WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.580 welcome to the deep dive we're here to unpack 00:00:02.580 --> 00:00:05.860 the crucial knowledge the surprising insights 00:00:05.860 --> 00:00:09.099 uh really getting into the source material that's 00:00:09.099 --> 00:00:11.460 right and today we're looking at someone whose 00:00:11.460 --> 00:00:14.980 career path is well pretty astonishing proof 00:00:14.980 --> 00:00:17.539 that it's never too late for a total reinvention 00:00:17.539 --> 00:00:21.899 we're talking about simon majumdar yes simon 00:00:21.899 --> 00:00:24.879 majumdar and when you hear that name you probably 00:00:24.879 --> 00:00:27.579 like Immediately picture him at the judging table. 00:00:27.660 --> 00:00:29.420 Absolutely. You know, the thoughtful critic, 00:00:29.640 --> 00:00:32.259 sometimes quite funny on those big Food Network 00:00:32.259 --> 00:00:35.100 shows, Cutthroat Kitchen, Iron Chef. But our 00:00:35.100 --> 00:00:38.439 mission today, it goes way beyond just the TV 00:00:38.439 --> 00:00:40.679 stuff. Yeah. We're really trying to map out this 00:00:40.679 --> 00:00:45.159 huge. quite emotional and very deliberate shift 00:00:45.159 --> 00:00:47.439 he made in his life. That shift is what made 00:00:47.439 --> 00:00:49.420 everything else possible. So we're tracking how 00:00:49.420 --> 00:00:51.700 he went from being, what, a successful book publisher 00:00:51.700 --> 00:00:54.240 in Britain? Exactly. A book publisher. To suddenly 00:00:54.240 --> 00:00:57.780 becoming this globally known food expert. That's 00:00:57.780 --> 00:01:00.759 the journey. It's quite a pivot. In the context 00:01:00.759 --> 00:01:03.509 here, you mentioned it's important. Our source 00:01:03.509 --> 00:01:05.950 material gives us this really detailed look at 00:01:05.950 --> 00:01:09.349 his background, his writing, his TV work. And 00:01:09.349 --> 00:01:12.209 it reveals a backstory that's, well, it's really 00:01:12.209 --> 00:01:14.469 shaped by loss. And then this incredible burst 00:01:14.469 --> 00:01:16.689 of action afterwards. Yeah, the defining moment. 00:01:17.329 --> 00:01:19.450 We have to talk about this right up front because 00:01:19.450 --> 00:01:22.469 it's so unusual, especially, you know, for becoming 00:01:22.469 --> 00:01:26.069 an expert in something. Okay. The catalyst for... 00:01:26.400 --> 00:01:29.239 His entire career change. It happened later in 00:01:29.239 --> 00:01:31.659 his life. He was already over 40 back in 2007. 00:01:31.859 --> 00:01:37.060 Wow. OK. And it followed this period of personal 00:01:37.060 --> 00:01:39.640 tragedy and feeling really dissatisfied with 00:01:39.640 --> 00:01:41.879 his job. And he just made this decision that 00:01:41.879 --> 00:01:43.760 honestly, it sounds like something out of a movie. 00:01:43.840 --> 00:01:47.040 Which was? He decided he needed to go everywhere, 00:01:47.200 --> 00:01:49.040 eat everything. Go everywhere, eat everything. 00:01:49.120 --> 00:01:51.859 That's that's quite a resolution. Isn't it? It's 00:01:51.859 --> 00:01:53.959 phenomenal. Because it's more than just like. 00:01:54.269 --> 00:01:57.349 It feels like this deeply personal declaration, 00:01:57.689 --> 00:01:59.629 you know, the kind of thing you decide when you 00:01:59.629 --> 00:02:01.909 feel like you have to tear down the old life 00:02:01.909 --> 00:02:04.010 to build something completely new. Absolutely. 00:02:04.209 --> 00:02:06.810 Yeah. So our initial takeaway for you listening 00:02:06.810 --> 00:02:09.629 right now is this. Yeah. This isn't just us reading 00:02:09.629 --> 00:02:13.110 off a celebrity judge's CV. No. This is a deep 00:02:13.110 --> 00:02:16.830 dive into how a really radical, intentional change. 00:02:18.030 --> 00:02:21.069 One that was fueled by grief, actually, and this 00:02:21.069 --> 00:02:24.250 drive for knowledge through food, how that can 00:02:24.250 --> 00:02:27.129 create a whole new professional identity, a globally 00:02:27.129 --> 00:02:30.009 recognized one after hitting middle age. It's 00:02:30.009 --> 00:02:31.569 a fascinating story of transformation. Okay, 00:02:31.629 --> 00:02:33.830 let's really get into the scale of this change 00:02:33.830 --> 00:02:37.590 because it wasn't small. For, what, decades, 00:02:37.930 --> 00:02:40.550 Simon Majandar was fully established in publishing. 