Food Network Obsessed

Brian Malarkey on Chef Shenanigans & Entrepreneurial Endeavors

Episode Summary

Father, chef, restaurateur and Beachside Brawl West Coast Captain Brian Malarkey talks about his many titles and how his cowboy upbringing influenced his style of cooking.

Episode Notes

Father, chef, restaurateur and Beachside Brawl West Coast Captain Brian Malarkey talks about his many titles and how his cowboy upbringing influenced his style of cooking. He shares early memories of wrangling, befriending and serving cattle for supper as a child on a hundred acre ranch. Brian reveals the unique way he rebelled and how growing up everything from TV dinners to fine dining shaped his cooking style. He reflects on the moment his father put his future into perspective, steering him away from acting and towards his culinary passion. Then, Brian pinpoints the experience that led him to view cooking as an art form and what makes his fifteen San Diego concepts each wildly different. He describes his entrepreneurial spirit, plans to open his newest and first eatery in Oregon with his brother, and the influence location has on his menus. Brian shares the sound of a successful restaurant and how he’s elevated his craft. He parallels his roles of father, Captain and entrepreneur, and reveals the thing no one warns new parents about. Brian takes fans inside his series, Beachside Brawl, and compares east and west coast cooking. Then he dishes on Guy’s Grocery Games, from favorite off-camera moments to on-screen bloopers, and why the host nicknamed him “Shenanigans.” Finally, Brian opens up about his charitable olive oil line and reveals what’s on the menu for his perfect food day.

Find episode transcripts here: https://food-network-obsessed.simplecast.com/episodes/brian-malarkey-on-chef-shenanigans-entrepreneurial-endeavors

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Follow Jaymee Sire on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jaymeesire

Check Out Brian Malarkey’s Website: https://www.brianmalarkey.com/

Check Out Brian’s Olive Oil Website: https://chefslife.com/

Follow Brian Malarkey on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BrianMalarkey

Follow Brian Malarkey on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@chefslife.co

Follow Brian Malarkey on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brianmalarkey/

Learn More About Beachside Brawl:

https://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/beachside-brawl

Learn More about Guy’s Grocery Games: https://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/guys-grocery-games

Episode Transcription

Jaymee Sire:

Hello, hello, and welcome to Food Network Obsessed. This is the podcast where we dish on all things food with your favorite chefs, food influencers, and food network stars. I'm your host, Jamie Sere, and today we have a cereal restaurateur and West Coast chef talking about his cowboy upbringing and best lessons learned. He is a chef, entrepreneur, judge on Triple G and captain of the West Coast on this season of Beachside Brawl. It's Brian Malarkey. Brian, welcome to the podcast. Your Instagram bio says, chef, father, cowboy, and captain. So we thought it might be fun to kind of dive into each of these roles with you. Sound good?

Brian Malarkey:

Oh, I love it.

Jaymee Sire:

I love it too. All right, so let's start off with Cowboy. You grew up on a ranch in Oregon. How did growing up close to nature animals and the coast really shape your perspective of food and cooking from an early age?

Brian Malarkey:

I grew up on a little ranch in central Oregon, bend, Oregon, Redmond, Oregon. Yeah. A hundred acres raised by my single mom. And I think that really defines me as a chef as I am today. You know, we raised our own cattle for the protein, for the beef. We, I rode horses before and after school. We had hunting rifles. It was the real deal, you know, it was a lot of fun. My brother and I had to change irrigation pipes and men fences, . And then in the summertime it was off to Portland, Oregon to go visit my father, and he'd take us down to the Oregon coast where we had hunt for blackberries and eat salmon and clams and oysters and the whole thing. So, yeah, certainly defines me at that Pacific Northwest upbringing really defines the way I cooked my entire career.

Jaymee Sire:

Yeah, I mean, I'm a, I'm a Montana girl, also grew up on a cattle ranch. So you are, you are eliciting a lot of childhood memories for me as well. I mean, you, you mentioned, you know, like some of the, the, the oysters and, and the salmon. What kinds of things do you think that kids growing up in, in Oregon or the Pacific Northwest get to experience that maybe other kids in other parts of the country don't?

Brian Malarkey:

You know, when you, when you grow up in the country, and I, you know, I think everything's changing as we have social media and stuff like that, the being connected to the land and, and your people and stuff. My best friend lived like two miles away. Mm-hmm. , you know, and I mean, that was close, right? And so you really find a lot of things to do in nature and in time and the way that you spend your days. And it's really great to always get back to the nature and reflect and be quiet and relax. You know, I'm in San Diego, I don't know where you're at, where you at?

Jaymee Sire:

I'm in New York, but I, I lived in San Diego for a little while as well, so,

Brian Malarkey:

And yeah, you know, the, the, a little bit of silence is great for everyone.

Jaymee Sire:

What do you have, like specific memories, like growing up, like, you know, shucking your first oyster or cracking your first crab leg that kind of have stuck with you and maybe inspired, you know, your, your career later on?

Brian Malarkey:

This is a, this is gonna be a little rough here, but Okay.

Jaymee Sire:

As a, as

Brian Malarkey:

A young, as a young child, we, my mom was dating a cowboy. Okay. John mc. John McFarland. Okay. I mean, just the perfect cowboy name

Jaymee Sire:

Gentleman had a, sounds like it. Cowboy

Brian Malarkey:

Hat on. He drank red wine out of the jug, bottle , you know, rope roped. And, you know, we won a Christmas tree. We went out and cut down a tree in the back and stuff like that. But man, he, he gave my brother and I ropes when we were little, and he is like, ah, go out there. There's a bunch of calves. Go rope yourself a cow, you know, get yourself a pet . And we caught Al, we loved Al, we fed Al and Al was the best. And we, we, we kept feeding him every day. He's like, feed him as much as you want. Feed him as much as you want. And there came that reality one day that, oh my gosh, Al's not my best friend Al's the al's the, the, the future meal for us, you know,

Jaymee Sire:

.

