Kim Floresca Transcript
Kerry Diamond:
Hi, everyone. You are listening to Radio Cherry Bombe. And I'm your host, Kerry Diamond, coming to you from Newsstand Studios at Rockefeller Center in the heart of New York City.
Today's guest is Kim Floresca, Vice President of Culinary and Culture at goop Kitchen, the clean eats concept that is part of Gwyneth Paltrow's goop universe. Goop Kitchen is based in L.A. So, the very first time I tried their food was at Jubilee Los Angeles the other weekend. Goop Kitchen provided lunch for all the Jubilee attendees, and it was so nice to dig into a sexy salad and refuel midday. Now, I know what my L.A. friends have been raving about for years. Thank you so much to the goop Kitchen team for spoiling everyone. Kim's had a fascinating career that's taken her from culinary school to fine dining restaurants like El Bulli in Spain and Per Se here in New York City, to private chefing, to goop Kitchen. Throughout the pivots, she has picked up some unique skills in the kitchen and beyond. And I'm curious what's been transferable from one world to the next and what the world of fine dining has in common with a more casual concept like goop Kitchen, probably more than we realize. Kim joins me from sunny Santa Monica in just a minute to tell us more. Stay tuned for our chat.
Today's show is presented by Square. If you've ever dreamed of opening a restaurant, you know it's not easy. There's the food of course, but also the logistics, the staff, customers, community, and finding ways to keep it all going. Take Yo Tambien Cantina in San Francisco, founded by Kenzie Benesh and Isabella Bertorelli. Kenzie and Isabella didn't go to culinary school. Instead, they had amazing family recipes and a whole lot of heart. What started as a pop-up selling arepas turned into a full-fledged cafe. Then came online pre-orders, a wine club, bottled hot sauce, merch, even socks. Today, they have nine different revenue streams, and every step of the way, Square has helped them bring their ideas to life. From their website and point-of-sale system to staff management and subscriptions, Square keeps it all running smoothly and in one place. Kenzie says it best: Square helped her get some life back. And if you've got a vision like hers and Isabella's, Square is here for your next big idea, too. Go to square.com/big to see how Square can help you.
Today's show is also presented by Ketel One Vodka. I didn't know this, but the family behind Ketel One, the Nolet family of Holland, has been crafting spirits since, are you ready for this, 1691. After 11 generations of distillation expertise, the family is still making sure that every single bottle exceeds their standards. Ketel One Vodka is made with the finest non-GMO ingredients and distilled in hand-fired copper pot stills. In fact, the very first still they ever used is where the name Ketel One comes from. Ketel One Vodka has a smooth, crisp finish, citrus notes, and is made to cocktail. Maybe your cocktail of choice is a Ketel One martini, shaken and stirred, whatever you prefer, or maybe you're more of a cosmo gal and love that sweet, tart taste, not to mention the iconic color we all love. Then, there's the espresso martini, bold and rich, and a festive choice for a night out or in. For all you mixologists out there, pro or otherwise, Ketel One is the perfect vodka for any of your creations. Visit ketelone.com to explore the Ketel One universe, from the world-famous classic vodka that started it all to Ketel One Botanical, which comes in crisp, gorgeous combinations, such as grapefruit and rose, cucumber and mint, and peach and orange blossom. Need a recipe or two? The Ketel One website has classic cocktails, modern takes, and more. Don't forget, you must be 21 to drink, and make sure to always drink responsibly.
A little housekeeping, planning for our Jubilee 2026 conference in New York City is underway. It's taking place on Saturday, April 25th, at the Glasshouse. If you've been to Jubilee in New York before, you know what an incredible day it is: amazing speakers, food and drink, and community. This year's featured Gloria Steinem. Yes, the icon herself. Caroline Chambers, Asma Khan, all the way from London, and 1,000 attendees. Jubilee is one of the biggest gatherings of women in the food and drink space in the U.S., if not the biggest, and we would love to see you there. Visit cherrybombe.com for early bird tickets and more info. If you're an official Bombesquad member or a Substack subscriber, check your inbox for a special discount. If you're new to Jubilee, check out our Instagram feed for a taste of what Jubilee is all about.
Now, let's check in with today's guest. Kim Floresca, welcome back to Radio Cherry Bombe.
Kim Floresca:
Thank you. Excited to see you again.
Kerry Diamond:
It was so nice to see you last weekend at Jubilee. That was such a treat. Again, thank you to you and the team at goop Kitchen for feeding everybody. It was so nice to have something real and substantial and healthy. All right. Let's talk about you. I want to start with how you became a chef. Why did you go to culinary school?
Kim Floresca:
I was 13, and my aunt at the time was living with u,s and she made me the worst meal of my life. I can remember the kind of salt she used, the kind of ingredients she used, and it was just absolutely terrible. And I said, "Why do I have to eat this?" And she wouldn't let me leave the table unless I finished it. And so, I told her, "You're the inspiration of why I want to be a chef and why I want to cook and why I want to make tasty food for people so that nobody has to experience what I had to go through." She doesn't know who she is, because I have several aunts and uncles, but she definitely knows she's my inspiration.
Kerry Diamond:
So, wait, what was 13-year-old Kim like? Were you sassy and rebellious? Were you sitting there like, "I will never go through this again?"
