Food Network Obsessed

Carlos Anthony on Competing Against His Mentor

Episode Summary

Executive chef Carlos Anthony shares the details of his recent engagement and how his mentor, Brian Malarkey, helped make it happen. Carlos shares how growing up in a Hispanic home inspired his love of cooking and the techniques he uses in the kitchen. The Tucson native reflects on his hometown as he has witnessed it grow into a culinary destination. Now a San Diego resident, Carlos dishes on the phone call that sent him off to California to chase his culinary dreams. While on the topic of San Diego, he talks about meeting Brian Malarkey and joining his team at Seersucker. Since then, the two have joined forces on the Little Italy staple restaurant, Herb & Wood, and Carlos gives away the secret to an elevated dining experience. Though long time friends, Carlos jokes about defeating Brian Malarkey on Superchef Grudge Match and the ecstatic reactions he received from their staff at Herb & Wood. He unpacks his experience competing in the Tournament of Champions, sharing his excitement for the opportunity to cook alongside some of his culinary idols. He reveals what it’s like to shift gears from competitor to judge on Supermarket Stakeout.

Episode Notes

Follow Food Network on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/foodnetwork

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

Follow Carlos Anthony on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chefcarlosanthony

Learn More About Superchef Grudge Match: https://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/superchef-grudge-match

Learn More About Tournament of Champions: https://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/tournament-of-champions

Episode Transcription

Food Network Obsessed - Carlos Anthony Transcript

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 Sire, and today we have a chef hailing from the Southwest to talk about ditching law school to pursue his culinary dreams and why he is got some beef with Brian Malarkey. He is a chef. Chopped next gen and cutthroat kitchen champion. It's Carlos Anthony. Carlos, welcome to the podcast. I did some light Instagram stalking, as I like to do before these interviews. I saw that you recently got engaged. Congrats!

Carlos Anthony:

Thank you so much. Well, thank you so much for having me. Honestly, it's an honor. I'm so stoked to be here and thank you. Just engaged, still floating about it.

Jaymee Sire:

How did you pop the question?

Carlos Anthony:

Oh, I did it on Sunset Cliffs. I spent a lot of time and energy trying to make it a surprise, bringing her family out from Minnesota, all of her friends from around the country. But of course, nothing could be a secret from my fiance, . She knew almost instantly. She did. She knew all of our locations were off, and she goes, my boyfriend, my best friend, and my parents' locations are off. There's something up.

Jaymee Sire:

. Ah, okay.

Carlos Anthony:

But it was still magical, and she said, yes.

Jaymee Sire:

That's the most important thing. Right.

Carlos Anthony:

That's, that's what we care the most about.

Jaymee Sire:

I mean, more importantly, how did you guys celebrate afterwards?

Carlos Anthony:

Well, luckily enough, I, Brian malarkey my great mentor and, and a longtime friend,

Jaymee Sire:

Friend of the pod.

Carlos Anthony:

friend of the pod, Brian Malarkey. I do have a bone to pick with him about that, but he has a beautiful house out looking Sunset Cliffs, and he threw me the most amazing party. Oh, it's so great to have a celebrity chef cater your event.

Jaymee Sire:

Yeah . You know,

Carlos Anthony:

I don't know if I could really afford him, but it's nice. He's a friend.

Jaymee Sire:

Yes. And I, and we're definitely gonna get in all to your friendship, your beef with him currently . But before we do that, let's take it back to young Carlos, please. Yeah. I wanna hear more about, you know, just how you grew up. I know you used to separate beans with your grandmother and grew up in a Hispanic home. How did that all shape your view of the role of food in our lives?

Carlos Anthony:

Yeah. Well, you know, the funniest thing about me, I think so many people see me and they, and they don't know that I'm Hispanic or that I come from a Mexican home and I'm, I'm really always shocked. My name is Carlos first. Yeah. . Like, you know, like I, I'm trying to be as clear as I can, but I was raised by a single mother and I was very lucky enough to have my grandparents there to help raise me. And both of my grandparents were both born in Mexico and different parts of Sonora. And what that gave me was a real love for cooking as well as, as taking care of people from a young age, you know? Yeah. You mentioned separating beans like my grandmother did things in the kitchen from a young age that resonate with me now as a chef, separating beans, killing, cleaning, chilies, being the last one to eat. Such a weird thing to do, but it's such a chef thing, right? Mm-hmm. , we're, we're in this business, not just because we wanna feed people, we don't wanna just give them substance, we wanna take care of them. Right. We want them to have a good feeling like they've come to our home and that they're comfortable and that they're relaxed and they're making new memories.

Jaymee Sire:

I love that. And you're so right about being the last one to eat. That is just, you know, I do that all the time, even if it's just my boyfriend and I, and it's just, you want everybody else to eat first and enjoy, and that's why you do what you do. Um, yeah.

Carlos Anthony:

It's so wild to think about too, because you don't really think about those things impacting you. Mm-hmm. , especially as a kid. Right. You're not sitting there, you know, watching grandma be the last one and being like, oh, that's gonna get to me. But they do. And they stuck with me for a long time. And, you know, I think that's why I became a chef, you know, was really that influence that I love so much.

Jaymee Sire:

What do you admire about just that generation in general and how much that that's influenced you beyond just, you know, the things that you already mentioned? Yeah.

