Chef x Founder Podcast

Why This Epic Food Experience Has No Plates, No Servers, and No Rules
Welcome to Meat Carnival, a hands-on, no-frills, no-rules food experience where chefs serve you straight off the station and you eat it with your hands. In this episode, Tony Piombo interviews Itamar Abramovich about how this idea came to life, scaled fast, and built a cult following, without paid ads or a traditional kitchen setup.
If you're a food entrepreneur, event creator, or just someone who wants to build community through experience, this one's full of gold.


What's Inside:
Why Meat Carnival ditches silverware, and still sells out
Turning a failed first event into a breakthrough brand
The logistics of creating "controlled chaos" (without the chaos)
Culture-building for kitchen teams that want to grow
Marketing lessons from launching a food concept without ads

Whether you're building a food brand or still dreaming one up, this convo is loaded with insights you'll want to replay.


CONNECT WITH  ITAMAR ABRAMOVITCH:
Website: https://meat-carnival.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meat.carnival/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/meatcarnival.us


FOLLOW US BEHIND THE SCENES:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chef.x.founder
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chefxfounder
Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@chef.x.founder
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ChefxFounder


CHECK OUT TONY'S WOOD-FIRED OVEN BUSINESS:
https://fornopiombo.com/


TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Introduction to the Chef Founder Podcast
00:02 Meet Itamar Abramovich: Culinary Journey and Meat Carnival
00:22 Humor in the Kitchen: The Importance of Lightheartedness
00:48 Creating a Positive Workplace Culture
06:57 The Essence of Meat Carnival
16:37 Challenges and Successes of Meat Carnival
22:12 Balancing Catering and Meat Carnival
24:14 The Entrepreneurial Spirit
28:20 Funny Music Moments
28:42 The Power of Music in Cooking
29:22 Live Music Challenges in Catering
31:44 The Fire Table Cooking Experience
36:33 Craftsmanship vs. Automation in Cooking
43:34 The Emotional Connection to Cooking
52:37 The Origin of the Pizza Oven Business
58:20 Faith and Personal Beliefs
1:03 Luck and Preparation

Before Hot Drop Sauce landed on Gordon Ramsay's Food Stars, founder Andrew Whiting was working full-time, hand-bottling sauce at night, and getting creative about getting it into people's hands—literally. We're talking trunk-of-the-car sales, expensing his own product to pitch clients, and turning every casual interaction into a chance to get feedback (and spark demand).

In this episode of Chef x Founder, host Tony Piombo sits down with Andrew to talk about the real behind-the-scenes journey—from sauce experiments during the pandemic to walking onto a national TV set and a three-minute pitch for Gordon himself.


This one's packed with lessons for any entrepreneur, including:
The unexpected start of Hot Drop Sauce during the pandemic 
How to grow a brand without quitting your day job (at first) 
How to get creative with product distribution (even while working 9-5) 
The psychology of packaging and selling—and how to make people grab your product 
What it really took to land on Food Stars and pitch to Gordon Ramsay 
How a gift-turned-side-hustle became a brand
Why Hot Drop is designed for flavor, not pain—and how that changed everything 

Whether you're building a food brand or still dreaming one up, this convo is loaded with insights you'll want to replay.


CONNECT WIH ANDREW WHITING:
Website: https://www.hotdropsauce.com/ 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hotdropsauce/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hotdropsauces/
Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hotdropsauce


FOLLOW US BEHIND THE SCENES:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chef.x.founder
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chefxfounder
Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@chef.x.founder
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ChefxFounder


CHECK OUT TONY'S WOOD-FIRED OVEN BUSINESS:
https://fornopiombo.com/



TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Introduction to the Chef Founder Podcast
00:02 Meet Andrew Whiting: Founder of Hot Drop Sauce
00:53 The Hot Drop Community and Fanbase
01:35 The Art and Business of Hot Sauce
08:46 Andrew's Journey into the Culinary World
13:11 From Holiday Gifts to a Hot Sauce Brand
19:56 Andrew's Background in Sales and Entrepreneurship
23:12 Working for a Distributor
23:52 Sales Strategies and Challenges
25:47 Creating and Branding Hot Sauce
26:25 Feedback and Iteration
27:23 First Sales and Realizations
28:37 Scaling Production
31:18 Balancing Full-Time Work and Entrepreneurship
36:39 Collaborations and Marketing
45:15 Corporate Gifting and Wholesale
49:43 Gordon Ramsey's Food Stars
52:00 The Lengthy Application Process
52:34 The Vetting and Interview Phases
54:25 The Big Reveal: Gordon Ramsay's Food Stars
55:01 Preparing for the Audition in London
56:21 The Audition and Selection Process
1:02 Life on the Show and Meeting Fellow Contestants
1:03 Reflecting on the Reality TV Experience
1:04 The Competition and Elimination
1:06 Impact on Business and Sales
1:07 Pitching and Entrepreneurial Insights
1:10 Networking and Collaborations
1:12 Future Plans and Final Thoughts

What's it like to cook for one of the most iconic wineries in Napa Valley—for over 15 years? In this episode, host Tony Piombo sits down with Chef Jeff Mosher, former executive chef at Robert Mondavi Winery, to talk about life behind the line at a wine country institution and why he made the leap into launching his own private chef business.
Jeff shares:
What it was like crafting food experiences for guests at a world-renowned winery

How he managed large-scale dinners, garden-to-table programs, and global events (with a cooler of secret ingredients)

His favorite wood-fired dishes and how R&D in the kitchen keeps things fresh

Why personal chef work offers the freedom and creative spark he craved

If you geek out over food, wine, travel, or the business of it all, you'll love this one.

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Connect with Jeff Mosher:
Website: https://jeffmosher.com 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeffmosher

Follow us behind the scenes:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chef.x.founder
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chefxfounder
Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@chef.x.founder
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ChefxFounder

Learn more about Tony's business:
https://fornopiombo.com/

​​Timestamps
00:00 Introduction to the Chef Founder Podcast
00:04 Jeff Mosher's Culinary Journey
00:17 Tasting Jeff's Delicious Creations
01:48 Life as Head Chef at Mondavi Winery
06:32 Challenges and Unique Experiences at Mondavi
08:49 Traveling the World as a Chef
24:54 Transition to Private Chef Business
28:22 Navigating Corporate Culture
29:03 Renovation and Relocation
30:46 Transition to Personal Chef
32:25 Defining the Personal Chef Business
35:02 Client Acquisition Strategies
38:44 Wood-Fired Oven Experiences
44:45 Future Cooking Classes
50:52 Conclusion and Farewell

Join us for an engaging conversation with Clive, the wood-fired oven chef, on his YouTube channel. Discover his initial motivation for starting the channel and how it has evolved. Clive shares insights into the techniques, methods, and recipes that make his videos a hit among wood-fired oven enthusiasts. Learn about the importance of knowledge and control when cooking with a wood-fired oven, and how Clive's videos help viewers understand the concept and master the art. Don't miss this episode packed with valuable tips and inspiration for wood fired oven cooking!

Chef Tim joins us to talk about his background with wood fired cooking, along with information for his upcoming live stream cooking class.