This week we are joined by Maddy Jagger's of Chef Rubber and the returning you later enter of cocktail vision. Maddy and you later discuss how they represent their two distinct brands that share a common platform and resources that benefits all parties involved. Both Maddy and you later also talk about the hectic and intense life on the road or in attending and work in the many trade shows. Make sure you check out both brands online at chefrubber.com and cocktail.vision.
Enjoy the show. Okay, we're back with another episode of the industry podcast. I'm Jeff, this is Dan. What is happening with you?
I'm Dan. You know, the usual pile of first-world problems driving that sort of crap, but you know, nothing important to you. Driving for one of your problems? We had the first-world fault of the year last year.
The first one's always just a giant cluster. Everyone just forgets, cars wipe it out everywhere and accidents all over the place. It's everything every year without like clockwork. Yeah, my step-get-wrap is to check around a telephone pole from ICE.
It's a new ICE. It's very impressive, very impressive. Yeah, and I was in Ann Arbor, the Michigan football game freeze on my ass off all weekend, but it was still fun. Was it full too?
It was at full 108,000 people? 112, 112, yeah. Yeah, they just keep paying those lines on the bench closer together. So, I'm more people in.
But it was a fun time. Cool. Aside from that, we have a great show coming up, Tube Suite here, Yulena Anter and Maddie, I already forgot your letters. Maddie Jagger is joining us from Got to Vision in Stanford in just a second.
Sorry, Maddie, sorry. You will recognize Yulena from her monthly visits and also Maddie from one of our interviews from Tales of the Cocktail. Before we get to that, we should mention that if you liked the show, then you should be subscribing, rating, reviewing. Give us a five-star review.
If you think we've earned it, it really helps us out. Big thanks to Zacana, Zacana.co for all the great artwork he does for our Instagram feed. Check him out for all of your graphic arts needs. He is fantastic.
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If you're in the Kitchener While Loo area, please come to join us at Fudiran in downtown Kitchener. You can check out what's happening in Sugar Run at Sugar Run Bar on Instagram. And you can check out Babylon Sisters in Uptown Waterloo. That's Babylon Sisters Bar on Instagram as well.
Lots of exciting events coming up. Check out what we're doing for New Year's Eve. And lots of great live events, live music and DJs coming up with both of those bars. So you should check that out.
Anything else you want to talk about before we bring our guest? Well, there was a time when I turned nine. No, there's nothing else I got. I got nothing.
You guys got nothing going on. All right. Well, happy Thanksgiving to our American friends here. Thank you.
You're late. I'm not sure. Maddy Jagger's I got the name now. I don't know.
I don't know. I think of those as sounds. Yeah, exactly. Well, thanks for doing the show.
And I know you guys came out a little bit last minute. You come one to a month anyway. But Maddy, great to see you again. We haven't hung out since New Orleans.
Tales of the cocktail. So what's going on with you, ladies? What's new? Oh, what's new?
For me, I just came back from what? Four week trip? Basically? You've been around the country.
I have been, I wouldn't say thankfully, but luckily, but it's on base. Yeah. And home base is Las Vegas. Las Vegas.
Yeah, so it must be pretty nice there still. Oh, it's beautiful today. It's amazing. I mean, the weather is nice 50, 60s.
It feels like winter for Vegas. Winter for Vegas. Well, having just been in our, I think it was minus six fairs in our road. I was there and it's not that far from that here.
So, OK, so what we want to talk about a little bit. Yelena, you're used to Irish and Ennegan's on the show here. But we wanted to talk a little bit about exactly what you just discussed, which is life on the road for you guys. Yelena's been sort of a regular part of the show for a while now.
But when I first met you in person and met Maddy and Eunice, it was in New Orleans at Tales of the Cocktail. First time you met Yelena. OK. Yeah, yeah.
Well, we've been Zoom friends for a while, but. Right. But yeah, but in person. So I just kind of want to talk about like, so maybe explain your relationship between Cocktail Vision and Chef Rubber.
Let's start there. Like. Talk to explain our relationship now. Yeah.
Don't worry. Don't worry. This is only audio. So how many of you might explain it?
Oh, wow. Full of score in seven years ago. It was, gosh, I mean, you met Paul. Paul is.