Brian Malarkey:

So that really kind of changed my perspective. And when I realized what happened to Al as I grew up and as I realized, we raised a cow every, every year, every summer for the same exact reason. My rebellious nature was I would actually go into the freezer and steal, like the t-bone chop, right? Like, I knew the ones they wanted the most. And I'd goed my friend Bill Sen's, two, two miles away. I'd ride my little bike over there, and we had thaw that out, and I would cook it for him and my friends. And that was us. Like, you know,

Jaymee Sire:

For Billy,

Brian Malarkey:

Yes. Given, given the big old finger to the establishment, meaning my mom and, you know, the whole system. And it really kind of inspired me and got me cooking,

Jaymee Sire:

Poor, pouring one out for Al, you know? Yeah, it was,

Brian Malarkey:

It was definitely pouring al some Kool-aid for Al, you know,

Jaymee Sire:

. I mean, speaking of which, who, who in your life like, kind of started to nurture those culinary interests that you, you speak about? I,

Brian Malarkey:

I had a very different reflection on cooking. My mom, you know, she laughs and says, I, I, I throw her under the bus literally every time I say this. But she was outside tending to the horses and the cattle and, and taking care of that. And I was, I was learning how to cook when I was, you know, six, seven years old out on the ranch. And then I'd go visit my father, and he was into big meat cooking, always a roast going on, and there'd be like a can of green beans in, in on the stove. And I think he just did that. So he, he thought that he had something healthy going on , but it was always a big roast. And then my grandmother was much more of a society woman, and she was everything from finger bowls, like the old school days, like the Titanic and stuff like that, and very full scale service restaurant kind of food. It was absolutely beautiful. So I had a lot of different from TV dinners to roasted meats, to high-end dinners. I had a little bit of all of it and,

Jaymee Sire:

And everything in between. So when you decided to pursue a more formal education at Lake Cordon Blue, how did your close circle, how did your family react? Well,

Brian Malarkey:

It all started when I kind of was down. I was a theater arts major. Santa Barbara City College. That's where all the smart kids go, . I mean, when, when you're kind of going down the ladder of last ditch efforts, that was where I was at . And my father came and watched me in a play. I was gonna be an actor, you know, but I had a problem. I was only, I, I couldn't remember my lines very well, right? Okay. Right. That I could be a good actor. I'm a bit of a character. And he looked at me and he goes, moon Child, because that's what he called me back in the day. He's like, moon child, you are one of the worst actors I have ever seen in my entire life. And I was like, I know dad. I know dad. The problem was, I knew, I was like, dad, I just can't remember the lines, man, I just don't know. But I got the story, but I just don't remember the lines. He goes, why don't you do what you love? And I was like, what is that dad? I'm so confused. I'm a youth, you know, I'm not even 20 years old. I'm completely confused. He goes, every time I come around, you're cooking food for all your friends, you're making drinks for all your friends, . And he goes, and everyone's having the best time. I was like, yeah, dad, you want me to be like a professional partier? Like, how can I do that in life? This is my dream job. He goes, no, moon child, you gotta be a chef. And I was like, what? He goes, yeah, you get a cook for people and throw the party every night. And I was like, yeah, there might be a, there might be a pot of gold at the end of this Rainbow Dad. And I went to culinary school and all honestly, I, I hated it. It was, uh, the bla the black and white checkered pants, the, the handkerchief around the neck, the paper hats, the starch white jackets. I was like, well, this isn't the party. Dad told me I was throwing, you know. And so my friend and I would run around town, Portland, Oregon, and we'd go to the all the nice restaurants, but we couldn't afford to really eat there. So it, it was so funny, we'd sit at the bar maybe and get a beer and like steal menus, but we'd also walk around the dining room and like, look at everybody's food on their plate, like, like we worked there or something. And so it really kind of piqued my interest into that higher end food and the bounties of the Pacific Northwest, you know, we went to the farmer's markets, and that's where I started kind of getting it. I wound up doing an externship in Los Angeles at the Citrus, and that's where I realized like cooking's an art form. And that's, you know, the Bourdain was telling us that young cooks were rock stars, and it was true, and it was in Hollywood, but the celebrities were like looking at the cooks and this tin window, and it was edgy and it was raw, and we were like this army of just people that would come together in this chaos and make this amazing artistic food that tasted so good. And that's when I was smitten and bitten by the love of food. And I never looked back. .

Jaymee Sire:

Yeah. So we, we are now just in case for anybody falling along, we're now into the chef portion of your four pillars in your, in your bio.

Brian Malarkey:

We did cowboy, epic cowboy. I didn't, I did not touch on the base that I was Oregon State High School Rodeo Champion, three years in a row.

Jaymee Sire:

Oh, okay. What was your what event?

Brian Malarkey:

Well, because you're from Montana and there's that little TV show called Yellowstone. Yes, yes. Right.

Jaymee Sire:

That has, I've heard of it. a

Brian Malarkey:

Little popular right now. Well, the thought is, in Yellowstone, they have cutting horses and raining horses. Mm-hmm. . Now, before Yellowstone, I could have told what my, my horse discipline was, and nobody would've known it. But I ride the same horses that they do in Yellowstones.

Jaymee Sire:

So you're those horses,

Brian Malarkey:

Those horses that slide and they groove and they're really fancy and stuff like that. That's what I grew up riding. So that's what I was state champion high school rodeo in.

Jaymee Sire:

And do you still ride now?

Brian Malarkey:

I am still a very good rider. We still have the ranch in Oregon. I actually just bought the neighboring property to it. So the P Barbie, the Hawkeye Ranch is in full effect up there. My kids are learning to ride and rope, and it's really fun up there.

Jaymee Sire:

Oh, that's so cool. How often do you guys get up there?

Brian Malarkey:

A lot now. Very exciting news. We will be opening a restaurant up there this fall. Ooh. I'm going home. Right. Right now, all of the restaurants I have are in San Diego. There's Urban Wood, urban Sea, there's Anime Urban Ranch, and we have Lake Cock, our French restaurant under construction right now in La Jolla. Mm. But my, my brother and I just signed a lease on our place up in Oregon. I'm so excited to go back to my hometown and show 'em what we do. The restaurant will be called Hawkeye and the Huckleberry Lounge.

