The Sauce Talk Podcast

Ever since I was a kid, I dreamed of becoming a father. On April 1st, 2019, that dream became reality when my son Maximus was born. Watching him grow from a tiny baby into the smart, funny, opinionated 7-year-old he is today has been the most surreal and beautiful experience of my life. From first words and first steps to seeing his personality take shape, every moment has been unforgettable. Pare...

Ron Cassel, co-owner of Autodidact Beer in Morris Plains, NJ, helped launch the brewery in 2023—and they’ve been making serious noise ever since with some of the best IPAs out there. What started as two friends home brewing turned into a true partnership built on passion, creativity, and a shared vision. It’s not just the beer—the taproom has become a go-to spot for great vibes, community, music,...

Nostalgia — that deep, sentimental pull toward the moments, memories, and little pieces of the past that shaped us. It’s the driving force behind so much of what I do today… especially this podcast. There is nothing on this earth that fills me with more joy than reminiscing about being a kid — no responsibilities, no bills, no stress. Just raw, pure innocence… well, mostly! Experiencing everything...

Nicholas Hildebrandt, also known as The PokePlumber, is a plumber by trade and a Pokémon influencer by night. He lived what many would consider a normal life until the loss of his biological father triggered a vicious, drug-fueled downward spiral that led to chaos and hopelessness throughout his twenties. Eventually, Nicholas reached a turning point and made the decision to change the course of hi...

I’ve been drawn to graffiti for as long as I can remember. The subway-car era was a little before my time, so most of the work I grew up seeing lived on city walls and highway overpasses. Then one day in high school, I stumbled across a couple of magazines and DVDs that revealed an entirely new world to me: freight train graffiti. That discovery changed everything. My next guest didn’t just partic...

If you’ve been following me on social media for the past nine years, you’ve probably noticed my wild obsession with Midway’s last arcade game, The Grid — a title that’s changed my life in more ways than one since I first discovered it upon its release in 2000. I often get asked three main questions about it: “What is The Grid? I’ve never heard of it.” “Where did you get all these machines?” and fi...

Dr. Ryan C. Maher is a Doctor of Dental Medicine with over 25 years of experience in the field. Since graduating from UMDNJ, he has earned numerous certifications and successfully opened multiple dental practices. In 2015, he wrote and published his first book, The Trooth in Dentistry, which focuses on strengthening the patient-dentist relationship through education and building trust and comfort....

Chef Mike Carrino is a New Jersey-based culinary force with nearly 30 years of experience and a long list of accolades to match. He's a shining example of what happens when grit meets grace in a chef’s coat—blending old-school discipline with rebellious creativity. A proud graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, Chef Carrino has opened several acclaimed establishments, including Passionné,...

Sean Struss is a beverage director and mixologist extraordinaire! I started this podcast in October 2023 and for an entire year this podcast was audio only until October 2024. I always planned on bringing back some guests from the "audio-only" era to catch up and give them their due video justice! Episode 18 featured Sean, and it was one of my most emotional episodes. Sean and I both wear our hear...

Mike Puzzo is a figure painter for the world's leading creator and global distributor of top licensed consumer toys: the National Entertainment Collectibles Association, also known as NECA Toys. Known for largely having the responsibility of painting most of the TMNT-related toys, but he can bring life out of any prototype you put in front of him, as he's been responsible for painting some of my f...

Nick Wiz is one of the most underrated hip-hop producers from the golden era, known for his work in the underground scene, particularly his contributions in the 1990s. He's largely remembered for his work with the hip hop duo The Cella Dwellas on the majority of their debut album "Realms 'N Reality" which caused him to leap into stardom with further recognition and notoriety with his production ac...

Bill Sanders is a young chef based in New Jersey, who never initially set out to pursue a career in cooking. His journey began at the age of 13, when he started cooking at home out of necessity, as his hard-working single mother was often away. What started as a way to survive soon transformed into a passion as he spent years experimenting with flavors and ingredients. At 16, he landed his first j...

Ewok One is a legendary graffiti artist based in New York City who has been sharing his artwork with the world for nearly three decades. With a background in skateboarding and breakdancing, his natural progression within hip-hop culture was a seamless fit. Exceptionally talented across multiple disciplines, he infuses originality and attitude into every piece he creates—whether on the streets, in...

