EP 103 Part II: From Chopped Castaway to Culinary Success: Dwight and Sharon's Journey

Host Michael Dugan: 0:52

Welcome back as we dive into part two, where Dwight and Sharon reflect on Dwight's time on"Chopped: Castaways," emphasizing that what viewers see isn't the full story. They share how they run their marriage and business by staying in your lane, communicating, relying on each other's strengths, including working around allergies and taste preferences, and using humor to survive. I know people wanna know, but what is it like to be on "Chopped"? what is that is it frustrating? Is it too much drama?

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 1:25

it wasn't a lot of drama per se, but the thing that gets me is that, and this is just between us and all the other people listening, a lot of the people weren't true naturalists. They weren't true outdoors people.

Host Michael Dugan: 1:39

Because they're Michelin star chefs. Yeah

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 1:41

well, let a lot of air out of my sails because I was looking for like-minded people. and a lot of them weren't really like-minded people. And like Sharon said about the… What do you say about the cooking? So I feel that even though I am grateful for the experience that they gave to Dwight because it sure opened up a lot of publicity

Host Michael Dugan: 2:00

I was thinking that, yeah.

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 2:02

the store, so I am truly grateful to the Lord for

Host Michael Dugan: 2:05

Yeah, for sure

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 2:06

but I felt, when I watched it, why, while I love Marcus Samuelsson

Host Michael Dugan: 2:13

I love him. Yeah, Chef

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 2:15

do I, he's my Michael Jackson in the culinary culinary world. But while I love Maneet and, and Gabe, I felt that the judges should have been some people from like the show Survivor or something that… Because when, when you're out there trying to survive you're not thinking of putting together a Michelin star- plate.

Host Michael Dugan: 2:39

Yeah, I get it.

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 2:40

you're thinking of surviving so you're gonna take whatever you can and cook it very rustic, cook it ve- And I felt- And hearty … and hearty. And so I felt that they should judge, they should have judged based on that as opposed to, oh, their mindset is, is- A restaurant … a restaurant, fine dining restaurant, so they judged the food based on that. And I felt they should have used judges there are shows out there, there are so many shows out there with Survivor or, Surviving the Wild or Fishing in the Wild. They should have used those type of people to judge the food. They should have been the one that judged the plate. When we're out there and we're hunting and we're fishing, we're gonna create a meal, but that meal's gonna have a lot of carbs, a lot of fat. It's gonna be a different style of meal because it's going to be a survival meal. So let's say for instance, we're out for two days in the woods, we don't want no little dainty little piece of, goat on a little stick with a little… No, we want a hearty meal that's gonna sustain our energy

Host Michael Dugan: 3:46

Okay.

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 3:47

the long haul. Because, when we were there, the weather was atrocious. you got rain, you got wind, it got cold, it got hot, and as you're, going through the motions, if you're truly surviving, we're gonna cook and eat and consume things that's gonna sustain us based on what the weather and how our energy levels are. We're not gonna sit there and, and try to make a beef Wellington.

Host Michael Dugan: 4:11

I was trying to figure out what you were holding back, and now I understand 'cause when we talked before, I was like, "What is he thinking?" Oh, okay. It just went off. Light bulb went off. It's not reality, right? On a reality show, it's not reality.

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 4:25

Yeah. It's not, it's not reality. So it's not the way,

Host Michael Dugan: 4:26

Okay.

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 4:27

would naturally survive. The same thing is just when I was saying my cousin and I, we smoked the salmon on that, the riverbank.

Host Michael Dugan: 4:31

Yeah.

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 4:31

Salmon is full of fat. So when we're out there and we're smoking, salmon has salmon cheeks, and we take those cheeks out. So we won't give the people the cheeks. We keep the cheeks for ourselves. We eat the cheeks, and we

Host Michael Dugan: 4:44

That's the

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 4:44

oth- we give them the other meat. it's one of those different things like that. And that's what kind of pushed me back a little bit about the, the Top Castaways, 'cause it wasn't true to what they initially pitched it as to me,

Host Michael Dugan: 4:57

Yeah. so that's really what surprised you, I

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 5:00

Yes.

Host Michael Dugan: 5:00

about the show and going in. Yeah. have you kept in touch with any of the cast

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 5:05

Oh, yes. There's, several of them that, we still talk. there's a few of them that were ready for that same type of scenario, that could actually survive in the elements. And then there were those who never made it.