Jaymee Sire:

Oh my gosh. I love that. Yeah, I love that.

Brian Malarkey:

So we're gonna have, we have live music, and we're gonna raise our own beef out on the ranch. My little, my little trick here is we're gonna actually fatten our beef up on hemp. There's so much hemp product up there. Yeah. That's been over harvested that you are going to mix it with the alfalfa hay and hemp. So I'm gonna have some happy cows at the end.

Jaymee Sire:

, I mean, what does that do to, I mean, does that

Brian Malarkey:

Probably nothing probably. I'm, I'm just saying it's, it's marketing to the best. All right. hemp harvested beef. Love that you learn it here first. Okay.

Jaymee Sire:

I mean, you, you're, you're pioneer. Is this, wait, so is this gonna be in, in Portland, or is it gonna be Oregon. Okay. Bend, Oregon in Ben. All right. I love that. So, I mean, how, how would you describe, I guess, your, your journey from what you were describing a few minutes ago of, you know, Brian right out of culinary school, kind of finding his way and, and Brian now opening up this beautiful restaurant near his hometown. 

Brian Malarkey:

You know, it's obviously been a big learning experience. A lot of highs and lows. Chefs and cooks are kind of mercenaries. I worked in Portland, Seattle, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Minneapolis, Minnesota, and floated around a lot and really just learned the craft. And I figured out, you know, how to be a good chef, how to make other people money, how to, you know, make sure that enough people enjoyed my food to support the business. And then after that, I, you know, continued to push. I opened my first restaurant, Sears sucker back in the day. Had the whole fabric of social dinings. We had gingham and garine and burlap and herringbone. And we were able to sell that for a, a really wonderful price, . And now we have our new group of restaurants, the ones down here, urban Wood and Anime, and all those. So we're having a lot of fun. I, I learned to be much more than a cook. I became a chef, a mentor, and then with the gift of, you know, food Network and TV and Top Chef and stuff like that, I was able to do a lot of marketing and really promote the brands. And, you know, I learned how to be a restaurateur, and now I'm becoming a, an investor. So lots of opportunities.

Jaymee Sire:

A and what made you ultimately want to kind of dive into that side of the business? You know, versus just being the person that's, you know, throwing the party and putting out the food. .

Brian Malarkey:

I looked around and I said, all these people I'm making money for, they don't know as much as I know , and I know the front of the house, I know the back of the house. I, I know the marketing, I know the hr, the pr I know everything. Right. And I was like, why am I working for the person making them so much money when I could be doing it with my friends and making money for ourselves? And we've been very fortunate to have had great success as restaurateurs, and we survived Covid, and we're thriving right now. And, you know, going into Bend, Oregon is a massive lift because they don't, they don't have the kind of restaurants eye open mm-hmm. . And they're, they're not small. Our, our average restaurant is 7,500 square feet. We open, we open big, powerful restaurants. And our restaurants aren't just the food's. The most important thing, or the all ambiance is the most important thing. We are in harmony with your, your sights, your sounds, your smells, your touch, and bringing all those things together. Because what we want people to do is put down their phones for a while and really enjoy human interaction and conversation. And taking hospitality back to that original concept of breaking bread and, and clinking your glasses together and sharing story as they say in Hawaii, and really just laughter and having a great celebration of life.

Jaymee Sire:

Has that always been a focus of your restaurants, or is that something you've kind of evolved to?

Brian Malarkey:

That is all I have ever wanted to do. It takes a, either a very modest or a very arrogant person to realize that it's not all about being a chef, chef. Mm-hmm. , you have to be a business person. You have to be a entrepreneur. You have to be comfortable enough in your own skin to cook for the people and not cook for other chefs. So many young chefs are out there making food to impress other chefs or food critics or food writers or, you know, that company that's named after a tire company. I can't remember what it's called, . But you know, when you're trying to cook for those people, you're forgetting about the guest. You know, I go in and I, I read menus and there's stuff on menus like I'm going, it's just too chefy. It's too fancy. Give people a great meal that is not just arrogant and ego driven, but just heart and soul. And that's when you can find success.

Jaymee Sire:

What's your favorite part of the process, especially, you know, opening a new restaurant like you're working on now?

Brian Malarkey:

My favorite part is talking to the people, finding out their, their, their happiness, their love. Watching teams come together, the heart of the house, the, the front of the house. And watching those people really form lifelong bonds. And really, when people get it and they just sit there and you look and they're laughing and talking, and, you know, they're not, you know, overly taking pictures of food or, and they're just like, they're enjoying their conversation. That's when I feel the best when the noise is, is loud mm-hmm. . And the laughter is big. And I can hear, like I said, the, the glass is clinking. That's what I want to do. I am throwing that party . I am, I am bringing people together to celebrate life.

Jaymee Sire:

Do you tend to, you know, be more hands-on? Or do you kind of let your team, you know, do do what you hired them to do once, once they get up and running? Uh,

Brian Malarkey:

I am the, I have become the most hands off person in the world. I read a, I read a, I read a Great Crow, uh, quote by Richard Branson the other day that they're like, how have you been successful in so many different businesses? And I mean, by God, no meaning am I comparing myself to him in any means, but you, you learn from other people. And he said, I get great people with great, you know, work ethics and great story and great, you know, great people. Yeah. And he said, I give them the resources to succeed, and then I get out of their way, you know? Mm-hmm. . And that's what I like to do, too. I find chefs that are better than me. I find people that know more than I do, and I ask questions, and I find out, and I give them the resources to succeed. And then I watch the flower blossom and I watch it grow, and I water it. And that's what I do. I love to smell the flowers when they're in full bloom. So,

Jaymee Sire:

, how much does, um, you know, location of the restaurant kind of influence how you conceptualize everything from decor to the actual menu itself? Like, how much is Bend Oregon represented in this, in this new venture? My

Brian Malarkey:

Business partner, Chris Puffer, and I, we've always kind of jokingly referred to ourselves as Bus, as building whispers . We don't walk in with a concept. We get inside the building and we say, what does this building want to be? What does this neighborhood want? Who are, you know, what is this going to be? Because I'm not just a French chef, an Italian chef, a Americana chef, you know, we're, we're able to do so many different styles and concepts, and then we find the people that works in that concept. Like we have anime. Our Asian concept right now, we have Tara Monson, who's one of the most exciting chefs in the country. She's a Filipino chef, putting that kind of street food, Filipino in a high end environment, bring blending together everything from island to Japanese to Vietnamese, and putting these things together. And it's just extraordinary to watch it all come together. So yes, a central, the, the one in Bend, Oregon is literally going to be a celebration of the Pacific Northwest. You know, I cannot wait to do that. It's going to be almost campy glamping inside, but not corny. Right. It's a, there's a fine line where that can go terribly, terribly wrong, where Western can become spaghetti western. And it's really putting those, all those things together, because we don't wanna make a restaurant that's fun for a year, two years, three years, five years. We wanna build institutions that last 20 years.

