Let’s talk cookbooks, featuring “Slice and Torte” podcast hosts Danielle and Sherrod--the cookbooks the ones that changed our lives, the ones that challenged our pallets, and the ones that never should’ve been printed.

Slice & Torte on Instagram, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, and on their site! 

“Slice & Torte” podcast is a conversation about food as if it were pop culture. Two cooks from different perspectives, Danielle and Sherrod, love to “make food that’s simple and delicious, and warms the soul.”

0:30 - Danielle and Sherrod introduction: “By day,” Danielle is a Senior Analyst for a healthcare company and Sherrod is a UX Designer for a medical device company. “By night,” they cook too much, buy too many plates, and create “Slice and Torte”.

5:00 - How Sherrod and Danielle decided to share their passion for food through podcasting.

6:00 - How design, art and science merge to create the “Slice and Torte” podcast and platform.

7:55 - “When did you turn on the stove for the first time?” and early memories of cooking (including Danielle’s incredible story of cooking for her family...at age four.)

9:40 - How Sherrod’s great aunt set him on his path of loving food and community.

11:35 - The Four Cookbook #BriBooks

-Chrissy Teigen's “Cravings”

-”How to Cook Everything” by Mark Bittman

-“Rodale’s Garden Fresh Cooking”

-“Vintage Pies” by Ann Haney Collins

12:20 - Cookbooks for building confidence: “The Martha Stewart Cooking School,” “Cook with Jamie” by Jamie Oliver.

16:24 - What cooking has taught both Sherrod and Danielle about themselves.

17:30 - “Cooking is the highest form of magic. it’s the only way I know to stop time, to cure disease, to completely change a good day from a bad day. Understanding that at ones core is so fulfilling, because when you can do that, you can do things like change your outlook!” - Sherrod Faulk, “Slice & Torte” podcast

19:05 - “What I’ve learned is that there's only suggestions, there’s no rules. The kitchen is the one place where literally what I want goes. No one can tell me what to do. I can try whatever I want to try. For me, that’s very freeing and relaxing. And I’ve learned, there’s nothing I can’t make. Even if it doesn’t exist yet, I can make it and invent it. I’ve also learned, it’s OK to fail. But, that sense of failure is so freeing, and I don’t know many other places where you can feel good about failing other than the kitchen.” - Danielle Jones, “Slice & Torte” podcast

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21:00: #BriBooks Cookbook #1: “Rodale’s Garden Fresh Cooking” and eating with the seasons/ seasonality.

“Rodale’s Garden Fresh Cooking” my go-to for ingredient-based cooking. Each chapter focuses on a specific crop. Listen to “Bri Books all about “Rodale’s Garden Fresh Cooking,” featuring the incredible @ABeautifulNest.

24:10 - Seasonality 101 and eating with the seasons, and shoutout to farmers markets! @GrowNYC Grand Army Plaza Greenmarket warrior!

26:15 #Bribooks Cookbook #2: “Vintage Pies:Classic American Pies for Today's Home Baker” by Anne Collins. These aren’t your aunty’s sweet potato and pumpkin pies. Danielle gives her take on a few bizarre pies from America’s history, including Amber Pie, Boiled Cider Pie, Grape Pie...and Jefferson Davis Pie.

29:30 #Bribooks Cookbook #3: “Cravings” by Chrissy Teigen. One of the strengths of the book is that it felt like a quick trip to the grocery store could pull off all recipes--no specialty store required.

30:40: “No food is exclusionary in this world. everyone eats. these ingredients are available to everyone. It’s well worth it for people to get out of their comfort zones, go to grocery stores in neighborhoods you’ve never explored, talk to people you wouldn’t normally talk to. Get out and explore.” - Sherrod

31:45 - Sherrod and Danielle on “Cravings” by Chrissy Teigen and how it’s a highly-social cookbook, great for people who entertain.

34:05 - #Bribooks Cookbook #4: “How to Cook Everything” by Mark Bittman

35:00 - Why we don’t understand cookbooks that don’t have photos?!

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37:45 - GAME TIME! Let’s play “Read It, Reading It, Wrote It,” inspired by “Slice & Torte’s “Love It, Hate It, Ate It segments!

