Transcript

Beyond the Recipe: Lessons from Matt Price’s Kitchen & Career

From Mick Unplugged Podcast · Episode page · Watch on YouTube

· 51 min · 10,467 words · 229 timestamped sections

This is the full, timestamped transcript of "Beyond the Recipe: Lessons from Matt Price’s Kitchen & Career", an episode of Mick Unplugged Podcast published November 27, 2025 (51 min, about 10,467 words). It mentions 96 people, works and ideas, including Mr. Make It Happen, Matt Price, skillets, Mick Unplugged, seasonings.

What this episode is about

The discussion examines the profound impact Matt Price has had on Mick's journey into video content creation, highlighting the vital role of video in modern business branding. It also emphasizes the transition from traditional formats to video, illustrating how Price's engaging style and advice inspired Mick to enhance his own approach to digital media.

Key takeaways

  • In the digital age, video is king; content is the crown jewel everyone covets.
  • Success isn't about going viral; it's finessing the formula and mastering the mundane.
  • From corporate ties to content creation, freedom often lies just outside the comfort zone.
  • An iPhone is your magic wand; low entry barrier spells opportunity for the daring.
  • Like cooking spices, great content is crafted by refining recipes—not by seasoning trends.

What is discussed, and when

  1. – 5:00: Matt Price, Mr. Make It Happen, Everything you need is in the caption. Now, it's your turn to make it happen., Lemon Bay
  2. – 10:00: audio equipment, binge watching, mac and cheese, mix board
  3. – 15:00: BJ's Wholesale Club, Ethiopian food, Indian food, job fair
  4. – 20:00: chef knives, cookbooks, district or regional sales manager, Robert Irvine
  5. – 25:00: Alfredo, Ary Spear, Bosnian people, New Orleans cuisine
  6. – 30:00: accounting, Bottoms Up and the Devil Laughs, cookbooks, ebooks
  7. – 35:00: Mr. Make It Happen, Alfredo, bachelor party, best man
  8. – 40:00: long-form content, ad revenue, bluecollar content creator, cast iron
  9. – 45:00: bourbon, Marcy Hunt, Matt Price, Mr. Make It Happen
  10. – 50:00: Mr. Make It Happen, 13th Street, Bottoms Up and the Devil Laughs, caviar
  11. – 50:32: Mick Unplugged, mickhuntofficial.com

Notable quotes from "Beyond the Recipe: Lessons from Matt Price’s Kitchen & Career"

  • Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another exciting episode of Mick Unplugged. And this is going to be the first time that you all actually understand the depth of why I started this podcast in the first place. And it has to do with.
    about Mick Unplugged · at
  • Now, it's your turn to make it happen.
    about Mr. Make It Happen · at
  • And the recipes, and I was This guy is freaking amazing. And then you had your own seasonings.
    about seasonings · at
  • So, I followed you one cuz I think I'm a foodie, but like I was more of a you put me on a smoker, you put me on a grill, I got that all day and I can make mac and cheese. Like my that's that's it, right?
    about smoker · at
  • Of things and then launched products and seasoning, chef knives, skillets, cookbooks, people saw that and saw that it was doing well for me and they have 5 years of game tape…
    about skillets · at
  • Going to say anybody, but most people can shoot a 60-second clip of them making Alfredo, but that can you make a 10-minute video on YouTube? Because you'll notice a lot of these creators only do short form content.
    about Alfredo · at
  • Got it. Got it. All right, bro. So, we're going to go to the book. Meet me in the kitchen.
    about Bottoms Up and the Devil Laughs · at
  • There. Detailed descriptions, pictures, all that good stuff. I have a media company, Make It Happen Media. We have a podcast. We have a second YouTube channel where we're more…
    about Make It Happen Media · at

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

  • Matt Price — Person · 3 mentions · first at
    Why I started this podcast in the first place. And it has to do with my guy that's sitting right here, Matt Price.
  • Robert Irvine — Person · 1 mention · first at
    Yeah. And so, here's what I'm going to say, cuz I can only say this about you and my best friend, Robert Irvine.
  • Ary Spear — Person · 1 mention · first at
    But it's something that my guy Ary Spear says, too. Like the creators in the comedy world, there's a difference of being funny for YouTube and doing the clips and all.
  • Marcy Hunt — Person · 1 mention · first at
    By my wife's business, My Remote Accountants, because she wanted to ask these questions. So, shout out to Marcy Hunt, My Remote Accountants, Rapid Fire with Matt Price, Mr.…
  • Mick Hunt — Person · 1 mention
  • Rhino — Person · 1 mention

Books & papers

Companies & orgs

Products & tech

  • skillets — Product · 3 mentions · first at
  • seasonings — Product · 2 mentions · first at
  • smoker — Product · 2 mentions · first at
  • chef knives — Product · 2 mentions · first at
    Content piece of it from the media side of things and then launched products and seasoning, chef knives, skillets, cookbooks, people saw that and saw that it was doing well for…
  • cookbooks — Product · 2 mentions · first at
    Of things and then launched products and seasoning, chef knives, skillets, cookbooks, people saw that and saw that it was doing well for me and they have 5 years of game tape…
  • Lemon Bay — Product · 1 mention · first at
    And I was Oh, this Lemon Bay is off the hook. And I don't even like Lemon Bay like that or lemon pepper like that. But I was Okay. So, I owe you the utmost gratitude because I.
  • audio equipment — Product · 1 mention · first at
    That takes a lot of practice to be able to execute those well and then have the right audio equipment and the editing to make it sound good.
  • mix board — Product · 1 mention · first at
    Weren't out when we were, we had I had like a basically like a studio setup like a mix board and all that 5 years ago where you would have to really kind of know a little…
  • ebooks — Product · 1 mention · first at
    Cookbooks prior to doing this one and then during the pandemic I was doing ebooks like rappers drop mixtapz like once a month. We were just cranking them out.
  • weekly cooking classes — Product · 1 mention · first at
    Pandemic was like I want to do everything very affordably. We were doing weekly cooking classes for $5.
  • Hawaiian rolls — Product · 1 mention · first at
    Right. Matt, also, and you don't know this, you taught me that sliders I just need Hawaiian rolls and just cut them in half, bro. I was How do people do this? And then you told me how easy it was. don't laugh at me. Don't hit me up. Like,.
  • seasoned flour — Product · 1 mention · first at
    A little bit. I've got, as far as a, from a product perspective, we got chef knives, skillets, seasoned flour is performing really well. the season ends. I got digital food…
  • cutting board — Product · 1 mention · first at
    Okay. so I would say a for thermometer, a sharp knife, a good quality cutting board, preferably something that if you could get two cutting boards, if you can afford it, have…
  • non-stick skillet — Product · 1 mention · first at
    Else other than the simple bake wear and skillets. If you can get a nice non-stick skillet and then one either stainless steel, cast iron, or a hybrid pan.
  • cast iron — Product · 1 mention · first at
    Skillets. If you can get a nice non-stick skillet and then one either stainless steel, cast iron, or a hybrid pan.
  • hybrid pan — Product · 1 mention · first at
    Skillets. If you can get a nice non-stick skillet and then one either stainless steel, cast iron, or a hybrid pan.
  • stainless steel — Product · 1 mention · first at
    Skillets. If you can get a nice non-stick skillet and then one either stainless steel, cast iron, or a hybrid pan.
  • bourbon — Product · 1 mention · first at
    Appreciate just like a good meat and potatoes. He's a cigar guy. He's a bourbon guy. He probably wants a really good red meat and potato dish. We'll probably maybe I'll go like a tomahawk steak. Something Michael Jordanesque.
  • caviar — Product · 1 mention · first at
    Michael Jordanesque meal. If I started to get too cute with caviar truffles and stuff, I might lose them.
  • truffles — Product · 1 mention · first at
    Michael Jordanesque meal. If I started to get too cute with caviar truffles and stuff, I might lose them.
  • cigar — Product · 1 mention
  • grill — Product · 1 mention

