Kitchen Rags to Riches

About Kitchen Rags to Riches

Thinking about a career in the food industry? There are more paths than you realize. I'm Imrun Texeira. After 15 years of experience as a chef in Michelin-star kitchens and on the Food Network, I've spent the last five years guiding thousands of students through career pathways in the food and hospitality industry. On Kitchen Rags to Riches, I interview successful restaurateurs, private chefs, food writers, content creators, foragers, and food tech entrepreneurs who share exactly how they built fulfilling careers. Subscribe now and start mapping out your journey.

Publisher

Imrun Texeira

Category

business

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

20 Aug 2025

Latest episode

18 Aug 2026

Latest episodes

17 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   18 Aug 2026

   Roger Mooking: From Juno to Food Network

   Roger Mooking is a chef and a musician, and he does not treat those as two careers. In this episode he explains why food and music are the same thing to him. Both carry culture. Both tell you where someone comes from before they say a word. He starts with his upbringing. Growing up between cultures shaped how he cooks, what he reaches for, and why he never tried to pick a single lane. Then we talk about the move into media. Roger says leaving the kitchen for the camera was not a break from cooking, it was the next room. What carried over was storytelling, and he is firm that the story has to be real. Audiences can smell a made up narrative, and the industry is full of them. Fame comes up, and Roger is honest about it. He would rather have the work than the attention. He talks about protecting his privacy and why being known is not the same as being fulfilled. We also get into Canadian cuisine. Roger has watched it change, and he credits the cultural mix that made it what it is now. His take on where it goes next is worth the listen on its own. The back half turns to staying in this for the long run. Burnout is real, and Roger talks about learning to recognise his own limits. He shares the practices that keep him steady, meditation included, and why longevity in this industry is a skill you have to build on purpose. He finishes on travel, and why getting out and eating local food somewhere else is the fastest way to get your creativity back. Then his read on the future of the industry, which lands on sustainability and authenticity over spectacle. Topics: culinary identity, food and music, media transition, authentic storytelling, Canadian cuisine, fame and privacy, mental health, burnout, travel, future of the food industry.

2. 

   18 Aug 2026

   Michel Falcon: From Family Table to Franchise

   Michel Falcon did not fall into hospitality. He grew up in it. In this episode, he traces his path from a family legacy in the business to running and scaling his own restaurants. The core of the conversation is people-first culture. Michel does not treat that as a poster on the wall. He explains why investing in your team is the long play, how employee engagement shows up in the guest experience, and what it actually costs to build a brand people want to work for. We also get into the money. Restaurant margins are thin, and Michel is blunt about it. Financial management is not the boring part of the job, it is the job. He shares how he thinks about numbers without letting them run the culture. Then we talk growth. Franchising is central to how Brasa is expanding, and Michel breaks down what he looks at before opening in a new market. Market dynamics, timing, and the discipline to say no to the wrong deal. He also opens up about the hard parts. The challenges, the resets, and how his own experiences shaped the way he leads now. His take is that leadership is a learning job, not a finished one. If you want to run your own place one day, or grow the one you already have, start here. Topics: hospitality, restaurant industry, consulting, people-first culture, employee engagement, franchising, business growth, culinary innovation, restaurant leadership, personal journey.

3. 

   18 Aug 2026

   Afrim Pristine: From Cheese Curds to Cheese Master

   Afrim Pristine is Canada's only certified cheese master. He runs Cheese Boutique in Toronto, a family business that has been feeding the city for decades. In this episode, Afrim talks about what that title actually means to him. He calls it a duty, not a trophy. We get into growing up inside a family business, how that shaped his work ethic, and how you handle the tricky part nobody likes to talk about, which is family dynamics at work. He shares his plan for the future of Cheese Boutique. Slow. Organic. No rush to blow it up. He also breaks down how he reinvents cheese for customers by teaching them the history behind it, and what he carried out of Michelin star kitchens into a retail shop. We talk entrepreneurship too. Afrim is clear that resilience and adaptability matter more than a good idea. He is honest about the grind, and honest about what it takes to stay in it. Mental health comes up as well. It is a cause Afrim speaks on openly, and he explains why it matters to him personally. He wraps with the Toronto food scene, where cheese-making education is heading, and why community and collaboration beat competition in this business. Topics: cheese master, cheese making, Cheese Boutique, family business, entrepreneurship, mental health, Toronto food scene, culinary education, Michelin star, food culture.

4. 

