Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Owen Hankle. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Owen thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
I sat down one day trying to figure out how to do what I love and do it for myself in a sense? I thought really hard about what relates to me and what I truly love doing. All that kept coming up with, was when I was a kid and how much time I’d spend out in the woods with my uncle. We’d always be out there, whether it be hunting or just camping. I’d honestly say about 75% of my childhood was spent outdoors. I learned how to start a fire, tie the knots, and just in general be comfortable surrounded by trees and nature, no matter the situation. What always stuck with me was the fire, cooking venison (among other animals) right over the open flames. I’ll admittedly say, I have always had a bit of a romance when it comes to open fire but especially because of my upbringing in upstate NY. The main story that always stuck with me and inspired our signature burger, that we only bring in on occasion, was making patties out of venison with lawry’s seasoning we’d have tucked in our bags alongside Kings Hawaiian buns, hot sauce, and American cheese (all the good stuff with the shelf life for nuclear fallout). This was a frequent thing we ate out on our trips. Now at Smoke&Ashes, it’s an item that doesn’t last long when we have it on the menu. Heavily seasoned burger patty, oaxacan cheese, chile aioli, on toasted Kings Hawaiian rolls. So that triggered the connection of my open fire cooking, outdoor inspired, and gastronomically influenced cooking and business. I knew the rest would fall into place if I just kept that inspiration behind everything we make.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I stumbled into my first job as a dishwasher when I got told I needed to get a job when I dropped out of high school. It was at this real beat down spot in Saratoga Springs, NY called Brindisi’s. It was a mess of a place, real old school cooking vibes, kinda Anthony Bourdain Kitchen Confidential vibes. It left an impression though to say the least. I started really grinding to get my dishes done as fast as I could just so I could stare down the line and watch the flames, cussing, among other debauchery happening. Till one day the head chef “Timmy” as he was called, real big Irish guy, asked me “What the **** are you staring at?” I just shrugged my shoulders, to which he immediately followed up with “Here I’ll give yah something to do”. That’s when i learned to make a Caesar Salad. It went down at that very moment. From there, I always had a kitchen job. Whether it was doing catering at the Sandwich Shop or making candy by moonlight. I ended up hitting the road and going to the Culinary Institute of America. Once I hopped out of there with a fresh degree and some cool friends and teachers in my pocket. I went to NYC and worked for a bunch of places staging, and main stayed at two different Michelin star restaurants, one was a three star and the other a one star. I took a lot from those places, discipline, work ethic, techniques and aspects of my mentality I still implement to this very day. Once moving to Los Angeles, I had some growing pains, it was a lot different here than back in NYC, I don’t know if I necessarily liked the kitchen scene here. I’ll openly say the kitchen environment here is a lot more toxic, and less respectable. So I started struggling a lot and thats when I started thinking of how to do my own thing. Slowly but surely, this is where I wound up.
The thing I feel that separates me (and am most proud of) from a lot of places is a few things I’ve developed on my own, that I implement in all areas of my life. One, I always make time, whether it be for customers, employees, or friends. While, it may not be right that second, you can guarantee a time will come. Two, Everyday is A Good Day, anyone you ask about me can tell you they’ve heard this from me one time or another. I do this because it keeps me going, and is my open verbal announcement of what I’m always striving to provide for the guest and any person within ten feet of me. Three, we truly work with you, I will hear out what your budget is for catering per se, and make sure you get every pennies worth out of that. I’ll tailor it with you and give you as much as i can. I pride myself in knowing I’m providing for the customer first before the business within reason of course. I truly do this because I love it! The thing that has kept me cooking all these 15 years now, is that what I make brings a smile to people every time I feed them. So, I prioritize that thought in every aspect of my business. Wether it be getting extra tortillas at a pop up because a couple wants to share, or us running your food to you inside the bar that’s hosting us, so you don’t have stop that great story you’re telling your friends. I do this for us all to be happy for those fleeting moments. I really enjoy that I was apart of it.
We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.
I met Juan Ruiz back when I staged at Here’s Looking At You (later to become sous chef). I was being trained by this guy who just didn’t want to teach me anything 1. Because he was bad at his job. 2. Because he thought I would be taking his job. So walks up Baby Ray, as I fondly call him quite often, and he asks me if I want to learn the iconic HLAY tomato dish. He showed me, we got to talking and I wanted more stuff to do on my stage, so I followed him back over to the pastry station and he asked if I wanted to learn to plate the desserts. He showed me, no problem. I couldn’t quite tell you what made our connection so profound, but I can tell you I’ve been friends with that guy since that day without a moment in between.
How do you keep your team’s morale high?
My greatest advice is time & effort. That’s what has gained the most respect from anyone who has worked with me or under me. I’ve always made the time and effort to talk to them, show them the right techniques, tell them how they’re doing, and explain anything with detail for them. Also showing them that anything I ask of them, I can and will do too.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @smokeandashes_la
Image Credits
Sydney Henderson
@sydney_erin97