Host Michael Dugan: 5:20

Oh, okay. Okay, got it. But they could cook.

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 5:24

They can cook. They can cook. They can cook.

Host Michael Dugan: 5:26

But they couldn't survive. so as we move on, what's amazing to me is both of you have built a partnership as a couple, and you've learned a lot about communication, I think trust, and supporting each other's strengths, which is a very important thing in a marriage, in a relationship, in a business. What advice would you give to other couples that are working together and building their business?

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 5:54

Stay in your lane.

Host Michael Dugan: 5:55

I knew that was coming.

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 5:57

yeah. and

Host Michael Dugan: 5:58

That's the best.

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 6:00

we're not, and we're not talking four-lane highways. These are back roads. Like

Host Michael Dugan: 6:04

I love it. I love it

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 6:06

we play off each other's strength and weaknesses. So where I am weak, Dwight… Actually, Dwight is,… he has no fear. I may hold back a little bit, but he would take me out of my comfort zone. And I may go too far, and she reels me back in. And it's knowing the line, not to cross it, and knowing when to cross it. And, allow his strength to shine, as well as my strength to shine, pick him up in his weaknesses, He certainly picks me up in my weaknesses. So we really do have to play off of each other. Yeah. the funny thing is, let's say for instance, on Chopped, I can't… I couldn't taste octopus'cause I'm allergic to it. I would die. So that was one of the problems that I had, is I couldn't layer my flavors because I couldn't eat the octopus. But when we're doing our private cheffing and our catering- Or if it was in my- … and stuff, and we're seasoning our foods and everything, I have to rely on her, and we rely on each other. And now she has to take that whole reign and run with it for the seafood.

Host Michael Dugan: 7:13

yeah

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 7:14

And vice versa. And vice versa, because I'm not a big meat eater, like pork and stu- I'm a meat eater and so he's a meat eater, so he will,

Host Michael Dugan: 7:22

That's so interesting.

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 7:23

Yeah. So I'm more… I'm poultry and fish and

Host Michael Dugan: 7:28

Yeah. Me

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 7:29

And- she's a lot more than that now, though. The, the funny thing was my motto was,"It doesn't matter if it's hop, jump, swims, flies, crawls or runs, I'll eat it." And now she's been eating hopping things and swimming things. yes.

Host Michael Dugan: 7:41

Oh, wow.

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 7:42

not lying. He introduced me to alligator. He has introduced me to elk. But would I go and order it constantly and eat it like he does? No. I still keep to my turkey and my chicken- … and my fish. But-

Host Michael Dugan: 7:53

Okay. Okay.

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 7:54

the funny thing is, we just did a wild game exotic food night,

Host Michael Dugan: 7:58

Talk about that because that is amazing

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 8:00

Oh yeah, we did a kangaroo. We did Australian kangaroo teriyaki glaze skewers

Host Michael Dugan: 8:06

Oh my gosh

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 8:08

He would introduce me to these, the, these meats, and I would taste them just to have the flavor to see what it taste and to be able to explain it, because how am I gonna explain it being in the culinary world and not know how it tastes? But I would… Would I go to a restaurant and order them? Sure. But it's not… he's a big meat eater, and I'm more the other end of it. So when we are doing our private chef and catering jobs, w- certain things I will taste because I can taste it and I love it, or he's, he may be allergic to it, and vice versa. I'm allergic to avocado, so even though he doesn't like avocado, but if a, if the client wants avocado- Yeah … in the mix,

Host Michael Dugan: 8:54

You have to try

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 8:55

it, so it's just, and then having communication. There's moments where we are at each other, 'cause nothing is perfect,

Host Michael Dugan: 9:02

Of course Dwight. Stay in your lane.

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 9:06

are moments when we'll There are moments when we'll laugh. and the greatest thing is sometimes when I'm thinking of something and he'll say it out loud, and I'm like, "Oh, my." It just shows that we're… and vice versa. It just shows that we're on the same level and mindset of thinking, especially when it comes to the business,

Host Michael Dugan: 9:26

Okay. Yeah, no, that's great. And you laugh with each other, and that's the secret

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 9:30

Oh, this one over here, man.

Host Michael Dugan: 9:32

That's,

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 9:33

You have to laugh because you spend 24/7 with someone, sometimes it can be a pain and some- and just to get through that, and not to take it so seriously that it doesn't hurt our relationship personally, we have to laugh, look at each other, and just crack up. I just do that hand signal where it's like- Yeah … "Help, save me, I'm in trouble." Oh, yeah.

