033 - Happy 1st Anniversary Edacious!

Edacious - Food Talk for Gluttons is one year old! Just learning to smile and laugh. Thinking about learning to walk, falling a lot, finding her voice, making gurgling noises that will eventually be coherent words. Eating cake. Yep, that's my podcast.

Thirty-two guests, hours and hours of conversation, and 15,000 downloads. I've learned so much. And I'm so incredibly grateful. Edacious, after a year of triumphs and missteps, is going along full-steam ahead with exciting new ventures and projects in the works. Before tackling all of them, I wanted to take a minute to look back. To reflect on some of the great talks I had over the past year.

Who did I talk to?

20 women (either singular or as part of a business partnership) 15 men (either singular or as part of a business partnership) 8 Chefs 2 Front of House 3 Bakers 7 Beverage folks 5 Artisanal Food Producers 5 Writers/Photographers 1 Artist 2 Food nonprofits

What did we talk about? It wasn't all local issues, topics indecipherable to folks not living here. The themes are worldwide. Universal. These were most prominent:

Mentoring - MANY MANY folks talked about mentoring and being mentored. Passing on knowledge. Constantly learning. Probably my most prominent theme of the year. Overgrowth - What happens when your small business grows too fast? The encouraging environment of Charlottesville, nobody here says, "Bad idea!" Please, please please, if you're in a restaurant and your experience isn't perfect, SAY SOMETHING! This is hard work, not glamorous celebrity

To celebrate a year's worth of talks, here is a small sampling: three women, three men, and two couples. I've grouped them under the themes of Mentorship, Family, Unique Backgrounds, and Bright Futures. Enjoy. Thank you so much for listening. I couldn't have done any of this without your support. I mean it, without you I'm doing this in a vacuum. Continue to send me your comments and suggestions. Together we can make this a great resource for locals, as well as folks getting to know Charlottesville, Virginia. Cheers!

THANK YOU to all of the food professionals who took time out of their busy schedules to sit and talk with me this past year. You're aces. We're so lucky to have you living and working in our fine town and I wish you good things. All good things.

This episode is sponsored by In A Flash Laser Engraving.