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Chef Rodney Scott Full Interview · The Steve Harvey Morning Show

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Welcome to money making Conversations. I'm your host, Rashan McDonald.
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: I guess, I guess we all have to have different
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: definitions of success we do. For some it's a post
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: sizeable paycheck. Mine is helping people wake up and inspiring
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: them to accomplish their goals and live their very best life.
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: These are my passion. That's what I'm going to do
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: for you. I want you to stop tripping over small
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: challenges and prepare to rise above the bigger obstacles that
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: life will present to you. My next guest, pit Master
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: Rodney Scott, has been cooking whole hog barbecue over with
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: cold since the age of eleven. Rodney is featuring the
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: Netflix acclaimed Chef Table series. It is barbecue theme this season.
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: In twin and nineteen, Rodney Scott opened his second location
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: in Birmingham, Alabama, The Ham. That's right, The Ham, bringing
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: a whole hog South Carolina style barbecue and his fame
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: famous vinegar based Rodney sauce to another part of the South.
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: Rodney Scott's Barbecue, Pitts, rib cooks, ribs, chicken, turkey, and
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: other classics like colle Grees, cod slaw Ella's Banana putting
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: honor Rodney his mother. In one another outpost of Rodney Scott,
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: Whole Hall Barbecue is set the opening historic West End
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: of Atlanta, Georgia. You know, I can't wait. That's why
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: I'm based with another in Birmingham Hes going back to
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: the Ham he just loved. The Ham is due to
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: open later that year. He is all about the Whole
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: Hall Barbecue. Please working the money making conversations, my man,
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: Rodney Scott, Hello, Hello, than to say about you, brother,
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: lots to say about you, man and my son. So
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: you know, I'm a fan of just food. I'm a foodie.
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: I'm blessed to become proclaimed that's an award winning baker.
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: So and every time I look at food or desserts,
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: especially cooking. And I'm born and raised in Houston, Texas.
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: So i know Bobby Que Bobby jar in fact, my nephew.
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: He has a He has an award winning barbecue stand
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: in Houston, Texas. He cooks for the for the Houston
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: Texas on the weekend. He wanted the top box in
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: the Houston, Texas. So so you know, when when it
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: comes to Bible, he makes his own sausage and everything.
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: So so he's a military veteran from the Army, So
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: I'm so proud of what he's a competent. In fact,
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: he called me like a few minutes before this interview started,
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: and I felt that it was it was it was ironic.
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: He called me right before I was about to start
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: this interview with you. So I saw the the Netflix
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: special that's where That's why I became in love with
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: the brand of Rodney Scott. So what is the brand
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: of Roddney Scott before we get started from your point
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: of view? Uh, first of all, hello to everybody out there.
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: Every day is a good day, regardless of where you are. Um,
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: you know the Riding Scott brand it started. It's basically
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: whole hog cooking, which is over hot coals and and
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: it's where we burned our wood down. We turned in
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: the hot coals. We take the hot coals and put
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: it under the hog and we cook it for anywhere
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: from eight to twelve hours, usually around twelve hours. And uh,
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: it's it's the whole brand is about bringing people together,
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: the inspiring people, you know, through food and music. I'm
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: a music clever. I gotta admit, love me some music. Now,
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: with that being said, when I when I watched these
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: different barbecue shows, you know, it seems like you guys
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: don't do much to the meat for to be great,
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: you know, because I was looking about the house man
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: barbecue seems so complicated at my house. But when I
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: watch your TV, Rodney, just put that child, Just put
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: put the rub on it, put the vendegle on it. Uh,
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: smoke it, and you're done. And then everybody and then
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: it just falls apart. Maybe because I'm not doing the
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: eight to twelve hours sessions. I'm trying to cook mine
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: in two hours, is what's causing the difficult problems. Obviously
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: create a little problem on the side of the proteins.
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: Depending on the side, you definitely want to cook it
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: a little while. Um, you know you run the different things, uh,
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: the way that we do it at home. We we
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: do sprinkle our rub on and and and put put
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: our ribs on for example, but you know we don't
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: go as hot and we're trying not to go as fast.
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: About three and a half four hours on those ribs
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: just an example. You know, some of the mistakes that
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: people tend to make when when they sometimes are cooking,
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: you know at home, but then talk to me. Talk
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: to me right there, you're talking to me. Come on,
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: you can personalize and this is your problem. So so
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: here's what you do. You have fun with you keep
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: that confidence that you start out with, and you have
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: fun with it. You know, don't be afraid to make
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: that mistake. So don't don't rush it. Enjoy it. Smell
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: of flowers while you're moving along, you know, don't have
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: a drink or to enjoy yourself while you're doing it.
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: That'll make it a lot easier than having a pressure
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: on what it's gonna taste like when it's done. Now,
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: this isn't a big difference because I'm just Uh, let's
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: talk about the Netflix series. What I saw you on? Now,
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: how did that happen? And how were you chosen? Wow?
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: You know, I think we're chosen by word of mouth. Um.
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: One of one of my co workers that was with
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: us the day that I met the guys, I was exhausted.
