Welcome to CareerXroads Uncorked a series of member chats inspired by good drinks and current talent acquisition trends your hosts Chris Hoyt and Gerry Crispin and break down today’s recruiting headlines while reviewing a select beverage of choice with industry leaders and influencers. Join us for a drink and conversation.

Chris Hoyt, CXR 0:24
There we go. All right. So Terra, welcome back to the show for the second time today.

Terra Doyle, Roche 0:28
Yes.

Chris Hoyt, CXR 0:32
All right, recap because I screwed it up. I’ll take ownership. It’s an Elizabeth Spencer Cab 2018. For me, Gerry for you,

Gerry Crispin, CXR 0:40
So for me, I have an O’Shaughnessy, a Mt Veeder grape and Howell mountain grapes and equivalent to horses very similar to the Fontanella that our guest is having.

Chris Hoyt, CXR 0:53
All right, and Terra for you?

Terra Doyle, Roche 0:56
2019 Mt. Veeder Cab from Fontanella as Gerry had mentioned, quite delicious.

Chris Hoyt, CXR 1:02
And you have my word this is absolutely my first class today. I haven’t had my alleged word that’s right. I don’t recall ever it seems to work in court for people this week. So I’m just gonna say I don’t recall.

Gerry Crispin, CXR 1:17
I’ll offer in September when you go if you have an interest. One of the I know that you’re you probably will go to Fontanella. So that you can have your friends experience a little bit of a wine tasting there. I get I get from two vineyards one is Nickel and Nickel. And the other is

Chris Hoyt, CXR 1:42
We all had a moment well at a moment just now Gerry..

Gerry Crispin, CXR 1:46
The other one is Antikka which is Antinori owns that and and to note the Antinori family has been making wine since the 11th century in in Italy. So, so they are one of the oldest winemakers in the world. They have one white vine vineyard in Napa and and that’s called Antica, but it’s a little bit further up. Whereas Nickel and Nickel is right in Yountville. Yeah. Have an interest in doing wine tasting there. Let me know

Terra Doyle, Roche 2:22
I you know when I say I seriously will take you up on that, Gerry, because if you were to ask me probably what my favorite cab is, I would tell you unequivocally it’s part Nantais which is also you know, a part of the Nickel Nickel family but I’ve never been in Nickel Nickel. So I would love the opportunity

Natais is is just delicious. I just got six bottles of it.

Rub it in. That’s awesome

Gerry Crispin, CXR 2:46
I’m just saying. But I just want to rub it in by opening one of those bottles.

Chris Hoyt, CXR 2:51
Gerry doesn’t buy wine, It just shows up at his house.

Gerry Crispin, CXR 2:55
Actually, the craziness is New Jersey does not allow that. So they are sent to my daughter who fortunately only likes beer does not like wine. So so when I go to pick it up, all the bottles are still there.

Terra Doyle, Roche 3:13
That sounds like a good setup to me.

Chris Hoyt, CXR 3:16
We’re not going to get any kind of trouble here. Are we? Is that some sort of smuggling? It’s not a thing? Is it?

Gerry Crispin, CXR 3:21
No, no, no, it’s legal. I have i They can go to a legitimate place address that in New York. That’s allowed they’re allowed to ship to so it’s nice.

Chris Hoyt, CXR 3:34
Yeah I don’t know why I have a soft spot for nickel and nickel. But I do. It is one of my favorites. It’s not over the top of fancy wine. But it’s it is a higher end wine.

Gerry Crispin, CXR 3:48
It’s a higher end wine. But obviously there are there are many wines that most of us will never be able to afford to drink. You know, when you start getting seeing something like, you know, one of these that like $2,000 A bottle, we’re only going to see that if somebody in Las Vegas decides to you know, share a glass with us,

Chris Hoyt, CXR 4:08
Or there’s a minimum we haven’t met and we you know,

Gerry Crispin, CXR 4:11
Or there is a minimum we haven’t met.

Terra Doyle, Roche 4:13
We just might need to make new friends. I’m kind of up for any of the above.

Chris Hoyt, CXR 4:17
There you go. I think okay, so it’s a contest as to who can fund the bougiest friend for wine by end of the year

Terra Doyle, Roche 4:24
Game on Game on. I’m very competitive

Chris Hoyt, CXR 4:27
to be bougie they just need to be willing to sponsor the Bougie.

Terra Doyle, Roche 4:29
Right, exactly.

Gerry Crispin, CXR 4:33
So what is keeping you up these days, Terra as far as work is concerned. Yeah.

