Category Archives: The Guy Feature

Each issue CAKE&WHISKEY sits down with an inspirational guy to pick his brain, as well as celebrate the partnerships between women and men: how we can work together to build one another up and progress forward.

Mr. Lentz: The Genuine Chivalrous Cowboy

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Interview by Laura Zolman Kirk and Megan Smith
Photograhy by Evan Lentz

Walk us through a typical work day.

Rolling out of bed when the sun’s just about rising is not typically my thing, but I’ll do it if the work requires me to. Every now and then I will heat up a pot of cowboy coffee: just some grinds, boiling water, and my cup to pour it into. Off to the workshop, I fire up the lights and start sorting out the day’s orders. My first step is usually custom branding people’s leather goods with their names. I then go through a full process of cutting, dyeing, oiling, waxing, assembling, and hammering everything into shape. I tend to work long days, as I am a bit of a perfectionist and love creating good looking products for my customers. During busy times I get a lending hand from an assistant or two who may become part of the workshop for some time. It’s great to have extra help when you need it. On some days the cowboy hat comes off early, and I might head down to the beach for some relaxing.

What does your craft mean to you?

Leatherwork, to me, means hard work. It means a good solid day, where you tire yourself out by the end but feel fulfilled by the entire process.

Your profession as leatherworker/woodworker takes a lot of precision—how do you keep things fresh, and what goals do you set for yourself to stay motivated on a daily basis?

Well, once you start making a style that people like…you find yourself making a whole lot of that design. In the process you tend to make things over and over again. I take a lot of pleasure in getting things right. Leatherwork is tricky business since the material you are working with was at one point alive. Each piece is different and reacts differently to cutting, dyeing, branding, and oiling. I have not yet had a day where I am not amused at how something very different and strange is happening with one of my processes―and I tend to constantly modify my approach because of it. Other than that―I have a lot of sticky notes in a lot of places! Goals galore!

Want to read more about Evan? Order Issue 8 here.

Brian Hersch: The Guy Feature

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Interview by Molly Hays
Photography by Mariah Shope

Hersch, whose wildly entertaining word game Taboo has sold 20 million copies (and counting) is founder and General Partner—and chief game guru—of Hersch and Company. His eponymous game design firm is heading into its third decade, boasts a backlist well in excess of 40 titles, and has booked retail sales north of $850 million. The man knows how to make play pay.

Fun and games aside, Hersch takes the business of play seriously. His back story certainly figures in. From a first career in real estate development, Hersch made the unorthodox jump to game design after recognizing a huge untapped market. Thirty years later, he continues to develop hit titles and successfully navigate a wildly dynamic gaming landscape. Here’s his story.

To read more about Brian Hersch and Taboo, subscribe to CAKE&WHISKEY magazine or purchase the single issue here.

Flying Solar

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Interview by Robbie Clark

In early June, Solar Impulse 2 made its inaugural flight, which lasted two hours. The vehicle’s intended mission, scheduled to begin next year, will take a little more time, since the charted course is to circumnavigate the globe.

Since the Golden Age of Aviation, a number of pilots or teams of pilots have cruised around the world to their own distinction, from the first round-the-world flight in 1924 by a team of four Douglas Cruiser biplanes (a 175-day voyage) to Wiley Post’s first round-the-world solo flight in 1933 to Capt. James Gallagher’s first round-the-world nonstop flight. If successful, Solar Impulse 2 and its pilots, Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg, will add a new title to the venerated list: first solar-powered round-the-world flight.

Subscribe to CAKE&WHISKEY magazine or purchase the single issue here for the full interview with Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg.

Alton Brown

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Interview by Megan Smith

The word on the street is that cooking shows bored the heck out of Alton Brown and he thought he could do better. Taking his film background, he headed off to the New England Culinary Institute to hone his skills and eventually landed on Food Network. It’s a rarity to meet someone that actually goes after a big dream, and even rarer when that big dream becomes the exact reality hoped for. What made that possible? Guts? Instinct? Drive? For Alton, it was “Simple. Just a lack of other choices.”

To read the rest of the article and the interview with Alton Brown, subscribe to CAKE&WHISKEY magazine or purchase the single issue here.

Marcus Samuelsson: Behind Every Good Man

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Interview by Megan Smith
Photography by Michael Guenther

How do we do justice to describing a man whose fashion tastes are impeccable, whose swagger is more than noteworthy, who loves bringing his 5’11” model wife Maya along on casual interviews as well as swanky soirées, and who more than  knows his way around a kitchen? All we know is, Marcus Samuelsson is certainly swoon-worthy in our book. To boot, this Ethiopian-born, Swedish-raised, James Beard Foundation honoree, Food Network chef truly believes that women are tougher than men. (His words, not ours [swoon]). Keep reading and you’ll see why Maya is such a lucky gal…

You wrote an incredible piece for the Huffington Post about your life as an adopted child and it’s evident how important the role of family is in your life. What attributes have the women in your life’s journey possessed that helped shape and mold who you are today?