So yeah, Chef Rubber. I was using Chef Rubber for my cocktails and also cooking and baking for a long time. I'd say 10 years, at least 10 years. And then about 2017, I randomly ran into the owner of the company, himself.
Was totally random. I was shopping. He was shopping. And I was eavesdropping on his conversation with someone.
And it just kind of that's kind of how we met and started talking. And then fast forward to COVID. Yeah, a lot of people had a lot more time on their hands. You did.
You did. You did. You did. You did.
You did. You did. You did. So we had a trade show here called Cator Source.
Now they are mostly in Anaheim for their shows. But right before the shutdown, like that March, you landed at a trade show with us. And that's kind of what Kickstarter everything. Yeah, I think that's what Kickstarter everything.
The last day of the show, we all got shut down because that was the March, March 17, something that's going to go down, right? And as a result, actually, I had a lot more time on my hands to develop cocktail vision and talk about the products, develop the products. And that's kind of how we started. And Chef Rubber is the manufacturer of all the products for cocktail vision, distributors.
So everything gets manufactured in Texas and gets shipped out of there. Yeah, we're not really known in the pastry world. We work with a lot of chocolate ears and pastry chefs all over the book. And that's really where Chef Rubber, how we got our name, we're known for our food color and our food grade silicone molds that we manufacture here in the States.
And we started working with Yelena really closely, and we saw that there was a big opportunity for us to dive into the beverage industry, especially during a time when everybody was at home and drinking at home too. Still, I find a huge gap for the chefs and pastry chefs and chocolate tears. They have a lot of outlets to source the product. Chef Rubber is the one sub shop for any of your chocolate tear, pastry, or chef's meat.
And there's nothing like that have been for mixology world and bartending. So that's basically where we fill in that gap with cocktail vision. And right now we have about 110 products, but about 15 more in the works. Just before this meeting, we were talking about a whole new line that's going to be coming out hopefully next month.
So yeah, that's basically what cocktail vision fills in the gap providing resources for bartenders and mixologists. Right. Gotcha. So we have a place in the kitchen we've never gotten, truly, truly behind the bar.
Right. Question. We have like the caters and event planners and stuff like that. Like they use our ingredients and our catering brands.
So like that, but never truly do we have like a face for mixologists. OK. And how long have you been with Chef Rubber for than Maddie? I have been here now three years.
I'll celebrate my four in July. And I'll start processing orders. I mean, I've done everything in this building. But what I do is the marketing.
OK. So how does this relationship work exactly? So cocktail vision is this own company. Chef Rubber is this own company.
But you guys have just united together like to combine your products. When you're on the road, you're kind of working together but for two different products. Right. Two brands, but it's almost it's a separate product.
It's a separate product, separate brands. But where the brilliance of it is even like we just came back from Dallas, Dallas was the world food championship. So mostly centered around the chefs, right? But there's also bar owners, restaurant owners.
What does every restaurant has is a bar, right? So that was a great opportunity to introduce cocktail vision products to the owners who already ordered from Chef Rubber, for example, for their kitchen. So now we're going to supply the bar as well, because the ordering system, you're probably wondering how the ordering system works. The ordering system set up under, well, you would know more how to describe it.
What do you like? I'm trying to say it's easier for the establishment order because they already have the account set. They already have an account. All they got to do is go on to our website and place an order.
Everybody, even if it's just Joe Schmell from down the street who doesn't own a business but likes to make cocktails. They can order from us. The casinos they can order directly with us or send their purchasers over to us with POs, where a lot of them have often have constraints where they can only order from one specific place. Right.
And that's where also we work to get our product into those distributors. Hands also so that way that our customers also have access, where they are only able to order. Right. When I met both of you in person for the first time was in with that Tesla cocktail.
Like, and you were all together as a unit working together, working the booth together. How often does that happen? Or is it mostly you're on your own traveling for the cocktail vision? No, I think it's all of us pretty quickly.
It's all of us. It's the last two trips was the first time that was actually like just you. Yeah. So the last couple of trips.
So we did a Rhode Island visit to Johnson and Wales University. And that's the culinary school. They have a brilliant mixology department, and bar department, mixology lab. So we sat down with everybody from the beverage department to potentially have educational aspect on how to use the products and inspire new bartenders on presentation, right, garnishing.