Kim Floresca:
That was my sassy, rebellious stage. No. But I'm a daughter of a military family, and so I was very on time, very regimented, a good kid. My sister was more of the rebellious one.
Kerry Diamond:
You decide you're going to go to culinary school instead of college, or were you deciding between the two?
Kim Floresca:
Yeah. I was originally going to go into the military and decided, "Let me try something else." At the time, that was when the Food Network started to come up. So, Sara Moulton was really taking the helm of the kitchen, and it was women in the kitchen. So, that was my first introduction to what it could be, and then I decided, "Let me try culinary school, let me see if I can do this as a living." And it just took off from there, and I'm so lucky and excited to have gone through the journey I did.
Kerry Diamond:
You went to culinary school in California, right?
Kim Floresca:
I did. But it actually closed on my externship, so I had to finish at a local college. And so, I got all of my training from restaurants, which was even better.
Kerry Diamond:
Tell us more about that, because people would think you went to culinary school, you would get all the training at culinary school.
Kim Floresca:
I will say it's a good foundation. But I think when you have to put it into practice a lot, it's better just to physically do it more, so you could really hone in on your skills and become a little bit more mastery of even just a chef's knife. Because in culinary school, it was very basic, and so you understood a little bit of the vocabulary they were using, but you would never put it into actual practice, where you had more pressure put on you to execute.
Kerry Diamond:
What was going through your head when you were in culinary school? Did you have a sense of the kind of chef you wanted to be one day?
Kim Floresca:
No idea. No idea. Just thought it was fun to cook. I like to give people a little bit of joy, and food was my love language, and I love to give a lot of things. So, whenever I could cook, and I'm also Asian, so it's part of my DNA, just to force-feed everybody. But at the same time, it was just an incredible experience to go through and I wouldn't have changed anything.
But it was great to also get that foundation because when you go into a restaurant, you don't know what things are and you don't know what a brunoise or a julienne is. And so, getting those foundations was really great. Nowadays, I think it's a little bit different and you can really use the internet to give a little bit more structure and understanding of what you really needed.
Kerry Diamond:
Did culinary school convince you that this was the path?
Kim Floresca:
Not at all. I thought I was going to be in a hotel. I was like, "Oh, this is really fun." But I said, "Well, what else is there?" And I didn't really realize restaurants a little bit further in my career. So, it took about four years for me because it's so scary. And at the time, a hotel, you can be in different departments and so it felt like its own little restaurant in there. So, it was nice to make that switch though.
Kerry Diamond:
That's interesting. So, you didn't know fine dining was going to be your thing eventually when you were a student?
Kim Floresca:
No. It wasn't until I went to Chicago and I worked at Tru for Gale Gand and Rick Tramonto that I understood that it was a more theatrical piece and that there was more to it than just cooking, and it was this symbiosis of front of the house and back of the house and how this beautiful dance just came together. But then in this really creative, artistic way and they really showed me a lot more and the extent of giving me a little bit more autonomy to create the amuse-bouche back in the day or something very simple. And then from there, it was like, "Well, what's the next big thing?" And that's what took me to New York.
Kerry Diamond:
We'll be right back with today's guest. This Saturday, don't miss the Great Community Bake Sale set to be New York City's largest and most impactful charity bake sale yet. Hosted by Cherry Bombe cover girl and star baker, Natasha Pickowicz, in collaboration with Care of Chan. The event will bring together over 100 of New York City's best bakers and pastry chefs, plus a few folks from out of state, all under one roof. Sample treats from viral bakeries like From Lucie, Elbow Bakery, Hani's, and Radio Bakery alongside food media personalities whose baked goods you cannot get your hands on, like Sophia Roe, Carla Lalli Music, Hailee Catalano, and our very own Jessie Sheehan, who hosts our baking podcast, She's My Cherry Pie. Buy as many tickets as you like. Each $10 voucher is redeemable for one baked good. Together, up to 20,000 baked goods will be sold all to benefit four local nonprofits: Heart of Dinner, Make the Road New York, One Love Community Fridge, and the Teaching Kitchen at Lenox Hill Neighborhood House. Snag your tickets at Eventbrite. The link is in our show notes.
Have you checked out Cherry Bombe on Substack yet? If not, click the link at our show notes or head to cherrybombe.substack.com and discover what Substack is all about. It's a media platform where you can find all your favorite writers on whatever topics you love, food, fashion, news, et cetera. On Cherry Bombe’s Substack, we've got articles from the recent issue of Cherry Bombe Magazine like our Missy Robbins and Nancy Silverton cover stories, great recipes, events news, our Friday newsletter, and more. You can sign up for free or become a monthly or annual paid subscriber, which gets you special perks like discounts to events, including Jubilee. If you love Cherry Bombe, you'll love our Substack. I subscribe to a lot of Substacks and love the platform. Check it out and send me an email or a DM. I would love to know what you think.
You eventually make it to El Bulli. Do you pronounce it the same way?
Kim Floresca:
El Bulli. The Ls are like long out Ys.
Kerry Diamond:
Bulli. Okay. Now, we know the correct way, folks. It was a legendary restaurant. Tell us about it for folks who've never heard of El Bulli.
Kim Floresca:
It was the number one-rated restaurant in the world for several years. And the way that they thought about how creativity could actually be executed in a restaurant was unreal. Six months out of a year, they would just shut down, travel, eat, and do a lot of R&D. And then the six months they would be open and they would be packed. And you only did 55 covers a night. So, it wasn't a huge service, and we would go out and get pails of seawater and cook our lobsters in there and then take all the lobster shells and dump it back into the ocean.
