Ethical & Sustainable Living with Sarah Knight
EP 208 with Sarah Knight
Chef, Butcher, Farmer
Sarah walks us through her transformation from working in the high-end hospitality industry to working the land and rekindling her connection to our food system. Throughout this journey, Sarah found that it’s possible to create a more sustainable and ethical food system by respecting the land, labor, and lives that contribute to the food on all of our plates.
EPISODE OUTLINE
[00:00:28] A Brief History of Sarah Knight
[00:12:12] Fantastic and Frustrating Food System Moments
[00:22:27] Overview of a Student-Led School
[00:35:50] Rapid-Fire Q&A
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TRANSCRIPT
Music fades in…
[00:00:00] Aubrey: Hi Sunshine, and welcome to the show. I'm your host, Aubrey, a hopeful romantic who's always loved getting to know others and learning what I don't know. Here I chat with kindhearted humans and insightful professionals sharing their stories to learn from each other's experiences in hope of going beyond the golden rule and collectively building a more kind and curious world for all, this is the Golden Approach. I'm so grateful you're here.
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A Brief History of Sarah Knight
[00:00:28] Aubrey: So some of you may have seen a little while back that I was in California working a catering event,with two of my most favorite people at the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains. And the only reason I had the opportunity to do that is because of an incredible friend, Chef Sarah Knight, who I am so excited to have as a guest on today's episode. She is a talented chef, writer, and I would say growing
[00:01:00] Aubrey: activist. Not only does she work at this really cool small college that focuses on sustainability, community, and self-governance, and we're going to unpack all the details of that, I promise, but we also had some really open and honest conversations about life cycles. So, there was a lot to unpack in this, so I did separate into 2 episodes. Trust me, they’re both really interesting and completely different from each other. So today's episode, I don't know about you, but there have definitely been many times in my life where I have started to recognize this feeling deep within that I needed a change, but I didn't always know what that change was supposed to be and that's really the story that I want to share with you today with my guest. She went on such an incredible transformative
[00:02:00] Aubrey: journey. And I think even though her specifics may not match everyone else's, there's so many universal takeaways And then next week, be sure to come back so you can hear the more philosophical, emotional conversation that we have about life and all it has to offer. So yeah, I'm just so excited to introduce you to Sarah, and without further ado, let's get to the good stuff.
[00:02:22] Aubrey: Hi, Sarah. Thank you so much for being willing to have this conversation with me today. I really appreciate you being on the show.
[00:02:31] Sarah: It's a pleasure.
[00:02:33] Aubrey: we're going to start where we always start, which is just a brief introduction. So can you give us a quick spiel about who you are and what you do?
[00:02:42] Sarah: I guess, technically, I'm the boarding house manager at, Deep Springs College, but that title fails to really describe what it is I do. I am the chef, the culinary director, the slaughter person, the butcher,
[00:03:00] Sarah: the educator and sometimes vegetable and chicken farmer at Deep Springs College.
[00:03:08] Aubrey: And some of the listeners maybe have heard me mention Deep Springs in a couple of different facets because I was out there doing an event with you. It's a really fascinating place so I would love to go back a couple steps so we can hear the journey because I think that will add a lot of context as to how you are capable of doing so many things in your job, because it is truly multifaceted. So let's paint the picture and set the context for how you got there.
