My BarStory - 49 Celebrity Edition Part One with Chef Michael Symon, Angela and Anthony Russo, and Judge John J. Russo

We interrupt your podcast feed this week for a special My BarStory Celebrity Edition, and we are talking about Hollywood A-listers!  Chef Michael Symon, and Anthony and Angela Russo of AGBO, blockbuster movie producers, are joined by Anthony and Angela's cousin and our President, Judge John J. Russo. As part of Judge Russo's Fit to Practice theme for this Bar year, these old friends talk about healthy eating and their love of Cleveland food. Part one of our conversation includes behind-the-scenes Hollywood stories and ideas from Chef Symon's new book, Simply Symon Suppers.

Transcript

Becky Ruppert McMahon (00:02):
This week on my bar story, do we have a show for you? I'm C-M-B-A-C-E-O, Becky Rupert McMahon. And I'm excited to present a special my bar story celebrity edition. What celebrities. How about internationally renowned Cleveland Chef Michael Simon and Blockbuster movie producers Anthony and Angela Russo. Have you heard of The Avengers? How about Captain America? Yep. Those Russos. This week three, a-list. Celebrities are joining CNBA President Judge John Russo to relive their memories of growing up together in Cleveland. In part one of this fantastic conversation, we hear stories of family food and the importance of finding balance in life. Hey,

Judge John J. Russo (00:48):
Angela, how are you?

Chef Michael Symon (00:51):
Hi guys. How are you? Hi.

Anthony Russo (00:52):
Hi, Michael. Yeah, it's exciting. It's exciting to meet you.

Chef Michael Symon (00:55):
Oh, right back at you,

Judge John J. Russo (00:57):
Michael. St. Ed's grad my cousin Anthony Benedictine, and then of course Anthony and, and Angela. So their dad and I are first cousins. This whole theme for the years has all been about lawyers and the community of 4,500 lawyers being fit to practice mentally, physically eating right, sleeping being able to pause in times of stress. And so this month in November, we're we're talking about food and, and healthy eating and family. So first chef Michael Simon. He is a Cleveland food legend. He's an internationally acclaimed chef and author, and of course, a graduate of my alma mater, as well as his St. Edward High School. So, go Eagles. His newest book is called Simply Simon Suppers. And Michael, welcome to Fit to Practice. So what's happening today in New York, and thank you for joining us.

Chef Michael Symon (01:59):
All is good. Thank you for the introduction. I appreciate it. Everything's good. It's actually a relatively warm day here in New York. A little overcast, but no complaints. It's a, it's a nice long island day. <Laugh>.

Judge John J. Russo (02:15):
You guys missed our first snowfall already just about a week ago where we had some accumulation here in Cleveland.

Chef Michael Symon (02:22):
I missed it. By one day I was home and I was in Cleveland for you know, for a good stint. And then I came back out to Long Island. My dad called me the next day. He's like, your timing was perfect as usual, <laugh>, it's snowing today. So I'm like, oh, perfect.

Judge John J. Russo (02:36):
And it was a typical Cleveland Drive-in to downtown. Nobody remembers how to drive during snow, so, so my cousin, Anthony Russo is with us. He's one half of the famous Russo brothers. My cousin Joe was unable to be with us but Russo brothers, both Anthony and Joe, you know, directors of the Avengers Blockbusters among many other projects that they've shot here in Cleveland as well as around the world. His sister Angela is the chief creative officer for their company, ag bbo. And so both of them, I'm so wonderfully happy that the two of you can join me in such busy days. So how's that weather out there and now the early afternoon of Hollywood?

Angela Russo (03:23):
No, for, no, no early snow here. No <laugh> or ever. Yeah. that's the funny thing. We have a completely d you know, being based out here now for a while, we have a completely different reaction to reports that are to snow in general. It's always, it's never really a threat. It's always a thrill. So I know we really miss it. And it's funny that you say nobody in Cleveland knows how to drive in the snow, because our memory of it out here is the people or our masters of inclement weather, when it rains here, nobody knows how to drive. And so you kind of like laugh at yourself being from Ohio because you're like, this could be a blizzard. <Laugh>, <inaudible>. There's a sprinkle here. And suddenly nobody knows how to drive on the highway. <Laugh>.

Judge John J. Russo (04:05):
Yeah. Michael, why don't I, you have a, your latest book, it's called Simply Simon Suppers. I've had a chance to peruse and read some of it as well. Your book is about complete dinners and some of it during your book and, and the writings is what you call, or we call comfort food. You've had previous books that were titled Fix It With Food. And so really this fit to practice that I've talking about here for the lawyers in Cleveland and Cuyahoga County, how do you create comfort food that is also healthy?