Concepts & topics

  • mac and cheese — Concept · 2 mentions · first at
    Foodie, but like I was more of a you put me on a smoker, you put me on a grill, I got that all day and I can make mac and cheese. Like my that's that's it, right?
  • Alfredo — Concept · 2 mentions · first at
  • long-form content — Concept · 2 mentions · first at
    Out for a long time to get here and I still don't like even on YouTube my highest viewed video long form content is only 2 and a half million views which is a lot of views right that's a damn lot but there's people out there.
  • Everything you need is in the caption. Now, it's your turn to make it happen. — Concept · 1 mention · first at
    Everything you need is in the caption.
  • postco — Concept · 1 mention · first at
    Setting this up, the edit, like I need that. Because we were in this transition like literally right postco where video became a thing for all businesses. I don't care what…
  • Lemon Bay is off the hook — Concept · 1 mention · first at
    And I was Oh, this Lemon Bay is off the hook. And I don't even like Lemon Bay like that or lemon pepper like that. But I was Okay. So, I owe you the utmost gratitude because I.
  • lemon pepper — Concept · 1 mention · first at
    And I was Oh, this Lemon Bay is off the hook. And I don't even like Lemon Bay like that or lemon pepper like that. But I was Okay. So, I owe you the utmost gratitude because I…
  • rat race — Concept · 1 mention · first at
    Where they're Man, I'm just ready to get out of here and get out of the rat race or whatever, and I want to do this or that, but I'm not really a social media guy.
  • binge watching — Concept · 1 mention · first at
    Sure. I think one just as a consumer you tend to a lot of this stuff is like binge watching. So, you want to you want things to kind of flow into the next like if you're watching five of my videos in a row, I don't want there to be.
  • voiceover — Concept · 1 mention · first at
    It was more about just getting in a rhythm and like you get into a rhythm from the voiceover side of things. You get into a rhythm with your videographer and your editor. So…
  • Indian food — Concept · 1 mention · first at
    Maybe he doesn't know how to make Indian food or Ethiopian food or, Korean food. There's there's so many different cultures and so many different techniques is you'll never be.
  • Ethiopian food — Concept · 1 mention · first at
    Maybe he doesn't know how to make Indian food or Ethiopian food or, Korean food. There's there's so many different cultures and so many different techniques is you'll never be able to perfect everything. And that.
  • Korean food — Concept · 1 mention · first at
    Maybe he doesn't know how to make Indian food or Ethiopian food or, Korean food. There's there's so many different cultures and so many different techniques is you'll never be…
  • job fair — Concept · 1 mention · first at
    I just got fired from Capital One, but they're hiring. You should go to this job fair.
  • salesperson of the year — Concept · 1 mention · first at
    Actually, the year I quit Capital One, I won sales. I was salesperson of the year that year. So it's like winning the Super Bowl and then retiring.
  • Super Bowl — Concept · 1 mention · first at
    Won sales. I was salesperson of the year that year. So it's like winning the Super Bowl and then retiring.
  • district or regional sales manager — Concept · 1 mention · first at
    That I was just like cuz we were working remote basically. I was like a district or regional sales manager. So, I had a territory that I was responsible for. I didn't want them to think that they're paying me this salary and I'm just at.
  • short-form content — Concept · 1 mention · first at
    10-minute video on YouTube? Because you'll notice a lot of these creators only do short form content.
  • New Orleans cuisine — Concept · 1 mention · first at
    Us a little bit about your inspiration because my wife will tell you, bro, like she loves New Orleans cuisine, even though she's not from there.
  • Bosnian people — Concept · 1 mention · first at
    Bosnia, same thing. I had a lot of Bosnian people in my neighborhood. We It just very culturally diverse.
  • hire your weaknesses — Concept · 1 mention · first at
    That from corporate America too like running teams and managing it's like you know hire your weaknesses. It's like if I'm not good at accounting, I need to hire an accountant.…
  • accounting — Concept · 1 mention · first at
    Like running teams and managing it's like you know hire your weaknesses. It's like if I'm not good at accounting, I need to hire an accountant. If I'm not good at sales and marketing, I need to hire an expert.
  • P&Ls — Concept · 1 mention · first at
    You should be the chef at that restaurant. You should probably let somebody else do the P&Ls and the right the labor cost and all of that good stuff, you know. so I learned a whole lot about really it was I didn't.
  • labor cost — Concept · 1 mention · first at
    Somebody else do the P&Ls and the right the labor cost and all of that good stuff, you know. so I learned a whole lot about really it was I didn't go to college, so my time in corporate America was my college. I learned.
  • garlic noodle recipe — Concept · 1 mention · first at
    You got a lot some of the stuff that the garlic noodle recipe is in there that's on my in my restaurant.
  • seafood boil recipes — Concept · 1 mention · first at
    Stuff that's not on YouTube, but you also got some of the biggest, most viral recipes I've got from different seafood boil recipes that have done really well.
  • shrimp — Concept · 1 mention · first at
    Yeah, man. But the sliders, the flatbreads, u my wife loves anything with Alfredo and shrimp, so I know you've got some really good stuff there, man.
  • bachelor party — Concept · 1 mention · first at
    Like amongst friends. We were on a vacation. One of my friends was supposed to it was like a bachelor party. You know how the best man's supposed to plan everything and do…
  • best man — Concept · 1 mention · first at
    Vacation. One of my friends was supposed to it was like a bachelor party. You know how the best man's supposed to plan everything and do everything and it kind of fell through…
  • bluecollar content creator — Concept · 1 mention · first at
    Been that viral. Like I've had a few video I call I joke with my friends like I'm a bluecollar content creator cuz I just been chipping away at it since 2017. Like I've never…
  • content creator — Concept · 1 mention · first at
    Been that viral. Like I've had a few video I call I joke with my friends like I'm a bluecollar content creator cuz I just been chipping away at it since 2017. Like I've never…
  • ad revenue — Concept · 1 mention · first at
    Money. I'm listen guys, it's not going to last. The only thing that's going to last is ad revenue, long form content where they can place ads in between cuz they can sell that space, right? You can't sell many ads on a 60-second clip.
  • tomahawk steak — Concept · 1 mention · first at
    Good red meat and potato dish. We'll probably maybe I'll go like a tomahawk steak. Something Michael Jordanesque.
  • surf and turf — Concept · 1 mention · first at
    Surf and turf. Maybe something like that. I think that's that would be a Michael Jordanesque meal. If I started to get too cute with caviar truffles and stuff, I might lose.
  • myoglobin — Concept · 1 mention · first at
    It's myoglobin. It's like a protein that makes the it has that color. Right.
  • barrier to entry — Concept · 1 mention
  • brand consistency — Concept · 1 mention
  • chicken, bacon, pepperoni, ranch flatbread — Concept · 1 mention
  • Community Building — Concept · 1 mention
  • cross-contamination — Concept · 1 mention

Places & events

Sponsors

Full transcript with timestamps

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another exciting episode of Mick Unplugged. And this is going to be the first time that you all actually understand the depth of why I started this podcast in the first place. And it has to do with my guy that's sitting right here, Matt Price. This is Mick Unplugged. Let us uncover the because that thing that drives you. that thing that fuels you. I'm ready if you are. Let's go. Matt, how you doing today, brother?