I mean it was really at our doorstep, such an incredible experience. It made me think of food in such a different way, and it just made me think that the creativity of food can be handled in a different way when you think a little bit differently. As a chef, you're always taught this very classical French idea, and here these Spaniards are doing such progressive food that even when they bring a bowl and they pour soup table sides so it doesn't splash around the bowl. As simple as an idea as that, that's something that he brought to the culinary scene. And it's not something you would've ever thought of.
All of these scientific ideas of what they did for food, they did a different approach, and I love that and I love that people would think of food differently in the sense of it can be textural, it can be a sound bite, it could be a feeling, it could be an aroma. So, it was opening these senses more than just your palate, which I thought was really creative. It was a massive team. I was one of the only female chefs as a CDC on staff, and so it was a really incredible time for me, even speaking a different language. I didn't know too much Spanish. But through this program, they were able to give us a little bit more of an education.
And so, being in Spain, just being in the surrounding, I mean, my gosh, everybody should travel because that's really where you get a huge foundation of understanding language through food, and that's what I loved the most about it.
Kerry Diamond:
How long were you there?
Kim Floresca:
I was there in Spain for three years, two years at Mugaritz, which was the number of four restaurant at the time in the northern part of Spain, and then a year at El Bulli.
Kerry Diamond:
They did a lot of molecular gastronomy?
Kim Floresca:
Yeah. They were the pioneers for that.
Kerry Diamond:
Was that what dominated the menu?
Kim Floresca:
I would say yes in a way, but there was nothing that I knew when I got there. I didn't know anything when it came to food. I knew how to heat up stuff, and that was about it. But even the way that they heated things up, it was just a completely different idea on how you did it.
Kerry Diamond:
Wait, tell us a little bit more about that, because we have a lot of chefs and home chefs who listen.
Kim Floresca:
I mean, we would make these bean dumplings, and it was using the cooking liquid from the beans. You didn't actually use the bean itself that was used for a different part of it. You would have to poach them very gently, but you couldn't heat it past body temperature, but it had to be heated through. And so, your production level just went out the roof because it would pop and they would burst and it was so delicate that you couldn't even take them out of a pot to heat. And they didn't use pots.
They actually used these really large saute pans, so you had to have them all portioned out perfectly and it was just a really unique way of thinking about food. Nothing was hot, hot like we Americans love, or cold, cold. Everything was a very different temperature and texture depending on what the dish was, which I thought was really incredible.
Kerry Diamond:
Wow. I still can't get past getting the water from the ocean for the lobsters.
Kim Floresca:
Oh, me either.
Kerry Diamond:
I love that because every time a chef says it should be as salty as the ocean, I feel like you all were like, "Let's just get it straight from the ocean."
Kim Floresca:
Yeah. Never had to season it, because it was already seasoned. The water was so clear and clean and beautiful. We'd go get algae from the coast. We would go and take all of the shells and just dump them back in to have that cycle of life. It was a really incredible time.
Kerry Diamond:
Wow. I mean, I know the restaurant shut down eventually, but why did you leave?
Kim Floresca:
The season was over, and I wanted to get back into just taking a little bit of time off, so to speak, from the actual day-to-day life. But I came back because there was a great opportunity at the restaurant at Meadowood, and I was very excited to jump on it and it was just a really great time there. It had two Michelin stars at that time, and I wanted to do something a little bit more creative. And Christopher Kostow was doing something really unimaginable in the Napa area. So, it was an opportunity I couldn't just pass.
Kerry Diamond:
I never had the pleasure of visiting the restaurant at Meadowood. Tell us about it.
Kim Floresca:
It was just so surreal being in the Napa area. I mean, we would go and harvest at 4:30 in the morning, the vegetables and herbs for the day, and then we'd go into the kitchen and we would prep all of that. And it was another sous chef and myself at the time, and then we got our third Michelin star. He put a year into it, and overnight, it just shifted. So, it was incredible. It was great. It was fun to be a part of that energy when that happened. And the food there was just so delicious and so creative and using spices and seasonings that I wasn't accustomed to because being in Spain, it was just a different mindset.
And taking three years off in a palette of a culture where you're normally used to using a lot of salt and acid to a culture that doesn't use a lot of that was a really great shift. So, it helped me reset my palette a little bit more. But it was just a magical time and I learned so much from him. We got our third Michelin star and immediately it changed overnight, we sold out, we couldn't keep up, and so we closed the restaurant down and rebuilt it and it was just this beautiful magical space and everything that we had all hoped for with really great flooring so that your feet wouldn't get tired at the end of the day to create a way to set up a hotline, which a lot of people don't even think about.
So, Christopher was a great pioneer in redeveloping that kitchen. And then sadly it burned down and it was just very tragic and I hope it does come back, because it was such a special place.
Kerry Diamond:
Yeah. That was a tragedy. It was the Glass incident fire in 2020 when it burned down. And I know so many people in the industry were just devastated and heartbroken for Chris and the team. All right. So, you go to North Carolina to work there for a little while. Then you also went and became a private chef, eventually. Why'd you duck into the private chef world?