Jaymee Sire:

What is it about, you know, what you and the people you work with are doing differently that continues to kind of elevate, you know, the industry and, and help you guys evolve as well?

Brian Malarkey:

We bring in the youth, we bring in, we bring in fresh eyes and fresh blood, and all of our chefs and GMs and stuff like that, they're partners with us in our restaurants. You know, we're, we're trying to fold people in as owners when they're, when they're able, so that they are completing and fulfilling their dreams also. That's hugely important to us. You know, you want people to have that, that that passion, that connection, that drive. And hospitality is a fairly basic, you know, human, you know, drive is just getting people who care. Mm-hmm. . And that's the hardest thing in the world, is getting people who care and take ownership. And if you have somebody you can walk into a restaurant and, and the first three minutes, you know what their heart and soul is, you know, if it's working, you can feel the attention to detail. You can feel like the, the life, the soul of a restaurant, the people. And that comes from the leadership of the place. And that's, that's what really makes a difference in our industry.

Jaymee Sire:

And by, you know, kind of empowering these people that you hire by, you know, giving them, you know, you know, kind of a stake in the business. How much of a difference does that make, you know, in terms of just them, you know, putting forth their best effort every day?

Brian Malarkey:

It's, it's the only thing that matters. Yeah. You know, everybody wants, everybody wants to be seen and heard and accepted and, and cared for and loved and feel like they're, they're part of the ownership. And when you get that, it's, it's the game changer. Money cannot buy that commitment, you know, like just a, a soul of money. You want to have that ownership, that like, I'm committed to this for a, a lifetime. This is, this is my baby. You know? And that's what, that's what it does. When you have that.

Jaymee Sire:

Do you have a, a favorite restaurant that you've opened over the years? Or is that like choosing a favorite child?

Brian Malarkey:

Well, her Hern Wood, we, we, we pronounce the h we pretend like we're in Australia or London, , herb. Herb, because there is a herb, there is a h in it. Hern Wood will always be my favorite, because it was after our fabric brands have been sold, and it was our reboot, and we got rid of a lot of partners we didn't like. And it was really the heart and soul of our favorite people. And my business partner, puffer and I coming together, and that was the menu and the venue. And he designed his restaurant. He designed that restaurant entirely by himself. And we put our, our heart and soul into that. And that was the last one. I, I, I would do, as they say, ground, ground grind to grind. , , you know, where you are working the 12, 14 hour days down there, and you are making it work. You are going to lift it up and carry it up the hill on your back in the snow if you had to, you know? And now we're putting together great teams that do that hard lift, but there's something that when you, you know, out of the ashes rises this amazing thing. And it is just still a San Diego favorite. It's like just six, seven years old now on pace to do 12 million this year. Wow. She's a big girl. .

Jaymee Sire:

And,

Brian Malarkey:

And, and the amount of people that have celebrated moments in their lives that they'll remember forever is just magical.

Jaymee Sire:

That's really cool. Well, speaking of, of kids, you are the father of three children. As we kind of move into that portion of your life, how different is raising children from raising restaurants?

Brian Malarkey:

Oh my gosh,

Jaymee Sire:

,

Brian Malarkey:

There might be, that's kind of interesting. I haven't been asked that one. There might be some, some similarities in there. So I just like to tell all those, like, those young parents that are so excited, like, you don't get the warning label. All right. , you don't get the warning. All right. You heard like, oh, oh, wait till the teenagers, whatever, whatever. Ready? I have two 12 year olds and a 14 year old, and I see these little people and they're like, oh, I gotta have a baby. I'm gonna dress it to be cute. I'm gonna love it. I'm gonna a feed of organic food, and I'm picture of the sun doesn't shine on it, and all these amazing things. And then fast forward, I have 12 and 14 year olds that have stinky armpits. They don't clean their room, please, and thank you, were forgotten. They used to do it when they're like eight and nine. They're lovely children then. And they have bicycles and they disappear, and you have to track 'em down, and you have to wait for 'em. And there, it's just a whole nother world of joy. They don't wear what you want 'em to wear. , they don't wear, they dress like they're homeless. They have long shaggy hair. If you want to cut their hair, you gotta like, hold them down, . And there's, there's a whole lot. They eat hamburgers and pizza, and it's, and they live on candy. I can't stop it. I don't know. I, I don't know what I did right or wrong, but ,

Jaymee Sire:

You're stone

Brian Malarkey:

With it. Good. Yeah, they're gonna be young pirates, I'm sure, because I think I was probably just like them as a child. I'm

Jaymee Sire:

Sure you, I mean, you know, stealing T-bones and taking 'em over to your friend's house to cook them just to rebel, I think sounds, you know, in a different, in a different way. A little. But I

Brian Malarkey:

Thought that if I was that one, if I was the bad kid, them rebelling against me would be like studious and smart and, and dress really nice and, you know, be opposite of me. But unfortunately, they're following in my footsteps.