[00:03:36] Sarah: Yeah, okay. So I was front of house in restaurants and I did that like fresh out of the oven at 18. I started bartending and I was a host and server. So after a decade, I think in front of house, I was transitioning. I was becoming
[00:04:00] Sarah: this product of top chef fandom and the era of celebrity chef and even sustainability started becoming a topic around that time as well. I was highly influenced by the restaurants I was working in and what was being produced and shown on TV and just, I hadn't seen it before. And I realized how much I, I loved it. And so I actually left the front of house and decided to go to culinary school and I jumped in headfirst in that I took on a full course load and started cooking at the exact same time. I went to culinary school at the Art Institute of Washington, right outside of Georgetown, so I did that for a while. And then I moved from Northern Virginia up to Baltimore. And I think it was within six months of living back in Baltimore that I actually got a, cook three position at the Four Seasons in Baltimore right after opening. And so I was there for a
[00:05:00] Sarah: number of years, through a couple of different chefs and iterations of what that property would be ultimately. I left there to get more experience. I was working at a French bistro, a Cuban place, the Sagamore Pendry, and that's where I was lucky enough to run into you again. And then the Four Seasons, did this lovely, lovely job of reeling you back in with a promotion and, a nice raise. And so I went back to the Four Seasons again, and this time as the Executive Sous Chef. I was there for about two more years, maybe a little over that before ultimately deciding to leave. Um, you know, the high-end hospitality hotel industry is it's a lot. It is. There's a lot of production and it is constantly going, you're offering
[00:06:00] Sarah: guests and clients, service 24 hours a day and, it just doesn't slow down. And I wasn't burning out because of that necessarily. What I was starting to burn out about was recognizing the lack of, respect that we pay to our resources there. And by resources, I mean, our human labor equivalent and then our product sourcing and, our water you know, in the industry we just, we let water run for hours to thaw, meat product, and just down the drain it goes. So anyways, those things really started to build up into some, point of frustration and a little bit of curiousness as well. I started to realize I didn't know much about where our food was coming from I didn't have the option or the support of my managers and teams to really
[00:07:00] Sarah: dig into that to find better sourcing to get out of the hotel property and go to our farms and go to the places where we buy our product from and see the whole cycle, so it was a little disheartening. There had been a point, you know at that property where we were able to source some really good local farms and then once you start to see the costs of all that in the operation, they slowly peel it back. And, when I was doing these high-end weddings for these fantastic clients, it's a really beautiful thing, but I started to notice all of the waste and this trend of using food exclusively as decoration and then never to use it again there was this. And I won't go into it too much, but there was this one wedding event that
[00:08:00] Sarah: was like a, competition between these siblings, you know, who could do a better or, more lavish, event and, I was speaking to an old colleague of ours and she did one of the other siblings, weddings and she was talking about, just how they were bragging about the amount of money they spent on florals and, the bands that they could get. And then when we did it we had to recreate all of the restaurants from this family’s hospitality line. So you're visiting the globe basically of cuisine in one single event. And we were using fish as decoration. And, I spent, I still have the invoice. I spent $2,300 on whole snapper that was purely for decoration. And it was really at that point that I realized I was doing a disservice to my cooks. I was doing a disservice to myself. I was not following what I had told myself were my values
[00:09:00] Sarah: and I was tired of it. I wanted to take a step back and get out of this place that says it's the best but the best for who? So I left and I actually sought out a livestock apprenticeship, livestock farming. And that was wild. I left the property in the very beginning of March of 2020. And I started my apprenticeship at Carversville Farm Foundation, the week of the lockdown from the pandemic. So I went from this very busy, lifestyle surrounded by people, whether it was, living in the city or where I worked and what I did, to being on 300 acres in the middle of, central, Eastern Pennsylvania and
[00:10:00] Sarah: not knowing anybody and also being the oldest apprentice there by far, and it was wild. It was a complete life change. And I love how hard it was and I love that it changed me and it was, the right decision at the right time. I did have a little bit of, I guess what I would call it, survivor's remorse, because I got there and then I was watching all of my friends and colleagues get furloughed or let go or, get sick and that was really hard and I was just, out in the field playing with cows and chickens and running around with cats, you know? Getting enough vitamin D for once in my life. And yeah, that's how I that's how I got into that.
[00:10:51] Aubrey: I really appreciate you sharing and I think it really paints a good picture of just like the type of person you are, the work ethic that you
[00:11:00] Aubrey: have, and the commitment to your values that you actually take the opportunities to reflect back and you know is what you're saying matching what you're doing? And that's a challenging thing but I think it shows you can build the life that you actually do want, and it does take time and effort, but don't be scared to take that opportunity. And so that brings us to where you are now. So let's do a deeper dive into the farming and the butchery because that's really what you're passionate about. So you mentioned that you started at Carversville, which is a really cool foundation They do a lot of community work and outreach, because I think all of us think about farming in this sort of mass production, mass farming kind of way, especially with the conversations of climate change and how we need to stop eating meat. And I wanted to touch on this with you because I've seen through your journey, that that is completely incorrectly sold that there is a lot of power in the farming industry and how it can
[00:12:00] Aubrey: benefit our lives, our diets, our climate, et cetera. So can you speak to things that you've observed as you've proceeded deeper into this industry, and how we can bridge that gap?