Host Michael Dugan: 9:54

I love it.

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 9:55

He's dealing with a Jamaican woman, and we can sometimes be spicy. Sometimes.

Host Michael Dugan: 9:58

Oh, yeah.

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 9:59

You ever- Most of the time … you ever have Scotch bonnet peppers?

Host Michael Dugan: 10:03

saw that you were cooking them on TV. I watched one

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 10:05

Yeah.

Host Michael Dugan: 10:06

Oh my gosh. I've never tried them. I can't… So here's the thing, right? I can eat almost anything except for spicy food. So maybe they're not too spicy, but there's certain things that will set me off, and it's sad because I miss flavors. I miss those flavors. Like curry, forget it. I have to

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 10:23

Yeah. That, that's one of the things I think we do a lot. We add a lot of spice to the foods. Yeah. And all different spice. Yeah. Not overly spicy. We add flavor. Yeah.

Host Michael Dugan: 10:33

I can take a little, but I have to be careful. And, but the thing is I always compensate because I add flavor or I find places that have more flavor, but I miss the curries. Like

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 10:44

I say one of the things that we do, so we're low sodium. So a lot of times we do not cook with a lot of salt. We're very low sodium and things along that

Host Michael Dugan: 10:52

Me neither.

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 10:53

A lot of the jams we were doing initially, salsas were very spicy. And over the years we learned we have to dial them back. Yeah. You have to d- you have to spice up to the masses. And that's what helped us really grow a lot is realizing there's certain things we have to do for the masses. Masses. and that's the big thing is, it can't be too spicy. People a lot of times think they wanna have something spicy- That's it, and then they don't and then they don't. When they realize, whoa, this is Sharon's Jamaican spicy? No.

Host Michael Dugan: 11:26

Oh, okay. Got it. Got it. my, my friend, my dear friend and co-host, Chef Steven, he's actually Michelin trained, and He thinks very deeply, and he really wanted to be with you and us today, and he shared a couple questions with me, and one of them is: what do you hope that people feel or remember long after they've shared one of your meals or experiences?

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 11:54

Wow. first of all, I hope they feel the love and the passion that Dwight and I put into it, first and foremost. Because we are going to put… We are going to give it not 100%, 120%. So we hope that they feel that love. Secondly, I hope they l- love the flavors that we put into- … that we bring to the table, and the experience that we created for them, because we just don't want to give you a meal, we want to create an experience for you, And that's what we strive for. We strive to create an experience. And one of the things that I think sets us apart a little bit is as we're creating these food experiences-… we're teaching them and talking them along the way of how we derived at that meal. Exactly. we teach them about the history or knowledge we know. When we utilizing the jams, we talk about the history of the jam. We talk about how… I'm a naturalist per se, so I'm more of a naturalist. So I, don't like a lot of hybridized or genetically modified foods and stuff. And we talk to them about the difference of a genetically or modified, let's say herb or something. we teach them at the same time-… not just about the, the beautiful tastes, the layerings of the tastes, but we also, which some people don't wanna know, but a lot of people seem to love, is the health benefits So a lot of times instead of just doing, let's say black pepper, we'll do like a Indian long black pepper. Which is good for type two diabetes. It has more of a layered flavor to it, as opposed to peppercorns. we talk about that. We talk about Vanaholi basils instead of just Italian basils or sweet basils, and we talk about the health benefits and where they derive from or where they came from. So Sharon said, we creating an experience, and a lot of time… We just had a tea party,… in our store, and the people s- they leave with a full belly and a wealth of knowledge.

Host Michael Dugan: 14:55

I love it. Oh, that's amazing. Oh my gosh. So another question that he brought to me, and I think it's a really good one. Every one of your brands is named after someone you love. Was preserving your family's legacy always a part of the business plan?