I'm good, man. Thank you for having me on. I appreciate it. N Thank you, man. So, you know, I talked to you and I told you I've got a moment where you don't really understand the depth of what you mean to me, and this is it right here.

Yeah. Everything you need is in the caption. Now, it's your turn to make it happen. Three years ago, I started following you on YouTube.

Okay. And that's how you open every video and I was captured by your videos. I was like, "Yeah, the food he's making is great, but like his video like how he's setting this up, the edit, like I need that." Because we were in this transition like literally right postco where video became a thing for all businesses. I don't care what your business is, right? video, if you're watching this, if you're listening, video is critically important to the survival of your business, the branding of your business. And I thought you did an amazing job.

Thank you. And so I said, I need to do more YouTube content. And I spent literally 30 days trying to come up with a hook. I was like, I love everything you need is in the caption. Now it's your turn to make a hat. I need something like that. This is how naive I was though, Matt. I didn't have Instagram, so I didn't know what you meant by everything you need is in the caption. I'm on YouTube,

right? And I'm like, "What is this?" And so my wife is like, "Baby, talking about Instagram." I'm like, "Oh, I don't want to do Instagram, but I want to do YouTube videos." So I studied you, bro. Like I studied the hook, the length of time, how you edited everything, the voiceovers, and then I got into the food and the recipes, and I was like, "This guy is freaking amazing." And then you you had your own seasonings.

Yeah. And I was like, "Oh, this Lemon Bay is off the hook." And I don't even like Lemon Bay like that or lemon pepper like that. But I was like, "Okay." So, I owe you the utmost gratitude because I didn't want to start a podcast. I just wanted to do video content.

Sure. And one of my good friends and mentors said, "Nope, you need to do a podcast." Two of my best friends who have podcasts are like, "Nope, you need to do a podcast." So I said, "Great. If I do a podcast, it is going to be like my guy Matt Price and we're going to make it happen." And so I understood the hook. I just do my hook at the end now, right? Here cause is your superpower. Go unleash it.

But I have to thank you for giving me a blueprint of why video is important and then how to garner and gain attention because to me that's the hardest part of video. It's not just hey go talk, go do whatever. like you have mastered that, bro. So,

it's getting harder every day, too. I tell a lot of my friends that are kind of on the fence, like I I come from the corpor a corporate background, right?

And I have some friends who are successful in corporate America, you know, six figure salaries. They're doing really well. We'll have conversations where they're like, "Man, I'm just ready to get out of here and get out of the rat race or whatever, and

you know, I want to do this or that, but I'm not really a a social media guy." Like, I get that part. I understand that fully. I personally I'm not a person that walks into a room and just loves attention. Like I' I'd rather not be the face of this thing, but this is what you got to do.

Yeah. And I try to tell them that. Um and it it just you know some people take the initiative and and actually go after their their dreams and their goals and and you know get out of their comfort zone and do it. And then other people are reluctant to try. But what I try to tell them is if you're going to do it, start now because there's more people. The barrier for entry today is as low as it's ever been.

All you need is an iPhone. And almost everybody has a iPhone. You walk past somebody on the street, they got an iPhone.

You know what I mean? Like it's not there's not a big barrier for entry. You know, 20 years ago, you had to have real equipment, a real budget, a real team or all of these things that take

tons of money. today you can do it for for whatever it cost you to have an iPhone and the internet [clears throat] which is virtually nothing you know

dude it it's wild and and I want to again pay you the respects give you the flowers because I can genuinely look in this camera right here and say there would not be a make unplug podcast if I didn't have this guy as this is what I'm going to follow

I I had no idea about that that's that's amazing dude I I'm telling you your style Wow. And we're going to get into the the cooking Matt in a moment, but this entrepreneur, this video viral sensation that you became, I was captivated. And again, I didn't start my podcast until like last year. So, I studied you, bro, for literally a year.

Well, that's impressive cuz you're you're killing it. And uh I mean, hey, it's taken me a lot longer than a year to to to get it figured out. So, you're you're you're killing it. Luckily, you made the mistakes that I didn't know that you made.

Yeah. Because all I saw was the end result, right? But that end result was so critical.

And again, I want to talk to the listeners, to the viewers about from your viewpoint, the setup that's needed. So again, people today try to go viral, and I think that's a mistake.

You were not trying to go viral. You just had a formula, and your formula was consistent, and it was a brand. Like I knew when I'm watching a Mr. Make It Happen video, right? Like it's the same every time. Talk to us about that structure of the consistency, the formula that's needed for people to build that brand socially.

Sure. I think one just as a consumer um you you tend to a a lot of this stuff is like binge binge watching. So, you want to you want things to kind of flow into the next the next like if you're watching five of my videos in a row, I don't want there to be

an abrupt break in the action. You know, if you're watching five of my Instagram videos, they're all going to feel similar. Like time's going to pass quickly without you really thinking

um oh, let me go to the next thing. So, that's kind of part of it. But also, it's for me, it's about rhythm. Like, I want to be in a rhythm so that things happen easier. Like when you're doing a voiceovers are hard to do. Like people don't realize that a 60-second voice over is not easy to execute in a way that comes across as like you're not like agonizing over it or reading a script or something like that. You want it to feel natural. Almost like music, like you're if you're a rapper and you're freestyling, you don't want it to sound crazy. You want it to you want it to flow and and have some rhythm to it.

So it's it's kind of the same thing. That takes a lot of practice to be able to execute those uh well

and then have the right audio equipment and the editing to make it sound good. Um a lot of that stuff is easier today than it was when I first started.

Yeah. Like a lot of these apps and stuff weren't out when we were, you know, we had I had like a basically like a studio setup like a mix board and all that 5 years ago where you would have to really kind of know a little something about it. Now it's getting easier. But for me it was more about just getting in a rhythm and like you get into a rhythm from the voiceover side of things. You get into a rhythm with your videographer and your editor. So like I'm doing something. He knows what I'm doing already. So he knows to get this angle because I'm about to do like a lift shot and show you the sear on the salmon and he know he already knows. So it's all about a like choreographed almost.