Chef Michael Symon (04:39):
Well, you know, I, this is my eighth cookbook and you know, I, I've been a chef now, gosh, for over 35 years. And as I was getting older and in, in my mid twenties, I got, I found out that I had discoid lupus and ra like in, in my mid twenties. But, you know, in, in your twenties, you're kind of bulletproof. And so I just kind of ignored it and went through life and, you know, some aches and pains, but nothing crazy. I just thought they were old wrestling injuries from St. Ed's. and then as I started getting older, the, the, the aches started to get a little bit more severe and the hands would cramp a little bit more. And and I, I really didn't want to go on, you know, I, I'm, I'm one of the lucky ones that has a family of people that are relatively fit, that all have high cholesterol.

Chef Michael Symon (05:34):
So I already was on something for cholesterol, not a lot, but you know, something to kind of chill my cholesterol. I just didn't want to take another med. And I'm like, you know, I, I'm, I'm not a hundred percent certain, but I'm relatively certain that, you know, cholesterol for me was hard to control with diet because it was hereditary. And and some of this was hereditary, but I wanted to see if I could control it with diet first. So I started, you know, I kind of just started playing around with what I know about food and eliminating kind of eliminated everything to start, like no meat, no sugar, no dairy, no flour, no. Like I, you know, I, I have a little place in LA in Venice Beach. I was, I was living in Cleveland in New York and eating like someone from la so I was like, <laugh>.

Chef Michael Symon (06:24):
I'm like, this is how I feel like I'm in Los Angeles. All I'm eating are greens. I'm so angry. So I just kind of eliminated and eliminated everything and then started adding things in a little bit at a time to see what my triggers were. And for me, my triggers were, were dairy and sugar. So once I figured that out, then I'm a believer that healthy is different for everybody. I like, I hate the word diet. I hate the word. Like I hate when people try to do like this one size fits all style of eating, or one size fits all style of exercise or one, you know, it doesn't work. You know, different people react differently to different things. And so when I think of healthy food, I think of eating the foods that react best with you or for you finding the products that, that don't have all the junk in them.

Chef Michael Symon (07:18):
Like for instance, if I eat just plain old regular flour because 95% of the flour in America has been bromate and it bleached and enriched, I have a reaction from the flour. If I buy flour that hasn't been blo, bromate, bleached and enriched like it is in everywhere else in the world other than the United States, I have no aches and pains. So if I white refined sugar pain, if I have honey, no pain. So it's like finding what works for me, which could be different than the person next to me. So that's how I define healthy. And then, you know, but ultimately I'm a chef, so, you know, pardon my French, but if food tastes like, I don't want to eat it, you know, so the food has to taste great first, and then I have to figure out how to make it work for me.

Chef Michael Symon (08:14):
And that's kind of what the books are all about. Simply Simon Suppers is, you know, I too am, you know, I, I grew up Greek and Sicilian, so, you know, every Sunday at my house we had Sunday suppers and you know, like most Italian American families, you know, it was in my house. It was homemade keel sauce, you know, garlic bread, big chopped, like Greek chopped Greek salad. It was like a little bit of a Italian Greek mashup and like Del Ma and a couple other things. And that happened every Sunday with family and, and people near and dear to us. And so the Simply Simon Supper's book is basically, you know, 52 weeks of meals

Judge John J. Russo (08:57):
That aren't the exact one I ate every day as a kid, but are based on basically my childhood till now. Nice. And, you know, we, we mark what doesn't have gluten or sugar or dairy or things like that. So it's a little bit of a, a, a continuation from the, the two books that were previous to it, but this is more of a get around your table with friends and family and eat. So Angela and, and Anthony, you know, what was the importance of food for you? I mean, we grew up just as Michael said, with that Sunday meal or the families getting together. So what was it like for the two of you growing up here in Cleveland? You know, food and family go together, right. You know, what's your memory and what are your thoughts about how important it was for the two of you growing up here in Cleveland?

Angela Russo (09:40):
Yeah, I think food was oftentimes the centerpiece of our gatherings as a family. And it was something that we that, you know, we each brought our, our own pieces to the table. I remember, you know, going to your dad's house, for instance for birthdays or holidays, and everybody who came brought something to the table, some recipe that they had prepared. And it was a way that we all sort of gave of ourselves to each other and, and felt connected to each other. And your family had recipes that were among my favorites. My mother had recipes that were among my favorites. You know, I remember getting together at the, the family picnics and looking forward to the cookies that I knew my grandmother would be bringing. So I oftentimes associate very specific memories with specific recipes, but even more so the person or people behind the recipe and my connection and relationship to them. And so I think that's really you know, something that, that stands out in my memory in terms of how food was, was a part of the fabric of who we were as a family and, and how I, I think of, and, and, and even remember those who are no longer with us.