00:02:40.870 --> 00:02:43.590 He wasn't just, like, starting out. He was successful, 00:02:43.889 --> 00:02:45.990 established in a... Pretty demanding field. That's 00:02:45.990 --> 00:02:47.969 exactly right. His whole professional identity 00:02:47.969 --> 00:02:51.110 before food was built around books, around words, 00:02:51.229 --> 00:02:53.629 around judging written narratives. But the sources, 00:02:53.689 --> 00:02:56.530 they're really clear. This stable career, it 00:02:56.530 --> 00:02:59.110 just completely hit a wall around 2007. And the 00:02:59.110 --> 00:03:00.969 trigger wasn't just getting bored with the job. 00:03:01.150 --> 00:03:04.430 No, not at all. It was deeply personal, traumatic 00:03:04.430 --> 00:03:06.990 even. His mother became very ill and then she 00:03:06.990 --> 00:03:09.849 passed away. And this led to, understandably, 00:03:09.990 --> 00:03:13.159 a really deep depression. And alongside that, 00:03:13.319 --> 00:03:15.979 he just realized he'd completely lost any joy 00:03:15.979 --> 00:03:18.300 or passion for his publishing work. Right. That 00:03:18.300 --> 00:03:20.139 makes sense. It's that kind of moment, isn't 00:03:20.139 --> 00:03:22.060 it? Grief forcing you to take stock of everything. 00:03:22.319 --> 00:03:25.060 Yeah. Lots of people reevaluate after loss, but 00:03:25.060 --> 00:03:29.120 wow, not many make a pivot quite like this. Exactly. 00:03:29.120 --> 00:03:30.620 And here's where it gets really interesting, 00:03:30.699 --> 00:03:32.919 I think, when you look at the skills. Because 00:03:32.919 --> 00:03:35.849 think about it. As a book publisher. What was 00:03:35.849 --> 00:03:38.569 he doing? He was selecting, curating, criticizing 00:03:38.569 --> 00:03:41.270 stories. Right. He was a curator, a critic of 00:03:41.270 --> 00:03:43.569 narratives. He understood structure. He understood 00:03:43.569 --> 00:03:46.909 audience. He was literally an expert in deciding 00:03:46.909 --> 00:03:48.949 what worked and what didn't in a manuscript, 00:03:49.150 --> 00:03:50.909 what mattered. Okay, I see where you're going 00:03:50.909 --> 00:03:52.889 with this. He basically took those core skills, 00:03:53.110 --> 00:03:55.710 that editorial eye, the need for structure, the 00:03:55.710 --> 00:03:58.949 ability to assess and critique, and he just applied 00:03:58.949 --> 00:04:01.969 them wholesale to global food. Food became the 00:04:01.969 --> 00:04:04.789 new text. Precisely. He wasn't just, you know, 00:04:04.810 --> 00:04:08.090 eating randomly. He was editing the world through 00:04:08.090 --> 00:04:12.069 his palate in a way. That big resolution in 2007, 00:04:12.389 --> 00:04:15.189 go everywhere, eat everything. It was like he 00:04:15.189 --> 00:04:17.350 wrote a new commissioning brief, but for his 00:04:17.350 --> 00:04:19.730 own life. OK, but let's talk practicalities for 00:04:19.730 --> 00:04:22.189 a second, because that phrase go everywhere, 00:04:22.350 --> 00:04:26.189 eat everything. It sounds amazing, but that's 00:04:26.189 --> 00:04:29.269 incredibly expensive. Right. And demanding. Oh, 00:04:29.310 --> 00:04:31.750 absolutely. Does the source material give any 00:04:31.750 --> 00:04:34.689 hint about how he actually funded this? Did his 00:04:34.689 --> 00:04:37.089 publishing career give him enough of a cushion 00:04:37.089 --> 00:04:39.829 to just... take off on this massive global mission 00:04:39.829 --> 00:04:41.730 before he started writing about it and making 00:04:41.730 --> 00:04:43.790 money that way? That's a really important question. 00:04:43.970 --> 00:04:46.209 And yeah, the pivot wasn't just like a reckless 00:04:46.209 --> 00:04:48.209 jump into the unknown. It seems like it was a 00:04:48.209 --> 00:04:50.949 calculated risk built on that professional foundation 00:04:50.949 --> 00:04:52.990 he already had. Okay. Well, the sources don't 00:04:52.990 --> 00:04:55.389 give us, you know, exact bank statements or anything. 00:04:55.649 --> 00:04:57.410 Naturally. The fact that he was a successful 00:04:57.410 --> 00:05:00.089 established publisher does imply he likely had 00:05:00.089 --> 00:05:01.769 the financial means, the cushion, like you said, 00:05:01.850 --> 00:05:04.050 to actually support himself during that initial 00:05:04.050 --> 00:05:07.439 period of intense self -directed travel. research. 00:05:07.740 --> 00:05:10.199 Right. This wasn't a 20 -something with a backpack. 00:05:10.500 --> 00:05:13.860 Exactly. This was a successful middle -aged professional 00:05:13.860 --> 00:05:18.339 essentially funding his own very unique global 00:05:18.339 --> 00:05:21.459 education in food. His food career really kicked 00:05:21.459 --> 00:05:23.920 off after he turned 40. So it wasn't just a minor 00:05:23.920 --> 00:05:26.980 tweak. It was a complete overhaul driven by this 00:05:26.980 --> 00:05:29.980 deep emotional need. That makes it even more 00:05:29.980 --> 00:05:32.509 impressive, actually. It shows that kind of radical 00:05:32.509 --> 00:05:34.689 change isn't always just about impulse. Sometimes 00:05:34.689 --> 00:05:37.529 it's about strategically using the resources 00:05:37.529 --> 00:05:40.129 and skills you already have for something new 00:05:40.129 --> 00:05:42.689 we're passionate about. Well put. But to really 00:05:42.689 --> 00:05:45.129 understand the go everywhere part, we need to 00:05:45.129 --> 00:05:47.410 look at his roots because they're already quite 00:05:47.410 --> 00:05:49.689 global, aren't they? A real mix. Oh, definitely. 00:05:49.889 --> 00:05:52.209 A beautiful mosaic, as the material suggests. 