BF 049 – David Shalleck – Mediterranean Summer
PODCAST
Show Notes
David Shalleck, Mediterranean Summer
https://www.mediterraneansummer.com/
https://www.volochef.com/
“And in the worship of security we fling our lives beneath the wheels of routine—before we know it, our lives are gone.
Where then lies the answer? In choice. Which shall it be: bankruptcy of purse, or bankruptcy of life?”
— STERLING HAYDEN, WANDERER, 1963.
The above quote is a short excerpt from the book “Wanderer” which encouraged David Shalleck to take a look inward. It embodies the choices and chances David took to get to where he is now. Chef and entrepreneur David Shalleck has turned his love of the culinary arts into a business which is not just about fulfilling one of our basic needs but a lifestyle that promotes nutrition and a Mediterranean mindset.
David’s journey began in New York where he earned a degree in light and set design. While studying his major he also was a cook in restaurants. While the allure of working on a variety of shows from national conventions, concerts, and TV shows was hard to give up, he realized he had to make a choice early on in his life. Was David going to pursue a career in the technical arts or the culinary arts? As you will hear in the podcast, his choice to become a chef took him down exciting and unexpected paths.
As David was working in the restaurants of New York during the 1980’s, California cuisine was on the rise which appealed to his sense of exploration. This led David to leave the excitement of Manhattan and lay new roots in San Francisco where he worked at Campton Place, an upscale restaurant in the heart of Union Square.This is where he took his first big step towards changing his trajectory. Instead of taking a promotion to being a sous-chef with a pay raise David had the nudge to explore learning from a home cook in Provence France through an unpaid internship. What was supposed to be a six to eight month stay turned into five years of working mainly on the coast of Italy at Michelin starred restaurants, high end food stores, and a chef on a private yacht.
The five year employment on the Mediterranean coast turned into a book named “Mediterranean Summer” and a business venture where he takes a small group of twenty to twenty four people on a ten day cruise of the Mediterranean with stops at ten ports.
David did not let his degree in light and set design go to waste. David’s resume includes producing over 250 cooking shows and being on the Food Network’s Iron Chef America. During the 2008 financial crisis David decided to make another bold move by hiring a branding coach which helped him solidify all of his production and culinary expertise to form Volochef and Mediterranean Summer. With these two endeavors he is spreading the word of not only proper nutrition for the body but proper balance for your mind and soul by imparting his knowledge and experiences of the Mediterranean lifestyle.
Podcast Highlights
- Understanding David’s bold decisions in the face of the unknown.
- Expanding on your life experiences to make them work for you.
- The decision to hire a branding coach and it’s rewards.
- Understanding Mediterranean cuisine’s health benefits.
- What does it mean to live with a Mediterranean mindset?
- David’s plan during the Covid 19 shutdown and how to make it work for you.
- Taking chances that lead to unexpected outcomes.
- Trusting your instinct in the face of criticism.