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: I was out in California cooking. I was exhausted, didn't
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: really remember a lot. And uh, we spoke to some
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: guys and you know, I'm my usual self talking and
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: and later on she mentioned to me, she said, you
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: know that those guys are connected with Netflix. I'm like,
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: oh wow, man, I'm excited to hear that. And uh,
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: I think it was word of mouth that said that
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: I was easy to work with and they wanted to
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: do something. I'm like, really sure, And before you know what,
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: I got the call Netflix was coming in and like, yeah,
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: how long did they follow you? How long? What was
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: the time when it was several days a day, a
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: couple of weeks to do that whole special, put it
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: all together that they could gather, to shoot the content
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: and the back story, to pull that pull that episode off,
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: To pull that episode off, it took us a total
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: of two weeks. Um. It was two weeks hard work.
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: It was a lot of fun. Oh man, those guys
• 5:50
  Speaker 1: were so much fun to work with. Um. It was
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: interesting to tell the story of barbecue, something that's so
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: important to the South. It was it felt good for
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: me to be able to tell that story through chef's
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: table and and to let the world see that barbecue
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: is is something more than just thinks some people do
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: in their backyard, you know, to be to be on
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: the same level it's fine dining, to be mentioned on
• 6:13
  Speaker 1: that same level, man, that is huge, huge, and it
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: felt good taping with these guys to tell that story
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: what you're doing the world and not. And I can
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: tell it's one thing about me I would like I
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: said earlier. I'm born and raised in Houston, Texas, where
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: you know, I grew up in a black neighborhood. So
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: barbecue is kind of like a writer passage, you know, barbecue.
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: When you're good barbecue, you really are the king of
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: the neighborhood, you king of the family. You know, you
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: you you have a certain honor. You know. You know
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: he can cook because everybody can. I cook barbecue because
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: they you know. So tell me this, Rodney, what what
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: makes a good because you kind of talk about a
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: little bit earlier, what makes a good barbecue person? And
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: what makes a person like me who shouldn't be even
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: near barbecue because I'm impatient. I wanted I want to
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: I want to took it like a burger. You know,
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: I want my ribs done like a burger. Yeah, I
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: know that impatience. So what what what makes a good
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: barbecue person is? First of all, like I said, have
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: fun with and try to enjoy it, you know, trying
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: not to carry any pressures going in and you definitely
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: want to make sure that your timing is right. You
• 7:18
  Speaker 1: gotta have some patience when you're doing it as well. Um,
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: when you tend to rush it, it's gonna either be
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: undercooked or it's gonna just be tough and you won't
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: enjoy it. So you want to you want to have
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: some patience and have some fun and and and make
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: sure you got a flavor that fits your palette that
• 7:32
  Speaker 1: you really really like and just show it. Man, just
• 7:35
  Speaker 1: take your time and do it, because you know you're
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: in the story. You're going and you've got the little cold,
• 7:39
  Speaker 1: a little black holes you can get and then I
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: see the wool, you know, talking about the hickory and
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: and a different different flavors that come if you want
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: to smoke it. Because I got it all. I got
• 7:48
  Speaker 1: the egg. You know I got that because my dad
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: when he was growing up, he get the barrel and
• 7:53
  Speaker 1: cut it out and then cut in half. You know
• 7:55
  Speaker 1: that was my dad. Then you know I'm fast. I
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: got a little money, so I got the egg and
• 7:59
  Speaker 1: all that. So I got the two the bibe que.
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: I just don't have the patience the biby que and
• 8:04
  Speaker 1: so so does it make a different big difference, Like
• 8:08
  Speaker 1: when I watched watching your TV. It's just it's just
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: so dramatic that you know, you're in this room with
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: all these pits and all these hogs. How many? How
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: many others can I call them ovens? Uh? What do
• 8:19
  Speaker 1: you call those things that you cook? The whole hogs?
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: And what do they call? I call them pits? You know,
• 8:26
  Speaker 1: some people call them smokers. You know, everybody has a
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: different terminology. But I call them pits. And uh. In
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: in our in our Charleston restaurant, we have five of
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: them that we use, and and five of them and
• 8:38
  Speaker 1: how much does how many hogs go on each pit?
• 8:42
  Speaker 1: And and uh, two hogs can fit in our Charleston
• 8:45
  Speaker 1: restaurant right now on each pit? And in our Birmingham
• 8:49
  Speaker 1: restaurants are our pits are not quite as big as
• 8:51
  Speaker 1: two hogs. So you can get about a hog, maybe
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: a hog in a half if you're lucky, on the
• 8:56
  Speaker 1: ones in Birmingham, and we have four down there. So
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: how many pounds are we looking at a hog? D
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: hundred seventy pounds average? Every now and again we may
• 9:08
  Speaker 1: get something around two pounds, you know. Yeah, that's a
• 9:12
  Speaker 1: lot of protein cooking at once, so we gotta have
• 9:15
  Speaker 1: patients and enjoy the ride. That's where the music comes in.