00:05:52.509 --> 00:05:55.290 And that mix undoubtedly played a role in his 00:05:55.290 --> 00:05:57.689 interest in the world. He was born April 7th, 00:05:57.689 --> 00:06:00.750 1964, and grew up in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, 00:06:00.810 --> 00:06:04.000 in England. So that's his British core. Standard 00:06:04.000 --> 00:06:06.620 enough so far. But the family background immediately 00:06:06.620 --> 00:06:09.459 brings in that global dimension. It's this blend 00:06:09.459 --> 00:06:11.899 of cultures that probably made him naturally 00:06:11.899 --> 00:06:14.600 curious about the world's cuisines long before 00:06:14.600 --> 00:06:16.920 he made it his job. And you see that blend clearly 00:06:16.920 --> 00:06:20.120 in his parents, right? Gwen and Pradip. Exactly. 00:06:20.420 --> 00:06:23.439 His mother, Gwen John, she was from South Wales, 00:06:23.560 --> 00:06:26.579 worked as a nurse. Okay. Welsh roots. And his 00:06:26.579 --> 00:06:31.060 father, Pradip Majumdar Pat. He was often called... 00:06:31.120 --> 00:06:33.540 He was born in Calcutta, India. Calcutta, wow. 00:06:33.959 --> 00:06:35.639 Yeah, and he's an orthopedic consultant. He even 00:06:35.639 --> 00:06:37.660 worked for the local football club, Rotherham 00:06:37.660 --> 00:06:40.480 United FC. So you've got South Wales, Calcutta, 00:06:40.480 --> 00:06:42.879 and industrial South Yorkshire all converging 00:06:42.879 --> 00:06:45.019 in one family. That's quite a foundation. It 00:06:45.019 --> 00:06:46.779 really is. It's like an early map of the kind 00:06:46.779 --> 00:06:49.279 of cultural fusion he'd spent his life exploring 00:06:49.279 --> 00:06:51.660 through food. And there's a lovely little detail 00:06:51.660 --> 00:06:54.040 about how they met, too. Oh, yeah. His parents 00:06:54.040 --> 00:06:55.980 met when they were both working at the Royal 00:06:55.980 --> 00:06:59.129 Gwent Hospital. Back in the 1950s. A Welsh nurse 00:06:59.129 --> 00:07:02.790 and an Indian doctor. That's a very classic post 00:07:02.790 --> 00:07:07.490 -war British story in a way. It really is a story 00:07:07.490 --> 00:07:10.410 of cultural mixing that grounded his later global 00:07:10.410 --> 00:07:14.829 adventures in something very specific and, well, 00:07:14.949 --> 00:07:17.889 very British, ironically. This background must 00:07:17.889 --> 00:07:20.069 have given him an inbuilt appreciation for different 00:07:20.069 --> 00:07:22.850 origins, different flavors, way before he started 00:07:22.850 --> 00:07:24.870 doing it professionally. And he certainly didn't 00:07:24.870 --> 00:07:28.129 just stay in Rotherham or even the UK. His food 00:07:28.129 --> 00:07:29.970 career eventually took him across the Atlantic 00:07:29.970 --> 00:07:33.040 in a big way. Absolutely. He deepened his connection 00:07:33.040 --> 00:07:35.620 to America significantly. He's now actually a 00:07:35.620 --> 00:07:37.240 British American citizen. Oh, I didn't realize 00:07:37.240 --> 00:07:39.519 he'd naturalized. Yep. He became a U .S. citizen 00:07:39.519 --> 00:07:43.620 on September 17th, 2014. And he maintains this 00:07:43.620 --> 00:07:47.180 really demanding, properly transatlantic life 00:07:47.180 --> 00:07:50.339 based in both Los Angeles and London. Wow, that's 00:07:50.339 --> 00:07:52.980 a commute. Tell me about it. But if you connect 00:07:52.980 --> 00:07:55.279 that back to his career, his personal geography 00:07:55.279 --> 00:07:57.720 kind of mirrors his professional focus, doesn't 00:07:57.720 --> 00:08:00.160 it? Always global, always embracing multiple 00:08:00.160 --> 00:08:02.920 identities, both national and cultural. And that 00:08:02.920 --> 00:08:04.860 global theme carried into his personal life, 00:08:04.920 --> 00:08:07.819 too, adding another layer. He met his wife, Sybil 00:08:07.819 --> 00:08:10.240 Villanueva, while he was on his travels. That's 00:08:10.240 --> 00:08:12.879 right, back in 2010. He was traveling in Brazil, 00:08:13.060 --> 00:08:15.779 pursuing that Eat Everything mission, and he 00:08:15.779 --> 00:08:18.899 met Sybil. And Sybil is Filipino -American. Correct. 00:08:19.100 --> 00:08:21.879 Filipino -American. So yet another cultural dimension 00:08:21.879 --> 00:08:24.720 added to this already pretty complex life story. 00:08:24.920 --> 00:08:27.060 It really stands out, doesn't it? How his personal 00:08:27.060 --> 00:08:29.300 connections seem to reinforce the very mission 00:08:29.300 --> 00:08:32.320 he set out on. He went looking for global experiences. 00:08:32.759 --> 00:08:35.360 And found a life partner who embodies that global 00:08:35.360 --> 00:08:37.639 heritage herself. It's a really neat synthesis 00:08:37.639 --> 00:08:40.440 when you think about it. His wife's Filipino 00:08:40.440 --> 00:08:43.870 -American background. his own Welsh -Indian -British 00:08:43.870 --> 00:08:46.610 mix, their shared time in the US and the UK, 00:08:46.870 --> 00:08:50.350 it feels like the pursuit of everywhere genuinely 00:08:50.350 --> 00:08:54.320 led him to find, well, home. In multiple places. 