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 15:16

Yes. I know when I met Dwight, for me, that was important in, my family's legacy, my, especially my grandparents. And I think Dwight feels the same, especially for his grandfather. We were sitting here thinking of a line, something that we can do so we can name it after his grandfather. Because initially, um, when Dwight and I met, I had a lunch truck. So it was already named, the company was already named after my grandparents. And then when I just started making jams, and I didn't wanna name it Sharon, but yet still I wanted it, people to feel home Like, it's part of their home. I wanted them to feel, homemade jams. I wanted them to feel it, the home of it. I wanted them to feel the love of it, and I felt, naming it after me, nah. what signifies home and love but a mother and a father, especially the mother because she's nurturing, and she's loving, and she's, some mothers, caring. So that's when my sister, and I said, "Name it after my, name it after Mommy," and that's what I did. And my sister Karen actually designed the logo for the jams. And then Dwight designed the logo for Bree and Tiffany, which are our nieces. And again, I wanted something girly, and Dwight was like, "Okay, the, a tea line is very girly because we can host tea parties, And Bree and Tiffany just flowed to me. And yeah, it's preserving my family's legacy. Not so much mine, but even though the company will, is owned by Dwight and I. And I think eventually it's, it is also preserving Dwight and I with w- our legacy.

Host Michael Dugan: 17:14

Yeah.

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 17:14

If someone younger in the family takes it over. Yeah,

Host Michael Dugan: 17:18

that has to happen.

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 17:19

Yeah. Exactly. But the whole thing is we- Yeah … can always look back and reflect and go, like we started out at the beginning- … it's all about family. Yeah. It's all about coming together at family, as family, gathering at the table as family, and that's the bottom line- Exactly is it comes back to family. You know? And that's, how we kind of think that things should be is… In our store, when you first come in our store- There's a huge- … there's a huge sign- That says family … right on, and it says family. So… And that, and that… See, now I get goosebumps 'cause that's the first thing you really see. Yeah. You come in here, we have a sign over the on the front door, our French doors that says "Give thanks," and then our other sign says, "Family." And that's what we, you know… A lot of people come here and go, "Oh my gosh." It feels like family. Yeah, it feels homey. When you come in here, it's just intimate. We have events and some of the people come five, six, seven times- To almost every event … every event. Because they like the feel of it. Wow. Yep. And it could be a charcuterie class party, it could be a high tea- Or afternoon tea … a afternoon tea. Yeah. Um, it could be a jam making session.

Host Michael Dugan: 18:22

I love

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 18:23

this. It could be wild game night. Um, it could be- Oh … our etiquette tea parties. It could be our, what is it, a cl- our literary tea parties. So every, a lot of people come constantly saying, I love the events 'cause you guys make it intimate," and every event is a teaching-learning event. Yeah.

Host Michael Dugan: 18:40

Yeah.

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 18:41

So it's not just, oh, you sit here and have tea. We talk about the medicinal and herbal teas, the health benefits of those teas. The history of teas. The history of different tea parties. The history of, um, jams. Wow. Yeah. Right. And the differences between jam, marmalade, 'cause there's a lot of Old World stuff that's missing today. It is. Like, people don't know and aren't exposed to it, and we try to let that carry on. Actually bring that back. Wow. Yes. Try to bring that back.

Host Michael Dugan: 19:08

So of all the events that you've had, what, what stands out for you the most?

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 19:13

The wild game night.

Host Michael Dugan: 19:16

I saw that. I was like, "What?" And then you know what came to my mind? I have to tell you, what came to my mind was, what does parrot fish taste like? We went to Tahiti for our anniversary, and I really wanted to try parrot fish.

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 19:33

You know what is funny?

Host Michael Dugan: 19:34

It's like fish, right? Yeah.

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 19:36

Yeah. So when Dwight came to me and said, "Oh, we're gonna have wild game-" Oh, yeah"Let's, let's have a wild game night," and so initially I'm thinking, "Well, he doesn't… He's not into football. He's not… he's a weird sports fan." They were thinking of Twister. I'm actually thinking, having a TV here with football games and having, everybody be wild out on some type of food. But then when he goes, "Oh, we're gonna teach them about wi- wild game meats," I said, "Oh." That's awesome. And immediately I said, "Oh, that's a man thing." Yeah. She did. So I said, "Sure." Because I said, you know, the, we have the tea parties for the women. The women come to the tea party. Even though men come to the tea party… they more come to the high tea 'cause they get food. Yeah, 'cause they get real food. But, um- Yeah … but it, you know, we have the charcuterie classes that most of the women comes to, even though men come to that as well. And then we have the jam-making classes. So I'm saying, "You know what? Let him do a wild game night" It's gonna be m- it was gonna be all men. To my surprise-

Host Michael Dugan: 20:34

Really?