Terra Doyle, Roche 4:39
So we are and I know we’ve in different environments talked about this before, and I won’t go maybe too deep into it. But we’re in the midst of this kind of three year journey. Roche with transformation. And it’s just a it’s a significant overhaul, you know, whereas we used to be structured within all of people and culture. So this isn’t just a Ta topic. We used to be structured really by affiliate or location across the globe, I mean, you know, hundreds of them. And now we’re really trying to look on work as a network across borders, geographies, as well as affiliates. That means pharmaceutical and diagnostic, which are both in our family. And that’s just as a very significant change. You’re talking about consolidating technologies that were used trying to have harmonized global processes. There’s some complexities obviously, with country nuances, the legalities that exist even just in the States alone, as we’re aware, really complex. So it’s been a lot and you mix that in with significant growth and change within our company. And just this market, which I haven’t seen in the 20 years, I’ve been in TA, you know, it’s like, it’s a perfect storm of craziness. So it’s, it keeps me up only because I’m, I’m a person, like many of us that just want everything to go swimmingly well, and you have a high sense of accountability, and there’s just a lot going on. And our team has grown by a lot, a lot a lot, just because of the growth. So, you know, in general, there’s just a lot that happens when you’re trying to build a new culture, and then add new people to the culture. And so it just, you know, it’s a part of the journey. So it’s good, I don’t mind losing the sleep right now. But it’s definitely something that weighs heavy because it’s a it’s a big responsibility.

Gerry Crispin, CXR 6:23
It’s exciting when you can embrace, you know, the uncertainty change, you know, all as kind of a challenge for, you know, how you grow and develop and all of that kind of stuff.

Terra Doyle, Roche 6:37
Yeah,

Gerry Crispin, CXR 6:38
I think it’s, I think it’s a fabulous time right now, I can’t imagine a time that I’ve been in when I haven’t seen so much opportunity, really for for moving the needle a little bit.

Terra Doyle, Roche 6:52
Completely agree.

Chris Hoyt, CXR 6:56
Oh, no, sorry, I was just gonna say like, I can’t remote. You know, we talk about recruiting as it cycles, we do this thing, right? Where the how much talent we need, how much talent we don’t need, the kind of talent we need. And while it’s always changing, it seems to be we’re always stuck in these these cycles that are almost almost predictable.

Terra Doyle, Roche 7:13
Yeah.

Chris Hoyt, CXR 7:14
But I don’t think I’ve ever seen a cycle lasts quite this long. And whether it’s, you know, the pandemic has launched this or, you know, laws and regulations or technology, or, you know, all of these different things that come into play. I just keep finding myself wondering, like, how much longer do we see that see this craziness with with the talent space?

Terra Doyle, Roche 7:35
Yeah,

Chris Hoyt, CXR 7:35
Like, how much longer are we struggling to? We’re hiring for times to plan? Or like, are we suddenly going to be downsizing at the end of the year where we have to let go of half of the recruiters we just thought that went back because we laid off all the recruiters like, I just wonder like, how much how much longer does this go for?

Terra Doyle, Roche 7:51
It’s a great question. And it’s one of those if I think anyone had the answer, then they’d be really filthy rich and buying that $2,000 bottle wine.

Chris Hoyt, CXR 8:00
Can’t a person just published a report and tell us

Terra Doyle, Roche 8:05
You know, it’s interesting, that’s I had this conversation recently, with my daughter who’s like, man, you’re always busy. It was a lot going on. I’m like, Yeah, I get it. But what I was trying to also impress upon her just to, you know, you kind of get to know your kids all along the way. She’s going to be 16 Crazy, here in a couple months. And you know, what I shared is each person is different, like if, you know, there are people that really enjoy I like stability. I like things that are just kind of operationally going really well. I think I’d be bored out of my mind, I just that’s not how I’m built. But I am a kind of a personalized to dig in and roll up the sleeves and kind of fix things or retool. So yeah, I think I’m probably living my best life, because I’m definitely

Chris Hoyt, CXR 8:46
Your happy space right now.

Terra Doyle, Roche 8:49
Gluten for punishment, maybe. But it’s..

Gerry Crispin, CXR 8:51
It’s a really, really good point. I think, I think those folks who kind of embrace that change, and kind of look forward to the differences that that every day brings, are are in an extraordinary place where their their happy place, if you will, and the and the folks that really are risk averse, and and struggle with you know, I want something that’s stable, that’s the same every day, at least for a few days. Are are a little bit more stressed out.

Terra Doyle, Roche 9:27
Yeah.