Fantastic and Frustrating Food System Moments
[00:12:12] Sarah: Yeah, definitely. One of the things that was happening at the Four Seasons that was irritating me is we would have a catering sales team that would sell plates for different events, and one of the things that they would sell year-round is asparagus, and it would drive me crazy because it is a very small seasonal product, and I would have to order it in December and, it'd have to come in from Mexico. Any product that comes in from Mexico that crosses our borders needs to be sprayed with the chemical to make sure that, nothing is, coming in from their agricultural fields into our production for risk of disease and things like that. But, it's a part of the process that I don't, I didn't want to contribute to anymore. So if you take a step back and you
[00:13:00] Sarah: look at our production of food, we want to make everything available all the time because that's what we want. And we want it now, and when I got to Carversville, I was able to see where those natural limits are in the seasons and in the land the carrying capacity of the soils or just, what an animal can do in a single day and how that transfers to its lifespan. I was lucky enough to be there for two full seasons. So I got to see this transpire a couple of times and it was one, beautifully refreshing to reconnect with the land. I had been inside of a windowless kitchen for, over a decade and getting back to the land you realize how disconnected we are from it as a society. I, you know I had color in my skin and I was losing weight and I
[00:14:00] Sarah: wasn't breaking out from stress anymore or just you know seed oil splashing on my face every day working the fryer. It was really great being able to touch what it was I was going to eat while it was still alive. And, the idea that beef is bad for the planet or, agriculture is detrimental, like speaking in these, short bursts of, what we want to present as ultimate fact is doing all of us a disservice because things can be nuanced and we don't always acknowledge that because we're so busy trying to sell our point or convince somebody else of what we believe. And we just are not stopping and walking through the grass. And anyone who's spent any time in agriculture will tell you it is beneficial to have animals on the land. It is beneficial for ecosystems. And, if we
[00:15:00] Sarah: want to say that beef is bad. It's an oversimplified statement that's missing a different issue. Animals are not bad. Cows are not bad. How we are doing it, how we are raising animals in, CAFOs and these, mass conglomerate of meat production, scenarios those are what is not very great for the land and can be detrimental. There's a way that we can raise animals. That is good for the land. It's good for human health. It's good for planet health, and it's good for the animals. And, that's what I left that industry to find. And I really think that I did, and I was very lucky to join Carversville. It, is a nonprofit that donates everything to food pantries and soup kitchens in the greater Philadelphia area. It's 100 percent organic and everything is pasture based. And I think the last year I was there, they
[00:16:00] Sarah: donated 200,000 pounds of vegetables in one year. And it's just a fantastic operation that does really good for the people in the community there. And it reconnected me to the land and it helped me double down and know that what I was doing was exactly the right path for me. And then when it came time to leave Carversville, I wanted to continue on this journey, there was so much that I was missing from my experience in culinary school and cooking. You know, we've set up our system to break down the chain of supply into what is technically, easier for everybody, but we are losing the art of skilled labor so I, I hadn't done much butchering. Most of the product we would get in at the hotel was, prefabricated and broken down for us. And I was lucky if I got to butcher fish. So I just decided
[00:17:00] Sarah: that is what I needed to do next. And I spent some time with the slaughterhouse that Carversville uses, Rising Spring in, central Pennsylvania, which was a fantastic operation. I, it was my first time on a kill floor and I got to go and take our beef there and watch the whole process and be involved. And it was beautiful and stunning and sad nd once I did it, there's no going back, right? Seeing the entire process of raising that animal, you know, helping to, plant the forbs and the legumes that we then fed that animal and then taking that animal, to the slaughterhouse and turning it into this product that was going to then feed and nourish people. Like I can't exit from this part of the process anymore because it is so important and I find it so valuable and satisfying to have a
[00:18:00] Sarah: real hand in my food and where it comes from.