   18 Aug 2026

   Mark Brand: From Burnout to Balance

   Mark Brand does not give the sexy answer. He gives the real one. In this episode Mark talks about what a culinary career actually looks like when you build it on purpose. His point is simple. If you are dedicated to building something, that is your path. Nobody else gets to hand it to you. He also says something a lot of chefs are not ready to hear. The most successful chefs he knows stepped out of the traditional kitchen role. They found work off the line, they work with independent suppliers, and they get paid properly for it. Then there is the hours. Mark makes the case that a 40 hour week is not a failure. It is normal. You can still give people great service and go home at a reasonable time. The 80 hour badge of honour is not the flex the industry pretends it is. We talk about what work-life balance really costs, why so many cooks burn out chasing the wrong version of success, and what it takes to build something meaningful instead of just busy. If you are early in your career and wondering if there is another way to do this, listen to this one twice. Topics: culinary career, chef success, independent suppliers, work-life balance, kitchen burnout, building something meaningful, hospitality careers.

5. 

   18 Aug 2026

   Val Upfold: From Ghosting to Getting Hired

   Gen Z opens about 90 percent of their texts. About 30 percent of their emails. If you are still sending interview invites to an inbox, you are losing candidates before you meet them. That stat is where this conversation starts, and it goes somewhere most hiring advice does not. Val Upfold makes the case that the interview itself is broken. Not the questions, the experience. Candidates show up anxious, underprepared, and guessing, and then we judge them on how they perform under that pressure. Val's point is simple. A stressful interview does not test the person, it tests their nerves. The fix is not complicated. Send the questions in advance. Tell people who they are meeting, how long it will take, and what happens next. Let them prepare. Val explains why that does not make hiring easier for the candidate in a bad way. It just gets you a better look at how they actually think. We also get into the small stuff that changes everything. Personalising a template instead of firing off the same copy and paste rejection. Answering fast. Treating the whole process like the first impression of your workplace, because that is exactly what it is. And Val is direct about the complaining. Every operator says they cannot find good people. Fewer are willing to change how they look for them. If you hire cooks, servers, or anyone under 30, this one will cost you nothing to act on and could change your whole pipeline. Topics: Gen Z, recruitment strategies, interview process, candidate experience, hiring communication, texting candidates, reducing interview anxiety, hospitality hiring, staff retention, talent attraction.

6. 

   18 Aug 2026

   Romain Avril: From Michelin to Millions of Views

   Romain Avri was in Michelin kitchens in France at 17. Then he landed in Toronto and got a culture shock he still talks about. In this episode, Romain explains why starting that young is a real advantage. You get handed the right standards before you pick up bad habits. He says a couple of months in those kitchens can be worth years somewhere else. He also pushes back on the myth. Michelin culture is still misunderstood in North America, and Romain thinks talking plainly about the pressure is healthier than protecting the mystique. Hiding behind aura protects bad behaviour. It does not raise standards. Then we get into Canada. His take is blunt. The problem is not talent. It is rent, margins, and investor risk. Toronto could have far more serious restaurants, but the math punishes ownership before a room has time to mature. He also argues Canada needs to stop importing French validation and start trusting what grows here, from Ontario protein to coastal fish and berries. We talk about the scene itself. Romain says chefs here fight over the same slice of the cake instead of building a bigger one. Another chef winning should create lift, not resentment. The second half is the pivot. When the traditional path stalled, social media became a real lane. Recipe videos, brand deals, consulting, private chef work. Romain treats content as modern advertising, but he is clear on why his videos land. The recipes were tested in real kitchens first. Document the skill, do not perform it. He gets honest about the harder stuff too. Burnout, therapy, and how kitchen culture often mirrors patterns people never dealt with. His view is that the loudest guy in the room is usually the least regulated one, and that understanding why someone reacts makes you a better leader. He finishes with what is next. Bigger goals, a possible TV show built on food history, more charity work, and a reputation he guards closely. Topics: Michelin kitchens, French culinary training, Toronto food scene, Canadian cuisine, restaurant economics, chef burnout, mental health in kitchens, food content creation, social media for chefs, brand deals, culinary career pivot.

7. 

   18 Aug 2026

   Nuit Regular: From Scrubs to Michelin

   Chef Nuit started out in nursing. She ended up building one of the most respected Thai restaurant groups in Canada. In this episode she walks through that turn. Why she made it, what it cost, and how she kept going when the industry was not built for her. She is open about the challenges she faced as a woman in professional kitchens, and about what it takes to earn respect when you are running rooms in a new country. We talk a lot about food and culture. Dining in Thailand is not the same as dining in Canada, and Nuit explains where guests get Thai food wrong. Regional dishes. Real heat. The stuff that never makes it onto a standard menu here. She is still educating people every night, and she says that job is never finished. Then we get practical. Sourcing authentic ingredients, and how Toronto's diversity makes that easier than it used to be. Pricing, and why people will pay for one cuisine but push back on another. That part is honest and a little uncomfortable, in a good way. Nuit also talks about Michelin recognition. The doors it opened, and the pressure that came with it. She closes with advice for young cooks and what she wants for the next generation coming up behind her. Topics: Chef Nuit, Thai cuisine, Toronto restaurants, culinary journey, Michelin recognition, cultural dining, restaurant management, sourcing ingredients, cooking advice, women in hospitality.