[clears throat] Um and that to me is is what kind of got me into a good groove. and I got the I've had the same team since day one. So, my videographer's been with me since the first video that I put on YouTube.

How important is it to have a concept or a theme, whatever you want to call it, for your video output? So for the the entrepreneur, the business person, the everyday person that's watching or or listening to this that is getting into video content now, that's getting into social content, how important is it to have that structure?

It's important, but I wouldn't say I would say don't overthink it because that is what people tend to do. People like, well, I'm going to start when I get this or I got to wait for this thing to happen or I'm still working on the concept. I'm still

waiting on to get my kitchen remodeled or whatever it is. People will find a reason to stall and procrastinate. It's human nature. Like you don't want to

People are afraid to fail, right? It's it's normal. It's a scary thing. Yeah. Um but once you realize that failing is is kind of part of the process

and you you just throw caution to the wind in that regard, it it it's going to set you up to for success. It may not come like immediate, but if if you keep swinging uh and you keep trying and you're really genuinely passionate about a thing

Mhm. chances are you're going to come out on top. Man, that's the truth right there. So, I'm going to complete the circle now. So, I followed you one cuz I think I'm a foodie, but like I was more of a you put me on a smoker, you put me on a grill, I got that all day and I can make mac and cheese. Like my that's that's it, right?

That's a good bag to have right there. Hey, and it's a good one. You're right. But then you taught me some other things. So it went from watching his content, looking at what he does with food to like, now let me go make some of this stuff.

Yeah. And I was like, oh, like Matt is actually teaching me how to cook. Like hey babe, like I'm about to make this little deal. And she's like, where's that from? I'm like, Mr. Make It Happen. And so now she's your favorite fan. Because when it comes to cooking, she was doing a lot of the cooking, but now I could do some of that.

And then it goes from that to your restaurant. And I come in and I try I tell people all the time my favorite restaurant in DC is FR, right? Like it is without a doubt I have no issue saying it on film, publicly on social media.

It is my spot. So now I want to bring it full circle. You left corporate sales doing really well.

Yeah. Were you always cooking at home? like what was the thing that said I'm going to believe in myself, invest in myself, and and go be this person?

Um, that's it. It was tough. I I always was cooking though. Like I I'm the type of person when I get into I got to be careful about the things that I do or like the hobbies that I pick up because I will get obsessed with you all. That's why I don't play golf. If I play golf, I'm going to be golfing. You know what I mean? Like

I don't like to not be good at something. And so if I'm going to tell people that this is what I do, I want to I'm going to take it seriously regardless of whatever it is. I mean, you could say, "Hey, we're going to start a bookstore and I'm going to figure out what's the best bookstore in the world and I'm going to study it. I'm going to learn about it." You know what I mean?

That's just who I am for better or worse. Sometimes it's it's not the best side of me. Yeah.

Um but that's that's how I am. Cooking was the the best thing for me with that because you can always get better.

Like no matter how good you are at cooking, even Gordon Ramsay, there's there's something he could be better at. The best chef in the world, there's a cuisine that he doesn't know there. Maybe he doesn't know how to make Indian food or Ethiopian food or,

you know, Korean food. There's there's so many different cultures and so many different techniques is you'll never be able to to perfect everything. And that is what turns me on so much about about cooking. It's like there's a constant improvement and there's just a beauty in that to me that um I was obsessed with. So I was always cooking. Like I used to I was from Richmond, Virginia originally, corporate America. Started as an entry- level sales associate making like 28 grand a year.

Uh it was it was tough, man. I didn't have the best, you know, childhood upbringing and I was kind of at a crossroads in my life. um working two jobs, barely barely making rent, 18, 19 years old. One of my uh co-workers at BJ's Wholesale Club, she was like, "You're really good, you know, talking to people.

I just got fired from Capital One, but they're hiring. You should go to this job fair."

And one, I was like, "They just fired you and you're still promoting the company, so that means you must have liked it."

Yeah. And then two, I don't think they're going to hire me, but what do I got to lose? You know, what the hell? Let's Let's try it. Yeah.

Went got the job, worked my way up, you know, 10, 11, 11 year career with Capital One.

Um, and then that came from, you know, that conversation with her. So that I ended up making, you know, really good salary, six figure job. To walk away from that was scary cuz I, in my mind, I'm like, I probably didn't even deserve to be here because I don't have a degree. I don't have anything. Like, if I walk away from this, what's going to happen? Very scary moment. um built up a savings, a little nest egg to where if I fail or things don't work out, I can at least sustain living for x amount of months and then I had a really good rapport with my job. I felt like I could go back if I had to. So those were the things that kind of I I played in my mind like the scenarios.

Actually, the year I quit Capital One, I won sales. I was salesperson of the year that year. So it's like winning the Super Bowl and then retiring.

Yeah. So I was like they they'll hire me back if I if I don't make it right. So that gave me like that confidence that safety net. But I will talk to some of my older co-workers. They're like you're going to go do what?

Like this is 2020. I'm like hey yeah I'm going to go do this YouTube thing this social media thing and

build this this media company. And they're like you're going to quit this job to go do that.

I just didn't get it. So you didn't have like one foot doing YouTube, one foot doing sales. You just made the clean break of

Well, I did. I was I was still with C. I started uh YouTube in 2019 going into 2020. So, right before the pandemic.

Yeah. We had built some traction. Not nearly enough to quit. Mhm. But by the time I quit, I was making enough money from it to to make it make sense.

I got you. I got you. So, for those that are watching, what Matt didn't do was just say, "You know what? I'm out." He didn't have like this grand exit, right? Like he didn't burn bridges.

Did it very strategically. Yeah, that's good stuff, man. That's good stuff. But I was transparent with them, too. Like, hey, I was talking to my manager and some of my the people that I respected that, you know, higher up than me. Like, hey, I'm considering this. I'm just wanted to let you know I'm going to still do my job.

Obviously, you guys think I'm doing it, you know, well, considering the accolades, right? I'm not just going to mail it in until I'm ready to quit, but I'm letting you know that I am considering this. Because at that time, people would start to notice me. Like they would see me like I'll be at a we'll be at a conference and like, "Oh, I saw you on a video." And they're like, "Huh?" So, I didn't want them to think that I was just

like cuz we were working remote basically. I was like a district or regional sales manager. So, I had a territory that I was responsible for. I didn't want them to think that they're paying me this salary and I'm just at home making cooking videos.

Yeah. Cuz that wasn't the case. I was doing it. We'll shoot, you know, four or five videos in a weekend and I'll work my 9 to5.

Yeah. Um but I I was a transparent. It wasn't like a surprise when it happened, basically is what I'm trying to say.

Yeah. So, when did you know that you wanted to do cooking videos? And I'm going to ask it a [clears throat] different way selfishly for me. When did you know it's like, all right, I can really make these dishes. and I want to show other people how to make these dishes.

Again, it goes back to the the obsession thing because I'm I'm not the type of person that's going to put out a video if I don't feel confident that I know what I'm talking about.

And not to, you know, be shady, but not all creators are like that. I know a lot of creators are putting out videos and I can I can know I know that's probably the first or second time you've ever made that thing.