Carlos Anthony:

I think the biggest thing that I can take away from that generation and my grandparents is that hard work. Right? A lot of times we talk about putting love into food, and it's often the labor of love, right? It's working hard. It's long hours, it's a long process. My grandma makes a mole, right? Mm. Absolutely Beautiful mole, lots of ingredients. We all know about this. But what people don't talk about is how to make it the actual, the process of creating mole takes time and patience and having an understanding. And a lot of us nowadays, we move too fast. , we're quick, quick, quick. I want instant gratification, right? I wanna have my Trader Joe's meal. I want it quick, I want it ha and I want it fast. And we forget about that labor of love, uh, taking time for your food, putting in the effort before people get there. And let me tell you, as a chef, you can taste that kind of thing. Mm-hmm. , you taste love, you taste time, and oftentimes it's long before the guests arrive.

Jaymee Sire:

Yeah. And this was all back in Tucson, Arizona. Tucson quickly becoming a, a top global travel destination as well. What do you love about it? I know you're in San Diego now, but, oh, what do

Carlos Anthony:

You love about Tucson? You know what, I, I adore Tucson, you know, being my hometown, you know, going to school out there, but I really started my culinary career in California and now coming back and see it explode with culinary heavyweights. One of my favorite chefs of all time, top Chef alum, Maria Mazzone, has a restaurant there, Boca Taco. Mm-hmm. And it's incredible. We just did a dinner out there and it was so magical for me to go home. You have high school friends, you have the aunt, the Theas, right? The Theas coming and seeing their boy all grown up and seeing Tucson just be this center for culture and food that wasn't there when I was a kid. Right. It wasn't this mecca of food and of sonota cuisine like that wasn't there. And to see that is, it's a really proud moment. You know, I've been a chef in California for a long time now, but I would love to go back to the hometown and, and give back and, you know, maybe start a place of my own someday.

Jaymee Sire:

Why do you think the shift has happened?

Carlos Anthony:

You know, I think there's a lot of youth, there's a lot of, of generational changing in Arizona. I think in the past it was very much seen as a retirement kind of mm-hmm. , you know, let's take the, oh, we go into Arizona to retire. Yeah. And now you see a lot of youth, and that's because of the colleges I went to, university of Arizona, a lot of my family are ASU alums, . And you see a lot of these college peoples that stuck around because it's beautiful. Mm-hmm. , it's majestic. Everywhere you go, clean air, the mountains, a lot of people think it's just desert, and they're so, so wrong. You know, from Arizona, from tip to tail. You, you have obviously beautiful deserts mm-hmm. , the beautiful Sonos cactus, gorgeous gateways, but you also have mountains mm-hmm. . You have, you know, Flagstaff with beautiful snow and you have rivers. It's insane. I'm so happy that people are coming aboard and, and realizing how great it is. There's, there's heavyweight hitter chefs in Arizona right now. Bo McMillan has a restaurant, Scott Conan. There's quite a few stars in, in that state.

Jaymee Sire:

No, there absolutely are. And it's always fun to see, you know, a place that is, is close to your heart, being enjoyed and celebrated by other people as well. But, you know, cooking in restaurants was not always the goal for you. Can you kind of share your story of foregoing law school to chase your dreams and where that took you? Yeah.

Carlos Anthony:

It's, it's so crazy. . I like looking back now, right? Being a chef now for about 17 years and really having this like, perspective of food and where I came from. But yeah, I, you know, I went to school, I went to school with a business marketing degree with my eyes set towards the amazing law school at University of Arizona. And, you know, always being a very good arguer at a young age. I was in speech and debate, mainly because I just couldn't shut up and always had a lot to say. So I went with that direction. And, you know, much like anybody in college, I had to pay, pay the bills. I was working in restaurants to make ends meet. And I was a host at the time, at the tender age of I believe 18. And I was, you know, fresh into school and they said, kid, we love you. We wanna, you know, give you a raise. You can't serve tables yet, but we wanna put you in the kitchen. And I said, sure, anything, let's go. And I loved it. I fell in love with it, the fire. And this was a bad restaurant, let me tell you, .

Jaymee Sire:

Okay.

Carlos Anthony:

This was a chain, it's a pizza place, like old Chicago. I don't even think it's there anymore, but this is all over the country. But what I fell in love with was the, the pace, the excitement of being in the weeds, right? To being very busy in the kitchen. And then that gratification you get when somebody likes your food. . Like, lemme tell you, from a early in my career, I was already manipulating ingredients. We had prepackaged ingredients throughout the restaurant. Maybe it's a battered shrimp, something like that, that we just fry. And then from an early, early on in my career, I would, I would debread them. I would turn it into something different. I would manipulate it. I'd bring it, you know, bring it out to the server and be like, Hey, I made this great thing. And I, I just loved that. I loved being creative as well as giving something that somebody else would enjoy. Um, right. I think there's something special about making people happier or giving people that feeling they get when they like something. Um, mm-hmm. . And I was addicted to it. And, you know, I, I, I fell in love with cooking. And what's crazy about all of it is, is that you don't realize how connected that was to my, my culture, right? Mm-hmm. , you suddenly go, oh my gosh, my, my grandmother is . Like, all these things I grew up doing, you know, we talked about separating beings. Like, I thought that was a punishment

Jaymee Sire:

Carlos Anthony:

I thought I was in trouble. And you realize how much that influenced me and how important that was to me as I started my career.