• 9:20
  Speaker 1: Absolutely and tell you so that our country I would
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: My dad man used to take me the country and
• 9:24
  Speaker 1: we you know, shoot a hall, you know, and we
• 9:26
  Speaker 1: come back and you know, we bring it back with
• 9:28
  Speaker 1: hog head cheese. We got the children's you know, we
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: got the ham. You know that hog when he can't
• 9:34
  Speaker 1: we pig feet. We did everything on that hall right
• 9:37
  Speaker 1: at that hallome that that hog didn't walk out that house.
• 9:41
  Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying. He walked in my house.
• 9:43
  Speaker 1: He was the knuckles were gone, the tails were gone,
• 9:46
  Speaker 1: the feet, the ham. Like I said, the chidlings. And
• 9:50
  Speaker 1: if anybody who's ever done chidlings at their house know
• 9:52
  Speaker 1: what I'm talking about. That house ain't nothing right to
• 9:55
  Speaker 1: go into Okay, it's not right, okay, because you gotta
• 9:58
  Speaker 1: go in there and clean out them in testas and
• 9:59
  Speaker 1: I'm intestines for great for real as they say, Hey,
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: come on, my man, right there, do you do your
• 10:10
  Speaker 1: chi list with white white rice? What do you eat?
• 10:12
  Speaker 1: Your doing the hot sauce? Oh man? We had the
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: lady that used to make it for us, Miss Margaret.
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: She used to throw down and presh chip links with
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: a little bit of gravy and onions and hot So
• 10:24
  Speaker 1: manro down, my good. See that's that's that's the country talk.
• 10:29
  Speaker 1: See Rody and I. If you're not ready for this,
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: I'm sorry you tune in on money make conversation. We
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: went deep on this because see when he didn't blink
• 10:38
  Speaker 1: what I said, we're cleaning the hogs in the bath tub.
• 10:41
  Speaker 1: He didn't blink, say because you know exactly that the intestines.
• 10:44
  Speaker 1: He knew exactly what I'm talking about. That's what you
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: gotta do. You just can't eat dirty intestines. You know
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: you can't do that thatwise you gonna get you ship.
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: You had to clean them. You clean them real good.
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: But then he turned around and said that's good eating.
• 10:55
  Speaker 1: So that's good and good eating. Right now, here's a
• 11:00
  Speaker 1: deal about this man. You know, you know you're the
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: first black chef to win the James Beard Award for
• 11:06
  Speaker 1: Best Chef in the Southeast and only the second barbecue
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: pit master to any chef a war from the foundation.
• 11:13
  Speaker 1: And that's what you were talking about earlier when you're
• 11:15
  Speaker 1: saying that, you know, the elevation of barbecue to that
• 11:20
  Speaker 1: as a fine dyning couisine. It's what you're talking about
• 11:24
  Speaker 1: as far as the pride factor. So let's talk about
• 11:28
  Speaker 1: the whole James Beard and how that works and how
• 11:31
  Speaker 1: you brought into the opportunity to to win Best Chef Southeast.
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: Well Man that the James Beard Award is prestigious award.
• 11:39
  Speaker 1: I mean for years, and the first time I went,
• 11:41
  Speaker 1: I was I went as a guest, and uh, I
• 11:44
  Speaker 1: thought it was the most amazing thing to see so
• 11:46
  Speaker 1: many people around food, and and when I came back
• 11:50
  Speaker 1: home to the country, the next thing that I thought
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: about was I would love to get up there one day.
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: But me being in a rural area at the time,
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: the only thought I had was, I'm gonna create a
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: mental James Beard Award. If I get a guest that
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: comes two and three times, that will be my pretend
• 12:06
  Speaker 1: walk across that stage. So it was always a dream
• 12:09
  Speaker 1: like that, you know, for me. And then it got
• 12:12
  Speaker 1: to the point where we opened the restaurant here in
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: Charleston in in two thousand and seventeen, and and and
• 12:17
  Speaker 1: then the next thing you know, we had a nomination
• 12:19
  Speaker 1: and I'm like, wow, how do you get nominated? Well,
• 12:22
  Speaker 1: to get nominated somebody has to mention it, and and
• 12:25
  Speaker 1: it goes before a committee of people that you don't know,
• 12:28
  Speaker 1: and you don't know who's watching you. So from the
• 12:30
  Speaker 1: first nomination, I felt not only proud, but I felt
• 12:34
  Speaker 1: the the obligation to deliver great food, to deliver consistent
• 12:40
  Speaker 1: food across the board every day until this announcement comes.
• 12:44
  Speaker 1: Then we made the finals, and I'm like, wow, we're
• 12:47
  Speaker 1: we're up here walking with us, walking with the big folks,
• 12:50
  Speaker 1: you know, to do the thing on the higher. Let's
• 12:53
  Speaker 1: dress up soon. So now it's time to go to
• 12:58
  Speaker 1: Chicago for the finals. And and you gotta get your touch, Cedo,
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: you gotta get yourself together. And you know, I was, man,
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: I was just happy to go and to hear your
• 13:07
  Speaker 1: name called with all of these great, great, great chefs
• 13:12
  Speaker 1: throughout the country, you know, and to be in a
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: rare group of one of the few minorities that's been
• 13:17
  Speaker 1: announced that year. It felt so amazing, Man, it was surreal.
