Serves You Right

Most bartenders are playing the wrong game. They chase shifts, tips, and titles while ignoring the education pipelines, industry programs, and visibility layers that actually create leverage. This episode exposes why that approach stalls careers and how intentional participation in programs like Tales of the Cocktail and CAP quietly rewires opportunity. If you think growth only comes from grinding...

Most wine buyers assume discounts mean flawed wine, distressed producers, or leftovers no one wanted. Most people think cheap wine is cheap for a reason. They’re wrong.  :P That belief is costing them access to better bottles at better prices In this episode, I sit down with Agent Cru, AKA Addison Rex, the man behind the curtain at Wine Spies. For years. One wine a day. Unspeakable quantities move...

Most bars don’t fail because the drinks are bad. They fail because the owner breaks first. In this episode, I sit down with Winston Greene, owner of Tonic in Santa Fe, to talk about what really happens when passion turns into ownership. Winston didn’t come up chasing clout or trends. He came up hauling ice, working twenty-hour shifts, and learning the business the hard way, then betting everything...

Party culture does not just burn you out slowly…it erodes you quietly until one day you look around and realize you are surviving instead of living. Felix Cordova known for years as Your Boy Reflex was everywhere in New Mexico. The guy who kept the night alive while everyone else fell apart. What most people never saw was the cost. The drinking. The endless nights, not taking care of the body, and...

Most restaurant owners believe the problem is effort. Longer hours. More passion. Better attitude. Ryan Gromfin argues that mindset is exactly why so many restaurants fail. Just TRY to understand… In this episode, we unpack restaurant systems and processes, restaurant management vs leadership, why restaurant owners burn out, how to build a scalable restaurant business, and why most restaurants are...

Most people approach wine education, sommelier certification, and hospitality careers the same broken way. They obsess over credentials, grind endless hours, and assume burnout is the price of legitimacy. Or, they assume it will be a walk in the park. Both paths are broken: this episode dismantles that belief through the lens of advanced sommelier training, fine dining wine programs, Court of Mast...

Opening a restaurant without understanding restaurant profit margins, food cost percentage, labor cost control, cash flow management, and break-even modeling is not brave. It’s reckless. Most owners believe they’re losing money because they’re not busy enough. The truth is harsher and far far far more useful. In this episode, Kasey Anton explains why restaurant owners confuse effort with results,...

Opening a restaurant without knowing how to cook consistently sounds reckless. But that is exactly how Chef Joseph Wrede built one of Santa Fe’s most respected kitchens. This episode dives into restaurant ownership, becoming a professional chef, American fine dining, kitchen leadership, and what culinary consistency really means over thousands of services. And profanity. Lot’s of profanity. Most a...

In this episode, I sit down with Sudi (AKA Rick) Karatas, author of How Catering Sucked the Life Right Out of Me, a working caterer, writer, actor, and lifelong observer of human behavior around various buffets. Sudi has spent decades inside high-end events most people only see for a few hours, serving celebrities, working million-dollar parties, and watching how power, money, and entitlement actu...

Most people fantasize about owning a bar. Very few survive it. Chris Schneider did both. He built thriving spots, faced the fires, lost money, rebuilt, adapted, and tells the truth so nobody else walks in blind. This conversation occurs in a space where most hospitality people avoid…because the reality is uncomfortable and loud. Chris Schneider joins Serves You Right for a raw, inside look at what...

Kelli White has spent her career translating the mystique of wine into something real, personal, and alive. From working the floor at Veritas to writing for GuildSomm and publishing monumental books, she’s seen every side of the industry, and she’s tired of seeing people feel small around a glass of wine. This episode dives deep into the psychology of taste, the myth of “right and wrong” pairings,...

Ever tasted a whiskey that once contained radiator rust and antifreeze? That’s not a nightmare, it’s history. Washington’s spirits have been forged in fire, fraud, and fierce reinvention. Washington’s drinking history is wilder than you’ve been told. Author Becky Garrison joins to discuss her book Distilled in Washington and the untold saga of spirits in the Pacific Northwest. From fur traders wea...

Stefano Catino didn’t just open bars, he redefined what hospitality looks like in Australia. From Maybe Frank to the award-winning Maybe Sammy, his vision has put Sydney on the global cocktail map. In this conversation, we explore how an Italian kid who grew up in his father’s restaurant went on to shape one of the most admired bar groups in the world. Stefano shares stories of mentorship, risk-ta...