Gerry Crispin, CXR 9:28
And and we have to figure out among our employees, employee populations, you know, who who is in what side of that? And whether or not we can create an environment that is conducive for those that need more stability, and then challenge those who can who can be more agile, if you will, because we know that the agility is really what’s going to succeed, succeed or help us succeed in our, you know, for employers. For the future, but we still need those folks who come to work every day, do the same job every day happy to do it want to get paid want to go home and not be thought, you know, not be stressed out?

Terra Doyle, Roche 10:14
Yeah.

Gerry Crispin, CXR 10:14
And that’s, that’s gonna be an interesting challenge I think for the future. I’m fascinated by that. And it also means for recruiting, that we have to think about some of those demographics, if you will, that are relevant to the job in terms of how people are capable of handling a stable or an unstable, uncertain environment.

Terra Doyle, Roche 10:44
That’s a good point Gerry. And I the other part, too, is I think even those that really enjoy it, there’s there still can be change fatigue, I mean, it can, there can still be too much. So there’s, I think there’s a balance between what that breaking point is, and when it’s just, you know, it’s gone too far. And you’ve got to peel it back.

Gerry Crispin, CXR 11:02
But for those people, I put the onus on each of us to be accountable for that. If you’re, if you’re comfortable with the agility in the changing that, whatever, and, and for several weeks, you’re working, you know, 80 hours a week, or you’re on call seven days a week, and all that kind of stuff. It’s also on you to be able to say, Yeah, enough, I’m taking a break, give me you know, whatever. Yeah, you know, I think I think we have to be accountable for looking into the future and saying, this is, this is what makes me happy, and I can I can have a boss who gets me and, and is going to support me when I need that break.

Chris Hoyt, CXR 11:48
So I’m, so I’m going to pitch something a little bit uncomfortable, maybe or controversial. But a year ago, six months to a year ago, we were asking people how they were and our leaders, we were even having these conversations, our leaders, we were saying, you know, you’re saying how are you? You unload for a little bit? And you say no, but really, how are you? Right? And that was that kind of mental wellness checking on you making sure you’re okay. What I have noticed in the last two months, is as we continue to have these conversations with the leaders, and I just had one right before we jumped on here. It’s not it’s not as intense an answer. When they respond to how they’re doing. It’s almost like we’re getting acclimated to this chaos. And I’m just wondering, Terra are you seeing the same thing, either with your colleagues or with your folks, when you talk to them? That they are They’re either getting used to it, or they’re getting out? I mean, is there is there some level normalization that’s starting to happen with this level of stress?

Terra Doyle, Roche 12:46
It’s interesting, you say that, because I was wondering the same thing. And part of it was tied, also just to kind of taking a look at turnover, because sometimes that would be obviously an indicator that and, you know, we, as an organization, haven’t seen really the unfortunate, I guess, to maybe not see the great resignation that’s occurring, and our turnover has actually been lower, in most instances. So that being said, you still have turnover, and so like, but I’ve watched it in some areas decline. And so I think you’re exactly spot on. I personally think people are getting better at determining, look, this craziness is still gonna be here tomorrow. So I know, my point is to be able to be like, I’m gonna walk away and come back out at tomorrow, next day, whatever the case may be. Before I think people were afraid to shut things down. They’re trying to navigate a work from home situation. And there’s just more normalcy in that now. So they’ve navigated it well. And the other thing is, I think, the prioritization. So a great analogy was used to look at a lot of balls in the air. Some of those balls are glass, and some of those are rubber, and they’re gonna bounce, and I think they’re understanding which ones are I gotta take care of these glass balls, because that’ll be really detrimental when they fall in. Okay, I got those covered, and I’m walking away, and I’ll pick the other ones up tomorrow. And that is a self accountability topic. And I think people are doing it better.

Gerry Crispin, CXR 14:03
I got to think about that analogy. I love it. I really am going to think about that. That’s that’s worth a podcast somewhere. glass balls and rubber balls in the air.

Chris Hoyt, CXR 14:19
That’s breaking balls and balls the bounce.

Terra Doyle, Roche 14:24
Maybe you do that before all the drinks come because then you never know when

Gerry Crispin, CXR 14:27
this has some potential for sure. That’s great Terra. You could do a couple presentations on that one alone? For sure.

Chris Hoyt, CXR 14:42
Yeah, I do think it’s interesting. You make a really good point of what we had. When you become a leader and as you ascend, right in your career, you do figure out you know, what, what is urgent and what can just wait, right? Because yeah, when you’re younger, I think at least for most of us, we felt like everything must get done. Everything must get finished, what if I don’t? What if I don’t? What if I don’t, and you get better about that. But then it’s almost like, you know, the recruiting gods or the staffing Gods cranked that stress knob all the way to the right for a while. And we started freaking out again. And then now we have figured out, this is the same shit. It’s just more of it. Some of this is going to be just fine.