00:08:54.620 --> 00:08:56.860 OK, so we've got the emotional driver, that 2007 00:08:56.860 --> 00:08:59.139 pivot, and we've established he likely had the 00:08:59.139 --> 00:09:00.820 means from his publishing career to get started. 00:09:01.240 --> 00:09:03.220 The next big question is, how did he actually 00:09:03.220 --> 00:09:05.440 turn that personal mission, that intense travel 00:09:05.440 --> 00:09:08.759 and eating into real bankable expertise? How 00:09:08.759 --> 00:09:10.639 did he build a platform strong enough to land 00:09:10.639 --> 00:09:12.899 him those TV judging gigs? Well, what's really 00:09:12.899 --> 00:09:15.799 fascinating here is that his first foothold, 00:09:15.860 --> 00:09:18.860 his initial credibility, it wasn't built on TV 00:09:18.860 --> 00:09:23.289 at all. It came from something much more. gritty 00:09:23.289 --> 00:09:26.049 and authentic, a collaborative digital platform 00:09:26.049 --> 00:09:29.269 that actually started before his major TV appearances 00:09:29.269 --> 00:09:31.750 really took off. Okay. What was that? We're talking 00:09:31.750 --> 00:09:34.649 about a UK food blog called Dos Hermanos. Dos 00:09:34.649 --> 00:09:37.110 Hermanos. The two brothers, right? Exactly. He 00:09:37.110 --> 00:09:39.690 co -authored that blog from 2006 right through 00:09:39.690 --> 00:09:42.850 to 2012. Ah, so that timing lines up perfectly 00:09:42.850 --> 00:09:45.750 with that initial post -crisis globe -trotting 00:09:45.750 --> 00:09:48.070 phase we were just discussing. That's key, isn't 00:09:48.070 --> 00:09:49.629 it? It's absolutely crucial because this was 00:09:49.629 --> 00:09:51.950 happening right in the kind of sweet spot of 00:09:51.950 --> 00:09:54.190 that. early food blogging explosion yeah this 00:09:54.190 --> 00:09:57.070 wasn't slick network produced content this was 00:09:57.070 --> 00:10:00.730 raw passion sharp writing often quite witty to 00:10:00.730 --> 00:10:02.649 live in straight to the public online yeah and 00:10:02.649 --> 00:10:05.330 the partnership aspect is important too his older 00:10:05.330 --> 00:10:07.549 brother robin the computer whiz brother that's 00:10:07.549 --> 00:10:09.629 the one described in the source robin handled 00:10:09.629 --> 00:10:11.690 the tech side and apparently it was a really 00:10:11.690 --> 00:10:13.610 successful collaboration they built up a significant 00:10:13.610 --> 00:10:16.669 readership thousands of readers a day at times 00:10:16.669 --> 00:10:20.289 so this blog was basically his public training 00:10:20.289 --> 00:10:23.240 ground Before he was getting edited for TV audiences, 00:10:23.539 --> 00:10:26.379 Dos Hermanos was where he could develop and sharpen 00:10:26.379 --> 00:10:29.440 that critical but also really enthusiastic voice. 00:10:29.580 --> 00:10:32.299 Precisely. He was building his audience organically, 00:10:32.379 --> 00:10:35.659 proving his chops in real time. Yeah. That blog 00:10:35.659 --> 00:10:37.700 was absolutely crucial. It gave him a significant 00:10:37.700 --> 00:10:40.519 platform, established his voice, his expertise, 00:10:40.740 --> 00:10:44.460 and just his sheer genuine love for exploring 00:10:44.460 --> 00:10:47.330 food globally. It proved he wasn't just, you 00:10:47.330 --> 00:10:50.570 know, a tourist taking food pics. He was a serious 00:10:50.570 --> 00:10:53.009 writer with a real point of view on food culture. 00:10:53.440 --> 00:10:55.639 It's a great example, really, of how those newer 00:10:55.639 --> 00:10:58.179 media platforms can sometimes let people bypass 00:10:58.179 --> 00:11:00.559 the traditional gatekeepers and launch a whole 00:11:00.559 --> 00:11:02.679 new career path. And from that strong digital 00:11:02.679 --> 00:11:04.879 base, it seems he branched out pretty quickly 00:11:04.879 --> 00:11:07.559 into more established mainstream media outlets, 00:11:07.679 --> 00:11:10.220 too, showed a lot of versatility. He really did. 00:11:10.320 --> 00:11:12.240 And that versatility is a key measure of his 00:11:12.240 --> 00:11:14.539 growing authority, I think. His writing started 00:11:14.539 --> 00:11:16.960 appearing across different types of media. He 00:11:16.960 --> 00:11:19.620 was doing sophisticated food pieces for serious 00:11:19.620 --> 00:11:21.679 papers like The Guardian and The Independent 00:11:21.679 --> 00:11:24.200 over in the U. Okay. Okay. Highbrow stuff. Yeah. 00:11:24.399 --> 00:11:27.259 But then he also crossed over writing food and 00:11:27.259 --> 00:11:29.440 lifestyle content for places like The Daily Beast 00:11:29.440 --> 00:11:33.740 and even AskMen .com. Interesting range. The 00:11:33.740 --> 00:11:36.100 fact he could write engagingly for both, you 00:11:36.100 --> 00:11:38.820 know, a respected national newspaper and a more 00:11:38.820 --> 00:11:42.259 mainstream men's lifestyle site. That says a 00:11:42.259 --> 00:11:44.500 lot about his ability to communicate his expertise 00:11:44.500 --> 00:11:47.399 without being stuffy or too academic. Totally. 