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Chef Ricky Bella is a Portland native who's been cooking since the age of 17. Trained on the job and without culinary school, he has worked in some of the best kitchens in Portland for 16 years. He's been sober for 4 1/2 years now and has been pushing for the subject of addiction and mental health to be more openly talked about in his community ever since.



Listening in Columbus, Oh? Care about where your food comes from? Head to ⁠⁠yellowbirdfs.com⁠⁠ to start your order for farm fresh food, and enter NOPROOF30 for 30% off your cart.



⁠⁠Founded in 2016, the mission of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Ben's Friends ⁠⁠⁠⁠is to offer hope, fellowship, and a path forward to anyone who struggles with substance abuse or addiction. By coming together, starting a dialogue, and acknowledging that substance abuse cannot be overcome by isolation and willpower alone, Ben's Friends hopes to write a new chapter in the lives of food and beverage professionals across the country.

"Sean is an aging midwesterner with no intention of being an old man. He loves service and cultivating social vibes for everyone."



Listening in Columbus, Oh? Care about where your food comes from? Head to ⁠yellowbirdfs.com⁠ to start your order for farm fresh food, and enter NOPROOF30 for 30% off your cart.



⁠Founded in 2016, the mission of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Ben's Friends ⁠⁠⁠is to offer hope, fellowship, and a path forward to anyone who struggles with substance abuse or addiction. By coming together, starting a dialogue, and acknowledging that substance abuse cannot be overcome by isolation and willpower alone, Ben's Friends hopes to write a new chapter in the lives of food and beverage professionals across the country.

Kim Lerner is a consultant, leadership coach for hospitality businesses and professionals at only yummy, always. She is also a professor on faculty at CUNY Kingsborough and The Institute of Culinary Education. On this journey through an ever-changing landscape, she defined the fundamentals of her own leadership style: kindness, trust, community, and building an in-house culture that transcends its four walls. It is this style of leadership that has made her a pioneer in the industry, challenging the status quo and always looking to better the climate of an industry she holds so dear to her heart. Kim operates the only way a NYC native with French roots can — with conviction, effortlessness and a side of beurre.



IG: @only_yummy_always

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Listening in Columbus, Oh? Care about where your food comes from? Head to yellowbirdfs.com to start your order for farm fresh food, and enter NOPROOF30 for 30% off your cart.



Founded in 2016, the mission of ⁠⁠⁠⁠Ben's Friends ⁠⁠is to offer hope, fellowship, and a path forward to anyone who struggles with substance abuse or addiction. By coming together, starting a dialogue, and acknowledging that substance abuse cannot be overcome by isolation and willpower alone, Ben's Friends hopes to write a new chapter in the lives of food and beverage professionals across the country.

In 1982 Mickey Bakst lost his first restaurant to alcohol and drug addiction, and it was also in that year that he found sobriety, after a long and painful struggle. For the next 40 years, Mickey watched countless peers lose their lives or destroy their careers due to their addictions. And for 40 years he asked himself, “What can I do to make a difference?”

After witnessing the death of yet another industry professional in 2016, Mickey and fellow restaurateur Steve Palmer founded Ben’s Friends, a support group for members of the food and beverage industry battling substance abuse and addiction. The mission of Ben’s Friends is to offer hope, fellowship, and a path forward to anyone who struggles with substance abuse and addiction. The organization is named in honor of Ben Murray, a chef who took his own life in 2016 after a long struggle with alcoholism. Now with decades of sobriety under his belt, Mickey believes that there are countless members of the restaurant industry in need of support facing the widespread effects of alcohol and drugs. Through Ben’s Friends, it is his hope to help as many as possible.

As Ben’s Friends Executive Director, Mickey has dedicated himself to the organization and focuses on spreading the word about Ben’s Friends to existing and emerging chapters across the country.

Founded in 2016, the mission of ⁠⁠Ben's Friends ⁠is to offer hope, fellowship, and a path forward to anyone who struggles with substance abuse or addiction. By coming together, starting a dialogue, and acknowledging that substance abuse cannot be overcome by isolation and willpower alone, Ben's Friends hopes to write a new chapter in the lives of food and beverage professionals across the country.

To order my n/a enamel pin from Mover & Shaker, head to ⁠tinyurl.com/4fm6r9v6

I've been so fortunate to have shannon as a friend. Anytime I've been in a room with her I'm in awe of how she makes those around her feel. She's welcoming, funny, honest, and humble. In an industry of personalities, it is rare to find someone so great in all they do, yet so approachable. I'm also fortunate to have been close enough to shannon to see the ways she's grown. In this conversation we chat about some of the positive outcomes of her decision to remove alcohol.

Founded in 2016, the mission of ⁠⁠Ben's Friends ⁠is to offer hope, fellowship, and a path forward to anyone who struggles with substance abuse or addiction. By coming together, starting a dialogue, and acknowledging that substance abuse cannot be overcome by isolation and willpower alone, Ben's Friends hopes to write a new chapter in the lives of food and beverage professionals across the country.

To order my n/a enamel pin from Mover & Shaker, head to ⁠tinyurl.com/4fm6r9v6

It was great getting the chance to chat with brittany, someone who is not only a consumer of n/a beverages, sober, but also a creator of a new non-alcoholic amaro called 'namari.' We chat through her decision to remove alcohol, how she creates n/a beverages at The Dutchess, and what led to the creation of namari. Thanks for the time and honesty, brittany.

Brittany Naing is the Assistant General Manager, and also oversees the bar/non-alcoholic cocktail program for The Dutchess, an all-day bakery, café and Burmese restaurant in Ojai, California. Brittany worked as a chef for many years before delving into the cocktail world, so she applies that culinary mindset when developing beverages at this eclectic restaurant, which draws inspiration from her husband and Chef/Partner Saw Naing’s Burmese-Indian heritage. She and her bar team utilize local, artisan spirits and craft plenty of housemade ingredients (non-alcoholic infusions, vermouths, bitters, tinctures, syrups and more) to align with the restaurant’s philosophy of sourcing as much as possible from within 50 miles. In December 2022, Brittany became sober, and this journey has inspired her to expand even more upon The Dutchess’ thoughtful, non-alcoholic cocktail menu. Additionally, her love for amaro led to her launching a non-alcoholic, artisan amaro in 2020 called Namari.





Founded in 2016, the mission of Ben's Friends is to offer hope, fellowship, and a path forward to anyone who struggles with substance abuse or addiction. By coming together, starting a dialogue, and acknowledging that substance abuse cannot be overcome by isolation and willpower alone, Ben's Friends hopes to write a new chapter in the lives of food and beverage professionals across the country.

To order my n/a enamel pin from Mover & Shaker, head to tinyurl.com/4fm6r9v6