Terra Doyle, Roche 15:21
Yeah, you know, and I’ll say something controversial back, because I think that sometimes we as a function, I’m going to make a broad statement. We’re too available. So we’re so service oriented, that we’re always there. And we’re always on and that’s part of it. You know, pausing and just being like, you know, here, I’ll give you a perfect example. I got, I did get a call not too terribly long ago, I’ve been trying to get a hold of someone for like the last two hours, they’re just not answer is everything. Okay? And I’m thinking two hours. I’m pretty sure everything’s okay. I’m not sure. I mean, again, I think but that’s not the normal thing. It’s normal. I haven’t respond in five minutes. And so it’s just, it’s causing a lot of reaction. I think we need to do that more. Because then what happens is there’s people that are figuring things out, and that’s important. That’s important skill people have to learn how to do is that a reliance on others? So I don’t know. I’ve kind of seen that shifting a little bit recently, too, which I think is a really, really good thing.

Chris Hoyt, CXR 16:21
That’s a good call out. Yeah. Well, and there’s a shift to have a you can’t just come knocking on my door in the office.

Gerry Crispin, CXR 16:26
Well, okay, then. Yeah,

Terra Doyle, Roche 16:28
You can hide

Chris Hoyt, CXR 16:29
it catch up on all my Netflix while I’m working.

Gerry Crispin, CXR 16:35
All right. I’m always apologizing to people who try to reach me on Mondays and I tell them I’ve retired on Mondays, I am not available. Just not available. You cannot find me. This

Chris Hoyt, CXR 16:48
Gerry has a very busy schedule on Monday. No does nothing funny really, really does.

Gerry Crispin, CXR 16:57
I’m fully engaged with my grandkids, my cousin’s little bit of poker, a little bit of golf, whatever. But but, you know, Mondays are mine, and I turn everything off, if I can, you know, that’s probably 35 days out of the year. From that perspective, so it’s I do think we need to figure out how to control those things that helped to ground us, you know, so that we can deal with all this bullshit.

Terra Doyle, Roche 17:28
Yeah.

Gerry Crispin, CXR 17:29
On the other days, that we, we can’t we can’t control everything that goes on.

Terra Doyle, Roche 17:35
I agree. Do you want to know a secret? Okay, so when I was in Greece, I had heard about the place I didn’t end up going there. But it’s a place like just imagine it’s just filled with plates, and a brick wall. And you just chuck them. Like, imagine the stress relief of just like breaking crap. How like, we should have that we should maybe they are I just didn’t I don’t know where they’re at. But like, I think there’s a secret to the release. And yours may be golf and playing with your grandkids, which is awesome. But man, I think like doing some damage to some dishes.

Gerry Crispin, CXR 18:11
Future I liked that you did business in there. No, there is no us places where it and axe at a wall kind of thing. That’s fine. That could be part of a broader empire in which you go into another room. And you just fling plates or throw glasses, or something. You know,

Chris Hoyt, CXR 18:39
There is a place I saw when I saw I lived in California for a couple of years. There is a place out there somewhere that I saw advertised where you could go in and beat on a car. So they bring in a junker and you put on some safety equipment, and you get a bat or crowbar whatever you want, and you can smash the windows, you can dent the doors, you get to tear that car apart, you pay an hourly, whatever. And I always thought that might be kind of cool. To do the thing with a bat, and that comes back

Gerry Crispin, CXR 19:14
A whole alternative Disneyland for this,

Chris Hoyt, CXR 19:19
That might be the new Disneyland pretty soon it could be that

Gerry Crispin, CXR 19:24
All the stress release rides and whatever that that you get to go to.

Terra Doyle, Roche 19:30
Oh, sounds glorious.

Chris Hoyt, CXR 19:33
Disney will move to Texas, that’s what they’ll do with all that property.

Gerry Crispin, CXR 19:39
Investment money out there. Maybe we should be proposing to investment you know, $100 billion. We’ll build one of these kinds of things for them.

You gotta love it.

Chris Hoyt, CXR 19:54
No my phone’s not ringing yet Greystone. Listen thing?

Gerry Crispin, CXR 20:01
Not not there yet. We’re okay.

Chris Hoyt, CXR 20:05
Essentially. So you did say I can’t remember Terra, I know you did. I think it was before I hit the go button. Yeah. But you did say you’ve got a trip that you’re planning, to vineyard to winery right to go check that out? Is it a part? Is it part of a longer tour? Are you going just one spot hanging out with your dear ta friends and then moving on or plan?