Kim Floresca:
I got tired of restaurants. I got burnt out. It was a lot of hours, a lot of days. I just didn't like who I was and I said, "Let me take some time off. Let me do a little bit of soul-searching." I think everybody needs to do a little bit of that. And went into being a private chef and that was definitely a learning experience. So, I cooked for a family in San Francisco and they were kosher, never cooked kosher in my life and learned a lot of new things. I feel like I'm Jewish in my stomach and in my heart now. So, hopefully for Rosh Hashanah, I was able to make some challah bread for people. It was a learning experience.
I would say it's almost as hard as doing a restaurant because you never knew what was coming at you and you always had to be on your toes. You always had to have stock for anything. You always had to have pars for any random lunches that came in. And so, it was a really difficult position, but it was very fulfilling because the family was great. They ended up moving to Florida in COVID and I said, "Florida's not my scene." And then surprisingly, I got this call to come to goop Kitchen and I said, "Gwyneth Paltrow, goop Kitchen, clean food. I don't know what that really means, but sure. Let me try it out."
Kerry Diamond:
Before we go to the goop Kitchen chapters of your life, the private chef thing though, you must laugh so hard at how trendy private chefing became during the pandemic.
Kim Floresca:
Yeah. I mean, I think everybody wanted to be a private chef at that time. But it was not easy and especially you couldn't go to the grocery stores and get everything you needed. You had to be very resourceful at that time.
Kerry Diamond:
And you weren't about to turn the iPhone on yourself and start recording all your moments as a private chef?
Kim Floresca:
No, not at all.
Kerry Diamond:
I'm always amazed because I know a lot of private chefs, and they have to sign so many NDAs. So, I'm amazed at the folks who put all that private chef content on TikTok and Instagram. I'm like, "Wow, you must have a really chill client."
Kim Floresca:
To this day, there's someone in my company who thinks that they know, but I will never say who they are.
Kerry Diamond:
You're not going to announce it here on Radio Cherry Bombe? No.
Kim Floresca:
Sadly, no.
Kerry Diamond:
All right. We won't even try. We won't even try. A lot of folks also ask about private chefing. They're always like, "Do you know a private chef? How can I become a private chef?" But there are agencies that place private chefs. Is that how you did it?
Kim Floresca:
Yes. I went through an agency because I didn't really know what was going on. I didn't know that world. It was a great way to go through. I think if you're going through a higher-level agency versus a connection from a friend, because I think it was a little bit more structured in the way that it was set up, which I absolutely loved. And I think you just form a good bond so that if you ever find yourself in that position again, at least there's a door that you can open.
Kerry Diamond:
All right. So, this call comes from out of the blue, right?
Kim Floresca:
Yes.
Kerry Diamond:
That's amazing. How did they find you?
Kim Floresca:
Okay. So, maybe it's not out of the blue completely, but I got a call out of the blue to work for another company, and when I was looking at it, I said, "Absolutely not. That's not me." It was more hippie, healthy, grainy food, which is funny because I'm doing that now.
Kerry Diamond:
You don't give hippie vibes at all.
Kim Floresca:
Well, thanks. But it was something that I said no to. And then this person came back to me, his name's Donald Moore, really great friend, really great mentor to me. And he said, "Hey, we're thinking about doing this partnership with Gwyneth Paltrow. Is this something you want to do?" And I said, "Well, I'm not really a celebrity chaser, and I'm kind of exhausted from the celebrity status."
Kerry Diamond:
Wait. Can you go back? You're not really a celebrity ...
Kim Floresca:
Like a chaser. It's not somebody that I am always like, "I really want to work with anybody that's in that status." Because I know it's a bit ...
Kerry Diamond:
Those people exist. We know lots of people like that. Yes.
Kim Floresca:
So, I actually got to speak with her on my interview, and I actually really liked her. And I liked her energy, and I liked how real she was. And she was calling me from her kitchen and you could see the family walking back and it wasn't very staged. And I love the fact that she just let me in her home, COVID at the time, something that I really loved our conversation. And she said, "I just want to do better food, and I want to do it for delivery, and no one's doing it, and no one's going to believe that we're doing this. Do you want to take a shot?" And I said, "Yeah. Let's do it."
So, for the first year I was here, I was living in Airbnbs and just trying to get a feel for L.A. I was born here, but not from here. I feel like I am now for being here for five years. But it was something that during COVID, there was no traffic. You didn't know the neighborhoods. It's so spread out here that it was a really incredible time to get to know the city a little bit more. But at the same time, we were creating this space in a ghost kitchen, which I'd never heard of before. And the menu started developing, and the team started to come together, and just everything started to hit, and it was so incredible and passionate on how this team came to be that I couldn't find myself in any other place.
And so, we started doing more food and we started creating more things. And as the menu started to develop, we started coming closer to our opening time. It was just this magical symbiosis of everybody coming together for this one powerful thing, which is great food, it's clean, it's gluten-free, there's no sugars, which is very difficult to do for pastries and things like that, but it was just beautiful.
The idea of it was to change the space of to-go food. You're thinking it's just like a slop bowl, or it's just going to be salads that are boring. There's no texture. There's no flavor. So, that was the excitement I think for me to help develop these recipes to say, "Let's make this kale salad something interesting. We want texture, we want great vinegar, we want better olive oil, let's challenge what's out there, and let's just find a better way to do everything.