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: I still can't believe it. And that was two thousand
• 13:26
  Speaker 1: and eighteen. That's yeah, I'll never forget man, May two
• 13:31
  Speaker 1: thousand and eighteen, and uh, I remember when they called
• 13:33
  Speaker 1: our category and they called my name. I didn't hear it.
• 13:37
  Speaker 1: And everybody on my road had to tell me to
• 13:39
  Speaker 1: get up. You know, my wife's my my my business partner,
• 13:42
  Speaker 1: my brother, Nick, Paul and Nicholas, all these guys they
• 13:45
  Speaker 1: always travel with me. These that's my family. And they
• 13:49
  Speaker 1: had to tell me get up, man, get up, you
• 13:51
  Speaker 1: want and you want what what? So that walked to
• 13:55
  Speaker 1: the stage was one of the most longest walks I've
• 13:59
  Speaker 1: ever taken. It was I was. It was unbelievable. I
• 14:02
  Speaker 1: was like, oh, please, don't wake up before you get
• 14:04
  Speaker 1: to the stage, because I thought I was dreaming. But man,
• 14:07
  Speaker 1: to to get up there and and to have that
• 14:09
  Speaker 1: metal put around your neck to be mentioned with, like
• 14:12
  Speaker 1: I said, some of the best chefs in the in
• 14:15
  Speaker 1: the United States, in the world. Just to be mentioned
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: on that level, man, was unbelievable. Well, first of all,
• 14:21
  Speaker 1: you look good and look good and tucked. Man, you
• 14:23
  Speaker 1: look at you dressed up nice man from that apron
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: and that T shirt. You look good. Billy read up
• 14:29
  Speaker 1: where they look at it just really good. Well, you
• 14:31
  Speaker 1: know that. The thing about I've been fortunate Rodney didn't
• 14:34
  Speaker 1: live in Houston, Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago,
• 14:39
  Speaker 1: Chicago is a food lover's town. It is that city
• 14:45
  Speaker 1: right there is you walk in that city if you
• 14:47
  Speaker 1: want to get a good meal, I don't care if barbecue,
• 14:49
  Speaker 1: Mexican food, Italian food, of course, Pizza that's what it's
• 14:52
  Speaker 1: known for. Hot dog, that's what it's doing for. But
• 14:54
  Speaker 1: that's a food lover's town. And to the honor and
• 14:57
  Speaker 1: a food lover's town is even even more great and
• 15:01
  Speaker 1: they give win a award like that. So what did
• 15:03
  Speaker 1: that winning that award do for your brand? Though? Man?
• 15:07
  Speaker 1: Winning that award in ten got my brand not only
• 15:10
  Speaker 1: more recognition, but it brought us a lot more opportunity
• 15:14
  Speaker 1: to to to go and spread our love all over
• 15:16
  Speaker 1: the place. You know, we traveled throughout the United States
• 15:19
  Speaker 1: doing different events because people heard of us through the award.
• 15:22
  Speaker 1: We got a chance to let people see whole Hog cooking.
• 15:25
  Speaker 1: Even down in Houston, you know, we we we could
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: remember cooking and using a couple of halls and one
• 15:30
  Speaker 1: guy came up and asked me, was it dear because
• 15:32
  Speaker 1: they were so used to be but you know, yeah,
• 15:37
  Speaker 1: so just the Beard Award got us recognized to the
• 15:40
  Speaker 1: point where we were able to do our thing in
• 15:43
  Speaker 1: different parts of the United States and be recognized and
• 15:46
  Speaker 1: people knew what to expect and to be so respected
• 15:49
  Speaker 1: through our food when it's barbecue. You know, a lot
• 15:52
  Speaker 1: of people look at barbecue as a simple backyard thing.
• 15:55
  Speaker 1: But man, the Beard Award changed that whole outlook for
• 15:58
  Speaker 1: us because struck a lot of people's curiosity to say,
• 16:02
  Speaker 1: this is Beard Award winning barbecue. I have to go
• 16:05
  Speaker 1: and taste it. My man, I'm gonna tell you something.
• 16:07
  Speaker 1: You know. Uh, Now, how did the you know, were
• 16:10
  Speaker 1: the middle of the pandemic and COVID nateen and over
• 16:13
  Speaker 1: the divertly affect African American but more importantly, the country
• 16:17
  Speaker 1: shut down for almost two months and nobody saw that coming.
• 16:21
  Speaker 1: So how did it effect how you are doing business today?
• 16:25
  Speaker 1: And what's the recovery process for you in the future.
• 16:29
  Speaker 1: First of all, you know, the pandemic is it was
• 16:31
  Speaker 1: pretty pretty scary, man, it still is. And and the
• 16:34
  Speaker 1: first thing we did was we we tried to protect
• 16:37
  Speaker 1: our staff, our families, um and and we we we
• 16:40
  Speaker 1: started to communicate every day my PRG Restaurant Group. We
• 16:44
  Speaker 1: communicated every day on the phone with all the CDC
• 16:47
  Speaker 1: rules and everything that we can do. To adjust how
• 16:50
  Speaker 1: do we keep the public fed without putting them at risk.