Terra Doyle, Roche 20:26
It’s interesting you ask because for a couple of people that are going who you know, you would know that we’re very much planners. So one we have the day we’ve had in place book for like a year. And there will be a color coded spreadsheet, there will be times there will be reservations, where they have driver booked,

Chris Hoyt, CXR 20:46
Matching shirts, maybe matching T shirts.

Terra Doyle, Roche 20:49
I don’t know if it will go that far. But I like where your head’s at. So we will consider all things. So we will to your pointing Gerry’s will the who had asked I mean, like we’ll go to Fontanella There are other memberships that folks who are, you know, would love to talk too much already wineries that they’re members of so certainly we’ll look to hit those and then some new ones. That’s, it’s funny, I think when I was younger, and I would go to nap, I had a really kind of maybe a negative view on getting a driver because I thought, Ah, I think kids running around, it’s really not the case, they really open you up to some really great places that you didn’t know existed. And that’s how I got to know Fontanella Actually, it was

Gerry Crispin, CXR 21:28
Also it will reduce your your likelihood of getting stopped what after the third or fourth winery. And and the and, and the if you are found to be inebriated as a driver, it’s a $10,000 fine in Napa.

Terra Doyle, Roche 21:49
Yeah. It should be.

Chris Hoyt, CXR 21:53
I think you’re 100% though, Terra because we when we were in Monterrey for a period of time, so my partner and I, she and I rented a place for I think four or five months in Carmel. Wonderful, wonderful area to just stay for a while. We did a wine tour in the Monterey area. We didn’t we didn’t go all the way up to Napa, for that we just kind of stayed local. And the tour guide, like peeled us off to this place we would have never picked or never heard of. And it’s called Odonata. And you know, the driver stops we all you know we’re getting off and up rolls the guy that’s been working in the field, he’s got a little pitchfork or what shovel whatever it was, and he’s been out in field, we’re gonna He’s filthy. And he says, Hey, glad you guys are here. Just pick anywhere you want to sit, whatever. And it’s this 30 something, he owns it. It is his it is his wine, like an end, it is probably one of my favorite wines. We’re a member, we get a whole bunch of it, but it is just like, I would have never found it. And he had this beautiful story and the sommelier that came out and was doing the wine tasting was was really engaging and a lot of fun. And I mean, we just really enjoyed it would have never found it. Have we not just gotten a driver and said take us

Terra Doyle, Roche 23:06
That’s the thing. Yeah, it’s in fact, they told us they’re like, we appreciate your list, but we’re gonna make you a different recommendation. I’m like that proposal. And now all of a sudden it was like just a fantastic time. And the other thing that it did is you know that they’re connected they know these people because they’re in the industry so we got barrel tastings, we wouldn’t have had tasting of wines that aren’t on the normal you know shelf for people so it was like a really cool experience. And it’s just one that I want to keep repeating so I think it’s just really super smart and I’m a I’m a super huge foodie. I am yeah literally super huge foodie. So I’m really excited at attempting to get into French Laundry so wish me luck.

Gerry Crispin, CXR 23:49
You have so do you know the rules? I have been in French Laundry

Terra Doyle, Roche 23:54
I know the rules but if there is there if there are some particular trick

Gerry Crispin, CXR 24:02
So I think I’ll tell you what I what I attempted and what worked. Okay for me. So so we went we were going to go to Napa with another couple and we had all this stuff done and and the other couple so basically said, Let’s try to get into French Laundry. So I looked it up and at the time I saw I don’t know if the rules are now but that time you had a call 90 days in advance. And you know at starting at 7am in the morning or some silly stuff like that, and I’m going Oh no, I can’t I first of all, I stumbled when I tried to do that. And other people are very good at that sort of thing. So I called I have a concierge card, you know credit card, one of those more expensive credit cards, and I call the group On the back, and I said, By the way, do you do this kind of thing? And they said, Oh, of course we do. We’ll call on your behalf and set up a, you know, interview, I mean, dinner for you. So, 90 days in advance. The next day, they called me back and they said, We didn’t get in. We got you on a waiting list. Okay. Five days before we went to Napa, I got a call. Mr. Crispin, you were interested in the laundry? I’m in the laundry.

Chris Hoyt, CXR 25:36
Wait, I’m sorry. Where are they calling you from?

Gerry Crispin, CXR 25:39
Calling me from the laundry and

Chris Hoyt, CXR 25:41
interested in the laundry?

Gerry Crispin, CXR 25:45
I’m Italian What do you want? Mr. Crispin And here’s the deal.