00:11:47.500 --> 00:11:50.580 He clearly understood how to tailor his knowledge 00:11:50.580 --> 00:11:52.779 for different audiences. Which is a skill in 00:11:52.779 --> 00:11:55.450 itself. Absolutely. It helped cement him as a 00:11:55.450 --> 00:11:59.330 serious, adaptable food voice. And all that writing, 00:11:59.470 --> 00:12:02.090 the blog, the articles, it eventually funneled 00:12:02.090 --> 00:12:04.009 into his full -length books. And if you just 00:12:04.009 --> 00:12:05.549 look at the titles of his books, they practically 00:12:05.549 --> 00:12:08.169 map out his whole personal journey in three key 00:12:08.169 --> 00:12:10.210 stages. Okay, let's run through those titles 00:12:10.210 --> 00:12:12.190 because, yeah, they really do seem to trace the 00:12:12.190 --> 00:12:13.789 narrative arc we've been talking about. Right, 00:12:13.830 --> 00:12:15.889 so the first one, which you assume chronicles 00:12:15.889 --> 00:12:18.029 that initial go -everywhere, eat -everything 00:12:18.029 --> 00:12:21.090 mission, is just called Eat My Globe. Eat My 00:12:21.090 --> 00:12:23.759 Globe. Bold title. Yeah. Captures the ambition 00:12:23.759 --> 00:12:26.039 right there. Doesn't it? It's the record of that 00:12:26.039 --> 00:12:29.039 initial global quest. Then after that comes eating 00:12:29.039 --> 00:12:32.379 for Britain, which is interesting. After traveling 00:12:32.379 --> 00:12:35.159 the whole world, he turns his focus back home. 00:12:35.399 --> 00:12:37.720 Exactly. It focuses on the cuisine of his home 00:12:37.720 --> 00:12:40.259 country. Reminds you that even with all the global 00:12:40.259 --> 00:12:43.120 travel and exotic foods, his British roots are 00:12:43.120 --> 00:12:45.580 still central. And maybe a bit of a defense of 00:12:45.580 --> 00:12:48.039 British food, too, which sometimes gets a bad 00:12:48.039 --> 00:12:50.850 rap. I think that's often part of it, yeah. A 00:12:50.850 --> 00:12:52.970 historical exploration, maybe a subtle defense. 00:12:53.289 --> 00:12:56.049 It grounds his authority not just in far -flung 00:12:56.049 --> 00:12:58.269 places, but in the familiar too. Okay, and the 00:12:58.269 --> 00:13:00.529 third word? The third one is fed, white, and 00:13:00.529 --> 00:13:03.789 blue. Ah, connecting directly to becoming an 00:13:03.789 --> 00:13:05.909 American citizen. Precisely. It ties straight 00:13:05.909 --> 00:13:08.210 back to his life as a transatlantic citizen, 00:13:08.450 --> 00:13:10.590 documenting his experience of becoming American, 00:13:10.649 --> 00:13:13.230 which happened in 2014. And it sounds like it's 00:13:13.230 --> 00:13:15.169 about understanding America through its food, 00:13:15.330 --> 00:13:18.159 its regional cuisines. So his writing career 00:13:18.159 --> 00:13:20.820 isn't just like a side effect of his travels. 00:13:20.840 --> 00:13:24.259 It is the story of his transformation laid out. 00:13:24.340 --> 00:13:26.659 Pretty much. The global quest in Eat My Globe, 00:13:26.879 --> 00:13:29.419 reconnecting with his Britishness in Eating for 00:13:29.419 --> 00:13:31.879 Britain, and then embracing his new American 00:13:31.879 --> 00:13:35.039 identity in Fed White and Blue. It really gives 00:13:35.039 --> 00:13:37.500 you, the listener, a clear structure for understanding 00:13:37.500 --> 00:13:40.440 those three big phases of his life after that 00:13:40.440 --> 00:13:44.200 huge 2007 decision. Okay, so the blog built the 00:13:44.200 --> 00:13:46.279 foundation, the writing established the expertise, 00:13:46.559 --> 00:13:49.200 and that dramatic personal story made him relatable. 00:13:49.440 --> 00:13:52.679 The next step, logically, was television. But 00:13:52.679 --> 00:13:54.779 that's a big leap, right? Turning writing success 00:13:54.779 --> 00:13:58.539 into a TV career requires, well, a certain presence, 00:13:58.779 --> 00:14:01.840 charisma, and authority on camera. And he seemed 00:14:01.840 --> 00:14:03.960 to make that transition pretty smoothly. His 00:14:03.960 --> 00:14:06.120 judging career on Food Network, it's really extensive. 00:14:06.379 --> 00:14:08.960 He became a familiar face quite quickly, I think, 00:14:08.980 --> 00:14:10.720 because he brought that mix of shark critique 00:14:10.720 --> 00:14:12.740 and genuine enthusiasm that he'd already honed 00:14:12.740 --> 00:14:14.740 online. So when did he start appearing regularly? 