriel has been there and done it all and lived to tell about it, so he provides some great advice on how to find help if you need it.  **EDITORS NOTE: THE ORIGINAL FILE MAY HAVE UPLOADED WRONG, THIS IS THE CORRECT INTERVIEW VERSION**

Gabriel Rucker of Le Pigeon joins this episode to talk about his interesting journey to restaurant stardom. He also discusses his life as someone who is sober. We know that sobriety is hard anytime, let alone during a pandemic. Gabriel has been there and done it all and lived to tell about it, so he provides some great advice on how to find help if you need it. 

Luke Holden and Ben Conniff met on Craigslist over 10 years ago and since then have created a lobster empire. From a business standpoint they are incredibly adept, creating a completely vertical operation. When it comes to delicious lobster they are also masters and they give us some great history and details on how to distinguish different North American lobsters. They'll also provide recipes and give information on opportunities to help those on the front lines of the fight against Covid-19.

Kenny Duncan has been around some of the biggest stars in the world, cutting hair, sculpting beards and so much more. He won a competition in 2005 and has not looked back with his career. On top of that, he has some great advice on how you can try to maintain your appearance during quarantine. Whether its the right tools, or the right technique, Kenny is fantastic. Also, you won't want to miss Sam's new 'hobby' reveal.

Chef John Delucie is not only an incredibly successful restaurant owner, he also has his own memoir and....was honored by MTV, which lead to a night of partying with Wiz Khalifa. That's a hell of a way to start, but on top of that we also discuss Italian cooking and what it actually mean. Did you know spaghetti isn't really Italian? He'll talk about that, what you can do to get started and so much more.

We all know about Irish, Scottish, American, and Japanese whiskey, but what about some Australian whiskey? That's what we're discussing today with our guest Dave Vitale from Starward Whisky. While he has moved to Seattle, his company in Melbourne is making some of the finest available worldwide. We'll discuss the differences in whiskys, what makes Starward unique, and how distilleries continue to work during quarantine.

Grooming at home can be challenging for some at any time, but especially during a quarantine. Today we're joined by Kyle Bardouche from Jack Henry to talk all about what we can be doing. Kyle will discuss the beginning of his business and what he wanted to change when it came to men's grooming products. Whether it's your beard, your hair, or even deodorant, there are some great products out there. We also introduce our new The Manual team member, Christian Gollayan!

As everyone adapts to the Quarantine life, it's important to take care of yourself physically and mentally. At The Manual website, we have some great guides on how to do both of those things, but also with the advice to make sure you give yourself a break! It's tough, but we've got some great options for you, plus some of our own perspectives on everything. Also, Sam shames Greg about daiquiris.