• 16:54
  Speaker 1: And we we kept in communication following CDC rules. We
• 16:57
  Speaker 1: we created sanitation lists and rules. We held all of
• 17:00
  Speaker 1: our managers and everything obligated to making sure sanitation is
• 17:04
  Speaker 1: done hourly throughout the restaurant. And we we we had
• 17:08
  Speaker 1: a drive through at our Charleston restaurants, so when dining
• 17:12
  Speaker 1: rooms got shut down, we were able to serve food
• 17:15
  Speaker 1: through our din through our drive through to still feed
• 17:18
  Speaker 1: people that were still able to come out. And then
• 17:21
  Speaker 1: and the frontline workers and emergency workers that were out there,
• 17:25
  Speaker 1: they were still able to eat. So not only that
• 17:28
  Speaker 1: barbecue travels well, so you get us, you get an
• 17:31
  Speaker 1: opportunity to reheat a little bit without destroying the quality
• 17:35
  Speaker 1: of the food. So that helped a lot of families
• 17:38
  Speaker 1: and and and first responders. You know, we offered discounts
• 17:42
  Speaker 1: to to them so they can feed their families. Our
• 17:45
  Speaker 1: staff members that we weren't able to keep on staff,
• 17:48
  Speaker 1: we offered them a couple of hours a day to
• 17:50
  Speaker 1: come get food. So we just continue to work. We
• 17:53
  Speaker 1: we we we thought about our staff. We weren't out
• 17:56
  Speaker 1: to make money. We're out to just maintain the best
• 18:00
  Speaker 1: we can to protect our people. Well, and I'm so happy, tore.
• 18:06
  Speaker 1: I just wanted you to share that story because that's
• 18:07
  Speaker 1: part of you know, when you're entrepreneur, a lot of
• 18:10
  Speaker 1: people forget that you're human being too, and then you
• 18:12
  Speaker 1: have people who count on you, and then when they're
• 18:14
  Speaker 1: in the moment of distress, you know you're or stress,
• 18:18
  Speaker 1: you have to be there for them and then but
• 18:22
  Speaker 1: not leave them out there. And also your community, like
• 18:24
  Speaker 1: you said, all for discounts and things like that, and
• 18:26
  Speaker 1: but that's what that's what heard a lot of black businesses.
• 18:29
  Speaker 1: And you know, because you're the lead entrepreneur in this business,
• 18:33
  Speaker 1: we were not set up for the technology. We are
• 18:35
  Speaker 1: not generally set up for the drive throughs. And so
• 18:38
  Speaker 1: when the pandemic hit, it really affected UH minority businesses
• 18:42
  Speaker 1: overall because they were not They did such business, you know,
• 18:45
  Speaker 1: dying in business, that's how they made their money. Wasn't
• 18:47
  Speaker 1: ready for the curved side. I wasn't ready for those
• 18:49
  Speaker 1: elements of of change. But the thing that really affects
• 18:53
  Speaker 1: me is that when I saw your special on Netflix,
• 18:57
  Speaker 1: it was so human. Now we saw how the James
• 19:00
  Speaker 1: Beard affected your business. That that Netflix series the chef
• 19:05
  Speaker 1: table had to be on fire for your brand. Now
• 19:08
  Speaker 1: I'm tasting man. When you when you when you did
• 19:11
  Speaker 1: that story about you know, you were celebrating, uh, your
• 19:14
  Speaker 1: high school graduation, and that girl came over you said,
• 19:17
  Speaker 1: I don't know why you celebrating. All you're gonna do
• 19:19
  Speaker 1: is go down the street and chop a hall for
• 19:21
  Speaker 1: a living. And then your dad woke you up at midnight.
• 19:26
  Speaker 1: He told me. Right after that, I walked away from
• 19:29
  Speaker 1: her over to him and he said, you gotta be
• 19:32
  Speaker 1: at the pit that left it. And I'm like, what,
• 19:38
  Speaker 1: so you know it? It's all very very true, and
• 19:44
  Speaker 1: it was. It was it was. It was heartbreaking to
• 19:45
  Speaker 1: a teenager coming out of high school. You know what,
• 19:48
  Speaker 1: I can't have fun tonight. But you know, I never
• 19:51
  Speaker 1: I never forgot the moment I can take you to
• 19:53
  Speaker 1: the very spot. I stood what that girl said, what
• 19:55
  Speaker 1: she said to me, and I never let that escape
• 19:57
  Speaker 1: my mind because I knew that I'm on State A
• 20:00
  Speaker 1: and I'm gonna prove her wrong, right and and and
• 20:03
  Speaker 1: every day, not one day goes by, but I not
• 20:06
  Speaker 1: think back to that moment when she said, I don't
• 20:09
  Speaker 1: know why you ain't going nowhere and I'm like, it's
• 20:11
  Speaker 1: gonna go right on down the street and chop up
• 20:14
  Speaker 1: me for a living. That's all. You an't gonna be
• 20:16
  Speaker 1: at the meat chopper, That's all she was saying. And
• 20:19
  Speaker 1: then but when when you but but that was one
• 20:21
  Speaker 1: of the moments. That was several moments, and that when
• 20:23
  Speaker 1: you was out there with your son. It was just
• 20:25
  Speaker 1: several great emotional moments. When I because you know, because
• 20:29
  Speaker 1: they give you an option. You know what happens is
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: on Netflix, they do a trailer and I'm sitting up
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: there with my wife and because another person that told
• 20:35
  Speaker 1: me about the Chef Tables, you gotta watch Chef that
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: was really good. That's okay, cool. So the trailer came on.