00:14:15.159 --> 00:14:17.500 He was a judge on Iron Chef America pretty early 00:14:17.500 --> 00:14:20.840 on, from 2010 to 2012. And around the same time, 00:14:20.840 --> 00:14:23.320 he was also on The Next Iron Chef. Those were 00:14:23.320 --> 00:14:25.539 big, high -profile shows right out of the gate. 00:14:25.659 --> 00:14:28.039 Yeah, those are serious judging gigs. High pressure, 00:14:28.179 --> 00:14:30.399 need to be articulate about complex flavors very 00:14:30.399 --> 00:14:33.039 quickly. Definitely. Then he became a real regular 00:14:33.039 --> 00:14:35.960 on some of the long -running, super popular competition 00:14:35.960 --> 00:14:38.460 shows. He was on Cutthroat Kitchen a lot, from 00:14:38.460 --> 00:14:42.379 2013 right through to 2016. Ah, yes. Alton Brown's 00:14:42.379 --> 00:14:45.720 chaotic masterpiece. Exactly. And he judged frequently 00:14:45.720 --> 00:14:49.230 on Beat Bobby Flay between 2014 and 2017. He 00:14:49.230 --> 00:14:51.490 also popped up on All -Star Academy back in 2015. 00:14:51.750 --> 00:14:54.110 So he was really embedded in that Food Network 00:14:54.110 --> 00:14:57.090 competition world. Deeply embedded. And he still 00:14:57.090 --> 00:14:59.110 has a presence now, you know, occasionally judging 00:14:59.110 --> 00:15:01.509 on guys' grocery games. But what's really interesting 00:15:01.509 --> 00:15:04.110 about his more recent TV work is his specific 00:15:04.110 --> 00:15:07.210 role on the network's big flagship competition, 00:15:07.549 --> 00:15:09.409 Tournament of Champions. Guy Fieri's bracket 00:15:09.409 --> 00:15:11.429 -style cook -off. What does he do there? He's 00:15:11.429 --> 00:15:13.679 not a main judge in the same way. He acts as 00:15:13.679 --> 00:15:15.580 a floor reporter during the blind taste test 00:15:15.580 --> 00:15:17.720 segments, working alongside Guy. Oh, that's a 00:15:17.720 --> 00:15:19.919 perfect role for him. Because in a blind taste 00:15:19.919 --> 00:15:22.500 test, you can't rely on how it looks or the story 00:15:22.500 --> 00:15:25.299 behind it. Exactly. It's purely about sensory 00:15:25.299 --> 00:15:28.200 analysis, deduction, impartiality. Requires huge 00:15:28.200 --> 00:15:30.679 focus. It plays right into his strengths, those 00:15:30.679 --> 00:15:34.559 refined critical skills. But this actually brings 00:15:34.559 --> 00:15:37.399 us to probably the most surprising and maybe 00:15:37.399 --> 00:15:40.080 the most intellectually interesting part of this 00:15:40.080 --> 00:15:44.100 whole story. Okay. The very real. Very significant 00:15:44.100 --> 00:15:47.179 culinary constraints that he has to operate under 00:15:47.179 --> 00:15:50.559 as a food judge, which is highly unusual. Constraint 00:15:50.559 --> 00:15:53.440 for someone whose job is literally tasting food 00:15:53.440 --> 00:15:57.039 in high stakes competitions. Yep. He has two 00:15:57.039 --> 00:16:00.220 really specific and quite severe restrictions. 00:16:00.980 --> 00:16:03.419 Allergies. Allergies. What is he allergic to? 00:16:03.519 --> 00:16:07.059 Get this. He is severely allergic to coffee and 00:16:07.059 --> 00:16:10.159 oysters. Coffee and oysters. Wow. OK, hold on. 00:16:10.179 --> 00:16:13.039 Coffee. That's used in rubs, moles, desserts, 00:16:13.139 --> 00:16:15.039 sometimes as a bitter note in savory dishes. 00:16:15.240 --> 00:16:16.860 All the time, especially with red meat chocolate. 00:16:17.059 --> 00:16:20.000 And oysters. That's a major seafood protein, 00:16:20.080 --> 00:16:22.820 a classic fine dining ingredient. That's a serious 00:16:22.820 --> 00:16:24.899 limitation for a food critic. Isn't it? It's 00:16:24.899 --> 00:16:26.340 kind of mind -blowing when you think about his 00:16:26.340 --> 00:16:28.539 job. And it raises really profound questions 00:16:28.539 --> 00:16:31.100 about how competitive food judging even works 00:16:31.100 --> 00:16:33.139 under those conditions. So how does it work? 00:16:33.200 --> 00:16:35.480 Because the allergy is severe, you said. Right. 00:16:35.679 --> 00:16:38.320 So the rule, apparently, is absolute in these 00:16:38.320 --> 00:16:41.460 competitions. If a chef prepares a dish that 00:16:41.460 --> 00:16:44.379 includes either coffee or oysters, he simply 00:16:44.379 --> 00:16:47.120 will not taste it. Period. He just abstains. 00:16:47.279 --> 00:16:49.960 He has to. Which means, think about the logistics 00:16:49.960 --> 00:16:52.259 for the production crew. Oh my gosh, they must 00:16:52.259 --> 00:16:56.240 have to track every ingredient meticulously just 00:16:56.240 --> 00:16:58.860 for him, ensure absolutely no cross -contamination. 00:16:59.159 --> 00:17:01.620 Exactly. It's a huge undertaking behind the scenes. 00:17:01.820 --> 00:17:03.639 But let's think about the critical implications. 00:17:04.400 --> 00:17:07.220 A judge's role is to assess the chef's intention. 