So that was more of a solo. Like each trip is so different because that was more educational in front of students and in front of the instructors. Then we went straight to Dallas. And Dallas was more like a competition environment.
We did a presentation center stage, but it was different. World Food Championships was like a really big food network production. It was really, really big back in like the early 2000s. I would still say it's pretty big competition.
It's like watching cake wars, but live. Exactly. But you have barbecue pits and you have cake coffee chis, sandwiches, soups. Literally every food category is competing to be a world champion in their own division.
Well, and also I didn't tell you that earlier. But we work in on bringing in a cocktail competition here to Vegas in February. And it will be a barbecue and barbecue cocktail competition. So it would be like a pairing.
OK, so you make in like the chef will be making ribs. What are they going to be making? And bartender on mycologist will be competing for the best barbecue barbecue cocktail. Oh, OK.
That's a fun little thing that's going to be coming up. That's the thing like I was like hearing like, you know, a plated dish or like a traditional dish and having a cocktail match it. Or vice versa having like, you know, here's a classic margarita makeup pastry that tastes like that. Right.
So I've been. Can't you tell she's been watching? You know, we're all. You drink masses?
You drink masses? Yeah. I watch the first. I watch the whole thing.
So we had we had Keke and on the show who was on that show. And she said that that was the hardest part for her because she's like, how the fuck do I make a drink that tastes like a Christmas? Well, did you see me with a muffin top? Pardon me.
Sorry. Whatever. It was recent cocktails. I just actually just became super popular on social media.
I called it muffin top old fashioned and I infused bourbon with muffin blueberry muffin and just build the old fashioned with those flavors. Well, you're sorry. Wait. So you like actually had a legitimate muffin and infused it with the liquor?
I infused the liquor with the muffin. Yes. Yeah. Really?
I worked out? Oh, it was amazing. It's like going to make it for you guys, but it was like brilliant. I'm super.
I'm super. And that sounds crazy and delicious. But so you should probably send us that recipe so we can drink it on the show. But I do want to talk a little bit about like your life on the road.
Like if you guys are like hustling all over the country all the time. So it talked to us a little bit about like, do you still enjoy it? A is exhausting. And like what does your week look like when you roll into a city?
So kept like for the month of October, I think that was the whole five days and that was split up in pieces because you were in Texas. I went to Texas beginning of October, sorry. Then went straight to LA for LA chef. So that was an interesting way to be able to pack for a Texas and then a completely different set of wardrobe for LA chef because we did a like a super high-end party in LA.
We sponsored an event with cocktails for that. It was funny because Yolana like literally right before she was leaving for Texas comes drops off her suitcase to me to bring with me because we were driving from here to LA. So yeah, Chef Robert drove from Las Vegas to LA, but I was traveling to LA via Texas. So yeah, she's like, make sure that I'm like just taking a little bit of the other like there's a case that's still making it this way.
It's really good. It's a combination of we work really hard, but we play really hard too. So like whenever we travel like we know it's for work. We try to make it fun too.
Like usually we have to try it. Just always know that we do that. You guys are pretty fun. I got to get like a few days of enjoying your traveling escapades in New Orleans and it was very fun.
We had a lot of fun. I mean, kind of like building a loose itinerary or you know, a tiny little bit of it's needed. Okay, so is that the key? Not the key.
But is that the key? Is the key to itinerary a little loose? So you do have some time to actually enjoy yourselves while you're in every city or you have times where it's like the itinerary is so tight. It's just like, we're here.
We're banging out all these events and then we got to go. No, it's like a lot of the time. Even tails of the cocktail, we had a pretty strict itinerary and it's any play. It wasn't that strict.
It wasn't that strict. It wasn't that strict. It was a little slippery. It was a little slippery.
And then we got there and we were like, hold on. I had no idea what I was walking in. Sorry. That was an easier one.
But like say LA, we got in late that night. The next day was the party. It was Sunday, Monday and then we're out to stay. Yeah, then we work all like the whole day, so let and then we're out in the morning usually.
So it's quite intense. But the first night we usually try to sit in some fun, like go to a swanky bar or you know how much I feel. Nice restaurant. Yeah.
