Chef Denisse Ollier tells her story and shows off her latest recipe

Interview with Denisse Ollier

Skills, Ability and Knowledge

Chef, Entrepreneur, TV Personality and Latin Community Leader

www.Denisseoller.com

By Jessie Riley

(Note: Read through to the bottom for a special recipe from Chef Ollier)

Jessie:  Hi Denisse, I know I’ve known you a very long time from fundraiser events, and then we reconnected at ICE a few years ago.  How did you wind up at ICE, for the culinary and management programs?  

Denisse:  I always loved good food.  As a child, I would spend hours watching and helping Grandma Juana as she created magic in her small, but wondrous kitchen in San Juan, Puerto Rico.  My mother, however, pushed me away from the kitchen. She wanted me to be a career woman, which I became.

As luck would have it, I chose to be an international correspondent, traveling and tasting foods from all over, which, once I got home, I had the urge to recreate.  One cookbook after another led to a pile of recipes, and how to and a need to know more.  In 2005, I enrolled in the Professional Culinary Arts program at ICE…   Life would never be the same. I became hooked, obsessed with learning more.  And I wanted to explore the possibility of having my own restaurant---thus, I also took the Management course.

 Jessie:  Was settling into kitchen life a difficult transition for a TV anchor?

Denisse:  I did both courses at ICE while still a senior female anchor at Univision NY and while doing an externship at Le Bernardin,  and having a weekly morning segment called Riquisimo con Denisse.  It was brutal. Really crazy!!!!

Leaving my TV job was liberating, but at the same time I lost the routine, the stability, the rhythm of a 9-5, well, in this case 2:30-11:30 pm job. I lost the daily feedback of our audience and the working routine with my colleagues.  Most of all, I missed covering breaking news.

In turn, I gained my freedom…  My creative freedom, my freedom from living by a set of rules that tied me down with a lists of do’s and mostly don’ts that extended to my off time.  After more than 20 years of being in a business that rewarded loyalty and discouraged self-expression and creativity, I was ready to see what else was out there.

It was not an easy transition---there were lots of adjustments to be made- but, for the first time, I was able to run my life—to experiment- to see what works and doesn’t work and where I can go with my skills, abilities and knowledge.

Jessie:  I know you issue periodic online newsletters, with beautiful food photography.  How long have you had your marketing newsletter?  How do you find it helpful?  Do you also do Facebook, Twitter, etc.  How do you think most of your fans keep up with you? And do you have a publicist -- or are you your own?

Denisse:  I have had the monthly letter on and off since 2008. I stopped writing for a while because of  health issues.  Now I send my monthly newsletter regularly, plus I am very active on Facebook and Twitter.  I do not have a publicist.

Jessie:  I saw online that you are also selling a line of cook wear.   How did you develop your line of pans -- was it your idea or Fagor's?  How long did it take to develop and what was the process?  Are you planning to sell more kitchen ware type products?  Do you have to travel around and/or do promotions for them? Provide recipes that people can use?  

Denisse:  Fagor is a worldwide leader in cookware. They approached me almost two years ago to develop a line of cookware that was both affordable and of excellent quality.  We even checked the Pantone color wheel to match the exact color that I wanted.  It was a very creative process, stressful at times, but ultimately satisfying. Yes, I do travel to promote my line and my e-store is part of my official website so people have access to my recipes.   www.Denisseoller.com

Jessie:  A while back we were talking about you developing on a line of cookies, and looking for a producer, what happened to that project?  

Denisse:  I started Boca Dulce, my line of delicious cookies with Latin flavors, on September 2008, a week before the financial collapse. It only goes to show that timing is everything. I was able to hang in there and actually, sell my cookies for the next six months. Thanks in part to promotional efforts of my own and to my good chef friends. In the end, I didn’t have the infrastructure to fully establish myself. I had to fold the business. I learned a lot, especially the importance of planning every step. 

Jessie:   When you do your TV demos, like your weekly Hispanic cooking and nutrition segment for the AARP, who decides what you will cover?  You and producers?  Any words of advice to another entrepreneur who might have a TV gig that would be helpful to share, since this is your field???

Denisse:  The producer and I consult to see what would be a good fit. Sometimes it depends on the air time available and others, on the time of the year (Christmas, spring and Mother’s Day). It is a collaborative effort. My best advice to anyone who wants to be on TV is to be yourself and to communicate in a friendly fashion. 

Jessie:  And recently, you’ve taken on a position at Seton Hall University.  

How is the transition to an academic environment?  