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[00:18:03] Aubrey: Maybe you've noticed, there's no commercials on this show, and that's because currently, we don't have sponsors. And while someday that's going to happen, for now, this show is totally funded by yours truly, and thankfully, the incredible support of you, the listener. So if you like the show and want to make sure it continues to exist and grow, we would super appreciate your support. Just go check out our merch link in the show notes. And, in case you didn't know, every person we interview gets to choose a cause of choice. We then create a custom episode merch piece and donate five dollars for every piece sold, and I would say that's a real win-win. So head to the show notes and check out all this season's custom merch. Thank you so much, we couldn't do this without you.
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[00:18:50] Aubrey: I mean, there's two parts. One is just a comment to start is, I think people do find it
[00:19:00] Aubrey: challenging to find accessible ways into nature because it's not something that's easily accessed. It's not something that is encouraged or made easier to access. Like we've got Netflix getting us to the next episode as fast as possible, but there's nothing really socially driven to say, Hey go out and take a walk or go touch a rock because it's going to change you. So I think it's interesting for people to hear this journey and this separation from that city life to nature, because it is what we are meant to live with, it's just so healthy for us to be in that system. So anyway, it's just mainly a comment and a PSA to say. Go touch a tree, go sit in some grass.
[00:19:53] Sarah: Yes, touch a tree, sit in some grass, take off your socks, like really get into
[00:20:00] Sarah: it. What I used to do at Weibrook cause it was a little isolating there. It was just like this farm that I lived on and then everything around us was Amish country. And you don't break into the Amish community. Anyway, so I would eat dinner by myself often during the week. And I would sit in the grass and I would just watch the cows chomp on the grass in front of me. And it's one of the best habits I developed for myself. If you can't be outside in nature all the time, like your life doesn't allow for that, I understand that's not how we've built society for ourselves. but it really does something for you. Like, sitting outside you can reset your circadian rhythm naturally, like that matters, feet in the ground, feet in the soil. feet in the beach sand, all of it, like whatever you can do to just get a little bit, if you can't be out in nature every day, like do something. Please touch a tree.
[00:20:56] Aubrey: Yes. And don't feel silly if it brings
[00:21:00] Aubrey: you to tears. That is a normal reaction.
[00:21:03] Sarah: You and me both girl.
[00:21:05] Aubrey: Yeah, exactly. So the question is more towards Deep Springs in particular, because it's not what I thought it would be, And I'll be honest, it has been challenging to be back because I am constantly reminded I am meant to go live out in a field and frolic in the woods. That's just who I'm meant to be. But anyway, there's just so much to take away from that community and I want to give you the opportunity to speak to what is accomplished. 50 people are living there and it's pretty self-sustainable. And everyone is a part of that. students have to contribute through labor positions to go to the school for free. So anyway, just help us understand the possibilities because even though this is on a micro scale, I think there's lessons to be taken away that could be applied to the bigger picture.
[00:22:00] Sarah: Yeah, definitely. that's part of why I took the job too, is to see what can a small scale community do for itself when everybody is pitching in, so Deep Springs College is a college that's been around for, I think it was like 1907 or something is when it was established, maybe 1913.
[00:22:17] Aubrey: I'll be honest, I recently read, it's 1913.
[00:22:20] Sarah: Thank you, ma'am.
[00:22:22] Aubrey: You're welcome.
[00:22:23] Sarah: Thank you, fact checker Aubrey.
[00:22:25] Aubrey: I got you. I did my homework.
Overview of a Student-Led School
[00:22:27] Sarah: Oh. So it's been around, since 1913 and the founder, L. L. Nunn, is a guy who made his money in, mining and subsequently powering things through hydro. He had a lot to do with like Niagara Falls, for example. So anyways, he found he was having a hard time finding labor, and not only necessarily good labor, but people who could commit to these remote locations, do
[00:23:00] Sarah: the physical, tough jobs and still find satisfaction in it. And he decided basically to start a school that would help people discover the importance of labor, the importance of self-governance, and learning. And so that's what the school is basically founded in three pillars, academics, self-governance of the student body, and labor. He basically found this ranch that was in the desert, in this valley, that apparently is two times the size of Manhattan. It's huge, at least 11 miles across. And, he bought the ranch and founded a school and said, this is how we're going to do it. It's only 26 to 28 students at a time. The admissions and acceptance rate is very low
[00:24:00] Sarah: based on the small class size, but also, it's student driven and, they run the entire process and decide who gets to, succeed them in the school and, continue the process of learning and growing and working.