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 20:35

first one we had- was 50/50. Yeah. Oh, I love it. 50 women, 50% women and 50% men. And I, and the women were more- … "Oh, let me try it. Let me try it." Oh, I love it. They were so enthused. Oh my gosh. Yeah. And I said, "Oh, I stand to be corrected." I was like, I was so shocked. Yeah. We even had one- Where it was mostly, it was mostly- it was almost all women … all women. So she- Oh my gosh … the one girl brought her parents and her aunt, right? Yeah. Brought her parents and her aunt, and they came and they enjoyed it. The next one, she got tickets for all her sisters. Oh, wow. And we were like, "Oh my God, there's like almost all women- Yeah. … at the wild game night." But yeah, she was, she was like, "Oh man, this is gonna be some men. You know, they're just gonna be sitting there." But what's really cool- Wow … about it is that we didn't just do wild game We created this experience Yes.

Host Michael Dugan: 21:31

Yeah, of course.

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 21:32

We put, um, we put like, it looked like a camp out.

Host Michael Dugan: 21:35

Oh man, I wish I was there.

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 21:37

Tripod with a cauldron hanging there. Yeah. we had like, we had different types of burlap and stuff around. Wow. Uh, we had one where we did the whole wild boar spread out on a table. Oh my gosh. And then, you know, we make it feel like a camp or we make it- Yeah feel like an, uh, jungle. Like an adventure. An adventure. Yeah. So when you come the store transformed. We had, uh, we had a tea party one time and then the… Was it the tea party first and then the wild game night? Yeah. And we had to hurry up and- Oh, shoot'cause we had to change it from girly frissy- Oh my gosh. From one store. We were like changing tables- Oh, that's right … and tablecloths. And we were like- That is so cool … we ain't gonna get no sleep 'cause we… So we changed the whole ambiance inside the store completely changed. So and now that we're adding- Mm-hmm… our outdoor eating, um, space- Yes … I, I think when the weather gets a little bit cooler, having wild game night out there I think is going to be amazing. Yeah. Yeah. Oh my gosh. So we gonna be able to do more open fire stuff. a lot of times I don't have enough room for us to do a whole wild goat or something, but now we have space where we can actually do a whole wild smoked goat. Yeah. And I can hang like a 50-pound salmon over a fire and stuff,

Host Michael Dugan: 22:52

so before we wrap up, I wanna make sure to share a little bit about your business, 'cause we're talking around it, but I want people to know what, what you do and what it's all about. So I give you an opportunity to tell us a little bit more.

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 23:05

Okay. You wanna start it with some of it? Absolutely. Okay. So Daw's Distribution, like I mentioned earlier, is named after my grandparents, and under Daw's Distribution, we have three different lines, the main line being Barbara's Kitchen Jams, where we are makers… we always say we're makers and purveyors of condiments. So under Barbara's Kitchen Jams it's all handmade jams, jellies, marmalades, salsa, and, Chutneys … chutney. We have bread mixes, we have grits, and we have biscuit mix. And they're not just grits. Yeah. These are hand stone- And- ground- Yeah … old world grits and stuff like that … special. Oh

Host Michael Dugan: 23:43

my gosh.

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 23:44

that's Barbara's Kitchen, which is the bigger of the line, which started everything. And then, then there's Bri & Tiffany Teas, but Bri- Mm-hmm … and Tiffany Teas… oh, let me backtrack to Barbara's Kitchen- Go for it … real quick. We started doing mustard as well. Yeah. So all, all the condiments. Wow. But Bri & Tiffany Teas, started out being all, like Dwight stated, medicinal per- um, teas and- And herbal teas … herbal teas and- Okay … caffeine-free, teas. But then now it morphed into healthy dark chocolate bars, like 61% Brazilian Peruvian cacao, and then- Hmm … doing our chocolate bonbons, which we mix with chocolate ganache with our jams. Okay. So we have our bonbon. So they kinda intertwine with each other. The lines intertwine with each other. And then there's The Dreaded Fisherman, Yeah … the organic spices the honey, the raw honey, the, the infused honeys- Mm the aged balsamic, and the young cold pressed olive oils. And so the, the- The Dreaded Fisherman is rustic. It's outdoorsy So they are, balsamics, and we teach what the balsamics are healthy for, what the honeys are healthy for- Mm. Wow … and stuff like that. And then from that we do our private cheffing and our catering. And the catering. So, you know, we'll come to a… Like, we have friends who have really nice Airbnbs. Mm-hmm. And we'll come there and we'll do a private chef experience for them. A private, yes. And it's a learning, teaching experience for them. there's s- small intimate weddings and stuff like that, so we'll cater for small intimate weddings. We will take tea parties on the road. So we have a lot of antique, really nice different types of tea sets, and we'll come and do a tea experience for you- Right … either at your location or at our location. Our location. Okay. so we do that as well. And we have, like I said, earlier, we do literary tea parties in our store. Oh, that's nice. So we find local authors and we'll bring, like, three different local authors in here, and we'll have a tea and talk with those local authors. Mm-hmm. We did some children etiquette tea parties where we bring them in there and we teach them about conversation, dinner conversation, and about tea etiquette and stuff like that. So we do a lot of different events like that. And one of our other little side things that we do- Mm-hmm … is we have our pop shop where we do all natural frozen- Right … ice pops, and we do that during the summertime. And we also do, milkshakes where we incorporate our jams in- Oh, my gosh… in our fruit butters in the milkshakes. Into the milkshakes.

