Chef Christian Barruos-Brens: What drives a 21-year-old to cook with the wisdom of veterans?

If you haven't heard about it , walk Talk Podcast is the official podcast for Restaurant Events LLC . They own the New York Restaurant Show , california Restaurant Show , florida Restaurant Show and the Pizza Tomorrow Summit . We are , of course , over the moon and super excited about this partnership .

We are , of course , over the moon and super excited about this partnership . The stakes get higher as we move into this trade show space with restaurant events and also the US Culinary Open at NAFM . And we are ready . Folks , stay tuned .

On today's show we have an incredible guest , christian Barus-Brenz , a 21-year-old culinary rising star from Miami , and that is our hometown . Christian's journey began at just 16 , when he turned his passion for baking into a business to support his family during his mother's battle with cancer .

Now he's not only a culinary student at the Miami Culinary Institute , but also the owner of Chef Christian LLC , catering for major events across the city . His talents have taken him beyond the kitchen , as he won a cooking competition in Colombia , which I think is so cool . We're going to get into that too .

That boosted his confidence and led to him working behind the scenes on a mini movie that actually won two Emmys . Later today , john and I will be cooking up some fun chicken dishes . It's just me and him in house today doing our thing . Follow our IG for photos and video at Walk Talk Show . Let's welcome Chef Christian to the program .

Christian , how are you , my man ?

You've come a long way in a short period of time and I and I think a lot of this starts with you know your mom's journey with cancer and how that kind of drove you Can you get into , how that pushed you into culinary .

I started learning how to cook pastries , cookies , brownies , sweets to sell at school and some snacks as well . They called me the duffel man kid in class , where I had a duffel bag and I was selling sweets for a dollar in class .

And I was not able to do that in class because , you know , I have to do it very low key , but I had to do it for a purpose . It's for my mother and that is my why , you know . So a lot of people ask you know what is your why ? And my mother is my why .

And honestly , that really changed my perspective in life in two different aspects right and becoming an entrepreneur , and learning my passion , which is cooking . I started with sweets , now savory , and that really drove me into thinking okay , this is what I want to do .

I want to learn how to cook , but turn that into a business too in the future , and that's how the colony world kind of opened up for me . So my mom is very strong , she's a warrior and she's my rock and I'm very blessed that she's still with us today and helping us and actually sees my mom in jail .

So she's actually helping me a lot , every single way . She's like my best friend , so I'm very blessed for that .

No , god is great . So in your sophomore year you're out there hustling baked goods . You're in Miami , you're the duffel man , like you must have raised a lot of eyebrows doing that .

I had to go to the bathrooms and there was a line waiting for me outside of the bathroom doors . I used to sell in the bathroom stall and it was quick transactions and I was the only one with a duffel bag that had a believe it or not .

On my phone I had a little mini POS , so people , my kids , the kids could really tap and scan their card and they used to have . It was crazy and I had someone every single day buying for me and spending at least 60 a month on me and that's just one person .

And I had other regular you know regular customers , customers and that was one of the crazy experience . Um , luckily I didn't get caught because , again , I couldn't sell in school but I , you know it's , you know it was for a purpose . Everybody was for a purpose and they knew it was for a purpose and they already supported me and I'm very blessed for that .

But that was one of the craziest stories Because going every day to the bathroom and you see a full line of people and it raised some eyebrows but luckily I didn't get to the administration of the school so I didn't get caught , but you know it was crazy . And then sell out before lunch .

I sell out in three hours and I used to bring around 200 , 300 items and I used to sell everything for a dollar back then and now everything went up . But that comes to show you that you know I do anything to support and try to grind . I'm a hustler . So then after that , once quarantine happened , I was like , oh my God , what am I going to do ?

And then an idea popped in my head . I'm like let me transition this into Uber Eats . So I signed up for Uber Eats and did everything in my kitchen , in my house kitchen , and back then I mean I was able to do that because I didn't really know about the regulations and the PR .

I was a kid , I was trying to hustle for my mom and I had to get a DAPR . I was a kid , I was trying to hustle for my mom .

Man , I had pretty much started my I guess ghost kitchen in my house and I had Uber drivers line up from across the street from my block to my house getting the orders out to the customers , because I used to start selling it in my bicycle .