00:17:07.720 --> 00:17:10.099 and how well they executed it. Right. If a dish 00:17:10.099 --> 00:17:12.900 has, say, a coffee rub on the main protein or 00:17:12.900 --> 00:17:15.099 an oyster element that's key to the flavor profile, 00:17:15.420 --> 00:17:18.579 how can he possibly judge that dish accurately 00:17:18.579 --> 00:17:20.980 if he can't taste those central components? That's 00:17:20.980 --> 00:17:23.279 the million -dollar question. Does it just invalidate 00:17:23.279 --> 00:17:25.660 his critique on those dishes? Well, this is where 00:17:25.660 --> 00:17:28.940 it gets fascinating because the constraint seems 00:17:28.940 --> 00:17:31.539 to force a shift in his critical approach. He 00:17:31.539 --> 00:17:33.660 can't rely on just, you know, the overall flavor 00:17:33.660 --> 00:17:35.420 impact like other judges might. So what does 00:17:35.420 --> 00:17:38.470 he rely on? Think about it. If that coffee -rubbed 00:17:38.470 --> 00:17:41.170 venison with an oyster foam lands in front of 00:17:41.170 --> 00:17:44.390 him, and he physically cannot taste those main 00:17:44.390 --> 00:17:47.509 elements, he's forced to rely almost entirely 00:17:47.509 --> 00:17:50.920 on everything else. His secondary senses. The 00:17:50.920 --> 00:17:52.599 perfection of the other parts of the dish. He's 00:17:52.599 --> 00:17:54.740 like the technique. Exactly. He has to become 00:17:54.740 --> 00:17:57.160 laser focused on the technical execution of all 00:17:57.160 --> 00:17:59.900 the non -allergic components. The precision of 00:17:59.900 --> 00:18:01.900 the knife work, the seasoning on the vegetables, 00:18:02.099 --> 00:18:04.740 the texture and consistency of the sauce, the 00:18:04.740 --> 00:18:06.920 exact temperature of the protein, the overall 00:18:06.920 --> 00:18:09.779 aroma. So the things he can assess, he has to 00:18:09.779 --> 00:18:12.599 assess with maybe even more scrutiny than other 00:18:12.599 --> 00:18:15.440 judges. That seems to be the implication. His 00:18:15.440 --> 00:18:18.059 known limitation doesn't necessarily weaken his 00:18:18.059 --> 00:18:21.049 authority. It forces him to sharpen his critique 00:18:21.049 --> 00:18:23.509 of the elements that others might perhaps gloss 00:18:23.509 --> 00:18:26.509 over if the main flavor is fantastic. Huh. So 00:18:26.509 --> 00:18:28.750 the allergy, ironically, might make his palate 00:18:28.750 --> 00:18:31.130 more focused on technical detail, even though 00:18:31.130 --> 00:18:33.450 it's constrained overall. That's the idea. The 00:18:33.450 --> 00:18:35.470 constraint drives a different kind of refined 00:18:35.470 --> 00:18:37.769 critique. It's a really powerful lesson, isn't 00:18:37.769 --> 00:18:40.269 it? That limitations can sometimes actually increase 00:18:40.269 --> 00:18:43.170 focus and specialization. If a chef sends out 00:18:43.170 --> 00:18:45.490 a beautiful plate, but it has an oyster he can't 00:18:45.490 --> 00:18:48.059 eat. He has to judge the concept and the execution 00:18:48.059 --> 00:18:50.579 of everything else on that plate with exceptional 00:18:50.579 --> 00:18:53.420 rigor. He has to really double down on the rest 00:18:53.420 --> 00:18:56.640 to justify his score. It gives him a unique perspective, 00:18:56.680 --> 00:18:59.519 which in a panel of judges could be incredibly 00:18:59.519 --> 00:19:02.680 valuable. That is, that's a really stunning way 00:19:02.680 --> 00:19:05.039 to think about it. It completely flips what seems 00:19:05.039 --> 00:19:07.779 like a weakness into a potential strength, highlighting 00:19:07.779 --> 00:19:11.259 the intellectual depth he brings. Okay, so beyond 00:19:11.259 --> 00:19:14.789 judging. Has he done other TV appearances, things 00:19:14.789 --> 00:19:16.650 that maybe connect back more to that original 00:19:16.650 --> 00:19:19.269 Eat Everything mission? Oh, absolutely. He wasn't 00:19:19.269 --> 00:19:21.109 just confined to the judging chair. He was a 00:19:21.109 --> 00:19:23.109 guest on The Best Thing I Ever Ate quite a bit 00:19:23.109 --> 00:19:26.430 back in 2010, 2011. Ah, I love that show. Where 00:19:26.430 --> 00:19:28.670 did he feature? He highlighted spots in some 00:19:28.670 --> 00:19:30.930 predictable places like California and Louisiana, 00:19:31.230 --> 00:19:34.430 big food destinations, but also, perhaps more 00:19:34.430 --> 00:19:37.450 surprisingly, Kansas. Kansas? Interesting. Yeah. 00:19:37.569 --> 00:19:39.829 It reinforced that his food journey wasn't just 00:19:39.829 --> 00:19:41.990 about hitting the world's Michelin -starred capitals 00:19:41.990 --> 00:19:45.269 but about finding authentic great food everywhere 00:19:45.269 --> 00:19:48.849 regional gems and didn't he do some uk television 00:19:48.849 --> 00:19:52.349 too early on yep there's a mention of an early 00:19:52.349 --> 00:19:54.730 guest spot as a critic on a show called market 00:19:54.730 --> 00:19:57.650 kitchen in the uk which ties nicely back to his 00:19:57.650 --> 00:20:00.490 british roots and that Early success with the 00:20:00.490 --> 00:20:02.910 Dos Hermanos blog. It all connects. It really 00:20:02.910 --> 00:20:05.269 does. And finally, there's that consistent thread 00:20:05.269 --> 00:20:08.009 of his heritage, which comes through in his known 00:20:08.009 --> 00:20:11.509 culinary preferences. He's widely known to have 00:20:11.509 --> 00:20:15.269 a real deep love for Indian cuisine. Which links 00:20:15.269 --> 00:20:17.390 straight back to his father, born in Calcutta. 