Ep #68 - Taylor Smith

Best Served Fresh is a Q&A show where we celebrate the Unsung Hospitality Heroes. Join Chef Jensen Cummings as he talks to industry leaders about the people that have been there through the trials and triumphs of their lives and careers. On this episode of Best Served Live, our host Jensen Cummings sits down with Taylor Smith to discuss his company, The Gold Leaf Collective, the first 100% vegan full-service restaurant, catering company, food truck, wholesale doughnut company and cheese company in northern Colorado, we also discuss what it takes to run multiple companies under one umbrella, where and when his passion for the hospitality industry turned into purpose, how he transitioned from back of house to front of house to owner/proprietor, and who inspired the idea for a collective of companies. Top Five Takeaways 1. Community is so important. Fort Collins was so welcoming to Taylor and helped him raise money for his food truck The Silver Seed when he had just moved there and didn’t know anyone. The community came together to raise funds for the brick and mortar building and later to keep the business afloat. 2. The Gold Leaf Collective is helping people take the first step into veganism, plant-based diets. They are inclusive and do not judge anyone, meat-eaters or vegans. 3. “I felt like cooking was always the way to express myself.” (8:14) Taylor wanted to show his love of the planet and for animals and he went through cooking to show that. 4. “Salt and pepper and seasonings are all vegan. I think the idea with vegan is that it is healthier. I go vegan because I want to help the planet not myself.” (19:01) 5. “You know how hard it is to get people to walk into a vegan restaurant willingly? You have to have stuff on the menu that they recognize.” (26:20) Taylor pushes to make food that people recognize, crave, and will come back to eat without meat in it. Website: bestservedpodcast.com Facebook: /bestservedpodcast Instagram @bestservedpodcast @ChefJensenCummings Twitter: @BestServedPodcast @JensenCummings Youtube: Best Served Podcast