[00:24:18] Aubrey: I do want to say I thought that was one of the most fascinating things I learned about that school was that the students chose the new students. So I, I think that's a really incredible thing that people would be like, that can't work. Or why would we even try that?
[00:24:38] Sarah: Yeah, it's, a little bit of a side tangent, if I may for a second, the same thing that I discovered while watching ranch families work with their kids in Montana was the prime example, but these families have their kids driving tractors and four wheelers at five years old, and going on hunting trips with them or pitching hay and it's not, I'm not saying
[00:25:00] Sarah: this to glorify like child labor or anything like that, these kids still go to school and they still have, fantastic fun and home lives and everything, but I bring it up to say our youth is so much more capable than our Western society wants us to believe and their ability to do things and learn and fall and make mistakes and bounce back, we don't give them enough credit for. And being able to see that in these families that grow up, fifth-generation ranchers, watching them work, with their kids and seeing, nine-year-olds work branding events better than, the 65-year-old that's on the horse, 10 feet away. Like it's incredible. and the, I guess what I would say is the academic version of that is these students who get here and are more emotionally mature and prepared to work through
[00:26:00] Sarah: really hard decision making I, almost every time something comes up here or I'm like, Oh, that's going to be like a really tough decision for them. And I put my foot in my mouth because they work through it with just maturity and grace and this school functions at the level that it does because of them. It's not because of the staculty, that's a code word for staff and faculty that we have here, uh, it's not because of the older employed adults. It's because of who they are and recognizing their own capabilities and being in a place that supports it. Like these guys just, I'm so impressed every day, really.
[00:26:43] Aubrey: One of the things I witnessed to your point is the difference between the previous generations of this school and the current generation of this school, because they're very different, but the fact that there was no qualms during this reunion weekend of saying, we need this thing to create
[00:27:00] Aubrey: this better environment for the students. And they're just like, okay, how much is it? It was just the point is to pay it forward and to continue supporting that growth. And I just think it's really incredible.
[00:27:16] Sarah: Yeah, it is incredible. It's, we didn't get that in the places where we were working, we had to fight just to get enough labor hours covered for events, and then when we did, we were made to feel a little bad about it, and here it's just this completely opposite kind of world where they're like, Yeah, let's get it. Oh, you need this. Yes. Let's get it. Not, are you sure? Couldn't you just be working a little harder? That isn't their knee jerk reaction. It's, if these are the tools that will help you facilitate making this place sustainable for everybody, let's do it. And, that is so refreshing.
[00:27:54] Aubrey: Agreed. Agreed. So I just think that's one of the first good lessons of trust youth and
[00:28:00] Aubrey: support growth that I just witnessed firsthand. It was incredible.
[00:28:05] Sarah: Yeah. Yeah. Another area where they, the students are really surprised me is their commitment to their food and this place. And, we'll get 17, 18 year olds in here and, I can't say everybody is, but quite a few of them are like, I want to do the slaughter. I want to participate in this part of my food, and I'm surprised. I keep expecting them to react the way that I would have when I was 17, which is oh, and I remember before I got my job as a server, my foster mom was like, you need to go into restaurants. And I was like, no, I don't. I was like, I don't want to touch people's dirty plates. It turns out I really want to touch people's dirty plates and so do these students! They, they want to be like elbow deep in the carcass
[00:29:00] Sarah: with me. And I cannot tell you how satisfying that is and it's just, it's super impressive.
[00:29:07] Aubrey: coming a little full circle on everything we've touched on this far in your point of knowing in your heart of hearts that like it needs to be different, the over industrialization of everything, the lack of trust given to younger generations, and just your own personal, reconnection to yourself and to the world around you, I think, really does all come together in this one experience in this one community. It simply has to do with the values that are encouraged and made easier to accomplish. And that's all this school does. It makes it easier and it encourages it. And whether it be the older white gentlemen of the school, or it be the younger diverse class that I
[00:30:00] Aubrey: got to meet while I was there. I just find it so fascinating because you’d think they're so different, but in the end, they really weren't. But again, it's all back to that encouragement and availability that you're describing through all these scenarios.