“Read It” =  a book you feel like you read and it taught you something about uncovering passions, etc

“Reading It” = A book you’re reading or want to read next

“Wrote It” = The book that resonated with you so deeply, you feel you could’ve written it!

38:30 - Sherrod’s “Read It”: Martha Stewart’s book “Entertaining” cookbook taught him that cooking isn’t *just* cooking. “Cooking is a way to have fun, to have a party, to change people's’ lives, to get outside your own culture,  a way to take a trip around the world.”

39:50 - Danielle’s “Reading It”: “Birdbox” by Josh Malerman,  and “The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wilde” by Junot Diaz.

40:30 - Sherrod’s “Reading It”: “Mastering the Art of Japanese Homecooking” by Masaharu Morimoto

42:00 - Danielle’s “Wrote It”: “The Cooking Gene” by Michael Twitty and “Swindled: The Dark History of Food Fraud, from Poisoned Candy to Counterfeit Coffee” by Bee Wilson

43:20 - Brionna’s #bribooks: “Everyday is Saturday: Recipes and Strategies for Easy Cooking Every Day of the Week” by Sarah Copeland

44:10 - Danielle’s “Read It”: “Between Harlem & Heaven” by Alexander Smalls all about Afro-Asian-American cooking and history

45:00 - Sherrod’s “Wrote It”: “Mrs. Wheelbarrow's Practical Pantry” by Cathy Barrow, and “It’s All Easy: Super Delicious Recipes for a Home Cook”

Two weeks ago, the #MTYRetreat took place at Nizuc Resort and Spa in Cancun, Mexico. To say it was transformative...would be an understatement. I’ve enlisted @SwirlSuite Podcast co-host and producer Sarita Cheaves (@vinemeup) to help me unpack the magic behind CURLBOX founder Myleik Teele’s second annual retreat.