Yeah. You can't really teach something that you're not proficient at. I'm not going to say you have to be an expert to teach, but you should be proficient, right?

Yeah. You shouldn't like make very very entry- levelvel simple mistakes. If you're coming from a teaching perspective, now if it's pure entertainment, that's different.

Yeah. But if I'm if I'm giving you an instructional video on how to build a car, I should know what I'm talking about.

Yeah. If I'm teaching you how to make, you know, pasta, I should You're going to feed your family, your kids, your your wife, your whatever.

You're gonna spend money at the grocery store. Like, I take take all of that into account. So,

yeah, I just take the time to really learn it. Yeah. And so, here's what I'm going to say, cuz I can only say this about you

and my best friend, Robert Irvine. Here's when you when you know you've got a really great chef with a great recipe,

you don't see variations of it. Meaning, you know, people put recipes online and then in the comments it's like, "Yeah, but if you add this or if you do this or if you take this away, then it's really good." Everything that Matt puts out, you don't have to have a variation.

Yeah. Right. Like you don't have to say, "Oh, well, instead of a cup of milk, you should do a cup and a half or you know, instead of salt and pepper, just do this." It's like your stuff is very authentic, which is why I appreciate it because I don't have to go in and adjust a recipe. And that's very rare,

right? And and to me, that's always the tell to your point when you've got that creator that it's not what they do.

When it's like you look at it and it's like, nah, they ain't even eaten that before because that doesn't even go together or that doesn't sound good. I don't care what your palette is, right? That just doesn't go together. I mean there there's people out there that just grab a recipe off the internet and

right just you they didn't test it. They didn't you know. Yeah. And again that barrier for entry is very low and that's honestly that's the scary part for me and that's what pushed me into considering doing a restaurant

because I see that this room is getting more and more crowded and you could still be at the top of your game and for example the from the product side of things which is which is really what made me make the decision. Mhm.

I I'm not I wasn't first, right? I'm not going to pretend like I'm the godfather of it of what we're doing. I was early though and somebody that built the content piece of it from the media side of things and then launched products

and you know, seasoning, chef knives, skillets, cookbooks, people saw that and saw that it was doing well for me and they have 5 years of game tape to study and replicate. So even if they don't sell more seasoning than I sell, if 10,000 chefs are selling seasoning,

the pie is starting to dwindle a little bit. Yeah. So like you, you know, you just got to figure out, all right, so what's next? What can I do that's going to separate me from the pack?

Not all of these creators are going to be capable of launching a restaurant and and you know, doing that. And it's a super tough business, very challenging. I've lost a lot of money on some stuff and we've done well with other things. It's it's a scary place to be. It's deep waters. It's rough.

Yeah. But that's just, you know, how I view it. It's like, all right, I got to pivot. I'm going to still do these things at a high level, but what's the next thing? Cuz I don't want to just do this forever and never try to grow. And then eventually, you know, I'm just going to be kind of pushed out. Not necessarily pushed out, but the pie starts to shrink. And then it's like, you know, you got this overhead. You got these employees that are,

you know, looking to you to to lead the way. Yeah. You got to figure out the next move.

Yeah. And what I'm about to say, because I'm gonna double down on something Matt said. I promise you I'm not coming after creators, so don't don't be hitting me up like that. Like, I support creators. It's a great community of all creators. Yeah.

But it's something that um my guy Ary Spear says, too. Like the creators in the comedy world,

there's a difference of being funny for YouTube and doing the clips and all that, which people should do, right? Be Instagram funny. But when you got to get on stage, that's the real game. That's that's the difference when you got to make people laugh that maybe they don't want to laugh, right? Like they're coming to see if you're the real deal or not. And it's like they're not there for you.

I would say it's the same thing with you in the restaurant game, right? It's like

you can do it here. Yeah. But then to really say, "This is who I am. Open the restaurant. Get the people to come in." and and and you know this being in the business, it's not about them coming one time, right? Like that's cool,

but I need you to want to come back every week. I want you to go tell other people to be here. Talk to us about taking that step and and that difference in particular

that I think that applies to the content space, too. Like it's it's anybody I'm going to say anybody, but most people can shoot a 60-second clip of them making Alfredo, but that can you make a 10-minute video on YouTube? Because you'll notice a lot of these creators only do short form content.

It's harder to do that long form stuff. And that same thing applies to even more when it comes to, you know, opening a restaurant.

Yeah. And you're putting I mean everything's on the line. My name, my reputation,

uh my money, like everything you're really betting the house on I think I can do this thing.

Yeah. That's scary. And then it's also just and food is so like one person may love a dish and another person may not like it. It's it's so

um you know personal. You you might like your uh risoto one way and somebody might like their risoto another way or some people love spicy food and this person doesn't. It's just

trying to find that happy balance that um makes people happy. And my my take on it is I want to push that line of flavor as close to the edge where it's like this might be too much. Like my my thing I tell my chefs is if if 20 if 10 people come in here

and two of them say, "Oh, it was a little too salty or it was a little too whatever too

umami forward or whatever." Yeah. But eight of them said it's the best meal they ever had in their life. I'm I would rather that scenario than 10 people come in here and be like, "It was cool.

It was all right." Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So, I'd rather have one or two people that's like, "Oh, it wasn't for me."

But the other bunch of them absolutely love it and rave about it. Then everybody come in, nobody complain, but nobody loved it.

Yeah. Yeah. So, again, I've been to your restaurant. I follow you forever. So, for those that don't know, like talk to us a little bit about your inspiration because my wife will tell you, bro, like she loves New Orleans cuisine, even though she's not from there.

Yeah. Like you got some really great New Orleans inspired uh menu items. You've got and and just recipes in general.

True. Um you've [clears throat] got what I call the true south, the real south, cuz I'm from the south, right? You've got some southern inspired dishes. You've got some Asian inspired. You got some West Coast inspired. Like, what's your what's your inspiration when it comes to the kitchen and the recipes that you put out there?

So, I think it goes back to what you feel like you can [clears throat] do well when you're designing a menu, you want to you want to have your like if you're going to a a concert for Rolling Stones or whoever, let's say some vintage band or musician, you want to hear the hits. like I don't want to hear your new stuff. I want

I want to hear the absolute best thing that you got. So part of it is that and then from the inspir inspiration side of things. Um

really it's just how I grew up. I I didn't like I said I I don't want to get too I mean we can but I don't want to make it all about that. But I I had a a relatively rough childhood. I spent a lot of time spending the night at other people's houses and I grew up in a neighborhood that was very very culturally diverse. Mhm.

We had, you know, this I grew up in a time like Sierra Leon had uh the civil war. So my neighborhood had a bunch of people

uh that had moved from that. Bosnia, same thing. I had a lot of Bosnian people in my neighborhood. We It just very very culturally diverse.

So my best friends were from all over the world. So I got exposed to so many different types of food. I didn't always have food to eat at my house. So I spent a lot of time eating at other people's houses. So people might look at me like this guy cooking X Y and Z but it's really just a million different types of food n years old until I'm you know 20some.