[00:30:14] Sarah: Yeah, it matters and, it's the juxtaposition of the older classes that were here and the gentlemen that were here visiting versus who the students are here now. There are stark differences, most certainly, but they, for the most part, like, all came together in conversation in still wanting the same things, and it is, again, to bring it up, this place needs to be sustainable for everybody who's here. And we also need to make sure that the programs are working because they're not just here for the sake of the college. They're here for the students that go here, and so, you've got 65-75 year old guys sitting
[00:31:00] Sarah: there and just fascinated by the students giving their presentations on the labor pillar, or the re-invitation committee, how do the founders, LL Nunn's words still echo through this space? How is the mission, the same or, how has it changed? And a lot of it has to do with students adapting to advances in technology that wasn’t here in 1913. The world is more complicated, how do we push away all of the outside noise that, matters, but if it isn't something that they can control here and now, how do we mute that for the time being, so that they can focus on what it is that they're doing and what matters here? Realizing what it is to actually work through this in the real world without
[00:32:00] Sarah: having somebody screaming in your face about it,
[00:32:02] Aubrey: That's what I mean. I think all these lessons are universal that yes, this is a smaller campus. And sure, there are advantages of being able to organize a community of 50 versus a community of 500,000 people or whatever it is, right? And that is a challenge that we all have to face as our society has just gotten to the size that has gotten and the population is what the population is, but the concepts that you're describing, the thought processes, the approaches, those are universal, and those are applicable in much larger scenarios that can be implemented right now, that as an individual, that you can implement and that you can encourage to the people around you. So that's why I think it's interesting because there's so much depth in the conversation about not only the food system but also the education and labor system. So we could be here for another hour just talking about I feel like your experience on the
[00:33:00] Aubrey: campus alone.
[00:33:01] Sarah: We really could.
[00:33:03] Aubrey: So this is your opportunity that if there's anything that you felt like was missed or not, um, touched on enough that the floor is yours before we finish up.
[00:33:13] Sarah: You know, I mean, any opportunity I have to talk about this stuff. I love it. So I just want to thank you for that. And, you know, the caliber of questions that you have, not only for me, but just like your guests in general is something that I've really come to appreciate. And I'm so happy to have been able to have this conversation with you, um, cause you are a very, you know, intuitive host and you bring out, I think, the best in your guests for each episode. So thank you for giving me that opportunity.
[00:33:45] Aubrey: Thanks. I don't really take compliments very well. I'm working on it. So thank you. I appreciate you. um, uh, no, that means so much. And just, I don't know. Just thank you truly.
[00:34:00] Aubrey: Um, so to finish up, anywhere you want to share on your socials or anything that you want to share with the listeners that they could see what you're up to or follow?
[00:34:10] Sarah: Yeah, I mean, I'm most active on Instagram. My handle is @SarahSavannahKnight, and I probably have an account on everything else and I just stopped using everything else because these social apps are more and more, I find, time-consuming and detrimental and there's a lot of noise.
[00:34:32] Aubrey: I'll be honest, I asked this question because it feels like an obligation to the society that we live in, not because I want to actually strongly encourage anyone to spend a lot of time on social media. However, I am so in love with all the guests that we have on the show that it is the way to connect people to you guys. So, um, we will link your socials in the show notes. If anyone is interested in seeing your stories and your
[00:35:00] Aubrey: journey, um, because I do think you take incredible photographs and you tell incredible stories on social media, despite what it is. So I actually really do encourage people to check you out.
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[00:35:13] Aubrey: Pardon one more quick plug. Anyone who knows me knows I love books, so we are affiliate partners of bookshop.org, an organization dedicated to keeping local bookstores alive and thriving, because those big corporations They just don't need any more of our money. So head to the show notes where we've linked our bookshelf and bonus, we'd love if you sent us suggestions to add, you can do so by DMing us on Instagram @goldenapproachpod, or join our email subscriptions on our website, goldenapproachpodcast.com. Okay, let's dive back in.