Jaymee Sire:

So how did you start your career then? And I mean, you're working in this pizza chain, you know, kind of just following in love with the, the whole process of everything. How did you go from that to actually, you know, becoming a chef?

Carlos Anthony:

You know, so for all of my life, I've been a very, a driven kind of person. Very much see my goal attack, my goal. And, you know, one of the biggest things I realized quickly about being a chef or being in that industry as I had to learn, uh, I had to continue to grow my skills. I had to learn from different chefs in different restaurants. So I immediately upgraded my position in Arizona. I worked at Firebirds, which was a, a much more high scale restaurant, wood fire. And I felt like I was climbing the ladder. And then quickly after that, had an opportunity to move to California. Now, listen, I'm still in school. I'm still very much in a direction, and I have this amazing opportunity to come to San Diego, work at an amazing resort under a great chef. And this opportunity, honestly, and I mean this, it, it fell into my lap. A family friend knew I was cooking and said, hair, here you go. And I had a choice to make. I had a, I had two roads, you know, as Robin Ross said, right? And I said, you know, I can continue, continue with this path and, and work towards my goal and continue school and graduate program and whatever it may be. Or I could chase my dreams. I could do this thing that I love that I get excited about that, you know, makes me smile and makes me, you know, sing. But it was a big risk, man. Yeah. It was a big risk. And I'll tell you what, I uplifted my whole life that day, and left and, and never looked back. I can remember the call I got from the chef. His name was Hans Wigan, German chef.

Jaymee Sire:

Carlos Anthony:

Hans Wigan Hans. He calls me on a Wednesday. And at this point I just think, you know, hey, it's an opportunity to have a job. I don't know what he needs when he needs it. And he goes, all right, yeah. You know, talk to him for a couple minutes. And he goes, you know, all right, Carlos, if you can be here, you know, on, on Friday, you know, we'd love to have you. It's Wednesday, I'm in Arizona, ,

Jaymee Sire:

, you know, I'm in

Carlos Anthony:

Tucson, Arizona, like with rent and everything. I've got, you know, I think a fridge full of food. Yeah. And man, I packed up my stuff and I went, I went straight there. Wow. And I said, I'll figure it out. I had to come back to Tucson. But I chased my dreams. I chased my dreams. I knew that I loved it. And I knew that I made a decision that I'm gonna do what makes me happiest. And it was so, so clear to me at that time that food and taking care of people made me happy. So I took it and I ran.

Jaymee Sire:

I love that. What did your first few years in the business look like? And what was the biggest lesson you learned?

Carlos Anthony:

Oh, just that, you know, I didn't, I, the biggest lesson was I didn't know anything ,

Jaymee Sire:

You know?

Carlos Anthony:

Oh man. Oh man. It was a grind. I think that you learn that throughout your career and each level that you get to, you learn how little, you know how far you have to go. And it was often daunting. Um, it was often very difficult. And I can remember questioning myself quite a bit. Uh, I moved to California and, you know, I had a long commute to get to my job. I worked obviously long hours. And, you know, a lot of times I think for young chefs, you're not getting that credit you deserve. You're not getting that, that thing that brought you into it. And that's that excitement, that feeling of knowing that something I've done is someone else's enjoying. So it was hard. It was grueling. I think that's what a lot of people don't know. They, they see people, us, on Food Network, and, you know, they see Bobby Flay and they think it's all rainbows and butterflies, and it ain't , . It sure ain't, it's hard. It's long hours. Um, but in the end of the day, I think that I had a great support system. You know, I had a lot of family who never looked at me sideways about it. You know, they're very supportive of whatever my dreams were, you know, mito, whatever makes you happy, you know, let's, we'll do it. And, and, and they didn't care if I was at a four star restaurant or a chain pizza shop, right. They were just happy to see me doing something I enjoyed.

Jaymee Sire:

Well, now you are continuing to enjoy the work that you do as the executive chef at Urban Wood in San Diego, or Herb as, um, hub as Malarkey likes to say , you know,

Carlos Anthony:

It's so funny that he can pronounce the name of the restaurant properly, give you the whole story, not mention my name one time, . Listen, I, I sat through that interview being like, my name's gotta come up here somewhere. , you know, I've worked with Brian Malarkey since 2010. All right? This was early in my career that I met Brian, and I've stuck by him and been by his side through a lot of different restaurants, you know, 10 different restaurants that we've opened up together. Wow. So we have a great history. He loves to call me his oldest son,

Jaymee Sire:

Carlos Anthony:

But he couldn't talk about his oldest son.

Jaymee Sire:

No, no love on the podcast or his oldest son, .

Carlos Anthony:

You’ll hear it from me.

Jaymee Sire:

How did you guys meet initially?