Judge John J. Russo (11:02):
Those July picnics were awesome. Anthony, how about yourself? Anything just grab you with the Cleveland memories of family or food?

Anthony Russo (11:10):
Well, a lot of what an Angela just said, and also what Michael was saying, you know, in the sense of, you know, a lot of times, again, with sort of older generations and sort of, you know, having experienced the Great Depression or coming from countries where they experience poverty, you know, a lot of times, you know, food is an expression of love. Like, and, and for people who came from circumstances where you maybe were deprived of the opportunity of food, to some degree, it becomes even more important. And I remember, you know, growing up it's like, you know, eat, eat, eat was, it was like a nonstop mantra. You couldn't eat enough. And again, I think it was because it was just sort of informed by this idea that we're no longer deprived, but also the idea that this is like Angela was talking about, is an expression of love, and it's the way you give and receive love. And so anyway, overcoming that, you know, appreciating the upside of that, you know, while moving forward, like in the ways that Michael, Michael was talking about understanding what you need, how your body works, you know, what's gonna be healthy for you as you get older and age, you know, that that's been a lot of like figuring out how to ride that line between what you were sort of conditioned for and what you need.

Judge John J. Russo (12:35):
I said in my very end of my article for this month, I said, you know, my mom loved us so much that that's what food was. She treat, she made the food with love. And that love then came within all of us as a family, as we continue to grow. So to hear all three of you say that you know, gave me a big smile,

Angela Russo (12:53):
I find that your mom did this, your dad did it, you know, our parents have done it, our grandparents, there's, there's a, a level of storytelling associated with food. And I always loved that at the child because I loved hearing the stories behind the recipes and how each person sort of made the recipe their own. And then I think what Michael was touching on earlier is is, is really sort of resonating with me personally in terms of how I'm evolving the storytelling of our food within my own family. Right now. I certainly rely on the recipes that I learned as a child, but I also sort of have to update them based on my own dietary needs that are similar to Michael's. We actually also have autoimmune diseases within our family, lupus and RA among them. And so I have found that there are certain foods that are triggers for me that were very much staples growing up. Gluten is, is primarily among them. And so I need to update the recipes that I grew up and loved in a way that, you know, made me sad at first, but then I sort of embraced because I realized like, well, this is what I need and this is what helps me. And it sort of evolves.

Judge John J. Russo (14:06):
Michael, I was gonna ask you with respect to, you know, being a chef and, and having so many relationships with other chefs and all the people that you've engaged with over your career, when you hear, like, for our viewers, when they wanna splurge, right? So I, I want that, that ice cream, I want that cake. I want something that's gonna be a something splurge that might take me off track. How do you keep yourself from going way off track? Julia Child

Anthony Russo (14:33):
Has the greatest quote

Judge John J. Russo (14:34):
Of all, had

Anthony Russo (14:34):
The greatest quote of all time, everything in moderation,

Judge John J. Russo (14:36):
Including moderation, you know, and, and to me that

Anthony Russo (14:40):
Really is a good way to go through life and food and everything else. It's like, look,

Judge John J. Russo (14:44):
When

Anthony Russo (14:45):
I went through this process, I realized that

Judge John J. Russo (14:47):
That sugar

Anthony Russo (14:48):
And dairy were my

Judge John J. Russo (14:48):
Triggers,

Anthony Russo (14:49):
You know? Now

Chef Michael Symon (14:51):
That being said, ice cream and gelato are two of my favorite things in the whole world. So like, I'm not gonna not eat them, but I, I eat them less often. And I also have the knowledge now that when I do eat them, you know, the next day I'm gonna be a little achy or I'm gonna be a little sore. Like, so it's kind of like, I always say to people, I'm like, you know, you go out with your friends, you ha like I drink bourbon. So you have a, you, you have a Manhattan or a, you know, a straight up bourbon, you know, if you have one, you're not gonna have a hangover the next day. You know, if you have three, you're gonna have a hangover the next day. Someday. Sometimes you still have three, you know, but like, you know what got you there?