00:20:17.450 --> 00:20:19.910 Exactly. It feels like the one cuisine where 00:20:19.910 --> 00:20:22.910 his expertise isn't just learned through travel 00:20:22.910 --> 00:20:25.190 and study, but it's also, you know, inherent, 00:20:25.349 --> 00:20:28.170 part of his DNA. It brings his whole global palate 00:20:28.170 --> 00:20:30.619 journey full circle. in a way finding comfort 00:20:30.619 --> 00:20:32.539 and profound knowledge in the flavors of his 00:20:32.539 --> 00:20:35.400 own heritage. Hashtag tag tag outro. Okay, so 00:20:35.400 --> 00:20:37.420 let's just quickly recap the incredible journey 00:20:37.420 --> 00:20:39.859 of Simon Majumdar we've traced here. We started 00:20:39.859 --> 00:20:42.240 with those foundational roots, Rotherham, the 00:20:42.240 --> 00:20:44.980 mixed British, Welsh, and Indian heritage. Right. 00:20:45.019 --> 00:20:48.019 Then came that successful but ultimately unfulfilling 00:20:48.019 --> 00:20:51.039 career as a book publisher, which set the stage 00:20:51.039 --> 00:20:54.380 for the big change. The huge pivot point in 2007, 00:20:54.599 --> 00:20:57.759 that defining eat everything mission, born out 00:20:57.759 --> 00:21:00.740 of grief after losing his mother, which completely 00:21:00.740 --> 00:21:03.279 rerouted his life after the age of 40. Yeah, 00:21:03.299 --> 00:21:05.859 a truly radical shift. And that journey was then 00:21:05.859 --> 00:21:08.140 documented and validated through his successful 00:21:08.140 --> 00:21:11.000 writing, the pioneering Dos Hermanos blog with 00:21:11.000 --> 00:21:13.920 his brother. The articles, the books. Which ultimately 00:21:13.920 --> 00:21:16.380 led to him becoming this globally recognized 00:21:16.380 --> 00:21:19.720 television personality, a fixture on our screens. 00:21:19.960 --> 00:21:22.720 And fascinatingly, achieving that recognition 00:21:22.720 --> 00:21:25.599 while navigating those very specific and quite 00:21:25.599 --> 00:21:28.240 severe judging constraints, the allergies to 00:21:28.240 --> 00:21:30.779 coffee and oysters. Constraints that, as we discussed, 00:21:31.079 --> 00:21:33.299 likely forced him to develop an even sharper, 00:21:33.420 --> 00:21:36.380 more technical, critical eye. So the final really 00:21:36.380 --> 00:21:38.920 powerful takeaway for you, the listener, to hold 00:21:38.920 --> 00:21:41.359 on to is this. His transformation wasn't like 00:21:41.359 --> 00:21:43.569 that. luck it wasn't just a gradual career shift 00:21:43.569 --> 00:21:47.450 no it was a deliberate radical reinvention sparked 00:21:47.450 --> 00:21:50.869 by a major personal crisis and driven by a single 00:21:50.869 --> 00:21:53.450 incredibly bold resolution he made for himself 00:21:53.450 --> 00:21:56.049 it really proves that profound professional change 00:21:56.049 --> 00:21:58.589 is possible truly possible no matter your age 00:21:58.589 --> 00:22:01.210 or how stable your current situation seems it's 00:22:01.210 --> 00:22:03.690 a massive lesson in personal agency isn't it 00:22:03.960 --> 00:22:06.200 And it suggests that sometimes the deepest professional 00:22:06.200 --> 00:22:08.960 knowledge comes not from textbooks, but from 00:22:08.960 --> 00:22:12.079 actively seeking out intense sensory experiences, 00:22:12.279 --> 00:22:14.799 maybe even in the wake of personal challenges. 00:22:15.019 --> 00:22:17.279 Which brings us to that final provocative thought 00:22:17.279 --> 00:22:19.579 we want to leave you with today. It circles right 00:22:19.579 --> 00:22:21.920 back to those constraints, the allergies. OK. 00:22:21.980 --> 00:22:24.519 How does defining expertise, especially in a 00:22:24.519 --> 00:22:27.440 field as huge and subjective as global food, 00:22:27.680 --> 00:22:30.920 actually become sharper, more focused, maybe 00:22:30.920 --> 00:22:33.930 even more insightful when it's shaped? by deeply 00:22:33.930 --> 00:22:36.609 personal limitations, whether those limits are 00:22:36.609 --> 00:22:39.730 emotional, like grief, or physical, like severe 00:22:39.730 --> 00:22:42.170 allergies. Yeah. How does not being able to taste 00:22:42.170 --> 00:22:44.369 everything potentially sharpen the critique of 00:22:44.369 --> 00:22:47.289 what you can taste? Does it force a deeper reliance 00:22:47.289 --> 00:22:49.809 on technical skill, on conceptual understanding? 00:22:50.309 --> 00:22:52.450 Exactly. It makes you wonder, doesn't it? Does 00:22:52.450 --> 00:22:54.589 every expert in some way benefit from having 00:22:54.589 --> 00:22:57.089 certain lines they can't cross, certain things 00:22:57.089 --> 00:22:59.329 they can't do? Something for you to chew on. 00:22:59.450 --> 00:23:01.819 Definitely something to think about. Thank you 00:23:01.819 --> 00:23:04.059 for joining us for this deep dive into the extraordinary 00:23:04.059 --> 00:23:07.220 journey of Simon Majandar from publisher to palette.