Jaymee Sire:

Yeah. I don't know if it works that way. . Oh, have any of them shown an interest in food as much as dad? They,

Brian Malarkey:

One of them likes to bake a little bit. One of them likes to cook a little bit. One of them doesn't wanna do anything in the kitchen. But I will tell you this, every show I do not win. And if you're a fan of shenanigans, malarkey, you know, there's a lot of those , any show I do not win, they will, they will, if they give me the audience and, and do me the pleasure of actually watching me on tv, they will tell me everything I did wrong and how they could probably beat themselves and how I need to step up my game and how I need to stop using too many ingredients. And they critique with the best of them, . Right? And they tell me they're, they're the best. And I'm like, let's go, let's cook right now. And then I get nothing, you know? Yeah.

Jaymee Sire:

, what are some of the, the, the family favorites in the malarkey household as, as far as, you know, food and, and dishes are concerned?

Brian Malarkey:

Uh, I'm a protein chef. I am just a true big protein chef. They love, there's something te terribly ha wrong happened. Several things wrong happened during Covid, but one of the worst was anime is has an incredible yuu beef program, right? Mm-hmm. . And, you know, first month, two months, we put a lot of stuff in the freezer and we're reserving stuff. Well, after a while I'm like, well, let's go down to anime and get some of that yuu beef. So my kids started thinking that really great, you know, grade eight, five, like Japanese Wagyu beef was just a thing, not like a luxury. And we started eating it during Covid and now they're like, Hey dad, we need some with that Wagyu. I was like, no, that, that's not the way it works. That was just a weird thing that happened in our lives. So they loved, they loved the steaks, they love beef dinners. We have big steak dinners, and then we do seafood Sunday, where we're very fortunate to be here in San Diego. We have a lot of great local fish around here, great shellfish around here. And because the garbage gets picked up on Monday, seafood Sunday is the big seafood fast right there. Ah,

Jaymee Sire:

That makes sense. .

Brian Malarkey:

So that's the, the healthiest thing I can get 'em is seafood from time to time. ,

Jaymee Sire:

You gotta, you go, you better, you know, keep a lock and key on that, that that freezer at anime, because if they're taken after dad, they might be sneaking in there and grabbing the Wagyu. They

Brian Malarkey:

Even, and then we had, we had my, I had a big birthday party not too long ago, and then they discovered caviar is also very good too. Yeah. So they're ruined in that aspect. , it's, it's, but there's no middle. It's like literally like pizza, hamburger, Panda, express to Wagyu, caviar, lobster, ,

Jaymee Sire:

. I mean, it sounds perfect to me. I don't know, aside from them critiquing, you know, any competition that you appear on on tv, what do they think about Dad being a TV star?

Brian Malarkey:

They make fun of my clothes . They make fun of the way I talk. They, they make fun of everything. I don't think kids will ever, ever think their parents are cool no matter who they are. So I'm an embarrassment to them, even though their friends ask like, what's your dad? Like, what's your dad? Oh, he's good. Can your dad cook me food? You know, I saw your dad, can you make me a steak like that? And they're like, no, he can't. No, he's, he's, he's no good. So

Jaymee Sire:

He's trash . They,

Brian Malarkey:

They, they occasionally do, they do bring over, they're, they have friends that are kind of fans and the f the kids will come over and they'll be like, Mr. Malarkey, can we have something? I was like, yes, let's do it. And then their friends like me, and then, then they get mad at their friends. And it's just, the teenage things are very confusing, even for us that are not teenagers.

Jaymee Sire:

I mean, I think, I think the moral of the story is you can't win, right? Like,

Brian Malarkey:

There is no winning a hundred percent, no winning

Jaymee Sire:

. Coming up next, Brian tells us what it was like being a captain of the West Coast this season on Beachside Brawl and later gives us behind the scenes scoop on why he loves filming Triple G. Well, speaking of tv, let's talk about your role as captain. Now. Is captain in your Instagram bile referencing the fact that you were captain of the West Coast season of Be Beachside Brawl? Or is are you a captain of other things as well? 

Brian Malarkey:

I am a yachtsman, I'm a boats man. I've been driving boats. We've had boats since I was a kid. We've been water skiing, wakeboarding. So I am a captain, certified captain. So boating has always been a huge thing in our family. So we love to boat and have fun and, you know, to be a chef is to be a chief as is, to be a captain of the boat also.

Jaymee Sire:

Sure. So you're a captain of many things, including the West Coast for Beachside Brawl, um, which

Brian Malarkey:

The captain was up on my social before that, but I, I, I guess now it really makes sense. So no,

Jaymee Sire:

Really, I mean, you know, you're just like, you're, you're just growing into your Instagram bio, I guess, you know, I

Brian Malarkey:

Thinking of now realizing what my title was, I have no idea how I missed this. I should have had my team saluting me the whole time. , I mean, there, there should have been like a pecking order and swapped the decks and like a whole lot of stuff going on there. So,

Jaymee Sire:

No. Well, we're very excited for this new season of Beachside Brawl. And you are, you're competing against fellow chef, former guest on this show as well, Eric Ajapon. What are the key differences between East and West Coast? Food and flavor?

Brian Malarkey:

Who is that? I'm not familiar with that gentleman. What's his name?

Jaymee Sire:

. Eric Ajapon.

Brian Malarkey:

No, doesn't ring a bell.

Jaymee Sire:

No.

Brian Malarkey:

He must know who I am though. Right.

Jaymee Sire:

Obviously, obviously ,

Brian Malarkey:

The battle is fierce. The battle is real. I'll tell you that. There's, there's, it's fun. We will have a very fun season this season because neither one of us want to lose, and we both love to win. So Eric and I've known each other for a few years now. We are actually on Top Chef Allstar together, which is a scary existence, uh, living in a reality TV world, . But yeah, it's so much fun. I've, you know, I've, I've, I've just been up and down the West Coast my whole life cooking all the way from, you know, Seattle, Washington, along the Puget Sounds to the, the coast of Oregon, from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles, and now San Diego. So just absolutely, seafood is my, my main driving force. That is what I, I excel at. I love shellfish. No disrespect. I, I, I actually love East Coast seafood as well. I actually, like, don't throw me off the coast here, west coast, but I like the East Coast oysters better than the West Coast oysters.

Jaymee Sire:

Oh, interesting. I like West Coast oysters better.