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Rapid-Fire Q&A
[00:35:50] Aubrey: Um, lastly, some rapid-fire questions. So, as you know, if you've listened to the show that we have all the same questions, but we pick three for each person. So that
[00:36:00] Aubrey: way it always feels a little different and these are in no particular order. So can you provide us, um, a fond memory with people you love?
[00:36:10] Sarah: Yeah, I mean I have many many but I think um there's two that come to mind and the first one has come to mind particularly because I'm talking to you, but I don't know if you remember um, I mean, you probably even know what I'm going to say, but there was this one day that we had, I don't know, 16 hours worth of events and your department, the pastry department had very early morning production. So for the, I think it was a wedding the night before there was this like late night, 10 PM dessert bar or something like that. And so you were like, Hey, Chef Sarah, can we, can I task you and your savory team to help put out the ice cream bar so that we can come in at like
[00:37:00] Sarah: 4am and not have to, you know, only have three hours of sleep basically. And I was like, yeah, Chef, no problem. We've got you. And so I pull in, uh, the other executive sous and our garde manger chef, and we were like, yeah, let's put out this ice cream and it turned into the biggest fucking calamity. You would have sworn that we've never cooked a day in our lives, that we've never seen food before or a kitchen or tools. I do remember. The biggest mess I've ever made in my life. And all I had to do was pull ice cream out of the freezer.
[00:37:36] Aubrey: I was about to say, for clarity to anyone listening to this, know that like, especially at Four Seasons, the way that this stuff worked is you would like pre-set things and like people would just walk into the walk-in and grab the stuff and then put it on the bar. So this, I agree, should have been like no big deal, but I do remember, I think it was the next day or maybe you all called me, I actually don't remember at this point, but I
[00:38:00] Aubrey: do remember somehow being caught up on, no offense, calamity is the right word, of this situation and just being like, how did this happen?
[00:38:11] Sarah: It was like the three stooges walked into your fucking pastry kitchen. Like, you know, we like didn't pull the ice cream out soon enough. So it was really hard and we couldn't scoop it into the bowls, you know, and then, um, we pulled out in anticipation of the second, you know, go around the ice cream too soon and then all of a sudden it like collapsed out of the fucking ice cream container all over the walk-in floor and I just hear Nick in the freezer go, God damn it! And then, you know, Juan Carlos is trying to make milkshakes and the fucking blender is exploding everywhere and somehow I've got sprinkles in every fucking crevice of that kitchen I don't understand how it happened except to say that it's one of my best memories
[00:39:00] Sarah: because it was just a moment that we allowed ourselves a little bit of whimsy.
[00:39:06] Aubrey: Oh man, there's so much joy. Just picturing the three of like, that was truly one of my favorite teams I've ever worked with, and I'm so sad that it was so short-lived because of COVID and whatever other drama, but that was an excellent team. And. Yeah, I'm just feeling a lot of odd memories. Anyway, you said you had two. Sorry, I'm getting lost in the picture of ice cream and sprinkles right now, but…
[00:39:28] Sarah: The other thing is something almost just as ridiculous. But I was in Denver in May to visit my sister Nikki for her 40th, and we were all getting ready to go out to dinner. And I had just bought this beautiful linen jacket while I, I had been in Spain the week before and I flew in and secretly flew to Denver to surprise her. And so I had this linen jacket that I was going to wear, but the way that it was cut, like it just drooped my shoulders a lot and I don't necessarily have droopy shoulders, but it was not doing me any favors.
[00:40:00] Sarah: So I was like, Nikki, like you're fashionable as fuck. Like, give me some of your shoulder pads. And she laughed at me. She was like, I don't have any fucking shoulder pads. What are you talking about? I was like, you're crazy. You have shoulder pads. And like, we went through all our jackets. There's no shoulder pads. And I was like, okay, how do we fix this? And I was like, do you have any pads? Like any actual like panty liner pads and she was like, yeah, and I was like, let's fucking sew those things in here. And so it turned into this ridiculous thing she pulls out this whole thread and needle kit, she's like trying to match her, you know string to my jacket and you know, meanwhile, I was just thinking like, you know, we just take the, the, the coverage off and we just stick it.
[00:40:48] Aubrey: Really serious about this. I would have literally just stuck it to the clothes.