All the important women in my life have showed me what love means–in their own way. My Ethiopian mother sacrificed her own life so that my sister and I could live our own; my Swedish mother loved me fiercely as if she had given birth to me herself; my Swedish grandmother showed her love by teaching me how to cook; and my wife teaches me to be patient and kind through her utmost grace and inner beauty.

Your career journey has been anything but easy over the years, including dozens of restaurant rejections early on. Where is your inner strength and tenacity to push forward and dream big drawn from?

I think it’s my commitment to doing what I love. At an early age I was intensely committed to becoming a soccer player, but was rejected from going pro. After soccer, my next great love was cooking and chasing flavors and it has served me well ever since. But I don’t take any of it for granted. I’ve had high highs and low lows, but staying committed to food has always made me the happiest, and this is what I want to do for the rest of my life.

You obviously have huge vision for your life and career and have found great success in recent years. Are you one to map out your goals and dreams and make things happen or do you allow things to evolve in their own time and step through doors as they open?

It’s a mix of both. Sometimes you’re in the right place at the right time, but, for me, I usually envision something I want to do and take my time to curate that idea. “Yes, Chef” was five years in the making and you could say the opening of Red Rooster was something I wanted to do for ten years.

What was the tipping point in your career? Was there a specific moment that catapulted you from chef status to celebrity chef status? Were you ready?

I don’t like to say what was the tipping point…who knows what else the future holds? But it was being awarded three stars from the New York Times that put my name on the culinary map. I’ve been trying to do better ever since…but don’t we all aspire to do better day by day?

This is a question from one of our readers: “You work with many chefs, restaurant staff and colleagues~ many of whom are women. What is the best approach you have found to not only working with women but giving critical feedback when needed?”

It’s ironic that there are many more men presiding over the most famous kitchens, but cooking has traditionally been a feminine role. I have such high regard to the great female chefs I’ve encountered–April Bloomfield, Gabrielle Hamilton, of course Julia Child–and women are actually tougher than men. Men will want to make a bigger fire and show you their sharpest knives, but women are more resilient and fierce in the kitchen. I’ve found that I can actually be more blunt and direct with women because they know what you need, and I admire that in my female staff.

What synergy do you find most rewarding between men and women collaborating in the workplace?

Our corporate team at the Marcus Samuelsson Group is pretty much split down the middle between men and women. I love to see them working hard on a project or sharing a beer after work. We have a good team who are there for the same cause and that is the most rewarding thing. You can say we have quite a mixed bag of talent, age and diversity, but we all have a great time. In the kitchen, the numbers between men and women are split, too–some of my toughest staff includes my pastry chef, Deborah Racicot–and seeing the staff come together night after night is a sight of beauty for me.

Have there been any female mentors or colleagues who provided important insight or support during your career? If so, what wisdom did they provide that was especially significant?

How can I not mention my mentors in all fields who have opened up such worlds to me? The great Leah Chase who just celebrated her 90th birthday is my culinary mentor, and the incomparable Thelma Golden, director of The Studio Museum in Harlem, are just some of my fairy godmothers. Then, of course, there are my two mothers and grandmother who showed me how to be a man in the family and in the kitchen. They have all taught me to be humble and always stay curious.

You’re definitely one of the most stylish chefs out there. Who or what inspires your look?

David Bowie, Marvin Gaye, Lana Turner, and all the Harlem Dandies who come into our restaurant. I am inspired by not just people in the fashion world but anyone who can hold their own style. And I’m not talking about flashy logos and shiny shoes. I just came back from Barcelona and I love how everybody there had their own sense of fashion. It didn’t matter if they were on their way to a fancy dinner or on their way to the market–they were well-groomed, yet nonchalant about how they carried themselves.

Let’s end with a couple of foodie questions, shall we? Guilty pleasure food?

I love a great hamburger.

What meal do you most enjoy making for your stunningly beautiful wife, Gate Maya Haile?

I love making doro wat with her, a traditional Ethiopian chicken stew that takes hours to make, but it’s very methodical and, in a way, spiritual. Nothing beats sitting down with her at our kitchen table and cracking open an ice cold Meta (Ethiopian beer) to wash it all down.

*Follow CAKE&WHISKEY’s Pinterest board “What We Think the Men Should Be Wearing” and let us know what you think every guy should be wearing this spring season.

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