But then I was like I can't , these miles are racking up and the deliveries are going to be late and I'm going to be tired and my bicycle had no brakes . So I was like let's start doing the Uber Eats and having Uber Eats drivers deliver the goodies to my customers and my friends . And it was really good .

And then , you know , once I raised enough money , I was like let me focus on school , because it's time for me to head in my junior and senior to graduate and , you know , get good grades . And luckily I passed .

I passed all my exams , I graduated with a good GPA and I got a scholarship for culinary school , so I believe everything turned out pretty good and it was worth you know hustling . And then back to , like you know , studying and yeah , well , that's one of the craziest stories , honestly .

Like , imagine you going to the bathroom and you seeing a full line of people with their money out ready and they're like what's going on and you know it's crazy with their money out ready and they're like what is going on ?

This is back in the late 80s , early 90s and I got to tell you it was great . You know , my nickname was the jeweler and that's what the kids called me . I used to do nameplates and everything . It was an interesting time . Obviously , I did get caught and it was ugly , you know , but I already created a reputation for myself at that time .

So I really do appreciate that story . I identify with it Undoubtedly . What is your biggest takeaway from getting into the Miami Culinary Institute ? How is that shaping your cooking style ?

Two years ago , when I was 19 , I received a scholarship and I was like , okay , I'm going to learn , take advantage of all these different opportunities that the college , that Miami Dade College , provides me . Two , I'm going to take advantage as well that I have a scholarship . I don't have to pay a single cent .

College school is expensive , college school is super expensive , so I am honored to have that paid for . So why not turn that into a business ? Here's my business mindset . My first week of culinary school I took the time to study my recipes Because you know , you get your recipes , you learn the basics and you practice them right in the school .

What I did was say , okay , let me practice those at home , but add my own twist to it and feed it to my family . I call it a focus group , where I have minimum six people in my house and I serve them three course menus , restaurant style , and pretty much serve it to them and I post it . I take a picture and I add that to my portfolio .

What I did not know I was doing back then is setting me up for the future , for my business , because back then I was not really good at social media , but something told me it's like you should post these videos of you cooking . Let's see what would happen .

Thank God I did , because now , if I didn't post these um projects , these focus groups that I was doing every single week , I would not get these opportunities out and from social media , because social media plays a big role now in general , and this , this , like in general , especially when it comes to being a chef in the industry .

You need to get your name out there and one way is by social media . So what I did was every single two weeks I got a menu . I make it my own , I practice that in the school , I practice that off-site , which is in my house , and I deliver that into the focus group , started out with six people , eight people , 10 , 15 and to 30 people .

And now I'm getting calls from my family members like , hey , we want you to cook Thanksgiving . Hey , I want you to cook , uh , christmas .

I'm like , oh , this is , this is fun , I love it and I practice like that and , honestly , when it comes to the social media access , I started posting these videos and then people are reaching out to me hey , can you private chef for this ? For me this is like oh my god I could do that . Oh my god , this is , this is happening .

Then I receive a call from a casting from colombia and they tell me we want you to be on a ds tv show , everything paid for . At first I thought that was a scam . I told them give me one second , I'm gonna send you my manager's phone number , which is my mother , and I call him . Hey , mom , can you act like my manager ?

So you can , so we can see if this is real or not . And then my mom was like this is real , let's go to colombia . And then the rest is history . Those are the opportunities I've received in the beginning just for just posting my passion . It's all about connecting my passion to that social media actually , and then it will just start to grow .

I didn't know at first I could really do it , but people from social media supported me , supported my vision , supported my passion , supported what I love to do , which is cooking , and all connecting my story , my roots , in that plate . It's phenomenal .

I turned everything that's negative to a positive , like I discussed earlier , and I pretty much turned that moment Into a , a , you know , as a way of trying to build something new and an homage to my father . I told my mom After it happened .

I said hey , mom , I'm going to be in the kitchen , don't talk to me , let me cook something honorable for my father , my late father . And then the Cafecito Brownie was born . Why did I do that ? Because my father , every single morning , used to take me to a cafeteria , a cafe next to my house , with dos croquetas , two croquetas and a Cuban coffee .

And I'm not lying to you , I started drinking Cuban coffee since I was five years old and then , at six , seven years old , I was making my own coffee for my father and for my family at a pretty young age . From that moment , that brownie was super unique .