Host Michael Dugan: 26:24

What's the most popular?

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 26:25

And our newest, newest adventure, which Dwight and I… Well, I don't know about Dwight, but I'm excited about- Okay … is we built outside on the side of our store an outdoor eating area, 'cause the beginning of this year- Right … Dwight built a smoker. I built a big 250-gallon tank smoker.

Host Michael Dugan: 26:42

Oh, my gosh.

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 26:43

And so, yeah. Which may be too small now. Yeah. You know, now that we're getting… But, um, so we're opening doing a soft opening this weekend where we're opening our, what we call the eating station. Yeah

Host Michael Dugan: 26:55

How do you keep it all together? Those are a lot of things moving around.

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 27:00

We don't, we, we rarely sleep.

Host Michael Dugan: 27:01

Yeah, no,

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 27:04

no. But you know what's really- Mm-hmm … and this is what I would say going kind of back to how, couples stay and work.

Host Michael Dugan: 27:11

Yeah.

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 27:12

We try to change it up and keep it interesting. Yes. So- Same. Yep … we'll do things that have more interest to Sharon, and then we'll do things that have more interest to me. And then we'll do things- Okay… that we both are interested in. Both interested, yes. Okay. And that way, you know, you keep everybody saying, you can't sit there and go, "Oh, well, I wanna do this and I wanna do that." Well, we try to- Mm-hmm … accommodate. You know, we still- That's great … deal with markets, so we deal, do different markets. So we'll do, like I said, we just did a outdoor hunting fishing market. Okay. And we sold our products at a outdoor hunting fishing show. We did SharkCon. We did that. You know, and then we have a makers market, where it's things that Sharon likes and it is making things, which is a little bit more girly, where she'll come back- Mm-hmm with a bunch of earrings- … that she traded jams for. So yeah.

Host Michael Dugan: 27:57

Wow. I love that. Bartering is the best. I got on first class once in Boston by giving somebody one of my mom's paintings. It wasn't even the original, it was just a $20 painting. Yeah.

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 28:10

You

Host Michael Dugan: 28:10

know? And they put me on first class. I was like, "That's bartering, right?" I mean-

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 28:16

Exactly … you know? We really do try to promote a lot of small businesses.

Host Michael Dugan: 28:20

Good.

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 28:21

So when we do our tea parties- Yes, yes … we use local- We use- … pastry chefs and- Yes, local people … bakers Yeah. You know? And what we do is we have them integrate our jams and stuff into the products. So stuff like that, you know? So we try to make sure everybody has a piece of, some exposure.

Host Michael Dugan: 28:38

Wow, that's fantastic. One other thing comes to mind as we're wrapping up, and this is a big one. So a lot of people that listen to this show are chefs, up and coming chefs, and they get approached by media. Are there any tips for being on TV, for being on Chopped, for being, you know, in the media that you can offer somebody that might be like, "Oh my gosh, I just got this call from the TV station. What am I supposed to do?"

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 29:03

Just be yourself. Just be

Host Michael Dugan: 29:05

yourself. Yeah.

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 29:06

I love it. Be yourself, be natural. You got… Stay true to yourself. Yep. And either they're gonna gravitate to you- And know- … or not gravitate to you. Yeah, exactly. And know your skills. Yes. Don't overreach your skills.

Host Michael Dugan: 29:16

Okay.