Yeah. Yeah. And I think there's a a leadership lesson in that too and an entrepreneur lesson. One be who you are but two find out what you do really well and continue to do that. I think a lot of times in the business side of things,

you hear people talking about making their weaknesses better or, you know, I'm weak here, I need to build this up. And I tell people from a sports perspective, from a business perspective, the greatest people that you know, when you put the EST at the end, they did one or two things really, really, really, really well. Yeah.

Better than most people. And I think a lot of times we get misinformation that you need to be well-rounded and you know you need to do a little bit of everything. I'm like no do what you do well. Talk to us about that and how some of that's your mentality too cuz I know you right like

you don't you don't try to do everything but what you do you dominate. I think that learn I learned a lot of that from from corporate America too like um running teams and managing it's like you know hire your weaknesses. It's like if I'm not good at accounting, I need to hire an accountant. If I'm not good at sales and marketing, I need to hire an expert.

If I if there's people out there that all they know how to do is cook. You should be the chef at that restaurant. You should probably let somebody else do the P&Ls and the

right the labor cost and all of that good stuff, you know. Um, so I learned a whole lot about really it was I didn't go to college, so my time in corporate America was my college. I learned everything about sales, marketing, how to just be a a professional adult, like be on time, be responsible. I didn't get that as a kid. If you would have met me when I was 17, you would probably look at me a whole lot different than you look at me today.

But a lot I I grew up a lot early because I had to. But then corporate America really just taught me how to be more professional and just look at things differently than I would have otherwise.

Got it. Got it. All right, bro. So, we're going to go to the book. Meet me in the kitchen.

Talk about why you wanted to do a cookbook, right? Like, you're you're social famous. Yeah.

Right. You could have just left it there, but you were like, "Nah, I want to I want to put it out on paper." talk to us about this.

So, I have done um some collaborative cookbooks prior to doing this one and then during the pandemic I was doing ebooks like

like rappers drop mixtapz like once a month. We were just cranking them out. My philosophy during the time of the pandemic was like I want to do everything very affordably. We were doing weekly cooking classes for $5. Mhm.

We're doing ebooks for $5 and just putting out as much stuff as possible and kind of try to build that community, which I think I tell creators all the time, you want to and I need to do a better job of that now cuz I'm stretched so thin. I talk about that in my meetings sometimes, too. It's like just build that that community. And that's one good way to do it. Um, but as far as doing the cookbook, I just wanted to do a solo effort. I had never done one. I felt like I just, you know, it just was on my mind. And there's a lot of really good uh recipes in there. There's quotes from chefs that kind of inspired me as like page breaks

in there. Um it just was something that I've always wanted to do. I'm actually in the process of considering doing my second one.

Okay. This one's been out for about a year now. Um but yeah, it's just it's kind of what you do, right? If you're a musician, you put out a record. If you're a a chef, you put out a cookbook.

And it's kind of I felt like it was like just a natural progression for me. Okay.

And uh you know, it's fun, too. What are some of the recipes we're going to get out of here?

Uh you got a lot some of the stuff that the garlic noodle recipe is in there that's on my in my restaurant.

Some of the most popular things that I've done are in this book. So, you got stuff that's not on YouTube, but you also got some of the biggest, most viral recipes I've got from different seafood boil recipes that have done really well. It's a little bit of everything. You got everything from breakfast, lunch, dinner, appetizers. You got the social media, you know, viral stuff. And then you got the more intricate like if you want to be more on the cheffy side of things or that you just want to make a delicious meal for your your family.

Something in there for everybody. And and I can promise you that there is something for everyone. When you follow Matt on social, like he does have the, "Oh, I gotta be a chef to do this one." But he breaks it down so that it doesn't matter who you are, you can truly do it. But then he's got like my favorites which are I'm watching the game and I got folks coming over

and we're going to have some chicken, bacon, pepperoni, ranch flat flatbread. Yeah,

bro. That changed my life right there. That was the first thing that I ever made because I felt like I could.

Yeah. Right. Matt, also, and you don't know this, you taught me that sliders I just need Hawaiian rolls and just cut them in half, bro. I was like, "How do people do this?" And then you you told me how easy it was. Like, don't laugh at me. Don't hit me up. Like,

again, I was on the grill and made mac and cheese. That's what I did really well.

Some people can't do much of anything. So, to be the grill's tough to to master, so it's good that you you got that under your belt.

Yeah, man. But the sliders, the flatbreads, u my wife loves anything with Alfredo and shrimp, so I know you've got some really good stuff there, man.

So, Mr. make it happen. Talk to us about the moniker. Where did that come from?

Originally, it it it just came as a joke like amongst friends. We were on a vacation. One of my friends was supposed to it was like a bachelor party. You know how the best man's supposed to plan everything and do everything

and it kind of fell through on him. And long story short, he dropped the ball a little bit and then I kind of put everything together and made the the salvage the weekend basically. So that whole week I was just giving them like, you know, when you refer to me, call me Mr. Make It Happen. So I I I went as far as to change my social media handle to it. Like just I just was really leaning into the joke. I'm like 18, 19 at the time.

Um and then it just stuck. And then I was like, well, it applies to to food, too.

And I like the idea that I'm giving myself something to live up to, right? Like if you're going to be the guy that's making it happen, that's a huge responsibility. You got to step into those shoes. If you're going to call yourself that, you got to you got to execute. So, I just stuck with it.

I love it. I love it. What are some of the other products that you have aside from cooking? I know we talked about the knives. We talked about I brought up the seasonings. Like, let the viewers and listeners know the whole portfolio of what you have.

Sure. I got a uh a website that has all of free recipes, mritappen.com. You can find pretty much every single recipe I've ever posted online for free right there. Detailed descriptions, pictures, all that good stuff. I have a media company, Make It Happen Media. We have a podcast. We have a a second YouTube channel where we're more dedicated to like more entertainment style content, food reviews, and

you're judging your friends. Yeah. Having Yeah. Cook offs with people that can't really cook that good. It's it's fun. It's entertaining.

Um it's it's great. That's doing really well. We just started that not too long ago. The podcast is starting to pick up a little bit. Um, I've got, as far as a, you know, from a product perspective, we got chef knives, um, skillets, seasoned flour is performing really well. Uh, the season ends. I got digital food thermometer, which is, in my opinion, one of the things that everybody should own. If I could pick one thing that the home cook should have that most people don't is a digital food thermometer

because you'll never over or undercook any protein, which is the most expensive thing you're going to buy. You can get this thing for $12 and it's going to turn that $60 steak. You're going to make sure you do it right.

Done. And how about we do this? No promo codes or anything like that, but let's figure out a way that for the first 10 people that message me, make it happen. I will make sure that I buy a digital thermometer for you. How about that?

I love that. That's great. That, like I said, I think that turns a not so great cook into at least a adequate cook if you Cuz what's the chief complaint about food? It's dry or it's this or that.

Yeah. It's cuz you overcooked it. But if you had a thermometer, does it work on a grill and smoker?

Mhm. Oh, yeah. Then done deal. Because that is the big that's why I started grilling and smoking my own stuff because it's like eh

like like it's either too dry here. I'm really picky about red meat too. Like if it's too under I'm never going to touch it. I know some people medium rare is their deal, but like I have to cook for me in my house.