Christian Petrovich is the CEO and founder of Argos Fragrances, a niche luxury fragrance house based out of Dallas, Texas. Argos Fragrances came onto the scene, debuting in 2018, but it wasn't until the following year, 2019, that their all-new scent took fragrance enthusiasts by storm due to the introduction of their infamous "Triumph Of Bacchus" release. The fragrance community was set ablaze as...

Rajni Jacques is a first generation Haitian American and an absolute legend in the Fashion & Beauty space. She is currently the Global Head of Fashion & Beauty over at SNAP Inc. (Snapchat). She's carved her way through the industry over the course of almost 2 decades, starting on the publication side of things. Some of her prior places of employment consist of Honey Magazine, Vibe Magazine...

Officer Justin Nielsen and I grew up together in the town of Verona. His early onset passion for law enforcement, the military and emergency services never left him, as during his transition into adulthood, he dragged along all 3 of those with him as a way of life. Upon his exit from High school, he immediately enrolled into the military, throwing himself to the wolves, so to speak, fighting the w...

Ari Saal Forman is widely known for releasing one of the most legendary and controversial sneakers of all time, the Ari Menthol 10s. He also created one of the most important Hip-Hop/Graffiti publications in existence called OnTheGo Magazine alongside Steve "Espo" Powers, which down the line years later became OnTheGo Marketing that has a client list most would drool over. I could go on and on reg...

Daniel Espinal aka Def Dom, is a local underground music producer. Back in 2009 I was getting familiar with the local music scene within my area as I always sought out the newest and greatest unheard sonics and I came across this soulful R&B duo through mutual friends entitled "Pardon The Stranger" consisting of one singer Kendal Good and producer DefDom (my guest). My musical mood changes wit...

CJ Tuite is one of my oldest best friends! I've known CJ since I was in the 5th grade and we've been close ever since. He is truly like a brother to me. It is through CJ that I really got to grasp fully what the term "solidarity" really meant. CJ got dealt a rough deck of cards and his upbringing got extremely dicey throughout the years. To witness what he has become, after all he's been through h...

Michael Cosenza is a well known New Jersey Culinary Chef and the co-owner of Mike's Pasta & Sandwich Shoppe located in Nutley, NJ! Cooking has been in Mike's blood since he was a toddler, sprouting that culinary seed in his family kitchen growing up. Finding his way has been a long journey from deciding to pull out of joining the Marines in the 11th hour, to pursuing his destiny, attending the...

Corey is the owner of New Jersey's best screen printing and embroidery outfit on the East Coast, Panther Printing Co, which was founded in 2014. Starting out in a small 100 square foot corner of our mutual friends sneaker warehouse, in which he was employed, he then started what would unknowingly become his screen printing empire. I have known Corey since he was 16 years old, so to see him grow no...

Sean is a West Orange native who has had a love and appreciation for the food and beverage industry since a young age. As the current beverage director at the BeefBar in NYC, my guest tells everything from starting out at the very bottom at local pizzerias & restaurants, to working in the most prestigious culinary outfits in the tri-state area. Sean and I are both mutually emotional people and...

Joey Hono, for as young as he is, he's lived a hard, long life filled with experiences that you could depict through cinematic expression. Growing up, I've always been drawn to music like minnows to a trout. One genre in particular that I adored was house music, or rather club music as a whole. The type of music that sonically echoed off of the walls in the most legendary underground NYC clubs thr...

Rose Talocci aka Rose6,is the first female featured on The Sauce Talk Podcast! Rose and I met at our place of work over a decade ago as we were both hired the exact same day, but belonging to different crafts. Quite possibly one of the sweetest, talented, and most caring women I've ever met in my life. Just like my cousin Vinny from episode 5, Rose also shares what it was like for her growing up i...

Ari is an expert jeweler of Armenian descent specializing in custom pieces operating out of NYC. Ari's father has been in the jewelry business for over 30 years and while at first he was not interested in continuing the family business, that all changed once he arrived to his 20's after realizing the retail industry just wasn't for him. Although starting later in life, he quickly learned the craft...