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 29:16

That's it. You know, it's funny, when they approached me and they asked me, I don't know names of sauces. Sharon knows sauces.

Host Michael Dugan: 29:24

Right.

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 29:24

She's formal trained. M- what I know is I'm not gonna try to front it, I'm not gonna fake it. Right. I'm gonna be honest and blunt.

Host Michael Dugan: 29:32

So, I mean, right, right behind me is Escoffier, but I can't reach back and grab it. But you know, the big giant encyclopedia- Uh-huh … it's purple, and it's every food you could imagine that was cooked in the 1800s by Auguste Escoffier. And, ironically, when you talked, I gotta share this one, but I remember you saying you couldn't believe it and you thought you were being scammed. I got this letter midway through my podcast, and it was somebody that said, "We'd like you to interview a fourth-generation chef." And it came from Auguste Escoffier Culinary Institute, which is- Hmm … out of Colorado. They're one of the top cooking schools in the country. They compete with the Culinary Institute of America. And I didn't realize this until I connected to this person, but they wanted me to interview the president of the culinary school. Wow. Because he has his own podcast called"The Ultimate Dish," and I will pitch it. It's amazing. He interviews the top chefs in the entire world, and he's a lot like me, where he's very relaxed, and they have a conversation, and it just goes. And he's become a friend of mine.

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 30:39

Nice.

Host Michael Dugan: 30:39

But at the time, I thought it was a scam- I called the cooking school, and I verified the email address, and they're like, "No, this is the assistant to the president." And I'm like, "Whoa." You know, it's, I just had to reflect back on that because you shared that with me, and it just hit me right in the face, and I'm going, "Wow." You know? It's just that experience, right?

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 31:01

Yeah.

Host Michael Dugan: 31:02

But anyway, you never know what can happen, that's the thing. are there any last words, anything you wanna share with our audience around the world?

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 31:10

Just have fun with what you create and make Yes, Just have fun with it love what you do, because if you don't, it'll show. Be passionate about what you do, and I'm not sure where in anybody's religion it, but never ever leave God out of it. Always put God first. Seek him first. Let him guide you. Dwight and I pray every morning. We read our Bible every morning. We read our Bible when we are not super tired-

Host Michael Dugan: 31:38

I know… Guest: Dwight and Sharon: we try. Even if it's just to say a prayer of thanks. But most I always like to… You know, I know everyone is on a different religion level- Mm… Guest: Dwight and Sharon: but this existed without Christ. Yeah. And so I have to, we have to give him the praise for the many, many opportunities that he has put before us. Anything from you, Dwight? I know a lot of times when we do our events, though, we do come together- Yeah… Guest: Dwight and Sharon: and we And the, the first couple times we did it, I'm not… It looked like some of the people wanted to tear up and go, "Oh my gosh." Yeah." Guest: Dwight and Sharon: Wow. Yeah.

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 32:23

And I'll be honest, like, sometimes people come- … that don't have other people in their lives. And they come and they say, "I come here because of family." There's a couple older people who come- Oh, that's amazing… and they don't have anyone here to share food with or break- Mm-hmm … bread with. That's true. And they come, and it… See, now I got goosebumps because it just makes- I love that … things so nice that they could come and have a good time.

Host Michael Dugan: 32:47

Yes … good time. Yeah. Yeah. That's very special. What you're doing is amazing, and I hope that as a result of this podcast, that more people follow you. So as we carry it out, how do we find you on social media? Where do people go,

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 32:59

we have a barbaraskitchen1 on Instagram.

Host Michael Dugan: 33:02

Okay.

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 33:04

We have the dreadedfisherma- … which there's no N on the end of it, on Instagram. Mm-hmm.

Host Michael Dugan: 33:11

Okay.

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 33:11

And then we have Barbara's Kitchen on Facebook, and then we have barbaraskitchenjams.com. Our website.

Host Michael Dugan: 33:18

Wow. Our

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 33:18

website.

Host Michael Dugan: 33:20

And we'll have a guest page up for you that'll have links there, and I'll also have links in the show notes as well that people can follow. I can't thank you both enough. This has been so much fun.

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 33:31

Can't thank you For having us on your podcast.

Host Michael Dugan: 33:34

Oh.

Guest: Dwight and Sharon: 33:35

We really enjoyed this podcast. Thank you. I enjoyed it.

Host Michael Dugan: 33:39

This is why I do it. I mean, it's just, it's such a joy, and both of you together are such an inspiration.