Food is Love: Cooking up Creative Connections
Join Kassi Kincaid for an inspiring conversation with celebrity chef Palak Patel, who shares her remarkable culinary journey from unexpected beginnings to becoming a bestselling author and Food Network champion.
Transcript:
Kassi Kincaid (00:00):
Welcome to The Edge of Creativity Podcast. I'm your host, Kassi Kincaid. And joining me today is celebrity chef, bestselling author and Food Network, Chopped Champion Palak Patel. Palak, thank you so much for being here today. Oh my word. I am so excited to delve into your whole journey as a chef and how you have used creativity just to impact our world. So just kicking it off today, can you share with our listeners where your chef journey began and how it's led to where you are today?
Palak Patel (00:39):
Yeah, so I was born and raised in India, and if you know anything about Asian cultures we're big into multi-generational living. And what that meant for me was I lived with 14 of my family members in a three story kind of a brownstone situation, and all of our meals were together, so the cooking, the cleaning, and so we always operated a production line, so to speak. And so from a very early age, food and family and community were a part of my DNA.
Kassi Kincaid (01:14):
Oh, my word. That sounds like so much fun. I love big families. I only have one sister, but yeah, I love the whole community culture for family reunions and everything. So where was the first time that you thought maybe in your mind, wow, I like cooking or I want to be a chef? Where was that kind of first inspiration piece?
Palak Patel (01:39):
I think without those exact words to describe my interest, I do recall my mom saying to me when I was about seven or eight that I would beg for her to let me prepare snack for guests when they came over. So I would take bread and slice the edges off and then cut it into pieces and saute it with spices. That was my earliest dish that I created. And then it kind of just went in the back of my head. And honestly, it wasn't until I finished college that as a career came to the forefront and that's really the impetus of the journey. But it was there all along.
Kassi Kincaid (02:21):
So where was it for you? Like you said at college it kind of clicked. Was your path linear to where you're at? You did college, you got your first job at the food scene. How did all that work?
Palak Patel (02:36):
Exactly the opposite? Actually, I did exactly what my immigrant parents wanted me to do. So I went to undergrad, I got a master's, went to work in a corporate setting, and I actually did that for about 15 years before I could even ink out thoughts of actually having a career in culinary. And so that was kind of playing in the background. So I got trained to be a personal chef when I lived in San Francisco, but it wasn't until about 2016 that I actually made a career of it. So I'm a career switcher I suppose.
Kassi Kincaid (03:13):
I love that, man. That is definitely living on the edge, just switching and having the courage to do that. So right now you're in the restaurant space. What was that like going from you're trained as a personal chef and then transforming into the restaurant scene?
Palak Patel (03:31):
Yeah, I think the change is there are some things that come into play from all of the assets that you have working in a corporate space, working in teams, looking at budgets, understanding marketing, understanding a P and l. So I think a lot of what I did in the corporate world carried over to the restaurant. It is extremely fast, it's intense physically, mentally, emotionally, all the above. And so there are some things and skills that you can transfer over easily. And then restaurant and hospitality is a beast of its own.
Kassi Kincaid (04:09):
That's what I've heard. That's what I've heard. So how is that going right now? So can you describe to our listeners where you are today in the restaurant scene?
Palak Patel (04:21):
Yeah, so I actually had a restaurant and I closed it. I'm moving back to New York. The book is something that I've been working on since I closed the restaurant. And my book Food Is Love came out about two and a half months ago. And I think when I finished writing it, I decided for life reasons I would go back to New York, which is where I've spent a decade of my life. So I have kind of started to wrap things up in Atlanta. So this will be the last summer that I'm there.
Kassi Kincaid (04:52):
Wow, that's so exciting. So yes, I want to touch on your book. Food Is Love just came out. And what is that like for you? I mean that has to be, it's such a passion project. Anybody that writes a book, it's like from the heart and what does that mean to you, like your book?
Palak Patel (05:12):
Yeah, I think in terms of how I grew up, I think when you try to distill your relationship to food down to I guess a sentence, and it became the title of my book, but when I think back on all of the moments that are pivotal in my life and the experiences that I've shared with my family and friends, food has always been at the epicenter of that. And so it was obviously very thoughtful for me to just kind of take that sentiment and turn it into a book. And that's how I think about food in terms of how I care for people, how I celebrate my culture, how I celebrate others, how I care for others. And the book is separated into nine chapters. And unlike traditional cookbooks, each chapter is an emotion. I really want to get at the emotional connection that we all have the food and kind of bring that to the forefront.
Kassi Kincaid (06:16):
I love that. I have never heard of a cookbook that pairs emotions with cooking. That in and of itself is just so creative and how it transcends more than just food. Like you said, food and life circumstances, whether it's like you are a celebration or maybe you're coping with food because you had a bad day, the two go hand in hand. And I think that just sets you and your cookbook apart so much. So Palak, cooking and food in and of itself, it just lends itself to creativity. And that's one of the things I definitely am not a chef, but I do enjoy being in the kitchen and that's one of the things I've always enjoyed about food, just the pairing and the different things. I would love to just spend some time for you being on Chopped to talk with our listeners about what that experience is. I love that show. For our listeners who have not seen that show on Food Network, it is basically creativity at its finest that you have to create three an appetizer with the main dish and dessert in 30 minutes or less, and you're given this basket with four random ingredients that you have to basically make a cohesive high-end dish. What was that experience like?
Palak Patel (07:45):
Yeah, I think a bit of creativity, a bit of manic, and I think you just go into this over the top adrenaline rut because I think in that moment you end up one thinking about your background, so the flavors and the food that you are accustomed to and trying to use that as a lens as to how to look at those ingredients and what you can do to prepare those ingredients. Now this doesn't always work, but for the most part, if a culture eats a lot of spinach, if I see spinach in the basket, that's where I'm going towards. So in that regard, using kind of your own voice and your own creativity really does help. But I mean adrenaline just takes over in the second half.