And then just like work hard during the day. But it's always fun. You meet so many interesting people. I get inspired from just meeting people and you know, just like feeling the energy and you just kind of like, you know, you I get inspired from just like listening to people's stories.
It's fascinating. I always loved seeing like how different companies do their marketing. I love being able to network with other people and see what other opportunities can open up from those experiences. I also just love going and having our brand like solidly represented and knowing that like myself and Yelena and those that come with us are very reputable people.
We're all really good to work with. We all understand the brand really well and you know, we're not going to be complete luscious the entire time to like, especially when I talk to them. I'm just thinking about myself. I only think for myself.
At least we say that till after the fact. But just you know, we all know what we're there for. We all know how to work a room fairly well in our own ways. And you know, we just we always have such a great opportunity to come to things.
We all just work really well together. And I think that's like the key thing is like when you have your tribe. Yeah. But you know, there must be sometimes we're just like fucking exhausted from the traffic.
Yeah, like it would be nice to just like lie on the couch and watch Netflix tonight. Where was it that we were flying back from? And it was you and you and you and us. We're all like literally in a three row.
You know, it was tech. It was tech. Her hoodie up like headphones on neck pillow. She's like dead.
You know, this is on the other side of me. She has like her thing up and I'm like, okay, well, these people are passing out. I am too. Like we're completely just like, and that's usually after the fact, you know, because you just have so much energy.
And here's the thing when you do a show like that, whether it's educational seminar or just the trade show in general, there's so much energy goes into, into presenting, right? Or being with people and just being social, no matter how social you are, it's still, you like you on steroids, basically. Like you are, you are, but you have to be even more so when you present, you know, when you with people doing the trade show. And just that aspect, it just wipes you out in the end of the day.
And those are long days. We start with like 8.30 and then by 5 p.m. we just, you know, we're done. And we still have to go in after 5 p.m.
Oh, well, we have like maybe every 45 minutes like go fresh it up and we have to get back over here. Well, and like it's kind of like the bartending job in general where you're like on for, your eight to 10 hours shift or whatever you're working. But the difference is you guys are adding like a crazy travel schedule to it. Right.
Yeah. Like so, yeah, I didn't do it, but at least there's people like you will. Yeah, I don't know. I think I was in town on October 31st, one day packed for Rhode Island, gone for a week, came back for two days, repacked for Dallas for another week and like took off.
So this month, I've been gone once a month for either a show, an event or to me, it's fun. I love to travel. I love it. I love it.
I love it. I love it. I love it. Even as exhausting, like listening to me now and I'm not to be negative, but like I was exhausted by time it came back home and then it took me probably a day and I'm like, okay, so where we going next?
That was me. We did ID ID ID, so just international baking expo happens like every three years and it's a big, big convention four days long that we go completely out. We're there. We've had some private events off to party events as well.
I have a little bit of a slow on top and I was like, literally like I'm here in this building from like seven a.m. to like eight, nine, ten o'clock at night. No days off either. It doesn't matter if it's Saturday or Sunday, if it shows on a Monday, you have to prep for it.
And not only that, me and Eunice are building the booths, so we're going there dropping things off. We're literally like driving a truck with pallets full just like, oh, that's not like people probably think that we were crazy. We're doing all of this. One is just like maybe we're control freaks.
I don't know. But it's funny. We've been talking on the show a lot recently, like post pandemic about how the job of a bartender or whatever has expanded so much and like we found different ways to expand this job from like the brick and mortar behind the bar type scenario. And you guys are kind of like the epitome of that because you don't really have that.
You're just on the road preaching the products all the time, right? And but this is still a very much industry related job that you both do, but it has nothing to do with like being in a restaurant or a bar working. No, we had behind the scenes hair and makeup team. That's how I like to describe it because you still shine as a bartender.
That's what we are. We want to make you shine as a bartender. We want to make you shine as an establishment. And we provide all the accoutrement and perfume and glitter and whatever else goes on your cocktail.
There's nothing satisfying as walking into establishment and seeing, I mean, your product being used. Oh, yeah. I freak out every time somebody sends me a photo of cocktail vision product on the back bar. It's literally just like the happiest feeling.
You know, it's like seeing your babies just like make it out there. It'd be fun to have any specific markets where your products are more prevalent than others. Like is it more regional or is it just kind of all over national wise like a little over the place for like cocktail vision, cocktail vision, all over the place. Chef Robert definitely international, right?