Brian Malarkey:

Oh, . I like, I like how hard the shells are on the East coast oyster, and they hold the salt water. I mean, that's, that's really the ticket right there. The plumpness and the salt water is what you're really looking for there. But to play on all those different genres and as, as we cook this season, the amount of learning and education, and it's so much more East coast, you know, I, he, he has such a diverse team that you forget about that the, the lower South in, in Florida and then the Caribbean and all the way up to the true hard-hitting Maine and stuff like that. You have such a variety. You know, I thought the West Coast would have all the variety, but I really learned with his leadership and his team and their incredible cooking. I learned so much about East Coast cooking throughout this season. And I even learned more about my own West Coast because we had such a diverse, incredibly talented team on the West Coast also.

Jaymee Sire:

I mean, how do you approach your position on a show like this versus, you know, obviously competing or judging you in this, in situation you are mentoring, you are leading, you know, your team of five. How do you kind of, I guess, approach and handle that? 

Brian Malarkey:

I couldn't have been more at home. This is exactly where I'm at. Alright, so we didn't get cooks that need a lot of direction. We have incredible chefs, right? Mm-hmm. , they know how to make great food, but what they don't know how to do is do it in a competitive nature and, and do it in a, a timed event with limitations or obstacles and all those things that Antonio and the guest chefs are throwing at you. Like, what is it? You know, you, you're, you're in a box when you're in your restaurant, you're cooking in your mind and with your team, and you have time. Competitive cooking is an entirely different beast. And Eric and I both have a, a, a ton of experience in that realm. So I am literally putting them in and, and, and we have to do a lot of cohesive cooking, menu planning. Like, what does this dish look like? And, and really going, that doesn't work in this, this works here. You know? And really guiding those people. And that's what I've been doing for the last, you know, 10, 15 years of my life, is putting these teams together and then making them cohesive. Mm-hmm. and seeing a common goal or a, a common common finish line. So I was completely in my element in this, and really using their skill level, but fine tuning it inside of them and going, this is what we need for this competition.

Jaymee Sire:

Without, without giving away spoilers, what, what are some, like twists we can expect to see on, on this season?

Brian Malarkey:

I think I throw Eric off the pier several times. Oh, no, that didn't happen. That didn't happen.

Jaymee Sire:

Walk the plank,

Brian Malarkey:

Walk the plank

Jaymee Sire:

.

Brian Malarkey:

It's just fierce and it's fun. You know, I watched the first season with Brooke and Tiffany mm-hmm. , and they were great, and I learned a lot from them. But it feels like the competition's gotten harder. And I think the, the level of the cooks has gotten better, you know, as everything gets a little bit better, with a little bit more seasoning, a little bit more time. And they throw some crazy, crazy challenges at us, and we're cooking in the sand and we're, we're, we're fishing and we're, I mean, what they're doing to us is pretty intense. And of course there's a lot of good gameplay between Eric and I having our own little personal battles too.

Jaymee Sire:

How successful was Captain Malarkey on the fishing expedition?

Brian Malarkey:

Well, we could just call up Eric right now. . I, I think I, I, I don't think we even need to talk about the fishing. Eric, you hold the fishing pole from the real side. Okay. . You're not the other side. And talking to the fish does not work. I was just messing with you. So

Jaymee Sire:

. All right, well, we'll let, we'll see that unfold, I'm sure. Sure. On screen. What is

Brian Malarkey:

Humiliating is production did make us wear the horrible Orange Life jacket.

Jaymee Sire:

Oh, alright.

Brian Malarkey:

I’m talking like, I, I mean, I guess Leonardo would've loved one on the Titanic, but I would've probably preferred drowning to wearing this life jacket. It

Jaymee Sire:

Was like, those are the worst.

Brian Malarkey:

It’s an embarrassing moment. Like, couldn't we have had something stylish my friends, but I think, yeah, I think, you know, guy in Lando and the whole crew is just laughing and laugh. Look what these guys will do. This is hilarious.

Jaymee Sire:

What did you and Antonio and Eric get up to behind the scenes?

Brian Malarkey:

Well, you know, we shot Redondo, so up in Orange County, we checked out a lot of really cool restaurants up there. We wish the sun was out a little bit, you know, we all had a little bit of a harsh season. Mm. It was a little cold out there . But really just fun running around that kind of, that South Bay area up there. So many fun restaurants to go check out and hang out. And anytime you're on set, it's kind of fun because mm-hmm. , you do have long shoots, but then you get to just kind of relax also when you're not at home and worried about kids and businesses and stuff like that. So it was, it's fun and, and great bonding experience. We had so many, so many talented and great guest chefs come in to judge us, so that's always fun to catch up with all your friends.

Jaymee Sire:

Of course. And speaking of catching up with your friends, you spend a lot of time in Flavor Town Market as well on Triple G. What do you love about filming that show specifically?

Brian Malarkey:

It's, it's my favorite show. It's so much fun that grocery store is legit. I mean, it's not real. You can't really go there and shop, but it's a real grocery store mm-hmm. , and I just love how they donate all of their product that goes, that's, you know, has the expiration dates to the local food banks and stuff like that. But when you get a shop in a grocery store, it's, it's like your own. It's like, you know, you've ever been on a shopping spree or whatever mm-hmm. and, I mean, yeah, guys got limits on money or letters, whatever you're doing, whatever the game is. But man, run it up and down that alley, just like grabbing stuff and throw it in your cart and cooking and laughing and, you know, when you do a serious competition like Tournament of Champions or Top Chef, you're in the zone because you better cook great. Because there's, there's obstacles, but they're, they're obstacles you can conquer. When you're shooting Triple G, you are just like, it's an afternoon delight. You're having fun with your friends, you're playing for charity, whatever it is. Mm-hmm. and everyone's laughing, things go wrong, things go right. And it's just, it's like a giant playground for Shep's children like myself. Yeah.

Jaymee Sire:

It looks like a lot of fun, a lot, a lot of shenanigans as a lot, which as the real fans know is guy's nickname. For you, was there a specific like incident that happened or is it just your, your general, you know, demeanor that, that prompted that nickname?