Denisse:  When I’m not cooking, I am the Executive Director of the Unanue Latino Institute at Seton Hall University.  In its essence, this job is also about communicating, which is my calling in life.  I thoroughly enjoy all aspects of this position, from event planning to fundraisers to being in touch with our students on a daily basis.  As a matter of fact, they enrich my life.

Jessie:  What's next for Denisse?  What else would you like to be doing?   

Denisse:  I have a great food business at Denisseoller.com, I am a top collaborator for AARP, and I work as executive director of the Latino Institute at Seton Hall University, plus I am a spokesperson for several entities whose message of health and fitness and empowerment I embrace. I make a great living and I decide when to go on vacations and for how long!! What more can I ask for? 


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Sautéed Spicy Chicken Breasts with Fresh Mango Salsa

Yields 4 servings

Ingredients

4 boneless chicken breasts, lightly pounded

4 ounces smoked bacon

1 garlic clove, minced

8 ounces baby spinach, washed and rinsed

4 ounces soft goat cheese 

1 tablespoon olive oil

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 teaspoons salt

Freshly ground pepper

3 tablespoons canola oil

Mango Salsa 

2 fresh mangoes, finely chopped

1 red pepper, small dice

½ medium red onion, small dice

3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, leaves only, finely chopped

1 tablespoon sherry vinegar

1 tablespoon lime juice

Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375ºF

1.      Mix all ingredients for the mango salsa in a bowl, cover and place in the refrigerator until ready to use.

2.      Place bacon in skillet and fry at medium heat until crisp. Place on paper towels and proceed to chop in small bits. Set aside.

3.      Remove all but one tablespoon of fat from the skillet and sauté the garlic and spinach. Set aside to cool.

4.      In a bowl, combine the spinach mix with the goat cheese and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add bacon.

5.      Into the thickest part of each chicken breast cut a 3-inch pocket. Stuff with the spinach-cheese mixture. Close with a toothpick.

6.      Mix the cayenne pepper, salt and pepper. Season each breast with the mixture. You may cover and refrigerate for one hour or up to a day ahead.

7.      Heat a large oven proof skillet at medium high, add canola oil and once it is hot, place the chicken breasts and sauté 4-5 minutes until golden brown. Turnover and cook 3-4 minutes.

8.      Transfer to oven and roast for 10-12 minutes or until a meat thermometer registers 165ºF. Remove from oven and keep warm until ready to serve. 

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Interview with Zeke Mandel, The Savory Pie Guy

Creating Barriers to Prevent Competitors

Interview with Zeke Mandel

www.savorypieguy.com

The Savory Pie Guy

Yonkers, NY

Interview by Jeff Yoskowitz, Jessie Riley and Kathryn Gordon

 Jessie:  Can you give us some information on your background and how you started producing “artisanal hand held savory pies?”

Zeke:  I had completed 2 MBAs, at Columbia and the London Business School and I knew I wanted to have a food related business.  I originally started in raw chocolate, but kept hitting a wall with investors because I didn’t have a “food background.”  So I enrolled at ICE (Institute of Culinary Education) in the pastry program to get that credential.

In the process, I realized there was an opening in the market for savory pies.  I believe that if you can identify a vacuum in the market you should run in to fill up that gap. Essentially, for me pies are “a widget.”  I hope to make this business profitable and sell it within 5 years.  

Kathryn:  Zeke, we’re surrounded by flip chart papers in your office area, with your competitors, brainstorming business names, etc.  Can you tell us about that process, before we go tour the plant?

Zeke:  I worked with 2 branding people.  The charts are from the second person – she made me put down on paper what was in my head.  It was a 2 day process.  But I decided not to work with her anymore because she was rather downcast.  I’m more upbeat and we weren’t compatible.

Jeff:  How was her approach different from the first marketing people you worked with? 

Zeke:  The first were very methodical, and slow.  We used color boards and swatches.

Kathryn:  I know that Jeff helped you formulate your dough, so it would still be flaky after being produced, frozen, shipped, pressed, crimped, fully baked, packaged and frozen!   And it is, remarkably flaky and an all butter, natural ingredient dough.  What have been your other biggest challenges?

Zeke:  Figuring out the production.  For example, with the business growth I needed to outsource the dough production.  The first co-packer never called me back after making 1,200 pounds of dough.  I had warned him it was significantly heavier than the cookie dough he was used to running on his machines, but they didn’t listen and one of their carts went sideways and they lost about 500 pounds of the dough on the floor.  I’ve since found another co-packer who is able to make my pre-portioned dough to my specifications and ship it to me.   They had to have the right die to portion exactly how many grams I need for each pie.