Exactly. So that's what we do. You you brought up some things that the home chef could do wrong. Give the home chef some tips. like what are some things that we could do to simplify cooking? What's some strategies or or insights that we need?

You got to have the right tools for the job. So, not that you need to go invest in a $1,000 worth of cookware and stuff, but something like a digital food thermometer that's $12

that'll last you for years. You know, little little simple things like that, like just making sure you have the right tools for the job. Uh sharp knife. A lot of people when when I go to friends houses and they ask me to cook something, their knives are terrible. like it's you you're more likely to cut yourself with a dull knife because it'll slip, you know, cuz it's not it's not capable of cutting through the thing you're trying to cut and it slips and cut you.

That's 90% of how people get cut. So, a sharp knife, it's kind of counterintuitive, but a sharp knife is you're less likely to cut yourself with a sharp knife cuz it's it's doing what you're intending it to do.

Okay. Uh, so I would say a for thermometer, a sharp knife, a good quality cutting board, preferably something that if you could get two cutting boards, if you can afford it, have one for your proteins and one for your non-proins. That way that you don't risk the crosscontamination.

Um, that's you really don't need much else other than the simple bake wear and skillets. If you can get a nice non-stick skillet and then one either stainless steel, cast iron, or a hybrid pan.

Okay, it's all you really need. Okay. All right. That and some heat. Heat. Yeah,

that's important, too. Talk to us really quickly, man, about I don't want to say it. I don't I don't want people coming at me in my DMs and all this stuff.

They're going to do that anyway. They are going to do that. That's my other advice.

Exactly. Talk to us about how how you went viral when others couldn't. Yeah. Because again, I wouldn't have known you if I didn't see you.

Right. If that makes sense. Sure. Right. Because I wasn't specifically looking for you. It was you popped up on my YouTube feed. Then when I a year later got Instagram because I had to figure out what these captions things were you're talking about. I followed you there and then I was like you're showing up there too.

Yeah. How how did you do it when others couldn't? You know what's funny? Uh I get that question probably the most common question other than what's your favorite thing to cook?

Um and I this may sound crazy to people that are trying to trying to get where I'm at, but I don't feel like I've ever been that viral. Like I've had a few video I call I joke with my friends like I'm a bluecollar content creator cuz I just been chipping away at it since 2017. Like I've never had

a streak where I'm doing 20 30 million views like some of these people. Like there are people and hats off to them like that are they'll post they'll just get started and post a couple videos 20 million views 15 million views and you look up and they got 600,000 followers in 3 months.

That wasn't my story. I had to grind it out for for a long time to get here and I I still don't like even on YouTube my highest viewed video long form content is only 2 and a half million views which is a lot of views right

that's a damn lot but there there's people out there that's got 30 million 20 million and uh I just I feel like I've had to put together a body of work versus just chasing a viral video and I also intentionally tried to build myself on every platform form. So if you find me on Twitter or X, I got a a a you know foundation there.

Uh Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok, website. Mhm. Cuz what happens? I I used to I had friends that I talked to in the content space that they only were doing Tik Tok. And I'm like, well, what happens if Tik Tok goes away? What are you going to do? Or Instagram if they de? Like at one point, not too long ago, probably a few years ago now, Tik Tok, I mean, Instagram was paying crazy money for reals. Like you could earn up to $30,000 if you hit certain bonus structures.

And I knew people were quitting their jobs because they're making a lot of money. I'm like, listen guys,

it's not going to last. The only thing that's going to last is is ad revenue, long form content where they can place ads in between cuz they can sell that space, right? You can't sell many ads on a 60-second clip.

Nope. And if they do start doing that, people are going to stop watching. So, I was like, you know, you you got to build yourself up on multiple platforms. And if you're trying to get paid, you need to be doing longer form content.

Yeah. That's my advice. That's what I believed in. And that's kind of helped me out.

And that's why I have a podcast. Yeah. It's It's full circle, bro. like when I was telling you you had no idea and I wanted to tell you when we were in this moment together. It's the truth.

That's awesome, man. I mean, I would have never guessed that. Looking at how successful you are. When I when we first met, I was super busy that day and then I seen you came back another day and I was like this then I started to really like pay closer attention. I was like, "Wow, this guy's got a a huge thing going on." I didn't even realize that.

But it it wasn't that. I kept coming back because one, I'm a huge fan of you and whenever I'm in DC, I always even if I'm in DC for a short period like now, I go see you yesterday, right? Because the food is great, the environment. We'll talk about the environment later, but the environment, boy, like I want to get myself in trouble. I need to shoot content over there, too. Like, the vibe

anytime. Let me vibe is like amazing. The food is great. And and it's something you said at the beginning, you wouldn't know that Matt owned the restaurant or was the head chef because he's not out at the front of the house like, "Oh, it's about me." Yeah.

Like, you make sure your staff has their lanes and you give them the freedom to do what they do really well. And your job is to make sure the food comes out amazing.

That's and that the experience that they that everyone has is amazing. So kudos for you because I think from a business perspective that's where people go wrong. And like I made this mistake 20 years ago when I started in leadership that I thought leadership was about me. So like my name was everywhere. Every decision had to be mine. Like you had to know I was there,

right? And then I realized really quickly when like a third of my staff quit that, oh no, leadership isn't about me. It's about the people. But you do a great job of making what you do about your teams, man.

Yeah. I mean because I have to I can't do it by myself. Yeah. And I've tried. It doesn't work.

Same. Um and if it does work, it's it's miserable, right? You don't want to like even if you

gain everything and become everything you ever imagined to to be and then you're alone.

Mhm. What's what's the point? You know, you want to share it with your friends. You want to share it with your wife, your your significant other, your whatever. That's why I love the like I I have a huge YouTube channel, right? Million 1.4 million or whatever it's at now. I have much more fun on my second channel that's only got 35,000 subscribers because I'm doing it with my

childhood best friends. There you go. And I'm giving them a platform for them to grow and and hopefully change their lives for the better

and be able to go and chase their dreams, you know? I'm lucky to be here, man. I appreciate that, brother. So, I'm going to get you out of here with our rapid five. This rapid five is sponsored by my wife's business, My Remote Accountants, because she wanted to ask these questions. So, shout out to Marcy Hunt, My Remote Accountants, Rapid Fire with Matt Price, Mr. Make It Happen. Her first question was, when can we have a couple's relationship show featuring Matt Price?

I would My wife does not like being on the camera. I would love to. I actually had a concept. I don't want to say the name of it. Yeah,

I guess I could say because I sent her I had a name and everything drawing up um me and another couple

uh we're best friends. We hang out all the time and I was like we should do a podcast. Me and her, you and her be great.

Had a name. The year passed. I see that name podcast. Same exact idea and they're doing pretty good. I was like damn that could have been us.

Um maybe one day though. I would love to to do something with my wife and get her more involved.

Okay. All right. My wife's next question. When is Matt gonna do a virtual cooking class for spouses?

I did it during the pandemic and it's like I said, I've been kind of stretching myself a little thin and I feel like I've gotten away from the core of like building that community and it's something that I've been talking with the team like let's get back to doing the classes. So, very soon.