Carlos Anthony:

So, you know, this is young in my career, big Top Chef fan at the time, as a young chef. And I found out that Brian was opening a restaurant in San Diego. This was Seersucker. Mm-hmm. , uh, this was his first of his name. This is the first of the fabric restaurants. Very exciting. And I remember watching him on Top Chef and loving this guy, loving his energy, loving, like how he presented it. So I wanted to meet him. I went to an interview. I, I found him on Facebook, let me be honest with you. Okay? I found him on social media. I said, sir, I wanna work for you. I'd love to do it. And I think at the time, they're full. Like they had already hired everybody. And he's like, but you know, this kid, come on, let come to the interview. We have an interview, and it's probably no longer than 10 minutes. And Brian Malarkey is already like, kid, I like, you're too much like me. You need to tone it down. I can't have this. There's already one Brian Malarkey. We don't need another one. He just immediately knew that we were, you know, lost souls, that we were clearly separated at birth, but he brought me on as an extra body, you know, quickly rose up the ranks. You know, Brian much in his way, he did quick fires, right? Mm-hmm. . So when we first opened up Seersucker, before we went to the public, we did a quickfire. Everyone got in groups, we made different dishes, a side, a salad, a entree. Me, myself and another young cook got together and we wanted to make a corn hash, right? It's summer. We were like, corn, chorizo, cilantro. I'm Hispanic, right? Uh, so we make, this is the first day, mind you of Seersucker, first day, first time walking into the kitchen. And Brian, we eat it. We have a big family meal. Everyone makes dishes. Brian pulls myself and the other chef at the side, and he goes, guys, I wanna tell you something. It's a good news, bad news situation. We love this side dish. We love it so much, we're gonna put it on the menu. Wow. Bad news. We're not gonna give you any credit. . Oh, . Bad news, guys. It's, it's gonna, you're not gonna get any credit for this. But we love it. But it really, it's sprung board my relationship with him, it, myself and the other chef. His name is Jojo Ruiz, big famous chef in San Diego. Now he's got Seneca, as well as some other Coronado locations, lionfish, incredible chefs. We started our career, really right there in that moment. Brian saw something in us. He made us chefs, he made us sous chefs, and we started to grow quickly because of that moment.

Jaymee Sire:

Talk to me a little bit about, you know, Herb & Wood and, and what you guys are kind of doing there to push boundaries and really elevate the experience for your guests.

Carlos Anthony:

Yeah. Well, you know, Herb and Wood is our baby. You know, Herb & Wood has now been in Little Italy for the last seven years, and has really become a staple for the community. And that's really what we wanted to do. Listen, we had opened up a lot of fabric restaurants, over 12 restaurants all over the country that were very put in place, and just kind of this idea. And after that, I think there was this very clear understanding that we wanted to make something. We wanted to make a restaurant that lasts, that was meant for the people, for the guests. And that's what Herb and Wood is. We call it our secret garden, our little kind of place away where people can go and they can escape. I think that's the biggest thing that myself, I've learned over the years, is that to make a great restaurant or to be a great chef, it's really not about the chef, right? Like so many chefs, they wanna sit here and they tell you, it's all about me. Oh, man, my food, let me tell you. And it, let me tell you, it is not about the chef. It's so much, so much more. It's about the people. It's about the staff that creates this message that sells your idea. And what I love about Herb & Wood is that this is a cultural difference in our industry, right? We are saying, Hey, we care first about our staff, second about our community, right? If we make an environment where we are empowering our staff to be the best that they can, that's the cooks, the servers, the bar team, and we are making it so that they are inspired, that they are part of the message. They're gonna sell it every single day, right? Mm-hmm. They're gonna, they're going to love it as much as we do. And, and that's what I feel like we've created, or that we are trying to create. And it's all centered around incredible seafood, the best produce in the country, right? And, and, and an amazing, amazing bar program. So love, love, love Herb and Wood. It's a, a real pillar of the community. And, you know, we're really focused on Mediterranean flavors. Mediterranean food is just like, uh, we shouldn't say anything, right? It's all the gen sea. So, you know, right. It's, it's everything. It's Italy, it's France, it's, it's Spain. But it literally, we're really there, just we're centered around this idea of making people happy, making moments, making memories that last. And I think that's what makes great restaurants.

Jaymee Sire:

I totally agree. And I actually used to live down in Little Italy in San Diego many years ago before, you know, before all these restaurants that you're, you're naming off, it seems like that area has just continued to grow and really attract new restaurants as well as, you know, San Diego as a whole. What, what excites you about where the food scene is going down there?

Carlos Anthony:

Yeah. You know, I don't wanna say that Little Italy was a dirt road back then, , but pretty much like, there was not a lot of restaurants. No. The food scene in San Diego has exploded with talent, with knowledge, with people who care. I think that what's the greatest thing I see right now culturally or in our industry, is that people are a lot nicer. You know, , there's a community. There's this sense of like, we're not against each other. Right? There's not rivalries. It's, we're working together. Right? What did you do? What, what fishermen are you using? What farmer? Wow. Man. Did you get peaches yet? You know, I, you hear this, this comradery amongst chefs now in the community that I really, really love. Listen, we grew up in an age, like, I was taught in an age of cooking where you were, I don't wanna say mistreated, but you were abused. Mm-hmm. , you know, you were made to feel very small, and people were very much like the street. The restaurant across from us is our enemy, or against them. And that's changing, thankfully, for the better. And people are, are treating their staff better, they're treating their competition better, and it's creating this sense of, again, community mm-hmm. , you know, this sense of we're in this together, you know, we're all trying to do the same thing. And in fact, if you see Little Italy, the fact that little Italy has grown into a food destination mm-hmm. , that there are Juniper and Ivy's, that there's a kettner exchange, that there's a born and raised all in the community means so much more for herb and wood. It means that we are growing, that people are excited to eat, right. That they are into this, that they still want to spend their hard-earned money on a couple of crazy chefs that wanna feed 'em . You know? So I, I, I love where we're going. I love the energy that it's picking up.