8. 

   18 Aug 2026

   Ren Navarro: From Kegs to Culture

   Ren Navarro spent over a decade in the beer industry. Now she runs B. Diversity Group and works with breweries and big brands on culture, hiring, and accountability. In this episode, we talk about what it actually looks like to be a person of colour in the beer industry. Ren breaks down why diversity numbers stay flat, how financing quietly blocks ownership for people of colour, and why so much beer advertising still shows the same white guy holding the same pint. We also get into the parts nobody puts on a website. Burnout. Self-care. What it costs to be the person in the room who keeps asking the hard question. Ren is honest about the toll, and honest about how she protects her own energy now. Then we go after HR. Ren makes the case that HR should be built around humans first, not just company risk. She shares what real accountability looks like in a business, and why open conversations about diversity and inclusion beat a nice statement on a landing page. She closes with where she is headed next, including teaching and pushing a more human-centred approach across the industry. If you work in food, drink, or hospitality and you are tired of surface-level diversity talk, this one is for you. Topics: beer industry, culture consulting, diversity and inclusion, HR, burnout, mental health, accountability, advertising and representation, personal experiences, future aspirations.

9. 

   2 Dec 2025

   Eric Robertson: From a Small Town Kitchen to 2 Michelin Stars

   Eric Robertson shares his journey from aspiring cyclist to acclaimed chef, reflecting on the influences that shaped his culinary career and the evolution of the Canadian food scene. He opens up about the challenges of balancing work and family, the importance of authentic leadership, and the value of surrounding yourself with supportive teams in the kitchen. Eric also discusses the process of writing a cookbook that inspires future generations, the significance of mentorship, and the value of nurturing Canada’s unique culinary identity. This episode offers practical insights and motivation for aspiring chefs and food professionals seeking to build fulfilling, impactful careers. Follow Eric: Restaurant Pearl Morissette (https://restaurantpearlmorissette.com/) Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/_eric.robertson_/) LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-robertson-462268222/) Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/@RestaurantPearlMorissette)

10. 

    2 Dec 2025

    Ozoz Sokoh: From Geology to Gastronomy

    Ozoz Sokoh shares her transformative journey from geology to gastronomy, embracing a passion for food that blends science, culture, and creativity. She reveals how her blog, Kitchen Butterfly, became a therapeutic outlet, helping her overcome perfectionism while documenting and preserving West African culinary traditions. Ozoz highlights the power of cookbooks and platforms like Feast Afrique to celebrate cultural heritage and enrich Canada’s culinary landscape. She also explores the value of cultural diversity in cooking, teaching culinary curiosity, and how self-reflection during the pandemic fueled personal and professional growth. This episode offers inspiration for aspiring chefs, food educators, and anyone passionate about culinary storytelling, cultural representation, and creative exploration. Follow Ozoz: Website (https://ozozsokoh.com/) Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/kitchenbutterfly/) LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/ozozsokoh/) Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/kitchenbutterfly/) TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@ozozsokoh) Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/@kitchenbutterfly) Feast Afrique (https://www.feastafrique.com/) Kitchen Butterfly (https://www.kitchenbutterfly.com/)

11. 

    2 Dec 2025

    Alberto Aguilar: From Garage Prototype to Dragons’ Den $400k Investment

    Alberto Aguilar shares his journey from childhood inspirations in Spain to founding Plantaform, a Canadian startup pioneering NASA-inspired fogponics for indoor gardening. He opens up about overcoming skepticism, learning from startup failures, and achieving a major breakthrough when his plants thrived — culminating in a $400,000 investment on Dragons’ Den Canada. Alberto discusses how COVID-19 sparked a surge in home gardening, the role of mentorship, and partnerships with schools and food banks to drive community impact. This episode explores the future of sustainable agriculture, food security, and how innovation can transform how we grow and access fresh food. Follow Alberto: Plantaform (https://plantaform.com/?srsltid=AfmBOooSSyqaofhut_Eo7tpR3yYznSHh5imUzwlQdc_r5nn2SU497Vgz) Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/plantaform/) LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/plantaform/) Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/plantaform) TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@plantaform) Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/@plantaform)

12. 