Kerry Diamond:
I'm so fascinated because you came from this very, very different world. They never used the term clean. They used whatever ingredients were flux and sexy and hard to get. And now, you're doing a completely different food made in ghost kitchens. Like you talked about, you'd worked in some of the most incredible kitchens in the world. Truly. What was going through your head? Were you thinking these are all skills that I can transfer from the world of fine dining to this world of ... It is fast casual, and it is for delivery. On paper, they couldn't be more different. But I'm guessing in practice, they might be more similar than we think.
Kim Floresca:
They are. They're actually very similar. And I think the way that you think about food, whether it'd be a very specific foie gras that you're going after, we're looking at that view for organic chicken, and what is the sourcing policies behind that? So, it's coming at it from a different angle, but in the same light of this is still creativity and really capturing the essence of what good food should be like and challenging how to push yourself better, how to make the team better, how to make the business better? And then encapsulating all of that into this digital space, which is something that we've never experienced before.
And this sense of hospitality comes from us digitally. But how do you get to that person who has no server at their table, and we forgot a cookie? How do we build that and just challenge what is out there, because usually you'll go to Uber Eats or DoorDash and you'll say, "Oh, I forgot my cookie." But at the same time, they'll maybe refund you, maybe they won't. They don't care.
There's empathy and there's people behind it. There's actual people, not bots, not any other AI usage program, but there's actual people with empathy to listen to you. And if you need a meltdown and you have had a really bad salad, we're here for you. We'll want to listen to that. Please give us your feedback. You can tell us how to be better.
Kerry Diamond:
What did you immerse yourself in culinarily to prepare yourself for this new world and the food that you would be making, and that you thought this audience would like and want?
Kim Floresca:
Yeah. So, I think really understanding the no sugar, for instance. We're making a teriyaki bowl where teriyaki sauce is 90% sugar, white sugar. How do we make that delicious? How do we make that as close to the original luxurious thing that everybody loves? And how do we make it so that we know that what we're selling is going to be a great product for everybody?
Kerry Diamond:
You're using natural sugars, though, right?
Kim Floresca:
There's only three approved sweeteners that we can use: honey, maple syrup, coconut sugar, and that's it. And for pastries, that's a really difficult task, but we like the challenge. But a lot of it is really how do you make a teriyaki bowl delicious? How do you make that better for you, clean? And clean, meaning there's no processed sugars, there's no gluten. So, we had to find a gluten-free tamari. That's actually harder than you think. And then be able to scale that.
And we're working with smaller purveyors that can only make X amount of batch. They can only make a little bit. So, how do we help them grow, too? And how do we help get them into a little bit more of the restaurant scene and share that knowledge with other people. Because it's such a small world, but there's so much of it to go around. And I think that really is true and valid that chefs that hone their own recipes and don't want to share it. Yeah. I can understand that. But at the same time, we're all just trying to exist and we should exist together.
Kerry Diamond:
So, how did you finally crack the code on the teriyaki?
Kim Floresca:
Oh, my God. That thing went through probably like 60 iterations. Not enough garlic, the wrong ginger, the wrong tamari. The viscosity is wrong. We don't use corn, so cornstarch is usually a thickener in teriyaki sauce. So, we had to find a different source for that. But it was just constantly tasting and resetting your palate and eating it. Is this something you want to eat every day? And we got to a point where we said, "Yeah. This is great." But we're still working on it to this day, so it's not fully finished and it'll never be fully finished.
Kerry Diamond:
Sounds like a real chef. What has been the biggest challenge for you?
Kim Floresca:
Gluten-free baking, I think, is a really great challenge, whether it be in breads or desserts or even our pastas, are a really tough one. It's a great challenge for us because we taste every gluten-free. Anything that we can get our hands on out there and say, "Okay. How do we make this better? How do we challenge ourselves to get this to our kitchens and get it to our guests?" Because actually, the hardest part is the 40-minute delivery.
So, a lot of people don't realize this, but the time your food is made to the time it's picked up by your driver to the time it's actually dropped off, it's about a 40-minute window. So, we don't ever actually eat our food right away. We actually wait because we want to see what their experience is like. And a lot of that is we'll take it home and we'll eat it, and you won't know that until the next day when you're recording information and you're sharing this with the team and myself and Chef Brent Parrino who do a lot of the R&D, this is something that we are always tasking ourselves with. Gluten-free pizza is something that we do, which I know New Yorkers ...
Kerry Diamond:
Yeah. We have to talk about that pizza in a minute. But the delivery thing cracks me up because fine dining chefs, they want to pretend that things like delivery and takeout do not exist. That food is meant to be consumed there in the most special way possible, even how that plate is going to be set down in front of the diner, the guest. So, how much of an adjustment was that for you?
Kim Floresca:
It was probably one of the biggest learning curves. You get mad at yourself because you're like, "The food's not hot enough." To your point, it doesn't show up because a driver's swinging a bag around or soup leaks in a container. But that's the greatest part about it, is that you're in a situation of nothing but problems and you're the best problem-solver for that position. And so, we hire the best problem-solvers for each position within our company to challenge how do we get this better and how do we make this something that we can continue to scale and grow?
And I think cracking that code is not something a lot of people are willing to put their time and effort into, but it's something that we're very passionate about.
Kerry Diamond:
goop Kitchen is in and around Los Angeles. You've got 10 locations now. And I think the most recent was Pasadena?