Chris Hoyt, CXR 25:53
Now they’re even more Italian

Gerry Crispin, CXR 25:55
Can only read between the lines? So is it here’s the view. Is it there? You want? You want to table for four? You can have four? You can’t have less than four. You can’t have more than four. Is that? Okay? Such math? Yeah. I said, that’s fine. So we have you, we have a time for you to come. It’s 5:10. Can you come at that time? I said, Yes. We said, Okay. And finally, you need to give us 50%. Of, of you know the cost now. And there’s no, you don’t get it back if you don’t show up? Yeah. And and I said, Fine. Here’s my credit card. So as it turns out, we went to the laundry, we had an extraordinary time. Really second most expensive meal I’ve ever had. However,

Chris Hoyt, CXR 27:03
If that’s not a teaser,

Gerry Crispin, CXR 27:05
I know. So I, the person who was the waiter, if you will was extraordinary. I mean, really just world class. And and I told him the story. And he said oh yeah, he says when we when we have a cancellation. He said we don’t go to the next person or the most recent person or the the not so recent person on the list, we go to the person who has a concierge card. Okay, because we know they can afford it. Okay, and I said, Oh, okay, thank you. And so that’s the only suggestion I have is that the card that you may have might in fact be helpful in terms of moving you up the list if you get on the waitlist.

Terra Doyle, Roche 28:07
Well don’t think that I’m not calling as soon as this is over to double check that situation because

Gerry Crispin, CXR 28:11
Yes, you should. I think it’s I do think the laundry is well worth the experience. And at the end of it, they invited us to if we wanted to stand for a few minutes in the kitchen itself. And so for like 15-20 minutes, we literally watched how how they plated you know and and dealt with the people that were there. And I was just fascinated by that whole thing. And I’m going they got an awful lot of, of young seuss you know, people and all this other stuff. He says no, no, they are top chefs in other restaurants, who, who for no money, come here and work for a month so they can learn this system.

Chris Hoyt, CXR 29:05
I once got to stand in the kitchen at like at the Bugo de Peppa restaurant table in there. And it was amazing to watch. I mean the bus people would put things on our play like on our on our table while they balanced it to clear the dishes and

Gerry Crispin, CXR 29:22
We had a 1010 course meal with wine. It was extraordinary and and by the way, the time that you are given is the only time anyone is given to come at that particular time. So when you show up at the door, they greet you by name. They treat you as if you’re the only person who’s going to be there. They bring you to a table in a darkened room where the light is perfect over your table, but you can’t see shit anywhere around you. And and so so you have no idea whether or not there’s anybody else in this entire restaurant. That’s, I find their approach. Unbelievable. I wouldn’t necessarily do it over and over again because it’s way too expensive, but but it still is extraordinary.

Chris Hoyt, CXR 30:21
Is it Terra is it your bucket list? Dinner place to go? Is it on your list?

Terra Doyle, Roche 30:25
Oh, it totally. If you look at my bucket list items are probably all around food. I finally got to Alinea last fall and had just a fantastic experience there. So yes, friends laundry,

Gerry Crispin, CXR 30:36
I’ll tell you one thing. One last thing relative to that is I have a fantasy to go back to the laundry. But there is one table that doesn’t meet all that does not impact all those rules. They have an outside table for 10 people. And you could call any time and try to arrange that. But you’re talking about 10 people. So my, my family. My fantasy is that we we arrange for that table, and then call people who are willing to fly in for that experience. Yeah. Because I think we can get I certainly think I know enough people that I could call up and say, oh, so I’ve got this date. But you’re gonna have to fly and and get there. Are you willing? Are you willing to pay a piece of the action for a 10 person table? At the laundry?

Chris Hoyt, CXR 31:43
Gerry, I have an idea.

Gerry Crispin, CXR 31:45
Yeah, I’m just saying. I want to know if she wants to be on the list.

Terra Doyle, Roche 31:49
I want to be on the list.

Chris Hoyt, CXR 31:51
I have an idea. Yeah. So Jerry and I are going to go to this little camp out in August the last week of August. Yes. And and following that little shindig very intimate little thing we’re gonna go to Yeah, we asked and other people

Terra Doyle, Roche 32:09
I think I know what your talking about.

Chris Hoyt, CXR 32:13
We’ll be relatively in that area and Gerry will be celebrating his 75th birthday. Oh, I will be celebrating my 50th So it seems to me that just a little side trip. I’m not a mathematician, but a little side trip might be able to take us over for a nice meal after we’ve been camping for a week.

Terra Doyle, Roche 32:37
I mean, really and Gerry’s got the card so clearly he has connections.

Gerry Crispin, CXR 32:42
I could go for that. I haven’t done my my my flight yet. But I liked that I really liked that idea Chris

Chris Hoyt, CXR 32:59
You’re the one with the concierge card.