Kassi Kincaid (08:48):
Do you remember one ingredient that was just like, oh my word, what is this? Or not what is this? But Oh my word, this is the most random thing ever.
Palak Patel (09:01):
Yes. I think it was back, I think it was my entree course and there was a bottle that was called Liquid Amino, and I just picked up the bottle, and this was very early in my culinary journey.
(09:19):
And I'd never heard of it. I was like, what is liquid amino? And the first thing they tell you is not they, but the first thing most people in the kitchen will do is if you don't know something, you eat it, you taste it because that will very quickly give you some context around what that is in the flavor profile. And so I put it on a plate and I tasted it as tasted like soy sauce. And so very quickly I was able to like, okay, that's fine. And then I think the other one that I got was nutritional yeast. And again, pick it up, taste it, kind of taste cheesy so you can kind of work with it, you can put it in salt, and so you get really creative by just tasting something that you're unfamiliar with and as long as it is familiar to something you've already tasted or eaten, you can kind of bridge those two together.
Kassi Kincaid (10:21):
I think the show is so interesting because it not only forces you to be creative, but it forces you to be creative in a hurry. And most of the time I feel that creativity kind of happens over time. You're not just like, okay, 20 minutes go and people are in this frenzy mode because it was on a timeframe. Did you feel that you, more creativity happened in a faster amount of time than maybe just an idea that's kind of simmering and you're working on?
Palak Patel (10:50):
Yeah, I mean the clock kind of dictates how you work, and you don't really have a whole lot of time to dilly dally. Once you go down a path you've got to commit. I mean, there's room for a bit of margin of error, but other than that, you just go,
Kassi Kincaid (11:07):
I think that's such a great lesson too, because sometimes the time we spend on ideas sometimes hinders us. And it's like once you start with an idea, you got to commit to it, and that's so great. Maybe it's not the right idea, but that you commit to it, that you go, especially with creative thinking and ideas, sometimes that's better than sitting and ruminating on an idea. I love that. So I do want to spend a little bit of time, so the other show that you were on was Beat Bobby Flay, and as far as creativity goes, that show is a little bit different on Food Network for our listeners, so Bobby Flay, celebrity chef as well, and the whole point of the show is to beat him, but you have to go through one round to even go up to cook against him. What was that experience like as compared to the creativity used in Chopped?
Palak Patel (12:00):
Yeah, I think this one was different on two levels. The first, because you have to compete to be able to get to him, which I did and I did get to him. But the advantage in that show is that you get to pick the dish that you challenge him with, and so you've had ample amount of time. This is your signature dish, so you have ample amount of time to prepare for it and practice it. The downfall is you're working with an Iron Chef, it's his kitchen, it's his studio, his production team, and he doesn't lose. And so the thought process in that is try not to cut myself, try not to burn or cook or cook anything or undercook anything that is going to be on a plate. And if that's all I do, then that's all I do. My piece, I did win and it did make a big difference, but originally going into that experience, it was do not serve anything raw. Don't burn yourself. And that is it.
Kassi Kincaid (13:16):
That's hilarious. On my word, that would be so intimidating going into his kitchen, even if it's your dish, just kind of the pressure from the outside. I could see where that would be just sometimes overwhelming for people and the little mistakes, the little things that you can chop with your eyes closed at this level of experience. And sometimes it's the little things that go wrong. Wow. What was the biggest takeaway as far as creativity being on both of those experiences?
Palak Patel (13:50):
I think definitely Chopped requires more creativity. This one's very formulaic opposed to there isn't really a formula for chop and you truly, and I think that is a testament to why the show has been so successful and it's ran for decade plus because there is that level of creativity that cannot be duplicated. It cannot be manufactured. Yeah.
Kassi Kincaid (14:20):
Switching gears just a little bit from the creativity aspect, what has been some of the biggest ways that you have seen the impact of your food, your creativity, just over the span of your career?
Palak Patel (14:36):
I think it's definitely allowed me to share a lot of my culture, a lot of the kind of joy that I get from food and definitely making a lot more space for food to be kind of at the center of people's lives. I think oftentimes if you don't necessarily love food, many times people will attribute food and eating and cooking as a chore, and it's kind of a secondary or not even in the top five of things that they prioritize. And I love that the creativity has allowed people to take a pause and bring that part of our life that we do every single day into a higher priority and into a more mindful and intentional way of being.
Kassi Kincaid (15:26):
I love that because most of the time food brings people together almost all the time, and I feel like in this society we've kind of lost that, right? People are just so on the go, let's grab something going to the next meeting or the next, their children's next sports event or whatever it is. And I love that how you have just really embraced that and tried to share that with all of us through your cookbook and through your career that is so meaningful. And so Palak, just wrapping up today, what would be one final thing that you would love, piece of advice, a word of wisdom that you'd love to leave our listeners on today?
Palak Patel (16:04):
Well, I'm big on just having food at the center of everything, and so kind of hammering back to that point I just made, spend a little time making food, the center, and in that case, plant-based eating. I know that people are very polarized by it, but in the sense of just embracing making a salad together, trying a new vegetable, doing it with your family, getting your kids involved, getting your significant others or friends and family, all those things are really important and bring food more to the table, and I think everyone is a bit more grateful for having that in their life.
Kassi Kincaid (16:49):
So well said. Palak, it has been a joy to have you on today. Thank you so much for your time and for being here.
Palak Patel (16:57):
Thanks so much for having me.
Kassi Kincaid (16:59):
Thanks so much for listening to today's episode on The Edge of Creativity Podcast. Be sure to follow so you don't miss any of our upcoming conversations, and we'll see you soon.