But it was unique for me because it was a symbol for my late father , because my father loved Cuban coffee . It means it's very special to me . So from that moment it was a good , it was a bestseller .

But I did not know it was going to win two awards for two big festivals here in Miami the number one dessert in that festival , against 40 different chefs and I was the I'm the youngest one , the youngest you know culinary .

I was the only culinary student there and going against these big dogs , big professional chefs here in miami , it was very , very a lot of pressure because I'm the like , the new kid in the block and I won it twice and that pretty much come to show that anybody wants to get in this industry to never give up and to keep going and stick to their passion

because you never know what could happen and always be confident with their dishes . That's what I would always tell students that are first starting off in culinary school hey , be confident with your dish , because that's going to take you far away . I remember back then I used to be not , I was not confident with my dishes .

But now I shifted that into like I'm confident that cafe sito brownie is a symbol , an example to that , and it won two awards and I'm very blessed and now we're trying to , you know , expand the expand the Café Situ Brownies to different places , like different hospitality groups and hotels , and I really want to build that brand , that Café Situ Brownies , because

it's a very unique product . I got to bring you guys some Café Situ Brownies when I get up there .

You probably want to drop something off in the mailbox today .

What makes my brownie different is the brownie is ooey , gooey , nice and fudgy , but just firm enough to pass the brownie , and it's infused with a delicious Cuban coffee Right and on top is topped with a delicious Cuban coffee right and on top we'll top it off with a crema chantilly , cream , crema , chantilly , and then topped with a signature cafecito drizzle ,

which is a delicious cafecito ganache that I made and I trademarked too , because I'm planning on selling sauces , you know , in the future , because I believe that sauce can go on anything Ice cream , waffles , you name it and that's like you could turn anything into a delicious Cato Siso bite and then top it off with some delicious crispy chocolate bites to add that

texture . Wonderland I like to call it , because I believe there's two sides when it comes to cooking or product right , or cooking in general , is the flavor and the texture side . Not that many people talk about the texture side . When I wanted to make a dish , that brownie , I was like let's add everything to it .

It's about the experience , the story , the flavor , the background , and that's why I believe I won those two awards because people connected with that , with my vision that I was trying to put on that plate . Amen , no man wait a minute .

Obviously , I'm the Gen Z and pretty much it was a cooking show where we had to cook against the grandmas , and it's currently on Roku right now streaming for free . And I got flown out to Colombia and it was a great experience . First it was for five days . The altitude in Colombia is ridiculous . I think they knew that .

They wanted to wait , wanted me to wait three days to get used to the altitude , because the first two days I was throwing up , won't lie to you . I didn't want to eat anything . I was like sick because the altitude is crazy . I was like what is going on ? I don't know if I'm gonna win this , this competition , what is going on ?

And then my mom was right there next to me . She was like relax , you got this . I was like , yeah , but my stomach hurts .

Everything there is cheap . I was like this is phenomenal . But I did love it . Everything was great . But then the third day I was feeling good and that's when I got the production and producer and we were ready for you to shoot the , the show .

We got to a vip minivan , we went to a big production studio where they film all these movies and I was like this is the life I want to be in , like this is phenomenal .

This TV life , the movie life , this industry , this is what I want to do , because I love to share my story , my personality in TV and general what I do , because I believe I have that power , that I could do that and I love it . So I got in and keep in mind , this is all Spanish and my Spanish back then was not as good as it is today .

It's a little bit better today , but this is all Spanish . So I was nervous out of the gates , nervous , nervous , nervous . There was a lot of pressure on me because I am an upcoming chef culinary student first year . You have to learn and talk and speak a lot of Spanish to be on that show . I just tried my best . I used Duolingo , right .

I tried my best to really make this work , because I don't believe and I don't want any excuses , I just want to just try my best . This was like a whole production team . It was a big team , very , very blessed . Shout out . I want to just try my best . This was like a whole production team . It was a big team , very , very blessed . Shout out .

I want to give a shout out to monica casting . This is the one that casted me my first ever um , this , my first ever show and she really , you know she's phenomenal . So , boom , I got in there . It was keep in mind , 7 am to 8 pm shoot , so my first time ever , 16-hour shoot . It taught me a lot . It gave me the most pressure ever .