Kim Floresca:
That's right.
Kerry Diamond:
Are you going to come to New York? I know everyone asks you that.
Kim Floresca:
We are going to San Francisco first. So, we're going to be opening our Sunnyvale, San Jose, and SoMa locations, so we're very excited.
Kerry Diamond:
Sunnyvale, I used to work up there for Yahoo.
Kim Floresca:
Oh, really?
Kerry Diamond:
Lucky them. Yep.
Kim Floresca:
Come back over this way and we'll make it for you. So, we're going to be doing that. And then, yeah, New York, we're on our way.
Kerry Diamond:
Pick like three best-selling items. What are some of the things folks love?
Kim Floresca:
So, it's our teriyaki chicken bowl.
Kerry Diamond:
Teriyaki.
Kim Floresca:
I love it with tofu. You've got to try the tofu. I know tofu has a bad rap, but this is the best tofu you'll ever have in your life, I promise you. And then our Chinese chicken salad, which is our best-selling salad. It's a classic carrot-ginger dressing is so good. I love to just eat that every once in a while. And then our pepperoni pots, because Pepper Potts was a big thing on Marvel. So, it's one of our top-selling pizzas. It's a pepperoni cheese pizza with really good cheese and basil baked into our thin-crust pizza and crispy on the bottom.
Kerry Diamond:
Yum.
Kim Floresca:
And it's even better cold and reheated or reheated the next day, but it's one of our favorite, I think, items on the menu.
Kerry Diamond:
And folks might not realize, Gwyneth played the character Pepper in those movies. So, that's a cute little nod to that. Wait, the new fall pizza though, sounds so good. I was writing these questions for you last night and I hadn't eaten dinner and I was like, "Oh, my God. I wish they could deliver this to me right now. It was like thinly shaved delicata squash. Who doesn't love delicata squash? Herbed white sauce, a trio of cheeses, fontina, mozzarella, and parmesan. Finished with local desert honey, sea salt, and a touch of heat.
Kim Floresca:
Yeah.
Kerry Diamond:
Oh, my gosh.
Kim Floresca:
A little bit of chili flake on there. Sweet, salty, who doesn't love that?
Kerry Diamond:
Who doesn't love that? I hope it's a hit, because it sounds amazing.
Kim Floresca:
It is. It's doing really, really well.
Kerry Diamond:
I also saw something called Chef Kim's Magic Mineral Broth. What's that all about?
Kim Floresca:
I was vegan for five years and actually went vegetarian for about the past four years. We were thinking about doing bone broth is such a great thing, but what else can we do that's a little bit more vegetarian-friendly for all of our guests that are? And we came up with this really great, it's got a lot of algae, a lot of seaweed, a little bit of chickpea miso in there and a lot of mushrooms to really give you this very uplifting, delicious mineral-based broth that you can sip and it's so good.
When we were doing the testing, I would give it out as samples to everybody and they would drink it like a cup of coffee in the morning. And so, it was something that was really eye-opening that people drink broths in the morning, people drink bone broth. And I know Springbone in New York has a great breakfast bone broth that they do. And it was something that was revolutionary for us. And so, we wanted to continue on that journey of wellness and how food can be really beneficial for you.
I drank it for one month straight every single day just to understand, does it make me feel any better? How do I feel after drinking it? Do I feel as satiated for the day? And so, I replaced it with a cup of coffee. And I'm not saying that it did magical wonders for me, but ...
Kerry Diamond:
You kind of are. All right. For those of us who are not in Los Angeles, asking for a friend, how do we get the recipe for that?
Kim Floresca:
Oh, maybe there's a recipe coming your way.
Kerry Diamond:
Okay. What does that mean?
Kim Floresca:
Maybe we'll write a recipe for everybody to buy it.
Kerry Diamond:
Oh, great. Oh, my God. I would love that. I would love that. And speaking of that, so many of us love Gwyneth's cookbooks. Is there going to be a goop Kitchen cookbook?
Kim Floresca:
It is something that we're thinking about, and it's definitely on our list.
Kerry Diamond:
Okay. I feel like that would be such a hit. And speaking of Gwyneth, I'm sure everybody asks you this, but how involved is she in goop Kitchen?
Kim Floresca:
Oh, she's very involved. I mean, she does everything from the philosophy to the brand to our tastings we do quarterly, and just kind of food philosophy on "Are we going too far out there? What are you eating out there that's really interesting that you want to see on the menu?" And so, we take all of these ideas, and she's such a great cook. I don't know if you've seen her Boyfriend Breakfast series. But she's such a great cook, and she's relentless when it comes to really just getting good food out there.
So, she really helps us think about new food concepts and then we'll also approach ... It's a great relationship. We'll approach her with new food and say, "Hey. This is something that we've been thinking of. How do you feel?"
Kerry Diamond:
Tell us where you eat off duty. You're in Los Angeles, you've got all those killer farmers' markets that I love so much.
Kim Floresca:
Honestly, I love cooking at home, but I also love supporting friends and restaurants that are opening. My friend Pasjoli just opened. Dave Beran just opened his restaurant or reopened it here in Santa Monica, which is really great. And I just love going out to see what's new. We went to Darling the other night, by Sean Brock, which is really fun.
Kerry Diamond:
Oh, yeah. I didn't know Sean had moved to L.A. That's so interesting.