We're a really big international. It's just not. It's international. It's international.
But a lot of them go through their select distributors that we have internationally, but a lot of them buy direct from us as well. I mean, we get people in Spain and there's like, you know, five or six chefs that are compiling a whole order together and they all are going to have these on invoice and shipping and getting it shipped over there. And that cuts the costs for them like customs and stuff like that. Gotcha.
I noticed that like for as far as cocktail vision, I noticed New York is one of the like bigger destinations where I went through my reports. Las Vegas, of course, a lot of places using us all over Vegas. Beverly Hills. Interesting.
Yeah, those are just a couple of places that stand out of the top of my head. Well, it makes sense like obviously here in Vegas, that would be like hometown. Yeah, I mean, you've really been driving your sales taxes makes sense too because I mean, that's just where right there is so easy and it's such a massive state to like knock it. So do you like have a specific marketing plan to go to a different state like a you're like, okay, we're going to Texas or we're going to offstate New York or wherever the fucking money going like you do target it to different environments or is just like this.
So we do brought a lot of smoke. Yeah, we did the Texas restaurant show and we did a full booth there and it was full Western saloon like Hank Houghton, of course, that's in the whole booth was down up like a saloon and general store. And so we kind of capitalized on, you know, so in the country and the products were more like a cater to that market as well. Stronger flavors.
Yeah, we use the smoke. We use the local barbecue. So everything coming over and we had needs running. No, we've got those.
So we built this passion. That's what we would say. People love the smoke cocktails. So like when you go to these towns, like do you also go to like bars all the time and like do events or bars?
So you do events and bars and you do events at conventions as well. Well, okay. So I'm going to start. Yeah.
The rule is this. The day that we arrive well, actually any destination that we're going to, I usually pick out a couple of like really cool swanky places known for their cocktails. Well, I go for cocktails, but they usually have amazing food, something really boutiquey. And you know, like I like to see their menus and see how we can help them, but it's also a really fun experience just for us personal experience.
I met a really cool mixologist in Rhode Island at Marcellino's. He's the he's here on the on the talent visa. How often do you hear that? Like he's on the talent visa because he's world renowned for his mixology skills.
So he got a visa for us, you know, as a talent. So usually you hear talent like as a celebrity. Yes, but he's a celebrity mixologist. So we got to meet him a really cool place, really cool bar.
If anybody from Rhode Island listening in Providence is Marcellino, that's the name of of the place, like really, really cool. Yeah, we usually, I usually kind of like pretty picky on where we go at least once. I need to. Yeah, you always do like make that a point.
And I mean, I would say we do like, because when Tasha and I, my other co-worker here, she went with me in Miami right after we did the Vegas show here. And then I came back and then we went to LA when we were in Miami, she knows Florida really well. And so she was like, okay, we got to go here. We got to go here.
We got to go here. We got to go get Cuban. We got to go eat some Cuban food and like, you know, we did the whole Florida thing. I never do fun.
I'm like, I don't know. There's iguanas running around. I know I know. I know.
It's so new beach and you're completely blindsided. You have a dress. I think I was in a team with the teacher and I was like, well, Ron Beach. Well, it sounds like you guys still got tons of energy for the whole game and I hope you guys never lose it.
Cause it's like, it's amazing what you do, like seeing when I was in New Orleans with you, guys seeing what you do. Like, just at your, your booth there at Dale's with a cocktail and just like your zest for going to all the events and enjoying yourselves. Like, I just hope it never, it never win. So like you guys, when you were already the next year is the channel of the cocktail.
So you should you should book your tickets as well. Okay. tickets as well. Okay, what does someone to bring this guy?
plans to do a show in Boston at the beginning of the year. Oh, Boston's my town. I'm super excited. It's my first time I've never been so you'll have to get a list from you.
Okay, definitely. We'll stay in touch. Or I'll come or I'll come meet you which will be even better. Okay, strategizing game planning for 2023.
Perfect. Well, let's all keep in touch. Delaina will be seeing you soon. Maddie, thanks for doing this as well.
And thanks for coming on the show. Great to see you guys again. Yeah, thanks for having me. It was so great.
Yeah, it's done.