[00:40:54] Sarah: Right. And so, you know, she, she's, she's in there and she's fucking poking me in the shoulder and shit. And then finally we get like one pad
[00:41:00] Sarah: attached. And she's like, look at it. And I was like, it looks good. And then she goes to pull the string, pulls the whole thing fucking out. And the pad just falls immediately. Just, you know, we're, you know, half a bottle of wine in, and it's one of those things where I was like, this is my most brilliant idea ever. And turns out it was not by any means.
[00:41:22] Aubrey: I am just able to picture this wholeheartedly. And I can like feel the joy that you have, like when you just get in those laughing fits with people that you love and you're just like, this is the dumbest shit I've ever done. But it's the best thing that's ever happened.
[00:41:36] Sarah: Yes. A hundred percent.
[00:41:40] Aubrey: So, cause otherwise I'll stay on this tangent all day. Um, going a completely different direction. What is your definition of success?
[00:41:49] Sarah: Oh, gosh, there was something I read recently. I don't know. It like popped up on Instagram or something like that, but it's, it's a quote from Georgia O'Keeffe, and I'm not going to be able to quote her.
[00:42:00] Sarah: But the message that I got from her response, uh, was, if I can find a, find myself in a place in my career where I'm not working to be able to sustain myself, where I'm doing it because I still have a desire to create, and I am still curious. That is my definition of success.
[00:42:28] Aubrey: Yeah, I love that. Same girl, same. And then lastly, what's a favorite on your pump-up playlist?
[00:42:34] Sarah: Oh, gosh, there's like, I have two playlists that I go back and forth. I mean, I have a couple more than that, but two that I go back and forth on particularly for, uh, just like, you know, to pump myself up, get myself ready, high energy, that kind of thing. Um, there's one that I have
[00:43:00] Sarah: been playing probably since 2022, I think when the Top Gun sequel came out, uh, Top Gun Maverick. There's a song, um, I think it's by OneRepublic called I Ain't Worried. And it's just like super feel good song that, you know, I feel like I'm walking on sunshine when I listen to it. The other one is just this like hip-hop bangers. Um, you know, just like back to back, probably like 2010s earlier, you know, the odds kind of hip hop, but a lot of Jay Z, a lot of Kanye. Yeah, I think, yeah, that's probably my favorite. Um, there's one song with Jay Z and, um, Rick Ross, I think that is like my ultimate, like, pump you up in the morning. Um, fuck with me, you know, I got it. Uh, that I would play all the time. I used to play it when I was like opening the pool kitchen on like a Saturday morning in the middle of the summer in Baltimore.
[00:44:00] Sarah: You know, probably a little hungover and exhausted and it just does wonders.
[00:44:06] Aubrey: Love it. Love everything about it. I will make sure to find them and add them to my own pump-up playlist because I think I could use some of that energy. Um, well, well, truly thank you from the bottom of my heart for being my friend and for doing this and just being the wonderful you that I know. I really appreciate you.
[00:44:26] Sarah: Thank you, Aubrey, for the time, and please don't thank me for being your friend, because I truly am the one that benefits from this relationship.
[00:44:34] Aubrey: The feeling is so mutual, girl, like I can't even put it into words. I miss you so badly, and if I just show up at your door, because now I know how to get there. So, just be forewarned.
[00:44:45] Sarah: Alright. Let's go!
[00:44:46] Aubrey: Yeah, I'm gonna just move into your guest room. That's all that's happening.
[00:44:50] Sarah: Yeah. I'll introduce you to the pastry chef.
[00:44:56] Aubrey: Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Pretty much. Yeah, pretty much. So anyway, thank you. I love you. Appreciate you.
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[00:45:00] Aubrey: Thank you for listening to the golden approach podcast, which wouldn't be possible without the support of associate producer and content manager, Emmalyn with audio technology and support provided by barn swallow audio company. If you've liked this episode or any episode prior, be sure to follow so you never miss a new release. We greatly appreciate if you helped others find the show also by leaving a review wherever you're currently listening or directly sharing with friends and family. You can find resources, merch, and more in the show notes and website, GoldenApproachPodcast.com. And if you're looking for more content, join our Ko-fi community and follow on Insta @GoldenApproachPod. Until next time, let your hopeful romantic side shine always. Buh bye!
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