Kim Floresca:
Yeah. So, yeah, it was a really fun time. Got to catch up with him, because we had some North Carolina roots and he was DJing at the booth, which is funny. Bianco Pizza, anything to make the business better, I'm always about. I can't turn that part off on the brain. If there's a new ingredient they have or something I can bring to the restaurant, get inspiration from, always down. We're always ordering to go, so I'm tired of the takeout from me. But it's something that we're always looking at because we want to see is somebody doing something better that we are, and if so, can we learn from that? Or if not, what can we learn from that?
Kerry Diamond:
Yeah. R&D, baby. Even though we were so busy in L.A. the other week, I had an extra suitcase, because I had to bring all this stuff for the Jubilee conference, and I was like, "I love nothing more than an empty suitcase in L.A., because I can pack it with produce." So, I went to the Santa Monica farmers' market and I brought back all the dates, the walnuts I brought back pomegranates, avocados, grapefruits. I'm just so jealous of everybody out there who gets to hit the farmers' market.
Kim Floresca:
There's these mangoes, I have to tell you really fast, from Wong Family Farms, that's only available maybe six weeks out of the year. They're like $10 a mango, which sounds ridiculous and very L.A. But Kerry, it is the best mango you'll ever have in your entire life.
Kerry Diamond:
Wait, when's mango season? I need to get my hands on those.
Kim Floresca:
I think it's late May, early June, or something around there.
Kerry Diamond:
Okay. Okay. I'm going to mark my calendar. We've got the holidays coming up. Does goop Kitchen do anything special for holidays? Can I order my Thanksgiving turkey from you guys?
Kim Floresca:
So, not a turkey, but we do have a rotisserie menu that does herb-roasted salmon and rotisserie chickens, but we also have a ton of fun sides. So, there's these mashed potatoes that aren't as heavy as a traditional mashed potato, and we actually use cauliflower puree to help lighten it a little bit. But we have some really delicious fun sides like our roasted butternut squash and some other things. If you want to add that to your menu, we're more than happy to have that sent over to you. So, it is something that you can create yourself without all of the fuss and the cleanup is super easy. All you have to do is reheat it. But we have large salads that also are great as a ...
Kerry Diamond:
Yes. Don't forget your salad on Thanksgiving, people. That's essential.
Kim Floresca:
That's right. That's right.
Kerry Diamond:
Exactly.
Kim Floresca:
In some places, we do catering so you can bring a larger salad to a dinner if you didn't want to do all of the work.
Kerry Diamond:
You know what side I want for Thanksgiving? The delicata squash pizza. That would be the first thing to go. Oh, that would be such a good appetizer for Thanksgiving. All right. I might have to rip you guys off, but you're not here yet. So, I have no choice but to make it myself. Okay.
Kim Floresca:
All yours.
Kerry Diamond:
Tell me a few things that you've learned and that you utilize in the goop Kitchen kitchen that we can use at home. I'm sure you've learned some great tricks, and I know you love meal prep. I've listened to a bunch of interviews with you and you talk about doing meal prep on your own at home. What can we put into practice?
Kim Floresca:
Really understanding dressings, I think, was something unreal for me. Just getting really good carrots to make a carrot-ginger dressing and going that extra mile to find great vinegars and mustards, and whatever those bases may be. I think people underestimate dressings a lot, and they're more focused on the salads and don't forget texture. Texture is the best part of your salad.
Kerry Diamond:
You're such a texture girl. You bring that up in every interview.
Kim Floresca:
Love it. I know. And I just can't stop because it's like these really beautiful bursty pomegranates can add such levity and it doesn't give you palate fatigue. And when you consistently eat a salad every day, all day like I do, you want those palate cleansers to give you a little bit of momentum for it versus a kale salad that just is the same all the way through. But also think about layering those textures, whether it be crunchy, salty, sweet, sour. All of those components when done in a balanced way can make or break a salad, I think.
Kerry Diamond:
What are these frozen herb cubes that you use, or frozen herb paste? What are those?
Kim Floresca:
Yeah. So, if I make an herb dressing or herb marinade or pesto, I'll freeze them in ice cubes and then I'll bag them in the freezer. And then when I come home, if I need to do a quick pasta, I have those and I can just pop it in really fast, add a little pasta water and call it a day. And it gives such a burst of flavor that is really fun, but also vibrant and I don't have to go to the store to buy it, because I made it.
Kerry Diamond:
And they freeze well?
Kim Floresca:
So, freezer so well. Yeah.
Kerry Diamond:
Okay.
Kim Floresca:
Color's vibrant, everything's great. Just make sure you keep it in a Ziploc bag or something like that.
Kerry Diamond:
Do you have a motto or a mantra?
Kim Floresca:
It's so funny because I've been thinking about this all day, every day and it's just, if you eat well and you cook well, you feel well. And it's so simple, but it's really true because I think food is such power and it helps bring a community together and it also gives you the love language that you need at a table, even if you don't speak the same language. I don't know. It embodies a lot of who I am as a person, but also how I want to treat everybody else. My love language is food, so if I love you, I'll cook for you. If I don't, order takeout. I'm just joking.
Kerry Diamond:
Call goop Kitchen. All right. Let's do a little speed round. Then, we're going to sadly say goodbye. What beverage do you start the day with? I know you mentioned your ...
Kim Floresca:
Bone broth.
Kerry Diamond:
Bone broth. Okay.