Gerry Crispin, CXR 33:02
Well, I I am making a note right now to look into this.

Terra Doyle, Roche 33:09
I could legit like I think this is my second life like when I’m finally done like okay ta I’ve washed my hands like I have no doubt my second rebirth career is something related to food. So I mean I know you probably don’t want to talk all day about this but the last thing I will tell you is my next addiction. Beyond French Laundry is getting in the Lost kitchen in Maine. I do not know the story

Chris Hoyt, CXR 33:33
of that. I don’t know what that is. All right.

Terra Doyle, Roche 33:36
Let me let me take it down pretty quick to you. Somebody My name is Erin French one she has a book. That is just her story and it’s fantastic. And she started a kind of an idea I want to serve people she would just call friends like come over and you can leave a donation if you feel like it and it turned into heaven opened a business so she opened her first last kitchen with through like a really bad divorce and the kitchen closed down. Fast forward to like she got an Airstream that she would just go farm to farm in in Maine and host these wonderful dinners and now she has a mill and here’s the deal. Here’s how you get a reservation there. She opens up receiving postcards in April. You have to get a special code to put on the postcard. And you send it in and they take basically three weeks to pull cards they call you and it’s like make a reservation you’re flying to Maine for dinner. And within three weeks they are done booked for the season. And it’s in the middle of it’s called Freedom Maine and she even has funnily enough after I found out all this she also has a show on like Nolan network I think is what it was. But you can also then kind of see it and you watch and you salivate and you’re like I’ve got to be here like she just makes up new menus every day based on what’s fresh that the farmers are you know have available. It is the ultimate farm to table Experience and like the hardest reservation today? Wow, fantastic. Like it’s luck of the draw. She’s putting everyone on an even playing ground to be able to be pulled from the system. And that’s what they’ve been doing for the last few years.

Gerry Crispin, CXR 35:13
Put me on that list.

Terra Doyle, Roche 35:15
Darn right. It’s harder, like I look every day, I clearly didn’t make the cut this year. Okay, but so then I’ll try again next year, because they they started April, I usually done by the

Gerry Crispin, CXR 35:26
Let us know when you’re trying that next year, because we could try to, if more than one of us gets, you know, if one of us gets in, we all know, we just we just, you know, commit that, you know, we you’re on the list, you know, whatever.

Chris Hoyt, CXR 35:42
What if we start a lottery within the talent acquisition space, and we submit hundreds of these postcards. And then no matter what the three of us get to go.

Terra Doyle, Roche 35:55
As long as we get to go take up those extra spots

Gerry Crispin, CXR 36:00
That I know it’s well think about it, Terra, if you if you got it and you you’re able to set set it up, it’s still going to be you know, not everyone is going to be able to go right. Yeah, you know, they just from a timing point of view from a cost point of view or whatever. It’s just not going to be easy for everyone to go. So. Yeah, we could probably figure out some way that we should be able to do something like that. I love that idea. I think that’s fabulous.

Terra Doyle, Roche 36:34
Like we’re, we’re we’re we got a we have a situation going on here. I love what we’re doing.

Chris Hoyt, CXR 36:39
I will so I’ll tell you this, we can end on this little fun tidbit mystery. I’m not gonna say who it is. You know who it is great, because I don’t think they’ve done it yet. But we do have a person in our space that’s that is working on starting and launching a foodie YouTube channel. Gerry, do you know who this is?

Gerry Crispin, CXR 37:03
I do.

Chris Hoyt, CXR 37:04
You do? You know the person? You know the person? I’d be so

Gerry Crispin, CXR 37:09
we we do stuff every you know, month on? Yeah, well,

Chris Hoyt, CXR 37:14
I’ll give you a hint. I’ll give you a hint. She and one other person have an incredible passion around shining a light on female owned wineries and distilleries

Gerry Crispin, CXR 37:26
Oh God

Chris Hoyt, CXR 37:30
Never because I don’t know if she’s I don’t want to, you know, spoil that. But I don’t know what kind of launch she’s getting ready to do. But I know that she has mentioned it a few times when we’ve sat down to talk that they’re getting like a foodie program. And I think we could talk her into visiting our cities and we can all pick our favorite place she could come foodie eyes, restaurants in our locations.

Terra Doyle, Roche 37:58
I love that idea

Gerry Crispin, CXR 38:00
I have I have the airstream to go to each of the cities.

Chris Hoyt, CXR 38:04
I like how we were like she could come to our city and Gerry’s like well I’ll just go to all the cities

Gerry Crispin, CXR 38:12
I have you know I’m at the end of my career so I’m you know, I’m kind of enjoying the you know, the luxury of being able to do a little bit more than what Chris can do because he actually still has to work.