• 1:40 - In this episode, we’re going deep on our experiences at #MTYRetreat, the second annual retreat hosted by CURLBOX founder and CEO Myleik Teele. Myleik offers unfiltered advice on everything from business to parenthood on her “Myleik Teele’s podcast” platform.
• 2:42 - The #MTYRetreat was designed as “a curated getaway inspired by next-level luxury and the cultural experiences of Myleik.” The goal was the restore, transform and edify attendees. The MTYRetreat consisted of a 4-day, 3-night experience at Nizuc Resort and Spa, a  AAA 5 Diamond Award-winning resort, complete with masterclass workshops, fireside chats/ cocktails and conversations, and so much dancing.
• 3:18 - Sarita was a first-time MTYRetreat attendee, and I was coming back for second year. In this episode we’re sharing our favorite takeaways and moments from the retreat. We have so much gratitude for the CURLBOX team, Myleik, Karleen Roy and The Vanity Group for making magic.
• 5:40 - Sarita introduction: Sarita is a wine writer and producer of "Swirl Suite,” a podcast that's all about wine, liquor, spirits, beer, and life.
• 6:30 - Who is Myleik? Founder and CEO of CURLBOX, Myleik’s receipts print THEMSELVES! She’s an entrepreneur and PR extraordinare and she’s so intensely devoted to black women gathering our resources, talents, and ambitions.
• 8:15 - How Sarita discovered Myleik: via Side Hustle Pro podcast! Sarita heard Myleik on an episode, and immediately had to acquaint herself with Myleik’s work. Sarita says Myleik’s words are incredible: “Her words of encouragement are extremely firm and clear. There’s no fluff. I love everything about it.”
• 9:20 - Myleik wanted to teach us what she didn’t know. So, she hosted #MTYRetreat with support from her multi-hyphenate baddie brigade: Bestselling author Luvvie Ajayi, ministry leader Sarah Jakes Roberts, Blavity founder Morgan DeBaun, creator of Karma Bliss and author of “Crystal Bliss” Devi Brown, “Insecure” star Yvonne Orji, style and fashion journalist extraordinaire Kahlana Barfield-Brown, and founder of XONecole Necole Kane.
• 10:00 - Sarita describes her first moments at MTYRetreat, from the flight touching down at the airport to pulling up at the Nizuc Resort and Spa lobby: “We touched down and I walked into the lobby. The scene from the lobby, where you can spot the water, left me breathless. I stood there for a moment and took it in, like, “Wow I don’t know what I’m in for, but my life is about to change.”
• 11:30 - The first night of the retreat was a fun dinner-cocktail party, complete with a gorgeously set, long dining table. There was such ease in the room as attendees mingled. Brionna says, “I kept feeling like everyone was putting in the same energy. Everyone wanted to be there.
• 12:07 - Sarita on arriving at the #MTYRetreat late, and how her roommate helped her ease into the experience, and the incredible wall of personalized menus!
• 14:30 - On Saturday, we began with a Saturday Sunrise Service and a morning word by Sarah Jakes Roberts, a ministry leader and best-selling author. Jakes-Roberts lead a Sunrise Service, where all were welcome to participate, dress in white, walk to the edge of the ocean on the beach, and share a spiritual yet grounding moment.
• 15:30 - Sarita and Brionna describe the beauty of watching the sunrise surrounded by dozens of black women, all wearing white.
• 16:30 - Sailing on “The Retreat by Myleik” catamaran!
• 17:30 - The elation of enjoying poolside champagne with wine writer/ expert and consultant Julia Coney!!  
• 18:00 - There was a huge breadth of experiences and people present at the retreat. Not everyone needed to have a “side hustle” or have something “going on.” So much of the programming was directed toward pouring back into everyone who attended MTYRetreat. Seeing connections made in real-time, and watching the “accelerated collisions” was incredible. The moments of clarity and connection will keep reverberating. Nothing “ends” at the MTYRetreat--it’s where everything takes off.
• 20:00 - Sarita on connecting with #MTYRetreat attendees: “It felt nice to connect souls with people.”
• 20:35 - Sunday’s #MTYRetreat Masterclass series! To kick it off, Myleik invited at least a half dozen of the most interesting, multifaceted people in her world to offer insights. The first to masterclass speaker was Devi Brown, founder of lifestyle and wellness company Karma Bliss, and author of “Crystal Bliss.” Devi was so efervescent yet stabilizing. Her discussion on purpose:”Purpose is using your unique gifts, unique abilities to be of service to others.”
• 22:00 - Devi’s meditation according to Sarita: “We had to close our eyes, and respond to ourselves. She kept saying, “Who are you?” Not mom or wife--that’s who you are to others---who are YOU? Outside of a professional career or titles, who ARE you?! Devi also said, “You’re only you to yourself.” THINK ON THAT!
• 22:30 - Morgan DeBaun, founder of Blavity, offered a workshop about working smart. Why Sarita loved Morgan: “She took the emotion out of setting goals."
• 23:40 - Sarita on Morgan’s recommendation/ homework--separating CEO tasks from operating tasks.
• 24:45 - Yvonne Orji shut it DOWN with her energy, her story, and her vulnerability.
• 25:20 - Sarita discusses Yvonne’s story of success: “What resonate with me was that she (Yvonne) said she auditioned for “Insecure” for five times, because one person she was competing with was doing great, but they plateaued in the audition. However, as Yvonne kept coming back, she kept taking notes and getting better and better. The team said, ‘If she’s getting better just from notes, just imagine how great she’ll be with producers and a director.” WOW!
• 26:15 - Brionna’s favorite Yvonne quote: “I hate regret more than I hate fear.”
• 27:00 - How the level of courtesy at Nizuc Resort and Spa impacted us
• 28:50 - Much love to DJ and author Olivia Dope for keeping us dancing!
• 29:15 - Sarita’s MTYRetreat action item: Identifying CEO and operational tasks, a la Morgan deBaun.
• 30:40 - Brionna’s MTYRetreat action item: Be a good human, a la Yvonne Orji. Being considerate, compassionate and courteous are skills. Yes, you can be FAIR and NICE at the same time. Devi’s quote, “The lessons repeat as needed” HIT ME HARD!
• 32:15 - SO MUCH LOVE to Ms. Diana on the CURLBOX team, for being such a rockstar. Periodt.
• 33:05 - Final thoughts: MTYRetreat was worth it 100%! We’re still reaping the benefits, and will do so going forward. Sarita’s expectations were exceeded. She says, “I don’t know what I needed when I got there, but I certainly received it when I left.”

33:45 - Brionna’s #bribooks is from Sarita! “Lost in the City", a book of short stories about DC, by Edward P. Jones.