Jaymee Sire:

When you talk about that community and that comradery. I mean, obviously you were, you know, very much impacted by, by Brian and, and just the way he kind of took you under his wing. H how important is mentorship like that in this industry?

Carlos Anthony:

Oh, it's everything. Mentorship is everything. I think what I've learned over the years from being a chef, and specifically how Brian has been so successful, and what I've learned from is that, like I said, it's not about the chef. It's about the people that he surrounds himself with. And if you can empower people to be great around you, then you in turn will be great. The things that you do will be great. I, I really, I had to learn this the hard way. I had my own restaurant in Hillcrest, sausage joint called Salt Cleaver. And it, we had to close it after three years. Mm. And I thought for sure that I had it, all the answers figured out. And really, I had to learn that it's, it's, it's about the people around you. And I'm so lucky that I had Brian to empower me, to make me feel like I could take on the world, right? That I could be a champion. And now what I really try to do with my staff is the same, is say, you are great. You are the one doing this, right. You dare to be great. You be the best that you can be, because if you do that, we will be successful. And that, and that's a real change of culture to say that. But, you know, I was lucky to have Brian, and now I think hopefully we could have and propped that in on our staff

Jaymee Sire:

When we come back. Carlos dishes on, going head to head with his mentor, Brian Malarkey on Super Chef Grudge match and later reveals what he would've done differently on Tournament of Champions. The end. Well, despite your close friendship with Malarkey, you guys went head to head on Super Chef Grudge Match. Was that the first time you had competed against each other? Oh,

Carlos Anthony:

I love that you brought this up. . I love that you brought this up. We did compete. Listen, we had been competing for years behind the scenes,

Jaymee Sire:

Just not officially , just

Carlos Anthony:

Not officially, right? There's no real judges. But anytime he did a competition, any time he did a thing, I was in the back background. I was in the background helping him practice and prepare. And again, much to his credit before I, I bring him down, uh, peg, he brought me along. He gave me the opportunity. He said, you know, he said, this kid's got something. Put him on tv. Hey, this kid can cook. He's beating me a couple times. Don't tell anybody . And then, you know, to see us a very much father-son relationship, us go head-to-head. Trust me, nobody wants to lose, especially not on Food Network, nobody. So Brian and I really, really took that to heart. That was one of the most fun competitions I've ever had. Obviously, because of the decision. Of course, ,

Jaymee Sire:

You know,

Carlos Anthony:

I hold that over his head all the time,

Jaymee Sire:

As you should , you ended up beating him by two points with a bowl of chili. And your reaction said it all, I think. But, but what was that feeling like for you?

Carlos Anthony:

Well, you know, honestly, it was, it was my, it's something that I felt that I'd felt for a long time, is that I knew that I was up to this level. I knew that I'd for many years, been cast in his shadow. And it was really my coming out party is to say, Hey, listen, I love Brian Malarkey. He's taken me so, so, so far. But my name's Carlos Anthony , and I'm here too. Right? And a humble ball of chili

Jaymee Sire:

Carlos Anthony:

A humble ball of chili. Yeah. It was so great. O obviously, Brian is as similar as we are. We are very different. And, uh, our cooking styles, and that round is a microcosm of, of who we are. Brian, very much big, big flavors, lots of ingredients, you know, a steak and pink peppercorn. And this, I knew exactly what he was gonna make . And

Jaymee Sire:

Of course,

Carlos Anthony:

Of course, I make something simple. Humble, but delicious, and obviously took home the price,

Jaymee Sire:

Obviously .

Carlos Anthony:

Yeah. I, I'll never let him forget that. I'm happy I just was able to have a job when I came back

Jaymee Sire:

. Yeah. Seriously. Well, I mean, yeah, you, you, you take home $10,000, one of his prized knives, and this,

Carlos Anthony:

His mom gave it to him.

Jaymee Sire:

Yeah. And he had to wear an apron with your face plastered across it. It seems like he was obviously a good sport about it. How did the kitchen react?

Carlos Anthony:

Oh, they loved it. . Um, oh, they loved it. You know, first of all, there's such an amazing relationship that Brian has with each of the kitchens that, that he has. But obviously, that rivalry had been building up for a long time. And, you know, you got the, you got the cooks in my corner that really wanna see their day-to-day boss win. But nobody wants to cheer against malarkey.

Jaymee Sire:

He signs the checks, of course,

Carlos Anthony:

, you know, so, but man, we hooped, we hollered, we do this thing where we slam on our, our countertops. And that restaurant erupted , uh, the day he came in with that apron erupted. But I, you know, again, what a, what a good guy. What a, what a, yeah, good sport. He'd tell you that he let me win. But I said, buddy, I saw how hard you were sweating in that round

Jaymee Sire:

Carlos Anthony:

I, I know how much that meant to you.

Jaymee Sire:

Yeah, no, he's not gonna let anybody win. You won that fair and square, but you've also been making the rounds on the network with some of our other favorite shows as well. What's the evolution been like from back of house to in front of the camera?