Kim Floresca:
Mineral broth now. Bone broth for a little while.
Kerry Diamond:
All right. No coffee in the morning?
Kim Floresca:
Coffee is actually the second beverage. Well, it's actually the third after water.
Kerry Diamond:
Favorite cookbook of yours?
Kim Floresca:
Jeremy Fox's “On Vegetables” cookbook.
Kerry Diamond:
What's always in your fridge?
Kim Floresca:
Pickles.
Kerry Diamond:
Homemade?
Kim Floresca:
Any kind of pickles. Surprisingly, no. I like to taste a variety of pickles, so I have too many jars of pickles in my own.
Kerry Diamond:
Most used kitchen tool or implement.
Kim Floresca:
Serrated paring knife. Always my go-to.
Kerry Diamond:
Why serrated?
Kim Floresca:
It's so quick. You don't have to worry about sharpening it. If you need to cut cherry tomatoes, it's great. If you want to cut a little slice of cake, does the job. It's so universal.
Kerry Diamond:
Okay. I need a bread knife, but now I'm going to add a serrated paring knife to my list.
Kim Floresca:
Serrated paring knife, it's only like 10 bucks.
Kerry Diamond:
Okay. Favorite snack food.
Kim Floresca:
Pickles.
Kerry Diamond:
Back to pickles. Favorite food as a child.
Kim Floresca:
Mashed potatoes and gravy.
Kerry Diamond:
Favorite food smell.
Kim Floresca:
Coffee. I do love the smell of a good coffee or baked bread.
Kerry Diamond:
Me too. Coffee smells great. What are you streaming right now?
Kim Floresca:
Well, what is it? “Black Rabbit.” I haven't started it yet, but I really want to watch it.
Kerry Diamond:
Yeah. I can't get into it. I started it, but I cannot get into it, and I don't know if it's a part of food world history that I would like to forget that it's based on. But I don't know. Start watching it and tell me what you think.
Kim Floresca:
I had it on last night, but the Dodgers game was on so it took precedence, so sorry about that.
Kerry Diamond:
You know what's super cute that I stopped watching “Black Rabbit” and I started watching “Bon Appétit, Your Majesty.” It's super cute.
Kim Floresca:
Oh. Okay. I'll add to my list.
Kerry Diamond:
It's a Korean rom-com, but I called it a nom rom-com.
Kim Floresca:
A nom-com?
Kerry Diamond:
Yeah. Nom-com. Anyway, watch it and you'll know what I'm talking about. Okay. Favorite food film?
Kim Floresca:
Oh, “The Menu.” I laughed the way ...
Kerry Diamond:
I was traumatized by that movie.
Kim Floresca:
I think if you're in it though, it can be very traumatic. But if you're in it, there's so many things that are just a nod to like, "Yeah. That's true. That happened," or "Yeah. I know what part of my life that part was."
Kerry Diamond:
What's on your travel bucket list?
Kim Floresca:
Japan. I really want to go to Japan. I'm going to Italy for the first time, which is crazy in January, so I'm very excited about that.
Kerry Diamond:
Are you going to the Olympics?
Kim Floresca:
No. I wish. I'm going to Bologna. There's a little chef's forum out there and then I'm going to do a little bit of touring around there.
Kerry Diamond:
Very cool. You'll love it. Okay. Last question. If you had to be trapped on a desert island with one food celebrity, who would it be and why?
Kim Floresca:
God. Can Kerry Diamond come?
Kerry Diamond:
Stop. No. You don't want to be trapped on a desert island with me. Why would you want to be trapped on a desert island with me?
Kim Floresca:
I do. I think it'd be fun. Because we would find a way to get out of there, and we would just laugh about every single thing.
Kerry Diamond:
We would laugh, but you would do all the work and all the cooking.
Kim Floresca:
But you'd find us a way to get connected to the world, so that's okay. I'm around with that. Food celebrity, I think I would love to hang out with Jacques Pépin. I feel like that guy could figure out how to build a boat with a paring knife. But also, I don't know, find a way to milk something to make butter. It's so strange because that guy is so universal in what he does that he is just such a technician and probably forgot more than he remembers. And I think when he goes through the motions of it all, I think it'd be really fun to watch him just chisel down a palm tree to make a boat with a paring knife.
Kerry Diamond:
But also, just how special to sit and spend time with him, right?
Kim Floresca:
Yeah. I have so many questions for him.
Kerry Diamond:
That would be incredible. Well, Kim, I still have so many questions for you, but we have to wrap this up. You are amazing. I loved catching up with you. So happy you've got this cool gig, and I can just see in your face how happy you are right now.
Kim Floresca:
Thank you.
Kerry Diamond:
Yeah.
Kim Floresca:
The best non-job job I've ever had.
Kerry Diamond:
That's great. And thank you again for Jubilee. Oh, my gosh. Jubilee was so special, and I'm really happy you and goop Kitchen could be part of it.
Kim Floresca:
Thank you, Kerry.
Kerry Diamond:
That's it for today's show. Thank you so much to Kim Floresca. Our theme song is by the band Tralala. Joseph Hazan is a studio engineer at Newsstand Studios. Our producers are Cathrine Baker and Jenna Sadhu. Our editorial assistant is Bridgid Pittman, and our head of partnerships is Rachel Close. Thanks for listening, everybody. You are the Bombe.