Conversations with Linda Fitzgerald

Today we’d like to introduce you to Linda Fitzgerald

Hi Linda, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I grew up in a very small village in the Hudson Valley in NY State. My first job in High School was at a “Drive-In”. A Food Drive-in, not a Movie. Not a McD’s or Wendy’s. These establishments family owned and not Franchises, often had minimal counter top seating and the focus was more on take out. Everything was made from ‘scratch’ . I washed & cut a lot of potatoes for fries and made a lot of burger patties. For some reason, I liked it ! My next food related job was at a Grocer’s Delicatessen. A broader menu and there I learned how to slice, dice and make salads, as in slaw and potato, as well as, how to make NY style, piled high Hero Sandwiches, otherwise known as Hoagies or Subs. I think those experiences and moving from the small town I grew up in to San Francisco in the mid 60’s are what lead me to where my interest is today in regard to food.
In San Francisco I was introduced to ethnic cuisines I didn’t know existed! I started buying cookbooks and cooking magazines, watching Julia Child’s TV show and inviting friends for dinner so I could experiment with the techniques and recipes. I began ‘fusing’ recipes before it ever was a thing…
It was during that time I knew that ‘someday’ I’d own a restaurant. In 1976 I moved to SW Colorado and
it was there, after having worked in a restaurant kitchen for a year or so, I did get to open my first restaurant. Myself and my partner at the time, bought a small cafe business. We revamped the menu, made everything from ‘scratch’ and introduced the town to Alfalfa Sprouts…a novelty at the time.
Some eight years or so later the Cafe was sold and I moved to Fort Collins. Although, I then started working in the accounting field, I still had my passion for cooking and started developing recipes for sauces and salsas which I sold at local Farmers Markets, which in turn led me to start doing some Personal/Private Chef work. I’d been thinking about producing a Cooking YouTube Show for a number of years and in May of 2024, I discussed that possibility with a friend and local media Host, Sue Sutton. She offered to help me with that idea, but while driving home the thought came to me ‘why complicate this with video? Why not just do an Audio Podcast and then boommmmmmm ! the ideas just started flowing in. I would interview people about how food has or does impact their lives. I’d interview both Professionals in the Culinary Industry, some for many years and others just starting out and I’d interview ‘everyday Jills & Joes’ that have an unusual ‘food story’ . Over the years my food production & catering business name has always been Culinary Adventures and so my Podcast Show is named Conversations With Culinary Adventures. After much trial & error and a lot of help from my friend Michael Robinson, as well as, help from YouTube & Google my Podcast Show is available on Spotify & AmazonMusic/Podcast
and on my Website: conversationculinaryadventures.podcastpage.io
I published the first episode December 18, 2024. Currently, I have 3 Episodes available to listen to.
I publish monthly on the 3rd Wednesday of the month.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
A smooth road? Hell No ! But, taking on the challenges has been extremely beneficial to me in the most personal way. I am (was) in no way ‘techy savvy’… Honestly, the extent of my tech-knowledge on a scale of 1 to 10 is 2.5 ! But, I really wanted to learn how to do this. I really wanted to give people the opportunity to tell ‘their story’. So, I stuck with it. I spent at least 100 hours editing these recordings. I had to keep researching how/what tools to use on the Audacity Platform I used for the editing process.
It was like learning a foreign language. There’s nothing that can bring me to tears more quickly then
computer-tech. Again, thankful for the help of my friend, YouTube & Google and of course, the gift of perseverance ! I still have a lot more learning to do, as I’m certain I’ve done some of the editing the hard way.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I chose Artist/Creative because I believe there’s an Art to creating delicious Food and there’s an Art to
interviewing people. Creating my Podcast Show is a new creative expression for me. I’ve been in what I consider the ‘creative arts’ in many different genres. In addition to being a Chef, I’m also a Visual Artist.
I’ve been painting, oil/acrylics, for 20 plus years. I’ve won ‘art awards’ and have sold a number of paintings over the years. As far as my Chef work goes, my restaurant was written up in Fodor’s Travel Guide & The Philadelphia Times. I have the honor of cooking for a few ‘celebs’ over the years, including Dan Fogelberg and Georgia O’Keeffe, as well as, Jazz Group Rare Silk, Eliza Gilkyson, Bluegrass Band Hot Rize.
Presently, my focus is on the Podcast. When the idea of the Podcast and how it would come together, presented itself, I had a visualization, if you will, and what I saw was the visual art road I was on was detouring on to a new road, a sharp right turn to Podcasting.

What are your plans for the future?
My intention is to continue with the Podcasting,,,maybe at some point adding video but for now, I just want to focus on content. I’m looking into ways to segue the topic of “food” into other avenues. My podcast is about People and Food. Presently, food being just as we know it, vegetables, dairy etc, but there’s ‘other food’ as in the ‘food’ that feeds one’s Spiritually or the ‘food’ that inspires one to create a 2 or 3 dimensional piece. What is the ‘food’ that makes someone volunteer? Or that makes someone feel secure in their relationships… that sort of thing.

Pricing:

• 0 no cost to listen to my Podcast Donations appreciated though

Contact Info:

• Website: https://conversationculinaryadventures.podcastpage.io