Kate Holowchik, owner of Lionheart Confections, is redefining what it means to be a pastry chef. From secret-flavor donuts that sell out in minutes to navigating the brutal reality of toxic kitchen culture, Kate’s journey is both heartbreaking and uplifting. In this episode, we dive into the artistry and grit it takes to survive in hospitality. Kate reveals how family traditions shaped her love fo...

Sother Teague is not your average bartender. A former chef, teacher, and researcher, he built Amor y Amargo into a shrine to bitters and stirred drinks. His philosophy is simple: do one thing with ruthless focus and let the craft speak for itself. In this conversation we trace his journey from culinary classrooms to world-class cocktail bars, unpack the science of why humans fear and then crave bi...

Why do humans risk so much, and sacrifice so greatly, for alcohol? In this provocative episode with Edward Slingerland, we explore the hidden evolutionary functions of intoxication. Drawing on philosophy, history, and cutting-edge science, Slingerland reveals how alcohol has acted as a cultural technology for creativity, cooperation, and community. From wu-wei in the East to Viking binge drinking,...

Rare spirits aren’t just drinks, they’re liquid time capsules. In this episode of Serves You Right, I get a chance to talk with acclaimed author Aaron Goldfarb to explore the fascinating world of dusty bottles and vintage spirits. From bourbon once aged longer than the label admitted, to rum menus at Trader Vic’s that would shock modern collectors, this conversation uncovers history, culture, and...

Napa Valley is filled with polished tasting rooms and corporate names, but Adam Fox and Canard Vineyard are holding onto something rare: authenticity. In this conversation, Adam shares his winding journey from film sets in Hollywood to the rugged rows of Napa vines, where he now serves as Managing Director of one of the last true estate-grown, dry-farmed vineyards in the valley . We dive into the...

Natalie Migliarini didn’t just create Beautiful Booze, she created a movement. What started as a personal experiment in home entertaining grew into a globally recognized cocktail brand, a bestselling book, and a starring role on Drink Masters . And she did it all without ever being a career bartender. In this episode, Natalie shares her unfiltered story of leaping from a safe job into a whirlwind...

What if the secret to unforgettable cocktails wasn’t the spirit, but the bitters? In this episode of Serves You Right , I sit down with Molly Bradbury , the powerhouse behind Bitter End Bitters , a company redefining how flavor shows up in your glass.  Molly Bradbury never planned on running a bitters company. But when the founder of Bitter End Bitters was ready to move on, she seized the chance a...

Stanislav Harcinik is more than a bartender, he’s a cultural architect. Ranked among the world’s most influential bar figures, he’s redefining what cocktail culture can look like outside of the industry’s biggest capitals. From Mirror Bar’s breathtaking blend of history, art, and nature to his groundbreaking book Cocktail Balance , to his newest book, Stan is proving that influence doesn’t depend...

Mead is the oldest known alcoholic beverage, but it’s still a mystery to most people. Garrett Freeman, the creator of Man Made Mead , has made it his mission to change that through approachable education, wild experiments, and a thriving online community. With nearly a decade of brewing under his belt, he shares insights from hundreds of batches (and not always successes) ranging from traditional...

In today's talk, Randy pulls back the curtain on the truth about old vines, why perception in the wine world lags decades behind reality, and how a little-known sustainability program from Lodi is reshaping vineyards worldwide. He shares insider stories from decades in the restaurant industry, reveals why terroir is making a comeback, and explains how younger wine drinkers are forcing the indu...

In this episode, I sit down with the one and only Eric Tecosky (Also known as ET). He’s the creator of Dirty Sue olive juice (finally, bottled olive juice that doesn’t taste like disappointment), former national brand ambassador for Jack Daniel’s, and yes, he’s the bartender who invented the “Surfer on Acid.” Expect to Learn: Why Dirty Sue changed the dirty martini game (and what most bars still g...

In this episode, I sit down with cultural historian and journalist Tristan Donovan , author of Fizz: How Soda Shook Up the World , a book that starts with carbonated air and ends in war, marketing madness, and Soviet missile booths repurposed as Coke stands. We dive deep into the weird, wonderful, and occasionally disgusting history of soda. Expect to learn: How Coca-Cola built an empire through w...