This is unfortunately sad trombone this is this is unfortunately very true. Yeah.

Terra Doyle, Roche 38:35
So before we go though, Gerry has to answer so you know he left us dangling with the situation. What was the most expensive dinner experience you had I am curious?

Gerry Crispin, CXR 38:46
Okay. I will say that I and I do have a I don’t have I don’t think I can show it to you right now because it’s probably packed away. But when I went to Italy, with the same couple, by the way that I went to the laundry with we we stayed outside of Siena in to Nuta a farm area and use that as the command post to go to several different places. And this was about 15 years ago and and at some point we were looking at doing a really nice dinner. And in Tuscany. We found a place on a in a beautiful just a beautiful Italian town overlooking a valley And in the distance was one of the major wineries or wine places. It was a mill that had been converted. A very flamboyant restaurant tour a female. And we, we decided to have lunch there. And we, the four of us, my wife, myself, and the other couple went into this place, there was no one else in this place. This restaurant, it was the view that there was a whole side of the hill that I mean, this side of the mill that was all glass. And you see the most beautiful view of the valley in front of you and the mountain behind you and that kind of stuff. They had, they had their b&b type things and they were doing a lot of their own growth and so on. And, and then the waiter came out, and it was one of these Adonis type Italian young men, who was very articulate, but extraordinarily handsome. And I think my wife, and my friend’s wife looked at him and said, Oh, my God, you know, that kind of thing. It was like, and, and he was describing, in amazing ways, the kind of food that we could have over the course of this lunch. We were there for four and a half hours. Because of that, we had not only 10 course meal, but we had a signed cookbook, from the whole thing. When we left, the entire staff 15 People came out and gave us you know, a standing ovation and clapped as we, as we walked out to our car, a totally smashed, by the way so

Chris Hoyt, CXR 42:19
So many questions.

Gerry Crispin, CXR 42:21
It was significantly significantly more terms of cost. To to the laundry, it was significantly more it was, it was the most expensive meal I’ve ever had. It was for lunch, and it lasted the entire, you know, afternoon, et cetera, I will tell you that. Going back to where we were staying in my car, we drove over another hill. And I missed the exit. And so we it was raining hard and and I kept on going and thinking that you know I’m going in the right direction. And suddenly the the road narrowed carefully. This way, you know, just a little bit more inches every every foot and I stopped. And there was there was no more than one inch on either side of my car. Left, we had to climb out of the window above us. So that we can so that we could we could explain to me how to back up without destroying this this car. It was it was really an extraordinary day. I will I will tell you. I have a short story.

Chris Hoyt, CXR 43:54
I have questions Gerry. So when you go and eat at the Chippendale Cafe who signs the cookbook? Is it the chef or the stripper?

Gerry Crispin, CXR 44:08
The chef, the chef signed this book I will you know one of these days I’ll show you the cookbook. It was very fabulous, wonderful cookbook, the food. The you know everything was extraordinary. But certainly the view was amazing. who you are.

Chris Hoyt, CXR 44:30
And then my final question for it is when you got the standing ovation Is it because everyone ate everything on their plate? Or is it because something else happened that you haven’t shared?

Terra Doyle, Roche 44:42
Like nobody else had ever actually

Gerry Crispin, CXR 44:44
No, they they were they were? That’s right. What we were the most extraordinary customers I’m sure that they’d had at least in that day.

Chris Hoyt, CXR 44:57
What a blessed life. I mean, I just said If I get reincarnated, I have to come back as Gerry at any, at any stage of his life.

Terra Doyle, Roche 45:11
Thank you for sharing that. That was cool. Probably will never get there. But good to know, just in case I ever.

Gerry Crispin, CXR 45:17
If you go to Italy Believe me, I would be happy. From a foodie point of view, you would you would find this extraordinary.

Chris Hoyt, CXR 45:29
Well, Terra, thank thank you so much for joining us and for I have one glass left in my bottle of wine. So I’m excited about that. So we appreciate all your time today. Thank you.

Terra Doyle, Roche 45:38
Thanks for having me. I appreciate it. It’s been a good time.

Gerry Crispin, CXR 45:41
Terra It’s great.

Terra Doyle, Roche 45:45
Thank you guys.

Chris Hoyt, CXR 45:47
Cheers.

Terra Doyle, Roche 45:47
Cheers, I need a refill.

Gerry Crispin, CXR 45:49
Cheers to you, Terra.

Announcer 45:52
Thanks for joining us for another episode of CareerXroads, Uncorked Chris Hoyt and Gerry Crispin look forward to sharing more drinks and conversation with you next time. Until then, cheers.