• 20:41
  Speaker 1: I watched. Now they went through everybody and I went
• 20:44
  Speaker 1: riding this God, I said, man, I kinda this looks pretty.
• 20:47
  Speaker 1: So you was the first one I watched, and I
• 20:50
  Speaker 1: was like, my mouth was dropped. My mouth dropped. I went, wow, Wow,
• 20:55
  Speaker 1: I love this dude. I love him. He's he's on.
• 20:59
  Speaker 1: You know. It was just it was just your story
• 21:01
  Speaker 1: was compelling, your family aspect, your relationship with your dad,
• 21:05
  Speaker 1: your mom coming up, you know, getting news story in
• 21:08
  Speaker 1: no words, you didn't. This is what I like about you, right,
• 21:11
  Speaker 1: You didn't ask for any of this, but when the
• 21:13
  Speaker 1: opportunity presented itself, you went forward. Man. You were not
• 21:17
  Speaker 1: intimidated by opportunity. And a lot of people are like that.
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: And that's why I always tell people on this this show,
• 21:22
  Speaker 1: because the fact that a lot of you have to
• 21:25
  Speaker 1: walk through a lot of unknown to be successful. When
• 21:28
  Speaker 1: I say that, I mean they're no guarantees. And your
• 21:31
  Speaker 1: story is walking through a lot of unknowns to be
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: where we are today talking about your success. Correct, correct, correct, correct.
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: You know, a closed doll don't get fed. I'm some
• 21:41
  Speaker 1: of the find of that all the time, tell Nick
• 21:43
  Speaker 1: that all the time. A closed mouth don't get fed.
• 21:46
  Speaker 1: If you don't open up your mouth and say what
• 21:48
  Speaker 1: you want, that opportunity is not gonna be there for you.
• 21:51
  Speaker 1: You know, you're just gonna let it pass you by
• 21:54
  Speaker 1: if you don't, if you're not gonna you're not willing
• 21:55
  Speaker 1: to step out on faith and do your thing and
• 21:58
  Speaker 1: stay stay consistent and persistent. You know you can. It
• 22:02
  Speaker 1: can clip right by past you. And I refused to
• 22:04
  Speaker 1: let anything to slip past me. And you don't. Now
• 22:07
  Speaker 1: he's about to comment because I wanted to get the
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: comment on people's reaction to this chef table specialtis Arn
• 22:13
  Speaker 1: on Netflix after they saw it. What has been the reaction?
• 22:17
  Speaker 1: Out of this world the reaction, let me tell you
• 22:23
  Speaker 1: the It released at three am Eastern Standard Time on
• 22:27
  Speaker 1: September second, for thirty I think I had messages on
• 22:31
  Speaker 1: my phone. I had messages from Australia. I had messages
• 22:36
  Speaker 1: from uh Russia, ru Germany, Switzerland, the UK, and and
• 22:42
  Speaker 1: and everything on Instagram. The message requests, they've they've been
• 22:47
  Speaker 1: out of this world. And by the way, I'm not
• 22:49
  Speaker 1: ignoring the request. I'm trying to get to him. I'm
• 22:52
  Speaker 1: I'm trying, but it's been out of this world. Sales
• 22:56
  Speaker 1: at the restaurant line out the door. People have been
• 23:00
  Speaker 1: pushing so much love. They have been grown men and
• 23:03
  Speaker 1: women approached me with tears in their eyes and told
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: my story. You told my story. We're going to do
• 23:09
  Speaker 1: the same thing. Uh. Weird, weird calls at times, and
• 23:14
  Speaker 1: you don't know me, but I got your number from
• 23:16
  Speaker 1: such and such and I They would say the first name,
• 23:21
  Speaker 1: but they would just say how much the story touched
• 23:23
  Speaker 1: their lives. It's it's been unbelievable all the way around,
• 23:27
  Speaker 1: you know, business wise, personal wise, and and it inspired
• 23:30
  Speaker 1: so many people to come out and say that they're
• 23:32
  Speaker 1: having tough relationships with their families and they want to
• 23:35
  Speaker 1: do something about it. So it's it's been, it's been
• 23:38
  Speaker 1: over over the top, man, It's been absolutely great. I'm
• 23:42
  Speaker 1: enjoying every second of being able to see somebody and
• 23:46
  Speaker 1: say that you helped me, you change my life. I'm
• 23:48
  Speaker 1: gonna tell you, man, my father was a truck driver,
• 23:52
  Speaker 1: kind of like your father. You know, this way it's
• 23:54
  Speaker 1: gonna be. This is why I've been, This is the
• 23:55
  Speaker 1: way we've been doing. This way it's gonna be, and
• 23:57
  Speaker 1: this is where it's gonna be after I lead this
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: because that's where he sat the rules in place, and
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: so I just I'm gonna tell you, man, I I
• 24:06
  Speaker 1: watching the show and this just speaking honest. Is that? Uh?