Carlos Anthony:

Well, let me tell you, first of all, I am still in awe of what I'm doing. Mm-hmm. I, I can't get over it. Like, I've gone to Tournament of Champions now twice where mm-hmm. I am literally like a kid in a candy store, ,

Jaymee Sire:

These are,

Carlos Anthony:

These are some of my favorite chefs. I mean, last year, Jose, Jose Garza comes out of nowhere, and I'm just like, I'm, I, I, I can't speak right? , this is a Lynch,

It's one of my favorite chefs of all time. And I, and I have to compete with these guys. So it's been really in amazing for me to kind of go through this journey and to be able to start to really feel comfortable amongst these guys and feel like I can compete with them. But let me tell you, it's difficult. There are a lot of great chefs out there, and, and a lot, I promise you, that are way better than me. But once you're in front of that camera, once you have that kind of pressure, it's so, so different. A lot of people don't understand the stress of the timer, the stress of, of Guy fii bringing down your neck,

Jaymee Sire:

. Right? Like the randomizer, the

Carlos Anthony:

Randomizer. And all of us can sit at home and say, oh, I'd have made this, I'd have done that. But let me tell you, it's very, very difficult. I, you have to be a certain kind of crazy or a certain kind of someone, right? Like, you have to be a certain person to be able to put yourself through that and to, and to do it consistently and to be good at it. Mm-hmm. , I'll tell you, I love it. I love, love it. I, I, I love the thrill. I love the excitement. It's been a lot of fun. And again, like I said, I still get such a kick outta cooking with these guys like Jet Tela. Like, come on, .

Jaymee Sire:

Well, yeah. I mean, speaking of Jet, that's who you had to face off against in that latest season of tlc, which of course is, you know, notorious for being one of the more difficult, if not the most difficult competition on the network. What was that experience like? Yeah. As the number eight seed from the West Coast going up against the one seed.

Carlos Anthony:

You know, I have so many things to say about this. Honestly, Ali, I've, I've lost sleep over this first year, turn into Champions three, jet Tila. I say, oh, I got it. Jet Tila, come on. He's, he's passed his prime. Oh. And we have an amazing round. He beats me by two points, and I realize how wrong I was.

Jaymee Sire:

Carlos Anthony:

Let me tell you guys from experience, jet Tila is incredible, incredible chef, incredible man, incredible father, husband. He's insane for our industry. And to watch him perform, to see what he made, it blew me away. So to see his name on Tournament Champions four , I was done. , I was so defeated. I was already, I'd already lost before that round started because I knew how good he was. And that was hard. You have to understand, this is a year of, of preparation, of preparing, of thinking, of, of, of thinking about it. And walking into turn into Champions. Four, I was the most confident I had been Culinarily, you know, I was prepared. I felt like I wanted to make a run. Right. You know, one goes there trying to be a first round out. Mm-hmm. , you, you wanna make a run for the belt.

So that's what I had planned for. Right? I'd prepared mentally, I'd, I'd, I'd, you know, tried to manifest this, you know, I'm winning the belt. And to see Jet Tela took the wind outta my sails. It absolutely took the wind outta my sails and to my, and, and you saw it in the round. And, you know, I think I, I didn't put out the best dish that I could have, and I've lost sleep over it again. I have fallen over and over again. Let me tell you, I see Jet Tela again. . He's a friend. We love Jet Tila. To, and to his credit, he, in each, in each situation has been incredibly helpful. He has taught me so, so, so much after the rounds, , of course, he waits until he is beaten me to start telling me what he would do. But , he's, he's been very kind and generous. That's been the greatest thing about tournament champions, is to go there as a young chef with these legends, and to learn from them to be a fly on the wall, to hear how they plan, to hear how they work on their dishes, as well as work on their careers. Like, what are they doing outside? How do they handle their family life? That's been so valuable. That's, that's honestly so much more than the prize, eh, well, maybe , but that's meant so much to me in my career.

Jaymee Sire:

Yeah. What, what advice did he give you after he beat you?

Carlos Anthony:

To be myself? Um, I think that what Jet does so well is that regardless of the randomizer, regardless of the round, regardless of the situation, is he's unique or he's very authentic to himself and to his cuisine, he makes food that he loves, that he loves to cook, you know, he doesn't try to be gimmicky or play a games. He needs that. He knows that he needs to make something delicious. Mm-hmm. . And often that is something that comes from something, you know, something that you love. So I honestly, I've really tried to take that with me. I've tried to utilize that in, in, in other rounds, and I will use that in the future. And if I ever go up against Jet Tela again, I'm I'm bringing it.

Jaymee Sire:

What would you do differently if you, if you get the chance to go back next season

Carlos Anthony:

Again? I would want to be authentically me. Mm-hmm. I think a lot

Jaymee Sire:

Of, so what does that mean? Just, you know, again,

Carlos Anthony:

So I talked a lot about my grandmother mm-hmm. and my Hispanic background. And I have all of these dishes that I, that I grew up eating and loving, you know, salsas and, and, and chilies mole that I just, I grew up loving. And I think in each of my last rounds at Tournament Champions, you wouldn't have gathered that about me. You wouldn't have been like, oh, you know, he's got a, a Hispanic grandmother and he comes from Arizona mm-hmm. . And, you know, you don't get that. And I think if you met me for 30 seconds, you would know that immediately. Right? Sure. I would tell you about it. I would tell you about my love of, of chilies and like, nopales and like, and how it influenced my food. So if I could, if I could predict and, and if I could, you know, if this is a, a shout out to Guy fii, get me on Tournament of Champions, five,

Jaymee Sire:

Carlos Anthony:

Get me on Tournament of Champions, five. I will make food from my culture. I will make a mole or salsas. I will make something from Grandmother's Kitchen, I promise you.