Chef Michael Symon (15:31):
You don't wake up in the morning and you're like, oh my God, my head's killing me. What's going on? You know, so <laugh> you know, I, I think a a lot of it is knowing what your reactions are and then when you make those choices, just try to get the highest quality ingredient of that thing that you can. Because like, look, we're, we've all talked about our families growing up and how they cooked and how they ate and how they, and, and the reality of it is, is food was created a grown and raised and everything else a lot better than when, when we were kids, than we're not, than are now. There wasn't as much pesticides and, and all that crazy things in food that there is in food now. And so things that we were able to eat as a kid that maybe re we have odd reactions to now as adults is mainly probably because of how that food was processed.

Chef Michael Symon (16:25):
So if you're aware of what you're eating and how it's processed, you're probably gonna be better off. Like, like, you know, c like something like celiac is different, you know, celiac and gluten is you know, you're, you're in big trouble. But like, I know a lot of people, myself included, and this is one of the things that got me thinking about the book so much is, you know, gluten used to mess with me a little bit. And then, you know, you go to Italy and you eat pasta every day and you feel fine, well, it's because their, their flour is handled properly, so that way it's not affecting our bodies. Like the flour here is you know, my son owns a, a donut shop in, in Sag Harbor, and he mills his own flour and buys responsible flour. And like, people come in the shop that have gluten tolerance all the time, and he's like, look, if, if you wanna take a donut home and try it, it's on me. You know, I'm not saying this isn't gonna affect you or is gonna affect you, but, you know, and 95% of the time he said, those people come back and they have a donut

Judge John J. Russo (17:27):
Splurge, splurge in moderation and splurge knowing what might happen the next morning. And you could do that. So, so Angela for both you and Anthony, so I, I've had the opportunity pleasure to be on set with you occasionally while you made and filmed some of your movies and had a, an opportunity to see the spread of food that is made by your chefs and by those individuals that feed everybody on set, including yourselves, including dietary issues. And so how do Hollywood sets who have all this amount of food make it and, and serve it in a way that's healthy for those who are there? So what is that process or what, what can you share with us? So those who are listening and watching can understand how, how that is, I've seen it and it's, it looks like it's a mass production.

Angela Russo (18:20):
I would say that, you know, on, on the sets that, that we've worked on the, the chefs and the craft services crew that we're working with take great pride in the fact that they are taking care of an extended family like that really is how they approach the day-to-Day and, and the offerings that are made available. And I am really pleased to know that, you know, they take the time to check in with people, to understand what it is that people may need from them, may not be able to tolerate. And they make sure that there's optionality for everybody. And the downside of that optionality is there's, there's so much available <laugh> that you can, you know, you can go overboard and of course there's sweets because some people like, you know, they have a little little kick from sugar.

Angela Russo (19:12):
So it does sort of fall onto the individual, I think, oftentimes to, to sort of form their own relationship with how they go through the day when it comes to, to working on a set and, and what it is that you're eating. And for me personally, I try first and foremost to take care of my mental health when we're shooting because your stress levels can, can skyrocket. And so just making sure that you're keeping those in check. And so I think about food as being the fuel for that. And so I try to make choices throughout the entirety of the shoot. And that's the key because it's pretty easy to fall off the rails <laugh>. I think we've had that happen a couple times, but I try through the entirety of the shoot to, to stick to a routine that works for me. And then I know every now and then I'll treat myself, but if I'm sticking to the health staples that I need to get through the day and to do my job with clarity and focus, then I know I'm gonna be doing the best job that I can do. So, and, and food is a key factor in that.

Anthony Russo (20:13):
One of the unique things about the film business as far as food goes is, you know, when you're in production, you're renting a lot of equipment, you're renting a lot of real estate, you're paying for an enormous number of people to be present every day. And so it's very expensive to be in production. So, and it can last anywhere from two months to six months or, you know, depending on the scope of the project. So there's a tendency to try to squeeze as much work into as little time as possible. And that's, that makes it more economical. So the days are really long days. So to Angela's point in terms of like the importance of taking care of people through food while you're on set, 'cause you're, you're eating breakfast there, you're eating lunch there, and some days you're eating dinner, dinner there, you know, all three meals you'll have, everything you eat in a day is sometimes on that set. So it, it really does have a big impact on how people function, you know, over a several month period.

Judge John J. Russo (21:13):
Angela, I I love that that you tie in the, the theme of fit to practice by talking about your mental health. And I love that your comment that your food is your fuel for your positive mental health.

Becky Ruppert McMahon (21:23):
There's much more of this interview, which you can hear next week in part two of this My Bar Story celebrity edition. And yes, we've saved some of the best stories for next week, including Chef Simon and the Russo's favorite Cleveland Hotspots. And the one place you should go only after hours. To listen and subscribe to my bar story, visit cble metro bar.org/podcast or wherever you get your podcast. We'll see you next week.