• 24:09
  Speaker 1: I just Rodney Scott brand I fell in love with
• 24:14
  Speaker 1: the family man. I fell in love with the son.
• 24:17
  Speaker 1: I fell in love with the entrepreneur. I fell in
• 24:20
  Speaker 1: the the I don't give up spirit. I'm not afraid
• 24:24
  Speaker 1: to try something new. I'm not afraid to travel, I'm
• 24:27
  Speaker 1: not afraid to understand that God has something in store
• 24:31
  Speaker 1: for me, and when it comes to me, I'm gonna
• 24:34
  Speaker 1: be waiting and I'm gonna put the work in to
• 24:37
  Speaker 1: make sure it happens. That's what people saw in that story, man.
• 24:40
  Speaker 1: And it's just one of the great, great, um individual
• 24:45
  Speaker 1: moments of watching something on television. You're going, this is
• 24:47
  Speaker 1: great storytelling because they told your story right now, They
• 24:50
  Speaker 1: really did. Yeah, that that story of my life, man,
• 24:54
  Speaker 1: And and I just hope that everybody that watches it
• 24:57
  Speaker 1: learn from it and stay inspired by it. You know,
• 24:59
  Speaker 1: don't feel don't feel down because things are not happening
• 25:02
  Speaker 1: to you the way that you wanted to. You know,
• 25:04
  Speaker 1: your turns coming. Just sit tight now my turn is
• 25:08
  Speaker 1: coming because you're supposed to be coming to Atlanta here
• 25:10
  Speaker 1: with some Bob my brother tell us about the expansion
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: talk and uh, how's everything going down in the ham
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: and uh? And why is there a desire to expand
• 25:18
  Speaker 1: the brand? Man? The desire to expand the brands? In
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: the childhood dream? Um, I heard I heard T. D.
• 25:25
  Speaker 1: Jake say the Colonel have chicken and he got so
• 25:28
  Speaker 1: blessed and it spread all over the world. And I said,
• 25:31
  Speaker 1: we got hugs, and uh, the brand Man was was
• 25:36
  Speaker 1: the personal dream and uh Me and Nick we we
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: talked a lot about expansion and he asked me and
• 25:40
  Speaker 1: I told him, and Atlanta was one of the stops.
• 25:43
  Speaker 1: And I'm excited to come to Atlanta. I remember reading
• 25:45
  Speaker 1: about Atlanta in the eighties and the Everny magazine that
• 25:48
  Speaker 1: the city was growing so fast, and I was like, wow, man, Atlanta,
• 25:51
  Speaker 1: where is that? You know? And finally got an opportunity
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: to be a part of it. And I'm excited about Atlanta.
• 25:58
  Speaker 1: Birmingham as well. We're coming into Birmingham expanding that the
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: That place is just one of the most beautiful cities
• 26:04
  Speaker 1: I've ever seen. It's it's a city, but it feels
• 26:07
  Speaker 1: like a small town. You know, you still receive a
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: lot of love. You can feel a love in that area.
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: And and and I just I drive to Birmingham all
• 26:17
  Speaker 1: the time and not just for work, and I just
• 26:19
  Speaker 1: loved the area. Well, I gotta get you more, Bore
• 26:22
  Speaker 1: Ricky smile that Rickie spoiling country there Birmingham. That's big. Hey,
• 26:26
  Speaker 1: I gotta put him on the radio show. But we
• 26:27
  Speaker 1: get Spiler man, he probably don't know you in the hand.
• 26:30
  Speaker 1: I gotta I gotta hook this up, man, because my
• 26:32
  Speaker 1: own thing that is that is as a brand and
• 26:35
  Speaker 1: watching you grow as a as a business year James
• 26:39
  Speaker 1: Beard Award winner. You know your your barbecues outstanding. You're
• 26:43
  Speaker 1: expanding that. Tell us a little bit about your partner.
• 26:45
  Speaker 1: You mentioned his name several times, because he was really
• 26:48
  Speaker 1: key until you becoming a brand that you are today.
• 26:50
  Speaker 1: And how did that relationship come about? That relationship relationship
• 26:55
  Speaker 1: with my partner, my brother came about in two thousand
• 26:59
  Speaker 1: h I think it was ten nine or ten. We
• 27:02
  Speaker 1: met and uh, we're introduced by mutual friends and and
• 27:05
  Speaker 1: we we did an event together called the Smoke Dimmer
• 27:08
  Speaker 1: here in Charleston for Charleston Line and Food. And that
• 27:12
  Speaker 1: night we talked and I said, this dude's really funny man,
• 27:15
  Speaker 1: you know the great conversation. Seems to be a smart businessman.