Brian Malarkey:

I don't necessarily know when the first shenanigans started being called, but it was probably back in the day where I was doing celebrity cooking with, it was chefs with professional athletes, and I was with former Oakland Raiders fullback, Marcel Reese. Mm-hmm. , good friend of guys. And we are in this competition, we're gonna stop like Robert Irvine, this baseball player, and these great chefs, and we're throwing down and we're in the finals, and then we're, we're like doing great. I'm like, oh man, I'm feeling good. I'm feeling good, Marcel. He goes, malarkey malarkey. When we win, when we win, we're gonna chess pump. I was like, yeah, Marcel let's chess pump. And he goes, no malarkey. He goes, when we win, we're gonna chest pop. I was like, what goes, we're gonna chest pop. And I'm like, getting on my skin. I'm like, we're gonna chest pop. He's like, uh, and all of a sudden guy announces that and, and he looks at me and he nods and we jump up in the air and he is two 50 and a, a block of a man. He hit me so hard in my chest, my legs go over my head. I'm like three feet in the air. I take out like two cameras, , I land on my butt, I think I break, my tailbone guy falls out of his chair onto the ground. He's on the ground laughing. And if Shenanigan hadn't started by then, stuck that day.

Jaymee Sire:

Wow. Wait, is that, did that make the show? I hope?

Brian Malarkey:

Oh, the, oh, he, it, it makes the show about every season. Oh, there, there there'll be a blooper reel of me flying through the air and you'll be like, what was, was that malarkey going through the air

Jaymee Sire:

? Yeah.

Brian Malarkey:

Any, anytime guys having a bad day, he just like repeats. He is like, then everything's all good again. So

Jaymee Sire:

What, what other shenanigans do you get up to on that show?

Brian Malarkey:

Oh my gosh. The most recent episode, another of the egg episodes where we're trying to feed Guy his least favorite food in the world, eggs, his dog, I can't remember his dog's name. Chases me around the grocery store. Like, and it's a, one of those little, like,

Jaymee Sire:

French dogs, bull dogs. Oh. And there's okay

Brian Malarkey:

Come coming after me. And like, like, I mean, it almost took me down. So there is so many shenanigans on that show and the amount of times I throw food at Troy Johnson when he is judging, everything goes wrong with that show. It's so much fun.

Jaymee Sire:

That's, I mean, it looks like it's a lot of fun, you know, from watching it at home. So it's always good to hear that you guys are having just as much fun as, as we see on tv.

Brian Malarkey:

Back to another episode with Marcel Reese. As I was getting more comfortable with him and I figured he can't hurt me any worse than that. We are, we are defending our crown. So that's how that one worked out. We obviously won and I broke my butt. we're running down. So I, in the olden days in San Diego, we used to have a football team here. It was called the San Diego Chargers.

Jaymee Sire:

I remember I covered them for Oh yeah. Four years. .

Brian Malarkey:

They fled us. They left.

Jaymee Sire:

No, they left No

Brian Malarkey:

Goodbye. No, no, no sorry. Notes or anything like that. So we're all a little hurt down here, but he was playing for the Oakland Raiders and we're running down the canned food section and I'm like, yo, yo, Oakland sucks because if you're a, if you're a Charger fan, you gotta hate Oakland. And they're in the same division as us. Yep. He took my body on the canned food section and we cleaned out the whole section , just like, and I mean, it was the funniest thing ever. And it hurt also. So that's another fun thing we've done on the show.

Jaymee Sire:

A any other projects in the, in the works for you that we haven't covered yet?

Brian Malarkey:

Yeah, I'm really excited. We have, during Covid also, we came up with a oil line, it's called Chef's Life. I realized that so many people were cooking with extra virgin olive oil. I wanted to tell 'em what oil to cook with. Mm-hmm. So extra virgin olive oil is an amazing oil, but it's meant to finish stuff. It's not meant to cook. It's got a lot of flavor. It's very delicate. So we came up with Chef's life oils. We're in Kroger's nationwide. We're in about 3000 grocery stores right now. And our, we have a cooking oil, which is a blend of avocado, grape seed, sunflower, and olive. The second press, and that ha it can, the, the heat level on that is the like a million degrees. Wow. So it's like, you know, get us roll record holder and stuff like that. Might be some shenanigans there, but it's, it's, it's the best cooking oil you'll ever use. We have that in two sprays also. And then we have a Chef's Life blending oil that has some extra virgin olive oil, it, and then some great grape seed and avocado. And then we had our, have our own extra virgin olive oil. So we shoot a ton of content for that. But Chef's Life is incredible. We have a charitable giveback program to Golden Rule Charity. Um, we have the new, the new restaurants. And I'm shooting a bunch of fun stuff with you guys right now. I was just out in your test kitchens shooting a bunch of summer grilling things for the kickoff of Beachside Brawl also. So lots of fun stuff there. Life is full and magical. Kids are fun and exciting as, as you know, as they can get.

Jaymee Sire:

Well, it sounds like a lot of exciting things happening in your future, and we're so excited to follow along. We have a few rapid fire questions we're gonna finish off with, and we have one final question for you that we ask everybody here on the podcast.

Brian Malarkey:

Oh, I'm so scared,

Jaymee Sire:

. No, it's really easy. I promise. All right. Rapid fire. How do you take your coffee as you're taking it? Why ? Just nothing else. Just, just the coffee. How many pairs of glasses do you own? Oh

Brian Malarkey:

My God. I'm, I'm have a, I have an addiction . I have a, I have a glass addiction. Jacque Marie Mirage or something like that. I have far too many. We're probably getting into the 18 to 20 pair now, so.

Jaymee Sire:

Okay. All right. Chef tool. Everyone should have

Brian Malarkey:

A great knife and a spoon. Okay. I think that's all you need. Yeah.

Jaymee Sire:

Describe your time on t o c in one word.

Brian Malarkey:

Exhilarating

Jaymee Sire:

tattoo with the best story.

Brian Malarkey:

Oh, Hmm. . I have Cowboy here. I just got Cowboy. Oh, nice. I got our brand right here. We got an arrow. We got our medieval horse here. We've got some good

Jaymee Sire:

Ones. All right. I like it.