I was literally shaking like legit shaking when I was cutting up those bell peppers to make a sofrito . It was crazy . And because there was a lot of cameras on me . They have bright lights . My first round . There was a lot of cameras on me . They have bright lights . My first round there was two rounds , right . The first one against the three Gen Zs .

I was cooking Mexican food . I made fajitas . I got selected fajitas . I had to get a box and I selected a paper and it said you have to cook fajitas and I love fajitas . I had them in chilies multiple times . I kind of know little bit fajitas are . So what made my fajitas different ?

I made it with chicken and steak and I infused pineapple and deglaze it with brandy . So that's my little yeah , that the sweet and salty gave it that extra kick of flavor . I was like let me flambe this , um pineapple . And then it got a lot of oohs and ahs in the production in the back and they're like wow , this is different .

I like to think I saw the box to be very creative and try to stick to my roots and my caribbean , my latin roots , and I believe I'm kind of strong with that right .

And then boom , I won that first round and my advantage was that the next round everybody has to use a pacifier , but not me , because I'm able to taste my food , because I won the first round .

So everybody in the last five minutes is like all right time to put the pacifier on and everybody couldn't taste their food and I was like , oh , I'm going to take advantage of this . So I served myself a plate and I tasted it and the cameras you'll see in the TV show , the cameras were watching and I was dancing .

I was like , ooh , okay , rico , you know it was funny , you know it was a fun moment . That last round was Cuban food . I'm like , oh , I got this Cuban food . I live in Hialeah . This is Cuba . Like this is literally my I eat . I literally was raised in Cuba technically , but in Hialeah , honestly , I was around Cuban food all the time .

So Hialeah is where I'm actually living . I love Hialeah . It's a great city , the best of the best , the city of progress . Cuban food is always in my area . So I love Cuban food and I got selected Biste La De La Palomia , which is a steak . Yeah , yeah , yeah , that dish is fire Steak dish . Now , I believe it or not .

When I got that dish , I was like super confident but very nervous that I selected the wrong part of the steak A steak . I didn't know I was supposed to pound it out and tenderize it so I can make it tender .

So I , just me being me , I was nervous and I just cooked it , normal , and it was very tough and what I did was I made , I had time , so I again , I got some onions , I deglazed it with some red wine so it could give it that extra kick of flavor , and then I made a salad on the side with a delicious mango dressing .

Then on the plate was rice , which is a moto rice , which is red , black beans , and white rice mixed together with the steak and the caramelized onions with that red wine reduction . Then I made some delicious crispy plantain chips , so it can give that added texture on top , and cilantro sauce .

That dish was good but it was difficult because the judges were making it seem that it was bad . Because those judges were good , they were making me say I was going to lose . I was like , oh my God , and they're like the steak is kind of tough but the flavor is delicious . And then everybody else cooked a different dish from Cuba .

Someone did ropa vieja , some did vaca frita , everybody had some flaws and I was like , oh my God , this is going to be a difficult choice . And then I got on the stage and they announced my name and I was like , oh my god , I was shaking . I I won a belt , a belt with a tranquillita in the middle . Obviously they had it .

Yeah , yeah , and that was actually like the last day of filming the whole show , but I'm on , I'm on second , I'm on the second episode . So , yeah , I won the episode .

I love being on tv , but now I want to be on tv . You know what this is what I want to do . I love being on TV , but now I want to be on TV , you know , with more but like more production , more of a task . And then I got the same call from the same casting . They told me hey , he's having , he's doing , a mini movie . It's very impactful .

We want you to become the behind the scenes chef for the movie , the behind the scenes chef for the movie . And I was like , oh my God , this is what I want . I want to do this . And it was like , yeah , it's going to be 30 days , 30 days straight . It's a science type of like educational learning , but it ties up into a story Pretty much .

I'll give a rundown of the story . First of all , this is called the movie . The mini movie is called La Fuerza de Creer , dulce Sazon Right , and pretty much that story is about . First of all it's a Dominican slash Mexican family and that really ties into my roots from the Dominicans . I'm from the . My parents are from the Dominican Republic .

I was born here , raised in miami , so that story is a phenomenal story .

I love it because it pairs ties really well with me and so that story pretty much is a young lady that her , her family , runs a fast casual restaurant and she wants to go to new york to culinary school and she goes back , comes back and starts to switch the whole restaurant around because she learned from culinary school .

