We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Drew Casteel. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Drew below.
Drew, appreciate you joining us today. So, let’s start with a hypothetical – what would you change about the educational system?
being a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu culinary school back in 2006, I have learned so much since then hands on in the field. I truly think culinary school is currently overrated and a waste of time / money. If i started a culinary school I would run it like the everyday restaurants & bakeries vs overloading the students with learning how to make 16 products in 5 days. Culinary school is a foundation to open a door for an interview for a job but doesn’t mean you got hired. Culinary school is for the creative rebels in life not for content creators. We are the pirates of the world. Culinary school is pre-school compared to the real industry because all it does is teach you a foundation NOT to show you the hustle & sacrifice the industry is all about. Ive seen literally my entire culinary school class go 15months of training, $50,000 in debt to go into the industry to get their a*s kicked and say oh man this is not for me….& quit. I am literally the only “chef” left from my class mates from 2006. Again, run a culinary school like the day restaurants, hotels & country clubs and your graduation success rate will be higher due to more passionate people graduating vs a piece of paper saying they did a good job. Being called “Chef” is a earned, NOT given. Respect that word.
Drew, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
It all started 17yrs ago in So*Cal at Le Cordon Bleu culinary school in 2006 in Pasadena, California where I received my pastry degree. I am a 3rd generation passionate baker of my family and have been raised around making cakes since i was 4-5yrs old standing on a chair next to my mom assisting with her cakes. The idea of becoming a pastry chef has always been my main goal in life and to wear the crisp ironed chef whites and tall white toques, this was my vision for a suit / tie combo. As time progressed in my early years, I have come across different chefs to learn from and been lucky enough to have a few mentor me early on. Having a mentor early on made me swarm myself into my craft so much that nothing else mattered to me besides working and learning all I can in the kitchen and at home. I lived and breathed pastry techniques for years to prepare myself for any opportunity that came to me, I was ready for any challenge. As the years passed, traveling state to state for opportunities, learning new techniques, ingredients, and influences at this moment is where I started to develop my own style to build but mainly my own identity as a pastry chef. All this time and effort has led me into my first project to launch my 1st cookbook in 2018-2019, hired an amazing photographer named Anthony Repetti, great local ingredients. My cookbook project named Documented Chaos Pastry Journal was definitely a learning curve for me as I wrote the book, photos and self-published it was an experience I won’t forget. Food is an art form and thats what alot of people dont understand and dont use to its full potentional. They just see it as its a tradition passed down but what they dont see is how you can create your own flavor profiles by unleashing the endless possibilities food brings you, not just what the cook book says. Anyone can add salt n pepper to crap and saute it and call themselves a chef…being called CHEF is an honor and respected, not given. During this time I needed to create a brand I could stand with and represent for years to come, all this turn into ‘Whiskn Industries’ Corporation. I had a specific focus for a certain vision for WI to handle cookbooks, classes, mentorship etc. and with life you come to learn more and heart provides new roads to travel on. Whiskn Industries is currently a veteran owned corporation that supports the military, retired vets and current active-duty soldiers. We are giving support and supplying better food options for the military and giving jobs / careers to retired veterans. I have cooked for many opportunities in my career to serve military based foundations, military bases and even raised money for our armed forces. Those moments I will never forget and this is exactly why Whiskn Industries has a new direction.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
being myself 200% of the time at all times with passion, confidence, personality and empathy. Being able to bring yourself to any event you do is important right along with booking clients. Its a business, not a friendship situation and if you are confident and honest with your clients you can build a great following. Stuff happens and life…its life, so bringing empathy as well helps out quite abit for what you bring to the table. If you are to tied up in your own little box you will sink over time and you will build an arrogant image on your brand. Being transparent and bring knowledge to the fore-front will build your reputation your clients can connect to.
We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.
this story goes back to our childhood growing up together in southern california. When i originally started Whiskn Industries to launch a few projects over the past few years, this was a business he wanted to join up with me to help launch into something bigger. Both of us having passion for things we love and we both have the biggest hearts to always lend a helping hand, so when it came to focus on the military, we both knew it was the best decision. Nate being an army vet himself, we knew we had to give back to provide the best opportunities for our armed forces. We have been connected with some great companies and are building an empire to give back.
Contact Info:
- Other: drewcasteel@gmail.com
Image Credits
Anthony Repetti (photographer) & Whisk’n Industries Corporation