Okay. She selfishly just wanted to pay for her and I do it. That's all. That's all.

All right. Which one of the homies is literally the worst cook? Rhino by a landslide.

Damn Rhino. He's bad. Awful. He's really bad. Awful. All right. He's getting better though,

but that I mean that's not saying much, right? Do you want your kids to follow in daddy's footsteps?

I want my son to do whatever he loves. Like that's [clears throat] man, having him has changed my life in ways I would have never never guessed. He wears his he's got like a little kitchen set. He's he he looks like he's interested in it. Maybe it's just my ego like, "Oh, he's trying to be like daddy."

But I want him to do whatever makes him happy, man. Whatever that is. Okay. All right. Last question.

If it ends up being cooking, I would love that. Of course. Hey, he's got the genetics. He's got the genetics. Last question. I'm gonna ask it in a different way because I know you get asked this a lot, but I'm gonna ask it differently. Yeah.

You're cooking a meal for your favorite athlete, Michael Jordan. He's a Tar Hill like me. Your favorite athlete is Michael Jordan.

Yes, of course. And Mike says, "Matt, you can cook whatever you want. Where are you making Michael Jordan?"

Man, Mike, this for you, by the way, cuz he's watching. I would have to I I would need to know about his pallet a little bit because some people that you would imagine want something fancy. They just want something cuz I I can do the the fancier stuff and I might I get in my head and try to impress him too much.

But I feel like he would probably appreciate just like a good meat and potatoes. He's a cigar guy. He's a a bourbon guy. He probably wants a really good red meat and potato dish. We'll probably maybe I'll go uh like a tomahawk steak. Something Michael Jordanesque.

Okay. Special sauce. Surf and turf. Maybe something like that. I think that's that would be a Michael Jordanesque meal. If I started to get too cute with like, you know, caviar truffles and stuff, I might lose them.

Mike, that's for you. All right. So, I asked you the five, but I'm going to ask you one personally for me. For the for the guy like me or the gal like me that likes their steak medium well, convince me that medium or somewhat medium rare is where I need to go.

You just got to try it. Just wean yourself down slowly. Like, you don't go from well done to rare. You want to go from well done to to not quite well done, then to medium well, then work your way down to medium. The thing about it for me is is one I think that there's a um [clears throat] people think that the the the pink tint or red tint is blood and it's it's not. It's myoglobin. It's like a protein that that makes the it has that color. Right. So [clears throat]

you just use a big word on me. It's what? Myoglobin. Okay. I learned something new today.

It's a protein in the in uh that has that color. So it's not blood like when they slaughter the animal, the blood is gone, right? For for a long time, you know, by the time you get that steak on your table, there ain't been no blood in that animal probably weeks. [clears throat]

Um, so yeah, I think that one once you like if if people if you think it's bloody, I get why I wouldn't want to eat something bloody. I totally understand that. Once you understand that that's not the case, might free you up a little bit to consider the color not being as much of issue. Because to me, it's never people say, "Oh, I hate the texture or the flavor of it." It's always, "I don't like the way that looks."

True. So once you bypass the the appearance thing and realize that, oh, that's not that's not what I think I'm eating. It's actually this,

then we can talk about, well, don't you agree that this steak is more tender at this temperature than at that temperature? Wouldn't you agree that if it's more tender, it's easier to chew and I can get a good crust on it and and get all the things that people love about a well done steak, like the exterior of it being really charred, but I can also give you a more tender product as an end result at this temperature. It's like, oh, I still get the thing that I like about a well done steak, but I also get something I'm not used to if I'm eating well done steak and the fact that it's more tender. It's more juicy. Not all the fat is rendered out of it.

And you you start to you can find things that you like and then eventually it becomes your deal.

All right, let me cook you one done. I'll cook them all different dnesses and we'll just give you a little bite and you tell me which blindfold taste test. You tell me which one you like the most. you into this blindfold food way and you going to talk about your

cuz I think that my my uh my idea is that most people don't like steak a certain way strict strictly off of appearance. So if you remove that from it

okay just tell me which one you think it tastes the best. I almost bet that it'll never be well done.

Okay. All right. Deal shaking on it. All right. I'll lie down and and do it. That'll be great content.

We'll we'll come up here and do it. Even better. Yeah. That way you that way you ain't got to have the expense of going down. It'll be on me to come up. Wifey,

we're coming up and we'll have Wifey's company sponsor it. Please. That'll be great.

That way everything's there and official. That'll be fun, man. That's a good piece of content, too.

Yes, sir. All right, Matt. So, where can people find and follow you? I know you've got millions of followers, but for those

I need millions more. Let's go. Uh, mrmeakethappen.com is where you can find my website, all of my recipes. Mr. Makethappen.shop is where all my products are. You can find me on YouTube. basically any uh social media platform, Mr. Make It Happen, you type it in, it'll pop up. Um, Make It Happen Media is my my second channel where the more fun, if like instructional cooking videos aren't your thing, you're just looking for entertainment, Make It Happen Media. We got a lot of food related stuff there, competition based content. My podcast is housed there as well.

We got all the products, all that good stuff. If you're ever in the DMV DC area, Fresh, spelled F R A I C H E. It's the French spelling for fresh. We're located in 14th Street in Washington DC. I'd love to have you come by for a meal.

I love it. I'll make sure I have all the links there for sure. If you are in the DMV area, Fresh, you got to check it out. It is my favorite spot

in all of DC. It is one of my top three restaurants in the United States. That's how much I love this spot. This book, Meet Me in the Kitchen, all the recipes that you want. Again, the the first 10 people that message me, make it happen. I will make sure I get you a thermometer and I will double down. The next 10 people or the first 10 people that message me, meet me in the kitchen, I will buy a book and make sure it gets shipped to you as well, too.

Thank you, brother. I appreciate that. I appreciate you. And for all the viewers and listeners, remember your because is your superpower. Go unleash it.

Thank you, bro. Bro, you're the dude. Thank you, man. You've been plugged into Mick Unplugged. Don't just listen, take action. Rate and subscribe. Follow me on social and get the full experience at mickhuntofficial.com. Keep building, keep leading, and most importantly, keep dominating.

Questions about this episode

What is "Beyond the Recipe: Lessons from Matt Price’s Kitchen & Career" about?

The discussion examines the profound impact Matt Price has had on Mick's journey into video content creation, highlighting the vital role of video in modern business branding. It also emphasizes the transition from traditional formats to video, illustrating how Price's engaging style and advice inspired Mick to enhance his own approach to digital media.

What is mentioned in this Mick Unplugged Podcast episode?

96 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Mr. Make It Happen, Matt Price, skillets, Mick Unplugged, seasonings, smoker. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "Beyond the Recipe: Lessons from Matt Price’s Kitchen & Career"?

The episode runs 51 min; the transcript is about 10,467 words in 229 timestamped sections.

More from Mick Unplugged Podcast

About this transcript: the episode's spoken words as captioned on YouTube, split into timestamped sections. Reclip.Me locates every person, work and idea in the text, keeps the time it is first named, and quotes the words around it verbatim. Last updated December 15, 2025.