Several years ago, I was introduced to Brian Gendece through a mutual friend. Brian was a “foodie” but more than that, he was a super strategic success as an international talent agent. Every time we get together, it’s brainstorming and masterminding our marketing worlds, and all the plans we have for our next iteration. I’m always so grateful to just be hobnobbing with this significantly great mind.
As I noted in a previous blog article, the last time I saw Brian in person, he was a couple days away from leaving on a spontaneous trip to Tuscany. He had been invited by a complete stranger on Facebook (Roberto Bechi, an accomplished tour guide) to fly over and “see Tuscany from his eyes” … and Brian just up and went. This is what I love about Brian. He ended up having one of the most memorable couple of months of his life as he got to know the real people of Tuscany. Months later, he had produced a 28-minute delightful documentary, Tuscany Beyond Expectations, which has been picked up by Amazon Prime.
While Brian had worked in film studios before, he was always on the casting side, never really in the creation of a film. Once you get to know Brian, though, you simply shrug
at the fact that he figured out cinematography and lighting and storylines and storyboards and sound editing and everything else that goes into a film director’s job because he simply decided he would figure it out.
I’ve written more about this amazing little film here.
I can’t leave the subject of Brian Gendece without also addressing his propensity for cooking as “The Showbiz Chef.” After he retired from show biz, Brian decided to invest further in his favorite hobby – cooking. I suspect that nothing about Brian has ever been about a “hobby” like the rest of us think of the word, “hobby.” He’s thrown himself into this mix with committed determination, churning out craft after loving craft on his Facebook and – now what is finally springing up – his YouTube pages.
When I asked him about when his passion for cooking first came about, he said, “My cooking and baking skills are inspired by the regional cuisines that I have had the pleasure of tasting while traveling overseas for business as a Producer and Talent Manager.”
Brian says he’s “blessed with an ear for learning other languages” – he’s fluent in French, Spanish and Italian – and says he enjoys spending hours watching “how to recipes” on YouTube in the language from the country where the dish originated (Italy, France, etc).
“I’ll watch 10 different versions being made of the same dish (from handed-down Grandmother recipes to those of Michelin Star chefs) and pull from each the combination of ingredients and preparation techniques to create my own version. I’m also interested in the history behind the recipes and find that also helps me with the culinary choices I make.”
If that doesn’t give you a glimpse of my friend, Brian, nothing will. I claim a passion for cooking, too, but I’m lucky if I can scrounge together an old, go-to favorite once a week. Watching the making of gingerbread or eggplant parmigiana in multiple languages and variations to then create my own, best version … ehrm, not so much.
I know without a doubt that Brian’s name will be known globally as “The Showbiz Chef,” and probably sooner than later. Enjoy getting to know this unique spirit through his documentary and in his awesome cooking.