• 27:19
  Speaker 1: And we just we we formed a relationship from the
• 27:21
  Speaker 1: first night that I did this event up until current day.
• 27:25
  Speaker 1: You know you're talking about this is my best man
• 27:27
  Speaker 1: at at my wedding. You know, this is the guy
• 27:30
  Speaker 1: if I need to talk to somebody, I can call
• 27:31
  Speaker 1: him up. And he mentioned these opportunities to me and
• 27:35
  Speaker 1: I'm like, Yeah, you know, dude, I know you. I've
• 27:40
  Speaker 1: seen your hard work, I've seen your efforts, I've seen
• 27:42
  Speaker 1: your success. And yeah, I guide me, show me, tell
• 27:47
  Speaker 1: me what you know, and I'll tell you what I know.
• 27:49
  Speaker 1: And together, man, we we we learned from each other constantly.
• 27:53
  Speaker 1: We listened to each other constantly. He shows me things,
• 27:55
  Speaker 1: I showed him things, and we're constantly talking and communicating.
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: He's been a very very big part on me opening
• 28:02
  Speaker 1: the first Rodney Scott here in Charleston, right right right
• 28:06
  Speaker 1: down the street. Well, you know, my whole thing is that, Um,
• 28:10
  Speaker 1: you're a pitt Master, You're keen pitt Master. If you
• 28:12
  Speaker 1: haven't seen the special on Netflix, it's called The Chef's Table. Um,
• 28:17
  Speaker 1: they have a trailer. They have a number of other
• 28:19
  Speaker 1: really good episodes, But I'm only here to talk about
• 28:22
  Speaker 1: Rodney Scott. That's the episode to change my my take
• 28:26
  Speaker 1: on what it means to Bobbecue. And I know a
• 28:27
  Speaker 1: lot of great bobbyca my boy Kevin Blood, so he's
• 28:30
  Speaker 1: my boy out of l A Lesse. Bobby got my
• 28:33
  Speaker 1: nephew down in Houston, Texas. He's a bad Bobbecue. But Rodney,
• 28:36
  Speaker 1: this guy, Neither one of them are James Beer an
• 28:39
  Speaker 1: award winning pit Masters. Okay, congratulations brother, and uh, you
• 28:45
  Speaker 1: know when you come to Atlanta, you know we're gonna
• 28:47
  Speaker 1: keep this relationship going and all that and everything. But again,
• 28:50
  Speaker 1: I just wanted to bring you on my show, My
• 28:52
  Speaker 1: Money Making Conversation, tell your story. We're gonna promote this
• 28:55
  Speaker 1: a lot and get the word out. Do you have
• 28:57
  Speaker 1: do you do you ship your meat or do you
• 29:00
  Speaker 1: shipping your food or it's everything just at the stores.
• 29:03
  Speaker 1: We're not shipping right now everything that the stores. We're
• 29:05
  Speaker 1: shipping our retail products were Um, we're shipping our sauces,
• 29:09
  Speaker 1: our T shirts, has our rubs, we're shipping those right now.
• 29:14
  Speaker 1: And uh, we're we have a book coming out spring one, Um,
• 29:18
  Speaker 1: Rodney Scott's World of Barbecue. Every Day is a good day.
• 29:21
  Speaker 1: Uh that's do. You can pre order that on Amazon
• 29:25
  Speaker 1: and uh we we we were excited to share what
• 29:28
  Speaker 1: we got with the world. Right now you have to
• 29:30
  Speaker 1: come and see us. But hey, we're working on you're
• 29:32
  Speaker 1: trying to put one in your back. When you know
• 29:34
  Speaker 1: you and your Australia man a Russian, they won't want
• 29:37
  Speaker 1: something besides a little T shirt there by, friend, But again, beget.
• 29:41
  Speaker 1: You always got me excited about that sauce because you
• 29:43
  Speaker 1: know your boy don't know nothing about no boques. So
• 29:45
  Speaker 1: at least I can start with that sauce and get
• 29:47
  Speaker 1: and that rub that you're selling down there and get
• 29:50
  Speaker 1: that right on my meat and we can get rollers
• 29:52
  Speaker 1: and dude, at least get that egg working right and
• 29:55
  Speaker 1: then then take my time. Take my time, Take my time. Yeah,
• 29:58
  Speaker 1: take your time on that egg. Take time track to
• 30:01
  Speaker 1: talk about halfway and get that baby at about two hundred.
• 30:05
  Speaker 1: There you go. I love talking to an expert. Rodday.
• 30:07
  Speaker 1: Thank you for calling Money Making Conversations. I appreciate hope
• 30:09
  Speaker 1: you enjoy the interview. Man, it's also talking to all mine,
• 30:13
  Speaker 1: all right, Thank you, Thank you, my brother. If you
• 30:15
  Speaker 1: want to hear more money Making Conversation interviews, please go
• 30:17
  Speaker 1: to money Making Conversation dot com. I'm with Sean McDonald.
• 30:20
  Speaker 1: I'm your host,