 Kathryn:  Why is it so particularly heavy, as doughs go?

Jeff:  It has to perform a lot of functions, and it has a lot of eggs, water and butter.

Zeke:  It’s an amazing dough and gets rave reviews, and has lots of flavors from the herbs and spices in it. 

Preportioned frozen dough from the copacker

Jessie:  Who were your first customers?

Zeke:  I started working with soccer bars.  Their customers “know savory pies” and this fit the demand. At the same time I also had to be able to make an all-natural product that would appeal to the American market, with the dough “less doughy,” easy to eat, flaky, and good tasting.

 I currently package up units of 4 and deliver in 2 refrigerated trucks to about 15 bars.

Jeff:  And your current production level?

Zeke:  It’s been about 1,500 pies in a week.  It only takes me about 3 hours to produce and package 600 pies. 

But that’s about to change, since I am opening in D’Agostinos this Monday.  So that’s why I’m working with a co-packer in Pennsylvania, who can produce 1,000 pounds of my dough at a time and portion it correctly for the size of the tops versus the bottoms of the pies

Kathryn:  How many flavors of gourmet pot pies to you sell now?

Zeke:  6 flavors.

Jessie:  And how did you get into D’Agostinos? 

Zeke:  It was a long process.  Last February, I met with my brother’s future father-in-law’s contact who’s a principle in a food brokerage company.  They’re the ones who brought Stonyfield yogurt to the market, and have a regional New England focus.  They liked the pies and said we can do something together.  They wanted to work with a big enough store to generate volume and get some cash flow. 

Jeff:   Are you working with other stores, now that you’re production logistics have been worked out?

Zeke:  Yes, last summer I got 2 leads at Whole Foods.  They were also looking for a savory pie program with “prescribed meat” meaning humanely treated animals and produced meat. 

Kathryn:  That must have a higher price point!

Zeke:  Yes.  The mark up on the beef is ok but the chicken is 2 times the price.  But I want to work with Whole Foods because it’s a great marketing strategy, generates steady volume and is frankly, an entree for getting into other outlets.   I’m also talking to Fresh Direct now on another project.

Jeff:  What are the numbers you think you can produce here given this kitchen facility?

Zeke:  I’m expecting to do 15,000 pies a week with 2 people per shift, and we could go to 2 production shifts a day if necessary.

If it goes over that, I’m also looking to outsource my meat production.  A co-packer can cook 500 pounds of filling at a time, vacuum seal it in useable production units and deliver it frozen to me.

Kathryn:  Overall, this is a very big facility. Why did you choose one so large?

Zeke:  You have to look at your production location and ask:   can you scale it to survive your own growth?   Because if you get the demand once you get going, and you can't produce, it will kill the business.   

At first, my business partner was a savory pie guy in Brooklyn who also wasn’t a baker, and was really holding together his business with paperclips and bubblegum with very little space.  Now, I am working with someone who had extra space in his Irish meat production USDA regulated facility.   He has helped me tremendously, even with sourcing my equipment.

Jeff:  What’s been your biggest learning curve?

Zeke:  How to work within the federal regulations.  All USDA rules are “interpreted.”  All the inspectors know how to do production, but they are not lawyers.  I’ve learned to “call Nebraska,” their  headquarters.  They want to know if I’m an attorney, because of the questions I’ve been asking!  There are two phases of getting started with USDA oversight.  The first step is experimental, and if you’re only giving out samples, you have to follow the USDA procedures but you can’t sell them.  Once you start selling, then you’re in full production and have daily USDA Inspector visits.

Jessie:  Can you talk more about the USDA oversight process?

Zeke:  My inspector comes whenever he wants to come.  I provide him an office, and that is required.  So is the strict cleaning regimen and food safety assessment.  My inspector was really helpful, and although it wasn’t his job – he really helped me with the paperwork and led me in the right direction, tweaking stuff I hadn’t yet thought of and making production suggestions.  It was a huge learning curve.  And legally – anyone selling anything with meat has to be USDA certified, even if it’s food for pets and not humans. There are very severe penalties if you do not adhere to the guidelines.

Jeff:  What do you think is good advice for other entrepreneurs?

Zeke:  Once you identify a vacuum in the market, the key to success is creating a barrier to prevent competitors.  Here, my barriers are:  USDA certification/oversight, the cost of the speciality and custom equipment, and funding.  Otherwise, once you’re successful, everyone else will notice and want to also compete within that vacuum, and you do not want them to be able to do what you’re doing.

Jessie:  Thank you Zeke, and thanks for showing us around the facility!

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