Brian Malarkey:

We got luck and love.

Jaymee Sire:

Love. Describe your personal style. Oh,

Brian Malarkey:

I got this. It's James Dean meets Matthew McConaughey. Oh. Before he started dressing up for the football games, but actually I do do that fashion too.

Jaymee Sire:

. All right. All right. All right. Yeah. All right. All

Brian Malarkey:

Right.

Jaymee Sire:

All right. favorite celebrity encounter?

Brian Malarkey:

Oh my God. This is, I, I don't know if that, there, there's a kid Rock one, but I can't tell you all about that one cuz it was Kid Rock.

Jaymee Sire:

That sounds on brand .

Brian Malarkey:

Yeah. Yeah, that was a good one.

Jaymee Sire:

. All right, we'll just, we

Brian Malarkey:

Can Enough said.

Jaymee Sire:

We'll just leave it at that. All right. So this is our final question. This is not rapid fire. What would be on the menu for your perfect food day? So we want you to kind of take us through the progression of the day. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert. If you're a dessert guy, there's no rules. You can time travel, travel wherever you want in between meals. Wow. No calories are, are counted. Yes. Your day. Wow.

Brian Malarkey:

Wow. No calories are counted. No,

Jaymee Sire:

You can, can

Brian Malarkey:

Eat all the gluten we want. Oh yeah, you eat sugar. Oh my

Jaymee Sire:

Gosh. No, no allergies. Yeah. Nothing. I

Brian Malarkey:

Don't know if I can put it in order. That's okay. But, but I don't mean to sound boring, but I, I do appreciate and love a, a perfect avocado toast. This is so California, you can slap me. I, I'm so, I'm sorry everybody. It's disgusting. You know what?

Jaymee Sire:

It's delicious though. I mean, there's, there's a reason why it's

Brian Malarkey:

So popular. I like this story. I was like going, you guys, when I do some demos and stuff, I'm like, you know, guys, you know, there's, there's a Secret Chef Hall of Fame in the world, right? And it's where we don't get to tell anyone about, it's like the Secret Society. It's like Fight club. We don't talk about it , but I'm gonna let you guys know because you're food network and you should know this stuff. But there was a day where there was this big sandwich and it was like bread and it was, let's say it's like Turkey and salamis and cheeses and lettuces and stuff like that. And the guy was having a tough time making food costs. And he was like, oh God, I'm gonna take some of this stuff outta here. He is like, oh God. And, you know, but nobody was really ordering it. It's like, wasn't as good as the original sandwich. He goes, oh God, it was just so expensive to make and stuff like that. He whittles this thing down. He eventually just gets rid of the top piece of bread and he gets rid of this. He gets rid of this, and he gets all the way down to one piece of bread and then avocado. And all of a sudden he just puts a little salt and olive oil on it, extra virgin olive oil on it, and people go crazy for it. And then he goes, I'm gonna charge twice as much money for this as I did for the whole sandwich. Thus, this is why this person is in the Culinary Hall of Fame, because they whittled down that giant sandwich into a piece of bread with guacamole on it. And we have been making a fortune off of it ever since.

Jaymee Sire:

Do we know who this person is or is it just like?

Brian Malarkey:

No, they're, they're, they're just the person.

Jaymee Sire:

They're just the, okay, so you're having some avocado off fame. You're having avocado. Are you putting an egg on your avocado toast as well?

Brian Malarkey:

Yes. Okay. Post the six and a half minute egg. Yeah. Okay. Right. I have to have ramen, right? Mm-hmm. Ramen is just one of my o it's like the best. Ramen is one of the, maybe the dirtiest greatest things I've ever had in my life. Proper, proper beef, be it a Wagyu or a proper cooked ribeye is very, very important. Shellfish all day long. Mm-hmm. Everything from sea urchin to une, to spot prawns, to clams, to lobster. Oh, all day long. a proper corn dish. You've always gotta have like a, my kids are in love with Mexican street corn. Mm-hmm. . So we do different versions all the time. And then I gave up alcohol about seven months ago. Mm-hmm. . And I'd never had a sweet tooth before that. But man, I have a sweet tooth now. And so, chocolate and ice cream, salt and straw. Oh, I love Tyler. And the whole crew behind salt and straw. Great people. So a proper dessert has to be done. But then I also go up to those huckleberries and blackberries and stuff like that up in the northwest. Yeah. And that just blows my mind. Ugh. I just love food. , you know, smoke salmon, a proper bagel with everything seasoning on it. Ugh. There's so many good things to celebrate in life. My last meal, if I was like in prison right now, know, which I probably shouldn't be, would be really big. Yeah.

Jaymee Sire:

Yeah. I mean, it sounds, I mean, I think all of those things would have to be on the list. Right.

Brian Malarkey:

So good.

Jaymee Sire:

And I love that you have, you know, some huckleberry represented in there as well for the Pacific Northwest because gotta

Brian Malarkey:

Put it in there.

Jaymee Sire:

Very close to my heart as well. It has been so lovely chatting with you and hearing about, you know, your, your four I guess pillars. And thank you so much for taking the time and sharing with us.

Brian Malarkey:

Lots of love. Be sure to tune in. This is gonna be a wild, epic ride. One of the funnest shows, one of the funnest crews ever in the talent level of these chefs and their personalities and who they are and what they do and the different regions they come from up and down the east and west coast is so much fun. And like I said, we have so many fun, fun, fun guest judges that come and hang out with us. And who doesn't enjoy a day cooking on the pier or the beach with a lot of friends in a friendly little competition, .

Jaymee Sire:

We cannot wait. Looking forward to it.

Brian Malarkey:

Cheers. Cheers and love. Thank you.

Jaymee Sire:

You can catch Brian on the all new season of Beachside Brawl Sunday, June 18th at ten nine Central on Food Network. Make sure to follow us wherever you listen to podcasts so you don't miss a thing. And if you enjoy today's episode, please rate and review. We love it when you do that. That's all for now. We'll catch you foodies next Friday.