And you see the pro , the progression from how the fast casual restaurant starts to elevate their own menu items and turn into a very successful , fine restaurant that serves better dishes than before . And then the story goes online with the science actually of the different things and the educational purposes . And that's how we won two Emmys .

Obviously it was not me by myself . It was a big production but it was a part of a , a big team and I was , you know , right there into it and that was ridiculous , honestly , 30 days straight cooking . So what I pretty much did was two different jobs .

The first thing was I had to teach the actors how to properly cook and hold the knives and act like you're cooking , because now it's one thing , I could teach you how to cook , but teaching you how to act to cook it's kind of difficult at first but I was like , let me , let me do this . I got this , let's let's do it .

I taught him how to properly cut julienne of pepper , red peppers and some . Actually I was actually in the movie . My hands were in the movie because I had a cut with my fast knife skills , because I love to cut .

That's the first thing I learned how to do at 17 years old learning how to cut like properly , and that's what they do in the opening scenes that I actually used my hands and that was me cutting and stuff . Then other big tasks .

A very important one was me cooking all the food that had to be displayed on screen and that kind of made me like better as my presentation , because it's like I'm trying to make this very , very pretty as possible and as well . It tastes good too .

There was one day I had to make 30 different burgers because they had to shoot them and then throw them away , shoot them and throw them away . And the kitchen that we used it was , you know , the old kitchen . So whatever I cooked there , it was not edible because it was city sanitation and et cetera . That was an experience on its own .

And then every day was a different dish I had to cook and then every two weeks we had to switch to a different location . Then every day was a different dish I had to cook and then every two weeks we had to switch to a different location . So it was a big task . Obviously I got paid for it , thank God .

But it was not about the money , it was all about the experience . At 19 years old doing that . It's an honor , it's a privilege to do that , because they could have chose any other chef , but they chose me .

And I actually , after we did the project , I got invited to do some tv on bits from univision , telemundo and the red carpet . I got invited to their screening , the red carpet . And then this is when everybody's starting to you . You know , I walked in the red carpet . Everybody was like , well , you know who are you ? Oh , I'm the chef that made the food .

I was like , oh , wow . And then , you know , I got some pictures taken and then some interviews . I was like this is what I like to do . Oh my God , look at this . And this is my first time walking in a red carpet and people were taking pictures of me . Oh my god , that was cool . And I got on um on getty images . I think getty , yeah , getting images .

That was my first time . I was like , wow , this is what I want to do , like this is I . I want to be on this , this , this tv , a tv industry . Like I love this . This is great because I love to interact with people and this is all in spanish , by the way . This is all in spanish .

That was like one of the best projects we've done and like , and I'm very blessed to see what was . What's the story next ? Now I really want to transition into a english you know style . I want to , you know , speak more english and get to the network style . Like hopefully one day I get to be on food network and speak and like , be that tv chef .

Like I want to be there up there . Like I feel like I have the energy , I have the power , I have the story , I have the connection , but time will tell .

So every quarter I like to pretty much give back and , with my company , I like to give a certain percentage to the different foundations I work in here in Miami About four to five different foundations and nonprofits .

I give away my time and my food so we can impact and help people in need that needs food , and not just only food , like essentials , like toothpaste , toothbrushes , clothes , different types of things that they can , you know , get through the day and through the week . So , because I believe that you know , I like to give back .

That's one thing I love to do , but I love to really , you know , have someone smile from just eating our food , and we know that the food waste is a lot of food waste , but I'm trying to reduce a little bit and give some back to people that needs it . So that's what I like to do .

So for my foundation , I would like to start in a few years when I have the capital . The foundation name is called Sin Frenos , which is no breaks , because I did not have any breaks on my bicycle when I was giving brownies and selling brownies to my customers and family members with the bike that had no breaks and pretty much it's called no breaks .

It's me donating food to the homeless and to different charities and different nonprofits , and that's kind of what I have an idea for now , but obviously with the years come by they might switch up . But that's what I want to do because I believe that it's important to give back and impact your community , no matter what .

We're really compelled to want to be a part of something like that .

I want to see myself in big TV platforms where I get to really show off my personality and my creativity , my story and how I can connect to people , which is me , with me , my food and my dish Right , and then from there I'll hopefully get to start my own foundations and helping the people and et cetera . Those .

That's what I really want to do and it's just expanding my brand and all in one and that's what I want to do in these next five years .