Jaymee Sire:

All right. Well, guy fii, listen up. The, the challenge has been put out there right now. You're also behind the table as a judge on the finale of Supermarket stakeout. Talk to us a little bit about, you know, going to the judge role and how being a competitor might make you a better judge.

Carlos Anthony:

Oh my gosh. It's incredible. A lot of the competitors on tournament champions have done this already, right? Mm-hmm. , they're judges, they've been around the food network for years, and I've been lucky enough to be with Antonio La Foso. Mm-hmm. , both times I've judged. I did it for Super Chef Grudge Match, and then supermarket Steak out. And what it is, it's an incredibly eye-opening experience as a judge. You're clear about what you want, what you're going to taste, how much you eat of it, right? You check boxes off, you say, did the competitor have texture, taste, salt, acid, right? And those are things that we may think about when we're creating a dish, but it's not a box that we check. And now, as a competitor, that's all I think about, right? , that's all I do, is say, okay, check that box, texture, spice, acidity, salt. Right? And, and, and that, so as a judge, I sit there and I, if I'm gonna critique a dish, right? Those are the things I'm gonna critique. Mm-hmm. , does it have this, is it lacking it? Does it need it? So, man, it has been incredible. I, I can't wait to utilize the skills that I've picked up from judging in my competitive rounds because mm-hmm. , it's incredibly eyeopening. You know, I think that, thankfully I had Antonio La Foso, who is a legend, who is incredible at her craft, and who's been so patient. I had a moment where, you know, it was just, you know, just, you would like to say that judging is less stressful than competing, but it's not

Jaymee Sire:

Carlos Anthony:

It isn't. You still gotta perform, you know, there are people looking at you to do the, say the right things and to not look like a joke. So it is incredibly stressful. And Tony has been a rock for me.

Jaymee Sire:

Which do you prefer judging or competing?

Carlos Anthony:

Oh, competing all day. . Oh, competing all day. Let me be in my hands.

Jaymee Sire:

, you know,

Carlos Anthony:

Put it in my hands. I wanna compete. I wanna run around. Every time I've judged, I've looked at the competitors. You guys need a hand, like get, get it on the plate, guys. Get it on the plate.

Jaymee Sire:

, what items are you always picking up at the supermarket?

Carlos Anthony:

Um, you know, what's funny is that in the supermarket, I feel like I have my staple ingredients that I always go and get, like my crispy chili, garlic, lots of butter, pre peeled garlic, friends and family. If you do not buy peeled garlic yet, do yourself a favor, buy peeled garlic. It's just world of difference. , world of

Jaymee Sire:

Difference. Do, do you find yourself, you know, especially on, on a show like that, you know, when they don't know what they're gonna be getting from these shoppers, are you kind of like surveying the options and thinking about which person you would stop or, or what you would make with those certain dishes or those certain ingredients as well?

Carlos Anthony:

Yeah. You know, it, for that show particularly, it's daunting to think about because you really have to make a judgment about a person , right? As they walk out the door. And you have to say, just based upon how you're looking at me, I know what's in your grocery basket. And, and let me tell you, if for me, day to day, week to week, my grocery basket might be very different. So, you know what the funniest thing I saw about it were the, the, the people that would come with, you know, toiletries and , paper towels, and it was like, oh, you're in trouble,

Jaymee Sire:

. Um,

Carlos Anthony:

But you know what, all of these competitions do what every one of them are about. It's about your, how you deal with adversity. How do, how are resilient? Are you mm-hmm. , and this is very similar to what we do in the restaurant in a day-to-day thing. It's not always what you plan for. It is, it's dealing with the struggles, the adversity, the problems. And so, you know, if somebody gives you a rotisserie chicken, you know, and you wanted to make an omelet, you know what? You need to pivot to some different direction. You need to, to change your, your mindset and be comfortable and confident with this new approach.

Jaymee Sire:

Yeah. I, I guess that's good life advice as well, right? , not just in the kitchen, .

Carlos Anthony:

Absolutely. We, we scream this to our staff. It's like adversity, adversity, like dealing with this is, is everything. It's a microcosm, like being in a restaurant or being on a show is a microcosm of life. Mm-hmm. . And, and it's, it's silly to say it, but it really is. It's like, what are your challenge? How do you, can you overcome them? And how can you put yourself into it?

Jaymee Sire:

Well, I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to chat with you and getting to know you, and I hope everybody listening has as well. We are gonna finish things off with the little rapid fire round. And then one final question for you.

Carlos Anthony:

Woo. Here we go.

Jaymee Sire:

Alright. What flavors are you excited about right now?

Carlos Anthony:

Oh my gosh. Stone fruit mm-hmm. Are incredible. We're getting 'em from a local farm, Ryer farm, so I love summertime. So, peaches, apricots, plums right now are out of this world, have a great pork dish with a peach glaze, a lepo sticky glaze, grilled peaches, and, uh, ra hanu, this wonderful Mediterranean spice blend. Incredible.

Jaymee Sire:

That sounds so good. All right. What skill does every beginner chef need to master?

Carlos Anthony:

You know, just because we talked about it, it's dealing with adversity, dealing with stress. Mm-hmm. Dealing with the pressures, because whether you're on the line or you know, you're a private shed on a yacht, or you're, you're cooking at home, it's never gonna go as it's planned. And you have to be able to adapt quickly and be okay with it. You can't get stuck in the rut of saying, ah, it didn't go my way, . You have to just be able to move and go for it.