    2 Dec 2025

    Matt Taylor: From Heartache to Healing Through Sustainable Seafood

    Matt Taylor shares his journey from struggling with addiction in high-pressure kitchens to building a career focused on mental health, balance, and sustainable seafood. He opens up about the challenges of the restaurant industry, the culture of substance use, and the importance of self-care, therapy, and community support for chefs. Matt also dives into his philosophy at Affinity Fish, highlighting local sourcing, sustainability, and building relationships with fishermen to elevate Canadian seafood. This episode offers raw insight and inspiration for anyone navigating the pressures of culinary careers, emphasizing that personal recovery and professional impact can go hand in hand. Follow Matt: Affinity Fish (https://affinityfish.com/) Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/mattmatt_taylor/) TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@affinityfish) LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-taylor-9011a5234/)

13. 

    2 Dec 2025

    Joshna Maharaj: From Community Kitchens to Social Impact

    Joshna Maharaj shares her journey from community kitchens to creating real social impact in the culinary world. She breaks down the challenges of racism, the importance of cultural representation, and how chefs can use food to drive inclusivity, reconciliation, and social change. Joshna highlights the evolving role of chefs beyond fine dining, the power of intercultural creativity, and why aspiring chefs should focus on passion, mentorship, and community impact. She also explores the future of Indian cuisine in the West, the need to dismantle traditional kitchen hierarchies, and the growing demand for chefs in community-driven culinary spaces. This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in culinary careers, food systems, and using kitchens to make a meaningful difference.

14. 

    1 Dec 2025

    Ned Bell: From Alcoholism to Sustainable Leadership

    Chef Ned Bell traces his path through one of the most diverse culinary careers in Canada, revealing how a commitment to sustainable seafood and nourishing food shaped his philosophy. He breaks down the evolving meaning of success, the role of cultural influences in defining Canadian cuisine, and why daily structure and healthy habits are essential in an industry battling mental health and substance abuse. Ned speaks candidly about the realities of the profession, the need to revive true hospitality, and the importance of sustainable practices for the future of food. He also highlights how immigration and diverse experiences fuel creativity and offers grounded advice for the next generation of chefs ready to build meaningful, resilient careers. Follow Ned: ⁠Chef Ned Bell Culinary⁠ (https://www.nedbell.com/) ⁠Instagram⁠ (https://www.instagram.com/nedbell/?hl=en) ⁠LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/ned-bell-085252123/?originalSubdomain=ca)

15. 

    1 Dec 2025

    Nick Chindamo: From Foraging to Culinary Leadership

    Chef and forager Nick Chindamo, known as NickOfNorth, shares how a childhood spent learning the land became a career built on landscape literacy and culinary innovation. He explains his transition from kitchen life to full-time forager, why meticulous foraging shapes great cooking, and how mentorship guided his evolution. Nick breaks down the hidden richness of PEI’s terrain, the power of hyperlocal ingredients, and the future of dining rooted in storytelling, community, and knowledge sharing. He also speaks to the importance of rest and recovery in a demanding industry and why wellness must sit at the center of any sustainable culinary career. Follow Nick: ⁠Instagram⁠ (https://www.instagram.com/nickofnorth/?hl=en) ⁠An Island Collective (https://www.islandcollective.org/home)

16. 

    1 Dec 2025

    Evelyn Chick: From Cocktail Kits to 50 Best Bars

    Evelyn Chick opens up about her rise from early days in hospitality to becoming one of the most respected voices in food and beverage. She breaks down how she turned pandemic uncertainty into Evelyn Chick Projects, created one of the most successful cocktail kit programs in the country, and built the foundation for bars recognized on the 50 Best list. Evelyn shares the realities of entrepreneurship, navigating imposter syndrome, and why mentorship and community drive every move she makes. She also discusses her mission to support BIPOC and female founders through Feastie, and where she believes hospitality is heading for those ready to lead it. Follow Evelyn: ⁠Instagram⁠ (https://www.instagram.com/evelynchick/) ⁠Facebook⁠ (https://www.facebook.com/evelyn.chick) ⁠TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@evelyn.chick)

17. 

    20 Aug 2025

    Building a Career in Food and Hospitality: Welcome to Kitchen Rags to Riches

    Welcome to the very first episode of Kitchen Rags to Riches with your host, Imrun Texeira. In this episode, I share why I started this podcast and the mission behind it. We will dive into the realities of building a career in the food and hospitality industry; the highs, the lows, and everything in between. From years spent mentoring students and young professionals to working in kitchens around the world, I’ve seen firsthand what it takes to turn passion into purpose. Whether you’re a student, an aspiring chef, or simply curious about the stories behind the people shaping the industry, this episode will give you insight, inspiration, and a glimpse into what’s coming in Season 1. Success doesn’t come overnight—it’s a journey, and The Marathon Continues. https://www.instagram.com/imrun.texeira/ https://www.instagram.com/kitchenrags2richespodcast/

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