Jaymee Sire:

Favorite destination your job has taken you.

Carlos Anthony:

Oh my gosh. Woo. I, I've, I, I've been able to travel so many different places. You know, we've had, uh, restaurants in Austin that was incredible. You know, we've had restaurant in LA and is, and we've had restaurants in Baja and Cabo. But I will say that one of the most things I'm most excited about is I have this incredible opportunity to go to Mexico City with an incredible tourism company, adventure tourism. Look into it. It'll be all over my bio. We're gonna go to Mexico City with a group of 20 and have the most incredible culinary experience. We're gonna see the basilica, we're gonna see the canals. We're gonna have the most incredible food. And to be a chef, isn't that the dream?

Jaymee Sire:

, right?

Carlos Anthony:

Go, go, go to Mexico City, go to your homeland, eat food that you love, and experience the culture that, that you know, you were raised in.

Jaymee Sire:

Yeah. I mean, that sounds incredible. I love Mexico City and cannot wait to go back. For sure. Yeah. Favorite late night snack?

Carlos Anthony:

Oh, oh, I'm gonna get a lot of heat for this one, but I love a good rolled taco. Okay. I am a notorious for roll tacos. Like I love a good rolled taco. I like, it's so funny. As chefs, we have all these incredible meals. Then we go home and we like what we heat up taquitos, right? Like, yeah,

Jaymee Sire:

, like

Carlos Anthony:

We ordered, we ordered this late night food, but I love a rolled taco. You'll see me order that a couple times a week, late night after work. ,

Jaymee Sire:

I love a rolled taco show. Your're watching right now.

Carlos Anthony:

Yes. Just turn on the new season of the bear. Loving it. Loving that our industry is getting some light. She on it. That the cooks and that the people that actually run the business are starting to have a little bit of, of show like what, how hard they work and what their lives are like, and who they are. So it's great for our industry.

Jaymee Sire:

No, I love it as well. Your life mantra.

Carlos Anthony:

Dare to be great. Uh, , I always say this in the kitchen. Uh, it's a great, it's a great day to be great, right? Uh, dare to be great. Push yourself to be the best that you can and be okay with it. You want to be your best. You and why not So dare to be great.

Jaymee Sire:

Love it. Final question, not rapid fire. This is the question that we ask everybody at the end of our conversations. What would be on the menu for your perfect food day? So we want you to take us through breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, if you like, dessert. And there are no rules. So you can travel, time, travel, eat whatever you want with whomever you want. It's your day. You made this

Carlos Anthony:

Way too large

Jaymee Sire:

. I know know, it's, it's very vague. It's very big, big picture, you know?

Carlos Anthony:

Absolutely. Like, I'd love to go to the Tea party with Anthony Bouree. Yeah,

Jaymee Sire:

Sure. Whatever you want. .

Carlos Anthony:

No, I think that what so many of us are connected to about food is memories. Mm-hmm. , right? It's really about connected to what you may have had as a childhood or some in incredible event that you've had. So most of them, the food that I love and I care for so much are atone to a memory that I've had. It's what we do in our restaurants. We try to try to invoke those memories that you may have had to create a new memory with us. So for my perfect food, I, I'd start the day off with, with grandma's beans. Mm-hmm. on a mote, beautiful bread, roasted baguette with beans and cheese. Throw an egg on there if you feel like it. Yeah. But it's something. I woke up and I woke up to smelling in the mornings when I was a child. And I can still taste it. And think about it today for lunch, I'd go, listen, I'm in Southern California and we have the best fish tacos around. Yep. Uh, local fish, taco place, Kikos food truck, a shout out to Kikos Food truck. Best in town. Been here for years, can't get more fresh, can't get more delicious, hot, delicious, crispy, fresh fish straight from Baja. And they do it the same way consistently every day for years and years. Pro tip, they'll give you this beautiful gvo with it, a kind of, uh, like a sofa with all the fish scraps. Mm-hmm. And it's incredible . Oh gosh. I've had many a hungover day enjoying that Fish taco. And, and for dinner, you know, for dinner, I think it's like, it'd probably be something sentimental for me. I'd have to bring in the people that I love, you know, bring in my fiance, my family, my grandmother, my mom, my brother, all to our own table, right to my home. And it'd be a, you know, a humble dish. You know, I reminiscent of this big pot of mano that my grandmother made and mm-hmm. It was really about bringing the family together, having this moment where we can appreciate each other. I'd bring Brian too,

Jaymee Sire:

Carlos Anthony:

Even though we didn't shout me out, podcast, I'd bring

Jaymee Sire:

Him as well on the podcast. ,

Carlos Anthony:

I'd bring him out and just because I could, I'd probably bring Anthony Bourdain too. Just, there you go. Cause I go, I would wanna make sure I utilize the benefits that I had. So an incredible dinner, a simple Mando at the end of the night around my kitchen, around my dining room, uh, with all of my family and friends.

Jaymee Sire:

I love that very full circle for this conversation as well. So thank you so much for sharing about your family, your passions and everything that we've seen you on Food Network, continued success in the future.

Carlos Anthony:

Oh, thank you so much. This was honestly a joy. Love, love, love talking to you. Thank you so much.

Jaymee Sire:

You can catch Carlos on the finale of Supermarket Stakeout coming up July 25th at 9:00 PM Eastern. 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.